REVISED 5/24/2015

Houses flashed past as the cab went through the silent neighborhood. A normal neighborhood.

Removing her eyes from the window displaying the countless homes, the girl in the back seat looked over at the driver. His eyes quickly looked back at the road as she caught him staring. She glimpsed down at the piece of paper on her lap and then resumed her staring out the window as the cab turned into another street. The wheels of the car soon slowed down to a stop in front of a nicely groomed home. Neatly cut green grass of the family's lawn stretched out towards the steps of the lovely looking home; a small garden decorated the front of the house.

"This is it, Miss," the man said, glancing once again at her from the rear view mirror. "Number four, Privet Drive."

The cab driver clicked a small switch and the car doors unlocked. The black haired girl opened the side door, placed the straps of her bag on her shoulder, and reached out for her large school trunk.

"Miss, I can carry that for you," he said, motioning to grab her trunk from the door opposite of mine. She nodded her head.

"Alright, but careful with it," she told him, her lips twitched up in a smile. "We wouldn't want it opening. Again."

Marcus Middleton nodded and watched the girl warily. He accidentally dropped her trunk while putting it in earlier. He caught a glimpse of what looked like a stick as it fell on the floor. At first he thought it was a piece to something else. And then his eyes landed on a black mass of cloth and a book with a title Standard Book of Spells, Grade 3. The girl picked up the stick and put it in her bag, mumbling how she forgot she put it there. Upon setting his eyes on the girl at first, he instantly thought he had seen her from somewhere before. Her grey eyes contrasted greatly from her light brown complexion with her long curly black hair framing her face. He had thought hard on the drive and finally it clicked as he looked back at her once again from his rear view mirror. She looked like the man who escaped the high security prison last year.

Sirius Black.

It was her eyes. The way they were shaped and the color.

He gripped her trunk and took it up next to the door and went back to the girl, who was shuffling through her bag.

"How much do I owe you?" she asked.

Marcus went back in his cab to check the total mileage of the trip and his eyes widened at the amount. He hadn't exactly been paying attention to how far he had been driving since he was still caught up about what the young girl held in her luggage. He went back to the girl with the amount memorized.

"Seventy-nine pounds and sixteen pence," he told her.

The young teenager opened her bag and pulled out the proper amount and handed it to him. Her eyes caught sight of the small picture of a man and a young girl in the cab, and she could not help the small smile on her face. She took out several more notes and handed it to him.

"I — I can't accept this."

"You look a bit young to have a daughter that old," she said. He knew she had seen the picture of him and his daughter.

"Yeah, she just turned ten yesterday," he told her thinking about the small party he had with his little girl. He was only seventeen when his daughter was born. His girlfriend at the time gave birth to their little girl but then she left them both.

He looked back at the girl and saw a flicker of sadness before she smiled at him.

"Please keep the extra amount," the young girl said. "And the next time I'll need a ride, I'll call for you Mister..." she trailed off waiting for him to give her his name.

"Marcus. Marcus Middleton."

He caught her eyes look towards the house they pulled in front of, a smile crept onto her face and he caught a hint of mischief glittering behind her eyes.

"Well, it was great meeting you," she said, pulling out a sheet of paper from her bag and a pen. "Can you write your number down?"

And he did just that. However, he was still curious. He wanted to know who this odd girl was.

"Who are you?" he asked. Marcus winced inwardly at how blunt he sounded. An odd feeling rushed through him when her grey eyes stared at him. "I mean...you look very familiar is all."

He could see a smirk forming on her face as he kept stumbling over his words.

"My name's Kirsten Black," she said. "And yes, Sirius Black is my father."

Kirsten Black watched as the cab driver turned the corner and her grin widened as she whirled around to face the door. She saw eyes peeking from the window curtain when she was talking with the driver. And she wasn't surprised to see the door open as soon as the cab disappeared from view. She also wasn't surprised to see the large, beefy man from her old primary school days glare down at her. Of course, he wouldn't remember seeing her since she would only see him picking up his son and Harry now and again.

She did not doubt he knew who she was now. Harry told her through a letter that he nearly had a heart attack when he told his Uncle Vernon she was Sirius Black's daughter.

"What are you doing here?" the man snarled. The answer to his question temporarily remained a mystery when she noticed a heavy set boy gazing at her.

Dudley.

The boy came closer to the door, his eyes still glued to her and confusion in his eyes were clearly evident.

Dudley Dursley could not remember her. It has only been a around two years since they have last seen each other and she doubted she looked much different for him not to recognize her.

He really was dense.

"Can I come in?" she asked, looking at Vernon once again. "I'm here to do a little check up for my father."

Vernon's eyes widened and he moved to the side as the fourteen year old walked passed him. The look on Dudley's face was still one of confusion as he looked at her.

The sound of heels clicking against the hardwood floor grabbed Kirsten's attention, and she turned to see the newcomer. Short curls surrounded the woman's horse like face; her brown eyes widened as they settled on the black haired witch. A frightened gasp came from the woman and she clutched her chest.

"Your — you —" the woman stopped herself and started mumbling incoherently.

Kirsten raised an eyebrow at the woman's actions. The curly haired woman took a step back away from her as if she was some sort of poisonous snake. Kirsten looked at the frightened woman with confusion.

What the hell's her problem?

"Kia?"

At the use of her nickname, Kirsten looked over at the stairway where the questioning voice originated from. Green eyes met hers and she smiled at the owner. The green eyed boy blinked back a couple of times as if to make sure it's not his imagination.

"Hello Harry," she greeted him with a grin.

"What are you doing here?" the voice of the beefy man demanded. Kirsten turned her head to glance at the angry face of Vernon Dursley.

"Carlisle?"

Vernon's eyes went from his son, who looked as if he got slapped, to Kirsten.

"You know this girl?" the man barked, looking at his son incredulously. Dudley nodded his head as he stared at Kirsten with a mix of confusion and shock.

"We went to the same school," she informed him. She decided to leave out the fact that she was the one who gave Dudley a stomach ache and several other injuries from their school days. Her eyes landed on Dudley as she spoke again. "Anyways, it's Kirsten Black."

Confusion swirled within those little piggy eyes of his and she decided to explain to him.

"That madman who broke out of prison, Sirius Black, is my father," she told him. "Turns out I'm a witch."

At the mention of the last word, Dudley's eyes immediately widened and he clapped his hands over his bottom. He scooted further away, scuttling towards his mother. Kirsten was watching Vernon in fascination at the alarming shade of purple that flared across his face.

"Don't you ever say that word again!" he shouted at the top his lungs. His yelling didn't even seem to faze her as she continued to stare at his face. Silence ensued after his outburst, with the three watching Vernon and Kirsten watching one another.

"Did you know," she said, breaking the silence, "that you're face turns an odd shade of purple? It doesn't seem very healthy to me. You should go to a doctor to get that checked."

He was going to say something back until he suddenly remembered who he was talking to. There was no way he wanted that insane father of hers to burst into their home and Kirsten knew that he was thinking exactly this.

"My father asked me to check on Harry to see if you lot were treating him decently," she said. His eyes flew from Harry to Kirsten once again. "I decided to come by today since the Weasleys are picking him up."

It was true. He had sent her only one letter and in the end, he asked if she could stop by the Dursleys to see Harry's condition.

Vernon's beady eyes glanced at her, fear evident in his eyes as his face turned back into that alarming shade of purple.

"You sent the letter to him, didn't you?" Vernon asked Harry.

"Yeah, I did," Harry replied, trying very hard not to let his smile show. The attention of Harry's mad uncle was now on Kirsten. Again. He opened his mouth and then closed it. Not one word coming out.

"They told me you were dead."

The quiet voice could be heard throughout the living room and Kirsten's eyes landed on the speaker. The young witch's eyes narrowed as she looked at the woman, confused. She had no idea what this woman was talking about. How would she know anything about her. Then something clicked in Kirsten's head. Kirsten had been reading parts of her mother's journal. She read how her mother stayed with Harry's mother for a couple of summers upon the death of her mother, her father already dead. And remembered that Harry's aunt is the sister of Lily Evans.

She would definitely take a look into her mother's journal about this woman.

"Apparently, I'm not," Kirsten told her shortly. Her eyes connected with the woman's. "I — I've…just been living in an orphanage for the past twelve years till I ran away."

That was more than enough information she wanted to share with the family. And she quickly found another change of subject.

"What time are they supposed to come?" she asked, turning towards Harry.

"Five o' clock," the green eyed boy replied. She glanced at the clock on the wall to see it was five minutes past five. Vernon opened the front door, peering up and down the street, and slammed the door shut.

"They're late," he snarled at Harry. Kirsten's eyes narrowed at the large man but he didn't notice.

He's quick to bounce back.

"I know," Harry said, glancing at Kirsten for a moment. "Maybe — er — the traffic's bad, or something."

The clock stroke at ten past five and Kirsten had enough of Harry's uncle glaring at the two of them.

"Harry, is Hedwig in you're room?" she asked quietly. He shook his head. "I think heard her come back. You should go up and check."

"Kia, I didn't hear —"

"Harry, just go check," she whispered, throwing him a small grin. He gave her an exasperated look and headed out of the living room. As soon as Harry left, her hand slipped inside her bag, wrapping her fingers around a thin item.

"Where the ruddy hell is that boy going?"

"Don't go after him," she told him quietly, gaining the attention of the rest of the occupants. All their eyes landed on the item in her right hand as she pulled it out, pointing it at the head Dursley. She knew what they had done to Harry during the summer and previous summers. Ron didn't hesitate to tell her his previous adventures of helping Harry escape with Mr. Weasley's flying car. And this year they put him on a diet that he didn't need. They were starving him.

"You can't scare me with that," he said confidently. Though the wary look at her wand said otherwise. "You're not allowed to do any waving out of that school."

"You don't seem to understand that my father is a wanted man. He won't hesitate to take care of you and apparently, neither will I. And no one will stop me," she hissed. She stepped closer to Vernon, who moved back immediately at the proximity of her wand and her tall figure. "If I find out you are trying to starve him, I will not hesitate."

Face once again turning purple, Vernon stared at the young witch with his mouth slightly opened and his eyes widened in fear. She didn't bother looking at the other two Dursleys, and her attention was turned to the pair of footsteps descending the stairs. She placed her wand back in her bag before Harry appeared.

The bespectacled boy opened his mouth to say something until he noticed the tension in the air. His uncle's face was once again purple and his aunt and cousin were huddled together, watching with fear. Harry's eyes finally landed on Kirsten, who had a grin on her face.

"Harry, can I speak with you privately?"

"Now wait right there!" Vernon yelled, speaking for the first time since she threatened him. "I will not let you roam around my house!"

Her eyes darted to the large, purple-faced man. He clamped his mouth shut as his eyes traveled towards the bag on her shoulders and didn't make a single move to stop her as she walked out of the room. Harry quickly followed her to the staircase. They both seated themselves on the bottom of the steps.

"What happened, Kia?"

He stared at his childhood friend with a questioning look. Kirsten shrugged her shoulders up, feigning innocence. But Harry knew her better than that and it wasn't only because of the mischievous smile on her face.

"Just had a chat with your dear old uncle," she told him. Harry raised his eyebrows in an unconvinced manner.

"You threatened him, didn't you?" he said. Her smile widened at his correct answer and he shot her an amused look.

"They tried starving you," she replied. At her response, Harry's brow knitted together in thought.

Damn, I shouldn't have said that.

"You sent me food."

"Yes, and I hope you ate it," she told him. Harry just shook his head.

"You hardly have any money in your vault," he whispered. All summer, Harry had been sending letters to Kirsten about giving her some of his gold in his vault. They both realized that the gift Sirius bought for Harry took up most of her money in the vault.

However, Kirsten waved him off. Just like she was doing now.

"There is still a large sum in my account," was her immediate reply, however, she put off the fact that she took up a job over the summer. It was silent for a second between them and Kirsten was grateful Harry was no longer asking her questions.

"Maybe they think they'll get invited to dinner if they're late," they heard Petunia Dursley say from the living room.

"Well, they most certainly won't be," Vernon said.

The witch snorted at their stupidity as she could hear his footsteps pacing the living room. "They'll take them both and go, there'll be no hanging around. That's if they're coming at all. Probably mistaken the day. I daresay their kind don't set much store by punctuality. Either that or they drive in some tin-pot car that's broken d—AAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

Kirsten jumped at the loud yell that erupted from the living room and Harry stood up as well. In the next second, Dudley scrambled out into the hall with his hands still clamped over his bottom, waddling into the kitchen quickly. Her lips twitched upward at the sight, and both her and Harry entered the living room to find Petunia and Vernon backed up against the wall. Their faces expressed horror as they stared at the fireplace, where a fake coal fire resided in front of it.

"What is it?" Petunia gasped, terrified. "What is it, Vernon?"

"Ouch! Fred, no — go back, go back, there's been some kind of mistake — tell George not to — OUCH! George, no, there's no room, go back quickly and tell Ron —"

"Maybe Harry or Kia can hear us, Dad — maybe they'll be able to let us out —"

"Wait, Kia's there? Why doesn't anyone tell me anything?"

A loud hammering of fists banged against the boards from behind the electric fire. Even with their voices muffled, she knew who they were and almost laughed.

"Harry? Kia? Can you hear us?"

The Dursleys suddenly rounded on the two like ravaging wolves.

"What is this?" Vernon growled. "What's going on here?"

"They — they've tried to get here by Floo Powder," Harry told his furious uncle, fighting a mad desire to laugh. Apparently, he thought the situation as funny as Kirsten did. "They can travel by fire — only you've blocked the fireplace — hang on —"

Harry approached the fireplace.

"Mr. Weasley, can you hear me?"

The hammering fists against the wooden boards came to a halt and Kirsten heard a "shh!"

"Mr. Weasley, it's Harry…the fireplace has been blocked up. You won't be able to get through there," Harry informed him.

"Damn!" I heard Mr. Weasley say from within the chimney. "What on earth did they want to block up the fireplace for?"

"They've got an electric fire," Harry explained.

"Really?" The excitement in his voice was evident and Kirsten tried her hardest to suppress her laughter, resulting in a snort. "Eclectic, you say? With a plug? Gracious, I must see that…Let's think…ouch, Ron!"

"What are we doing here? Has something gone wrong?" Ron's voice asked from behind the boarded fireplace.

"Oh no, Ron," Fred said sarcastically. "No, this is exactly where we wanted to end up."

"Yeah, we're having the time of our lives here," George agreed, his voice muffled as if his face were squished against the board.

"Boys…boys…." Mr. Weasley said vaguely. "I'm trying to think. What to do…yes…only…stand back, Harry."

Harry moved to stand beside Kirsten and they both threw each other an amused look. However, Vernon moved forward with a superior expression on his face.

"Wait a moment!" he bellowed at the fireplace. "What exactly are you going —"

BANG.

Kirsten's eyes took in the fast moving boards in a slow take as the electric fireplace shot across the living room.

What the hell?

Her eyes then trained on four bright red heads clambering to their feet in the cloud of rubble. Petunia shrieked, falling over the coffee table and Vernon caught her before she hit the floor. The beefy man gaped speechless at the newcomers.

"That's better," Mr. Weasley panted, brushing dust from his long green robes and straightening his glasses. Eyes roaming the room, Mr. Weasley spotted Vernon and Petunia Dursley.

"Ah — you must be Harry's aunt and uncle!" He moved towards Vernon with his hand outstretched but Vernon stepped back with a bewildered Petunia.

"Er—yes—sorry about that," Mr. Weasley said hesitantly, lowering his hand and glancing back at the fireplace. "It's all my fault. It just didn't occur to me that we wouldn't be able to get out at the other end. I had your fireplace connected to the Floo Network, you see — just for an afternoon, you know so we can get Harry and Kia. Muggle fireplaces aren't supposed to be connected, strictly speaking — but I've got a useful contact at the Floo Regulation Panel and he fixed it for me. I can put it right in a jiffy, though, don't worry. I'll just light a fire to send the boys and Kia back, and then I can repair your fireplace before I Disapparate."

From the looks on their faces, Kirsten could tell that they had absolutely no clue what the redheaded man told them. I can tell that they have absolutely no clue what the man just told them.

"Hello Kia, Harry!" Mr. Weasley said brightly. At the mention of her name, Kirsten gave him a kind smile. "Got your trunks ready?"

"Mine's upstairs and Kia's is right there," Harry said, grinning back and pointing at her trunk on the other side of the room near the front door. Kirsten frowned at the sight of her trunk. She didn't remember bringing it in.

"We'll get it," Fred said at once, winking at the two of them. The redheaded twins went into the hall and out of sight.

"Well," Mr. Weasley said, breaking the awkward silence. "Very — erm — nice place you've got here."

Kirsten smirked at Mr. Weasley's comment.

The spotless living room she entered not too long ago was now covered in dust and bits of brick. Vernon's face once again turned a deep shade of purple and Petunia started chewing her tongue. It was obvious the two wanted to chew him out. However, the look in both of their eyes gave off fear at what had been done and by whom. Mr. Weasley glanced around the area and Kirsten could practically see him itching to go and examine the television.

His kids weren't kidding. Over Kirsten's third year, Ron, Percy, Ginny, Fred, and George would talk about their dad's unhealthy fascination with Muggle items.

"They run off eckletricity, do they?" he said knowledgably. "Ah yes, I can see the plugs," he added to Vernon. "And batteries. Got a very large collection of batteries. My wife thinks I'm mad."

She had to bite her lip to keep from laughing at the look on Vernon's face, but her attention was caught by the clunking sound of a trunk. Dudley rushed back into the room and attempted to hide behind his parents. Gazing at Mr. Weasley with terrified eyes, Dudley pressed his hands firmly against his backside. It was slightly disturbing for Kirsten to see this odd side of Dudley. She had half a mind to advise Dudley to see some sort of specialist but decided against it. It was funny after all.

"Well, he sure loves his ass…" she mumbled to herself. Harry and Ron heard her comment and sniggered.

"And is this your cousin?" Mr. Weasley asked, examining the poor boy.

"Yup, that's Dudley," Harry confirmed.

"Having a good holiday, Dudley?" Mr. Weasley asked kindly. Dudley whimpered in response while Fred and George came back into the room, carrying Harry's trunk. Fred walked across the room over to my trunk and lifted it up.

"Merlin, Kia. What did you pack in here?" Fred asked. Though Kirsten noticed that his eyes were not on her but on the heavy set boy, who was hiding behind his parents. And so was George. Both of their faces cracked into evil identical grins.

"Alright, better get cracking then," Mr. Weasley said, pushing up his sleeves and taking out his wand. Out of the corner of her eye, Kirsten saw the Dursleys move back against the wall.

"Incendio!" Mr. Weasley said, pointing his wand at the fireplace. Sparks immediately flew and a fire magically erupted into tall flames. He pulled out a small drawstring bag from his pocket, untied it, took a pinch of the sparkling powder and threw it in the flames.

"Okay, Fred, you and Kia's trunk."

"Alright," Fred said, taking a step but a bag of sweets spilled out of his pockets. The contents were now rolling in every direction — big, fat toffees in brightly colored wrappers.

"Oh no — hang on —"

Scrambling to pick them up, Fred crammed them into his pocket and gave the Dursleys a cheerful wave. Mr. Weasley helped him place Kirsten's trunk into the fire and Fred went in himself.

"The Burrow!" he yelled, a whooshing sound came from the fireplace and Fred vanished from sight.

"Right then, George," Mr. Weasley said, "you and Harry's trunk."

Harry helped George with his trunk, entered the fire, and shouted "the Burrow!" and with another whoosh he vanished.

"Ron, you next," Mr. Weasley told him.

"See you," Ron said brightly to the Dursleys, then flashed both Harry and Kirsten a grin. He stepped into the fire, shouted "the Burrow!" and disappeared.

Kirsten went up to the fireplace next. She turned her head back to settle her eyes on the Dursleys. She smirked at the colorful wrapper in Dudley's hands and entered the fireplace. The tall emerald flames harmlessly licked against her body.

"The Burrow!"