The Potioneer | Fred Weasley

Chapter Twenty-Four | The Clues Begin

Leah slowly made her way through the halls now that classes had begun again. She was exhausted, not too excited to begin certain subjects, but nonetheless, she was here.

She was walking towards Snape's office when an emblem formed on the wall next to her. She stopped in her tracks and turned.

An eagle had formed surrounded by what Leah assumed could be roses. She reached out slowly to touch it, but just before her fingertips could reach the wall, it dissolved back into the brick.

Leah's eyes widened in confusion. That had never happened before in her last four years of school here.

Maybe it wasn't meant for her to see. Maybe this was some kind of stupid joke by Fred and George.

She turned around to see nobody in the hallway around her. No red hair, no mischievous whispers, no stupid grins.

It was just Leah.

She shook her head and continued along to Snape's classroom.

"Is something the matter, Leahanna?" Severus asked, clearly picking up on her distress.

She set down her quill and placed her hands on the desk.

"A strange eagle emblem with roses formed out of the wall on my way here. I can't figure out what it means or why it was there." she said.

Severus' eyes widened greatly, but he quickly turned around so she wouldn't notice.

"That's odd." he said.

"Yeah, I dunno. It's probably just Fred and George playing a joke on me. I'm not going to think too much of it." she said.

Severus was thankful that she was deciding to play it off. This was a lot deeper than she probably understood right now.

She was an intelligent girl, she would most likely put the pieces together soon enough.

And he wasn't ready for her to do so.

Albus Dumbledore say at his desk when rather angry footsteps walked through his door.

"Now, Albus? You're going to tell her now?" a man angrily exclaimed.

"Severus, it's time. You know how miserable a life that girl has had. She's old enough to understand just how much power she truly holds." he said.

Severus sighed and turned away. He stared upon the paintings on the wall.

The previous headmasters, famous witches and wizards, and the founders of Hogwarts all looked down at him.

"What will you tell her? What will she and will she not know?" he asked.

"Your secret is safe with me. I can't tell her that much as it is not my right." he said.

Severus took a deep breath, feeling slightly relieved.

"Thank you. However, even telling her about the Rising will change everything. You could ruin this girl's life." he said.

Dumbledore chuckled and crossed his arms.

"She is the smartest student at this school, she will know how to handle it."

Leah, Fred, and George all sat in front of the fire. They were playing a basic card game, but the twins could tell that Leah seemed incredibly out of her element.

"What's wrong? You seem sad." Fred asked.

"Yeah, say you need a laugh and we've got one coming right up!" George said.

Leah shook her head.

"No, I'm just tired. I think I'll go to bed. Goodnight."

Fred was panicked. Usually, she gave him a little arm squeeze, a hug, or even a kiss on the cheek before going to sleep.

This was just strange, something was very seriously wrong with Leah.

"Rowan. My sweet baby, Rowan. I'm sorry that this has to happen to you."

A strange voice called out as Leah tossed and turned in her sleep.

"Rowan, my child."

That was Severus. Leah could tell that was Severus' voice. Who was Rowan? Who was the woman who talked first?

"How could you be the chosen one for the Rising? This is a damn curse!"

The woman shouted in pain.

"Forgive me, Rowan."

Severus' voice called out loudly. Leah gasped and jolted awake, now in a seated position. She had broken out in a cold sweat and could hardly catch her breath.

She looked around her room to see her friends sound asleep. Luckily her distress hadn't woken them up.

But Leah had questions. What was happening to her? Who the hell was Rowan? Was that some kind of dream or was she seeing someone else's memories? Hearing them perhaps?

Leah didn't sleep the rest of the night. She found herself reading and desperately trying to forget what she had heard.

Her attempt to relax proved worthless.

Leah sat at the counter, waiting for her potion to finish marinating. Severus was walking around behind her, cleaning up and putting away ingredients.

"Leahanna?" he called.

"Yes?" she replied without turning.

"You seem distressed." he said.

A moment of silence swallowed the room, leaving Severus slightly nervous.

"Who... Who's Rowan?" she asked.

Severus froze. His face fell instantaneously and he could feel his hands begin to shake.

"I dunno. I've never known a Rowan." he said shakily.

"Oh, okay. Maybe I'm going mad." she said.

Severus moved away from her, making sure that she couldn't see his face one bit.

"Why are you asking about this Rowan character?" he asked.

"I don't even know." she said.

Once she was finished, Leah left his space without saying much else.

Severus hurried over to the fireplace in his office and quickly threw some floo powder into the pit.

"What is it, Sev?" said a voice from the other end.

The eyes of the woman on the other end seemed to burn into his soul. He took a deep breath and looked at her, seemingly dead in the eyes.

"Rowan."