For Rose, it had all gone wrong the day her mother died.

I had been seven, my mother and Hugo had gone out to the park for an hour, leaving me with the Potters as I had declined the offer.

It was there at the little park at the end of the road, that the end of the road came faster than I could control.

A small explosive the muggles had said, and up until my second year (before I the outcome a Reducto could do) I'd believe that, there'd been no bodies, but after an explosion I needed little imagination to think of why.

My father had withdrawn after that day, I no longer visited the Potters, it was just me and my sorrowful father hidden in his office, no one left to comfort me.

That was the last day I'd seen my father do magic.

It didn't take long for them to enter my miserable life, Mrs Perfect and her pureblood twins. When my father had met her I first thought it would be good to have some company, despite the guilt of someone replacing my mother and Hugo, but Martha and Martin didn't care for a half-blood like me, a trait that had come from their mother.

Margaret had just lost her Pureblood husband to a disease, (I have theories he poisoned himself, who would want to stay married to that thing) so she chose the next best thing, a rich, single, broken pureblood man. Who just happened to be my father.

He hadn't resisted, they were married within the year. I'd been eight.

My home schooling (thankfully) had continued, and luckily I didn't have to have lessons with the twins, those 'perfects' of course had their own, "why should they have to share with filth?"

The cleaning maid had left after only three months, a disagreement with Mrs Perfect.

I took over the duties, with no pay of course. Why couldn't I "do something to make my darling Father happy".

Ach! That sickly voice!

Hogwarts had come as a blessing, well I suppose sort of. My 'step-siblings' were in Slytherin (surprise surprise), I in Gryffindor. Though I felt none of the courage I was supposed to, how could I be brave when I could not even stand up against my step mother? I shuddered, thinking about the last time I'd 'stood up against her', I still had the scars on my back.

Albus and James were in Gryffindor too, Lilly in Hufflepuff, the two Scamanders in Ravenclaw, (where I'd nearly been sorted too), and Fred had also been Gryffindor, but he'd left, seeing as I was now entering my sixth year.

I wished I could still talk to my cousins, but Uncle Harry was no longer talking to my Father, (due to the marriage). Even Auntie Ginny wouldn't speak to him, she'd tried to, but after my Father had marriage Margaret she'd severed ties.

I knew I'd have normally been able to talk to my grandparents, but on my mother's side, they'd cut us off, on my father's side, well they were no longer with us anymore.

Albus was in my year, but he had his crowd of buddies, (Dan Finnegan, Michael Choasi and Spencer Freedly). In my year, I was that quiet studious one that hardly anyone spoke to. I knew the girls in my house, (Charlotte Bradley, Sophie Annalic and Jenny Clackley) I knew the names of all the people in my year, but it would be only occasionally you would find me hanging out with them. It seemed my friend was the Library, books couldn't tell you off or insult you, but they could tell you answers.

I trailed my hand along the newly made stitches on my old uniform, wandlessly casting a holding charm on them. I'd managed to keep them in quite good condition; I hadn't grown much over the years, still only a small bit over five foot (at least I hoped I was), so size had never been much of a problem, until, well I grew in, other areas. But lack of nutrition for three months a year (when I was at 'home') had slowed that side of things down a fair bit.

Martha was much broader than me and I'd managed to pillage some of her old uniform: a few colour spells, sizing cuts and nine washed later, you'd hardly even knew it wasn't a Gryffindor uniform. Sometimes being quite good at magic was helpful.

Since coming to Hogwarts I'd made myself a promise, I would follow my mother's footsteps and aim for the top. Luckily I'd acquired her brains (even without the many hours in the Library) so I was only merely challenged by a blonde Slytherin called Scorpius Malfoy. (Or just 'Malfoy' as Albus called him)

There was some sort of hostility toward Scorpius I never understood, I know you should never judge by parents (even though that theory is totally proved correct by my step-siblings and Margaret) so I treated him the same I treated anyone; with a sort of general silence.

Though not in the Potter clan (consisting of Albus' friends too) I could always tell when any prank that had been performed, was done by them. So this year was going to be interesting, as I was a prefect.

Three hours later I was sitting alone in a carriage on the Hogwarts Express, reading the charms textbook (again) for this year, absently practising the charms mentioned.

I heard a ruckus start outside my carriage and I looked up to see figures moving behind the frosted glass.

I sighed heavily; knowing that being a prefect meant I was actually going to have to get involved in things like this now, actually going to let myself get noticed.

I unlocked the door and pushed it open to see a terrified second year being stared to death (yes, I said stared) by three boys from my year – Jason Mclaggen, Jonathon Baker and Jack Pritchard, they called themselves 'Triple J', and were the tough gang in Hogwarts. They were Slytherin, and proud of it.

I coughed loudly; slowly they turned around to face me, bored sarcastic expressions lingering on their faces.

"Was there something you wanted Weasley, or would you like me to get your siblings for you?" McLaggen asked, hinting on the 'siblings' because he knew what they thought of me.

"I was just going to tell you to leave the boy alone, he's only a second year as you well know and I don't think detentions would be the best things for you on your first day back, do you?" I said smoothly, not a hint of fear in my voice. My life had taught me to hate bullying, and hiding fear was one of the things Margaret had taught me.

McLaggen's eyes flickered down to my prefect badge on my uniform and I saw the hint of anger spark his pupils.

"Come on guys," he said to his sheep, "obviously Weasley has a thing for younger boys."

I inwardly grinned at his lack of a good comeback. The three boys turned and made their way back to their compartment.

I looked down to where the young boy had been sat against the wall, but he'd gone. Obviously having left as soon as I'd gotten the older boys' attention away from him.

I sighed again and turned back into my own compartment, picking my book back up. It was going to be another long year.

AN

Thank you for reading.

I know it is short, but it is mostly introductory and I hope further chapters are longer.