A/N: It was rather rudely pointed out to me that I had forgotten the contents of the letter and there were certain line repeats. In the authors note at the top, I pointed out that it was rough. This is the beta'ed version and those have been fixed.

Please…please if you are going to leave me a review, leave constructive criticism without scathing profanity. That is all I ask.

Again, many thanks to Seel'vor for betaing this for me.

(((o)))

That evening, Harry held Rose in the Room of Requirement as she cried the stress of the day away on his shoulder. He had required the room to look like a copy of his living room, the place where he and Rose felt most at ease when he entered, and the two of them were sitting on the couch. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while before Rose broke it.

"What's happening to me, Harry?" she asked her voice almost too quiet to hear. "Since you've arrived, I've been... changing."

Harry had nothing to say, but simply kept his arm around her shoulder.

"And I don't mean just physically." she continued. "I mean, I've been losing my temper more and more. Little things, like Malfoy calling me 'Mudblood' before made me mad, sure... but not to the point that I wanted to kill him." She stared at her hands and shook her head sadly. "When I confronted Hermione to see if she was reporting to the Headmaster..." She trailed off.

Harry wanted to tell her that was her imagination, but he stopped. He had been noticing a marked change in his personality as well. He was careless and lax, ignoring his training from the other dimension. It had nearly gotten him killed in the bunker and it had let his assailant the other night escape. And he didn't know Rose from before he had traversed dimensions and didn't know what she had been like. He had assumed when they first met that Rose was simply fiery.

Not having an answer, he pulled her close and hugged her tight. "I don't know, Rose. But, I promise to find out."

Rose hugged him back. "I know Harry. I know."

(((o)))

Back at his house, it was Harry's turn to be comforted by his godfather. Sirius sat next to him at the table and kept a comforting arm around his shoulder. Harry had explained the situation to Sirius, but the older man was just as clueless as to what to do as Harry was. Sirius had suggested going to Dumbledore, but one scathing look from Harry sank that idea before it could even float.

After a while, Harry busied himself with dinner for the two of them. He mulled over the situation as he cooked but the answer kept eluding him. Then, while Harry was busy mashing the potatoes, a black owl flew through his open window and lit on the dining table. Harry eyed it warily thinking it was the same owl that tried to take off his finger, but this one was a bit smaller. The bird held out its talon for Harry to take the letter and he did, cracking the seal and reading it hastily. As he read, his face became paler and paler.

"Harry?" Sirius asked worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"They're calling me out." Harry said, his voice almost too quiet to hear. He tossed the letter on the table and slumped in his chair bonelessly. Sirius picked the piece of parchment up and began to read.

Mr. Potter,

Myself and my associates have arranged a rendezvous at the 'Sullied Unicorn' bar in Knockturn Alley. The reason for this rendezvous? We know what you are, who you are, and what you are capable of. This meeting will be held tonight at 8pm. You will come alone.

Watcher

Harry seemed to look up at Sirius hopefully. "What do you think, Sirius?" he asked.

Sirius was silent for a moment. "I think it's a trap." he said at length. "I mean, come on! 'Come alone'? How stupid do they take you for?"

Harry shrugged, not knowing what to think. He had been underestimated before but never before had he been overestimated. He honestly didn't know how to feel. He glanced up at the clock above his stove. "Well, I only have two hours before the meeting."

"We." Sirius corrected.

"No," Harry said shortly, "I."

"No, we." Sirius stressed. "I-"

But Harry cut him off. "You are a wanted man, Sirius!" He nearly snarled. "I won't have you captured doing something foolish for me."

"And going alone isn't foolish?" Sirius countered calmly. Harry noticed with some irony that Sirius, the hot-headed one was keeping his cool, while Harry was losing his. "One, it's Knockturn Alley. I'm sure people are wondering why I haven't been spotted there yet. And two, I won't have you captured or worse because you were too stubborn to take back up."

"I..." Harry was at a loss for words. He scowled down at hands. It had been so long since he had last been reprimanded by an adult that he didn't know how to react. He was used to working on his own, but Sirius' concerns made him feel strangely light and relieved.

"Harry, this concerns my godchildren." Sirius said. Harry looked up sharply. "Yes, I said 'children'. You might be rather new to me, but you are still Prongs and Lily's child, and I do care for you."

Harry couldn't help the gratified smile that grew on his face.

"Besides," Sirius continued, "I don't want to imagine what Rose would do to me when she found out that I let you go alone."

The two men had a good chuckle out of that. Harry could imagine Rose slapping Sirius up side the head and calling him a few choice names. "Okay, fine. But you stay in your dog form unless absolutely necessary, clear?"

Sirius nodded sombrely, no trace of the prankster in his expression.

(((o)))

"This place reeks..." Harry muttered as he waved his hand in front of his nose.

The 'Sullied Unicorn' was one of the lower class, dingier establishments in Knockturn Alley, and the atmosphere certainly proved it. Various people and creatures of ill repute sat in the darkened corners enjoying their drinks and talking in hushed voices. Cigar and pipe smoke made the air hazy and thick, and Harry could swear he smelled something akin to rotting flesh. Some patrons stopped what they were doing to look at the man and his dog that just entered the pub but soon went back to their conversations as Harry hurried to a secluded booth in the back of the room.

"Why, of all places, did we have to meet here?" Harry continued to mutter to himself as he sat down. Padfoot plopped down ungracefully under the table at his feet. "We stick out like sore thumbs..."

Padfoot growled at him and Harry shut up.

Harry fidgeted in his seat while waiting on the mysterious 'Watcher' to show up. Never one to be patient, Harry occupied his time by occluding his mind and organising his thoughts. He was still a bit shaken by how careless he had been since his arrival in this dimension. It was while he was sorting his memories and thoughts of Rose that a man in a dark maroon robe slid into the booth opposite him. Harry regarded him with a wary eye.

"Mr. Potter." the man said. "Mr. Black."

Padfoot made an odd little choking noise under the table and Harry sighed. So much for anonymity... "You must be 'Watcher'," Harry said. He discretely drew his wand and levelled under the table at the man's abdomen. "Well, I'm here. Spill it."

Watcher smiled behind his hood. "You will not need your wand tonight, Mr. Potter." he said. Harry noticed that he had the same gravely voice as the stalker and the man in his house. It was most likely voice a masking charm. "I have called you here tonight because you want answers."

Harry made no motion but raised his Legilimency to its full strength. Hopefully he could catch any lies this man said. "Go on..."

"The first thing you should know," Watcher said, "is that you were summoned here." Harry's eyebrows raised but he remained silent. He didn't know that you could summon people like demons and frankly, the thought disturbed him.

"Unfortunately," Watcher continued, "something went wrong with the ritual. You were not supposed to have arrived until June 4th 1996."

Harry frowned as he pondered this. The date rung a bell in his mind but try as he might he couldn't place it. He felt the dog at his feet tense up and he glanced down to see if Padfoot... Harry's eyes widened and his heart felt like it was in his throat. That was the date that Sirius had fallen through the veil in Harry's original dimension. "Why then?" he managed to choke out.

Harry could almost swear that Watcher seemed forlorn. "It is the day Rose is to die. We do not know how, but she-"

"No." Harry said shortly. Padfoot growled angrily. Harry felt his magic surge much like it did before a battle.

Watcher seemed to go from apologetic to malicious in the blink of an eye. "You don't have any say in the matter, Potter!" he sneered.

Harry struggled to keep both his magic and his temper in check but it was hard. "Bullshit, I don't." he said. His voice was louder than he wanted it to be but he didn't really care. "I'm here now. She can be protected. She doesn't need to-"

Watcher interrupted him. "Stow the naivety, Potter!" he snarled. "Do not meddle in things you don't understand!"

"Why, then?" Harry growled back. "Tell my why she has to die."

"Surely you've noticed changes in your personalities. Perhaps you are becoming lazy, or careless. We know for a fact that Rose's temper is spiralling out of control. This is because the two of you are sharing a soul. Your bodies fight for it, both wanting the soul in it's entirety, but you both are powerful enough; you, through your magical core and Rose, through the prophecy. This struggle is tearing the very fabric of reality apart."

The more Harry thought about it, the more it made sense. The primal connection he and Rose shared; the occasional, unexplainable shocks that occurred when they touched; it was all because they were sharing a soul. But Harry had to wonder; what happened to his soul? Why hadn't it come across to this dimension with him? He managed to rein his anger in and asked, "There has to be some other way."

Watcher's attitude remained the same; condescending and arrogant. "There is not. What part of 'Rose must die' do you not comprehend?"

Harry's anger returned full force. He knew that the only thing keeping Padfoot from ripping the man's throat out was Harry's presence, but there was nothing holding Harry back but his own force of will. He desperately wanted to hurt Watcher. "The must be some other way." he bit out through clenched teeth. "I refuse to let her die."

"Oh, she will die." Watcher said in a whisper. "And there is nothing you or Black can do to stop it."

For the first time since he was a child, Harry lost control of his magic. It surged outward from him, overturning tables and patrons alike and scorching the walls and floor. His eyes glowed, and his voice seemed to boom from everywhere at once as he hissed, "You dare harm a hair on her head and nothing short of the apocalypse will stop my vengeance!"

Watcher apparated away with wide eyes, leaving a puddle behind on the booth. It seemed he had wet himself in fear. Even Padfoot's hackles were raised as he stared at Harry fearfully.

Harry blinked once and surveyed the destruction of the pub. While not a clean place to begin with, his magic burst had turned the place into a wreck. Half the lamps had gone out and debris littered the floor. The patrons, just now climbing to their feet, started to draw their wands and other weapons. Harry reached down, grabbed Padfoot by the scruff of his neck and flamed the two of them back to his house.

Sirius transformed back as soon as he regained his feet. "Bloody hell, Harry! What was that!?"

Harry took one look at Sirius and broke down in laughter. "Look at your hair!"

Sirius' hair was still standing on end. It wasn't his hackles that had been raised; it was the burst of accidental magic Harry had released in the pub. Sirius unsuccessfully tried to smooth his long hair back down before giving up and addressing Harry again. "Be serious." he said. Harry opened his mouth to say something, most likely along the lines of, 'I cant, you are,' but Sirius ploughed on. "And don't you dare crack a joke."

Harry wisely shut his mouth but couldn't stop the occasional giggle from slipping out.

"Now," Sirius went on, frowning at Harry's giggles, "what was that all about?"

Harry took a deep breath to calm himself. "The magic burst?" he asked. Sirius nodded and Harry shrugged. "I have no idea. I just got really angry when he said Rose had to die."

Sirius frowned. "What are you going to tell her?" he asked.

Harry stood there in silence for a minute. He thought about how he would have taken the news that he was to die. He knew that in his fourth year, he wouldn't have taken it well at all. "Nothing." he said at length. Everything he was screamed that he was no better than Dumbledore, but he didn't want to force this knowledge on Rose. "The less she knows the better..."

(((o)))

"Are you ready for this?" Harry asked.

Rose fidgeted at his side taking what comfort she could from the arm around her shoulders. It was approaching midnight and the two of them were at Potter Manor standing at the door to the rune chamber. This was the day that Harry had set for her entry into the room. Truthfully, she was nervous as hell. Despite the late hour she wouldn't have been able to sleep if she wanted too. And, through the link their rings gave them, she could tell that Harry was too. "What if I said I wasn't?" she asked with a shaky voice.

"Then we don't have to do it." Harry said simply. "I don't... Nothing will go wrong. If your Dad says it's safe, then it's safe."

"Our Dad." Rose corrected almost subconsciously. "I need to do this." she said. She didn't want it, actually. It would be just one more thing to set her apart from everyone else, but she knew she needed every advantage she could get in the upcoming third task and fight with Voldemort. It still stung a bit that Harry wouldn't let her help kill the Dark Lord but she understood why. It was bad enough that she would have to kill Voldemort. She didn't like the idea of taking a life, no matter how vile and black that life may be.

Harry pulled her closer to him and gave her a one armed hug. "Are you sure?"

Rose nodded. "I'm sure." She pushed him lightly away, her nervous expression giving way to a playful smile. "Now, go away so I can strip."

Harry pouted. "I can't watch?"

"No, go away."

Rose watched as Harry hurried down the hall and around the corner wondering if she should be scandalised that he didn't want to see her naked or happy that he respected her privacy. She settled on a mixture of both and the decision that she was going to snog him senseless the next time they were alone. She quickly stripped naked, shivering in the cold, dungeon air and hurried into the run chamber, closing the door behind her.

The chamber was simply a round room made of grey stone bricks and about ten feet in diameter. She saw faint symbols etched into the stone all over the walls. Without her phoenix enhanced vision she figured that she wouldn't have been able to see the light grey runes. The ceiling of the chamber was domed and made of the same grey stone that the walls were made of but it only had one big rune carved into the apex. Not for the first time, Rose wished she had taken Ancient Runes instead of Divination.

"Rose?" Harry's voice was muffled by the thick wooden door. Rose nearly jumped out of her skin. She hadn't expected him to say anything.

"I'm fine, Harry." she said.

"Okay. Make yourself comfy. I'm going to activate the room."

Rose sat with her legs folded underneath her in the centre of the room. She could hear a muffled incantation from Harry and wondered what would happen. Then one by one, the runes starting at the bottom of the room began to glow with a soft golden light. She noticed as they lit that the runes spiralled up in a clockwise pattern to the apex where they met with the larger rune. The apex rune flared golden with a loud gong and Rose averted her eyes quickly. Then she was lost in the light and absolute bliss.

After activating the chamber Harry went back upstairs, his thoughts impure and full of naked redheads. He exited the dungeons into the kitchen where Sirius was brooding. He was pining over a half empty glass of fire whisky. Harry hadn't known either Sirius long enough to know what exactly was bothering him, but he knew people well enough at this point to tell that something was bothering him. "Okay, spill it. What's wrong?"

Sirius looked up from his glass with a start. He hadn't realised that Harry was in the room with him. "What makes you think anything is wrong?" he asked. Harry knew he was lying when he looked away to the left. Harry raised an eyebrow at him and Sirius let out a long suffering sigh. "I was just thinking about what that bloke in the pub said earlier today."

Harry fetched himself a glass and poured some of the whiskey in it. He took a sip before talking. "About Rose dying?" he said.

Sirius winced at Harry's totally indifferent attitude and nodded. He floundered about for some words before settling on, "I mean... they're the Illuminatus."

Harry shrugged. "They are still only human." he said. "And I promised Rose that I would always keep her safe. For ever and ever." Harry stopped talking as if that last statement explained everything, which to him, it did. He took another sip of his whiskey and noticed Sirius' incredulous stare. "What?"

"You're only human too, Harry." Sirius said softly.

Harry frowned and was about to say something along the lines of, 'not everyone thinks so', when James' portrait came huffing and puffing into a frame in the kitchen. It occurred to Harry that a portrait being out of breath was stupid, but he shelved that thought as James caught his breath. "The Order is having a meeting." he said.

"Why didn't they inform Sirius?" Harry asked.

James looked sheepish. "It's about Sirius." he said. "They think he's been compromised."

Sirius smiled ruefully and slammed back the rest of his whiskey, wincing as the harsh liquid burned his throat. "Well, technically, I have. I go where Rose and Harry go." He shrugged. "Oh well. I'm safe here."

Harry sighed and massaged his temples. "Well, have your uncle keep an eye and report everything they discuss." he ordered.

James nodded. "So far, it has all been about what to do about you. The Headmaster wants to mobilise the Order to get Rose back and bring you into custody."

"Merlin's hairy fucking balls!" Harry cursed, throwing his alcohol glass down shattering it. "That old wanker can not leave well enough alone, can he?"

"He's had a rough day." Sirius stage whispered to James.

"I can see that." the portrait muttered.

Harry stared angrily at the ruined glass for half a minute before repairing it with a wave of his hand. He caught it as it flew up to meet him. His watch then beeped at him and he smirked. "I guess Rose has cooked long enough. Shall we go see what she ended up with?"

(((o)))

Rose fidgeted nervously as she awaited the start of the third task. It had taken her the better part of the last week for her to get her new supercharged magical core under control. She honestly didn't remember much of the ritual. She remembered the runes flaring bright, and then waking up slowly and securely in Harry's arms as he took her home to recuperate. At the time, she realised that she was naked, covered only by Harry's cloak and she didn't care. Now though her cheeks nearly glowed she was blushing so furiously. She knew that eventually she wanted Harry to see her in all her glory, but then was not the appropriate time.

At first she didn't believe Harry when he told her that her magic would be all wonky and she told him as much. Harry simply smirked and let her get dressed for dinner. It was then that she believed him. She got dressed normally but decided to prove Harry wrong and summon her shoes to her from across the room.

She cast the spell as normal and had to throw herself to the floor as the footwear rocketed toward her, intent on bludgeoning her senseless. The shoes then slammed into the wall, cracking the plaster. She had waved her wand again and muttered a simple Reparo charm and nearly choked as the wall was restored to pristine condition.

Her lessons for the first three days were simply getting to know her magic again. She had finally managed to get it under control that Sunday and she was amazed at how much more powerful she was. She felt near invulnerable but Harry quickly squashed that feeling by telling her that Voldemort, Dumbledore and himself were still more powerful. She would have glared at Harry but he seemed so reluctant to talk of his power she couldn't stay angry.

Her Animagus transformation came quicker now too. The feathers of her phoenix form had gone from solid gold with red tips to a pristine white with gold and red tips. Harry explained that a phoenix's plumage followed a fires heat color scheme. A red phoenix was the least powerful, where as a white, and then blue phoenix was the most powerful of the species. He also said that it had a lot to do with her new magical core.

She spent the next two days after that finding out what the chamber gifted her with. It turned out that her father only got a slightly stronger core and no other powers. At first she was worried until Harry explained that he was sure the prophecy had something to do with his extra powers and it would do the same for Rose. They hadn't had any luck. Perhaps it hadn't manifested yet, Harry said.

Oh well. Rose didn't really care one way or another. She was different enough as it was. The only reason she didn't protest more was that Harry was as different as she was. She could share with him.

Harry had decided to keep her at his house instead of sending her back to the school after the ritual. It turned out that Dumbledore was going to bring her back and arrest Harry for kidnapping. Harry said that as long as he was being accused of the crime, he may as well commit it. The day before the task, she had flamed back directly into her dorm room startling Hermione so badly that the bushiness of her hair seemed to double. She told Hermione everything, swearing the other girl to secrecy before heading down into the Great Hall. She smirked remembering the Headmaster's reaction.

Rose was startled from her reminiscing by a hand on her shoulder. It took all her will power not to whip her wand out and curse the person, and even more when she realised that it was the fake Moody. "Are you ready, lass?" he asked.

Because of her huge point lead, Rose was being given a thirty second head start. Not that she needed it. She had reviewed Harry's memories and remembered exactly where the cup should be. She could get a decent way into the maze, flame there, and be ported away to the graveyard. She realised that she hadn't answered Moody and nodded.

"Nerves?" he asked with a crooked grin. Rose nodded again.

She looked over at Dumbledore who met her gaze with a disapproving one of his own. She ignored it, much like she had the night before and tried not to smirk as Dumbledore's frown grew.

"Go left first." Moody muttered. Rose ignored him too.

Then came the shot from Bagman's wand signalling that she should start. She sprinted into her entrance and rounded the first corner running a bit further before concentrating on the location of the cup. She disappeared then reappeared in a burst of flame and froze in shock.

The room was empty!