Prologue
Rose woke to screaming. It was eerily dark, until she pulled back the curtains surrounding her four-poster bed. The smell of smoke assailed her nose, and she instantly began to cough. She looked around at her dormitory, seeing two of her mates were awake in the room, Thalia and Lisa, just as confused as she. Smoke seeped through the cracks of the door, and the roar of fire was heard beyond it.
"What's going on?" She shouted to the other girls. They simply shook their heads, eyes open wide with terror. As panic began to nearly take over her thoughts, Rose organized her thoughts to take control.
Breathe, she told herself. But she couldn't with the smoke. She quickly lunged for a scarf and tied it around her mouth and nose, hoping it would filter out the smoke. What do you know? My name is Rose Weasley. I am 16 years old. I am a Gryffindor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am a witch. She grabbed her wand. My common room is on fire. My parents are famous war heroes who fought much worse when they were my age. She looked around her room, and frantically scrambled to dress herself and grab some items. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw her mates following her lead. My parents fight dark wizards. This is just a fire. The wood door caught on fire. I am a witch. She heard more screaming, unable to identify a location. Lisa had opened a window and looked like she was contemplating levitating out of it. This is just a fire, right? More screams. Rose tried to extinguish the fire with a charm, it was feebly working, and Thalia and Lisa joined in. Rose had a feeling that they wouldn't be able to fight it. Think. You are smart. Your mum is the brightest witch of her age. What would she do? But Rose thought of another story, one of her Uncle's.
Rose gathered an emergency bag her parents required her to have. She silently thanked her parents for the paranoia they still carried from their childhood, as she ran to the window that had been opened.
"Accio brooms!" She looked at the other girls, who were still attempting to hold back the fire. "Get over here! We have to escape! The fire-" But she was cut off before she could finish her warning. The fire burst into the room, a giant flaming serpent consuming the two familiar faces made unrecognizable with fear. All Rose could do was fall out the window and scream.
Falling from the Gryffindor Tower was an odd sensation. She had fallen playing Quidditch before, but falling from a burning tower…
She felt the familiar pull of the levicorpus jinx, as if she had been invisibly hooked by the ankle. She was no longer falling, but being suspended upside down 50 yards up was not pleasant. She looked around for who saved her; unsure what direction the silent jinx had come from. But she did catch sight of the broom she had charmed. As soon as she caught the handle, she felt the jinx release her, allowing her to take control and fly.
She zoomed up high, surveying the tower, looking for survivors, and looking for the cause. But it wasn't just the tower; screams came from all over the school. Fire wasn't the only terror of the night; it looked like the Ravenclaw tower had been plunged into pitch-blackness with Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder.
"Rosie! Rose!" Someone shouting her name was getting closer to her, and she turned, searching the dark sky for its source. She caught sight of her cousin Albus, and started crying with relief. She wasn't alone.
"Al!" She flew to him, as he to her.
"We all got out Rosie. Come join the others."
"Where?"
"Behind Hagrid's old hut."
"What about the other students? We should help them! We can't just leave them! I don't know what's going on."
"Let's just regroup with the others first. Then help."
"There isn't time!"
"We aren't our parents Rosie!" Albus shouted, his face betraying his brave front. Dark smoke from their home billowed behind him. Rose looked down in shame. She had no idea what to do in this situation. She only knew stories. She only knew what she was taught. She wasn't a fighter. She was a child. So were Lisa and Thalia.
Rose spotted a student exiting the school, running along. She heard their pleas for help.
Her parents were children. They never had all the answers. But they let that stop them from fighting the dark.
"No, we're not! That's why I'm going to help others! I hope you will too, Al." She pointed her broom downward to help the student who was now being chased by a large dark shadow.
My name is Rose Weasley. I am 16 years old. I am a witch. I am brave.