Hallowe'en this year fell on a Saturday. While she longed to see Sirius's familiar face immediately, she knew better than to call him before noon. She pushed herself up, and pulled aside the blue hangings on her bed. Luna already seemed to be awake. She was sitting on her bed, reading a book on Defense Against the Dark Arts. It was a good idea - Professor Lockhart wasn't exactly doing much more than telling stories about himself, so those who wanted to actually learn useful content had to teach themselves.
"Nightmare?" Luna asked sympathetically. Rosie nodded, and shuddered.
"What do you think it meant?" Luna asked. Rosie looked over at Luna. It was curious, how Luna just seemed to know things. Rosie didn't often question it, but at times, she felt like Luna saw more than anyone else did. Curiously, Romulus could also be that way too.
"Harry," Rosie murmured. "He's been weird lately, but no one else seems to notice. Sometimes, I wonder if it's all in my head."
"Hmm. He does like he's in the grips of something, doesn't he?" Luna replied placidly.
"You noticed it too?"
"It's important to keep your eyes as open as your mind. How else can you see anything otherwise?" Luna replied mysteriously, before returning to her textbook.
"Do you want to go study down at the Library?" Rosie asked, after changing out of her pyjamas. "Maybe Harry, Hermione and Neville are there." Rosie and Luna had studied with Harry and his friends a few times. She could tell that Hermione and Neville didn't quite know what to make of Luna, but at least they were polite. Luna nodded, and the pair of them made their way down to the common room. She noticed that Romulus was sitting in his usual chair by the window. Rosie walked over to him.
"Hi Rom. Luna and I are going down to the library to work on our homework. D'you wanna come?" Romulus looked up at her, his eyes as unreadable as ever.
"I've already finished all my homework," he said. "But-" He paused and looked thoughtful. Rosie waited patiently for his reply.
"I should get a book on Potions. I have an extra assignment that I need to do." Romulus said. Once the words slipped from his mouth, he suddenly wondered why he felt the need to reveal so much information.
"An extra assignment?" Rosie asked.
"Professor Snape gave me one. After making me brew the Girding potion.."
"That's a third year potion!" Rosie exclaimed. Romulus nodded. Rosie and even Luna looked impressed.
As they headed down the spiral stairs, Rosie asked: "What's your assignment?"
"An essay on the Wit-Sharpening Potion, after which, I will have to brew it."
"You're already starting on fourth year potions?" Rosie asked. Romulus nodded.
The library was quite busy since it was the weekend. Harry and his friends weren't in sight, so Rosie and Luna found a table while Romulus wandered through the aisles, looking for his book. There were a lot of Ravenclaws in the library that day, and they shot dirty looks at Luna and Rosie. However, in the presence of Madam Pince, they did not dare to do anything overt, that would cause them to be kicked out of the library. It was seen as a mark of shame in the Ravenclaw House to be hated by Madam Pince. The students did their best to avoid such an ignominious fate.
In the afternoon, Rosie put all her homework and books in her bookbag, and decided to go looking for Harry. Luna had already wandered off earlier ("I have to see if the orange marmalade I left out attracted any Birshmoops.") She wanted to call Sirius, but it felt wrong doing it without Harry. Especially on Hallowe'en. She wandered around, checking his usual haunts. He wasn't by the lake, or in the owlery. He wasn't in the Great Hall, or in any of the courtyards. She asked a couple passing Gryffindors if they had seen Harry in their common room, but the shook their heads in negation.
With a disappointed sigh, Rosie found a quiet spot by a large window, and sat on the wide stone sill. "Sirius," she said into the square mirror. Sirius's welcome and familiar face appeared almost right away.
"Hey, pup," he said. He seemed to be scanning her surroundings. "Where's Harry?"
"Hi, Padfoot. I - I couldn't find him anywhere." Sirius looked disappointed, but he did his best to hide it.
"How are you holding up, pup?"
"Hallowe'ens are always hard," Rosie replied, pursing her lips.
"I know. They're hard for me too." They were silent for a moment, lost in memories of the past.
"How are you classes?" Sirius asked, breaking the silence.
"Hm. Well, we finally started the practical component in Charms." Rosie smiled weakly. "It's a fun class. There's this Gryffindor girl there, Ginny, and I think she's got a thing for Harry." Sirius chuckled with amusement.
"She's got a crush?"
"Well, some sort of hero-worship-thing." Rosie spoke a little more about her classes, telling Sirius the things she was learning. She also mentioned Luna and Toby, and how the issue still had not been resolved.
"Why haven't you pranked him yet?" Sirius asked.
"Padfoot! Be serious," she laughed. It always seemed ridiculous to tell Sirius to be serious. "Not all problems can be solved with pranks."
"Not all - but a good number of them," Sirius quipped.
"If you say so-" Rosie shook her head and smiled.
"So-" she started, and then paused.
"What is it, pup?" Rosie was silent for a moment as she gathered her thoughts.
"Since - well - we aren't seeing mum and dad over Hallowe'en, does that mean we'll see them over Christmas this year?"
Sirius's expression was sudden solemn. "Yeah, I think so pup." Rosie nodded.
"They - they shouldn't be alone," she choked out. Sirius agreed, sympathetically.
"Well, I suppose I should go. I'll see if I can find Harry again, and maybe give you a call later if I do. Love you, Snuffles!"
"Love you too, pup."
Harry had described the Hallowe'en feast to Rosie, but seeing it for the first time still filled her with awe and amazement. She had met up with Luna in the halls (after unsuccessfully searching for Harry for almost the entire afternoon). They entered the large double doors together, and stared up in wonderment at the multitude of bats fluttering about, creating a roiling black mass in the ceiling. The immense pumpkin lanterns gave off a spooky orange glow. Scattered throughout the Hall were pumpkins and immense black cauldrons, full to the brim with all sorts of candy. The tables and walls were decorated with orange streamers. Rosie walked up to a cauldron and grabbed a couple lollipops shaped like skulls. She handed one to Luna, who immediately popped it into her mouth.
"Mm. Apple," she murmured.
They walked over to the Ravenclaw table, and sat next to Romulus. The feast materialized in front of them, and the selection was just as impressive as the one at the Sorting Feast, though there was a decided Hallowe'en theme. Rosie looked towards the Gryffindor table, and was alarmed to see that Harry, Hermione and Neville were absent. Where could they possibly be? At least they were together. Rosie would have been much more concerned if it was only Harry who was gone.
Rosie ate her food quietly, tuning out the celebratory mood around her. It was hard to celebrate, knowing the things that had happened on this day. Instead, she kept an eye towards the front entrance, wondering when Harry and his friends would show up. Near the end of the feast, Hermione and Neville finally walked through the doors towards the Gryffindor table. Rosie kept looking towards the doors, but Harry did not follow behind them.
Her internal alarm bells ringing, she left the Ravenclaw table and made her way to Hermione and Neville.
"Hi Rosie," Neville and Hermione said, when they saw her approaching them.
"Hey," she replied, barely able to hide her concern. "You're so late. Where were you three? Where's Harry?"
"We were at Sir Nicholas's deathday party, with the all the ghosts," Hermione replied. "It was -" she scrunched up her nose in distaste.
"It was pretty bad," Neville finished off. "It was cold, gloomy and they were serving rancid food." Neville looked vaguely green as he described it.
"Harry stayed behind," Hermione added. "He said he was enjoying himself." Hermione's expression was rather incredulous as she said this. It seemed odd, but at least she knew where Harry had gone.
"Okay. Thanks. Well, enjoy the rest of the feast!" Rosie said to Hermione and Neville. They grinned, and began digging into the food with gusto.
Rosie returned to the Ravenclaw table. The main course had disappeared and dessert was starting to appear. Everything seemed to be Hallowe'en themed: there were cupcakes decorated with little skeletons, bat-shaped jello, orange and black pudding, graveyard cake, candied apples, pumpkin cookies and all manner of other sweets. Rosie took a cupcake, and then glanced over at Luna.
"You stopped wearing your dirigible-plum earrings?" she asked, when she noticed that Luna's earrings were gone.
"Oh, I couldn't find them. I seem to have misplaced them," Luna replied airily. Across the table Edine and Sakiko snickered. Rosie glared at them angrily, her appetite for dessert lost.
"Come on, Luna. Let's go look for them," Rosie said, trying to keep her irritation in check. Luna grabbed a couple cookies and stood up to follow.
"I'll come with you," Romulus said. Rosie looked at him in surprise. It didn't seem like him to just offer to follow. However, Romulus knew that between Rosie and Luna, they'd probably never find the earrings. At least with his sharp nose, there was a chance.
The three of them left the Great Hall. As they walked along the corridors, Rosie began to hear that hissing voice again.
"Hungry…. So hungry….must tear….must kill…." It was that snake again!
"Luna, Rom, I think there's a snake trapped in the walls," Rosie said. "I heard it a couple of weeks ago. Poor thing - if it hasn't eaten yet, it must be ravenous. Come on!"
She dashed up the stairs to the second floor, trying to follow the sound. Romulus was uneasy - something smelled off. Luna meanwhile seemed content to forget about her earrings and munched on her pumpkin cookies serenely, as she let Rosie lead the way.
"Blood…." the voice hissed. "I smell blood."
"Primrose," Romulus said, grabbing Rosie's arm before she could dash off. "I smell blood. I don't think it's a good idea to go up ahead." Rosie furrowed her brow, looking at Romulus, and then at the turn up ahead. She felt conflicted and undecided. If there was a snake in the castle, it would need help finding it's way out. On the other hand, she did not know how dangerous the snake was. Some snakes had a tendency to act first and think later.
"Let's just take a peek. If it's dangerous, we'll go back," Rosie said. Romulus frowned, but nodded. Luna simply tilted her head, as though considering.
The three of them walked slowly towards the corner, and peeked their heads around. They stared, wide-eyed when they saw the message, looking blackish-red and wet on the walls: 'The chamber of secrets has been opened. The heir has come again.'
Underneath the message, there seemed to be a large puddle of water. Rosie gasped when she noticed the body, looking stiff and awkward. It was Duncan Inglebee! One of the first year Ravenclaws! Neither Rosie, Romulus nor Luna dared to edge any closer.
"We have to get help!" Rosie exclaimed. Romulus nodded, about to dash off, but down the hall, they could hear the patter of hundreds of footsteps, and the animated voices of the students. It seemed that the feast had finished. As the mass of students made their way along the corridor, they stopped when they saw the message on the wall.
"The heir has come again!" a blond-haired boy exclaimed, sounded excited.
"The heir has risen?" a female voice replied hopefully, sounding suspiciously like Astrid.
However, the group of students soon noticed the stiff figure on the floor. Several of the girls screamed when they saw Duncan Inglebee's body.
"He's dead!" one of them shrieked. This was enough to cause a panic, and all the students started pushing and shoving as they tried to escape the hallway. The footsteps of the students trying to get away sounded thunderous, and Rosie could hear one of the teachers in the background, trying to gain control of the panicked mob. However, the students were frantic until the voice of Professor Dumbledore cut through the crowd.
"Stop!" he called out, his voice echoing through the halls, calm and commanding. The students all seemed to freeze in place. "Students! Form into pairs and walk calmly towards the entrance Hall. No pushing now! When you get to the entrance hall, your prefects will lead you to your rooms."
The words, sounding so calm and so normal seemed to settle the students, and they meekly obeyed. Rosie looked at Romulus and Luna, and the trio decided join the crowd. Whatever was happening was far beyond their scope.
In the entrance hall, Rosie, Luna and Romulus met up with the other Ravenclaws. Penny Clearwater, their prefect, did a headcount, and frowned when she realized one of the students was missing. However, at that moment, Professor Flitwick signaled her aside, and Penny bent over while he whispered something in her ear. Penny's eyes widened, but she nodded and returned to the waiting Ravenclaws.
"Come on then, Eagles. Follow me," she said, her voice subdued. Sensing her troubled mood, the Ravenclaws followed silently. However, Alec Perriss seemed particularly troubled. He pushed his way past the older Ravenclaws and walked in step beside Rosie and her friends.
"Have you guys seen Duncan?" he asked quietly, his expression obviously upset. "He went to use the bathroom during the feast, and didn't come back afterwards." Duncan and Alec were best friends. Rosie looked at Romulus before looking back at Alec.
"Duncan is -" Rosie frowned. She didn't know what Duncan was. She hoped to Merlin that he wasn't dead, but he whatever he was, it didn't look good.
"He's being taken to the Hospital Wing," Romulus finished off. The blood drained from Alec's face.
"Is he all right?" Alec asked, frightened.
"We're not sure," Rosie replied. She felt shaken by what she had seen. She remembered how Harry had told her there was a troll last year, and now there was this? Was Hogwarts even safe?
When the Ravenclaws were back in their Nest, word had quickly gotten around that something had happened to one of their first years. The rumours were flying thick and fast, growing ever more exaggerated. Eventually, Penny had to clear up the situation by explain that no, Duncan had not been murdered by Death Eaters. He was alive - just petrified. This seemed to be a relief to the students. It was still disturbing that he was petrified, but at least he wasn't dead.
Of course, this did not quell the discussion at all. Now it was turning into an intellectual debate about what could have petrified one of the Ravenclaws. There was also extensive discussion about where the Chamber of Secrets could be located. As for Toby Woodbridge, he felt extremely fascinated by the turn of events. His intelligence was both a blessing and a curse - he found that he got bored particularly easily, and these recent events had captured his interest. He hadn't had this much fun in ages, but of course, he schooled his face to look properly upset, just like the rest of the students. To the rest of the Ravenclaws, the situation was a mystery that they were determined to get to the bottom of.
The whole thing was far too much for Rosie to bear. Hallowe'en was a difficult enough day as it was. She hadn't even caught sight of Harry at all! What if something had happened to him? Could he have been petrified too? Yet, she could still feel him through the link, and there was no sense of distress, so she had to assume that he was alive and well. Feeling emotionally drained, she trudged up the steps to her dorm, and threw herself on her bed, ready for the day to be over.
The following day was a Sunday, and Rosie had only one goal: Find Harry. She asked Luna if she wanted to come along, but Luna declined, claiming that she had a brilliant idea for a new project, and needed to gather the materials for it. Romulus wasn't in the common room, but even if he had been, he likely wouldn't have had any interest in finding Harry. She had tried introducing Romulus to Harry and his friends once before, but Romulus seemed determine to be as silent as a stone that day, and it had turned out to be an extremely awkward introduction.
Considering how difficult Harry had been to find yesterday, she was expecting the same today. Thus, when she made her way to the Great Hall for breakfast, she was surprised to see Harry there with Hermione and Neville, sitting at the Gryffindor table. He waved at her, with his familiar smile on his lips. Feeling stunned, Rosie froze for a moment, before walking over to the table on shaky legs. Was this a dream? She was so used to Harry being weird and distant that his warm smile was almost unreal.
"Harry?" she said, while Hermione and Neville greeted her.
"Rosie?" Harry replied with a light jesting tone that echoed her intonation. "You're being weird. Come, sit." He scooted over and made a space for her at the Gryffindor table between him and Neville.
"What's with that look, Rosie?" Harry inquired, scanning Rosie's face. "You're acting like you've just seen a ghost - and not a Hogwarts ghost."
"You're - That is - You -"
"Yes, the last time I checked, I am me," Harry's eyes twinkled with amusement. "Are you sure you're awake yet? Here, have some orange juice." Harry poured her a glass and handed it to Rosie, who took it, still feeling completely confused. She tried accessing her emotional link, but her thoughts were too ruffled, and she didn't know what to think. Instead, she just looked at the glass of juice in her hands, and then sipped it, peeking glances at Harry.
Harry had turned away and was chatting animatedly with Hermione about one of their assignments, with Neville throwing in a few words here and there. As she quietly observed him, she was finally able to gather herself. Blanking out her mind as much as possible, she felt for Harry. His mood seemed to reflect what he was displaying: interest, amusement, relaxation. There was barely any anxiety. And yet - that dark shadow. It was still sitting there. It seemed 'quiet' if that was the right word for it, but it was still there. She frowned.
"What's with that look Rosie?" Harry asked, interrupting her thoughts. "Here, have some toast." He grabbed the slice of bread, as well as the pot of honey. He knew she loved honey on her toast. She took the food, and set it on the plate in front of her, spreading the creamed honey on the bread.
She took a bite of the bread and then peered at her brother, who seemed to be watching her intently. "Harry, where were you yesterday?"
"Yesterday? I was feeling a tad under the weather, so I was in my room most of the day. Then I went to Sir Nicholas's deathday feast. It was great!"
Hermione and Neville were looking at Harry with expressions of disbelief.
"Were you there all night, Harry?" Hermione asked. "I didn't see you after Neville and I left to go to the feast."
"Well, I stayed to watch the dancing, and then there was some party games after. You should have see this one ghost, Lady DuClairemont, dancing. She's almost as fat as the fat lady, but she has this way of moving like a hummingbird." Harry laughed at the memory. "She spent most of the time trying to get the Bloody Baron's attention, but he was having none of it."
Hermione and Neville shared a glance. Rosie was just observing Harry, almost as if she were waiting for something 'wrong' to happen.
"Why are you guys looking at me like that?" Harry asked. "It was fun." He shrugged his shoulders, and then popped a piece of bacon into his mouth.
They focused on eating their food for a while, but once Rosie finished her toast, she turned towards Harry.
"So - things have been better for you Harry?" she asked hesitantly. "You were really - anxious - at the beginning of the year." Her expression was concerned as she watched her brother's face.
"Yeah," Harry gave a quick rueful smile. "I guess I was stressed and still adjusting. But once I got better at potions, it was like most of my problems just melted away. But thanks for asking." He leaned over and nudged his shoulder against hers affectionately. It had been so long that Rosie had experienced any of Harry's casual affection that her heart skipped happily. She was still convinced that something about Harry was 'off' but she was nonetheless relieved to have her Harry back.
"Do you want to give Sirius a call later?" she asked him. "He was - kind of disappointed to not hear from you yesterday."
Harry bit his lip. "I feel terrible about that," he confessed. "I really should apologize. How about we meet at that staircase going up to the owlery this afternoon? It's a bit too chilly to go outside."
"Okay," Rosie agreed happily. She took another piece of toast, and spread it with a thick layer of honey, feeling surprisingly light of heart. Whatever that dark shadow was, she would deal with it another day.
She spent the late morning doing her homework in the library. When it came time to meet Harry, she packed her bags and headed towards the owlery. However, on her way there, Romulus seemed to materialize out in the halls. He moved so silently, that she had gotten used to it, but it still always impressed her.
"Hi Rom," she said happily.
"Primrose." He held out his hand. "I found these." He dropped the items in her palms. It was Luna's dirigible plum earrings!
"Where did you find these?" she exclaimed with delight. He only shrugged in reply.
"Thank you, Rom! Luna's going to be so happy!" The day just seemed to get better and better.
"Primrose - did you say something to Remus? He sounded kind of weird in the letter he just sent me."
"Erm - well," Rosie blushed. "I think the last letter I sent him was kind of - emotional." Romulus's blue eyes seemed to bore into her, but then he shrugged, inclined his head goodbye, and wandered off.
Harry was waiting for her at the base of the staircase where they had planned to meet. He was leaning against the wall, but his posture was relaxed. He looked - peaceful. It was strange seeing Harry peaceful. He only ever seemed at peace at Grimmauld Place when it was just her and Sirius. When he spotted her, his eyes crinkled happily. She couldn't help but respond with a wide smile.
They found a quiet corner, and Rosie pulled out the mirror. "Sirius," she called into it. A few minutes later, Sirius's face appeared.
"Pups!" he exclaimed. "Harry!"
"Hi Padfoot," Harry said, smiling affectionately.
"Are you okay, pup?" Sirius asked. "It seems like forever since we've talked - you know you can always talk to me if you need anything, right?" Sirius's face was concerned, and his eyes seemed to search Harry's features, as though looking for something wrong.
"I'm sorry," Harry said contritely. "It's been stressful lately, but I'm better now. I didn't mean to worry you. And I should have called you yesterday. Forgive me?" Harry was wearing his puppy dog face, biting lightly down on his lower lip, which of course was irresistibly heart-melting.
"Aww, pup, not that face. I forgive you! Stop looking at me like that!" Rosie and Harry laughed.
"You're sure everything's alright?" Sirius asked again. Harry nodded.
"There's been rumours flying around-" Sirius started, looking hesitant. "A lot of students sent owls to their parents saying that a student has been killed? The Daily Prophet doesn't send papers on Sunday, but there's talk of a big conspiracy at Hogwarts. What's going on pups?"
Harry and Rosie shared a look.
"Well, I was with the ghosts, so I didn't really catch wind of anything until today," Harry confessed.
"I was there." Rosie said, her voice low and troubled. Harry and Sirius looked at her, startled.
"You were there?" they said, almost simultaneously. Rosie nodded.
"It was - terrible." she said the last word so softly that they could barely hear her.
"What happened, pup?" Sirius asked gently.
"I - I was with Luna and Rom. We were looking for Luna's earrings, but then I heard a snake in the walls."
"A snake?" Harry was looking at her oddly.
"Yeah, I thought maybe a snake from the Forbidden Forest had accidentally made it's way into the school. The poor creature sounded so hungry. So I followed the sound. We - Well, Rom said he smelled blood, so we peeked around the corner, and there was this message written on the wall, and - and this body underneath. I thought - I was scared that the person might be dead." Rosie shuddered at the memory.
"He wasn't dead then?" Sirius asked.
"No, it turns out he was just petrified."
"What was written on the wall?" Harry asked.
"Erm - I think it said 'the chamber of secrets has been opened. The heir has returned' or something like that."
"The heir?" Sirius asked, suddenly pale.
"That probably wasn't it exactly, but yeah, it said something about the heir."
"That sound really dangerous," Sirius said darkly. "Do you two pups want to come home?"
Rosie looked over at Harry who met her gaze. They looked back at Sirius.
"I think we'll stay," Harry said. If it were dangerous, they'd close the school, wouldn't they?"
"Listen pups - part of those rumours I told you about? There's talk that a lot of powerful people want Dumbledore gone. Something like this sound like the opportunity they need. I don't want to worry you pups, but -"
Rosie nodded. "Yeah, it's good to know. Thanks for telling us Padfoot."
Monday came around, and as the owls flew into the Great Hall, carrying letters, packages and newspapers, Sirius's words proved to be correct. The headline of the Daily Prophet read: PETRIFICATION AT HOGWARTS: ARE OUR CHILDREN SAFE? The article seemed to set the entire Great Hall abuzz with conversation. It implied numerous inflammatory things towards Professor Dumbledore (without saying anything directly of course. Dumbledore was still too powerful to cross.) And of course, there were calls to have a full investigation at Hogwarts, claiming that worried parents were up in arms, demanding the Board of Governors take action. The student body seemed fairly divided. The discovery of Duncan Inglebee's body had been so dramatic and disturbing that even now, several of the students were nervous and jumpy with fear. One of the students even went home, unable to endure the stress.
However, things were slightly different in the Ravenclaw house - while they were dismayed that it was one of their own that had been petrified, the Ravenclaws were more intrigued by solving the mystery. Even Rosie found herself just as curious about the Chamber of Secrets and the Heir as the rest of the Ravenclaws. The the whole situation almost had the feeling of a competition, where each Ravenclaw wanted to be the one to unravel the mystery. Many of the Ravenclaws were eagerly seeking out books, trying to find that one tidbit of information that they could hold over everyone else.
Toby, however, seemed to act curiously unengaged about the situation. It wasn't that he did not know what was happening - Rosie suspected that he somehow knew more than most - it was just that he acted as though it wasn't of great interest. Perhaps it should have reassured her, but somehow it made her feel worse. Sometimes, he simply didn't seem very human. Why did Samir and Christopher even follow him? They were both handsome boys, and popular in their own right. It didn't make sense.
As for Rosie, she thought: who better to ask than the Slytherins? On Monday, the only class she had with the Slytherins was History of Magic. It would be the perfect time to ask. Professor Binns often seemed to be completely indifferent to what any of the students ever did. After a rather painfully awkward class of Defense in the morning, in which she had to listen to Professor Lockhart talk about himself ("You may be thinking, what harm can doxies really do. Well, let me tell you about the time when I faced a swarm of doxies so thick they could have blotted out the sky! By the time I was through with them, they were purring like kittens." "Um - yes, but Professor, what did you actually do?" "Er - open your textbooks to page 83. My methods are so unorthodox that ordinary wizards could never expect to succeed.")
In History of Magic, Rosie made sure to sit close to the dark-brown haired Luthais Selwyn and Mathilda Travers. Mathilda Travers was more plain than pretty, but she carried herself with a regal grace. Astrid shot her a cold glare, but made no comment. While Astrid had no fondness for Rosie, she preferred to direct most of her ire to "mudblood filth, and blood-traitors." Since Rosie had never openly spoken her views about pureblood supremacy, Astrid tended to just brush her off.
Luthais glanced at Rosie through knowing grey eyes. He had very regal pureblood features, and knew how to use them to the best result. "I think I can guess why you've chosen to sit next to me today instead next to Loony." Rosie was shocked to hear Luna referred by that name outside of Ravenclaw. Had it really spread so far?
"Her name is Luna," Rosie hissed angrily. Luthais raised his eyebrow, and then shrugged.
"Everyone is calling her that."
"Luthais, be a gentleman," Mathilda scolded. "Sorry, Primrose. Luthais is right though - I don't know how it started, but everyone has been calling her - by that name." Rosie frowned unhappily.
"Well, just because everyone is doing it, it doesn't mean you have to follow," Rosie retorted.
"Fine. I'm sorry," said Luthais, his arms crossed, a slight pout on his lips. He looked every bit his eleven years at that moment. Rosie sighed, and Mathilda smirked.
"So why have you chosen to grace us with your presence today?" Mathilda asked quietly, while Professor Binns droned on in the background.
"I wanted to ask you two what you knew about the Chamber of Secrets and the Heir." Luthais's lip quirked at the corners.
"I knew it," he said, relaxing and unfolding his arms. "Primrose, if you only ever keep us company when you want something, we're going to start thinking that you're using us."
"I'm not using you!" Primrose exclaimed (quietly) her ears pinkening.
"Oh shush, Luthais! He's just teasing," Mathilda told her. "Though you should remember, you are dealing with Slytherins. What are you offering in exchange for the information?"
"Exchange? What do you want?" Luthais and Mathilda shared a glance before looking back at Rosie.
"We could just say that you'll owe us a favour," Mathilda said. Rosie considered the idea.
"Alright. So what do you know?"
"Well, you know about the history of Hogwarts right? How Salazar Slytherin had a falling out with all the other founders of the school?" Luthais paused.
Rosie nodded. This knowledge was fairly well known in the wizarding world.
"And do you know what the disagreement was about?" Luthais asked.
"Salazar didn't want to accept Muggle-borns into the school. I read a biography of him in the Black Family library. And it mentioned that he created the Chamber of Secrets to purify the school of the elements that he deemed as unsavoury. Supposedly, he hid a monster in the chamber, but I couldn't discover what the monster was supposed to be. The book also said that Salazar's True Heir could open the Chamber. But - where is the chamber? And who is the Heir? Is the part about the monster true?"
Luthais and Mathilda shared a look and frowned before Mathilda spoke. "We don't know where the Chamber of Secrets is. None of us do. Believe me, there are some people-"
"Like Draco," Luthais cut in.
"Yes, there are people, Like Draco Malfoy who desperately want to know. We don't know who the heir is either, or whether the monster actually exists," Mathilda said.
"Almost all of us have gotten letters from our parents, wanting more information," Mathilda continued. "They-" She frowned.
"What?" Rosie asked.
"They want us to find out who the heir is, and support him," Luthais finished darkly. This piece of information startled Rosie, though she knew that it shouldn't. So many of the Slytherins were related to Death Eaters - of course they would want to know all about the heir.
"There are some who are ecstatic about the whole situation," Mathilda said, her voice even more quiet. "Like her and her friends." Mathila flicked a glance at Astrid.
"And Draco, and most of his friends," Luthais added. "With the older Slytherins - well, they tend to keep their cards close, so it's difficult to say." Rosie contemplated their words. It certainly gave her a lot to think about. It seemed as though the Slytherins knew as little as the rest of the school.
"Thanks," Rosie murmured.
"No need to thank us," Mathilda purred. "We look forward to calling in that favour." Both Luthais and Mathilda gave her a smile that was almost predatory, and Rosie laughed nervously.
Later that week at breakfast, an owl flew over Rosie and dropped a letter in her hands. It was from Remus. Rosie wasn't certain that she wanted to open this letter over the breakfast table. She had been so emotional when she wrote her letter that she had acted first and then thought later. She pursed her lips as she looked over the letter, and then slipped it into her schoolbag. She would deal with it later. Romulus was looking at her rather curiously, but he didn't comment.
Her first class that day was Transfigurations. Having read extensively on Animagi, and considering trying it for herself, she paid particular care and attention in that class, and asked many questions. From what she understood, if she started the process of learning how to become an animagus now, it would be possible for her to successfully transform by the time she was thirteen or fourteen. It would be a two to three year endeavour, but the idea strongly attracted her. Perhaps it was in part because it felt like it would be a link between her and her father, as well as Sirius.
"Professor," Rosie asked, when there was a pause in the lecture, "What factor is most likely to cause a transfiguration to go awry? Is concentration of equal importance to wand power?"
"A good question," Professor McGonagall replied. "And you are correct to note that the variables that can affect a successful Transfiguration are not of equal weight. Consider the difference between Transfiguration and Charms. What are the important factors in Charms? Anyone? Yes, Mr. Killick?"
"Wand movement, intonation and intent," Liam Killick, the Gryffindor boy responded.
"Very good Mr. Killick. Of these factors, which is the most important? Miss Potter?"
"Intent," Rosie replied. "Because it is possible to do magic nonverbally, and it is also possible to do magic wandlessly."
"Just so, Miss Potter. Yes, of all the factors, intent is the most important. And in Transfiguration, intent is split into two aspects: viciousness and concentration. These two factors are bound together rather tightly, and their output needs to be very precise. Of all the factors, as you know, weight or mass is the most easily determined, and yet the mass of the object you intend to Transfigure affects all the other factors with mathematical exactness. In fact, this proportionality is part of what makes the Animagus transformation so dangerous. If your bodyweight fluctuates greatly when you are are attempting to undergo the training to become an animagus, and you do not factor this into your process, the transformation can go horribly wrong."
Rosie listened to the rest of the lecture with rapt fascination, taking detailed notes. Professor McGonagall never exactly described what happened when an animagus transformation went 'horribly wrong' but Rosie hoped never to find out. The class was assigned to write twelve inches of parchment on the factor of mass in the process of transfiguration.
Her second class of the day was Herbology. While it was interesting to learn, she did not share Neville's passion for the subject. However, Romulus seemed to excel in Herbology. When she had asked him about it one day, he said it was important because the topic was so interrelated with potions.
As Rosie was tickling the stem of Quivering Cambrica (which wiggled rather vigorously, it's purple flowers swinging like bells - Professor Sprout had said this helped to loosen the pollen), her empathic link to Harry suddenly seemed to black out. It was the fourth or fifth time already this week, and while she wanted to pretend it was nothing, especially since Harry seemed so cheery and warm, it worried her. It had only started happening since the day after Hallowe'en, and combined with Harry's sudden change in personality, it set off alarm bells in her head.
The feeling of the link blacking out wasn't painful or jarring, and it didn't quite seem the same as the feeling of the link when Harry was asleep. It was as though the shadowy blackness suddenly became extremely vast, and blocked out her sense of Harry entirely. Every time it happened, she longed to run to Harry immediately, to see if he was okay.
The first time it happened, she had been sitting in her dorm, and her thought was 'something terrible has happened to Harry. I need to get to him now!' However, the feeling vanished mere minutes afterwards, and the shadowy blackness subsided into it's small little corner in her mental link. Nonetheless, she had still gone to Harry that day, and had asked him what happened. However, Harry had been completely bewildered. He had no idea what she was talking about.
The second time it happened, the feeling lasted for over an hour. She had been in class, and when she felt the black out, her concentration was destroyed. And once again, when she sought Harry out, he seemed to have no sense that anything was different. The next couple of times it happened after that, her sense of panic had subsided. She tried to observe the blackness - to probe it, and discover what it was, but it was as unsubstantial as a the essence of darkness itself. She tried to see if there was a pattern to the black outs, but they always seemed to happen at random moments.
She hated to feel so helpless in the matter, but there was little that she could do about it. Earlier in the year, when Harry had first started acting strange, she had read every book in the library that she could find that related to mental or empathic links. While there were several books on legilimency, there was almost nothing on empathic links (except a footnote, saying that the ability was rare. The footnote had also mentioned that there were theories that babies were born with empathic links, but part of growing up meant that the link eventually vanished, once babies started vocalizations.) If there were any answers out there, they would require extensive search of Hogwarts Library. That or they wouldn't be found at Hogwarts at all
Her thoughts kept her so occupied that when Herbology class ended, she was completely startled. Since she had a long break in the afternoon after Herbology, Rosie headed up to her dormitory room, and climbed on her bed. Remus's letter would be a good way to distract her from her worries about Harry, and she pulled it out of her bookbag. She pulled the bed hangings closed one one side to provide her privacy (even though Sakiko and Edine were down in the common room). Luna seemed to be working on a new personal project, and as far as Rosie could tell, it was a hat that involved a whole bunch of white, and orangey white feathers. Luna would tell in her own time, so Rosie let her friend work in peace, humming quietly to herself.
Rosie broke the seal on Remus's letter and opened it, her heart racing with nervousness.
Dear Rosie,
I've given your letter a lot of thought. I've written so many responses, trying to think of the right words to say, only to toss them out.
It feels strange, and also humbling to be lectured by an eleven year old, but the truth is, you're right. My impulses told me to run, and instead of questioning them, and being rational, I allowed my fear to rule me.
I deeply regret not having been there for you and Harry. I regret not having the chance to watch you both grow up.
If you'll give me the chance, I would like to make it up to you.
Sincerely
Remus Lupin
PS - What is Sirius doing these days? Did he ever settle down?
Rosie found herself smiling. She had feared that she may have pushed too far with her last letter and driven Remus away. It was a relief to know that he still wanted to communicate with her. Eagerly, she wrote out her next letter.
A/N: Thanks for the Reviews! :)
A/N: I didn't particularly like writing the Hallowe'en scene. In some ways, it reminded me too much of the canon. But from here on out, it diverges quite a bit. There'll still be some parallels, but a lot will be very different
