Chapter One
The Twins
Rosemary and Harry Potter had always been quiet children. As twins, they stood by each other and helped one another out, often interfering and intervening in each other's punishments from their aunt and uncle. However, while Harry was quiet to stay out of trouble and not incure the wrath of Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia (a wasted effort in Rosemary's opinion, as the Dursleys were determined to blame the twins for everything real and imagined), Rosemary was quiet because she was studying. She was always looking to the future, because she had figured out at a rather unreasonably young age that her Aunt and Uncle would never help her or Harry out. At least, not willingly. So her best hope was to get the best grades possible in school and advance as fast as she possibly could in the hoped of getting a scholarship to a boarding school or university very, very far away from Number 4 Privat Deive. She had informed Harry of this as well, and often drug him along to study with her, because they both desperately wanted to get away.
To their great misfortune however, prooving their grades at school was difficult and disheartening that furst year. This was because their relatives had told everyone in the town that they were no-good, trouble making, lying, criminal twins who bullied their much larger cousin Dudley, and terrorized the neighboorhood. While the truth of the matter was infact the opposite, the teachers took their Aunt and Uncle's words as truth, and refused to believe the twins when they said otherwise. After all, who would believe two such troubled children? However, like all lies, the truth was bound to emerge, eventually. For the twins, this blessed occurrence was fated to happen, at least somewhat, during the end of the year placement exams.
In an attempt to circumvent the legendary cheating of the twins, which while false had gotten them kicked out of every one of their classes during tests,the teacher had sent them to the councilor's office, where they were put in seperate rooms to take their exams. The exams were simple standardized tests designed to discover where studenrs struggled with learning, and started with first year material qnd ended with fith year final exam tests.
None of the faculty would ever forget the results of that fateful decision and testing. As it turned out, Dudley was barely able to pass his first year level testing. Harry did much better, making it about halfway through the third year material, placing himself at about two-and-a-half years ahead of his classmates and peer group. Rosemary far outstripped all of her peers and shocked the entire staff when her answers didnt falter until halfway through fourth year material, but even then she managed to pass enough of the answers correctly until she got stumped halfway through her fith year material.
When the teachers asked Rosemary how she could possibly have managed to be so far ahead of her classmates, she told them proudly and with her head held high that she spent every spare second she had studying hard and working ahead because she wanted to be the best she could possibly be, and she refused to lower herself to the level of her classmates just because that was what was expected of her. Especially when she knew she could do better. she also told them that she made Harry be her study partner because she knew he could do better as well.
To say that the staff was shocked and surprised was an understatement. While she wasnt as far ahead of her classmates in History or Science, she far outstripped them in Maths and English. By unanimous decision, the teachers decided to move Harry into third year, and Rosemary into fith year. In contrast, Dudley barely made it into second year. The teachers also promised similar testing to the twins at the beginning and the middle of each year following as well as the standard end of year exams to ensure that their intellectual needs were being met. This of course, was mainly so that they could boast to other school districts that they had scholastic prodigies in their school.
To say that the Dursleys were furious with the twins for embarrassing Dudley in this manner was also an understatement. That summer was the worst Harry or Rosemary's had ever had, and made studying difficult. Between the beatings, bullying, lack of food, and extraordinary long chore list there was barely any time to sleep, let alone study, but the twins persevered.
Rosemary refused to be cowed into submission, and refused to allow Harry to hide his intelligence either. The harsher the Dursleys became, the more Rosemary pushed studying. The summer passed in a miserable blur made worse by burning the candle at both ends. However, it was worth it, and once the new school year had started up, it was easier to get back into their old study habits, including practically living at the library between school getting out and closing time. Rosemary continued to push the books to keep up with her classmates, and to get ahead of thier frequently changing classmates. This often incured the wrath not only of the Dursley family but also of the older students who didn't like being shown up by a couple of little kids. The hardcore studying habits of the Potter twins had them jumping around and skipping years consistently throughout the year.
While Harry found himself excelling at a consistamt rate, by end of the year exams going from year 1 to 3, to 5, to 7, to 9, and then finally to 11; Rosemary was much more erratic. She jumped from year 1 to 5, to 8, to 10, to 11 with University classes, to just University classes. She was getting a basic two-yaear degree in general studies. The school district was also more than happy to foot the bill in order to maintain their bragging rights over the two prodigal students. The staff was also more than happy to help the two study if they needed it because it made them look good.
University students were astounded that a child not even half their age could keep up with them, even if there were struggling points. Most 9f the students ignored or pointedly snubbed the young girl, while a few activlyactively bullied her. But there was a small pocket of students who took her and Harry under their wings. These older students themselves had younger siblings and thus knew how to take care of the twins, especially when one of them would have an emotional breakdown. When things seemed to be beyond difficulty or frustrations were running high for the twins, it was these few adults that they could turn to for help. They understood that as intelligent as the twins were, and despite how hard they pushed themselves, they were only children who would be turning eleven that summer. So the group was sad when summer ended and Rosemary never returned, leaving behind only letters to each member of the group saying that she and her brother had been accepted into a boarding school that their parents had apparently gone to, with the hopes that the school would be able to keep up with their intellectual needs. She wrote that she was hopeful because it was a very picky school for 'gifted' children, and promised that she would try to keep in contact.