Stranger

“You can’t just go to the moon, dumbasses,” I groaned to the twins for the fifth time. “It’s outside of Earth.”

“I know that, nanny Potter,” Fred complained back. I almost slapped myself at the return of the nickname. “But how do Muggles get to the moon if you can’t just go there as you claim?”

“They have actual space stations and rocket ships,” I explained. “They have shuttles that blast off way high up into space and they travel all the way to the moon. They have a space station where they keep their suits and tanks so they can stay alive.”

“Can you actually apparate to the moon,” George wondered, tapping his chin. “Whaddya think, Freddy?”

“Dunno - should we be the first wizards to ever try?”

“You could, but you wouldn’t be alive to tell the story,” I matter-of-factly stated, rolling my eyes. “My god, you gingers really do get more idiotic and pathetic by the minute.”

“You break my heart,” they both said at the same time in a sing-song voice.

It was already afternoon, and everyone was awaiting the arrival of Harry and Arthur. No one really knew what to expect as the hearing could’ve gone either way. There was fear and extreme tension in the air, even if you were laughing it off like me and the twins were.

“How could I break it if -”

A door slammed shut downstairs, footsteps sounding down the hallway. I jumped up from the bed, being the first one rushing down the steps like an angry herd of bulls. I peeked down to see my brother in a fancy blazer and pants, smiling slightly but at the same time looking confused. I jumped over the railing and stood in front of him.

“Harry,” I panted, a little exhausted from my random outburst. “H-How was it? What was the verdict?”

“I’m not expelled,” he exclaimed, his lips curving up.

I let out a big puff of relief and pulled him into a tight and warm embrace, swaying him from side to side. A wide grin plastered onto my face as I could hear people coming down and around to see Harry.

“What happened, then,” Molly asked eagerly.

“He’s going back to Hogwarts,” I breathed, soon realizing no one had heard me. I cleared my throat before saying it louder. “He’s going back to Hogwarts!”



Screaming. Screams in every corner. They engulfed me and enclosed me.

I clutched my ears tightly, squinting my eyes as I bit my lip. When I opened them again, I was not alone in a black area surrounded by loud cries for help. The same door was in the end hallway, the room swirling around as if it was willing to torture me.

I ran and ran. I went as fast as my legs could possibly take me. It was no use - it seemed to move further away. I outstretched my hand, trying to reach it, but as soon as I did, the door knob shifted its shape. A large green snake jumped out, and I hopped back in fright, sweat covering my body.

I didn’t realize how heavy I was breathing. The snake hissed and wrapped itself around my feet before slithering away. I looked up and tried to reach for the door again. With the doorknob gone, my only hope was to push it open.

I pushed helplessly but to no avail. I fell to my knees before looking through the hole. I could see nothing but black. As I got closer, the shrieking began again.

And a green light flew my direction.

My mouth opened by itself, releasing an ear-splitting scream.

I awoke with a loud cry, panting. My chest heaved up and down and my body was drenched in my own sweat. I was trembling, my hands clutching the bedsheet below me tightly. An aching feeling rushed through every cell. I diverted my eyes up and around, I could see Ginny and Hermione staring down at me with worried and panicked expressions.

“Rosalie - a-are you okay,” Ginny asked, concern and fear laced in her voice.

A few tears streamed down my eyes. I effortlessly blinked them away in attempts to not look ridiculous.

“I’m - I’m fine, it was just a dream,” I croaked.

They both frowned and sat by my side. Hermione put a hand on my back and rubbed it soothingly.

“You have to tell someone about your dreams. They’ll only get worse if you don’t seek help,” she warned.”

I shook my head. “I - I have told someone. Harry knows about them.”

“I don’t mean your brother. I mean someone like Dumbledore, or Sirius. When do you plan to tell your godfather? What would happen if he found out?”

“I don’t want him to know, please,” I sniffled. “Just please, don’t tell anyone anything.”

“You’re lucky no one else heard you scream - which is unbelievably odd,” Ginny commented. “I half expected your brother or someone else to bolt over here in a bloody second.”

I chuckled, shrugging. “I don’t really know anymore. I thought they had stopped.”

Hermione let out a sigh. “Rosalie, Voldemort is back. He’s here now and I promise you he’s going to seek revenge, he’ll go to any extent to torture both of you. He wants to weaken you. You’re making it easy by leaving yourself vulnerable, and -”

“I’m not vulnerable,” I snapped. “I-I’m fine. I’m just going through an existential crisis.”

“A strong existential crisis that’s left you absolutely weak and depressed,” she protested. “You have to tell someone about these things. If not, getting better won’t happen.”

“‘Mione has a point,” the redheaded girl agreed.

I didn’t answer. I bit the inside of my cheek, not knowing what to say.

The two girls stood up, patting my shoulder before walking away. They left the room, closing the door behind them. I was left completely isolated in the dimly lit room.

My head shot up when the door creaked open again moments later. My brother, Ron, and Hermione came inside. The boys wore a smile on their faces, but Hermione remained serious. I mouthed to her, “Did you tell them?” She made a stern face and shook her head.

They took a seat, sitting around the bedside. “What’s up,” I asked, a horrible attempt at seeming casual as I tried to wipe off any visible sweat visible and stop my fidgeting.

“I just want to talk about my Hearing,” Harry shrugged. “There’s so many things that I just - I don’t understand.”

“Mate, on the bright side you’re not expelled,” Ron mumbled, giving him a pat on the back encouragingly.

“Ron has a point, but I still want to know,” I urged.

Hermione nodded her head, listening attentively to what my brother had to say. He heaved out a sigh.

“Alright. When I got to the Department of Mysteries, they had changed the time of the Hearing to earlier without giving us word. Kingsley was the one to inform us. And when I got there, I - I saw Lucius Malfoy talking to the Minister about doing the right thing - which I assume would be to expel him.”

“Right foul git,” Ron commented under his breath.

“I find it absolutely stupid he’d even try to influence the Minister - but at the same time, clever. What I wish I knew were his intentions,” Hermione said.

I nodded, agreeing with her silently.

“That’s what I thought, ‘Mione. But I dunno, it could have something to do with a plan to get me out of Hogwarts and to Voldemort faster. He was at the graveyard, he was one of the Death Eaters. Surely he had a plan behind getting me expelled. I’m sure if he was allowed in, he would’ve succeeded.”

“They didn’t let Malfoy in,” I questioned. “That’s shocking.”

“They didn’t let anyone in that wasn’t the jury or witnesses.”

“Wait, wait. I thought you didn’t have any witnesses,” the ginger boy interrupted. “How did you even get past being cleared of all charges without proof? Why couldn’t Rosalie go?”

“The Minister was too clever - I think he knows Rosalie would’ve helped me if she was witness. Even if her story was the full truth. But Dumbledore showed up and helped me. He brought Mrs. Figg, my neighbor.” When Ron and Hermione furrowed their eyebrows, he added, “She’s a Squib who happens to live next door. Dumbledore has her spying on me when I’m in Little Whinging with the Dursleys.”

They sighed.

“There was a woman who asked me how dementors could’ve been over there, so far from Azkaban. The Minister also confirmed my theory that dementors can’t be seen by Muggles. And the lady under secretary had the nerve to say we were blaming them for the attack, since they’re the ones who control the things. Luckily in the end, very few people wanted me convicted.”

“Well that’s good, mate. Congratulations, ‘Mione and I knew you’d make it,” his redheaded friend exclaimed. I gasped.

“What about me?”

He rolled his eyes. “You slept the whole way, hush, Rosalie.”

Hermione put a finger up, clear she had either an objection or question. “One thing. Why did this seem so bad? What did you need to talk about that was odd apart from Malfoy and the jury woman who asked if you were putting blame on the Ministry?”

“This was really strange, but when I left, Dumbledore just...walked away. I called for him and everything, but he passed right by me without even making eye contact with me or waving. He just strolled away. He didn’t look at me the whole way through, now that I think about it actually.”

“Maybe he had somewhere to be,” I theorized. “I mean, he is the Headmaster of a large and popular wizarding school.”

“I know, but it’s just - it’s not like him to just disregard people. It seemed a little weird to me.”

“Rosalie could be right, Harry,” Hermione assured. “He probably just had to go take care of some urgent things for the beginning of term.”

He nodded. “I could just be overreacting. But I needed someone to run all these things with - my mind is a bloody mess right now.”

“You’re not the only one,” I murmured.

“Don’t worry,” the Gryffindor girl said with a small smile. “Things will get better. And in just a few days, we’ll be back at Hogwarts - all will be well.”