The Hidden One

girl fights

Kreacher was found hiding in the attic, but Rose wasn't fully convinced. The house elf was acting stranger than normal, and Rose couldn't figure out why.

Sirius was once again getting upset that everyone would be leaving. He was going into his fits again where he would just go spend time with Buckbeak instead of with Rose. Sirius wanted to spend time with Harry, but all Sirius could imagine was his daughter's heartbreak at seeing her boyfriend kissing another girl.

"Rose? You awake?" Hermione asked softly as she lightly knocked on Rose's door.

"Yeah, come in," Rose called out. Hermione entered the room and sat on the bed next to Rose.

"Are you ready to go back to school?" Hermione sighed.

"No," Rose groaned. "I don't want to cut my hand open, I don't want to go to classes, and I don't want to leave my parents. Plus, I don't know if I'll be able to stay calm if I see Cho."

"I understand. I think everyone is upset with Cho," Hermione said. "And you told your dad about detention with Umbridge, right?"

"Yeah, but what's he supposed to do?" Rose asked as she leaned into Hermione's side. Despite the fact that they were now the same age, Rose viewed Hermione as an older sister who held all the advice for the world.

"Well, maybe he's talked to Dumbledore and he'll stop Umbridge," Hermione said.

"Maybe," Rose sighed as she started playing with Tillie's paws. "I just wish I knew the prophecy. Maybe then I could know why no one else can know."

"I barely remember remember the prophecy myself, and I know it's not the whole thing," Hermione said with a sigh.

"What do you remember?" Rose asked. Hermione was silent as she thought.

"Well...I remember that it's about the daughter of a runaway, which Sirius is. The daughter is born on Christmas day, like you. And the daughter starts healing when-" Hermione cut herself off.

"When what?" Rose whispered as she sat up to look at Hermione.

"Nothing, I don't remember," Hermione said quickly as she stood up.

"But-"

"Actually!" Hermione interrupted. "I came to make sure you were ok for tomorrow and to tell you that Harry is going to start Occulmency training with Snape."

"I don't care," Rose fake scoffed. "But if I did... what is that and why?"

"It's basically blocking your mind so that people can't see into it. And I'm guessing because of his vision," Hermione answered.

"Oh...thanks," Rose muttered.

"Yeah...well, good night," Hermione whispered.

"Good night," Rose whispered back. Hermione gently shut Rose's door and Rose plopped back down on her bed, unable to do anything but think about Cho and everything that had gone wrong. In the end, Rose knew that she had been taken away and lost so many people in her life, but Harry had been the one constant.

But now he was gone too.

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"You and mum better keep me updated on the baby," Rose said to her dad as he levitated her trunk down the steps. Her mum and Mr. Weasley had come home the night before, but Marlene was currently throwing up, so she couldn't walk down with them.

"We will, no worries," Sirius assured her, a happy but bittersweet smile on his face.

"You never told me, why couldn't mum come to the fireplace that one afternoon?"  Rose asked. Sirius let out a laugh.