Falling back in Chaos
Chapter Two
HP belongs to JK Rowling. Italics are quotes from her books, or Rose's conversation with the Sorting Hat. Some new characters created for my use in the story, and may be children of some of Rowling's characters.
Rose moaned as she struggled to open her eyes. "Don't move, Dear, you will only injure yourself further." A matronly voice said. Rose could feel the smooth curve of a cup against her lips, before her mind became cloudy and she sank back into unconsciousness. "Don't worry yourself Poppy, the child will be alright. She just needs rest." Albus Dumbledore said, rising from the bed he had been sitting on. "Please get me when she awakens. We don't, after all, want her to miss the first week of school now, do we?"
Rose opened her eyes. As she searched for the sign of anything, absolutely anything that could possibly be familiar, she groaned. She was in a very clean and prim room, with two rows of beds. At the end of the room was a rather large set of shelves filled to the brim with potions of all sorts of colors and sizes. As Rose turned from her inspection, her eyes met with an older woman's.
The woman peered at her. "Hello dear, my name is Madam Pomfrey. Who are you?"
"Where am I?" Rose anxiously said. Did she say Pomfrey? Where had she heard that name before? "Where are my parents? Hugo? Albus, James, Nolan? Where is Fred?"
Madam Pomfrey stood up. "Maybe you had better meet with the Headmaster. After all, you must have meant to arrive with the rest of the students, as you had school robes on." The nurse walked over to the bedside table, where she began to measure a foul-looking yellow and orange potion. "Drink up! The headmaster is expecting you."
Rose choked down the substance, sputtering at its acrid taste. The nurse grabbed her forearm to help her up, and led her out of the room. As she walked through cavernous-like stone corridors, Rose gasped as realization hit her.
"Am I at Hogwarts?" she exclaimed.
"Well of course, where else could you be? Now come along." Madam Pomfrey 's eyes inspected her shrewdly, before she turned heel and began walking briskly again. Rose was immediately relieved. She hoped she wasn't in too much trouble. She knew that once she had talked to the Headmaster and her cousins, they would be able to figure out what exactly had happened on the train.
As they approached a set of gargoyles, Madam Pomfrey turned to face Rose. "Well, here we are. When you're done speaking with him, come back to the Hospital Wing for another potion and your trunk." She looked at the statues. "Sugar Quills."
Rose gasped. The statues of gargoyles had moved aside. "Don't be shy, go ahead." Madam Pomfrey nudged her forward, flashing a kind smile, before walking down the corridor they had come from. As Rose ascended the stairs and entered the office, she was bewildered. Spindly objects of every shape and size were whirring and honking and twisting on the impressive desk. Behind the desk was a magnificent bird, which eyed her beadily from its perch.
"Ah, I see you are full of curiosity. One of the greatest traits of humankind, and yet one of its greatest faults."
Rose turned to see a wizened man. "Who are you?" Rose said, not believing her eyes. "Me? I'm Albus Dumbledore." With that, Rose paled considerably. Her brain fuzzed with shocked as she stared wide-eyed and disbelieving at the Headmaster.
"But-but you- I don't-how could- how could you possibly be alive? Where is Headmaster Quimble?" Rose stuttered out.
Dumbledore's twinkly blue eyes suddenly sharpened, and he took several quick strides toward Rose. "What did you say? Would you remind me who you are? I'm afraid I don't recognize you."
"I'm Rose Weasley."
"Rose Weasley? There is no Rose Weasley. At least, not yet. What year is it, Rose?" Rose stared at him, as realization hit her.
"It is 2017, sir."
Dumbledore walked over to his desk and sat down. "Well, I see we have discovered our problem, Rose, because it is currently the year 1987." "Rose's already pale face completely drained of blood.
"But, how can I get back?"
Dumbledore looked grave. "You can't. While Time Turners let us travel into the past a few hours, anything longer than 24 hours means that you are stuck. In every study of time travel, going too far in the past means that you have altered the future… or what was your present. In other words, you will have started a new dimension. Wherever you came from, you will be completely erased, as though you never existed. You are in a parallel dimension, where things were exactly as they happened in your previous world, up to the moment you came here. It is what happens after you came, that will change."
Rose suddenly could not breathe. She was stuck. She would never see her parents again, or her brother Hugo.
Dumbledore's eyes seemed to glint as well, before he cleared his throat. "I am so very sorry. Am I right in guessing that you are eleven years of age?"
Rose nodded, her throat thick with tears. Her mind was whirring with every last moment she had with her parents, her friends, and her family. She had spent so much time wondering how she would live up to her mum and dad, and it didn't even matter. She didn't have them anymore.
"I will enroll you in Hogwarts then. I can work on finding a family for you after you get settled. Since you missed the sorting, we will have a private one right now. There are four houses the students are sorted into… I trust you know them? Rose's head bobbed in a barely perceptible nod. You only missed one day of classes, so you should be fine catching up."
Rose barely heard him. She was lost in her memories, unable to accept that everything had changed.
Dumbledore rose, and walked over to a teetering bookshelf behind the bird. He turned around, with a filthy and ancient hat in his hands. "Miss Weasley? I will place this on your head now."
Rose looked up at Dumbledore, shocking him. Her eyes, once a soft blue that often glinted with mischief, had hardened. They weren't full of despair, however. They were full of determination, and yet seemed to hide her loss behind a steely, unnerving calm.
"Go ahead, sir."
As the hat was placed on her head, Rose heard a voice.
Well, this is new. You aren't where you are supposed to be, and yet, this is where you are meant to be.
"How would you know where or where I am not supposed to be?" Rose retorted.
I know all I need to know, in order to place you where you need to be. You have a stubborn loyalty, and would do anything for those you love. You can get out of any situation, and while you seem to be a stickler for rules, harbor a mischievous desire to cause trouble. Your enemies have every right to fear you; you have a sharp mind, not to mention a sharp tongue.
"Are you done?" Rose impatiently queried.
Yes. You are well suited for any house, yet only one can give you what you need to succeed in your mission.
"And how do you know about that? I only just made up my mind!" Rose bristled.
Do not worry, I will not impart you secrets. Better be…