Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition || Round ix. Gear up | Team Appleby Arrows | Beater II | Bludger: Write about a witch or wizard being attacked. | Canon Quidditch Player | Rose Weasley
8. (song) stronger – Kelly Clarkson
14. (colour) lime green
Written for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry || September Event | Family Day | Weasley Family
Written for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry || October event | Around the world in thirty-one days | Timor-Leste | Item: Time-Turner
Written for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry || Writing Club | Showtime | Repo! The genetic opera | I Didn't Know I'd Love You So Much | 21. (word) Saved
Words: 2,710
Warning: femslah! | Time-travel
I'm a witch (and witches burn)
Rose runs out of the Ministry of Magic as fast as she can. She tightens her lime-green coat around her and pulls its cape over her long red curls. The small golden necklace is tangling loosely around her neck, albeit hidden from public view right underneath her clothes.
In an attempt to hide the tears that threaten to fall from her brown eyes, she covers her face with a copy of the Evening Prophet.
"Miss Weasley, Miss Weasley!" one reporter screams at her as she makes her way through the crowd that has assembled all around her.
"Miss Weasley, what are your thoughts on the current murder investigation?"
"Miss Weasley! Are you convinced of your brother's innocence?"
"Miss Weasley, there are some questions that need to – "
That's the moment when it all gets too much. Her parents' death, the murder investigation, her brother Hugo being the prime suspect in the matter and the reporters' constant attacks on her privacy… Rose throws the newspaper away, speeds up and presses her thin frame through the crowd – not caring about the pictures they take and publish about her in the next issue.
x.x.x
After what feels like hours of running away and apparating from one place to another, Rose manages to catch a break in a deserted corner. Exhausted, she leans back against the cold brick wall and closes her brown eyes. Her heart is beating heavily in her chest and her whole body is shaking. Everything that has happened over the last weeks is slowly catching up to her. The young witch still remembers how she entered the Burrow, expecting to have a nice dinner with her family, only to be confronted with the most horrible scene imaginable: Her beloved parents dead on the kitchen floor, and the attending Aurors pointing their wands at Hugo, who holds the bloody kitchen knife in his shaky hands.
Of course, the press has immediately heard about it and the next day, Rose' mouth fell open upon reading the Daily Prophet's front page headline, "Family Drama: Ron and Hermione Granger-Weasley murdered by greedy son?".
From that day on, Rose' life has changed for the worse. Wherever she goes, people holding shiny little cameras follow. No matter how hard she tries, they always find her – and attack. They fire questions at her about whether or not she believes in her brother's innocence, if she had known about his plans, or about the money they had inherited after their parents' death.
They don't see a daughter grieving for her father and mother, all they care about is a good story – no matter how much pain they cause in getting it.
x.x.x
Rose brushes a strand of flaming red hair back behind her ear. She is sick of running, hiding and watching people accuse her brother. She knows Hugo could not have done it. Someone framed him, Rose is sure of that, but the evidence collected is not in his favour. Even their other relatives have started to believe in Hugo being guilty.
It's slowly killing her from the inside out.
She isn't even allowed to visit Hugo anymore. He's locked away in Azkaban until the final verdict is spoken by the judges in court. Until then, she can only wait – but Rose has never been one to patiently sit by and do nothing.
Still leaning against the brick wall, Rose plays nervously with the sleeves of her lime-green coat, thinking about what to do next. She wants to save her little brother, and after some consideration, Rose knows exactly that there is only one way to do it.
With shaking hands, she reaches underneath her clothes and pulls on the small, golden chain. Soundlessly, the little time turner that once belonged to her mother dangled from her fingers and another short breath later, Rose carefully turns the little wheels and tries to remember the exact number.
Then she lets go of it, the time-turner spins around and seconds later she is sucked back in time.
x.x.x
With the same unpleasant feeling that falls over her whenever she apparates, Rose finds herself lying on a wet and slippery ground. The air smells fresh and flowery, to her left she can see different herbs and mushrooms growing in the bright green grass and the trees all around her indicate she's in the middle of a forest. She can even hear the birds chirping in the far distance.
She's still wearing her lime-green coat, the hood covering her head, and the witch sighs in relief when she feels that her wand is still in one of its pockets.
But apart from that, nothing is as she had expected. She stares back at the time-turner around her neck; it's glowing in a faint red and the sand in it seems to be on fire – not at all like it is supposed to be.
However, before Rose can think further about the circumstances, she hears the sound of cracking branches – footsteps approaching.
"Dare not move, or you shall suffer the consequence," a female voice, soft but clearly threatening is speaking to her in an old English accent.
Rose freezes, looks around carefully, hoping to find the source of the voice. But all the young witch can see are trees and leaves whistling in the wind.
Then she feels something sharp being pressed tightly on the small of her back. It's the tip of a wand, Rose has no doubt about that.
"Reveal yourself," the attacker demands.
Rose obeys and lifts a shaking hand to remove the lime-green hood from her head. Then she slowly turns, hands held up in the air, and her brown eyes widen when they take in the sight of the woman in front of her.
Her black hair is cascading down her back in big, round curls. Her face is slim, her cheekbones clearly standing out and a faint rosy blush is to be seen on her cheeks. Her eyes, so stunningly blue, are resembling a deep ocean, and the colour of her skin is like porcelain.
The most stunning thing, however, are her robes. A dress held in blue and black colours, the long fabric reaching the wet grass, lovely embroidery all over it and a cleavage that is showing so much that Rose starts blushing.
When her brown eyes travel upwards again, Rose notices the small, silver tiara in her hair and within seconds, she makes the connection.
"Rowena Ravenclaw."
The words, nothing but a mere whisper, escape her, and the blue eyes of the witch in front of her widen in utmost surprise and fear.
x.x.x
The weeks pass faster than Rose would have ever thought. Upon the discovery that Rose was indeed a witch, Rowena had, little by little, lowered her guard. They had taken a walk through the forest, and Rowena had apologized for the sudden attack and explained how dangerous it was for wizarding kind to live amongst the muggle.
Rose on the other hand, had decided to be completely honest with the legendary witch seeing that talking with her alone was a privilege she hadn't even dared to dream of.
Despite her first fear of not being taken seriously, Rowena once again proved that she was indeed the brightest witch of her age. She had observed Rose' time-turner and continued in a sad voice that there was no way to repair it.
The shock must have been evident on the red-head's face, so the kind witch had offered her to stay at Hogwarts.
And she's been there ever since – trying to adjust to a life where witches are still feared and hunted by non-magical folk.
x.x.x
It is strange, the way things change within only a short amount of time. Although memories of her parents and brother are still on her mind, they are floating in the background more and more, even though she stares at her old, lime-green coat from time to time, that is now hanging at the back of her closet.
Surprisingly, Rose fits in well with the castle's other inhabitants. At first, it was only meant to be some sort of short time solution until she found a place of her own to stay. But the familiar and calming surroundings of the castle helped the redhead to come to terms with her fate of never being able to go back to her family. Weeks passed, and the more time she spent with Godric, Salazar, Helga and especially Rowena, the closer they got and they allowed her to permanently stay at her little chamber at Hogwarts. Awkward conversations turned into lovely meetings for tea in the afternoon, and the lonely meals she had taken in her rooms are now eaten with the others in the Great Hall. Her thirst for knowledge and love for passing that knowledge onto children had even given her the opportunity to pursue a career as a fellow Professor at the newly founded wizarding school.
x.x.x
Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months and months turned into years, and by now, Rose feels like the life she once lived in the future has turned into her past life. Occasionally, she wonders how Hugo's verdict had turned out, but the lovely evenings she spends with Rowena lets her forget about it quickly. There's just something in the way she speaks, acts, and laughs. In the way her soft hand feels upon her skin whenever Rowena touches her, how gentle she is when she braids Rose's flaming red hair and the way their eyes connect whenever they are in the same room together… it causes her heart to skip a beat every time.
x.x.x
One night, after a delicious meal in the Great Hall, Rose enters her chambers and immediately notices that something is wrong. A glowing fire is roaring in the fireplace at the back of the room and the shadows are dancing on the walls.
Suddenly, she feels a had slipping around her waist and is pulled backwards. Immediately, her instincts kick in and Rose' first thought is to get rid of whoever is attacking her in the middle of the night. But then, she catches a glimpse of curly black hair and porcelain skin before she feels a pair of soft rosy lips being pressed against her own.
Rose feels her whole body heating up and she passionately responds to the unexpected kiss.
She even steps closer to Rowena and brings her own arms around the raven-haired beauty's neck, pulling her even closer.
Months of bottled up emotions between the two of them finally reach their breaking point and even though they both know that a love affair between them would end in a tragedy, in the heat of the moment, neither of them cares.
Even when the need for air is threatening to suffocate them, they only break their kiss at the last possible second; still standing close together in each other's arms.
When Rose looks up, all she sees is Rowena, looking as beautiful as ever, and the unmarked flames of desire that are shining in her bright blue eyes send shivers down her spine.
x.x.x
Rose should have known that fate is never on her side. She also knows that they should have never came here, into the muggle village in broad daylight. But once Rowena has set her mind up on something, there's no stopping her.
Sure enough, they could have gotten the herbs she needed for her latest experiment themselves, but buying some from one of the village people on the market would have been a lot faster.
If Rose just hadn't used magic in public, that is.
But she didn't have a choice. Rowena, who had been attacked by a violent muggle, had looked at Rose with teary blue eyes, pleading to be saved. Rose didn't hesitate for a second; she drew her wand and sent a spell at the man.
Now they all gape at her with their mouths hanging wide open and all eyes are staring at her, taking in her impression with her flaming red hair cascading down her shoulders, the wide robes that blow in the wind and the wand still outstretched in her hand, creating the perfect picture. Then, it happens, and Rose watches as the scene unfolds in front of her, as if in slow motion.
"WITCH!" a man screams, holding up a torch in the air and pointing at her.
Only minutes later, the other people follow his example and start moving towards her – torches, knives, weapons of all kind in their hands – ready to attack.
Rose shares one last look with Rowena, to make sure she's alright, before she turns around and runs.
The mob catches up with her fast, and when she reaches the edge of town, Rose stumbles over a root on the ground. She falls and breaks her wand when she hits the ground.
She turns around, tries to get up in time, but it is too late.
The mob has caught up and point their pitchforks at her.
Rose breaths heavily, and holds up her hands in resignation.
She saved Rowena, that was all that counted.
x.x.x
Rose feels pearls of sweat forming on her forehead. Her wrists hurt and the rope that is bound around them cuts deep into her soft flesh. Another rope is wrapped around her stomach, her feet are, too.
She can hear the mob screaming, and sees how more and more people gather around her.
Then another man steps forward, and drops his burning torch onto the pile of wood that is lying underneath her.
The crowd cheers as the flames burn higher and higher, and Rose coughs heavily as the dark smoke fills her lungs. Her clothes and hair catch fire, and tears start forming in her eyes as her skin gets burned.
The heat underneath her and the dirty air she breathes in causes her mind to go fuzzy. She scans the crowd, quickly, from left to right, bottom to top, and before the pain forces her to close her brown eyes for good, they connect with a pair of bright blue ones, that belong to a hooded figure standing in between the howling mob.
x.x.x
Rowena gives her a small, almost undetectable smile before a house on the other side of the court explodes.
The people in the crowd jerk around, drop their torches, pitchforks and for only a moment turn their attention away from the burning witch on the stake.
Rose watches in awe as Rowena carefully makes her way across the place.
When she's standing right in front of the stake, she pulls the sleeve of her robe further over her hand to cover the wand that is being hold in it.
Then she flicks it three times, points it towards the chains around Rose' wrist and with a small sound, they break apart and fall into the burning flames.
Rose already expects to fall right into the stake and closes her eyes in anticipation.
But the faintly whispered 'Wingardium Leviosa' keeps her floating only mere inches above it.
Rowena skilfully puts her down on the grass, then runs towards Rose, puts her arms around her and apparates both of them back to Hogwarts.
x.x.x
Rose doesn't even have time to think about the scars that are now burned into her flesh, let alone thank Rowena, for the raven-haired beauty immediately pulls her closer and kisses her passionately. With the adrenaline still rushing through her veins, Rose puts her arms around her lover and returns the kiss, trying to express how thankful she is.
Eventually, they fall onto the bed, ready to take their relationship to the next level.
Thinking about it now, Rose is ever so grateful for the damaged time-turner, because otherwise, she would have never been able to spend the rest of her life with this wonderful woman.
'And sometimes,' she thinks to herself as she kisses Rowena once again in order to get the horrible memories of being burned alive on the stake out of her head, 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.'