Ophidian | Fred Weasley ✔

04

(Edited)

Chapter Four:

( T H E   R O S I E R   R E S I D E N C E )

Most kids at Hogwarts looked forward to returning home for the holidays. Artemis Rosier didn't. For the simple fact that she didn't have anyone waiting for her back home, except for her house-elf Lulu. Mrs Martha was her caretaker and legal guardian, only in name and though she did her duties immaculately, she wasn't much for words and neither was she affectionate towards the young witch which made her breaks quite bleak. But then again, it wasn't like Artemis was used to affection, anyways. Felix Rosier had dabbled in the dark arts before he had gotten married to Marilynd Rosier and though he had tried to redeem himself by joining the order, his past had caught up to him. Her parents had been murdered by the very deatheaters her father was once a part of, leaving Artemis as the sole heir of the Rosier fortune. 

The Rosier Residence stood four stories high and was stretched over a vast piece of land. Decorated by Roses lined on both sides from the gates up to the front door. The doors made of richly coloured teak wood, the windows polished to perfection, it was a sight to behold. It was a beautiful house, castle even, but it wasn't home.

Artemis stared outside her window to see the sky turning a dark grey indicating an incoming storm. She sighed. There wasn't much to see outside as well, the Rosier Residence's property stretching far and surrounded by fields on all sides, people choosing to stay away from the Residence of a former death eater.

That was all they saw her father as— An ex death-eater. They didn't see how he was forced into it. They didn't see how he escaped that life and married her mother, a kind and loving hufflepuff, how good of a father he was before his demise, how he helped fight the Dark Lord, they didn't see any of that. All they saw was the last name Rosier.

Her father had been disowned after he renounced his allegiance with the Dark Lord but 6 years after the Dark Lord's fall, when her parents had been murdered, Mariet Rosier, desperate as she was for a descendant, had taken Artemis in. She claimed that even though, her father had brought their family shame, he was their only son making Artemis the last descendant of the Rosier family tree.

Growing up with Mariet Rosier hadn't been an experience she enjoyed. Her Grandmother wasn't evil but her views on blood purity were quite...rigid. After all these years, Artemis still flinched as if waiting for the impact of a stick every time she slouched while sitting, or if she spoke out of turn. Living with Mariet Rosier had been difficult. Artemis didn't know how else to explain it. Her Grandmother had been very particular about how a pureblooded lady was to behave. What she was to wear, how her hair was to be kept, how she was to sit, how she was supposed to speak, what she was allowed to eat, how much she was allowed to eat- everything was regulated. It had felt like a rebirth when she'd reached Hogwarts. For the first time in her life, she was allowed to do whatsoever she wished. Now that her Grandmother was gone, Artemis did not feel remorse in saying that she did not miss her at all.

"Miss Rosier?" Artemis turned to see Lulu standing by her door with a glass of chocolate milk and cookies.

"Come in, Lulu." The house-elf nodded happily and placed the drink and cookies onto her desk.

"Lulu saw Miss Rosier sad. Lulu does not like to see Miss Rosier sad so Lulu brought Miss Rosier her favourite drink." The house-elf smiled up at her as a warm feeling bloomed in her heart. At least Lulu cared about her.

"Thank you, Lulu." Artemis smiled as she handed one of the cookies to Lulu who looked at it as if Artemis had handed her the Rosier fortune.

"Thank you, Miss Rosier! My mistress is the kindest!" She said as she disapparated with a pop.

Artemis sat at her desk as she took out her canvas and her paint. She wasn't great at painting by any means, but she couldn't seem to find anything else to do and painting did take a lot of time so she busied herself in it.

She found herself reaching for the darkest of colors and by the time she was done, a dementor stared right back at her from her Canvas. The same kind she'd seen all throughout last year on Hogwarts grounds.

After Harry Potter and his friends had managed to kill the Basilisk, Artemis thought she'd have a pretty normal school year the coming year but that hadn't been the case, with an escaped Azkaban prisoner on the run and dementors everywhere. She could only hope that this year would be less chaotic, but her gut told her that wasn't going to be the case.

Her only source of happiness during the holidays had been the letters from her friends, a particular red-headed one at that, though she'd never admit it to herself.

She'd been invited to go with the Weasley family to the Quidditch World Cup. Mrs Weasley had even asked her to stay over for the rest of the holiday after the World Cup. The scarlet haired matriarch of the Weasley family had been sceptical on hearing her last name, but when she'd learnt that Artemis had been the one to 'help' Harry in rescuing Ginny, she'd given Artemis one of the tightest hugs Artemis had ever gotten.

It would be the first time Artemis had ever been invited somewhere. She had been so excited that she already had all of her luggage packed and ready to go even though it wasn't till the day after tomorrow that she was scheduled to reach the Weasley's abode.

She couldn't wait.