A/N
This is a one-shot that might or might not become more. I don't know yet. This came from a thought I had awhile ago. Just because a child is favoured by their parents doesn't mean they're all bad. And to be honest, I've gotten rather tired of the false chosen one stories where Harry's brother or sister is a complete and total brat without two brain cells to rub together. So this was created.
I tried to write a heartfelt letter of things left unsaid and hope it turned out well. I hope it displays all the emotions my character is trying to get across well. It wasn't the easiest to write. I really hope you all like this. Even if you don't, please be kind. This story is very close to my heart.
Harry:
Today you left for the last time. I know it. Sixteen years of living in this house have been nearly fifteen years too many for you. But as you, Mum, and Dad shouted insults at one another, I did nothing. Bet I looked like a fool, huh? Standing at the top of the staircase, pale and silent, then slinking back to my room. I should have said something, I guess. Tried to defuse the situation. I AM the Girl Who Lived, after all.
Ha! You probably don't believe me but I've come to hate that title. People expect things out of me. They expect to see a prodigy, a diplomat, a warrior princess. I've tried to be all three of these things. But let's face it, Harry, I am none.
My magic is mediocre at best; I almost always botch something up. And I've never had enough courage to be a diplomat in any sense. I'm a coward, okay? There, I admitted it. I don't have the courage to speak my mind nor the objectivity needed to defuse even the smallest family disputes. And as for being a warrior princess? I don't want to be. The sight of blood makes me squeamish and I don't have the instincts. Throughout my life, I've really accomplished a big fat zilch. Our parents love the attention, the wizards love the legend, but I would just love to be left alone. To be just Rose.
On the other hand, all you expected from me was a good sister. Someone who you could talk to about anything. Someone you could have fun with. Someone who would share your parents' affections with you, not steal them away. And when all else failed, you expected someone to stand up for you when you weren't in the wrong. But I never did. I never tried to convince them to hold a birthday party for both of us instead of just me. I never stopped them grounding you when I broke that old vase and they thought it was you. I never defended your sorting into Slytherin either. But I should have.
There's a lot of things I should have done but didn't. Even if I didn't directly defend you, I could at least have spent some time with you to show I always cared. Would it have hurt to spend an afternoon in the library with you, quietly reading? Or to swing together on the tree swing in the front yard? Or to just give you a hug and say "I love you, big brother?" Of course not. I barely spoke a word to you from the time we were little. There's a lot of things that I've left unsaid. I let myself forget you. I let Mum and Dad spoil me, take me on outings, train me, LOVE me as if you weren't there.
As I got older, a little part of me began to realise that leaving you out of things was wrong. That I'm your sister and should act like one. Beyond that, we're twins. We should have always been close. Sure, we're not identical or the same gender like the Weasley or Patil twins. But that didn't mean we couldn't be close. Of course I say "didn't" and "couldn't" in the past tense because I know there's no chance now. Not with how I've bungled everything up. I see the sets of twins around school and how close they are. Even the Patils, despite being in different houses, are as close as any other twins. I'm two minutes younger but it seems like the gulf between us is more like two thousand miles and growing wider by the day.
But I let my childhood habits, and later house prejudice, stop me from getting to know you like a proper twin. I let a part of me believe I was doing the right thing. It wasn't any easier when you were sorted into Slytherin. Growing up, I'd always been warned against the evils of that house. And the part of me I allowed to dictate my actions felt vindicated when you started hanging around Bulstrode, Davis, Greengrass, and Zabini. I knew that Bulstrode and Zabini had at least one Death Eater parent and the Davis and Greengrass families are notorious fence sitters.
But I'll tell you a secret. I wish I was with you. I was almost sorted in with you, you know. I've never told anybody this. Though my ambitions have never been particularly high, the hat saw me as cunning to hide my resentment and opinions behind the outwardly perfect shell of the Girl Who Lived. But it sorted me into Gryffindor after some cajoling. But that just tore us further apart. I had my friends, you had yours. I acted like you didn't even exist. And I let the other Gryffindors talk sneeringly about my "oddball Slytherin brother". That's one of the kinder things they called you, to be honest. And I'm sure I've been called worse things still by your housemates. I won't say I don't deserve it. I'm the world's worst sister, or at least among the top ten.
I wish things could be different, Harry. No Voldemort, no Girl Who Lived, no Potter twins who are more like strangers. A world where we could just be Harry and Rose Potter, a pair of twins as close as anything. I'd like more than anything to have grown up in peace. To graduate Hogwarts and marry someone I love no matter what house they're in later on. maybe I could even become a magical zoologist or a nature writer in a wizarding newspaper or magazine. Only Luna Lovegood, our only mutual friend, knows this.
You'd make a far better "chosen one" than me, Harry. You're all the things I never could be. strong, courageous, determined. You've never backed down, always stood your ground. I'll always admire you for that. And even though we're little more than strangers, I want you to know something. I'm always going to be your baby sister. I'll always love you. And I'm proud to have you as my brother. I hope you're happy no matter what you do. And I hope the Greengrass family is treating you well. I'm glad you've found someone to love you like Daphne does. The best of luck to you both.
All my love,
Just Rose