Chapter Four:
Lupin was unconscious and his clothes were tattered and torn.
"Well, that settles it then. When you return to your school you can bring him with you."
She put a feather light charm on Lupin and levitated him over to Draco who caught him.
"Aren't you coming with me?" Draco asked.
"I have no business with your school or headmaster. Why would I go?"
Draco shrugged and minimized their brooms. They stuck their brooms in their respective pockets and turned to face each other again. It was Draco who spoke first.
"I didn't want to do this, but I'm afraid you'll have to come with me or I'll have to hurt our little werewolf friend."
"You wouldn't dare." His companion was suddenly seething in anger. He glanced at her face, it was contorted with rage. As soon as he made eye contact with her, fires appeared in her eyes.
"I would, and I will."
"You traitor!" She hissed, then, as suddenly as it had come the fire in her eyes faded , leaving them totally void of emotion, "Very well, Draco. I shall accompany you up to the castle and visit your headmaster. Then I will leave."
She turned and stalked off the pitch towards the castle. As he followed her he watched the way the wand light hit her long brown hair so that it sparkled against the slowly paling sky. The ponytail was sleek and smooth, hanging down to the middle of her back. Her clothes were a bit odd considering her surroundings, but maybe they were normal where she came from. She wore a white long-sleeved shirt with a light brownish-green shirt over the top. The over-shirt had sleeves the same length as an average t-shirt, the difference was that with hers the ended in a point along the outside. Her lower arms were mostly covered with brown dragon hide arm guards. Her pants were the same color as her shirt, and covered up dragon hide boots. The leather for the boots had been stretched and scraped, so that they were soft and comfortable, yet durable and long-lasting. All in all, though the look suited her, she stood out quite a bit against his normal attire, of the school uniform and robes.
As they neared the main entrance to the castle, he could see the outline of two people waiting for them. Draco knew who it would be. Sure enough, as they climbed the last few steps. Dumbledore and Snape stood waiting for them. No one said anything. Dumbledore merely turned and walked into the Entrance Hall. The rest of the group followed him all the way up to his office. Once there, Draco placed the now stirring Lupin onto a chaise lounge in the corner. When everyone had selected a chair, Snape spoke.
"Draco, where have you been? You know the rules about breaking curfew and what to do if you get lost in the forest. I expected better from you."
"Severus, let us give the boy a chance to speak. Draco, I trust you have a good explanation for you actions?"
At that moment Lupin awoke with a loud yawn.
"How did I get up here?" he asked eyeing everyone in the room, "Last thing I remember I was out on the quidditch pitch being immobilized and having foul tasting things shoved down my throat."
At this, Dumbledore glanced at Draco and raised his eyebrows.
"Remus, I do believe we are all wondering what happened. Draco, please begin your story."
And so he did. Draco told them nearly everything, including his dream the night before, but leaving out the bits with the Unforgivable Curses. After he finished, Dumbledore looked to the girl for the first time since her arrival.
"Well now, this is an unusual situation. What shall we do with you?"
"Professor, If I may be so bold. I would like to ask her a few questions," Remus said breaking the awkward silence that had fallen after Dumbledore's words.
"As would I," drawled Snape from his chair in the corner. The girl did not care for the way he stared at her with that peircing glare. She had done nothing to earn his coldness towards her but due to her anger at Draco, she simply glared back.
"Very well, Remus will speak first and then you may have your say Severus. That is, of course, if she will permit it," Dumbledore replied after careful consideration of the requests that had been directed towards him.
Suddenly, all eyes in the room were on her. She simply glared at Snape and Draco, but her expersion softened as it fell on Lupin, then as it moved to Dumbledore, she nodded her consent.
"Well, for starters, I think we'd all like to know your name," Remus said quietly. Hearing this Draco shifted foreward a bit.
"My name is Kendra Thomasi."
"Where are you from?"
"From the east, in a place inaccessible to most humans."
"You're not human?" Remus asked, taken aback.
"I didn't say that," she answered vaguely.
"Oh, right. Well, I guess I just have one question left. What exactly happened to me on the quidditch pitch? I am still supposed to be a werewolf, yet I am not."
"Correct. I gave you a leaf of Wolf's Bane infused with a mixture of phoenix tears and water. Phoenix tears, heal injuries, wolf's bane can be used to repel werewolves. The wolf's bane causes a werewolf to lose consciousness and attacks his system, wiping out all traces of werewolf in him but simultaneously damaging it sufficiently enough that it results in fatalities," Hearing this Remus flinched and glanced down at himself and then at her. She raised her eyebrows before continuing, "However, when the phoenix tears and water are mixed and placed on the leaf it will cause it to... change, for lack of a better word, and due to this change when a werewolf eats it, it still attacks its system but also repairs the damage it does; thus it is a safe and effective cure. From now on, you are permanently stuck as a human, unless of course, you go and get yourself bitten again."
Seemingly satisfied with this answer, Lupin leaned back in his chair and glanced towards Snape and nodded at him to begin.
"An interesting choice in ingredients. Just how did you come up with this?" Snape asked.
"As a child, my grandfather was a werewolf, so I would help him prepare potions before every full moon. One day, I just decided to try this. He agreed it was worth a shot, and he did not transform for the following three years..."
"And after that," Snape pressed on, glancing warily at Lupin.
"He died shortly after the third one began."
"So you mean to say you just granted him three years as a human before he dies?"
"Once again, I didn't say that. The potion is permanent as far as I know. My grandfather didn't die because of it," she snapped.
"How then, did he die?" Snape spat out bitterly. He was tired of the way she would answer something without really answering it and leave them with a new question.
Sensing this she glanced up, he was glaring at her again. She felt herself loosing control, she had no power to stop the words that flew from her mouth next.
"My grandfather died saving my grandmother and I from a pair of Death Eaters!" She yelled, and then more quietly, "He failed. My grandmother had packed my bags and we were ready to go when we heard the shouts downstairs. We looked over the landing just in time to watch them murder him. She transformed a nearby book into a portkey. As they climbed the stairs looking for us, she grabbed our cat and told me to never let them have her collar. One of the Death Eaters grabbed my arm to stop me from going but my grandmother blasted him down the stairs. The force of the blast and the strength of his grip on my arm dislocated my shoulder. My grandmother shoved me into the port key and out of the way of the spell the remaining Death Eater shot at me. She took the blast and fell to the floor just as I disappeared. I wandered around for a few days before Draco found me in the forest."
As she finished, no one spoke. Kendra's hazel eyes were icy.
"Well, enough questions for now. I expect that you are both tired and hungry. Draco, if you will lead Kendra to her room, a house elf will bring her breakfast and lunch. You may eat in the Great Hall and then you shall be exempt from classes today to catch up on your rest, however I expect you to find out what you missed from your housemates," Dumbledore spoke softly, "Kendra your room shall be located in the east tower, behind the portrait of Staray the Elf. The password is 'knowledge'. Second door on your left. Draco will meet you there at four o'clock sharp and bring you down to the Great Hall where you will be sorted and have dinner with your new housemates. You will be assigned a room in your new house and the house elves will move you belongings. Tomorrow after breakfast, I will meet with you and your head of house and we will figure out what you class schedule shall be."
Kendra nodded, too tired to argue that she didn't belong here, and wearily got to her feet. She followed Draco out of the office and into the hall. He walked with her until they reached the portrait, neither one saying anything. Staring up at the portrait, she realized who the elf was; she was the current leader of Elvenhome and a family friend.
"Hello, Staray." Kendra muttered in a monotone voice.
"Why hello! Fancy meeting you here, this tower is normally reserved for guests of the headmaster," the portrait chirped cheerily.
"Yes, I figured as much. He said I was to stay here until I was sorted tonight," Kendra muttered.
The portrait was unfazed by her gloomy attitude, "So you won't be returning home? That's a shame. You have your mother's wandering blood. Well, You'll have to come visit me sometime. It does get rather lonely here."
"I would like nothing better than to be home right now. But I don't have much choice in the matter," Kendra replied, "So will you let me in?"
"Oh! Of course, Kendra dear, password?" Kit asked.
"Knowledge."
"Right you are! Well, have a nice rest." said the elf as she swung open to allow the teens entry.
Draco watched the entire affair between the two and without saying a word followed her through, into the common room.
"What in Merlin's name was that all about?" he asked incredulously.
"None of your business," Kendra snapped back, as she headed for the door to her room. "If I were you I'd get lost before I was being dangled upside down from the chandelier on the ceiling."
"And if I were you, I'd watch my mouth before I made myself any enemy so soon after my arrival." Draco replied, as he turned to go. The only response he got was a door slamming shut. He grumbled under his breath all the way back to his dorm room.
Kendra sighed as she sat on the edge of the bed. She was tired but she wanted to eat and unpack a bit first. Suddenly a house elf appeared with her food. She thanked it and watched as it shuffled off. After eating she felt much better. Placing her cloak over the back of the chair sitting in front of her desk, she headed back to the bed and fell into a dreamless sleep.