Who: Rose Campbell What: Rose and Snape having a heart to heart. In their own way. When: Thursday night, 9/2/10 Where: Rose and Otto's apartment Warnings: Slytherin-sized angst and cursing?
When Rose had seen that Remus woman's post yesterday about Hogwarts, her heart had immediately sank and since then she'd spent most of her time worrying. The news that there was a Hogwarts was happy news to most, but not to her. To her it signified just one more thing for her sister to struggle with, and Rose couldn't help fearing prematurely that this would be too much for Sofia. Since the moment Rose had learned that her sister was sharing a brain with Voldemort, she and Severus had been preparing for the worst. She'd spent night after night training with her head mate, it didn't matter that she'd been learning and using magic for five years, when it came to Voldemort they were taking no chances. If it came to it, she wanted to save Sofia, but she didn't want to die trying. She didn't want to leave Otto.
On top of that, she and Otto had made plans to go to Hogwarts the next day and Rose was a bundle of nerves. It wasn't just the situation with Sofia. From the moment Severus Snape had entered into her brain, the young girl had been plagued daily by his inner demons. His troubles were hers and hers were his. That was how this reincarnation thing seemed to work anyway, at least for them. She didn't know what to expect and that scared her. It didn't matter that in the end, most of Snape's actions were justified by the means, the fact was he'd made himself a lepor and Rose wore it on her face, in her answer to everything.
When she walked through the castle doors she'd get the same looks she'd gotten in Diagon Alley. Severus Snape, the man who'd killed Dumbledore and signed Lily Potter's death warrant. The fact that she was walking around with Ron Weasley made it even worse, because people looked at him with disgust. As if they were saying 'how can you associate yourself with that' or 'you could do better'. There was only one person in the world who ever saw her cry and it was Otto, and he'd seen her cry more times in the last five years then she could count.
It could be worse, you know.
Rose's eyes snapped open where she was laying on her bed, half drunk from the night out and waiting for Otto to come home. Her wand was at the moment gripped tightly in her right hand and there was a moment of confusion, even if Rose knew that it had become a habit of hers to keep her wand with her at all times, even when she was sleeping. How pathetic was it to be afraid of your own sister? Your own flesh and blood. When she spoke her voice was filled to the brim with bitterness.
"How the fuck could it be worse? My only sister is slowly going crazy. And no one knows. Not even Otto knows the whole truth. One day Voldemort's going to make her snap and it'll be my fault."
You need to tell him.
"... I can't. I can't betray her like that. I love her. She's my sister. She and Otto are the only family I have."
And you'd never forgive yourself if something happened to him, now would you.
Rose didn't need to answer that, they both knew how she felt. Even if Severus never said it, Rose was convinced that the only reason he'd allowed her to do what she'd been doing with Otto all these years is that for unfathomable reasons to everyone else, Otto made her happy. And Severus Snape had spent his life loving unrequitedly. Every good he'd done, every sin he'd committed had been for her. Rose knew without a doubt that she'd kill for Otto, but she still didn't know if that applied to her sister.
The Campbell sisters had always been close despite everything. They had their own lives, but they'd always been connected. The attachment Rose felt for Sofia was what any sister should feel, but times ten. Growing up without parents hadn't been easy but they'd made the best of things, they'd seen each other through everything and Rose would do anything for Sofia. She knew her like she knew herself, they were a part of each other.
She believed without a doubt that they were connected in a physical way. When something was wrong with her sister, Rose knew. And lately? Rose had a consistent feeling in the pit of her stomach that she knew wasn't just a symptom of paranoia. Sofia was slipping. As much as she still tried to pretend like everything was okay, it wasn't. And yet Rose still couldn't force herself to act, even to tell Otto or confront her sister about it. She couldn't do it, she couldn't live without either of them and just the thought made her panic. She'd only be half of a whole. How could she choose?
You need to prepare yourself, Ms. Campbell. You need to do more then you are doing.
"Leave me alone. We've prepared enough. Nothing has even happened yet, maybe nothing will happen-"
Say what you need to say to make yourself feel better but know this. Your sister is no match for Him. The Dark Lord will rise again.
Snape's words sent a violent shiver through her body and Rose shot up out of bed, teetering a little on her feet as she immediately felt dizzy but she managed to keep her ground. They'd had this conversation a million times before and she still couldn't accept it. There had to be another way. Maybe Sofia was strong enough to fight him, maybe she wouldn't have to worry about Sofia losing ground to the psychopath in her head forever. Maybe Rose could save her sister before it was too late.
Hand clenched around her wand, Rose began a sort of drunken pace and she kept shaking her head. "No. No, no, no. It's not going to be like last time, it's not going to be-" the rest of her words were cut off as she'd raised her wand and a spell only verbalized in her mind shot out through the end of her wand and reduced her bedroom door to splinters.