I have written this for the 21 kisses challenge on HPFC. By the way, the dialogue in italics at the start of each chapter is a flashback from Rose's sixth year, and they are part of the central plot. :)

This Rose Has Lost It's Thorns

" What are you doing here Al? Shouldn't you be with your precious best friend?"

" He's not my best friend anymore, Rose, I assure you."

" Why not? He was still your best friend after he cheated on me, so what has he possibly done that's worse?"

" He's cheated on Lily as well."

" Who's he going out with now?"

" Carin Somersby."

Three weeks; just three, small weeks. How hard could this be?

" You do realise, don't you Rose, that you're going to look like a complete slut at the end of all this?" says my boyfriend, the charming Charlie Duharmen.

" Well, I can just explain to them why I'm doing it, and then there will be no mix ups," I assure him.

He sighs and sinks low into the sofa, still eyeing me apprehensively. I can tell he's worried. Worried that if I spend three weeks kissing a bunch of other men, then I'll fall for one of them and leave Charlie to rot in our hole of a flat. And that's exactly why I'm doing this. Because, if I kiss twenty-one people in the same amount of days, then we will get a large sum of money. And we need money. I'm still training to be an Auror, and they don't pay you much to train for a job. Charlie, meanwhile, is working in my uncle George's shop, but it's only part time. A large inheritance would be very useful.

This whole kissing thing began this morning. Today, by the way, is my twenty first birthday.

" Happy birthday Rosie!"

Slowly, I opened one eye. Then the other. Charlie's face came gradually into focus, only just visible in the small light coming through the gap in the curtains. He was beaming at me, and in his hands was a card and present.

" Oh, thanks Charlie," I said, and I took the present and card out of his hands. My gift from him this year was a beautiful locket adorned with an ornate 'R'.

" That is beautiful," I told him. " Thank you."

And I leant over and kissed him. My first kiss of the day.

" And here all the gifts and cards from everyone else," he added, grabbing them from under the bed. " And your breakfast in bed will be arriving shortly. Happy twenty first."

I gave him a brief smile, and turned my attention on the substantial pile of presents and the even larger pile of cards. They were from the usual crowd; my parents, Hugo, all my cousins, my friends, even one from the other trainee Auror, Robin. There was just one card left. The envelope was yellowing; it looked about twenty years old. But my name was on it, so I opened it. Instead of a card, a piece of parchment fell out. I picked it up and began scanning it.

" What does it say?" Charlie asked me.

" 'Dear Rose,'" I began. " ' In the wizarding world I know so little about, you come of age at seventeen. I, on the other hand, still firmly believe that you are not an adult until your twenty first birthday. And what is your present from me, Rose? £200,000. I'm not sure what that is in 'wizard money', but I expect it's still quite a lot. However, there's a catch. To get the money, you must kiss twenty-one people in twenty-one days. I feel that it's a good way for you to be initiated into the adult world.

Happy Birthday!

Love from,

Your great aunt, Jennifer Granger'"

I was slightly lost for words. I looked over at Charlie and found him staring, open mouthed, at the piece of parchment.

" Well…" I said after a while. " Do you think I should… go through with it?"

" You could," he shrugged. " Do you suppose it's a hoax? Have you ever met your Great Aunt Jennifer?"

" Once or twice," I replied. " The first time was when I was five, and mum had only just told her that she was a witch. She wanted to see what real witches and wizards looked like. The second time was Hugo's twelfth birthday party. She's very traditional."

" I can tell," Charlie grinned. " We could do with a bit of extra cash."

" A bit of extra cash?" I repeated incredulously. " She's offering us £200,000! Although I'm not sure what that's worth in Galleons…"

" We'll find out when you get the money," said Charlie suddenly.

" When? So we're definitely going through with this?" I asked him. " It's not going to be weird at all?"

" It will be extremely weird," he assured me. " But we do need the money, and there just small, meaningless kisses. How hard can it be?"

" But how will she know that I've kissed twenty one different people?" I added.

" Um… doesn't your mum have that pensieve? You can borrow the pensieve, invite your Great Aunt Jennifer to our flat, and show her the memories of you kissing twenty one people!" he suggested.

" I guess that could work," I said eventually. " All right, I'll do it."

Charlie beamed at me. I returned to staring at the parchment.

" Oh, and you can have your first kiss now," he said after a long silence, and he leant over and kissed me on the lips. His kisses are always pretty rough, and brash, and they're always over really quickly, but I don't mind. He drew his lips away after only a few seconds, but it's enough.

And now we're in the living room, preparing to go to the 'surprise' party James and Fred have been planning at the Burrow.

" Ready to go?" I ask Charlie, and he stands up immediately.

" Ready," he replies. " And remember Rose – you've already kissed me today, there's no need to start kissing other guys just yet."

" Don't worry, I won't," I say. " Come on, we'll go by Floo Powder."