Chapter 4: Meetings with a Certain Weasley

As it was easy for Kera to imagine, Elli was livid when he found out. And, likely on Elli's orders, Cosiky wouldn't speak to Kera for a week. No communication from either of them meant no really chores, and she wasn't about to protest. So, the first free time she had in as long as she could remember, she spent alone, exploring the quaint town of Ottery St. Catchpole.

One day, while she was wandering about the main street, she heard two red heads, obviously brother and sister, debating something very un-muggle-ish, outside a storefront.

"Look, mum said, 'I want a dozen negs and two pounds milk," the brother told his younger sister imperiously. She groaned and mimed bashing her head with something.

The girl snorted at him and snapped, "Would you stop joking, she said a dozen eggs and two batches of milk. Why mum would ever entrust you with the shopping, Fred, I'll never know."

"Oh, com'on Gin, you know why. It's because of my amazing-"

"I don't want to hear it-"

"Excuse me?" Kera asked. "Do you need any help?"

"Oh great," the sister, Gin, snapped. "You've gone and gotten a muggle suspicious." She shook her head and gave Fred as hopeless a look as anyone could give. Tossing her hair behind her shoulders, she started to attempt to explain away the bizarre behavior, saying, "Oh no, we're quite fine, thanks. My brother just-"

"Oh," Kera shook her head, "I'm no muggle. I'm a sor- a witch-maid, of sorts. I work for a wizarding family up around here.

"Wait, wizarding family?" the boy asked. "You work for the Diggorys?" Shake. "Lovegoods?" Shake. "Fawcetts?" Shake. "Who else is there?"

"No one el- not unless you work for the Malfoys," Gin said, suddenly looking quite disgusted.

Kera shrugged her shoulders. The girl snorted again. Kera began to wonder if this was a very bad habit, and remember a foggy memory of someone who would always criticize her for slips like that. Gin laughed blatantly, "As if they haven't got enough servants. So, what're you doing as a slave in the Malfoy residence?"

Again Kera shrugged. They seemed friendly enough, and shared at the very least her dislike of the people who took her in. "Living. Breathing. Working my ass off for a bunch of jerks who think I'm dumb as a cow. But, do you need help or not?"

"Yes, please," said the girl. "Tell this numbskull here that it's a dozen eggs and two halves of milk."

"You mean, two half gallons?"

"Yes, that's it. How do you know that?"

"Back home, people were a lot less, afraid, of magic."

"Really," said George, "where's that?"

"Romania."

"Far. And, what exactly do they call you there?"

"Kera. Actually, Keranou- never mind, you'd better stick with Kera."

"Cool. I'm George, and the hothead's my sister, Ginny." He offered Kera a nice looking sunburned hand.

"Nice to meet you Kera."

"Same to both of you. It's nice to know some people are halfway decent around here." She took the hand.

"We're a dying race," he replied, "but our family's doing our best to take care of that."

"Really? Do tell."

It was as if Kera's life had gotten a new purpose. The five weekdays were spent in a dull stupor of working in the Malfoy's kitchen, where not even Julia dared venture since that fateful evening, which had later left Kera with one half-meal a day for two weeks. But, on the Sunday, after Saturday's shopping, she would hop the massive hedge fence separating, on small spot, the expansive mansion property from the rambling homey-ness of the Weasley's towering cottage. It was hear, almost three weeks after their first meeting, that Kera found herself aiding Ginny and the twins in their never ending battle against the rambunctious and magically enhanced weeds.

Kera, her own magic greatly hindered by the complication of relearning every spell with a non-existent wand, had gone for the more muggle approach and was busy tackling a dandelion the size of a small dog. Ginny weaved in and out, attempting to stun the creature, which was now hissing and spitting purple flames, when her mother came out. "Ginny, come in quickly. Your dad's just got back with Ron, Harry, and Hermione." Ginny dropped her wand and hurried inside. As Kera struggled out of the plants embrace to get away before she barged in on something and turned back towards the fence, Mrs. Weasley spotted her, "Oh, Kera, you should come in and meet Ron too. You'll be going to Hogwarts with him and his friends, after all." In the past few weeks Mrs. Weasley had become an aunt, of sorts.

Kera shook her head sadly. No use being where she didn't belong; besides, she had more of those blasted potatoes to peel. "No, Mrs. Weasley, I've got to go anyway."

She looked rather put out, "Oh, right. Well, come by as soon as you can. If I'd think she'd listen, I'd mention letting you off more to Mrs. Malfoy…" Her voice trailed off, and Kera jumped the fence.

You will go to Hogwarts, befriend Potter, and report back to me weekly. You will not remember ever doing so, and you will forget this conversation. You have worked for the Malfoys for five years, ever since your family was killed.

Kera woke up that night with a burning pain in her hands. She bent over double, letting out a scream that, soundless as it was, still ripped a hole in her throat, and inside her. It was like a hot fire, roaring in her blood stream, taking her living body and slowly, agonizingly, transforming it into ash. Her mind was nothing but turmoil, and over and over she heard those hideous words. But, there was no person to put them with. Whoever had said them was a nameless figure from her past.

Finally, a piece of her conscious grew sane enough to provide a sanctuary, separate from all the incineration. From there, she built up her defenses and, agonizingly slowly, pushed back the pain. It left her, but took all her strength while it was at it. Kera collapsed on the sound wood of her barn loft, clutched about for her quilt, then dragged herself back onto her small straw pallet of the corner. As she lay there, panting, the moonlight from the large hay loft that served as a window fell across her face, revealing a white, shuddering zombie, with nothing left in her eyes but the very whites, open to an almost ghastly point.

"I hear, dark lord, and obey," She croaked.

As if being released from a spell, Kera fell limp and her eyes closed. Two tears trickled down her face. At the same time, a long crack in the strange mirror in the corner, the one she'd been forbidden to move, received a long, narrow crack down the center, and the next morning it was in pieces.

Needless to say, the Malfoys weren't too pleased the next day to find it shattered. For reasons of their own, Kera was giving an immense shopping list, with the orders, not to come back at least until dinner. Mrs. Malfoy had said, "Kera, you're such a lovely girl, and I'm sure we'd all get along in you just, tried, to fit in with every one else. You can do that, can't you?"

At which she'd answered, "I don't know, Mam, I've never tried." At which, for good measure, she was also told to take Julia as well.

Julia, of course, was the most horrid wrench while Kera attempted to get all the things, including a new sack of potatoes, until she spotted Draco coming down the road. Then she snapped at Julia, "He's your brother, go annoy him!" She promptly shook her head. So, finally, Kera had to give her the two pounds pocket money she'd gotten for the week to send her off to play with another of her snide friends. "Eleven year olds!" she cursed.

"Oh, and you mean to tell me you weren't that bad?" whispered a slick voice in her ear. Kera jumped and, three shops down the road, a crystal vase burst into piece, much to the surprise and woe of its keeper.

"Malfoy, can't you just avoid me like you normally do?" she pleaded, ever since the soup incident, he'd stayed far away and, much as it strangled her pride to do it, she was ready to plead to get that back. "It's been so lovely without someone hovering round me."

Fine," he said, "I won't hover. But, I thought you might want to know about the mirror."

"Malfoy shut up and get the hell away from me!"

"Okay, your loss." He sauntered off. Kera began to shiver, badly.

As soon as all the items were found, Kera rushed over to the Weasley's house, since she obviously couldn't go back to the Malfoy's (even if she'd wanted to). Once there, it was the work of two seconds before Mrs. Weasley happily put a freezer charm on the food, offered lunch, and shoved Kera bodily out the door with a thick sandwich, straight into Ginny. "Hey Ginny," she mouthed brightly over the giant mouthful she took to prove to Ginny's mom that she'd eat it.

"Hi Kera. The Malfoys let you off early?" Ginny replied.

Kera swallowed painfully, and then nodded, "With orders not to come back until dinner. Had to ditch Julia first, though."

"Who's Julia," asked a curious voice. It came from a bushy brown head with pretty face, half hidden by her book.

Three voices answered, "Malfoy's little sister." Ginny laughed, the tugged Kera further into the yard. "Everyone, this is Kera. She works for the Malfoys. Kera, this is my brother, Ron." Obviously, with hair as brilliant as her was, but taller and more freckled. "Hermione." The girl behind the book gave a small wave. "And this, is Harry." A tall, dark young man stepped out from behind his friend and into the sunlight. Kera's eyes, having seen a drawing someone had done of him once, instantly flew to the raven hair, the emerald eyes, and, of course, the lightning scar. Harry, who was normally used to staring, stared back. He'd seen this girl somewhere before, but all his mind came up with was a blank.

Kera snapped out of the strange voice repeating the boy's name over and over when Ginny asked with a firm plop on the ground, "So, what did you do this time?"

Kera let her legs collapse. "Nothing much. Just broke a mirror. But man, they were pissed." One of the odd things Ginny could never get over about her new friend was how she talked like an American witch, yet she was from Romania. She used to wonder if Kera had lied to them, but after hearing her rattle off an extensive list of kings, flora, and fauna native to Romania, and then verifying it all, she could give her the benefit of the doubt. After all, she'd sworn to Fred that Kera was talking to a chipmunk the other day, so maybe she was just good at that.

"So, any of them still talking to you," Ron asked.

Her heart leapt ever so slightly. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, sorry Kera, I told them all about it yesterday."

"Ah. Well, no, not really. I think they're trying the whole, if we pretend she doesn't exist, maybe she won't, deal."

"I know what that's like. Try the Dursleys."

"So, is it true that they have two other house elves?"

"Yeah, Cosiky and Elli. Two of the creepiest things on the planet. Said they had a brother too."

Hermione frowned, "I'm not sure if that's the nicest thing to say about-"

Ron cut her off, "Oh, come on, Hermione, no one but you thinks elves are in their right minds." They promptly set off on another argument of their own.

"Wait, is their brother named Dobby?" Ginny and Harry both asked.

"That's it! Oh and- Hermione?" Hermione looked away from her argument with Ron. "You can't say that they're not weird. Elli convinced these," She brandished her hands, "are rape scars." Hermione stared with an open mouth. Everyone else laughed. Kera had a feeling that this was going to be a good summer.

"Hey, Kera, ever play Quidditch? Hermione's useless and we could always use another chaser."

As they went inside to get the brooms, Ginny pulled Kera back, "Kera, what ever you do, try to avoid anything morbid around Harry, he's been ordered to take a Pepperup Mood Potion everyday, but he still gets down pretty easily."

"Why's that?"

"I think," she replied slowly, "that you should wait for Harry to tell you that one." Frowning still, "Race you. 1…2…3… go!" Suddenly she was just running and laughing like nothing had happened. And, before Kera knew it, she was doing the same. It all stopped, however, when they crashed into the boys a minute later.