Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Harry Potter. If I did I would be a far richer man. And I'd be a woman.

AN: Word of warning, the Dursleys are going to be treated as far more abusive than in canon. The reasons for this won't be readily apparent as I'm staying almost solely in Harry, Rose and Gabrielle's viewpoints. Harry and/or Rose will eventually comment on just why the Dursleys are the way they are, but that doesn't happen here. For now, just know that it's more than it seems on the surface.

Chapter 2: Some Things Change, Some Things Remain the Same

Harry was panting with exhaustion by the time he managed to drag himself and Gabrielle ashore. The Veela girl was shivering so hard her teeth were chattering and her fingers had locked around his neck tight enough to mildly choke him as her weight left the water. Harry couldn't blame her. He shuffled the last few feet up the shoreline so that they were fully on dry land and immediately felt Gabrielle release him and drop to the ground. He knelt beside her and draped an arm over the girl while Rose fell to their other side and also joined the group embrace.

"Sorry," Gabrielle mumbled between shivers. "So. Cold."

Rose just squeezed the other two tighter. "Pomfrey's already coming down screaming and I see your sister right behind her," she murmured.

"I only remember bits and pieces at the moment so one of you please tell me that not everything in this world is as stupid as tossing teenagers into freezing waters in February," Harry said scowling at the faculty members running towards them.

"This is one of the saner ideas," Rose said chuckling. "Though considering I just risked creating a black hole on a whim I probably shouldn't be talking."

Harry sighed. "Yeah, well I asked if she could come first, so Ella's probably the sanest of everyone in the area."

"Gabi in front of the others," Gabrielle murmured. "Ella is for you two only. And only in private. I'm going to have to remember to use ze accent for a few weeks. Damn you both!" She glared momentarily at the twins before all three broke down into easy laughter.

"The lake in February! What are these idiots thinking?!" Pomfrey's angry voice rang through them. Another person with sense nearby! Before Harry could even raise his head to smile at the nurse, warmth spread throughout his entire body. Finally glancing up, he saw the mediwitch's wand twirling over both him and his friends. "Just lucky none of them have frostbite!"

"Gabrielle!" a silver missile shot out from behind Pomfrey and collided with the smallest in their little huddle. Harry found himself on the ground squashed against Rose with Gabrielle pushed into his chest. Fleur was on top of everyone, her arms wrapped around Gabrielle and tears streaming down her cheeks. "Est-ce que tu es blessée? Est-ce que ça va? Pardonnes-moi, j'ai suis tombée dans une embuscade et je n'ai pas pu venir jusqu'à toi!" Fleur sobbed. Harry just blinked in confusion at the mass of French. He had learned some Latin during university, but had never really had much practice in French beyond a few key phrases.

Rose squirmed out of the pile and reached over to pat Fleur awkwardly on the back. "She's fine. We both woke up under the water, but Harry got us out pretty quick." Harry was too concerned with Gabrielle to try and explain from his perspective. Not that his explanation would be much better – Yeah, we tried to time jump and wound up a few months late and underwater. My bad.

Gabrielle had gone surprisingly stiff as Fleur clung to her and when Harry met her eyes he saw a reflection of the familiar plea for help all too often shining from his sister's gaze. He didn't know the whole story about Gabrielle's relationship with her family, but the strained aspect obviously hadn't been apparent at this point. They needed to distract Fleur long enough for Gabrielle to get her bearings.

"Fleur, could you give us a bit of room. I think Gabrielle is a bit overwhelmed," Harry said gently.

Fleur gasped and quickly pulled back. "Oui. Gabi, I am right here. I-I just..." Fleur broke off crying harder. "I am so sorry!"

Rose subtly shifted closer and squeezed Gabrielle's leg and Harry finally saw the younger girl begin to relax. "It eez alright, Fleur," Gabrielle said. She carefully extracted herself from Harry's lap and stood, accepting the towel offered by Madame Pomfrey. "My knight, saved me from ze waters. 'e was amazing!"

"Which is totally true," Rose whispered helping Harry to stand. "Barely back with me for an hour and already saving me again." Reaching up she lightly kissed his cheek and snaked a hand down to clench his own. "Now for the fireworks."

Fleur hugged Gabrielle again as shouting erupted from the direction of the Headmasters standing just behind Pomfrey. Harry lifted an eyebrow at the heated exchanges in mixed French and English and as he pushed slightly to the side he noticed two people berating Dumbledore and the…the…Harry scowled at not being able to remember the half-giantess Beauxbatons Headmistress' name. That brought up his inability to remember the half-giant Hogwarts groundskeeper's name as well. Taking a moment to push down his annoyance and frustration Harry breathed a deep sigh. Taking a nap was apparently going to be a priority. He really needed to start getting these memories sorted out…

Rose squeezed his hand again and when Harry turned to look at her she smiled. "Maxime. Her name is Maxime." Harry's stared at her in mild shock for a moment before shaking his head in amusement.

"You were always better at that than me," he murmured. Rose gave a small shrug and smirked wider in acknowledgment. Harry coughed loudly and winced. It was apparently enough to draw Pomfrey's attention back to him as the healer turned and started casting more diagnostics.

"Why didn't you say you were having trouble breathing, Potter? Water in the lungs! Honestly! First dragons and now this! When I find whose bright idea these Tasks were…" Pomfrey thrust a potion into his hands and watched carefully as Harry consumed it. Drawing her wand again she asked, "Just how much did you end up inhaling, Potter?"

Harry shrugged already feeling better. "Not too much. A bit after the gills vanished and before we reached the surface. It's really not that bad."

Pomfrey huffed and crossed her arms. "Any water in the lungs is potentially bad, Mr. Potter. That potion should heal any damage and I've vanished the remaining liquid. However, Miss Potter, keep a careful eye on him and if he continues to cough after another hour bring him straight to me."

Rose nodded and threaded her arm through his leading to a rolling of the eyes from the afflicted party. "Got it covered, Madam!"

Finally, the shouting diminished and the elder Delacours moved in to embrace Gabrielle while Dumbledore stepped forward. "Harry, perhaps you could tell us what transpired during the Task? This situation seems most unusual."

Harry glared at the man and raised his eyebrows. It wasn't too hard to feign annoyance; this old man had apparently abandoned him to the Ministry kangaroo court rather than try and do anything to save him. "All I know is that after I got there Rose started to wake up. I cut her loose and saw that Gabrielle was waking up too so I grabbed her also and got to the surface as fast as possible. Your spells didn't seem to hold too well, Sir. Considering that both are in their pajamas I'm forced to wonder whether either was even asked if they were willing to participate."

The pained look on Dumbledore's face was answer enough to that question. It did quite a lot to assuage his mild pang of guilt at blaming the man for the consequences of their time travel shenanigans. "This was a failure on the judges' part indeed," Dumbledore said softly. "As I have just reassured Mr. and Mrs. Delacour, we will be certain to investigate the situation to determine why the protection failed."

A cry of pain rang out nearby and Rose and Harry both jerked their heads to the side. Gabrielle had fallen to the ground and wrapped her arms around her stomach. Her eyes were squeezed shut and her teeth were clenched. Apolline was beside her in an instant gently holding her shoulders while her father just looked at them both astonished. Fleur's mouth hung open slightly and she muttered confused, "Ze Change? Already? She is far too young…zis doesn't make sense…"

Rose grimaced and leaned up enough to whisper into Harry's ear. "Well at least she won't be small for too much longer now. Give it about a month and Gabi will look older than both of us. If her parents don't accept something about the stress involved she might have to tell them about the Bond right off to explain this."

"Bond?" Harry whispered back.

Rose's grimaced increased though she shook her head. "Later. Forgot I didn't get to explain that before."

Harry sighed and nodded his assent. Gabrielle grimaced and looked up at her parents. "Maman, Papa, privacy please. Yell at ze 'eadmistress and 'eadmaster later."

"Of course, Gabi. Come on. We'll take you home," her father said helping her to stand.

Gabrielle froze, her eyes briefly met Harry's and Rose before she started shaking her head violently enough that her entire body swayed. "No! Not 'ome! I want to stay wiz Fleur! She 'as gone through zis recently!"

That seemed to jolt the older sister out of her shock because she hurriedly nodded and moved to Gabrielle's side. "Of course. I'll show you my room, Gabi." As she was led away, Gabrielle briefly made eye contact with Harry and rolled her eyes. It was all he could do to avoid laughing and from the way Rose's hand clenched next to him, he knew his sister was having the same issue.

"Well, now that the excitement seems to have ended…" Dumbledore said, a damnable twinkle entering his eyes. "Let us assemble all of the Champions by the dock and as soon as Miss Delacour returns we can announce the scores!"

The scores came as no surprise even to one who didn't remember the original allotment. Harry walked away with a 49 having a single point deducted for getting directions to the center of the village from Moaning Myrtle. Harry felt that was fair as it was technically involving someone from outside the contest. He was amused to note that contrary to the events depicted in the fiction he'd read, he'd actually been last to arrive at the hostages…well discounting Fleur who had still gotten into a nearly fatal tangle with Grindylows, kelpies and hippocampi requiring rescue via Giant Squid. Cedric took second place barely beating out Krum while Fleur got bonus points for surviving her ordeal 'despite unhealthy odds'.

Shrugging off the attentions of his classmates Harry walked back to the Common Room with Rose sticking right next to him though they had stopped holding hands and returned to the 'normal' behavior presented to Hogwarts as a whole. They had barely entered the room when shouts of congratulations rang out and butterbeers were thrust into their hands.

"Harry!" Cedric exclaimed pushing through the throng of badgers to clap him on the back. "Good show, mate! I can't believe Dumbledore's spells wore off part-way through. I suppose I could see it affecting the young Veela girl differently, but to fade on Rose too? It's a good thing you got there when you did."

"So you're talking to us again then?" Rose asked curtly. Harry saw the way her weight shifted and her fingers flexed. Brief flashes of Cedric sneering at them and Hufflepuffs avoiding them en masse floated to the surface of Harry's mind. "No longer interested in playing the jilted glory-hound jock?"

Cedric shuffled back and forth and shrugged. "Yeah, um…well look, we've all been right arses yeah?" he mumbled. "I'm sorry I haven't asked anyone to rein it in before. It's just hard knowing you're fighting against Harry Potter. I mean, that didn't really work out so well for me last time right? Puffs are supposed to stick together and we all just thought that maybe you'd…you know with the past few years and all it seemed reasonable…What I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry. We all are. Harry, we know you'd never get into something that might hurt Rose."

"Funny how it took you this long to realize that," Harry said glaring at the older boy. "Considering that's the only reason we're in this House to begin with: loyalty to each other. Like I'd seriously risk getting killed in this Tournament and leaving her alone."

"You can talk all you want Cedric, but if you want to actually apologize, act like you mean it," Rose snarled. "When we stop having to study in the library until curfew to avoid you lot or when we can avoid having to ward our beds every night maybe then we'll believe it."

Flashes of studying with Hermione, Susan and Neville along with…with…a girl with two first names…Harry grimaced and held a hand to his head. Rose immediately stopped talking and took hold of his forearm. "Look, thank you for the apology. I do really hope you mean it, but we'll reserve judgment on that for the moment. Right now I'm getting Harry to bed. That Task took a lot out of him, almost drowning and all. Hell, it took a lot out of me and all I had to do was swim to the shore after panicking a bit."

Cedric winced and nodded. A space opened up for them and Rose led Harry to the stairs to his dorm. It was thankfully completely empty as they walked in and sat on his bed. Harry flopped back and ran a hand over his forehead. "Thanks, Rosy. These memory flashes are far too much like those damn migraines I used to get."

"You need to sleep, Harry," Rose said taking his glasses off and placing them on the side table. "It'll help tear the cracks wide open. I think. It should. Ella came up with that procedure too and…well you've seen her stuff works as designed."

Harry sighed and cracked an eye open. "Do you use anything normal? There's got to be an easier method of undoing an Oblivation."

Rose grimaced. "There um…might have been but uh, well I really only got through Fifth Year before dropping out to find you and Ella left with me so she had to study for her O.W.L.s on her own and…well our official schooling really isn't that far beyond yours," she finished in a rush.

Harry's eyebrows climbed into his hairline and he sat up to stare at her. "What?"

"Look, let's talk when I get back, okay?"

"Fine. You still have the…the uh…Cloak! You still have the Cloak in your trunk right?" Harry asked smiling as the vision of the item slotted into place as well as their general usage of it.

Rose snorted in amusement. "Of course I still have it. I'll be back in five minutes." Waving, she walked out and Harry flopped back onto the bed. Groaning he reached down to pull off his shoes, but only got one before his head started aching again.

The night the Goblet spat out his name swam in front of his eyes…

"Harry James Potter," Rose sighed pushing off from her position against the wall. "Just what am I going to do with you?"

Harry walked out of the chamber the Champions had been shepherded into and ran a hand through his hair. "Well I'm stuck with this Tournament apparently. No one was willing to stand up and say that the whole thing was a wash and try again."

"Did you ask if they'd make the Tasks something stupid like marbles and have three real Tasks for the actual Champions?" Rose asked frowning.

"Of course I did. I thought I was going to get murdered as soon as it came out of my mouth. Cedric appeared to be leading the charge on that one, shouting about a disgrace to tradition." Harry's frown turned into a scowl that was quickly directed in the direction the older Puff had vanished into. "So much for Hufflepuffs always stick together."

Rose sighed and wrapped him in a hug leaning her head against his shoulder. "We've always known they would fully turn on us eventually. Between the dragon first year, Hermione's study group trumping 'The Badger Corner', Snape's continuous persecution, the Heir of Slytherin suspicions and the bullshite about Sirius 'threatening' Hannah last year…not to mention whatever the hell gets Lavender and Hannah into a twist. So we're alone. It's nothing new."

Harry felt himself relaxing somewhat and pulled back kissing the top of Rose's head. "Thanks, Rosy. You know this is probably just Voldemort trying to get me killed or maneuvered into a trap or something right?"

"Of course it is," Rose said smiling. "A trap only works when you're not expecting though. So we just have to train you even harder this year!"

Harry groaned and slapped a hand to his head. "The horror! No more! No more, Mistress Potter!" he cried theatrically.

Rose laughed and playfully slapped his forearm. "Come on, we should go ward our beds servant. Oh, by the way, Hermione let me know that she's going to draw up a schedule of stuff for you to look at to try and get prepared."

"Really? She's with us?" Harry asked dropping his sarcasm and staring in astonishment at his sister.

Rose shrugged. "Seems that way. We'll see how long she lasts with the rest of the school against us though. I honestly don't think I'll blame her if she bails though. Neville already said he supports us, but doesn't feel comfortable speaking up."

Harry grimaced. "Too bad he doesn't have a sister…"

Rose glared at him. "Not funny, Harry. We're fucked up enough. There's no need to wish someone else was in the same situation."

Harry glared right back at her and shook his head. "You know that's not what I meant, Rose. If he had somebody to stand with him, he wouldn't have these confidence issues."

"So we keep trying to set him up with Hermione!" she said crossing her arms. "One incestuous pair of twins is more than enough for this castle thank you very much."

Harry's lip curled into a small smile. "Just one? Surely the Weasley twins share…everything…"

"Ugh, I did not need that mental picture thank you very much," Rose said shaking her head. "Though…well I guess if Angelina and Alicia were kinky enough I could see them swapping without much difficulty…"

Harry laughed at her thought process, smiling back at her. "I don't get you sometimes. Not interested in guy on guy, but perfectly okay with me bringing up Susan and Hannah."

"Yeah well I have to have to hear those two whenever I actually sleep in my own bed. One day I will figure out how to discreetly mention silencing charms to them without pissing Hannah off," Rose said shrugging.

Harry laughed harder. "Uh huh. You keep telling yourself that, Rosy. Come on, let's go." As they walked off towards the Badger's Den he flashed her a winning smile. "Thanks for cheering me up, sis."

"Always, bro. Always."

Harry felt a body settle in next to him and he instinctively reached out to wrap an arm around Rose. Sighing in contentment she snuggled in closer. "Thought you were asleep already," she murmured.

"Sorta. Got lost in the night I was chosen," Harry replied. "How long did Hermione keep helping us by the way? That's still fuzzy."

"She never really stopped surprisingly," Rose said. She reached up to idly play with his hair. "The only reason we stopped talking was because she got pretty nasty with her accusations that you were dead and I needed to start living in reality. I feel bad that I got nasty right back at her…especially since she really did make sense. It's just that…well…"

"I know, Rosy. I know," Harry sighed. "We really are screwed up aren't we?"

"Completely," Rose agreed. "And I don't care. I have you back. That's all I care about. You and Ella. We'll finish this thing off, turn Riddle's trap against him and then the three of us can go off and live happily ever after."

Harry frowned and twisted so he could look at her. "Should we have just left her with her family like that? You mentioned that she didn't really get on well with them and I could tell if anything you downplayed it with the way she tensed up when Fleur got there…"

Rose gave a heavy sigh and was quiet for nearly a minute before replying. "How this plays out is up to her. It'll be easier after a fashion now that she's Changing. It's like puberty on steroids for Veela. The way Ella described it, because of the dangers of their full powered Allure, a Veela stays looking childlike until their magic feels that the girl is mature enough mentally to be able to protect herself from male predators. Then their magic…inverts I guess, and they get a massive growth spurt. Basically they go from 9 to 16 in a month and a half. It's weird."

"I don't see how that relates to her family, Rosy…" Harry asked.

"It just means they'll be more likely to take her seriously now rather than dismiss her arguments as those of child." Rose shifted up onto her elbows and kissed Harry's forehead. "Like you and me. We made it clear early on that we were a heck of a lot older mentally than we looked physically."

"Gave us some problems…I think…it did right?"

"Yeah it did," Rose said nodding. "The point is that Ella will now be able to get her family to listen. The first time through was bad, because when she chose to support me and help find you they thought she was just being a stupid, infatuated little girl and that she would 'grow out of her childhood rebellion'." Harry winced at that. His relatives – both real and fake – had never cared enough to accuse him of that, but he'd read enough to know how frustrating that could be.

Rose cringed and shook her head as she continued. "Thing is, Ella had already bound herself to you when you saved her from the lake. I don't know many details. You have to ask her. The point is that she chose you and she wasn't going to simply let you go without a fight. She didn't tell her family because it became a principle thing. Ella felt like her family didn't deserve to know she was bound until they started supporting her decisions. They never did so she never told them. I think they were on just a Christmas and Birthday card basis by the time we tracked you down."

"Ouch," Harry winced. His eyes widened and he pushed up to look carefully at Rose. "Is she already bound again then?"

Rose shrugged. "No clue. Ella said it was as much physical as mental so I doubt it carried back through the time leap with us. Whether or not she re-established it once we were on the surface though? We'll have to ask her once she can get away from Fleur and the parents."

Harry sighed and nodded. "It doesn't affect her free will at all if she does re-establish it right?"

"I…I don't think so," Rose hedged. "Harry, I really don't know much. Ella wasn't bound to me. She was bound to you. She tried to tell me a few things, but I always got the sense it really embarrassed her so I never pushed."

"And you worried if you found out too many specifics, you'd manipulate it in order to find me easier," Harry said softly.

Rose looked away quickly though the way her body tensed and the hand that snaked out to wipe her eyes didn't escape Harry's notice. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into him. Harry felt her tears land on his chest for several minutes before Rose's quiet sobs slowed. "I didn't want to hurt her like that," Rose said between snuffles. "She was my only friend by then. The only person who was still helping me and standing with me. She was the only one who cared! And I would still have used her and her nature to find you if I knew details! I'm horrible!"

"No, you're not, Rosy," Harry murmured gently running a hand through her hair. "You're damaged. So am I. Vernon and Petunia did a fantastic job of destroying us and turning us into the freaks they always called us. We're shattered, but we're not broken. Ella knew that just as well as we do or she never would have been able to stay with you for a decade without a buffer. You're not horrible, Rose. You're my sister. You're my other half. We're both hurt, but when we're together you can't see the cracks running through our souls."

Rose gave one final sniffle and shifted so that she was leaning over him. "You always know just what to say," she said giving him a watery smile.

"Same to you, sis," Harry replied.

Leaning down, Rose captured his lips in a hard kiss her tongue playing with his for several long moments. One hand roamed through his messy hair while the other grasped his hand and squeezed hard enough to come just a hair's breadth from pain. Harry felt her groan of satisfaction vibrate through her throat and into his own and he pushed up from the mattress enough to try and draw her in even more. Panting, Rose broke away and gently pushed him back down before lying curled up on his chest. "God, I missed this. As much as we both want to keep going, you really need to sleep, Harry."

"Yeah," he said softly. "We can continue as soon as my mind isn't a jumble."

"It's a date."

Uncle Vernon was mad. He was beyond mad. The vein on his forehead was bulging and his face was purple. Aunt Petunia was sneering behind him with her arms crossed and a distinctive twitch over her left eye. They were frightening enough that even Dudley had retreated to his room. Harry had never seen them this upset before.

"I warned you, none of this funny business under my roof!" Uncle Vernon screamed, spittle flying everywhere.

Rose cringed back from her place behind Harry as her hand clutched his arm hard enough to hurt. Harry shook his head and slowly stepped backward trying to stay slumped over enough to avoid being a threat, but tall enough to still shield Rose from their relatives. "We don't know how it happened! We're just as scared as you!"

"Scared!? Scared!?" The vein bulged even larger than before. Harry started praying that it would explode and his uncle would just drop dead. Petunia hadn't physically hit them in years and she was thin and weak enough that they could probably avoid anything that she tried. Vernon was the dangerous one. "The only one who should be scared is you, you little freaks!"

"Are you sure you cut it?" Rose asked softly, her voice quavering. "I didn't think that hair could grow back like that…"

"Rose, shut up," Harry hissed low enough that only she should be able to hear him.

It was too late, the damage had been done. Vernon shifted his eyes from Harry to Rose. "Are we sure," he mocked. "Petunia chopped it off of both of you herself you little bitch! Or are you calling my wife a liar?"

Harry shook his head hurriedly as Rose pressed herself against him. The shaking in her body was evidence enough to her terror. "That's not what we said, Uncle Vernon! We just said we don't know what happened and that we're confused."

Uncle Vernon's eyes stayed locked onto the space behind Harry and he took a menacing step forward. "I'll tell you what happened. You little freaks used your unnaturalness to undo my wife's work. How many times do I have to beat it out of you until you understand what is normal? What is acceptable? How many times do I have to starve you and punish you until the message seeps into those tiny, insignificant brains of yours?" Uncle Vernon took another step and Harry backed up appropriately. He started sweating as he felt Rose press against him harder. They were against the stairwell now – there was nowhere else to run.

"Please…we're sorry…we're sorry!" Rose whimpered.

"Just lock us in the cupboard," Harry pleaded. "It won't happen again! We'll learn, we promise!"

Uncle Vernon's eyes narrowed into slits as Aunt Petunia lifted her nose into the air. "I don't think you will learn," she said. "It's been nine years since we took you in against all our better judgment. Nine years and you still haven't learned. We obviously haven't been trying hard enough. Haven't been pushing the right buttons."

"There is another way to teach you a lesson though…a way that might help it finally sink into that thick skull that actions have consequences," Uncle Vernon said as he reached out to grasp Harry's shoulder.

The boy winced expecting some new form of torture or pain. Maybe they'd try branding him. He'd seen an article about branding cattle once and that's really all he and Rose were to these people. That would hurt, but he'd live through it and he could push Uncle Vernon enough once the man got the poker so his uncle would forget all about Rose. Harry would protect his sister like he'd always had to do before. Rose made sure Aunt Petunia's words centered on her and Harry made sure Uncle Vernon's beatings centered on him. They'd survive just like always.

The next thing Harry knew he was flying across the room and smashing into the wall near the kitchen. A crack sounded in the air and pain shot through his left shoulder blade. His arm hung limply and the room swam in front of his eyes momentarily. Turning his head slightly, Harry's eyes widened as he saw Uncle Vernon clamp one meaty paw around Rose's arm and jerk her towards the stairs. "Little bitches like you are only good for one thing. Maybe this will make you learn your place!"

A red haze descended over Harry's vision. A detached part of him marveled at that as he'd always assumed it to just be flowery embellishment on an author's part yet here it was actually happening. The larger section of Harry's consciousness was entirely focused on Vernon – the man no longer warranted the title of 'Uncle' – and Rose. Petunia simply shrugged with a small smirk on her face as her husband tugged Harry's screaming, crying sister onto the stairs and towards the upper floor. Towards his bedroom.

Harry roared and pushed off of the wall. He ignored the pain in his shoulder and leapt onto Vernon's back wrapping his arms around the man's thick neck. Vernon screamed in pain as Harry's fingers dug into the flab. Flailing around, his hand released Rose and Harry's sister fell against the wall curling into a tiny ball with her head between her knees. Harry didn't let go as Vernon reached behind him trying to get a grip on the ten year old riding him. When that failed, Vernon slammed his back into the front door knocking the wind out of Harry.

Harry felt his hands lose their grip with the impact and he slipped to the floor as Vernon stumbled forwards again and tripped into the stairs. Yelling in rage, the large walrus found his feet again and turned to Harry, eyes wild and animalistic. Harry could still hear Rose sobbing into her arms and he snarled right back at Vernon. He pushed against something and suddenly Vernon flew head over heels halfway up the stairs. The large man hit the stairs with a crunch and tumbled back down to the floor. A scream from the front room was the first and only reaction from Petunia since the drama began.

Vernon groaned in pain as he looked up at Harry blearily. Harry slowly stood ensuring that his relatives didn't see him favoring his injured shoulder. "Do. Not. Touch. Rose. We'll be in our cupboard. Come on, Rosy." Harry gently took Rose's arm and helped her to her feet. She clung to him to like a lifeline and followed as he led the way to their room. As soon as the cupboard door closed Harry settled onto the single dingy bed and Rose leapt into his arms, tears streaming from her eyes. "Shh, it's okay, Rosy. It's okay. He's not going to hurt you. He's never going to touch you as long as I'm here."

"It's not okay!" Rose said clutching his shirt and vehemently shaking her head. "I don't even know what we did! And you're hurt! You always get hurt protecting me!"

"I can take it and you're worth it. I heal fast remember," Harry said smiling and rubbing her back. "I'll be good as new in a few days just like always."

Rose just shook her head again. "You shouldn't have to get hurt for me. I should be able to defend myself."

"That's what older brothers are for."

Rose pulled back and glared at him. The tear tracks and snot made the expression lose a lot of the power. "I'm older."

"Nah, we agreed I was older. Back when I let you have the cupcake we stole from Dudley two years ago," Harry said grinning.

Rose shook her head and crossed her arms. "That was then, this is now. I'm older and as the older sibling I'm supposed to take care of you."

Harry nodded sagely. "Okay, you can be older. But it's still the brother's place to protect his sister."

Rose looked set to argue so Harry quickly marched on trying to elicit a promise from her instead. "If you want to take care of me though I can allow that. You patch me up after I get banged up and come for me when I'm lost and we'll count it even."

Rose squinted at him and quirked her mouth into a thoughtful line tapping her foot against the mattress. Finally she gave a heavy sigh and said, "Fiiiine. I guess we can compromise. I promise. Now let me see your shoulder."

Harry awoke with a jerk, breathing heavily. His heart raced and for a moment he didn't know where he was. Then the weight on his chest shifted and Rose squeezed his middle tightly. "Go back to sleep. You need it."

Harry took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Bloody hell. I feel like I've lived two lives. Am I going to have to relive every memory when I close my eyes, Rosy?"

Her shoulders shifted and she lifted her head enough to kiss his chin. "No clue. I don't think so. Maybe some key moments until everything settles back into place. What did you remember?"

"The first time Vernon tried touching you," Harry muttered. His fists clenched into balls, his muscles tensed and the curtains around the bed fluttered softly. Rose leaned up and pressed her lips to his demanding his full attention. Harry resisted only a moment before returning her affections.

When Rose pulled back she met his eyes and waited until he was fully there with her. "Harry, you saved me that day. You saved me every other time he got drunk enough to risk trying again. You've always saved me and you always will."

"I wasn't there for ten years, Rosy," Harry said the strain in his voice would even be evident to Justin if their curtains hadn't been silenced.

"And I learned how to…take care of matters while you weren't around." Rose shook her head and laid back down on him. "It wasn't your fault the trial went bad, Harry. You've always been impulsive and quick to anger. I even found out part of the reason thanks to Tonks. We'll wait for Ella and I'll explain. The point is, it's not your fault you were taken. It's the Ministry's – particularly Umbridge and Fudge and we're going to get them before this is over. You're here now. That's all that matters."

Harry frowned and placed a hand under his sister's chin gently lifting her back up so he could look into her hazel eyes again. "Did Vernon try anything in the few weeks you stayed with him before leaving?"

Rose's eyes shifted down and it was answer enough that Harry let go of her chin and pulled her into a crushing hug. Rose barely moved against his chest for several minutes. Finally a quiet voice floated up. "He tried and I fought back. He was the first person I killed. Petunia was the second. Dudley was the third. I…I made it look like a Death Eater attack afterwards so that Dumbledore's cronies stayed off my back. Ella and Tonks are the only people who know. Knew. Stupid time travel tense trouble…"

Harry winced and pulled her down enough to kiss her forehead. "You did well, Rosy. You stayed safe. They deserved whatever you did to them."

"I like to think so…" Rose sighed and snuggled closer. "You asked earlier about our schooling? I can teach you some of the stuff Ella came up with though she'd be better for most of it. Officially, I finished Fifth Year and have seven O.W.L.s though I only really excelled in Defense, Runes and Herbology. Ella officially finished four years at school with an official year of self-study afterwards and eight O.W.L.s. She did best with Arithmancy, Charms and Divination. We picked up a few things while looking for you, but a lot of our knowledge is patchy at best past that point…I'm sorry we're not complete badasses despite the extra time. We've just gotten really good with a few more basic spells you know?"

"Quality over quantity," Harry said shrugging. "At least you won't be completely bored if we stay through N.E.W.T.s this time. Besides," he smirked at her, "you've got me for power plays."

"Haha," Rose smiled rolled her eyes and playfully flicked a finger against his forehead. "Brute force has a place, I'll admit. It will make getting the stupid ring easier. When you can just destroy wards by totally overpowering them it makes cursebreaking seem easy."

Harry frowned up at all. "I'll just pretend I remember a ring then."

Rose shook her head. "That is not a discussion for tonight. We're only talking about those when Ella is around. Your Occlumency back by the way?"

"Yeah," Harry said nodding. "I remember enough to be able to throw anyone but you out without even trying."

"Funny how growing up with massive trust issues makes that particular mind art interesting huh?" Rose commented dryly. Harry just laughed in agreement followed by a long yawn. "Okay, mister. Back to sleep with you."

Harry lazily saluted her and wrapped his arm back around her, settling in. "I love you, Rose."

"Love you too, Harry. Sleep well."

Rose was silent for long enough that their breathing slowed and Harry's eyes drooped. Just before he nodded off again her voice drifted up, quiet enough that he could only barely hear her. "I came for you when you were lost. Just like I promised back then."

Harry smiled. She remembered that night just as well as he did. "Promise kept. You get to be the older sibling, Rosy."

AN: As usual, a great thanks to my betas Thundramon and JordanMathias!

A rough translation of the French line thanks to MidnightFenrir's help on this one in 'Rune'. Any mistakes in moving it to this story are my own: Est-ce que tu es blessée? Est-ce que ça va? Pardonnes-moi, j'ai suis tombée dans une embuscade et je n'ai pas pu venir jusqu'à toi! = Are you hurt? Are you okay? Forgive me, I was ambushed and couldn't get to you!