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A Seer Named Rosemary Snape by PlutoLovegood

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The rainy Tuesday morning of July the thirty-first was the beginning of the new normal for Rosemary Snape, her grandfather Sylvester, and their friend Dr. Sapoora Dasari. Sapoora was somewhat in shock, as she was both the last of the three and the least prepared to learn that there were real witches and wizards, and that the criminal called the Scar-Maker was in fact a mysterious evil witch. Though Sapoora was still on formal terms with Teddy Lupin, she was steadily warming up to him and was glad under the circumstances to have a wizard bodyguard. She spent the morning arranging for Teddy to be an official volunteer at the hospital, with duties that kept him as close to her as possible at all times.

As for Sylvester, he awoke earlier than usual and called for his breakfast right away, finishing it whilst Rosie was still fast asleep. He once again pulled out the precious letter he had received by owl from his brother Severus, along with the mysterious, mostly-blank sheet that came along with it. So much had happened the previous day that the letter had been forgotten; now he wondered what would happen when Rosie signed her name on the blank line.

Rosie started to stir, and as he had done many times, Sylvester closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep. He never knew what Rosie would be up to next, but it usually was quite entertaining. He had a startling thought: if she can see people’s thoughts, why doesn’t she notice when I’m pretending to be asleep? Sylvester recalled Harry saying that Severus was a master of Occlumency. Sylvester had excelled in Latin, and felt instantly at home with words such as Occlumens and Legilimens. If Severus could hide his own thoughts, could he hide someone else’s as well, Sylvester asked himself. Can he see and hear my thoughts right now? What would it hurt to try to tell him something? Severus, if you can hear me, hello, and thank you. Thank you very, very much. You don’t know how much that letter has meant to me. Or perhaps you do?

Rosie sat up on her futon, stretched and yawned, grabbed a few clothes and her toiletries and headed to the shower down the hall. When she returned, she immediately fed the always-oblivious Mr. Snakey-poo and the much more engaged canary, Mrs. Chirpsworth. As Rosie talked to the canary, she made frequent chirping noises, to which Mrs Chirpsworth replied with gusto. Sylvester wondered for the first time if she really had the power to talk with the bird. It was one of many remarkable thoughts that Sylvester was finding believable for the first time.

After breakfast Rosie spent much of the morning texting and Skyping with her friend Gina Paulucci, who lived in London and whom she had just seen at her early birthday party the previous weekend. Now that they both had received their Hogwarts letters they could talk about everything, and they did. Gina had often made things move at a distance, and she was practicing levitating pencils and other small objects. Rosie told Gina all about yesterday’s events, and propped up her phone so Gina could see as she drew pictures of Sparkles and Teddy Lupin. Feeling empowered by her new knowledge of her own magical abilities, Rosie drew more energetically than ever, and used her largest drawing pad. A few lines, curves, and a burst of shading, and –voila!” she said as her portrait of Teddy Lupin unfolded like a blooming flower, completing itself by magic. The two girls giggled at the handsome young man, then Rosie had an idea. She leaned toward the picture and blew on it, causing his shirt to become unbuttoned and allowing a peek at his chest.

As the girls fawned over Rosie’s increasingly provocative picture of Teddy Lupin, Sylvester forgot himself and let out a pained sigh, just loudly enough for Rosie to hear. Rosie turned to her grandfather with a look of shock on her face, then ran over to him as he laughed.

–Grampy! Honestly!” she said as she pulled his quilt over his face. –Oh, pardon me. Good morning, Grampy!” she continued as she gave him a hug, the quilt still covering his face.

–Good morning, Little Miss Witch!” Sylvester replied, his voice muffled by the quilt. –Are you ladies going to share Mr. Lupin with your other witch friend Miss Diggory, or does he have his hands full enough with just the two of you?”

–Oh stop, Grampy, I don’t know whether to hit you or hug you!” Rosie answered as she did a little of each. –But she’s away with her father right now. Oh, my! I just thought of something. I wonder if that means DaNessa’s father is a wizard. Gina, let’s try to call her mum.”

Their friend DaNessa Diggory lived in Liverpool with her mother and stepfather. Rosie made the three-way phone connection, and in a few moments Rosie and Gina had DaNessa’s mother Cynthia on the phone. Cynthia confirmed that she had known all along that DaNessa would be receiving a Hogwarts letter one day. Cynthia said she herself was a Muggle, but DaNessa’s father Derek Diggory was a wizard who lived in Jamaica most of the time, and that’s where he and DaNessa were right now.

Cynthia asked Rosie if she could speak for a moment just with her grandfather. –Why of course! Here he is. I’ll call you back in a bit, Gina. One moment please.” Rosie pulled the quilt off her grandfather’s face and said –It’s for you.”

Cynthia said, –Hello, Mr. Snape. How are you feeling?”

–I’m happy to say that at least for now I’m feeling the best I have in several years,” said Sylvester.

–Well, Mr. Snape, now at last I can tell you that I’ve known for a long time that there was such a person as Severus Snape, and I always wondered if there might be a connection. And I must confess I haven’t been looking forward to this day. Ever since Derek told me that a relative of his named Cedric was murdered by a dark wizard during a magical tournament, I’ve had my doubts and fears about Hogwarts.”

–That’s very understandable, Mrs. Robertson,” Sylvester replied, as that was Cynthia’s last name. –It would seem that indeed there are dangers in the magical world, as in our own. But I do think that the people I’ve just met are good people, and our children are in good hands. Furthermore, the magical world with its risks and opportunities will not go away if we choose to ignore it.”

–I suppose you’re right,” Cynthia replied. –It does help to know that DaNessa will have good friends at Hogwarts. I had worried about that. She’s struggled with making friends. Being a multiracial child with unusual interests has been a difficult path for her, and to tell you the truth I’ve wished she somehow could spend more time with Rosie and Gina. I suppose now we know why they’ve found so much in common! Lovely to talk with you, Mr. Snape.”

Good day, Mrs. Robertson!” Sylvester handed the phone back to Rosie, and realized he meant what he had said. He felt good, and he felt happy in a way he did not remember feeling since his wife had died. He reached for his own phone, and Rosie saw his face break into a bright smile.

–Let me guess, Grampy. You have a message from Sparkles!”

Sylvester put on a stern, indignant expression. –No, you little imp, I do not have one message from Sparkles.” He kept the stern expression for a few seconds, then broke into a smile. –For your information, I have three messages from Sparkles, and one of them pertains to you.”

–What is it? What is it, Grampy?”

–Patience, young lady. You must learn to be patient, at least for a day.”

Rosie stamped her foot in consternation, then smiled again. Tomorrow was the actual date of her birthday, and she realized Sparkles must be planning some kind of surprise. –Okay, Grampy, how about if you chat with Sparkles, and Gina and I will have our own chat. Agreed?”

–Ah, yes, if you insist, Miss Witch.”

Rosie reconnected with Gina, and soon they were exchanging all the tidbits of knowledge concerning Hogwarts that they knew at the time. Sylvester looked at his own phone, answered a couple of Sparkles’ messages, yawned, and soon was genuinely fast asleep.

Meanwhile, in the Auror Office Harry had tapped into Little Whinging Fire and Rescue’s preliminary report on the fire at number seventeen Magnolia Road. Several details had them completely flummoxed, which did not surprise Harry. No sign of entry or exit, no clear cause for the fire, and most oddly, twisted and hideously gnarled pieces of the banister railing were lying all about. Also noted was that a small pair of charred women’s shoes was found, girl-sized but apparently quite stylish before they were burnt up, with no clue as to how they got there.

Sparkles was sitting at a table in Harry’s office, reviewing her notes from other sites related to the Scar-Maker case. Harry spoke up. –It looks like they found your shoes. I do trust you have enough others to get by on.”

–A pity indeed. I really liked that pair. I do have two other pairs just like them, but those were the most comfortable ones. Here, Love, have another piece of birthday cake.” Sparkles had worked in the Hogwarts kitchen as an elf-girl, and loved to bake fine cakes. She had brought a huge one for Harry's birthday, and was trying not to have to bring any of it back home.

Harry’s mind was fixed on the Scar-Maker, who had identified herself as the White Queen. He remembered that there was a White Queen in Alice Through the Looking Glass and wondered if that meant something. He was looking for any clue as to the White Queen’s identity.

–Sparkles, do you think the White Queen could possibly be … Rita Skeeter?”

Sparkles burst into riotous laughter, which told Harry she didn’t find the Rita Skeeter theory very compelling. After what seemed like a half a minute, Sparkles caught her breath and said, –That’s a good one, Harry.”

–Glad, I think, to have provided you with a moment of levity, Boss.” It wasn’t the first time Sparkles had laughed at one of Harry’s tentative theories.

–Well, Handsome, in all seriousness, I can see how you got there. Skeeter and the White Queen do have this in common, that each in her own way is a stroppy, unpleasant bitch.”

This time it was Harry’s turn to enjoy a good chuckle. –You have such a way with words, Boss.”

Sparkles continued. –Other than some superficial similarities, my humble theory is that the White Queen is someone completely different, someone whom we have never met before.”

–You’re probably right, as usual,” Harry said. Sparkles’ doubts rang true, but since it was his job not to rule out any possibility until it had been completely disproven, he wrote Rita Skeeter’s name down on his list of possible suspects. It was a very short list, as Skeeter’s name was the only one on the list so far.

It was coming close to noon, and Harry’s thoughts turned to his upcoming lunch appointment with Draco Malfoy. As soon as it came to light that Rosemary Snape was related to the Malfoys, he knew that this conversation would be taking place.

Harry envied Neville for his comfortable rapport with Draco and the other Malfoys. It helped that Scorpius was excelling in Herbology, and enjoying it much more than anyone had expected. It also helped that in school Neville had never really been a direct nemesis to Draco the way that Harry had been. Harry seriously considered leaving it in Neville’s hands to tell Draco and his family about Rosie, and might have done so except that the connection to the Scar-Maker case gave him an important reason to talk to Draco himself. Harry kept thinking about what Sylvester said about working on forgiving his father, and it weighed on Harry’s mind that all these years later he still had work to do on forgiving Draco. This would be a good time to take a step forward.

The time had come. Harry fidgeted more nervously than he realized he would, then told himself to go on the count of three. He thought to himself One, Two, Three, and Disapparated, finding himself instantly at the door of a new Ukrainian café that had just opened in Diagon Alley, reputed to have excellent Borsch. Draco was already there. The two men nodded as they were shown to a table.

Harry made a pre-emptive strike. –Draco, I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I truly am terribly sorry about the incident with the Sectumsempra spell. Not a day goes by without me thinking of how much worse it could have gone for you.”

–I’m willing to put it far in the past, Harry, but I do appreciate you saying so. There are things I regret from school days as well. How about if we move forward? I know you must have called me here for something besides that.”

–Yes I have, and I thank you,” Harry replied, already feeling more at ease. –Perhaps you’ve heard by now that a new student is entering Hogwarts, a Muggle-born great niece of Professor Snape.”

–Yes, the news of Miss Rosemary Snape has been traveling like lightning. Wise of the faculty to keep her a secret till now, otherwise she might have been a pre-made celebrity, like someone else I know.”

Harry winced and smiled at the jab. –Indeed. Honestly, I really wish I could have just entered Hogwarts as nothing but an ordinary young wizard. Anyway, here’s something we’ve kept under wraps. On her grandmother’s side she’s descended from a man known amongst Muggles as Nick Rickles, but born Nicodemus Malfoy.”

Draco slapped his hand on the table and paused for a few seconds. –The Squib.” Draco paused again, his expression vacillating between an astonished smile and a serious, pondering look. Then he spoke up. –Of course I’ve heard of Nicodemus. We’ve done our best to pretend he never existed, but he did have his friends, especially amongst the Goblins. I have no doubt the Blacks would have never let the Malfoys hear the end of it, had they not had a Squib of their own.”

Harry told Draco the whole story of meeting Rosemary, and summarized Sylvester’s life story. Draco hadn’t heard anything so interesting in a long time. Their bowls of Borsch arrived. It was delicious.

–You mean to tell me,” Draco said, –that in the midst of the First Wizarding War, Dumbledore was at a Muggle funeral, matchmaking with Snape’s half-brother and a descendant of the Malfoy Squib?” Draco smiled broadly. –I’ve had a new respect for Dumbledore for some time, but now in spite of myself I think I’m actually beginning to like him.”

Harry smiled. He had known Draco for twenty-seven years, and for the first time he felt like they were not far from being friends. –Along with the letter Professor Snape sent to his brother, there was a document which I believe pertains to the Magical Birthright Act of 1850.”

–Yes, somehow that doesn’t surprise me. There’s a vault in Nicodemus Malfoy’s name at Gringotts, and rumour has it that he left some interesting things in it. Not necessarily huge amounts of Galleons, but valuable things, things that Father has hoped to get his hands on somehow. If Rosemary has an inheritance letter, that would pretty much put a stop to Father’s hopes in that regard. Oh well, to tell you the truth it irritates me to hear it every time he brings it up.”

–Draco, tell me if you will, how do you think your family will react to Rosemary?”

Draco scratched his chin thoughtfully. –Well, as for me, years ago I would have ignored a Muggle-born relative as best I could, but I would say that Astoria and I will be very comfortable with Rosie. It will be a bit more of an adjustment for Mother, but to tell you the truth I think she would try if I ask her to. I dare say Mother and Astoria both would love to dote upon a girl.” He paused. –Father is the one about whom I would worry the most. I’m sure he would ignore her completely, except that the fact she’s also a Snape makes that well nigh impossible. And if she stands between him and the Squib’s vault, that doesn’t help. But, I’ve seen him adjust to new realities better than I had imagined he would. All in all, I think things will be okay. Not perfect, but okay.”

–One more thing, Draco. I apologize for asking, but since we’ve found that Rosemary’s grandmother was killed by the Scar-Maker, I must ask, did the Death Eaters have any knowledge of her death, or any other attacks in those days, which may have been connected with the same perpetrator?”


–I’m not offended you ask. No need to apologize. Father would know much more of course, but I can tell you this, that the Death Eaters knew of several attacks upon Death Eaters and non-Death Eaters alike, which were completely mysterious and unconnected with either side of the Second Wizarding War. I had never heard of Rosemary Jane Rickles-Snape before you told me about her today, but I have a hunch that her death would fit the same profile.”

–Thank you very much, Draco. It was good to talk with you today. It really was. I think you’ll enjoy meeting Rosie. She’s a delightful young lady. She looks much like a Malfoy, and just a hint like her great uncle Professor Snape, but mostly she looks and acts like her own self. I happen to know that Sparkles plans to take her on her first visit to Diagon Alley on her birthday tomorrow.”

Draco laughed. –I imagine we may meet her, then, as our whole family will be here at Diagon Alley all day tomorrow. I suppose you and Longbottom have made your famous bet?"

"I didn't realize it was so famous. For your information it's a bit harder to guess than I had anticipated. Neville thinks he sees much of Ravenclaw in her, and I would have to say he has a point. But I'm going with Slytherin, considering her family connections to you and to Professor Snape. She does have a certain affinity to snakes as well. Of course the Sorting Hat will know for sure."

Ever since Neville had joined the Hogwarts faculty, he and Harry had made a friendly wager every time they made a joint venture to meet a new student, regarding which house the new student would be sorted into. Neville had lost the first bet and handed Harry a Galleon which he had in his pocket, and the same Galleon had changed hands many times since. They were almost evenly matched, and Harry quipped that this meant that they were equally bad at guessing. But it was a point of silent pride between Harry and Neville that they actually were quite good. They had agreed to call it a draw whenever they were both wrong, and the student was sorted into one of the other two houses that neither had guessed. But after dozens of bets they had not had one single draw. One or the other of them had always been right.

"Well, then, we'll see if you and Longbottom continue your streak, or if you finally draw. Have a good day, Mr. Celebrity.”

Harry laughed and smiled in relief as the two men parted. This conversation went far better than he had thought it would.

The sky was clear again before dawn on August the first, Rosie’s eleventh birthday. The air was very comfortable, and a pleasant, gentle breeze awakened Sylvester. He cracked his eyes open and saw that Rosie was awake, gazing with the telescope at the bright waning Moon through the open window to the south. Sylvester pretended still to be asleep, and soon Rosie’s eyes grew heavy again and she fell asleep at the table.

When she woke up again, sunlight was streaming into the room, and she saw Sparkles sitting next to her grandfather. They were both looking at her with a smile. –Why, good morning, Sparkles! Good morning, Grampy!” said Rosie.

–Happy birthday, Rosie Lily!” Sparkles and Sylvester said in an attempted unison that wasn’t very well synchronized. Rosie ran and hugged them both, and noticed they were holding hands.

–Now Miss Snape,” Sylvester said with a suddenly stern voice, –You had best get yourself cleaned up and ready right away, because you have a big day ahead of you.”

That was all Rosie needed to hear. She grabbed some clothes and headed right out the door to the shower down the hall. Soon she was back, dressed in black slacks and, as usual, a t-shirt featuring a strong female character. Her heroine of the day was Lieutenant Uhura from Star Trek. Rosie chuckled, noticing for the first time that all three in the room had t-shirts with people on them. Today her grandfather was wearing a shirt with Albert Einstein sticking his tongue out, and Sparkles wore a shirt with a picture of David Bowie in character as –Ziggy Stardust,” under an open vest made from a pillow case.

–Do you like shopping, Rosie? Would you care to come with me to Diagon Alley and shop for the items on your list of required textbooks and materials for school? Or would you rather wait for another day?” said Sparkles.

–Oh, please, let’s go today. I am so ready to go!” Rosie retrieved her Hogwarts letter and list of requirements, and suddenly looked serious. –How much money are these items going to cost? We have hardly any money.”

–Not to worry, Love,” said Sparkles. –Your grandfather has something of value for you, a document that you must sign.”

As Rosie looked, puzzled, Sylvester reached for a pocket inside his open sweater and pulled out his letter from Severus, along with the mostly-blank page that came with it. He handed that page to Rosie, who reviewed what it said.

Ask, and ye shall receive.

____________________
MBA MDCCCL



Sylvester handed Rosie a calligraphic ink pen and inkwell, and said –According to Mr. Potter, you should sign your full name on the line.”

Rosie took the pen and dipped it in the ink. As an artist she had used pens like this before. She signed her name with a flourish.

Rosemary Lily Snape


She spontaneously dotted the i in Lily with extra verve, and as she finished signing her name, the dot began to grow into a shape that looked like a black chess piece, and the two letters y blossomed into beautiful lily flowers. But not only that: As Rosie, Sylvester and Sparkles looked on, letters and words began to appear in the blank area which filled most of the page. When the letters became readable, Rosie read it aloud:

Pursuant to the Magical Birthright Act of 1850,
the property and inheritance rights of
Rosemary Lily Snape
the undersigned magical descendant of
Nicodemus Malfoy Rickles, Squib
Shall be fully honoured and respected by all



–What does this mean?” Rosie asked. –What kind of property did Grampy Nick have?”

–Well, we shall find out quite soon, Love” replied Sparkles, –unless, of course, you’d rather go to the zoo for your birthday, or perhaps to …”

–Oh, please, I am looking forward to this so much!”

–All right then, if you insist!” said Sparkles, beaming at Sylvester, who was laughing. –Witches and Wizards usually enter Diagon Alley by way of a pub called The Leaky Cauldron, but if you’ll take my hand, we’re going to arrive via the Elf Entrance.”

–Will I be too tall, Sparkles?” asked Rosie.

Laughing, Sparkles replied –Not at all. What I mean is, we’re going to travel by Apparation. I’m warning you that many feel ill the first time or two, but once you get used to it you’ll agree that it’s the only way to travel. Are you ready, then, dear?”

Rosie sighed in nervous anticipation, then said –Yes, Sparkles, I’m ready, I think … I hope.”

–I know you are, Rosie. Take my hand, and let’s get this party started!”

As Sylvester watched, there was the sound of a loud crack as Sparkles and Rosie disappeared into the whirlwind of their Disapparation. He felt a contented happiness, and a type of discontent as well. He had long since accepted his looming death by cancer, but as he watched Rosie Disapparate with Sparkles, he felt a sharp longing that somehow the three of them could live as a family forever.
Chapter Endnotes: The next chapter is entitled "Rosie and Sparkles Do Diagon Alley." That was supposed to be the title of the current chapter, but the preamble to this venture turned into a chapter in its own right.