Dangerously Close

Another year at Hogwarts gone by so quickly.

I held onto my trunks, clutching onto Addie’s cage in the other hand as she hooted in sadness. I could tell she didn’t want to leave Hogwarts, either. Even with recent incidents, and how tragic and intense this year had been for me, I couldn’t deny the fact I didn’t want to leave. It would have been mental of me to say I was excited to go back to Little Whinging with my aunt and uncle, living under the same roof as my taunting younger cousin as well.

If I could, I’d stay at Hogwarts forever.

Harry walked alongside me, followed by Ron and Hermione. They hadn’t talked to me much ever since the Hospital Wing, and I had figured they were giving me space. No one had continued asking anymore questions about how I felt, and as odd as it felt, I was absolutely okay with it.

The twins and Ruby had realized this as well, and pretended nothing happened. They would continue to tease and joke with me, and I was even able to help them with our final prank on Filch for the year. It felt comforting and made me slightly forget about the depressing thoughts that were clouding my minds the majority of the day.

Rayne, on the other hand, decided it couldn’t be that way.

She would constantly pester me and ask me multiple times if there’s anything I needed. If I didn’t feel like eating, she would stern talk me and make me eat. Her aura had dropped from enlightening and funny to like a mother. She would ask me constantly if I felt like crying, or if there was anything I wanted to rant about. I appreciated her care, and I would never ever stop thanking her for it. But I just needed a bit more space. Luckily, if she felt she was bothering me, she’d quickly make it up to me by handing me sweets or doing something idiotic to make me chuckle.

It wasn’t as bad as I thought, but I just wasn’t sure that I would be able to survive the summer in Privet Drive. I feared I’d only get worse, and by the time I came back, I’d be depressed. I was trying my best, especially since all I could think about when Cedric’s name was even brought up was the night in the courtyard.

My plan for the walk out the castle and train ride was to remain silent, but it was broken as Krum stepped up to Hermione who was next to me now. He was clothed in his thick fur jacket and hat, making him look bigger than he already was. He wore a kind and hopeful expression and a big smile as he handed the curly-haired a girl.

“This is for you,” he explained, his thick accent dragging out. “Write, promise.”

He put a hand on her shoulder, before they smiled. He blew her a kiss before walking towards me. Even from here, I could see Angelina next to Hermione already as they chattered excitedly about what just happened.

“So, Krum, I expect you’re here to say goodbye to me,” I said, raising a brow.

He nodded. “Vhat I would have done vithout your help, I don’t know. I’m sorry about Cedric.”

I looked to the ground. “It’s okay, stuff happens. Plus, it’s not like you were the one who killed him, that makes me happier considering you were completely bewitched and unaware.”

With a sigh, Viktor held out his hand. “Friends?”

I nodded, giving him the best smile I could - which wasn’t a very big one - and shook it. “Friends. But hey, I promise you one day you and I will have to play out on the field together. You didn’t get to see my amazing Quidditch skills this year,” I bantered.

“If you’re as good as your brot’er, I vill have to be careful,” he said with a laugh. “But of course.”

I gave him a small pat on his shoulder as he waved, heading off to join his fellow classmates and Headmaster who were boarding their ship. The Beauxbatons girls were doing the same, as they gracefully jumped into their carriages. In no time, they were off, and everyone was boarding the train.

I stepped into the train, walking silent in front of my brother and his friends. Rayne was attempting to catch up with me as well, but I would only take faster steps to get ahead. I scanned every area to see if I could find an empty compartment, and not too further down, I did.

I slid open the door and slumped down onto the seat, leaning my head against the wall so I’d have a view out the window. Rayne immediately took the one next to me, putting a hand on my back and rubbing circles.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked in, closing it behind them. “Bloody hell, Rosalie, could you move any quicker,” Ron mumbled.

I rolled my eyes. “If I did, I would probably be out of here and away from you.”

Ron placed a hand on his chest to imitate fake hurt, while Rayne clapped her hands and let out a call.

“I’m guessing you’re not feeling any better,” Hermione asked.

I shook my head, feeling as the train began to move. I could see the whole castle now from the hillside. Fading, fading, fading - before it was nothing more than a fogged up shadow.

I sighed and looked to her, shaking my head. “Not really, but thanks for worrying.”

“You might be interested to know on what I found out,” she began, reaching inside her bag. “I was wondering how Rita Skeeter was getting all of her information from inside Hogwarts when she was banned from the grounds.”

“I don’t want to hear about that bitch right now,” Rayne grumbled.

She flinched a little at the vulgar language, but simply ignored the blonde girl. “I was just curious, as usual.”

She pulled out a clear jar. On the inside, crawling around was a black and nasty beetle. I cringed at the sight of the bug, but still couldn’t help myself as I leaned forward to inspect it.

“What does this nasty creature have anything to do with Rita?”

“If you’re trying to compare them, I can’t tell a difference,” I commented under my breath, causing my brother, Ron, and Rayne to chuckle.

“No,” she remarked, before opening the lid and letting it move to the palm of her hands. “Rita Skeeter is an unregistered Animagus. This is her right here.”

I gaped for a moment. “How do you know?”

“I saw her myself in the Hospital Wing after the third task. I caught her in a jar. Hasn’t it seemed odd to you how many times we’ve seen a beetle sometime before an article in the Prophet is posted?”

I nodded. “I see where you’re coming from, but I don’t think I really want to talk about stuff that’s happened, or the Prophet. I’m sorry, ‘Mione.”

She nodded, understanding.

Harry outstretched his arm from across of me, putting it on my knee reassuringly. “Everything’s going to be okay, Rose.”

“It’s not,” I replied in a monotone voice. “Not with Voldemort back.’

He removed his hand from my knee, leaning back onto his chair. He kept quiet after that, as did everyone. I heaved out a long sigh before leaning my head against the window, allowing myself to fall into a deep sleep before I allowed myself to wake up again and away from my true home.



The train ride had passed by so quickly, most likely because I had fallen asleep. When I awoke, I was being shaken by Harry. The compartment was completely empty now, and he was talking to me as he tried to get me up.

But now I saw in the backseat of Uncle Vernon’s car as he drove us away from Kings Cross station, a place I wouldn’t see for a few months again.

“You know, I gave my Triwizard winnings to Fred and George,” Harry mumbled, trying to start a conversation with me. I hadn’t spoken a single word since we had left Hogwarts.

“That’s nice, what for,” I asked, my voice hushed.

“For their joke shop. I don’t need ten thousand galleons, I don’t have any use for them,” he simply stated with a shrug.

I nodded, putting my knees up and wrapping my arms around them. An awkward silence filled us, and the tension kept growing.

I wasn’t sure what it was, but I could feel the back of my head nagging me. This was the moment. I had to tell him right now about my scar. I could care less if Uncle Vernon was sitting a few feet from us - he’d find out at one point too, and he wouldn’t really give a damn anyways. Now that I had my answers, there was no stopping me.

“Harry, I need to confess something to you.”

His face twisted in concern and worry. “What is it?”

I pulled my hair back, tugging on the new bandage I had placed on this morning. I tilted my neck to the side, giving him a full view of the lightning bolt scar. He gasped, putting a hand over his mouth. “W-What? You have the scar…”

“Voldemort used the Killing Curse on me in the graveyard,” I admitted, my voice cracking. “Once you left, Madam Pomfrey checked me up, and there was the scar on my neck.”

He reacted in the complete opposite of what I expected. He pulled me into a deep hug, embracing me tightly. I returned it, never wanting to let him go.

“At least you’re okay,” Harry sighed.

I nodded. “I talked to Dumbledore about it. He thinks mum passed that same protection on to me, but - it’s too late for that anyways, I’m turning seventeen already.”

He put a hand on my shoulder, giving me a comforting smile. “Rosalie, I promise. Everything will be okay, and we’ll get through this.”

But no matter how many times he said it, I knew deep down, this was just the beginning.