Chapter Nine: The Plan Commences

It was almost four months later when the 'plan' began to take flight. Snow lay thick upon the grounds, Hagrid built several fast and perfect sleds at Kera's request, Harry, after that first day, perked up enormously and was cheerful as a Gryffindor captain could be, especially when all his disturbing dreams subsided, Neville and Cho began to, officially, officially date, Pansy continued to say that Draco was in love with her, Crabbe and Goyle failed to hand in any homework at all, and everyone got into a habit of backing away whenever Kera pulled out her wand. Whenever the wand came out, Kera sneezed. Whenever Kera sneezed, persons or said persons' things went flying; yet still no one knew why. It had, however, earned her a pretty bad squib reputation, and she seemed the only one who wasn't in on the 'joyous' part of the joyous holidays.

Luckily, she could now do sorcery, on the rare occasions the teachers weren't watching. They seemed to think she would grow out of her sneezing habit (except for Snape, with whom she devoted an hour each Saturday morning for detention) and merely tied down any valuables. However, it wasn't the teachers who realized her problem; it was Draco. In a brilliant flash of insight, the boy linked Kera's sudden illness of the first few weeks (A/N: This took awhile to link up with her as well) and was able to give her this simple command. "Kera, I order you to stop getting sick when you use your sorcery." Half the time it worked, and half the time she ended up losing her lunch and gained another reputation for a nice figure. Once in a while, it would be on Ginny or Draco or, even rarer, the Golden Trio, and she would once again flatly refuse to go to the infirmary with that strained voice.

Unfortunately, the damage was already done, and no one believed Kera but Draco and Ginny. Names like 'sneeze bomb', 'the great atchoodini' and, best of all, 'wingardium sneeziosa' began to circulate around the school. Kera took it first with good humor, then with retorts and finally, when she believed no one else was watched, quite misery. The more everyone pressed, the angrier she got, until finally it seemed there were only two students she could talk to, and she rarely had a moment alone with either.

Pansy and her 'girl' friends became the worst offenders. When no one was watching, which was often, they would trip, punch, hex, curse, drench, splatter, poke, bewitch, kick and otherwise torment the girl. In their own defense, Kera got back whenever possible and, bad as her wounds were, she never broke down and fled for the infirmary, though they often did. Anyone who observed the silent blows would never say a word, not even when the first retaliation was launched and the stool pigeon-ing began.

It was on one of these days, almost everyone having gone on holiday the day before, Hermione found Kera, dressed in a muggle's sweatshirt and jeans, with a shuddered half-sob, and brought her to the Gryffindor common room wordlessly. However, they met an obstacle in the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"I'm sorry, but I just don't think I can even let you say the password with her around," said the Fat Lady, indicating Kera.

"Please," plead Hermione, "it's Christmas."

"No, I really don't think I'm allowed to."

"Well," Hermione attempted, "let's just say Kera went down the hall, and just happened to come up at exactly the same moment as you opened, and I invited her in. Would that be alright?"

The Fat Lady pondered this for several long moments. She looked from Hermione, uncertainly, to Kera, distrustfully. "Say, aren't you the one I heard referred to as 'Sneeziosa'?" Kera looked down. She'd been trying to hide her tired and red eyes, and now she muttered something about Slytherin not having a portrait for a reason. The Fat Lady sniffed. "No need to get so uptight about it. I just-"

"Look, can she come in or not?" Hermione tapped a foot impatiently.

"Aren't you a prefect?" the Fat Lady raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, so you know I'd never do anything that would be for the safety of my fellow peers-"

The portrait swung open. Ginny looked up and down the hall. "Hermione, there you are. The boys just sent me out to look for you and- oh, Kera!" She caught one sight of Kera, standing there, with Hermione looking uncertainly at the hole, and clambered out. Hermione spoke at the last moment.

"Wait, Ginny-" she began. But it was too late. Ginny was already out, and the Fat Lady replaced herself with a somewhat satisfied air. Now three girls were stuck outside staring back at her. Ginny opened her mouth to say the password once more, but Hermione gave her a sad shake of the head. "She won't let us in. Something about Kera being a Slytherin, and that sort of crap."

"Young lady," the Fat Lady was clearly scandalized, "this is not crap. This is the safety of your fellow Gryffindors, and I intend to take it quite seriously."

As Kera watched Ginny and Hermione continue to argue with the strange portrait of the unhealthy woman, she took several deep breaths. These were the last of many that began when Kera first sank down in one of the abandoned corridors, to try and calm herself down. She'd seen some amazingly horrendous things in her life, but the unadulterated shunning of her peers was the first to make her break down like this. She had detention from now until spring, from every teacher except Hagrid, thanks to Pansy and her motley crew. To top it all, however, she'd woke this morning to find every piece of witches' clothing, and much of her muggle outfits as well, torn and flung neatly in fluttering rags outside. Forced to rush out in her nightshirt to prevent their disposal, they now occupied a pile in her closet. New cloth would be easy enough to get, but making her robes would take time and fabric did cost something. Still, it was less expensive than a robes shop.

Now she was down-in-the-dirt miserable. While everyone talked joyously of seeing family or going place or staying with friends, Kera found herself crying over something that at any other time of the year she would avoid like the plague. She had no family, nowhere to go, and no good friends to stay with. Now it was almost lunchtime, and she'd not eaten the whole day. She did the one thing her mother made her swear ten years ago she'd never do to anyone; she all and out mumbled.

"Look," she mumbled to Hermione shortly, "thanks for all the help, but I'm really hungry, and, if it's the same to you two, I'll just go to the Great Hall instead. Seeya."

She turned around, and fled.

The two girls continue to argue, until Ginny realized Kera had run off. As the Fat Lady swung open, Hermione asked her, "So, what exactly is up with her?"

"Hermione, imagine someone portraying you as something worse than a squib, then add everyone either laughing at or ignoring you, toss in the oddness of this being a new country, and see how you feel."

"Oh, so that's why you're friends with her."

She sighed as she followed Hermione inside. "Sure, that's why I'm friends with her."

"Where have you been!" shout Ron enthusiastically when they sat down. "We've got so many plans, and quite frankly Harry and I are useless at this sort of… 'orga-nization' thing. I figured we could just dictate to you two."

Harry was slumped in a window. He turned with a sad smile. "Speak for yourself. I'm tired, not a disorganized slump like you who can't even pronounce things properly this morning." He went back to looking outside.

"Harry, is there something you want to talk about?" Ginny asked quietly. Behind Harry's back she mouthed, "Did he take his potion this morning?" Ron shrugged.

"Yes Ginny, I did, you don't have to ask Ron behind my back," was the angry window reply.

"Then what's up?"

"Nothing's up. You guys wouldn't get it."

"Now Harry," Hermione said testily, "I'm getting sick and tired of this behavior from you. Tell us what's wrong, or I'll find a way to force it out of you." She gave him a glare and let it penetrate, to tell him she meant business. Ron backed off.

Harry turned around, ready to fight. But when he saw the remorseful looks of his friends, he only sighed. Giving an exhausted smile, he told them, "I had another dream last night."

"You want to talk about it?" asked Ginny, moving a little closer.

"Sirius was guiding me through a maze, like the one in the Triwizard Tournament. I asked him where we were going, and he told me it was to meet up with his friends. So we wander through, until finally there's the middle and they're all there. Sirius, my parents, Wormtail, Remus, and this lady. I asked Sirius who she was, and he looked really surprised. 'That's Kats-eye, my distant cousin Katty. She was kind of an unofficial Maurader when we were in school, a pretty good shapeshifter. I haven't seen her in years.' Everyone seems to have a habit of only talking about my dad and Sirius, but I swear I've seen her somewhere before. Suddenly, I just woke up."

"And-"

"And I knew, right as I woke up, that something bad was going to happen. I just knew it. So, I went to my album, and there are four pictures." He pulled them out and showed them to everyone. "These were all taken before I was born," he explained. It was always the five of them; four men, one young woman. In the youngest, Katty popped out.

"I think she might be related to Kera," he said. "And every time Kera shows up, I get a weird feeling."

"Wow, you think?" said Ron.

Kera, meanwhile, stumbled about to the Great Hall. Inside, she struck gold; Draco was eating at the lonesome Slytherin table. In the end, the sixth years of their house had the highest number staying. Once she sat down, she would complete their ensemble alongside Crabbe, Goyle, and their leader.

"Kera, what are you wearing?"

Sat plopped down and glared at him. "Ask your girlfriend. Once she gets back from running away like a coward." Then, completely ignoring him, she grabbed a hunk of bread and began to eat hungrily.

"What did she do now?" Draco sighed. Like the rest of his house, he openly gave Kera the cold shoulder in most public places. She'd become as unpopular as the plague, and if anyone mention her name, it was at the butt of some joke. Pansy used all of this to her advantage in order to repay Kera for her own jealousy. Frankly, no one like Pansy, but Draco was the only one rooting for her opponent.

Kera continued to stonily glare at some point past him. He waved a hand in front of her and repeated the question. Then, he tried again. By the time of the sixth try, Kera jumped up, picked up the sandwich she'd been making and practically screamed at him, "Why do you care? I'm just your f---ing servant girl!"

He waited for a moment as she ran off, then stood up and followed, motioning for his guards to stay where they were. After all, even he wasn't quite sure why he was chasing her.

Draco came into the silent hall, and heard the sob. He walked purposefully down the corridor, turning automatically to one of the numerous empty classrooms. There, in the recess, Kera curled miserably, munching on her food. He sank down. "Hello Kera."

Gruffly, her saw her tongue come out, with food still covering it. "Charming," he muttered. "Planning on telling someone what's going on?" As a fellow Slytherin, he knew that it wouldn't be an option to mention anything to the professors.

In response, Kera, without thinking, pulled out her wand and muttered the first curse that came to mind. It, of course, backfired, but this time it was Kera's own wand that went hurtling through the air. He caught it. "I won't give this back until you promise to behave. Now, promise."

Kera clapped her hands over her mouth, and he watched with amusement as the girl fought to disobey. Finally, after several moments of inner struggle, "I promise!" burst forth from sullen lips. She wondered if anyone else could match her amazing ability to forcibly obey.

"That wasn't so hard," he smiled.

"Like hell it wasn't," she replied.

"Now," he told her, handing over the wand with a wary glance. "You're not to try and curse me again. Tell me what Pansy did."

"Why do you care?"

"I'm not the one explaining, you are." He gave her a simple smile. It was the farthest from a smirk she'd ever seen on his face. "Besides, you think I like to see Pansy get the upper hand on anyone? Well, except for maybe Potter and his friends. Now, tell."

"Not much to tell," she explain once a small silence had crept in. "Your girlfriend and her ladies-in-waiting decided to give me an early Christmas present. They threw all my clothes outside, except for what I'm wearing now (it was under loads of books), and, for good measure, magically ripped them so I couldn't repair them with magic. She an amazing woman, your girlfriend is."

"Would you stop calling her that? She not my girlfriend," Draco told her, surprising himself greatly with the anger that had somehow wormed its way into his voice. "Especially not after this."

"Pardon me," she told him tartly. "Does this mean you're finally going to break up with her? Maybe there's another girl." She smiled, enjoying the feeling of having a good conversation with Draco, most of it involving one taunting the other.

"Actually, there is." His genuine smile became a sly one, and he looked at her. "Kera, you seem really lonely. Has anyone been talking to you?"

"Not really," she replied uneasily, suddenly aware that they were alone. "Just, you, right now, and the professors, of course. Oh, and Ginny's been pretty friendly to me."

The smile grew even larger, and he got up. "Let's go outside. Do you remember that plan I told you about? I think it was the night of your first day here."

Kera didn't reply, but she looked like she was thinking about it, so Draco let the silence pass between them as they strolled along to the nearest courtyard, where he hoped they could talk privately about this. The stones were cold, and he was amazed, from inside his cloak, that Kera didn't show any signs of being cold at all. Then again, if he had to guess, his bet was that Romania was one cold place to live in for most of a life. It was likely that she just noticed it and didn't care.

"This way," he told her. It led to Draco favorite courtyard. Most of his fellow students would be amazed to hear about it, but Draco loved the outdoors, especially in winter. He spent almost any free time he could on the expansive lawns, and often did his homework in one of Hogwarts' many courtyards. The one, aptly named the Winter Courtyard, was, in his mind, the most beautiful.

"Oh yeah," Kera finally spoke, "I think I do remember." They stepped together onto the threshold. "Was it the one about getting you and-"

"Oh look!" squealed a second year girl in the courtyard with her boyfriend. "You two are under the mistletoe! Kiss quickly! It's charmed to make anyone who doesn't want to give a huge, passionate kiss!" Her eyes were bright with excitement. The boy, who arms were around her, gave them an almost apologizing glance, as if excusing the plant and his girlfriend's behavior. He kissed her to shut her up.

Kera looked at Draco and shrugged. "I don't think she was kidding, so just in case, we might as well…"

He shrugged and smiled. "Why couldn't Pansy be here?" He leaned in and gave her a small, soft kiss on the mouth. From somewhere behind him, the girl sighed in happiness, and so did Kera. Who knew the kid was such a great kisser? No wonder the pug stuck to him like glue. She would too, if it meant be kissed by someone as good as this.

They broke apart. "Well, someone's had a lot of practice," she sighed. Almost as an afterthought, it occurred to her that this was the first boy she'd ever kissed in her whole life. Well, aside from one other boy, Thomas, when they were three.

"Not bad yourself. First time?" She nodded. "I could tell. Now," he led her over to his stop, far away from the full-frontal couple.

Kera gasped. It was the most glorious sight she'd seen in her entire time here. Sweet snow glistened like gloves on the bare hands of the trees that thrust up around the small courtyard. Underfoot, snow crunched onto what must have been hard but beautiful gray stones, the same which surrounded the singularly cleared tree and made up the benches scattered here and there. A gray sky hanging over the low castle walls lit up the whole scene with the perfect light, and Kera forgot that they weren't alone. From a tree, a cardinal peered interestedly at them.

Draco took her elbow when she stopped and continued through. "It's not nearly as great in summer," he explained. She nodded, almost as if coming to. Kera made a motion, and they sat on the now cleaned bench. Draco pulled out something from his cloak sleeve.

Kera stared at it before realizing what it was. It was a slender bunch of mistletoe. She took it from him and gave it a long look. It was just ordinary mistletoe, the type muggle-born students she heard speaking longingly of only a week or two earlier. Curiously, it was harder to get in the wizarding world, where the norm was one with some type of spell on it. You could get anything from a repelling charm, as a joke, to the type that christened the courtyard entrance. "Why it is plain?"

"I need you to put a spell on it. Remember, it can only work if it looks real. Do you think you can do it?"

"I don't know," she looked around. "I still think this is so wrong. Do we really have to go through with this? I mean, do you really need her?"

He shook his head sadly. "My dear servant girl," It really was becoming a sort of pet name, "when I need moral advice, believe me, I'll ask you for it. For someone as unscrupulous as you, you seem to have a lot of it. Besides, even if you refuse, I'll just order you to. In fact, I believe I already did, way back when. Now, be a good friend and help me out, will you. This will work."

She shrugged. "What choice do I have? All I know is, you are going to really own me for this."

He nodded. She got up and they both left. The couple on the other end looked up expectantly, but both were careful to let one go before the other back inside. Before he left her, she stopped him. "Uh, Draco?"

"What?"

"Remember, how I told you about what happened to my regular clothes?"

"Yeah, and?"

"Well, would it be possible to get some more cloth?"

He gave a relieved smile. It would have been hard for him to still seem indifferent about this entire thing if he was helping Kera get her revenge (He knew if she asked he would help no matter what). "Yeah, sure."

They parted ways.

Kera waited patiently all day after sending her anonymous messages out to them. Finally, sometime around seven o'clock, Harry and Ginny came down the passage where they were supposed to meet. Kera was waiting. Harry came first down the hall, as planned, and stopped to say hello to her. Suddenly, his eyes fogged over, almost in passionate anticipation.

Then, as Ginny watched, Harry and Kera leaned forward and into a long, passionate kiss that seemed to go on forever. Ginny, tears flying, fled back the way she'd come as they continued. Above their heads hung a sprig of thin mistletoe.