Rosemary Slytherin, a sleep-deprived witch who inherited her family's curse; just wants her school years to be as quiet as possible...and yet, Harry Potter embarks on his first year at Hogwarts.
Rosemary must be weary and must decide whether or not...
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Hagrid sat down on the frail couch and stared into the fire. Rosemary sat peacefully on the floor, the blazing fire making her feel warm. Harry slowly took a seat next to her.
"It begins, I suppose, with— with a person called— it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows." Hagrid began as he tried to compose himself for such a difficult conversation.
"Who?" Harry asks.
"Well— I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does."
"Why not?"
"Gulpin' gargoyles, Harry, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was—" Hagrid stopped himself again. How could he possibly say his name?!
"Could you write it down?" Harry continued. He was getting a little frustrated at the secrecy.
"Nah— can't spell it. All right—"
"Voldemort." Rosemary blurted out which surprised Hagrid. He had never expected her to say it. Blinking a few times he continued,
"Anyway, this— that wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too— some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' his power, 'cause he was gettin' himself power, all right. Dark days, Harry. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches...terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him— an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway," He paused for a moment and took a deep breath in.
"Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew. Head boy an' girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before...probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side. Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em...maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you were all living, on Halloween ten years ago. You was just a year old. He came ter yer house an—"
Hagrid couldn't stop himself as he pulled out a filthy handkerchief and blew his nose with it
"Sorry...but it's that yer parents was so nice..." Hagrid was clearly not in his element, as he continued to blow his nose. So, Rosemary went on for him,
"He tried to kill you Harry...h-he wanted to make sure the job was complete. It's how you got that scar on your forehead. A curse by dark magic...that no one has ever lived. A lot witches and wizards died at his hand." Rosemary sighs. "That's why you're so famous because y-you survived."
Harry shivered at her words. He wasn't expecting any of it. Someone wanted him dead?
"Young Ro 'ere saw it all." Harry didn't understand what Hagrid meant and looked over at Rosemary in confusion.
