The Third Sister (A Marauders Era Fanfiction)

Chapter One

I hummed as I formed a red haired braid on my sister's head. Her hair slipped so smoothly between each of my fingers, making the task move quickly. It still wasn't quick enough for Lily. "Are you done yet?" she asked, moving her feet impatiently in front of her.

"Just another minute," I told her, grabbing the elastics that sat beside me on my bed. She looked down at my barefeet that were beside her.

"You should really paint your toenails Rose, they're so plain," Lily said, her own toenails were a soft lavender.

"Maybe you should paint them for me, since I braid your hair," I responded, tying the end of the braid.

"Maybe," she contemplated.

"I'm finished," I declared, letting the braid fall down Lily's back. She stood up from sitting between my legs and looked in our bedroom mirror. She twirled in the dress she was wearing, the braid following her back.

"Thank you Rose," she told me, "I love it!" I did Lily's hair most mornings and she always seemed to have this reaction. I always enjoyed it. I loved the way her green eyes would light up in the mirror and the way her face would beam with happiness. I loved getting to spend those few minutes with my sister every morning that would just let us talk.

Lily's admiration of herself was cut short by a shriek from the kitchen. Both of us quickly ran down to see an owl on the kitchen table and our other sister Petunia in the corner. The owl left a letter where it had been and quickly flew off out the open window. Petunia looked absolutely horrified. Lily looked at me with a look that said that I should take charge of the situation. Being the most adventurous of my sisters, I did. I walked up to the table and picked up the letter. Around this same time our mother and father both appeared in the kitchen, presumably wondering what the shriek was about.

"Rose, what is going on?" my father asked, seeing as I looked like the only competent one in the room.

"I got a letter," I told him, turning around to face my family, holding the envelope. My address was written in green ink and was specific enough to state that my bed was the closest to the window.

"It was delivered by an owl," Petunia piped up from the corner, she had finally gotten her voice back. My mother and father exchanged a look before looking back at me.

"Well open it Rose!" my mother exclaimed, coming over close to me to get a glimpse at the letter. I tore into the envelope, breaking the beautiful seal that had been made. I read the letter slowly, and then over again to make sure I wasn't just imagining what it said.

"I'm a witch?" I asked confusingly, looking up at my parents, hoping they would have some sort of answer. They looked at each other again in a way that I could never decipher.

"Petunia, Lily, can your mother and I please talk to your sister alone for a minute?" my father stated more than asked. Petunia and Lily both understood what he meant and left the kitchen. I could hear their footsteps as they climbed the stairs and walked to their bedrooms. My parents sat down at the kitchen table and I did the same. My mother spoke first,

"My mother and father are both wizards. I however am a squib, which is someone born to magical parents, but is not magical themselves. You obviously have gotten your magical ability from them."

"We've known for awhile that you would get this letter," my father started, "you showed magical ability at a very early age and we actually considered sending you to live with your grandparents before they passed away."

"Why didn't you tell me I was a witch earlier? It explains so many of the weird things I'm able to do," I told my parents.

"We didn't want to make your sisters jealous. We didn't know if they'd show magical ability. Petunia has never, she would have gotten this letter when she was your age if she was a witch," my mother responded.

"What about Lily?" I asked, thinking back to see if I could remember any strange occurrences caused by the little redhead that slept in the bed next to mine.

"Lily showed magic very soon after you did, that's why we put the two of you in a room together, to try and keep Petunia away from it. You know how jealous she gets about things. I worried she's start to hate the two of you once she found out," my father answered.

"I don't think you can keep her away from it now," I told my parents. This letter said I was to start at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on September 1st. I think Petunia would notice if I was missing.

"We know," my parents responded together.

"I'll tell them. I think it would be better if I explained it," I told my parents. They nodded their heads in approval and I made my way to the staircase. I knocked on Petunia's door once I made it up the stairs. She answered grudgingly. "Do you think you can come into Lily and my room? I want to explain the letter to you both," I asked her.

"As long as you keep it short," she responded.

"I will."

She followed me out of her room and into the room I shared with Lily. "I need to talk to you and Petunia together about this letter," I explained quickly to Lily who was reading a Nancy Drew book. She set the book down and Petunia joined her on her bed. I sat across from them on my own bed.

"I'm a witch," I told them flat out, "this letter says I've been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I'll be going to school there in September."

"So you're telling us you're a freak," Petunia spat, "that you've been accepted to this school for freaks, just like you."

"I'm not a freak," I retorted, "I'm just different."

"Okay freak," Petunia said again, "I have better things to do than listen to my freak sister tell us about her freak school." With that she left the room and went into her own. Lily looked up at me with those kind green eyes.

"I don't think you're a freak," she said.

"That's good," I told her, "because you're a witch too."