-I'M NOT PROFITING FROM THIS. ANY RECOGNIZABLE CHARACTERS, EVENTS, AND/OR PLACES BELONG TO J.K. ROWLING-

This is a shorter chapter, but I wanted to give you guys at least a couple to start with. We'll all have plenty of time for reading with the quarantines going on currently. I feel like this also might be a good time to discuss my posting schedule. There are a couple chapters already prepped but where's the fun in that? I'll try to shoot for Tuesday and Thursday nights, but if anything changes I'll give you all a heads up.

As always, reviews are welcome! Thank you for the support!

Chapter Three:

The thyme plant was safely stored in her dormitory, and Rose went through weeks of classes, enduring Bellatrix's assaults after each one. DADA was taught by some man named Ryan Morpho, who was "aggressively mediocre" as Cyril had put it. Rose was glad she shared a class with her friends. Hugo was in Herbology, Cyril in DADA, and both Henrietta and Terry were in her Magical Creature class. But potions was a hellscape. No matter how long after class she stayed to practice brewing her potion, Bellatrix had caught her outside, and pulled one prank or another, most of them painful if Rose forgot to ward herself. She had considered apparating to her classes, but had been once informed by Terry that apparating without a license was very illegal.

Her parents sent mail every once in awhile with spending money, and they would ask how things were going. Rose lied obviously, telling them that she was having a fantastic time. Her grades were impeccable, and so they didn't bother her past the usual, but Rose was merely acting on autopilot. Hogwarts seemed to be a whole year behind Ilvermorny, so she aced anything and everything that came her way, much to Bellatrix's chagrin. One day during lunch, Rose asked Terry why Bellatrix didn't just get kicked out of Hogwarts.

"Well, I mean…" she began uncomfortably "her family, the Blacks? Very rich and influential. They're basically the backbone of Slytherin house. Plus, she gets detentions every week, and it seems to keep her within reasonable control…" Terry studied a wall while she drank a glass of pumpkin juice.

"Okay, but she's dangerous Terry. I wouldn't be surprised if she would actually kill somebody one day."

"Rose, do you know about the Sacred 28?"

"Uh...no, can't say that I do."

"Okay, well the Black family is part of it. So are the Malfoys, Weasleys, and even Ollivander. Those kinds of families hold a lot of power in the Ministries eyes. So, kicking a kid out of school would kind of been seen as an offense." Terry waved her hand uneasily.

"Yeah but what's a Pureblood?"

"Well, seeing as how your last name doesn't ring any bells, and also that you're not even from around here, you musn't be pureblood. Are both of your parents magical?"

"No, just my mom's side of the family." and Terry nodded.

"Okay, so you're half-blood. Count yourself lucky, Bellatrix torments Muggle-born students. Or 'Mudbloods'." Terry said with disgust. Rose was equally disgusted. Blood heritage didn't matter at Ilvermorny, everything came down to your grades, or your proficiency at sports. Her grades were the one thing saving her ass back then.

"I'm impressed you've managed to last this long. You haven't even cried in class or anything." but Terry only said this to make her feel better. She pushed her glasses up on her nose as she remembered how Rose would cry every night before going to sleep. She would wait until she thought her roommates were asleep, and then the quiet sobbing would start. It sounded like somebody was being quietly strangled. Terry felt awful, but she didn't know Rose that well, so she didn't say anything. It wasn't like the American let her get close, she seemed to be distant with everybody, but she wasn't unkind. Rose was also unbelievably shy. She only ever spoke in CMC to answer questions, and Terry was almost positive she was like this in her other classes.

"Rose, how have you been sleeping?" Terry continued after a minute.

"Yes."

"What?"

"I mean, um good. Good you know." she blushed and continued doing something on her side of the table. Terry leaned forward and saw it was actually a face with surprising detail, but she couldn't tell who it was because it was upside down.

"Oh that's really good! Who is it?" she tried to look closer but Rose hastily shoved the drawing in the pocket of her robes.

"Nobody. I just made it up." but she was still blushing and looking away. Terry smiled broadly.

"Ooooohhhhhh, is it Cyril? You know he's been flirting, right? He fancies you." she teased a little, but this almost seemed to sober Rose up. She shrugged.

"Really? I didn't notice. Anyway, I'll see you later tonight. I'm going to go study in the library." she had to admit, only having four classes had its perks. Terry waved her off, and Rose left the Great Hall, stroking Peppers' head as he wound himself around her hand. As she walked down the hall, she heard quick steps behind her and "Rosie!". She turned to see Narcissa, running after her on short legs with a stack of textbooks. Andromeda had fallen behind a little trying to chase her. Rose wondered how Narcissa knew her name, or at least a pet name.

"Can I see Peppers?" she huffed out and plopped her books in the middle of the hallway. The snake immediately slithered into her outstretched hand and made himself comfortable. Andromeda watched Rose as warily as the other witch regarded her. Rose really didn't want to ignite the eldest Black's fury, although she was currently nowhere to be seen.

"Hey Narcissa...what's up?" she asked uncomfortably. Andromeda kept looking at her, but didn't say anything. Narcissa chattered excitedly about everything she had been doing, her classes, some boy named Lucius that she liked. Rose nodded and smiled, soaking up every word. Narcissa felt like a little sister that she never had, and she was glad the blonde was so gentle with Peppers. But after a moment, she looked at Andromeda nervously.

"So um...where's your older sister?"

"Bella? She's in Divination right now."

"Oh okay, good good. Um, I actually have to go study, so I'll see you later." Rose trailed off when Narcissa's eyes bugged out.

"We're going to study too! In the library! Study with us!" she passed Peppers back and grabbed Rose's hand and began to tug her down the hall.

"Cissy!" Andromeda called out in exasperation, but she just gathered up her sister's schoolbooks and chased after them.

The three of them sat at a table in the library, whispering to each other and talking about different potions. Both of the Black sisters were more than willing to ask questions about America, and even some "Muggle" things. But some of the questions were fairly mundane.

"You haven't asked your mom or dad about this stuff?" Rose whispered after awhile. Andromeda and Narcissa gave each other a look before the younger girl whispered back "Because Muggles are filthy. Daddy says they're like dumb animals, and that we can't go near them." Andromeda looked away when Narcissa said this, studying her shoes. Rose noticed, but didn't say anything.

"But they have so much advanced technology! Cars, radios, televisions! They're not animals." she muttered. Narcissa smiled and whispered "I agree. They sound like fun…who's that you're drawing?" she asked, and Rose looked down to see that she had begun to sketch on her notes again. It was the same face as before, and she knew damn well who it was.

"Nobody." she flipped her notes over. She didn't have nearly half the heart to tell them that she had been drawing their psychotic sister for days now, without even noticing. Sometimes, she would be in the midst of casting a spell, or laughing, or just sitting in deep thought, each pose unique and charming. Rose didn't know how she could just see these poses in her mind, or how she seemed to draw them up with little difficulty, but it was unsettling. Yes, Rose admitted, Bellatrix was stunning and insanely smart, but whenever she was near, Rose feared for her own safety.

You could defeat her in a duel. You know you're strong enough.

There was that stupid voice again. Rose blamed it on intrusive thoughts. She had them regularly now.

"Ah...Rose? Do you need to go back to your dormitory?" Andromeda gently shook her shoulder, apparently she was falling asleep. Rose tried to muster a smile, but Andromeda and Narcissa suddenly shot up from the table and left the library, without so much as looking back at the bewildered witch. Then, Rose realized why. Bellatrix was standing in the doorway to the library, staring.

"Shit." Rose muttered to herself, and got up, but realized that the library only had one exit, and her tormentor was blocking it. Even Madame Pince could feel the tension, and she went off to a secluded section to "sort books".

Now's your chance. Fight her. You could easily overpower her. Stand up for yourself.

Rose felt like she had heard the voice somewhere before but she couldn't place it. She looked at the floor as she tried to walk by Bellatrix, but the witch just put her hand on Rose's shoulder and roughly shoved her into a bookshelf. Her voice was a deadly hiss.

"What were you doing with my sisters, you stupid bitch?" she dug her perfectly manicured nails in Rose's shoulder, holding her in place.

"Nothing. We were studying."

"Studying? Do you take me for some stupid twat? You don't even take the same classes." she stared into Rose's eyes, but the brunette couldn't quite meet her gaze. An evil, mocking grin spread across her lips.

"I've seen you, you know. Trying to make that stupid potion? You having bad dreams? You poor baby...you miss mummy and daddy?" she said in a baby voice. Rose stiffened a little. Bellatrix let a cruel laugh escape her lips.

"You look like complete shit. Wonder why that little boyfriend of yours tries to chase after you."

"He's not my boyfriend." Rose said quickly, and now she tried to pull away, but Bellatrix caught her jaw in her other hand. Rose felt that strange confidence and smirked before shoving Bellatrix away, nearly causing the girl to trip over a chair. She continued, "No, no he's not my boyfriend. And how would you know what I've been up to, huh? Have you been stalking me?" Rose felt very powerful in this moment, but it dropped quickly when Bellatrix gave her a thoroughly disgusted look.

"You're fucking mental, with those stupid dead eyes of yours. Don't you dare go near my sisters again, or you'll pay dearly." the raven witch threatened before brushing herself off and storming out of the library. Rose felt like throwing up, and she also fled the library, right up to the Gryffindor girls bathroom. She gripped the sink tightly, knuckles white. Her face had grown thin and gaunt, deep dark circles surrounded her eyes. Suddenly, she began to sob uncontrollably. Sucking in breaths and letting the tears just fall, Rose sank to the bathroom floor and just cried. She didn't know what was wrong with her, why she was so ugly, or just so empty. She missed Brian and Katie, even her parents. She hated being tortured every day, she hated the nightmares. She wanted to let people in, but something in her prevented it. Slamming her fist on the floor , Rose held back a scream of frustration. She was supposed to be a responsible adult. She didn't even know what she wanted to do after graduation. Even if it was still October, she never thought about her future, and it was scaring her now.

The Forbidden Forest. It will make you feel better. Go there.

The voice commanded, rather than suggested. Rose only sobbed harder and buried her face in her hands, knees drawn up to her chest. Peppers wound himself around her arm and gave her a small nudge. She offered him a weak smile, cheeks red and hair plastered to the side of her face with tears. She sniffed, and cursed because she had almost dropped the Mandrake leaf during her little breakdown. Momentarily distracted, she wondered when she would be good to spit out the stupid leaf. She would also have to take into account the potion, which she had already made, and a thunderstorm. Where she would encounter a thunderstorm, was beyond her. This was Scotland, so while rain was common, lightning would be difficult to get. For a fleeting moment, everything seemed hopeless.

"Maybe...maybe I'll just lie down for a moment." she said quietly, bringing herself to her feet and walking to her dorm. The second her face hit the mattress, she was out like a light.

Another dream pulled her in, but this time, it wasn't dark. Nor was she back at Ilvermorny. Rose sat on a fallen tree in the woods, the smell of damp, crushed pine needles, and dew hung in the air. It was silent, and everything seemed so bright. She still felt unbearably cold.

"It's nice isn't it?" she heard a man say, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. He was standing in front of her, wearing black robes, and fiddling with a wand. He looked at Rose, and gave a thin-lipped smile.

"Uh…" Rose faltered, because he had locked her gaze with his own bright red eyes. His skin was so white it was almost translucent, and he had a very flat nose. No wait, just two nostrils.

"He looks like a snake." Rose thought, and the man grinned at this. His teeth were sharp, as were the nails on his fingers. Rose felt like something was wrong, but she ultimately felt at peace.

"Who are you?" she asked in an even tone.

"You may call me Tom."

"Okay. Well, Tom, what are you doing here? Do I know you?" she felt like she was in a trance. Tom chuckled, a low scraping sound. It made her spine hurt.

"No. No but I know you, Rose Damonne. Which is why I also know you can help me." his face was nearly expressionless. Rose leaned forward and rested her chin in her palm.

"Oh yeah? What for?" the colors in her dream flared, and she closed her eyes for a moment. The cold got worse, and she struggled to breathe.

"I need…" he thought for a moment. "I lost something. In these woods," he gestured "and I would very much like to find it. Sadly, I cannot." he trailed off, voice scratching. Rose's vision was dimming, but she heaved a breath and asked "How come you can't find it?"

"I'm a little too far away at the moment. But you! Oh, you could easily just snatch it up for me. In fact, I might be so inclined as to help you find it." he had begun to pace. Rose couldn't seem to focus on his wand, it was always shifting and blurring. She felt dizzy, and the cold was suffocating. The sun was out, why was she cold?

"Okay. Sounds good." she managed. Tom smiled again, and Rose heard a yelp.

When she came to, she was in Potions. She recognized the smell of the ingredients.

"I already had this class today?" her brain was sluggish, it felt like she was pushing her thoughts through molasses. She was vaguely aware of the boy next to her lightly jostling her shoulder.

"—right?"

"What?"

"—ose, are you okay? Can you hear me?" it was Slughorn this time, and his pudgy face came into focus. She blinked, and it took her a second to realize that she was actually on the cold stone floor and not at her desk. Several students were crowded around her.

"What the hell?" she stared before realizing how embarrassing this was. In an effort that made her extremely dizzy, Rose jolted upwards and braced herself against a desk, refusing to make eye contact with anybody. She heard Bellatrix snicker from the back of the room, but ignored it.

"Ah, I'm all set professor. What were you saying?" she sat down and looked at her notes. Weird, they were learning more about polyjuice ingredients. The professor just gave her a look of concern, and several of the students went back to their seats nervously.

"Ms. Damonne, class was actually about to end when you fell over." he said, now looking very worried. Rose struggled to remember this, but she just couldn't.

"Oh okay. Well. See you, then." she grabbed her books and left, not even staying to test her anti-nightmare brew she had been slaving over. Many of her classmates gave each other bewildered looks, and Slughorn made a motion to call after her, but eventually shrugged and dismissed everyone else. Bellatrix, in rare form, rushed out of the class as well.