Rose brought her concern about Fletcher to the Headmaster, who informed her she should "rest assured that he will not be making away with any more of Sirius' old possessions." It was then, though, that Rose made her acquaintance, or rather remade her acquaintance, with the portrait of Phineas Nigellus.
"And who are you to be concerned about my great-great-grandson's possessions? If I recall correctly they now belong to that Potter boy," asked the portrait of the former Headmaster.
"Ah, Phineas, you've yet to be re-introduced," said Albus. He gestured to Rose, "This is Rose Evans, or rather, this is Harry Potter."
"Doen't look like a Harry, let alone a Potter," scoffed Phineas. "And certainly not like the boy did last you introduced him to me."
"I was cursed," admitted Rose.
"Quite," joked Phineas. "I never met your grandmother, Dorea, but I can see a bit of her mother Violetta in you."
"What?" asked Rose. "Grandmother?"
Phineas got upset, but Rose was surprised that it was with the Headmaster and not her, "You never informed him, or rather her now, about her heritage? How was he supposed to continue the House of Black his good-for-nothing godfather left him if you never told him about it?"
"I was going to tell him once he came into his inheritance," explained Albus. "I wished for Harry to have as much of his childhood as he could before throwing him to the wolves of the Wizengamut."
"Wait, so, I'm related to you?" asked Rose of Phineas.
"If you're really Harry Potter, then of course you are. Your father, James Charlus Potter, was my Great-Grandson, through his mother Dorea Potter née Black, my youngest granddaughter," explained the portrait of the over seventy years dead wizard. "Come now, you'd not think you'd have been made the Head of the House had you no blood connection."
"Wait, Head of House?" asked Rose.
"Well, it might be moot now that you're a mere witch, but your godfather left you as his sole heir," explained Phineas.
"As much as this family history is interesting, we have more important things to do tonight," said the Headmaster, pouring the vial of silvery memories into the Pensieve and swirling the stone basin between his hands, the cursed one looking even worse than during their previous meeting following Rose's feminization.
The pair then experienced two memories, first the image of Caractacus Burke discussing his acquisition of a locket supposedly once belonging to Slytherin from Merope Gaunt for ten galleons, the second a more in-depth experience of the introduction of an eleven year old Tom Riddle to the reality of magic. Rose realized that, as cruel as Tom was, and would later become, so too had been Dumbledore, setting Riddle's wardrobe in what Rose could only guess was some variant of Hermione's favorite blue bell flames. She did not mention the incident, though combined with the various incidents of the Headmaster withholding information from her, painted a less than rosy picture of the elderly wizard.
Before Rose left the Headmaster's office, though, she turned, "I have one more question Sir."
"Just one?" he asked.
"For tonight at least," qualified Rose. "Why aren't I getting the training you told the school I was getting?"
"Training?" asked Dumbeldore.
"When I was cursed, you told the school that I, as Harry, was leaving to receive more training. I've net received anything more since then than I'd have received otherwise."
"Ah, but tonight?" asked Albus.
"While I know now that Riddle has no friends, none to rely on, that he sees all of his Death Eaters, however close, as mere tools, that's knowledge, that's education, but that's not training. Training would be new hexes and jinxes, tactics for combat, leadership lessons, perhaps even training on how to exploit what connections I have from what my family has left me," she added, gesturing at the now sleeping portrait of her great-great-grandfather. "You seem intent to let me retain my childhood, but our enemy, Riddle, he wishes me dead. He wishes to see everyone I hold dear killed or enslaved. Letting me attend classes and, when you find the time, letting he peek behind the curtain, that's not training."
"What of your cover as Ms. Evans?" asked Albus.
Rose didn't know what to say at that. She turned then, and returned to her dormitory, the hollow promises of the Headmaster and his recently revealed manipulations ruminating in her head.
"How was your meeting with the Headmaster?" asked Hermione, looking up from the book she was reading in bed, waiting for her best friend.
"I learned quite a bit, and not just about Riddle," said Rose, pulling her necktie loose as she headed for her wardrobe.
"Oh?" asked Hermione.
"Sirius left me not just Grimmauld Place, but also the House of Black," said Rose, unbuttoning her blouse.
"Isn't that the same thing?" asked Hermione.
"Not quite," said Parvati in the darkness.
"Hey Parv, sorry to wake you," said Rose.
"You didn't wake us," added Lavender. "Just, unlike Hermione, we could wait in the darkness for you to return."
"So, what do you mean he left you the House of Black?" asked Hermione.
"Well, Sirius made me his sole beneficiary, his heir, and since he was the Head of the House of Black when he died, it made me the Head of the House of Black," explained Rose.
"Not surprising, add in the House of Potter, and once you return to being Harry, you'll be quite powerful politically," noted Lavender.
"House of Potter?" asked Hermione.
"I have a feeling that the Headmaster is making it difficult for us to really understand the world we've entered into Hermione," said Rose. "I mean, I didn't know anything, really still don't, about my family beyond my mum and dad. Did you know that I was technically cousins with Sirius?"
"Sure," said Lavender. "I mean, that was part of the whole Boy-Who-Lived story. James Potter, inexperienced Head of the House of Potter only a few years after his father and mother were killed in a Death Eater attack, betrayed by Sirius Black, his cousin and heir to the House of Black, to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."
"Call him Voldemort," said Hermione.
"Better yet, call him Riddle," said Rose, unbuttoning the side of her skirt. "I mean, there's a reason why people were afraid to use his made up name, if you said it, he could find you, and his Death Eaters would attack. He made his name taboo, though I'm not exactly sure what that means. But, he can't exactly make the world 'riddle' taboo, can he? So, that means we can say Riddle, and not only will be stop giving him power by being afraid of saying his name, but we'll be taking power from him by revealing his true heritage and the lies he's used to gain power."
"Rose, it's late, so you'll have to explain that in the morning," said Lavender, confused by the circuitous route Rose's declaration made.
"Not a problem Lav," said Rose, slipping out of her tights. She then grabbed a nightgown from within her wardrobe and put it on. "Oh, and speaking of things to do tonight, Hermione, how was the Slug Club supper?"
"It was fine," said Hermione with a sigh. "Though, I'm not sure you're going to like what he announced for his last one of the term."
"I'll just make sure I have an excuse," said Rose, closing her wardrobe and then making her way to her bed.
"Well, you're not going to get one, since it's the night before the Express leaves for Winter Break," said Hermione. "You'll be getting the invitation tomorrow I would assume. It's a fancy dress Christmas Party, he's inviting a bunch of his past Slug Club members, and he's made sure that no Quidditch Practices can be scheduled, the Library will be closed, and no detentions will be given that night. He's not going to make it easy for you to escape him."
Rose sighed as she sat down on her bed, "I guess I'll have to think of something. Hopefully I'll be back to being myself by then, I mean, Harry that is. If that happens, will you go with me Hermione?"
Hermione smiled, the glow of her wand nearly matching the one on her face, "Of course I'll go with you Rose, or rather, Harry." She laughed softly. "I wish you'd been this foreword thinking two years ago."
"Two years … The Yule Ball?" asked Rose.
Hermione nodded, "I mean, I put Viktor off for nearly a month waiting for either you or Ron to ask me. I only had two friends, since Neville, Ginny, and Luna really hadn't joined our group then, and both of your were boys. What were the chances that neither of you would have thought to ask me until barely a week before the Ball?"
Rose blushed, "Sorry Hermione, I guess, well, I was a bit of a berk then."
Across the room Parvati scoffed, "A bit?"
Rose blushed even deeper, and turned to look to the Indian witch, "Parv, I am so sorry. I ruined your Yule Ball."
"It's alright," said Parvati with a sigh. "I mean, I did get to go with one of the Champions, and the eventual winner, but, I mean, we spent most of the night sitting and watching rather than dancing. Pad and me both."
"While I can't apologize for Ron, I do owe both you and your sister," said Rose.
"Let us have a date when you're back to Harry, and we'll call it even," said Parvati.
"Us?" asked Rose.
"Come now, do you know how many wizards dream of a date with the Patil twins?" asked Parvati.
Rose blushed, "I guess so." She then laid back and pulled the plush blanket up for warmth.
"What if I can't return to being me?" she asked a minute later, a bit of a waver of fear in her voice.
"I think Pad and I would still be up for a date, even then," said Parvati. Rose was sure that the dark skinned witch was blushing enough to redden her cheeks in the darkness.
As October faded into November, Rose and Draco's friendship deepened, and their fledgling relationship blossomed. In the two weeks between their Hogsmeade "not-a-date", and the first Quidditch game of the season between Slytherin and Gryffindor, their study sessions get fewer and fewer, as the Captain of the Slytherin team, Edmund Urquhart, a seventh year, competed with Ron for time on the pitch, needing Draco to spend more and more time at practice.
Draco admitted that, before meeting Rose he had thought of dropping out of the team due to other issues, but once he'd gotten to know Rose, he realized that those issues weren't quite as important. Rose spent most of her evenings at the Quidditch Pitch, either watching Draco and the Slytherins practice, or watching Ron lead the Lions in their practices. In almost every case she'd spotted the practice snitch before either Draco or Ginny, and had sworn to both Draco and Ron that she'd not reveal the tactics to the other team.
After the Slytherin practices she'd accompany Draco back to the castle, mostly through drizzling rain, though sometimes through a slight snow, though none of the weather had gotten as bad as their first rip together to Hogsmeade. They'd hold hands, and before parting Rose would give Draco another peck on the cheek.
Pansy, though, was another constant spectator of the Slytherin practices, though she mostly watched Rose rather than the Snakes in the air. Multiple times of the fortnight she'd tried to curse or jinx Rose, but every time Rose would either dodge, block, or ignore the curses. The last Slytherin practice before the match, Pansy had sent a particularly vicious curse at Rose, attempting to sever her head from her shoulders, but Rose ducked, and after giving Pansy a scolding glare, greeted Draco with a hug and a peck on the cheek.
Rose watched her first Gryffindor-Slytherin Quidditch match as a spectator, watching the action from the stands.
Slytherin was still the brute of a team it had always been, forcing fouls and playing exceedingly rough. Draco was seemingly lost, not having Potter to follow, and unwilling to parrot Ginny's activities as the Lion Seeker.
Katie, Demelza, and Dean worked well together, especially considering they'd had a whole month to work out their cues. They weren't as good as Katie, Angelina, and Alicia were the last four seasons, but they were still better than the Snakes, since Vaisey, their highest scorer in practice, had taken a bad bludger from Goyle the day before and was stuck under Pomfrey's tender care. Instead the Slytherin Chaser line was Urquhart, Zabini, and Harper, all new this year.
Rose thought that Ginny, who'd played both Seeker and Chaser before was the key to Gryffindor's rapid scoring, as she was playing as an unofficial fourth Chaser, though she made sure to never touch the Quaffle. This forced Draco to rely on his own skills as a Seeker, and while still fairly good, Rose had caught sight of the Snitch nearly twice as many times as her almost boyfriend.
Ron was the real star of the Gryffindor team, though, making saves left and right (and center, naturally). It seemed that the combination of Lavender as a girlfriend and his position as Captain gave him the confidence that he'd been lacking the year before. He wasn't perfect, but definitely better than the Slytherin keeper.
By the time Rose saw Draco make his final dive, the game was already over, with the Gryffindor's pulling the same trick on the Slytherins as the Irish had played on the Bulgarians during the World Cup two and a half years before, gaining enough points through goals that Draco beating Ginny to the Snitch didn't win him the game.
Rose was one of the first of the spectators to such onto the field, and unlike all of her fellow Lions, she'd rushed past the triumphant winers and instead had headed for Draco, settling onto the Pitch with the Snitch weakly flapping in his hand. "Great catch," she said, as she dove at Draco.
He caught her, and was surprised when she congratulated him with a full-on snog.
"Reminded me of Krum's turn at the World Cup," said Rose after she finally came up for air.
"Krum? Oh, yeah, that," said Draco with a sigh.
"It's not your fault your Keeper's bad, you're not the Captain, it wasn't your choice, right?" asked Rose, trying to encourage her now pretty much official boyfriend.
"I know, it's just, this is the first time I've gotten to the Snitch first against Gryffindor, and I did it against a glorified Chaser," said Draco with a sigh. "I mean, this should have been a battle against Potter, but instead, it's just the Weaslette confusing Crabbe and Goyle while the Weasel blocks nearly as good as Wood did."
"So, you got to the Snitch first, but since you didn't win, and didn't beat your rival, it doesn't mean anything?" asked Rose.
"I guess if you put it like that …"
"Draco, I compared you to one of the greatest, and youngest, professional Seekers of our time, and you're just depressed because you proved that you're a better Seeker than the rest of your team is at their positions?"
Draco chuckled, "Okay, so, perhaps I don't have anything to be mad about. Come on, let me give you a victory ride."
Rose gave Draco a peck on the cheek, then mounted the broom behind him. While she knew that Draco would have preferred to wrap his arms around her to fly the broom, she wanted to embrace him instead.
After the Quidditch match, Rose and Draco were officially dating, though without any Hogsmeade weekends they sufficed themselves with dates to the Kitchens instead. they both enjoyed watching Zacharias Smith lead the Badgers to a three hundred to fifty loss against the Head Girl Cho Chang's Eagles, since Smith, who had commentated during the Lion-Snake match, had been critical of their relationship, as well as Draco's losing catch.
So it was, as November turned to December, and the inevitable Slug Club Christmas Party approached, Rose took it upon herself to find a date, since neither Pomfrey nor Snape had supplied a counter to the curse in time.
"Draco, what are you planning on doing the night before break?" asked Rose the first weekend in December as they worked on their Transfiguration essay over a private supper in the Kitchens.
"Well, since there won't be a practice that night, or schoolwork, I had assumed we'd have supper down here," said Draco.
"Well, Professor Slughorn arranged it so that I won't have any excuses, so, I was wondering …"
"Wondering what?"
"Would you be my date to Slughorn's Christmas Party?" asked Rose quickly.
Draco dramatically thought for a moment, "I'm not sure, it's a big commitment."
"Come on Draco, what else do you have to do?" asked Rose.
Draco then paled, realizing that he'd been putting off his work on the cabinet almost entirely since their friendship had begun two months before.
"Is there a problem Draco?" asked Rose.
"Um, actually, no, there's not," said Draco, summoning a bit of uncharacteristic courage. "I'd love to escort you to Slughorn's Christmas Party."
"Excellent," said Rose, leaning across to give Draco a light peck on the lips. "Now I just need to figure out what to where."