Chapter 143: Delivering the Message
The first thing Ron did after recovering his wits was to dismiss the bell. He reached for Lavender's remains, but thought better of it. Any disturbance would shine doubt on his story.
<Someone fetch Professor Dumbledore or Professor McGonagall. Tell them Rose is gone.>
Ron stood up on shaky legs. He felt lightheaded. Sick. But he kept moving. He had no choice; it had to be done.
He kept his stomach down until he'd reached the front of the classroom.
7E.
<Classroom 7E. Someone… someone acknowledge. Anyone.>
<Ron, is everything alright?>
Sally-Anne. He'd forgotten they'd put her on the network. It'd all happened so fast. How long had it been since he'd heard her voice?
<No.>
He mustered up what strength he had left, willed himself over to Lavender's remains, then eased himself to the ground, so as not to disturb anything.
<Professor Dumbledore… Professor McGonagall… Professor Flitwick… anyone. I don't care. Classroom 7E.>
He put more force behind his words. They needed to understand, but he didn't want to say it.
<Lavender… Lavender's dead. Rose turned her into dust.>
Ron's head spun. He drew his legs closer and held his head in his hands. It was too much.
Focus.
People would be arriving soon. Sally-Anne… Hermione… Harry. There was no telling who else. He hoped Sally-Anne would be there. That smile of hers looked so sad now, but he wanted to see it. It made him feel better, even if he didn't understand why. Even if she hadn't listened.
It didn't matter who would be there; what mattered was that they'd all have questions for him. About what had happened, about Rose. He was the only one who could answer them, and it wouldn't do them any good if he couldn't remember anything helpful. He didn't have his pack, but he had a blackboard and chalk. So Ron started writing down everything he could remember. What did Rose look like? What had she said?
He couldn't remember everything, but he tried anyway. It was hard to think he was writing something from when Lavender had been alive… it'd only been moments ago, but he focused on them. On those last moments with Lavender. She was gone, and he hadn't been able to save her. He was all alone.
Ron closed his eyes and stopped writing. He remembered every detail of the past five minutes, or as best he could. It wasn't much, but it was enough to keep him focused.
"You can do this, Cohort. Remember, first ally. First to join the fight, first to stand up."
A minute later, Harry arrived with Professor McGonagall.
"Ron, are you alright?" Harry asked.
"I've been better," he replied without taking his eyes off the board.
Keeping his gaze fixed and his focus on what he was writing, he pointed in the general direction of the dust.
"That dust is all that's left of Lavender. Don't touch it until Professor Dumbledore or Hermione get here. They'll make better use of it than we will."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.
"Hermione and Dumbledore knew Rose was against us from the beginning," Ron said. "It's obvious when you think about it. That's why Dumbledore wanted to meet with Hermione so much. Since Rose can just pop in and out whenever she wants, Dumbledore's getting Hermione to work out a way to stop her."
"What are you writing?" Professor McGonagall asked.
"Everything I can remember from what Rose said and did. Where's Professor Dumbledore?"
"On his way," Professor McGonagall said. "I ordered Dripty to fetch him."
"When?"
"A minute ago."
"Good. That means he's not coming by phoenix."
"Why is that good, Mr. Weasley?"
"If he were, he could disturb the remains, or remove any traces of magic that they might be able to use."
"OUT!"
Hermione's voice carried through the room.
"Get out! I need to analyze everything! That means you, Professor! Out!"
"Busy!" Ron shot back.
Not wanting to argue with Hermione (or, more likely, being ordered not to), McGonagall and Harry vacated the room.
Hermione walked in as Ron heard Neville's voice joining the others in the corridor.
Ron glanced at Hermione and saw her eyes glowing blue. She walked slowly around the room, a notebook in hand, writing without looking at it.
She paid special attention to the dust.
"Where'd she…" she began, but stopped when she saw the blackboard.
Professor Dumbledore arrived while Hermione was reading it, but she ordered him to stay out.
"Don't walk through the door!" she barked. "It's where Rose appeared. I've got some remnants of her magic, which means we have been on the right track. It's data that we desperately need."
"That's not what Rose said."
"You can't trust anything she says, Ron. You know that."
"No, Hermione, I don't."
Ron finished the last thought, the last of what he could remember, then turned to Hermione.
"I don't know anything about her anymore. All I know is that you and Professor Dumbledore have been treating her like an enemy without calling her an enemy. So what am I supposed to know exactly?! What is it that you haven't been telling us?!"
"Mr. Weasley, if you would please join us out here," Professor Dumbledore said. "I know this all must come as a shock to you, but right now, it's best to let Ms. Granger do her work. Any problems you have may be taken up with me."
Ron paused for a moment, spotting Hermione near the door. She was muttering to herself, writing strange characters in her notebook.
"After she's finished with that part, of course," Dumbledore added.
Ron stood still, his arms folded, and wondered where Sally-Anne was again. He'd have heard her voice. She was always quick to shout "Ron!" when she was worried about him.
"You're clear," Hermione said. "Get out."
"Thanks."
He pushed past her and into the corridor with the others.
"Mr. Weasley, are you alright?" Dumbledore asked.
"Fine," he said.
"What happened?"
"I'll tell you once she's finished with the rest of the room," Ron said, motioning to Hermione. "I wrote down what I could remember before I lost it."
"Excellent thinking," Professor McGonagall said.
"Thanks."
Despite the praise, Ron didn't feel like he'd done anything right. Rose had escaped. Lavender was dead. No one seemed to care about her. Where was Sally-Anne?
He felt like he was drowning, struggling to stay above the waves. The tide was coming any second.
"I've got all I can," Hermione said, leaving the room. "Let me know if anything else comes up."
She hardly spared any of them a glance. Ron watched her leave, then turned back to the classroom as everyone else started walking in.
Harry rested his hand on Ron's shoulder.
"Are you alright?"
"No," he grumbled. "Stop asking. I'm already sick of everyone asking me that."
There was no staying calm, no keeping a clear head. Hermione had just walked off like it was just an opportunity to collect data on her precious experiments. The same experiments that had failed to keep Rose out of Hogwarts, apparently.
"You say she had a message," Professor Dumbledore said, having inspected the board. "For Ms. Granger and I, but you didn't write it down."
Ron hadn't, because he didn't need to. He could remember it perfectly.
"She said if you and Hermione had taken her seriously, if you'd finished, then…"
Where the Hell was Sally-Anne? Ron couldn't do this on his own! She was the only one to whom he could open up. The only one that cared! Every time he'd had a problem with Lavender, Sally-Anne helped him through it. Every time he'd had a problem with his feelings, when they threatened to consume him, Sally-Anne had talked him through it. Now she'd abandoned him! When he'd needed her the most!
"Then… then Lavender would still be alive."
Then it hit him. Rose had thought far enough ahead to know he would try and deafen her. She'd anticipated his every move. Had she known that Ron had gone to Sally-Anne?
Why? Why cut him off like that? What was her goal?
Yet another problem with which he could've used Sally-Anne's help.
"Where's Princess?" he asked.
"Why?" Harry asked.
"Rose is in Hogwarts!" Ron snapped. "Apparently trying to kill us or something!"
"We don't know what she's doing," Dumbledore said. "But I suppose it's time to face facts. Rose has turned against us."
"We should find Ms. Perks immediately," McGonagall said. "Mr. Weasley is right. Even with her latest distraction, she should've been here by now."
Ron frowned, then realized that Sally-Anne's "latest distraction" probably referred to Malfoy. Then he grimaced. That was just asking for trouble, those two being friends.
"Agreed," Dumbledore said. "Dripty!"
<Princess, are you alright?> Ron asked.
He tuned out everyone else. Something that sounded like a reward of house points from McGonagall over the bell idea made its way to his ears, but he ignored it. He needed to listen for Sally-Anne.
<I'm… I'm alive.>
<There you are! Where are you? What's going on?>
<Lavender's dead. Rose turned her into dust.>
Sally-Anne froze. Her mind stopped. She didn't know what to do. What could she do? She couldn't bring Lavender back. There was no saving her, but she could still help Ron.
She turned to Draco. There was no time to be proper, no time for manners, no time for dignity. Her friend needed her help.
"I've got to go."
"What for?"
"I'll explain later, I promise. But right now—"
"She's got to run and help Cohort."
Sally-Anne froze again. She didn't need to turn around. That voice was too familiar, and the look on Draco's face told her everything.
He was afraid, but trying to hide it with anger and hate. It summed him up quite nicely, actually.
Sally-Anne turned around slowly, keeping her hands free. With luck, Rose didn't know what she had at the ready. Although knowing Rose, it didn't matter.
"Princess," she said sweetly. "How nice to see you. And Butterhead, such a lovely couple."
Try as she did, Sally-Anne couldn't think. She didn't know what Rose would do, and her mind wouldn't let her figure it out.
"Rose…"
After nothing came to mind, Sally-Anne at least made herself look presentable. She stood up straight and smiled, as if Rose were anyone else.
"What's wrong, Princess? You look nervous about something."
Sally-Anne tried to keep herself calm, but her heart still beat out of control. She wanted to cry. This couldn't be the end. As she thought about it, she realized that's probably what Lavender had thought.
Her eyes darted to Draco. He already had his wand in hand, waiting for an opening on Rose. He of all people should've known what she could do.
"What are you doing here, Rose?"
��I just wanted to talk to you and your boyfriend about something." She winked at Draco. "I'm sure you'll both love to hear what I've got to say, and then you two can go back to whatever it was you were doing."
Rose looked from Sally-Anne to Draco, that gleeful smile of hers plastered on her face.
<Princess, where are you?> Neville asked.
Sally-Anne thought to tell the others, but it'd only distract them from Ron. He needed their help. There was nothing they could do to stop Rose. Only clean up the damage in the aftermath.
"So romantic, you two. The pureblood heir and the Muggle-born nothing. So forbidden… so optimistic."
"Be quiet, or—"
"Or you'll what, Butterhead?" The smile vanished from Rose's face as she turned her glare on Draco. "We've been down this road time and time again. You can't beat me. You can hardly even hurt me. What could you possibly do to me?"
Sally-Anne had no way to tell Draco to stop. She wished she did; he had no idea what he was doing. He should've; of all people, he should've.
"Rose… what did you want to talk to us about?"
The smile returned to Rose's face.
"I wanted to show you something, Princess. For all your optimism… all your talking about how people can change… I want you to understand: people don't change. Ever. I've always been like this. I will always be like this. Sadistic… cruel… destructive. The mad little girl who grew up with no friends or family. When Brain insists there's something wrong… when she's confident that I'm still on your side… remind her that people don't change."
"I'm the wrong person to try convincing of that," Sally-Anne said. She risked a glance at Draco. "Draco's proof. People can change. No matter how many people tell me he's no good, I'll never believe them. I've seen him change. He's kind." Sally-Anne reached back and laced her fingers with his. "He's changed."
Rose's smile grew wider, and she slowly shook her head.
"No. He hasn't." She turned her gaze to Draco. "Show her your arm, Butterhead."
Sally-Anne felt his tension in his grip. He didn't want to let go, but still, his fingers went slack, and his hand slipped out of hers.
"Draco?"
Fear and confusion spread through her. He couldn't be. She knew he'd changed, she knew it. Whatever it was Rose was doing, it couldn't have been terrible. Sally-Anne knew it. She wouldn't let herself be fooled again.
"Show her your arm, or I'll tear it off and show her myself. You know I will."
Draco shoved his wand in his pocket. Then he slowly rolled up his sleeve.
Sally-Anne gasped.
Rose giggled.
There, emblazoned on his arm, was the dark mark.
Sally-Anne shook her head in disbelief, then stared at Draco.
He looked away from her.
"You… Draco… what?"
"Don't you understand, Princess? Butterhead here… the boy you were a few seconds from snogging just a moment ago, is a follower of Lord Voldemort. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named himself. A man who thinks you're filth, just because of how you were born."
"Draco… no… it can't… how could you?"
Sally-Anne could barely breathe. It overwhelmed her. How could Draco have joined them? How could he?
Worse yet, was the fact that she'd fallen for it again. Someone pretending to be her friend… someone she'd trusted, someone with whom she'd empathized had turned out to be nothing more than a liar. Just like Umbridge.
Sally-Anne backed away from Draco, then turned to Rose.
"Why did you show me that?"
"I didn't." Rose nodded to Draco. "He did. Remember, Princess, he's just like Umbridge. He lied to you. The last person you thought was your friend lied to you. What's Cohort gonna do when you see him? You really think he's gonna forgive you? Will Alex? No. None of them will. Just like how Viktor never forgave you for not standing up to his father last year."
The walls were closing in on her. The whole world spun. She felt as though she'd pass out or be sick, likely both.
"W-what are you talking about?"
"I mean after Viktor was hurt… after a random man hit him with a curse that was so much like what happened to Moon. Viktor wanted you to stand up to his father… to stop him from ruining his life. But you didn't, and he'll never forgive you. You haven't helped anyone. Ever."
Sally-Anne had to ask, even though she was sure she already knew the answer.
"How did you know what happened to Viktor?"
Rose grinned, and Sally-Anne took a step away from both of them.
"It's nearly impossible for you to replicate my magic. But it's nothing for me to replicate yours."
Every feeling she'd had in the hospital, every fear, all that sense of dismay, it all rushed back to her. It wasn't some random man that had attacked Viktor, it was Rose. Sally-Anne's friend.
"Why do you think no one could fix it? Even though they were all so sure they could." She giggled. "And then you were so sure that Moon couldn't have been fixed, but the curse is easy to fix. At least, if she'd been taken back here. But you insisted."
"Why?"
"To set you off. To make sure you understand that I'm not on your side. I'll tear down your lives until you get that. Tell Brain. Tell the Old Man. I'm not on your side, Princess. I never was."
With that, Rose vanished.
Draco turned to her.
"Sally-Anne, I'm—"
"No," she said, shaking her head. "No, Draco. Don't talk to me. Just… just leave me alone."
Sally-Anne turned and walked off with what little dignity she had left. She had nothing else. No friends… everyone in school hated her… it seemed as if everyone in the world were out to get her. As Rose had said, they'd likely call her in to talk about Rose again. She didn't know what she was going to tell them.
She didn't care. All she wanted was to be left alone.
<Princess, are you alright?> Ron asked.
Sally-Anne didn't know what to tell him. She needed to tell him something. Fatigue overwhelmed her as she walked through the corridors.
Something in her told her she could trust Ron. He'd trusted her, which was far more than anyone else did. She'd almost forgotten about him after their spat.
<I'm… I'm alive.>
<There you are! Where are you? What's going on?>
She was a little surprised. Ron sounded so happy to hear from her. What for?
<I'm on the seventh floor. Draco and I were… oh, it doesn't matter now. You were right. Rose showed up, forced him to show me the dark mark on his arm. He's just like his father. You win.>
She considered walking down to Myrtle's bathroom, but there was no point. Just another person that would end up lying to her or hating her. And she'd blown up at Ron about it. She'd been so sure.
<I'm sorry.>
She stopped walking. She couldn't have heard that right.
<What?>
<Hold on, I've got to let the others know you saw her too. I won't tell them about Malfoy. He's alive, right?>
She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Ron should've been gloating about it, jumping for joy that he'd been right about Malfoy all along.
It all made her realize that he wasn't in a good place either.
<Sally-Anne?>
<He's alive, yeah. I think Rose… I think she wanted to tear us apart. To make him upset. It wasn't just about me, it was about both of us.>
She waited for him. In her head, she imagined him telling the others. Probably not Hermione. She was always lost in her own world lately. Her presence at any scene with Rose was probably necessary, but she had certainly left immediately after that, which would've just hurt Ron more.
<Ron, I'm sorry too. About Lavender.>
<Thanks. Rose… Professor Dumbledore says she's turned on us. He wants to talk to all of us in his office. Now.>
<I'm going to need a minute.>
<Okay. Take your time.>
She found an alcove out of the way. Then she sank to the floor. Only then did she allow herself to cry.
They'd all gathered in Professor Dumbledore's office. Hermione, Neville, Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Sally-Anne, along with Professors Flitwick, Snape, McGonagall, and Sprout.
"Has anyone been able to contact Ms. Lovegood?" Dumbledore asked.
"No," Neville replied. "She caught the words 'in the castle' and refused."
"I see."
Hermione glanced out the window. Luna should've been there. It would've helped at least. She knew more about Rose than anyone, maybe even more than Hermione. The question still remained as to what they intended to do. Hermione knew Dumbledore was going to give them orders, but she was worried about Sylvia listening in on them.
"This is a horrible place to meet," Hermione said. "We should be doing this outside the school. Never mind getting Luna to help, but it's just… feels safer outside."
She looked at her friends blank faces. Neither Ron nor Sally-Anne would meet her gaze. What was their problem?
"Ms. Granger, if you would please be a little more respectful," Dumbledore said.
Hermione didn't understand what he meant. She was being perfectly respectful. More so, since she was trying to get them away from the dangerous entity that could hear their thoughts inside the castle.
"What? I'm being perfectly—"
"He means the non-sociopaths are still mourning," Snape said.
Hermione blushed and stopped talking. She hadn't known Lavender well, but that was still one more bed empty. It wouldn't be the same without her.
"As I've informed you all," Dumbledore said, "Lavender Brown is dead. What I haven't told some of you is that Rose Peta-Lorrum killed her."
Hermione didn't dare glance around to see which professors hadn't known that. She figured Flitwick and Sprout wouldn't have. McGonagall was there, so of course she knew. Snape might have.
"So she is alive," Snape said.
Snape had not known.
"We're sure?" Professor Flitwick asked. "It wasn't some sort of trick. Perhaps a clever use of polyjuice potion?"
"I watched her do it," Ron said. "It was that green ray thing… disintegrate. It shot out of her wand, and turned Lavender to dust."
Sally-Anne moved closer to Ron.
"I saw her too," Sally-Anne said. "She… she had a message for me to give to Hermione."
Hermione frowned and turned on Sally-Anne.
"When were you going to say this?"
"Ms. Granger, that's not helping," Dumbledore said. "Ms. Perks, would you please tell us?"
Hermione glared at Sally-Anne, waiting for her to answer. It came as no surprise to her that Sally-Anne was keeping secrets. Following Umbridge had been bad enough, but she'd fallen in with Malfoy of all people. That was a disaster waiting to happen.
"She wanted me to tell her that people don't change. That Rose has always been like this. The mad girl with no friends, or something. She said to tell Hermione that when she argued that Rose was still our friend."
Dumbledore folded his hands in front of his face.
"What I'm about to tell you mustn't leave this room," he said. "Is that understood?"
Hermione froze, her gaze fixed on Professor Dumbledore.
"Professor?"
"I need confirmation from all of you."
"Professor, you can't—"
He shot her a glare, but she didn't back down. She opened her mouth again to speak, but he beat her to it.
"Ms. Granger, there's no time."
Everyone nodded at Professor Dumbledore.
"Ms. Peta-Lorrum is masquerading as a Death Eater called 'Aurora Lux'. She's now made three appearances within the school."
Everyone exchanged glances, all wondering if they'd missed something.
"When was the third?" Neville asked.
Dumbledore turned to Hermione.
"Care to explain, Ms. Granger?"
"I don't—"
"You told me working out how to detect the auras of Rose's magic was blind luck. At the time, I allowed you to believe I believed you. I think we both know how you really worked it out. I was going to wait for you to tell me, but there's no time."
Hermione looked at the accusing faces of her friends. Sally-Anne and Ron were the only two that didn't look out to get her.
"Did Rose tell you?"
Hermione didn't speak, but nodded her head.
"She left notes for me. Then she was gone."
"Why?" Snape asked.
"I don't know, but they worked. I've been able to replicate her magic. With her display today, I should be able to ward the castle against her."
"Why haven't you?" Ron asked. "That's her big trick, isn't it? She can pop in and out whenever she wants, so why haven't you stopped her already?"
"I didn't know how. Now I do, so now I can." She turned back to Professor Dumbledore. "I don't know how the wards work."
"Work out how to keep Rose from teleporting inside Hogwarts, and I'll show you."
Hermione nodded. Deep down, she was eager to see how the magic that protected Hogwarts worked. They must've been attached to runes to stabilize them. Those runes would have to be engraved into stone to remain permanent.
"Granger!"
Snape's voice snapped Hermione out of her thoughts. Everyone was staring at her.
"As I said," Dumbledore said, "keeping Rose out of Hogwarts in only one step. We need to find her, keep track of her, and work out a way to subdue her."
"We can use an antimagic field to neutralize her magic," Hermione said. "She'll be nothing more than a commoner after that. Her power all comes from her equipment, so we'll need to take it."
"And how do you propose we find her?"
Hermione was at a loss. So long as Rose had mind blank, there was no way to find her outside the grounds.
Dumbledore sensed her hesitation.
"We'll worry about that after the school is safe," he said. "Everyone, get some rest. We've a long journey ahead of us."
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