Aunt Rose

45.

It's only a month into the school year that Rose receives a letter from Harry informing her that something strange has happened and if she gets a letter from a teacher he didn't do anything.

He says that someone petrified Mrs. Norris, he found her strung up in the hallway one evening. Dumbledore told them to be careful but Mr. Filch blamed Harry because he was the one to find her.

There apparently was a threatening message on the wall, mentioning a chamber of some sort. But Harry tells Rose not to worry, that they're all fine. He'll tell her if something else happens.

Of course, leave it to Dumbledore not to tell parents when their children are in danger at school. Petrification is serious.

This worries Rose but she knows marching up to the school will embarrass Harry beyond belief. He is already teased for being the chosen one, he doesn't need his aunt making a scene for no reason.

So Rose waits.

She does what she thinks other people do at her age and brews potions out of pure boredom, deciding to get Moony's next batch of Wolfsbane ready. Of course, she'll need to go to Diagon Alley and decide on a new owl. Apollo deserves to rest in his old age and Hedwig is Harry's school owl.

It's that same trip for a new companion that the letter comes from the school.

Rose takes her time in the pet store for once, browsing each owl available for purchase. She wants to feel a connection like she has with Apollo. Maybe having a new friend will soften the blow when it's his time.

Eventually, Rose finds a female long-eared owl in a cage. It seems to follow her as she walks around the store and upon taking it out of its cage, it's settled on her arm.

The owner bustles over to tell Rose the owl's name is Winnie, she's been there for a few weeks since the children went back to school.

A few minutes of feeling each other out later, Rose confirms this is the owl she wants to take home.

After payment, Rose hooks Winnie to her broom and rides back to their cottage in the country, ignoring the letter on the table at first.

She lets Apollo and Winnie meet and check each other out before they decide they're cool and can safely get along.

It's then that Rose finally notices the letter on her table, it's from the school. She expects it to be from Harry but opens the letter to find Minnie's signature at the bottom.

Now worried, Rose reads the parchment to find out that Harry was involved in an "accident" in his quidditch game.

Of course, Minnie makes sure to mention that Harry did catch the snitch in their game but a problem with one of the bludgers caused it to hit Harry too hard and break his arm.

A little miscommunication with Gilderoy Lockhart caused him to attempt a spell to fix Harry's arm and in the process vanished all of the bones instead.

Minnie tells Rose not to worry, as Poppy is on the case and has already administered the proper potions and spells to help regrow Harry's bones. They've also had a chat with Lockhart about attempting spells that are not in his job description.