TW: This story contains heavy manipulation of a mentally ill child by an adult. It also contains violent/grotesque scenes later. Reader beware.
Disclaimer: I do not, nor will ever, own the Harry Potter series, or any of its characters and plots.
Rose
She awoke in a room she'd never seen before – vision or otherwise – clean and dressed in soft, muggle pajamas.
If that wasn't surreal enough, she was in the same room as a Dark Lord, two of his loyal followers, and the giant snake that she'd once dreamt had taken a man's life… and none of them were trying to kill her.
In fact, the snake was curled up in front of the fireplace, looking far too content to be the same snake from her dream.
Voldemort was standing over a desk, Lucius and another man standing with him. They spoke in low, garbled voices, and it took her a moment to realize that they were speaking another language altogether.
French, perhaps? Italian?
Well, she should at the very least see what they were standing over.
Trying to be silent, she moved off the bed, surprised at the lack of creaks. Even the mattresses at Hogwarts made a creak whenever she moved on them.
It was how her roommates had learned to put up silencing wards in the face of her nightmares, since she herself was forbidden to cast one after her magic had prevented them from waking her up… violently.
Rose blinked, forcing herself to focus.
She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't realize the others were watching her until she was standing next to them. And then, it didn't matter.
She observed the map, a small stone forming in the pit of her stomach. She knew the layout by heart, after years of sleepless nights pouring over the map, and the names located under each dot struck a sense of panic inside of her.
Almost a perfect copy. The voice whispered, sounding impressed.
She vaguely remembered it saying something similar when Fred and George first gave her the map.
"Don't you see? I've already won." Voldemort spoke into the silence of the room.
Rose backed away from them, swallowing her retort. Where was her wand? Where was she? Why was she still alive? She tripped over something solid, falling on her arse next to the fireplace.
"How dare you?" The snake sprung to life, snapping at her without actually biting her.
"I'm sorry!" She instantly blurted out, not even thinking about it.
She didn't notice the look the three men exchanged, too preoccupied with the angered serpent.
"You very well should be sorry, Sister!"
The snake uncoiled herself briefly before she began wrapping herself around Rose's legs.
"I-I am!" Rose insisted, and then flinched hard when the snake flicked her tongue out to brush against the tip of her nose.
"Good, now be a good heat source and stay still." The snake hissed.
Rose blinked at the snake but gave no response.
Voldemort laughed quietly, and the three men turned back to the map, beginning their soft garbled conversation now that she was subdued.
Once she got used to the fact that a serpent was wrapped around her, and could easily kill her in a moment, she found herself relaxing. There was something soothing about being held like this. The snake had her head pressed against Rose's collarbone, her tongue flicking out every few minutes to brush against her neck, directly over her jugular.
The first few times it'd happened, Rose had jerked a bit, only to return to being still at the snake's hiss of discontent.
She didn't really want to anger her now, especially in that position.
Perhaps it was the gentle crackle of the firewood, or the soft garble of a language she couldn't recognize, or maybe it was the warmth surrounding her from the snake's embrace, but Rose quickly found herself drifting away.
Alani
The bed she found herself in was soft, softer than anything she'd ever experienced.
She faintly remembered being held and thought to herself that perhaps she was in the house of someone who was fond of her.
Alani sat up, looking up at the beautiful crown-moldings. She was no longer in her aunt's house, that was for sure, and she doubted someone who hated her would give her such a beautiful room to sleep in.
Curiosity got the better of her.
She slid out of bed, marveling at her newfound height, and then went to the door.
It was unlocked.
Her bedroom at her aunt's house had only been unlocked when she was meant to leave, most likely to do chores.
She left the room, her footsteps quiet as she padded down the hallway.
The house was bigger than even her aunt's, and she quickly grew lost with the many doors and twists in the hall. She was just about to give up and attempt to return back to her room, when one of the doors opened.
A man with pale skin, a crooked nose, and greasy black hair stepped out, his black eyes immediately going to hers. He looked shocked, and a bit horrified, to see her there, but, to her surprise, he merely turned around, opening the door.
"Go in." He said stiffly.
She nodded, smiling brightly at him, which seemed to horrify him even more.
Without another word, he spun on his heel, walking away.
She entered the room, barely containing her gasp at the interior.
Tall bookshelves lined every wall except the far one, which had elegant, floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked a luscious garden. There were many tables and chairs scattered neatly across the room, but only one of them were occupied.
Two men sat at the table closest to the windows. The one on the left was dark-haired, with a gentle smile on his young face, and a pair of violet-blue eyes that seemed to look through her.
The one on the right was bald, his skin sickly pale, with vibrant red eyes that instantly reminded her of the man from her dreams. In contrast to the other, this man seemed solemn, but yet curious, as he looked at her.
"My name is Mr Aeson." The dark-haired man said, speaking gently, like one would speak to a scared animal.
Alani knew this based on how her cousin once snuck in a stray dog, only to blame it on her when it was discovered.
"Won't you join us?" Mr Aeson asked, motioning to the third chair at the table.
She shook her head, her eyes flickering to the red-eyed man. He always hurt her in her dreams.
Then, Mr Aeson pulled out a thin book from his tiny bag, making her eyes widen.
How did such a big book fit into a bag the size of her hand?
"I guess I'll just have to color alone, then." He said sadly, pulling out a box of crayons.
Alani stared at him for a moment before she slowly walked towards them.
"How'd you do that?" She asked.
Mr Aeson gave her a soothing smile.
"You can do it too." He answered and motioned to the seat again.
She warily took it, and he pushed the book and crayons towards her. When she didn't move, he frowned.
"Do you not want to color?"
"I can use them?" She returned, surprised, and he nodded slowly. "Oh."
She gingerly flipped open the book to an outline of a butterfly. Carefully, her eyes flicking to the red-eyed man every few seconds, she began to use the crayons. Mr Aeson laughed softly.
"You don't have to be afraid. You are safe here." He promised, and Alani visibly relaxed, a small smile on her face.
She didn't notice the wary look Mr Aeson gave the other man.
When she was fully entranced in her coloring, he began his questioning.
"So, what is your name?" He began easily.
"Rose Potter." Alani said immediately, almost without even considering his question.
She switched her purple crayon for a light blue, beginning on the inner most part of the wings.
"And how old are you, Rose?"
"I'm eight."
Mr Aeson leaned back in his chair, staring at her. Oppositely, the other man leaning forward, his almost non-existent eyebrows lifting.
Alani didn't notice either of them, carefully tracing the outline of the butterfly's body with her brown crayon.
"What are your parents' names?" Mr Aeson asked gently.
She shrugged.
"I dunno. Aunt Petunia yelled at me when I asked, and Uncle Vernon says they were drunks who died in a car crash."
The red-eyed man slammed his fist down on the table, but Alani didn't even flinch, her eyes firmly on her coloring. Mr Aeson gave him a nervous look but continued his questions.
"Does your aunt and uncle treat you well?" He asked.
Her hand froze in the middle of filling in the body of the butterfly, but she didn't look up.
She said nothing, staring intently at her almost finished coloring. It was the first thing she'd ever colored, and she was quite proud of it.
Unbeknownst to her, the hand with which she held the crayon began to shake violently. A tear fell down her face, staining the very bottom left corner of the page.
Sensing her magic rising, although the girl was utterly oblivious to it all, Mr Aeson quickly asked, "Do you have any friends?"
A smile formed on Alani's face, and she looked up.
"Tomas is my bestest friend." She admitted, looking between Mr Aeson's panicked face and the red-eyed man's apathetic expression.
"And how old is this Tomas?"
Mr Aeson smiled back at her, and she blushed, finishing her coloring with a bright red crayon.
"Sorry, he doesn't like me talking about him." She said, and then ripped the page from the book, turning it around to the red-eyed man. "Do you like it?"
The cartoon butterfly had eyes as red as his, and this detail seemed to make Mr Aeson even more scared than before.
Voldemort smirked at the young girl.
"It's beautiful." He praised, and she beamed, turning it back to herself and signing her name with the emerald green crayon.
She didn't notice that she'd signed 'Alani', rather than 'Rose'.
A/N: Thanks for reading; reviews are always appreciated!