Sunrise at Midnight

A week had passed since my trip to Diagon Alley. It was the last day of break, and tomorrow we would be hopping onto the Hogwarts Express and leaving for the new school year. It excited me somehow but frightened me, because somehow I felt this year wasn't going to be as ordinary.

Bill had come to visit us today and he was having dinner. Molly was going crazy in the kitchen, but I couldn't say I was complaining - the delicious smell of the food was almost unbearable and my stomach was going to explode at some point.

I stepped out of the shower, suddenly feeling a cold pang of air fron the air vents blowing on me. I quickly dried myself and threw on a simple shirt and jeans, brushing my hair out. Once it was silky-looking and straight, I walked out of the bathroom.

When I made it into the room I noticed Ginny sitting on the floor, skimming through my old Hogwarts books and staring in awe at the badges, the pictures, everything.

"Is it great there, in Hogwarts," she asked, looking up at me. Her face was full of curiosity.

"To be honest, it's like my second home. I feel really safe there. Its great, especially with someone like Professor Dumbledore as headmaster. I know it might suck having to wait until next year to attend, Ginny, but it'll be so worth it," I explained, laughing a little bit in the last sentence.

She smiled happily. "I can't wait to go! I want to join the Quidditch team and learn spells, make wizard friends!"

I laughed. "All in good time, Ginny."

The ginger-haired girl beamed up at me and continued to go through my History of Magic textbooks. I don't know who even payed attention in that class to be honest.

I got up from my kneeling position on the ground and walked to the nighttable next to my bed. I picked up the picture that sat on it. It was a picture of little me and my parents when Harry was born. All I could do was smile at it as I looked at how my mother looked at me, then back to Harry, smiling and cradling him. I moved my thumb along the picture, admiring it. It was the only thing I had left to remind me of my parents and of my brother.

I sighed and put the picture back down where it belongs. All I could do was be strong when I thought of them. The last thing I needed was to break down and have Arthur and Molly worried for nothing. I didn’t like sympathy for my loss. Because it wasn’t their fault. There was no need to be sorry. It was all the goddamn Voldemort. But prophecy or not, I always vowed I would get revenge for killing my parents and brother.

Instead of continuing my raging thoughts, I threw myself onto the bed and under the covers. Closing my eyes gently, I allowed sleep to take over.



I woke up and sighed. Looking out the window, I noticed the sun was at the verge of setting. Which meant dinner was probably about to start, if it hadn’t already.

I brushed off my hair that was a bit tangled from my nap, and continued down the stairs. I stopped on my heel as I heard Ron’s voice say something.

“But mum, didn’t Rosalie tell us he was dead?”

Were they talking about Harry?

I sighed. No one seemed to believe me when I said was Harry was dead, no matter how many times I tried to explain to them that I was there, and that I had been told by the Headmaster of Hogwarts himself that my brother had not survived.

“She did tell us that her brother died. Plus, she was there. It’s most likely that she’s right,” Arthur spoke up, defending what I had said.

This time, Percy was the one to speak up. “Yes, but the prophecy. It’s not called a prophecy for nothing. It has to be fulfilled, right?”

I tiptoed a few steps back up and pretended to run down the stairs as if I had not heard any of the conversation. “I’m so terribly sorry Mrs.Weasley! I fell asleep and I didn’t realize it was already dinner time when I woke up and then when I did I had to brush my hair and –"

“No worries, dear! Don’t push yourself. We just started anyways,” she said, shooting a glance at everyone at the table to forget the conversation. I pretended not to notice and took a seat and began to eat.

Dinner went by with no one talking, really. We all ate in silence and I couldn’t say it wasn’t awkward because I could feel eyes piercing holes into me even though I ignored it with all my might.

Mrs. Weasley quickly grabbed all the dishes with a wave of her wand and began to wash them. Bill dismissed himself a minute later.

Arthur spoke up, breaking the silence.

“Now kids, scurry along to bed. Tomorrow we have to be up early to go to the train station! You don’t want to be late to the train, especially you Ron! It is your first year,” Arthur noted, shooing us upstairs.

I was about to enter the room me and Ginny shared when I felt a hand grip my wrist. I turned to see the person I least expected. Percy Weasley.

“Percy? What do you want,” I asked, a bit weirded out he wanted to talk to me. I hardly ever spoke to him except maybe to greet him or ask him for a favor.

“Rosalie, do you really think that your brother might still be out there and alive,” he asked in all seriousness.

I let out a long sigh and decided to tell him the honest answer. “I honestly don’t. Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall, they all told me Harry was dead. And I was there, I heard Vol – You-Know-Who,” I said, cautiously watching my tongue around Percy, “shoot the killing spell at him.”

He sighed. “But you don’t think there’s the slightest chance that maybe he survived it?”

“No. I don’t. No one can survive that curse.”

“But don’t you even think that maybe –“

“He’s dead,” I said sharply, not wanting to continue this conversation.

“Well then...I guess I’ll just stick to your word. Goodnight, Rosalie.”

And with that he walked off, but I can tell that no matter what he said, he still didn’t believe me.

I walked into the room to see Ginny sound asleep, snoring lightly. I smiled and kissed her forehead, whispering goodnight. I lay down on the bed, pulling the sheets on top of me. I couldn’t help but think about what they were talking about and what Percy had told me.

“Rosalie, do you really think that your brother might still be out there and alive?”

“You don’t think there’s the slightest chance that maybe he survived it?”

“Yes, but the prophecy. It’s not called a prophecy for nothing. It has to be fulfilled, right?”

“But mum, didn’t Rosalie tell us he was dead?”

At this point, I didn’t even know who to believe more. But I knew he was dead. I knew it. I couldn’t believe what rumors were saying, because they weren’t there. They didn’t hear it from people who came afterwards to check on the place and search for survivors. All they had to trust was their instinct.

Although I wasn’t tired, I forced my eyes shut and took off to dream land, letting the words from my conversation earlier repeat in my head.
He’s dead.