Tiger's Curse, Panther's Destiny

Okay, so the warnings for this are that there will be slash. You know, boy on boy or girl on girl. If you don't like that kind of stuff then please don't read. There will also be Weasley(except the twins and Bill and Charlie), Dumbledore and Granger bashing.

Pairings:Ren/Kelsey, Kishan/Harry, Luna/Nilma. If you don't like these pairings go read something else.

The Wild Flower's Song

By William Blake

As I wandered the forest, The green leaves among, I heard a wild Flower Singing a song. 'I slept in the earth In the silent night, I murmured my fears And I felt delight. ' In the morning I went As rosy as morn, To seek for new joy; But oh! met with scorn.

Chapter One

Kelsey

I was standing on a precipice. Well, technically, I was standing in line at a temp job office in Oregon, but it felt like a precipice. Childhood, high school, and the illusion that life was good and times were easy were behind me. Ahead loomed the future: college, a variety of summer jobs to help pay for tuition, and the probability of a lonley adulthood.

At least I had Harry, so maybe not so alone. I had known Harry for years, and he felt like a brother to me. Well, legally, he is and he has always been there for me. I was always really upset when he had to go away to Hogwarts for a whole nine months. And yes, I do know about magic. I first meet him when he was nine. He had come to Oregon with his relatives for a holiday. Well, it was a holiday for his relatives, but certainly not for him...

:Flashback:

"Come along Diddykims! The playground's this way! And after you are finished there, we can get you some ice-cream, now how does that sound poppet?" it was a horse faced woman that spoke. She seemed to be speaking to a flesh coloured beach ball... or is that a child? I can't tell... Anyway.

A giant walrus walked up to the pair and ruffled the child, beach ball, things, hair. The walrus chuckled and said,

"He's a chip off the old block, eh, Marge?" he said to an equally obease woman beside him.

"Yes. Nothing like his brat of a cousin. I still can't believe that you brought him here with you. Waste of a good holiday if you ask me. You're going to spend most of your holiday trying to make sure he doesn't act up and do something illegal." they didn't seem to notice the sad and lonely expression of the boy they were talking about. As they continued to talk about him, his eyes became expressionless and dull.

Time skip 10 minutes.

The boy was now sitting under a tree, watching his cousin play with his mother and father. He didn't notice as a young girl, around about his age, walk up behind him.

"Hello, my name's Kelsey. What's yours?" the boy jumped nearly a foot in the air, as he quickly turned around and stared at the girl who asked his name. She was a pretty girl,(even if he is still at the age where girls are icky and havecooties.), she had shoulder length light golden-brown hair and deep doe brown coloured eyes. He looked warily at her as if expecting her to sneer and turn away from him.

"Harry. My name's Harry." his voice was almost as soft as a whisper. The girl, Kelsey, smiled at him.

"Do you want to play with me Harry? I wanted to ask 'cause you seemed a bit lonely and I hadn't seen you around before and I wanted to get to know you. So, do you want to play with me?" Harry looked at her eyes, looking for deception, but all he could see was sincerity. He nodded and took her hand as she held it out.

Slowly, Harry opened up to Kelsey and in turn, slowly opened up to her parents. When they found out about his abuse and neglect from the Dursley's, they were so angry. They got the Dursleys arrested and put in jail for their crimes and they adopted Harry. He slowly grew out of his quiet and reserved nature and became a loud and boisterous young boy. They were shocked and awed when they found out that Harry was magical, but they were appalled when they learned of his adventures at Hogwarts.

He quit Hogwarts during his third year. He couldn't handle Dumbledore's blatant manipulations. He couldn't handle his so called 'friends' trying to get him into dangerous situations and get into his vaults. He still learnt magic, but he taught himself and hired tutors when he had too.

When he was seventeen and the war was escalating, he went back to Britain for a little while. He defeated the so called 'Dark Lord' and his followers. They tried to get him to stay and rebuild the Ministry of Magic and teach at Hogwarts. He declined all offers and quickly made his way back home. To his sister and his life.

:Flashback:

Now, he lives a very happy life with me.

The line inched forward. We'd been waithing for what seemed like hours trying to get a lead on a summer job. When it was finally our turn, we approached the desk of a bored, tired job placement worker who was on the phone. The woman gestured us closer and indicated that we should sit down. After she hung up, I handed her some forms and she mechanically began the joint interview.(I know that's not how this kind of stuff works, but, hey, it IS fanfiction)

"Names, please."

"Kelsey. Kelsey Hayes."

"Harry Potter-Hayes" she nodded and continued.

"Age?"

"Seventeen, almost eighteen for both of us. Are birthdays are coming up soon."(I tweaked Harry's birthday so his birthday is on the same day as Kelsey.) She stamped the forms. "Are you both High School graduates?"

"Yes. We both graduated just a couple of weeks ago, and plan on attending Chemeketa this fall."

"Parents names?" both of us winced at that.

"Madison and Joshua Hayes, but my guardians are Sarah and Michael Neilson." it never gets any easier, but it's so much worse for Harry.

"My parents are Lily and James Potter. Deceased. My adoptive parents are Madison and Joshua Hayes, but my guardians are also Sarah and Michael Neilson." I gave him a one-armed hug, to offer support.

"Guardians?" Harry and I looked at each other and thought 'Here we go again. Somehow, for both of us, explaining this never got any easier.

"Yes. Our birth parents are . . . deceased. Harry's parents died in a gas explosion and mine died in a car accident when we were freshman's." She bent over some paperwork and scribbled for a long time. I grimaced, wondering what she could be writing that was taking so long. Harry just looked mildly amused.

"Mister and Miss Hayes, do you like animals?"

"Sure. Umm, I know how to feed them . . ." Is anyone lamer than me? Harry smirked at me. Smug bastard. I cleared my throat. "I mean, sure, we love animals. Don't we Harry?" he just nodded.

The woman didn't really seem to care about our responses, and she handed me a posting for a job.

NEEDED:

A TEMPORARY WORKER FOR TWO WEEKS ONLY

DUTIES INCLUDE: TICKET SALES,

FEEDING THE ANIMALS,

AND CLEANING UP AFTER PERFORMANCES.

Note: Because the tiger and dogs

Need to be cared for 24/7, so room and bored

are provided.

The job was for the Circus Maurizio, a small family-run circus at the fairgrounds. I remembered getting a coupon for it at the grocery store and Harry and I had even considered offering to take our foster parents' kids, Rebecca, who is six years old, and Samuel, who is four, so that Sarah and Mike could have some time to themselves. But then I lost the coupon and then totally forgot all about it.

"So, do you want the job or what? But they're only asking for one person, so one of you might have to look else where for a job." the woman said impatiently. Harry just smirked at the woman. She rolled her eyes in response.

"A tiger, huh? Sounds interesting! Are there elephants, too? Because I have to draw the line at scooping up elephant droppings." I giggled quietly at my own joke, whilst Harry just rolled his eyes, but the woman didn't even crack a smile! Since we didn't have any other options, we told her we would do it. She gave Harry a skeptical look and then gave me a card with an address and instructed us to be there the next day by 6:00 a.m.

I wrinkled my nose and Harry groaned. "They need us at six a.m in the bloody morning?"

The worker just gave me a look and shouted 'Next!' at the line shuffling behind us.

What have we gotten ourselves into? (You have no bloody clue how much trouble you have gotten yourselves into... Hehehe..) I thought as I climbed into Sarah's borrowed hybrid and headed home. I sighed. It could be worse. I could be flipping burgers tommorrow. Circuses are fun. I just hope there are no elephants. Harry sniggered, like he had heard my thoughts. . . Smug bastard.

Living with Sarah and Mike was okay for the most part. They gave me and Harry a lot more freedom than most other kids' parents, and I think we all have a healthy respect for each other - well, at least as much as adults can respect two seventeen-year-olds anyway. We both helped babysit the kids and we never got into trouble. Well, I didn't get into any trouble. Can't say the same for Harry though. It wasn't the same as being with our parents, but we were still a family of sorts.

I parked the car carefully in the garage and headed into the house, with Harry right on my heels, to find Sarah attacking a mixing bowl with a wooden spoon. I dropped my bag on a chair, whilst Harry hung his off the back of a chair, and went to go grab a glass of water.

"Making vegan cookies again, I see. What's the special occasion? " I asked.

Sarah quickly turned around and wacked Harrys hand as he drank out of the juice carton. He choked and spluttered as he glared at Sarah. She raised an eyebrow and he rolled his eyes and put it back. She then jammed the wooden spoon into the dense dough several times as if the spoon were an icepick. "It's Sammy's turn to bring treats for his playdate."

I stifled a snigger by coughing, whilst Harry outright laughed.

She narrowed her eyes at us shrewdly. "Kelsey and Harry Hayes, just because your mother was the best damn cookie baker in the world doesn't mean I can't make a decent treat."

"It's not your skills we doubt, it's your ingredients." we said in sink. I picked up a jar and gave it a look. "Substitute nut butter, flax, protein powder and agave. I'm suprised you don't put recycled paper in those things. Where's the chocolate?"

"I use carob sometimes."

"Carobis not chocolate!" Harry exclaims. "It tastes like brown chalk. If you're going to make cookies, you should make-"

"I know. I know. Pumpkin chocolate chip or double chocolate peanut butters. They're really bad for you, Harry, Kelsey." she said with a sigh.

"But they taste so good!" we both exclaim.

We watched as Sarah licked a finger and continue. "By the way, we, well, I, got a job. I'm going to be cleaning up and feeding animals at a circus. It's at the fairgrounds."

"Good for you! That sounds like it will be a great experience. Oh, and Harry?"

"Yes Sarah?"

"Don't cause too much of a scene." she smirked at him while he glared and turned back to me. "What kind of animals will you be looking after?"

"Uh, dogs mostly. And I think there's a tiger. But we probably won't have to do anything dangerous. I'm sure they have professional tiger people for that kind of stuff. But we do have to start really early and will be sleeping there for the next two weeks."

"Hmmm," Sarah paused contemplatively. "Well we're just a phone call away if you guys need us. Would you mind taking the brussels sprouts casserole a la 'recycled newspaper' out of the oven please, Kels?"

I set the stinky casserole in the center of the table while she popped her cookie sheets into the oven and called the kids to dinner. She instructed Harry to set the table. He sighed and rolled his eyes but did it anyway. Mike came in, set his briecase down, and kissed his wife on the cheek.

"What's that . . . smell?" he asked suspiciously.

"Brussels sprouts casserole. " Harry and I answered together.

"And I made cookies for Sammy's playgroup." Sarah announced proudly. "I'll save the best one for you."

Mike shot both Harry and me a knowing look that Sarah caught. She snapped her dishtowel at his thigh.

"If that's the attitude that you, Harry and Kelsey are bringing to the table then the three of you get cleanup duty tonight."

"Aw, honey. Don't be mad." he kissed Sarah againand wrapped his arms around her, trying his best to get out of the task.

Harry and I took that as our cue to exit. We shoot each other a look and smirked. As we snuck out of the kitchen I heard Sarah giggle.

Someday, I'd like a guy to try and talk himself out of cleanup duty with me in the same way, I thought and smiled. But sis, isn't that what you have me for? asked Harry mentally. I shoot him a look, but he just smiled innocently. Ha. Innocent my ass.

Apparently, Mike had negotiated well because he got put-the-kids-to-bed duty instead of cleanup, while I was left to do the dishes on my own with Harry. And if I know Harry, it's going to end up as a full out bubble war. I didn't mind, really, but as soon as we were done, we decided that it was our bedtime too. Six o'clock in the morning was going to come awfully early.

Quietly, we climbed up the stairs to our bedroom. It was small and cozy, with just a simple double bed, a mirrored dresser, a desk for mine and Harrys computer and homework, a closet, our clothes, our books, a basket full of different coloured hair ribbons and our grandmother's quilt.

Our grandmother, mine by blood and Harrys through love, made that quilt when I was little. It was before I meet Harry. I was very young, but I remember her stitching it together, the same metal thimble, always on her finger. I traced a butterfly on the worn-out, raggedy-at-the-corners quilt, remembering how I had snuck the thimble out of her sewing kit one night, just to feel her near me. She had died just a short time after we had adopted Harry. He mourned for her just as much as I did. We became very close during that time. We had forged a bond that, to this day, has yet to be broken. Even though we were teenagers now, we still slept with the quilt every night.

We changed into our pajamas. I shook my hair free from its braid and Harry brushed it out. We both flashed back to how Mum used to do it for me while we talked. I then returned the favor and brushed Harrys hair out for him. It wasn't that long, only just brushing his shoulder blades, but he still liked it when I brushed it out for him.

Crawling under the warm covers, I set our alarms for, ugh, 4:30 a.m and wondered what we could possibly be doing with a tiger so bloody early in the morning and how we would survive the three-ring circus that was already our life. My stomach growled.

After Harry had finished getting ready for bed he joined me under the covers. (by the way, the bond they share is extreme brotherly and sisterly love so, no, it is not wierd that they are sleeping in the same bed. Anyway, Harry's gay so it's not like he's going to try and take advantage of her.)

I glanced at my nightstand and the two pictures I kept out. One was of the four of us: Mum, Dad, Harry and me at a New Year's celebration. Harry and I had just turned twelve. (I tweaked Harry's birthday to be the same as Kelsey's. He still celebrates on July 31st but only as a sign of respect to his birth parents) My long brown hair had been curled, but in the picture it drooped because I had thrown a fit about using hairspray. I'd smiled in the shot, despite the fact that I had a gleaming row of silver braces. I was grateful for my straight teeth now, but I'd abosutely hated those braces back then. In the picture, Harry was standing with his arms wrapped around my waist and with our parents arms around our shoulders.

I touched the glass, placing my thumb briefly over the image of my pale face. I'd always longed to be svelte, tan, blond and blue eyed, but I had the same brown eyes as my father and the tendency towards chubbiness of my mother.

The other was a candid shot of my parents at their wedding day. There was a beautiful water fountain in the background and they were young, happy and smiling at each other. I wanted that for myself someday. I wanted someone to look at me like that.

I glanced over at Harry and saw him smiling softly at a photo of his birth parents wedding. They had married young, but you could see the love that was shared between them. It was almost a tangible aura surrounding the both of them. I briefly looked at the other photo he had on his nightstand. It was of his parents holding baby Harry and smiling for the camera.

Flopping over onto my stomach and stuffing my pillow under my cheek, I drifted off thinking about my mum's cookies.

I smiled slightly as I felt Harry shift on the bed and pull me slightly towards him so he could cuddle me close.

That night, I dreamt that I was being chased through the jungle and when I turned around to look at my pursuer, I was startled to see a large, white, tiger with stunning cobalt blue eyes. My dream self laughed and smiled and then turned and ran faster. The sound of gentle, padded paws raced along after me, beating in time with my heart.

Beside me, Harry was having the same dream, except his had a black tiger, with eyes the colour of gold dubloons and pirates treasure.

So how did everybody like that? Was it good? Bad? Please tell me. Also, if I'm missing a word or there is something wrong with the grammer, please tell me! I would really appreciate it. Hope to see you next time. Bye!

Jaide_Wolf