AUGUST 8TH, 1993 - HAMPSTEAD GARDEN, LONDON - THE VEGA HOME - MORNING
Dear Rose,
I heard you arrived in London! The Minister of Magic told me so! What do you think? I reckon the weather leaves a lot to be desired compared to California. Don't worry, Hogwarts and Gryffindor Tower are always warm, you'll love it there! You must be really excited! You're probably wondering how I'm writing to you from outside of Hogwarts. I'll give you the short version:
I accidentally blew up Aunt Marge (Uncle Vernon's sister who I'm forced to call "aunt"), left the Dursley's convinced I was expelled for good, took a ride on this thing called the Knight Bus, got caught at the Leaky Cauldron by the minister and thought I was done for but now I'm staying right here in the inn until the start of term. How mad is that?! I'm lucky to not have been expelled or arrested but I think that has more to do with Dumbledore and possibly Sirius Black. Speaking of Black, I found out he was You-Know-Who's most loyal supporter and went to Azkaban for killing a bunch of muggles! Have you heard of him before? I reckon there's something else about him the Minister did not want to say to me.
Anyway, I'll be here in Diagon Alley until term starts. Did you already buy your school supplies? If you haven't, maybe we can do that together. Just let me know, I'll be here.
Love,
Harry
P.S. Thanks for your birthday present, it's great! The watch must have cost a fortune!
P.S. I forgot to say the Ministry was able to deflate Aunt Marge and Obliviate her memory so I suppose that's all good there. But I don't think the Dursleys will easily forget least I'll be at Hogwarts before I have to deal with that again. Oh well.
Rose set down Harry's letters on her work desk and smiled to herself. Her brother certainly had a knack for trouble. She knew that despite their limited supervised communication.
It had been three years since Rose and Harry were finally able to communicate as the Ministry had made it clear to her parents that she was forbidden from contacting her brother prior to his eleventh birthday. Rose knew why. The Ministry employees and Magical Child Services hadn't guarded their thoughts around her not knowing she was a natural-born Legilimens.
She had heard that Harry had arrived safely at the Dursleys. That they had reached out to them to take her as well but they refused. She learned how Dumbledore thought it best that Harry know nothing of the wizarding world or of her continued existence until he was ready to rejoin the magical community. How Uncle Sirius had sold them to the Dark Lord and would die in prison. How immediately after her parent's funeral, her adoption process would begin.
She had been a little kid just five days shy of her fourth birthday when her parents were murdered, but she understood that her baby brother was now with their aunt. Their only remaining family and Rose would not join them or be allowed to go back with any of her uncles. A child that age would have been terribly confused but Rose had known what was going on. Everyone's thoughts rang clear in her head, rationalized, and explained by the comforting voice in her mind.
The voice, her one true ally, had explained that the bad wizard who entered her home that night was called the Dark Lord. Some believed him dead and some did not but it was collectively agreed that his immediate threat was over.
Her parents, however, were dead.
Gone.
She would never see them again.
Rose's emotions and the fresh trauma of witnessing her family's destruction had been so overwhelming it gave fuel to accidental magic unlike any other performed by a magical child. One of the employees had been badly injured and refused to continue working on her case prompting the Ministry to expedite the adoption process without disclosing Rose's ability to her new family.
After her parents' funeral plenty of British wizarding families applied to adopt her. However, in the end- and perhaps in part to the classified incident - a respectable American wizarding couple had been selected.
Rodrigo, like every other wizard at the time, had kept up with the war raging overseas as it made pathways in the New World. He had been working on tracking these new supporters down but with the Dark Lord's fall, the number of American supporters vanished along with the Death Eaters sent to recruit and lead them.
When Rodrigo learned that the Potter's daughter was left orphaned and alone he immediately reached out to inquire about her adoption. He and his wife had longed for a child for many years. The day little Rose learned she would be leaving for America to live with a new family she lashed out again but this time the agents had forcibly administered a strong Calming Draught and so she left her home country in a foggy haze but without a fuss and with a dreaded realization that she would never see her remaining family again.
When she arrived at the bustling and bright Upper East Side of Manhattan on a bitterly cold January day, Rose gave no trouble; she was weary and scared as to be expected. The Vegas were older than her parents had been, they spoke funny, ate different foods, and were complete strangers. However, they were very welcoming, understanding, and kind. Most notably, their thoughts matched their actions. Both new parents were determined to help her feel at home. Isabella had even outdone herself by setting up a beautifully decorated bedroom for Rose and had ordered their cooks to make English dishes in an attempt to ease the transition.
However, things got worse before they became better.
Rose hardly spoke or really played with her new toys. The first few nights she had silently cried for her mother and father until the inner voice quieted her down.
It is pointless to cry for the dead, Rosie, he had said. Strong, little witches don't cry.
Rose listened but when she managed to sleep terrible nightmares would plague her subconscious. However, the Vegas had been understanding, caring, and loving; she felt safe when she was with them. Out of all the minds she had been exposed to theirs was the most like her departed parents. It wasn't long before she stopped referring to them as Mister and Missus Vega and began calling them "Dad" and "Mom."
Her Legilimency had gone unnoticed until the fateful preschool incident that happened almost a year after her arrival. Not only had the Vegas learned that their new daughter could hear all their thoughts but also how unexpectedly powerful and destructive the ability could be. The family had found themselves in a difficult situation. However, after a year of Psychiatric Healing treatment, Rose never had a similar incident again and was able to fully adjust to her new life and family although she was never the same child she had been before her birth parent's murders.
Healing treatment continued until her first year at Ilvermorny where, despite being a loner, she excelled in classes and extracurriculars yet the thought of Hogwarts always lingered in the deep recesses of her mind. It was the school she was always meant to attend.
The image of herself wearing the Hogwarts uniform came to mind, an image she had thought of many times over the years. She could see herself so clearly in the Hogwarts black and gray proudly wearing the crimson and gold of Gryffindor House.
Why do you assume you'll be sorted into Gryffindor, the voice chimed in.
Which Hogwarts house was the Thunderbird equivalent?
These questions had kept her up some nights as well as the reality that she would never walk down the halls of Hogwarts like her family had all done before her. She would also miss out on reuniting with her little brother and being his guide throughout his school experience.
So when Harry turned eleven and began his first year, Rose begged her father to write to Professor Dumbledore and request a postal service channel to be opened via the Floo Network so they could finally write to each other. It had taken a few days but Dumbledore and Headmaster Fontaine allowed the two siblings to use the transcontinental postal service via their own fireplaces to send each other letters. There had been only one condition Dumbledore had given and that was to reveal nothing regarding her uncles, particularly Uncle Sirius who they both shared as godfather.
She had agreed and immediately reached out to Harry first; he had no memory of her therefore she didn't expect him to have a clue what to say so she made it easy for him. She welcomed him back to the wizarding world and introduced herself knowing that he had recently learned of her whereabouts. Truthfully, after ten years she had no idea where to begin so she told him about her adoptive parents, her life in California, and her academic life in Ilvermorny. He had written back introducing himself and filled her in on his own life after he was taken by the giant man.
He revealed how the Dursleys had told him she had died along with their parents in a car crash. It made her sick and angry to think that her own aunt had preferred to kill her off rather than admit to having turned her away-not that she minded after reading about them. Harry had described the Dursleys and their cousin, Dudley, as having an intense dislike for anything and anyone magical.
At first, she felt guilty imagining the treatment Harry was subjected to by their own blood while she was given the world by her two adoptive wizarding parents. But why should she feel guilty? It wasn't her fault, she hadn't asked for any of this. She supposed she didn't blame Harry for accidentally blowing up this 'Aunt Marge"; he didn't deserve any of this either.
Neatly she folded Harry's letter and placed it on top of a pile of slightly burnt letters she kept in her work desk; they were all from Harry. The pile wasn't large as both siblings couldn't use their Headmaster's fireplace at leisure for their personal correspondence so they limited their letters to one or sometimes two a month.
They kept to formalities more apt for pen pals than siblings but Rose couldn't help feeling that it was exactly what they were now. Two pen pals who happened to be related. This was a worry that plagued Rose since knowing of her acceptance at Hogwarts.
Could they get along in real life?
Could they become close like they, perhaps, were meant to be or remain formal strangers? She knew he kept things from her perhaps to keep her from worrying… or was it distrust?
Harry never really shared anything about the Dark Lord nor anything else beyond his classes, friends, Quidditch, and the Durselys.
There had been one unusual letter last year from Harry asking whether she, their dad, or anyone in the Potter family had been a Parselmouth as he had just discovered the ability in him. The revelation had startled her, Rose had paid enough attention in Magical History Class to know that despite Ilvermorny's founder, Isolt Sayre, being a well-known Parselmouth the ability was uncommon and notoriously found among the Darkest wizards and witches in the Old World.
However, like Isolt Sayre, the ability did not guarantee that the speaker was evil. So Rose had written back denying any knowledge of the ability in their family. She certainly did not possess that ability or she would have discovered it by now. But it seemed Harry did; perhaps this was his gift like Legilimency was hers, at least that's what she had told him hoping to put his worries at ease.
She contemplated Harry's proposal, she did not have to wait until September first to meet her last surviving family member. She could finally reunite with her baby brother!
A wave of combined excitement, anxiety, and, surprisingly, anger coursed through her. She was returning to her old life and taking it head-on in search of answers but where did she fit in this world?
In L.A. and in Ilvermorny, she had been the adoptive daughter of an influential and charming politician who happened to have a tragic past, a famous brother, and an off-putting magical ability. Who was she here? Was she Rose Potter or was she also Vega? Would people look at her and only see her heroic parents and brother? Would they expect the same from her?
There was so much she didn't know, so much she had forgotten and regardless of all the effort, she put into remembering she just couldn't. All these questions plagued her mind among more tragic and frightening ones. Why did all of it happen? Why had Harry been targeted? Why did her parents not see the traitor among them? Why did the Dark Lord spare her when he discovered her?
Rose had spent hours researching the First War to know the Dark Lord had wiped out entire wizarding families for far less so why did he not kill her? His wand had been pointed at her and she had been nothing more than a defenseless child, one lazy flick of his wand and he could have done away with her.
Yet he hadn't. He had stood there and spoken words that long ago had been buried deep in her unconscious mind; hidden and locked away.
He clearly had no issue killing her mother or father.
Would he have spared them had they not gotten in his way?
Rose instantly pushed that thought away, she couldn't think like that. He would have killed Harry, her little brother, her family had her parents stepped aside.
It wasn't the first time the question had crept into her mind, sometimes she even imagined what her life would have been like had they lived that night. She always tried imagining it as if the Dark Lord had been defeated and they had all lived as a family, happily ever after and all. But it was nothing more than fantasy because it was so far from reality. It was then that the terrible question slithered into her consciousness.
What if they had stepped aside?
They would still be alive. They would be with you. You would have been at Hogwarts all along.
"No!" she replied to the voice aloud alarming Theodora, who was perched on top of the vanity, from her slumber.
She wasn't going down that mental path again it was always futile. She had living parents; Rodrigo and Isabella had given her everything a child could need and more.
Rose was fully aware of her privileged life and she was grateful to not have been dumped on someone's doorstep and subjected to prejudice. She was beyond grateful to the Vegas for everything especially their patience, love, and support after the incident that had involved another child; a No-Maj child.
Although they had been unaware of her ability they still blamed themselves for exposing her to the unforgiving No-Maj world. They had believed that Lily would have wanted Rose to have a non-magical education like her so to honor her memory, they enrolled their adoptive daughter in a preschool. The memory of her time in that place was only faintly sharper than the ones from her former life. The nervousness and loneliness she felt however were forever impressed in her psyche. Once again, her power that she now had to hide, poured all their thoughts into her mind. The other kids were mean and because she was reserved, quiet, and well-behaved she became an easy target.
The teachers hadn't helped. Hell, they themselves found her weird and unsettling to be around although never voiced it.
The day the incident happened Rose had reached her breaking point. The class troublemaker, Jeffrey, had seen her parents that morning at drop-off and instantly rounded on Rose in front of all the other kids. He asked her why she looked different from her parents, that she was "white" and they weren't so she couldn't possibly be their real daughter. Rose hadn't answered so he kept going.
"Where are your real parents?" he had demanded in that brass way that came naturally to small children.
Rose remained silent.
"You don't have parents!" He had exclaimed as if he had just unraveled a great mystery. "You're an orphan! Rose is an orphan! Did your real parents not want you because you're weird? Did they leave you in an orphanage or did they die?"
They had all laughed and it was then that Rose lost control. She wanted to hurt her offender, this No-Maj who had no powers unlike her, but she knew that magic had to be hidden from them. However, the anger had burned throughout her little body with such force and it was then that the voice in her mind ordered her to make him pay.
Let me show you how to make them hurt, He had said. She obeyed, as she would grow custom to always do, surrendering her power to him.
The boy's mind had been penetrated so forcibly that his head jerked back violently and he had dropped to his knees, his face twisted into a painful grimace.
The voice's guided her, encouraging Rose to push her way through the temporal lobe and into the part of the brain that felt pain. Jeffrey cried and screamed, crumbling forward tormented by the invisible agony from the receptors she had hijacked. The other children ran from the room screaming, their confusion now turned to terror.
When the teacher ran in, alarmed at having heard the commotion and at the sight of fleeing children, the voice ordered Rose to withdraw leaving the boy whimpering and crying on the floor. They couldn't blame her despite Jeffrey's frightened reaction toward her once he had recovered. When questioned the other children said that Rose had never touched him and the video surveillance confirmed it. Still, the staff and kids were frightened at how Rose had silently and stoically stood there while she watched Jeffrey scream and wither in unexplainable agony. They couldn't figure out what caused it, the young boy was healthy after all, but the Vegas had instantly known it was magic.
Any couple would have been scared off, perhaps contacted the British Ministry and Magical Child Services, but the Vegas had handled it on their own and discreetly sought out the best legal services and psychological Healing treatment money could buy. The No-Maj child, his family, the children, and the staff were all legally Obliviated, erasing all memories of Rose and her existence. Once the video footage had been seized and destroyed the incident was permanently sealed away from the magical community. They, then, hired one of the best private magical tutors in the country and Rose continued her education, both No-Maj, and Magical, at home.
When she received her acceptance letter from Ilvermorny, the Vegas had given her the option to continue homeschooling but by then Rose had grown anxious to escape the confines of her home and be a normal magical child.
However, Ilvermorny had not been what she had expected. Yes, the castle was beautiful, the New England air was ever-changing and the enormous library was a refuge for Rose to be alone and absorb as much knowledge as possible. Yet, even among the magical, Rose could never be 'normal'. Her Legilimency repelled others away but Rose also withdrew willingly, put off by their insincere thoughts and ulterior motives that she could not ignore.
Rose sighed deeply at these recollections not out of melancholy but relief at having been given a second chance to start over and leave all that behind. She looked up at the framed covers, Hiro should have been the one on Duel! USA after all he had won the Championship fair and square. It was her family name and the world's fascination with tragic inspiring stories that set her above everyone else; there was no point denying that. Yet fame and wealth came with their advantages and in order for her to find any of her long-awaited answers she needed every advantage she could have.
Rose stood up and walked over to her full-length mirror to take a look at her reflection. She had grown another inch during the summer bringing her to a height of five-two. Her frame was petite and lean yet athletic and toned. The developing breasts on her chest had become plump and fuller but remained much smaller compared to other girls her age. It would have bothered Rose if her body hadn't made up for the lack of breast with a curvaceous figure and an ample bottom.
Sports had never been an interest of Rose, she was terrible at Quidditch and Quodpot, but she loved to be active. It was important for her to stay fit and fast for dueling, she needed as many advantages as possible against the older and more experienced dualists to make up for her size, not that Legilimency wasn't a huge advantage on its own.
The judges had known this too and despite the objection against her participation from the rival schools, she had been permitted to compete. There was no rule banning born Legilimens from competing and to make one would be discriminatory. Those in favor had argued that it was a good extra challenge for the other duelists and only realistic as out the real world they could very well find themselves fighting off a Legilimens, trained or born. Of course, there was also the undeniable and irresistible excitement it would bring to the crowd. Despite this, they had not believed that she would last long given her age, inexperience, and the size of the full arena. They believed it was impossible for Rose to focus on individual thoughts amongst a crowd of thousands. However, she had used their ignorance and underestimation to her advantage. Her speed and agility tired her opponents, slowing down their reactions and reflexes. Their minds only worked to betray them as they frantically searched for a curse to throw at her. However, what really shocked everyone was her newly revealed ability to perform nonverbal magic. Needless to say, everyone had been astounded when she reached the final rounds.
Rose liked to believe that she took after her father, James when it came to physical fitness and dueling. Of course, there were more tangible similarities such as their eye color. He and Rose shared the same golden hue that was the trademark of a Potter. Only Harry had inherited their mother's green eyes however, Rose had inherited everything else from her heart-shaped face, almond-shaped eyes, and straight button nose. There were other traits they shared too, Rose's dyed black hair covered the shade of dark red that colored the long cascade of loose, thick wavy tresses and the warm tan covered the actual fairness of her skin. These alterations were intentional as a way to resemble her adoptive family in a world she was rejected from and to avoid being gawked at as Rose was well aware of her resemblance to her mother.
Pulling down on her black and white Hobgoblins raglan t-shirt, Rose shifted awkwardly in her distressed, ripped jeans and black, laced ankle boots. The grungy outfit was new, and one that her mother did not like. Fashion and style were new to Rose thanks to the recent exposure to the wizarding fashion world during the Championships, therefore, she was still discovering her own taste but she knew she was a pretty girl.
Another advantage, said the voice.
She nodded and turned, giving a sleeping perched Theodora a soft pat on her head before taking off downstairs to join her parents for breakfast. Their thoughts gradually grew louder and clearer as she descended onto the ground floor and made her way into the dining area. Her father was reading the paper, another article on Sirius Black, while her mother was irritably wondering why Rose was not at breakfast yet.
'What is taking her so long?!' Rose heard Isabella wonder in her native language.
She quickened her steps and pushed open the door leading into the dining room before Isabella could even think of getting up to fetch her.
"Mornin'!" greeted Rose cheerfully as she walked over to the end of the dining table where her father was seated at the head completely immersed in the Daily Prophet while her mother sat beside him. Rose went over to Isabella first and gave her a kiss on the cheek then did the same with her father before settling in her own seat on his left.
Her parents had already started on breakfast so Rose loaded her plate with Perico-style scrambled eggs, plantains, avocado slices, and diced papaya. She had exercised that morning rather vigorously and was absolutely famished having gone extra hard as she found it helpful to take out her emotions by pushing the limits of her own body. It was also the only time Rose could escape her own mind and the minds of others who so freely and unwillingly shared their thoughts and secrets with her.
Her Legilimency was both a gift and a curse. Rose tried controlling it around her parents but as she got older and grew so did her power. It was strong and the real problem was containing it. People usually did not appreciate nor liked having their minds invaded but she could only try and ignore them as people's inner thoughts and private memories were constantly exposed to her.
Of course, there were those who could successfully shut down their minds around her such as Headmaster Fontaine who was a skilled Occlumens but it was rare. Often time, Rose wished that more people could master Occlumency including herself for it was an ancient and difficult form of magic with plenty of benefits such as avoiding mind invasion.
For a quick moment, Rose thought of the memories the Dark Lord had shared with her. She remembered those, it was hard to forget those terrible visions, and they had plagued her with nightmares throughout her young life and some nights they were also accompanied by her own vague and broken flashbacks.
How her mother and father had fallen to his Killing Curse.
Her mother's lifeless eyes staring hauntingly at her.
How Uncle Sirius carried her out of the house, instructing her to keep her eyes shut.
She hadn't.
She opened them and seen her father's body. He had never been so still not even in his sleep and that image had haunted her for years.
Rose swallowed a mouthful of arepa feeling grateful that neither her parents had any Legilimency skills to know the bleakness of her thoughts.
They'll send you back to the Mind Healers. The voice had always warned whenever the thought of sharing any of this creeped into her mind.
Do you doubt me? The voice asked.
'No,' Rose mentally replied as she swallowed a mouthful of eggs.
"I received a letter from Harry," she announced suddenly remembering Harry's proposal.
"Oh," said Isabella flatly as she brought her coffee cup to her plump red lips. It wasn't news that her mother worried about her well-being in this strange world. She feared past vendettas would endanger her only daughter and that included her relationship with Harry. Her fear was so great she had originally encouraged Rose to transfer to Beauxbatons but there had been no convincing the young witch. "
"What did he say, is he excited to see you?"
"Yea," Rose replied. "He's actually staying in Diagon Alley... at someplace called the Leaky Cauldron for the remainder of the summer. He thought it would be a good idea to meet up when we go to buy my school things and I would like to...if that's fine with you guys," she ended politely and casually taking a sip of orange juice to drive the casual point.
Isabella gave a small, smile, "That's nice of him."
She was going to turn down the offer, Rose could hear the explanation formulating inside her head.
Rose looked at her father, whose face was still covered by the paper, and back to her mother as she sipped on her coffee and set it down on the saucer.
"Rosita, we have to take into account that it might not be the best idea to go out in public right now. With that criminal loose and Harry and you being two of the most recognizable and famous kids in the country. I feel a lot better if we were to send one of the staff to collect your things."
Rose's heart sank, why did they insist on keeping her confined?! She needed to see Diagon Alley again! That's where they had been a family living in the apartment above the apothecary with Uncle Sirius and Aunt Marlene. She needed to walk down those cobbled, busy streets again if only to remind herself that it did exist and had not just been a dream that she could only faintly recall.
"But mom-"
"No 'buts'!" Isabella retorted sharply at her daughter, holding up a hand. "I'm sure your father agrees with me on this," she said looking towards her husband for support. "Rodrigo!"
"Didn't he blow up his aunt?" came her father's voice at last as he folded and set the paper down beside his plate. He winked at Rose amusingly and smiled, his dark, graying mustache, which matched his salt-and-pepper hair, lifted with the corners of his mouth.
'Don't worry, Rosita, I got this.' He assured mentally to her.
Rose couldn't help but smile, "He did but it was an accident which I'm sure the Minister already told you," she teased.
Rodrigo chuckled, "Well, I don't see why not," He continued quickly before his wife could protest, "After all, we have our own security and, not to mention, the dozens of Hit Wizards and Aurors patrolling every magical district in the country. Plus we'll be with them the entire time." He reassured his wife who stared at him angry.
Regardless, Rose could feel her spirits lift, she knew her mother would go along with her father not out of subservience but only because he had reassured her of all the safety precautions.
"Speaking of trips," continued Rodrigo as he took a sip from his coffee. "I have something important to discuss with you, Rosie."
Rose gave her father her full attention despite seeing a clear image of an invitation he had received earlier and the sender's name printed elegantly on the envelope.
"Lucius Malfoy has invited all of us to stay with his family at their summer home in Spain next week," he announced.
"Malfoy?" said Rose incredulously.
She knew that name, the Malfoys were part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, she had researched every name involved or even mentioned in the First War and their ties to each side.
Lucius Malfoy had been arrested on Death Eater suspicion but was cleared of all charges due to his claiming and, apparently, proving that he was a victim of the Imperius Curse.
Rose didn't believe it. It was common knowledge, even in America, that the ancient Pureblood families held strong anti-No-Maj ideologies, therefore, it only made sense that more than a few of them supported his Pureblood supremacy cause. They simply had been clever and rich enough to evade charges when he had fallen.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" asked Isabella, in her mind Rose could see that she was referring to the family's involvement in the First War and the notorious, well-known prejudice among the ancient Pureblood families.
"It's up to you, Rosie," said Rodrigo, thinking the same as his wife. "Lucius Malfoy was cleared of all charges, he is a valued and esteemed member of society and the Ministry and a generous benefactor to multiple charities and campaigns. Just yesterday, he donated 10,000 galleons to our anti-narcotics campaign. However, if it makes you uncomfortable, we do not have to accept."
That wasn't an option, this was her chance! That connection was the chance to find out more about the Dark Lord and the Pureblood elite who had supported him. There was no better way than by entering the jaws of the snake itself.
"He was cleared of all charges," Rose repeated shrugging indifferently. "It's not his fault he was Imperiused. Besides, the Malfoys are a huge deal, dad, and a very useful connection to have here. If he donated 10,000 galleons he can probably donate way more! You have to accept!"
Rodrigo smiled at his daughter feeling proud of her bravery and reason, "Very well, we leave on the twenty-first and return on the thirtieth. Write to Harry and tell him we'll meet with him that following Tuesday."
Perfect.