For some reason, this chapter was WAY too short, but I'm not good t writing filler. In other news, I've already started working on two more off-shoots for it too, different things I hope you guys would enjoy.

My new work schedule is really messing with how I write and post, but given the circumstances, there's not much I can really do about it at the moment, I'm sorry about how inconsistent things have been. In any case, I hope you guys enjoy, and thank you again for all your support.

I AM NOT PROFITING FROM THIS. ANY RECOGNIZABLE PEOPLE, PLACES, AND/OR EVENTS BELONG TO J.K. ROWLING

Chapter 15

Rose awoke to a loud crash, and cursed under her breath as she jumped up from the bed, wand readied. The dream had ended, and she was sure it was her fault. The floorboards creaked slightly as she balanced in a crouch, moving just out of the line of sight of the slightly ajar door. The small bedroom was dimly lit with early morning light, making everything a pallid grey. She heard footsteps, and she slowly shouldered her pack in case she had to make a quick escape.

"How in the hell did they track me to a No-Maj town?" she thought in a panic. The footsteps grew closer, then stopped at the door. There were three soft knocks.

"If you'd like some breakfast, the husband is getting it ready downstairs." Ada said quietly, in case Rose might have been sleeping. Hurriedly shoving her wand back into her sleeve, Rose stood up and straightened the bed out a little bit before going out into the hallway. It was narrow, with only a few doors on either side, and there were pictures on the wall. Most of them were of Ada and her husband in different places. Lush jungles, the pyramids, even the Statue of Liberty, which made Rose feel a little homesick. Realizing that she was probably snooping for too long, she shifted her bag before clomping unceremoniously down the stairs into a small kitchen. She could smell bacon and eggs, and something was baking in the oven. Ada was standing behind her husband, watching him cook the food, and they bickered amongst themselves quietly. It was uncomfortably domestic, and Rose just wanted to be on her way.

"I just just get up and leave now, like nothing ever happened. I don't really need to come back to this town." she considered briefly before a heaping plate of food was set before her. She had half a mind to give it back, as she blushed and shook her head.

"I don't need all this! You've already done so much for me!" she insisted, nudging the plate a little.

"Nonsense. You paid for your dinner, and it's the least we can do. Perhaps you should wait until the rain stops to travel though…" Ada trailed off as she looked out the window, and Rose realized that the pattering sound she had been hearing was rain. Of course, it didn't matter that much, she could just charm her jacket.

"She's an adult, Ada, let her be." her husband grumbled as he sat with his own food and coffee and dug in. He was a little rough around the edges, and looked old enough to have fought in a war at some point. Rose ate quietly as they talked over and around her, occasionally asking her questions that she either lied about or deflected.

"So what do your parents think about all of this? With you traveling?" Ada asked as she poured herself some more coffee. Rose couldn't help frowning. The old soldier mercifully answered for her, and signaled the end of the awkward breakfast.

"I think we've all bothered each other enough for one day. I'm going to clean the pub." he grunted as he stood and a few cracks could be heard before he shuffled to the sink.

Rose had to stop herself from lurching from her seat in a hurry to leave. She felt anxious, and any time spent too long in one place felt unsafe to her. As she quickly cleaned off her plate and put it in the sink, she turned to leave out the door when Ada blocked her path. The Gryffindor wanted to push the woman out off the way to get out faster, but Ada's stance held firm. She looked Rose hard in the face with tired blue eyes.

"You make sure you're safe. There's somebody who cares about you, and you should make sure that you don't betray their trust by getting hurt." she said gravely.

The brunette's blood ran ice cold for a second before Ada patted her on the shoulder and suddenly she was out on the road in the rain. A light fog was rolling off the fields, creating wavy shapes that made Rose jumpy. Looking back at the pub before she went, Rose took out her map and found the road she needed at the other end of Gloucester. Charming her jacket, she began the long walk into the misty gloom.

It was dark before she had reached the Forest of Dean, and her legs ached unbearably, to the point where she almost collapsed as she saw the wooden sign for it. The smell of wet crushed pine filled her nostrils as she stumbled closer. Leaning against a tree and breathing hard, she grasped blindly at a sapling and felt a surge of energy as she did, like a jolt of electricity up and down her spine. She felt as if she had just woken up from a long rest, but she saw that the sapling had died completely, and a brownish patch of dead weeds was near its base. Shoving her hand into her pocket, Rose used her wand to light her way as she hiked deeper into the forest, weaving in between thorns and small ground plants. Ferns brushed by her legs and left a streak of water on her jeans. The smell of decaying leaves and wet earth was deeply soothing, and she felt some of her trepidation ease. She wondered where these ruins were that Ada had mentioned. After walking well into the night and running out of energy again, Rose decided that it would be smart to stop and rest for now.

"I mean, I'm here aren't I?" she said to herself as she sat down under a large pine, setting her bag next to her and considering the canned food she bought. Opening a can of peaches, she ate them and listened as water dipped off the trees and hit fallen leaves, pattering a quiet lullaby. If she slept again, it would mean she could see Bellatrix. Rose laid in the pine needles and rested her head on her arm and fell asleep almost immediately.

This time, she wasn't by the Black Lake, but sitting in her favorite seat at the back corner of the library. It was completely silent, not even a page rustled as books moved themselves between shelves.

"What happened? Are you alright?" Bellatrix asked as she sat down next to Rose, calm as ever. The brunette shrugged as she went to hold the other girl's hand.

"Yeah, I'm alright. A noise just woke me up." she whispered back, and Bellatrix laughed out loud, a sound that Rose didn't think she had ever heard too often while she was awake.

"This isn't the real library, we can be as loud as we want." she smiled "So tell me, what's going on? Are you safe? Where are you?" she asked, black eyes scrutinizing Rose in the gentlest way possible for her. Rose took a deep breath, still not used to the complete silence around them.

"Bellatrix, are you sure that it's safe? I mean, if I tell you anything, won't somebody be able to get the information out of you somehow?" Rose shifted in her chair and tilted her head a little, still looking for any sort of sound that might betray the illusion of the dream.

"Don't you remember? I'm a rather accomplished legillimens and occlumens, lovely. There's no way some bastard is getting anything from me." Bellatrix preened. Rose could only manage a nervous chuckle. She gripped Bellatrix's hand feverently.

"I'm serious. I would die if something happened to you. That's why I don't want to-" Rose stiffened as she felt Bellatrix cross some sort of barrier, despite the fact that she was sitting right there. Memories blazed passed her, bright flashes that she couldn't focus on as Bellatrix rooted around. She stopped when she saw Rose entering the Ministry with Dumbledore. Suddenly, they were back in the Department of Mysteries, and Rose was picking up the book that Voldemort wanted while he was in control of her mind. Bellatrix pulled back as quickly as she had entered and stared for a moment at Rose.

"You never told me about this." she said. There was a look on her angular face that Rose couldn't identify, but she was too annoyed to determine what it was.

"That was a serious breach of privacy!" she seethed "How could you just-you, you-ugh! Bella! I didn't tell you because I didn't want to revisit that!" she trembled as she stood, tears threatening to spill. Bellatrix regarded her carefully before scowling.

"Why didn't you trust me enough to tell me about this? I could have helped you somehow. My family is rich and powerful, I could have easily just found help for you." the dark witch pointed out, and Rose couldn't help a caustic bark of laughter.

"Seriously? You think this is about wealth? Voldemort doesn't care about money and some power from one freaking inbred family! He wants world domination, he wants No-Majs to die like the scum he thinks they are! I single-handedly provided him with some sort of knowledge that day, and I couldn't prevent it!" Rose was yelling now. She could feel the dream starting to twist and warp. It was like they were standing in quicksand now, but all Rose could do was stare as Bellatrix's mouth gaped, like she was searching for an answer. The brunette let out an angry growl before she forcefully woke herself up.

"Who the hell does she think she is? When will Bella realize that influence doesn't fix everything?" Rose picked up a rock and chucked it at a tree with all of her might. The stone bounced off harmlessly. But almost immediately after, her heart ached ferociously.

"I already miss her too much." she murmured as she curled tighter into the hollow of the tree. Fiddling with a leaf, alone in the dark, Rose had to wonder once again, how all of this had happened. The familiar feeling of helplessness settled in once more, and she grew cold as she lay there.

Rose was sitting down in the Great Hall, a few days before they were set to visit Hogsmeade. She was writing to her uncle, the first he'd heard from her in a very long time. Conversation was kept light and short. Jesse was enthused to hear that she had enjoyed her studies, and even made some new friends.

"I'm glad he's doing alright." Rose hummed to herself as she sealed the letter and sent it off with her owl. She glanced up when she saw Henrietta tromping through the hall noisily, causing some students to look up and frown. She plopped herself down on the bench across from Rose and stared at her for a moment, like she was waiting for something.

"Um, hello." Rose said quietly, not wanting to disturb the others in the hall. The bouncy-haired blonde pulled a face.

"Hello? That's all you have for me? Goodness, you're a bit boring sometimes, did you know that?" she snickered. Rose just huffed with a tiny smile before continuing her letter writing.

"So, what's up? Where's Hugo?" Rose asked after another moment of silence. It was Henrietta's turn to huff indignantly.

"Merlin's sake Rose, we're identical twins, not attached at the hip! He's probably sleeping. I was bored, so I came to find you. And how typical, to see you here writing instead of goofing around before holiday. It's any wonder you weren't put into Ravenclaw."

"Okay, even I get bored of studying sometimes. And this isn't classwork, I'm writing letters to family." Rose pointed out, and then gestured to the small stack she had going. Henrietta raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"There's gotta be at least twenty letters there, Damonne! Who knew you were so popular?"

"It's mostly relatives. My mom and dad. My uncle. Old friends from back home. My cousins on my dad's side." she gestured to a set of muggle stationary and postage. Henrietta rifled through them, and then frowned.

"Where's my letter? And Hugo's?" she asked with a pout, and Rose chuckled a little in confusion. A few students gave them dirty looks for being loud.

"I'm sitting right in front of you, why would you want a letter from me?"

"Don't be a bleedin' idiot, of course I want a letter!" Henrietta sounded appalled that Rose would have though otherwise "Give me some paper, I'll write my address. Make sure you get Terry's as well. Maybe even Cyril, who knows."

Even after all the months they had spent together, Rose was still astonished by how her new friends had been so welcoming towards her. She never felt deserving of attention or affection as she grew older. It was like something had fallen out of place when she was going through her final years of schooling. Rose didn't blame the schools she went to; they were wonderful, and the fact that her parents could even afford to send her their was a miracle on its own.

"Okay." Rose smiled "I'll write to you guys too then."

"I really wish I could've saved you guys. I'm so sorry." Rose cried to nobody in particular. The sound of water dripping off branches onto damp leaves was the only noise that lulled her back to sleep, her eyes puffy and heavy from crying for so long.