The Fifth House
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything from the books that seem even the vaguest form of familiar. I do own a few characters, some places in the setting, and the plot, so I'm not completely without.
Author's Note: Hey people! You know that huge project with the ten pages and the 3D and the two posters and all that jazz I had to do that kept me insanely busy last year? Well, I must do it again, but this time my topic's more interesting, so it should be easier to get done.
Just thought y'all should know. You know, next month will be TFH's first birthday? That's on December 13.
Read.
Review.
Revenue! {Lol, Dark Mage]
Curtains Up!
Chapter Thirty
"La cucaracha, la cucaracha, la la la la la la la la la…" Kylie sang in her dormitory.
"You know that song is about a cockroach, I assume?" Draco Malfoy asked her.
"Of course I do. You can't just sing songs in foreign languages if you don't know the translation. You could get yourself in deep trouble that way," Kylie said, giving her friend a knowing look.
"Oh, I'm sure you've never done that," Draco said sarcastically.
Kylie brought her hand to her heart and wore an expression of mock disbelief.
"So, remind me again why I'm standing here?" Draco asked.
"As if you don't remember. You're memory is selective, Draco, but it's not that bad," Kylie said, throwing a few books over her head. Draco caught them.
"Alright, can you at least tell me why you're pelting me with books?" Draco asked.
"I'm not pelting, for heaven's sake. Pelting would be this," she said and threw a book at him. Right before it would hit him, she pulled out her wand and said "Accio!"
"I scared you real good, didn't I?" Kylie asked, grinning.
"Oh yes, because I was terribly frightened of being hit by a book thrown by you," Draco said rolling his eyes. Kylie threw a book at him, this time she didn't summon it back.
"Hey, that hurt!" Draco asked, rubbing his arm where it had hit.
"Huh? I did nothing! Must have been my guardian wizard who threw that book at you," Kylie said blinking her eyes innocently.
"I'm sure," Draco said.
"I can always count on you to believe me, Draco,' Kylie said.
"So, seriously, why am I here?" Draco asked honestly.
"To keep me company while I'm looking for my book," Kylie said, not looking up from behind several stacks of books, each towering over her.
"Not the same book you were looking for weeks ago?" Draco asked.
"The very same one. It never turned up. I especially need it now for research, and I'd really like to find it before Christmas," Kylie said, tossing a few more books over the stacks.
"By tomorrow, then?" Draco asked.
"Tomorrow's Christmas?" Kylie said, looking alarmed. She pushed two stacks of books over so that she could see Draco.
"Well, you see Kylie, Christmas tends to be on the 25th of every year. That's just the way it is,' Draco explained in a voice as if he were trying to explain something to a first year.
"I can't be looking for books, I've got shopping to do! Draco, today's a Hogsmeade day, right?" Kylie asked.
"It just happens to be," Draco said.
"Come on, you're going to be my shopping buddy," Kylie said, as she grabbed his arm and steered him out of the Slytherin rooms and through the castle. Draco protested the whole way.
"Shopping? Of all things, Kylie, why do you inflict this upon me?" Draco asked.
"Draco, it'll only be for an hour or so, not too long. Plus, you don't have to do much. You're supposed to have a buddy to go into Hogsmeade with so you don't get lost, and you were the first person to ask," Kylie said.
"Ask? You latched on to my arm. And you don't really need to have someone with you, and you're a Slytherin, anyway, so it shouldn't matter,' Draco protested.
"Well, I'm not as much a Slytherin as you are," Kylie asked.
"Obviously you have some part Slytherin, because the Sorting Hat put you there," Draco said.
"Yes, but it's more of a blood thing than anything else,' Kylie said hastily before turning into a bookstore.
"Hi," Kylie said to the old witch behind the counter, " can you help me find the very thickest book you have?"
"A blood thing?" Draco asked curiously.
"Yes, well, my relatives were a bit darkly inclined," Kylie said quickly. "Well, maybe just a little more than a bit, they were kind of obsessed with Voldemort's plans and all that.'
"Really? You never really talk about your family. So, they're all like that?" Draco asked.
The old witch returned with a book that was easily twelve inches thick, and Kylie paid for it.
"Well, not all of them, just two of them, actually. But one was so crazed it's almost like a whole family. You want to help me with this?" Kylie said, struggling to carry the book.
"Oh, sure," Draco said, taking the package from Kylie's hands. 'Thanks,' she said, straightening her back.
"That's odd though, I never heard of any wizards by the name D'Alessandro, even the dark ones," Draco thought out loud.
"Well, you wouldn't. D'Alessandro is my grandmother's maiden name before she married my father's father. That side of the family's okay," Kylie said.
"Why do you have your grandmother's name?" Draco asked.
"It was the only respectable name left that I could take. All the others were trashed. Some deserved it, some didn't. Either way, it's okay," Kylie said, looking over a list in her hand.
"Well, what were your parents' names?" Draco inquired, fully interested now.
"I shouldn't really say their last names, very very unrespectable, both. But my mom's first name was Guiniviere, and I shouldn't say my dad's first name, it's too easy to make connections, but his middle name's Argo," Kylie said.
"What could your family have done that is so bad you can't even say their names?" Draco asked.
"You'd be surprised," Kylie said quietly while looking around darkly.
"And I thought living with my name was tough," Draco said.
"Yeah, well, at least I don't have to really live with any name other than my middle name," Kylie said. She suddenly looked like she regretted saying this.
"What do you mean by that?" Draco asked.
"Kylie is my middle name. If I used my first name, it's be too easy to make connections," Kylie said, looking very pained.
"What is it with you and connections? Don't you have any self worth? You never seemed to care what people think until now," Draco said.
"My mom always told me that I'd be able to use my real name someday. Not her maiden name, though, my grandfather's way too terrible. But I'd like to use my father's name. His is only hated because of some other guy. He never did anything wrong," Kylie said.
Kylie started walking very suddenly towards Zonko's Joke Shop. She didn't speak much. She bought two bags worth of merchandise and left, Draco following her out of the shop.
"I suppose you'd like it if I stopped asking you about your family now?" Draco asked, quickening his stride to catch up with her.
Kylie whirled around so quickly that Draco walked into her. "That would be very nice, thank you very much."
She then turned and proceeded walking into Honeydukes where she bought bags full of candy and sweets. After, she went to several other stores, Draco following closely.
"Sorry," she said to him randomly after leaving one store.
"For what?" Draco asked confusedly.
"For snapping at you. It's just that talking about my family puts me in a bad mood. And it's even worse since it's Christmas," she said.
"I know what you're talking about. My family can't be too much better,' Draco said.
"Well…" Kylie started.
"Hi Kylie!" said a voice behind her.
Kylie spun around. "Hi Hermione!"
"I didn't think anyone else would be here today, being so close to Christmas. I wouldn't be here if I hadn't forgotten to buy a present for my dad. I'd much rather be studying for that potions test we're having once the term starts again," Hermione said.
"Yes, because that's a better use for your time, is it?" Draco asked her icily.
"Just because you pass potions because you're Snape's favorite, Malfoy, doesn't mean other people don't feel the need to study," Hermione said in a very authoritive tone.
"You guys, please stop,' Kylie asked them.
"Sorry, Kylie. I've really got to go, homework to do. So I'll see you around," Hermione said before walking off.
"You have got to stop fighting with them, Draco! Don't make me make you and Hermione shake hands!" Kylie threatened.
"You've already made me shake Potter's hand, isn't that enough?" Draco asked; sounding very annoyed.
"It's only enough as long as you stop fighting. I had to run from you that time, just because I took a picture," Kylie said, rolling her eyes.
"Yes, well I never caught up with you. You fainted in some desolate corridor," Draco said.
"Hey, that was scary! You'd be freaked out too, if you saw some headmaster's portrait with blood spattered on it!" Kylie said.
He looked at her quickly. "What, are you going to try to find out who did it? Going to play detective, Kylie?" Draco asked.
Kylie walked away towards a beauty store. "Hey, Draco! I should get a book with hair spells in it, then we could dye our hair together!"
Draco gave her a disgusted look. "Someone, please, hex me. Hex me right now and spare me the misery."
Kylie laughed. "Come on, Draco! I was kidding. I know guys are too strong to admit their hair secrets."
"I wasn't kidding about that hex," Draco called into the crowded street.
"Oh, honestly, Draco, lighten up. It's Christmas!"
* * * *
"Harry! HARRY! Wake up!" Ron yelled at Harry on the morning of December the 25th.
"What?" Harry asked sleepily, trying to find his glasses.
"It's Christmas, and you've got about twelve presents, look!" Ron pointed to a small pile of wrapped gifts at the foot of Harry's bed.
"Yeah, I'm up," Harry said.
"I was going to open the present from mum first. To get it over with, you know. I opened the letter she sent, and she said to wait for you to wake up to open the presents from her," Ron said very quickly.
"So you yelled in my ear?" Harry asked.
Ron's ears turned slightly pink.
"It's okay," Harry said. Ron grinned.
Harry unwrapped Mrs. Weasley present to find the usual emerald green sweater and a tin of some sort of homemade candy that Harry liked, even though he wasn't sure what it was called.
Ron gave him a giant box of sugar quills, which made Harry very happy, especially since his classes seemed to be longer and more boring every day. The quills would give him at least something sweet to eat during them.
Hermione gave him and Ron books called 500 Ways to Organize Your Time by Dinner, by Cecely Capistrano. Hermione mentioned in her card that hopefully, it would help them learn to do their homework before five minutes prior to when it's due.
Hagrid had whittled wooden figures of Harry, Ron, and Hermione that were just barely recognizable. Somehow he'd managed to bewitch them so that they walked, and even talked in tiny, high-pitched voices. Harry found it very entertaining to watch wooden Hermione yell at wooden Ron about his potions essay.
Sirius sent him a gift that Harry was sure would have been very handy when he was trapped in the Terces Atrium. It was a small, charcoal grey ball. Sirius's letter said that it was an Escapemaker. To be used, he told Harry to throw it against a wall, which would make the wall eat away at itself until there was a hole that you could escape through.
"Hey, this is really cool!" Ron said, holding a small red box and looking inside.
"What is it?" Harry asked him.
"It's a, it's a… Er, I don't rightly know…" Ron said.
Harry walked over to Ron's bed and looked at the object in the red box.
It looked like some sort of mask. Harry could tell that it would cover the person who wore its entire face. It was very strange, though, because it was clear, and would not hide the wearer's face at all.
"Try it," Harry told Ron.
Ron reluctantly took the mask out of the box and tied it around the back of his head. Harry wouldn't have been able to tell that Ron was wearing a mask if he hadn't seen him put it on.
"What's this thing do?" Ron asked right before pressing a tiny purple spot on the side of the mask.
"Well?" Harry asked, looking at his friend expectantly.
"Nothing,' Ron said. "This is really kind of weird. Here, try it."
Harry put on the mask. Out of curiosity, he pressed the purple spot on the side of the mask.
What he saw seemed surreal. He saw himself looking at the mask with a look as if he were waiting for something. He was confused until something clicked in his head…
"Ron, this is like a camera! It records what the person wearing it is seeing when they press that purple circle, and when they take it off, it stops. When they put the mask on, or when anyone else does, and they press the purple circle, it plays what it recorded. It's like a muggle camera, only magical,' Harry said.
Ron looked excited and relieved. "That's really awesome, better than I thought, really."
"Who's it from?" Harry asked, taking off the mask and putting it in the red velvet box.
Ron looked at the small card attached to the box. "It's from Kylie," he said.
"You guys! Look at this!" Hermione ran into the boys' dormitory holding a gigantic book.
"Could you have gotten a bigger book, Hermione?" Ron asked, looking at her incredulously.
"Kylie sent it. She said it was the thickest, very biggest book she could find. And it looks so interesting!" Hermione was saying very quickly.
"Hey, Harry didn't get anything from Kylie,' Ron said, furrowing his brow in concentration. "I wonder what happened."
"Oh, I'm sure she sent him something. She must have, you're just not looking well enough!" Hermione said.
After a few minutes, Harry declared that there was no present from Kylie.
"None anywhere," he said a little sadly.
"That's because that present must be from her," Hermione said, pointing to a box that was clamped in the talons of a rather large owl that was looking straight at Harry.
* * * *
"AHHHH!"
Kylie woke up to the sound of one of the girls in her dorm screaming.
"What? What is it?" Kylie asked, suddenly seeming very awake.
"Millicent, it was you? You woke me up this early? You must have a death wish…" Pansy Parkinson said threateningly to Millicent Bulstrode.
Kylie looked between the two girls, a confused expression on her face.
Pansy turned to Kylie. 'Sorry, but Millicent here thought it'd be a good idea to jump on me to wake me up," she said.
"Okay,' Kylie said. She looked a little perplexed, but just shrugged.
"How are you so awake? You never seemed like a morning person,' Millicent asked Kylie.
"I'm not, I just act like I am," Kylie answered.
"Oh, all right then…" said Pansy, giving a strange look to Millicent.
Kylie knew that the two girls were just waiting for her to leave.
"I'm going to go open my presents now. See you guys later,' Kylie said as she got out of her bed and walked into the Slytherin common room.
"Hey Draco," Kylie said, sitting down in a cold leather chair in front of the fireplace.
"Hey," he said, not looking up as he looked through a book.
"What'd you get?" Kylie asked curiously, wondering what book could get Draco that absorbed.
"Huh? Oh, my cousin sent it," Draco said, showing the cover to Kylie.
"Easy, Long-lasting Jinxes to be Done Anonymously. So, you'll be able to jinx people without anyone knowing it was you?" Kylie asked, looking a bit confused.
"Exactly," Draco sad, smiling smugly.
"But, if they're jinxes, like spells with a wand, people will see you pointing your wand, won't they?" Kylie asked.
"No, it says there's some way around it. It doesn't exactly say what it is, though,' Draco said, leafing through the pages.
"Sounds really great," Kylie said sarcastically. She slid off the chair and sat next to her presents.
"You know, the Gryffindors wake up with their presents on the end of their beds," Kylie said.
"And?"
"Well, we don't. They make us walk all the way down here. I wonder why?" Kylie thought out loud as she unwrapped a small box.
"Probably something the four founders did," Draco asked, only half-listening.
"Hey, what's this?" Kylie asked. She looked at a large, purple-wrapped box. She opened it and gasped.
"What?" Draco asked, looking up from his book.
"My book," Kylie said, taking a leather-bound, black book out of the box.
"Wait, the one you lost? You lost it, and someone found it, and then gave it to you as a present?" Draco asked.
Kylie nodded. "Or someone took it."
"Cheap way of giving someone a gift," Draco said.
Kylie raised her eyebrows at him.
She opened the book. 'Oh my…" she started to say. She took a piece of paper out of the book.
"What now?" Draco asked.
Kylie didn't answer, but continued to look at the paper.
"Oh, give me that," Draco said, leaning over and grabbing the paper from her.
He read the paper and looked confused.
It said:
Thank you Cassie.
"Cassie?" Draco asked.
Kylie nodded.
"So, you're freaking out because someone forgot you were Kylie?" Draco asked, looking thoroughly puzzled.
"No," Kylie said. "I'm freaking out because they knew I wasn't."
"Does that mean…?" Draco started to ask. A few things had started to click into place in his head.
Kylie flipped to a page very quickly all of a sudden.
"I was right," she said, looking like she just discovered something of incredible importance, and at the same time looked mildly terrified.
"Okay, I'm not going to ask," Draco said, choosing not to be interested in what Kylie was saying.
"I've got to get this to Harry," Kylie said to herself.
"Okay, now I'm asking. What to you have to tell Potter?" Draco asked.
"You said you wouldn't ask,' Kylie said.
She got up very quickly and started running out of the common room.
"Where are you going?" Draco called after her.
""The Owlery, I'll be back in ten minutes," Kylie shouted back before pushing the door open and disappearing through it.
* * * *
"Well, get it,' Hermione told Harry.
"I don't think it likes me,' Harry said. The owl appeared to be glaring at him.
"Oh, I'll get it then, if you're so scared,' Hermione said. She gently eased the box out of the owl's talons, gave it a pat on the head, and it flew away.
She turned around and faced Harry. "I honestly don't know why you're so scared. It's just Aero," Hermione said.
"Aero?" Ron asked.
"Kylie's owl. That's how I knew it was from her,' Hermione said wisely.
Harry opened the box and saw a book.
"Wow! Hogwarts, a History, edition eight!" Hermione asked.
"Isn't that banned?" Ron asked.
"Yeah, it contains controversial stuff students aren't supposed to know or something," Harry said.
He opened the book and saw a note that had been scribbled, obviously very quickly, in Kylie's handwriting.
Sorry I got this to you late. I think you'll find it useful. Harry, read pages 174-175 ALONE. Don't let anyone read it, or it'll be absolute chaos.
~Kylie
"What's it say?" Ron asked curiously.
"Uh, just that she was sorry she sent it late," Harry fibbed.
Harry felt bad lying to his best friends, but from the way Kylie had written it, it seemed too valuable not to.
Curtains Close!
Author's Note: That chapter took me three nights to write. I knew all I had to say in this chapter, but getting it into words was a project and a half.
Words of Wisdom: "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming,"
~Dory, from Finding Nemo
Please review!
I love you all!
Ciao!
~Starry