Rose sighed contentedly as she lay back against the backboard of her bed. Since Harry had entered her life, things had begun to look brighter. With the notable exception of not having reconciled her friendship with Ron, Hermione, and Ginny again, everything in her life was pretty awesome. She was now the top of her class in every subject, except for Potions and History, though only the Slytherins were better in potions. Other then that, she was number one!
She sighed again as she gazed at the stars shining in the window…
After her date with Harry, she had been grilled for information by nearly every girl in Gryffindor tower. Lavender and Parvati were very jealous at her, for finding someone as hot as Harry.
In just two days she would be competing in the first task and facing off with her dragon. Hopefully, she would get the weakest of the Dragons and not the Hungarian Horntail like Harry had to face off against. Lord, please have mercy on her soul, that Hungarian Horntail looked humongous and very scary.
"Thanks a lot, Ron," muttered out Rose. An hour ago, Ron had interrupted her in the middle of her floo conversation with Sirius, panicking Sirius just as he was going to tell her how to defeat her dragon. Though she hated to lie to Sirius, Harry told her that she should pretend she didn't know anything about why she had been entered in the tournament. Sirius would no doubt report back to Dumbledore about everything he learned and that information could give the Headmaster clues that Harry didn't want him to have.
Speaking of the Headmaster, if it were even possible, Rose was even angrier with him.
The 'Old Coot', which Harry had dubbed him, had the nerve to ask her godfather to ask her about why she was so angry toward him! At first, she didn't believe Harry when he told her that Sirius would no doubt follow Dumbledore like a blind goat because Dumbledore was the only person who could help him find his freedom, but just a while ago, her proof was shining right in front of her. Heck, Sirius even asked her why was she showing such hostility towards the greasy Potions Master, Snape.
It was because of Harry that she didn't tell Sirius that Snape was the reason why she had no parents. There was not doubt in her mind that if she told Sirius that, he would tear Snape limb from limb and break away from Dumbledore and the light. Harry warned her that it was for the best that she didn't reveal anything to anyone, not until after Voldemort's defeat. Things were already changing for her and Harry didn't want to change things too much, lest his foreknowledge be rendered useless.
"How am I'm going to beat that dragon now?" Rose groaned to herself. She snuggled closer to her pillow. She didn't know how to defeat her dragon and Harry would not give her any help. He expected her to already know how to handle a dragon. After all, he had been tutoring her in almost every subject that was taught at Hogwarts and some that were probably forbidden the past few weeks. She learned more about spells and theory from Harry in a month, than what she learned the past three year she had been studying at Hogwarts!
She suddenly regretted avoiding the fake Alastor Moody, who was trying as discreetly as possible, to make her trust him and corner her privately. He was quite the sneaky bastard, and she caught him numerous times tailing her and she tried her best to avoid him. It was even more difficult for her to avoid him concidering that he was her teacher for DADA!
McGonagall had once warned her about the dangers of trusting men. Don't ever find yourself alone with a wizard who you may not particularly trust. There is always a chance that they might try and over power you, rape you, and then obliviate you so that you won't remember. Harry, though, had assured her that should anyone hit her with an unexpected spell he would know since they were mind linked. It worked like a notifying charm, and Harry would instantly be there to protect her.
When she asked him how he would be able to rescue her faster then anyone, he described to her that he was a phoenix animagus, so he was capable of flame-teleporting to any place or anywhere in the world. No magical ward in the world would be able to prevent him from reaching her, (Unless they knew the animagus prevention ward, he muttered under his breath).
'I wonder what my animagus form will be?' thought Rose excitedly. From what Harry had told her, magical animagi transformations were rare. Rose was impressed beyond belief when she heard that Harry was the first magical animagus in six hundred years and the first to ever become a phoenix. Then she remembered hearing Harry mumble that he had another transformation, one that he said would no doubt strike fear into the heart of anyone that stood in his way.
She was curious to know what it was, but Harry refused to tell her, even when she gave him the adorable puppy eye pout.
"No, I got to stop thinking about Harry and worry about the first task!" Rose said hitting herself on the head with her pillow. She was relieved that she had cast a silencing charm around her bed earlier. She didn't want her roommates overhearing her, since she had the habit of thinking out loud. No longer tired or sleepy, she tried her best to think of a way to get around her dragon, but nothing came to mind. Finally giving up, she decided to swallow her pride and beg Harry for help.
"Harry…?" Rose said opening her mind link.
Harry didn't reply. Her link with him was silent for a good five minutes.
"Harry…? Where are you?" Rose asked again, but this time, with a bit of concern. She felt oddly empty. Usually, Harry would respond to her right away.
"Rose," Harry finally replied back. "Did you need something?"
"What's up?" She asked, her voice filled with confusion and a little bit of hurt. "You never take this long to respond to me."
"I'm making a few Potions, Harry said sending an image of himself standing in front of a few small cauldrons. "It requires absolute concentration and I can't afford to make a single mistake."
Rose's confusion could be felt across the link. "What kind of Potions?"
"If I told you, you would most likely ask me to make you one." Harry said continuing to stir his potion.
"Come on, tell me!" Rose said sending an image of a pout.
"A potion for lots of good luck and a few others," Harry said not feeling like arguing, since he was busy paying attention to the bubbling potion.
"Felix Felicis," Rose said with a bit of awe. Harry was right, she definitely wanted one. "I remember hearing you lecture me about that. That potion takes months to make and the ingredients are very expensive! It's known to make a person extremely lucky!"
Harry shrugged through the link. "Three and a half actually," He added as he covered the cauldron up and moved on to another potion.
"What are you going to use it for?" Rose asked.
"For Voldemort's resurrection," Harry said preparing the potion. "I'm going to need all the luck I can get when I go against him."
"But I thought that he would be at his weakest form. Why would you need luck?" Rose questioned.
"Rose, don't ever assume everything will go to plan," Harry said shaking his head. "I have to prepare for the worst. Not only will I be dueling against Voldemort, but once he summons all of his Death Eaters to that graveyard, I will be fighting them as well."
"What about those traps that you said you were going to use? Won't you be using them?"
Harry couldn't help but roll his eyes.
"Rose, will you just let me work?" He said impatiently. "Yes, I'll be using those trap spells, but I need to use a luck potion to make sure everything goes in my favor as well."
Rose muttered an apology when she noticed that she was getting on his nerves. She didn't want Harry to be angry with her.
"So why did you open our link connection up? I know it's not because you're bored." Harry said feeling her uneasiness.
Not wanting to play games or hide things from him, she simply blurted it out. "I'm so screwed, I can't think of a way to past my dragon and I need some advice." She moaned.
Harry who was stirring his potion, twitched slightly at her words. "Rose, did you even try and ask any of your friends?" he said levelly.
"I don't have friends Harry," Rose said reminding him of her friend's breakup. "I was about to get information from Sirius, but Ron had came in interrupting our conversation and scared Sirius away."
Harry nodded in understanding. It had been the same in his old dimension. "I know I shouldn't be helping you, since I've been spoiling you lately," Harry said cheekily, ignoring Rose who was protesting loudly. "But since you've been a good girl, I'll help you."
"Spoiling me lately? How have you been spoiling me lately?" Rose snapped angrily.
Harry sighed exasperatedly. "Let's see, I've been helping you get physically stronger and faster, teaching you spells that you are not supposed to learn at all, and of course, I promised to give you animagus training once your health training comes to a end, which is somewhere after this week finishes. Shall I continue?" Harry said a bit coldly.
Rose had the decency to blush. She was glad Harry was not able to see her blushing. "Sorry…" She murmured out.
Harry smirked in reply. "Anyhow, you said you want to find a way to get past your dragon?" Harry asked.
Rose nodded meekly through the link.
"First off, can you tell me what you know about dragons?"
Rose didn't know as much as she should, and embarrassedly began to recite what she did. "Dragon's have magic resistant skin which makes them immune to most magical spells. They can fly, breathe fire, and they are very protective of their hatchlings." Rose said not being able to remember reading about anything else.
Harry sighed. Harry decided to cut her some slack, though he knew he shouldn't. "Try doing what I did to get around my dragon. Use a broomstick, it's safer, convenient, and doesn't require you to perform any high level spells in front of everyone," Harry said softly. He remembered hearing the red head once telling him that she was an excellent flyer, and a chaser on the quidditch team.
"I don't have a broomstick Harry, remember? After the willow broke my Nimbus I just used one of the school brooms."
Harry sighed. He completely forgot about that little fact. "Can you borrow one from someone?" He asked weakly. Rose sent a mental image of herself shaking her head.
"I can't, people might be suspicious if I ask them to let me borrow their broom before the task and no doubt Dumbledore…"
"Will be suspicious as to how you knew you were going to need your broom," Harry said finishing her sentence for her.
Rose nodded.
Harry really considered buying her one, but was not sure if it would be wise. He was sure that there would be questions asked and fingers pointed. "Hey, speaking of using a broom. Have you mastered the Summoning Charm yet?" Harry asked sternly
Rose nodded a bit testily. "Yes master," Rose said rolling her eyes. Harry had been teaching her so many spells… he sometimes forgot what spells he taught her unless she reminded him.
"Don't use that tone with me, young lady," Harry said in mock anger. "Okay, how's this, I'll lend you my Firebolt, but not the one that Sirius gave me though, a different and later model. I don't use the one that Sirius gave me since it's kind of precious. I have another Firebolt that I use in its place. It's called the Firebolt Zero. It's three times faster then the original Firebolt. In my world, only nine of these babies were made and they cost as much as five times as more then a regular Firebolt."
Though Rose didn't know much about brooms, she knew that this Firebolt Zero was fast. She remembered Ron telling her once that the Firebolt was the fastest broom in the entire world. Also, one Firebolt cost more then all the Slytherins Nimbus 2001 brooms together!
"Okay, I'll take it! Thanks Harry, you're the best!" She said cheerfully.
Harry smiled sheepishly. "Prepare to wake up early Rose. We won't have any training, instead, we'll be concentrating on your flying skills and summoning charm tomorrow. I want you to have plenty of rest before you perform the first task on Tuesday."
Rose nodded. Though she may be an excellent flyer, Harry's broom sounded like it took a bit to handle.
(((o)))
"Ohhh… I'm so tired." Rose groaned, flopping down on the sofa in the sitting room in Harry's new house.
Harry, who was cooking breakfast, raised an eyebrow. He wasn't a least bit exhausted. After performing three hours of flying with the Time-Turner's help, both returned back to Harry's home in Hogsmeade for some rest. "You'd better make sure you take a few strengthening potions before you go perform your first task then, you're going to need it."
Rose had only grunted in an unladylike way. She knew she should be heading back to Hogwarts right about now as class had already started, but she really didn't care at this point. She needed rest…
For several minutes, there was silence, except for the noise Harry was making in the kitchen. "Do you want anything specific?" Harry asked.
He was answered with silence.
"Rose?" Harry called out from the kitchen. Nothing. Turning the stove switch to low heat, he walked out into the sitting room to check on the pretty red head. From the look of things, Rose was in a deep sleep, exhaustion clearly shown on her young face.
"Are you asleep?" Harry asked redundantly, making sure she really was asleep.
Seeing that she was indeed asleep, Harry placed a warm blanket over her and went on with his daily business.
Embarrassed and not knowing why, he kissed her on the forehead and went back to the kitchens, not seeing Rose smile in contentment.
(((o)))
Rose walked into the Great Hall looking extremely tired and annoyed. Harry had let her sleep for a few hours before waking her for some more flying practice. This time, he had her to dodge eight bludgers at once while she was flying. Sweat drenched her robes making them cling to her body, showing her developing figure, much to the boys' enjoyment. Right as she was about to sit down at the lonely side of the Gryffindor table for some dinner, a stern looking McGonagall marched up to her.
The red head groaned silently, knowing right then that she should have eaten in the kitchens again. She had only entered the great hall by habit and was too tired to leave.
"Ms. Potter, just where have you been?" The Transfiguration teacher said sternly, grabbing the majority of the attention in the Great Hall.
"Where have I've been?" She repeated tiredly, not understanding the question. She tugged the collar of her shirt to keep it from sticking to her torso.
McGonagall narrowed her eyes disapprovingly at Rose's appearance. "Ms. Potter, you were not present in Herbology today nor were you present in Divination. Care to tell me why you skipped class?"
Rose, not really in the mood to be scolded and embarrassed in front of the whole school, narrowed her eyes angrily at the transfiguration teacher. Not only did she have to put up with people insulting her or teasing her about the first task on her way to the Great Hall, but now she was being lectured. It was as if everyone was just out to get her these days.
"I'm sorry Professor," Rose said through her clenched teeth. Not only was she losing respect for the Headmaster, but was losing all the respect she had for all of her teachers. None of them would help her with the stress and teasing these days since she became Champion. "I didn't feel well, so I slept in this morning."
"Slept in?" The Transfiguration teacher said incredulously, while throwing a glare at some of the students who were sniggering.
Rose nodded, ignoring the sniggering around her.
"I find that hard to believe Ms. Potter. Ms. Granger told me you were not in your bed this morning when she woke up and I doubt you would sleep in all the way past lunch as well."
Rose narrowed her eyes angrily at Hermione who was sitting several seats away and back at the Transfiguration teacher who was getting on her case. She spoke in an icy voice that echoed throughout the Great Hall, causing everyone to shiver. "What is it with this place? Why the hell am I always being singled out? Plenty of people skip class for a day and they don't even garner a second glance! When I skip a class period, not only do you not believe me, but you lecture me and try to embarrass me in front of the entire school!"
"Ms. Potter," McGonagall interrupted shakily. "I am not…"
"I'm not finished talking yet!" Rose screamed, standing and glowering at the aged woman. Her magic began to react to her anger, causing the room to shake a bit. All the utensils in the Great Hall were rattling insanely. "Ever since I became Hogwart's stupid champion, you and the Hogwarts staff have been done nothing but allow people to slander and insult me! When I try to defend myself, you and every other staff teacher reprimand me and ignore the rest! No one understands what I have to go through and no one even cares or believes that I did not want to be champion. It is bad enough I have to put up with turncoat friends and a school full of whispering idiots who are too deaf to hear the truth, but to have my own teachers treating me with hidden hostility? Well you know what Professor? I don't really give a damn anymore. You, the Headmaster, the Tri-Wizard Tournament, this school, and the wizarding world! You can all go sod OFF for all I care!"
Standing up, she left quickly before her transfiguration teacher could recover from her shock. As she left, she didn't even notice that the Great Hall had finally stopped rattling from her raw magic. Rose left a speechless Great Hall nearly in tears, not even knowing where she was going. She didn't know why she had snapped at her transfiguration teacher like that but she didn't regret it.
"They deserve it, her and this entire damn school. They are just like Malfoy and his goons. They continue to tease me and insult me and not a single damn person in this school comes to my defense or trusts me. They all treat me like I'm some spoiled brat or some fragile little child. They all think I chose to be champion. Don't they see that I don't even want to be Champion? Don't they know that I just want to be a regular girl?" Rose hissed angrily as her eyes filled with tears. "Well, screw it all, after this tournament, I'm out of here. I hate this place."
While Rose was walking towards the kitchens with a mixture of anger and tears, she didn't notice a pair of old blue eyes staring at her back sorrowfully.
(((o)))
"Thank you Dobby," Rose said to the House elf once she managed to calm herself down. She had to thank Harry for showing her the kitchens, a place where she can eat without being pointed and whispered at.
"You are welcome Rose Potter," Dobby said in an excited voice. "Would you like more tea Rose Potter?"
Rose nodded gratefully. "Sure, thank you again Dobby." Being thanked by the great Rose Potter, the girl who lived, was too much for the little elf and Dobby broke out in sobs as he poured a cup of tea. Giggling slightly at how excited Dobby was to serve her, she turned back to the plate of food in front of her with a morose expression.
She did not feel a bit of regret when she thought about her one-sided yelling match with the transfiguration teacher. In all honestly, she thought McGonagall deserved it. It wouldn't have been all that bad if McGonagall had pulled her into her office and then reprimanded her, but to scold her in front of the entire Great Hall? That was going overboard.
"Here you go Ms. Potter," Dobby said rushing back toward The Girl Who Lived with a cup of tea in one hand and a kettle of tea in the other.
Before Rose could thank the House-Elf for his services, there was a burst of blue fire in front of her. When she opened her eyes she gasped. Floating before Rose, was a beautiful white phoenix. The phoenix lighted on the table and seemed to be smirking at her, oddly enough. The bird was almost entirely white except for the tips of its tail and wing feathers which were a light sky blue that faded to gold. Rose thought it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.
"Hello Rose. It would seem that you have started quite the stir downstairs." The phoenix trilled in a musical tone, but in Rose's mind, she understood what it was trying to say.
"What the…" Rose gasped in shock.
The phoenix let out another musical trill. This time, it sounded as if it was laughing. "Do you know who I am, Rose?" The phoenix sang.
Rose could only shake her head.
The House Elves, who were going about their daily business, couldn't help but stop and watch the magical light creature standing in front of one of their young masters. They had never seen the powerful light creature before, beyond Fawkes. There were only a handful of wizards and witches in the world who were bonded with a phoenix, including the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore.
The Phoenix released another trill which sounded like laughter. That was when it hit Rose like a jolt of electricity. "H-Harry...?" Rose said in shock when she realized the Phoenix before had some semblance to her crush. The feathers that made up the birds crest were extremely ruffled like Harry's jet black messy hair. His eyes… crystal bright green eyes looked exactly like Harry's.
"Congratulations, you figured it out!" The Emerald Phoenix trilled cheerfully.
Rose could only gape in shock.
"This… this is your Ani…"
The phoenix nodded to her before she could finish the sentence.
"Yes, my phoenix animagus form. You like it, don't you?" The Phoenix trilled playfully.
Rose nodded. Harry's Phoenix form looked very beautiful. "Wow…" She said petting the bird absentmindely.
"Ahh, that feels good. Yes, scratch me right there. Ooh, that feels good," The phoenix gave a trill of excitement and enjoyment, much to Rose's amusement.
"What brings you here?" Rose spoke out, after five minutes of scratching the phoenix.
"First off, don't talk out loud. There's a chance one of the eavesdropping House Elves might tell Dumbledore whatever you say. Just speak to me as if we are using our mind link." The phoenix trilled. "Now, as to what am I'm doing here. I was watering the green house upstairs when Hogwarts told me that you threw a bit of a temper tantrum at Professor McGonagall. Mind telling me why? I felt your aura all the way in Hogsmeade."
Rose had the decency to look embarrassed.
"Well," Rose thought sadly. "After our flying session, while I was walking to the Great Hall, there were some people wishing me luck for the first task tomorrow and there were some… no… a lot of people who were teasing me and telling me they would have a hospital bed ready for me after the 1st Task. At first, I tried to ignore them by using my occlumency shields, but when I bumped into a pack of Hufflepuffs, with Cedric standing by them, they…"
"Immediately teased and insulted you." Harry finished her sentence for her. Inwardly, he was a bit surprised that Rose had a much more powerful magical core than he did in his fourth year, but then again, with the daily training he had been giving her lately, it did not surprise him as much.
"Sort of," Rose said tears threatening to spill from her eyes again. She couldn't believe her former crush could act so mean! "Cedric was so cruel and mean. He told me that I was stealing Hufflepuff's glory and he hoped that I would fail in the first task. He had even made some lewd comments when he noticed how much I grown. He and some of his friends asked me how much I was for a day and how much I charged for an hour."
Harry, who was still in his Phoenix form, narrowed his eyes darkly at the Hufflepuff's attitude. When he had first heard Cedric letting Hufflepuff tease and insult Rose, he didn't quite believe it. Back in his old dimension, Cedric wasn't that type of guy. Then again, he really didn't know Cedric that well, only by what other people told him, mainly girls. Hearing Rose saying Cedric was being mean to her and making those foul comments made Harry's blood boil.
"I see…" Harry replied, as he released a beautiful trill, which immediately cheered the red head up. Inwardly, he promised future pain to a certain Hufflepuff Champion. "Rose, don't you worry about Cedric. We'll see how he does in the first task tomorrow. While you already know about the dragon, I doubt he knows that he will be facing it, since no one is willing to share that information with him. If it makes you feel any better, I hope he ends up in the hospital for a few weeks."
Rose immediately giggled. "Harry! You're terrible, but thank you for trying to cheer me up," Rose said giving the Phoenix a hug.
If phoenixes could blush, Harry would have clearly blushed as he was pushed closely against Rose's chest. 'Curse these teenage hormones!' Harry grumbled mentally. Why exactly did he have to be eighteen years old again? Why couldn't he keep his twenty-two year old body, where he could at least control his emotions better?
When Rose had released him, she spoke to Harry cheerfully. "Hey, what spells are you planning to teach me next?" asked Rose.
Harry shrugged, an odd expression coming from a bird. "I really don't know. After another week of heavy physical training and exercising, we'll be able to focus on your animagus training should you pass your occlumency test."
Rose grinned. "That's what I wanted to hear, animagus training!" Rose giggled. Seeing that Harry was capable of turning into a phoenix, she couldn't help but get excited at the thought of being able to be an animagus, possibly a phoenix like Harry. Since she was his female counter-part, there was a real possibility that she could be a phoenix as well!
Pretending that he didn't hear her, Harry continued to speak in her mind, "If your occlumency training goes well, we'll work on your animagus training as promised. After animagus training, we will work on your dueling skills. So far, I've only taught you offensive and shielding spells. Eventually, I will show you a few techniques and tricks you can use in dueling." Thinking for a second, Harry spoke again. "From what I've seen in your weapons training, I don't think you will be suited in using a broadsword as a weapon." Harry said as he thought about Rose's late night weapons training the past few weeks. After several mock lessons with many different weapons, he considered it was best she used a light weapon.
One thing was for certain; the sword would have to be a one handed weapon so Rose could use her wand in her other hand like Harry did. "You'd probably be suited to a rapier or dagger…something like that. Perhaps even a whip, if the sword could turn into one," Harry suggested playfully at the red head who blushed bright red.
"So," Rose said, fighting the mental images that caused the blush, and trying to move on. "I have to choose one of those weapons?"
The phoenix nodded. "A great-sword or broadsword is much too heavy for you, Rose. You need a one hand weapon and something that is light and small. You don't have to choose a weapon now. When we begin your dueling lessons, we'll worry about your weapon of choice then."
Rose nodded, but there was something bugging her. "Harry, will you also teach me Martial Arts?" she asked hopefully.
Harry thought for a moment. "Honestly, I'm not that great when it comes to hand to hand. I'm pretty average when it comes to Martial Arts. When I was training myself to stop Voldemort, I didn't really focus on brawling much," Harry explained.
"Anyhow," Harry said ruffling his feathers. "Do you want me to accompany you tomorrow to the first task as a phoenix? You can tell everyone that I'm your new familiar, but I have feeling you will no doubt attract more attention if I accompanied you."
"I really don't care what they think," Rose snapped angrily. "They can all drown themselves in the Black Lake for all I care," Rose growled out. Out of everyone in the magical world, the only person who seemed to listen to her and treat her with care these days was Harry. Though there were times she was frustrated and dying to know how Harry felt toward her. Did he like her like a sister, just a friend, or possibly something more? If anything, their date and kiss only confused her more.
Little did Rose know that she was broadcasting her thoughts to Harry through their mental link without even knowing it! That was when Rose made up her mind. She would confront him right now and ask him how he felt about her. 'Come on Rose, use that Gryffindor courage,' she said to herself. Facing the phoenix who was sipping a cup of tea that Dobby had brought over, she opened her mouth to speak but before she could say something, Harry's head snapped up and he looked at the wall on the far side of the kitchen, as if he could see through it. She wasn't sure, but did Harry look afraid?
Then, before she could ask anything about it, Harry vanished in a ball of blue fire. She blinked for a few seconds and then jumped slightly when she heard Harry again in her head.
"Moody is coming and I think he is trying to spy on you again. Though I'm sure he didn't see me with that blasted magical eye of his, I can't let him think you have a phoenix as a pet. It might ruin our plans. I forgot about Crouch junior being there. I guess me coming to the first task as your pet Phoenix is out of question now." Harry said through their mental link.
Again, before Rose could say anything, Harry closed their mental link, but not before saying, "Make sure you get some sleep, you're going to need it tomorrow. Also, don't take any Potions. They might try and accuse you of cheating if they found out you were using strengthening potions."
Rose sighed.
(((o)))
"What!" Sirius shouted, his voice sounding extra loud in the confines of the small cottage. Remus nodded to his old Marauder buddy. Remus Lupin, against the Headmaster's wishes had decided to tell his former classmate and longtime friend, Sirius Black about Rose and her 'boyfriend'.
"You heard me, Padfoot," Remus said somberly. "Dumbledore says there's a young teenager in Hogsmeade that looks like James, but he has green eyes like Rose."
The infamous criminal Sirius Black gaped slack jawed at Remus. "Are you saying that it is possible James and Lily had another child without even telling us?" Sirius asked in disbelief.
Remus nodded again, but this time, he had a frustrated look on his face. "It's possible, but Dumbledore doesn't know yet. He's trying to find out if this Harry Evans is related to James and Lily, but he has yet to meet him himself. We only have proof of this guy's existence from various people in Hogsmeade, including Rosmerta."
"But…" Sirius said not knowing what to say or do.
Remus continued to speak, but with a strange look on his face. "Sirius I don't know if you know or not, but this guy is supposedly Rose's boyfriend. People are claiming that they heard it from Rose herself. Did she say anything to you when you were talking to her a the other day?"
Sirius, shocked again to hear that his goddaughter was now seeing someone, didn't respond.
"Padfoot old buddy, are you okay?" Remus said noticing his friend was in shock.
"Boyfriend," Sirius said not believing what he was hearing. "Rosie has a boyfriend? Why didn't she tell me this? She didn't even tell me anything this!"
"She didn't?" Remus said not believing what he was hearing. "What did you two talk about then?"
"Stuff…" Sirius muttered sheepishly, not being able to remember what the two of them had talked about. The only thing he could remember was, "She's sad because everyone thinks she put her name in the Goblet of Fire. She thinks everyone is turning against her, including the teachers who won't stop others from teasing her."
"What!" Remus yelled. "I heard nothing of this from Dumbledore! What else did Rose talk about and what about Hermione, Ginny, and Ron? I thought they were all best friends? Surely they would be there for her."
Sirius, who had finally snapped himself out of his stupor that his little goddaughter was now dating, spoke in a serious voice. "I know, Dumbledore didn't tell me about that either. Also, Rose wasn't forth coming about it, but from what I can understand, she doesn't have many friends at the moment. Hermione, Ginny, and Ron have all turned against her and they all believe that she put her name in the Goblet of Fire too."
"No way Padfoot, Ron I can understand, but Ginny and Hermione? You're mad!" Remus said sounding scandalized.
Sirius rolled his eyes and spoke in a grim voice. "Believe it Moony. Anyway, I gave Dumbledore an earful a few days ago when I read a letter that Rose gave me. Did you know that greasy git Snivellus was using legillimency on her and her classmates for the past few years? I don't know too much but it looks like Rose discovered that she had natural occlumency shields and she discovered that both Dumbledore and Snape had been using 'discreet' legillimency on her."
Remus had no comment. He was steam rolling right now. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. The Headmaster of Hogwarts was using legillimency on James and Lily's child? That greasy git Snivellus was using legillimency on his best friend's daughter?
"Get this," Sirius said suddenly laughing. "Rose threatened to have Snape fired if he didn't get his act together. From what I understand, the overgrown bat is actually being civil to her now. Oh, here comes the good part, she even threatened to press charges on Dumbledore for hiring a biased teacher and is willing to transfer out of Hogwarts if he doesn't set Snape straight!" There was a definite increase in Sirius laughter.
"Threatened…" Remus said in shock. "Did you just say Rose threatened Dumbledore and Snape?"
Sirius nodded with a gleeful look on his face. "Yeah, I'm really proud of her. She threatened to transfer out of Hogwarts because of Snape! From what Rose told me, Dumbledore is keeping Snape on a tight leash and not letting him step out of line ever again. Ooh, I would just love to see him right now and laugh in his face!" Sirius snickered.
"Sirius!" Remus chastised his friend. "If I didn't know you any better, I say you are actually cheering Rose on in becoming a teenage rebel!"
Sirius shrugged.
"Every teenager has to go through that stage. Who am I to do to stop her? From what I understand, the Dursleys have never given her a normal life and I'm going to let her experience what she would want: To be treated like every other normal teenager out there. Would it be wrong for us as her parent's last friends to let her have what she wants, instead of what we want for her?"
Remus blinked. "Padfoot that has got to be the most mature thing I have ever heard coming out of your mouth."
Sirius shrugged nonchalantly. "It happens occasionally. Besides, I'm just treating Rose the way my parents would never allow me to behave. I want my goddaughter to have everything, including her own life. I may not like the face that she's dating some guy, but I want her to trust me and know that I support her all the way."
Remus was yet again, speechless. "Are you really Sirius Black?" Remus said in shock.
Padfoot's response to that was a slap to the back of the head. "Besides, we just might make a maurader of her yet." He joked. "Moony, let's get back to the subject at hand. This guy Harry Evans is it? Why doesn't Dumbledore just ask Rose about him?"
Remus shrugged. "He won't say, but after hearing what you told me about Rose confronting Dumbledore, which I'd like to say I am proud of her, I would say Dumbledore wishes things to cool down before he approaches her again."
"Tell me about it, you should have seen the look of anger on her face when I told her Dumbledore asked me to ask her why she was so angry at him and Snape. Moony old buddy, you should have seen the look on her face. She looked like a dragon ready to pounce on me. The next time Dumbledore asks me to ask Rose something, I'm just going to tell him to go ask her himself. She looked really scary and I could have sworn I could feel the magic coming out of her."
Remus laughed. "I know what you mean Padfoot. I remember seeing the look on her face last year when the young Malfoy heir would give her grief. I remember seeing her kneeing him right between the legs so hard, I doubt there will be any future Malfoys."
Both of the Marauders laughed for the next several minutes.
"Anyway, is their anything important that I need to know of? Did Rose say anything that sounds important?"
Sirius snorted. "Besides the fact that she no longer feels welcome at Hogwarts, she knows about the first task has something to do with dragons. How she knows about that is beyond me. I didn't bother asking."
"Hmm…" Remus said in deep thought. "I don't think they would force the champions to fight a dragon. They are too inexperienced. So I'd say they would most likely have to retrieve something from the Dragon. Did you give her any advice?"
Sighing, Sirius shook his head. "I was about to until we heard a noise from her line of the floo, so I disengaged the floo network."
"Good thinking, I know I should scold you for doing this in the first place, but I want to know how Rose is doing too. Dumbledore doesn't give up much information about what is going on. He just tells me that Rose is doing 'Okay'." Remus snorted. "From what you just told me, she is doing anything but okay."
"I agree," Sirius said having a feeling that Dumbledore was hiding something important from them and it had something to do with Rose.
(((o)))
"Wormtail, is our spy here yet?" A cold, icy voice demanded.
Peter Pettigrew, former member of the Order of the Phoenix and traitor to the light side clumsily walked toward his master in fear. "N…no master," Peter whimpered. "He has yet to arrive, but he has forwarded us a letter ahead of time."
"What does it say?" Voldemort demanded, his baby like body quivering in agitation.
Peter whimpered.
Voldemort fought the urge to crawl out of his chair and strangle the fat bubbling idiot in front of him. If it wasn't for the fact that he couldn't hold a wand, he would be putting the little rat animagus under the cruciatus at this very moment. He hissed darkly and impatiently. "Quit your whimpering Wormtail and tell me what Crouch Junior has to say!"
"Yes… yes Master," Peter bumbled, trying to retrieve the letter Crouch Junior had sent him. He was lucky his Master was in his cursed form, if not, he knew he would no doubt be put under the Cruciatus curse for 'taking to long.' Oh, why did he ever return back to his master when he could have continued to stay in hiding, somewhere no one could find him, like in America?
While Wormtail was thinking of this, Voldemort had hissed to his pet snake, Nagini, who was hiding in the corner of the room. "Wrap your coils around him my precious, you may be having an early meal if he does not hurry up and speak."
Peter was snapped out of his little daydream of fear when he saw his master's pet snake slowly approach him from the other side of the room. Like lightning, the snake wrapped her body around the bubbling rat animagus and began hissing menacingly.
"Hurry Wormtail," Voldemort hissed darkly. "I am becoming…impatient."
Eyes bulging in fear, Peter tried as best as he could to read the parchment in his hands as Nagini began to squeeze him slowly and painfully. "M… Master, it says here that 'he' has failed to inform Ms. Potter about the first task and," Peter could say no further as the Dark Lord began to hiss in parseltongue and Nagini began to squeeze at him harder.
Squealing in fear of being squeezed to death, the rat animagus was angry that Crouch junior had failed. The bastard had been smart enough to not come at all and had instead sent the letter by mail saying that he could not leave as Dumbledore was using him to perform some tasks.
"Hurry and tell me the rest Peter!" Voldemort demanded. This time he sounded very impatient.
Gulping and fumbling with the parchment in his hands as Nagini licked his cheek with her tongue, Wormtail hurriedly spoke. "It… it says here… that… that he would have come to report to you personally, but… but he could not as the old fool is having him perform several tasks," Wormtail whimpered, wanting the massive snake to loosen its grip.
Hearing the Dark Lord hissing again, Wormtail hastily spoke before his master could complete whatever he was saying to Nagini, bumbling over his words. "Master, Crouch… he has also reported that… that Ms. Potter has achieved a definite increase in her school work and her skills in Transfiguration, Charms, and Defense have… have all improved drastically. It… it also says…" Wormtail trailed off as his eyes widened in shock.
"What! What does it say?" Voldemort shouted in his baby like voce, causing the Rat Animagus to hurriedly finish. "Speak and I will spare you from being a meal for Nagini today."
"I'm… I'm sorry Master," Peter sobbed as the pain was quite unbearable as Nagini began to squeeze him so hard, his bones felt like they would shatter. "He says… he says that there is something… something that you must really know about. Rose Potter is currently dating some person named Harry Evans. From his descriptions, the young man looks like James Potter, but he has Lily Evans' eyes."
Voldemort narrowed his red eyes at this information. "What is this? Are you absolutely sure that is what Crouch wrote?" Voldemort demanded.
He received an affirmative nod in return as Nagini tightened her whole body so hard around the rat animagus that he could scarcely breathe. Ignoring his pathetic servants crying and sobbing, the Dark Lord began to think. "Is their anything else written on the letter that young Crouch needs to tell me?" Voldemort hissed.
"Yes… yes sir," Wormtail said trying hard to catch his breath.
"You impudent fool, why have you not told me this sooner? If it wasn't for the fact that I need you to carry me around, I would killed you right now Wormtail! Give me the letter!" Voldemort said angry that the bumbling idiot.
"Release him," Voldemort grudgingly hissed, much to Wormtail's relief.
With the letter in his little baby hands, Voldemort narrowed his eyes at the information he received from his spy.
"Interesting… very interesting…"