It's kind of short, but thanks as always for every lovely review.

Chapter 10

Family Matters

The letter came the next day.

It was a US tabloid, which of course meant nothing, except for the fact that my father knew it was the truth. Even if everyone else laughed it off as another lie told about my family he knew that the story came from somewhere, came from me.

"You look like you got a howler," Minnie noted seeing my pale face. "But you don't know any wizards."

Yeah, at least it wasn't a howler. At least I wouldn't be embarrassed as well as chewed out. "It's a letter from my dad," I told her tossing the magazine in her lap. "I doubt he'll be too happy."

"My dad once did…well everything," Teddy muttered. (Yes he was sitting at the Ravenclaw table. No, no one thought anything of it.) "And his family always forgave him. I'm sure it won't be that bad.

Unfortunately the Lupins were more generous people than my father.

Rosalee,

There are no words to say how furious I am at the way you've been behaving. If it was within my power I'd bring you straight back here where you belong. You never acted out before you went to that school, which means you've been around bad influences. That place is no good for you and surely by now you've realized that.

Unfortunately it is not within my power to bring you home due to the Wizarding laws. In that case I beseech you to keep your head low. Our past is our business and not the business of whatever shady character you've been speaking to about your mother. It is no one's business what happened-she's dead and gone. Let the truth die with her, please Rosalee.

On another note I will be traveling to the states this holiday, so you shall be staying at school during that time. I hate to have you there a minute more than necessary, but this seems to be the best arrangement.

Sincerely,

Your father

"He doesn't sound that mad," Teddy suggested after reading over my shoulder.

No, no my father never got mad. "He's not mad, he's disappointed. Funny though how he doesn't blame me. Typical, but funny." Usually it was the teenager who blamed very one but themselves, not the parent. Then again most teenagers weren't like me, and none had a parent like my dad.

"Well you can't stay here for Christmas," Teddy declared surprising me. "Minnie has been coming home with me for years. Why don't you do the same? Come spend Christmas at the Burrow."

I'll admit it; I spit water everywhere. "The Burrow, Burrow?"

Minnie chuckled, "Yeah. They fitted it with an undetectable expansion charm and every year the Potters and Weasley's all gather there with whomever else they can find. I swear they make bets about how many people will show each year."

"And I count as a Potter," Teddy reminded. (As if I could possibly have forgotten.) "We'll probably go back to my house from school and then just go over on Christmas day for dinner. What do you say?"

I'll admit the idea of meeting Harry terrified me, but not enough to keep the fangirl within me from answering. "I'd love to come if I'm not intruding."

"Please," Minnie told me. "Last year I was the only girl in the entire house without red hair-it's horrible."

"And you have red hair," Teddy reminded as if I could have somehow forgotten. "And I do usually on Christmas, so everyone will probably just assume we're Weasleys. I think at this point they've given up on keeping track of each other."

I didn't remember the math exactly, but the Weasleys were like 5% of the magical community in Britain, so I couldn't imagine anyone being able to keep up. "It sounds like fun, but we still have almost 2 months of school to get through before then. Speaking of which I have make up work to do."

"You work yourself too hard," Teddy called, but I was already half way out of the hall.

Peeves had knocked down some statues, so I ended up going back to the Ravenclaw common room by the left wing of the 7th floor. I wonder where the Room of Requirement is…though I guess since I don't require it, I won't know.

I really needed to stop thinking before I looked because there was suddenly a door in front of me I hadn't seen a moment before. Of course that was the way of half the doors at Hogwarts, but somehow I knew this was the Room of Requirement. Maybe it was the seer in me, or just the common sense, but I knew.

The moment I stepped into the room I realized the room of hidden things wasn't destroyed. Some sort of magic had protected it and I squealed in delight at the wonders within. There was everything from a domino to the Mirror of Erised which I resisted the temptation to go look in. "Okay room," I muttered to myself. "Why am I here?"

A box shifted forward on its shelf in response.

"Okay then," I decided taking the box down. "What's in here?"

Apparently nothing of importance. A few newspaper clippings about quidditch games, and a couple of letters from a Laila Newmark begging Dumbledore to let her attend and insisting she wasn't a squib.

Poor thing.

All and all, however, there was absolutely nothing of any importance at all. I began to wonder if the box hadn't really moved at all when I saw something dangling behind it. "No," I whispered trying to charm it down as I did the box. Only when it wouldn't come did I begin to believe it really was what I thought. I climbed over the shelves praying I didn't fall to my death like Crabbe until I finally grabbed the wooden stick.

It was exactly as I saw it in the crystal ball, but I realized now that this wasn't just a crystal ball, it had a prophecy inside it. A prophecy I doubted anyone wanted to hear.

But it back Rose. You'll regret it if you don't.

"Reducio" I whispered sliding the now pen sized object in my bag. Maybe the sorting hat did have good reason to call me reckless.