Red Like Roses

Hermione shook where she stood. Septima's voice was still in her head. Some part of her believed that Septima was still alive, but she couldn't see her.

"Peta-Lorrum."

Professor Snape moved to put himself between Rose and Hermione. Professor McGonagall joined him.

Everyone moved around them, yet Hermione wanted everyone to leave. She wanted to be alone with Rose, so she could finally get proper answers out of her.

She killed Professor Vector. Septima Vector is dead.

Moreover, she realized, if Rose was there with her, then what had happened to Professor Dumbledore?

"Ms. Granger, step away," McGonagall said. "Let us handle this."

The four house heads spread out, keeping their sights set on Rose. Remus kept himself between the other students and the impending fight.

"The old man couldn't kill me," Rose said, her eyes fixed on Hermione. "Yet, I get the feeling that you lot think you can."

She killed Professor Dumbledore.

Something was trapped inside her, begging to be set free. Her thoughts chipped away at its prison, but she dreaded to think of what would happen if it escaped.

She killed Alavel.

"Peta-Lorrum, you aren't leaving the castle alive," Snape said. "Nor are you harming this girl."

Does he mean me? Since when does Snape care about me?

"Are you going to stop me, Severus?" Rose asked without breaking her gaze on Hermione.

"I promised a friend of mine that I'd look after her," he said. "I intend to keep that promise."

What?

Keeping Hermione distracted from investigating Snape's words was the look on Rose's face. She was daring one of them to challenge her. The next thing she'd do would be to put them in their place. Hermione only hadn't worked out exactly how she intended to do it yet.

"Albus always showed mercy," McGonagall said. "Right up until the end, I imagine he refused to believe you'd truly turned against us. Even if it killed him."

"Rest assured," Sprout said. "We won't show you any mercy. You're threatening our students, and you know that's where we draw the line."

Hermione looked at each of their faces, and knew they all intended to follow through on that.

She killed Taltria.

Rose's eyes broke from Hermione, and she visually acknowledged the others for the first time.

"In Albus's memory," Flitwick said, "we'll give you one chance to lay down arms and surrender. We've cleared out most of the castle already, Ms. Peta-Lorrum. You're all alone."

Rose smirked and dropped to the ground.

Flitwick threw a scattering hex at her, as Sprout dug a seed into the wall.

The hex threw Rose off balance as roots spread throughout the Great Hall.

While they did, McGonagall turned back to the Teacher's Table and animated it. Its legs moved, and it charged Rose.

Snape flicked his wand at Hermione and hurled her back towards the others. Remus caught her and started pulling her out of the Great Hall with the others.

"No," she murmured. "Let me go."

Her daze faded, and she struggled to get back to the fight.

Rose dimension jumped past the line of professors, but not to Hermione. Instead, she got behind McGonagall and fired a bolt of lightning from her eyes.

With a wave of his wand that Hermione couldn't follow, Flitwick hurled McGonagall out of the bolt's path. Before she'd returned to solid ground, McGonagall had the table between herself and Rose.

Rose dodged out of the way of the charging table, right into the path of Sprout's emerging vines. The plant, whose tentacles were as wide as saucers, slapped Rose to the ground.

Snape conjured a cloud of black mist around Rose, which dissolved the bricks around her. It ate away at the girl herself, but she dimension jumped into the air before she'd gotten back to her feet.

"Stop it!" Hermione shouted, but no one heard her. She wiped tears from her eyes as the fight unfolded before her.

A storm of silverware flew from the tables, charmed by Flitwick, determined to butcher Rose.

The smirk gone from her face, she flew under them and fired another bolt of lightning at McGonagall.

The table took the bolt, then McGonagall emitted an earsplitting shriek from her wand.

The professors shrugged it off, but Rose winced and covered her ears.

Two of the vines slapped together, catching Rose between them. They wrapped around her and dragged her back to the ground before she slipped away.

Snape conjured a serpent of lightning that darted around the Great Hall, then dove at Rose. At the same time, Flitwick threw a Scattering Hex at her, knocking her off balance. She took the serpent, holding her still for the table to ram her.

Rose flew into the wall. A split second after she hit, the tentacles slammed her against it again.

Hermione fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face. It was too much to bear to see her friend being thrashed.

Rose dimension jumped to the ceiling and drew her bandoleer from her basket. With one arm, she slung it around her chest and pulled a bloom from it.

The professors converged their attacks on her again, but Rose dodged aside and hurled the bloom to the ground.

Flitwick froze the bloom before it could hit, then turned it back on Rose.

Rose flew into it, grabbing it and slamming it into the ground.

The blast consumed the front of the Great Hall. Tables and chairs were ripped apart by the explosion, scattering them around the hall. The professors shielded themselves from the blast.

Hermione froze with fear as the explosion approached her. As if in slow motion, she saw Professor Snape throw himself and a shield between her and the blast.

The force of the explosion knocked her back, but she was unharmed otherwise.

Snape rose to his feet, injured, but still able to stand.

"That was low, Peta-Lorrum," he said. "Going after a defenseless student."

"It's not my fault Brain's not fighting back."

Rose tilted her head, then appeared in front of Snape and jabbed him in the gut. He fell to his knees, and she pulled him closer to her, then hurled him back to the ground.

He fired a spell at her, but it bounced off harmlessly.

Crimson Thorn appeared in Rose's hand, and she drove the blade through Snape's chest.

People cried out around the Great Hall.

Rose folded Crimson Thorn and returned him to her glove. She vanished before McGonagall's spell hit her, reappearing to knock McGonagall down.

"Professor Snape!"

Hermione snapped out of her stupor as he was struggling to move. She crouched down next to him and saw he had a note in his hand.

He grabbed her collar and pulled her next to him.

"Get it together, Granger."

He pressed the note into her hand, then collapsed.

"Professor," she said, shaking him. "Professor."

She killed Professor Snape.

Her hands still shaking, she opened the note he'd given her.

Professor Snape,

After the Triwizard Tournament's over, I don't know where I'll be, but I know you won't leave Hogwarts. If I'm not around anymore, please look after Brain for me.

Your friend,

Rose

At the bottom of the note, in what was likely Snape's blood, he'd scrawled "She's dead".

Hermione stared at it, not sure what to make of anything. Nothing made sense. She wanted Rose to stop. She wanted her friend back. She wanted to end the fight, but Hermione couldn't do anything without risking losing control of herself.

She was dead.

If Hermione tried fighting back against Rose, she would only end up hurting her friends. As she struggled, Dumbledore's words echoed in her mind.

We are not fighting the friend in your memories. We are fighting what she became.

I urge you to separate your image of Rose from who she's become.

You miss the person she was.

My refusal to see the truth cost me dearly.

Her head grew hot, and she wanted to run away. No one else was there to make the decision for her. It was down to her. Fight Rose and her fear, or watch everyone she cared about die.

She is dead.

Ron looked out at the professors. Rose had gained the upper hand in the fight, meaning they needed to be elsewhere and fast. Not that it would matter; Rose would find them, no matter where they ran.

It doesn't matter. We've got to try.

Professor Snape was dead. Ron had never liked him, but it was one more body to add to the list.

Rose kept apparating around the room, knocking the remaining combatants down before they could do anything to stop her. She appeared beside Flitwick and broke his arm to stop him casting. He switched hands and threw her back, but it was clumsy.

She went after McGonagall, ripping through the animated statues she tried to send. After clearing them, Rose knocked McGonagall hard in the head.

Once she was satisfied that McGonagall wasn't going anywhere, Rose moved back to Professor Sprout, hurling shrapnel from McGonagall's doomed statues at her. Sprout shielded herself, but couldn't stop all the shrapnel.

Rose had been toying with them before, just like she'd toyed with him before killing Lavender.

Ron shook his head to clear it, then sent his own statues into the fray. Not to try fighting, but to keep her busy while they extracted the professors.

His friends caught on and moved in, careful not to go after the object of Rose's attention, whoever it was. Ron and Sally-Anne moved Professor McGonagall back, then Remus took her out of the Great Hall.

Ron summoned Flitwick to his side, who was still nursing his arm.

"We've got to get Pomona," he said.

Ron turned his attention to Professor Sprout. Her plant was holding Rose's attention, but Rose dodged around it without fighting back. She wasn't trying.

"Alright," Ron said.

He took a deep breath, then summoned Professor Sprout.

Rose turned from the plant to them, then turned the plant to dust.

"Oi!" Rose shouted as Sprout got to her feet. "I wasn't finished playing with that!"

Ron's heart sped up. They'd drawn her attention, and they were about to pay for it.

"Go!" he called to the others.

As was their way, none of them listened.

Rose appeared before him, but Neville knocked her back. Thinking fast, Ron propelled her farther, hoping he could cover their escape long enough.

"You know I can find you, don't you, Cohort?" Rose asked. "You… the professors… your family. None of you are safe from me."

Harry threw a stunner at her, but she vanished and reappeared in the same spot, dodging it entirely.

"Nice try, Skyeyes, but I know you're there!" she called.

Ron glanced at Hermione. She stood over Professor Snape's body, immobile. He had to get her out.

At the same time, he knew Rose was right. Now that Rose had gone on the offensive, there was nothing they could do. She could find them no matter where they went. It occurred to him that that was the reason that Pettigrew had orchestrated the entire disaster three years ago. He had no other way to escape from Rose. Now Rose was against them, but they had no way out.

Hermione will think of something, he told himself. I know she will.

Rose went after them again, but Sally-Anne blocked her with a shield that shoved Rose back.

<Get the professors out of here,> he ordered. <There's no sense risking all of them trying to get through to Hermione.>

As one, sans Hermione, they started backing out of the Great Hall. Once the last of the professors was out, Ron changed tactics.

<Cover me,> Ron told them, <I'm going after Brain.>

He sprinted towards her, knowing Rose would be on him any second.

Sure enough, Rose appeared in front of him, but Luna barreled into her. Rose tried again, but Neville blocked her.

Ron reached Hermione and grabbed her arm.

"Hermione," he said. "We've got to go. There's nothing we can do."

My friend is dead.

The same thought echoed inside Hermione's head over and over again while her friends worked to extract the professors. It chipped away at the mountain in her head, breaking it down and revealing what lay beyond. It was a door. A simple, wooden door, conveniently marked "DO NOT OPEN". As she tried to open it, she saw flashes of black ooze covering the floor. Fires leapt to the sky, and screams filled the night. Guilt, shame, and fear gripped her heart.

She looked down at Snape's body, then back up at her friends. Rose was toying with them, moving around to intimidate them, but not doing anything to them.

Hermione looked at Rose. Her face bore that same smirk.

She broke her promise.

She crumpled the note and shoved it in her pocket as Ron reached her.

"Hermione," he said, grabbing her arm. "We've got to go. There's nothing we can do."

The door in her mind towered over her. She placed her hand on the knob again, and horrible memories filled her mind. She squeezed her eyes shut, then broke the door down.

When Hermione opened her eyes, the auras on Rose lit up her world. She looked back at her friends, their own magic visible.

���No."

She pulled her arm free.

"Get the professors out of here." She turned back to Rose. "I'll take care of Rose."

"But—"

"Rose!"

Rose turned her attention away from their remaining friends and grinned.

"Brain."

Black ooze spread out from Hermione as she walked closer to Rose. Her own blindsight activated. She didn't remember casting it, nor did she care when she had, only that it was working. Through it, she sensed her friends retreating back to the door.

"You promised we'd take on the world together," Hermione said. "You said it'd be us forever!"

"Not that you cared!" Rose shot back.

Rose activated dimension jumper again, but Hermione was ready. She worked out every possible location Rose would go to, which ones would be of benefit, and which one of those she'd at which she'd appear. She worked it all out in the span of a second, then turned and fired another spell.

Her spell struck Rose as she reappeared. The green light of dimensional anchor spread over Rose, stopping her from dimension jumping.

"That's enough of that," Hermione said.

Rose grinned at her.

"Finally, a challenge!"

She ran headlong at Hermione, then took to the air.

Hermione's mind ran faster than it'd ever run in her life. She could see, she could think. Oh, the thoughts she had! As if every fact stored inside her head couldn't wait to be used! Every word she'd ever read, every spell she'd ever seen, it all became clear to her. She was a witch! Better! She was a Wizard, with every arcane spell at her disposal! The combined power of her world and Rose's world, all at her fingertips.

She reached out her hand, and her mind handled the rest.

"Reciprocal Gyre!"

The auras around Rose flared bright white. Rose screamed and fell to the ground. The magic on her turned inward.

Behind her, her friends shielded their eyes.

<Stop staring!> she shouted. <Get out of here!>

<Not without you!> Ron replied.

The black ooze reached out and grabbed Rose. She held still, dazed by the spell.

"It's awful when you can't make saves, isn't it?" Hermione asked.

Another wave of her hand released chunks of the Great Hall from the walls. She dropped them on Rose.

The rocks sent Rose sprawling.

She climbed to her feet and drew the scrollcase from her bracelet.

"Oh no, you don't!" Hermione shouted.

Flames leapt from the black ooze on the floor. They spiraled towards Rose, who returned the scrollcase to her bracelet to save it.

She grinned at Hermione.

"I've got to try!" she exclaimed. "I can't remember the last time I had to try!"

Rose pulled a bloom from the bandoleer and hurled it at Hermione.

Equations danced in her head. Not just arithmancy, but physics and chemistry.

Explosive Delayed Blast Fireball. Does nothing if the fire damage fails. Fire needs oxygen.

She created a blast of air that sucked the oxygen out from around the bloom, then hurled a rock at it. The orb crumbled when the rock struck it.

Hermione grinned, but movement from Rose snapped her attention back.

Rose shot for Hermione, who was too slow to avoid the hit. Rose's fist made contact with her stomach, knocking her back.

The ooze wrapped around Hermione's legs, keeping her on her feet.

"You never cared!" Rose shouted.

"I did care!" Hermione shouted back. "I cared about you. You were my best friend!"

Hermione flung her hand out, the ooze following it. It solidified and barreled into Rose, knocking her away.

"And that year you were away?" Rose shot back. "Where was I in your thoughts?"

Rose slapped her hand to the ground and a pillar of fire fell from the ceiling.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Hermione disassembled the fire and turned it into frost. She moved her hands, guiding the pillar of frost around her and back at Rose.

"It was all 'Oh, I miss Cohort'!" Rose tumbled around the frost, shrugging off what little hit her. "You never once worried about me until I died!"

Hermione hesitated. That couldn't be the real answer. Rose was jealous?

"That's what this is about?" Hermione shouted. "You were jealous?"

Rose screamed, sending a wave of sound Hermione's way. The force of the attack knocked her off her feet, but the ooze cushioned her landing.

"No, that's not it, is it?" Hermione shouted. "You only wanted my attention! That's what this has all been about, hasn't it? You're nothing more than a spoiled child!"

Reborn anger rose inside her. All the suffering Rose had put her through over the past two years had amounted to little more than a temper tantrum. Hermione hated how much sense it made. Rose had always been a child, always bringing her better and better gifts for her attention. She still wanted Slytherin to have played a part in it, but it all made sense.

If Rose hadn't been talking to her family, she'd have gone closer and closer to snapping, like she had when Slytherin had put up the ward around Hogwarts. Everything made perfect sense.

But why the note? That didn't fit. Unless Slytherin had gotten to her and made her realize she couldn't always have Hermione's undivided attention. Slytherin had been getting inside her head their fourth year, bringing her to her breaking point when it pointed out Hermione would ignore Rose once she was back. It was a lie, but without her family to keep things in perspective, Rose would've snapped.

As anger rose inside Hermione, the ooze spread out over the Great Hall.

"You were my friend," Hermione said with a distorted voice. "It was only you, Rose. We could've been together forever."

As the ooze spread out, the remaining furniture came to life. Eyes sprouted on the tables, mouths formed on chairs, broken silverware started talking.

"Brain," Ron called from his vantage point. "That's… erm… you might want to calm down."

Some part of her was afraid that she'd lost all control, but her anger insisted it wasn't a problem. After all, she hadn't lost control of everything; she could still redirect the chaos.

Hermione raised her arm, and an arm made of nerves and muscle sprung out from the floor and grabbed Rose.

"I don't see why you're so surprised," Rose said as she slid out of the arm. "I always would've done this, Brain. It's who I am. You of all people should know that!"

Before Rose could retaliate, Hermione clapped her hands, and similar arms to the first one shot out of the walls and slammed into Rose. Clenching her fist, she drove them and Rose to the ground.

"I hate you!" Hermione shouted, tears in her eyes.

The plates around Rose began to cry tears of acid. The hand holding Rose hurled her into it.

"I'll never forgive you for what you did!" Hermione screamed. "Never!"

Everything in the Great Hall screamed, including the hall itself. The screams focused on Rose, rippling the air with sonic energy.

Hermione clenched her fist and slammed it through the air. A similar one spawned out of the wall and mirrored her actions, landing on Rose.

"We were going to take on the world together!"

Rose climbed to her feet, but was knocked down again when a surge of electricity flew down the tables towards her, striking her head on.

"It was gonna be the two of us! Just like before! You were supposed to see me through the bad times, but you just made them worse!"

Hermione sprinted at Rose. In a few steps, she arrived and drove her fist into Rose's stupid face.

"I hate you! I hate that I believed in you! You were my best friend and you just abandoned me!"

With every sentence, she punched Rose again, accompanied by more fists rising from the black ooze.

"Why couldn't you have just stayed dead?! Why couldn't you just leave us alone?!"

Hermione's next hit hurled Rose back. A table folded up and caught Rose, then drove her into the ground.

"I hate everything about you! I hate your stupid voice!"

Rose tried to run, but silverware melted and wrapped around her, tripping her and bringing her to the ground.

"I hate your stupid hair! I hate your stupid smile! I hate everything about you! Just die!"

The stars shining on the ceiling above them shone red, then went out and flew down at Rose.

"Die, you stupid, crimson-haired bitch!"

The rain of stars reached a peak and exploded.

As the dust settled, Hermione kept her guard up, checking her blindsight for one of Rose's tricks. When she didn't sense any movement, she began to calm down. She saw flickers of light, the auras of Rose's magic, telling her Rose was still there.

"Get up!" Hermione screamed, hurling some of the silverware at Rose. "Get up!"

Rose didn't move.

Hermione ran over to her and kicked her.

Around them, the ooze began to recede from the walls, returning the Great Hall to normal.

"Get up! I'm not done with you! Get up!"

Hermione fell to her knees as the last of the black ooze melted away. She punched Rose.

The light around Rose's body dimmed.

"Get up!" Hermione sobbed. "Get up! I hate you!"

Colour returned to Rose's skin for a few seconds, then faded away. The black aura from veil of death disappeared. One by one, each aura faded away.

"Please. Please, just get up. Tell me it was some sick joke. Or that it was all Slytherin's fault! I don't care. Please, Rose, get up!"

The bright violet aura of mind blank flickered and went out, followed by the indigo auras of stormrage and undermaster. The white aura of greater dimension jumper went next, then the green aura of speak with anything.

"I didn't mean it," Hermione said, wiping her eyes. "I didn't mean it. Of course I forgive you, just get up."

Hermione slid her arms under Rose as the indigo aura of shapechange, the last light to go out, faded to nothing. She wiped tears from her eyes and looked upon Rose's true form for the first time.

Part of Hermione had always suspected Rose looked completely different to the way she'd always been, but she didn't. Her hair was still crimson, her eyes still green. Rose still looked like Hermione's best friend.

"I loved you, Rose. I loved you so much. It didn't have to be this way."

Rose's body was cold, and her magic dark. Even her equipment had faded. There was just one light left on her body.

Hermione gingerly laid Rose down, then unfastened Reflectesalon and cradled him in her hands.

"Fading."

Hermione drew a sharp breath and stared at Reflectesalon.

"You can talk?"

"Rose preferred I didn't… not much time… I'm dying with her… the others are all gone."

Hermione had a flash of Inar, Intelligencer, and Obtenebar. Rose's faithful homunculi, now truly turned to clay.

"She wants you… ask the duck."

"What? I don't understand. Ref, please don't go! Please!"

"Goodbye."

Hermione tightened her grip on him, careful not to break him.

"Please, no!"

The last words Reflectesalon spoke were in Rose's voice.

"Goodbye, Brain."

The light around Reflectesalon went out, leaving Hermione alone among the ruin of the Great Hall.