Stain the World Red

Congratulations, Brain. You did it.

You've got a lot of questions. I'll pick up where we left off all those years ago.

Slytherin wanted me to collect the Horcruxes so we could kill Voldemort once and for all. It said at the time that it wanted him dead because he killed in Slytherin's name. I've since learned that that was one of many lies it told me. I'd gathered them all in the Chamber of Secrets, where I tried to resurrect Voldemort. If I had, Slytherin would've rewritten Voldemort's brain, altering his personality so Voldemort would regret what he'd done. It'd rejoin the Horcruxes (which I guess had to be present), then I'd get to kill him.

That didn't go exactly as planned.

June 1995

Rose stood over the corpse of Tom Riddle she'd created. One wish to restore his body, another to restore the soul.

"It didn't work," Rose said.

For a moment, she felt Shadow's stare on her. A sob welled up in her throat, but she fought it back down. She needed to stay strong around Slytherin.

"I noticed," Slytherin said. "Why didn't it work?"

Rose frowned for a moment, then launched into an explanation about how wish restored the soul to a body. While she didn't know as much about it as Sk'lar did, she knew something.

"Didn't you say the Horcruxes anchored his soul?" Rose asked after she'd finished.

"They may be stopping his soul from returning to another body."

Rose thought of Brain, then wondered if this meant she could leave. She knew better than to vocalize anything around Slytherin. She wasn't sure if they were friends or not, but there was no sense giving away too much of herself. Not that Slytherin didn't know enough already.

She tried the wish again, but there was still nothing.

"Plan B."

Knowing that Slytherin would have to eventually, Rose waited for it to explain what Plan B was. While she was waiting, she took the opportunity to dispose of the now useless corpse.

"There's another plan to resurrect him," Slytherin said. "We ensure that plan succeeds."

Rose glared at Slytherin.

"That plan involved kidnapping my friend. That plan's what put Toad in the Triwizard Tournament!"

"That plan is the only way to ensure Tom is restored to life."

"Then what?"

She balled her fists while she waited for Slytherin to choose its words. Whatever it said, she knew she wasn't going to like it.

"Then we need to get Tom back here so I may work."

"Fine. Easy. I'll—"

"The ritual he's planning to use will involve another person present. Two people. Crouch and Skyeyes will be present for it. Once Tom is alive, he'll summon his followers to make a grand announcement and to test their loyalty."

"So we grab him before that! We can wipe their memories! You were going to wipe Skyeyes's memory anyway!"

"I don't know if his followers will be there to witness it or not. If they are, we can't deal with all of them. There are those among them we can't have asking questions."

"So we let him live and wait for him to come to us?"

Slytherin stared at her with its fake face. She knew she had her answer.

"You've got until the end of the term to decide," Slytherin said. "You'll see that there is no alternative."

Rose ground her teeth together, then turned and left.

I tried my best to be there for you as much as I could after that. I was careful not to mention anything about Slytherin. It wasn't until later that I learned that it was Lucius Malfoy it didn't want asking questions. Slytherin doesn't understand emotion anymore. It only has ambition and obsession, so it can't rewrite memories with emotion in them. Goldilocks would eventually figure out that his memories had been changed, and he's a powerful player, capable of discovering Slytherin and doing something about it.

Slytherin didn't ask me again. I focused on you for the next few weeks. I know you wanted to spend time with Cohort, but I was happy for every second you spent with me. I wish it could've been longer.

After Toad won the tournament, Dumbledore wanted to talk to me. He had an offer for me.

June 24, 1995

Rose slipped out of Gryffindor Tower and went to Dumbledore's office. The man himself was waiting patiently at his desk for her.

"Thank you for meeting with me," he said, motioning to the empty seat.

She sat down in the chair, hoping she looked polite. It's what her family would've wanted her to do.

"I've got a few questions for you," he continued. Looking her straight in the eye, he said, "How long has it been since you last spoke with your family?"

A knot formed in her stomach. She had the sensation that there were tears trying to escape, but none came out.

"A few months," she said, knowing better than to try dancing around the question with Professor Dumbledore. "I thought it was another ward, but… it wasn't. No matter what, I can't… I can't even find them. I tried using discern location, and… there's nothing."

Dumbledore nodded solemnly.

"I'm sorry, Rose. So long as I'm here at Hogwarts, you may consider it your home and the staff your family."

A weak smile spread across Rose's face. When she spoke, her voice had started cracking.

"Thank you. I…"

She focused on months of grief and contemplation, hundreds of attempts at rationalizing it, all into what she said.

"I'm never going home. Home might not even be there if I could. But you're right; I've got a new home here. A new family…"

The memory of sitting beside Brain blossomed in her mind. The pair of them crying, sitting with each other for comfort. Rose wanted to go back and save Brain from that man, to stop her from being as broken as she was, but there was nothing she could do. All she could do now was be there for Brain, and that's what she wanted to do.

"I've seen you grow up a lot over the past few years, Rose. This year in particular, you've made stunning progress. So much so, that I think we can drop the charade of you being a student."

Rose frowned, pushing down the spark of fear that had ignited.

"What?"

"I'd like to make you a member of staff. You'd be working with Taltria and Alavel, both of whom have already agreed to this."

"I know, they told me."

"You'd be protecting the school, fortifying it from outside threats. At first, I'd have to oversee your projects, so you don't kill any of the students, accidentally or otherwise."

Rose shook her head.

"I'm not going to hurt anyone. If I did…"

For a while, Rose hadn't known how to answer that question. Her family had been the reason she didn't hurt people, that she didn't take matters into her own hands. But she hated the idea of letting Dumbledore down. If Brain knew she'd hurt people… or if Toad or Moon did…

"I'm sure Ms. Granger would come to forgive you in time," Dumbledore said. "This would keep you close to them, but your focus would have to remain on your work. No playing favorites with your friends, and no harassing the students."

"Does Professor Snape have to follow those rules too? Does he know those are rules?"

"You can let me take care of Severus. Rest assured, he's not going anywhere anytime soon."

Rose nodded. She was afraid to ask the question that was still on her mind.

"There is one more thing," Dumbledore said. "I know you can remain professional when it comes to many students; I've seen you distance yourself from Mr. Longbottom this year, which is one of the reasons I'm now offering you this. However, my concern isn't he, or even Ms. Lovegood."

It became apparent that she didn't have to ask the question; as always, Dumbledore already knew it.

"I've asked you this before, but I'm going to ask this again, and I expect an honest answer. How old are you?"

Rose glanced down at Reflectesalon, he being the only one in the room that knew the actual answer.

"I'm 24."

Dumbledore nodded.

"Accounting for the difference in your world's years and ours, your birthday here would be closer to the end of the summer, which makes you about eight years older than Ms. Granger. I don't know how it is in your world, but—"

"I know," Rose said, not wanting to have to drag it out. "I… Ref says I miss Shadow. And I do, but Brain's still my friend."

Dumbledore stared at her. She stared back. It was hard to meet his gaze; she wanted to shrink away. Part of her wished she'd grown up on the Rowling Plane instead. She was starting to think more from Brain's perspective, and understand why things going wrong weren't always a good thing. She didn't want to be stronger; she just wanted to be strong enough to protect her friends. For the first time in Rose's life, she began to think that it was enough.

"So long as you can keep an appropriate distance," Dumbledore said. "If it's a problem, please let me know immediately. We can work together."

Rose smiled.

"Then I accept your offer."

I didn't know the exact details at the time. It doesn't matter now. What I did know was that if I couldn't be there to keep people off your back, then someone had to be. So I asked Professor Snape to look after you. Like Professor Dumbledore said, he'll always be at Hogwarts. I hope he did look after you.

But that night was when everything changed. That was when everything fell apart.

Rose decided she wanted to walk back to Gryffindor Tower. Her emotions were jumbled around from her talk with Professor Dumbledore, and she wanted a moment to relax before she met with her friends again.

Rose.

She stopped walking and looked around the corridor. When she couldn't find anyone, she stooped down and touched the floor.

"Slytherin, is that you?"

"I'd like to speak with you."

Concern only crossed her mind for a moment, then she dim doored to the Chamber of Secrets.

Where Slytherin would've usually been standing, was someone that was decidedly not Slytherin.

"Toad?"

It looked like Neville. He was wearing his clothes from earlier that day; he still had stains of his own blood on them.

"Hello… Little… Rosie."

"Slytherin!" she called to the otherwise empty chamber. "What's going on?"

"I've planted a rune… on Toad's back… that will burn him from the inside out… unless he does exactly as I say."

Rose paused for a moment, trying to wrap her head around what Slytherin was doing.

"Why?"

"You wouldn't listen to me… I know you'll listen to Toad."

"I already told you, I'm not going to let Voldemort live. I'm stopping the plan to res him."

Neville's eyes darted around. Rose stared into them, and knew her friend was still in there. Not only that, but he had questions.

"NPCs will die. It's what they're there for. Since when do you care?"

Rose thought back to her family. The people she'd never see again. She'd been lying to everyone about it for months, everyone except Dumbledore. Her mum and dad wouldn't want her to risk the lives of hundreds of people, no matter what the cost. Besides, she was never going home. There was no point in rushing anything.

<That's good, Rose,> Reflectesalon said. <Stay calm.>

"It's what my parents would want," Rose said. "If we need his soul intact, we can wait. We don't have to do this now."

She looked into Neville's eyes again. He was calming down, same as her. She didn't understand what Slytherin's plan was, what the point of having Neville here was, but they were winning.

"We aren't negotiating… we're making a deal. I want you to understand what happens… what you have to lose… if you don't help me."

Rose focused on her surroundings. She didn't sense Cruentius lurking around the Chamber, but that didn't mean it wasn't there. The Spektres were nowhere to be found either. As far as she could tell, it was only her and Neville. Because of that, Rose felt more uneasy.

"If you don't… I will trap Moon in the worst of her nightmares. I can choose any one of them… including yours. She will relive what… Val… Val…"

Neville winced and clutched his head.

"Val… line… a… tee… jeer."

"Stop it!"

As much as Rose didn't want to show emotion around Slytherin — any emotion that could be used against her — she had to fold. Seeing Neville as he was, a helpless puppet, it was too much. Anger burned inside her. She looked around, trying to find something she could use.

Then she remembered that she had her own bargaining chip.

"Leave… her… alone."

Before she could do anything, Neville's voice caught her attention. It didn't sound the same as it had a moment ago.

"Toad? Is that you?"

He brought his hand down. His face was contorted in suppressed pain. In spite of it, he shouted his next call to the cavern.

"I said leave her alone! I won't let you hurt her!"

Rose grinned. She couldn't remember feeling more proud of anyone than she did of Neville.

"You picked the wrong one of my friends to use, Sally!"

Even as she said it, Neville began to shake again. Gasps escaped his mouth. He turned slowly to Rose, his body trembling.

"I know what he did to you… I saw it when Cruentius drained you… He hurt you… He tried to break you… so he could brainwash you."

Rose did everything she could to stop from shuddering. She thought back to the Yule Ball. For a moment, she thought they could've been friends. But the entire time, Slytherin had been picking through her memories. It knew everything about her; no wonder it had been able to play her so easily.

"How much of that," Neville said through clenched teeth, "can Moon take?"

A few tears ran down Neville's cheeks.

"I'll get her out," Rose said. "I'll keep her far away from you, Sally! You won't hurt her!"

Neville shook again, signaling that Slytherin had something to say to that.

"I won't say it!" he shouted. "You can't make me! I'm not—"

His own screams cut him off. He fell to his knees as his body started to turn red.

Rose rushed to his side, looking over him for some sign of where the rune was. If she could find it, she could get Neville far away from the Chamber of Secrets. She could still save him.

"What about Brain?"

Rose froze. She already knew where the conversation was going.

"She's still delicate… I can break her… with every person at Hogwarts… right now."

From all around her, Spektres emerged from the shadows. She sensed movement from in front of her, and saw Cruentius oozing out of the floor.

"It's easy to keep you here, Little Rosie. While everyone else becomes my puppets. Your friend will die, screaming and alone, abandoned by the friend who swore to protect her."

Rose looked around, trying to figure out something to do. Her first instinct was to draw Crimson Thorn, but she wasn't the one in danger. She needed Serendipity first, but Slytherin would know that. That's why the Spektres were there; they would disarm her the moment she drew Serendipity.

She looked at Neville. He struggled to stand, a look of disgust on his face. Knowing Slytherin, it was flooding his head with images of what would happen to his friends.

"If I get Voldemort back here… if I keep him alive until then… you'll keep my friends alive?"

"You can't!"

Neville's outburst stung, but she had no other options.

"Answer me!"

Neville shook with restraint, but still he repeated Slytherin's words.

"I swear… on my magic… they'll be safe."

His hand glowed green, and he extended it to Rose.

She realized what Slytherin was doing and pulled off her glove. As she did, she ran through the most important things to her. What was as important as her friends?

"I swear on Reflectesalon."

"You will keep Voldemort alive."

"And you'll keep my friends alive."

"Toad serves as my surrogate."

"Rose, no!"

"I've got to, Toad."

He tried to move, but his hand remained fixed where it was. He couldn't pull out of the deal.

Rose took one last look at him, then took his hand.

Her hand burned as the Blood Pact rune was branded on her palm. She refused to show weakness; she had to stay strong for Neville. On the wall, she saw the same rune appear.

"Rose, you can't do this."

She shook her head.

"It's too late. I've got to keep Voldemort alive."

"But he's not alive! You don't have to do this!"

"Yes, I have!"

Neville stepped back and drew the Sword of Gryffindor.

"I won't let you! Even if I've got to fight you!"

Rose stared at Neville. She felt empty, alone. She'd already made her choice. It was too late for her.

She put her glove back on, then drew Crimson Thorn.

"You can't win."

"You won't win."

Rose sighed, then swung at Neville.

He deflected every hit, keeping pace with her, despite her ability. Neither of them spoke, leaving the sound of clanging metal to echo around the Chamber of Secrets.

As they fought, the Spektres and Cruentius crept back into the shadows.

Rose saw the determination on Neville's face. She wanted him to understand that it was hopeless. They'd already lost.

She caught his legs. He fell, but quickly tumbled back to his feet. The moment he turned to face her, she struck him with the flat of her blade. Before he could recover, she drove her fist into his stomach.

He recovered again, but she struck him on the head this time. He fell to the floor, losing the Sword of Gryffindor when he fell.

Already winded from the pain Slytherin had put him through, Neville struggled to his feet. Before he could fight back, Rose returned Crimson Thorn to her glove and threw her arms around Neville.

"Goodbye, Toad."

Rose drew back her fist and cracked him on the head again, knocking him out.

She looked at Neville's unconscious body and the weight of what she'd done hit her. Rose dropped to her knees and screamed as loud as her body would allow her. When she'd exhausted herself from screaming, she fell down and cried. She didn't know how long she stayed there.

Rose ran through thousands of possibilities as she lay there crying. She wanted to call for help, but remembered she was in the Chamber of Secrets, cut off from the rest of the world.

No Sk'lar. No Shadow. No Hermione. No Dumbledore.

She was all alone to make the final decision for herself.

She will die screaming and alone, abandoned by the friend who swore to protect her.

How'd you move on after Valignatiejir?

I haven't. It's still there, in the back of my head. His laugh. Those eyes. It'll all be a part of me forever.

We can face our demons together.

"I'm sorry, Brain. I'm so sorry."

The Grangers were right. All she did was put Brain in danger. Rose had been foolish to think she could be anything different, that she could change.

Rose looked up and saw that Slytherin had formed at her head. It stared back down at her with its cold, unfeeling eyes.

"Are you ready?"

Rose took one last look at Neville. She knew that she couldn't fix her friends if Slytherin kept its word. Just as that Oracle had told her, her innocence had died the day Valignatiejir attacked her, and it would never come back. She would do anything to stop her friends from suffering the same fate as she had.

She sat up and looked at Slytherin.

"What do you need me to do?"

Anything.

I returned Toad to Gryffindor Tower. Slytherin had ensured no one had noticed he was missing. The rune faded after that night. It was in the middle of his back, where he'd never see it. Slytherin had taken over he and Firecracker after the Yule Ball and got them to put it there. It always had a backup plan.

Junior took over Ellie with the Imperius Curse. My part was ensuring Skyeyes got out okay. Junior had no idea I was helping him. With the deal in place, I knew Skyeyes wouldn't get hurt. I kept thinking that Alavel would hate me if he knew, but, like everything else, it doesn't matter now.

When Voldemort thought he killed me, he really activated a contingent hibernate. I could still hear and see just fine, but I had to pretend I was dead. No matter what. I wanted so badly to say something to you. I've been tortured before, but hearing you crying was one of the hardest things I've ever done.

Taltria and Alavel followed my instructions and buried me in a whiteout in the bottom of the sea. Then I had to start on the plan.

I had to ensure that Voldemort would return to Hogwarts on our terms. We chose the day. Slytherin wanted complete control. We had to make sure that Voldemort was a known threat so Dumbledore would reinforce the castle. I had to make sure I was a known threat so you would ward the castle against me. Then someone would remove the ward when we said so, allowing me to move everyone inside of Hogwarts. If you didn't have a fighting chance, then Slytherin would have to get involved, so that gave me some comfort.

That meant I had to infiltrate Tom's gang. It wasn't hard; Slytherin told me about a prophecy that Tom wanted. It was the easiest thing to get into the Ministry, shapechange into Skyeyes, grab the prophecy, and get out. I handed it to him myself, and suddenly, I was his best friend (and the look on Lestrange's face when I did that was a bonus). I hated being Aurora Lux, but it was the only way to be sure that you would know me. Once you figured out it was me, you'd realize I was against you, that I'd betrayed you and lied to you again, and you'd fight back.

Like everything else, it didn't go quite according to plan.

First, we had to make sure to get Voldemort out in the open, which meant something other than the Horcruxes to lure him out. They were our bargaining chips for getting the invasion going, so that meant Skyeyes. For that, it was a matter of waiting. I know you all — you were bound to go running off eventually, with or without me. Slytherin kept an eye on all of you. We knew when you were taken to Umbridge, so we got ready. That's how we knew where you were. It was supposed to be easy: scare you all until the Ministry showed up, then they'd have to accept that Voldemort was alive, and Dumbledore could see it for himself.

Even then, it all went wrong.

Rose appeared in the middle of a roaring blizzard. She didn't care where she was; her only destination had been "away".

Her cries and screams were lost in the storm. She fell to her knees, slamming her fists into the ground.

Alavel's face was still in her head. Her creation, loyal to a fault, standing against her. He'd known who she was and trusted her enough that he hadn't said anything.

I forgive you, My Lady.

His last words, spoken over a telepathic bond, echoed in her mind as she screamed until her throat was raw.

"I hate this!"

She broke through a layer of snow, only to find ice underneath it. That didn't stop her from venting her rage.

<Rose, there's nothing you can do,> Reflectesalon said in an effort to calm her down.

"I want to die!"

That stopped Ref for a moment. Rose screamed again. She thrashed about with rage, all the while allowing the idea of death to sink in.

I want to die!

She allowed herself to stay still, the idea having taken roots in her mind.

"That's it," she said, panting. "If someone kills me, then—"

"It won't care, it'll get what it wants."

That stopped Rose for a second, but she began to plan.

"I've got to figure out what it's doing. Someone's got to stop it.��

"I'm risking being found out by being gone so long. Besides, Slytherin can dig deep inside someone's head. If it thinks I've been talking to Dumbledore, it'll know. I can't assume anyone's truly safe."

"No, it won't."

A plan formed inside her head. There were a few people that had a chance against her. What would Sk'lar do if she'd gone rogue?

"Reciprocal gyre is a good start. Maybe reaving dispel. But they can't use my…"

When the idea occurred to her, she didn't know if it was amazing, or if she hated it.

"Brain could do it."

<She'd likely feel as you do now.>

"But what happens after Slytherin gets its way? It won't stop! It'll be 'Do this or I kill your friends' over and over again!"

She stopped herself from getting angry again. She knew she had to stay focused.

"Someone's got to stop me."

"But we've got to convince them that I'm really against them, otherwise Brain won't get the ward up, and we lose control over when Tom invades. By the time this is over, they've got to hate me."

<That's not part of the deal.>

"Brain won't forgive me, remember? Future Brain hated me. She's not going to want to fight Slytherin together. She's got to be the one to do it."

Rose took more breaths to keep herself calm. For the first time in a year, she felt in control of her own life. She wasn't going to let that go, not for anything.

"I can do it," she said. "I won't be anyone's tool anymore. Not Slytherin's… no one's."

<Rose, you don't have to do this.>

"I do, Ref. I'm sorry. If I don't, where does it stop? You think Slytherin's not going to threaten my friends again? You think it's going to leave Brain alone? This doesn't stop here. It goes until I make it stop. Until I'm out of play."

She began to form her own plan. There was a lot of information she still needed, but she knew she could figure it out. If Future Brain was to be believed, she already had.

<Rose, you still don't know what Slytherin's plan is.>

Rose stood up. The wind tossed her cloak about, but it felt good to stand as herself again.

"No, I don't. But I can find out. Somewhere, someone knows something. And I've got a year to figure it out."

Without another word, Rose vanished. A few rose petals fluttered in the storm, mixing red with white, until they too vanished from existence.

Bab 176: Stain the World Red

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Bab 176: Stain the World Red

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