Chapter 7: All Over Again

"Alright, Kera, here's how this is going to. You're going to come with me to where my friends are. Then, whatever anyone tells you to do, you're going to do it. When we want a snack, I expect to see your money paying for it. Maybe, just maybe, we'll share some with you. But, under no circumstances will I want to hear any back sass, rude remarks, comments, utterances, noises, protests, spells, impertinence, protests, or anything else of the like. Got it?"

"Sure. Okay." Kera was much to tired and out of sorts to be disturbed in the slightest by the horrifying thought of spending her day with Julia and her new 'friends'.

Of course, Julia was quite alright with this. She was really starting to enjoy this new Kera; she was quite, obedient, and, best of all, had a newfound inclination for tripping over anything and everything. Sadly, it seemed her brother didn't agree with her. He was troubled, in a disturbing way, by the absence of the old, insulting Kera who so boldly took whatever he said and tossed it back into his face. The new version was a house-elf; he'd been waiting at least a month now for the opportunity to find out what joke she was playing. So, there was no question of who Kera would be going with.

"Julia, shut up. Kera's 16 and she's here to go to school; not be your freaking maid. Now, get going." He pushed her down the train hall.

"Hey, you're not the boss of me!" she sneered.

Draco bent over and got right in his sister's face. Kera, who normally would have said something, was silent. "Actually," he breathed, "I believe, being a prefect, I am. Now, go!" Julia scampered off with a sullen look.

"Okay, come on. Kera?" He snapped his fingers in front of blank eyes. "Kera, come on. I need to show where you're going to go for the trip. Ugh." Since she showed no signs of responding, Malfoy took her hand. He shivered. She was freezing.

Kera walked obediently behind him, with her eyes down, but still managed to trip. "You freaking invalid!" Draco cursed. What was wrong with her? She'd kept mostly out of his way since she'd been sick, and now, the first time they were alone in a month, he got to find out that this was no joke. At least, if it was, no one was laughing. "Kera, whatever game you're playing, I want you to stop acting like this. Now." He glared at her.

Suddenly, her eyes became clearer, and more focused. "Huh?" She looked around. "I feel so woozy… where are we? Are we moving?"

"I should hope so," he sneered. "Considering this is the Hogwarts' Express."

"Hogwarts' Express… what day is it?"

"September the 1st. What stupid act are you playing at, girl?"

"I don't know… have I been sick?"

"Only for the past six weeks, moron."

"Oh… that would explain why I feel like fainting... ugh." Her eyes slid out of focus, but then shuttered back. "You're holding my hand. Is this some kind of joke?"

He sighed with relief and dropped her hand. "Just trying to help," he retorted angrily, but softened his voice at the last minute to make it nicer.

"Well don't. Now, are we supposed to sit in the hall all day?"

He helped her up, and opened the compartment door.

Grunts reached their ears. Inside, seated rather smugly, were an odd assortment of Slytherins referred to, very loosely, as the Death Children Club. One, a revolting but pretty girl their age, leapt up. "Oh, Draco," she simpered. "I've really missed you the whole summer. Pookie, why didn't you write?" When she said that, Kera let a snort of merriment slip out. The girl rounded on her. "And who is this? My, aren't you a bit old to be just starting out? Take a swig a growth potion sometime?"

Kera, who was, at the moment, roughly the same height as her opponent, straighten up, giving her a good five inches to the advantage. The girl faltered slightly. "My name is Kera," It came out as a whisper, but not from fear. "I was told that the Slytherin House, especially in this compartment, prided itself on… pure-blood." She turned amber eyes on the girl, who gave the tiniest whimper. "I suppose I shall have to check my sources next time." Her fingers flex, and, in the compartment next to their, someone's can exploded. Then, as if nothing had happened, she took an available seat by the window with an exhausted sigh.

"Okay then, Kera, stay here until I get back." When he received a stiff nod in reply, he turned to the girl, who attitude was quickly recovering. "Pansy, the prefects are supposed to be meeting. Let's go." She followed him with a sneer at Kera.

The moment Pansy and Draco left, the remaining Slytherins burst out laughing. Some turned to Kera, and found the girl already fast asleep. That was one powerful hex. It couldn't have been easy to make a strange, swirling tattoo along someone's exposed back bearing a number and: For a good time, ask for Pansy.

"So, Draco, who's the new wench?" Pansy asked sweetly once she recoiled in her seat. For good measure, since something on her back was apparently so funny (no one would say what), she was now in a black leather jacket. Draco was languishing next to her, with her head in his lap. Kera was still dozing. The others looked expectant.

"Hmmm?" His eyes opened lazily. "Oh, Kera? She's a servant for the family."

"But we never saw her-" Crabbe began thickly.

"Of course you didn't," Malfoy cut him off. "She was accompanying my sister, Julia, through her days at boarding school. Since Julia's starting here, so is she. Besides, you're not supposed to see a good servant."

"But, Draco, I see her," a girl in the back gave a merry laugh. "Why is she with us? Won't they stick her with the rest of the first years?"

"Why would they? I said she wasn't at Hogwarts; that doesn't mean she doesn't know magic. The girl's a sorceress. She'd have to be, to handle my sister."

"Now Draco," Pansy sat, and looked at him pointedly. "I've been over to your manor many times with my family. You can't honestly expect me to believe that you get a strong, capable sorceress in your staff, and your parents not only send her to a boarding school with your sister, but neglect to tell anyone else about it? What's she really doing here?"

Draco looked at all of them with a smile, then sneered, "If you were supposed to know, then someone would've told you by now." He sat back a firmly closed his eyes.

"That's what I thought," Pansy told him, satisfied. She had no clue what Draco was talking about, but if it was what she thought it would be, then she might end up enjoying Kera more than she'd expected to. At least she wasn't Draco's new girlfriend. Pansy had been afraid of being dumped ever since she got caught kissing some third-year, and his friend.

Meanwhile, a car down, in one compartment, no one was talking. Harry was in an inescapable funk, and no one was quite sure why. So, with rain coming down in sheets on either side of the car, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Luna, and Neville sat doing the own, silent, thing.

Harry was glad it was so bleak, so stormy outside. It matched his mood quite nicely. It was astounding how a simple thing like somebody's large black dog could set him off like this. The moment kept replaying itself in his head, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. While coming to Hogwarts was normally fairly joyful, he imagined that no dementor could go hungry in here. What he needed, was a distraction.

But distractions came harder and harder to the Boy Who Lived these days. If he wasn't thinking about Sirius, he was obsessing about Voldemort, trying to plan ahead for the next attack. It was almost as if Harry wanted to die, and that was why he was forced to take the wizard's version of an antidepressant everyday. That, or try to throw himself in front of something very heavy going very fast, like he'd almost done in the one week he'd spent at the Dursley's. Good thing Aunt Petunia still kept a shaky correspondence with Albus Dumbledore.

"So, Luna, do anything interesting over the summer?" Ginny asked warily. No telling what might be the reply.

"Oh, well, you know, spent time around the house, kept a look-out for crushed-coral longspurs, that sort of thing. You?"

"Oh nothing really. I made a very, erm, interesting acquaintance this summer." Behind Luna, Hermione was mouthing to Ron, "Crushed-coral longspurs actually exist," with a dumfounded look on her face.

"Oh, really?" Neville, too, had decided to join in. "Who?"

"Her name's Kera. She's your age Neville, and seems pretty nice. That's about all of it."

"And she works for the Malfoy's. Not that that's big or anything." Harry's sarcasm rang out.

Luna and Neville both stared. Ginny retorted angrily, "Why the hell do you care? So, okay, she's creepy as heck and I doubt she's ever touched a wand in her life, but still, really!"

"Ginny, Kera isn't what she seems!"

"And you know this how?"

"BECAUSE MY MIND IS STILL HOOKED UP WITH VOLDEMORT'S, ALRIGHT? AND HE GETS HAPPY WHEN SHE'S AROUND, THAT'S WHY!"

Ginny glared at him, "Just because you think you might have seen her in one of your wack job dreams doesn't mean the rest of us are blind. You've been wrong more than once." She got up, and strode over to the door. "I'm out of here," she hissed, and slammed the door as she exited.

"Well," Hermione sighed," that went… well."

Harry turned on her. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh Harry, don't act so innocent. She was just trying to start a conversation, and then you go and jump down her throat about it. Very sociable."

"Hermione, you know how I-"

"No, Harry, I don't. So, you might have had a dream about her. What does that point to about her?" Neville and Luna, uncomfortable, exited quickly. "So far, Kera hasn't shown a thing that would prove you right. In fact, so far she's been pretty damn nice. So the girl's working for the Malfoy's. Why does it matter?"

"May I remind you that you just said, 'the Malfoy's'."

"Yes, I did. May I also remind you that Ginny told us a while back that the Malfoy's are Kera's only family. And she doesn't seem too fond of them."

"So?"

"Sirius didn't like his family either."

Harry and Ron both stared at her. Ron was fervently shaking his head at her, but Harry was just staring. Hermione got up quickly. "I'm going to go find Ginny. I'll be back after I patrol." She dashed through the now open compartment door.

Harry glared at Ron. "Care to add on?"

Ron shook his head. "No, mate, I'm not going to say a thing," he sighed.

"Why do they care so much about that girl?"

"Huh?" Ron rubbed his eyes.

"Ron, have you been practicing Quidditch at night again?"

"Well… you know… getting in shape for the season. I figured you needed your sleep or I would've asked you to join in."

Harry felt grateful, "Well, next time, just ask. I'd love to."

"Harry, do you know what I think?"

"No, enlighten me."

"I think you think that the girls are abandoning you for my new neighbor."

"Yeah, it's starting to feel like that."

Ron laughed, but it was an exhausted one. "Harry, Ginny got mad at you because for the past to month she, along with everyone else, has been trying to get you out of what she refers to as the ' Potter funk'. Now, I know you're depressed, but you can't keep jumping on us. We're you're friends. Hermione got mad when you jump on Ginny. Both of us hoped that maybe you'd snap out of it, but I know she's tired of waiting."

"Waiting for what?"

"Waiting for you, Harry. Waiting for the Harry Sirius was proud of to come back." Ron sat back in his chair.

Harry didn't say a word. Ron was probably quoting Hermione, like he did do sometimes, but the words had a ring of truth to them. Ever since Sirius had gone, the old Harry seemed to slip away, to be replaced with a much more miserable version of his former self. The two boys sat in silence like that for several long moments, until Hermione re-entered, with Ginny following. Her eyes were red-rimmed. Harry looked down at his feet, and so did she. They both murmured, "Sorry." Hermione sighed and Ron said, "Anyone up for a game of Exploding Snap?"

At the feast that night, everything went as usual, with one exception. Kera, this being her first official year, was in line with the first years, towering over them. Professor McGonagall, stern as ever, went down the list until she arrived at: "Carutasu, Kerana," she called, omitted the rather confusing 'ouit' piece of her name.

Kera approached slowly, and plopped the hat on her head. She hoped no one could hear what the hat said to her.

So, it told her, Carutasu, eh? A bit big for your first year here, aren't you? Well, let's see what we have. Hmmm, an interesting mind; quick, capable, full of things already. You've clearly studied somewhere else as well. Loyalty? Enough of it and you've got an interesting sort of bravery. Okay then.

"GR-"

Wait. What's this? There's darkness in you, child, the likes of which I've not seen in a good while. What a strange combination for a young woman. But don't worry, deary, I know exactly where you belong!

"SLYTHERIN!"

Kera took the hat off, highly unnerved, and walked over to her new house. From the Gryffindor table, she could she Ginny and her friends staring at her. She swallowed. Somewhere in the back of her mind, something was seething, and Kera was at a blank as to what it was.

Like most kids who are new, Kera was at a loss as to where she should sit. So, she did the only thing she could think of; walk towards who look a least at little lost, like her. That meant, with the rest of the first years. And that's exactly what she did. She sat.

"Who're you?" A pale and swarthy boy peered at her from across the table. He had a permanent sneer etched upon his features, and he made the most of it when talking to first years.

"Carutasu, Kerana. Or, Keranouita, if you prefer. Weren't you listening?" She raised a singular eyebrow in his direction.

The boy's next words were overpowered by Dumbledore, who chose to say, for this years opening speech, "Eat!" He had already introduced the newest teacher to the line-up, a smiling woman named Professor Sharper.

Kera, whose short stay in the Caru city had prepared her for food that 'magically' appeared, merely asked, "What was that?" while first years gasped around her.

"I said, 'Aren't you a bit big for an eleven-year-old?'"

"Kid, how old are you?"

"Fourteen, why?"

Kera gave a tiny smile. "Well, the reason I'm so big is because I've been around on Earth for a good two years longer than you. That does, at this age, tend to make me a taller person."

He snorted. "What have your person been doing with you all this time. I mean, do you know anything?"

Eyes sharpening, Kera replied, "Yeah, I know quite a bit. See, among other things, my parent spent her time, before she died, teaching me how to use magic to calm a horse, in case it's about to take off one of our rude buyer's eleven digits. If they're male, that is. Females only have ten, you see." Without another word to the boy, Kera turned to someone on her right. "Could you pass me a baked potato? I'm starved."

While Kera dug in the boy just sat with a puzzled look on his face. After a minute, he began to make his selections, but it was only after his mouth was full of mash potatoes that he realized what she was saying. He laughed, and a rather large number of kids were sprayed with mash potatoes. "I get it," he chortled. "You're a pretty funny girl. Or rather," he raised his eyebrows, more than a bit suggestively, "a pretty, funny girl. I'm Mitchell. Mitchell Calverton. Welcome to Hogwarts, Kera." He sounded like he was savoring her name.

Kera inwardly shuddered, but gave a polite smile and took the offered hand. "Charmed," she replied, and didn't speak at all the rest of the evening.

Draco Malfoy had avoided her the evening before, and so Kera, who despised being ignored, even by her enemies, decided to do something about it. Even if it was just to get help finding classes. So, she came in early to the Great Hall Monday morning, clutching her schedule.

It had occurred to her last night that there seemed to be some kind of pecking order at the Slytherin table, at least when it came to seating. The older, or higher up, you were, the closer you sat to the corner, and away the farther away from the more inferior wizards in the other houses. It was sad, really, but now Kera was going to use it to her advantage.

She sat down where she guessed the six years would sit, and waited. It paid off. Within ten minutes, Draco strode in, follow closely by his two gorillas. And Kera was sitting directly across from them, right next to the master. Unsure, Crabbe and Goyle just shifted and cracked their knuckles threateningly. Kera breathed in, "You want to call off the pompous lap dogs, Draco? I come in peace, but only because it's too early to do magic."

He shrugged and looked at them. They sat, and he did the same, right next to her. "That's Pansy's seat, you know," he told her, conversationally, munching on toast.

Kera shrugged and added more Ketchup (A/N And now I can hear the screams of 'CATSUP!' from the audience, but you guys are looking at an ex-Pittsburgher, so keep that to yourself.) to her egg pile. "Do I care? That girl is so great with design; I thought I just had to repay her. Oh, remind me to thank your mom for the hand-me-downs. They fit quite nicely, oddly enough."

Draco looked at her. They did look at bit out of style, but were quite becoming for her. "Whatever. Interesting trick you played on her. Nice style."

That was the oddest compliment she'd ever gotten, and was quite honest about it. "That was the worst compliment anyone's ever given me, including that weird fourth year last night. But, aren't you her 'pookie'?"

Draco flinched at the name. "Yeah, around our parents and peers. Oh, and in her dreams. Now- wait, were you talking about-oh…"

"Mitchell Calverton?"

"Yeah, him. Don't go near him."

"Why not?" She was curious.

He glanced at her. "Hey, what happened to not talking to me?"

She smiled; she'd been ignoring him for as long as possible, but at least this was off-handedly engaging. "Eh… you're the only person I know."

"What about Saint Potter and his motley crew?"

She frowned at him and he smiled, pleased that she wasn't. "Oh, yeah, I'm sure they'd love to hang out with a Slytherin in between classes. Why shouldn't I go out with him? I'm a big girl." She raised both her eyebrows this time.

He grinned. "Yeah, well, big you may be, but he dated a sixth year last year, and she got knocked up. It looks like she didn't come back this year. Oh, hello Pansy. I believe you've met my servant, Kera."

Kera turned around and gave her politest smile to the pretty pug, who sneered at her. She looked so put out, standing behind them, that Kera felt compelled to ask, "May I help you?" In the strange and inexplicable tones phone receptionists have.

"Yeah, you can help me by getting out of my seat."

Kera looked around a bit. "'Your seat'? I didn't see anything that said it was yours. Why don't you get a new seat? Oh, right, your 'pookie'. Well, unfortunately, I'm talking to him. So, unless you have the inability to kiss on the right as easily as you do the left, and if you can't I feel terrible for you, I believe there's an available seat on the other side." Pansy continued to glare at her.

"The other side is where my friend Millicent sits," she replied, pouting, giving Draco a simpering look. He just sat back to watch the fun.

"Well, if she's as good a friend as you're making her sound, then I doubt she'll mind moving over a bit. Besides, why would you want your friend sitting on his other side? I'm sure you know how much a boy's eye can wander." Millicent walked, skulked really, into the room. "Ahhhh, that would explain why you prefer to have her sit there. Well, Pansy," she smiled. "If it makes you feel better I could no more have romantic feelings for your boyfriend that I could a Friskin Mosquito."

A couple of first years chortled. Pansy glared at them, then quickly sat down on Draco's other side. She gave him a huge kiss; when he turned to pick up his conversation, he was grimacing. "Oh, Draco, I hope you don't give her that face," Kera whispered.

He grinned, and replied, "No way. It's my special face, saved just for you."

She smiled back, then said, "Why, Draco Malfoy, don't let Pansy hear you talk like that; it might hurt her feelings. Besides, wand less I may be, but I can still curse your eyeballs right into the morning jam." This was very disturbing. Didn't she hate everything that breathed in his household? Yet, after about two months of ignoring one another, here they were, having a perfectly civil and actually amusing conversation. Of course, it was fine for the time being. She had the sinking suspicion Ginny wouldn't be talking to her for awhile.

Them the mail came; to Kera surprise a large barn owl landed with a thin package. "Oh, what's this?" she questioned as she ripped open the package. There it lay; her new wand. Inside was a note:

Ms. Carutasu,

I am delighted to find you finally in need of a wand. Don't worry; your mother brought you in when you were four to pick out this particular wand 'just in case'. She said that I would be informed of when to send it. So, here it is. One wand, 12 ½ inches, with the feather of a griffin, and made from willow wood. Made your spells be well cast!

Sincerely,

Mr. Ollivander

Kera looked at it. It was beautiful, elegant, and looked brand new, even though she knew it was at least twelve years old. "So, I suppose now you can curse my eyeball into the jam with a wand as well." Draco was reading over her shoulder. "Your mum seemed prepared for just about anything; it's a nice wand, too."

"Yeah, she was," Kera murmured. Something about this wand had sparked her memory. A faint image of her mother, younger, laughing, surfaced in her mind. It was from a shop, possibly the same one in which they found her wand. Her mother had Kera's face, and the same curls that christened her daughter's head fell around her own face. But, the eye's were larger than life, the hair was a different color, the posture more upright, and the scars more livid. They leapt out of her face and at the curious man who ran the shop. Kera held on to one calloused hand. "Keran-outa? Keranouita Carutasu?"

A man's voice broke through. Kera snapped back, to find herself staring at a hook-nosed man with long, somewhat ragged looking hair, but at the same time greasy. "Ms. Carutasu?"

She shook her head slightly. "Ah, then do you possibly know where she is?"

Kera slapped her own cold hand to her face. "I'm sorry- err- sir, I'm Keranouita- Kera, actually. Can I help you?"

"Yes," he replied, somewhat contemptuously. "I'm Professor Snape, your head."

"Oh, yeah, I remember. I mean, yes sir?"

He sighed. "Ms. Carutasu, I came to give you your schedule. You see, you have a very- unique one. Here." He handed her a paper. She stared at it, and her brow furrowed.

"But, sir, this can't be right. You have me talking classes with the first year Slytherins." Behind her, Draco choked on his marmalade.

"Exactly." He took the paper and gave it a tap with his wand, muttering something. "Here you go."

Kera took the paper, and the words began to shift like insects until they had rearranged themselves on the paper in a new pattern. Snape was curious to see this paper. A few of the other staff members had been placing bets on how far flung down she would be in her classes. Only McGonagall and, though he'd never admit it, Snape, had any high hopes for her. They had both seen her mother, Katriona, or Katty, as she was known then, at work in her school years. And, when he took the paper back, he wasn't disappointed. Care of Magical Creatures, Transfiguration, Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Potions; all to be taken at sixth-year level. There were only two anomalies. One class period was free, and her Charms class was at seventh-year level. "So," she began, "what do I do with a free period?"

"I'm guessing there are certain, easy-to-fix holes in your education. You see, this paper looks at your head and decides what classes you should be in. You've done well, for no formal education."

"Oh, yeah," she replied. "There are holes, alright. Like, um, I can't fly a broom. And my history's not so great. Stuff like that."

"Easy enough to fix," he replied distractedly. "Tell me, Kera, is there a reason the paper would have put you a year ahead in charms?"

"Oh," Kera smiled. "That's easy sir. I know lots of charms! It's just like with sorcery, only you say the words aloud in stead of in your head and you use a wand in place of your hands. My mum ran out of charms to teach me when I was ten. I love charms."

"Very nice," he told her. Another spellcaster. He loathed the particularly good ones; they were always useless at potions. (A/N: This is post-HBP, but the idea was created long before, so, oh well, too bad, no soup for you!)

"Thank you, sir, can I have my paper?" she asked. He gave it to her and strode off to tell Professor Sinistra that she owed Professor Sharper two galleons.

"Well, then," she got up, "I really should be going."

Draco got up. "You going back to the common room? I need to get my stuff." He had a bag, but Kera saw the excuse to get away from someone he hated even more than her. Besides, she would need a guide anyway in the place. "Yeah sure."

As they left the Great Hall, it hit Kera that she had, for once in her life, had a lengthy, fun, and even pleasant conversation with the boy not only she but the only other people she really knew here hated. "Hey Draco?"

"Yeah?" He was smiling. It was good to have a neither pointless nor disgusting conversation with someone for once.

"This conversation, this morning? It never happened," she told him.

"Oh, I know." He was still smiling. He just hoped they would have more imaginary conversations in the future. It was nice to see Pansy so pissed off she couldn't even see straight. "So, let me guess. You need a guide around this rat hole."

"You better believe it. And I might need some help with the particularly big rats at our table." So the guy wasn't that bad. Once you took a tenth good look at him. Kera twirled her new wand in front of her face. She had a good feeling; the best she'd had since her mum had died five years ago. Then, she sneezed violently.

Back in the Great Hall, at the Gryffindor table, a very tired Harry Potter's elbow collapsed under him, sinking his robes deep into a buttery mess.