Tap tap tap.
Harry heard the sound on the door of Grimmauld Place. He answered the door to see someone only slightly familiar.
A slender figure, clad in tight black robes, stood there. The hood was drawn, so he could not see her face, but by the person's obviously feminine curves, he knew it was a young woman. She spoke, her voice a soft murmur, and a foreign accent hinted at her tones.
"I wish to join the Order."
She spoke no more as Kingsley, Tonks and Lupin dashed forward. Kingsley and Tonks seized her by the arms and dragged her inside, Remus shut the door behind her. Tonks yanked back the hood of the girl.
Her face was a smooth-skinned, Middle Eastern toned mask of stoic calm. She was extremely pretty, but her eyes... those were a different story.
Her eyes were a cold hazel color, shining out against her blended- coffee skin tone. Her hair was solid black, very straight, falling to her elbows. Her short bangs were slightly tousled over her forehead from having the hood yanked back. Harry gasped.
She was a student at Hogwarts, in his house, even. But he could never remember her name-- mostly because she was like a shadow. A black hole cut into the colorful environment, she sank into the darkest corners and sat unnoticed. Harry had never seen her willingly speak to someone-- she was quite antisocial, and had no friends to speak of. She was a lone wolf.
"How did you get here?" Kingsley demanded.
She gazed calmly up at him.
"I knew the address."
"How?"
"Found it."
"Where?"
"Sidewalk in London."
"How do you know about the Order?"
She fell silent, her low, rich voice ceasing.
"Well?!"
"I'm... I've been having dreams about it... about everything. I would like to join."
"How do we know you're not a spy?"
"Veritaserum."
She held up a vial of clear liquid.
"I'll take some if you like."
"Do it."
She shrugged, uncorking the vial and letting a few drops fall onto her tongue. She swallowed.
"I swear upon my honor, and the grave of Seth Mostafa, my best friend and brother by destiny, that I wish to join the Order of the Phoenix for solely reasons of good."
"What is your name?"
"Kiya--"
"--Nefertari."
Harry finished her name for her as he remembered. Kingsley shot him a sideways look.
"You know her?"
"I only know that she goes to Hogwarts, her name, and that she's in Gryffindor." Harry responded.
"How do I know that's really Veritaserum?" Kingsley flicked his wand in the direction of the vial. It glowed green momentarily, then returned to clear. "So it really is... what should we do, Tonks?"
"Well, she may know all about the Order, but she is too young. Good afternoon, Miss Nefertari."
Dumbledore answered instead. Kiya nodded in greeting to him.
"We will question her on what she knows, and then we shall swear her to secrecy. Harry, I don't want you to hear this. Please go upstairs." Dumbledore said.
"Alright," said Harry. He exchanged a brief, muddled glance with Kiya before heading straight upstairs to mull things over.
Having already spent some time at the Dursley's this summer, Harry was now staying at Grimmauld Place. He spent most of his time thinking, away from everyone. Things were getting uncomfortable in Grimmauld Place.
Ron and Hermione, though neither would publicly admit it, were infatuated with each other. The growing tension of possible romance between the two was not bearable to Harry. Cho Chang didn't matter to him anymore, but there wasn't any other girl he had an interest in.
Sirius had been solemn and glum, acting much like Harry in that he secluded himself upstairs for hours at a time. He was not possible to cheer.
Tonks very obviously felt something for Kingsley. She always blushed profusely at his approach, and was quite flirtatious with him outside of Ministry and Order work. Here was another source of tension.
And now here was Kiya, a girl with whom Harry seldom conferred. While she was beautiful, she was also highly depressed. She attempted suicide often, even at school. She was like the embodiment of darkness itself. Never noticed, acknowledged or loved. The only person who Harry had ever seen her with was a boy with literally metallic silver shaggy hair, a skin tone like hers and pastel green eyes. He was the only one who saw her off at the Platform, no one else ever accompanied her.
Once, in fourth year, when the Yule Ball was coming up, Kiya had approached Harry in silence. Her usual, reverent silence. She had opened her mouth to speak, but no words came. She blushed profusely and sank back into the shadows.
Wondering now if she had liked him, or if she still did, Harry smiled to himself. This was only the complicated start to a very long day.
Interrogations long finished, Kiya had been instructed to try and make friends with Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny while the adults counseled. Kiya just slid into the shadows of the room and disappeared.
When Hermione entered, she only knew of Harry's presence in the room, and the same with Ron and his sister. Kiya wasn't noticed until Hermione brought it up.
"Isn't it strange," she said, watching Ron and Harry play chess, "That that girl goes to our school and somehow found out everything about the Order? It's fishy, if you ask me. what if she's a spy?"
"She's not," said Harry in sure tones. "And she's in this room."
Hermione flushed, looked around then turned back to Harry. "Where?"
"Here."
Kiya stepped out behind Hermione, her posture stiff and coldly elegant.
"Oh-- I'm sorry-- I didn't know--" Hermione stammered.
"Quite alright. I expected it of you anyway." Kiya seated herself on a sofa. "They told me that if I aspire to join the Order, I must be friends with you all first. I suppose this is where I start.
"My name is Kiya Nefertari. This will be my sixth year at Hogwarts, and I am in Gryffindor. Anything else you would like to know about me before we go on with further introductions and formalities?"
"Yeah," said Ron at last. "Why all the big words? Loosen up. You can't expect to make friends with us if you're so uptight all the time."
"I apo-- I'm sorry. Is this better?" Her voice became less tense.
"Yeah, that's better," said Ron. "By the way, I'm Ron Weasley." He held out his hand for her to shake.
Kiya shook it with slight reluctance, nodded.
"Harry Potter," said Harry simply, and shook her hand. Her flesh was cold, but her skin soft. Her touch was strange, and sent Harry's skin prickling.
"Hermione Granger," prompted Hermione, and they too shook hands.
"Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister," said Ginny sweetly, and shook her hand.
There was an awkward moment of silence, which Kiya broke uneasily.
"Harry, I'm sorry for not going insane and gawking at your scar when we met, but I'm sure you get quite tired of it." Her voice was sardonic.
"You have no idea," said Harry with a wry smile. "And thanks."
"Not a problem," was her answer.
Tension built further during Kiya's stay. She was growing warmer, kinder and more social by the day. She was also becoming more pleasant company for Harry.
For the first few days, she kept her stoic mask, remained cold and didn't even crack a grin. Now, she helped Ron, along with Hermione, with his overdue homework, and at night before bed, she flashed Harry a radiant smile. Harry was surprised when his stomach did several excited flips at her approach, and found he liked her very much.
One night, Kiya and Harry were walking down an upstairs corridor, about to go to bed, when they stopped at the end of the hall. Their rooms were opposite each other, something Harry and Hermione both had come to cherish. Hermione, because she would often dash giggling into her room, and excited squeals would emit seconds later. Harry, because her melodious singing carried over the hall in the morning, and he glimpsed her every morning as she combed her hair and sang.
They looked at each other, smiling about an incident earlier in the day that had involved Mundungus Fletcher and a pot of very hot stew. It had sent them into fits of cackling laughter for hours, much to the disapproval of Dung. But now, their smiles were about something different as thoughts, new thoughts, came to mind.
"Well, see you in the morning," said Kiya.
"Remember, we're going to Diagon Alley tomorrow to get school supplies," Harry reminded her, and she nodded.
There was an awkward moment of silence in which they stared at the floor uneasily. When they looked up at each other sheepishly, they found they were standing quite close. They looked back down quickly, blushing badly. Before Harry looked up again, Kiya closed the space between their lips in an impulsive kiss.
Harry heard the sound on the door of Grimmauld Place. He answered the door to see someone only slightly familiar.
A slender figure, clad in tight black robes, stood there. The hood was drawn, so he could not see her face, but by the person's obviously feminine curves, he knew it was a young woman. She spoke, her voice a soft murmur, and a foreign accent hinted at her tones.
"I wish to join the Order."
She spoke no more as Kingsley, Tonks and Lupin dashed forward. Kingsley and Tonks seized her by the arms and dragged her inside, Remus shut the door behind her. Tonks yanked back the hood of the girl.
Her face was a smooth-skinned, Middle Eastern toned mask of stoic calm. She was extremely pretty, but her eyes... those were a different story.
Her eyes were a cold hazel color, shining out against her blended- coffee skin tone. Her hair was solid black, very straight, falling to her elbows. Her short bangs were slightly tousled over her forehead from having the hood yanked back. Harry gasped.
She was a student at Hogwarts, in his house, even. But he could never remember her name-- mostly because she was like a shadow. A black hole cut into the colorful environment, she sank into the darkest corners and sat unnoticed. Harry had never seen her willingly speak to someone-- she was quite antisocial, and had no friends to speak of. She was a lone wolf.
"How did you get here?" Kingsley demanded.
She gazed calmly up at him.
"I knew the address."
"How?"
"Found it."
"Where?"
"Sidewalk in London."
"How do you know about the Order?"
She fell silent, her low, rich voice ceasing.
"Well?!"
"I'm... I've been having dreams about it... about everything. I would like to join."
"How do we know you're not a spy?"
"Veritaserum."
She held up a vial of clear liquid.
"I'll take some if you like."
"Do it."
She shrugged, uncorking the vial and letting a few drops fall onto her tongue. She swallowed.
"I swear upon my honor, and the grave of Seth Mostafa, my best friend and brother by destiny, that I wish to join the Order of the Phoenix for solely reasons of good."
"What is your name?"
"Kiya--"
"--Nefertari."
Harry finished her name for her as he remembered. Kingsley shot him a sideways look.
"You know her?"
"I only know that she goes to Hogwarts, her name, and that she's in Gryffindor." Harry responded.
"How do I know that's really Veritaserum?" Kingsley flicked his wand in the direction of the vial. It glowed green momentarily, then returned to clear. "So it really is... what should we do, Tonks?"
"Well, she may know all about the Order, but she is too young. Good afternoon, Miss Nefertari."
Dumbledore answered instead. Kiya nodded in greeting to him.
"We will question her on what she knows, and then we shall swear her to secrecy. Harry, I don't want you to hear this. Please go upstairs." Dumbledore said.
"Alright," said Harry. He exchanged a brief, muddled glance with Kiya before heading straight upstairs to mull things over.
Having already spent some time at the Dursley's this summer, Harry was now staying at Grimmauld Place. He spent most of his time thinking, away from everyone. Things were getting uncomfortable in Grimmauld Place.
Ron and Hermione, though neither would publicly admit it, were infatuated with each other. The growing tension of possible romance between the two was not bearable to Harry. Cho Chang didn't matter to him anymore, but there wasn't any other girl he had an interest in.
Sirius had been solemn and glum, acting much like Harry in that he secluded himself upstairs for hours at a time. He was not possible to cheer.
Tonks very obviously felt something for Kingsley. She always blushed profusely at his approach, and was quite flirtatious with him outside of Ministry and Order work. Here was another source of tension.
And now here was Kiya, a girl with whom Harry seldom conferred. While she was beautiful, she was also highly depressed. She attempted suicide often, even at school. She was like the embodiment of darkness itself. Never noticed, acknowledged or loved. The only person who Harry had ever seen her with was a boy with literally metallic silver shaggy hair, a skin tone like hers and pastel green eyes. He was the only one who saw her off at the Platform, no one else ever accompanied her.
Once, in fourth year, when the Yule Ball was coming up, Kiya had approached Harry in silence. Her usual, reverent silence. She had opened her mouth to speak, but no words came. She blushed profusely and sank back into the shadows.
Wondering now if she had liked him, or if she still did, Harry smiled to himself. This was only the complicated start to a very long day.
Interrogations long finished, Kiya had been instructed to try and make friends with Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny while the adults counseled. Kiya just slid into the shadows of the room and disappeared.
When Hermione entered, she only knew of Harry's presence in the room, and the same with Ron and his sister. Kiya wasn't noticed until Hermione brought it up.
"Isn't it strange," she said, watching Ron and Harry play chess, "That that girl goes to our school and somehow found out everything about the Order? It's fishy, if you ask me. what if she's a spy?"
"She's not," said Harry in sure tones. "And she's in this room."
Hermione flushed, looked around then turned back to Harry. "Where?"
"Here."
Kiya stepped out behind Hermione, her posture stiff and coldly elegant.
"Oh-- I'm sorry-- I didn't know--" Hermione stammered.
"Quite alright. I expected it of you anyway." Kiya seated herself on a sofa. "They told me that if I aspire to join the Order, I must be friends with you all first. I suppose this is where I start.
"My name is Kiya Nefertari. This will be my sixth year at Hogwarts, and I am in Gryffindor. Anything else you would like to know about me before we go on with further introductions and formalities?"
"Yeah," said Ron at last. "Why all the big words? Loosen up. You can't expect to make friends with us if you're so uptight all the time."
"I apo-- I'm sorry. Is this better?" Her voice became less tense.
"Yeah, that's better," said Ron. "By the way, I'm Ron Weasley." He held out his hand for her to shake.
Kiya shook it with slight reluctance, nodded.
"Harry Potter," said Harry simply, and shook her hand. Her flesh was cold, but her skin soft. Her touch was strange, and sent Harry's skin prickling.
"Hermione Granger," prompted Hermione, and they too shook hands.
"Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister," said Ginny sweetly, and shook her hand.
There was an awkward moment of silence, which Kiya broke uneasily.
"Harry, I'm sorry for not going insane and gawking at your scar when we met, but I'm sure you get quite tired of it." Her voice was sardonic.
"You have no idea," said Harry with a wry smile. "And thanks."
"Not a problem," was her answer.
Tension built further during Kiya's stay. She was growing warmer, kinder and more social by the day. She was also becoming more pleasant company for Harry.
For the first few days, she kept her stoic mask, remained cold and didn't even crack a grin. Now, she helped Ron, along with Hermione, with his overdue homework, and at night before bed, she flashed Harry a radiant smile. Harry was surprised when his stomach did several excited flips at her approach, and found he liked her very much.
One night, Kiya and Harry were walking down an upstairs corridor, about to go to bed, when they stopped at the end of the hall. Their rooms were opposite each other, something Harry and Hermione both had come to cherish. Hermione, because she would often dash giggling into her room, and excited squeals would emit seconds later. Harry, because her melodious singing carried over the hall in the morning, and he glimpsed her every morning as she combed her hair and sang.
They looked at each other, smiling about an incident earlier in the day that had involved Mundungus Fletcher and a pot of very hot stew. It had sent them into fits of cackling laughter for hours, much to the disapproval of Dung. But now, their smiles were about something different as thoughts, new thoughts, came to mind.
"Well, see you in the morning," said Kiya.
"Remember, we're going to Diagon Alley tomorrow to get school supplies," Harry reminded her, and she nodded.
There was an awkward moment of silence in which they stared at the floor uneasily. When they looked up at each other sheepishly, they found they were standing quite close. They looked back down quickly, blushing badly. Before Harry looked up again, Kiya closed the space between their lips in an impulsive kiss.