(edit: 7/3/20

i am fucking done with comments that are hateful to harry, hermione, and ron. i have a longer note at the end of the chapter about it, but simply put if i see any hate towards them i will delete it and i will block you so think before you comment)

CHAPTER FOUR.
BLOODLINES

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Rosalie seemed to blend in the atmosphere of the Burrow, hiding herself in the shadows and making sure not to step out of line. The girl made sure to keep quiet, spend most of her time in her room, and say her words with extreme caution, knowing that they were analyzing everything she said.

         Mrs. Weasley was yelling from the top of lungs most of the time, screaming at Fred and George, making sure everyone did all their chores to help with the wedding, and much more. The children did their worked, usually played a little Quidditch when they could, and had many conversations with each other – excluding Rosalie.

         She spoke most to Ginny, who seemed to be more accepting of her than others. Rosalie found herself crowding around the youngest Weasley whenever she needed to, which was most every occasion.

         Everything was peaceful at the Burrow. They played, laugh, and ultimately tried to forget about the war that was looming. And Rosalie had had no further contact with Voldemort or other Death Eaters, much to her liking.

         There was nothing, only silence. She knew that Voldemort was angry though, Harry Potter still lived, even though he had attempted to kill him. How she was glad to miss that meeting where Voldemort would kill one of his followers who went on the mission for failing him – for letting the boy get away.

         Rosalie knew, even if she was present for that, she wouldn't be killed. He still needed her, he stilled needed her, and maybe that was worse. Knowing that the only reason she wasn't dead was because she was still needed – Rosalie didn't want to be needed.

         Being needed meant only one thing – and that was not life or liberty. It meant being trapped, suffocating under the pressure that Voldemort gave her and knowing that she was useful – that she meant something to him. And it had been years, only two though, that she had been needed by him, and Rosalie could say that those two years were the worst of her life.

         And the only person who understood her was Draco Malfoy. The other – children from Slytherin – knew what they always had to do in life; become a Death Eater. They did, every one of them did, but they didn't love it like their parents. But Draco had more of an understanding. Unlike the others of his house, Draco had seen what it was like to be on the bad side of Voldemort and knew that everything he spoke about – everything he did – was wrong.

         Though, all of the peace ended when they saw a tall wizard, with grizzled hair and strong cheekbones, looking like he hadn't eaten in days, appear at the Weasleys' door.

         And it was none other than the Minister of Magic; Rufus Scrimgeour.

         "Bloody hell," one of the twins (George?) muttered, "what's the Minister of Magic doing here?"

         Rosalie herself wondered, her heart racing as she thought of more dark reasons as to why he would stop by. Though, she had to remind herself that they had already infiltrated the Ministry, that they weren't looking for Death Eaters like herself.

         "Dunno," Ron spoke, "But something tells me he didn't come to give away the bride."

         It was only seconds later that they welcomed the Minister inside, not asking why he was there as the he gave them a sick smile, "I'm here to see Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger, and Miss Allen, please."

         No one moved, just shifted their eyes to Rosalie, who also didn't know why the Minister would want to see her. There was another explanation in her mind, but it didn't make sense. Dumbledore wanted to keep their meetings secret – not for everyone to know.

         The Minister saw that no one moved from the room, so he added, "Alone."

         That made everyone leave the room so only four teenagers remained. The Minister motioned for them to sit on the couch, which they did with apprehension.

         "To what do we owe the pleasure, Minister?" Harry asked, though there was an undertone of something ruder and disrespectful.

         "I think we both know the answer to that question, Mr. Potter," he spoke highly, a true politician.

         He took a cloth bag onto the table before them, their eyes looking at the bag and then to each other. They even gave Rosalie a questionable glance, like she would be able to answer.

         "And this would be...?"

         "Don't be coy, Mr. Potter," Scrimgeour said without emotion, "Mr, Weasley. Would you say were close to your former Headmaster?"

         "Dumbledore? And me?" Ron questioned, "I dunno. I reckon I was just another Weasley to him. He was always polite –"

         But he was not able to continue as the Minister moved on, displeased with the answer from Ron. "And you, Miss Granger? How would you characterize your relationship?"

         "We were friendly, not close like Harry, but –"

         Again, the Minister felt she answer wrong, moving on, "Finally, Miss Allen. What was your relationship with him?"

         "We used to have to in his office. Spoke about life after school and muggle politics," she shrugged, telling a half-truth, "Nothing I can really remember."

         "What's this all about?" Harry broke in, a part of him betrayed that Rosalie too had a close relationship with Dumbledore. The Golden Trio felt betrayed. They thought they knew Dumbledore, but it seemed they weren't as close with him as Rosalie was.

         "This. Despite the fact that neither of your friends appear to have been particularly close to their recently deceased Headmaster, he saw fit to remember them in his will. Now why do you suppose that would be? Along with the fact that he was close with another student, and none of you knew about it."

         The three looked at each other and Rosalie, feeling like this was a definite sign that they could not trust the Gryffindor girl.

         "No idea," Harry spoke, ignoring the last bit about Rosalie, because it hurt too much to talk about for him.

         "Come now, you don't expect me to believe..." he trailed off. Nevertheless, reaching inside his cloak and removing a scroll of parchment and began to recite:

         "'Herein is set forth the Last Will and Testament of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. First, to Ronald Bilius Weasley, I leave my Deluminator, a device of my own making, in hope that – when things seem most dark – it will show him the light.'"

         He then removed a small, silver object from the bag, handing it to Ron, who clicked it. Immediately, light rushed from the lamps into the device, causing the whole room to become dark. Ron clicked it again, and all light flooded back into the lamps.

         "Wicked," he whispered, but everyone still heard it.

         "'To Miss Hermione Jean Granger, I leave my copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, in hopes that she will find it entertaining and instructive."

         Scrimgeour then handed Hermione a small book, its binding stained and peeling in places. She held it close, confused as to why the wise old man would leave her that.

         "Mum used to read those! The Wizard and the Hopping Pott, Babbitty Rabbity and her Cackling Stump..."

         Both Harry and Hermione stared at him blankly, while Rosalie began to recall memories of her own childhood. She too had loved the tales, remembering how her mother would make different voices for the characters.

         "Oh, c'mon! Beedle's stories are famous! Babbity Rabbitty? No...?" Ron continued, and Rosalie smiled at his attempts.

         Then, the Minister continued, "'To Harry James Potter, I leave the Snitch he caught in his first Quidditch match at Hogwarts, as a reminder of the rewards of perseverance and skill.'"

         He handed the tiny gold orb to Harry, and it glimmered dully. Harry studied it, and seeing as it did nothing, he looked back up.

         "'And to Rosalie Abigail Allen, I leave my journal from my own youth. I hope you find the pages both thrilling and helpful.'"

         The Minister then handed Rosalie an old, torn leather book with dated pages. She gracefully opened it, not find scribbling that said; Property of Albus Dumbledore.

         She looked through another page, and saw something – a dark secret that Dumbledore had always tried to cover, wanting to forget his own dabble in darkness. It was the Deathly Hallows, along with a small stroke, "For the greater good."

         "That's it then?" Harry asked, feeling hurt that Dumbledore gave everyone something valuable, something replaceable, but gave Rosalie something with meaning from Dumbledore.

         "Not quite," Scrimgeour spoke, "Dumbledore left you a second bequest: The Sword of Godric Gryffindor. Unfortunately, the Sword of Gryffindor was not Dumbledore's to give away. As an important historical artifact, it belongs..."

         "To Harry!" Hermione cut him off, "It belongs to Harry. It chose him! It came to him in the Chamber of Secrets when he most needed it!"

         "Actually, Hermione," Rosalie turned to the other girl, "The Sword of Gryffindor presents itself to any worthy Gryffindor – not just Harry. Therefore, the sword does not belong to anyone besides the house of Gryffindor."

         She gave Hermione a sweet smile while the other glared. Rosalie knew that Hermione liked being the smartest – the best, and the fact that the Allen girl had corrected her made her angry.

         "And in any even the current whereabouts of the sword are unknown," the Minister added, causing the four of them to look at him.

         "Excuse me?" Harry was the one to ask the question, but it rang through all their minds.

         "The sword is missing," Scrimgeour told them, then turned to Harry, "I won't pretend to be your friend, Mr. Potter. But I assure you I'm not your enemy."

         "You'll forgive me, Minister." Harry said, "But it's a little hard to tell the difference these days."

         "Dumbledore said something very similar the last time we spoke," Scrimgeour seemed to reminisce his short relationship with Dumbledore.

         His gaze went to the window, eyes almost haunting as he saw the clear sky. Rosalie knew, everyone did, what he was thinking. It was peaceful, blissful, and that type of mood was hard to come by in the recent years.

         "Where is your guard, sir?" Hermione voiced, looking outside the window to see no one else to protect the Minister.

         "I came alone," the Minister answered truthfully, "I don't really need them anymore..."

         And the Minister left, leaving a sinking feeling inside the four teenagers. Rosalie picked up the journal, skimming through the pages to see most of them blank or only half written, cutting off in the middle of a sentence. It intrigued her, but knew that it wasn't the right time to research.

         The trio began to leave, but Rosalie stopped them with a question, "So when do you plan on leaving?"

         That caused them all to freeze and turn around. Hermione, using the feign of confused, asked, "Come again?"

         "When do you plan on leaving?" she inquired again, "I know that you need to begin your search, but do you even know where to start?"

         "How do you know about horcruxes? Who told you?" Harry asked, angry at the fact it could be another person betraying Dumbledore's trust, and confused as to why she would want to know.

         "Dumbledore. He said that he gave you a mission to destroy them, and much more. I could go along with you, help you find the real locket, if you want," she offered.

         "And why would we trust you?" Ron took to asking, "No one else trusts you – only Dumbledore. Along with Snape, how do we know you're not like him?"

         It was true. She was just like Snape, a spy for both sides. She too had the mark, she too was cursed, so why would she be any different. No, Rosalie wasn't.

         "Dumbledore never told Snape about the horcruxes – only me. He also told me the two places he thought the locket would be," she sighed, "And I would be more than happy to tell you...as long as you bring me along."

         Hermione took a step forward, still look skeptical, "And why would we do that? I could easily look into your mind and get the information myself."

         Rosalie gave her a sickly sweet smile, "Do you really think I don't guard my mind? And I thought you were the smart one..."

         The ginger haired girl looked offended by her comment, but quickly covered it up. Harry stood beside her, "Give us a clue that you know what you're talking about."

         "The locket belonged to the Riddle family, his grandfather had it," she looked up, trying to remember the other part that Dumbledore had showed her, "I think he took it when he killed him...but I can't seem to remember."

         Harry looked back at the others, who were obviously thinking something more and did not at all trust the girl. Harry looked down at the Snitch, he didn't want to. Dumbledore had given him the mission, Dumbledore trusted him. Yet, the old man had never once mentioned Rosalie Allen during their meetings, or spoke about how he trusted her greatly.

         And Rosalie...she was something else. Seemed so willing to help, so willing to go along with them, but why? She was an enigma, truly, but why was she hiding? Everyone knew his story, his friends were open to giving information and were easy to figure out, but Rosalie...Rosalie was something else.

         While he hated to admit it, Rosalie intrigued him. She was beautiful, purer than them, and she was intricate. Harry would lie if someone asked why he was truly intrigued by her, but that didn't matter.

         He sighed, "Fine."

         Ron and Hermione stared at him in shock, they didn't actually think he was going to agree to adding Rosalie on their mission. Rosalie, though, wore a mask of no emotion, though she was greatly shocked on the inside as well. Really, she thought more convincing would be needed for him, but he so easily agreed.

         Rosalie smiled, nodding, before walking away with the journal. She went up the stairs, continuing to ready herself for the wedding that would begin in only an hour.

         Once in the room she was sharing with Hermione and Ginny, she found herself opening the journal, flipping to a page before reading.

It's all my fault it's all my fault it's all my fault it's all my fault it's all my fault it's all my fault it's all my fault it's all my fault it's all my fault it's all my fault it's all my fault it's all my fault it's all my fault it's all my fa

         It ended. She didn't know what he was talking about, what he was at fault for. The page, it was filled with the phrase all over. Horizontally, vertically, all over the top of the page, and her eyes just grazed over the words again and again.

         Then, she got to the bottom of the page, and saw one sentence that made her gasp.

I'm sorry, Ariana.

         Ariana. She remembered how Dumbledore spoke about his sister. How she died, how he loved her, how it was all his fault.

         The air was cold outside, snow sticking to the ground at five o'clock at the evening as Rosalie found herself at the staircase of Dumbledore's office, no longer apprehensive of going up the stairs. It was months into her sixth year, and her and Dumbledore's relationship had blossomed.

         They had many more meaningful talks, though there were still secrets between them. Both were unwilling to delve into pasts with their family, and neither were bothered by the fact. Happy to keep quiet as long as they don't ask questions about it to the other.

         She walked up the steps to be greeted by a kind-smiling Dumbledore and tea ready for their discussion. Rosalie took a seat, taking a cup of the tea and sipping at it. They looked at each other for a moment more.

         "What are we talking about today?" she asked politely, setting down the cup.

         "I thought we would talk about bloodlines," she tensed at the mention of it, and he sighed, "I know how uncomfortable it is, but blood ties were very important to Tom."

         It had always amazed her how Dumbledore bravely said his name without any fear surrounding him. She, foolishly, was afraid of him, though she had reason. Rosalie knew that if he learned about her alliances to Dumbledore and the Order, it would only be a matter of time until she was the freshest kill of his.

         "How so?" she decided to question instead of voicing her fear, not wanting to show fear in front of her Headmaster.

         "Tom Riddle himself is a half-blood," Dumbledore started, sipping at his tea with his pinky finger up.

         "But he only accepts purebloods..." Rosalie voiced her thoughts, finding the thought peculiar.

         "Very good, Miss Allen, he does," Dumbledore smiled at her, "When Tom found out about the true origins of his father, he became angry. He thinks that it is wrong to come from any muggle – that only wizards should mingle with other wizards and muggleborns should be shunned."

         Rosalie nodded.

         "And I assume that you are a pureblood, Miss Allen?" Dumbledore asked kindly, a twinkle in his eyes as he did.

         "Yes," she answered, wanting to move along from the topic as fast as she could, "Why does it matter?"

         "Because that's an important reason as to why he trusted you," Dumbledore explained, "I know that you don't want to speak about your past, but it is essential so that you can further understand Tom."

         Rosalie sighed, not wanting to speak. Dumbledore noticed her apprehension to the subject, and decided to ease you, "If you would like, I would be willing to share information about my own family."

         She stared up at him. It was a known fact that Dumbledore didn't go into the facts of his family, keeping them secrets from himself, so hearing this intrigued her greatly.

         "I have a brother named Aberforth. We no longer speak, for reasons that I will later tell you. The two of us used to be close, but after some events occurred, our relationship was left scarred.

         "Then there was my sister, Ariana. When we were younger, a group of muggles boy found her practicing magic, so they hurt her. I suppose it was out of fear of what they had scene, though it does not excuse their actions. She was left scarred, hating her magic, and she no longer practiced it.

         "As you know, I had many relations with Gellert Grindelwald. When he came to Godric's Hollow, I felt like a had an equal to speak to. I began to neglect my family, focusing on him and his mission – foolishly believing it.

         "When my brother confronted me, knowing that I had spending much more of my time with Grindelwald and not with my family, neglecting them, a duel took place. It was much too violent for my liking, and poor Ariana walked in on it. A curse hit her, killing her. To this day, I still do not know who sent the curse that killed her. But all the same, I blame myself for the occurrence."

         Dumbledore sighed, "I believe it is your turn to speak, Miss Allen."

         "We were happy...when I was younger," she spoke, not wanting to, "Then my mother became sick – cancer, and there was no cure. My father started drinking and my mum wasn't getting any better. She died, time kept moving, and my dad kept drinking.

         "It only stopped when he died – just during summer." Rosalie shook her head, chuckling bitterly, "Not every pureblood is good...not every one of us deserved to be saved. Some, like my father, deserve what hell trails after them."

edit 10/13/19:

okay i am getting SO SICK of the sudden hate to harry, hermione, and ron in this chapter with dumbledore's will - especially harry. of COURSE harry is going to be hurt by rosalie's name in the will and by how she got something more meaningful to dumbledore himself. harry didn't know that rosalie had a relationship with dumbledore before this moment, he thought he was special and now that's broken. he got two things that were impersonal to dumbledore, a man he THOUGHT he knew a lot about, a man he thought he had a special relationship with that no one else had. of course he is hurt and jealous over his, so please stop hating on him or i will delete your comment :)