i think i love the ocean because it's calm, beautiful, infinite. but also angry, harsh, and magnificent. and that intrigues me. rosmerta fawley twenty nine. owner of the three broomsticks. buterbeer affecionado.
“Oh, shove off, Ros.” Dominic grumbled, though gratefully accepting the glass of well-deserved (much-needed) alcohol. “My sisters are more than capable of making me feel incompetent as a brother, I don’t need you to rub it in.” Despite the barbed words, Dominic lacked the severity in his tone, instead throwing Rosmerta a wounded expression.
“And what? No ‘How are you, Dominic’? no ‘I missed you, Dominic’? I’m starting to feel unloved.”
Rosmerta grinned victoriously. “But that’s what I’m here for. To supply you with alcohol while judging you and rubbing everything in. It’s my one talent.”
She shook her head, then. “I’ve ran out of niceties today. It’s been a long one, had to break up two twats who decided to throw hands. Told them to go to the Hog’s Head, if that’s what they’re looking to do.” She chuckled, then. “But fine, I’ll try for you. How’re you? How’s Quidditch? Losing against the Harpies, I hope.”
Robert frequented the pub regularly over the last few months. Through word of mouth, he heard that this was the place to be amongst his own kind, and when he crossed the shabby, little door and sat in the teetering, almost broken stool, he ordered a drink and glanced around. He was always vigilant, though he suspected only a complete idiot would ever coerce on private matters here. It was too crowded, and there were too many ears.
The agent took a sip from his drink and went to stand to wander somewhere else in the pub when he felt his chair bump into the person behind him. He turned around, smiling apologetically. “Hey, sorry about that. So many people are here tonight. I’ve never seen it this busy on a Tuesday before.”
It was fun, to be in a pub and not to be at work. Rosmerta granted herself two free evenings a week, on which she either liked to make music, read and take baths or get absolutely shitfaced at the Leaky Cauldron or any other place that called for it. Tuesdays might not call for extensive alcohol consumption, but damn it, she was in the mood for a party.
She was already slightly tipsy when a chair bumped into her, and she let out a bit of a squeal, surprised at the sudden contact. Eyes fell on Robert Rabaport, and she grinned and shook her head. “Don’t worry ‘bout it, mate. And haven’t you heard? They’re all here to see ME. That’s why it’s so busy. Can’t say I blame ‘em.”
“Yeah, there’s no way I’m going to share this,” Emmeline wrinkled her nose playfully at her new companion and took a rather large bite of her chocolate cake before she pushed the plate between them both. “Go on, before I change my mind again.”
“Dude, you don’t have to,” said Rosmerta, eyeing the cake for a moment. “I guess one bite won’t hurt, but that’s your cake. Treat yourself, and all that.” She looked around for something to take a bite with. “I’d never be that charitable, you know.”
Regulus grabbed his ice-cream (a Fortescue concoction created to warm the person’s insides to fight the bitterness of the November air) and meandered back into the alley, stopping only a few paces to lean against the cool brick of the neighboring building. His mother had believed it would be beneficial for the young Black to be seen, but no one even batted an eye in his direction. Not that he cared. He didn’t want to be in this bloody place to begin with.
With one quick glance at his mother, who was entering a shop alongside Kreacher, he darted from his position, and when he felt he was far enough away, he peered over his shoulder, only to slam into a body. His ice-cream fell to the pavement and slightly smeared onto his white jumper. He rounded with a sneer and through gritted teeth, he said, “watch where you’re going, you stupid git.”
It was always good to be in London. Rosmerta loved living in a small town, but sometimes she longed for the hustle and bustle of a busy city, of all the strange faces and weird occurrences. More happened, here, and for once, it wasn’t her responsibility to clean everything up. It was relieving. It was bloody fun, most of all.
And there were the rude people, of course, as there were everywhere. She was rather used to it --- her job was basically to deal with inconsiderate drunks, after all. That didn’t mean she was particularly keen on dealing with it on that day. She was free, for Pete’s sake. Dealing with moody teenagers who spilled their ice cream was not on her planning “Oi, I’m not a stupid git,” she returned, watching the dessert on Regulus’ shirt for a moment. “It’s busy here --- people bump into each other. Shit happens.”
“Calm down, I’ll see you guys in a few days…” Dominic tried to reason as his sister continued to reprimand him over the phone.
“Nearly five months in Bulgaria and we aren’t the first people you see? Honestly, Dominic!” He held the phone away from his ear, wincing at the volume. “Again, I still have unfinished business that needs attending to so just drop it. I’ll call you later, bye.” Without even waiting for a response, Dominic hung up, grunting in irritation.
“You know what, just make it a double…” He grumbled, leaning heavily against the bar counter.
Rosmerta watched the interaction shamelessly, grinning a bit as Dominic hung up. Sue her, for listening in on her customers conversations --- she had to do something during work, after all. Pouring drinks and cleaning glasses was only so much fun.
“Family?,” she asked, while grabbing a bottle and pouring Dominic his drink. “This one’s on the house if that’s the case.” A wink. The complicated ways of family -- especially pureblooded ones -- were not unfamiliar to her. “Is the unfinished business your drink, then? That’s very important.”
If he was entirely honest, being a bartender wasn’t his dream job. Really, who woke up one morning, thinking ‘I want to be a bartender when I grow up!’ Keegan certainly didn’t, but it was the only job he could think of doing for now. Anything else, he’d just feel like he’d be doing it for his parents, and he was getting tired of that. In any case, it was his job now, and he was trying his best at it. Just like now, sticking a kinda fake smile before looking at the person that just sat at the counter. “So, what can I get ya tonight?”
Rosmerta observed Keegan for a moment, watched him tend to one of their customers. She was restless. The feeling had been lingering in her body for a while, but as of late, it seemed to be overwhelming. Watching people was one of her go-to distractions, always had been. As it turned out, Rosmerta could be observant, if she kept her mouth shut. “You know what you could get me? A fucking break. Or something interesting. It’s a slow day, innit? We should hold a music night or something soon. Get something new happening ‘round here.”
It was late when Gideon finally took a seat infront of the bar. He had a fresh bruise on his forehead, the product of a surprise raid but it was something he was used to by this point. His nerves were still zinging with adrenaline when he ordered a drink for himself, lighting up a cigarette as he felt eyes on him and his eyes immediately snapped to them. “Need something?”
“That’s what I am supposed to ask you,” said Rosmerta, placing a freshly washed glass down in front of her. Eyes studied Gideon’s face -- or rather, the bruise on his face -- for a moment. In a rather nosey way, she wondered what happened, painting scenarios in her mind, before picking up another dirty glass and dryly remarking, “You’ve got something on your face, you know.”
bubble bubble toil and trouble / have you seen [ rosmerta fawley ] ? i heard that they are [ neutral ] to the war or avoiding it all together ! [ she ] is/are [ cisfemale ] and [ twenty nine ] ! they are often mistaken for [ lindsey morgan ] and known to be [ streetsmart and dramatic ] ! i wonder if they’ll survive the war.
LINKS ; pinboard, stats page
TRIGGER WARNINGS ; homo/lesbophobia, death
HISTORY
rosmerta is born at the end of july, in smoldering heat, crying and screaming and promising not to be a quiet child from the moment she enters the world. she’s born into the fawley family, a proud and traditional pureblood family, as well as the alvarado family on her mother’s side, a pureblood family from mexico. her mother and father met during an international ministry event, hit it off immediately and married after they received approval from both their parents.
so her parents love each other and they love their kids, too. they have three, and rosmerta is the youngest, the wildest, the odd one out. while her siblings listen to their tutors and their piano teachers with angelic expressions on her faces, rosmerta prefers to run around the garden and learn about heroines. she loves the beach especially, and her fondest childhood memories are naturally of family days spent there.
this is important: rosmerta wasn’t an unhappy child. sure, she felt pressured to be someone she was not, and didn’t always feel like she had room to be who she could be, but she also had a carefree spirit that was never quieted down, not even when her parents looked disappointed or tired at her.
hogwarts rolled around, and rosmerta was sorted into hufflepuff (though nearly gryffindor). the scottish highlands are nothing like the south english coast, but she feels right at home among the rural mountains and near the dark lake. water always appeals to her — there’s no deep reasoning for it, in all honesty. rosmerta just likes to swim, against the current or with it.
rosmerta is a really shit student, to be honest. it’s not a lack of intelligence per se, but a lack of focus and motivation. while she loves working with her hands and wand, she hates writing essays with a deep passion. she just prefers doing other things? she likes quidditch and laughing with people and exploring the castle and later on partying, too. there’s just no time in her life to sit down and write essays properly.
so while her siblings were Model Students, known for their great grades and responsibility, rosmerta was known for crass comments and getting detentions. she didn’t mind. rosmerta was loving her life in the castle, felt more free there than she ever did at home, laughed all the way through her detentions and sometimes surprised her teachers with clever comments or great spellwork.
she ends up fucking up her OWLs. big time. she ends up earning three, and continues to take comc, herbology and charms for her NEWTs. it’s not the worst. she’s not really mad at herself about it — she likes those subjects, is glad to drop the rest of them. her parents, however, grow more disappointed than they had been before. there’s no room for starting a promising career with grades like that, and that’s what fawleys do. they have great jobs, work hard, earn a lot. it’s not what rosmerta wants and now it’s not even an option, any more.
the last two years at hogwarts were ones of self discovery, more messes and a whole lot of rebelling. rosmerta just ... did not like school. she liked learning, sure, but the system was just one she felt trapped in. she felt trapped by her family and their expectations that she didn’t care about, really, but still ---- and she was gay. she hadn’t told her parents, but her sister knew, and she was trying to figure out how to present it.
[ lesbophobia mention she came out to her parents during christmas break in her seventhyear. it went over ... not very smoothly, but more smoothly than she had expected. her parents swallowed, looked disappointed (which wasn’t new) and told her not too make it into something too big. not to make a scene about it. (or, in other ways, just keep it hush hush, dear) and they let it go and kept eating their christmas dinner. that was it. end of mentions ]
rosmerta takes a job at the three broomsticks once she’s graduated. sticks to the castle that is so near and dear to her and joining a place that gave her joy during her years at school. she serves beer and earns her own money and starts depending on her parents less and less. her parents aren’t happy about her career choice, of course --- she should be doing something at the ministry or something else that was big. this was big to her, fuck you
[ lesbophobia tw she ends up bringing a girlfriend to a family dinner, two winters later. it doesn’t go over well. not at all. all the mutual frustrations between her and her parents burst out and their dinner table becomes a battleground in stead. tensions grow into ruptures. they don’t agree with this lifestyle. they don’t agree with this girlfriend. rosmerta ends up leaving before desert, taking as many things as she can with her and asking her boss for a room at the three broomsticks.
she goes home one more time soon after to grab more of her stuff and starts living at the three broomsticks, sort of, paying for her room by working more shifts. she’s not going to change herself for her parents. she’s not going to do anything for them that she doesn’t want to bloody do.
were her parents broken up when she left? a bit, sure. they were saddened, mostly frustrated, but then again --- rosmerta was their rambunctious child, the one that didn’t fit in, the one that would endanger their name and status if she kept going on like this. maybe a bit of separation would do them good, and on top of that, she was a lesbian, too. (harold, she’s a lesbian), and that was just another thing they struggled to accept.
it wasn’t a definite break or an estrangement, but the beginning of a big wedge developing. rosmerta had moved out and not looked back. she didn’t owl. she didn’t do anything but focus on making a new life. end of tw ]
and so the three broomsticks becomes her new home. it kind of already was --- her boss is like a mother figure, with her loud, cheery voice, and her colleagues like a dysfunctional bunch of siblings, cousins and crazy aunts. she loves working there. she loves helping out the hogwarts students that come over every now and then and laughing when men flirt with her and the loud noise of chatter.
[ death tw her boss dies after she’s been there for six years. she was part of her newfound family, the woman who held her when she angrily wept over her old one, the one who laughed and chatted and gave her a discount on her room. her will says that the pub goes to her. rosmerta. she’s puzzled. so are some of her colleagues --- she’s been working there shorter than many of them, after all, and she’s young. she takes a moment to think but accepts and becomes the owner of the three broomsticks at age twenty four. end of tw ]
CURRENTLY & PERSONALITY
so ros has been the boss for about four years now and she loves it. she’s no longer just the pretty barmaid, she’s the bleeding manager, and while it was something she had to get used to, she feels right at her place. i mean, there’s people around her almost all of the time, there’s beer and music and beautiful scenery surrounding her and she loves it. she breathes for it. she adores it.
rosmerta is a very sociable person. she’s very clever socially --- she’s able to read situations and people well and react the right way, do the right thing. she doesn’t always of course, as she has a bit of a love for the dramatics and drama in general, but still. she knows how to use her brain when it comes to people.
regarding the war, rosmerta has chosen to remain neutral, but not because she feels neutral. she knows she doesn’t have much to offer when it comes to ... combative stuff and fighting (she does have a mean right hook, but she’s no good at dueling) and she just feels safer staying neutral. she’s just really not wired to be a fighter, to be a martyr? she doesn’t want to throw her life on the line. she strongly disagrees with the death eaters, though, and the whole pureblood agenda. i can see her feeding some information to the order whenever she gets it (or someone in the order --- i doubt she knows of its existence) so wanted connection aye!
rosmerta loves backing or cooking to clear her head a little. she’s clumsy with it, but good. come get a hot meal at the 3 broomsticks and find out for yourself wink wonk
feels very responsible for the young kids that come over her floor asdkjsd. she just wants to! look after them! give them some vegetables and a beer! she wants them to relax and be okay sjdsf
curses like a sailor
she wants to play the guitar and has been self studying but ,,, it’s an ongoing process. she LOVES music so much though. good god.
she knows she’s hot and she doesn’t mind flaunting it, reminding people of it and showing it. rosmerta is an icon in hogsmeade bc of her looks it’s p much canon
she’s so chaotic i stg when will she ever RELAX. she just thrives of off chaos, ya feel? lives for it. she rly likes drama as well LMAO she’s always here to hear some gossip and while she hates it when ppl go fist to fist at the 3b, she fucking loves the lead up LSJKFEWSF. she’s v much inbetween chaotic neutral/chaotic good tbh
loved vine, misses it, rip. a true millenial.
there is more but my laptop is about to die and i need to get dressed <3
“I think she (Raven Reyes) is a fantastic role model for anyone, including myself. She never gives up and whatever she faces, she thinks a way through it or at least tries” - Lindsey for Luca Magazine
