Please know that I do not reply to review's in my fic's so if you review from a guest account a response will not be forthcoming but will certainly be read. One note that I have Is that I agree people are acting a little ooc but I had things planed out a certain way if things don't seem quite right It will probably fall into place at a later date. I am happy to report that I also had a creative boom on this fic so If you want more please like and review. Book 1 nearly fully released and Book 2 Fully finished and in post.
When Rose woke the next day her body felt stiff, there was an unusual soreness in her muscles and it took a moment for her to realise just why she was feeling this way. Despite the situation Rose couldn't help but feel bad about blowing up at Kingsley but the truth that he hid from her was still weighing on her.
A short cough from another bed brought Rose's attention to the other occupants of the room. It was empty except for Daphne who had been waiting for Rose to wake up. Now Rose was awake Daphne started to speak.
"You slept a long time. Your guardian has been by three times already"
"Wait, what time is it?" Rose asked a little groggily as she attempted to wake up.
"It's nearly two pm now. I noticed that you didn't comment on your guardian looking for you" Daphne added reading between the lines that something was wrong.
"I really don't want to open that can of worms yet. I will fill you in later I promise." Rose commented while starting to put on some casual clothing. Once dressed Rose looked back to Daphne.
"Has Harry woke up yet?"
"Got your eyes on Potter have you?" Daphne jokingly asked. As she did, Rose looked shocked and a little disturbed by the joke.
"I don't know maybe I was before but not now." Rose responded somewhat cryptically.
"You know you are making me very curious about what happened. I'm going to hold you to your promise to tell me. For now I'm going to tell Mr Shacklebolt you haven't woken up." With that said Daphne left the room not understanding just how grateful Rose was feeling.
As Rose started to brush her teeth and handle her morning business she couldn't help but feel silly for giving Harry his cloak back, he wouldn't be missing it if he was still unconscious. Looking around the room Rose saw Timbur sitting on his perch.
"Hey buddy want to go check if Harry is awake for me? I don't want to go up there and be seen by the teachers right now." Timbur ruffled his feathers and took off out of the room. With Timbur gone Rose pondered what to do about the information. She could not understand why they would have been split up and she hated not knowing things.
It was some ten minutes later when Timbur returned. The owl slowly shook its head slowly so Rose would understand that he was yet to wake. After petting the owls head and feeding him a treat Rose left the room looking for something to do to stop her thinking.
Ignoring the other members of Slytherin Rose left the common room. She had no idea where it was that she was heading but her feet seemed to be leading her down to the Black Lake. Surprisingly no one stopped Rose to talk to her, not that she minded at all she really wanted to be left alone. She had no idea how she was going to tell Harry that he did in fact have a family.
A long walk around the lake later Rose was feeling tired and hungry. The lake was fast becoming one of Rose' favourite places to relax and think. Now that she had completed the circuit Rose knew what she wanted to do. She started to walk up to the old library that she had found.
Once in the Library it was easy to find all the documents on the Potters. The one thing that Rose was looking for was information on the Potters' friends. Not one of them had come to visit her and she wanted to know why. She had a sneaking suspicion that Harry did not get visits either.
The Information she was looking for was particularly hard to find but three names kept recurring. Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. One that was mentioned less frequently but seemed to be linked was Marlene McKinnon.
Deciding this library was spent for information Rose headed to Dinner. Though once she was fed she did not stay long. It was on the way to the main library that Rose was greeted by Professor Dumbledore, He did not look surprised to see Rose. Rose herself knew that Dumbledore had been at the meal and had a sneaking suspicion that he had left to speak to her.
"How can I help you professor?" Rose decided to ask, being direct and wanting to confirm he had been looking for her.
"I believe that we need to have a conversation, one that would be best had in my office out of the way of prying ears." The fact that Dumbledore had turned and started walking left no room for argument in Rose's opinion so she followed the headmaster.
The walk to the headmaster office was a short one, not because it was close but because the headmaster seemed to take long strides and walked rather quickly, Rose had to half run to keep up.
When they arrived at the Gargoyle protecting the headmaster's office, Rose was surprised to see that Dumbledore stated the password loudly and clearly. Rose wondered why he had said it so loud when anyone could hear it but didn't care enough to ask.
When Rose entered the office she was surprised to see that Kingsley was not in the room. Not wanting to start the conversation, Rose looked around the room. Sat on a perch off to the side was a beautiful phoenix. The beautiful bird turned to look at Rose and trilled softly and Rose couldn't help but feel some of her anxiety leave her.
"I must express some degree of concern about the way you discharged your magic yesterday. Have you ever experienced this before?"
"I haven't felt it before, But I have also never been that angry before" Rose replied politely but refusing to look at the headmaster. Looking at him was making her annoyed once more.
"You had a lot of questions last night and I must apologise that I am not able to answer them all right told you a large part of why you were not placed with Harr here is one more however. I feared how Mrs Dursley would react to having you in the house especially when you aged and started too look like the sister she lost."
For a moment Dumbledore was silent. It seemed to Rose that he was waiting for her to speak but she did not trust herself to stay calm if she did and so sat quietly. Dumbledore seemed to see that she was not going to talk anytime soon and started to speak again.
"It was my decision to not tell you about your heritage. I feared that if you were told you would want to see Harry and want him to live with you or you him. But due to security reasons he must stay with his aunt and uncle."
Upon hearing this Rose bit her tongue a little forcing herself to stay silent. It did not take a genius to know that these answers were not satisfying Rose at all and Dumbledore watched her trying to decide how much to tell her.
"What I am going to say to you next I have no doubt will once again upset you and I need you to control your magic." Dumbledore waited a moment for Rose to heartland understand his words.
"I need Harry to stay with the Dursleys while he is with them he is protected far better than anywhere else. I would also like you to not inform him of what you found out. You cannot go with him; it would only hurt him to learn the truth like this. I will tell him when the time is right."
"I won't hide the truth from him like you did to me. He deserves to know he isn't the last potter. He should know I am his sister." Dumbledore could see the resolve on Rose's face and wondered how he could control the situation which was slowly unravelling before him.
"I know why you want to tell him the truth but how will he feel staying at the Dursleys alone instead of with his true family. I will look into ways for you to see him more and get to know him as a family member but for now that information won't help. Harry will probably tell you the story of what happened this year. When he went to protect the stone he fought Voldemort. The threat that he will return is real and Harry needs to be where he is safest."
"If I didn't tell him the truth and he found out later he would feel betrayed by me. It would be impossible for us to be friends. I will not hide it. I don't want the world believing that I died just because you declared it to be true. I will not hide who I am!"
While Rose had managed to respond calmly Dumbledore could tell that Rose's magic was peaking to a dangerous point again. Seeing that he could not get through to her right now he spoke up once more.
"I can see you have no intention of doing as I have asked and that you are not ready to talk but I ask that you think on what i have told you today."
Rose did not wait any longer before leaving the room she knew exactly where she wanted to be and started to walk toward the hospital wing. It didn't take long to arrive at the hospital wing, looking around as she arrived she could see Ron and Hermione sitting by Harrys bed. Rose really did not want to deal with Ron right now and chose to ignore him.
"He still has not woken up?" Rose asked looking at Hermione.
Hermione looked at Ron then back to Rose.
"Not yet, no. He apparently has magical exhaustion."
"Any word on when he will wake up?"
"Madam Pomfrey believes it should be either today or tomorrow. How are you feeling, Rose?" Hermione asked a little hesitantly.
"I am fine Hermione. Ron just got lucky" Rose replied looking at Ron and smirking slightly. She expected Ron to get mad but he just looked at Hermione who shook her head.
Rose, not wanting to be around Ron right now, decided to leave.
"If he wakes up, tell him we need to talk. It's important."
With that Rose left heading for the library once more. The library was busy but this is how Rose liked it. When it was busy there would be less chance people would be looking at what she was looking into. Finding information on Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew proved relatively easy. The two were mentioned in the same articles written in a daily prophet.
What Rose read though did not make sense to her. The paper read that Sirius had killed Peter Pettigrew the same night that Her own parents were killed. This didn't add up all the other articles she had read stated those two were friends in school always causing trouble with her dad and the other man Lupin.
Finding information on Lupin was proving difficult. It seemed after school the man seemingly disappeared. There were no record of him ever marrying and no mention in the daily prophet it was awfully frustrating.
As the night closed in and the library closed Rose felt no closer to having answers to her questions. She found it very hard to believe that one of her dads friends committed murder of another of their friends. She really wanted to ask Harry his opinion.
Knowing he was not yet up but still wanting to see him Rose returned to the hospital wing. When she arrived she noticed that Harry had been left alone, looking toward to office to make sure the matron would not see her she made her way over to Harry.
As she sat down by the bed Harry turned to face her making her jump and let out a squeak of shock. This made Harry smile at her while Rose recovered from seeing him awake Harry had put on his glasses and was looking at her expectantly.
"Hermione said you wanted to talk. I expected you to come by here."
As Harry spoke Rose was finding hard not to tear up and look at Harry differently. It was an odd feeling knowing you gained a brother but what felt most weird to Rose was how natural the information felt.
"What I want to tell you Dumbledore has asked me not to but I told him I wouldn't hide it from you. Harry this is going to be a lot to take in so please trust me"
This had Harry's interest well and truly peaked. He could tell she was being one hundred percent serious and it worried him a little.
"What is it Rose? It can't be that bad can it."
"Harry I ….. I'm your sister. I swear I didn't know before."
Harry was looking at Rose like she was a ghost; it was clear the news had shocked him. He started to speak before stopping several times. Rose felt nervous with the reaction but did not speak, giving him time to accept the truth.
"I don't think you are lying but that is very hard to believe Rose." Harry spoke after a short time of silence.
"Kingsley, the man I live with, confirmed it when I questioned him. He knew the entire time I was with him but he refused to tell me. I was looking into your family. I wanted to maybe reunite you with someone who knew your parents and I noticed the similarities."
"Why would Dumbledore hide this from us? " Harry asked after listening to Rose talk.
"Long story short, he believes Voldemort is going to return. He seems to think you being with your aunt and uncle will protect you. He said it wouldn't work for me, something about how I would look like my mom. He told people that your sibling had died and hid me in the magical world."
"My Aunt and uncle protect me? They treat me like a slave that was forced upon them" Harry responded his anger bubbling to the surface.
"I know Harry, I do." Rose said, taking Harry's hand hoping to calm him. He gave Rose a surprised look but it did have the effect of calming him some.
"I am going to get thrown out if I get caught here Harry you need to stay calm for me. I unfortunately have more to say."
As Rose said this Harry physically tensed but did appear to calm himself looking at Rose wondering what else she had to say.
"You have to go back to them and me to Kingsley. They aren't going to let us stay together even now we know."
Upon hearing this Harry did not know how to respond. He, like Rose, was wondering why the headmaster believed this necessary. It was a lot to take in and so Rose left Harry alone and headed to bed.
When Rose arrived in her common room Daphne was sitting with Blaze, a shake of the head was all Daphne needed to not come over and Rose respected that.
When Rose woke up the next day the school was a buzz with the news that Harry and his friends had gone after the stone. Now Harry was awake and discharged, everyone seemingly wanted to question him and his friends, this made it impossible for Rose to talk to him about what happens next for them.
The school year was quickly coming to an end and with the end of term came the much needed talk with Kingsley. Rose was not particularly looking forward to this conversation. She had no interest in going home with Kingsley now that she knew about Harry she wanted to go home with him and get to know him more as a sibling.
It was just after lunch when Rose was asked to come to the headmasters office. Deciding to test something when she arrived at the gargoyle she gave it the password that she had heard Dumbledore mention the last time they were here. The Gargoyle moved aside and Rose once more considered why the headmaster had not guarded his password more.
Upon entering the office Rose sat down behind the desk refusing to acknowledge Kingsley wanting him to see that she was not going to forgive him so easily. Kingley for his part looked quite upset by the situation his normal calm demeanour was replaced by one that showed how much he hoped this had gone differently.
"Rose I asked many times to tell you the truth but Dumbledore did not believe it at the right time. I promised not to tell you but seeing you grow I wanted you to know. You saw Albus check that I didn't break my word."
Dumbledore was watching the conversation; he seemed to not care that this was a private conversation. Kingsley was looking to him and Dumbledore could see that King would not hide anything from her again, he made a mental note to not tell him things if he needed it hidden from the potters.
"I want to live with Harry. I appreciate what you have done for me Kingsley, but I want to be with my real family."
"The world still does not know you are alive. We must keep this secret. If Voldemort was to return he would use you to get to Harry." Dumbledore answered not giving Kingsley a chance to respond.
"We can arrange a way for you to contact Harry often but you need to come home with me where you will be protected by the people not knowing who you are. You may not actually be my niece but I always loved you as you were."
Rose could see the hurt this was causing King he was normally so good at hiding how he felt, it was one of the reasons he was such a good Auror. Rose was unable to stay upset with him and hugged him gently.
"You will always be family to me Uncle King but Harry is my brother I should be with him I don't really know anything about him when we would have grown up together fighting, and playing with each other had our parents lived."
"I wish you could have had that life Rose but It is not possible for you. I wish I could give you that kind of life" Kingsley responded with his calm demeanour coming back slowly now Rose was starting to forgive him or at least understand him.
There was silence in the air. It was clear that nothing would be done to change the situation and so Rose did not know what to say. Kingsley too seemed to be waiting for some cue off Dumbledore. After a short time Dumbledore seemed to realise nothing new was going to be said.
"Kingsley will meet you on the platform Miss Shacklebolt" Albus told her in a tone that told Rose that there was really nothing left to discuss.
After a short goodbye to Kingsley, Rose left the room. She was determined to contact Mr Lupin and Mrs McKinnon to find out how her Mom and Dad would have handled this.
Upon leaving the headmasters office Rose made her way to the owlery to find her faithful pet. As soon as Rose arrived Timbur was flying toward her giving an affectionate hoot seeing her.
"I need to write some letters then I will need you to take flight okay. I may be home by the time you find the recipients, but you will find me I am sure."
Rose thought long and hard about what to put into the message. She knew the headmaster would be rather annoyed at her if she was to mention exactly who she was but she also knew that if she wanted information she would have to present some of her own too, this was something Kingsley had taught her.
To Mr Remus Lupin ( Mrs McKinnon o her letter)
Hi there I do not know if you know me or not but considering you
You were friends with my parents it is possible you do know of
Me at the very least.
The headmaster does not want people to know who I am so
I will not tell you explicitly who I am though I hope you work it
out and trust me enough to respond to me.
I am writing because I desperately need information on my
And my brother's parents, things are happening that we don't agree with.
I would like to discuss this in person, not in a letter. Please agree
to meet me sometime this summer.
Rose
The letters were Identical to save time and Rose was happy enough with them. She didn't like that she had to hide her identity but angering the headmaster for no reason would be foolish.
Timbur, seeing that Rose had put the Quill away, came to receive the letters. After receiving some pats from Rose he took off to dutifully deliver the letters. With the letters sent Rose started to find Harry; she wanted to find out what they intended to do with the information they now knew. If he was going to tell Ron and Hermione then she would definitely tell Daphne, maybe Blaize too.
It took a while to find Harry, due to him hiding in the Gryffindor common room not wanting to be around all those giving him extra attention. After checking a few public places she decided to head to Gryffindor common room. Once there it was a waiting game. After sitting for around fifteen minutes some fourth year students came out.
"Hey, I am looking to speak to Harry. Can you ask him to come out?"
They listened to Rose's request and at first looked like they were going to say no to the Slytherins' request but they had thankfully seen Harry with Rose and went to get him.
When Harry came out Rose could tell he did not quite know how to react around her now. This amused Rose though she tried her best not to show it.
"Hey Harry. I wanted to be on the same page about what we are telling our friends. Dumbledore doesn't want people to know I am alive so we shouldn't tell many people. Are you going to tell Ron and Hermione?"
Harry seemed to consider this for a moment and It seemed he had not yet told them anything but now Rose had asked if he was thinking about it.
"They are my first ever real friends besides you. I think I want them to know at the very least. Who would you tell?"
"Well Daphne for sure since she is my best friend besides you and maybe Blaize but I haven't decided on that yet. I don't know how I feel about you telling Ron though if you ask me he deserves a kick in the balls"
Hearing this caused Harry to flinch a little bit making Rose wonder who kicked him there to cause that reaction. He seemed to be thinking about what Rose had said.
"He won't tell anyone if I ask him not to I believe him"
"If he tells anyone I may actually curse him I'm still fuming at what he did, his spell was weak too he is lucky I hit my head and couldn't retaliate."
"I am going to be going back to Uncle Kings for the summer. Don't tell anyone but I contacted some people who knew our parents. I am hoping that we can get some help from them."
Rose was about to leave when she looked back smiling a little.
"Oh by the way me Daphne and Blaize will be sitting with you on the train save us some room"
"Oh that is going to annoy Ron" Harry stated trying not to laugh at Rose's version of payback.
"I know, Talk later okay" With this Rose left wanting to find Daphne and tell her what had happened.
Daphne was easier to find since she only ever spent time in the common room, the bedrooms or the library. Since the Library was closest she decided to check there first. It was there Rose saw Daphne, a large heavy book layed out in front of her.
As Rose approached Daphne closed the book with a thud.
"Time for a talk I see"
"You know It is scary how good at reading people you are"
Rose replied, laughing a little and causing a few others to look over.
"This isn't the best place to trade secrets let's head to the lake"
"The lake? You like making me walk this better be worth it Rose"
"Oh I think you will find it worth it. Even if you can tell no one else." Rose couldn't help but laugh a little seeing her friend become impatient with such a secret offered before her
"Let's go then" Daphne replied.
It took a while to find a nice spot to sit by the lake and a lot longer to tell Daphne the whole story. Despite having many questions Daphne waited till the end to speak. She was having a hard time believing it but she commented she could see the resemblance between Rose and Harry.