A/N: Wow! :) Thank you all for the recent reviews and favourites! I can't tell you enough how great of a feeling I get whenever I have particularly bad day and one of those notifications come up. Makes my whole day better! The summer can't come soon enough. Finals are almost here, so I'm sorry if the updates seem appallingly intermittent.

Chapter 12: Welcome to Year Two

Rosette plopped herself down on her bed in the girls dormitory.

"What a boring summer. I'm so glad school will start again," she mumbled into her pillow.

Her second year at Hogwarts would being tomorrow. After being cooped up in the house alone for the majority of the summer, she was ready to be around people. Tom had been away for many days at a time. When he came home, he was either too tired, or too busy to do anything fun. The number of Muggle kidnappings had gone up quite a bit. She scowled, knowing why. Save for Lucius' weekly visits, she didn't really socialise. He stayed for a few hours, usually during the middle of the week, and would often ask odd questions and get her opinions on certain sweets and flowers. Rosette thought he was going to bring her a present and was bummed out to learn otherwise. Apparently, Lucius was getting married to a girl who had just graduated. He told her that they had been courting for a while and that because of Tom's recent spike in Muggle cleansing zeal, he had not gone to see her in a while.

"I need to get her something nice. She MUST be furious with me. Our wedding is in a few weeks, and I have yet to visit her."

"Yet, you visit me?" Rosette snickered.

Lucius huffed at her. "This counts as working in the Dark Lord's eyes. Your brother is a slave driver at times. I don't know what has gotten into him."

Rosette shrugged. "So, what about this girl? Who is she?"

His eyes lit up with an infatuation that Rosette found revolting. "Ah, her name is Narcissa Black. She was a Slytherin Beauty. I'm sure you knew her, or at least saw her."

"Oh… Yes, think I recall seeing her a few times," she trailed. She had seen Narcissa plenty of times before. She almost wondered if the fixation that Lucius had was for…maybe another girl named Narcissa in Slytherin that she didn't know about. The Narcissa she knew was far from beauty, pretty, attractive, or even decent in her eyes. And, the girl's nose was turned up so high, a dragon could stroll through one nostril and come out the other. Even at her young age, Rosette knew that Lucius was handsome, and had always thought that he would be married to some Pureblood Beauty. A REAL one. Yes, she was no doubt, a Pureblood. That beauty part…ehhh. But, she wasn't about to be a git of a friend. "Well, I'm happy for you."

The sound of footsteps coming up the stairs pulled Rosette from her memory. She got up and began to unpack her trunk as her roommates walked in.

Oh, Merlin's pants, she thought to herself as Sylvia and Pricilla trotted in.

"Oh!" Sylvia shouted in surprise. "Were roomies, again? How exciting! Right, Prissy?"

"Yes! Oh, I'm so happy!"

Rosette merely smiled at them. She was screaming on the inside. Those two had kept her up every night last year with their constant and oh so very mindless chatting and squabbling. She began to think about how soft the couches in the common room were. How they could double as a bed. There was the matter of the Prefects scolding her for not sleeping in her own bed, but it was a chance she was more than willing to take.

It was almost ten in the evening. Rosette had put away all of her belongings and had been sitting in bed for hours. She would have loved to have fallen asleep, but her roommates recently purchased the newest Magiquement à la Mode magazine and were too busy squealing at the trendy laced robes. She looked longingly at her pillow and sighed. She realised that sleep would never arrive before midnight at this rate, grabbed her green throw blanket and trudged out of the room. She made her way to the common room and was relieved to see that it was empty. She prayed that the Prefects were finished with their patrolling and had retired for the night. She plopped down onto the couch nearest the fireplace. She was glad that it stayed lit. It was always a little cold in the dungeons and her little blanket would have done nothing to keep her from freezing her toes off. She finally got comfortable when she heard footsteps. Oh, no! No no no! This isn't fair! I JUST got down here! Oh please don't let that be Victorson…or worse. Slughorn! Oh Merlin! I'll be kicked out of the Slug Club for sure! She was perfectly still, waiting for whoever this person was to bust and reprimand her.

Severus sighed as he gently closed the door to his dorm room. He couldn't sleep. He had been avoiding the "Marauders" all day on the train and from the Great Hall to the dungeons. Tomorrow would be absolutely terrible. And Lily, she just sat there. Why? She had been standoffish towards him all summer. He would come by to visit, but she would always tell him that she was busy. He believed her, until her sister, Petunia, let the cat out of the bag.

"She isn't busy, ya know?" she sneered as he left the Evans' yard after another failed attempt to see Lily. Petunia was outside in the garden. "She just doesn't like you. She says you can't take a hint."

Severus glared at the unpleasant girl. He never liked Petunia, and she never liked him.

"Hello to you too, Petuna," he grumbled. She was lying, right?

He rounded the corner of his favourite couch and barely caught himself from letting out what was sure to be an unmanly scream. There on the couch was Rosette, pathetically attempting to hide herself under her small blanket. He took a deep breath to calm himself down and tapped the blanket where he knew her head was. He had to push his finger down a lot further than he expected, due to the massive amount of hair between his finger and her actual cranium. When his finger finally made contact with her skull, she jumped and let out a tiny squeak.

"S-Severus? Oh bloody hell. I almost peed myself."

Severus snorted and sat next to her, "Imagine how I felt seeing an unknown green mass of blanket on the couch so late at night. What are you doing down here? You could get into trouble."

Rosette pulled the blanket off of her head and huffed.

"Well, if only my roommates weren't so…" she fumbled for the right word.

"Feeble-mindedly daft?" he offered.

"YES! My gosh, Severus. All they talk about is themselves! Nothing else! I tried to ask them about their schedules and the conversation somehow turned into them complaining about how they'll have less time this year to do their hair in the morning. Their HAIR! You don't see ME complaining about MY hair." She folded her arms with irritation. "And now, my sleep is being compromised. It's the first night, but I know there are far more to come."

He snickered. She shot him an annoyed look.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I know that must be a terrible thing to have to deal with, but you can't stay down here every night. You'll end up getting in trouble," he chided.

Her eyebrows went up, "So what are YOU doing in here? Last time I checked, you weren't a Prefect, you Hippogriff."

"Hypocrite," he corrected.

"I know what I said," she replied and stuck her tongue out at him.

She shouldn't have done that. Before she could react, Severus had pulled out his wand and tapped her tongue.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you that if you make an ugly face, it'll get stuck that way?" he said smugly.

She tried to pull her tongue back into her mouth, but it stayed where it was, as if glued to the air itself.

"Thertheruth! Ult go ah mah tuhg!"

Severus doubled over with laughter, "Oh Merlin. You sound so silly!"

Rosette pouted as best as she could with her tongue out, which only made him laugh harder.

"Oh alright," he said, still chuckling, "I'll let you have your tongue back." He tapped her tongue and she quickly retracted it in case he changed his mind. "But, why are you here?"

He slouched in the couch and began to twiddle his thumbs, "I couldn't sleep. I'm really not looking forward to class. Back to back classes with Gryffindors."

"Ah," she realised, "Potter's gang of hoodlums."

He nodded woefully. "I just have a feeling that something bad is going to happen this year."

She looked at him with utmost sympathy. She was lost as to why these boys relentlessly picked on Severus. All last year, she tried to intervene as much as possible, which was a lot. From shooting sneaky jinxes at him across the courtyard, to hurling him into the lake, the "Marauders" were always looking for ways to do him harm.

"Well, I've always got your back!" she reassured him, placing her hand on his shoulder.

He gave her a dismal smile, "It's a little weird to be having a second year as a bodyguard, but I'll take what I can get, right? Thanks, Rosette."

The two talked about their boring summers and their plans for the year until Severus looked at the clock. He exhaled heavily, "I guess we should go back to our rooms. I'm sure you're lovely friends have gone to sleep by now."

She glanced at the clock, too, and gasped. They had been talking for nearly two hours. She groaned, "We're going to be so groggy. Well, I guess I'll see you later on then?"

He nodded, "Of course. If I don't see you tomorrow before class, have a good first day."

"Same to you, too!" she said and made her way back to her room. To her utter dismay, the girls were STILL awake. They hadn't noticed her departure or arrival. Rosette glared at them and shot a quick silencing charm at them both. To her confusion, they didn't react at all. Then it hit her. They had really been talking to themselves this whole time. Talk about conceited. She shrugged and climbed into bed, throwing the covers over her head to block out the light that still illuminated the room at that ungodly hour.

"I'm hungry."

"You just ate."

A pause.

"I'm hungry."

"Apep, you JUST ate. I haven't even walked twenty steps from the Great Hall. Sheesh, I'm half expecting you to go into cardiac arrest."

It was early November. The air had become chilly, and the leaves had all fallen. The professors were having trouble keeping the rowdy post-Halloween spirits of the younger students at bay. Filch had just about had it with the all of the empty chocolate frog boxes, fizzing whizbee wrappers, and half eaten jelly slugs that were just carelessly discarded on the floor, just to annoy him.

Rosette was on her way to Professor Dumbledore's office. Professor McGonagall held her back after class to give her the note requesting her presence at eight in the evening. She felt her heart slip into her stomach while reading the note. She had never been called into the Headmaster's office before. She had only skipped Divination once, and hadn't jinx her roommates since…

Oh no! That's why! Oh I'm so screwed! Detention for weeks! What if he takes my papa's wand away as punishment? I'm going to be sick.

She walked slowly towards his office. She round the corner and the gargoyle came into view. She nearly ran the other way, but understood it would do her no good and that she would be found, eventually. She stopped in front of the gargoyle and looked around. There was no door, no handle, nothing. Just the gargoyle. Maybe there's a password? OH! There is… Professor McGonagall HAD told her the password upon handing Rosette the note, but of course, sometime between then and now, it had slipped out of her noggin. She grumbled in frustration. It was already five past eight, and there she was, standing right outside with no way to get in.

"I'm terribly sorry. I called you all the way over here and ended up being late myself. Aren't I a great example?" a soft voice chuckled came from directly behind her

Rosette spun around and felt her soul flee from her body when she saw who it was.

"P-Pr-Pr-rofessor?!" she stammered.

He smiled at her, "Frumpledumplings," he said. Immediately, the gargoyle moved and revealed the stairs to his office. "Come now. We can talk in here." He motioned towards entrance.

"Lemon Drop?" he asked as he took his seat behind his desk.

Rosette hesitated. Did he just offer me candy?

"Excuse me, sir?"

He pushed the bowl of sweets forward. She stared blankly at the bowl, then shook her head.

"No thank you. Uhm… you wanted to see me, sir?"

"Ah yes. Oh, please take a seat. I have something rather important to discuss with you." His demeanour shifted instantly to a very serious one.

Rosette sat down and began to explain herself as quickly as possible.

"S-sir! I only did it because they wouldn't let me sleep! All they do is talk about their faces! And what robes they're going to wear, but I don't even know why that matters! We all wear the same robes! And-"

He cut her off, "I wasn't referring to that, but that's very interesting. We'll have to return to that topic another time. But, I need to ask you a few questions."

"Oh," she said quietly.

He began to fiddle around with the various contraptions on his desk.

"How long have you been in Mr. Riddle's care?"

For the second time that night, she felt her soul make a mad dash out from her body. She could feel the colour drain from her face and her heart beat faster. Wha? B-but, how?! She just stared at him, unable to form a coherent thought.

He looked up from the contractions and let out a small gasp.

"No no, I don't mean to penalise or turn you in. I simply wish to know the why and how."

She still couldn't speak. He pushed the bowl of sweets to her, again.

"I really think you should take one of these," he encouraged.

She gave him a muddled nod and took one of the Lemon Drops. To her surprise, she began to feel better after popping one into her mouth.

"Better?"

"Yes, sir… So, I've lived with Tom since I was nearly eight. It was kind of by chance that we met."

Professor Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "Why did you choose to live with him? My records how that you were in an orphanage prior to your supposed death when you were…seven? Ah, I remember. There was a raid in Kingsbridge by a group of Death Eaters that included Mr. Riddle."

"Well," she hesitated and prayed that she wasn't walking into anything, "It's not every day that you're saved by your big brother after your leg gets crush, right?"

Dumbledore stared at her in confusion. He felt like he knew what she was saying, but that couldn't be true… Could it?

"You aren't saying that Mr. Riddle, is your brother, are you?"

"I am."

"Adoptive?"

"Biological."

He almost got up to pour himself a drink. "Who were you parents?" he asked hastily.

"Charles and Merope Sarpong. My mother's maiden name was Gaunt, if that helps."

Dumbledore got up and made the drink, then hesitated, picked it up, put it down, picked it up again, then shook his head and put it down. He sat back down and continued to stare at Rosette, as if everything would make sense if he just looked hard enough.

"But, that would means that your mother would have had you when she was-"

"Old. Yes, I know." She took another Lemon Drop. She was surprised to see the usually calm and collective Albus Dumbledore in such shock. But, I'm sure anyone would be in shock if they heard this, too.

"No wonder you're in Slytherin," he started, "So, you two are half-siblings?"

"Yes, sir."

He stopped and pondered this for a moment.

"Alright, you may leave, now," he said abruptly.

Rosette's eye widened with fear. "Wait! That's all? I'm not in trouble am I? Please, sir? He's my only living relative. I don't want him to be turned in because of me."

He chuckled and stood up, "I will not tell a soul. I only wished to fill in the blank spaces. Besides, it is not my place to stop you brother. That destiny has been decided for someone, but not for many years to come. Until then, you may resume you peaceful," Rosette didn't like the way he said "peaceful", "life with him."

He walked her to the door. "Take care now. Be sure to head straight for your common room. It's nearly past curfew, so no dilly dallying."

Rosette was beyond bewildered at the nature of their meeting, but simply nodded and walked out of the office and down the stairs.

"What was THAT all about?" came a hiss from within her bag once the gargoyle assumed its original position.

She shook her head, "I honestly don't know." With that, she made her way back to the dungeons.

"An heiress of Slytherin. And a pureblood at that. Very interesting," Dumbledore remarked before extinguishing the candles and retiring for the evening.

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