A/N: ok I'm back from vacation, and boy it was FUN! Lol, I actually didn't even work on the story at all, I was really busy! This chappy isn't quite as long as the last one, but you'll live.
Oh and some of my recent reviews have been used as other than ahem 'reviewing' purposes, so please people, let's keep reviews for reviews only? Lol…
DISCLAIMER: EVERYTHING IN THIS STORY BELONGS TO J.K.ROWLING EXCEPT THE STUFF YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. BUA HA HA HA HAA!!!
New Neighbor
Chapter 7
A half hour after she had fallen asleep in her wonderful, but temporary room, Kira awoke to the sound of Aunt Ramona's voice.
"Kira? Kira! Hello?"
Kira sat up among the bountiful quantity of pillows that threatened to overflow around her. A quick glance around told her she was alone in the room.
'Huh? Then where is the voice coming from?!'
"Hellooooo? Come now, Kira. Mav told me that you were in there… …Kira!! Answer me dear!"
Kira swung over the mattress and checked under her bed. Nothing.
"Aunt Ramona?" she called out to her empty room, feeling quite stupid.
"Ah! Finally sweetie, I was getting a bit worried. Supper's ready dear!"
"Uhh," Kira said intelligently to the nothingness surrounding her, "Auntie?"
"Yes, dear?"
Kira hopped off her bed and cautiously walked around the bedroom, searching.
"Where are you?"
Aunt Ramona's chuckles came from nowhere, "Oh! Sorry Kira, didn't tell you did I? Do you see a clock on your vanity dear?"
Kira spotted it next to a blue hairbrush that looked like it had… teeth? She decided to ask her aunt later and picked up the small clock. Unlike the grandfather clock she had spotted downstairs upon her arrival, this clock had only two hands and appeared as normal as the clocks Kira owned at her own house.
"Uhh, yes, I found it."
"Turn it around."
'Did Aunt Ramona's voice just come from the clock?'
On the other side of the clock was a small speaker sort of thing. So that was how she was talking to her. But there wasn't any cord from the clock to the wall
'Is it like a walkie-talkie or something? …Oh, magic!'
Kira spoke into the clock-speaker, not feeling quite as stupid, "um, I figured it out Auntie. I'll be right down for supper."
Aunt Ramona laughed, "okay dear."
Kira walked quickly into the 3rd floor hallway and strolled past Maverick's painting as she made her way towards the stairs.
"So ye enjoyin' yer room, are ye lass?" the sneaker asked as she walked by. Kira stopped to face him and smiled.
"Oh yes, Mav, I love it! Thank you very much!"
Mav smiled his odd sneaker-grin.
"Knew ye'd like it, lass. Lovely, it is."
She nodded and told him she was going down to dinner. He bid her farewell and she strode downstairs. Thankfully, the stairwell didn't switch on her this time and she found herself in the front entryway of the house. She immediately caught a whiff of dinner's tantalizing aroma.
"Is that you, Kira?" she heard Uncle Griffin call from the next room.
"Yeah," Kira answered, getting her first sight of the large, well-lit dining room. The table was set beautifully and a large pot roast was sitting in the middle of the table. She slid into the seat next to Uncle Griffin.
"So you found a room alright, Kira?" her uncle asked as he served Kira a large slice of steaming pot roast.
"Oh yes," Kira replied, staring around at the delicious food set before her. "The sneaker was a big help though."
"Mav?" her Aunt asked, "so you've met him. I very much enjoy having him around. Very kindly soul, don't you think?"
Kira nodded and her aunt continued, "and the fact that a painting can talk didn't shock you too much, did it sweetie?"
"Oh, it gave me quite a scare, Auntie. Lots of things in this house have. And what's with the ferocious hairbrush on my vanity?"
"Been there for ages, Kira," her uncle answered, "don't try to move it. Last person who tried that has only nine fingers left now."
Kira's eyes widened in surprise but she didn't say anything. As the trio started eating their food, her aunt and uncle made small talk about subjects Kira had never heard of before. She listened intently as not to miss a thing. She wanted to learn as much as she possibly could about this world she was coming into. They chatted about cauldrons and the Ministry of Magic and the latest robe fashion… Every once in a while they would stop and explain something to Kira so she could understand what they were talking about. By the end of dinner, an hour later, Kira's mind was bubbling with anticipation to know more.
"But what is the Department of Muggle Studies going to do for the muggles who found the unicorns??" she asked excitedly.
Aunt Ramona chuckled.
"Sweetie, it's getting late. I think you should save the rest of your questions for tomorrow, after you've had a full nights sleep."
Kira sighed and nodded, but shoved the rest of her questions to the back of her mind for later. She stood up from the table and reached for her plate, meaning to take it into the kitchen.
"No Kira, there's no need for that," her aunt exclaimed and pulled her wand out of her right-hand pocket.
"Scourgify!" she cried and with a small pop every dish on the table was sparkling clean and stacked neatly, ready to be put into the kitchen cupboards.
"Wow! That's wicked cool!" Kira said.
Uncle Griffin and Aunt Ramona both started laughing as they began carrying the stacks of dishes into the kitchen. Kira helped and soon the kitchen and dining room were neat and tidy. She checked the clock and saw it was almost 9:00pm.
She bid her aunt and uncle good night and headed towards the stairs. Yawning, she walked up the first set of steps. When she appeared at the landing, she glanced across the hall and saw that in fact this was not the right floor.
The painting across from the steps was not Mav. It was a painting of an extremely old lady, dressed entirely in black, save for the massive diamond jewelry that adorned her ears, neck, and fingers. The lady's hair was gray, almost silver, and was pulled back into a tight bun. Her lips were pursed exceedingly tight, giving Kira the idea that she was sucking on a lemon. Small, thin eye-glasses were perched at the very end of her aristocratic nose which the old lady gazed down through to give Kira the most unwelcoming stare.
Kira gulped. She was about to ask the old woman how she could make it to the 3rd floor, when the lady spoke.
"What do we have here?" she asked in a shrill voice, "a new visitor?"
"Erm, yes. Uh, I was hoping--"
"Speak clearly, child!" the old woman almost screamed.
"Could you please direct me to the stairs leading to the 3rd floor?" Kira asked quickly, but the old woman was mumbling to herself.
"…yes, I see… …dark blood… whole lot of them… …mudbloods… …Griffin's insane, surely… …I'll be damned… …whole lot of them…"
Kira furrowed her brow. She strained her ear to hear the lady more clearly.
"Excuse me, ma'am," Kira began timidly, "what are you talking about?"
"Heavens, child!" the painting shrieked, "listening to an old woman's conversation! Goodness me, I'd take a paddle to you! And you shall address me as Madame Rosaline Fairwand, which is my God-given name!"
"Yes, Madame Rosaline Fairwand…" Kira murmured, inwardly annoyed but unwilling to show the woman anything but respect, "where are the stairs to the 3rd floor?"
"Ah! No manners!" screeched Madame Fairwand, "over to your right, child! Now OUT OF MY SIGHT!!!"
Kira hurriedly went to her right, where down the hall she found a stairwell leading downwards. She could still hear Madame Fairwand yelling something about black blood and her aunt and uncle's insanity as she descended the stairs.
'What on earth is she screaming about?' Kira wondered, 'what a nutcase.'
Soon she found herself face to face-- well, face to sneaker with Mav.
"Met ole Rosaline, have ye lass?" he asked, chuckling.
Kira sighed exasperatedly, "yeah, what's her problem?"
"Oh, lots o'things, lass. Not sure ye'd wanna know."
Kira laughed and said, "I suppose not, Mav. Good night."
"G'night lass," the sneaker called after her as she entered her room.
Trying to ignore her rising inquiries about Madame Fairwand's ramblings, Kira leapt into her huge bed, causing a few pillows to bounce into the air and onto the floor. She snuggled down into the soft bedding and quickly feel asleep, happily dreaming about unicorns, a biting hairbrush, and self-cleaning dishes.
XXXXXXXXXX
The next few days were absolutely terrific for Kira. She learned more and more about wizarding life. During the day her aunt and uncle would take her out to explore. Kira helped to de-gnome the huge garden that was located beside the four-story house, and catch a family of Kneazles, an obnoxious but cute little creature that Aunt Ramona insisted were destroying her flower beds.
In the evenings, Uncle Griffin and Kira would have wizard chess tournaments while they enjoyed dessert made by Aunt Ramona. Then they would talk late into the night about anything and everything. Wizard banking, wizard fashion, wizard-world creatures, and sometimes wizard school. Namely, Hogwarts. Kira learned a little about Dumbledore, and how the school was formed.
Walking through the orchards one morning, she realized that, finally, after feeling like she was always looking for something, she felt whole. The missing puzzle piece of her life had been found. Learning about how to coil up the springs of a five-handed clock and quiet down a gargling Pixie outside of the greenhouse completed her. This new world completed her.
Kira saw a squirrel scurry past her feet. Then, interrupting her daydreaming, and odd screeching noise cut through the silence of the forest like an axe.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH…"
The squealing was getting louder. Kira looked up, alarmed. Suddenly a falling young man appeared in the walnut tree above her. Kira, startled out of her reverie, realized that if she didn't move he was going to fall on top off her. She jumped nimbly out of the way a split second before the flailing boy landed with impressive force on the ground.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-- OOF!!!"
The flailing boy landed with impressive force on the grass and didn't move.
"Oh my gosh!!!" Kira screamed as she knelt down beside the young man.
A groan came from the boy and Kira relaxed a bit.
'Thank goodness! He's not dead!'
"Are you alright?!" she exclaimed, trying to pull the young man's head off the ground in which it was now imbedded.
He lifted his head a bit and when he saw Kira his eyes widened and he quickly made an attempt to push himself up to a sitting position. Kira grabbed his arm and helped him a bit and soon he was sitting on the ground before her.
As he tried to dust himself off with his right hand (since his left appeared to be grasping something tightly), Kira took in his appearance. He was a teeny bit chubby, with pleasant brown hair and brown eyes. He wore wrinkled, mud spotted robe, his hair tangled with leaves and twigs. His arms had small scratches and dirt streaks, and his shoes looked a bit worn as well.
"What on earth were you doing in the tree!" she inquired worriedly, "and are you okay??"
"Uh," the boy spoke for the first time, "I was trying to catch my--" His eyes widened.
"Trevor! Where's Trevor!" he exclaimed anxiously, then his expression visibly relaxed as if he had just remembered something.
Kira was confused.
"Who's Trevor?" she asked.
The boy brought both his hands together and released whatever he had been clenching in his left hand. There sat a large wart-covered toad, making soft burping noises.
"This is Trevor," he indicated towards the toad proudly, "and I'm Neville Longbottom."
"Hello, I'm Kira, and for the third time, are you alright?"
Neville looked a bit sheepish, "I'm fine, used to it in fact."
"Um…?"
"I mean, er, I tend to be a bit clumsy. Drives my Gran mad, in fact."
Kira giggled.
"Here, let me help you up," she said, reaching for his hand. He grasped it and soon he was standing. He reached behind him to brush the dirt off his hind end.
Kira laughed and asked, "what were you doing in my Aunt and Uncle's orchards anyway?"
"Your aunt and uncle? Didn't know Ramona and Griffin had a niece," said Neville, surprised.
"Oh, well, I suppose they're not my real aunt and uncle, but they're close. Old family friends, you could say," Kira said, "I'm here for a visit."
"Oh," Neville said, comprehension evident in his face, "well I live just down the road from here… I often take walks in the orchard, I mean, it's a pretty nice place don't you think? And besides, Trevor loves it."
"Oh, um… I'll bet he does." Kira said uncertainly.
"I wonder why I've never seen you around here, I've lived next to Ramon and Griffin for almost my whole life."
"Well, its a long story…" Kira racked her brain how she could explain it, "see, I just found out I'm a… a witch, and that I'm going to a school named, um… Hogwarts… do you know where that is?"
"Yeah! I go there!"
Kira's expression brightened, "wicked! Can you tell me a little about it then?"
"Yeah, I sure could!" Neville said and took a step away from the tree. His foot caught on a root and he stumbled forwards into the ground clumsily. He put his hands out to catch himself, and consequently Trevor the toad leaped out of Neville's hand and sped off towards the peach trees.
"TREVOR!!!" Neville yelled, and quickly stood back up and brushed off his clothes. He looked at Kira.
"We have to catch him!" he exclaimed, urgency in his voice and raced after the leaping toad.
Kira, meanwhile had been laughing very hard over Neville's untimely stumble on the root and Trevor's escapade. Still laughing, she ran after Neville.
Soon they entered the peach tree orchard, where the overripe peaches had fallen all over the ground. Kira and Neville had to try and avoid the slippery rotten fruit as not to trip and fall.
Kira, a bit lighter and a more experienced runner, reached the bouncing toad first, and grasped hold of him. What she wasn't expecting though was a peach-pulp, wart-covered, belching toad in her hands. She shrieked in surprise and Trevor took the opportunity to soar out of her hands, free once again.
Neville hurdled past Kira, and with one big leap he caught Trevor in his outstretched fingers. However, he wasn't watching where he was going and slipped on a large, soggy, rotten peach and landed right on his back. Kira, right behind him, tripped over his peach-pulp-covered leg and landed with a SPLOOSH in the rotten peaches beside Neville.
Anyone walking through the peach orchard at that moment would have seen an incredibly amusing site. Both Kira and Neville were silent for a moment before they both burst out laughing. Kira took a look at Neville and then at herself. They were both covered in the rotten peaches that littered the ground around them. Neville had a bit of peach pulp shoved in his ear and Kira had some up her nose.
"Well, did you get the toad?" Kira asked between fits of giggles.
"Yeah," a bright red Neville answered and held up the burping toad as proof. The toad looked a bit disappointed at losing its chance at freedom.
Their laughter gradually died down and they stood up.
"My aunt and uncle's house is closer, you want to come and get cleaned up?" Kira offered.
"Yeah, Gran would kill me if I showed up looking like this anyhow," he chuckled.
So Kira and her new friend headed off towards Griffin and Ramona's, reenacting and laughing at their recent peach-incident, the whole while being extra careful of where they walked.
A/N: I know, I know… not much happened in this chapter… but I think the next chapter might have more in it. The next chapter, in fact, is being written right now! Yippee! And Hogwarts will come in a few chapters, don't worry. Ok more then a few… but oh well.
Thanx again to my editor and chief, Digladior0124! She and I have been working on an outline, so now we know where the story is gonna go. Cool, huh? Lol…
Okay now my dear reader, let's not keep that review button waiting!
