Here we go! A new multi-chap from me! This is the highest voted story from the poll on my page (which is still open) so I am publishing it now! I realize in the A/N of my last story I said the end of June for a new fanfic so I'm only a little off. I currently have 2 1/2 chapters written for this story, which I estimate will be about 10 chapters or so at completion if all goes according to plot and plan. I hope to have a new chapter up every week but I am also working about 40 or so hours each week so I make no promises. Anyways, here is the first chapter of SOV! Enjoy!
Rose Weasley stared around the small two-bedroom cottage that was now her home. It was quaint, with a small kitchen and Muggle appliances for cooking and doing laundry. There was a large backyard that she could see through the French doors.
She set her bags down and wandered to the back of the house, poking her head into the rooms. There was a larger room in the back of the cottage, with a king-sized bed and large closet. Right down the hall was a smaller room with a view of the front yard. Front trees would be more accurate, she thought as she returned to get her bags. The small house was completely surrounded by them with nothing else in sight.
Rose reached for her wand to levitate her bags, forgetting for a moment that Albus had taken it with him when he had dropped her off here. He had promised to return in a day or two with her wand and an explanation.
The bags were lugged to the biggest room and slowly unpacked. Rose could only hope she wouldn't be staying long – she may not know where she was or why, but Al would only have shown up at her flat at four in the morning, ordered her to pack a bag, and hurried her here with a very good reason.
Sighing wearily, Rose slipped between the sheets and stretched before curling up in a ball and falling asleep.
*/*
She was woken up five hours later by a loud bang coming from the other side of the house.
Slowly, Rose crept out of bed and down the hall, mentally cursing every black unruly hair on her cousin's head for leaving her without a wand. Another crash sounded, coming from the kitchen.
She reached silently for the item nearest to her – a silver candlestick. It seemed to have enough weight to cause some kind of damage to whoever the intruder was.
Rose leapt around the corner, waving the candlestick wildly and praying the intruder didn't have a wand.
Albus let out a yell of pain as something heavy connected with his right shoulder. He turned around, drawing his wand, and ducked as Rose took another swing.
"Rose!" he yelled, still crouched on the floor. "Rose! Stop it!"
Rose heard her name called and she stopped her swinging frenzy long enough to see who she was attacking.
Oh.
She smiled sheepishly as she extended a hand to help him up. He stood, rubbing his shoulder gingerly and grumbling.
"This is the thanks I get for trying to make you breakfast."
Rose peered behind him at the stove, noting the carton of eggs, a package of bacon, and two pans on the stove. She redirected her gaze back to her cousin.
"Since when do you cook?" She asked, her eyebrow arching slightly. It was Al's turn to look sheepish.
"Anne likes when I cook for her," he mumbled, a slight flush rising up his cheeks as he mentioned his fiancée. "I just usually do it by magic – I don't know how to cook the Muggle way."
"So why don't you use magic?" Rose asked confusedly, and Al sighed.
"That's what I needed to talk to you about, actually. Here, let's sit down." He led her over to the couch and she sat, getting more and more worried every second. Albus seated himself on the edge of the coffee table, resting his elbows on his knees.
"Rose," he began slowly, "what have you heard about the recent disappearances?"
Rose's brow furrowed as she thought. "I know a few witches and wizards have gone missing lately. And our parents were pretty worried about it. I went to my mum and dad's the other day and your parents were there. All I heard before they stopped talking was that this is similar to how the wars with Voldemort started." She paused, eyeing her cousin nervously. "What's going on?"
He avoided her gaze, fiddling with the Auror medallion around his neck.
"Albus Severus Potter."
He glanced up to meet Rose's stern gaze.
"Explain."
Al sighed, running his hand through his hair and making it stand on end.
"Seamus Finnegan was murdered last night in his pub."
Rose gasped and Albus plowed on.
"Killing Curse. And the Dark Mark was set over the pub. He was the only one killed or hurt."
Rose lowered the hands that had come up to cover her mouth.
"You said the Dark Mark?"
Al nodded grimly.
"How is that possible?" she exclaimed. "Voldemort's dead! And the Death Eaters were disbanded, and I heard Uncle Harry say that they are all still kept under surveillance."
The young Potter sighed. "We also received a letter at Auror Headquarters about an hour later, claiming responsibility. It said Seamus was killed because he is a war hero, and that he is only the first. As I'm telling you this, Aurors are being dispatched to any old heroes still in the county. They and their families are being slowly moved into hiding unless they choose not to or they want to go abroad. Dad and Uncle Ron have also been reinstated to the Ministry. This has all been kept out of the Prophet so as not to create a panic."
"So that's why I'm here," Rose said slowly. "If this is person is after war heroes and their families, then I could be used to get to my parents or even yours. What about the rest of the family?"
Albus mentally ran through the ever-growing list of members of the Weasley-Potter clan. "Grandmum and Granddad are staying at the Burrow – enchantments have been placed on it. James is still working, but Amber and Sirius are in hiding. Lily went to stay with Teddy," Al made a face at the thought of his little sister staying with her older boyfriend. "Victoire, Dom, Louis, Lucy, and Roxie have all gone to 'visit' Uncle Charlie for awhile. Lorcan went into hiding, and I kind of rushed you here without asking what you wanted to do."
"If I'm safe here, then I'll stay here," Rose said decisively. "But you left out some family members."
"Molly, Fred, James, Hugo, Lysander, Aunt Luna and Uncle Rolf, Uncle Neville and Aunt Hannah, Alice, Aunt Katie and Uncle Oliver, and myself are all staying out of hiding, as are all the rest of our Weasley aunts and uncles."
"But why?" Rose asked. Before Albus could answer, the medallion around his neck began to glow and the letters began to morph. Al studied it for a moment and his eyes widened as he read something Rose couldn't see.
"Shit," he muttered. "I'll be back." Before Rose could ask anything, Al had stood and walked out the back door and into the woods. She watched as he faded from sight into the trees, leaving her all by herself.
She looked around the small cabin nervously. She was alone, and still without her wand. Al had better hurry.
Rose stood and moved toward the back door, peering through the windows to hopefully see some sign of her cousin returning. He had said he would be back, but he hadn't said how long it would take or what he was going to do. What if there had been another attack? What if it was one of their family members?
Rose reminded herself to breathe, to not work herself into a panic. She turned away from the door and began to slowly pace the small length of her kitchen, her brain working over the information Albus had given her.
So someone was after the surviving fighters of the blood wars from her parents' youth. Poor Seamus, Rose thought sadly. He had always been so nice to her growing up. He had been the barman at the Leaky Cauldron for awhile before opening his own pub in Hogsmeade. He had been surprisingly strict about selling anything more than butterbeer to anyone he suspected wasn't of age. Rose offered up a quick prayer for him before turning her mind back to the situation at hand.
Who was behind this? Were they serious about attacking the survivors, trying to incite another war, or was it all just a horrible joke? In her gut, Rose had a bad feeling that the answer to that first question was yes.
She checked her watch and looked out the back door again. There was a rush of relief as she spotted Al's figure making its way back towards her. Rose stepped onto the back porch to meet him. "Well?"
"There was…" Al trailed off, trying to find the right phrase, "not an attack…an attempted recruitment. He said no, so they told him he had two hours to think over his decision. Apparently it was a group of four or five people in cloaks, no visible faces or anything distinctive. After they left, he contacted us, and we decided to put him in hiding." Albus took a deep breath. "With you, here."
Rose shrugged. "Alright. There's another room."
Al visibly sagged with relief. "Thank Merlin. We were afraid that you would say no."
She instantly became suspicious. "Why would I say no?" Her cousin avoided her gaze, looking over his shoulder into the woods. "Who is coming here? Albus Severus Potter!" Rose snapped when he didn't answer. "What aren't you telling me?"
Al looked over his shoulder again, relief sweeping through him as he saw two people headed their way. Dread quickly followed it as he looked again at Rose to see her staring at the taller of the two men.
"Oh no," she said flatly. "No, no, no, Albus, absolutely not, put him somewhere else!"
"There is nowhere else, Rosie!" He pleaded, keeping his voice lowered. He could tell she was pissed, and he was slightly scared of her, but what else was he supposed to do.
The new arrivals reached them and stepped up onto the back porch. Rose glared at the tall blonde who had clapped Al on the back and was now smirking at her.
"Malfoy," she said tightly.
"Hello Rosie," he replied with an easy smirk. "Miss me, love?"
Well...what do you think? Did my hiatus from writing do me any good or did it cost me all my skills? Review please! I will be working on fine-tuning and finishing the next chapters this week and hopefully starting on more. Also, the poll on my page is still open! I will be removing this story from it, but vote for the next one! Much love :)