Beta: Cloudy
Updated early 'cause I'm a little shit who lives in memes and wanted to end on 4-20.
(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*
It was Monday evening when I was able to return to Hogwarts. I'd have to take care to wear layers until all of my injuries had healed up. Even with my knee good enough to walk on, it was still tender and I had to baby it. Thankfully, I could bullshit and tell others I had a very extreme match of tennis with Madame Willow. She would never snitch on me.
But first thing was first.
I headed out of my dorm room, thankful no one was in the common room to see me leave. Heading through Hogwarts, I hobbled my way over to the Gryffindor tower where I waited for some lions to enter to ask Harry to talk to me.
I owed him quite the explanation, after all.
(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*
It took fifteen minutes of waiting but eventually my brother stepped out. As soon as he saw me, he hugged me tightly.
"What happened?" he asked, pulling back then looking around. "Ah—not here. Room?"
"Sure," I said. "It's going to be a bit of a long story."
"It is?" asked Harry with surprise.
I smiled at him. "Your Occlumency is good, yeah?"
"Yeah?"
"Then yeah. I've got to fill you in on over a decade's worth of information."
Harry's eyes widened. "Oh."
(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*
Harry sipped at some tea Dobby had kindly prepared for us as we spent a good chunk of the night in the Room of Requirement. The room had transformed itself into a cozy sitting pace. Harry had kindly asked Dobby to provide us some tea and snacks, and the House Elf had never let our plate or cups be empty. The joys and benefits of having a bonded House Elf.
"So let me get this right," said Harry.
It was well past one in the morning by the time I finished my explanation.
"You are Gentleman Rose," said Harry.
"Yep."
"You are Enáretos."
"Yep."
"You founded Lunar's Orchid."
"Yep."
"Invented all of those werewolf potions as a precursor to your worgen ritual."
"Yeah."
"Have a worgen army."
"Yeah."
"And," continued Harry, "you have a boyfriend?"
"Not—not sure why we're ending on that one, but yes," I said slowly.
"I kind of figured the Gentleman Rose thing years ago," dismissed Harry. "Not surprised by your alias, to be honest, and really not surprised you have some kind of army. If anything I'm surprised it's only worgens. I was anticipating a dementor army."
"Oh. I'm sorry to disappoint you?"
Harry sipped his tea. "Mm-hmm."
I leaned back in my seat, giving Harry time to process everything.
"Oh, yeah... and prophecies," said Harry lamely. "Ugh. You know I always thought they were kind of cool in stories, but having to actually be a part of one? Not as fun as I would have liked."
I nodded firmly in agreement. "Right? Stupid Fate."
"Stupid Fate," agreed Harry. "Um... so... when do I meet him?"
"Who?"
"Your boyfriend that completely failed to keep you safe."
"It is not his job to keep me safe—"
"Oh, no. Couldn't even do the bare minimum of reconnaissance though," snarked Harry.
"Harry," I gasped. "Tom is a fantastic boyfriend."
"Mm-hmm."
I wagged my finger at him. "I don't wanna hear it, mister. Until you have pulled off a risky heist like that without us getting hurt, you're not in the same boat to talk."
Harry narrowed his eyes. "Fine. I will."
I blinked. "Wait, what—"
"You and me," said Harry stubbornly, folding his arms over his chest. "We're going to steal from Gringotts."
"Wait, what—"
"You're my twin," said Harry. "If you're a thief, so am I. We go down together."
"But—"
Harry patted my shoulder. "And when we successfully steal from Gringotts and neither of us get hurt... I will have the upper hand."
"Harry. You can't just steal from Gringotts to spite my boyfriend—"
"Watch me," he whispered.
(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*
I had to sneak back into the dungeons since the discussion with my ride-or-die-twin ended up going well past two in the morning. I flopped onto my bed, accidentally waking up Iris who was previously snuggled into my pillow. She yawned adorably which made me kiss the tip of her nose and cuddle with her. She expanded her size so she could wrap herself around me and soak up my body heat.
I had barely shut my eyes when there was a quiet knock at my door.
Blearily, I looked over at my clock.
How is it already five? I just blinked.
Running on a few hours of sleep did not make for a happy witch, but I put that aside and mumbled out, "Come on in. I think I forgot to lock it."
The door opened up and I found myself staring at Draco and Theodore.
"Good morning," I said, sitting up in my bed. It was harder than normal since Iris was still large and heavy and really didn't wanna wake up again so I had to physically move her. Her tail flicked in annoyance and she fluttered her wings at me. I patted her head. "Yes, yes, Mommy knows... Gotta make room though sweet pea."
"Fine," she hissed, curling around me to make room at the foot of the bed.
Draco and Theodore came into the room, Theodore gently closed the door behind him before he rapidly used privacy charms. Draco plopped down on the bed, scooting over to make room for Theodore.
Raising an eyebrow at both boys, I asked, "What's going on?"
"We need a place to stay over summer," said Theodore.
"Okay," I said. "What kind of place? Like a safe house or party house?"
"Safe house," said Draco quietly. I noticed he was paler than usual. "I told my Father about you. I told him to do everything in his power to never fight you. He didn't believe me, but then..."
"The resurrection party as you call it," dryly chuckled Theodore.
Draco nodded, gray eyes keeping even with me. "Our dads were supposed to be part of that raid. They were, but then they saw you and..."
"Let's just say they've got some great self-preservation instincts," said Theodore.
"They fled," continued Draco. "We don't know where—somewhere out of the country, for sure—and we can't write to them for a while."
I leaned back, taken aback by this information.
It was the smartest thing for either of them to do. While I would be reluctant to kill them—out of respect for my snakes—I would not hesitate in a life or death situation. They were going to be forced into very dangerous situations if they remained a Death Eater in Voldemort's care. They did not share the beliefs of the Light, and given their history, it was unlikely they would be properly protected by Dumbledore's group if they defected. At the very least it would come at a high cost for them.
Fleeing was the best situation, but it was only an option if they genuinely believed that the core issue would be taken care of while they were gone.
Which meant that Lord Malfoy and Lord Nott had acknowledged me as a viable threat to Voldemort. More than that—they were betting on me to take care of Voldemort.
"Okay," I said. "And you two aren't going with them?"
Draco cocked his head, a ghost of a smirk on his face. "No. I want to be on the winning side."
"We're with you, Rosie," said Theodore.
I smiled. "Then I'll lead you to victory. I've got a place for you two to stay at."
"Not with Dumbledore's group, right?" Theodore wanted to clarify.
"Nope. It's with my people. I'll take care of you both until things are cleaned up, you have my word."
Both boys smiled in relief.
(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*
DEATH EATERS RAIDED MINISTRY! SWEEPING REFORM AND CHANGES TO COME AS WIZENGAMOT PUSHES FORWARD WITH ELECTION TO PURGE CORRUPTED SEATS!
In a shocking twist, Aurors were contacted by an anonymous source saying Death Eaters had invaded the Ministry late Saturday night. Aurors rushed to the scene to find a slew of slain Death Eaters and a few captured ones. Aurors interrogated the surviving Death Eaters and learned that the raid was led by none other than He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!
With this revelation, Minister Fudge ordered for the Wizengamot to hold their elections immediately and promptly resigned. Dozens of seats were replaced (see page seven for full list) and dramatic reforms were issued over the weekend.
The article carried on with a list of new bills proposed and passed over the weekend by the new Wizengamot. Most of the articles pertained to bolstering public safety and security with a few pro-werewolf legislature tagged onto them. One of the legislatures included allowing them to legally attend Hogwarts by headmaster's discretion which I was surprised did not exist already since Remus went to Hogwarts, which meant Dumbledore hella broke the law. Go Grandpa!
The Department of Magical Law Enforcement had their budget temporarily more than doubled and Bones was ordered to focus on recruitment and tightening security for popular public settings until Voldemort was taken care of. Diagon Alley would be getting regularly patrolled, the Ministry would be assigned more security, and the Auror office was allotted a hefty budget for recruitment. Aurors were temporarily recalled from retirement to reassess the Ministry's security and provide feedback.
It was a great start. Fantastic start, really.
Voldemort lost a good chunk of his Death Eaters, his biggest financial supporter fled the country (Malfoy), he had no werewolves, no vampires, and was now up against a mostly unified Ministry that strongly stood on the Light side.
Canonically the next year had been one of quiet terror for many people.
Now, it would only be a terror for Voldemort.
His days were numbered.
Let the hunt begin.
(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*
My fifth year at Hogwarts concluded peacefully. It was normal by every definition.
I arranged for a couple of wizards from my village to meet with Draco and Theodore at Hogsmeade on the final day. The two boys would not take the train home—what home would they be returning to?—and instead Apparate to the village where Fenrir would be waiting for them. Fenrir promised me he'd show my friends the utmost courtesy and help them transition staying in the village over the summer. Tom also insisted he secretly meet with the boys to confirm they weren't spies for Voldemort. I had faith in my snake babehs, but Tom was a pessimist at best and I had a hard time saying no to him when he argued with logic against my sentimentality.
I did subtly inquire about my other Death Eater babehs. Vincent and Gregory's fathers weren't at the raid and did not foresee any immediate issues at their home life. I would trust their instincts—they knew their family better than I. Pansy's father had never been the fighting type and worked more closely behind the scenes. That being said, she did not foresee any issues in her home life, nor that her father would ever take up a wand against children.
I did kind of sort of most definitely murdered two parents. Not sure if it was me or one of my fluffies, but one upper year and one younger year had lost their fathers during the raid at the Department of Mysteries. There wasn't a lot I could say or do for them. I felt bad they were upset, but what could I do?
Their fathers tried to kill me, failed, and paid the price.
It wasn't openly stated I was at the raid—or even that I had a hand in it—but my Slytherins were clever and could read between the lines.
The upper year student did lose their temper with me and I gave them some grace giving the mourning period. It was their final year at Hogwarts, I didn't see a reason to sour it further by punishing them for understandably acting out.
The younger student was not as vengeful, thankfully, and heavily in the mourning phase. They were in the same year as Astoria—Daphne's younger sister—and I kindly asked Astoria to keep an eye on them. Astoria promised me she would if I would let her cuddle with Iris.
I lent her Iris every weekend left in the semester and was happy to see that Astoria used Iris to cuddle with the grieving student.
Hopefully the kiddo's mom would seek counseling over the summer. I'd take note to keep watch over them next year.
The departing feast was marvelous. Dumbledore gave a cheerful speech over how great it was to see everyone getting along so well, and that we could end the year on a happy note. At the end of his speech the twins unleashed fireworks that made Dumbledore laugh loudly and heartily. He awarded Gryffindor enough House Points to steal the House Cup and wished the twins a joyous life. I couldn't blame him for that.
The fireworks were marvelous and the twins had perfected controlling their pathing so they never strayed from above the tables. Professor Snape didn't look pleased about them, but everyone else enjoyed them.
Plus I guess Harry's House deserved winning the cup at least once. Just once.
Because my snakes were good sports, I herded everyone up after dinner to head over to the Gryffindor common room and throw a party to congratulate them for finally snaking the cup. Plus it was the twins' last year at Hogwarts and I wanted to send them off with a bang.
The Gryffindors were gracious, Harry opening up the common room door to let in dozens of snakes. The twins correctly guessed what I was going to do and had prepared an assortment of little toys and trinkets around the party. Someone set up an enchanted box to loudly play music in the background. Kreacher and Dobby set up a buffet of little snacks and kegs of (non alcoholic) drinks.
The lions and snakes partied well into the night. At one point we started up a game of intense hide and seek that spilled out into the surrounding hallways. Theodore nearly won by being the best hider, but then someone accidentally set off more fireworks and one of the fireworks slammed into the poor boy and set him on fire.
He was fine, just singed and had a distinct smell of soot.
When sunlight started to peek through the curtains the party finally died down. I gave Daphne a piggyback ride back to the dorms with the rest of my snakes trudging behind.
There was an awkward moment in the hallway on the way back.
We turned a corner and found ourselves running into Professor Snape.
Professor Snape looked us over with narrowed eyes, examining our exhausted and disheveled state.
No one was willing to meet his gaze.
"Not in bed?" he asked silkily.
I looked him dead in the eye and said, "We're sleepwalking."
"As a group?"
"Yes."
As if on cue, some snakes started to fake snore.
Professor Snape's lips twitched. For a brief moment I had hopes that my bullshit lie was about to make the man smile.
"Pleasant dreams," he replied succinctly, turning and walking away.
"I love you," one of the younger years whispered to me.
(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*
The train ride down was one spent peacefully. Mostly because I cuddled up to Harry and we napped all the way down. Hermione—who had been a very responsible young witch and went to bed at a decent hour last night—kindly woke us up when the train arrived.
Stepping off the train, I saw Sirius waiting for us with a huge smile on his face and his arms held wide open. Gleefully, I ran into my godfather's arms. He picked me up and spun me around. As soon as he set me down, he opened his arms and looked expectantly at Harry.
Harry warily eyed him. "No."
"Come on. Your sister did it."
"I'm too old to be spun around."
Sirius looked gravely offended by that and promptly hugged Harry, picked him up, and spun him around.
"Gah," protested Harry.
"Your sister is never too old for unicorns, and you are never too old to be spun around," said Sirius. "Rosie, come on over. I'll Apparate all three of us home."
I gripped my trunk with one hand, and Sirius's arm with the other. There was a rush of dizziness as our world spun and sharp pop made our ears ring. Then we were back at home—not Grimmauld's Place.
We headed inside and I asked, "Are we not spending the summer at Grimmauld's?"
"Dumbledore thinks we'll be safe enough for a couple of weeks here," said Sirius. "Voldemort's not in a good position to attack us."
"Excellent," I cheered. It was so much easier to sneak out there than at Grimmauld's.
"So," Sirius drawled out slowly, "we're robbing Gringotts, huh?"
I spluttered. "Wha—"
"Come now, princess," teased Sirius. "You really thought that for all these years I never, ever, checked up on you while you were supposed to be asleep or sick?"
I gaped at him. "Um—I—yes?"
"I'm hurt. Downright offended," he said cheerfully.
"You never—why didn't you—"
"You were always back by morning," he said with a shrug. "I snuck out a lot when I was your age. Although rather ashamed to admit I didn't realize exactly what you were doing until more recently."
"And Harry—" I whirled around.
"We both talked about it over Christmas," said Harry breezily. "But I appreciate you telling me before Paddy."
Sirius sighed at that, pulling out a galleon and placing it in Harry's outstretched hand. Harry smirked, accepting the galleon.
"Wait did you bet on who I'd tell first—?!"
"Yeah," they said.
"Oh. My. God. I love you both so friggin much," I laughed, holding out my arms.
Sirius and Harry grinned, and the three of us firmly embraced each other in a loving group hug.
"See?" said Harry. "We'll handle Gringotts fine and dandy."
"I already have some ideas," Sirius said joyfully. "Now we just gotta figure out which vault to focus."
"Obviously Lestrange's," I said with a big smile. "I even know the vault number."
"That's our princess," said Sirius appreciatively as Harry kissed my cheek.
This is going to be great.
(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*
Requested bonus of sleep deprived Rosie:
"MMffffmffmmff... too high... too high..."
"Mm-hmm."
Tom did not pause in his task when his girlfriend mumbled something incoherent. He continued to wave his wand around the den to transfigure various pieces of furniture.
It would not be a permanent transformation, of course. He supplied only enough magic to the transformations so they'd last for a few more hours. Plenty of time for Tom to finish and Rosie to wake up and see his work.
"No more... too high up..." she complained, curling on the couch and cuddling with a stuffed unicorn Tom had expertly placed in her arms. She'd cuddle with anything in her arms. Tom had previously made the mistake of letting her fall asleep next to him and she wouldn't let go of him until he woke her up.
"Sky high," replied Tom.
"Nooooo...mmmmfff."
"Yes," he said as he began to conjure fog to cling to the floor to give the illusion of a cloud.
"I can't take it anymore."
"You'll have to," he said.
"Please. No more sparkles."
Tom immediately started to conjure sparkles around her.
"Nooooooooooo. Stop... the unicorn monster is going to eat me," she cried out.
"Yes," said Tom, feeding into her nightmare. He decided to sacrifice his favorite recliner by transfiguring it into a giant stuffed unicorn. "Devour you whole."
"Nooooooo. I don't wanna be a unicorn. Please..."
Tom hesitated at that, then shrugged and transfigured her clothes into a unicorn onesie.
"Help..."
Tom waited to see if she would add on what else she was fearing in her nightmare.
"Nnnrrrrrrfff."
He cocked his head then continued on with transfiguring the den into a unicorn nightmare just for Rosie.
"Oh no... they have wings..."
He promptly added wings.
Suddenly, Rosie shot up with a gasp. Her blue eyes were crazed and wild as she began to process what she was seeing in reality.
She screamed. A high-pitched shriek of pure terror. Tom grinned in delight as she scrambled off the couch then bumped into the giant stuffed unicorn with flapping wings. She screamed again, her whole body jerking in an odd fashion as she tried to flee.
Unfortunately for Rosie she was still half-asleep so her legs didn't work properly. She did more of a half-spazz and promptly face-planted into the floor.
"Ow, ow, ow..." Rosie slowly sat up, rubbing at her bleeding nose and staring around her in horror. "Am I—Am I still dreaming? Is this a lucid dream?"
"Yes," said Tom.
"Wait—really?"
"Yes," he lied.
"Then why do you still have clothes on?"
Tom opened his mouth, shut it, then said, "You don't have complete control yet."
She stared at him. "Oh." She nodded. "Yeah... that makes sense. How do I wake up?"
"Go back to sleep," he said.
"Will you tuck me in?"
"Of course," he said, helping her onto the couch and pulling a blanket over her. He handed her the stuffed unicorn which she accepted with a grimace.
She peered up at him. "No goodnight kiss?"
He kissed her goodnight.
"Grateful for what I can get," she mumbled to herself as she rolled over.
Once she was asleep again, he undid all the transfiguration, fixed up her nose, and promptly bottled the memory of her screaming in terror.
He didn't have a pensieve yet, but when he did...
(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*
Rosie woke up again a couple of hours later. She rubbed tiredly at her eyes and looked around the den.
"Huh," she said.
Tom, at his recliner, lowered his book and asked, "Nice dream?"
"Uh," she said. "I dunno?"
"Was I in it?"
"Uh," she said again, turning a little red. "Nope. Nuh-uh. Definitely not."
Tom smiled. "I see. Hungry, dear?"
"... Yes."
(≖‿‿≖)ノ⌒●~*
Bucket List Completed:
12. Successfully bullshit my way out of getting in trouble at Hogwarts with Professor Snape despite it being SUPER obvious I should be in trouble.
ƪ(˘⌣˘)ʃ
Answer: Yeehaw.
Question: What (-SFW-) inanimate object would best define you?
Six year is the last year.
I've been going strong with updating this story so frequently, but now I'm going to take a little bit of a break. As this coming year is the final year I want to take some time to look it over and make sure I've got all the major plot points covered.
So instead of next week, see y'all June 1st, 2021!
Unless someone motivates me to update early. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Reviews are love!