Chapter 1: Time Travel? Really!

I don't own 'Harry Potter'

Slight AU before time travel.

Rose Potter, age thirty, The-Girl-Who-Lived turned The-Witch-Who-Won, Unspeakable and all-around trouble magnet, groggily opened her eyes and lifted her head, peering around her surroundings to see herself once more in the pits of hell … also known as 'The Cupboard Under The Stairs', Number Four Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey.

''FUCK!"

Now, to fully comprehend just how Miss Potter once more found herself in a situation of total and utter incomprehension (not that this was a strange thing, to be honest), we must first turn back to the beginning of this awful day …

Groaning and rolling over to the sound of loud beeping filling the room, Rose rolled out of bed and flung her hand in the general direction of her oh-so-hated alarm clock. The resulting smash was both a soothing balm on her annoyance and a sound that had become a daily habit to her morning routine ever since she'd bought the crappy thing. Squinting over at the mess of broken and crushed pieces of plastic covering her bedroom floor she waved a wandless Reparo at it and watched her clock fix itself neatly before levitating it back to the bedside table, where it would be broken and destroyed once more the following day, as was her daily routine where the blasted contraption was concerned.

Rose's exploits with wandless magic had begun not long after the Second War when she was finally learning how to settle down and enjoy life without an insane madman trying to kill her at every turn. Her beloved holly and phoenix feather wand hadn't quite been a fit anymore after the destruction of the disgusting Horcrux within her; the idea that the wand she loved and adored, had trusted to save her life on numerous occasions had only needed her when she still had the parasite within her had devastated her. The turmoil had caused her magic to violently react, breaking numerous blocks on her magical core and making her wish that she could resurrect Albus Dumbledore and kill him all over again by herself.

The fact that someone she had trusted so much had abused her in such a way made her want to cry and scream at everyone and everything she could; she had trusted him so implicitly after being betrayed by so many others, yet he had still had the audacity to use her in such a way. He had blocked both the amount of magic that she could use and some innate abilities that she'd had, leaving her feeling volatile and having trouble with all manner of spells. (It had certainly given her a new perspective on her volatile teenage years.)

The upside to this situation had been a natural progression to wandless magic which simply responded to her will, and soon she'd been able to perform all manner of spells from pure need or want; she'd bought a new custom-made wand but it hadn't been a necessity to use one anymore. The books that she'd found in the Chamber of Secrets were a massive help once she raided the place, taking pride of place in her personal library of questionable materials.

After doing her morning ritual and having a light breakfast made by her faithful elf and friend Dobby, Rose made her way to the Ministry in her god-awful (in her opinion) Unspeakable robes and flooed into the Atrium with the rest of the employees. Already in her customary foul mood for the morning, Rose's day took a dive for the worse after her ex-boyfriend and general tosser got in the elevator with her. Zacharias Smith

Ugh. She could feel herself physically shudder in revulsion at the mere thought of his name. Both at the wanker standing next to her and herself for sleeping with him – more than once. Since the war Smith had actually gotten a lot better as a person and became a magical lawyer, helping all manner of people regardless of blood purity or race. Unfortunately, he had still been a wanker. Pedantic, rude, and so patronising that it was a miracle he didn't get hexed whenever he spoke to someone. But the sex had been good. Really good. Good enough to put up with him for an entire year, until he'd decided that sex with others was also really good. Prat. Rose couldn't be more thankful that the robes of the Unspeakables hid the wearer's identity so thoroughly or they'd probably be in a screaming match in the middle of the elevator for all the public to see. She was sure that people would be delighted to see her lose her composure so badly. Bunch of arseholes.

As she exited the lift at the Department of Mysteries she realised that she missed having crazy and inane fights (verbal or physical), even if they were in public for every single nosy bastard to see and comment on. Not that she cared all that much about her reputation anymore, even if people were constantly speculating about why she hadn't yet provided an Heir for her families, or if she was going to let them die out like the irresponsible and flighty woman she was – Ignoring the fact that she was considered a respected Ministry employee. God forbid she actually live her own life and remain single for now. She wasn't even middle-aged by magical standards, for crying out loud!

Rose was glad for the anonymity of the Unspeakables. The public spotlight had been such a bitch to her ever since Voldy bit the dust: 'Come to this party', 'Sponsor this project', 'Will you marry this person?' Rose could feel her blood pressure rising at the memories as she stalked through the department towards her office. She opened the door and let herself in, before closing the door and locking herself in her personal sanctuary. Her eyes immediately went to the enlarged picture on the wall of her and Teddy taken just a month ago.

Teddy. Just the thought of her beloved godson had the power to immediately calm her down and cheer her up. He was so adorable, beyond mischievous, and the best thing that had ever happened to her. Tonks may have birthed him and shared his blood but Rose considered him something like a son to her. Between her and Andromeda he had grown up wanting for nothing but learning how to be the best he could possibly be. He was the perfect blend of his parents, with Tonks' enthusiasm for life and Remus' gentle kindness. Now in his second year at Hogwarts Teddy was the only reason she hadn't left Britain behind already; if she didn't have him she would have told all of magical Britain to go fuck themselves by now.

Her so-called 'friendships' with Ron and Hermione had all but crumbled under the weight of Ron's pitiful jealousy, Rose's stubbornness, and Hermione's unwillingness to ever go against her eventual husband, even if he was clearly in the wrong. She knew full well she hadn't been entirely innocent in the arguments, but those two hadn't seemed to understand how the war had changed her. When Ron had revealed to her that he wanted nothing more to be with Rose as Lord Potter and have her fame and money behind him, well, let's just say that his stay at St Mungo's hadn't been pleasant in the slightest. (The Healers weren't exactly welcoming to someone who'd treated their saviour in such a way, and it was one of the only times she'd been glad for her fame.)

Hermione had also been pissed that Rose had hurt Ron so bad, ignoring the reason why she'd hurt him in the first place, and they'd finally gotten together after bitching together about Rose. They didn't seem to realise that Rose had no desire to let anyone else walk all over her like she had when she was younger; she'd been tired of letting others dictate her life and she was going to live for herself. And Teddy. The rift with the Weasley family had been heart-breaking for the girl who had always considered them to be a pseudo-family to her, but frankly it had also been relieving to be removed from Molly Weasley's overbearing nature. Bill, Charlie and George all still regularly contacted her if nothing else, and she and her favourite Weasleys still got together often. She was even Roxanne's godmother.

After reviewing some of the never-ending paperwork stacked on her desk (she was convinced paperwork was the ultimate enemy of mankind) about her newest project, Rose got up and made her way to room housing the Veil of Death. Speculated to be a pathway to the realm of death, or to another world, nobody had ever fully comprehended the intricacies of such an artefact despite the centuries of research on it. Rose herself was currently working on the Veil under the assumption that it may be a portal to another place, and she was using countless mathematical formulas and obscure runic alphabets to research how to use the archway. The dangers of working with such a thing meant that she'd had to write a will before even starting the project, as did many Unspeakables in the department, such as those creating new Time-Turners.

As Rose paced around the Veil writing numerous calculations in a small notebook, she began to consider just how much her life had changed in the years since the war. She may have always been slightly cynical as a child because of her relatives' treatment of her, but ever since the war she had become downright jaded. Her attitude was crass and blunt, her relationships – both platonic and romantic – were doomed from the very beginning, and her aversion to the public eye made her seem like a bitter old woman. At thirty. 'Depressing' didn't even begin to describe the tragedy that was her life.

As a young girl who'd grown up knowing that she was completely unloved, the one thing she had always wished for beyond everything else was a family; she'd wanted a partner to love and cherish her, children who she could raise to become good adults, and a home that she and her family would build together – a home that was hers. When she'd looked in the Mirror of Erised as a child she had seen generations of Potters stood behind her, and while the romantic partner had been added to the fantasy later she had never stopped yearning for a simple family. She didn't want endless wealth, or fame, or even for everyone to like her. Her most fervent wish was for a close family to care for beyond all measure.

She sighed heavily, rubbing her face tiredly as she did so. She couldn't go on like this anymore; becoming exhausted with life before she was middle-aged had not been her plan in life. She had fought desperately to change their messed-up society, not to become a reclusive, bitter woman who despised other people. If only she could go back to the beginning, she would have changed everything. Hindsight was 20/20, after all …

"SHADOW!"

Hearing her code name being screamed at the same time as a massive explosion in the next room over, she turned just in time to see a massive hole form in the wall in front of her with numerous objects and bodies coming at her with breakneck speed. She rapidly threw up a shield which proved to be totally ineffective when she was hit and launched through the air towards the Veil.

"DOBBY!" she screamed. The usually comforting crack of elf Apparition was lost in the surrounding chaos, even as the small elf dived towards his master frantically and grabbed on to her robes as she fell backwards through the Veil.

"MISS ROSEY!"