To my darling Rosie,

First and foremost, I would like to thank you for writing me a letter sooner. Under no circumstances would I have liked to know my best friend had moved to bloody Romania! I wasn't sitting at home waiting for a letter, no, that would be ludicrous! Someone writing a letter to their best friend? Bah! Nonsense.

Any who, I'm glad you are doing ok. Did you know that Maggie and Thomas got engaged? Their kids are going to look like deformed eggs with bucked teeth, they'll probably be really sweet though, so at least they'll have that going for them! (Seriously I need to be there with a camera the moment she pops one out, I can't wait to get a load of them! Ha!). Have you copped any yet? It's a bit pathetic that Maggie has had a roll around in the sack before you – just something to think about you absolute PRUDE!

Are you free next week to drop Lana at the train station with me? I'm sure she'd love to see you – I probably would as well, but I doubt you even remember what your weary old friend looks like. I could be a deformed egg for all you care!

Lots of love from your best friend in the whole entire world,

Tabitha 'The most beautiful witch of her generation' Jenkins xx

Rosie smiled down at the letter in her hands, in truth, receiving letters at the sanctuary was no easy feat. The incoming owls were subject to the Dragons flying overhead and owls just happened to be a favourite food of many of the species in residence. She gave Tabitha's owl a few treats before sending it out her window, taking special care to send it north- it would avoid flying over the canyon that way. She had been having an awful morning before that, thank Merlin for Tabitha, she always seemed to be there when she needed her most.

She smoothed down her usual khaki shirt as she walked down the hall to the dining area. Charlie was off with Robert today so there was no point sitting with him, not that she'd want to anyway. She didn't feel like being force fed sausages until he arteries turned to fat and coalesced, that meant Lynn was out of the question…

Rosie inhaled deeply, part of her already knew the idea forming in her head was a foolish one, the other part of her was terrified at the prospect of heading to the reserve alone.

"…Good morning" Rosie tried to say excitedly as she sat across from the other girl in her unit.

Still chewing loudly, the blonde girl raised her head and shot Rosie an icy glare, her bushy eye brows rose and drew together like two caterpillars at arms. Brushing a greasy blonde strand from her face, she shovelled another fork full of eggs and bacon into her mouth, not bothered by the long, greasy string of bacon that was hanging out of her mouth. Looking down at the green apple in her hand, what little appetite Rosie possessed was ruined.

"Lovely weather, isn't it?" She tried again, offering the blonde a small smile.

"Lovely weather to mind your own damn Bees-ness" The girl replied moodily, wrapping a few slices of toast in a napkin to stow away in her bag whilst shoving another into her already full mouth. Rosie flinched slightly as she mispronounces business, a small reminder of why she'd not put more effort into befriending the girl.

The memory of the supposed face caused a shudder to travel through her body, just the thought was giving her enough anxiety to cause some pre-mature heart issues. Which wouldn't be so terrible, she thought. If she were to drop dead in the dining hall she'd never have to walk through the cave again! Though that was probably a tad dramatic…

Rosie had woken up in the foetal position on the rough carpet of her room. It'd been the most idiotic thing she'd done in a long while - falling asleep with the samples out in the open? She was surprised she'd woken up at all.
The vial now sat safely in a hollowed-out book in her trunk – If anyone wanted to find it they'd have to search through her large collection of books. Most normal people wouldn't be willing to sift through compelling titles such as 'Arithmancy: Was Robert Tellford right about the Vector Theory?' and 'A Complete History of the Shrivelfig.' It wasn't perfect, but it'd do for now.

A head of red hair caught her eye from across the table. She'd have to sort this all out with Charlie which seemed to be an increasingly difficult task, the younger female members of the team seemed to watch him like ravenous hawks hunting prey and Robert followed him like a lost puppy; she glanced at the two just in time to see Charlie turn a big Romanian man's fork into an umbrella …Boys.

Collecting her nerves, she reminded herself that firstly, the chances of vampires inhabiting the small cave to the canyon were very slim and secondly, that she was tired and out of her mind last night so the supposed face was probably just a trick of the light…

Slipping out of her seat she brushed her hands over her body, not that she'd have any crumbs on her she thought bitterly as she looked at the half-eaten apple on her plate.

"Rosie!" She almost jumped out of her skin as a long tan arm slung itself over her shoulder.

Turning quickly, she was affronted by Jack's wide smile. "Heading to the reserve?"

She could feel her whole body relax, thank Merlin! She smiled up at him and nodded.

"How ya settling in? Lynn told me you did good work with some Fireball's. Bloody beautiful, aren't they?"

She was sure she'd always have a soft spot for the beautiful beasts, the year she'd spent working with them had been one of the fondest experiences she had.

"…It reminds me of being back in China, I like it here though, apart from um…you know…" She trailed off. Oh Gosh, sometimes she hated herself, way to bring up the hippogriff in the room…

"Lynn told me you lost one of the little ones" He said, his smile barely cracking. "I'm sorry for it, but we got some fine samples. Lynn said she'd process them today so hopefully things will ease up"

She was about to respond to him, perhaps she could wrangle some information out of him? Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back, after all.

"Oh Logan!" Jack finally let his arm slip from her shoulder, waving a large hand at a man in the distance.
" Sorry Rosie but I gotta fly, good to hear you're doing well" He barely turned back to her as he hurried in the other direction, well… at least she'd had a companion to escort her through the cave, her delicate heart would remain fully functional for yet another day (Or at least until nightfall came and she'd have to make the return trip…but why dwell on the future).

The rest of the day was as monotonous as one of Professor Binns lectures. Cauldron cake girl from breakfast was being a real pain and the little dragons were just discovering that they had teeth that were perfect for biting unsuspecting keepers.

The blonde girl was currently wrestling with one of the difficult hatchlings, her blotchy red face was beaded with sweat and her stubby fingers kept reaching for the dragon, mostly in vain, it was rushing around the table in what it thought to be a game.

Finally, the girl expelled a deep breath in frustration, reaching forward with renewed vigour – she grasped the poor dragon by its small wings, pulling it roughly toward her; the poor thing writhed around in pain, squealing like a piglet.

"Ah!" Rosie's eyebrows knitted together in concern, she softly placed the Fireball she'd been working with on the table before rushing toward the blonde.

"Ah…Ah…" She mocked cruelly, pulling a fake doe eyed expression as she rose her voice to an annoyingly high pitch "Really? You're like a bloody invalid, every time you speak it's like I'm being Crucio-ed"

Rosie's head hung low. People could be so cruel sometimes, still, there was no reason for her to be hurting the innocent little dragon, she fixed her stern gaze onto her co-worker "You're hurting it" She said bluntly.

"You think I'm hurting this dree-gon" The girl scoffed, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

"I could snap you in half like a twig" she smiled bitterly, finally putting the dragon down so she could pretend to snap a twig with her hands. That was enough to silence Rosie. As she ran her eyes over the girl she felt her stomach clench and her heart rate quicken, the blonde wouldn't just snap her in half! She'd take her down like one of those muggle wrestlers and crush every bone in her body.

"Oh, Lynn called for you. I can't fathom why"

"Lynn called for me? How long ago was this?"

The blonde barely supressed her smile, as she inspected her nails, "Thirty minutes ago? I forgot, whoops." Her tone suggested that this was more of an intentional omission than a case of forgetfulness.

Rosie tried to supress her emotions, she didn't want to give Cauldron cake girl the satisfaction of seeing her upset. The other girl's lips quirked as she looked up, as if to speak again.

"Oh hush Melanie, you're scaring the poor girl. With Charles and Robert out today I need a bit of help with the serums…How wonderful! Look at this one"

Rosie and 'Melanie' Jumped as Lynn's voice pierced the awkward tension in the air. Lynn was beaming brightly, holding her favourite coffee mug in one hand and a stack of test tubes in the other.

"Come on, why are you just standing there? Don't make me chase you! I don't think my bones can handle that much running, then wouldn't you feel terrible?" Lynn said over her shoulder, heading for the stairs up to her office.

"It's like Christmas came early!" Lynn sang as Rosie shot a nasty glare at Melanie, jogging to keep up with Lynn.

Rosie's enthusiasm instantly waned when she saw the steep staircase that led up to Lynn's office. Narrow steps twisting up at odd angles sat between a narrow junction in the wall – A heavy weight settled in her stomach, as if she'd eaten something rancid for breakfast.

In. Out. In. Out.
She tried to steady her rapid breaths.

Lynn's voice echoed from above, but the words seemed far away. With a deep sigh, she looked up at Lynn's disappearing form one last time. She quickly squeezed her eyes shut, pressing her small hands against the stony walls to guide her up as quickly as possible.

Once she reached the top, she stepped through the uneven doorframe at an inhumanely fast speed, her lungs felt at ease instantly as she surveyed the large, open room. Lynn's desk sat in one corner, it was an odd wooden desk with piles of papers and pictures covering every inch. For the most part, the rest of the room was bare. The only other remarkable feature was the long work bench at the far side of the room, it extended the entire length of the wall. Rosie barely managed to suppress a squeal of delight as she saw the various instruments that lay on the workbench – she couldn't even name some of them!

Rosie jumped as Lynn set a wrinkled hand down on her shoulder, distracting her from her previous state of unaltered bliss.
"Here, can you separate this out for me? I'm going to get some asphodel solution" Lynn said as she set the samples on the counter, picking her tea back up to sip it merrily.

Rosie hunched over the work bench. Her brows knitted together as she set the sample in a small stand and pulled her wand from the waist band of her trousers.

"Centrifuga" She said as she moved her wand in a circular motion. After a few seconds, the test tube began rotating – she tried to be gentle with the motion of her wand, if she went too fast she'd destroy the cells rendering them useless.

Back in China they'd centrifuged countless samples, this was not a new task for her. Nevertheless, as she watched a red layer begin to form on the bottom of the tube, a familiar flutter settled in her lower abdomen – as if a family of butterflies had decided to make it their new home. Slowly, A strange purple layer of lesser density rose to the top. Rosie stopped her motioning. She lifted the cold glass tube in her hand and turned it over a few times. The glittering purple layer caught the light in an odd way, shining an almost iridescent blue. It wasn't anything she'd seen before.

Rosie turned to Lynn quickly and was about to comment when, she noted the odd expression on Lynn's face. Her lips were puckered together in a firm line and her eyes were staring warily at the door. Then, with a sickening gurgling sound emanating from deep within, Lynn fell to the ground. With a frail hand, she reached out toward the desk before her grey eyes settled on some undeterminable point in the distance, frozen with fear.

Rosie stepped back, bringing her hands up to shield her face a she let out a loud gasp. A darkness like she'd never known enveloped the room, a dense, suffocating darkness that filled her lungs with smoke and her mind with terror.

Shit.

Rosie drew her wand, her hand shaking as she tried to make sense of her surroundings. She couldn't even see her hand as she lifted it in front of her. She knew Lynn was on the ground somewhere, possibly dying but it was like someone had tied lead blocks to her feet, preventing her from moving even an inch.

"Lumos" she whispered. Nothing happened.

"Lumos" She repeated desperately.

She stilled herself, listening to the movements of her surroundings. Her heart clenched as she registered laboured breathing coming from somewhere in front of her. It wasn't the melodic breathing of a healthy person; each infrequent breath was accompanied with a low whistling sound.

"Lynn?"

Lynn was probably moments away from death, and here she was shaking in her boots like a cowardly child. The familiar metallic tang of blood wafted through the air making her stomach churn in fear. Warily, she moved toward the centre of the room.

She had to get to Lynn.

Rosie willed her legs into motion, wincing as her boots met the dense layer of gravel below – moving silently was almost impossible.

"Breathe Rosie" She whispered to herself as she stared forward into the dark void.

Calm, cool and collected, she needed to channel her inner Gryffindor.
Calmly she took another few steps forward, ignoring the way the darkness made the room feel impossibly small. Coolly, she bent to the ground, moving forward on all fours as she tried to feel for Lynn's form. She was listening for her shallow breath, like a macabre game of Marco Polo.
Cool air filled her lungs as she closed her eyes for a moment, she'd need to collect herself before she could be of any help to Lynn.

"Breathe, you can do th-" Suddenly, A large hand grasped her long hair, fisting it so tightly she was sure it would rip out of her scalp.

"L-Let go of me!" She cried as another grubby hand closed around her arm, forcing her forward.

A deafening crack resounded through the area, followed by a muffled scream. Her hip and shoulder collided with the ground causing broken glass to embed itself in the exposed skin, her scalp was on fire, burning with an intense pain as she heard a mocking laugh and was pulled up once more, only to be slammed against the jagged, rocky wall of the cavern.

"N…No, please"

The hand loosened from her hair, reaching for her throat instead. With as much force as she could muster she brought her knee up, aiming for an undoubtedly sensitive region. A rough hand gripped it before it could reach its target, pushing it back down with unnecessary force.

"Think you're clever girly?" Though she could see nothing but darkness, she could basically hear the sneer in his voice. A warm, foul breath met her cheek, causing a shiver of revulsion to wrack through her body.

"I've been watching you, such a pretty little bitch, aren't you?" She was sure she was turning blue. She tried to speak, to spit in his face, to do anything really, but she struggled under the immense force pushing on her windpipe.

His fingers tightened around the slim column of her neck as she felt a large hand raise up to her hip, pushing the tattered fabric up before he gripped her there painfully.

"Don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong"

"No…I…Please" The words came out as a hoarse whisper, between the persistent shroud of darkness and the lack of oxygen she wasn't sure what was going on anymore, perhaps she had already slipped into the depths of unconsciousness?

The hand on her hip loosened and trailed up her torso, a newfound terror gripped Rosie's very core as she felt it rise, stopping just short of its destination.
He pressed into her further, pushing his crotch into her. A sob wracked through her as she kicked her legs out violently. "S-Stop!"

She was going to die. It didn't seem real, it couldn't be.

Goosebumps rose on her skin as the cool air of the room met her exposed skin. The man gripped her hair once more, slamming it into the wall. She felt almost numb now. Tired.

BANG BANG BANG.

Rosie's head lulled to the side as she vaguely registered some noise. The man's hand froze just shy of her bra. "Looks like it's your lucky day sweetheart" He sniggered.

"Lynn?" A deep voice called out.

She felt a tingle of magic in the air as she was dropped from a substantial height to the rocky ground below. Her head bounced upon impact like a basketball.

She had to get to Lynn.

With every ounce of her strength, she scrambled across the floor. Blood from her grazed knee trailed behind her as she moved forward. She was so focused on her target she barely registered the soft knocking on the door.

Light suddenly swarmed the room, causing her to cry out in pain, her eyes rebelled against her, fluttering shut once again.

"FUCK" Someone said as they rushed down next to her.

Pain shot up her wrist as she tried to push herself forward. She had to get to Lynn.

"Rosie? Rosie, can you hear me?" A warm hand reached for her cheek in an effort to turn her head. She thought she could see Lynn's form just ahead of her…if she could just find her wand.

A fresh wave of pain radiated through her body as she felt a sharp piece of glass embed itself in her thigh. She cried out in pain.

"I just need to g-" She blinked as a rivulet of blood dropped down her face from her scalp, she gingerly rose a hand to her head, blinking in confusion as she noted the crimson liquid on her fingers.

"Rosie" She looked up into blue eyes. Charlie? His eyebrows were creased together in concern as he took in her appearance, maybe she was more injured than she'd thought.

She tried to focus on his lips, she could see them moving but it felt as if her head was being held underwater – His face danced across her vision, fading in and out of focus and his voice sounded muffled and faraway.

With one final push toward Lynn her body succumbed to the darkness it'd been evading for so long. A blissful weightlessness overcame her as her troubled mind was finally put to rest.


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