I know progress is slow on this and my other story i am super busy right now and trying to manage several things i appreciate peoples patience.
Harry and Rose were sending letters to each other again and meeting up outside of classes. Rose didn't realise just how much she had missed sending letters to Harry and hearing about his days.
It was at breakfast on Friday that Rose's mood dropped significantly. An owl landed next to her and as soon as the letter was removed it took off immediately. Rose knew without looking it would contain information on her detention. One look at Harry and Hermione proved this theory to be correct.
Your detention will take place tonight. You will meet Mr Filch at the great hall at eleven o'clock.
Professor .
Rose looked down at the table at Malfoy he had been eating like normal but once he read his letter he pushed his plate away and a sombre look appeared on his face. Rose found it very hard to concentrate on her lessons that day. Her mind kept wandering to her detention. She couldn't help but wonder just what they would be doing that required them to be out so late at night.
Her last class was double Potions. Throughout the lesson Harry and Rose shared looks of anticipation. Harry was so distracted that he messed up his potion and Professor Snape looked furious and docked many points. It was times like that Rose was thankful she was a Slytherin and not a Gryffindor. Her potion was not much better than Harry's but everyone knew Snape was a biased man.
Rose found eating that night difficult as thousands of detention scenarios crossed her mind. She wondered what task would require so many people to do. As far as she knew everyone had detention that same night so it must be something pretty big. Another thing that she could not get out of her mind was the time. Eleven at night. As she was in trouble for being out of bed after hours; it seemed quite bizarre that her punishment would be after hours.
When Rose entered the Great hall, she gave a small smile to Harry who returned it. Filch must have seen it because he scowled and complained about corporal punishment being banned. He seemed thoroughly happy nonetheless that so many students were in detention. Not for the first time Rose wondered why the man worked in a school. He seemed to loath all students.
Before she could truly ponder on this further, he started to walk demanding they follow him. He was leading them out onto the grounds and toward Hagrid's Hut. When Hagrid exited his cabin Harry and Hermione seemed a little less anxious about the detention. Filch ofcourse saw this and insisted they would not be having a nice easy time with Hagrid.
"You can leave now Filch. It ain't your place to lecture them." Filch looked a little put out at being sent away in such a manner but left muttering about something that sounded to Rose like hanging from thumbs. Rose quickly tried to shake that image from her head.
"Right. Now tonight yere going to be helpin me look for somethin that's been hurting unicorns in the forest." Before Hagrid could continue Malfoy spoke up, Rose noticed he sounded scared and she had to fight not to laugh.
After a short while of Malfoy complaining and Hagrid putting him in his place they were in the forest. Hagrid had split them into two groups. Rose was sent with her fellow Slytherin and Fang, much to her annoyance. Rose soon found out that Fang was not the only a coward like Malfoy, although Malfoy was trying to hide it by being a jerk and trying to make Rose jump.
After about fifteen minutes of this, he gave up and tried to engage Rose in conversation. Unfortunately his topic of choice was wizarding families, a topic she would much rather avoid since she did not know hers. Seeing that he was just going to be ignored or will only get simple and short answers, Malfoy got annoyed and sent a stinging hex at Rose.
"You're so going to regret that!" Rose shouted, spinning round to face Malfoy. With a flick of her wand his stinging hex was removed and her counter body bind hit Malfoy.
Malfoy, who had not been expecting Rose to know the counter was laughing until Rose's curse hit him. In his efforts to evade the spell he fell on his face and complained loudly. Rose gave him a good kick in the ribs before sending up red sparks and sitting on a stump.
She did not stay seated for long however, a loud rustling sound filled the forest around them. To Rose it sounded like hooves but she couldn't place just where they were coming from. As Rose lit her wand and looked around a dark in colour yet majestic looking Centaur came into the clearing.
"What is a child of the castle doing in the woods alone?" The male Centaur asked. His voice was close in proximity but sounded distant as if he wasn't here in the moment.
"We are here with Hagrid but we split into two groups. We are looking for whatever that has been hurting Unicorns." The Centaur nodded his head slowly and looked up to the sky.
"There are many secrets around you, question things that do seem unusual and you may find the answers." Rose looked at the Centaur completely bewildered. Before she could say anything however the Centaur spoke again.
"Mars is bright tonight. Have they taught you up at the school the significance of this?"
"Erm no. We do look at the stars in astrology but we don't read them like that."
"There is much you can learn from the stars. Mars bright tells of a coming war, a war I fear you will be dragged into."
Before he could add anything more Hagrid ran into the clearing crossbow ready. Harry, Neville and Hermione were struggling to keep up with him. When he saw the Centaur he lowered the crossbow and looked around for Malfoy, when he saw him on the floor he looked to the Centaur who looked as if he had just noticed the body on the floor.
"What happened Rose?" Hagrid asked, not looking particularly worried.
"That git thought it would be a good idea to try and frighten me. I was ignoring him because he is an ass and he shot a stinging hex at me. So yeah I jinxed him." Rose said this with no concern for getting into trouble in fact she was rather amused and was more concerned about the Centaur.
"Well we can leave him there for a little while I talk to Lohan here. How are you Lohan?" Hagrid asked, looking back to the Centaur.
"I am well Hagrid. It is unusual for you to bring students into the forest."
"I needed help looking for the thing hurting Unicorns. Do you know anything?" Lohan looked up into the sky and repeated
"Mars is bright." Hagrid let out a long sigh and muttered something that sounded like "so we have heard."
Before the conversation could continue the Centaur looked around at the other students. When his eyes locked onto Harry's Lohan looked between him and Rose.
"Do they know yet Hagrid?" Lohan asked. Hagrid had a look of panic and quickly stated no. At this Lohan looked disheartened. He then turned and started to leave.
"We Centaurs still do not think this is right. Be careful in the forest for it is not a safe place."
Hagrid looked between Rose and Harry both looked confused and looked like they wanted to question him about the Centaur's words.
"Right. Well there's still work to be done so let's get him up and get back to it." Hagrid muttered. Rose walked over and cast the Finite spell though she did not look happy about it.
"I think I will take Malfoy with me why don you and Rose go together that way and we will go this way." As Hagrid said this to Harry, Rose got the impression he wanted to avoid being questioned.
As Harry and Rose walked in the direction Hagrid had indicated, neither spoke for a short time. After a short walk though this became a little awkward and both felt they needed to address the issue.
"So any idea what Lohan ment?" Harry chose to speak first but the way he phrased the question left no doubt he already knew the answer.
"Nope. But it looks like Hagrid does, think we can get it out of him?"
"Maybe, he has already let it slip about Flamel and Fluffy."
"I still find it hard to believe there is a three headed dog in the school."
Before Harry could respond he fell to his knees and started clutching his scar. He looked like he was in alot of pain and it worried Rose. Rose was instantly by his side trying to find out what happened. In his letters he had mentioned scar hurting but he never said it was this bad. Looking around Rose couldn't see what had caused the pain. A few moments later an eerie sound drew her attention, the scene made her blood freeze.
On the floor was a Unicorn clearly bleeding heavily. Rose could see a figure dressed in a dark hooded cloak laying over the Unicorn. It looked like the figure was drinking the blood of the Unicorn. The figure must have felt eyes watching because it suddenly turned to face Harry and Rose.
Rose lifted her wand and fired red sparks, this seemed to make the figure rush forward in order to stop her. Before Rose could decide what to do next the sound of hooves once again filled the forest and a Centaur Rose had not yet seen collided into the figure.
This new Centaur had white blonde hair and a palomino body; his name was Firenze. Firenze used his hooves to continuously attack the figure. The figure rose as best it could and took off fleeing the assault.
As the figure got further from Harry he seemed to recover more and was able to rise. His hand was still holding his scar as he looked around.
"Harry are you alright?" Rose's voice was full of concern as she watched Harry.
"Yeah I'm fine … now at least. My scar it's never hurt like that before." As Harry spoke the Centaur Firenze turned to face them.
"Harry Potter are you sure that you are okay?"
"Yes I'm fine but what was that?" Harry responded looking at the poor now dead Unicorn.
"And why did Harry seem so affected by it?" Rose added before Firenze could respond.
"That Harry Potter was a very dark being. You would have to be to do what it has done here tonight and many other nights before. Tell me Mr Potter Miss … Shacklebolt was it? Do you know what Unicorn blood is used for?"
"I do not know what Unicorn blood is used for now. But how is it that you know my name?" Rose replied to Firenze Harry shook his head indicating he too did not know what it was used for.
"We have used the horn in potions and I know the hair can be used in wandmaking." He added.
"You Rose are known to our kind as Harry is known to our kind. It is a shame you are yet to learn your birth name but it is not our place to tell. Slaying a Unicorn is an act of pure evil and to feast on it's blood is considered a most heinous crime. Yet if you are desperate enough to accept a Cursed life, a half life, Unicorn blood will stop one from dying."
"No surly no one would be that desperate?" Rose stated quickly. The idea of someone doing that to a Unicorn repulsed her greatly.
"Can either of you think of no man that would be so desperate? Someone who maybe just needs to stay alive long enough to get something else?" Firenze countered.
"The stone?" Harry asked, thinking allowed.
Before Firenze could respond however Hagrid appeared once more with a crossbow in hand.
Trailing just a bit behind were the other students on detention.
"Firenze thank you for helping Harry and Rose. I think I should take the children back to the castle we have found what we were looking for."
"Farwell Hagrid and Students of the castle may we one day meet again" With this statement he left and Hagrid led the students back to the castle. The group barely said anything as they walked back. At the entrance to the castle Hagrid bid them farewell and sent them to bed, insisting they went straight there and no more night time strolls.
Surprisingly Malfoy said nothing to Rose as they made their way down to the dungeons. Rose could tell he was fuming and she thought a letter would be sent to Malfoy Sr for sure. In the girls dorm room Rose quickly changed into pajamas and fell into an uneasy sleep. Her dreams were plagued with Lohans words to her. Now more than ever she wanted to know more about her parents.
While King had told Rose her parents were respectable people and loved in the wizarding world she could find no record of the family she once had. When she used to ask King about it he would say he wasn't supposed to tell. Each time she tried to get answers she saw it was harder on King he would look physically uncomfortable. It almost looked as if something was refusing to let him tell her. After a few times of asking she stopped, she hated the pained looks in King's eye.
The next morning chaos ensued Mr Malfoy Sr was clearly furious about something as he stormed into the Great Hall. Rose was pretty sure it was her hexing Malfoy the night before and refused to make eye contact with the man.
Mr Malfoy in Rose's opinion was a strangely unlikeable person. As he walked he had an air of arrogance and inflated self importance. His dramatic entrance made Rose pretty sure he wanted all eyes on him as he walked up to the head table.
Dumbledore, Rose noticed, seemed completely unmoved by Mr Malfoy's behaviour and continued to eat his breakfast until Malfoy Sr was directly in front of him. From this far away Rose could not hear what was being said but she did notice people closer to Dumbledore were looking down the table. Either at her or at Malfoy Jr who was sitting not too far away from her.
Some short time later Mr Malfoy started to leave; he was closely followed by Snape and Dumbledore. As Snape passed he sneered at Rose and she was told to follow. Sighing a little louder than she wanted, this made Daphne laugh. She finished what she was eating and rose to follow.
Dumbledore went straight to his fireplace as he entered his office, Rose had a good idea who he was calling, sure enough out came Kingsley moments later. Kingsley took a look at the people gathered before walking behind Rose. He stood by her and placed a protective hand on her shoulder.
"What is this about Dumbledore?" He asked, his soothing voice helping Rose feel safe and able to relax. His voice seemed to have the opposite effect on Malfoy who sneered before speaking.
"Your ward here thinks it is okay to attack my son and get away with it. This of course is not the first time she has assaulted my son."
When Malfoy spoke he was calm and seemed to give the impression he thought he was going to get anything he wanted. Kingsley looked at Rose once before he turned to Dumbledore ignoring Malfoy completely.
"Is there proof to support Mr Malfoy's allegations? I sure hope you haven't called me out of work without evidence." At Kingsley's words Dumbledore paled slightly and Malfoy sniggered his trademark sneer. It was however Snape who spoke.
"Please your ward here is almost as bad as Potter when it comes to breaking the rules. I have no doubt she attacked him. She has been causing trouble all year, She and her posse."
"Severus that is not helping the matter. To answer your question, we do not have proof. We had hoped Miss Shacklebolt would let us know her side of the story."
Rose felt Kingsley give her shoulder a reassuring squeeze and proceed to tell those gathered what happened. Kingsley accepted this as truth right away, he still felt somewhat guilty about not believing Rose the last time. Dumbledore was giving her a piercing stare. His stare for some odd reason was making her brain fuzzy.
Rose made a note to question this later. Snape and Malfoy had looks of scepticism but neither spoke; they seemed to be looking at Dumbledore waiting for his response.
"While it sounds like Miss Shacklebolt was provoked I cannot condone attacking other students. Only because it is in self defence will you only lose Ten house points. Mr Malfoy will receive a detention for an unprovoked attack you may leave Kinglsey, Miss Shacklebolt. I think i need to have another word with Mr Malfoy here."
Snape looked at Rose with a look of disgust. Mr Malfoy was looking furious and before he could argue Rose fled the room, but not before giving Kingsley a big hug.
Not for the first time since arriving at Hogwarts Rose wished she was sorted into Gryffindor. She really wanted to speak to Harry about what Lohan had said to her but she assumed he would be in the Gryffindor common room. Deciding she had nothing better to do Rose headed to the library to see if he was there.
Upon entering the Library Rose immediately saw Hermione she sat alone and with many books strung out on the tables. Rose still felt particularly uneasy around Hermione and so was hesitant to approach. So endorsed in her work, Hermione had not heard Rose sit across from her and almost jumped out of her seat when Rose spoke.
"Errm hey Hermione, Is Harry coming to join you today? I would like to speak with him." Hermione gave Rose a piercing look upon hearing this and Rose could see Hermione's expression change as she became guarded.
"What is it with you and Harry? You have friends in your own house, why are you trying to be friends with Harry so bad?"
"What do you care? If I was in Gryffindor or even any of the other two houses you wouldn't bat an eye. Why does it bother you that I am in Slytherin?" At Rose's response Hermione seemed taken aback but not for long.
"It is true that you are the only Slytherin interested in Harry. I will not see him used in whatever game you are playing. We all know Slytherins are cunning and power hungry. I'm guessing you want a piece of Harry's fame right? Or maybe you're hoping to get at his family vault? He told me you mentioned that you know."
If Hermione thought Rose was going to take that lying down she was wrong and Hermione could see that maybe she had gone too far. Before Rose could answer Harry tapped Rose on the shoulder. He looked between the two girls.
"I don't think that was very nice Hermione. I think Rose just wants to be my friend like you and so I do not appreciate you verbally attacking her."
Hermione looked hurt at being told off by Harry but before she could say anything to make it right Harry grabbed Rose's hand and pulled her away from Hermione. Harry looked back at Hermione and added as an afterthought.
"Maybe we should spend some time apart if you're going to be so judgemental about who I hang out with."
With these words Hermione started crying. Harry almost wanted to forgive her right there but he knew what Hermione had said almost had Rose in tears and he knew Hermione needed to see she was wrong. So with all the courage he could muster he walked away forcing himself not to look back. Hermione knew she had messed up and hid behind her books. Poor Ron stood close by and he had not said a word so far and looked very uncomfortable.
For a short while Harry did not speak. Rose blushed as he led her into one of the classrooms. Being led by Harry with her hand in his was stirring a funny feeling within her. Harry took a seat at one of the desks and finally let Rose's hand go.
"I'm sorry about Hermione; she has a tendency to believe everything she reads about in books. The books don't paint your house very well. She can change. Please don't hate her."
"When we met on the train she was so nice but today … I don't want to talk about it Harry. You know I was looking for you when I found her. I can't get Lohan's words out of my head. He made it sound like there was something we both needed to know. He also spoke of war. I think it's a war that will start if He Who must not be named gets the stone."
"I was talking to Ron and Hermione about the stone. She thinks that as long as we have Dumbledore here it's safe but I don't know if I share her opinion. As for Lohan I really do not know. I hoped I could ask Dumbledore soon if the chance arises."
For a short while the pair sat in silence. It was then Rose noticed similarities in their face. Harry was watching Rose too but his thoughts were not readable. Rose suddenly remembered the mirror Harry had once written about during their nightly exchange.
"Harry this may seem personal but what does your mom look like?" Whatever Harry thought was coming it was not that. He recoiled at her question and looked a little sad.
"I'm sorry. I was just thinking we kinda look alike."
"I have only ever seen my mom in the mirror so I only know a little what she looks like. You think we look alike?"
"Do you not? Take a good look. My eyes may not be yours but my face and nose look similar." Rose hesitated for a moment before adding, "Don't they?"
Harry spent the next minute looking at Rose taking in her features and he had to agree they looked similar for sure. What that meant he did not know. Rose blushed hard under his stare and her mind started racing. Were they siblings or cousins? Or did they just look alike?
"We really do look similar. I was told I had no family other than the Dursleys though. What do you know about your mom and dad?"
"I don't really know anything. They died either when I was really young or at birth. Uncle King tells me they were loved, respected and did well in school. He said he wasn't allowed to tell me much more. I tried to push him when I was younger but he seemed unable."
"I think we need to see Dumbledore."
An: As always beta read by Dr4cu14