Lethargy, that was all she felt over the past few weeks. She barely came out of the room the Grangers were letting her stay in since she and Hermione came back from Hogwarts. She didn't want to do anything anymore, the outside world was full of pain and just as much resided within her. The door cracked open and she could see Hermione staring at her nervously. "Rose, the Order is here, we're going to move to the safe house now," the brunette said into the room.
That was the only information she had been given after leaving the school, that Dumbledore was reforming the Order of the Phoenix to take a stand against the Dark Lord upon his return. She had no other news, not from her friends and nothing from Lestrange.
She didn't know why she was hopeful that he would contact her. There wasn't anything he could say that would possibly ease the sense of betrayal she felt.
Getting up off the mattress she gathered her trunk that she had prepared. The Grangers stood with a set of car keys in hand. "We're going to be driving there, apparently you are going to be flying, to split up attention."
"Yup," a pink haired lady said. "Me and Hes here will go with the Grangers, take a roundabout way, we'll meet back up at headquarters. While you and the rest will fly there."
Rose just nodded her head as Hermione took Hedwig's cage and her trunk. "It'll get better I promise," Hermione said softly to Rose, giving her one more hug for good measure.
Stepping outside Rose could see various other adults waiting on brooms, Professor Moody and Lupin, along with Sirius and people she didn't know yet. "Come along pup, we'll get you there safe and-"
"She's here," a voice shouted from the nearby houses. Death Eaters started to pour out from the opposite side of the street and it looked as though a massive fight just to leave was going to happen when the entire street erupted in flames.
The sound of clapping hands drew everyone's attention and Rose's breath caught in her throat. Strolling down the street, leisurely as could be was Lestrange, humming a tune. "No no no, this is all wrong," he said while looking between the two factions. "Can't have our big fight in a muggle neighborhood, it's filthy. Least of all it will bring the attention of the ministry, and that would just put an end to all this far too soon. I've already done enough to make Madam Bones want to send in a squad of aurors now, not much time to have real fun. So run along," he grinned at the Death Eaters who now that the element of surprise had been taken from them and that the aurors were likely on their way, went back into the dark and disapparated.
"Let me kill him, let me kill him," Sirius angrily shouted as he was held back by a tall African man.
"We don't have time, we have to get Rose to safety, let the aurors deal with him," Kingsley urged as he pointed to the sky and Rose was put on her broom and led away.
"If they could," Moody cringed, after his time in classes with the boy he doubted many of them would be able to last long if he wanted to start racking up a bodycount.
They flew for almost an hour before landing in a darkened park. "Here's the secret," Moody said as he handed a slip of paper to Rose.
Reading the information on it caused a house to spring up between the rows, she slipped that into her back pocket as they walked across the street. The group moving up to the door which swung open for them. "Welcome to my ancestral home," Sirius said with some embarrassment in his voice.
Rose looked around the dreary room that was covered in cobwebs and had paint peeling off the walls. "It's… well it's, a place."
"Yeah," Sirius chuckled under his breath. "Look we have to discuss what happened with Dumbledore but I promise after supper we'll have a chance to talk. So for the moment, why not head up the stairs, the Weasleys are already here and Hermione will be behind us shortly."
"Okay Sirius," Rose nodded.
She spent very little time talking as Ron seemed to be doing enough for everyone, ranting and raving about how much of a menace Lestrange truly was for betraying everyone as he did. So she was thankful when the call came for food.
Sitting down at the table she looked at the home cooked meal by Molly which normally would have been so comforting but nothing was right, lifting her spoon from the stew she paused and her hand started to shake.
"It's a little rude to begin the meal without waiting for everyone," Lestrange said while standing in the doorway. His sudden appearance caused chaos from everyone who started to draw wands. "WAIT!" Lestrange shouted as he held up his hands.
"I have come for one reason only, I wish to talk to Rose, if she'll have me," Lestrange explained while not taking his eyes off of hers.
"And if she won't?" Sirius snarled, ready to throw every dark curse he knew at his cousin's son.
"Then I'll leave and she'll never have to see me again," Stephen answered.
"Why should I?" Rose stood up, slamming her spoon on the table.
"Because after what I did, you deserve an honest explanation, no matter how much I have been trying to avoid it," Lestrange said before slowly reaching into his robes. He pulled a pinecone out and set it down on the table. "You've deserved so much more than that and I couldn't be the one to give it to you."
Rose looked at the pinecone and up into Lestrange's eyes, she wanted to see his facade, the unfeeling look he got when hurting others but all she could see was vulnerability, he was coming to her without a guard, despite it not seeming that way, she was in control. "I- I will speak with you," she answered.
This caused almost as big of an uproar as his arrival, as everyone at the table began to shout that she wasn't allowed to, but the only thing she was focusing on was Lestrange and how when she agreed, relief flooded through his body. "I said, I will speak with him, alone. Everyone get out," she ordered the people.
"He's dangerous, this is insane," Remus hissed.
"No, what is insane is that after all these years I suddenly can't trust him," Rose retorted. "Whatever this was, I need to know and he's the only one who can tell me."
Nodding his head, Lestrange looked at the very angry Hermione. "Granger, come collect my wands and knives," instructing her as she stomped over. "One on each wrist, my right sock, the small of my back, and, well just take my whole robe, that'll be faster."
Hermione roughly pulled the robes off Lestrange. "There I am, mostly unarmed now."
"Mostly?" Minerva squawked as Hermione shook the robe and over a dozen implements fell onto the floor.
"I have a ceramic knife surgically implanted in my thigh, magically grafted onto the bone, I can use a wandless summoning charm to pull it through the muscle and skin if I ever found myself tied up," Stephen explained. "Along with, well, a shrunken bomb somewhere on my person."
Moody shook his head. "The kid's barmy, no one should be that paranoid." Waving his wand, and seeing the things light up on Lestrange's body. "But he's more prepared for whatever happens than even me."
"Good, now can you all please leave," Rose motioned to the door, reluctantly everyone moved around the two teens and finally they were alone. Flicking her wand Rose put up a charm to muffle their words so they couldn't be listened in on from those outside.
There was a tense silence between them before Lestange took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I… should have been honest with you," Lestrange started.
"Oh you think? You really think that maybe at some point in all the years I knew you that you should have told me that your father was Bloody Fucking Voldemort?!" Rose shouted. "Was it all a ruse? This entire time just some fucked up experiment where you built me up just to kick me down for your amusement? Or have you been working to bring him back all these years?"
"Well… answer me!" Rose demanded.
"No it was…," Lestrange sighed as he stammered because he didn't know how to say what he wanted to. "I didn't tell you this because… because I was afraid. If I told you who I was born of, and you- I didn't want you to see me as a monster like him."
"You did a bloody good job of that, you arrogant-," Rose seethed because that was an excuse and she expected better from Stephen.
"I didn't want the woman I loved to look at me like I was less than dirt, that everything I did was simply for my family. I've tried so hard to distance myself from what they have done and I just knew that his name alone would be impossible for anyone to reconcile. So I hid that information," Lestrange admitted as he sat down. "I wanted to tell you for so long, but how could I… what words could I possibly use that would make you understand that the person you trusted was the son of the most evil man in history."
"You could have tried," Rose protested the cowardice when she knew he was brave enough to face everything else in life.
Lestrange's jaw quivered. "I wanted to, so badly, I had wanted to tell you it during the Yule Ball but when Weasley hurt you I didn't because it would have only made it worse, and you needed comfort, I had to protect you from the pain it would cause."
Seeing Stephen like this was so alien, he never acted weak, even when injured he would project an aura of power and confidence or at the very least deflections through humor, but for him to be on the brink of tears it was… "But why were you there? Helping him get a body back?" Rose asked.
"I… I found out how he did it," Lestrange answered tiredly. "It took me until recently to discover his means of not passing on, and it requires that he has a permanent physical body again. He needed to come back and be confident or else he could run and hide for centuries, growing his power and influence. I was able to discover through my uncle the method being used to bring him back and what it would require. That's how I knew where to find you. He'd have to go to grandfather's grave."
"So you just needed to let him hurt me so we could be rid of him for good this time?" Rose raised an eyebrow at how convenient that was.
"It's true, and there was only one way I could think of that would garner his curiosity enough to trick him into letting you go, I had to reveal who I was to him," Lestrange admitted. "I would have preferred he never knew that I was born of his seed. But it was needed to keep you safe."
"Are you really his son?" Rose asked as she came over to Lestrange's side.
"I am, my mother, she um… was very devoted to him and when there were talks about my Aunt Narcissa trying to have a child she wanted one as well and um… there are some pretty powerful sleeping agents and the muggles make these uh pills that can… get a wizard's-," looking down at his crotch.
Rose's eyes widened in shock at the revelation that Lestrange was born out of Bellatrix basically raping the Dark Lord. "Oh my god."
"Yeah, that uh… it was a little traumatizing to be told how you were conceived," Lestrange wrung his hands. "When you were seven."
"Wow," Rose blinked in surprise, she doubted if her parents were alive if her mom sat her down and explained the night that she was made that she'd be able to take that any better than Lestrange did.
"Yup," Stephen popped his lips and patted his thighs. "Rose, I really didn't mean to hurt you, how can I make it up to you and prove that I love you. I'll do anything, I'll never kill again, I'll return everything I've ever stolen, I'll even… I'll even apologize to Weasley."
Rose hummed. "Wow you are serious if you'd consider bending the knee to Ron. But… I was hurt and I need time to know you really do mean it."
"I see, I'll- I'll go, give you space," Lestrange stood up from the table only to have his hand grabbed.
"Which is why you will be spending your summer here, when you aren't helping the Order, in your own ways of course, you will be here with me," Rose smiled as the horror crossed over Stephen's face.
"I-," Stephen stopped and started to smile. "I really think I'd like that Rose, rather than running around, I can prove that I'm a good boyfriend."
"Oh don't think you are out of the dog house, there's a lot of information you need to share," Rose warned her boyfriend because she wasn't going to break things off with him over one really big secret. Leaning into him she kissed his lips. "But I am relieved that this wasn't you turning your back on me."
"Like I said Rose, I'm yours and you are mine," Stephen grinned as he snaked an arm around her waist and returned the affection.
Now that the sounds had gotten quiet, the others outside the room had gotten concerned, so they barged in to see Rose and Stephen in a tender embrace, which only served to raise the blood pressure of many.