Kestrel changed in her sleep.
"Does she always do that?" Severus asked.
"Only when she's really tired or scared," Draco answered. He scratched behind the silvery white wolf's silky ears.
"Mr. Malfoy, would you care to explain what you and Severus seem to understand?" Minerva demanded.
"Kestrel is a natural born werewolf but she's different. She doesn't change at the full moon." Severus started.
Draco continued, "She was left on the front steps of the manor with a letter from her mother. Apparently, her mother was changed while she was pregnant. The magic was partially transferred to Kestrel. She can change whenever she wants but she only will do it when she's either really tired, scared, or as protection."
Throughout the explanation, Remus's eyes got a slightly wolfish gleam. He managed to get a hold of his wolf just as Dumbledore looked at him.
"Mr. Malfoy, because she is so young, I'm going to have her stay with you. There are some extra guest rooms near the Ravenclaw dorms. You will be moved into one of them with Kestrel. She will have to stay with you throughout your classes. If you wish, I will make an announcement about her to the rest of the school in the morning." The headmaster announced to the quiet room.
"I think it would be easier if you were to make the announcement so everybody could hear. Could you possibly do it before we arrive?" Draco replied after thinking for a few minutes.
"Alright then. Remus, could you show them to the rooms behind the wolves? Thank you, now, if you'll excuse me, I have an Order meeting to lead. Good night." And with that the headmaster flooed to 12 Grimmauld Place.
Remus scooped up Kestrel and Draco followed them out the door. The trio was quiet most of the way to the new dorm when Remus stumbled, jostling Kestrel, causing her to wake up and shift back human.
"What's going on?" She mumbled.
"We're going to our new rooms, Kessie. You alright, Professor?"
"I'm fine, Draco, don't worry. Are you alright, pup?" Remus asked.
Kestrel nodded and buried her face into the junction of his neck and shoulder.
"Your rooms are over here," Remus said as they arrived in a long corridor filled with large paintings of animals from all over the world.
Half way down the hall, the group stopped at a painting of two wolves, one black and the other white.
"Hello Remus. Will these two be staying with us?" The black one asked.
"It has been a long time since we've had guests," the white wolf added.
"This is Draco and Kestrel. These two are the yin-yang wolves. The password is lycan and your stuff has been brought up. If, you'll excuse me," Remus handed over Kestrel and disappeared down the hall before another word could be uttered.
"Lycan," Draco gave the password and headed into his new home with his little sister in his arms.
The common room was in various blues and grays. There were two black couches, three black overstuffed armchairs, floor to ceiling bookcases were crammed to fullness, and a desk positioned just so by the double helix staircase, so whomever was sitting could see who was on the stairs.
At the top of the stairs were five doors. The one in the middle was open to reveal a white tiled bathroom with two sinks, a large bathtub and separate shower, a toilet and a closet with fluffy green and brown towels. The room directly to the right was Draco's and the one connected to his one the far right was Kestrel's.
Draco quietly put his baby sister to bed and headed into his own room to fall asleep on top of the covers.
"Attention everyone! I have a few announcements to make. First off, late last night Lord and Lady Malfoy were found dead. Death Eaters broke into Malfoy manor when Lord Voldemort discovered they were spies for the Order of the Phoenix. Second, we will be having a guest stay with us for a while. Her name is Kestrel Malfoy and she is five years old. Miss Malfoy will be going with her brother to his classes. I do not want to hear of anybody giving her a hard time." Albus Dumbledore announced to in front of the entire Great Hall the next morning. The mass of students broke their silence.
"I never knew Draco had a sister!"
"I wonder what she looks like. Is she cute?"
Before the whispers could carry very far, the doors to the Great Hall were opened and in walked Draco holding Kestrel's hand. They made their way to the Slytherin table.
"Hey, Draco. How are you doing, Kessie?" Blaize Zabini asked as they sat down.
"Hey," Draco replied.
"I'm still sleepy, Bassy."
Draco and Kestrel just started eating when Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle came over. "Hi guys, hello Kestrel."
"Hi Panny." Kestrel didn't look up from her small pancakes.
"My name is not Panny, it's Pa-"
"Danke, I'm gonna go talk to Uncle." Kestrel interrupted.
"Okay, be careful though."
"I will."
She spun out of her seat and ran up the aisle between Slytherin and Gryffindor.
"Uncle Snivellus!" Kestrel launched herself at her godfather eating breakfast at the end of the Head Table.
He caught her in a tight hug, much to the surprise of the school (minus Draco and the staff). "How are you today Kessie?"
"Good, the wolves on the picture are kinda rude though. They like to growl at Danke."
"Then you be sure to tell them to mine their own business and they will stop. If they don't, they me and I will go talk to them for you." Remus joined in.
Just then, the bell rang and Draco came to collect his sister.
"Thank you Remy!" and with that, the brother and sister got swallowed by the mass of students going to their first period classes.
"Well, it's official then," Severus said as he and Remus used the teacher's door behind the Head Table.
"What's official?"
"Kestrel likes you. The only one with a nickname that she doesn't like is Miss Parkinson. I don't blame her for not liking her though."
Draco's first class of the day was Herbology with the Ravenclaws.
"Good morning class! Today we will be working with aconite. Now, can anyone tell me what aconite is more commonly known as? Anyone? Miss Granger then," Professor Sprout started off the day cheerfully.
"Aconite is more commonly known as monkshood or wolfsbane. It can be deadly to a werewolf if they were to even touch it but it is the key ingredient in Wolfsbane potion." Hermione recited between Neville and Lavender.
"Correct Miss Granger, five points to Gryffindor! Now, Professor Snape needs us to harvest this for the Wolfsbane potion he makes for Professor Lupin. Everyone put on your protective gloves. What is it Mr. Malfoy?" Professor Sprout instructed.
"Sorry to interrupt but Kestrel is allergic to aconite."
"Thank you for the warning, stay away from Miss Malfoy then. You must be careful when harvesting aconite or it will be rendered useless. All you want to do is gently pluck the leaves of the plant without causing further damage to the main stalk, like so," she demonstrated how to properly pluck the plant. "Well, what are you waiting for? Begin."
As the class started in on the harvesting, Professor Sprout began to walk around.
"Professor, what's this?" Kestrel asked, pointing to a white star shaped plant next to her stool.
"Why that's asphodel, child."
"And this one?" she pointed then to a plant with a very green, leafy, maple leaf like shape.
"That's wormwood."'
Soon Kestrel had the motherly professor walking all over the greenhouse, talking about all the different plants and what they were used for.
Once the class was over, Draco performed a quick scourgify on himself before taking his sister's hand to lead her to Potions.
When they got to the dungeon, the students who made it into advanced Potions were in the hall talking quietly to one another. The door to the classroom opened and everyone walked inside.
"Take your seats. Kessie, I want you to sit at my desk. For the next month we will be attempting the Polyjuice Potion. This potion will take the full month to brew so do not mess it up. Instructions are on the board, you may begin." Snape instructed. "Ms. Granger a word please."
Hermione and Kestrel walked up to the desk.
"What do you need, Professor?"
"I am to understand you already brewed this potion?" He questioned as he picked kestrel up.
"Yessir, in my second year."
"I remember quite well, thank you. I have another project in mind for you. You will be helping me brew the Wolfsbane Potion for Professor Lupin. I want-"
"Snivellus, why does Remy need that potion?" Kestrel asked with her doe brown eyes wide.
"He needs it to control his wolf."
"Why?"
"Because without it he could hurt many people without meaning to."
"Why?"
"His wolf is another part of him but is wild and bad like yours is good and tamed."
"Why?"
"He wasn't born with the wolf, he was bit by a bad man and is forced to have to share his person with it."
"Why?"
"The bad man purposefully places himself near humans to turn them into lycanthropes like himself to enlarge his pack."
"Why?"
"To a werewolf, the bigger the pack, the stronger your family is against other packs."
"Why?"
"If your pack was weak, you could get attacked by a stronger pack and you could die."
"Why?"
"You could get really hurt or they might just want to kill you."
"Why?"
"They might not want you to join another pack."
"Why?"
"You could make that pack stronger."
"Why?"
"Enough! Why is it that every time I answer your question you ask 'why? why? why?' until I get fed up with it?"
"Because Uncle, it's fun."
And with that, the dead silent classroom filled with laughter. Even Severus chuckled a bit before he got control over the class once again.
