Using the prompt 'threat'

Chapter Twenty-Four

Rose didn't know what to make of the scrawny owl that had come fluttering into the kitchen two mornings after her return. She had been sitting at the table with a bowl of cereal in front of her – Harry with the Prophet open – when it landed in front of them.

Normally, an owl wasn't an issue (after all, that was how they got their mail) but Rose didn't recognise this owl and nor did Harry, judging by the look on his face.

Rose watched her uncle as he sat there, staring at the creature. She wasn't going to open it. But he wasn't going to either.

"It might be important," she said to him after a while. Maybe it was Ministry business.

Harry nodded as the small, brown owl fluttered its wings violently, sending feathers into Rose's bowl of cereal. He detached the envelope from its leg and looked at the writing on the front. He frowned.

"It's addressed to you and Hugo," he said, flipping the envelope around to show her. Small writing was printed clearly on the front. Harry was right. It was a letter for her and Hugo.

"Maybe it's Scorpius' dad?" Rose wondered, accepting the letter. She studied it. The handwriting didn't look familiar.

Harry shook his head. "I know Draco Malfoy's handwriting. The Aurors and the lawyers work fairly closely together. And if it was from him, he would have attached the Ministry's or his own seal to it."

Rose swallowed. "Well... should I open it then?" she questioned uncertainly. Should she wait for Hugo? He had gone to the Burrow with Ginny for the morning. Apparently Molly needed a hand with something.

Distracting him, probably.

Harry shrugged. "I don't see why not. Just..." He paused, then shook his head when Rose looked up at him expectantly.

"What?" she questioned.

Harry shook his head again. "Nothing... just be careful, okay?"

Careful? What was Harry expecting? For the letter to explode once she opened it?

The owl was still squawking impatiently on the table, nipping at Harry's fingers.

"Go away," Harry demanded, trying to shoo it.

"I think it wants some kind of payment," Rose said.

"Well, it's not getting any."

The owl nipped him hard on the finger, drawing blood. Harry swore.

Rose chucked it some dry cereal. This seemed to be satisfactory enough for the wretched creature, because as soon as the owl had it, it took flight and was gone.

"You shouldn't do that, Rose," Harry accused, sucking on his finger to try and stop the blood. "You don't know that owl."

It was just an owl! Her uncle was becoming paranoid in his old age.

"Do you want me to open it or not?" she demanded.

Harry nodded. "Please do," he said.

Rose wasn't sure what she was expecting once she opened the letter, but it certainly wasn't that. She jumped back in her chair, a cry of fright on her lips, as the brown parchment not only caught alight, but gave a piercing cry that hurt her ears.

Harry and Ginny's owl – who was sleeping on her perch – woke and squawked in fright at the terrible sound. Rose covered her ears from the dreadful noise, but it made no difference. Eventually, Harry was forced to put a Silencing Charm on it.

"What... was... that?" Rose panted, staring at the letter in shock.

Harry visibly swallowed, looking uneasily at the letter. "It was what I thought it might have been," he said.

"Which was?"

"A threat."

"From who?" Rose demanded. Who would be sending her and Hugo a threat?

"Begonia Webb," Harry answered bluntly. "You had your ears covered, but underneath all that screeching, there was a message I am very grateful you didn't hear."

"What did it say?" Rose wanted to know. All she had heard was a lot of noise. There had been no words.

Before she had a chance to glance down at the written words, Harry snatched the letter from her. Despite it having caught fire, it was perfectly unharmed. Rose had never seen a letter quite like it.

"I'm not going to tell you, Rosie," Harry said.

Just another secret he was keeping from her.

"Was... was that a Howler?" Rose then asked. She had never received a Howler before, but she remembered the time, early in her fourth year, when Lily had received one from her mother. Rose couldn't even remember what it had been about now, but she remembered it wasn't pleasant.

"A version of it," Harry answered, nodding. "Though, I believe this one has been charmed more so than any others I've seen before. And I see weird things all the time."

It was Rose's turn to swallow. "I'd really appreciate it if you told me what it said, Uncle Harry," she said, trying to keep her temper under control. He'd never said he'd tell her everything, but when she had returned, she assumed he would. After all, he had promised to stop treating her like a child after she left.

Harry shook his head. "I'm sorry, Rose, but that is something you don't need to hear. What I will ask you, though, is that you do not go anywhere – including this house – without someone else with you."

"So, basically, I'm locked up?" Rose said.

Harry nodded. "If that's what it takes to keep you safe, then yes. The ideal option would be for you and Hugo to return to Hogwarts, but I'm not going to force you to do that when you're not ready."

"The letter was bad, wasn't it?" Rose then said.

Harry reluctantly gave another nod, looking down at the neat handwriting. Rose desperately wanted to read it, but at the same time she wasn't sure if she did. What would she find? "It is a threat on your lives, Rosie. I will tell you that much. I don't want you or Hugo going anywhere by yourselves. She's a dangerous woman and when they were alive, your mum and dad did everything they could to keep you safe from her. It's my turn now."

Rose nodded slowly. She didn't want to die, nor did she want to see this woman unless she was safely inside the Ministry – or Azkaban, though she didn't want to have to go there – with plenty of guards around her.

Harry buried his face in his hands, which worried Rose even more. Even he was scared. "I should never have taken Hugo," he said.

Rose looked down at her cereal bowl. She didn't feel all that hungry anymore. Just sick.

"I'm... I'm going to go up to my room if that's okay," she said, getting slowly to her feet.

Harry looked up at her. "Okay," he said. "I have to go to the Ministry –"

Oh, please don't leave me alone!

"– but I will wait until Ginny gets back. This threat should be enough to get her back in there."

Well, that was some relief, even if it still didn't bring Rose any comfort. It terrified her more than she ever cared to let on.

She made her way slowly from the kitchen to the staircase, taking her time to reach the next landing. Her mind was going through many things as she walked to her bedroom. The woman had sent them a letter. That must mean she knew where they were staying (that's obviously thanks to Uncle Harry taking Hugo to see her).

Rose couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if she had found Rose at her home in Huddersfield. What would she have done? Killed her? Rose had a wand and she was allowed to use it in self-defence. But even her parents couldn't fight her. What chance did a fifteen year old have? There had been two of them. There was only one of her.

Solemnly, she lay down on her bed, staring at the blank ceiling. Patterns from the window whirled around with help of the sunlight, but she heeded them no attention.

All she could think about was the letter. And Hugo. And her parents.

It was all a big mess. She just wanted it to be over and done with. Why did it have to be so complicated for someone who killed someone to be sent to Azkaban? Why did they have to find hard evidence that she had done it? Everyone knew she did, so surely that was as much proof as they needed.

"I'm scared," she said, the words feeling cowardly coming from her lips. "I'm scared she's going to kill me."

She'd never realised how much the idea terrified her. She had been struck down – hard – with grief, so much so that she hadn't had much time to consider any other emotion. But now that her mind was capable of processing more thoughts, she realised how scared she was. A week ago, she hadn't cared what happened to her. She hadn't cared whether she lived or died, was sent to Azkaban, or lived in the Forbidden Forest for the rest of her life. None of that had mattered when she was grieving.

But she remembered the pain, the tears they tried to hide and the sadness she had witnessed on everyone's faces. They loved her mum and dad and for some stupid reason, they loved Rose too. If anything ever happened to her, she didn't want to be the cause of more pain.

And she didn't want to die, either. She didn't want to die like her mum and dad did. She was only fifteen. She had so much she wanted to do.

So did Mum and Dad.

But they got the chance to fall in love, get married, have kids, travel, use magic outside of Hogwarts, live in their own place. They already did so much. Rose hadn't even kissed a boy yet. She wanted to do everything they had done and more.

They'd want that for her. She was sure of it.

"Rose, are you in there?"

Rose sat up on her bed. "Yes," she answered weakly.

The door opened and Harry stuck his head around the corner. "Ginny and Hugo are home now," he said. "They are aware of the situation. If you need anything, Aunt Ginny's just downstairs, okay?"

Rose nodded. "Okay," she said. "And Hugo?"

"He's with her."

"Okay. I might just stay here for a little bit, if that's okay?" The room brought her comfort. She was safe here.

"That's fine," Harry said. "I'll try to not be too long. I need to speak to Draco Malfoy, as well as inform the Aurors of the situation. I daresay Webb will be brought in again." He closed the door and his footsteps faded into silence.

Rose didn't know how long she lay there until her door was opened again. This time it was Hugo. He had a grim expression and looked just as terrified as she felt. The moment he sat on her bed, she wrapped her arms around him.

"It'll be okay," she said. "They'll get her."

"What did the letter say?" Hugo asked.

"I don't know," Rose answered, drawing her brother into a tighter hug. "Uncle Harry wouldn't tell me. All I know is it pretty much said she was going to kill us, too."

Hugo was silent for a moment, then, "I'm scared, Rosie," he admitted.

"Me too, Hu," Rose answered. "I'm terrified. I don't want to die."

"What if she does find us?"

Hugo's question was followed by silence. Rose didn't have an answer for him. The same question had been playing in her head for hours now. What if Harry and Ginny and the Ministry couldn't protect them? Her parents were two of the most powerful people in the wizarding world and if they couldn't survive her attack, what chance did anyone else have?

She thought back to what Harry had said earlier. The ideal option would be for you and Hugo to return to Hogwarts...

Was she ready, though? The school year was almost ending. Summer was beginning. It grew warmer every day. There'd be no point.

But they would be safe there. Everyone was safe at Hogwarts. Professor Gimp wouldn't let anything happen to any of his students, and Professor Longbottom wouldn't either, especially not his Gryffindors.

Gryffindor.

In that moment, Rose felt like a mockery to the name. Gryffindors were brave and loyal. They were daring. She didn't possess any of those qualities right now. She was absolutely terrified of what would happen to her and she didn't dare put her life in danger.

Her parents would be ashamed. They'd sacrificed so much more when they were her age. They'd given up so much. They were true Gryffindors. She was probably only there because of her name.

"Rosie?"

Rose returned to her bedroom as she realised Hugo was still waiting for an answer. She shook her head, giving a weak smile. "She won't," she said. Someone needed to believe it. "She won't kill us, Hugo."

Even as the words left her mouth, she knew she wasn't convincing. Her parents' murderer knew where they were and she knew what they looked like. It would be simple for her to get them alone, to single them out, and then to kill them. There was nothing stopping her.

Even when Harry returned an hour later, claiming that Scorpius' dad was already planning a court case, because the threat on their lives was enough evidence, it brought her no comfort. That would mean she would one day have to face this woman. She would have to look her in the eye and see the evilness this person had and the glee she felt at having her revenge.

There would be no remorse, and no regret. There would just be satisfaction. And Rose knew that would break her more than her parents' deaths already had. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to go through it.

And here is chapter 24. I hope you all like, and I still have plenty of places open if you would like me to write you a fic next year. I promise that I won't bite :) PM me, even if I've never spoken to you before. I really don't mind. And your reviews would be much appreciated on this chapter!