Lily kept her promise to Karissa and didn't tell her friends why they could not use Veritaserum on Kristiina. Alaura, Lia and James knew better than to argue but Sirius was not so relenting.
"So now we just leave her like this?"
"Sirius, this hurts me probably more than it hurts you. Don't press the issue," Lily said warningly. Sirius threw up his hands.
"I cannot believe we are giving up!"
"We are not giving up," Karissa said strongly but softly. "Right now there just isn't anything we can do for Kristiina." Sirius slammed his fist down on the table close by.
"There has to be something!"
"I'm sorry, Sirius. There's nothing we can do except wait."
Waiting proved too difficult for every one and they soon decided to take Kristiina down to the Hospital Wing where she would be religiously watched over. Karissa had conceded to the idea more than willingly and this left Lily to wonder if there was something else that the small girl was hiding. It was a thought that was forcefully brushed aside at the memory of Karissa being so uptight about telling Lily about Kristiina's abilities.
The nurse, it seemed, was waiting for Kristiina to be brought down, having a bed prepared for her. The headmaster was down moments later, worry creasing his tired features.
"Sixth one this week, headmaster," the medi-witch whispered as Dumbledore looked over Kristiina carefully.
"She's fighting it," he replied in a low voice but the medi-witch still looked saddened.
"How long will she last before she must be placed with the others?" Lily hadn't wanted to interrupt but the need was now too strong.
"I'm sorry, headmaster, but what is wrong with her?" Professor Dumbledore turned, but instead of his eyes meeting Lily's they turned to Karissa who nodded slightly.
"I'm afraid, Miss Evans that this is not something to be discussed in this company. Lily sighed.
"They will find out sooner or later, Professor," she replied dully. The headmaster seemed to consider this a moment before nodding his head in agreement.
"Then we will take this to my office."
The office did not have enough chairs for all, but that was quickly rectified by the wave of Professor Dumbledore's wand. Every one sat, Karissa being the only one not staring curiously at the headmaster.
"I take it, Miss Evans, that the young Miss Peters has explained to you the delicacy of the elder Miss Peters' situation." Lily confirmed this with a nod. "And she has not told the rest?" This was answered by enthusiastic nods from the rest. The headmaster sighed.
"I will tell you then of a young girl who came to Hogwarts on the first of September four years ago…"
Flashback
A young Kristiina Peters stepped onto the platform at Hogsmeade Station, nervous about her first day at such a different school.
"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" A friendly looking gigantous man was holding a lantern above the sea of heads and calling for the new students. Kristiina weaved her way through the crowd to stand at his feet. He looked down at her, grinning behind his messy beard.
"'ello there young miss," he said. Kristiina smiled back, though said nothing. The giant looked over her head and immediately straightened up. Kristiina turned slower, meeting sparkling blue eyes hidden by half moon spectacles.
"I see you too have taken a liking to Miss Peters," the man said and Kristiina blushed. The elderly man smiled down at her gently.
"I will take her, Hagrid. Please continue with the rest of the first years." Kristiina could hear the whispers of the other students as she followed behind the silver haired man and her nervousness increased. She was a girl that stuck to the shadows and never got much attention at all. He led her through the crowd to the head carriage and motioned for her to step in. She did, a bit reluctantly, taking a seat in the rather overstuffed interior. The man climbed in with her.
"I, my dear, and Professor Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of the school." Kristiina immediately went on alert. She hadn't done anything had she?
"On the contrary my dear, this has nothing to do with your behaviour, technically speaking. You, if I am not mistaken, have been practicing magic before knowing about Hogwarts?" Kristiina nodded. Her mother had previously practiced Wiccan magic and had gotten Kristiina and her younger sister Karissa involved at a very young age.
"And if I am correct in assuming, where spells did not necessarily work for your mother they always worked for you?" Kristiina nodded again. The headmaster sat back on his seat as the coach moved forward. Kristiina watched him, apprehensively, for the next words.
"We were very careful in wording your second letter you received after your admittance letter to Hogwarts so as to not alarm your parents, but you are not a normal witch by any stretch of the imagination." Kristiina had not expected this. Of course she knew she was not a normal witch. For all she knew, she had come from a completely muggle family. Tears began to well in her eyes.
"No, no, dear girl, I am not reprimanding you, nor am I going to tell you we need to send you home. You are most definitely meant to be here, Kristiina, without the slightest doubt, you are just in many ways not like the other students. Your abilities in Wiccan magic have most definitely caught the attention of our most feared enemy, Lord Voldemort. All Wiccan spells have a working chance. Fifty, seventy-five, twenty percent, it varies with the spell, but all of your spells, one hundred percent, have worked. This is what I mean by you are different, Kristiina. You are able to do magic without the use of your wand."
End Flashback
"I can remember watching the poor child cry in the coach at the realization that she would have to do extra work, but her abilities shone through. The day our younger Miss Peters walked in on her sister, Kristiina was trying to get a feel for Transfiguration without a wand. That is one of the most difficult things to accomplish, especially for some one of Kristiina's age, but her progress was astounding."
"I'm sorry, Professor, but why was she sorted into Slytherin? And what specifically is wrong with her now?" Lily asked.
"Only Kristiina knows why she was sorted into Slytherin. No, Miss Evans, I do not think she is, for lack of a better phrase, slimy – though I have no biases against Slytherin house – as you would. I firmly believe that with your influences in her charms tutoring, you have been able to keep Kristiina from using any of her abilities to keep her housemates at bay. They were appalled at finding that a muggle-born had been sorted into their house." Lily looked down at the floor. Kristiina was scared and miserable and she felt useless.
"Is there anything we can do?"
"Not at the moment. We must trust in Madam Pomfrey's abilities to bring Kristiina around."
Apprehension and worry were the two main feelings conveyed between the friends for the next two months. Christmas was coming and Kristiina did not seem to be getting any better. Each of her friends were depressed beyond belief. True, they had gone without Tanice for a Christmas, but they had been just as upset then. It seemed that no one was getting a break any time soon. As Christmas day rolled around and Lily, James, Alaura, Lia, Sirius, Remus, Tanice, Karissa, and Lucy gathered in the heads' common room for gifts, even the happy occasion seemed to dull with the knowledge that one of their own was not going to be present.
"You know," Lily whispered, "it almost doesn't seem right to open presents without Kristiina here."
"Maybe we could open them in the Infirmary," Lia suggested with a shrug of her shoulders and a glance at the unopened parcels.
"I still don't think its right…" Lily knew how Alaura had felt, and she was still uneasy about being happy without her surrogate middle sister here. Then she remembered that Alaura was able to be happy through her grief, through the nervousness and worried churning that her only baby sister would not make it through her comatose state. She couldn't be worried and sad forever.
"Come on, Lils. Kristiina wouldn't want you to be this upset would she?" Karissa asked softly, her eyes pleading with Lily's for something to get her mind off of the elder Peters. Lily smiled, genuinely, handing her own flawlessly wrapped parcel – addressed to Karissa – to its recipient.
"You're right. Here's your gift from me." It was a somewhat dull Christmas, nothing close to what the year before had brought, but Lily didn't mind. Karissa's statement had reminded her that it really, in a sense, didn't matter that Kristiina was not present for Lily had all of the rest of her friends there too.
(A/N: I know everything is moving fast but there is a reason to that. These little things aren't important so I'm rushing through them to get to the really good stuff)
The day Kristiina finally woke up was a busy day for Lily and her friends. The NEWTs were fast approaching and studying was very much under way. Karissa, Lucy and Tanice were busy quizzing the elder students on their notes when the soft knock sounded on the portrait hole. Lily answered it.
"Hi Lily."
I'm going to faint. Lily's mind told her. There was Kristiina, standing right in front of her. A grin began to blossom on the redhead's face and she swept the younger girl into a great bear hug.
"I'm so happy to see you alive and awake," Lily squealed showing Kristiina into the room and to the other girls. Many hugs were exchanged and stories told to catch Kristiina up on the events that had transpired during her missing months. It was late at night when the younger girls, then Alaura, and Lia left. This left Lily alone in her dorm, waiting for James to return. Lily let her mind wander away thinking back to the faces of all of her friends when they saw Kristiina again. Karissa's hazel eyes popped up in front of Lily's mind's eye. Karissa had been frightened to see her sister again. Something was wrong with the girl and Lily knew it. But what?
Lily jumped when she felt a pair of warm lips attach themselves to her neck. James had returned – he'd offered to go alone patrolling – and had now set a still partially zoned out Lily on his lap. When Lily still made no responses to his kisses, James got worried.
"Lils? What's wrong?"
"Something's wrong with Karissa."
I am so sorry this took so long to get up. I really didn't mean for it to take this long… writer's block's a bitch. I'm hoping to get a good start on the next one though… last set up chapter before everything comes together…
Should graduation come before or after the climax? NEWTs? I want your opinions please! And include your e-mail in the review if you want me to send you an e-mail when I finally update. Include the story(ies) you want notice on too. Makes my life easier.
Thanks to all reviewers and my greatest apologies once again about this taking so long!
Kavi Leighanna