Rose the Death Eater

Rose had been thinking a lot lately. It wasn’t like she had anything to occupy her mind while cleaning up Number Twelve Grimmauld Place by herself with only an insane house elf helping her. She didn’t really have anyone in the house to speak with either after she was finished cleaning. The Weasleys all flocked around Harry, who was usually in the presence of Sirius.

Sirius. The man who was her parents’ best friend and who adored her brother hated her. He hated her because she was sorted by a talking hat into one of the four Houses at Hogwarts when she was eleven years old. Sirius hated about a fourth of the population in the United Kingdom, but somehow she’s the one in the wrong. Her own godfather hated her. Yes, apparently he was her godfather; Rose only discovered this fact when she overheard Lupin trying to convince Sirius to talk to her. According to them, Lupin was supposed to be her godfather but was unable to be present at her birth since he was running with the werewolves then. Thankfully, Pettigrew also wasn’t present at her birth, so Sirius was named her godfather. Yay her!

Rose decided it was probably a good thing that practically no one in the house was befriending her since she would have to pretend to hate them when she returned to school. While thinking about her position at school as she watched the Order members leave after another meeting, Rose had an epiphany: she would be like her Head of House and become a spy. Logically, what other option was there? The Slytherins who supported the Dark Lord would expect her to eventually become a Death Eater. If she refused, nobody would help her since the opposition believed Slytherins were evil. Therefore, the most logical option would be to become a spy.

During the next Order meeting, Rose waited in the hallway, knowing that Snape would be one of the first people to leave Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. As soon as Snape flew out of the kitchen, Rose stopped him and asked politely, “Professor Snape? May I please have a word with you, privately?”

Rose heard Sirius say in the kitchen, “Told you she was slimy, consorting with the Head Slimeball himself.”

Snape and Rose both pursed their lips at Sirius’s declaration, though Snape’s was less noticeable. Snape opened up a door off the hallway, and Rose followed him inside it without a pause.

“You know, I liked him better when I thought he was a murderer after my brother,” Rose commented under her breath as she closed the door.

“Indeed,” Snape drawled. “Muffliato.” Snape cast a spell that Rose had never heard of before.

“Excuse me, sir, but what was the spell you just used? I’ve never heard of it before.”

Snape looked at her like he was deciding whether to answer her or insult her. Finally, he said, “I used Muffliato, which is a spell that fills the ears of anyone nearby with an unidentifiable buzzing, allowing you to talk freely without being overheard.” Snape gave a pause before saying, “I invented it. Now what did you want?”

“For one, I wanted to have an intelligent conversation with someone, but I wouldn’t waste your time if that was the only reason. The real reason I wanted to talk with you is that I decided to go undercover and become a spy like you are.”

“No.”

“It’s the only possible option. I can’t declare that I am on my brother’s side because the Slytherins who support the Dark Lord would torture, kill, or use me while those opposed to the Dark Lord wouldn’t help me because I’m a Slytherin. I can’t stay neutral because eventually I would be made to choose a side and the aforementioned would happen. I can’t just pretend to sympathize with the Dark Lord because of my position as his sister. I would eventually be forced to actively support the Dark Lord or the aforementioned would happen. Therefore, if I ‘join’ the Dark Lord’s supporters now, I can gain information and maybe survive this war instead of being useless.”

“You don’t understand,” Snape said desperately. “Being a spy kills you. If one side doesn’t kill you, you do things – make choices – that make you want to kill yourself. You won’t survive this war whole if you do this.”

“I don’t really have many choices,” Rose said solemnly. “I’m the Slytherin sister of the Boy-Who-Lived. There’s only one logical choice. I’m going to do this, but I’m not doing this alone. I’m going to tell Moody, Luna, Astoria, and my friend Adalrik. I can pass information to Luna and Moody. My friend Adalrik works in Gringotts so I might get some information from him and use him to pass information along in an inconspicuous manner. And Astoria will help keep me sane. But I’ll need your help if I’m actually going to survive this.” Rose looked pleadingly at Snape.

Snape’s facial expression didn’t change for a minute. Finally, he sighed and said, “I’ll help you, but you must do everything I say. That’s my condition.”

Rose felt a sense of relief knowing that Snape was going to help her.

Snape continued speaking, “The first thing you must do is to learn Occlumency. Occlumency is the magical defense of the mind against external penetration.”

“I know what that is,” Rose said. “I’ve started shielding my mind already.”

“And how did you figure out how to do that?” Snape raised a disapproving eyebrow.

“In a book,” Rose said innocently and evasively.

Snape pushed, “There are no books like that in the Hogwarts library, at least not where you are permitted.”

Rose yielded and finally elaborated, “I got the book from the Black library.” At Snape’s glare, Rose quickly defended, “But Kreacher vetted it, and I did my own research on the topic before starting.”

“What have you done so far?”

“I’ve simply began practicing clearing my mind from thoughts and emotions to make a simple shield to my mind.”

“Let me see.”

That was all the warning that Rose got before Snape lifted her head to meet her eyes and invade her mind. Rose reflectively cleared her mind before Snape used Legilimency, but her shield didn’t last long against Snape’s attack.

A memory emerged filled with betrayal and loneliness. It was of a young Rose frozen in hurt and shock listening as a young Harry told her, “You’re a Slytherin now, and Slytherins are evil. That must mean that you’re going to be evil, if you’re not already. I can’t trust you anymore.”

Rose cleared her mind of that memory. She was done with caring about what Harry, or anyone else for that matter, thought about her being in Slytherin.

Snape pushed deeper. Another memory emerged; this one filled with anger and hatred. It was of a twelve-year-old Rose with a murderous gleam in her eyes swearing vengeance, “Black will eventually be caught, most likely here, when he goes after my brother. People care too much about Potter to allow Black to kill him, so Black will be caught. Before he can be Kissed, I’ll torture him until the Dementor’s Kiss will be a kindness.”

Rose cleared her mind of that memory. That plan had failed, and she had been targeting the wrong person. Now instead of feeling murderous hatred for Sirius, she simply wanted to never have to interact with him.

When Snape pushed even deeper, a memory emerged of which Rose never wanted to think about ever again. As she watched her Uncle Vernon storm toward her twelve-year-old self, Rose frantically tried to push Snape out of her head. “Your freakish brother just blew up my sister,” Uncle Vernon spat. “You are going to pay for that.” Rose tried and tried to push that memory away. She helplessly watched as her uncle brought his hand up….

And then Snape and Rose were out of her mind. Rose looked up from where she was curled up with her arms covering her head. Snape was looking down at her horrified.

Rose quickly stood up, brushed herself off, and without looking Snape in the eyes joked, “I told you I liked Black better when I thought he was a murderer after my brother. Now I have no excuse to kill him.”

“You are never going back there,” Snape declared.

“What?”

“You are never going back to your relatives’ house.” Snape sneered the word ‘relatives’. “I won’t allow you.”

“Okay,” said Rose confused by Snape’s passionate declarations.

“I mean it. If you can’t stay with Greengrass or Lovegood during the summer, you will stay with me because you are never going to return there. Understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good.” There was an awkward silence until Snape continued speaking, “You did form a shield, though, no matter how pitiful it was. Continue practicing. We will meet in a week in order to train you more in Occlumency and to discuss the details of your plans for the future.”

Snape dispelled the Muffliato charm before swooping out of the room.

During the next Order meeting, Rose sat in a room off of the main hallway on the first floor holding a sign facing the wall in the direction of the kitchen. The sign read: “I would like to have a private conversation with you after the meeting.”

Just as Rose had hoped, after the meeting had ended, Moody strode into the room, locking the door behind him and casting some spells at the door. Moody then turned to Rose and gruffly asked, “What do you want?”

Rose nervously replied, “You know how you told me that you don’t want me to become your enemy or break any big laws? Well, this is neither of those things, but it’s similar in a way.”

“Stop dilly-dallying, and spit out what you’re trying to say,” Moody demanded. “I have places to be tonight.”

Rose inhaled a deep breath before answering, “I’m going to become a spy for the Order and try to get close to the Death Eaters and ‘join’ the supporters of You-Know-Who.”

When Moody made no verbal response and continued to stare at her with both of his eyes, Rose elaborated, “I don’t really have any other options if I’m going to survive this war, and you know us Slytherins like to survive. I can’t openly support my brother because the Slytherins who support You-Know-Who would torture, kill, or try to use me, and no one would try to save me because I’m a ‘slimy Slytherin,’” Rose sneered mimicking Sirius’s voice. “I can’t stay neutral or just pretend to support You-Know-Who because I would eventually be forced to actively support You-Know-Who or be tortured or killed because I’m the sister of the Boy-Who-Lived. Thus, if I ‘join’ the supporters of You-Know-Who now, I can hopefully gain useful information to pass onto you and maybe survive this war.”

“Why tell all this to me and not someone else?” Moody asked.

“I already told Snape about my plans,” Rose admitted.

Moody snorted dismissively at the mention of Snape.

Rose continued, “But I wanted to tell someone trustworthy my plans so that my information actually gets used by the Order and not get dismissed because who could ever trust a ‘slimy Slytherin,’” Rose again sneered mimicking Sirius’s voice.

Rose took another deep breath and concluded, “I trust that you are truly against You-Know-Who, and you are one of the only people who approve of me because I’m me, the cautious, sneaky Slytherin who wants to do good,” Rose admitted quietly.

There was a long silence where Moody stared at Rose in deep thought. Finally, Moody said, “We’ll start training Thursday, and we’ll train every Thursday until you return to Hogwarts. After that, we’ll adjust your training so that it stays undetected.”

“Sir?” Rose asked, confused.

“I don’t want one of the most promising Auror candidates this decade to die because of a stupid mistake,” Moody gruffly stated. “I’m going to try to make sure you live long enough so that you have the chance to join the Aurors after this war. Is Snape going to teach you Occlumency and his other spy tricks?”

“Yes, I’m beginning to learn Occlumency.”

“Good. Have you thought about how we are going to communicate when you aren’t in this house?”

“I have invented a spell that only permits one chosen person to open the envelope on which the spell has been casted. Therefore, only the intended person can open the envelope and read the letter. I know that it’s not a foolproof protection and that sending letters has tons of security risks, but that’s what I’ve come up with so far. I’m planning on sending letters in envelopes to you in envelopes addressed to my friend who works at Gringotts, if he agrees. Therefore, people won’t know that I’m sending letters to you.”

“Can your friend at Gringotts be trusted?”

“I believe so. He is a good person with no known ties to You-Know-Who. He’s also friends with Bill Weasley, who can vouch for him, too.”

“I’ll look into him,” Moody promised, with his eyes swirling around ominously.

“Thank you,” Rose said gratefully.

“If that’s all, I’ll see you Thursday in one of the rooms on the fourth floor.”

Rose thanked him again, and Moody simply nodded at her before undoing all the spells on the door and leaving.

After talking with Moody, Rose wrote letters to Luna and Adalrik, explaining her situation.

Dear Luna,

I’m sorry that you didn’t manage to find any Crumple-Horned Snorkacks on your trip, but there’s always next summer, right? I can’t wait to read the published articles about Stubby Boardman a.k.a. Sirius Black and Minister Cornelius “Goblin-Crusher” Fudge.

I wish I could say that I can’t wait to see you and sit with you on the train, but I can’t publicly interact with you this year. I’m going deep undercover to spy on the Death Eaters and their supporters, so I’m going to have to pretend to hate you at Hogwarts. I don’t really want to be a spy, but as the Slytherin sister of The-Boy-Who-Lived, I don’t have any other options. Since I have to act pro-Moldyshorts around the rest of Slytherin and Hogwarts, I might as well pass information about the actions of Death Eaters to people on the Light Side such as yourself. I just wish I didn’t have to distance you.

I have worked on (and hopefully succeeded at) creating a charm so that the envelope of this letter only permits one person (you) to open it. The incantation you cast on the envelope after sealing the letter inside of it is “Privatis Litteris ad (name of whomever you are sending the letter to)” so if you are sending a letter to me, the incantation would be “Privatis Litteris ad Rose Potter.” The usual risks of sending letters will still apply though, so we should send letters to each other only if there’s no better way of communicating. The safest way to send letters is probably through Adalrik. I’m also sending him a letter explaining all this.

This year is going to be rough: Moldyshorts is back; Fudge is an idiot; my godfather hates me; my brother’s anger issues are increasing; I have to convince everyone that I’m pro-Moldyshorts and a mini-Death Eater; and worst of all, I can’t spend time with my first and best friend, you.

I’m sorry that we can’t sit together on the train, discussing your trip and solving the Quibbler puzzles. Please forgive me for anything I will say or do in the future.

Your friend,

Rose

Dear Adalrik,

I had a lot of fun visiting you. It was honestly the best part of my summer. Unfortunately, soon I’m going to go back to Hogwarts where I’m going to be living in close quarters with supporters of You-Know-Who, and I’m going to have to act like I also support You-Know-Who around the rest of my House and Hogwarts. Since I have to act this way, I decided that I might as well pass information about the actions of Death Eaters to people on the Light Side.

Gosh, all of this is beginning to sound like Star Wars: the Light Side vs. the Dark Side. If life is now Star Wars, then I guess I’m going to be Galen Erso, the scientist critical in the development of the Death Star: “So I did the one thing nobody expected: I lied; I learned to lie…. I made myself indispensable and all the while I laid the groundwork of my revenge." I’m going to try to avoid building a Death Star, but if there’s no way to avoid it, then I’m going to sabotage it.

Could you act as an intermediary between Luna, Mad-Eye Moody, and me? It shouldn’t be suspicious for us to send mail to a Gringotts worker who has no visible ties to the Light Side. This summer, I’ve created a charm so that the envelope of this letter only permits one person to open it. The incantation you cast on the envelope after sealing the letter inside of it is “Privatis Litteris ad (name of whomever you are sending the letter to)” so if you are sending a letter to me, the incantation would be “Privatis Litteris ad Rose Potter.” I would be happy to hear any suggestions either of improving the security of sending letters or of alternative ways of communicating sensitive information. Since I’m going deep undercover as a spy, the only people you can discuss my position as a spy with are Luna and Mad-Eye Moody. You cannot tell any of this to Bill Weasley. I’m trusting you with my life, so please don’t let me down.

If you don’t want any part of this war, I understand completely. After all, we have only known each other for less than a year. If that’s the case, I will cease communication between us, and I was glad to be your friend even though it wasn’t for a long time.

Rebel spy,

Rose

Rose cast her privacy spell on the envelopes to her friends. Immediately after giving Ginny the letters to give to Bill to send, Rose retreated into an unused room to continue to practice Occlumency.