Rosabella Black|Daughter Of Sirius Black|(Book 7)

Deathly Hallows

Ron looked grateful, but still awkward.    
   "Speaking of Dumbledore, have you heard what Skeeter wrote about him?" I said, partly to change the subject.
   "Oh yeah, people are talking about it quite a lot. 'Course, if things were different it'd be huge news, Dumbledore being pals with Grindelwald, but now it's just something to laugh about for people who didn't like Dumbledore, and a bit of a slap in the face for everyone who thought he was such a good bloke. I don't know that it's such a big deal, though. He was really young when they –" Ron said at once.
   "Our age," I said, just as I had retorted to Hermione, and something in my face seemed to decide Ron against pursuing the subject.

A large spider sat in the middle of a frosted web in the brambles. I took aim at it with the wand Ron had given me the previous night, which Hermione had since condescended to examine, and had decided was made of blackthorn.
   "Engorgio." I said.
The spider gave a little shiver, bouncing slightly in the web. I tried again. This time the spider grew slightly larger.
  "Stop that, I'm sorry I said Dumbledore was young, okay?"  Ron said sharply.
I had forgotten Ron's hatred of spiders.
   "Sorry – Reducio." I said.

The spider did not shrink.

I looked down at the blackthorn wand. Every minor spell I had cast with it so far that day had seemed less powerful than those he had produced with his phoenix wand. The new one felt intrusively unfamiliar, like having somebody else's hand sewn to the end of my arm.
   "You just need to practice, it's all a matter of confidence Harry." Hermione said, who had approached us noiselessly from behind and had stood watching anxiously as I tried to enlarge and reduce the spider.
I knew why she wanted it to be all right. She still felt guilty about breaking my wand. I bit back the retort that sprung to my lips, that she could take the blackthorn wand if she thought it made no difference, and I would have hers instead. Keen for us all to be friends again, however, I agreed, but when Ron gave Hermione a tentative smile, she stalked off and vanished behind her book once more.

All three of us returned to the tent when darkness fell. There had been something in my mind that I had been considering for months and the more I thought about it the more sense it made. Why wait?
     "I've decided something." I said outloud to Ron and Hermione.
They both looked at me curiously.
     "What?" Ron said.
     "Do you think you know where another Horcrux is?" Hermione said quickly.
      "No, nothing like that." I said.
      "Well, what then?" Hermione said.
I looked them both in the eye so they could see how serious I was about it.
      "I'm going to ask Ro to marry me. It's the first thing I'll do when the war is over." I said determinedly and I couldn't keep the smile off my face.
Neither could Ron and Hermione as they beamed at me but they're eyes had also widened in shock.
    "Merlin, mate, that's a big decision!" Ron said with a wide smile.
    "Yes, it is. Make sure you've thought it through Harry. There's no rush into these kind of things." Hermione said with a soft smile.

I took first watch. Sitting in the entrance, I tried to make the blackthorn wand levitate small stones at my feet, but my magic still seemed clumsier and less powerful than it had done before. Hermione was lying on her bunk reading, while Ron, after many nervous glances up at her, had taken a small wooden wireless out of his rucksack and started to try to tune it.
     "There's this one program, that tells the news like it really is. All the others are on You - Know - Who's side and are following the Ministry line, but this one. . . you wait till you hear it, it's great. Only they can't do it every night, they have to keep changing locations in case they're raided and you need a password to tune in . . . Trouble is, I missed the last one. . ." Ron said to me in a low voice.

Ron drummed lightly on the top of the radio with his wand muttering random words under his breath. He threw Hermione many covert glances, plainly fearing an angry outburst, but for all the notice she took of him he might not have been there. For ten minutes or so Ron tapped and muttered, Hermione turned the pages of her book, and I continued to practice with the blackthorn wand.
Finally Hermione climbed down from her bunk. Ron ceased his tapping at once.
   "If it's annoying you, I'll stop!" Ron told Hermione nervously.
Hermione did not deign to respond, but approached me.
    "We need to talk." Hermione said.
She looked at the book still clutched in her hand. It was The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore.
  "What?" I said apprehensively.
It flew through my mind that there was a chapter on me in there. I was not sure I felt up to hearing Rita's version of my relationship with Dumbledore.