Winter's Rose ▫️T. Lupin

▫️ ️Prologue

"Rose!"

Helen looked around the house for her four-year-old daughter, but to no avail. Behind her, her own mother followed in a slower pace, slightly tired. The times they lost the toddler in a day were practically infinite. The little girl could hide like no other.

"Rose!"

The mother passed by the moving photo of her late husband as she walked around frantically, her dark eyes wide as she searched every crevice of the house. Still, despite her search and her frantic yelling, there was no sign of the little girl.

"Oh mum, what are we going to do," she said desperately as she looked under the table. A small whimper left her lips as she realised her daughter wasn't there. She started crawling back out of the table, but she didn't really pay attention to her surroundings.

A loud thud was heard, followed by a faint groan. Her mother was beside her in seconds, her own worry clearly seen as she watched her with wide eyes. Helen raised her hand to the back of her head, making it clear that she had hit her head while trying to get out of the table. Despite the pain, her despair was clear on her features.

"I can't believe I lost her again," she mumbled, tears gathering in her eyes. Her mother instantly pulled her in for a hug. Helen clutched at her as she closed her eyes, allowing a few tears to fall before she let out a sigh and stood up. "Come on, mum. We'll find her."

Her mother didn't say anything as she let her stand up and then slowly did the same, grabbing the table for support. Her daughter instantly walked away to the direction of her bedroom, calling the child's name as she went.

"Helen," she called out with a small wince as she placed a hand on her back that had been hurting her for a few days now. "Rose is in the house, the door outside was locked. She can't have left. Please, calm down."

"I can't, mum, not when I can't find my child again! What would David say if he knew I couldn't find our daughter now," her voice was heard from Rose's bedroom. "Rose!"

With a small sigh, she shook her head and started searching as well. She didn't even bother checking the rooms they had searched before. She knew her granddaughter well enough to know she would never hide from them on purpose, especially after hearing her mother call her name. She probably was somewhere she couldn't hear them.

The thought led her to the garden. Curious, she opened the front door and got outside. Her eyes took in every part of the garden, every tree and flower. She watched closely for any movement in a bush, but it seemed like she didn't even need to pay attention to see her, because just some seconds later, she saw the little girl.

She was standing just below a lime tree, on the bench just in front of it. There was a small smile on her lips as she watched the flowers around her. It was clear, she had no idea that her mother inside the house was mad with worry.

As she heard her daughter call the child's name once again, she decided to speak up. "Helen! I found her."

For a second, there was silence, and then, she heard rapid footsteps getting closer and soon enough, Helen appeared, panting as she reached her. "Where - mum-"

"Calm down," she said with a smile as she placed a hand on her lower back. "Don't disturb her. Look."

Helen followed her mother's line of vision, only to see her little girl sitting on the bench below the lime tree, the smile on her lips still there. She relaxed then, her shoulders lowered and she breathed in a sigh of relief. Finally, she turned to face her mother, a small smile forming on her lips as she nodded.

"All the worry for nothing, right?"

"You know she loves being in the garden," she reminded her, "just like you did when you were little. Many times I had found you hiding in my garden."

"If only she were as loud as I was when I was a child," Helen shook her head. Suddenly, her smile dimmed, even if she didn't take her eyes away from the girl. "She takes that from her father. I always told him she was more like him - he never believed me."

She chuckled lightly before smiling widely once again. Turning to face her mother, she chose to not respond to the look of concern she sent her. "I'm going to tell Rose Grandma Martha has come to visit. She has been asking when you'd come for about a week now, she'll be excited you visited."

With a last smile at her mother, she walked deeper in the garden in order to tell her daughter that her grandmother was there. Seconds later, laughter filled the house once more, and at the moment, the worry from before was forgotten.

Welcome, everyone, to yet another Harry Potter fanfiction! I'm so glad to see you all, and I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I'll certainly enjoy writing it.

I'd like to warn you first that this book is going to be more angsty than all others I've published thus far, as I've mentioned in the end of the summary. I won't describe anything graphically, though, so I don't think you'd need to worry much about this.

Last but not least, I'd like to dedicate this story to luckyvirgo, dramione1919 and finally, to AlwaysaMalfoy who has her birthday today!!! Happy Birthday Aira!♡

And that's all, everyone. Once more, thank you for reading, and I'd love to see you in the next chapter, tomorrow.

Lots of love,
Olga.