Rose was correct when she said that the next few weeks would be filled with torture. Bellatrix would find little things to torture Rose over, including when she wouldn't answer to Cassiopeia. Draco was the only person to still call her Rose, but only when they were in the private of their room.
Being engaged to her cousin still made Rose sick to her stomach. The Death Eaters would constantly tease them and make crude jokes, but if Rose spoke back to them she would be tortured. To make matters worse, the longer she was away from Harry, the worse her healing powers got. A Death Eater had been injured during a mission, and Rose hadn't been able to heal him. She had to watch as the man was killed in front of her and then she was tortured for failing her mission.
Voldemort often forced Rose to spend the day with him. He would force her to walk through the gardens as he spewed anti-muggle sentiments, or he would force her to read books on the Dark Arts as he practiced spells. Rose still didn't have her wand, so she just read the spells. It felt like Umbridge's class all over again, except much darker and scarier.
The only good times were when Rose got her visions of Harry. He was still at Grimmauld Place, but Remus had visited him. Rose found out that Tonks was pregnant with the vision, but she also grew very disappointed with her godfather when he told Harry that he would leave Tonks and the baby to help Harry, who was also upset. James and Lily also visited Grimmauld Place, but Harry refused to leave. The adults all agreed to leave the trio alone so they could do their mission, but they requested an occasional letter. Unfortunately, Rose would go into a trance when she saw these visions, causing her to be tortured when she finally regained consciousness.
"Rose? You good?" Draco asked. She was sitting at the vanity in his room and absentmindedly brushing her hair, making it very frizzy.
"Just thinking," Rose said. "We would be going to Hogwarts today."
"We would," Draco confirmed.
"Instead I have to spend the day planning a wedding with my cousin," Rose sighed.
"You need to leave now to do that," Draco said as he looked at his watch. "Auntie Bella will be there too, and if you're not early she'll get upset."
Rose saw that she had five minutes until she was supposed to meet with Narcissa, so she sighed and stood up, smoothing her plain black dress as she said bye to Draco and then made her way to the ball room.
"There she is," Narcissa said with a smile when Rose entered the room. It was filled with flowers, decorations and dressed. There was another witch in there, walking around and checking everything.
"Hello, Mrs. Malfoy, Mrs. Lestrange," Rose said politely. Bellatrix snarled at her, but stayed quiet.
"Cassiopeia, I believe you know Madam Malkin," Narcissa said. The witch turned around and Rose immediately knew that she was Imperiused.
"Hello, madam," Madam Malkin said, her voice emotionless and her eyes blank.
"Good morning, Madam," Rose said.
"Madam Malkin will help you with everything. She didn't plan weddings before, but she does now," Narcissa said. "Let's start with the color scheme you would want."
"Ummm...dark," Rose said.
"Be more sophisticated with your answers," Bellatrix snapped.
"Black and grey, perhaps. Maybe some Slytherin green," Rose said quickly, not wanting to be tortured.
"Very good," Narcissa said kindly. Madam Malkin hurried over to where the flowers were, the three other women following.
"Choose your favorite and we can charm it to be any color," Madam Malkin said.
"I like those," Rose said as she pointed to some lilies.
"Very good," Madam Malkin said as she grabbed the lilies.
"She likes these as well," Narcissa said, pointing to the roses that Rose had been staring at. Madam Malkin nodded and put those aside as well before vanishing all the other flowers.
The next hour was spent planning everything else. Rose was overwhelmed, to say the least. She was constantly scared that Bellatrix would view her decisions as too muggle like or as wrong. Bellatrix would sometimes add her own opinion, and the wedding ended up being even darker than Rose could ever imagine.
"The last thing we need is a dress," Madam Malkin said.
"Make sure it's adjustable, just in case," Bellatrix said with a cackle. Rose fought back a cringe, knowing that Bellatrix was wanting her and Draco to have a child.
"Of course, Mrs. Lestrange," Madam Malkin said with a bow.
"What style of dress would you like?" Narcissa asked.
"I'm not sure. I want it to be black, though, so that it will match the theme," Rose said, knowing that it was a lie. She wanted to wear a black dress because the only time she would wear a white dress would be for Harry.
"We can always charm it to be black," Narcissa said. Rose was then forced to try on dresses for the next thirty minutes. Bellatrix spent the whole time telling Rose that she needed to lose weight to get the proper form, which Rose found stupid as she was already skinny and she liked how she looked.
"Oh, Cassiopeia, you look wonderful," Narcissa sighed as she looked at Rose.
"Thank you," Rose said as she examined herself in the mirror. She was wearing a black ballgown that came with a cape. While Rose didn't feel like a bride, she did feel good in the dress.
"We'll take this one. Now we need to find one for the reception," Narcissa said. Rose held back a groan as she was forced to try on even more dresses. They ended up deciding on a dress, which was tan but covered with black lace.
"You'll be the most beautiful bride ever," Narcissa said as she adjusted the dress some.
"Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy," Rose said softly. Narcissa smiled at Rose through the mirror and then went to talk to Madam Malkin, although the woman was still Imperiused, so it was mostly just Narcisaa forcing the woman to write stuff down.
"Stop staring at yourself," Bellatrix spat. Rose quickly turned around so that she couldn't see herself anymore. "Go get changed."
Rose hurried away and changed back into her normal clothes.
"It's already dinner time," Narcissa said, surprise clear on her face.
"Let's not keep the Dark Lord waiting," Bellatrix said. Rose walked behind the two sisters as they made their way into the dining room, where everyone was already waiting.
"Glad to see you could finally join us," Voldemort said, his face showing some anger at the three women.
"We're very sorry, Master," Bellatrix said with a small bow.
"Just sit," Voldemort said. The three women hurried to their seats, not wanting to make the man angry.
"Has there been a sign of Potter or his friends?" Voldemort asked. Rose pretended to not care, but she was dying inside for any information about Harry and her friends.
"They did not leave for Hogwarts," Lucius said. "If they are at Grimmauld Place, we haven't seen them."
"My Lord, I will be more than happy to watch Grimmauld Place," Draco said, a slight shake to his voice. "And Cassiopeia can come with me."
Rose's heart jumped at the idea of being able to leave Malfoy Manor. There were bad memories everywhere, and she was almost used to getting tortured. She wanted to leave and never come back.
"No, Draco. You will stay here," Voldemort said. Draco and Rose both deflated a little, but hid their disappointment.
The rest of dinner went by without a problem. Rose and Draco went up to their room the second they were excused, neither one of them wanting to spend any more time with Voldemort than necessary.
"So how did the day go?" Draco asked.
"Good, I guess. I didn't get tortured, so that was a win," Rose said with a shrug. "I found two dresses and planned almost everything for the wedding. Madam Malkin was Imperiused, though."
"Why'd they do that to her?" Draco asked.
"I don't know. Probably so that she wouldn't tell anyone else anything," Rose said. Draco nodded, understanding her theory.
"Draco," Narcissa said as she entered the room. "The Dark Lord is on a mission. You two are locked in here for the rest of the night."
"Yes, Mother," Draco said. Narcissa nodded and closed the door, the locking sound echoing through the room.
"What do you think he's doing?" Draco asked. Rose went to reply when she was sucked into another vision.
Voldemort seemed to glide towards a house. He knocked on the door and it was opened by a laughing woman, but her face fell when she saw Voldemort.
"Gregorovitch," Voldemort said. The woman shook her head no and tried to close the door, but Voldemort stopped her.
"I want Gregorovitch," Voldemort said. The woman started rambling in German and English, yelling that he didn't live there. The woman stepped away from the door and tried to run, but Voldemort followed her.
"Where is he?" Voldemort asked as he drew his wand out.
"I do not know! He move!" The woman yelled. Voldemort raised his wand and the woman screamed, causing two children to run into the room. The woman spread her arms to protect them as a green light shot towards her.
"Rose, what is it?" Draco asked. Rose started panting, her heart beating faster than she knew it could.
"He-he killed her," Rose panted.
"Who?" Draco asked as he helped Rose sit up. She hadn't even realized that she had fallen.
"Voldemort...he killed a woman," Rose said. Draco didn't say anything as he helped Rose get into the bed, but she could feel his hands shaking.
"How do you know?" Draco asked.
"I think Harry saw it, so I saw it as well," Rose guessed, feeling the familiar burning of her ring.
"Rose, you need to take the ring off," Draco said worriedly.
"No," Rose said firmly. "It's the only way I can see Harry."
"What if the Dark Lord figures out what's happening?" Draco asked.
"Then I get tortured. It'll be no different than a normal day," Rose said, sounding harsher than she had intended.
"Merlin, you're so stubborn," Draco groaned.
"Maybe, but you don't know what this is like," Rose said, a frown on her face. "The person I love is on a dangerous mission and I'm stuck here. I need these small glimpses of him to not go crazy."
Draco clenched his jaw.
"You think I don't know what it's like?" Draco asked.
"Do you love someone?" Rose asked, surprise coating her features. Rose knew that Draco decided not to get involved with any girl because his parents expected him to marry Pansy.
"I don't know if love is the right word, but I talked a lot with Astoria Greengrass," Draco said, some shame to his voice. "She's Daphne's younger sister. She's a year below us."
Rose knew that Daphne was a Slytherin girl in their year, but she had never talked to the girl.
"How do you feel about her?" Rose asked.
"She's really smart. I can have any conversation with her," Draco said, a small smile on his face. "She doesn't judge me, and she doesn't judge others. She isn't like her parents or sister. She doesn't think that she's better just because she's a pure blood. And the Malfoy family and Greengrass family aren't related, so it's not creepy."
"She sounds perfect for you," Rose said softly.
"Thanks," Draco said.
"Look, if we do get married we'll just divorce each other when this is over and make a statement," Rose said. "You'll get to be with Astoria, and I'll get to be with Harry. Everything will work out."
"But what will everyone say?" Draco asked. "Everyone knows we're engaged and our wedding will probably be front page."
"Well, I snuck up a copy of the last Daily Prophet, and there's a whole section where people are talking about how weird it is. My parents even made a statement about how they haven't approved of it," Rose said. "Of course the Prophet probably left out the part where my parents probably said that I had been kidnapped and forced into this, but that's to be expected."
"Do you still have it?" Draco asked. Rose nodded and stood up and picked up the edge of the mattress and grabbed the newest copy of the Daily Prophet.
A few days ago, we shared the news of the engagement between Mr. Draco Malfoy and Miss. Briar Rose Black. We recieved many comments on the article, and we're sharing them with you!
"I never saw them together much at Hogwarts. They're cousins, and that's as far as their relationship seemed to go. Rose was always with Harry Potter. Although, now that I think about it, Rose and Harry weren't talking towards the end of the year. I don't know what happened between them, but I do know that's it's weird that Rose and Draco are engaged."
-Seamus Finnigan, rising seventh year Gryffindor
"Mr. Malfoy and Miss. Black are a perfect match. They both come from respected families, and they have a lot in common. I am looking forward to the wedding and getting to know their children."
-Mrs. Prissy Parkinson, a family friend and mother to Miss. Pansy Parkinson, a rising seventh year Slytherin
"We don't want to say much other than we didn't approve of this engagement..."
-Sirius Black, father of Miss. Briar Rose Black, speaking for himself and his wife, Mrs. Marlene McKinnon-Black
"Rose protected Draco. Harry, Hermione and Ron would be talking bad about Draco, and she would defend him. Rumor has it that Draco is the reason that Rose and Harry broke up. Of course, after they broke up, Rose spent a lot of time with Neville [Longbottom] and they even kissed once. I thought that they were dating. Although, I do remember Rose sneaking up to the Astronomy Tower some to hang out with Draco, so maybe they have been together for a while."
-Dean Thomas, rising seventh year Gryffindor
"Shut up about Rose or I'll hex you until you can't talk or write for the rest of your life."
-Nymphadora Tonks, auror and wife to Remus Lupin, who is the godfather of Miss. Black
"I personally have never met either child, but I think they make a wonderful couple! They look so in love in the pictures, and they would make gorgeous children! Of course, that's if the child doesn't end up being messed up due to the family relation between the pair."
-Felicity Smith, subscriber to the Daily Prophet
"So everyone thinks it's weird other than Pansy's mum," Draco said.
"Yep," Rose sighed.
"This is crazy," Draco groaned as he used his wand to burn the paper.
"Is burning the paper really necessary?" Rose asked.
"If we're caught with this we could both be tortured, so yes," Draco said. "Why do you want to keep it anyways?"
"Well...it has a picture of Harry and my friends and family," Rose said. Next to the quotes, there was a picture of each person. It was the first time Rose had been able to see her parents since she had been kidnapped.
"Is it really worth getting tortured just to see them?" Draco asked. Rose hesitated before shaking her head no and handing Draco the other newspapers she had taken. Draco burned them as well, and then vanished all the ashes.
"I'm doing this to protect us,'' Draco said.
"I know," Rose whispered as her left hand went to where her promise ring used to sit. She hadn't gotten it back after Lucius took it, but she would often forget that she didn't have it and she would reach to it for comfort.
"Let's just go to sleep. We're both tired," Draco suggested. Rose nodded, falling asleep and dreaming of her family.
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"Do you think she's safe?" Marlene asked Sirius as they sat in their living room and watched their youngest children play with each other and their two cats. Tillie, as always, was walking around and trying to find Rose, while Star tried to play with her.
"I think she's alive," Sirius said softly.
"Alive is not safe," Marlene said. Sirius let out a shaky sigh.
"I think that she's as safe as she can be right now," Sirius said. "Rose, Harry, Hermione and Ron are all as safe as they can be."
"I still don't know why we can't just go to Grimmauld and get them," Marlene grumbled, smiling when Arabella handed her a toy.
"Because Dumbledore gave them a mission and they have to do it themselves," Sirius sighed. While he wished that he could help the teens, he knew that there was little he could do. Forcing them to come home could possibly allow Voldemort to win.
"They're just teenagers," Marlene whispered. "They don't need to be going through this."
"No, they don't, but if it saves the world then we have to let them," Sirius told his wife, who sighed and nodded before curling into his side.
"Have you been able to talk to Remus?" Marlene asked after a moment of silence. Sirius tensed his jaw some.
"No. Not since he left Tonks at her parents house," Sirius said, anger coating his tone. "But I know that he visited Grimmauld."
"I just don't see why he left her," Marlene said, her tone laced with pity for Tonks.
"In the letter he gave her, he said that he wasn't fit to raise a child and that he never should have married her in the first place. He's still convinced he's a monster," Sirius said, his anger fading as he thought of how conflicted Remus must be.
"Well, he raised Rose and she turned out to be an amazing woman. Remus needs to realize that he's going to raise an amazing child, werewolf or not," Marlene said. Arabella and Sebastian looked up to her in confusion upon hearing what Sirius called her 'mum voice'. Marlene smiled at the twins and then scooped them up, smothering them in kisses as they laughed.
"It was hard when I first left Azkaban and lived with Remus and Rose," Sirius said as he allowed Sebastian to curl into his side. Since it was already past their bed time, the twins quickly fell asleep as they cuddled their parents. "I felt like I would never be as good as Remus. He had rules and he knew what he was doing. I had no idea."
"You've gotten an idea," Marlene said with a smile. "Rose always goes to you when there's a problem, and she listens to your rules. Seb and Ari are more advanced that the average one year old, and that's because of you and me. We're doing a great job, and I know that Remus and Tonks will too."
"Yeah...what did you think when you first found out you were pregnant?" Sirius asked.
"Well, I was scared," Marlene said. "We were both young and I was scared that you would want nothing to do with Rose. I was also scared that Lily would get upset since she had just announced she was pregnant. You can't imagine the relief I felt when Lily started planning play dates for our kids."
"You thought I would leave you?" Sirius asked softly, trying to hide his hurt.
"I knew you wouldn't, but I was 20 and pregnant and paranoid," Marlene said. "But seeing the smile on your face when I told you made all my paranoia go away."
"I was scared, too," Sirius admitted. "Scared I wasn't ready to be a dad. I can remember how much I cried to James and Lily when I found out. They had no idea what I was talking about."
"I just remember Lily waking me up asking me if I was pregnant," Marlene said, a fond smile on her face. "I didn't even know you had left."
"I was too excited to sleep and I had to tell someone," Sirius said. Marlene smiled at him, but the smile fell off her face as she remembered the conversation she had had earlier in the day.
"Lily went to the doctor yesterday," Marlene said softly. The smile fell off of Sirius' face as well. "They can't have any more kids because they were hit with the killing curse. They said it's going to be the same way with anyone who died."
"What about Rose?" Sirius asked worriedly.
"She's a completely different story," Marlene said with a sad shrug. "She'll probably be able to have kids, because death is different to her."
"Good," Sirius said, knowing how much Rose wanted to have kids in the future. "I'll write to James and see if he wants to have lunch tomorrow. He's probably upset."
"Okay," Marlene said softly as she stood up. Sirius and Marlene put the kids to bed before laying down in their own bed.
"Marls?" Sirius whispered. Marlene let out a small hum. "Does this mean we can't have any more kids either?"
Marlene was quiet for a moment before nodding her head.
"No more kids for us," Marlene confirmed. "But we have three wonderful kids, and I wouldn't have it any other way."
"Me either," Sirius sighed as he wrapped his arms around Marlene's waist, both of them falling asleep with a pit in their stomach.
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Hi! Here are the dresses!
Also, I will be writing a sequel for this book! My plan is to finish this book with around 10 more chapters and then start the sequel. The sequel will follow Rose and Harry after the war and into marriage and kids, so if there is anything you want to see in that story, comment or message me so I can try to include it!