rosewesleâ:
âI think Vi exists solely on spite and the spirit of the country of France alone. For that, and for this part, I admire her.â Rose allowed him a graceful smile before taking a sip of champagne. The complement shocked her so much she felt the need to look away. She was accustomed to the attention, of course, but the rawness of his toneâespecially at an event like thisâthrew her off her game. The usual grace she carried with her was gone, replaced with a flush that had absolutely nothing to do with the champagne, which she downed in a single gulp. âAlfie, would youââ he nodded and ran off in search of a Scotch, bless him.
The impropriety of the moment was not lost on her, nor was the fact that she had severed ties with Teddy. She knew full well the reasoning behind that decision was standing right in front of her, yet she was hesitant to make the move that she so desperately wanted to. Vi was a ghost between them, but it was more than that, and she felt like they both knew it.
Rose finished off the champagne and replaced the empty glass on the tray of a passing waiter before clearing her throat. âYou know the motto of Gryffindor house is âTheir daring, nerve and chivalry set Gryffindors apartâ and I have always done the daring part justice. Always gone blindly into the dark, never worried what was on the other side. My father always possessed a bravery my mother never had, and vice versa. My father possess a bravery that relies on selflessness. He is absolutely unafraid to sacrifice himself for those he loves, the innocent, the unjustly accused, you name it. My motherâs bravery is more about speaking up for the voiceless. My mother is brave for those who cannot be brave for themselves.â
She avoided his gaze, unsure if she could face him. âIâve always been brilliant at facing the unknown. My bravery has always been feeling the fear and doing it anyway.â Her eyes glistened, which she hid with a carefully timed smile at a passerby. âBut you, Jacob Nott, scare the devil right out of me. I cannot for the life of me understand why that is. You look at me and I want to run straight for the hills and never look back.â
Roseâs comment about Vi startled a laugh out of him.âYou are not, er, entirely wrong.â Jake refrained from pointing out that he saw Viâs drive and independence reflected in Roseâs life as well; he could tell she wouldnât take kindly to it. No need to ruin an otherwise pleasant evening with a glass of champagne to the face and going home alone. His pulse quickened at even that brief thought of taking Rose back to his house at the end of the night. For a moment, he was caught up in flashes of imagined scenesâthe graceful bend of her neck as he unzipped, the brush of his lips against a freckled shoulder, his fingers twisting into coppery red hair. A brisk movementâRose finishing off her glass of champagneâbrought him out of his reverie.
The entirety of his body felt warm, like there was fire blazing through his veins in place of blood. He struggled to focus on her words, knowing that although he couldnât quite parse what she was trying to say, it was important. Or would be someday. Perhaps that was the same thing, that the distinction of important now and important later was, well, unimportant. Just as he was trying to put his feelings about his own family into wordsâabout Vi, about the gaping hole in his life where parents should beâshe finished her speech on an entirely different note.
He couldnât help but grin, although it was a crooked, vaguely manic sort of smile. âYou think Iâm not terrified too?â he asked, voice low so as not to draw attention. âI donât do intense, itâs never been part of who I am. Iâm not Vi, I donât live in search of a cause. I sell ice cream because I like it and because it makes people happy and that makes the world a little better.â Jake paused, sipping his cocktail and trying to figure out how to say the next bit. âAnd all of that is because I have spent the last twenty years trying to fit the contradicting pieces of my life together. Iâm a Hufflepuff with the legacy of the Dark Mark hanging over me, for Merlinâs sake.âÂ
He gently turned her face to his, smiling weakly. He was no longer aware of the room around them, although he distantly wondered whether anyone was watching. He just couldnât quite bring himself to care. âBut you, Rose, you are all intensity. So maybe youâre just what I need. And maybe we can be scared together.â














