La Vie en Rose

Summary: The best thing about being seen as nothing more than pitiful, traumatized children is that no one would believe it possible for any of them to conspire with the Fae to kidnap the Girl-Who-Lived. FemHarry.

Just a warning: FemHarry, AU, Language, Clichés, Non-Cannon Character Death, More in the Future…

Just so you know (Name): FemHarry's name is Andromeda Rhoswen Potter. The name Andromeda means "Ruler/Protector of Men" and was the name of an Ethiopian princess whose mother angered the gods. To placate the gods, Andromeda was fastened to a rock to be used as a sacrifice to a sea monster, from which she was rescued by Perseus. In astronomy, Andromeda is a large northern constellation between Perseus and Pegasus as well a galaxy located two inmillion light years away. Rhoswen is a Welsh name meaning "White Rose" as well as "Fair/Blessed Rose".

I don't own anything related to Twisted Wonderland or Harry Potter!

Chapter 11. Basil for "Hatred"

RON

Ron walked in silence as he made his way into the outskirts of Hogsmeade. Behind him, he could hear Padma Patil and Neville whispering between themselves but wasn't all that interested in knowing what they talking about.

He stopped before a familiar inn, glancing at its battered wooden sign hanging from a rusty bracket over the door. There was a picture upon it of a wild boar's severed head leaking blood onto the white cloth around it. It was a rather disgusting or unsettling sight for many but Ron immediately relaxed.

Padma and Neville stopped talking as he opened the door, following him inside the small, dingy, and very dirty room that smelled strongly of goats and alcohol. Little had changed after the last time he had stepped inside the Hog's Head, Ron thought, the only new addition were the several pictures framed on a surprisingly clean stone wall (Pictures, he knew, that had been taken by Collin before his death).

Ron scanned the bar, noticing the lack of patrons.

"Business isn't back to normal yet?" he asked the barman standing behind the counter.

The tall, grumpy old man with a great deal of long gray hair and beard glanced in his direction with pale blue eyes. "Nothing is back to normal yet, Ronald."

"Hullo, Abe," Neville waved his hand, approaching the counter.

Aberforth Dumbledore grumbled, giving the blond-haired Gryffindor a respectful nod. "Neville."

Ron huffed, feeling a little amused when he saw the old wizard move to get Neville a clean bottle of butterbeer while him and Padma were handed two very, very dirty ones. The blatant display of favoritism didn't surprise him at all. Everyone in the D.A. knew that Andromeda and Neville were Abe's favorites, and Headmaster Dumbledore's younger brother had long since stopped trying to hide or deny that fact.

"What do you all want?" Abe asked, sounding as grumpy as ever.

Ron arched his eyebrows as he sat down. "We couldn't have just decided to visit?"

Abe snorted, giving him a look.

"Not without the little Queen with you, no."

Fair enough.

Only Andromeda had the habit of coming down to visit Abe for simple chitchat in a kind attempt of keeping the old man company. Ron and the others, on the other hand, tried to avoid the Hog's Head and its unsettling patrons as much as possible, preferring the Three Broomsticks.

"We came for the book," Padma finally decided to speak up, staring down at her butterbeer bottle with suspicion.

She didn't need to elaborate which book they needed — After the Headmaster's death, Andromeda had entrusted one single book to Abe's questionable care.

The grey-haired wizard paused, narrowing his eyes with a pinched look on his face.

Ron felt a shiver down his spine at the sight. He had never learned to deal with how similar and, at the same time, different the Dumbledore Brothers were. And the amount of calculation in Abe's eyes was more than a little disturbing when all the teen could see was a slightly younger and more somber version of his former Headmaster.

There was a moment of silence before Abe met his gaze.

"Where is she, boy?"

Ron glared, lips curling down.

"Away."

"Away?" Abe repeated, thinking about it. Then, he nodded. "Good."

"You don't seem surprised…" Neville said, knitting his eyebrows.

"I was starting to wonder when one of you would notice that our accursed community was killing her," the older man grumbled. "It was about time something was done about it."

Ron pursued his lips but didn't say anything.

"I'll get the book," Abe said, turning around to leave only to stop and aim an reproachful glare at Ron. "And you, boy, do not attack anyone in my bar."

Offended, the younger wizard raised his hands in surrender. "I'm not some kind of feral animal!"

Padma let out a disbelieving sound.

"May I remind you of our Fifth Year?" she asked in that detached, almost emotionless, way of hers.

"He was asking for it," Ron snarled out, hitting his fist against the table at the thought of the arrogant, lying little upstart Hufflepuff who dared to demand anything from his sister.

"I don't think she is talking about McMillan," Neville mumbled.

He could be wrong, but Neville was pretty sure that Padma was actually talking about the wizard Ron almost beat-up to death at the beginning of their Fifth Year. He couldn't remember what was said or done but one moment Ron was standing next to him and then, in a blink of the eye, he was bashing the drunk man's head against the stone floor.

"I said what I said," Ron narrowed his eyes at the blond-haired Gryffindor, baring his teeth in a bloodthirsty smile.

Padma sighed, shaking her head. "You're looking rather animalistic there, Ron."

He let out a growl just because he could.

Abe rolled his eyes, but the three of them could tell he was amused. The old wizard would've thrown a tantrum had they said it out loud, but there was no denying that he got the same glint in his eyes that his older brother used to have whenever the Headmaster found something particularly funny.

With a grunt and a wave of his hand, Abe left them to get the book upstairs. Ron leaned against the counter to wait, tapping his fingers with a hint of impatience while Padma and Neville resumed their conversation.

They stayed like this for close to twenty minutes before the door of the inn opened. Ron turned back to warn whoever it was that Abe would be back soon but he froze.

There was a moment of tense silence as he processed what — who — he was seeing. His nostrils flared and he growled for real as he stared at the dead man walking waltzing his way inside the Hog's Head as though there was nothing wrong with that.

"Fuck," Neville mumbled with urgency, reaching out for his fellow Gryffindor. Unfortunately, the blonde-haired wizard wasn't fast enough to stop Ron from jumping out of his seat. Ron hadn't even reaching out for his cane and, instead, accidentally kicked it away.

"Lupin!" the red-haired wizard roared.

Remus Lupin shifted in his weight from one foot to another. He looked decades older than he actually was, his clothes more dirty and ragged than it had been during his short stint as a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher all those years ago. There were dark bags under eyes and the scars on his face had never looked more prominent and twisted.

There was a group of people behind him. Ron was sure that he should've recognized some of them, that many of them were part of the Order of the Phoenix, but he paid them no mind.

Honestly, they were unimportant in his eyes, nothing more than annoying little insects crawling their way into places they weren't welcomed in.

"What're you doing here?" Ron snarled, feeling someone pull him back and hold the collar of his jacket as though that was enough to keep him from attacking Lupin.

Not that it was going to work. Ron was far too angry.

How dare he, he thought. How dare this coward show his face again even through Ron had made it clear he never wanted to see him anywhere near Britain or Scotland ever again.

Rage coursed through his veins, blood rushing to his head as he imagined the best ways to kill this man.

There was something akin to satisfaction at the thought of finally finishing what he started months ago after Lupin's treachery.

His mouth tasted like blood. He had chipped a tooth during a fight in his Sixth Year and, with his annoying childhood habit of biting his tongue whenever his anger and grief proved too much to be contained, he always managed to cut it at some point or another. Andromeda had tried to make him stop; keeping him distracted or giving him something to chew on.

But Andromeda wasn't here.

"Ron, please," the waste of magic pleaded, raising his hands in what he must've thought to be a placating manner.

Ron snarled, gritting his teeth when he looked into those sad amber eyes filled with self-loathing.

Killing him would be so very easy.

A cutting spell would do the trick and no one would be able to stop him. That was one of the spells he had mastered during the war. There was no need for words or wand's movements; he could do it with a simple wave of his hand.

But this man – this cowardly and disgusting thing – had no right for an easy death, just as he had no right to cry or drown in self pity.

"I won't repeat myself."

Lupin winced, stepping back. One of the faceless Order's members opened his mouth to speak but one warning look from Neville was enough to silence him. Ron didn't notice anything though, having never looked away from the failure of a man standing close to the doorway.

"Kingsley –"

The teen wanted to throw his head back and laugh. He should have known. Of course, Shacklebolt was involved.

First, it was his uninvited and unwanted visit, and now this. It made Ron wonder if the D.A. needed to rid themselves of the new Interim Minister, and if it would bring more problems to their doorstep.

He was sure that, whatever it was, they could surely deal with it.

"Don't even think about it, please," Neville mumbled from his right, gripping his jacket a little tighter. He didn't need to be a Legimens to guess what was going through Ron's head.

The red-head didn't say a word, considering his options. Murder or murder? Lupin or Shacklebolt?

"Andy will be disappointed."

Andy doesn't need to know anything, he thought with a snarl. Just as she didn't know that Lupin was still alive (In this, he knew, ignorance was truly a blessing. After all, it would shatter whatever was left of his sister's heart if she learned that the last connection to her parents had taken a page out of that rat's books).

"Ron, listen," Lupin's voice shook. Weak, he wanted to scream, "Kingsley told me he was worried about Andy. And I wanted to check on her… I heard about what happened during… during her last confrontation with…" he made a pause, chocking a little like the rest of the sheep did whenever one of them tried to say Riddle's ridiculous epitaph out loud, "…with V-Voldemort."

"Check on her?" the red-haired wizard sneered scornful. "You?"

Lupin had the audacity of looking hurt.

The teen tightened his grip around the handle of his cane, taking a deep breath and attempting to stay calm before he truly did kill the fool right there and then. He could feel stares at his back and tried think about what else he had to do that day. The supply list was done, but they needed more Potion ingredients and –

"Ron," Lupin started pleadingly. The failure of a werewolf needed to learn how to shut up. "Andy is the only family I have left, I just thought that maybe –"

Family.

Family?!

Ron felt something snap, having finally reached his limit.

Pushing Neville back with his elbow, he ignored the cries around him, ignored the wands being drawn, and launched himself forward, throwing his cane aside and flipping the older man to the ground. He warped his hands tightly around Remus's throat, straddling him so that his knees pinned the ash-haired wizard arms to the ground and kept him from reaching out to his own wand.

It hurt. His leg felt like it was burning, the muscles tearing under his skin, but he didn't move; he refused to move.

"You have no right to talk about family," Ron growled, baring his teeth at the coward staring at him with wide amber eyes and trying to claw his hands away.

"Ron, let him go," a faceless member of Dumbledore's former Order said.

Ron ignored him.

There was a crash. By the corner of his eyes, he saw the man sliding down the tree he collided into while Padma watched with a closed off expression on her pretty face, wand ready in case she needed to cast another curse while her dark brown eyes narrowed dangerously. The others wizards that had come with Lupin stepped back immediately, not wishing to suffer the same fate as their supposed friend.

So much for loyalty, Ron thought with dark humor, recalling something the Headmaster had once said about his little group.

"What do you even know about family, uh?" Ron asked with a large, degenerate grin. He dug his fingertips deeper into Lupin's neck, enjoying the panicked expression on his reddening face. "You abandoned everyone who ever loved you. You left Andromeda alone to be raised by those monsters. You left Sirius locked up in that house knowing it was killing him. You left Tonks and Teddy to die. You left my brother to die!"

With tears in his eyes, Lupin tried to shake his head. "N-No –"

"No?" Ron barked a laugh. "No?!"

"Ronald," It was Abe. "Let go."

The red-head didn't as much as blink.

"You never cared about family, Lupin" Ron smiled. "But I do. I love my family. And if I have to rip you apart one limb at time like Greyback did to Bill, just so you'll stay away from Andy, then I will."

There was a frustrated sigh, and then he felt all his muscles tense and freeze. Petrificus Totalum, Ron thought a second later, recognizing the effects of the curse.

He glanced to the side, glaring at Abe as much as he could in his current frozen state.

"Do not look at me like that, Ronald," the last living Dumbledore glared back at him, putting his wand away. "I warned you to not attack anyone in my bar!" He turned his glare towards Padma and Neville, barking out angrily, "You two! Get him away from the wolf! And you –" Abe pointed at the Order's members. "Last time I checked, your little group was banned from Hogsmead!"

"The Ministry –" one of the faceless Order members, a woman, started.

"We don't give a flying fuck about the Ministry in this village, girl!" Abe spat out while Neville and Padma pried Ron off Lupin. "Hogsmead is part of Hogwarts' territory, and if the Queen of that fucking castle says you are banned then you'll obey!"

The Or suffer the consequences was left unsaid but everyone heard it loud and clear. No one needed to wonder about what kind of consequences he was talking about – The memories of what the people of Hogsmead had done not even four months ago to the Death Eaters that had invaded their homes were still fresh on everyone's minds.

"I want all of you out of Hogsmead yesterday!" Abe ordered.

The faceless woman sputtered. "Y-You can't –"

"NOW!"

They didn't need to be told twice. Pale and looking more than a little panicked, the group grabbed a half-conscious Lupin and dragged him out of the bar. There was no doubt that they would be back later but, for now, what had just happened would more than likely scare them off for a while.

Abe followed the small group, standing by the doorway as he waited until they Apparated away before turning his attention back to Ron.

"Will you act like a civilized wizard if I free you?" he demanded.

In his frozen state, all Ron could do was let out a mix of raged and frustrated sounds.

Seriously? Civilized wizard? Did Abe even remember what a civilized wizard looked like after dealing with the more unsavory kind of wixen for all those years?

"That was what I thought," Abe said, arching his bushy eyebrows mockingly. "You can stay like that for a little longer then. It'll probably help you calm down."

The old wizard ignored the muffled screams he got at that, walking towards the counter and grabbing something.

"Here," Ron stopped struggling when he saw the familiar old tome Abe handed over to Neville. For only a moment, he allowed himself to forget Lupin and his rage was quickly replaced by glee. "I still can't believe the little Queen entrusted this to me."

"Who else would she trust?" Padma asked, blinking slowly.

Abe huffed, but the corner of his lips twitched up slightly.

"Well, you have your book," he said, turning around to grab a cleaning rag. "You can leave."

Neville and Padma nodded, respecting his wish for solitude. They reached out for Ron, their hands hovering over him when Abe raised his head and looked into the red-haired teen's eyes.

"I do hope you know," he grumbled, his pale-blue eyes serious, "that when you decide to join the little Queen, Hogsmead will follow."

Ron blinked, feeling the affects of the curse disappear. He cracked his neck, hissing in pain as Neville helped him stand up and Padma handed his cane back to him. Straightening his back, he turned looked at Abe, lips curling into knowing smirk.

"I know," Ron said, eyes glimmering with the sort of smugness that he felt whenever he won a extremely satisfying game of chess. "And you won't be the only ones."

After all, there was a very good reason why he needed the Book of Admittance.

Hope you liked it and please, don't forget to:

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– Cissnei.