Rosie was packing up her schoolbag, as Professor McGonagall informed the class that she wanted thirteen inches of parchment based on this day's lecture due the following week. Transfigurations was the last class of the day for the first year Ravenclaws, and a group of them were travelling to the Ravenclaw Nest together. Since the commencement of the guerilla hex wars, most students had ceased to traverse the hallway alone. However, Romulus was an exception. Somehow, he managed to avoid conflict altogether, and did not seem troubled by the idea of being caught by a wayward jinx. Of course, Rosie also knew that Romulus regularly trained in the Come and Go room, either with or or without her, and that his skills in combat were above average.
Rosie was walking next to Luna, but Edine and Sakiko were hovering annoyingly close by. The two girls had the belief that if they spent more time with Rosie, then Toby would end up noticing them. It was ridiculous of course, and Rosie had snapped at them a few times, but the girls seemed to think that Rosie just wanted to hog Toby's attention all to herself. Moreover, Rosie still resented Edine and Sakiko for how they treated Luna. Trying to ignore the annoying pair of Ravenclaw girls, Rosie thought back to a conversation she had had over the weekend with Harry and his friends. They had finally finished brewing their polyjuice potion late last week, and decided to use it in the afternoon, hoping the Slytherin dungeon wouldn't be as busy as it might be in the evening or on the weekend. The polyjuice potion had turned out perfectly, just as they expected, and the transformation resulted in a remarkable exactness (though sadly, Rosie was in class and did not get to witness it herself.)
Following the use of the polyjuice potion, the group of them were in the library that weekend, as usual, discussing the results of their foray into the Slytherin common room. Rather than being vindicated in their assumptions about Draco, Harry and his friends found themselves in a quandary instead.
"I still can't believe that Malfoy isn't the Heir," Neville was saying. "Do you reckon he was lying about it?"
"I'm afraid not," Hermione replied. "Pansy told me that none of the Slytherins knew who the Heir was. She kept saying that once she found out, she would pledge her allegiance immediately and that she couldn't wait for the Heir to purge the school of mud - muggleborns." Hermione's expression was grim.
"But Malfoy did pretty much admit to the snake bite prank," Harry added. "Well - it was hard to ask him about it. He kept giving us suspicious looks."
"It was a good thing you told him that you just wanted to hear him talk about it again because of how much you admired him. I'm surprised that Malfoy hasn't yet been crushed under the weight of his own ego," Neville said, wryly.
"Yeah - I used to think that maybe his smugness was just sort of a show he put on for Gryffindors, but apparently, he's smug all the time," Harry said thoughtfully.
"This is a surprise to you?" Neville replied, with an amused quirk of his lips.
"But you did say that Draco didn't actually make the prank, didn't you?" Hermione asked.
"I think so. It was hard to question him about it. He likes to talk about his own accomplishments rather than giving credit to others," Harry told her.
"But he mentioned something about receiving a package by owl," Neville added.
"And - apparently, the package was from the actual Heir," Harry said, softly. "Malfoy seemed to think that the Heir had specifically chosen him to carry out his important work."
"Yeah. Malfoy is convinced that he has a special position with the Heir because he was the only one that the Heir contacted," Neville continued.
"Was there some kind of message that Draco got with the package?" Rosie asked. She was unsurprised by what Harry and his friends had found out, but what she really wanted to know was who Draco got the tattoo potion from.
"He implied there was a message, but he wouldn't show us. I got the feeling that he showed the original Crabbe and Goyle and couldn't be bothered to show us again," Harry replied.
"And he kept talking about how Snape didn't want to see a shred of evidence that could get the Slytherins in trouble - so, he might have tossed the message," Neville added.
"Or hidden it," Harry suggested.
"Hm - I would have liked to see that message," Hermione said thoughtfully. "A lot can be revealed in a message."
Rosie found herself agreeing. While Harry and his friend's experience had been interesting, in the end, she had learned nothing new. Luna, who had been sitting with the group had asked what the polyjuice transformation had felt like, and between Harry, Neville and Hermione, they were able to give a rather graphic and detailed description of the experience. Rosie found it disturbing but Luna was fascinated.
Rosie's attention was brought back to the present as the group of first year Ravenclaws made their way back to their Nest without any incident. Despite the widespread nature of the hex wars, the jinxes and hexes rarely did any major damage to any of the students. Most of them knew better than to do anything that would cause a student to need to go to the infirmary. Especially considering the harshness of the penalties that were doled out on that first day after the Crupcake prank. As much as the Slytherins and Gryffindors might hate one another, they also knew that an overly vicious and aggressive battle could cause the school to shut down. None of the students seemed to want that to happen.
Nonetheless, the jinxes and hexes used were varied and often creative. Many of them were humiliating or uncomfortable. Some were simply ridiculous. In a way, the hex war was more about seeing who could get the most hits in. It was a matter of proving superiority, rather than actually causing damage.
Feeling drained by recent events, Rosie went up to her dorm room, and threw herself on her bed. Despite all the chaotic events that had been occurring, Rosie found herself thinking a lot about Harry. She had noticed that the black outs in her empathic link seemed to be increasing, either in frequency or in length. Somehow, despite all the black outs, she rarely ever encountered him during one of those states. Once or twice, she saw him in passing, when their link was blackened, but he had just waved and smiled at her. It made her question her own judgement. Was she just paranoid? She often wondered if the black outs were related to the curse, but if Harry had been cursed since he was a baby, wouldn't she have noticed black outs earlier?
In moments like these, Rosie couldn't help but wish that she had been sorted into Gryffindor, like Harry. When Harry had gone off to Hogwarts for his first year, Rosie remembered wishing that she could be in Hogwarts too, so she could be closer to her brother. But now, despite being here, she felt more distant from him than ever. Could this all be related to Harry's cursed scar? She had been spending most of her free time reading up on all that she could about curses, but the amount of information was simply too vast. Furthermore, she still hadn't decided whether or not to tell Harry about the scar. Keeping secrets from him felt so wrong.
Rosie knew that she should have been working on her homework, but instead, she picked up the book Curses and Counter-Curses: A Theoretical Framework, and decided to read that instead. Luna also seemed disinclined to do homework, and after spending an hour or so working on her feathery hat, she flopped on her bed and read the newest edition of The Quibbler. After reading for a couple of hours, Rosie could feel her link with Harry blacking out. It was maddening that there was so little information about empathic links, and no useful information about Harry's curse. Her concentration gone, Rosie set the book aside.
"Do you feel like going for a walk around the Castle before supper?" Rosie asked Luna.
Luna set down her magazine as she contemplated the idea. "Yes - this edition mentions a secret arithmancy pattern that can be found in the stonework of buildings. It's supposed to confer a certain sort of benevolent consciousness into the structure. I want to try and find it."
"Hm - I could never really make sense of arithmancy. Do you have any idea where we should start?" Rosie asked curiously.
"The Grand Staircase. It feels very central," Luna suggested.
"But - the walls are all covered in portraits! How will you be able to examine the stonework?"
"We can always take down the portraits, or examine the stairs themselves" Luna replied. Rosie had never once considered trying to take down the portraits, but she imagined that if they asked nicely, the portraits wouldn't mind. Their course of action decided, the pair of Ravenclaws descended Ravenclaw tower and headed towards the Grand Staircase. On their way, they dodged a stray tickling hex, but aside from that, there were no mishaps.
It turned that there were very few portraits that could be taken down in the Grand Staircase. Many of the inhabitants of the portraits objected. Several portraits were stuck to the wall because of sticking charms. And the portraits that did allow themselves to be removed resulted in nauseous inhabitants, who then jumped to other portraits rather than endure the dizzying sensation. In the end, Luna decided to examine the stairs and the bannisters. Interestingly, the pair of first years discovered runic patterns hidden on the undersides of the bannisters of the stairs, but Rosie lacked the requisite knowledge of runes to be able to decipher their meaning. Luna, who had a significantly greater understand of runes was very fascinated by what they had found.
As Rosie was sitting on a step, poking her finger at a trick step, she noticed Nearly Headless Nick floating toward her.
Rosie grinned and waved. "Hello Sir Nicholas. Not with Harry today?"
The ghost swept a bow and then beamed at the mention of Harry. "Ah, Harry - good lad, good lad. One of the best!" Surprisingly, the ghost then embarked on a lengthy oration, extolling Harry's numerous virtues. It struck Rosie as a bit excessive. Did the ghost really like Harry that much, just because he attended Sir Nick's deathday party? Luna, who had noticed the ghost, sat down on the step next to Rosie and tilted her head, as she considered Sir Nick's words. Eventually, the ghost realized that he was the only one speaking, and with a sheepish expression, he said a quick goodbye and then departed.
"Hm - it's remarkable how your brother has experienced such an increase in charisma," Luna said in her dreamy way. Rosie turned and looked at her friend. It was an odd way to phase the statement. As though 'charisma' was something external that had happened to Harry, rather than Harry developing his social skills. Rosie was aware that her link to Harry was still black, so she couldn't get a sense of what he was feeling. But whenever she did sense him, he did seem much more confident and self-assured. She had simply assumed that it was a good thing. Could charisma and confidence be bestowed on a person? Was it part of the curse? Rosie shook her head lightly. Her thoughts didn't seem to make sense anymore. How could a curse make someone more charismatic - weren't curses supposed to be - well, harmful?
She was distracted from answering Luna, and also distracted from her own thoughts when she suddenly heard a soft hissing from the walls. It sounded rather distant, but she recognized it immediately.
"So….. Hungry….. Hungry…. must….tear…..must….rip….."
The voice sounded like it was coming from one of the lower levels. Rosie was immediately concerned. How was the poor snake still alive, if it had this ravenous for so long?
"I hear that snake again," Rosie told Luna. "I'm going to see if I can find it."
"I'll come with you," Luna replied. The girls stood up, and scampered down the stairs and off into the corridors. However, to Rosie's disappointment, the snake did not speak again. She had even pressed her ear against the wall, hoping to hear its hissing, but she was met with only silence. After a fruitless search, Rosie and Luna went to the Great Hall for supper.
The following day, Rosie met up with Harry for their weekly call to Sirius. She noticed that during these meetings, she never felt the black outs in the link. Certainly, that ever present darkness was there, but it remained tucked away in it's own corner of the link. As the pair of them walked to their usual alcove, Rosie tried to examine how Harry felt. She could sense an edge of stress, but that was unsurprising, considering the guerilla hex war. But underlying that was a firm self-assurance. That anxiety that used to be so prevalent was largely gone. It was curious, how easily she was able to brush aside that absence of anxiety. Rosie wondered if she would be able to sense charisma, but unfortunately, charisma wasn't an emotion.
"How have you been?" she asked her brother in parseltongue. "I see that your hair is no longer green today."
Harry laughed. "Well, I got those Slytherins back - I could have turned their hair red, but I opted for pink instead."
"Don't you sometimes think this whole thing going a bit too far?" Rosie asked.
Harry pursed his lips. "Well - what happened to Malfoy was kind of cruel. I don't like him, but -"
Rosie nodded. "Yeah." She couldn't help but feel guilty about the part she played. She sighed heavily. "It was actually kind of - my fault."
"What?" Harry exclaimed, too surprised to answer in parseltongue.
"I didn't - I didn't mean for it to happen that way. It was so stupid - I wasn't thinking," Rosie confessed miserably. "I should have told you sooner - there's been a lot on my mind. And we haven't really had a chance to speak alone."
"What happened? Are you telling me you did that to Draco?" Harry asked.
"I - I gave one of Padfoot's projects to the Weasley twins."
Harry frowned. "Those two did seem pretty happy with themselves last week. Hm."
The pair of them were silent for a moment as they walked along the corridor.
"Look - I can tell you didn't mean for things to happen this way. It was unfortunate. But I know you're not the sort who likes to hurt people. And I know you won't do it again," Harry said.
"I won't!" Rosie hissed vehemently. "I guess I'm so used to pranks being between you, me and Padfoot - I didn't consider how a prank would look in front of the whole school."
"I know," Harry replied, understandingly. Rosie was trying to hold back tears, and Harry wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Rosie had meant to ask Harry whether he could hear the snake in the walls, but her confession had completely distracted her, and the matter slipped her mind entirely.
Once the pair of them reached the alcove, they sat down, and called Sirius on the mirror. It took several minutes before he answered.
"Hey pups!" Sirius said smiling affectionately. "How have you two been? Finding a lot of trouble, I hope!"
Harry rolled his eyes and grinned. "Only you would hope we find trouble. I'm pretty sure a normal guardian hopes for the opposite."
"And we've had way more trouble than we could ever want," Rosie added with a sigh.
"What happened? How did the Crupcake turn out?" Sirius asked curiously. Rosie frowned.
"Did it not work?" Sirius asked. "I was pretty sure I had perfected that project."
"It worked," Rosie replied miserably. "A little too well." Rosie looked towards Harry, and her eyes were pleading, as though she wanted him to explain. Harry gave her a quick nod, and then told Sirius about the Weasley twins and Draco Malfoy. And of course, Sirius being Sirius, he could only laugh and slapped his knee with delight. Though Rosie still felt guilty, Sirius's amusement made her feel slightly better. She couldn't help thinking that when it came to pranks, his conscience somehow seemed to magically disappear.
"Merlin's beard, I wish I could have been there!" Sirius exclaimed. "It really is a shame that that project will never be on the shelves. It's one of my finer works."
"Frankly, if that project ever ended up in stores, I'd never eat a cupcake again," Rosie said, darkly. Sirius only laughed in response.
"Anyhow, pups - since you mentioned writing to Moony, I decided I'd try reaching out to him again," Sirius told them.
"Really? He never mentioned it in the letters he's wrote me," Rosie replied. She and Remus communicated weekly, and the more she got to know him, the more she liked him. He had opened up a great deal the past few weeks.
"He hasn't told me either," Harry said. Harry had also been writing Remus, though not as frequently as Rosie wrote to him.
Sirius grinned. "Well, Moony has always been a quiet one."
Rosie nodded. "Indeed. Letters are quite quiet, aren't they?"
"That's not what I meant! Anyway, we've been talking about having a get together over Christmas," Sirius continued.
"Really? We'll actually get to see him?" Rosie exclaimed excitedly. "Is Rom coming too? I hope so!"
"Yep, it'll be all of us, like a family again!" Sirius replied cheerfully.
Rosie glanced towards Harry, making her eyes big and watery. "Harry," she said, putting a deliberate waver in her voice. "He - he just suggested that we're not like a family."
"There, there" Harry replied, patting her shoulder. "I still love you."
Sirius paled. "That's not what I meant! No! Don't cry! Pup, no! I'll buy you anything you want - just -"
Harry and Rosie were already laughing at Sirius's distress. "Oh Padfoot," Rosie sighed. "I'm pretty sure you've already bought me everything money can buy. But when I see you over christmas break, I expect a lot of snuggles from Snuffles."
"Done!" Sirius declared, relieved that a crisis was averted. Sometimes he couldn't help but feel that he wasn't really cut out to be a guardian - at least, not a responsible one. Rosie, Harry, and Sirius spoke for a while longer, about classes, the hex war, and some of Sirius's new projects. And as usual, she felt a sense of warmth and comfort after her conversation with her beloved godfather.
Later that evening, Rosie headed towards the hospital wing for her lessons in healing. To her surprise, she noticed that the curtained area that hid the petrified students had expanded. Did this mean that another student had been petrified? There had been no word of it at all - but then again, when the first year Gryffindor boy was petrified, the headmaster had insisted that the Gryffindors keep it a secret. Considering the number of students that had decided to return home after last month's events, it was a secret that was easy to keep. Instead of assuming that a student had been petrified, they would probably assume that the student had been pulled out of school by worried parents.
"Madam Pomfrey?" Rosie called out. From behind the privacy curtain, Madam Pomfrey emerged, and Rosie saw a glimpse of a pair of shoes on the hospital bed. She was wide-eyed as she looked up at the matron.
"Not a word about this, Miss Potter," the matron said sternly. Rosie nodded. She wondered if it was a student she knew - it probably wasn't a Ravenclaw. The Ravenclaws would be abuzz if it was one of their own. And if it was a Gryffindor, then Harry would have surely mentioned something earlier. So that meant it was a Hufflepuff or a Slytherin. Rosie had a feeling that it was probably a Hufflepuff. What could be causing this? She thought about the various theories of the Ravenclaws. A dark wizard? A Death Eater curse? A monster? Rosie found herself imaging a gorgon or cockatrice running loose in the school, and she shivered. Harry had mentioned that there was a troll last year, so it was all too plausible. And who could be sure what kind of monster the Chamber of Secrets could hide.
She was distracted from her train of thoughts when a bruised looking older Gryffindor entered the infirmary, supported by a pair of his friends.
"What happened, Mr. Hooper!" The matron exclaimed, when she saw the trio coming in.
"Erm - I - fell down the stairs," the Gryffindor boy replied. Madam Pomfrey frowned. She was aware of the hex war - all the teachers were. It was maddening when the students tried to keep things covered up though. How was she supposed to help the students when they couldn't even be honest. Rosie guessed that Mr. Hooper had probably been hit by a tripping jinx or something similar, and fell down a few steps. He was cradling one of his arms, and walking with a limp.
As usual, she was expected to practice casting the diagnosis spell on the injured students. And once again, Rosie could sense their emotions in the back of her head and neck. Mr. Hooper seemed to feel a mix of embarrassment for having been hit by the jinx, as well as desire for revenge. Those emotions had certainly been common in the past week. It was fortunate that for the most part, the hexes cast had been relatively mild, aside from that first day after the Crupcake prank. And with so many patients to cast the diagnosis spell on, Rosie found that she was learning a lot. In one case, she even discovered a student that was starting to come down with a mild cold, and they were given a potion to prevent it from happening. Yet, as interesting as learning about healing was (even if most of what she did was limited to observations), her mind kept turning back to the most recently petrified student. If this continued to happen, she didn't think that she would have any more faith in the safety of Hogwarts.
Rosie kept expecting the situation to escalate in the weeks before Christmas break, but instead, tempers appeared to have cooled down. The hex war continued to persist of course, and while some students like Draco took it extremely seriously, others almost saw it as a game. In class, when Rosie spoke to Mathilda and Luthais, they informed her that someone had posted up a board, where Slytherins could keep score of every jinx and hex that successfully hit a Gryffindor. Rosie was amused to discover from Harry and his friends that the Gryffindors had independently come up with the same idea. Unfortunately, due to the hostilities between Gryffindors and Slytherins, neither of them knew who was 'winning' but since Rosie spoke to both Gryffindors and Slytherins, she knew that they were fairly evenly matched.
Remus had informed her in a letter that he and Romulus would be visiting on Christmas eve and would be staying the night until Christmas day. Sirius later confirmed this in a mirror call. Thus, Rosie suddenly found herself worrying about what presents she would buy for everyone. She knew that both Remus and Romulus liked to read, but she was unsure of what they may have already read. Sirius wasn't an avid reader, but she could always buy him something Quidditch related. As for Harry - well, Harry was tricky. Neither Rosie nor Harry truly wanted for anything growing up, and it was hard to shop for someone who seemed to already have it all. She had decided she would buy something for Luna as well, but Luna's gift was easy enough. While looking through a novelty chocolate and candy catalogue that one of the Ravenclaws, Alec Perriss had received one morning, she noticed a selection of magical chocolates and marzipan that included dirigible plums as a flavour. As soon as she saw it, she ordered it immediately.
After one of her combat practice sessions in the maze of the Come and Go room, Rosie had asked Romulus what he wanted for Christmas. The expression he gave her was one of disbelief.
"Why does it even matter?" he had asked.
"Well, you and Remus are going to be visiting us for Christmas - so -"
Romulus scowled. "I don't want anything."
"Hm - well, I'll probably get you something anyway."
Romulus looked less than pleased. It was a moment before he spoke. "What do you want?"
"Me?" Rosie replied. "Uh - I haven't really even thought about it." Rosie laughed lightly.
"I suppose -" Rosie's thoughts turned to Harry. "Maybe a book? About curing curses."
Romulus's expression was inscrutable, but he nodded. As usual, the pair of them reverted back to their usual silence, as they returned to the Ravenclaw Nest together. It often seemed like they understood each other better in silence than they did in dialogue.
Aside from Christmas presents, constantly keeping a lookout for Toby, and worrying about the monster in Hogwarts, the only other thing that affected Rosie's state of mind before Christmas was the black outs in her empathic link with Harry. But of course, this had been a constant concern of her's since September when she first noticed the darkness. There had been a few days when the link had completely blacked out for over eight hour stretches, and it saddened her that the disconnection between her and Harry seemed to be increasing. She still wasn't entirely certain if the black outs were related to the curse, or if they were just a part of growing up, but either way, she didn't like it. In all honesty, she was more inclined to believe that the black outs were curse-related. Wasn't that what the diagnosis spell had suggested?
In the month of December, she felt like she had barely had the chance to see Harry at all - he was so preoccupied with school, friends, and dodging stray jinxes. In fact, the last few calls with Sirius had felt very rushed, as though Harry barely had time to sit still and chat, but at least during those times, their link was relatively strong.
Rosie had actually sometimes seen Harry in the Great Hall having meals during those extended black outs, but from a distance, she couldn't define anything obvious about Harry that was out of place. At least, his appearance remained familiar. However, his behaviour always seemed different, in a way she couldn't put her finger on. She had considered approaching him during the meals. It was odd but during these black outs, he acted like he was at the center of a social circle of Gryffindors, and she couldn't bring herself to intrude. It was strange to even feel like an intruder in Harry's life. She was his sister - shouldn't that count for something? But then, she would find herself feeling guilty. Harry appeared to have gained a lot of friends. Not just Hermione and Neville, but suddenly, many of the other Gryffindors, though it seemed like Seamus and his friends still acted a bit standoffish. Was she just being selfish, by wanting more of her brother's attention? She thought sometimes that she was imagining it, but during those black outs, it was as though Harry had acquired some sort of strange magnetism. Rosie suddenly recalled Luna's words: an increase in charisma.
She was so accustomed to almost never seeing Harry during the black outs in their link (other than the occasional meal times and sometimes briefly between classes), that it came as a surprise to her, when she encountered him one day in the halls, about a week before the students would be going home to their families. It was one of those days when the link had been blacked out for hours on end. It was a strangely unsettling experience. She was so used to feeling his emotions, that seeing him, without feeling anything from him felt extremely surreal.
"Harry!" she had exclaimed, wide-eyed with surprise. Why did it feel like she was talking to a doppelganger, or like a stranger who had used polyjuice to appear like her brother?
"Hey, Rosie," Harry had replied. His eyes had crinkled warmly when he smiled, but she wanted to shiver. It looked like him, but at the same time, it didn't look right. She couldn't even explain what the difference was.
"Are you heading to the library?" she asked, trying to act casual. But telling herself to act casual was probably a surefire way to fail at being casual.
"In a bit," Harry replied. He seemed to be examining her. Assessing her. Rosie suddenly noticed that Harry seemed very intense. Had he always been this intense? His emerald green eyes appeared to almost glow, and for some reason, she kept getting the impression of immense magical power radiating from Harry.
"Erm - where are you headed then?" she asked awkwardly. Harry smiled at her again, and it felt like her world was spinning. He was too intense - far too intense. Why did his eyes feel like portals that she could fall into and never escape from?
"I just needed to speak to one of the Professors about my assignment," Harry replied smoothly. It suddenly occurred to Rosie that Harry's hair was surprisingly tidy. When did that happen?
She was interrupted by her thoughts by Ginny Weasley, who had come up the hall.
"Harry!" Ginny exclaimed excitedly. When Harry looked away from Rosie, she felt like she had suddenly be released from some sort of powerful psychic hold. Unwittingly, she inhaled deeply, as though catching her breath, and then turned her attention to Ginny.
"Hello, Ginny," Harry was saying, as he smiled down at the younger Gryffindor. Rosie, who had been watching Ginny noticed the flush that crossed Ginny's cheeks, as well as the girl's completely dazed and entranced expression. She knew that Ginny had a pretty bad case of hero-worship, but this was more than she had even imagined.
"Hi Ginny," Rosie said to the girl when it was clear that Ginny hadn't noticed her. Ginny had always been warm and friendly in class, and both Luna and Rosie liked the Gryffindor first year. Rosie's words caused Ginny to tear her gaze away from Harry, and when she looked at Rosie, her eyes narrowed. It was extremely confusing - she had never seen that degree of hostility from Ginny before. Ginny edge closer to Harry, in a possessive way. Her behaviour reminded Rosie of a dog guarding a bone.
"Hi," Ginny said, her voice flat and cold.
"Ginny," Harry said. "I'm sure you know my sister?" His voice was gentle, but it seemed to hide a steel edge of command. Ginny's gaze flickered up to Harry, and she blushed again before looking back at Rosie, with some but not all of the hostility gone.
"Yeah - we have classes together," Ginny replied. Harry had turned his attention back onto Rosie, and when Rosie looked from Ginny back to Harry, she was once again ensnared by his gaze, and the feeling of immense and overwhelming power.
"I - I - erm - I have to go," Rosie said, even more awkwardly than before. And yet, despite her words, she didn't dare to tear her eyes away from Harry's.
"So soon?" Harry asked, his voice light, which masked the steel edge beneath. "It almost feels like I never see you anymore, beloved sister."
At his words, Rosie felt a rush of warmth, as though she had been given an intoxicating potion of pure pleasure. He called her his beloved! Yet, some part of her mind was thinking: wait - Harry has never called me a beloved sister before. What in Merlin's name is going on here?
"I - I really do have to go," Rosie squeaked out. In truth, she didn't actually have to go anywhere, but she felt afraid. Would he punish her for her words?
Harry's expression remained benevolent. "Very well. But we shall speak later, Rosie." His words were like a knife edge. Rosie felt herself wanting to collapse, but Harry and Ginny had swept past her, and suddenly, she was breathing again, propped against a wall for support. Was that really Harry? Or was that the curse of the scar? Was there such a thing as a curse that made a wizard powerful and charismatic? She supposed that with magic, anything was possible. The experience had been ominous and also creepy. She had thought that Toby was bad, but the experience she just had felt much, much worse. Though she was afraid to voice it, some part of her was coming to believe that whoever that was, it wasn't Harry. At least not her Harry.
While Rosie had felt shaken, she had not encountered Harry alone during a black out again, and for that, she was grateful. Luna and Romulus's company had pulled Rosie out of her daze, and instead of thinking about Harry, she was able to turn her thoughts back to Christmas. During her lessons with Madam Pomfrey, she was thankful to discover that no new students had been petrified. And though Toby continued to ruffle her hair, and pretend to be friendly, she found it much easier to deal with him after the bizarre incident with Harry. Toby did seem to give her odd, knowing looks, but she didn't have the courage to question him about it. Her mind was often in too much of a whirl.
A/N: I appreciate the reviews! I find Harry so weird. I'm not even really sure how I feel about his bizarre personality-swings. Thought about editing it, but I decided to leave it.