Chapter 1: My Name is Rosette

Rosette woke from her slumber with a jolt. She could hear her parents' arguing, again. They were awfully loud this morning. They were most likely in the foyer on the first floor, and she was able to hear clearly hear them from her room on the fourth floor. The noise kept her from going back to sleep, and there was no way she would be able to talk to either of them for a while. So, the five year old decided to rummage through the piles of toys. Like any spoiled pureblood heir, Rosette had more toys than she knew what to do with. She began sorting out the toys she wanted from those that she would give to the local orphanage.

"Eww! Why do I keep getting these creepy things?" she cried as she tossed aside the unsettling porcelain dolls. While many of the other girls of pureblood status seemed anatomically attached to their precious dolls. Rosette, however, was not a fan of the eerie things. After an unsuccessful attempt at finding something amusing, the little witch decided to get ready for the day. It was a warm day in the English countryside of Kingsbridge. She threw open the doors to her wardrobe and searched for her emerald sundress with the silver butterfly embroidery along the hem. With her dress set aside, she hopped into the shower. When she deemed herself clean enough, she wrapped herself in an earthy green towel that her house elf, Kitzy, had left out for her. She stepped on the stool in front of her sink and looked at herself in the mirror. Her soft almond toned skin had turned a slight red colour due to her scrubbing too hard. Kitzy would no doubt fuss over the slight skin irritation. Her violet eyes still had a bit of sleep in them, and her unruly and curly silver hair would need some serious attention from the house elf as well.

As she began to brush her teeth, there was a loud crash coming from the first floor. Her parents argued often, but rarely did ever break things. This issue must have been quite severe for property to be damaged.

Just then, Kitzy appeared with a popping noise.

"Young Miss Rosey is already awake? Why did Miss not call for Kitzy?" Kitzy pouted, looking rather betrayed.

"Sorry Kitzy. I forgot to call you when I woke up. Do you know why Papa and Mum are fighting this time?" Rosette asked as she slipped her sundress on. "They're dreadfully loud today."

Kitzy began her routine struggle to tame Rosette's monstrous curls. "Kitzy is not sure, Miss Rosey. But Master and Mistress Sarpong have been yelling all morning. Kitzy thinks Young Miss should stay on the upper floors to avoid the yelling for a little while." The house elf was having a more than difficult time with the witch's rebellious curls.

"They're always fussing abou- Ow Kitzy! About silly stuff. Last week, Papa yelled at Mum for having an...A-fair? What's so bad about an A-fair? Was he mad because she went without him? Papa loves going to the fair-"

Kitzy's large round eyes widened. "Miss Rosey! Kitzy does not think this topic is appropriate for a five year old…Let's talk about something else, please?" the elf begged.

"Oh, well alright," She replied a bit puzzled. She didn't see how a fair could be bad. Her mum went to them frequently, apparently. An A-fair must have been a special kind of fair for Papa to get so upset about Mum going without him. "Is my schedule free today? I want to take Apep out for some fresh air!"

Apep was Rosette's cherished Blue Tongued Skink that she had received from her father when he came home from a conference in Australia. He was a very fat and lazy lizard, often caught eating the newspaper bits used to line his cage with. But, to Rosette, he was the best reptilian friend a girl could ever ask for, not that many girls her age asked for lizards. She was overjoyed to realize that Apep could understand the odd hissing noises she made at him. At first, she was just trying to be silly, thinking of questions as she hissed at him. She was startled when the lizard responded with a hiss of his own that, to her, sounded like a reply in her mind. When she told her parents about this, her papa merely laughed and praised her imagination, while her mum held a contemplative gaze at her before abruptly leaving, muttering "in her blood, too".

"Young Miss is free to do as she pleases today. As long as Miss stays on the Sarpong Estate."

The house elf finally managed to control the witch's outrageous tresses. Rosette admired the large puffy pigtails that Kitzy created.

"Oh thank you Kitzy! I love my puffies! They look like marshmallows!" she squealed.

Kitzy smiled adoringly at the five year old as she fawned over the large puffs atop her head.

"It was Kitzy's pleasure. Just make sure Miss stays OUT of the mud today, please? Kitzy had to give Miss Rosey three baths last time Miss thought it'd be a good idea to play in the mud."

Just as Rosette opened her mouth to reply, they both heard Charles Sarpong yell in agony.

"Papa?!" Rosette bolted down the flights of stairs before Kitzy had time to react. As she reached the bottom step, she could see her father on the ground with large gashes across his chest. Her mother was glowering at him with a feral look in her eyes. Her wand was pressed painfully against his temple.

"You've outgrown your usefulness, Charley dear."

"Merope! Please be rational! I just for you to be honest with me. If you are unhappy, I want you to tell me so I can fix the issue and-"

"I'm not unhappy, you wretched fool. I'm bored. You and that child are suffocating me, and at this moment, I don't feel like dealing with you both anymore. I don't feel like being tied down anymore. I should have learned my lesson after having Tom."

Rosette listened in horror to her mother's words. She had to be lying, right? She didn't really want them dead, did she? Rosette watched as her mother jabbed at her father's open wounds with her wand. Her father howled as the wand twisted and prodded at his raw flesh. His pain turned into fright as he caught sight of his young daughter out the corner of his eye. He wanted nothing else but the safety of his only child.

"But what has Rosette ever done to you?! Please, just leave her be? She's only a child."

Merope removed her wand and sauntered around the foyer.

"No no no Charles. I want to start completely over with my life. I can't do that if she is still alive."

"You're psychotic," he seethed.

"How nice of you to finally see that, dear.

"I don't understand your motives. We've been married for 15 years. I know that I have given you everything you have ever asked of me without a second thought. But now, we seem to mean nothing to you? I know I will live beyond this day," he paused to glance back at his daughter and muttered, "But, you will not harm a hair on MY child's head."

With a swift motion, he managed to grab his wand out of his robes and desperately cast Diffindo. The charm hit Merope on the side of her head. She fell back, hitting her head against the wall and sunk to the floor. Rosette looked at the gruesome scene before her. Her malicious mother's body leaned against the wall. Her dark red blood oozed from her cleaved head. The wall behind her was streaked with blood of her descent. Her father remained motionless on the floor. The child cautiously made her way to her father as tears began to form from her violet eyes. He slowly turned to face her and took her hand in his.

"Rosey," he started. "I'm sorry. You must think I'm a terrible papa, huh?"

"No no, Papa! I don't think that at all!" she sobbed as she squeezed his hand.

"Be a good girl, alright? I love you."

"Papa?"

"And take this with you," He handed her his wand, "I won't be needing this and want you to have it. I'm not sure it will listen to you much, but just keep it."

"No Papa! This is your wand. You need this for work. You have to get up!" she begged as she looked from the wand to him.

"Be good Rosey. I love you." The light in his eyes died as his last words rolled off his tongue. Rosette stared at the lifeless body of her father in shock and confusion. She let go of his hand and hugged his still form.

"I love you too, Papa," she wept. She held him close for another twenty minutes before the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol trailed onto the estate behind Kitzy. A kind patrol witch peeled her off her father's body and held her while she cried, his wand still in her tiny hands.

"And who might you be?" asked a gentle voice that Rosette failed to register.

She was took busy taking in her surroundings. The large marble building that was Kingsbridge Orphanage stood before her was designed to look like a Greek temple. It was shiny due to its dedicated upkeep by the diligent staff. Beautiful white climbing roses coiled around the pillars from top to bottom. The enormous yard was littered with toys and broomsticks that the other children carelessly sloppily discarded when they were done playing. Despite the numerous object on the ground, the grass was a rich green colour that made the place seem even more unbelievable to Rosette. Orphanages were supposed to be dreary and rundown, according to her muggle story book, Oliver Twist. Children ran around with smiles, laughing and frolicking with each other. This was a most perplexing sight.

"Young lady?" the voice said again. A gentle hand tapped on Rosette's shoulder, finally catching her attention. "What is your name?"

"Rosette Adalinda Sarpong," the tiny witch stated shyly. "Is this really an orphanage? It looks too happy to be one. Aren't they supposed gross looking? And aren't you supposed to be mean and ugly? You must not be doing something right."

The old woman merely giggled at the girl's bluntness. Rosette was right. The woman was not a mean and ugly looking person. She was a little old lady, about 5"1. Her long white hair was worn up in a tight bun, accentuating her round and slightly chubby face, little nose, thin lips, and wide grey eyes. She wore what Rosette considered to be an "old person" dress because to her, it looked like the woman decided to wear someone's hideous drapes as clothing. Nevertheless, she was still a very pleasant looking lady.

"Well Miss Rosette, this is indeed an orphanage, and I don't think I'm a mean and ugly lady. I'm sorry to disappoint you," she chuckled, "I hope you will overlook these errors. I am sorry to hear that you have been through so much this past week, but I assure you, I will try to make your stay here as pleasing as possible. My name is Mrs. Hutchinson. Shall I show you to your room? I will introduce you to the other children afterwards."

"Okay. Can Apep come with me?"

The tiny hands reached for a pocket inside her tiny travelling cloak and pulled out the fat skink, who seemed to have been munching on candy that was long forgotten in the pocket that he was in.

"Of course, dear. Will he be needing a cage?"

"No. He likes to sleep at the foot of my bed."

"Alright then, dear." Mrs. Hutchinson replied as they entered the building.

After climbing two flights of stairs, they entered a hallway that mentioned as the Girls Hall. They came to a simple wooden door with a decorative pink label on the front.

"Si-o-ban? And Rosette?" the child asked. She had never seen a name like that before and had no idea how to pronounce it.

The door suddenly swung open, revealing a girl no older than Rosette. The only thing brighter than her hazel eyes was her long fiery red hair. She was an inch or two taller than Rosette. Her hair was dishevelled and fell all over her face, but that did nothing to cover the freckles that covered the bridge of her pointed nose. Her red t-shirt and grey shorts were covered in blue paint and cookie crumbs.

"Siobhan. Sha-Vah-n…O'Brien. That's how you say my name. Nice to meet you!" the girl exclaimed with a thick Irish accent as her held out her hand for Rosette to shake. Rosette cautiously shook the hand, introduced herself and was rewarded with a signature Siobhan smile. Her two front teeth were missing, leaving a rather amusing gap. Rosette returned the gesture with a smile of her own.

"Mrs. Hutchinson said you were gonna be here today, so I made sure I cleaned up!" she stated happily, "I can help her get settle. Most of her stuff is already here."

"Alright, Siobhan. If you think you can take things from here, I'll be outside with everyone else. Try not to overstimulate her." Mrs. Hutchinson laughed as she made her way back downstairs.

The two girls walked into their room. It was a charming little beige bedroom with a bunk bed set up and two wardrobes off to the side. There were two small desks for them to use. In between the desks stood a heavily stocked bookcase filled with muggle and wizard story books, as well as a few large tomes on things like magical creatures, charms, and potions.

"Do you want the top or bottom bunk?" Siobhan asked as Rosette surveyed her new living space.

Rosette looked at the bunk bed. She had never seen one before. The top bunk would be the death of her, not being used to being that high off the ground. She did not trust that she wouldn't roll off the bed and break her face in her sleep. Plus, Apep's squishy self would never be able to get up and down from there without help.

"I'll take the bottom. It would be safer," she giggled at the thought of Apep struggling to scale up the ladder with his stubby little legs and fat body. She walked over to her bunk and laid down on the soft bed. She starred up at her view of the bottom bunk. It was like a blank canvas, prompting her with an idea. She hopped out of the bed and went over to one of the desks. After rummaging around a bit, she found some tape. She went back to the bunk and began pulling things out of her cloak. There were old pictures that she and her father had drawn together, a few muggle bottle caps, her mother's silver serpent hairpin, and a few pictures of her and her parents. She spent a couple of minutes taping the items to the bottom of the bunk so she could always look up at them. Finally, she pulled out two smaller photos, one with her mother, father, and herself on a picnic. The other was just of her and her father, smiling with pure bliss. The last thing she pulled out was her father's wand that she had tragically inherited. Instead of taping them to the bunk, she put these three items under the large pillow on her bed.

"Okay Siobhan! I'm ready," she said as she set her travelling cloak on the bed. Apep crawled out and made his way up Rosette's arm, on a mission to settle himself atop her head so he could sleep in her curly silver mane. Siobhan jumped down from her top bunk with a large toothy grin plastered on her face. She grabbed Rosette's hand with excitement.

"Let's go, Rosette!"

Many kilometres away, a man picked up a Daily Prophet. He usually never read the silly paper, but seeing how he had time to kill before it was time to kill, he thought he should find something entertaining. "Domestic violence ends in two deaths. Charles and Merope Sarpong were found dead in their home last week after an argument took a turn for the worst, leaving behind a five year old daughter." he read. Foolish people, he though. He was about to throw the paper away when something in his memory clicked. Merope? That is a far from common name…It couldn't be…mother? And a child? No, that's impossible.

A/N: Gentle reviews are always welcomed! Thank you for reading!