La Vie en Rose

Summary: The best thing about being seen as nothing more than pitiful, traumatized children is that no one would believe it possible for any of them to conspire with the Fae to kidnap the Girl-Who-Lived. FemHarry.

Just a warning: FemHarry, AU, Language, Clichés, Non-Cannon Character Death, More in the Future…

Just so you know (Name): FemHarry's name is Andromeda Rhoswen Potter. The name Andromeda means "Ruler/Protector of Men" and was the name of an Ethiopian princess whose mother angered the gods. To placate the gods, Andromeda was fastened to a rock to be used as a sacrifice to a sea monster, from which she was rescued by Perseus. In astronomy, Andromeda is a large northern constellation between Perseus and Pegasus as well a galaxy located two inmillion light years away. Rhoswen is a Welsh name meaning "White Rose" as well as "Fair/Blessed Rose".

I don't own anything related to Twisted Wonderland or Harry Potter!

Chapter 6. Begonia for Beware

NEVILLE

A light breeze blew in from somewhere in the dungeons, travelling through the stone corridors and blowing away the now ever familiar smell of dry blood and death that had refused to leave the castle until then. Walking through the rather untouched corridors of the dungeons, Neville hummed an old nursery hymn under his breath as he took a moment to enjoy the rare moment of peace before something went wrong.

And there was no doubt in his mind that something would go wrong sooner rather than later. Especially when one took the time to remember that peace wasn't a concept that lasted for too long in Hogwarts.

And just as he expected it, it didn't take long before he was proved right.

Neville yelped, bracing himself as someone bumped into him with enough force to throw him to the floor like a sack of potatoes. Rubbing his arm after his collision with the wall on his left, the blonde-haired Gryffindor turned to see who had decided to run around the castle like a angered Erumpent.

" Ron?!" Neville blinked, gaping at the older, red-haired teen limping down with a speed that shouldn't be possible.

"Sorry, Neville," he called over his shoulders, "but I don't have time to talk."

Neville flinched at the tone of his voice. It wasn't angry by any means, but there was a underling of danger to it that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He opened his mouth but came to a halt when his eye caught sight of the trail of blood Ron was leaving in his wake. It didn't seem like he was hurt but Neville couldn't stop himself from worrying.

What could have possibly happened during his short trip to Fred's and George's lab to cause so much anger? So much blood?

Neville pursued his lips, thinking for less than two seconds before his body decided that the best course of action at that moment was to follow.

So, he did.

It took him a while to find Ron because despite the damages done to his left leg by one of the Snatchers during his time on the run with Andromeda, the red-head was fast. Neville actually lost sight of him, having to actually follow the trail of blood until he finally found his friend in the entrance hall.

"Ron!" Neville shouted. The older teen ignored him, pushing the oak front door open. " Ron!"

He was ignored again. Taking a deep breath, Neville made three large strides to reach the red-haired wizard.

"Wait," Neville said, grabbing his arm without thinking.

He froze when Ron reacted to this by spinning around and raising his cane with a look of blind rage. The tip of the cane stopped an inch from his neck, his blue-eye blinking rapidly before he calmly raised his hands up to show that he wasn't a threat, waiting until Ron snapped himself out of wherever his mind had taken him to and his face twisted.

"What do you want?!" he growled.

Neville took a moment to answer, staring unblinkingly until the cane moved far away from his neck.

"Where're you going?"

Whatever he expected to hear from Ron, it certainly wasn't a coldly calm: "The Forbidden Forest."

His heart dropped, a cold feeling washing over him at the mere mention of that cursed place. Staring, a nervous laugh left his lips, "You can't be serious. What would you want there?"

If there was one thing that terrified him, it was the Forbidden Forest.

It wasn't even because of the forest itself. Neville actually rather liked it's tall and only shaped, albeit intimidating, trees and big variety of plants and fungi that could be found there. But the Forbidden Forest received that name for a reason: It was well known for housing several types of magical creatures and magical beings that were far from safe. And no, he wasn't talking about the trolls, centaurs or the Acromantulas.

Everyone in the British (as well the Irish and Scottish) Wizarding World knew that they were harmless when compared to the real danger hiding in the shadows of the Forbidden Forest.

"Not a what," Ron corrected. "A who."

Neville blinked, taking a deep breath as his brain registered the insanity just heard.

"A who," he repeated slowly. "You –"

The blonde teen couldn't finish. As much as he wanted to believe that Ron was talking about the centaurs, he knew that it wasn't the case.

No.

That wasn't it.

Ron was ready to walk into danger, to possibly face death, just to look for the Fair Folk. Neville had never before questioned the older teen's sanity, not even when he acted like a mad dog to protect Andromeda or when allowed his anger to cloud his judgement, but now? Well…

"Why?" Neville chocked out. "What could you possibly want with one of them?"

There was a moment of silence.

Ron closed his eyes, inhaling and exhaling a lungful of air. The older wizard seemed to try and simmer his temper down while thinking if he should or shouldn't e plain whatever was going on in his mind.

After one or two minutes, Neville thought his friend was going to ignore him again. But then, Ron looked towards the forest and said:

"The Ministry is ruining everything again," he gritted his teeth audibly. "They didn't even wait a fucking week before coming for Andy."

Neville felt his heart drop, closing his eye for a moment. His friend didn't even need to elaborate. He knew enough about how the Ministry, and the old members of the Wizengamot, worked to be able guess why they had come for Andromeda so soon after the end of the war.

There was no better way to keep the public's opinion in their favor than to seize control over the one girl who is now being lauded as Britain's Savior (As though Andy was nothing more than a symbol instead of a frail human being).

"She was meant to be free… She –"

The red-head cut himself off, clamping his mouth shut. Ron snarled, hitting the end of his cane against the floor a few times. Going by the look in his eyes, he was probably thinking about what ifs and what could've been had the Ministry not interfered which only served to anger him more – hurt him more. Neville didn't say a word, waiting until Ron managed to let some of his anger out before opening his mouth to speak.

"Ok… I get it, but…" Neville licked his dry lips, hesitating for a brief second. He knew better than to say Fair Folk out loud and risk bringing their attention on him, "But why them? What could they possibly do to help?"

Would they even help? And if they did, what would the price be? After all, there were only a selected few who could get something from the Fair Folk without being tricked or demanded something in return.

And, sometimes, that price was far from fair or equal to what was being asked. Just take Madam Rosmerta as a example: In exchange for her twenty-two-inch waist and youthful looks, the landlady of the Three Broomsticks had bargained away five decades of her life. A price that she quickly regretted upon learning that the poorly thought wording of her request allowed the Fae she contracted with to take away one more year of her lifespan every summer just to power the enchantment placed on her (A wixen of average power could live up to two hundred and fifty years but Neville doubted the witch would be able to live past one hundred and fifty).

"Do you really think we would be able to hide Andy from the Ministry?" Ron asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"We can try," Neville replied.

He didn't even care about they had to do. Even if they had to resort to Forbidden Magic, anything was a better alternative than dealing with the Fair Folk.

Guessing what was going on in the blonde's head, Ron snorted. "They are not that bad."

Neville gave him a look of pure disbelief.

"Are you crazy?" the blonde hissed. " Not that bad?"

Maybe it was his strict traditionalist upbringing speaking, but the blonde Gryffindor believed that no Fair One was good. Not to say they were evil – Oh no, far from it. Their moral compass, however, was far more lax and different from humans'; what a Fae thought was fun was usually extremely dangerous for a frail wixen.

Knowing this, the mere thought of Ron allowing any of them to even look at Andromeda made Neville sick. She wasn't healthy enough – be it physically, mentally or emotionally – to be able to interact with something as mischievous and vicious as a Fae without grave consequences.

"Neville," Ron said firmly, pursuing his lips. "I know what I am doing."

"No," Neville shook his head, making a motion with his hands, "I don't think you do. Andy has enough problems already. She does not need one of the Courts to make it worse."

" I know what I am doing," the red-head repeated firmly, gripping the handle of his cane tightly. "He will help."

Neville had no idea of who He was and he didn't think he wanted to know. So, he asked with a sardonic smile:

"For what price?"

"You seem to be under the impression that I care about the price I have to pay to keep my sister safe," the older wizard bared his teeth, leaning his face closer and allowing Neville to see the slightly unhinged look on his face.

Neville winced, biting his tongue. The war had damaged and changed all of them. Andromeda lost her happiness; she was sadder and more wistful, making them all keep an eye on her in fear of the girl walking to her death once more. And Ron – With every death, he lost a piece of himself. Ginny's death, for example, broke his heart, and Hermione… Hermione's death had completely broken him. Ron was never the same: he was more wild; someone who no longer cared about the consequences of his actions if it got what he wanted in the end, and was far more prone to violence than ever before.

Shaking his head, Neville took a deep breath. He knew that no matter what he said, Ron wasn't going to change his mind, so there was only one thing he could do.

"Ok," Neville said, standing straighter. "Lead the way."

Ron flinched back, staring at him with wide eyes. The look on his face would have been humorous if the situation they had found themselves in wasn't so grave.

"What?"

"Lead the way," Neville repeated slowly, crossing his arms and staring back at the red-head. "I'm certainly not letting you go into the Forbidden Forest to deal with one of them on your own."

The older Gryffindor opened and closed his mouth before clamping it shut. He didn't say anything for a few moments before nodding his head.

"Fine," Ron said, relaxing a little and looking far more calmer than before. His anger being replaced slightly by determination. "But you won't say a word."

"Fine," Neville agreed. "You won't even remember I'm following you."

They shook on it before marching across the ground in silence. The sun was still present up in the sky but the closer they got to the forest, the darker and colder it got. Beside him, Ron took out his wand, murmured a low "Lumos!" and a tiny light appeared at the end of it; the little ball of light itself was barely bigger than a Galleon but it was so dark that it was more than enough to allow the two of them to not accidentally walk out of the faded path leading them into the heart of the forest.

At least that was where Neville hoped they were going. It was either walking towards the heart of the forest or walking in circles until one of the Fae got tired of them and decided to end whatever game they were playing. And, to be perfectly honest, the blonde, blue-eyed Gryffindor was trying to ignore the existence of the second possibility.

He didn't want to fight. No matter how brave he was, or how much fight experience he had, Neville knew that the Fair Ones were far stronger than he was.

Neville blinked, snapping himself out of his thoughts when Ron pulled him back by the scruff of his old Herbology Club hoodie. Turning his head, he saw that the red-haired wizard had stopped walking and was now scanning their surroundings for something. Or rather, some one.

It is too quiet, the teen noticed a moment later, muscles tensing in anticipation as he observed his friend. Now that he had thought about it, Neville couldn't ignore the forest's uncharacteristic stillness which was terrifying as the forest, much like Hogwarts, always had felt alive. It was even worse when he started comparing that stillness to the one he always felt before a big attack or incident. In other words, it was an omen of danger.

"Lord Raven," Ron said, clenching his sweaty hands. "I would like to speak with you."

At first, nothing happened.

But then, the shadows started moving. They pooled from all corners of the forest like churning, ink-black water, shifting and twisting while creeping closer and closer. Neville stepped back involuntarily when the shadows almost touched his shoes but just before they did so, the shadows retreated back and rose from the ground in a swirl, resembling a small but still powerful tornado.

"How interesting," a voice purred out, sounding like silk at the same time that it made Neville feel like every word spilled a drop of the strongest poison one could possibly find. "Wasn't it you, Ignatius, who said you would never seek me out for anything?"

It took the blonde-haired teen a little longer than necessary to remember that Ignatius was Ron's middle name.

"I won't have been here if I had a choice, Lord Raven," Ron gritted his teeth. It was clear that he was trying his best to keep his tone as polite as possible.

Neville hoped he would continue like that. The Fair Folk were complex beings and, with so much of their culture being lost or twisted by time and mortals who made their own assumptions about things, it was almost impossible to know what truly could or couldn't offend them. Moreover, no matter which Court or group they belonged to, they were all different; each holding their own standards regarding their interactions with mortals.

"Oh, I know," the voice said with dark amusement.

Neville blinked for the first time in the past four minutes, eye hurting as the shadows intertwined and solidified until a tall, slender man stood before them.

No, he thought. Not a man.

It was a Fae.

The still present shadows, which seemed to have spread through the forest and now surrounded them in what looked to be a cocoon, obscured his face from view but the blonde Gryffindor could see that the Fae had a pale complexion and long dark hair tied back in what looked to be a low ponytail. He was wearing what Lavender Brown liked to call a poet shirt, black trousers buttoned the waist and expensive black shoes. The Fae had a long coat draped over his shoulders which had silver details embroidery in the fabric and a fathered collar. After a moment Neville soon noticed that the Fae also had a silver pocket watch and was wearing several silver and shiny accessories like a necklace, earrings and multiple rings.

Neville snapped himself out of his thoughts when the Fae continued speaking.

"I'm merely curious about what could have brought you here," the Fae said, tilting his head much like a curious bird.

No, Neville decided, thinking about the amount of silver the Fae was wearing and what Ron was calling him, he is a bird.

"The Ministry," Ron replied.

"The Ministry…" Lord Raven repeated softly. Humming, he reached out to tap his partially obscured chin. "I do not understand why I should care about your Ministry, Ignatius. You can deal with them on your own."

Ron audibly gritted his teeth at the obvious dismissal. Neville winced at the sound while Lord Raven seemed to grow more amused.

"You should care," Ron snapped, giving up on being polite. "It's Andromeda they're after."

It happened so fast that Neville barely managed to register what was happening. Ron was finished speaking Andromeda's name before the Fae's fingers warped around the red-head's neck. Neville froze, unable to move as the Fae stepped closer.

The temperature dropped and the shadows moved away from his face and Neville felt his heart shudder, horror washing over him. He started shaking, blood rushing to his ears and brain screaming about impostors and fakes. Some of those features may have been more masculine and sharp but that face?

That was Andromeda's face.

And the eyes! Neville choked, trying and failing to stead his breathing. Those eyes (Those cold, malicious and unforgiven eyes) had the same shade of otherworldly green as Andromeda's.

Why? Neville wanted to scream, his wariness about the Fae disappearing. Why does this thing look so much like her? How dare this impostor –

"What did you just say?" Lord Raven asked, his amusement from early being replaced by calm, murderous anger while the poison in his words now felt more like a invisible sword ready to strike.

Wide eyed, Neville growled and struggled to lung towards the Fae that held Ron as though he was a ragdoll but was stopped from doing so by the shadows curling around his legs and keeping him in place. He opened his mouth to speak only to find that his voice just won't work and trying to move his wand arm also didn't work. He felt a ever growing mix of anger and helplessness as all he could was watch his friend trying and failing to crawl Lord Raven's hand away from his neck while gasping for air and glaring at the Fae.

Then, after what seemed be hours, the older blue-eyed wizard managed to say, "They're after Androm –"

Ron audibly inhaled a lungful of air as the fingers around his neck relaxed.

"Explain to me, Ignatius," the Fair One purred dangerously, baring his teeth, " why your Ministry is trying to get their hands on my Rose. I do believe she has already fulfilled her prophecy."

Neville chocked with pure anger, his blood boiling at the thought of anyone claiming Andromeda as their own without her say so; acting as though she didn't have a choice. Ron's face twisted, hatred flashing in his eyes and the blonde-haired Gryffindor wondered if his own face

"She isn't yours," Ron snarled.

"I told you this before but I think you need a reminder: She is mine, boy," Lord Raven hissed. Neville stopped struggling, surprise overcoming his anger for a second when the Fair One leaned dangerously close and continued, " My blood. My descendant. Mine."

" What?!" Neville mouthed in disbelief.

Ron glanced at him, silently telling the one-eyed blonde that he would explain later. Biting his tongue, Neville wanted to understand what was happening and how exactly Andromeda and the Fae were related (And her being part Fae explained so much about her looks, some of her habits and how she felt more strongly than others) but knew that now just wasn't the time. But later, when he could finally speak again and they were far away from Lord Raven, Ron would definitely give him a few answers and explanations.

"I don't care if she is of your blood! I don't care about what kind of inexistent claim you think you have!" Ron snarled, pupils dilated and body shaking as he gripped the Fae's wrist with so much strength that it surprised Neville that a bone hadn't broken. "All I care about is that my sister is going to waste away in the hands of the Ministry if nothing is done!"

Neville flinched, eyes burning with unshed tears but he ignored then with practiced ease. The blue-eyed wizard banished the image of Andromeda's lifeless green-eyes after she walked to her death from his mind. He hated how he couldn't deny his fellow Gryffindor's words: the D.A. knew, without any doubt, that Andromeda was exhausted from life itself and there was no doubt that she would allow herself to waste away from all expectations and demands if no one found a way to push her into another path. A path that, hopefully, could keep her as far from Britain as possible.

"And what do you think I could possibly do, boy?" Lord Raven snarled back, the color of his eyes changing in the same way Andromeda's did whenever she was feeling something intense. The green in those eyes had practically turned black from anger, "I certainly wasn't enough to stop my Rose from turning around and walking to her execution with nothing but ghosts of the past following after her!"

The shadows twisted in response to their master's volatile emotions, screams and whispers coming from somewhere in the forest.

Pursuing his lips, Ron seemed to take a moment to breathe and calm himself. He looked into the Fae's eyes (And Neville felt his respect for the other skyrocket at this. He couldn't imagine looking into those eyes without feeling sick of his stomach) before baring his teeth.

"I do not expect much," Ron hissed, his tone firm but with a hint of mockery that made the Fae to stare down at the red-head as though he was a amusing but still insufferable child. "All I want is to keep her safe. Send her somewhere they can't find her! Anywhere!"

The shadows stilled.

" Anywhere, you say?" the Fae whispered. He was still holding Ron by the neck but his hold was far more lax, his anger having been replaced by a look of consideration.

Somewhere, Anywhere and Anything were rather dangerous words to use near a Fair One, Neville thought with growing dread. They were far too vague and had far too many ways to be exploited. But… Then again, maybe that was exactly what they needed to help Andromeda. Hopefully.

" Anywhere," Ron repeated, sneering. "Or would that be too difficult for you?"

Oh, Neville thought a little hysterical, he was now challenging the Fae. It was official; after years, he could finally confirm that Ronald Weasley was the most insane member of his family. The twins couldn't even compare.

The Fae blinked, leaning back.

"Difficult?" Lord Raven purred. " No. Far from it. I'm familiar with a place no one in your Ministry would be able to find her."

"What's the problem then?" Ron narrowed his eyes.

The raven-black haired Fae hummed nonchalantly, "There is no problem. I am owned enough favors to get my Rose there."

There is big but there, Neville nipped his lips, clenching and unclenching his hands nervously. And I don't think I want to know what it is.

Ron recognized that too because he raised his chin confidently as much as he could considering he was still being held like a rag doll.

"So, what do you want in return?" the red-haired teen asked.

There was a moment of silence and then, the Fair One smiled.

And it was filled with so much wrongness (Especially seeing it on that face) that Neville had no doubts that he would have nightmares about it for months to come.

Hope you liked it and please, don't forget to:

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– Cissnei.