'Potions with the Slytherins,' Rose mumbled, peering at her schedule. 'Then DADA with –'
'Mum!' Lianne squealed happily.
'Oy, Li, you're disgustingly cheery for the morning,' Rose complained
Harry laughed. 'Just 'cause you're not a morning person doesn't mean we all have to suffer with you.'
Rose reached over, and stuffed a piece of toast down Harry's shirt. He sputtered indignantly.
'Ms. Potter! Five points from Gryffindor for the improper use of toast.' Professor McGonagall happened to be passing by their table. 'Behave yourself!'
'Yeah, Rosy,' said Lianne. 'Behave yourself!'
Rose glared at her friend (who knew how much she hated being called 'Rosy') but couldn't do anything because Professor McGonagall was still watching her suspiciously.
'Yes, Rosy,' Lucas had just come down to breakfast. 'Behave yourself. As much as I would like to see my real house win this year, I cannot stand to lose.' Calmly, he sat down, and began cutting his sausages.
'Well, Lukey,' hissed Rose 'we wouldn't want your real house to win, would we?'
Dear Mum,
Tonks probably already told you, but I'm in Gryffindor! I'm quite relieved, although I guess I knew I was going to be in it, what with you, Dad, Grandma and Grandpa Potter, Granny and Granddad – well, pretty much everyone I'm related to, huh?
I love learning magic so much. Transfiguration is my favorite subject. McGonagall doesn't say it, because she doesn't want to favor me or anything, but I can tell she thinks I'm a whiz at it. I hope that didn't sound do arrogant, did it?
I haven't had a chance to go to Dad's tomb yet, although Hagrid said he'd take me down there sometime. He also said he'd get me some roses at Hogsmeade, for Dad. Speaking of which, everyone's amazed that 'The great Harry Potter' had a daughter. I'm sick of explaining the circumstances to them, and then getting all these weird looks because of it. I'm me, Rose, damnitt. Not Dad.
Oh, also, Casey Wood approached me the night of the sorting. He's a 5th year, and he's Captain of the Quidditch team. He said I had the build and everything for seeker, and told me to be sure to come to the tryouts. I want to play Quidditch so badly, and I'll tell you as soon as I tryout how it went.
Harry and Li are fine – Harry's getting top marks in every class, just like Aunt Hermione did. Don't worry, Li and I are keeping him from getting too boring. Li's going to tryout for beater. She's almost excited as I am!
On a serious note, d'you know of a family called the Nielsons? I heard some girls whispering about it the first day – one of them's in Gryffindor. His name is Lucas and he's the biggest prat ever. He learned how much I hate being called 'Rosy' and now that's all he'll call me. I found out he has an embarrassing nickname too – 'Lukey' from Draco Malfoy's daughter. She's almost as bad as her mother!
Send my love to Granny, Granddad, Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur, Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione, Remus, and Uncle Fred and Uncle George.
Love you lots,
Rose
Rose looked up from the letter she was writing to her mother. The fire in the Gryffindor common room was very low, and she suspected it wouldn't last long.
Yawning, she walked up to the dorms. She had Quidditch practice tomorrow, and she simply couldn't be exhausted for it.
Lucas watched the girl through narrowed eyes. She had not seen him curled on the armchair. Good.
He detested being called Lukey, almost as much as he knew she detested being called Rose. Impertinent little brat. If her father and grandparents had been this annoying, he could see why Voldermort had killed them.
It had already been a rough week, being sorted into Gryffindor, which completely undermined his authority. His cronies (not friends – he had no friends) didn't dare criticize him openly, but he could see the contempt in their eyes. And as if that wasn't enough, the Potter girl added another blow to his ego.
He had lost much respect because of her. Too much. He was the Dark Lord's heir and it was something he could not afford. But there was nothing he could do about it without getting expelled. Sighing, he walked up to the Gryffindor boy's dorms.
The day of the Quidditch tryouts was an absolutely miserable day for Quidditch. A solemn, grey mist clung to everything, and it was drizzling steadily.
Rose groaned unhappily, and put her face in her hands.
'Lovely weather, isn't it?' said Nearly Headless Nick, cheerfully, swooping around the table. 'Good luck to everyone trying out for Quidditch!'
Rose made a disgusted snuffling nose, and Lianne looked at her reproachfully.
'Aw, c'mon Rose, we'll be fine. Our brooms'll be on fire, we'll be flying so fast!'
'Actually,' Harry said 'your brooms wouldn't be able to catch on fire due to the rain – ouch!' Lianne elbowed him.
'Shut it, Weasley,' she said threateningly 'Rose doesn't need that right now.'
Rose peered out from behind her hands.
'Leave 'im alone, Li,' she murmured tiredly. Calder slid in next to her. 'No sleep, huh? Go ask Madam Pomfrey for –'
'A pepper up potion!' said Lotte perkily, sitting next to Harry.
'God, you have no idea how creepy it is when you two do that,' Lianne informed them.
'Li!'
Rose gripped her broom, a Skyracer 3200, and bit her lip nervously.
In addition to writing a letter to her Mum, she had spent hours searching the library for a charm allowing her to see while it was raining, and she was thankful she had. The drizzle had progressed to full-out rainstorm, and everyone was soaked.
'Go!'
At the command from Casey, she flew into the air, searching for the snitch. Immediately, she spotted it, hovering a few feet above the ground. Although she was very, very high in the air, Rose didn't hesitate to dive after it.
Lucas, who was playing the other seeker, saw her dive, and tried to follow her, but she was too quick. Grinning triumphantly, Rose dismounted and handed the snitch to Casey, who looked at her in awe.
'Jesus Christ,' he breathed 'we have ourselves a seeker!'
Rose walked along the edge of the forbidden forest, hours later, still clutching her broom. She had stayed to watch Lianne try out, even though Casey had informed her that she could go. 'After all,' he had said 'we can't have our star player catch cold!'
Rose spied Hagrid's hut in the distance, however, and ran toward it. She knocked on the door, out of breath.
'Hagrid, it's Rose!'
The door opened to show Hagrid beaming at her.
'Rose, yer soakin' wet! Get in here, yeh rascal!'
Grinning, Rose stepped in. 'Estus undo,' she muttered, and with a flick of her wand, she was dry.
She looked up to see Hagrid staring at her incredulously.
'Rose, yeh know I've never seen a firs' year that could do magic like that, don't yeh?'
Rose shrugged. The breaks spent in the library learning whatever spells she could were her escape. She loved magic, and wanted to learn every spell she could.
'It's nothing, Hagrid.'
He looked at her doubtfully.
'Now, 'bout yer father's tomb.' Hagrid handed her a big bunch of roses the exact color of Rose her self's hair.
'Oh, Hagrid,' she breathed 'they're perfect!'
'Right this way,' he said, waving her out the door.
They walked in companionable silence, until they came to two great tombs that Rose vaguely remembered seeing along the lake. One was white, and the other black marble.
Hagrid waved her over to the black one. 'This is 'arry's,' he said softly. 'I think ye'll want time alone.'
Rose nodded, unable to speak. She watched Hagrid disappear into the mist, then looked at her father's tomb.
Set into the smooth black marble was a silver plaque, which read 'This is the tomb of the Boy Who Lives No Longer. Harry James Potter died fighting the dark lord Voldermort. Let him be remembered as the savior of the wizarding world.'
Rose ran her small fingers across the cold surface of the tomb. Then, she began to speak.
'Uh, hi D-Daddy. Mum says hi and that she loves you very much. One of these roses is from her. I like it here at Hogwarts, I really do. My favorite subject's Transfiguration. I'm eleven. Everyone says I look like Grandma Potter. But I have freckles, from Mum.'
Tears ran down her cheeks, but her face betrayed no sign of emotion. Rose crumpled onto the grass, leaning her back against the tomb.
'I miss you, and I love you so much, even though I never knew you. Why'd you have to die, Daddy, why?' She sobbed.
'I know you avenged everyone that had died and rid the world of Voldermort. That's why I really hate him, you see. He took you away before I was even born. I know it's awful of me, really, I do, but I just want a Dad so much, and when I see Remus and Uncle Ron and Uncle Bill with Lianne, Harry, and Matt, my heart just breaks. I never got to be your little girl, did I?'
Her sobs were violent, now, and she hugged a corner of the cold, heavy marble tomb, shaking. Finally, the sobs resided.
'That was silly, huh, Dad? It's just that I guess I finally feel like I know you – I think you'd understand. Oh, I made seeker today! I know you'd be proud. Uncle Ron gave me the cloak, and the map – oh shit, it's late. These are for you, k? I'll come back later!'
She lay the bouquet of roses carefully on his tomb. Looking at the bare, white tomb next to his, she teased a rose from the bouquet and laid it on Albus Dumbledore's tomb, which, on closer examination, had a bouquet of fish laid neatly at it's foot.
Rose noticed an identical fish at the base of her father's tomb. Laughing at Aberforth Dumbledore's odd tribute, she sprinted back to the castle, feeling a weight lifting from her shoulders as she ran.
Unbeknownst to her, Lucas was watching her from behind a tree. He had come to gather knotgrass from the forbidden forest, hoping to have some time to think, when he saw Rose, of all people, coming toward him. Not in the mood to deal with her, he had flung himself behind a tree, then watched her begin talking to her father's tomb.
He had been surprised when she burst into tears, and fought a foreign urge to run and comfort her as she clung to her father's tomb, sobbing too hard to talk. However, he did not fancy the reprimanding he would get when he got home.
Rubbing his aching head, he turned toward the castle, all thoughts of knotgrass forgotten.
A/N: Estus undo means 'heat wave' in Latin