AN: Finally managed to get this chapter up! Sorry if you've been waiting, but for some reason it just wouldn't upload, I think it had trouble with the length of this chapter, but I'm not sure? Not really much to say, except thanks for reviewing and I hope you enjoy the chapter :)

Harry woke up when the light streaming in the window hit his face. He squinted up at the ceiling, and then looked round in confusion. Rose was fast a kip next to him, so he couldn't be anywhere that bad, but he hoped he hadn't done anything bad enough to land him in hospital again. He didn't remember anything … Wait, there had been that weird dream, with the two men who could float benches, and Rose had been able to teleport and … He stared at the moving portrait on the wall. Perhaps it hadn't been so much of a dream after all. Harry sat up and stretched, only mildly hampered by the arm Rose had wrapped around his waist. It was a good job he didn't want to explore or need the toilet because she had a grip like iron, perhaps afraid that he'd leave and never come back, like so many people in her past had.

Well, that wasn't technically true, Harry argued with himself. She only told me that her brother left and she ran away. I'm being dramatic. Harry looked up as an old man with a long white beard and hair came into the room and sat on the bed next to theirs.

"Ah, up already my boy?"

"Uh … Do I know you?" Harry asked, confused.

"Hmm? Oh, no, no. I'm Professor Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of this school."

"Oh." Wake up Rose, I have no idea what I'm doing. "Um … Well, it's nice to meet you."

"You too, my dear boy. Ah, I do believe your friend is waking up."

Rose could vaguely hear voices, Harry's and someone else's. That thought brought her out of her potion induced sleep much quicker than anything else would. Last night their future had been kind of up in the air, and she didn't want anybody deciding her future without her. Nobody told her what to do anymore. She sat up slowly, one arm still around Harry and the other rubbing sleep out of her eyes. Perched on the bed next to them was an old man, wearing what looked like some kind of robe. "Ah, Good Morning Miss Rose," he said. "I understand we have you to thank for looking after Harry all these years?" Rose evaluated him quickly and decided it would be best to tell him the truth. He had a twinkle in those bright blue eyes that made her feel like he could see right through her.

"I found him abandoned in a cardboard box on a street corner on a rainy night, four years old and injured," she replied. "I couldn't exactly leave him there."

"You'd be surprised how many people would disagree with you," the old man replied. "But that is neither here nor there. Ah, forgive my manners, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Professor Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of this school."

"Pleased to meet you sir."

"Oh, the pleasure is all mine, I assure you." Rose swung her legs off the side of the bed and met Dumbledore's gaze, her mind already working.

"We kind of left things up in the air last night, Professor," she said. "What happens to Harry and I now, please?"

"Well, once you are washed and breakfasted and Madam Pomfrey has given you leave to go I thought I would ask Remus to take you to Diagon Alley -"

"Um, forgive me for interrupting, but I meant in the long term. Harry can live here in the school during term, I assume, but what about over the summer? I assume you don't want him going back on the streets."

"Us," Harry said firmly. "I'm not going anywhere without you, Rose." Dumbledore smiled.

"Your loyalty does you credit, Harry. And yes, you are quite right Rose, if Madam Pomfrey was correct in guessing your age it will be another two years before you come of age, and you will need a magical guardian until then."

"Three years," Rose replied. "I'm only fifteen."

"Ah, Madam Pomfrey was correct, the age of adulthood in the Wizarding World is seventeen, but that doesn't solve our problems for the moment." Rose frowned.

"Doesn't Harry have a godfather or relatives or something?"

"Harry's godfather is … not around any more and his father was an only child and I won't send him back to his mothers relatives, but both Remus and Severus knew Harry's mother and father, which is why I sent them to find you."

"Can it be Mr Lupin?" Harry asked. "Not that I have anything against Mr Snape," he added hurriedly. "But I seem to know Mr Lupin from somewhere."

"Call me Remus, Harry, and yes, I knew you when you were a baby, why the curiosity?" They turned to see Remus coming towards them with a tray of food. "Madam Pomfrey says to eat as much of this as you can manage," he told the teenagers, setting the food in front of them.

"Harry wants you to be his magical guardian," Rose replied, picking up a piece of toast. "And I must admit it would make sense, since you knew him as a baby."

"You'll have to look after Rose as well though," Harry said. "'Cause I'm not going anywhere without her." He picked up a piece of bacon and bit it curiously.

"But …" Remus sent a despairing glance at Dumbledore. "I can't, the ministry wouldn't allow it."

"Why not?" Rose asked, looking up from her plate.

"I'm a werewolf," Remus Lupin replied.

Rose stared at him for a moment and then shrugged. She'd kind of shelved the word 'impossible' for a moment, and to be honest, after watching Harry create glowing balls of light when he was five, it had to be something really special to surprise her anymore. "And?" she asked. "You're only dangerous on the full moon right? And I bet wizards have some kind of spell or potion that makes you harmless." Remus stared at her, struck dumb. Dumbledore laughed.

"A muggle has just grasped something that has eluded generations of wizards." Snape said dryly from the doorway. "Madam Pomfrey wants you to take these potions," he said. "They'll help increase your intake of nutrients. They are best taken before a meal, but someone was a bit early with breakfast." He sent a light glare at Remus, who completely ignored him. Rose looked dubiously at the potion, before uncorking the bottle and sniffing it. She made a face at the smell and glared at Snape.

"You expect me to drink this?"

"You have major nutritional deficiencies that could cause you serious harm as you grow older and are best treated when you are younger." Rose sighed and tipped the bottle back, swallowing it in one gulp and shuddering at the taste.

"Right, explain this world to me."

Rose nodded when Remus finished his explanation of the Wizarding World. A lot of things made more sense now, including why he was so adamant that he couldn't be their guardian. It appeared Wizards were as prejudiced as Muggles (and that word would take some getting used to). "The ministry still won't allow it," Remus said stubbornly. They were in the Hospital Wing, arguing it over. "You know they won't. Especially after that Umbridge woman came to power. I can barely get a job." Rose had been thinking hard and as Harry's shoulders slumped in dejection she spoke up.

"You could adopt me, right? They wouldn't have a problem with that, would they, 'cause I'm only a Muggle?"

"They'd probably accept that," Remus admitted.

"Okay …" Rose lent back against the headboard, thinking hard. "Is there some way that I could become Harry's relative? I mean, he's the head of his family now, right? So if he could adopt me as a sibling, and then Remus adopted me, he'd be able to take care of Harry as well, because he'd be a relative now, and no one makes a fuss about it if you're related to the kid." The last few were tinged with bitterness, and Remus wondered once again at the kind of life this girl had lead. "Also," she added, thoughtfully. "if Harry's family is as rich as you say they are, then you won't have to worry about getting a job or earning money, so the rules laid down by this Umbridge woman won't affect you."

"That's some very well thought out circular logic," Snape said. "You'd make a fine Slytherin. And what's more, I think it might just work. You'd have to talk to the goblins at Gringotts, but I don't see why it wouldn't work." Remus stared at the blonde teenager.

"Did you just think your way through loopholes of a law in a world that you only became aware of yesterday?" Rose shrugged.

"I've always been good with loopholes. How do we get to this Diagon Alley place?"

They flooed to Diagon Alley, since Harry had vetoed apparating again considering how sick it had made him the first time. Professor McGonogall had transfigured some bed sheets into robes for them, and the sight of two magical teenagers with their 'father' out shopping didn't raise as many eyebrows as obviously Muggle-dressed teenagers would have done. Harry held Rose's hand as they walked through the Alley, his eyes wide behind his glasses as he took in everything around them.

"Where are we going Remus?" Rose asked, looking around warily. Behind her indifferent mask, Rose was just as awed as Harry, but she'd learnt to hide it better.

"Gringotts," Remus replied. "The Wizarding Bank. All blood adoptions are done there and most normal ones can be done there as well. Do you have Harry's key?" Before they left Hogwarts, Dumbledore had handed Rose a tiny golden key that he said opened Harry's vault.

"Yes," Rose replied. "It's quite safe."

"Good. Here we are." He gestured ahead of them to the large white-marble building. Two strange creatures stood either side of the doors, and Rose paused to read the poem engraved above the entrance way.

"Enter stranger, but take heed,

Of what awaits the sin of greed,

For those who take, but do not earn,

Must pay most dearly in their turn.

So if you seek beneath our floors,

A treasure that was never yours,

Thief you have been warned, beware,

Of finding more than treasure there." She quirked an eyebrow at the not-so-veiled threat. On the streets you got a feel for threats that were serious and ones that were little more than bluffs, and these goblins were either deadly serious or better at bluffing than anyone she'd ever met, and Harry had a mean poker face when he wanted one. Nodding to the goblins, she followed Harry and Remus inside.

Taking a deep breath, Remus headed towards one of the free goblins. "Hello, we'd like to speak to the manager of the Potter Estate please." The goblin peered down at him.

"And what authority do you have?" Remus pushed Harry forwards and the boy looked fearlessly up at the goblin.

"This is Harry Potter, the last surviving scion of the House of Potter." The goblin nodded.

"Very well. Griphook! Take them to see Longclaw please." Another goblin came over and looked them over.

"Follow me please." They walked for about ten minutes down hallways hewn from rock, watching other goblins passing by on their errands. Rose noticed that Remus was looking around nervously.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly.

"Goblins don't like me much," he replied, equally quietly. "I'm a werewolf and I don't have much money. I hope they won't hold that against you." Harry, who had been listening in on their conversation frowned.

"I would have thought goblins would be more professional than that?" Remus smiled down at him.

"Yes, I would have thought so too, but not many people like werewolves Harry, and I tend to worry over these things."

About ten minutes later, they came to a large wooden double-door and Griphook knocked on it and then waited. After a few seconds, a croaky voice said, "Come in." The room was clearly an office, with filing cabinets stacked high around the room, but it clearly belonged to a very important personage. The carpet was a deep plush red and the walls were panelled wood. Clear glass globes hung from the ceiling, putting out a bright, clean light. There was a desk in front of them, made of some kind of dark-coloured wood and behind it sat a rather aged goblin. Rose couldn't have told you why she thought he was old, only that he seemed to exude a sense of age, much as his office did. "Ah," he said, raising his head and fixing them with his sharp eyes. "Mr Harry Potter. I wondered when I'd be seeing you again."

"I'm afraid I don't remember you," Harry said politely. "But I hope I would be right in assuming that you are Longclaw and the manager of the Potter estate?" The goblin wheezed out a laugh.

"You would be correct Mr Potter. Please take a seat, and your friends are …?" Griphook was summarily dismissed.

"Oh um, this is Remus Lupin, he's taking care of me today, and this is …" he hesitated slightly, for Rose had never told him her last name. Longclaw's sharp eyes missed nothing. "Rose."

"You are interesting, Miss Rose," he said turning to her. "It's rare that a Muggle is friends enough with a wizard to enter the Wizarding World." Rose's eyes lit up.

"You can tell if someone is of magical or muggle descent that easily? I didn't realise it was so obvious." Longclaw wheezed again.

"Obvious is the wrong word Miss Rose, but no, goblins in general can't. I, however, have been around for a great many years and I have taught myself to sense the magic in a person. Also, I have wards around my office, and you didn't set them off."

"Wards can only be set off by magical beings?"

"Most wards yes, for many ward makers don't consider non-magical beings a threat, but some wards will keep anyone out, and specific wards that pertain to muggles will let wizards through only." Rose's eyes widened and she nodded, taking in the information. "Now, fascinating as this is, I am sure you didn't come here to discuss wards with me, so if we could get down to business?" Rose nodded again, and both her and Remus looked to Harry. They had decided earlier that it would be best if he explained.

"Of course," the boy said. "First of all, Remus would like to adopt Rose as his daughter and then I would like to adopt her as my sister."

"Ah," the goblin said, giving what passed for a grin amongst his race. "A way around the new werewolf laws, hmm? I think it will even work, especially because we need not give the ministry a copy of the adoption papers."

"I thought there was a law against that?" Remus asked, speaking for the first time.

"Oh no," Longclaw said. "although we have long since fallen into the habit, it is not a law as such, besides, we have no more reason to like the ministry at the moment than you do, Mr Lupin." He bared his teeth in a silent snarl at the mention of the ministry. "But those are our problems. Blood or paper adoptions?"

"Blood for me," Harry replied. "But paper for Remus."

"Of course," Longclaw agreed.

Griphook was sent for the relevant documents, and Rose's adoption as Remus' daughter was quite straight forward. There was a large document that they had to sign and initial, and Remus had finished his half before he realised that Rose was going much more slowly. Not only was she struggling with writing with a quill, but she was reading every word she put her name to. Longclaw nodded in approval; it was a good practise to get into if she was going to be important in the Wizarding world and goblins respected those who were smart and knew how to make deals and negotiate. After several minutes, Rose reached the line where she needed to write her new name. She wrote 'Rose' and then stopped. "Do I need a middle name?" she asked, looking to Longclaw questioningly.

"Not necessarily," he replied. Rose nodded and paused for a moment, before writing 'Lily Lupin' after her first name and handing the quill back to Longclaw, Harry leant into her side as she did so, showing his appreciation for her taking his mother's name.

"It says here you need a witness," Harry pointed to the relevant sentence. "But I'm a minor. I can't witness it, can I?"

"No," Longclaw said, looking chagrined. "I had forgotten, so few adoptions are done these days."

"Can't you witness it?" In the ensuing silence, she began to wonder if she had said something wrong, as both Remus and Longclaw looked at her in shock, although Longclaw mostly in awe now she came to think of it.

"Well, can he?" Harry asked, when the silence stretched on too long.

"If Mr Lupin does not have any objections?" Remus still looked pole-axed, but he managed to recover enough of his faculties to reply.

"No … no objections." It was with an almost soft expression that Longclaw signed his name in a curling hand at the bottom of the document. The ink glowed gold for a second, and then the parchment vanished.

"Wow," Harry said quietly.

"Tell me, Miss Lupin," Longclaw said, fixing his eyes on her. "Are all Muggles like this?"

"Like what?" Rose asked.

"So much more … open minded?" Rose's eyes grew distant, like she was looking into the past.

"No, not really."

"Pity," the goblin murmured.

Harry's adoption of Rose was a much more elaborate and involved affair, and while Griphook collected all of the items needed, Longclaw told them a little about the blood adoption. It was old magic, magic so old that it had almost ceased to be magic anymore; a drop of blood, shared between too people would unite them as family members. Muggles even had a version of it – when children play at being 'blood brothers' – that is a much cruder and simpler version of the ritual that wizards use. It had started in the dark ages, when wizard's were all about power and lineage. A common child who was found to have strong magic, may well be adopted into a Lord's family, and a child with weak or no magic cast out, to give them power and prestige. Quite often against the child's will, but once done it could not be undone, and in this way many ancient houses had died out as children were stolen and numbers dwindled. Nowadays, it was more commonly used by someone who wanted to make a child, adopted or a distant relative into their heir in blood as well as in name.

When Griphook returned, he was carrying a scroll of parchment, a small golden key and a dagger with a burnished bright blade. Unscrolled, the parchment was blank, but when Harry used the dagger to cut his finger, a drop of blood fell onto the parchment and ink began to appear. It started at the bottom, with Harry's name and then moved on up, filling in all the way to the top of the parchment, where there was a name in an ancient hand:

Godric Gryffindor

"Godric Gry … Gryff …" Harry struggled to read the swirling writing.

"Gryffindor," Rose said softly, also staring at the name. "Godric Gryffindor, one of the four founders of Hogwarts."

"How do you know that?" Remus asked, astonished.

"It's obvious isn't it? Besides, you told us yourself." Rose sighed at Remus' blank look of incomprehension. "When we were talking about the Wizarding world you mentioned that Hogwarts has four houses, Slytherin, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw and Dumbledore said they were named after the four founders. Isn't it logical to assume that Godric Gryffindor is the man it was named after? Particularly as you were in that house and you're looking at the name with a peculiar reverence." Harry laughed.

"I don't know why I'm surprised, you've always been a genius Rose."

Longclaw tapped the desk to get their attention again and handed the dagger to Rose. "Miss Lupin, cut your hand with the dagger and say your name clearly." Rose traced the dagger across her palm, causing blood to well up along the line.

"I am Rose Lily Lupin." She handed the dagger to Harry, who also cut his palm.

"I am Harry …" there was the slightest of pauses as Harry glanced towards his family tree for his middle name. " … James Potter. I claim Rose Lily Lupin as my sister, Rose Lily Potter." Reaching across, he grabbed Rose's hand, pressing their cuts together. There was a flash of blinding white light, and Rose slumped in her chair.

Both cuts were healed, only faint silver lines on their palms showing where they had been. Harry had not changed at all, but Rose had. When she opened her eyes again, they were as green as Harry's and her hair was a slightly darker shade of blonde. There were a few faint changes to her facial structure, making her look more like Harry, and Longclaw privately thought that she looked the image of Lady Dorea Potter, Harry's grandmother. Seeing the way Remus looked at her he guessed that the werewolf could see the resemblance as well.

"Now you are truly a Potter, as if you had been born to that line yourself," Longclaw said. He handed her the key that Griphook had brought in. "This is your vault key. It only opens the vault for the trust fund that Lord James and Lady Lily Potter set up for their children, but when you turn seventeen you will be given access to all of the Potter estate. You will also be able to claim the title of Lady Potter and become the official head of the family, but you cannot claim the Potter seat on the Wizengamot until you turn twenty-one." He bowed his head to all of them. "Is there anything else I can help you with today?"

"We would like to take some money out of the trust vault, please," Rose said. "An amount enough to buy school supplies for Harry and a wardrobe for both of us."

"Of course," Longclaw said. "Griphook will take you to your vault." As they stood, he came around from behind his desk and held out his hand. "It was a pleasure doing business with you, Mr Potter, Miss Potter, Mr Lupin."

"Likewise," they echoed, shaking his hand.

As they were walking back down the corridor behind Griphook, Harry sighed and shook his head. "I know you must've explained it to me, Rose, but I still don't see how it helps us." Rose looked down at him patiently.

"Before, Harry, if we'd filed for a magical guardian for you, Remus wouldn't have been considered and we wouldn't have had much choice in who got guardianship of you. This way, Remus is automatically your guardian because he's now a relative and it will be very hard for them to gainsay that, if they ever even get their hands on the documents."

"Why wouldn't they?" Harry asked.

"Well, goblin's are clever," Rose replied. "And if they put the documents in the main Potter vault, no one will be able to see them, or take them out until I'm seventeen, so no one will know that you weren't always in Remus' care, which has a lot more weight if it was approved by your parents before the new laws came in. Anyway, when I turn seventeen it will be a moot point anyway, because I'd bee your closest adult relative, so I'd get guardianship of you." Harry grinned and nodded, safe in the knowledge that his sister was three steps ahead of everyone else, except maybe Longclaw and Dumbledore, but even then it was a close run thing.

I've read so many different interpretations of blood adoptions, and I tried to make one that was completely my own, but please tell me if I've inadvertently copied anything from somebody else's work. I don't think I have, but I'd like to be sure.

Also, thanks to everyone who's reviewed, I hope you're enjoying the story so far. I've only just realised how long this is going to be, especially as I have some ideas for after Hogwarts, so this may take a while to finish, but please stick with me.

Thanks, Catkin Thief