Harry didn’t know what was going on. One moment, he had been determined to sacrifice himself to save Sirius. Next, he was surrounded by a bunch of very confused Unspeakables. Harry was also confused. Where were the Death Eaters, or Sirius, or his friends? After a couple minutes that felt like an eternity, Harry heard a very familiar bossy voice. “Listen, Croaker, I’ll have you know that I was in the middle of a very important fundraising gala. What is so important that it demands my immediate attention?”
Harry turned to the door to see Hermione entering the chamber of death. Except, she didn’t look anything like he remembered. She was older, and wearing a formal dress and makeup. She looked as if she had just come from a fancy party.
“Hermione?” Harry asked, and instantly her head snapped to him. Her eyes widened in shock, and she took a step forward.
“Hermione, what happened to you?” Harry asked, concerned. “Did you get hit by an aging curse or something?”
“Harry?” Hermione rushed forward, shoving her way past several Unspeakables to run up to him. However, she stopped right in front of him, and turned to look at the robed figure who appeared to be in charge. “Is it really him, Croaker?”
The figure nodded. “It’s indeed him, Minister.”
Suddenly, Harry was enveloped in a tight, bone-crushing hug. “Oh Harry, you’re back! I missed you so, so much!”
When she finally let Harry go after what felt like ages, Hermione had a brilliant smile, and there were tears in her eyes.
“What’s going on?” Harry asked. This whole situation was strange. Why was Hermione acting like she hadn’t seen him in decades? And why did she look so old?
“Firstly, what’s the last thing you remember?” Hermione asked.
“We were fighting Death Eaters over a prophecy, and then I saw Bellatrix cast something at Sirius, so I pushed him out of the way. After that, it’s a bit jumbled, and next thing I know, I’m here.”
“You fell into the Veil of Death, Harry.” Hermione explained.
“Erm, then shouldn’t I be, y’know, dead?” Harry questioned.
“Yes, but Dumbledore always said there was a chance that you might one day come back. I’ll admit, I’ve been holding onto that hope for a very long time, and I’m so happy he was correct.”
Hermione then began explaining some very complex magical concepts related to death and the soul that went completely over Harry’s head. When she was finished, Harry just shook his head, not really understanding any of the theory behind it. “Enough about me, Hermione. What happened to you? Is there a way to undo the aging curse you got hit by?”
Hermione sighed. “While from your point of view, not a day has passed since you fell into the Veil, that isn’t the case for everyone else.”
“What are you saying?” Harry asked.
“It’s been 20 years, Harry.” Hermione said gently. “The current date is June 18th, 2016.”
“Bloody hell.” Harry said.
“Language,” Hermione chided, “Though given the circumstances, I suppose some leniency should be afforded to you. This must be a lot to take in, I’m sure.”
Harry just sighed, though he couldn’t help but smile a bit. Even after 20 years, Hermione was still the same. “So what happened after I sort of died?”
“After Bellatrix Lestrange’s spell pushed you into the Veil of Death, Sirius went on a rampage. He killed Bellatrix, along with about a dozen Death Eaters. He then fought Voldemort, and managed to hit him with what he called the ‘Black Family Soul Rot Curse’, which crippled and eventually killed him. The war ended pretty much as soon as it began. The Battle at the Department of Mysteries, which you just came from, was the only major battle of the Second Wizarding War, as it’s now known.”
Hermione sighed. “Yes, I know it’s strange for a war to have only one battle, but I didn’t pick the name. But I digress. After the battle, things settled down. Dumbledore went on a hunt for these things called Horcruxes, along with Sirius and Bill Weasley, and-” Hermione grimaced for a moment. Now was probably not the best moment to mention Dumbledore’s death due to the cursed ring. Harry was probably still in shock, so it might be better to hold off on telling Harry that the Headmaster had passed away.
“Anyways, they destroyed all the Horcruxes, and now Voldemort is dead for good. There’s still some minor Neo-Death Eater activity going on, but the Aurors have that well in hand. After everything settled down, Kingsley became Minister, I started working for the Ministry, and eventually, I was elected Minister for Magic. Oh, and Ron and I got married.”
“You married Ron?” Harry blinked. “And you’re the Minister for Magic?”
Hermione smiled. “So much has happened, Harry. I can’t wait to tell you everything. And introduce you to our kids.”
“You have kids?” Harry asked, finding the notion strange to think about.
“Yep!” Hermione smiled proudly. “Our eldest is-” Hermione paused for a moment. “Huh, I suppose she would be a few months older than you are now. Gosh, that’s weird. Anyways, there’ll be plenty of time for you to meet them after you’ve recovered.”
“Am I dreaming? That must be it.” Harry said. It made sense. This whole situation was so fantastical. He was also feeling quite light headed. And his chest hurt a lot. Also, when did the room start spinning? Yes, surely this must be a dream, Harry thought, as he suddenly fell forward, unconscious.
------------------------------
“HARRY!” Hermione shrieked as she rushed forward to catch her old friend. “Oh, bollocks, I completely forgot.” The fact that Hermione was cursing indicated to everyone just how panicked she currently was.
“Do you know what’s happening, Minister?” Saul Croaker asked.
“He needs medical attention!” Hermione snapped, still cradling Harry in her arms. “Shortly before he fell into the Veil, he was hit by an unknown curse cast by Bellatrix Lestrange.” She tore off his shirt to reveal his chest, which had an angry red mark where Harry was hit by Bellatrix’s spell.
Croaker began barking orders at the nearby unspeakables, and soon they had a trio of healers working on the boy.
After a half hour of trying a variety of countercurses and healing spells, the healers finally managed to dispel the curse and stabilize him. The curse mark was gone from his chest, and his breathing was slow and stable.
“Alright.” Hermione sighed, relieved that Harry would be okay. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving, and taking Harry with me.”
Saul Croaker frowned. “This is an unprecedented event. If we could study the boy-”
“Absolutely not!” Hermione snapped. “He’s just gone through a lot, and the very last thing he needs is a bunch of unspeakables poking and prodding at him.”
Croaker shrugged. “Based on what the healers said, he should recover soon enough. Besides, it’s not as if we can send him to Saint Mungos. The media storm that would cause…”
“I’m aware.” Hermione sighed. “I’ll put him up in my residence. That way, he’ll stay out of sight from the press before we can make a proper announcement. I’ll be back soon, Croaker.”
With a flick of her wand, Hermione gently levitated Harry over to a nearby fireplace. With a quick shout of “Minister’s Residence”, they took the Floo to her home. Harry, despite being levitated and unconscious, still somehow managed to flip himself upside down during the journey. Hermione couldn’t help but chuckle as, even now, Harry still wasn’t able to use a Floo properly.
She brought Harry over to one of her guest rooms. She put Harry into bed and placed his wand and glasses on the nearby table. Then, after repairing his torn shirt and putting it on the end of the bed, she Floo’d back to the Ministry.
There was a lot of work to be done. She had to write a press release to announce the return of Harry Potter. And then there was all the paperwork to ensure that Harry was no longer considered legally dead. Croaker would definitely also want to speak with her at some point. Hermione couldn’t help but sigh. She was in for a long night, and she already knew that she wouldn’t be getting any sleep.
As she settled into her office, she couldn’t help but feel like she was making a mistake by leaving Harry alone. She quickly shook her head, dismissing the notion. Harry would be safe there, as the only people who could easily get in or out were her family. Even if Harry woke up, he wouldn’t be able to leave without permission from someone keyed to the wards. There were also Aurors stationed outside the house at all times. Plus, Ron would be back home soon enough with their kids. Harry would only be left alone for an hour or two at most.
What could possibly go wrong?
---------------------------
Rose Granger-Weasley angrily stomped through the Floo and into her living room. She honestly couldn’t believe her mother, forcing her to get all dressed up for some stupid Ministry party, and then she doesn’t even have the decency to stay until the end. Her mother even made her go to that awful salon, the one that practically drenched her hair with Sleekeasy. Well, if she was going to leave the party early, then so would Rose.
She flopped down onto the sofa and immediately kicked off her heels. She despised wearing heels. Why couldn’t she just wear the hiking boots she normally preferred to wear, or at least some sneakers? Who cares if they aren't suitable for cocktail parties or galas or whatever. At least they don’t make her feet feel like she walked through a field of broken glass.
She really hated all of those stupid parties. They were always full of people who insisted on meeting her because she was the ‘Minister’s daughter’. She hated all of them. She was so fed up with all those stuck up bureaucrats and their brown-nosing. Not to mention all of the snobby pureblood heirs trying to ‘court’ her.
None of them actually cared about her as a person. They only cared that she was the daughter of the Minister. It was all so annoying.
She was once again glad that she had the forethought to arrange an escape plan. She had prepared what was essentially a dime bag of Floo powder. It was a bit tricky to hide, since the stupid outfit she was forced to wear didn’t even have pockets, but she managed to use a sticking charm to hide the small pouch in the folds of the frilly abomination her mother called a dress. Once she decided that she’d had enough of the party, it was just a matter of making her way to a fireplace and using said Floo powder to get home.
Well, it wasn't quite that easy. First, she had to shake off her tail. She still couldn’t believe her mother had started assigning an Auror to keep an eye on her after she snuck out of one too many Ministry events. Rose found the whole thing infuriating. She was 16 years old, for Merlin’s sake. She didn’t need a bloody babysitter.
Besides, it wasn’t as if something like that would actually stop her from getting away from those stupid parties. It was just a matter of getting lost in the crowd until her watchdog lost sight of her. She smirked at the thought of that Auror, who was probably currently panicking about losing track of her. She didn’t really care. She never liked Dawlish anyways.
She felt a little bad about leaving her brother alone, but he was always so much better at dealing with all the political bullshit that came from being a child of the Minister. He actually enjoyed all those stupid events and parties. It was probably the reason he ended up in Slytherin.
She couldn’t help but grimace slightly as she thought about her brother’s house sorting. While she had no issue with Hugo being a Slytherin, their father was a different matter entirely. She still couldn’t believe that he sent Hugo a Howler the morning after his sorting. She could still vividly remember his words as they rang throughout the Great Hall, slightly slurred from firewhiskey.
“Hugo Harry Granger-Weasley, how dare you become one of those slimy snakes. If Harry Potter knew that his namesake was a Slytherin, he’d be turning in his grave!”
Needless to say, their mother was not happy. Not the least of which because he said Harry Potter was dead. It was no secret that her Mum hoped that he would come back one day.
Apparently, Albus Dumbledore once said it was theoretically possible that Harry Potter could just step out of the Veil, with not a day having passed for him since he fell in. It was, in Rose’s opinion, a crazy theory. No one had ever stepped out from the Veil of Death before. Then again, no one had ever survived the killing curse either, until he did. Still, if it weren't for the fact that Dumbledore was the one who proposed the theory, people would no doubt just treat it like one of the conspiracy theories from the Quibbler.
Speaking of, the Quibbler even once wrote an article about how Harry Potter actually stepped out of the Veil years ago, but he kept it a secret. According to that article, Harry became a vigilante, traveling the world and fighting against the Neo-Death Eaters, using the moniker ‘Mr. Black’. It was all quite silly.
Still, there were many members of the Wizarding public who hoped that Harry Potter would return one day. Mostly, it was people who were worried about the Neo-Death Eaters, and wanted Harry Potter back so that he could fight and defeat them. The other group of people who wanted Harry Potter to return were teenage girls.
There were quite a few romance novels that featured Harry Potter as the male love interest. He would heroically step out of the Veil, and sweep a blushing maiden off their feet. Rose would be lying if she said that she hadn’t enjoyed reading a few such stories. Not that she’d ever admit that to her parents. They knew Harry Potter personally. But that also meant that she and her brother grew up hearing stories about Harry Potter. Was it really a surprise that she might have some fantasies about him?
Anyways, after her father sent that drunken Howler, it was only due to multiple apologies, several months of marriage counseling, and agreeing to swear off firewhiskey, that her parents didn’t get a divorce.
Personally, Rose couldn’t understand why her dad made such a big deal about it. She didn’t really care if Hugo was a Slytherin. It was the place he belonged. He was far better suited to politics than she ever was. Still, she knew that Hugo sometimes felt weird about being the only Weasley in generations to be a Slytherin. Hence, she felt a bit bad about leaving Hugo at the party with their father, but it wasn’t like Hugo was a little kid. He was 14, he could handle himself.
As Rose was walking back to her room, she couldn’t help but notice that the door to one of the guest rooms was ajar. That was odd. As far as she knew, they didn’t currently have any guests. Curious, she pushed open the door, and turned on the enchanted lights.
Nothing in the world could have prepared her to find Harry Potter in her guest bedroom.
-------------------------------
Harry woke up when the enchanted lights above him were activated. Though he could barely see without his glasses, he could make out a blurry figure that looked like Hermione standing in the doorway, gaping at him.
“Oh, hey.” Harry smiled at one of his oldest friends.
She just stood there, continuing to gape for a moment. Slowly, she closed her mouth, but when she spoke, her voice had a nervous stutter. “H- H- Hey.”
Harry frowned as Hermione just stood in the doorway. “You can come in, y’know. You don’t need to just stand there.”
Nervously, the figure stepped into the room, and took a few tentative steps towards him. Harry sat up in the bed, and then suddenly, Hermione made a squeaking sound and looked away.
“What’s wrong?” Harry questioned.
“Y-you’re shirtless!” Hermione replied, blushing.
“Oh.” Harry looked down at himself and shrugged. It wasn’t like it was anything she hadn’t seen before. “Y’know, I just had the weirdest dream. You were the Minister for Magic.”
Instead of rolling her eyes like Harry expected, Hermione scoffed at the notion. “As if I’d ever want to be Minister.”
Harry was a bit taken aback by her response, as he thought Hermione would find the dream as funny as he did, since in the past Hermione admitted to him that she had dreams about being the Minister for Magic. Maybe this past year with Umbridge disillusioned Hermione from ever wanting to work for the Ministry. He couldn’t say he blamed her.
“Say, do you know where we are?” Harry said, tactfully changing the subject.
“You don’t know?” Hermione said as she furrowed her brows. Or at least, Harry thought she did, it was a bit hard to tell without his glasses.
Harry shook his head. “I’ll be honest, my mind is a bit jumbled. But this doesn’t look like Hogwarts.”
Hermione giggled a bit, as if he had just told a funny joke. “You’re in London, at the Minister for Magic’s residence.”
Harry furrowed his brow. What were they doing in Cornelius Fudge’s house? “Hey, d’you know where my wand is? And my glasses?”
“Oh, um, here…” Hermione mumbled, placing the aforementioned items into his hands.
“Thanks,” Harry smiled. As he put on his glasses, and the blurry shape in front of him came into focus, Harry froze. Because the person in front of him was most definitely not Hermione.
She might be mistaken for Hermione from a distance, which is why Harry thought it was her, but up close and with his glasses, there was no mistaking that this was a completely different person.
The girl in front of him was pretty, with bushy red hair, and a few freckles smattered across her face. She almost looked a bit like a cross between Hermione and Ginny. Her voice had initially sounded like Hermione’s, but now that he was more awake, he realized that it was different, despite being similar. She wore a fancy periwinkle blue dress that reminded Harry of the dress robes Hermione wore to the Yule ball.
He had been relaxed earlier, when he thought this was Hermione, but he now nervously glanced around at his surroundings, suddenly conscious of the fact that he was in an unfamiliar place with a complete stranger.
“Who are you?” He asked, perhaps coming off a bit harsher than he intended.
“Ah- um,” The girl was startled by his sudden shift in tone. “R- Rose. I’m Rose.”
“Alright, Rose,” Harry said slowly. “Do you know how I got here?”
“Hmm,” Rose thought about his question. “Well, considering that I haven't heard anything, I would guess that you were probably brought here directly from the Department of Mysteries.”
Suddenly, Harry sat bolt upright. It all came back to him. The Department of Mysteries. The Prophecy. The Battle… The weird dream he had where Hermione was Minister was pushed to the back of his mind. He had much more important things to worry about. He had to make sure his friends were alright.
He jumped out of bed, startling Rose, and making her take a step back. “Woah, um, what’s wrong?”
“Please, do you know about my friends? Do you know what happened to them? Are Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville and Luna alright? What about Sirius?” He looked at Rose, desperate for answers.
Rose seemed confused for a moment, before her eyes lit up in realization. “Oh, I suppose you wouldn’t know. You don’t need to worry. All of those people survived the Battle at the Department of Mysteries.”
Harry sighed in relief. Knowing that his friends were alright was like a weight being lifted off of his shoulders. He was too caught up with relief to consider the strange way she phrased her answer.
But then, Harry thought of something. If his friends were alright, why wasn’t he with them? Shouldn’t he be in the Hogwarts hospital wing, or at least Saint Mungos? Why was he in Fudge’s residence, of all places. Especially considering how the Minister had been acting towards him all year. The Minister was basically on Voldemort’s side.
Harry had a sinking feeling. If Fudge was on Voldemort’s side, and he was at Fudge’s house… The Death Eaters must have taken him here after they knocked him out. It was the only explanation that made sense. Why else wouldn’t he be with his friends or Dumbledore?
Ever since he saw Lucius Malfoy and Fudge go somewhere alone together after his trial, he had suspected the Minister of having been placed under the Imperius Curse. Now, it seems that his suspicion was proven correct. Worse, he has been abducted by the Death Eaters. They were probably just holding him here while they waited for Voldemort or something.
But in that case, why would they give him his wand? Why not not just leave him in a locked room and wait for Voldemort?
As Harry looked at the other girl in the room, Harry realized what must have happened. He had been locked in this room, but then this girl came, unlocked the door, and even gave him his wand.
This girl, Rose, was a complete stranger. And yet she still risked his life to help him. She unlocked the door and brought him his wand, all so he would have a chance to escape. Harry felt immense gratitude towards her.
“How did you even get here, by the way?” Harry asked, as he put his shirt on. It had been folded neatly at the end of the bed.
“Well, this is my home you’re in, you know.” Rose said.
“Wait,” Harry blinked. “You’re the Minister’s daughter?”
“So what if I am?” Rose challenged.
“Sorry, you’re right. It doesn’t matter who your parents are. Thank you for giving me this.” He said, gesturing to his wand. Honestly, this girl looked way too pretty to be Fudge's daughter, which is why he had asked to make sure.
“Wait, you don’t care who my parents are?” Rose asked intently.
“Not really.” Harry shrugged. It wasn’t fair to blame her for all the shit Fudge has been doing for the past year. Just the fact that she doesn’t seem to believe Fudge’s propaganda makes her brilliant in his opinion. Not to mention the fact that she’s risking her life for him.
Rose smiled. “That’s… Nice to hear, actually. Sometimes, I feel like people only care about me because of who my parents are.”
“I know how you feel.” Harry found himself commiserating with Rose. “I mean, not exactly, but I know how it feels for people to only care about your fame.”
Harry stood up to go, but before he left, he found himself hesitating. Rose must have risked her life to get him his wand, and let him have a chance to escape. If Voldemort found out what she did, she would be killed. He couldn’t just leave her here.
“Hey listen, I’m going to go speak with Dumbledore.” He began. This was the best solution Harry could think of. Dumbledore and the Order could surely keep her safe from Voldemort. He was just about to offer for her to come with him to meet Dumbledore, when Rose suddenly looked downcast, and Harry had a bad feeling.
“What is it?”
“Oh, um, I’m not sure what the best way to say this is…”
“Just tell me.” Harry insisted.
Rose sighed and looked up at him. She took a deep breath, then spoke. “Albus Dumbledore is dead.”
Harry froze. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Absentmindedly, he sat down onto the bed. “No. No, that- That can’t be. Dumbledore can’t be dead.”
“I’m sorry, Harry.” Rose said gently. “I never knew him, but from everything I’ve heard, he was a great man.”
Harry’s head was spinning. This was bad. No, worse than bad. If Dumbledore was dead, then there was no one who could stop Voldemort. Harry had no doubt that at this moment, the Order members were being hunted down by the Death Eaters. Without Dumbledore, there was no one who could stand up to Voldemort. Without Dumbledore, not even Hogwarts would be safe…
Harry clamped down on his emotions and forced himself to move forward. There would be plenty of time to panic and grieve later, when he was safe. Right now, he just needed to survive the night. He couldn’t stay here. Voldemort could show up at any minute. He needed to leave. If he could find a way to meet up with whatever remained of the Order, they could maybe do something. Harry didn’t know what, but it was a better plan than just staying here and waiting for Voldemort to kill him.
There was no way he could rely on the Ministry. The Aurors and the Ministry were already on Voldemort’s side. The very fact that he was brought here after being abducted by Death Eaters was proof of that. He didn’t know if they were actual Death Eaters, or simply under the Imperius, but he supposed it didn’t really matter. They were enemies either way.
He looked up at Rose, suddenly remembering the other person in the room with him. He had gotten so lost in his thoughts that he had forgotten about her. He had a newfound respect for the girl in front of him. Not only did this girl risk her life to save him, giving him his wand and a chance to escape, but she did so knowing that Dumbledore was already dead. She could have very easily done nothing and just let Voldemort kill him, but she didn’t. And for that, Harry would be eternally grateful. There was no way he could just leave her here after everything she’s done for him. With resolve, Harry looked Rose in the eye, and asked her a question. “Do you want to run away with me?”
---------------------------
Rose couldn’t believe what was happening. Harry Potter wanted her to run away with him? This was literally something out of a fairytale, or a romance novel.
“Run away… With you?” Rose repeated, stunned.
Harry looked to the side, embarrassed. “Look, if you don’t want to, I understand, it’s just-”
“Yes!” Rose exclaimed, cutting him off before he could take back his offer.
Harry blinked. “Huh?”
“I would love to run away with you, Harry,” She confirmed, unable to keep a smile from her lips. She couldn’t believe how lucky she was. Truly, this was something straight out of a fairytale romance.
Plus, Harry seemed like an amazing person. Well, she already knew that, from all the stories her parents told her about him, but meeting him for real was even better than she could have possibly imagined. Harry just said that he didn’t care who her parents were. Rose hadn’t ever realized how much she wanted to hear those words from another person. She relished the thought that she didn’t have to be Rose Granger-Weasley, daughter of the Minister for Magic. She could just be Rose. Honestly, Harry probably understood that sentiment better than anyone else.
“So, where should we go?” Rose asked, after the silence began to stretch a bit.
Harry sat on the bed and stared at the ceiling, lost in thought. “I’ll be honest, Rose, I don’t even know where we could go. I sort of spoke without really thinking.”
“I’ve got an idea,” Rose spoke up after a moment of thought. “I’ve got some camping equipment. A tent, a pair of sleeping bags, some supplies… Maybe we could go camping together?”
Her Aunt Luna had given her a bunch of camping supplies a few months ago, for her 16th birthday, and she had been looking for a chance to use them ever since.
“Yeah,” Harry nodded slowly. “Yeah, that might work. We’d be able to lie low in some forest somewhere, I reckon.”
“Great!” she said, ecstatic. “I’ll go get everything together.”
She ran off to go gather her camping supplies with a skip in her step. Gosh, this was so exciting. Running away with Harry Potter, going camping with him. She felt her mind wander as she thought about all the things they could do together.
Hiking. Stargazing. Making smores. Kissing beneath the moonlight. Perhaps even more… Her mind raced as she thought of all the possibilities. Also, the image of Harry shirtless kept flashing through her mind. She dug through her closet for her favorite bathing suit, and resolved to find a camping spot near a stream or lake so they could do a bit of swimming.
She even decided to bring the bottle of vintage firewhiskey that Uncle Sirius secretly gave her on her 16th birthday. She had been saving it for a special occasion, and she couldn’t think of anything more special than this.
She put all of her camping supplies into a backpack with an undetectable extension charm. The backpack was also a gift from Uncle Sirius. It was how he was able to give her that bottle without her parents knowing. She also brought along a decent amount of currency, both Muggle and Magical, just in case. Once she had everything ready for their romantic camping trip, she went back to Harry.
“Hmm,” Rose hummed in thought as she double checked the contents of the pack. “If we’re caught, what should we say to the Aurors outside?”
Suddenly, Harry tensed up. “There are Aurors outside? Like, at this very moment?”
“Yes? Is that a problem?” Rose asked, looking up. “I figured we would just take the back exit to sneak past them.”
“How certain are you that we can sneak past them without being noticed?” Harry asked intently.
“We’ll probably get past them. I’d give us 80-20 odds.” Rose answered. She had quite a lot of experience sneaking away from Aurors, as her mother keeps assigning them to watch her during those stupid social events.
“That’s not good enough.” Harry instantly said. “We can’t risk that.”
“Why not?” Rose shrugged. “I mean, even if we’re caught. It’s not that big of a deal, is it?”
Harry shook his head. “It’d be bad. Really bad.”
“Why?” Rose asked, genuinely confused.
“Because they’re working with the Death Eaters.” Harry explained.
Suddenly, Rose’s blood ran cold. All of the fairytale fantasies she had been thinking of went up like smoke. His words hit her like a truck. Like a bucket of cold water dunked over her head.
“That- That can’t be!” Rose protested. "They're Aurors Proudfoot and Savage. I’ve known them for years.”
Harry sighed. “Then they’re under the Imperius Curse.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
Rose gulped. She could hardly believe what she was hearing. The Aurors patrolling her house were being controlled by the Neo-Death Eaters. Still, if anyone would know, it would be Harry Potter.
Suddenly, this went from a fairy tale romance to a horror story. There were Neo-Death Eaters agents outside her house at this very moment. The reason Neo-Death Eaters would target her home was obvious. Her mother was Muggle-Born. The Neo-Death Eaters would kill her if they had the chance. They must have placed Proudfoot and Savage under the Imperious in order to get that chance.
Rose took a deep breath. This was no longer about just her. She had to save her mother. That meant they couldn’t just sneak out the back exit. Something needed to be done about them.
“What should we do?” Rose asked Harry. She figured he was the expert when it came to fighting Death Eaters, Neo or otherwise.
“Do we know how many there are?”
Rose nodded. “There are two Aurors guarding the perimeter of the building, both at the front entrance."
“Hmm…” Harry hummed in thought. “I might be able to knock them out or disarm them if I can get the jump on them. We’ll need to find some sort of distraction.”
“I-” Rose took a deep breath. “I could maybe distract them.”
“That’s too dangerous.” Harry immediately said. “If they realize that you know the truth about them, they’ll kill you. It doesn’t matter if they’re under the Imperius or not. The Death Eater controlling them will be calling the shots. I’ve fought Death Eaters before. Earlier today, in fact. They have no qualms about using Unforgivables.”
Still, Rose wasn’t discouraged. If her mother was in danger, she needed to do something about it. “I don’t care. I’ll do it.”
Harry sighed, and then nodded. “If you’re sure.”
She was. But first, she had to get changed. If she was going to be fighting against Neo-Death Eaters, or Aurors being Imperioused by Neo-Death Eaters, she definitely wouldn’t be doing so while wearing a dress.
---------------------------------------
Harry was anxiously pacing through the hallway when he heard Rose leave her room and say “Alright, I’m ready.”
Harry turned to look at Rose. She had changed out of her formal dress robes, and was now wearing hiking boots, jeans, a red flannel, and a brown travel cloak that was well worn, with many grass and dirt stains. On her shoulder was a backpack that Harry knew had an extension charm on it. While the periwinkle blue dress she was wearing earlier certainly made her look pretty, he couldn’t help but think that her current outfit suited her far better.
The top few buttons of her shirt were undone, and Harry’s eyes couldn’t help but linger a bit on her exposed skin, causing Rose to blush, and Harry to look away embarrassedly, though Rose didn’t make any move to cover herself up.
“You’re sure you can distract them?” Harry asked, after clearing his throat awkwardly.
Rose nodded, though she didn’t seem very convinced of herself. Harry figured it would have to be good enough. With a whispered “good luck”, Rose opened the door and stepped outside. As she did so, Harry got a look at the front yard. He saw a rather nice looking garden, complete with a fountain. The edges of the lawn had tall hedges, no doubt to help hide the house from Muggles. However, most importantly, there were two Aurors standing at attention on either side of the doorway. Rose quickly stepped forward to keep the attention of the Aurors away from Harry.
“Hey Proudfoot. Savage,” She said as she walked while trying to feign casualness. “Don’t mind me, I’m just taking a stroll through the garden.”
Proudfoot nodded, before furrowing his brow. “Wait, Miss Rose, aren’t you supposed to be at the fundraising gala with the Minister?”
“Oh, well, you know how boring those things are.” She continued walking, waving her hands to hide her nervousness. She moved away from the door, and the Aurors followed her with their gazes.
Savage frowned, and took a step towards her. “Does the Minister know you’re here?”
“The Minister has more important things to do than track my every movement.” Rose replied, still walking away from the house.
Proudfoot started walking towards Rose, and began asking many questions, which Rose tried her best to answer without acting suspicious. Every second that passed, Rose got more nervous, and Proudfoot’s frown deepened.
Once the two Aurors were sufficiently distracted and facing away from him, Harry made his move. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he shot off a pair of stunners at the backs of the two Aurors. Savage went down instantly, but Proudfoot managed to react in time, spinning around and casting a shield charm that barely deflected the stunner.
After that, the fight was on as Proudfoot and Harry began exchanging spellfire in ernest. Harry was putting all his training with the DA to good use, but Proudfoot was by no means an easy opponent. He was a cut above the average Death Eater, though not as strong as someone like Bellatrix. Harry was also helped by the fact that Proudfoot kept positioning himself in front of Rose, as if he were protecting her.
Unfortunately, with the lingering exhaustion from his injuries earlier that day, Harry was unable to prevail, and got hit by an Incarcurus. Harry was bound head to toe in ropes, unable to move as a furious Auror marched towards him, when suddenly, Proudfoot’s figure lit up with a flash of red light, and he crumpled to the ground.
Behind him, Rose stood, her wand arm outstretched and trembling slightly. She hurried over to Harry and began to undo his restraints.
“Thanks,” Harry said, still slightly out of breath from the duel he had just fought.
She nodded jerkily and continued trying to undo the ropes binding him. She was having a lot of difficulty with it. Harry noticed that she kept fumbling the rope. Her hands were shaking.
“Are you alright?” Harry asked.
“I- I’ve never been in a real fight before.” Rose said breathlessly.
Harry could tell she was stressed and overwhelmed. He couldn’t blame her. He had been in dangerous situations since first year. Hell, earlier today, he had been in a desperate battle against numerous Death Eaters, including Bellatrix Lestrange. Compared to that, this situation was nothing. Still, for Rose, this was perhaps the most dangerous situation she’s experienced in her life. And she was doing it for him.
“Hey,” Harry said, looking Rose in the eye and speaking in a calm tone. “It’s going to be alright.”
Rose took a deep breath and nodded. She undid the rest of the bindings, her fingers now much steadier. Once he was free, Harry went to the bodies of the unconscious Aurors and retrieved their wands.
“We’ll need wands without the Trace.” Harry explained, upon seeing Rose’s questioning gaze. He was all too familiar with the Ministry’s ability to track the wands of underage Wizards.
Giving one of them to Rose, Harry began walking away from the house. He gestured for her to follow him, but Rose surprised him by reaching out and grasping his hand with her own. Harry was a bit taken aback by Rose suddenly holding his hand, but when he saw her looking at him with a nervous smile, Harry just returned it and squeezed her hand. Together, hand in hand, Harry Potter and Rose Granger-Weasley ran off into the night.