Rosabella Black |Daughter of Sirius Black| (Book 6)

Christmas

Rosabella's Point of View:
I was playing with Roseanna on her play mat. Roseanna was now sitting up by herself now and had started crawling. She was 9 months old now. Winter lay by the map keeping her eyes on me and Roseanna. I played with Roseanna while Harry and Ron were peeling sprouts for Mrs Weasley. I had finished cutting up the carrots so now I was free to play with Roseanna. I was close enough to hear Harry and Ron's conversation.
   "So Snape was offering to help him? He was definitely offering to help him?" Ron said.
   "If you ask. that once more. I'm going to stick this sprout -" Harry said and I started to laugh hysterically.
   "I'm only checking!" Ron said.
   "Yes, Snape was offering to help him!He said he'd promised Malfoy's mother to protect him, that he'd made an Unbreakable Oath or something -" Harry said.
     "The Unbreakable Vow, Ron." I said, gravely.
   "An Unbreakable Vow? Nah, he can't have . . .  Are you sure?" Ron said stunned.
   "Yes, I'm sure. Why, what does it mean? Ro looks like she's seen a ghost everytime I mention it." Harry said.
I glared at Harry and he winked at me. I couldn't help but smile slightly before Roseanna started demanding my attention as she made a bunch of baby cooing noises.
   "Well, you can't break an Unbreakable Vow . . ." Ron said.
    "I'd worked that much out for myself, funnily enough. What happens if you break it, then?" Harry said.
    "You die." I said bluntly.
    "Fred and George tried to get me to make one when I was about five. I nearly did too, I was holding hands with Fred and everything when Dad found us. He went mental. Only time I've ever seen Dad as angry as Mum, Fred reckons his left buttock has never been the same since." Ron said, with a reminiscent gleam in his eyes.
I laughed again and Roseanna started getting fussy. I scooped her up and balanced her on my hip. She started fiddling with the necklaces around my neck.
   "Yeah, well, passing over Fred's left buttock -" Harry said.
   "I beg your pardon?" Fred's voice said as the twins entered the kitchen along with Jacob.
    "Jay at Saint Mungo's, again?" I asked Jacob.
Jacob nodded solemnly.
    "Aaah, George, Jake, look at this. They're using knives and everything. Bless them." Fred said.
    "I'll be seventeen in two and a bit months' time, and then I'll be able to do it by magic!" Ron said grumpily.
    "But meanwhile, we can enjoy watching you demonstrate the correct use of a - whoops - a - daisy!" George said, sitting down at the kitchen table and putting his feet up on it.
    "You made me do that! You wait, when I'm seventeen -" Ron said angrily, sucking his cut thumb.
    "I'm sure you'll dazzle us all with hitherto unsuspected magical skills." Fred yawned.
  "And speaking of hitherto unsuspected skills, Ronald, what is this we hear from Ginny and Ro about you and a young lady called - unless our information is faulty - Lavender Brown?" Jacob said, smirking.
Ron turned a little pink, but did not look displeased as he turned back to the sprouts.
   "Mind your own business." Ron mumbled.
Jacob raised his eyebrows at Fred and George and they smirked back at him.
   "What a snappy retort. I really don't know how you think of them. No, what we wanted to know was . . . how did it happen?" Fred said.
    "What d'you mean?" Ron said.
    "Did she have an accident or something?" George asked.
    "What?" Ron said.
    "Well, how did she sustain such extensive brain damage? Careful, now!" Fred said.
Mrs. Weasley entered the room just in time to see Ron throw the sprout knife at Fred, who had turned it into a paper airplane with one lazy flick of his wand.
   "Ron! Don't you ever let me see you throwing knives again! Especially when there's a baby in the room! What if you missed and it hit her instead!" Mrs Weasley said furiously.
    "I won't." Ron said.
    "Let you see." Ron added under his breath, as he turned back to the sprout mountain.
    "Fred, George, Jacob, I'm sorry, dears, but Remus is arriving tonight, so Bill will have to squeeze in with you four."
   "No problem." George said.
   "Then, as Charlie isn't coming home, that just leaves Harry, Ron and Michael in the attic, and if Fleur shares with Ro and Ginny -" Mrs Weasley said.
   "- that'll make Ginny's Christmas -" Fred muttered.
   "- everyone should be comfortable. Well, they'll have a bed, anyway." Mrs. Weasley said, sounding slightly harassed.
    "Percy definitely not showing his ugly face, then?" Fred asked.
Mrs. Weasley turned away before she answered.
    "No, he's busy, I expect, at the Ministry." Mrs Weasley said.
   "Or he's the world's biggest prat." Fred said, as Mrs. Weasley left the kitchen. 
   "One of the two. Well, let's get going, then, Fred, George." Jacob said.
   "What are you three up to? Cant you help us with these sprouts? You could just use your wand and then we'll be free too!" Ron asked.
   "No, I don't think we can do that. It's very character - building stuff, learning to peel sprouts without magic, makes you appreciate how difficult it is for Muggles and Squibs -" Fred said seriously.
   "- and if you want people to help you, Ron. I wouldn't chuck knives at them. Just a little hint." George added, throwing the paper airplane at him.
   "We're off to the village, there's a very pretty girl working in the paper shop who thinks Fred and George's card tricks are something marvelous. . . almost like real magic. . ." Jacob said, rolling his eyes.
   "Gits. Would've only taken them ten seconds and then we could've gone too." Ron said darkly, watching Jacob, Fred and George setting off across the snowy yard.
   "I couldn't. I promised Dumbledore I wouldn't wander off while I'm staying here." Harry said.
   "Oh yeah." Ron said and he peeled a few more sprouts.
I walked closer into the kitchen and placed Roseanna in her high chair. I then started to prepare some soft foods for her lunch.
    "Are you going to tell Dumbledore what you heard Snape and Malfoy saying to each other?" Ron then asked.
   "Yep. I'm going to tell anyone who can put a stop to it, and Dumbledore's top of the list. I might have another word with your dad, too." Harry said.
    "Pity we didn't hear what Malfoy's actually doing, though." I said.
    "We couldn't have done, could we? That was the whole point, he was refusing to tell Snape." Harry said.
There was silence for a moment or two.
I dragged a chair over to Roseanna and started to feed her. Some things she was reluctant to try and I had to start doing the airplane to get her to ear it.
   "Course, you know what they'll all say? Mr Weasley, Dumbledore and all of them?" I pointed out.
   "They'll say Snape isn't really trying to help Malfoy, he was just trying to find out what Malfoy's up to." Ron said.
   "They didn't hear him. No one's that good an actor, not even Snape." Harry said, flatly.
   "Yeah . . . I'm just saying, though." Ron said.
Harry turned to face him, frowning.
   "You think I'm right, though?" Harry said.
   "Yeah, I do! Seriously, I do! But they're all convinced Snape's in the Order, aren't they?" Ron said hastily.
Harry said nothing. It had already occurred to us that this would be the most likely objection to his new evidence. I could hear Hermione now:
   "Obviously, he was pretending to offer help so he could trick Malfoy into telling him what he's doing. . ."