Chapter 13

Rose POV

It was a large room, walled in glass, with many wooden statues made to resemble Death-Eaters. They were set on wheels and as soon as we entered the room the first time they began to move, and their wands actually worked. It was as if Hogwarts wanted us to fight back.

The month before Christmas allowed Harry to begin teaching the students. He was a compassionate and able teacher, eager to help the students who needed it, like Neville. Neville seemed insecure in his magic skills, and often injured himself. I, of course, was ready to heal him and all the other students who hurt themselves.

We tried our best to stay out of Umbridge's sight, which was about as good as saying that a a shark could be outrun by a minnow. Luckily she never discovered the entrance to the Room of Requirement. Not even her Inquisitorial Squad could catch us.

I had to keep my distance from Draco Malfoy for obvious reasons, and when he confronted me about where I was going every afternoon or so I'd had to think up a stupid lie about taking extra classes with Madame Pomfrey. What else could I say to him? It's not like I could say that I was one of the founders of a prohibited Defense-Against-the-Dark-Arts training club. I hoped that he wouldn't do anything drastic, but we parted on bad terms. He left furious.

My uncle was grievously injured at the end of November and sent to Saint Mungo's in critical condition. Oddly it was Harry who told us that he was hurt, something about a strange dream where he was the one attacking my uncle in the guise of a large snake. I was roused from bed to go to the magic hospital to be with my uncle. I never found out what happened after Harry informed us of my Uncle's plight, but, then again, I never asked. Uncle Arthur stayed in Saint Mungo's for a month, and was set to be discharged around Christmas.

Back at Hogwarts it was business as usual; until the a few days before Christmas Vacation. After the last class before the Holidays, we were all seated by the fire. Hermione and I had french braided eachother's hair, and sat beside eachother on the sofa, with Ron on the other side of Hermione and Harry on the floor. He was beaming like a lunatic. "What's gotten into you, Harry?" Asked my cousin.

"I kissed Cho."

Knock me over with a feather. As Hermione and Ron were contemplating Cho's situation and my cousin's emotional range; something like that of a teaspoon, I was reeling at what Harry had just admitted he'd done, and I was furious.

He'd actually kissed Cho Chang, the over-emotional Ravenclaw that he'd heavily crushed on last year! How could he do this to Ginny? It was no secret, to me at least, that Ginny was crushing hard on my friend, but how could he go and kiss a girl who could never stop crying? Ginny was a much better fit for him. She wasn't over emotional and could take care of herself just fine thank you very much. How this would devastate her if she ever found out. I decided to take it upon myself to make sure that she wouldn't. I wouldn't let my cousin's heart be broken like that.

"How could you?!" I snapped, getting up to go off to bed while my three friends looked confusedly after me. Maybe they thought I crushing on Harry. Ee, I hoped not. I didn't want anything to do with Harry Potter at the moment. Unfortunately I would have to ride with him on the train back to London for Christmas break.

We vacationed at the headquarters for the Order. I joined my mother for most of our stay, simply because she was almost always in the kitchen, and Harry almost never was. I was still mad at him. I worried greatly about my uncle as Christmas grew ever closer and he failed to come home.

Finally, on Christmas day, battered, broken, bandaged, but alive, my uncle Arthur Weasely was set down into the chair at the head of the table by Aunt Molly, a freakishly wide grin contorting her face. "Everything's well. Daddy's back." she said before kissing her husband on the cheek. Briar, the eleven year old boy that he was, grimaced and gagged. "Oh enough of that Briar." Scorned Aunt Molly.

Presents laid on the table, one or two in front of everyone, but Fred and George's gifts were jumbled. Aunt Molly would have to sort them out. "Oh, open your presents." Said my mother. I beamed at the blonde woman and carefully pulled away the tissue paper. Inside was a beautiful scarf knitted in red and gold stripes with pink roses knitted through it. It must have come from my mother. At our family Christmases the gifts were often left unlabeled so that the person who received it had to try and figure out who gave it.

I instantly draped my new scarf around my neck and said. "Thanks Mum, I love it." She beamed in reply. Most of my cousins and my siblings got scarves or sweaters. Ginny and Hermione were the only ones who got new hats.

My uncle tapped his glass lightly with his knife, sending a high-pitched ringing through the dining room. We all looked up at him in unison. He lifted his glass toward the boy with whom my fury waned. Ginny was none the wiser, and I was able to keep it that way. "A toast to Harry Potter, without whom I would not be here. To Harry."

We all lifted our glasses and toasted to the Boy-Who-Lived as one. "To Harry!" sounded throughout the ancient house. Sirius chimed in a second later. Harry looked at his Godfather and grinned. I looked away from the black haired boy and Hermione convinced me to let her try on my new scarf while I tried on her hat.

After the Christmas Supper was over I excused myself and got up from the table quietly, bringing a whole stack of plates with me. I donned an apron to keep my sweater from getting wet and took over dish washing duty. My mother offered to magic the mess away, but I declined, liking the work. I hoped the repetitive task would allow me to keep my mind off of a certain blonde Slytherin, but I couldn't help thinking about my former best friend. We had drifted so far apart over our time at Hogwarts, and when I thought that we might reconnect, he humiliated me in front of my closest friends. Was this what we were destined to be, two secretly broken people without any chance of healing? Most people didn't know all that I'd lost before my fifth birthday, and I knew that Draco had lost much.

Perhaps now I was ready to forgive Draco Malfoy for something that he had tried to make amends for. I didn't realized that I laughed in relief until my mother asked, "What's so funny dear?"

I laughed again, this time at her. "Nothing Mother. Just a thought."

The next morning I spent packing my trunk for the trip back to Hogwarts. I knew that I couldn't leave anything behind. It was becoming practically impossible to ship anything off to Hogwarts because of our D.A.D.A teacher. How I despised the horrid pink woman.

My mother knocked on my door as I was sitting on my trunk to make it close all the way. "Hi, Mum." I said sheepishly, not expecting her entrance.

"Have a good rest of your year Sweetheart. Keep the D.A. going strong, and keep an eye on Draco for us."

"Of course... Mum." I responded, a little puzzled. Why did they want me to keep an eye on the arrogant Malfoy heir all of the sudden? It was getting odd. My mother left and I dragged my trunk down to ground level.

I found Harry in a room that was devoid of furniture, but the expanse of wall was covered in a beautiful old tapestry. On it were all of the Blacks who ever lived. Many of them were burned away though, thought by one head or another to have disgraced the family in some way. Unfortunately, Sirius was one of them.

I'd looked for my family once, under Cassiopeia Black's portrait, but, oddly, most of my family tree, except my father and my siblings apart from me, had been completely burned away from floor to ceiling in what Sirius had explained was a house fire some years back. I didn't buy the story. Why would there be a house fire that only destroyed part of an old tapestry in a single room? The current head of the Black family was hiding something, but each time I pushed looking for answers he put up a wall between me and my goal. It was getting irritating.

I stood discreetly in the doorway as Sirius said to Harry, "Once all this is over, we'll be a proper family."

Since Sirius seemed to not have anything else on his mind, I chose that moment to cut in. "Harry, it's getting time to go."

He turned to me and said "Okay, give me a few more minutes will you?"

I sighed and headed back upstairs.

As I waited for Harry and the others to finish their goodbyes I stumbled upon a hallway that sat unused, evident by the dusty cobwebs draped on the gas lamps that lined the walls. The corridor had a door at each end, but one of the doors was nailed shut. Not even Alohomora could make it budge, not that I tried.

What interested me in the long room, and what kept me from retreating to the better lived in part of the ancient house, was a large portrait that hung alone on the wall. A beautiful woman with long dark hair twisted into a bun sat majestically on a centuries old velvet chair. Her dress was simple: brown with black pearls sewn along the neckline and cuffs. She read a book with eyes a shade of blue similar to Sirius's.

I looked at the engraved golden plaque below the painting. Cassiopeia Black stared at me in the faded light shining through the open door. The woman in the portrait was my Great Grandmother, and my blood connection to the Black family. She looked up at me when she saw that she had company. "Hello, dear. Who might you be?" she asked politely, shutting her book and laying it gingerly in her lap.

"I'm Rose Braddock ma'am." I answered her. I felt the urge to curtsy and acted accordingly. "I think I'm your Great Granddaughter?"

"Well, you do appear to have some of my features. It is a pleasure to meet you Rose." She looked me over again. "With your looks I can tell that Black blood runs strong in your veins." I blushed at the complement. "And you are the first decent person I have spoken with in years."

"Thank you. Why haven't I ever seen you before?" I asked. "Surely there must be more paintings of you."

"I have one in the old family home, but I do believe it was placed into the attic before you were born. As for this house I've been kept in this hall for over fifteen years and not even old Kreature comes to visit me. If only Sirius would make a trip down here and move me into the parlor I would be quite satisfied."

"I might be able to persuade him." I told my Great Grandmother, grinning back at her.

She gazed at me longer. "You do look so much like your mother, my dear..." She was cut off when Sirius entered the room, halting my conversation with the woman in the portrait.

He strode over to us. "That is enough chatting for now. Go on Rose. Supper is on the table." He said, evicting me from the room. The door creaked loudly, so I couldn't make out what Sirius said to the portrait first, but I was able to catch a snippet of the conversation between them once I was in the main hallway. "I will put you in the attic."

As I glided down the many flights of stairs, I wondered. Why would Sirius want to stow my Great Grandmother away just for talking to me? What was he hiding?

The train ride was rather uneventful, but I was restless in our car. Finally, I couldn't stand stay still. I stood up and opened the door to our compartment. Harry stayed my hand. "Where are you going Rose?"

I looked at the curious student. "It's personal." I answered back, gliding through the door and closing it behind me. I knew that he immediately jumped up and opened the door to see where I was going, but by then I was long gone.

A car at the end of the train was where the fifth year Slytherins sat. I made my way to it. The door was closed, but I pulled it open and the majority of the Slytherins looked up to see who had entered their car. Most of them resumed what they were doing, sneering and grumbling at me though, when they realized that I wasn't from their house since I wore my new scarf.

I trekked to the end of the car, ignoring the stares and jeers from the students who were disgusted that a Gryfindor was in their car. Pansy and Blaize were seated so that they could look at me without having to turn; the blonde was seated across from them. "Hey." I said as confidently as I could.

"Hey Rose." greeted Blaize. Pansy nodded, but Draco looked away and out the window, refusing to meet my gaze. He must have still been mad at me.

I sucked in a breath, and plucked my courage. "Draco." He still refused to look at me. Pansy and Blaize tried to coax him away from the window, but he defiantly looked on. I sighed, deciding to just say what I needed to whether he was listening or not. "I forgive you." He shifted, but still looked out the window. Even though he tried to hide it I could still feel the remorse coming off of him. I handed a single gift to both Pansy and Blaize. I looked at Draco once more and laid the package containing a Slytherin-Crest embroidered green and silver scarf that I'd made for him on the table in front of him and said, "Merry Christmas, Draco Malfoy."

I walked back through the cars, but found myself not wanting to go back to my car. My housemates would question me relentlessly until I told them what I'd been doing. I found an empty car and sat alone with a small book that I'd taken with me along with the scarf. Thank the Gods that Harry had not seen its colors.

I saw Draco wear the scarf on a number of occasions while the air was still cold and the ground was hard and coated in white. At least he used it, even if he didn't appreciate it. I kept kicking myself for being so stubborn each subsequent time I saw him. Why hadn't I accepted his apology earlier? I was so stupid!

Once the snow was off the ground in mid March, we began to spend more time outside again, especially when Hagrid returned from his school-year long absence.

Hermione caught me on my way back from my tutoring with Madame Promfrey with Harry and Ron in toe. "Hagrid's back." She said calmly.

"Hagrid's back?" I said breathless. I didn't even wait for her to answer. I ran with my book bag with the others down the rough hill to Hagrid's octagonal hut. Harry for some reason had the Invisibility Cloak with him.

I shed my outer school robe as soon as we got into the warm hut. I petted Fang before I sat with my friends and Hagrid handed us each a cup of tea. "Where have you been Hagrid?" I asked as I sipped my tea.

He sat in his huge chair and looked uncomfortable. I bit my lip, thinking I'd asked too much.

"Dumbledore sent me to speak with the giants." he finally confessed.

"Giants?!" Hermione gasped.

Hagrid motioned for her to keep it down. "Trust me, we aren't the only ones trying to recruit them. The Death Eaters are trying to as well, promising them eternal freedom if they fight on their side."

"That's an empty promise." I pointed out.

Hagrid nodded. "I know, but what could I tell them,? The Death Eaters got there before I did."

"Were you able to get any to side with us?" Asked Harry.

"A few." Hagrid confirmed. "It appears that some of them remember some bit of kindness Dumbledore showed them at one point or another."

I heard footsteps after Hagrid finished talking. "Someone's coming." I rushed.

Hagrid looked out the window then turned back to us an instant later. His words were swift and to the point. "All of you, get over there, sit, and put the cloak on. Hurry." he pointed to a shaded alcove in his hut.

We were invisible by the time Hagrid reluctantly opened the door. We didn't need anyone to tell us who was here. The stench was unmistakable.

"For the last time, I demand to know where you've been." Squawked Umbridge.

"I told you, I've been away for me health." Hagrid explained, exasperated.

"Your health?" Asked Umbridge dubiously.

"Yes, you know, a bit of fresh air and all."

"Oh yes, as Gamekeeper, fresh air must be terribly hard to find." replied Umbridge. "If I were you, I wouldn't bother unpacking at all."

Hagrid closed the door on the woman and we got out from under the cloak. If only the cloak could grow. It was a tight fit with four teenagers shielded under it. I heard Umbridge spray her perfume before she left.

Hagrid strode to his dusty window. A storm was brewing outside, just at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Harry followed him a minute later. "There's a mighty big storm brewing out there, and you best all be ready when she does." He said, almost thinking out loud. I knew that he wasn't talking about the storm on the horizon.

I watched in disgust when Umbridge tried to dismiss Professor Tralawney. I'd wanted desperately to do something, but what could I do? I could only hope that Professor Dumbledore could resolve the issue. The outcome was that the Divination Professor stayed at Hogwarts, and Professor Umbridge wrote to the Minister demanding more power over the school.

The D.A. ran as usual, but I felt something was off the day that Harry and I were teaching the army the Patronus Charm. I sensed that Umbridge was closing in on us.

On that normal day at the end of April, we snuck quietly into the Room of Requirement letting no one see us, but, oddly, Cho was nowhere to be found. She must have been running late; not that I entirely missed her.

Harry instructed the students on the particulars of the Charm. "Think of the a memory, the happiest you can remember. Allow it to fill you up. Fred?"

My older cousin waved his wand and said, "Expecto Partonum!" letting white mist escape from his wand. As I helped Neville cast the spell, I heard a loud whinny behind me. I turned to see who had cast the equine Patronus.

Remarkably, Ginny was the one who cast the galloping horse. "Fantastic Ginny!" Harry and I cried.

I turned my attention back to Neville. I held his wand hand reassuringly. "Like this, point the wand in front of you and say 'Expecto Partonum.'" Since I was doing the action with my own wand, a white ferret flew out of my holly stick and started bouncing from one student to the other while a white mist finally emanated from Neville's wand. "Marvelous Neville." I said happily. He smiled at me.

Ron soon had a dog running around the room and tripping up students while Hermione discovered that her Patronus was an otter. Most of the students had conjured or half conjured full-bodied Patronuses by the time the world, and the glass wall, shattered.

Luna's rabbit evaporated as the walls and the chandelier shook as if the invisible door to the Room of Requirement was being hit with a battering ram. Moments later, the glass wall broke and cascaded to the floor in a million razor-sharp shards. A small gap in the masonry revealed itself and Harry and another peeked through. There was no mistaking the revolting voice that came from the other side of the wall. "I'll make short work of this. Bombarda Maxima." Instantly, the bricks blasted away. I helped Harry up off the floor and looked defiantly at Umbridge. "Get them. But give Potter and Braddock to me." She snapped.

It was then that I saw who had sniffed us out and betrayal boiled through my veins. Holding Cho firmly by her collar, platinum blonde hair meticulously combed out of his face and clad in silver and green with an Inquizitorial-Squad pin affixed to his chest, was Draco Malfoy.