Rose Among The Thorns: The Third Evans Sister

By Jedi Blu, Lady at Large

Disclaimer: Found at the beginning of the tale.

Notice: I HATE the new way of previewing/editing! It takes out all my chapter breaks!

'Denotes Thoughts'

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CHAPTER EIGHT: Sorting Horrors

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There was only one thing to do in order to avoid absolute catastrophe that a group of wizard, teenage boys would probably make in a fight—Rose had to stop anything before it started.

"I'll thank you to go away," she bit out, glaring as fiercely as she could manage at the newcomers. "If you don't mind, we're trying to tidy up a bit of a mess, and have better things to do than exchange words with rude boys."

The one wearing glasses blinked, the other looked stunned. "Bit of a mouth on her, wouldn't you say, Sirius?"

"A little tart, James," the one called Sirius agreed.

Now Rose had an advantage—they were who she suspected them to be. "What? Didn't think a little first year would stand up to Gryffindor bullies?" She tipped her chin up, defiantly.

Snivellus—or who she now guessed was the Slytherin these boys regularly bullied, from Lily's stories—was staring at her with equal surprise. She was giving him an out, and she hoped he'd take it. It really didn't seem fair, two against one, and not even at school yet!

"This one's got spunk. Where'd you get the nymph, Snivellus?" The Potter boy asked, smirking. "Bit young for you, isn't she?"

"She's doing a good job defending him, though. What's wrong, Snivy? Can't fight for yourself anymore?"

She knew that had done it—Snivellus raised his wand and his pale face reddened with fury. He was about to turn and—

"ROSE! There you are! I thought you'd been lost! Mum and Dad already left, and..." Lily's voice trailed off as she came closer and looked around at the group of them. "Oh, hello James, Sirius." Then she looked at Snivellus and smiled. "Good morning, Severus! Ready for another year of Dueling Club? I'll beat you this time around."

Sniv—Severus suddenly jammed his wand into one of his old bags, glaring more at the ground than anything. Without saying a word he slunk away, towards the rear end of the platform.

"Evans!" the boy with the glasses exclaimed, a slow rising to his cheeks. "Um." He cleared his throat and glanced at his friend, who was rolling his eyes a bit. "You know this kid?" He ran a hand through his shaggy black hair and attempted a condescending smirk.

"Yes, this is my sister, Rose." Lily narrowed her eyes slightly at the two boys. "Rose, this is James Potter and his partner Sirius Black. Trouble-makers usually, and Gryffindors unfortunately. The boy who just left is Severus Snape." She cast a disdainful glance at Sirius, then shrugged. "But introductions can be made tonight in the house common room."

"Assuming she gets in," Sirius blurted, raising his eyebrows. "She doesn't look like a Gryffindor, and she was...was...."

"Keeping everyone out of trouble," Rose supplied when he was at a loss for words. She smirked at him, then began pushing her cart away. "C'mon, Lily, I want to see the train!"

Lily waved dismissively at the two Gryffindor boys, then hurried to catch up to her sister. "I've got us a place already!"

James watched the red-heads leave, and then was jolted back to himself when Sirius punched his arm.

"OW!"

"Serves you right, gawking at a girl like that. Lily Evans is outta your league, Potter. Too smart for you, and more Muggle than witch."

James raised an eyebrow at his best friend. "More Muggle? You're talking like your mum again, Sirius."

Wincing, the other boy looked away, and happened to spot someone else in the crowd of students. "Lupin!"

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Lily sat at the Gryffindor table with her friends, nervously listening as the first years were sorted into their respective houses. Like all dutiful older siblings, she hoped and prayed Rose would end up in Gryffindor with her, but some part of her mind made her doubt that. They were alike, as sisters often were, but Rose...she behaved differently. She was much more intense than Lily, more judging, less casual with those she would trust or speak to. Yet she wasn't completely anti-social, she did have those she would speak to or confer with, but still...she wasn't willing to tell more than she must.

The thing that worried Lily the most, though, was Rose's ambition. The girl would do anything to prove herself competent, capable, and worthy to stand among her peers. Petunia had known this as well, and had been bothering Rose all summer, telling her she would never be good enough to compete with Lily on any scale. Lily wasn't sure if Rose had taken it all seriously, but she knew that Rose was strong-willed enough to try and prove Petunia wrong anyway.

Maybe she'd be in Ravenclaw? That would be fine, there were lots of nice Ravenclaws. Bookish bunch, rather closed-off from others...it would fit Rose.

"...Black, Bellatrix..." Lily saw Sirius stiffen in his seat, a few plates down on her right, at the name of his snobbish, rather deranged little cousin. She was, predictably enough, sorted into Slytherin. Then came the other Black on the list, Regulas, Sirius' younger brother. He, too, was placed in Slytherin. The family tradition was still holding, with all but Sirius.

"...Conner, Blake..." was a Ravenclaw. "...Darling, Maria..." "...Davis, Mark..." Slytherin. Gryffindor. " "...Diggle, Humphrey..." was a Hufflepuff—and good thing, with a name like that. ...Ellsworth, Andrew..." Gryffindor. "...Elwen, Angelina..." Ravenclaw. There were a lot of D's and E's this year, it seemed. But, at last, came "...Evans, Rose..."

Those who knew Lily fell silent, and the teachers who were familiar with the clever older sister raised eyebrows with interest. Families that came to Hogwarts were always interesting, and usually ended up in the same houses together. Sirius Black had been a strange exception to that rule, but rumor had it he had begged the Hat to keep him out of Slytherin.

There was a pause as the Sorting Hat was placed upon the girl's head--and she didn't look frightened, but strangely composed.

Which was exactly what Lily wasn't when the Hat shouted out, "Slytherin."

There was another pause, this time from two tables. Slytherin students well-knew the goody-goody Lily Evans, and it took them a moment to clap for their newest peer. Gryffindor, stunned, all turned to look at Lily in dismay.

Lily, for her part, clapped a hand to her mouth as if to stifle a shout or protest.

The Sorting Hat was never wrong.

Poor Lily.

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Rose followed the Head-Boy, Rabastan Lestrange, rather nervously down the stairs that led to the Slytherin House. The downward tunnel was dark, with only a few far-spaced, green-flamed torches showing the way. The light made the stone-walls seem slimy, and when Rose brushed up against a wall found that it was, indeed, moist.

They entered the common room, and Rose looked up with some surprise. They were under the lake! That was why it had taken so long to go under ground! It was dark, so she could just barely make out things moving in the shadowed waters, but she was sure of their position. Incredible! Lily was always going on about Gryffindor tower--wait until she heard about this!

Lestrange was rather short with his explanations of bedrooms, and the first year girls scurried quickly to get to theirs. There was a staircase that led up slightly and that was the one they took. Their room, when they discovered it, had one small hole in the wall, which probably afforded a view of the lake when it was lighter out. There were four beds—only four girls had been put into Slytherin this year—each heavily curtained in green-bordering-on-black velvet. Their trunks were in front of their respective beds, and the girls began to unpack.

They had moved in virtual silence, but it was suddenly broken by Bellatrix Black. "It's good to be home, isn't it?" she asked, smirking over her shoulder at the others. Bellatrix was a fairly pretty young girl, with long black hair, and was tall for her age. Her eyes were black as well, and Rose briefly wondered if the Black family enchanted their children to look that way.

Catalina Wilkes, the smallest of the lot, giggled--a nervous sound. "This is home now, isn't it?"

"And always will be," Bellatrix said firmly. "First loyalties at Hogwarts always go to the House. Slytherin is it. Then, of course, you take care of yourself." She beamed a sickly-sweet smile at the others. "Right, Evans?"

Rose was startled when she was addressed, but recovered quickly and managed a tight smile. "I suppose so. Family honor counts for something too, though, Miss Black."

She probably couldn't have said anything better.

"Exactly," Bellatrix agreed, looking incredibly pleased. "The Black Family, prestigious, glorious, is one of my greatest concerns in life!"

Kleonike McCain, a girl with limp blonde hair and smallish brown eyes, tossed her head. "My brother says that first years have it wonderful in this House, and if you're lucky an older student will take you on."

"As what?" Bellatrix asked, interested.

"Well. To tutor you, teach you the way of things, give you status--" Kleonike explained.

"Ooooh," crooned Catalina.

Bellatrix shook her head, a small sneer appearing. "Probably use you for their own demented pleasures as well." She sniffed, disdainfully. "Let any older Slytherin boy so much as look at me wrong and I'll have them hexed into last century."

Rose had turned back to her things and was putting them in the small dressing-table by her bed, only half-listening to the conversation going on around her.

Her argument with the Sorting Hat hadn't turned out as well as she had expected. She had hoped, when so strongly protesting Gryffindor, that she would be put into Ravenclaw--wasn't that the house known for extreme intelligence? But no, the stupid Hat had gone deeper than her brains and into her personality—her will to do whatever it took to prove her worth—and stuck her in the house nicknamed the Snake Pit. Everyone knew that Slytherin was full of shady characters, if not outright Dark witches and wizards. She hadn't meant to be that extremely different from Lily, just different enough to stand on her own merit.

As she unpacked her clothing from her trunk, she noticed a small envelope that she was sure she hadn't packed. It was addressed to her.

Dear Rose,

I want you to know how excited I am that you're coming to join me at Hogwarts--now I'll have someone to share all my incredible experiences with! I'm so glad you're a witch, and I know that you'll do wonderfully at the school. You're so smart, smarter than anyone I know, and when you set your mind to something you get it done. You'll love learning magic, and practicing it, and opening your eyes to how truly incredible the world is. I hope you'll come to me if you ever need someone to talk to, otherwise I'll feel like such a worthless big sister. But do you want to know something special, Rose? I don't want to be just your sister--not anymore--I want to be your friend, too. I love you, Rose. I hope you're in Gryffindor, but if not, you'll do your house a great credit. All my love,

Lily.

Rose folded the letter carefully and then put it under her pillow. She climbed between her sheets, pulled the bed curtains closed, and did her best to fall asleep.

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Thank you all for sticking with me this far! I hope this story is still being read and enjoyed by many of you. I'm still having fun with it.

Now, To My Readers:

Rae Roberts: Petunia IS a git, but you'll find her a little further developed later on in the story. I actually see Petunia as a character to be pitied. She missed out of a lot in life. And that really wasn't much of a cliff-hanger! Not enough to be lynched over like SOME people write.

Your Worshipfulness: Thank you for your kind remarks, speculation, and encouragement! Wish that all reviewers were like you. ;-)

Totally anonymous: :-( You make me sad. Over-dramatized? This is Severus Snape's romance we're talking about! Y'know, the guy that always wears black and doesn't have a SINGLE friend in the world?! Of course his life is full of drama! I am sorry to have lost a reader, though. Hope your quest for lighter-loads of fluff goes well. Not that you're even reading this. sigh

Loretta: MUST you give away the entire plot of a chapter before I even have it posted?! As you can see, you're pretty close to hitting the mark. I've got you hooked, hm? Wonderful, that's my whole goal. Sorry this chapter has been delayed. My computer got hacked into by that kid in Germany who sent Trojans out everywhere. But he got caught, and I got a better firewall. ;-)

Thank you all! Have a wonderful day!

-JB-