Chapter 3: Fusion
Rosalie's eyes snapped open suddenly, disturbing a fine layer of ash over her eyelids. Panic was slow to consume her, but consume her it did. Her body would not move; other than shifting her eyes, she could not twitch a muscle.
Heart thudding in her chest, and terribly groggy and confused, Rosalie squinted in the darkness noticing the rancid smell mixed in with burnt wood. Her breathing grew ragged and she choked on the ash covering her face and mouth, the lack of oxygen causing her head to spin.
Just as she began to fear that whatever had happened in her mind had permanently disabled her, her feet and hands began burning. Stinging like all circulation had stopped hours ago, but despite the pain Rosalie welcomed the feeling in her limbs. As she calmed her breathing the exhausted child strained to hear if the Dursleys were up and about.
Rose was surprised they hadn't at least opened the door to remove the source of the horrid stench coming from her cupboard, but it was possible they had gone somewhere over the weekend. Anger flared through her as she recalled what the creature had told her, 'I can feel your body dying...'
How dare the Dursleys attempt to kill her? She was Petunia's flesh and blood. She was only seven! No normal family would lock a seven year-old child in a cupboard to die while they left for a family trip. Rose ground her teeth together and clenched her fists.
She had almost lost her life to the monsters she called family. This went beyond acceptable, beyond normality. This was against everything the Dursleys stood for, so how could she listen to their justifications now? She would never find love or support, or even a kind word from these people. They were hardly more than monstrous strangers.
Rosalie Potter, you are a witch, I am a wizard…it is obvious that if I leave you to your own devices, our continued survival is not guaranteed. If you die, I die. The only thing that can protect you from those disgusting Muggles is your magic.'
Thinking of ways to bring about the result she wanted took hours. But slowly the static feeling she associated with all the strange events invading her life began to grow. The sensation centered in her stomach and radiated out towards her chest and arms, with a faint trickle down to her legs and feet.
Pain made Rose cry out when her arms and legs regained enough motion to pull herself up.
She look down at her lap, a pile of ashes had collected there when she sat up. Her clothes had obviously burned off her body, whatever had burned them had also done the damage to the wood inside her cupboard. It was as if something she had done in her castle had set fire to her room, yet left her untouched. How much more proof did she need?
Gathering her strength and determination she placed her hands over where she knew the lock to be.
Once she had solid focus on the energy that she assumed was her magic she pushed the flow of it into her hands. Immediately heat accompanied the pins and needles feeling. Where her hands touched the door to her cupboard it felt like the skin was seared. Hissing in pain she pulled her hands away to inspect the skin. They were totally unblemished, if a little flushed.
Light gleamed out of the corner of her eye, Rose looked up to see the porch light flooding through the door-side window. Her cupboard door was slowly swinging open and she could do nothing but stare in shock. Here was her final proof that the creature stuck in her head was more than just a nightmare. Magic was real and she was a Witch.
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A quick sweep of the house revealed that the Dursleys did indeed leave on vacation. The date shining from the answering machine also revealed that six days had come and gone while she was shut-away. It was 2:13am Friday morning that Rose came to the grim conclusion that a legitimate attempt had been made against her life. The creature was right, if she was going to make it out of this house alive she needed to gain control of her magic.
Naturally Rose had no preconceived notions or ideas from fairytales that every child is raised knowing. Other than the few books in her classroom's library, she was a blank slate, an empty cup that desperately needed to be filled.
This singular intense desire burned in her heart. Without magic she would die, and she very much wanted to live.
She wanted a home with a warm bed. She wanted someone to hold her close, to tell her she was wanted. And if she didn't change something she would never live to see what life was like outside the Dursley home.
Rose took the opportunity to hop in the shower, for the first time getting to use hot water and the floral soaps Petunia kept in her products drawer. She washed away the thick ashes smeared against her skin. She couldn't even begin to make a guess as to the true cause. The worst of it was washing it out of her hair; it felt coarse and was hopelessly tangled. She delighted in squirting three handfuls of a lavender smelling conditioner that she soaked into the worst of the snarls.
After the best rinse of her young life she hopped out and toweled off.
Looking into the mirror she noticed a key element missing.
"Where'd my glasses go?"
Her glasses were gone and yet she could see perfectly! Then she looked closer and noticed her scar was healed over, rather than being dark red like it was fresh and agitated it was pale and thin, well hidden under her fringe of dark hair.
Curious she dropped her towel and twisted sharply, trying to view the back of her leg, looking for her biggest scar. All that she could she was fresh unblemished skin. Her knees too were scar-free and her legs slightly thicker. Inspecting her face she surmised that even though starvation and dehydration is what almost killed her, she looked healthier than when she went into the cupboard.
A few more minutes of frustration ended when Rose decided to write it of as an act of magic.
When she realized that all the contents of her cupboard were burned to a crisp she cautiously made her way into her Aunt's wardrobe, she found a green blouse that was long enough to act as a dress on her short frame. Now that she had clothes she decided to practice some magic before her tormentors returned.
A chair from the kitchen was chosen and she pulled it down the steps into the back yard. Rose set the chair under the lone maple tree and ran back inside for something to practice on returning with a kitchen knife, a ball of Dudley's, and a heavy briefcase.
Rose once had a teacher say, "You can do anything that you put your mind to." Well, if magic worked like that then maybe all it took was a little focus. So she sat on the chair and closed her eyes, visualizing the ball of tangled light that she imagined her magic looked like, swirling in her core,
The feeling returned, and she sighed happily at how fast it responded. Pulling on the energy she directed it to the objects in front of her. She opened her eyes and imagined that her magic touched the ball and the phantom feeling met her when it connected. She pushed intently and willed the ball to fly over the fence but a loud 'POP' startled an "EEEEEEEPP!" out of her. The force of the small explosion sent most of the debris over the fence but Rose sheepishly picked up the ball's remains and tossed them in the street bin against the fence.
A light haze was beginning to brighten the sky as she settled down to continue. The knife proved more difficult to feel with her magic, and almost impossible to pick up; Rose cover the whole object with the energy but it almost seemed to slip out of it sluggishly like quick sand. She could make it a few feet off the ground before the tip dipped to the floor and the whole thing dropped, stabbing into the dirt.
Not only was her frustration building with each attempt but her hands began shaking as well. While sweat dripped from her hair into her and down her neck.
The daunting task that stood before her wore down on her more than before, not knowing when they would return made it that much worse. She reached out again pushing all her strength into it. This time the magic lashed out whipping to the side violently and flinging the knife with it. Thankfully it flew into the bushed and out of sight.
Disheartened Rose got off the chair and collected the briefcase. She set it down near the door and pulled out a glass, realizing that she could have anything she wanted she raided the fridge. Two full servings of orange juice later and Rose was well on her way to making breakfast
While eating she took the time to really think about a better way to do things. Using magic in real life was very different from making things appear in her castle. Everything was so east there.
With that thought came another: she met the creature in her castle, meaning that she could learn new things from inside her palace. Maybe she could ask for a library on magic, or a magic statue that could give her lessons. With this idea she excitedly ran to the living room. Feeling the chill from the central air she grabbed a blanket and settled into Vernon's lazy boy.
She quickly constructed her castle and made her way through the front doors. Her entrance hall was slightly different than the last time she walked through, directly across from the entrance were large double doors. Curious she walked towards them and felt hope at what she saw. A library stretched as far as her eyes could see.
Tall shelves towered above her, and a narrow balcony lined the edge of the room, but there was no ladder or stairway she could see that led up to the upper level. The loft level of the library held both books and scrolls organized in small diamond shaped slots. Large chandeliers were suspended from the highest ceiling she had ever seen and squishy armchairs were spaced evenly along the rows.
"Holy Crap, it worked!"
Rose ran among the lines of shelves and stopped when she found a small couch in front of a giant stone fireplace. She turned to inspect one of the shelves skimming the titles; A Thousand Herbs and Where to Find Them, Magical Fungi and Spores, Ernie's Guide to Plant Preparation, Applied Herbology amongst other titles.
This was exactly what she needed; an entire magical library!
"Potter! Stop playing around-"
Rosalie jerked violently, the book she was examining tumbling to the floor, yet looking around she couldn't find its source.
"Where are you?"
"Follow the wall until the rows turn right, I am in an alcove."
Rose began walking in that direction, scrunching her forehead she wondered, "What is an alcove?"
"Ignorant brat, the space tucked into the wall, here."
Rose turned the corner and came face to face with a living photograph, in the 'alcove': a Portrait of a handsome young man hung low on the wall. In the corner a small iron stove led a pipe out of the wall and across from the picture was a thickly cushioned lounge chair.
"Who're you?" burst out of her mouth.
"My name is Tom Marvolo, we met earlier."
"Did we? I only met the creature bound in the cocoon of light."
"Well you did free me, this is what I looked like before certain magics altered my form, and before more ancient magic bound me inside of you."
Here the man in the portrait tilted his head and examined her. His gaze felt like judgment and his expression remained unimpressed. "I believe your desire for instruction and the visualization of a library helped give shape to my awareness, which thankfully was not absorbed into yours fully. If you come here I should be able to direct you to the knowledge that you seek, and give you advice on matters."
"If I may ask, what is on the second floor?"
"The second floor is a collection of my personal memories and the basis of my personality. It is strictly off limits to you, if you want my help. Understood?"
Rose just nodded meekly.
"Good, then hurry now, conjure up a pen and paper, we don't have much time to spare. Those vermin will be back any day. We have a lot to cover before you can safely threaten anyone."
With that Rosalie took a seat and wished for some paper and a pencil. She was eager to learn all she could about magic.