Theirs

For Juh

"Welcome to England!"

And there she was, back to her homeland.

The main feeling should be relief and belonging.

She was pulling her bags across the airport, looking at the diversity of hair colors around her – it was comforting to remember that there were brunettes, blondes and redheads! – and listening to other people's talks.

"What time will daddy arrive?"

"I'm sleepy, those chairs just suck."

"I almost forgot to turn on my cellphone."

Rose wanted to answer everyone. She wanted to tell that little girl that she was also waiting for her dad. She wanted to agree that the plane's chairs were uncomfortable. And she totally wanted to ask to see that muggle's cellphone. But she restrained held herself.

She only smiled. People around her were speaking English. Only English – with an English accent! After a year studying Chinese and going to the Xiao Chao Academy of Magic, in Taiwan, Rose was finally hearing her fellow citizens again.

She should be relieved, but all she could feel was that all of it was strange.

She passed beside a glass wall and saw some gardens outside the airport. It was spring in England and the flowers were amazing. There were orchids, jasmines, lilies and petunias, surrounded by dandelions. Spring in Taiwan was beautiful, but it hadn't had the same charm.

But, nevertheless, Rose was missing something.

She entered the airport's hall and started to look for it.

She remembered something her mother told her the first time she came back from Hogwarts.

You will always recognize a Weasley's redhair. It's the one that makes your heart go fast.

She remembered what her mother said, but not her voice. So long! And she never really felt anything special about that sentence. After all, her mother was in love with a Weasley, so maybe that rule was valid only to her. Maybe, if it did apply to Rose, she'd have a heart attack every time she looked at the mirror.

But she was wrong.

She thought she wouldn't recognize her mother's voice. But what made her turn left, full of joy, was a common phrase, said in a totally bored tone:

"Yes, I'm pretty sure this is the right gate!"

First, it was only the voice, and the crowd running over themselves all around her.

But then she saw them. She saw red hair, and it made her heart go off. She had been wrong about that too.

Her parents had their backs turned on her, Ron relentlessly checking the electonic billboard with flight information, Hermione stretching in an effort to see further. They were arguing about looking for her in the wrong place. Their voices were low and angry, but the argument wasn't leading anywhere. Neither moved a muscle to look for Rose anywhere else. She knew they were not really fighting. They never were. Their hands, intertwined, fingers loose but never letting go, proved that.

It was Hugo who saw her at first. He had just sat on the ground, bored with the wait. He didn't smile, jump or run when he saw his sister. Puberty didn't allow him to. Instead, he pulled twice his mother's skirt and, after calling her attention, pointed.

The tears Rose never knew she was avoiding started to roll when she saw the flower's bouquet in her father's hand – white roses, probably picked from aunt Ginny's garden. Her favorites.

While running to her family, Rose realized what she was really missing. Hearing English wouldn't mean anything if the voices weren't theirs. Red hair wouldn't be anything if it wasn't theirs. Not even spring would have any charm without those roses, picked for her with so much love.

So Rose understood it wasn't England she was missing, and it wasn't there she was coming back to. She was missing Ron and Hermione – she was theirs, only theirs.

Fanfic written for the Project Outsiders Inside 3.0 (Spring), from Brazilian Forum 6V and for the VIII Mini Challenge Ron/Hermione, in the same Forum.

It is also a tribute to my friend Juh, that is in such a distant and different world.