Rose Potter raised her left arm above her head, roaring in victory as the Quaffle easily blew past the Ravenclaw Keeper, who swore angrily at yet another miss. Circling her broomstick back toward the Gryffindor side of the Quidditch field, where the rest of her housemates were cheering with a deafening fury, Rose's eyes were drawn to where her little brother was floating, clapping his hands wildly as he cheered her for another successful goal.
Zooming past the boy, Rose leaned out and gave her little brother a passing high-five, her smile growing larger as she did so. A year ago, Rose would never have believed that she could have possibly been so happy; for more than a decade, Rose had felt as though someone had punched a hole into her chest, where her heart should have been, and left her hollow.
That wasn't to say that she didn't enjoy her life, for she did; Rose had parents who loved her and doted on her without going too far and spoiling her. She had friends and admirers whom she loved and enjoyed spending time with; her two best friends were the Weasley twins, and over the years, the three of them had probably been the cause of more of Professor McGonagall's hair turning grey than Rose's father ever managed to do.
Yet, even with all of this love and friendship, Rose always felt as though something was missing in her life, and it was a feeling that Rose knew her parents shared; occasionally, when they thought she wasn't looking, Rose would catch them with heartbreaking looks on their faces. Especially during Halloween or the end of July when they visit Harry's grave.
But all of that had changed last year when Harry returned to them, brought to their world by what might just be the greatest gift that magic had ever bestowed upon anyone; suddenly, the 'hollowed out' feeling that Rose had become accustomed to for so long was gone, replaced with an unbearable level of happiness that made her feel like she was on a perpetual sugar rush.
Rose noticed that even her parents seemed to have been healed. Her mother seemed to share in Rose's unending joy, while Rose's father seemed like an entirely new man, one who was consumed by the determination to never again let anyone or anything harm his family.
But even with all this happiness, a horrible thought echoed in the back of Rose's mind, one that refused to go away, no matter how much she willed it to; what if the magic that brought Harry here, one day took him back?
Harry had made no secret of the nightmare in which he'd been brought up, nor had he tried to hide it from Rose or their parents when questioned about it. Harry's upbringing was the stuff of nightmares, as far as Rose was concerned, and it was a world that Rose was absolutely terrified of him returning to. For more nights than she could count, Rose had been awoken by the silent alarm she'd put on Harry, alerting her if he was having a nightmare.
When those nights came, Rose would all but scramble to his room to make sure he was alright, usually ending up sleeping beside him and holding him close as a silent protector against the monsters that only he could see. Eventually, after a year of therapy, Harry's nightmares had finally begun to ebb, and Rose's need to sleep curled up next to her little brother began to cease as well, much to her silent disappointment.
However, even after the nightmares ended, Rose would sometimes return to Harry's room, scared that he would suddenly vanish and she would once again be left alone; for more nights than she could remember, Rose would find herself standing at the end of Harry's bed, watching him sleep as she smiled down at him. After a year, the horrible feeling that he might one day disappear was finally beginning to leave as the realization that this was now Harry's world began to settle on her, only for a new fear to rear its head: that Voldemort would try and kill her baby brother, again.
The bastard had already tried once before and had very nearly succeeded when he had his minions snatch Harry from the train station mere months before; never had Rose been more terrified than that moment when she thought she might lose Harry all over again, to the same monster who had taken him once before. But Mother Magic had heard Rose's prayer, it seemed, and Harry was returned to her family, damaged but thankfully alive.
Then, when Rose had finally learned how to breathe again, another attack on her family had nearly taken Harry from her; this time brought upon by Cornelius Fudge hiring a pack of werewolves to kill not just Harry, but Rose and her mum as well, all because the prick couldn't stand the fact that he'd lost the election for Minister of Magic to Rose's father.
Rose didn't like to think of herself as a vindictive person, by any stretch of the imagination, but seeing her father put that swine, Fudge, to death had been one memory that Rose knew would bring a smile to her face for years to come. She'd hoped that would be the last time that her family would be in danger; unfortunately, Mother Magic seemed determined to make Rose prematurely gray, as her family was not only placed, once again, in danger but put directly in the path of Voldemort and his minions.
With open war now having been declared against Voldemort, as well as anyone who bore his mark, by her father, Rose's family was under constant threat; not just from the Pureblood supremacists who constantly tried to curse Rose and Harry in the back as retaliation for their family's current incarceration in Azkaban. But also from the multitude of reporters who were determined to use James Potter's wife and children as pawns in their own sick little game to try and discredit the new Minister, who quite a few saw as a tyrant in the making, due to his new laws that sought to curb, or outright stop, the power of the Purebloods from being punished for their support of Voldemort.
More than once, a reporter had tried to sneak into Hogwarts and gain an interview with Lily or the Potter children, only to find themselves quickly bound and gagged by an irate staff member (mainly Dumbledore) before being escorted to a Ministry cell by an equally angry Auror, who viewed the Potter family with the same respect that they viewed their new Minister.
The Aurors, once only a few hundred in number due to Fudge's refusal to allocate more funding to the department so that they could hire more, had exploded in numbers since James Potter's sweeping changes, and now almost a thousand had been hired, and trained in order to build up the numbers that James thought were necessary for the war with Voldemort, with more applying to the program every day.
Not all were accepted, of course; the Auror department still had to maintain its reputation for only hiring the best, but the additional funding had ensured that 'the best' were quickly getting better all the time. What's more, James Potter's open disdain for the 'political game' as well as his reputation as an honorable yet ruthless leader who would always lead from the front and would never sacrifice lives if it could be avoided, had ensured that loyalty of those hired to the Auror department to their new Minister was absolute.
If James pointed a finger and told his Aurors to fight, they would do so in a heartbeat because they knew that James would be right there with them. This seeming 'absolute loyalty' was another thing the reporters used against Rose's dad, making it seem as though James Potter was building up his own army to make himself king.
As a bludger sailed past Rose, missing her by mere inches, Rose's mind was dragged back to the present, and she growled angrily at herself for her gross crime of becoming inattentive and complacent during a game; something her captain, Oliver Wood, shared judging by the angry look on his face as he stared at her from his place in front of the goal rings. No doubt he would be having a word with her after the game; looking out into the crowd, Rose saw her uncle Remus standing next to her mum, both cheering loudly for her and Harry, thankfully apparently having missed Rose's lack of concentration.
Looking back toward where she last saw Harry, Rose couldn't help but smile as she saw her little brother had shot into the air with his right arm extended, an intense look of determination on his face as he chased down the snitch; behind him, the Ravenclaw seeker, Cho Chang, was desperately trying to catch up, a look of fury on her Asian features.
Leaving Harry to his work, Rose pushed her broomstick forward as a Ravenclaw chaser passed her by, the Quaffle clutched tightly under his arm; Harry had his job, and Rose had hers, and right now, her job was to make sure that, once again, Gryffindor came out as the victor.
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The following day, after Gryffindor soundly defeated Ravenclaw 210-100, Harry found himself seated at the Gryffindor table, desperately trying to make sense of his Transfiguration homework. As he chewed on the end of his quill and reread the same chapter Professor McGonagall had assigned to his class, trying vainly to understand the material, Harry suddenly heard someone cough behind him.
Quickly turning in his seat, Harry felt himself involuntarily blush as he beheld a girl about his age with hair so blonde that it was nearly white; added to that, the girl bore a pair of strikingly beautiful blue eyes that seemed to stare right through him. As Harry continued to stare, he noticed that she was wearing a Slytherin house robe and seemed to be staring at him with a mixture of annoyance and resignation.
Behind her, the rest of Slytherin house appeared to be staring between her and Harry with looks of jealousy, anger, outrage, or sheer indifference; yet for what reason was lost to Harry. Outside of class, Harry tried to stay as far away from the house of the snakes as he could, remembering the few instances that he had with Slytherin house in his old world. The members of this world seemed to be the exact same, the only difference being that the ones from Harry's old world didn't constantly try and curse him when his back was turned. Well… Maybe Malfoy.
"Um… Hello," Harry said respectfully, "Can I help you?"
"That remains to be seen…" The girl replied so softly that Harry nearly missed it, "Good morning, Heir Potter. My name is Daphne Greengrass, and on behalf of House Greengrass, I have been asked by my father to give this to you, to deliver to your parents. He has tried to send correspondence directly to your father, but it appears that the Minister is too busy to reply. Understandable, of course. Given his duties, of late."
As she finished speaking, Daphne held out a thick envelope to Harry, which bore a strange seal in red wax; as Harry reached out to take it from the girl, Rose suddenly snatched the letter from her grip, appearing as if from thin air.
As Harry stared in abject confusion, Rose held the envelope close to her face and studied the seal on the back before a look of annoyance came across her features, and she turned back to Daphne with a glare.
"This had better not be what I think it is, Greengrass…" Rose growled as she stared down at the blonde girl; to Harry's surprise, Rose's anger seemed to affect Daphne, not a bit. If Rose had looked at Harry like that, he would have been running for the hills; yet strangely, Daphne seemed almost…. Amused by Rose's reaction.
"Whether it is what you suspect or not is of no matter to you, Heiress Potter," Daphne replied with a small smirk, though her voice was as cold as ice, "That letter is intended for your parents, and I would think you would have been brought up well enough to know not to open correspondence that doesn't pertain to you."
"Doesn't… Doesn't pertain to me?!" Rose replied in a strangled voice, "Harry is my brother, for one thing! And secondly, he's too young even to be considered for such things!"
"Nonsense," Daphne retorted, "Heir Malfoy and my sister Astoria have had such a contract in place since they were infants. If anything, your family's reluctance to secure Harry with someone equal to him and your house has greatly reduced his chances of finding such a match! Though, it's understandable considering what the boy has gone through so far in his life."
"Huh?" Harry said in confusion, looking between the two girls, "What's she talking about, Rose? Contract? Match? "
"Not now, Harry!" Rose growled. "I'll tell you later—much later."
Turning back to Daphne, who was staring at Harry with an expression on her face as though she was trying not to laugh at the boy's naivete, Rose continued her tirade as she curled a fist around the envelope in her grasp.
"And as for you! Whatever plans or plots your family has for my little brother stop right now! House Potter is not interested in allying with a bunch of jumped-up Purebloods who sided with the Dark douche during the last war!"
"How dare you!" Daphne snarled, her cold mask breaking for a moment to show pure fury, "My family has NEVER supported that man! Neither now nor in the past!"
"No, but you didn't fight against him either, did you?" Rose countered angrily, "Your family just sat on the sidelines and waited to see who would come out the winner while my parents' friends were all murdered or tortured! Your house is nothing more than a pack of jackals, like carrion waiting for meat! And I tell you now, my brother will NEVER join with such a house!"
"And how exactly is that your decision…?" A cold voice said, causing the three to turn in surprise, only to see Lily Potter staring at Rose with a look of disappointment and fury, making Rose take an involuntary step back. As Rose looked around, she suddenly realized that the entire Great Hall had gone silent, and nearly every eye was on her, Harry, and Daphne.
"Mum…" Rose said softly, "I…"
"Enough." Lily said at once, silencing her daughter in an instant, "You have said quite enough, Rose Elizabeth Potter."
Hearing her full name, Rose knew she had screwed up big time, and swallowed nervously as her mother extended her hand toward the girl.
"Now, I believe you were given something by Heiress Greengrass? Something that was meant to be given to me or your father?"
For a moment, Rose looked as though she would refuse to hand it over, and her fist curled tighter around the envelope, making Lily's eyes narrow angrily.
"Now, Rose. Or you can forget about playing in the next Quidditch match."
Rose's eyes widened momentarily at that before she finally shoved the letter into her mother's hand and turned to Harry.
"Come on, Harry. Grab your homework and let's go to the library to study. It'll be quieter there."
"Um… Okay?" Harry replied in confusion before turning back to Daphne, who was still glaring angrily at Rose, "Um… Sorry for my sister. I don't know what's happening, but I'm sure she didn't mean to say such horrible things…"
"Oh, yes, I did!" Rose snapped back as she quickly put Harry's things away, only to flinch as Lily leveled an eye on her that spoke of untold punishment in the future.
"It's quite alright, Heir Potter," Daphne replied, "I'm glad to see at least one of you has manners."
"Um… Right." Harry mumbled back as Rose grabbed his hand and began to lead him away, "Well… Bye, then. I guess."
Once Harry and Rose had quickly departed from the Great Hall, those watching went back to their own business as Lilly began to smooth out the crumpled envelope,
"I must apologize for my daughter's harsh words, Ms. Greengrass. This war has been harder on my family than most."
"I accept your apology, Professor," Daphne nodded, "Now, about my father's numerous attempts to reach you and your husband? Would I be remiss if I told him that you will FINALLY reply?"
Lily felt her lips twitch at the girl and had to fight back a laugh as she stared down at her; the girl was bold and brash and had absolutely no time for those who would waste hers.
"If this letter contains what I think it contains, my husband and I will decide it together, and respond to your father as soon as we can."
"That is all I can expect, then." Daphne nodded, seemingly approving of Lily's words; without another word on the matter, Daphne spun on her heel and quickly made her way back to the Slytherin table as Lily watched with amusement.
As Lily retook her seat at the Head Table, she looked down at the envelope in her hands; barely a year ago, Harry had been returned to her, and now she was already receiving marriage contracts. She knew this wouldn't be the last, not by a long shot, considering how powerful James had become of late, and that thought saddened her beyond words; there were many things about the Wizarding World that Lily despised, but chief among them was, what she viewed as, the barbaric ritual of arranged marriage. The idea that you would never be able to freely choose who you spent the rest of your life with was something that Lily personally found reprehensible, and she had argued this point many times with James in the past. With a weary sigh, Lily placed the letter in her robe and went back to her breakfast; she would pass on the letter to James soon enough, albeit with her own choice words of annoyance; but for now, she was content to let the matter lie.
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