Rosalyn got down off the platform when Harry, Ron and Hermione had stopped being weird, which only took a few seconds because of their deep trust for each other.

Even if they had that, they still walked to the common room in silence, until Rosalyn burst through the door and all the questions came out.

"You're a parselmouth, Rosie? I grew up with you! Why didn't you tell us?"

"I'm a- I just spoke-"

"You can talk to snakes?" Hermione asked.

"I- I didn't know- but I bet loads of people here can do it."

"No, they can't," Hermione cut to the point. "It's not a very common gift, Rosalyn, this is bad."

Rosalyn frowned. "What's bad? If I hadn't told that snake not to attack Justin-"

"So that's what you said to it!" Harry burst out.

Rosalyn looked at her brother in shock as her best friend spoke. "Rosie, it sounded like you were egging the snake on. Listen to me, there's a reason the symbol of Slytherin House is a serpent. Salazar Slytherin was a parselmouth, he could talk to snakes too."

"Exactly, now the whole school's gonna think you're his great great great great granddaughter or something," Ron put in.

"But I'm not!" Rosalyn burst out. "And even if I was, Harry would be his great great ect. grandson as well!"

Harry heaved a heavy sigh and said quietly. "We can't be."

"He lived a thousand years ago," Hermione said weakly. "For all we know, you could be."

☆☆☆

The next day, the second and first years were doing work in a room across from the great hall. Rosalyn looked round at Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones and Ernie MacMillan but they quickly looked back at their work, avoiding eye contact.

She sighed and looked for some support in Harry, Ron and Hermione, she got weak smiles in return. Rosalyn, testing her theory, looked at a group of first years, who swiftly did the same thing.

Rosalyn was close to crying when she decided to pack up her books. "I'll see you in the common room," she said to her friends, and then she left.

She got many more looks from the people who had wanted to look away when she walked out, and said loudly, losing her temper. "Yeah I'm just going to nip off to petrify another student, see you back at the common room!"

Anger pulsing through her veins, she walked away from the whispers and the rumours, she just wanted everything to go back to normal.

Come to me... Let me rip you... KILL you...

She stopped as she heard the savage whispers and closed her eyes. She sighed, wanting to hear it again but it didn't come.

Rosalyn sighed a long hard sigh and walked, unthinking, down a corridor, never knowing that she was about to be found at yet another crime scene.

Her eyes were wide and her mouth was open as she saw something she had never seen before.

Nearly-Headless Nick was frozen, slightly levitated, with his nearly cut neck open, his face was blank, and Rosalyn knew he would be pale if he wasn't already see through.

And then, worse still, on the ground, one arm extended, was Justin Finch-Fletchly. He was pale, with an expression of knowing on his face, Rosalyn knew he was expecting this. But that just made her angry. Because he was expecting her to petrify him. She knelt down beside him and touched his extended hand.

"Caught in the act."

Rosalyn jumped round. Filch was standing at the end of the corridor. "I'll have you out this time Potter! Mark my words..."

"No- Mr Filch-" Rosalyn struggled. "Y- You don't understand!"

She got up, and was about to run after him and call him back when she saw another strange thing that she'd seen before. Spiders were racing in a line out the window. Why were they doing that?

She heard Filch- come back and turned round, McGonagall was standing there with him. Great. Her head of house rushed forward and gasped.

"Professor-" Rosalyn started. "I swear I didn't-"

"This is out of my hands, Potter," Said McGonagall, shaking her head.

Rosalyn was led up stairs and down corridors until they reached a massive golden Griffin. She stepped into it, guided by McGonagall, and the older witch said, with her hands up, "sherbert lemon," the Griffin began to turn, revealing a staircase as it went higher, Rosalyn stepped onto it and rose up, getting what she swore was a reassuring smile in the last second she saw McGonagall.

The staircase stopped when it reached the height of a narrow, short corridor. She walked along it and came to a door. She opened it without hesitation.

She had expected Dumbledore to be inside, but he wasn't, and she couldn't resist looking around.

There were portraits galore and most of them were sleeping, there was many instruments and equipment on stools and tables around the room, and there was a bookcase that was filled with thick, leather bound book.

But most of all, there was the sorting hat, sitting on a shelf. Rosalyn knew this was her chance, she wanted to ask it a question that she'd thought about alot these past few days, one that she had talked to nobody about.

"Bee in your bonnet, Potter?" It asked.

"I- I," Rosalyn swallowed. "I was just wondering whether you put me in the right house?"

"Yes," The Sorting Hat said, remembering. "You were particularly hard to place. But I stand by what I said last year, you would've done well in Slytherin."

"You're wrong," Rosalyn didn't believe what she was doing, contradicting the hat, but she was. However, if only raised a fabric eyebrow, and she turned round to avoid any more conversation.

She soon found another thing to look at, though, as she saw an amazing bird, sitting on a perch. It was blood red, with a few bits of yellow here and there, and it was beautiful. Rosalyn didn't recognise it, but she was interested, so she went to have a good look.

But she didn't get a good look at all, she got a face full of flames. The bird was gone, into a pile of... ashes at the bottom of the perch.

"Rosalyn?"

Albus Dumbledore was at the top of the stairs in his office, he walked down them, talking lightly as he did. "It's a phoenix, Rosalyn," that name stirred something in her brain. "They burst into flames when it is time for them to die, then they are... reborn from the ashes."

Sure enough, a little baby bird, not red this time, but black, popped its head out of the ash pile. Dumbledore loved it.

"Ahhh, fascinating creatures, phoenixes, they can carry immensely heavy loads and, their tears have healing powers."

Rosalyn wanted to ask him more, but Hagrid came in at that exact moment and started yelling.

"Professor Dumbledore! It wasn't Rosalyn, Sir, in fact, I'd be prepared to swear it infront of the Ministry of Magic!"

"Hagrid!" Dumbledore raised his voice. "I do not believe that Rosalyn attacked those people. But why are you here? If it is a matter I can settle we may as well do it now."

"Oh," said Hagrid, face turning red. "Oh, well, a rooster o' mine was killed this mornin' jus' thought you ought to know..."

"It's fine, Hagrid, you can wait outside if you wish to discuss it more. I would kindly just like to have a talk with Rosalyn."

He left and once again, Rosalyn was alone with Dumbledore.

"You don't believe I petrified those people?"

"No, Rosalyn, I don't, but I want to ask you something," Dumbledore looked her in the eye. "Is there anything you wish to tell me?"

Yes, Rosalyn thought desperately, yes, there is. The signs in blood on the walls... the voice... the duelling club... the snake... how she was most likely related to Salazar Slytherin and was his heir. How the whole school believed that, how they all thought that she was a delusional murderer...

But she just shook her head.

"No, Professor, nothing at all."