When it came down to it, Harry had to give a big fat I-TOLD-YOU-SO to Ron and Hermione, who seemed thoroughly off put by the entire situation. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had seemed to take the news rather half-heartedly, but promised Dumbledore nothing less than their utmost protection of the girl. Harry sat in their sitting room while the conversation had taken place, not at all sure if he liked the grim faces of those sitting around him. Fred and George, whom were supposed to be leaving for their shop next Monday, took the news with great smiles. Their attitude made Harry feel slightly more at ease, even though it was probably to question the poor girl until she'd hexed them, or play pranks on her. Ginny was furious, as to being told she'd be the lucky one sharing a room with Alina, while Hermione was more wary than Harry had ever seen her. Everyone seemed to be wary of the situation, mainly because of him. They were all watching him, awaiting some huge display of outburst in result to her being Sirius's daughter. He on the other hand, seemed, as Mr. Weasley had said, was doing rather well for the information shock he'd been given. Mrs. Weasley however, made it her main objective throughout the next week coming to Alina's arrival, to console Harry in the kitchen and Ron's bedroom, until his head was swimming with a slight buzzing noise to drown her out. He'd looked to Ron too be slightly agitated that another girl would be coming to live with them, helping out number the boys, but he actually had told Harry he was rather interested.
"Well, who knows what she'll be like mate! Could be just like er' dad!" Harry had raised an eyebrow to that one, mainly because he was hoping she was nothing like Sirius, or they'd be getting into more trouble than they needed. He, himself, was lucky that for the better part, he hadn't inherited his father's natural talent for trouble making. Ginny had much less to say than anyone else, and Harry thought more than once, that it was because they would be sharing a room.
"I'm not that happy about it." She seethed to him one night after supper.
"Well, I'm sorry…" he had managed to mutter back.
"They have no idea about her! NONE! And they're making me sleep in the same room as her? What if she is a death eater!?" She'd fumed throwing a piece of toast across the room by accident. Harry had tried his very best not to laugh at her, but when he couldn't control himself, she thumped him on the head.
"OW! What was that for?" he asked.
"Because! It's your god sister! You should share a room with her…" she sighed settling down.
"Well first off Ginny, she can't be a death eater, I doubt Dumbledore'd trust her if she was. Second, she's a girl. That'd be odd…" Ginny broke into a tiny rim of a smile and had forgiven Harry, and thanked him for listening to her rant.
The end of the week had been looming over Harry since Dumbledore's last visit, but he was trying to entertain himself with anything but the thoughts of it. Hermione had kept her nose in her new school books, while Ron and Ginny were too busy practicing Quidditch to honestly pay much attention. Harry had lurked around the Burrow like a mouse, eating with the family, but not attracting attention to himself. For the better part of the afternoon in which Alina was to arrive, he'd submerged himself into a book of Hermione's entitled, A Brief History of Magical Malformations and Misjudgments. It was nothing more than the mess ups in the past of great wizards and Ministry giants that had failed to do their duty, and the trouble their mistakes had caused. The only thing missing, Harry found, was the biggest and most recent mistake by the Ministry, Voldermort. An owl had arrived downstairs, most likely alerting Molly and Arthur to the ministries car's arrival with Alina, but Harry stayed happily where he was. The fact remained, as Harry had thought on it quiet deeply in the last few days, that no matter how much like Sirius she was, he really didn't care for her. He sat up watching the black limos arrive and the men getting out, which he didn't doubt were aurories, and everyone piling outside for a better view to welcome them. Ron was at the base of the Burrow stairs, screaming at the top of his lungs for him, which in the end Harry climbed off the bed and followed the drone of his voice.
"What? I'm right here!" he snapped pushing Ron aside to hit the landing.
"She's here s'all." He said looking a bit peeved that Harry had shoved him.
Harry walked outside into the beautifully dull day, filled with gray storm clouds and murky skies. He took a spot just beside Ginny as Hermione grabbed his arm bouncing with a somewhat of an annoyed jitter. Harry craned his neck, beside himself that he was doing it, and tried to get a better view of the girl being tugged out of the car by the annoyed looking Tonks.
"Come on, out o' the car kid." She whispered taking the girl out by her arm. It was then that Harry got his first good look at her. All black hair to her shoulders, and bright green eyes like the forest, papery pale skin, and freckles covered her cheeks. For a moment, he thought he was crazy. Her eyes were not the same color as Sirius's, but she was built slightly tall, almost his height, and had the same wary eyes and dark circles underneath them as his step father's. He couldn't believe who she was, it was too hard, but also thrilling that something of Sirius had survived. She turned her face up at Tonks and looked down whispering something that no one could hear, but Tonks pulled her forward to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. In the meantime, Alina had taken that moment to position herself directly behind Tonks, and beyond view of everyone.
"She's right strange Molly. Very silent, very skittish, but Dumbledore's promised she'll adjust to people shortly." Mr. Weasley leaned in a little closer.
"She's never dealt with people much?" he asked. Tonks shook her head, while Alina seemed to be looking around the yard still hidden.
"She's lived with thieves and in hiding her entire life Arthur. She's fine with people, just shy I think; her trust's a bit touchy too." She added grabbing her arm and pushing her foreword. Alina made a slight gwaffling noise and stared starkly at the people she was now in full view of.
"Uh, hello." She said blinking a couple times, enough that Harry thought she might have been scared of them.
"Welcome dear." Said Mrs. Weasley immediately. "This here is where you'll be living, but I'm sure Dumbledore's told you all of that." She gestured to Fred and George. "this here's my son's Fred and George and Ron. This is my daughter Ginny. And these are Harry's friends, Ron and Hermione." She looked and paused on Harry for a moment though. "And this is your god brother, Harry Potter." Alina glanced to Harry apologetically and was fiddling with her hands which were located behind her back.
"Right then. Time to be off. Molly, Arthur, Arry'." Tonks nodded to each one of them and climbed back into the car. As it pulled away, Harry noticed that Alina didn't have a single thing pulled out from the car, therefore he assumed she didn't own anything with her.
"Where you're things then?" Mr. Weasley questioned.
"Oh, well I left everything in my old home…didn't have much anyway." She said looking to him.
"Well then…we'll need to be getting you ready for school. Another trip to Diagon Alley it is then." Mrs. Weasley tutted. Ron groaned looking to his mother.
"I don't know what I've got yet." She said hushed. "He said my O.W.L.'s would be coming by post soon…" Harry didn't understand, because as far as he'd known, she'd never attended Hogwarts in the past years of his life there. Mr. Weasley nodded.
"Right, right. They got you cleared with the Ministry to take the O.W.L.'s then?"
"Yeah, said that I'd be sorted like a first year, but passed through to my grade level as long as I passed my O.W.L.'s." and with that Mrs. Weasley started ushering her family inside, leaving Harry to file in last, behind Alina.
