Chapter 50: A story waiting to be written
I don't own 'Harry Potter'
Packing her things back into her trunk, Rose Potter felt almost melancholic as she moved around her dormitory in a sedate manner, silent in comparison to the stream of bubbly chatter from her roommate. Hermione was regaling Rose with tales of past family holidays and revealing her summer plans with her parents, yet all Rose could think about was the complete turn-around of her situation.
For countless years Hogwarts castle had been the only home that she had ever had, and every year without fail she would dread going back to her relatives, walking as if to her death with a ball of dread in the pit of her stomach. She'd hated living with the Dursleys and had never wanted to leave the figurative warmth of the gargantuan castle.
Now though the castle was merely her school, and while she would miss the familiar setting and her friends, she had an actual home to go back to and parents that loved her. Her family might be unconventional but it was still her family, and she could think of no better home.
In the space of a year so many things that changed in the wizarding world; Dumbledore had caused a wave of unease that still hadn't settled, with anxious and contemplative looks whenever his name was spoken, and with a few questioning articles from Rita Skeeter the public was torn over whether or not the man was as pure as previously thought.
Not to mention the final destruction of the monster who'd called himself Voldemort; Rose couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if someone on their side would have discovered the truth of the Horcruxes sooner, but contemplation of that sort led to bitterness and regrets so she usually forced it to the recesses of her mind.
People didn't even know that Voldemort was gone for good this time, as even with the deaths and/or magic loss of the Death Eaters the common sense of the public was too scarce for them to realise the connection. Nobody would ever know that decades of murder and terror were all because one teenage boy made a mistake and took things too far, but perhaps that would be best for all.
Focusing on recovery and progress would be best, as the trauma from the First War wasn't nearly as dead and buried as people thought or liked to believe – one need only look at Sirius or Frank and Alice Longbottom to see the truth of that statement. Families and individuals were still being affected by the horrific realities of war, and to keep bringing up the past would be detrimental to their healing.
Her family was certainly focusing on moving forward, and the upcoming wedding was a sure sign of change for this timeline. Rose's previous life had been characterised by death, war, and hysteria; weddings and making friends was a rather big difference to her past-future memories.
She couldn't wait to see her family grow without the threat of a war hanging over their heads; when Remus had originally announced that Tonks was having a baby, Rose had been terrified. Terrified that something bad would happen, that she wouldn't be strong enough to end the war in time, and that that precious baby was going to be a target.
Getting married was one thing, but with how many people had previously died, having children in the middle of the war was stupidity as its finest. Nobody could comprehend bringing a child into the world when the world was crumbling around them, least of all muggle-borns and half-bloods. If they'd wanted a family, they'd had to choose between living abroad in safety or staying in danger. Many left as soon as they could.
Now though things were looking up for the population of magical Britain, and without the metaphorical blade hanging over their necks, the citizens were free to do as they pleased. That they were unaware they had even been in danger was something that Rose felt was best.
She sighed as she gathered up the last of her things and placed them in her trunk, closing the lid and locking it with a discreet wandless spell. This was actually her dummy trunk from her first train journey, and her proper one was already shrunk in her pocket; she wasn't sure how she could explain that she had two of them otherwise.
"… and did you know that there's a magical shopping district in Cannes? Apparently even muggles can go there, so I can show my parents all about magic."
She realised her friend was now talking to her and not at her. What did she say? Cannes? Ah …
"You mean 'La Rue du Ciel'. It's named for the layout of the district; it's characterised by numerous small buildings which allow you to see the sky from wherever you stand. It's a gorgeous place, and it's a great place to watch either the sunrise or sunset. France in general is also a lot less prejudiced when it comes to blood purity, so no one'll bat an eye at a muggle-born bringing their parents along."
Hermione whirled around and narrowed her eyes. "How do you know that?"
Oh fuck, spoke without thinking. I can't exactly tell her that I took my godson on holiday once during my twenties.
"My dads sent me a few travel brochures in the past couple of months, and I've been reading about a few different places. We're going on holiday this year, and we're thinking of going to Cannes for a bit seeing as the Potter family owns a chateau there." Nice save Potter. Besides, it technically wasn't a lie as Sirius and Remus had sent her brochures – just not for Cannes.
"Oh! Maybe we'll see each other there!"
"Hmm, maybe. By the sounds of it, you're going in early July, and I think we're not heading to France until later. I'm not sure though, I'll let you know."
Rose wasn't sure what was happening with her summer as it was. Between Cassiopeia Black descending upon magical Britain with a vengeance – and judging from Sirius' letters, the man was both apologetic for the turn of events and utterly terrified of his aunt – in order to teach her about being a member of the House of Black, and the upcoming wedding, the summer was going to be busy as hell.
She was hoping that she would be able to spend at least a week with her parents alone, but she also wanted to get them to bring along their partners. Amelia was a definite, and the woman who Rose considered a friend had assured her that she would be around over the summer, but Professor Burbage was something of a mystery. Sirius had, without Remus' knowledge, been sending regular reports of the couple's budding relationship, and everything seemed to be going fairly quickly.
Rose wasn't too bothered about the speed, she was only concerned about Remus' happiness and whether or not Professor Burbage was taking the relationship seriously. She didn't think that would be an issue though, as apparently the woman had known about Remus being a werewolf for a while already. She was pretty sharp for someone who reminded Rose of an innocent puppy.
It would be interesting to see how the two women interacted with each other. On the surface a Muggle Studies professor and the Head of the DMLE might seem too different, but in the future Rose had managed to get the prim and proper Draco Malfoy and the prankster George Weasley to sit down together and have a drink. Which had turned into ten, and a night of laughter and hijinks. She considered it one of her crowning achievements, and considering she'd assisted with developing revolutionary – and legal – research on Necromancy, that was saying something.
Rose had a feeling that summer was going to be the season of romance for the adults in her life, and she could honestly say she was ecstatic for them. They deserved everything they got, and she was more than a little excited for the wedding.
She swept her eyes across the now-bare dormitory, cataloguing all the nooks and crannies in case either her or Hermione had left anything behind. She knew that the Hogwarts elves would be checking later and that any items forgotten would be sent ahead to them, but it didn't hurt to check.
"Rose, are you done? If you don't hurry, we'll miss the train!"
"I'm done Hermione, calm down. Do you honestly think nobody's ever missed the train before?"
Her bushy-haired friend was silent for a second, before she began a rant about the different possible solutions for the hypothetical situation. Rose just smiled at her, and the two friends made their way through the castle talking about the different ways to get to and from school.
"What about a flying car?"
Hermione's bewildered expression was priceless.
The carriages on the train weren't quite big enough for all their friends, and the journey home saw Rose sitting with her two cousins Neville and Draco, Hermione, Blaise and the twins. She was sandwiched between the two redheads on one seat, the other four were across from them.
Draco and Hermione were bickering once more about something only they knew, while Neville was trying to wrangle Trevor the toad into staying still, 'aided' by Blaise's sarcastic commentary. The plant enthusiast had a pained look on his face, until Blaise decided to be genuinely helpful and suggested a sleeping charm, which Fred promptly performed before turning back to his hushed discussion with Rose and his brother.
Rose was eagerly informing her fellow mischief makers of the status of the shop, and how her dads had graciously offered to teach them the Animagus transformation. The Marauders hadn't gotten it until fifth year, but that was because they'd done it alone. They reasoned that with someone helping them it would be a lot quicker. For the twins that is; Rose already knew how to transform, she just needed to wait a year or two until her core developed a bit more. Then she could show off her completely unimpressive animal form; she liked it, but it was rather ordinary.
Fred and George looked at her with wide eyes, faces lighting up in unholy glee at the news which caught the attention of everyone else.
"Merlin, what are you three up to now? The last time I saw that expression, Flint ended up speaking troll and passing gas for an entire day. Granted it was entertaining, but that's not the point."
Draco's suspicious face was hilarious, but considering he was aware that they were the ones behind Lockhart's … exposure, he was right to be worried. Blaise and Neville knew enough to have guessed their involvement, but they weren't completely certain. Hermione, bless her naïve heart, was still under the impression that Rose was a serious student that valued her education above all else. She hadn't been that involved in the Week of Hell, so wasn't all that informed on Rose's hobby of pranking. Hermione was always going to be book-focused, and considering that she hadn't been dragged along on spontaneous perilous adventures this time around, still operated under the assumption that Rose was a calm and quiet Ravenclaw. Rose had no intention of dispelling this illusion – not until her friend figured it out on her own anyway, and it was going to be spectacular when it happened.
"I remember that," Blaise smirked, "for once Flint's voice matched the exterior. Very inspired, by the way."
The twins stood up and bowed exaggeratedly and in unison. "Thank you, thank you. Your kind words are much appreciated. We couldn't have done this without our little Rosebud."
She giggled right up until she heard the new nickname, then she groaned into her hands. It seemed just like her mother, she too had gained a ridiculous flower nickname. First James had decided that 'Lily-flower' was perfect – and no Dad, it's not perfect, it's cringy – and now the Weasley twins had decided that 'Rosebud' was a good name to give her. No matter how many times she asked them to stop they didn't relent, and she dearly hoped that this wasn't an indication of romantic interest.
It was nothing against them personally, but her body was only eleven, and when you added in the adult mindset, the idea of entering into a relationship with anyone underage was more than a little nauseating. She would put off all thoughts of romance for a good few years at least before revisiting the idea.
As for the twins, she could see their amusement clearly, so she decided for now their interest in her was platonic. Not to mention that they were probably too in awe of her fathers to disrespect them by going after her.
"Rosebud?"
The question was repeated simultaneously by the other four students, though with different tones. Hermione looked rather calculating, while Blaise was still smirking in amusement. Bastard. Neville just seemed bemused and resigned, while Draco's voice was dripping with disgust.
"Yeah, Rosebud-"
"-small, delicate, kind of cute-"
"-the potential to become deadly with thorns-"
"-going to grow up beautiful-"
"-Rosebud."
They finished their back and forth in tandem, grinning at Rose as they did. If Rose had been her original eleven-year-old self she would have been blushing up a storm, but being a woman of thirty who'd had extremely inappropriate offers of sex in public, their attempts didn't faze her a bit.
"Thank you for the compliments, truly. I'm grateful that you think so highly of me. I wonder what my fathers will think of such comments, though."
Her placid smile did nothing to hide the wicked amusement in her eyes, and the paling of their faces was very satisfying.
She soon started laughing which everyone else joined in with before they spent the rest of the journey playing Exploding Snap. The atmosphere was loud and cheerful as they knew that they'd all be in contact with each other over the summer.
When the train pulled into London, last minute promises were made to write to each other before the friends split up in different directions, Draco staying with Rose and Neville.
"Neville, there you are! And you too Miss Potter, Mister Malfoy, how are you two?"
"I'm well, Madam Longbottom, thanks for asking. Looking forward to going home."
"Regent Longbottom, thank you for your enquiry. I am very well, though I am looking forward to resting over the holidays."
Neville and Rose shared a grin over Draco's formality, though he didn't sound at all arrogant. He was getting better every day. She resisted the urge to pat his head like a dog; she didn't think it would be very appreciated.
"That's good, after some of the dreadful things happening with those professors I had worried about the well-being of the students. A period of rest will do you all some good I think."
She turned to her grandson with a fond smile, though you had to look closely to catch it. "I'm afraid it's time for us to depart Neville, your parents are waiting for us at home. They wanted to come but crowds aren't the best environment right now. Say goodbye to your friends, though I'm sure we'll be seeing them again soon enough."
The platinum blonde children quickly said goodbye to the Longbottoms who Apparated from the platform, leaving the cousins to find their parents. They walked around for a bit before they caught sight of a head of pale blonde hair mirroring their own. A moment later Rose heard a loud barking laugh near the person and knew they were in the right spot.
She dragged Draco along the platform before they found Remus apparently face-palming, Sirius bent double clutching his stomach as he howled with laughter, and Narcissa glaring at her cousin.
"Dads!"
Rose let go of Draco and ran at the two men who straightened up in time to catch her and envelop her in a tight hug between their arms. She breathed in the familiar scents of firewhiskey, smoke and chocolate, and tried to burrow deeper in their arms.
She turned her head after a moment to see Draco looking at her with clear jealousy, but before her stomach had a chance to twist unpleasantly she saw Narcissa stride towards her son determinedly, before wrapping her thin arms around his shoulders and holding onto him tightly. The misery drained from his face, which turned a pink hue of embarrassment even as a pleased smile found it's way onto his face as he hugged his mother back.
After the parents finished squashing their children they went to remove the trunks from the train and said a few last-minute words before Narcissa and Draco Apparated back to Malfoy Manor.
Rose turned back to the gleaming red train, the faint remnants of smoke furling upwards gently, swirling into random shapes that couldn't be predicted. She knew that even with her knowledge of the future that nothing could ever be predicted, not with what she had done this year. One measly year and everything had changed beyond all recognition.
She turned away from the Hogwarts Express at the sound of her family. She smiled at the thought of her beloved school. Only six years left to go.
A/N: And done!
Yes, I'm afraid you read that correctly, this is the final chapter ... for this part. I've decided to carry on a year-by-year story of Rose's life in this changed world, which will be coming shortly.
I'm not sure when I'll start posting, because I want to have more chapters done before I upload it, in case writer's block rears its ugly head and I get stuck. At the very latest I'll start posting in May, and I'll make sure to update this story too to notify everyone when it's up.
I'd just like to say I'm so grateful for all the support I've gotten over the course of this story, and I honestly can't believe that so many people enjoyed it. I can't thank you guys enough for all the reviews and favourites, you're amazing. I only started writing because I was sad there wasn't many time travel stories with a female Harry, so I thought I'd have a go at it myself. (If anyone has any recommendations for a fem Harry time travel story, let me know :D).
Happy reading guys, and I'll see you soon! Promise :D
