When Rose woke up she was confused about where she was until everything rushed back to her. Victoria being pregnant, Remus bringing them to his pack, Cian sending her to Delco, meeting Josephine, and falling asleep in what she assumed was Delco's room. There was light streaming into the room through a skylight and Rose groaned tiredly before standing up and stretching, her attention drawing itself to the body that filled a chair to the other side of the bed. Delco was shirtless and just in sweat pants, but Rose didn't feel uncomfortable. She felt like she did when Harry was shirtless.

"Wake up," Rose said walking over to Delco and pushing on his shoulder.

Delco's eyes snapped open and he glared at her, "You're not nice."

"Yeah, well I'm also not with Remus so you're cornered now. Tell me why you've been talking about me, Cian said you were but you got out of telling me why yesterday."

Delco frowned and got up, making Rose squeak and fall onto the bed. Delco just rolled his eyes at her and put on a shirt, "Well. I have some news for you."

"Oh?"
"Do you know what a Sibling Bond is?"

"A bond between siblings?" Rose guessed.

"Wrong," Delco stretched for a second before looking at Rose appraisingly. "Magic can create bonds for people, as I'm sure you know."
"Yes. That's why proper triads are so powerful, magic creates them."

"Correct, but I thought you would know that. Now, a Sibling Bond is another thing that Mother Magic creates. What it is is essentially Magic saying that those who share the bond are closer than friends, but not as intimate as lovers. The bond will manifest in different ways. For instance, there are some who have to save the other from great peril in order for the bond to cement itself. Others simply meet and the bond starts. Ours was triggered upon meeting, and it is safe to assume that we only need to accept it for several side effects to go away."

Rose frowned at Delco. He seemed very guarded and nervous, but Rose didn't understand why, the bond didn't sound like a bad thing at all, "And?"

"And," Delco sighed and handed her a brush that appeared to have never been used from one of his nightstands, "then we would be bonded until one of us died. The bond doesn't do anything special normally, but under certain circumstances there are… things that would change."

Rose's eyes flashed with recognition and then dimmed to resignation, "If I accept the bond as I'm sure you already have I'd gain some of your qualities, wouldn't I? I'd be able to smell better and see better and the like."

Delco nodded, "Yes."

Rose groaned, "It's just never simple is it?"

"Not with you. But Rose, there is something else I need to tell you. This bond is more dangerous than it sounds. If either of us denies it's existence, or you refuse to accept it, both of us will suffer consequences. Sharp pains, irregular heartbeat, high temperatures, sensitivity to light, anything is possible. I need you to know that although I've accepted it I won't force you too, I can bear the pain if you don't want to be my sister through magic. I just needed you to know that we'll never be able to deny our bonds existence or we'll suffer."
Rose groaned and punched him in the arm, "You're a right arse, aren't you? Going and accepting the bond and then knowing that if I don't accept it'll hurt you forever."

Delco grinned sheepishly, "Well, you know, I got excited."

Rose snorted, "We've met once, and only exchanged three letters."

"But I feel like I've known you my whole life," Delco said with a sigh. Rose had to admit that she felt strangely familiar with him too. If she had stayed with anyone else the night before she would have gone to a spare room, but she knew that it'd be fine to take Delco's, and she knew that she'd sleep better if she did. Without understanding how she did it, Rose accepted the bond.

Suddenly she made a face and held her head for a second, adjusting to her even more sensitive hearing. She could smell things more clearly too, the previous scent that she associated with Delco separating into numerous smells; cedar, musk, something that smelt very similar to chocolate, and sunshine. She felt herself gain more energy too; she felt as if she could run miles and never grow tired.

She felt Delco's hand on her back and relaxed slightly before removing her hands from her head, "Harry is going downstairs now."

"I know. You head down first, I'm going to get completely changed. Welcome to the pack sis," Delco said with a grin and a rough pat on the back, ignoring the glare that Rose sent him. Rose wandered downstairs, knowing before she even got onto the ground floor that Remus was there too.

"Good morning Harry, Remus," Rose said with a wide smile.

"Good morning Rose," they chorused.

"So! Once Delco comes down and says it's okay we should head home. I imagine that Victoria's breakfast potatoes won't be enough to tide both her and Sirius over."

Delco walked down the steps hardly a second later and smirked at her, "Leaving me already? And after the wonderful night we shared!" he placed his hand on his chest as if he were mortally wounded, completely ignoring the death glare he was receiving from Remus at the comment.

Rose rolled her eyes, "Nothing happened last night you idiot. Now, we need to go. Permission to leave?"
"Permission granted you swot. Go on, I'm sure I'll see you before summer's end."

Rose smiled and waved at him as she and Harry grabbed onto Remus's arm, disappearing with a pop!


"Listen up, you're going to stay here whether you like it or not!" the cool voice spoke into his ear.

Cian groaned and pushed the woman to the side, ignoring the flash of annoyance that went through her mismatched eyes, "No I'm not. I have more things to do than sit around a castle all day and wait for one of the clans to have a problem!"

"But what about when they do have a problem Cian?! What then? I can't keep on making all the decisions for you, your people are going to revolt!"

Cian stepped back and sighed, running his hand through his hair. In all honesty, his position in the Vampire society bored him to no end, and had for the last two-hundred years, coincidentally coinciding with the appearance of a certain werewolf. He often left his job to Cordelia, who helped to the best of her ability, but she had never been trained to take on the position, unlike Cian.

"Fine, fine. Here's what we'll do. Every night on Saturday I will be here to deal with problems that arise in the clans. Tell them all that, and that if they really need to contact me, they can stop by Nightstop and tell me what they need, or have one of the employees give me a message at my next arrival. It's not like I don't see a lot of them often anyways it feels like I talk to half of the clans daily."

Cordelia's pretty face lost it's tense quality and she sighed quietly, "Thank you, Cian. It's good to have you home."

Cian studied Cordelia then. Black, silky hair revealed a strong, normally tense face. Her shuttered eyes were two different colors, one always black, and one always red. There were freckles spread gorgeously across her cheeks and forehead, leaving a bittersweet memory of her time as a human. She stood straight and tall at all times and gave off an illusion of strength despite her fragile frame. He knew that filling in for him had taken its toll on the woman in front of him and he smiled sadly, "It was the Fanged Night that caused this wasn't it?"

Cordelia's face tightened up again, "I don't know why you haven't simply disbanded them! They seem to think they're above all rules, that they're better than any other Vampires, living or dead!"

Cian laughed humorlessly and shook his head, "I said the same thing to my mentor. He told me that the reason we let them stay together is that if they weren't they would infect others with their thinking."

Cordelia paused, "That… makes a lot of sense."

"Of course, it does, Everild was a very wise man."

Sadness settled between the two for a fleeting moment before Cordelia smiled slightly at Cian, "So, I'm assuming you were with your wolf?"

"Of course, and I met the prophecy child again."

"Ember's daughter?"

"The very same."

Cordelia frowned, "I still don't know why you told me about that."

"Because, Cordelia, one day you will meet her, and I can't have you being rude to her. She doesn't deserve it, and I don't know what would happen to you if you were rude. She's here to help us, not to harm us, and I needed you to know that her power isn't a negative against us."

Cordelia frowned, "Who all has she met with?"
"Delco, a fairy named Aelfric, and myself. At least, I believe that's all she knows."

Cordelia frowned and leaned against one of the vast stone walls of the castle, "Well, convince her to pay a visit to the Stargazers. If she can gain their favor she has to be the prophecy child."

"You want her to visit the Centaurs?"

"I want her to prove she's the prophecy child."

"She doesn't even know that she's part of a prophecy!"

"She does know that she keeps meeting extraordinary 'beasts' though. First you, then a fairy, then your wolf. I'm sure Centaurs will seem easy to her."

Cian glared at her, "You want her to fail."
"No, I want to be excited for once. I also want to see how invested you are in this girl. Cian, if she's not the prophesied one, what will you do?"

Before Cian could respond Cordelia was gone.


"Rose, dear, it's time to get up," Mrs. Weasley whispered as she gently shook Rose's shoulder.

"Don't wanna," Rose groaned.

"You'll need to if you want to go the Cup."

Rose groaned and started grumbling about making the biggest mistake of her life when she agreed to travel to the World Cup with the Weasley's as Mrs. Weasley walked out. Sirius, Victoria, and Remus were already at the cup site and had offered to bring Rose and Harry with them. In an attempt to spend more time with Fred and George Rose had agreed with Harry that they would go with the Weasley's. When Rose was finally dressed she stumbled her way downstairs where Mrs. Weasley was stirring the contents of a large pot on the stove, while Mr. Weasley was sitting at the table, checking a sheaf of large parchment tickets. He looked up as Rose entered and spread his arms with a broad smile. He was wearing what appeared to be a golfing sweater and a very old pair of jeans, slightly too big for him and held up with a thick leather belt.

"What d'you think?" he asked anxiously. "We're supposed to go incognito - do I look like a Muggle, Rose?"

"Yeah," Rose smiled exhaustedly, "very good."

She was pulled into the seat between Fred and George and she put her head on the table as she tried to fall back asleep.

"Where're Bill and Charlie and Per-Per-Percy?" said George, trying and failing to stifle a huge yawn which set Rose's own yawn off.

"Well, they're Apparating, aren't they?" said Mrs. Weasley, heaving the large pot over to the table and starting to ladle porridge into bowls. "So they can have a bit of a lie-in."

"So they're still in bed?" Rose and Fred said grumpily.

"Why can't we Apparate too?" Fred continued as he got Rose to get her head off the table and pushed her porridge bowl towards her.

"Because you're not of age and you haven't passed your test," snapped Mrs. Weasley. "And where have those girls got to?"

She bustled out of the kitchen and they heard her climbing the stairs.

"Go get 'em!" Rose yelled after her before she lost the small amount of energy she had gained and she collapsed against George's shoulder.

"Are we going to have to carry you?" George said with a sigh as he switched from eating with his right hand to eating with his left.

"Don't wanna," Rose whined as she curled closer to him.

"Come on, Spitfire, sit up," Fred said as he tried to pull her into a regular sitting position much to the amusement of Harry and Mr. Weasley.

"No," Rose grumbled as she started clinging to George.

"Look, Rose, you really need to eat. It'll make you feel better," George tried to bargain.

"Don't you want me to hug you?" Rose asked, her tiredness making her sound as if she were on the verge of tears.

At this point Harry stepped in, having both been the victim and the witness of this trap before, "Rose, sit up or we'll leave you here and you won't get any time with Fred or George."

Rose groaned and glared at her twin as she pulled herself into a sitting position, "I'm going to get Charlie to Apparate me," she declared.

"Charlie had to take the test twice, remember?" Fred said with a giant grin. "He failed the first time, Apparated five miles south of where he meant to, right on top of some poor old dear doing her shopping, remember?"

"Yes, well, he passed the second time," said Mrs. Weasley, marching back into the kitchen amid hearty sniggers.

"Percy only passed two weeks ago," George noted switching back to eating with his right hand. "He's been Apparating downstairs every morning since, just to prove he can."

There were footsteps down the passageway and Hermione and Ginny came into the kitchen, both looking pale and drowsy.

"Why do we have to be up so early?" Ginny said, rubbing her eyes and sitting down at the table.

"We've got a bit of a walk," said Mr. Weasley.

"Walk?" said Hermione. "What, are we walking to the World Cup?"

"No, no, that's miles away," said Mr. Weasley, smiling. "We only need to walk a short way. It's just that it's very difficult for a large number of wizards to congregate without attracting Muggle attention. We have to be very careful about how we travel at the best of times, and on a huge occasion like the Quidditch World Cup-"

"George!" said Mrs. Weasley sharply, and they all jumped.

"What?" said George, in an innocent tone that deceived nobody.

"What is that in your pocket?"

"Nothing!"

"Don't you lie to me!"

Mrs. Weasley pointed her wand at George's pocket and said, "Accio!"

Several small, brightly colored objects zoomed out of George's pocket; he made a grab for them but missed, and they sped right into Mrs. Weasley's outstretched hand.

"We told you to destroy them!" said Mrs. Weasley furiously, holding up what were unmistakably Ton-Tongue Toffees. "We told you to get rid of the lot! Empty your pockets, go on, both of you!"

It was an unpleasant scene; the twins had evidently been trying to smuggle as many toffees out of the house as possible, and it was only by using her Summoning Charm that Mrs. Weasley managed to find them all.

"Accio! Accio! Accio!" she shouted, and toffees zoomed from all sort of unlikely places, including the lining of George's jacket and the turn-ups of Fred's jeans.

"We spent six months developing those!" Fred shouted at his mother as she threw the toffees away.

"Oh a fine way to spend six months!" she shrieked. "No wonder you didn't get more O.W.L.s!"

All in all, the atmosphere was not very friendly as they took their departure. Mrs. Weasley was still glowering as she kissed Mr. Weasley on the cheek, though not nearly as much as the twins, who had each hoisted their rucksacks onto their backs and walked out without a word to her.

"I am so disappointed in you, Mrs. Weasley," Rose said, her voice ringing with anger. "I expected you to be able to support them."

She rushed out of the house after Fred and George.

It was chilly and the moon was still out. Only a dull, greenish tinge along the horizon to their right showed that daybreak was drawing closer. Rose started lagging behind the twins not long after everyone else had caught up and her yawns showed everyone exactly why. Fred handed his rucksack to George and coaxed Rose onto his back.

They trudged down the dark, dank lane toward the village, the silence broken only by their footsteps. The sky lightened very slowly as they made their way through the village, its inky blackness diluting to deepest blue. Rose's hands were freezing, but Fred's body heat kept her fairly warm.

Fred and George quickly switched what they were holding at the base of Stoatshead Hill, Fred in front of George so he could take the fall over any hidden rabbit holes instead of George and Rose. Each breath George took was sharp and Rose quietly whispered to him, using their close proximity to tell him about what she had said to his mother and how much she loved him. She knew that this was how George needed to be comforted, but Fred had already been comforted by simply holding her and feeling needed.

At last, they were on level ground.

"Whew," panted Mr. Weasley, taking off his glasses and wiping them on his sweater. "Well, we've made good time - we've got ten minutes…"

Hermione came over the crest of the hill last, clutching a stitch in her side. Rose squirmed until George let her out of his arms.

"Now we just need the Portkey," said Mr. Weasley, replacing his glasses and squinting around at the ground. "It won't be big…. Come on…"

They spread out, searching. They had only been at it for a couple of minutes, however, when a shout rent the still air.

"Over here, Arthur! Over here, son, we've got it!"

Two tall figures were silhouetted against the starry sky on the other side of the hilltop.
"Amos!" said Mr. Weasley, smiling as he strode over to the man who had shouted. The rest of them followed.

Mr. Weasley was shaking hands with a ruddy-faced wizard with a scrubby brown beard, who was holding a moldy-looking old boot in his other hand.

"This is Amos Diggory, everyone," said Mr. Weasley. "He works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. And I think you know his son, Cedric?"

Cedric Diggory was an extremely handsome boy of around seventeen. He was Captain and Seeker of the Hufflepuff House Quidditch team at Hogwarts.

"Hi," said Cedric, looking around at them all.

Everyone said hi back except Fred and George, who merely nodded. They were still slightly jealous about Rose thinking that Cedric was 'nice to look at on occasion.'

"Long walk, Arthur?" Cedric's father asked.

"Not too bad," said Mr. Weasley. "We live just on the other side of the village there. You?"

"Had to get up at two, didn't we, Ced? I tell you, I'll be glad when he's got his Apparition test. Still… not complaining… Quidditch World Cup, wouldn't miss it for a sackful of Galleons - and the tickets cost about that. Mind you, looks like I got off easy…." Amos Diggory peered good-naturedly around at the three Weasley boys, Harry, Hermione, Rose, and Ginny. "All these yours, Arthur?"

"Oh no, only four of the redheads," said Mr. Weasley, pointing out his children. "This is Hermione, friend of Ron's - and Harry, another friend-"

"Merlin's beard," said Amos Diggory, his eyes widening. "Harry? Harry Potter?"

"And Rose!" Harry said immediately, throwing his twin under the bus. "She's interested in working for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures! You two should talk!"

The glare Rose was leveling at Harry did nothing to deter Amos Diggory, "Ahh, it's hard work! So many creatures, too little wizards! Perhaps having a bright young mind would help us!" he mistook Rose's wide eyes for shock that he knew she was intelligent when in actuality she was terrified about the idea of regulating magical creatures. "Don't try to be modest Miss Potter, Ced's told me about you! He mentioned that you were, and these are his words, 'rather pretty and smart too,' but you and I both know how much of an understatement that must be! You and my Ced would be a great match!"

Rose couldn't think of a reply to this so she stayed silent although she could feel the aggression rolling off of the twins in waves. They were both scowling again. Cedric looked slightly embarrassed.

"I also said she was with the Weasley twins dad," he muttered. "I told you… I don't think of her like that."

"Not yet you don't! You'll see, you're meant to be!"

"Must be nearly time," said Mr. Weasley quickly, pulling out his watch again. "Do you know whether we're waiting for anymore, Amos?"
"No, the Lovegoods have been there for a week already and the Fawcetts couldn't get tickets," said Mr. Diggory. "There aren't any more of us in this area, are there?"

"Not that I know of," said Mr. Weasley. "Yes, it's a minute off…. We'd better get ready…."

He looked at Hermione.

"You just need to touch the Portkey, that's all, a finger will do-"

With difficulty, owing to their bulky backpacks, the 10 of them crowded around the old book held out by Amos Diggory.

They all stood there, in a tight circle, as a chilly breeze swept over the hilltop. Nobody spoke. It suddenly occurred to Rose how odd this would look if a Muggle were to walk up here now… ten people, two of them grown men, clutching this manky old book in the semidarkness, waiting….

"Three…" muttered Mr. Weasley, one eye still on his watch, "two… one…"

It happened immediately; Rose felt as though a hook just behind her navel had been suddenly jerked irresistibly forward. Her feet left the ground; she could feel Fred and George on either side of her, their shoulders banging into hers; they were all speeding forward in a howl of wind and swirling color; her forefinger was stuck to the boot as though it was pulling him magnetically onward and then -

Her feet slammed into the ground; she staggered into George and they fell over; the Portkey hit the ground near her head with a heavy thud.

Rose looked up from her place on top of George. Mr. Weasley, Mr. Diggory, and Cedric were still standing, though looking very windswept; everybody else was on the ground.

"While I love you being on top of me, Rose, I don't think this is the time nor place," George said with a small laugh as Rose jumped off of him.

"Seven past five from Stoatshead Hill," said a voice.