A/N: As a special treat, I finished this chapter earlier for you guys! After all, it is Christmas! Enjoy!!
New Neighbor
Chapter 16
"Meroooooow."
Kira groggily blinked her eyes open. Round, lime green pupils stared back into her own. Kira jumped, causing her cat to jump back as well.
"Moxie," she mumbled, annoyed. Moxie meowed innocently. Kira turned her head towards the clock.
"It's only 6:50, Moxie," she whined, "and it's Sunday!"
Kira rolled over on her stomach and pulled the pillow over her head. Moxie returned her ignorant gesture by bounding onto the pillow, shutting of her owner's air supply.
"Mmmhgmghh!"
Kira sat up in bed and glared at the feline. Moxie rolled onto her stomach and began batting at the air. Though she tried to keep her infuriated face on, Kira couldn't help but let the corners of her mouth twitch.
"Oh, you're a sneak, you know that? Waking me up so early, how could you?" she said, patting Moxie's upturned belly. Moxie meowed.
Kira's eyes moved to the other occupants of the dormitory. Hermione, Parvati, and Lavender were all sound asleep. A trickle of drool was hanging from Lavender's open mouth, and Kira giggled.
"I won't be able to get back to sleep anyway, thanks to you," she frowned at her cat, "might as well get up."
Kira swung her legs over the side of the bed and started to stand. What she failed to realize, however, was an orange tail sticking out from under her bunk.
"REEEEOOOOOWWW!!!" Crookshanks screeched, darting around the room. He stopped running once he'd squeezed under Hermione's bed. Kira started to reach out and comfort him, but Crookshanks only hissed and spat. Kira sighed, grabbed some clothes, a sweater and jeans, and left for the bathroom.
Half an hour later, Kira emerged from her shower dressed and ready. With her wand, she quickly dried her honey blonde locks using a spell she'd found in a book that she had "borrowed" from Parvati's bookshelf.
After feeding Moxie she left the dormitory. In the Great Hall, very few students were there, mostly Ravenclaws. Glancing over at the Gryffindor table, she saw that Ginny was already eating.
"Morning Ginny," Kira said as she sat across from the red head.
"Morning," Ginny replied, looking up from her toast.
"Why are you up so early?" Kira asked.
"Might I ask the same to you?" Ginny laughed, "I have to get together with my partner for Divination. I'm partnered with Ernie." Ginny grinned and bit into her toast. Kira raised her eyebrows and giggled.
"Not just studying then, right?" asked Kira. Ginny just smirked and shrugged her shoulders.
"My cat woke me up," Kira continued, "I couldn't get back to sleep."
Ginny nodded and turned when she heard her name being called. Ernie had entered the Great Hall with a few of his friends and was waving at Ginny. Ginny smiled and waved back.
A short while later, the Great Hall was louder with the sound of students. Ginny was engrossed in a conversation with Colin Creevey, so Kira decided to leave. She bid Colin and Ginny goodbye and headed towards the large doors. As she was leaving, Hermione, Ron, and Harry entered, talking animatedly. Kira stole a glance at Harry. He wasn't looking at her. Kira sighed and scolded herself for being distracted by him.
Reaching her dormitory and finding it empty, Kira sat down at Hermione's desk. She pulled out some parchment and a quill.
"Dear Mum and Dad," she wrote. Moxie jumped up onto her lap. Then she crafted a letter full of the "classes are going well" and the "teachers here are friendly" phrases. She told them about Neville and described the castle of Hogwarts itself as best she could. When she was finished, she sealed it in an envelope and slid it under her mattress. She'd ask Neville how to send it later.
"Yeah, last night was fun," a voice giggled as two people entered the room. Kira spun around in the chair, and Moxie leaped onto the floor.
"Oh! Hi Kira," Parvati said cheerfully.
"Hi," Kira murmured.
Lavender, the dried drool gone from her cheek Kira noticed, smiled a smile of unnaturally white teeth and asked, "finished with breakfast already?"
Kira nodded.
"So," Parvati said as she sat down on her bed. She leaned forward eagerly and grinned at Kira, "what's up with you and Seamus?"
The blunt question took Kira by surprise.
"Oh, uh, I'm not sure," she answered.
"Dean told me about Friday night. So you don't fancy him?"
Kira blushed.
"Um," she mumbled, "I'm not sure… yet."
Lavender and Parvati's excitement seemed to fade a bit but they still seemed ready to press Kira for any information they could get.
"I have to go," Kira said quickly, just as Lavender had opened her mouth to say something. The two girls frowned at her. Kira ignored them and grabbed a cloak from her bureau.
"See you later," she called as she left.
XXXXXXXXXX
When Harry saw Kira as he entered the Great Hall for breakfast, He didn't look at her, but he still wondered if she looked at him.
'Blimey Harry, she's going to drive you mad if you carry on like this.'
Harry frowned to himself and followed Hermione and Ron to the Gryffindor table. He felt the stares from the students and staff but before they could rush over to chat with him, he had sat down in his seat, Hermione and Ron firmly on each side.
"Thanks," Harry murmured quietly.
"Anytime mate," Ron replied, reaching for the ham.
There was a rustle from above and Harry looked up. Owls had flown in, it was obviously time for mail. He searched the mass of owls. At last he saw a snowy white one, flying towards him. He smiled as Hedwig dropped an envelope in front of him.
"Thank you, Hedwig," he called. The owl hooted at him and flew off.
Harry grabbed the letter and flipped it over. It was addressed to him, from Kingsley Shacklebolt? Harry shoved the letter under the table and glanced from side to side. Hermione and Ron didn't seem to have seen it. Harry sighed. He was sick of this. Sick of the war. Sick of the Order. He slid the letter into his pocket and stood.
"I'll see you later," he mumbled to Ron and Hermione. Swiftly he left the Great Hall before anyone could notice his absence.
"Accio cloak," he called, flicking his wand. Moments later his black school coat came flying through the air and landed in his outstretched hand. Slipping it on, he exited the castle through the front doors.
Harry sighed as the cool, autumn wind whipped at his face. He found a path the led to the far end of the grounds, near Hagrid's hut. He looked in the window of his big friend's hut, but it was still empty. Last he'd heard of Hagrid he had left with Madame Maxime somewhere on business for the Order. Nobody had seen him since, but Dumbledore still insisted he was fine. Harry wasn't sure. He wasn't taking Care of Magical Creatures this year, and he missed his friend terribly.
Walking to the pond, he settled under a willow tree and pulled out the letter from Kingsley Shacklebolt. He glared at it. The war was over, the Order was no longer a leading organization. When it was reported that Voldemort had been defeated, Fudge had dismissed the Order as "no longer needed." Dumbledore had been a bit cross with his decision but agreed nonetheless. However, the members of the Order still considered themselves a union and took it upon themselves to tie up odds and ends of missing Deatheaters and wizards.
'It's over, they don't need to be contacting me,' Harry thought angrily. He pulled out his wand and muttered, "Incendio." A small fire started at the corner of the letter and soon enveloped the parchment. Harry threw it on the ground to avoid burning his fingers. He watched it glow and then slowly die to ashes. He smirked, satisfied.
"It was hard wasn't it?"
Harry jumped and turned around. There stood Kira, her purple eyes guarded. Harry stared at her for a second and then turned back to the lake.
"What do you mean?"
"The war, everything. I'm sorry."
"You don't have to be. You didn't do anything."
Kira didn't speak.
Harry glanced up at her, "you can sit down, you know. I mean, if you want."
Kira hesitated but sat down a few feet from him.
"I wish I could've helped, Harry. I feel like I've had a shield over my eyes all these years. I didn't know anything like that could happen. I didn't know anything like this existed. I was blind to what was going on," she said softly.
"Maybe you're the lucky one then."
Neither of them spoke. The only sound that could be heard was the distant sound of students talking and the gentle slosh of the squid within the lake.
"Crazy, isn't?" Harry asked, breaking the silence.
"What?"
"This. You and me. How we're both at Hogwarts."
"Yes, I suppose it is."
Harry chuckled.
"How did you meet Neville, anyway?" he asked.
"I met him while I was at my aunt and uncle's. He's their neighbor."
"Oh… Funny how people meet, don't you think?"
"Yeah, it is."
"I've known Neville for a while. He's not the bumbling bloke he used to be. Really grown up. I've admired him at times."
Kira giggled, "oh, he's still a bit clumsy now and then."
Harry glanced at her and grinned, "I can only imagine."
She giggled and smiled back. He dropped his gaze and stared at his shoe.
"So, what do you think of Hogwarts?"
"Well, it's an improvement from my last school," answered Kira, a bit scornfully. She sighed, watching the castle in the distance, "I love it."
Harry nodded.
"Good," he said.
After a few minutes of silence, Harry looked a bit thoughtful, "any idea why Snape favors you so?"
"He doesn't favor me--"
Harry raised an eyebrow at her. Kira rolled her eyes.
"Well, I'm not sure really. I mean, he isn't all that bad, is he?"
Harry scoffed, "not that bad! I don't care what Dumbledore says, I can't stand him."
"Why not?"
"I swear he's got a grudge against me. Something between he and my father. What he couldn't do to my dad, he does to me."
Kira raised an eyebrow, still not convinced. Harry didn't notice however, he was looking out at the lake. Kira sighed, letting the issue be.
"So how did you get here?" he asked.
"To Hogwarts?"
"Yeah."
"…On the train?"
"No, I mean, why are you here? How did they find out you were supposed to be a witch?"
"Well, I'm not really sure. I received a letter from the school over the summer, shortly after I met you. My aunt and uncle explained it to me, telling me my family heritage records had been lost."
"That's strange."
"I know, I suppose they simply didn't know I was supposed to be here."
Harry nodded and Kira continued hesitantly, "so how was the rest of your summer?"
"Oh, it was alright. Can't expect much from the Dursley's, you know."
Kira shivered at the memory of Harry's cousin, Dudley.
"I'm glad I was sent there over the summer though," he said tentatively.
Kira furrowed her brow, "why? I thought you hated the place."
"I do… But I'd rather be there than here."
"You hate the attention?"
Harry looked at her with an obvious expression.
"Is that why you keep all cooped up like you do?" she asked.
"I'm not 'cooped up'."
"Yes you are."
"Well, you would be too," Harry said angrily.
"You can't keep wallowing in the same things--"
"None of you people get it," Harry said bitterly, cutting her off, "none of you get what it was like. You don't get what it's like now. Not you, Hermione, Ron, anyone. So please leave it alone! I live like I need to, and I don't need any of your sympathy or damn self-help advice!"
Kira stared at him, her face blank, but her eyes full of confusion, astonishment, and pity. Harry turned away and stared hard at the lake, his face stony.
After a few minutes of silence, the pair heard footsteps and a loud voice.
"Kira! I've been looking all over for you!" Seamus exclaimed, running up beside her. Kira blinked and turned towards him.
"Oh, hello Seamus."
"What are you two doing?" Seamus asked cheerfully.
"Um," Kira glanced at Harry who was still watching the lake, "we were just talking."
"Oh, well if Harry doesn't mind Kira, I've got something to show you!" he said excitedly.
"That's fine, Seamus," Kira said. She stood up and dusted off her pants.
"Great! I'll be seeing ye mate," Seamus said to Harry. He grabbed Kira's hand.
"C'mon," he said happily, dragging her off towards the castle.
Harry watched them go. And as he stood to go find Hermione and Ron, he felt jealously and shame creep through him like an unwanted disease.
A/N: Lol, another (kind of) depressing chapter. Oh well, some of it was good, wasn't it? At least they talked!
Wow, can you believe it? Almost 2005! Holy crap! I'm going on an awesome winter retreat over New Years, it's going to be a blast!
Happy New Years Everyone!
