Rose landed in Uncle Harry's study, staggered, and reached for the bin, retching violently. She knelt in front of it for several minutes until the floor leveled off and her stomach stopped trying to turn itself inside out. Wiping her mouth on her sleeve, she accepted the glass of water Uncle Harry conjured and sat down in the chair.
"I'm sorry, Rose. I probably shouldn't have actually shown you that, but when you called them cowards, I just—" He broke off, and for the first time, Rose noticed he looked a little green himself.
"Uncle Harry?" she said tentatively. "Are you okay?"
He closed his eyes, rubbing his scar in what she knew was an unconscious gesture. "I haven't thought about that night in years, and I've never relived it in the Pensieve."
His voice was thick with tears, and the guilt and shame rose up in Rose until it jammed in her throat, choking off her words.
"I thought we were all going to die that night. If it hadn't been for Dobby…."
Rose swallowed, then again. "Is that when—when he died?"
He nodded, wiping his eyes with a pinching motion. "Bellatrix threw her knife as we Disapparated, and it caught him in the chest. He died in my arms on the beach at Shell Cottage."
The mass in her throat was painful, bringing tears to her eyes. "I'm sorry."
Uncle Harry passed her a box of tissues. She wiped her eyes and blew her nose, which made her ears ache. Swallowing again in an attempt to open them, she tossed the tissues in the now-clean bin. It was rare for any of her family to talk about the war with any detail, and she was not going to squander this opportunity.
"Where did Luna come from?"
"She was kidnapped off the Hogwarts Express at Christmas and held prisoner at Malfoy Manor for three months."
Rose gaped. She knew Luna had fought in the Final Battle with Dumbledore's Army, but Rose didn't know Luna had been captured. "At—"
"Scorpius's house, yes."
Rose scowled.
"It's the truth, Rose, and like it or not, fair or not, it's how your parents see it."
"Who was the black boy? You all seemed to know him."
"Dean Thomas. He was in our year, a fellow Gryffindor."
That meant he'd also been a member of the DA, which was probably how Luna knew him. "Violet and Amythest's dad?"
Uncle Harry nodded. "His mum was a Muggle, and he didn't know about his dad, so he went on the run."
Rose took another drink of water. She still had a bitter taste in her mouth. "Did all the Muggle-borns go on the run that year?"
"A lot of them went abroad. Those who reported to the Muggle-Born Registration Commission had their wands confiscated and were sent to Azkaban."
"They were sent to Azkaban just for being Muggle-born?"
Uncle Harry frowned. "Haven't you studied this at school?"
She shook her head. "History of Magic stops at 1945 with the defeat of Grindelwald. I knew the Ministry confiscated their wands, but the books didn't say anything about Azkaban."
His expression darkened and he grunted.
"You said the Malfoys were related to Bellatrix Lestrange."
"There were three sisters in the Black family: Bellatrix; Andromeda; and Narcissa, Scorpius's grandmother."
"Andromeda? As in Teddy's grandmother, Andromeda?"
"That's the one."
"But that would make Teddy and Scorpius second cousins!"
"Something like that."
"The Black sisters, are they related to your godfather?"
"Yes, cousins. First cousins," he added, as if to emphasize the connection.
Rose sat back. This was too much to take in all at once.
"What happened to Mum? Was she okay?"
He took a deep breath and leaned back in the leather chair. "Bit weak for a few days, but yeah. Perfectly fine, as you well know."
"Is that when they got together? It was pretty obvious Dad loved her."
Uncle Harry smiled. "I wasn't there when she woke up, so I don't know what was said between them, but I do know they didn't kiss until the Final Battle. You've heard that story, surely?"
Rose nodded. "In the Room of Requirement, with the basilisk fangs." She paused. "They really were heroes, weren't they? It's not just hype."
"No, Rose. Each of them saved my life that year; each of them helped destroy Voldemort."
They fell silent.
"Will you tell them?" Rose whispered. "About—about what just happened, and that I'm really sorry?"
"I'll tell them I took you into the Pensieve, but you're the one who owes them the apology," he said firmly.
Rose bit her lip and looked up through her lashes, the look that usually got her whatever she wanted from Dad, Uncle Harry, and Granddad Granger. "May I spend the night tonight, and we'll tell them tomorrow?"
"Now who's being cowardly?" But he smiled at her.
She slumped in her chair. "Uncle Harry?"
He paused in reaching for the Floo powder jar. "Yes?"
"Do you think seeing Scorpius is a mistake?"
He turned to face her. "That depends. If this is a whim, or an act of rebellion, or an experiment, then yes. You're making a mistake. A big one that's going to hurt you, and your parents, and possibly your cousins quite deeply."
Rose stood and joined him in front of the fireplace. "We've been friends for ages, and we've been seeing each other since before Christmas. James, Al, and Lily know that. It's not a whim."
"I really hope that's true, sweetheart, because you've stirred up a lot of trouble. I hope Scorpius is worth it."
()()()()
Harry stepped out of the fireplace into Ron and Hermione's kitchen. Rose was nowhere in sight.
"Ron? Hermione? Hello?"
He heard footsteps on the stairs, and Hermione appeared, closely followed by Ron.
"Where's Rose?" they asked together.
"She Flooed ahead of me. She must have gone up to her room."
Hermione turned around.
"Wait, Hermione. I need to talk to you—both of you."
She hesitated, one hand on the bannister.
"Before you talk to Rose," Harry said, and she and Ron sat down on the sofa.
Harry paced in front of them. "Rose told me about your fight and what she said. When I heard her call you cowards, I got really angry, and..."
"And what?" Ron said.
"I took her into the Pensieve. At Malfoy Manor."
There were several seconds of dead silence, then both Ron and Hermione stood up and started shouting.
"You did what!"
"You had no right to do that, Harry, none at all!"
"I am not going to stand by and let someone insult you like that, even if she is your own daughter. Especially your daughter!"
"It was our decision not to tell Rose and Hugo about what happened, and you had no right to go behind our backs!" Ron said.
"I didn't go behind your back," Harry said. "Rose came to me because you wouldn't tell her the truth."
"But Harry, the Pensieve," Hermione moaned. "You didn't just tell her what happened, you showed her. She lived that, just as if she were there! I didn't want—" Her voice faltered, then strengthened. "I do not want my children exposed to that kind of evil!"
"She needed to know, Hermione. Rose was terribly hurt and confused by your reaction to Scorpius's invitation, and she needed to know that it wasn't unfounded."
"I'll tell you what's unfounded," Ron said, taking a step forward. "You messing with my daughter!"
Hermione laid a hand on his arm. "He was just trying to help, Ron."
"He was meddling!"
"He's her godfather."
Ron gave an involuntary snort. Harry sat down, and his friends followed suit.
"Bloody hell, Harry, the Pensieve?"
"I know. I'm sorry, I just—she pissed me off," Harry admitted. "After everything you two have done for me... I wanted her to see how far from the truth she really was."
"How much of Malfoy Manor?" Hermione asked in a small voice.
"From the time we were coming up the drive until we Disapparated."
"Not Shell Cottage?"
Harry shook his head.
"She didn't see Dobby's death," Hermione said, her posture relaxing.
"But she saw Wormtail's," Ron said, and Hermione stiffened again.
Harry nodded. "And I told her what happened to Dobby. She asked," he added, seeing Hermione start to protest. "She asked if that was the night he died. I also told her about Draco being a Death Eater, Lucius planting Riddle's diary, Luna's capture, and Dean being on the run. She didn't even know the truth about the Muggle-born Registration Commission," he said, not bothering to keep the accusation out of his voice.
Hermione looked up at her husband. "We always said we would tell the kids later, when they were older, and I guess—" She shrugged, looking back at Harry. "We just didn't realize they were older already."
"What about Malfoy?" Ron said, tension in the line of his shoulders, the set of his jaw.
"What about him?"
"Did you tell her to lay off?"
"No, I didn't. I'm not supposed to meddle, remember?" The two wizards glared at each other for a moment, then Harry relented. "I did tell her she'd better be serious about him with all the trouble she's causing."
Ron sighed, and Hermione rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Harry."
"What?"
"You told Rosie to get serious about Malfoy?" Ron said. "Merlin, you're rubbish at giving advice. Always have been."
"You two got together, didn't you?"
"No thanks to you," Ron and Hermione said in unison.
"That is not true," Harry said, pointing a finger at his best friends. "I spent almost all of sixth year trying to get you two to—"
Ron interrupted him. "Come on in, Princess."
Rose slunk into the room, eyes downcast.
Harry stood up. "I need to get back. I didn't tell Ginny I was leaving." He put one arm around Rose and tipped her chin up with his other hand. "You come see me whenever you like, and next time, we'll go somewhere fun in the Pensieve."
She nodded.
"You know I love you."
Rose nodded again but didn't return the sentiment. Harry kissed the top of her head and left.