To Catch a Weasley

“So, technically, is this supposed to be a date?” Sebastian asked, glancing down at Rose where she walked with his arm draped over her shoulders. “It’s just a party at your friend’s.” Shrugging at the idea that she would need someone to go along at some party that wasn’t for work or at the Ministry, Bash had to wonder if there was someone there that Rose might be interested in. Jealousy, while not always the best tactic, was often effective in one way or another.

In typical Sinclair fashion, Bash found himself dressed perhaps overly well for the occasion, but he was far too used to it to mind any odd looks or questioning glances sent his way. It wasn’t unknown to Rose, he was sure, that he rather liked the idea of people glancing his way, if only because he often felt like the most powerful man in the room and reveled in it. If there were drinks available, Bash wouldn’t really mind being there so much.

Holding the door open for his friend – one of the few people he considered to be one – and let her lead them inside the house before pulling her back to his side. Never one to truly appreciate being left to his own devices (though he frequently made it seem that way), Sebastian was careful to stick by her side any time they went out. At least until he’d found his footing and she had someone else she knew or something to occupy her. He would never let her alone with nothing to do or no one to see.

“Alright, then, love. Whose party is this? And how long do I have to act like a gentleman before I can go drink?” He asked, grinning down at her wickedly.

Sometimes she wondered why she still tried. It had been made clear since their first year that Yumi did not want her anywhere near her for the most part. He didn't want her to hang around, she didn't want to he her friend. Nothing. But that didn't seen to sink into her mind at all, she continued trying no matter what she was told.

Rose Weasley never liked to give up though. And this was no exception. She was going to get Yumi to like her. It wasn't for any specific reason, like popularity or anything like that. She couldn't care less about who liked her an who didn't, but the Slytherin girl was an exception. The only exception. She didn't know why it bothered her so much that Yumi didn't like her but she was determined to change her attitude toward her.

"She's technically not my friend." Rose corrected Sebastian. "Not yet anyways." She muttered afterwards. The girl walked inside with him and glanced around at the fact that it was already crowded in there even though she was sure it hadn't been long since it started. "People really like parties." She stated softly. Rose didn't really like them but she went when she had to or when something interested her there.

"Her name's Yumi Zante. Don't know if you know her. And not long, in fact you can go off now if you like?" She suggested, knowing he'd probably want to already.

Sebastian wasn’t quite sure what he was supposed to do at this party, but Rose suggested he head off to find something to do if he liked. Frankly, he just wanted a drink. After that he would return to her side provided she hadn’t found someone to interact with or something to do. It was actually fairly rarely that Bash got to see Rose considering the schedule of the school year and her having to be on the grounds throughout that time. Now that they were on break, though, they were side by side again and he had to admit, albeit silently, that he had missed it.

Two drinks in hand – he wasn’t going to let her go the whole party without one – Bash returned to her side, extending a hand as he peered at her over his cup. “This is kind of awful.” He pointed out, glancing around. Everyone, seemingly, was having a good time. But then, Bash was pretty sure that most of them were just glad to see old friends during the holiday. It just wasn’t his sort of party.

“We have two options,” Sebastian began, offering an amused smile. “We can either get sloshed, or leave early and do something else.”

It wouldn’t be the first time they had ditched a party to go back to his or hers, either back when they were together or even now that they were just friends. Rose was one of the few that he could call a friend aloud, which was truly saying something. Once she had conceded and taken a drink, Bash pulled her into his side, arm wrapping around her back.

“Or,” he added belatedly, “You know, both of those. At least the alcohol is free here.” He tacked a wink onto the end of his sentence, lifting the drink to his lips again.

"That's not a bad idea." Rose responded, putting the glass to her lips and taking a sip of the drink in her hand. "At least something good will come of this party." she admitted lamely before she saw a flash of familiar red hair that quickly distracted her. Though she felt comfortable in Bash's grasp, she pushed away from him and smiled gently.

"I'll be right back." He knew the whole reason she'd come was to look for Yumi. Unless he hadn't paid much attention, which she couldn't blame him for if he hadn't. She had basically just been mumbling about it to herself the entire time.

Rose followed the familiar figure of Yumi as she walked through the crowd of people before the two redheads reached the kitchen. Amazingly no on else was in there and Rose couldn't be happier about it. Now she could have some alone time with the ex-Slytherin and they could finally talk. Hopefully.

"Yumi." The girl turned around and rolled her eyes as her lips turned into a frown.

"What are you doing here? Who invited you?"

"No one. You never said I couldn't come, so I came anyways."

"But I never said you could come, so that should have meant that you couldn't. Since I told everyone else they could."

Rose cleared her throat and Yumi scoffed at the girl. "Yumi, why don't you like me?" Yumi rolled her eyes again and groaned in annoyance.

"Because I just don't. You're too annying. Why can't you get that through your think head? I swear you should have been in Gryffindor not Ravenclaw. You're just as stupid as they are." Rose winced and Yumi knew she hit a nerve. "Just leave me alone. And leave my house, no one wants you here."

"Fine." Rose's voice cracked and with teary eyes, the girl turned around and walked back through the people, looking for Bash. When she finally found him, Rose sniffled and looking at him sadly. "We can go now. There was no point in coming." she said softly. What was the point of continuing to try? Yumi probably wouldn't ever like her. Especially not the way she liked her.

As she began to walk, taking a hold of Bash's hand, Rose turned to him. "Do you think I should have been in Gryffindor instead of Ravenclaw?" she asked him, wondering what he'd say.

Sebastian did his best to hide the faint disappointment in her catching sight of her friend and heading off; it was the whole point of being there, Rose interacting with that girl. He had not asked many questions about it, but something told him she wouldn’t be appeased until some sort of talk was had with the said Yumi. It didn’t take too very long for Bash to catch sight of a blonde who appeared the sort of girl he would try his hand with, but a few glances at Rose told him that things would go as the usually tended to.

The more the girls talked, the more tempted he was to head over and interrupt. The hostess was clearly not the most friendly person, and seemed to have something against Sebastian’s friend. That was something he wasn’t sure how to tolerate. The sheer protectiveness he felt for Rose surprised him sometimes, but then he thought back to everything they had been through and decided it wasn’t so very strange after all. Since they first met, and decided to try out some semblance of dating, he had been careful with her. He couldn’t quite say why, considering his past experiences with dates, but Rose was always the exception to the rule.

When Rose returned, his face fell, jaw clenching. “Rose,” he attempted, only to be cut off by her words. Nodding, Sebastian knew that they needed to get out of Yumi’s home before Rose would be willing to talk. “Okay. C’mon, love.”

Leading her outside, Sebastian tried to think of a decently distracting plan to send away her thoughts about the girl they had just left. His mental plotting was sent away, though, when she spoke. “No,” he replied immediately.

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze before continuing. “Slytherin or not, I can admit that Gryffindor has some good traits in them. That’s not to say that there aren’t a lot of bad ones for them, though. If you were ever sorted into Gryffindor, it would definitely be for the good ones, though, Rose. I’m sure of that. But besides, whatever she said to make you question that, it was probably just a way to get under your skin. The sorting hat always knows where people belong.”

He chose not to comment on the fact that the hat in question had placed him in Slytherin; it would only confirm the fact that he was fully aware of his faults. Sebastian never claimed to lack faults, but he certainly hated owning up to them, too.