A short chapter, sorry about that. Get ready for some bullshit.

Also, an enormous shout out to the readers that have been leaving reviews, you guys are just absolute legends for leaving such kind and positive words! Because of late I was with this, and how short it was, I'll post Chapter 20 tomorrow for you guys if I wake up before I have to go to work. Love ya all very much, review if you enjoyed! :)

I AM NOT PROFITING OFF THIS. ANY RECOGNIZABLE CHARACTERS, PLACES, OR EVENTS BELONG TO J.K. ROWLING

Chapter 19

Days blurred together, and Rose soon stopped using a calendar. Hearing the voices in her head was painful, and she spent a lot of time hunting around her shelter for herbs she could use to nullify the pain. Several varieties of narcotics were crafted in her relatively inexperienced hands, and each of them she consumed with abandon, anything to get rid of the pain.

Some days she would sleep until the pain in her stomach was too strong. Many times she had awoken completely numb and unable to fend for herself. Those were the days when her memories were the most vivid, where she could feel the cold waxen skin of her father's hand before he disappeared behind the doors of St. Mungo's. Rose longed for the warmth of something familiar. To be held by her mother again, young and carefree. Or to be training with Bellatrix and see how the persistent witch always kept her on her toes. In her delirious dreamlike states, she could hear things, like people talking or arguing. At first, she thought it was campers outside her shelter. Staggering to her feet, Rose vomited before leaning heavily on her door before opening it. Nobody was outside. Frowning in confusion as the ground tilted and swayed, the witch squinted and looked into the treeline, where something moved. It was a man in a dark shapeless cloak. He shouted something, but Rose couldn't hear.

"You stay back!" she yelled, but her throat felt like she had swallowed razors. Launching herself unsteadily out into the open with her wand raised, she continued to call out into the woods.

"I'm armed! Show yourself, coward!" she growled. Suddenly, five cloaked figures had leaped from the shadows, all with their wands aimed at her.

"We're from the Ministry, we've come to arrest you! You killed your father!" they all screamed back at her in unison, their voices hollow and droning. Wincing at the volume, Rose cast a flurry of spells at the men, but they moved just in time, closing in on her. Her sin felt like it had caught fire, and she screamed into the twilight.

A feeling of cool pressure around her body alerted Rose to something different. Opening her eyes, she saw charcoal scales and dark unblinking eyes staring at her. Peppers had curled around her and brought her closer to him. Shaking, Rose stayed like that until the men disappeared one by one. Peppers led her back to the shelter when she could stand. Sitting on her cot, she stroked the python's head.

"You saved me from them. I don't know how, but you did." she whispered feverishly. Rose could hear more of them moving around outside her home.

"I have to ward this place Peppers, so nobody can find us. If the Ministry gets me, then it's all over. I need to stay free." she mumbled to herself over and over.

"It's lovely to see you again Andy, as always. How are things at home?" Bellatrix gave her sister a quick tight hug and an air kiss on the cheek before leading her younger sister into her home. In the three years since Rose had disappeared off the face of the planet, the dark witch had married Rodolphus Lestrange and moved from Black Manor to her husband's ancestral home

Bellatrix perked up at the sudden defensiveness in her sister's voice, and sat up straighter on the couch, putting the book she was reading to the side.

"That," she began as she stood and paced towards Andromeda "sounds like something a little sneak would say when they're doing something they shouldn't." she jabbed a nail into Andromeda's shoulder.

"So what if I did? It shouldn't matter." Andromeda scowled, but when she looked over Bellatrix's shoulder she noticed a stack of letters all opened. The crude wax seals were all the same. Bellatrix saw her looking and followed her gaze with pursed lips.

"Those are all from Rose, aren't they?" Andromeda walked over to the desk and began to rifle through the letters. Bellatrix rushed over and scooped up the pile, out of her younger sister's reach. The brunette witch crossed her arms and gave Bellatrix a reproachful look.

"You haven't answered them, have you?"

"I stopped when they got sent back to me. Something is blocking them, but I'm afraid if I try to find out why, it will reveal where Rose is. She explicitly said in some of her earliest letters that her location shouldn't be revealed." the dark haired witch explained, but to Andromeda it looked like it was painful for her sister to not be in contact with the American witch. She placed a comforting hand on Bellatrix's shoulder before pulling her into a tight hug, making the older witch tense up a little.

"I'm sure she's just accidentally set up wards that were too strong or something. You know she would never ignore you. And I know you're too annoying to give up on her so easily. You're obsessed with her." Andromeda tried to joke, but Bellatrix just got a sour look on her face again. Taking pity, she gripped both of Bellatrix's shoulders and gave her a little shake.

"I'll see if I can find her for you. That way you won't break your promise to father, and if something happens I can take the blame for it." Andromeda said with fire in her eyes, but Bellatrix freed herself of her sister's grip and shook her head.

"No, please don't. I don't want anybody to be able to make a connection between us." she said, suddenly frantic "Even if the Ministry isn't after her, he still is, and I don't want Rose to be in any more danger than necessary." she explained, but now Andromeda was quickly growing frustrated with the dark witch.

"Bellatrix, it's been nearly three years since she disappeared, and you're telling me that you haven't even tried to go and find her? Send her resources? Anything at all?" then she paused and thought struck her "Salazar preserve us...I don't want to question your integrity Bella, but you're not just giving up on her are you?" Andromeda regretted the words as soon as she said them because then Bellatrix started to cry. Falling helplessly into the chair at her desk, she buried her head in her arms.

"Andromeda I don't know what else to do!" her sobbing was muffled "Every letter she's written to me has become increasingly incoherent, and despite my best efforts, I can't reach her. We used to be able to dream together, and if we still could, I might be able to see where she is, but even that doesn't work. Rose hasn't sent anything to me in a month now, I'm afraid something has happened." her voice was strangled, and it cut off at the end as she cried uncontrollably.

"I'm so scared because my hands are tied Andy, I can't break off my marriage. I fear that I might have gotten myself trapped in something that could have been avoided. If I had never met her-" Bellatrix stopped to wipe her eyes and look at her younger sister, who was silent with shock "maybe if I hadn't met Rose, I would still be angry and hateful towards everybody, but then maybe with that anger I could have just breezed through all this."

"She helped you wake up a little, didn't she?" Andromeda asked softly, and Bellatrix could only nod. The brunette could only guess how Bellatrix felt at that moment. The time before Rose left was transformative for her, and now that the strange witch had disappeared, Bellatrix was left with heartbreak. Andromeda was sure that the former Gryffindor hadn't abandoned her sister, but without being able to reach each other, who knows where they stood? She thought about it for a moment, and an idea struck her. It made her a little excited, but she pursed her lips and hid the gleam in her eyes.

"Don't worry Bellatrix. I think that maybe everything will work out."

In the dead of night, with not even the moon the light her path, Andromeda Black undid the latch on her bedroom window with her broom and took off into the air. She had asked Ted to meet her at their usual spot, but to bring his friends along with him. The Hog's Head was certainly not the nicest establishment in the wizarding world, but it currently served its purpose. Inside at the bar, Aberforth Dumbledore gave her a nod and gestured to the largest table in the dimly lit pub. She grinned when she saw who had assembled.

Molly Prewett and her twin brothers Gideon and Fabian sat on one side with Arthur Weasley. The four gingers looked awfully grim, as well as those who had gathered at the table. Ted gave his girlfriend a warm smile, but it was somewhat dimmed by the sadness in his eyes. Kingsley Shacklebolt, a Ravenclaw who had been in the same year as Molly and Arthur, looked like he was going to start yelling.

"Thanks for meeting with me on such short notice," Andromeda began as she took a seat next to Ted, who passed her a mug of butterbeer.

"Not at all Andy, I figured it was serious if you wanted everybody. Besides, it's a good time to maybe make these meetings a regular thing. Between all of us, I mean." Ted put an arm around her while Andromeda gave her boyfriend a questioning look.

"More people have gone missing. It's whispers of people in black cloaks taking witches and wizards when they're alone. And there's usually not trace of them, not until now." Shacklebolt said in a deep baritone before standing and slamming a scrap of paper on the table. The witches and wizards leaned over to get a better look, and Andromeda felt bile rise in her throat.

"Merlin…" she breathed. It was a piece of crudely drawn propaganda. In thick black letters it read BEWARE THE RISE OF VOLDEMORT.

"What's wrong Andy?" Ted noticed how much paler Andromeda got as she sat back in her chair, and all eyes turned to her. Rubbing her forehead, she squeezed her eyes shut before sighing.

"This actually has to do with what I called you all for here today. I'm sure you all know my sister Bellatrix." there were groans from all around the table.

"She's a damn harpy, no offense Andy." Gideon threw his hands up.

"I second that. And she's probably not any better now that she's married that Rodolphus bloke. Him and his brother, serious pieces of work." Fabian added.

"Not to mention, she's a bigot." Molly added last with no shortage of salt. Andromeda gave them all a stern glare to shut the siblings up before continuing.

"She's missing a friend who just so happens to have a connection with this Voldemort character." she paused, wringing her hands "I suppose it would be prudent to mention that my sister and I knew about Voldemort well before this, but Bellatrix knows more than I do. He had made himself a nuisance for our friend Rose, the one who's missing." she began, but a younger witch who was rather small in stature cleared her throat and raised an eyebrow.

"Hestia?" Andromeda let the pink-faced witch speak.

"I'm a little confused. You and Bellatrix knew about this? Why didn't you say anything?" she said in her nasally tone.

"Andy, when you say Rose, you don't mean the Gryffindor who was suspected of murdering her father?" Arthur looked shocked, and Andromeda realized this was going to be a bit of a challenge. She went to raise her voice again, but it was Ted who slammed a fist on the table.

"Oi! Cram it so she can bloody speak. We don't have all the information yet." the normally mellow young man looked at the surprised faces of his companions before giving Andy a nod.

"Thank you Teddy. As I was saying, Rose has been missing for years now, but this was prior to the current disappearances. I fear that if you take a closer look at those who have gone missing, you'll notice most of them are muggleborns, if not all of them." Andromeda explained, and Hestia looked over the list to confirm.

"She's right, not a single one of these is pure blood." the young witch confirmed.

"Exactly. From what Bellatrix has told me, Voldemort is set on eradicating muggleborns, and then essentially getting rid of muggles altogether. He tried to recruit Rose as his right hand when we were in school, but instead he caused her to have a mental break, hence the murder of her father and eventual disappearance." Andromeda remembered how upset her sister was when she revealed that Rose had hid herself away to prevent any more needless death.

"When you say recruit," Shacklebolt looked pensive as he said this "do you mean by meeting with her, sending letters, brainwashing?" he stroked his chin.

"From my understanding, he had actually entered her mind. My best guess is some sort of mental link, perhaps through prolonged legilimency." Andromeda tried to remember how all of this had started. This news seemed to greatly disturb the group.

"I'd wager it's dark magic then, if what you say is true." Molly crossed her arms and nodded thoughtfully.

"You would be correct in that statement." the sound of a slightly wheezy old man made the whole group turn in their chairs towards the door.

"Headmaster!" Hestia squeaked in surprise. Everybody released a sigh of relief, except for Andromeda, who narrowed her eyes slightly. The old wizard's poor execution of getting help for Rose was what caused this whole mess.

"I believe you are all on the right track if you intend to find Rose Damonne. Her connection to Voldemort could prove useful, should she choose to assist you." Dumbledore stroked his beard, and looked decidedly melancholic. Andy could guess why.

"Why is Bellatrix so keen on finding her?" Ted asked, noticing that nobody had bothered to ask. Andromeda's cheeks grew a little pink at this but decided she may as well out her sister and Rose while she was here.

"They're madly in love with each other. It's almost sickening." she admitted. A triumphant noise could be heard from Fabian, which made everyone stare at him. He pointed his index finger at Gideon.

"I knew they were gay! Pay up!" he held out his hand and his twin rolled his eyes before handing him a couple galleons. Molly shook her head, but gave Andromeda a fiery look.

"I didn't know Rose personally, she was rather quiet, but she earned us a lot of House points, and if you think she's decent, then I'm all in to help. Still don't like your sister, but a Gryffindor has never gone sour on us." she said firmly.

"I'll go wherever she goes." Arthur piped up. Gideon and Fabian shrugged.

"Can't deny two lovebirds." they said in unison.

"Relationships aside, information would be good. I will help as well." Shacklebolt nodded at Andy. Dumbledore smiled as each member agreed to search for the elusive Rose Damonne.

"Where would we start? She could be anywhere?" Hestia asked, feeling a little overwhelmed. Ted sighed in agreement.

"She could have gone back to the states, in which case we would have our hands tied on this one." he looked to his girlfriend with a shadow of doubt in his expression, but that's when Andromeda shook her head with a sly smile.

"I may not have spoken with her in awhile, but I know that Rose wouldn't stray too far from Bella. I bet you fifty galleons she's still in the United Kingdom."