Chapter 14: Portraits Should Not Hit on Students

(A/N: Okay, this chapter is going to have some funky- stuff. Yeah, I'm just in kind of a weird mood, so let's all dive right into the pudding!)

Having a portrait that was half-man half-woman was not Draco's idea of proper attire for a school from the Middle Ages. Of course, he'd once had the misfortune of being in Dumbledore's office; he'd seen the headmasters. Chances were, this was the mother of one of them.

"It's a beautiful thing, isn't it?" Bob had a disturbing habit of appearing at people's elbows, like one of those freaky butlers in some twisted version of Frankenstein. The ones that you find out are mixing poison in with the drinks, not the ordinary Jeeves or Reeves type.

"Yeah, about as beautiful as Pansy choking on a banana she'd been eating with her feet," he told him unenthusiastically.

Bob clearly didn't get it. "I never knew someone could choke with grace. You really must introduce to this lovely young woman sometime."

"Oh, or you could introduce me to this charming young man, Bob."

"What the hell?" Draco spun around.

"Up here, deary," an oily voice called.

He caught the portraits' lips moving on the woman's side. She gave a honeyed grin when he faced her. "You know, I haven't seen such a nice, cute boy of your type in years. Seems like all the cute boys are dating other cute boys; a girl just can't get a break around here."

"Oh no George," Bob told the portrait. "Draco's the same as us."

"What? Honey, I always thought you had a good head on your shoulders, but that has to be one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard. This boy's straighter than Fannie's hair." The woman (?) picked up the man's (?) limpid hair with disgust.

"Whatever you say George."

"This is too weird for me. I can't believe I even came here for help, when you're all the ones that need to be in a madhouse."

"Oh, no, my sweet, it was most definitely fate that brought you to my humble abode. You see, we were simply meant to be. Oh, I just have to tell Fannie." She began earnestly poking the sleeping man.

"Let's go," Bob said quickly muttering the password. "Fannie doesn't like meeting George's new 'friends'. We think that at the very least they used to be married."

"If you ever want a good time, dear sweet, you know where to find me!" George called after Draco as they both entered quickly.

Bob insisted that Draco sit across from him on one of many overstuffed, neon colored chairs and that he make himself entirely comfortable before anything else happened. For Draco, this took all of two seconds as he ignored the fact that underneath him was nothing but hot pink. Then came another thirty seconds of apology about cross-dressing George, and how he should ignore him completely because everyone else did. Finally he asked, "So Draco, why are you here? I thought you hated me and my group and everything we stand for."

Draco shrugged, not wanting to acknowledge nor deny the claim. "I need help with one of my friends. One of my girl, friends."

"Oh, so you are straight then? How long have you two been dating."

"No, I'm not." Bob looked a little hopeful. Whoops. "I mean, yes, I am, but no, we're not dating. She's just my friend."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh. Anyway, I need help." He couldn't believe he was going not only to someone younger but creeper as well for advice, but then again there wasn't anyone else.

"Right, so what exactly did you do to her?"

"Well, there's this girl-"

"Yeah, I know. Your friend."

"No, not her, another girl."

"Ah, another girl. Tell me Draco, exactly how many girls are you currently dating?"

"I'm not dating either of them! In fact, I'm pretty pissed at both of them right now, can't you get that through your head!" Draco was more mad than he expected, just as Bob was more thoughtful than he thought he'd be. Most guys (him included), would be rolling on the floor laughing if they'd just listened to that.

"Oh, okay," Bob said calmly. "Now, just out of curiosity, would one of these women be Pansy Parkinson? The 'another girl', I'm guessing."

"Good guess." He sighed, unsure if this was going to work out. Draco was so unsure about the future, even more than he'd been this summer. He should've stayed bored like he'd always been. Too much was involved in taking an interest into the life of another person, among which included starting to think about you. "So, Pansy is in the common room, trying to jump me, when Ke- my friend comes in. Pansy shouts a lot about how I've betrayed her and I shouldn't be doing this, and how she was going to tell everyone, and how I'm going to regret this even more than the gay rumor, then stalks out."

"And you take it out on Kera, right?"

Draco shrugged. "Yeah, but I didn't mean to- how did you know?"

Bob raised his eyebrows. "Kera? We've met a few times. Had a nice conversation once or twice. A bit weird- very weird, actually, but her heart's in the right place. Of course, her first appearances haven't helped her image at all."

"Well, she didn't have to act like that. She could be less, weird."

"Yeah, but what many people think is weird is perfectly natural to her. So what if she can't cast spells; it's just as important as house loyalty around here, which in my mind is stupid. All she needs is that wand fixed."

"What?" Draco looked at him to make sure he wasn't making some stupid point but trying to be funny as well. He wasn't. "What's wrong with her wand?"

Bob said simply, like it was no big thing, "She's probably allergic to something in it. My great aunt had that problem, but luckily she grew out of the allergy. We never found out what it was, but for years when she was in school her wand would randomly turn things into people's body parts. Very funny, but not to her."

"Whatever. Look, I don't have much time, I just need to know what to do."

"Apologize."

"Oh yeah, so it can work just as badly as last time. Thanks but no thanks."

"Try it again and again and again until it works. Girls like to feel like they're needed."

Draco stared. "How would you know that?"

"I dated before I came to Hogwarts, and I'm not just talking about boys."

"Right. Maybe I should go." Draco got up.

"Well, maybe another time. Just ignore George and Fannie on your way out. I swear they're almost entirely harmless." He didn't elaborate.

"Will do. Oh and Bob?"

"Yeah, Mr. Malfoy?"

"This conversation never has, nor ever will, exist."

"Just remember to close the portrait one your way out."

Draco did, and fought the urge to punch George when he made howls on the way out. What a useless waste of time. Draco2 began beating the inside of his skull.

Ginny made sure to keep the portrait open until she heard someone close it. Luckily, that someone was Kera, looking more pale, drawn, and scared than she had even that morning in the Forest. Staggering into a chair, she caught sight of Harry's face and groaned. "Harry, I'm so sorry about that, I really should have done something, but I was so mad at you- him- everything…"

He tried not to wince when he smiled. "It's okay. I'll just remember not to sneak up on you anymore."

Ron and Hermione came over to sit down, and the group found itself in an isolated corner of the room. Hermione looked at Kera and asked, "Was this the Forest?"

Kera shook her head. "I don't know what it is. I really haven't been feeling good all day, I'm all tired and trembling, like someone took all my strength."

"Kera, wouldn't it be a good idea to go to the infirmary?" Ginny asked.

"Harry, you going to go?"

"No, I think I'm good now."

"Well, I don't want to trouble anybody, so I think I'm fine thanks."

"Okay, then why are you here?" Harry asked.

"Well, I told you I was feeling tired today, right? So, I went to my common room to take a nap, but I didn't stay asleep very long."

"Dreams?"

"What else? I was in some city, and everything was on fire. Suddenly, my mom was right next to me, and she was shaking her head sadly. She told me, 'If we were still Carutri, your Grandmother wouldn't have allowed this to happen. If your father was alive, things would be different. If my friends were here, well…if all my friends were here there would be happier times. But it's just you and me, isn't it, my little Peregrine? And I'm not really here, either.' Then she pushed me down, and I landed on my hands. Suddenly, I couldn't move. She laughed and walked away. I woke up retching with burning hands." She looked at Harry. "I overheard you talking about a dream of yours the other night, so I thought maybe you could help."

They all shrugged helplessly. Hermione thought about it, then asked, "Kera, how much do you remember about your mum?"

"Not much," Kera shivered. "She died when I was ten, after all. But, I do have one picture of hers."

"Well, what did she look like?"

"Mrs. Malfoy has seen the picture; she says I kind of look like her. I guess I'd agree if I ever looked in a mirror. But she had scars on her face. I don't remember why."

Harry suddenly walked off and headed to the boys dormitories. Hermione turned to Kera after a moment's awkward silence and asked, "But, what was up with, 'if we were still Carutri' stuff?"

"Oh, that was actually the only understandable part," Kera replied matter-of-factly. "Apparently my family was the Carutri a generation or two ago, but something happened and our rank was demoted."

They all gave her extremely puzzled looks, except for Ginny, who was looking at the stairs for Harry. She knew that if she went upstairs to help him with whatever he was looking for, neither one of them would come down for awhile. Kera sighed, "Carutri is the name for the highest ruling family of the Caru clan. Apparently our family members who still lived there did something that got the whole family demoted to Carutasu, 4th ranked in the Caru and the lowest of our ruling families."

"And Caru is…?"

"Sixth of the nine Sagi clans. I think my mom told me it was Trichina, Sutra, Kanji, Danjore, Suki, Caru, Altaren, Mantre, and Ambaru. It was something like, the deeds of the clans determine the ranks, or something like that."

"Hey Kera, do you have that picture of your mum with you?" Harry had finally returned, a cut up picture in hand. It appeared as though one half was gone.

"Yeah, it's always with me. Why?" She dug it out of her pocket, slightly crumpled.

He showed her the picture as she gave him her piece. They all leaned in and Kera gaped. The piece fit on perfectly. In the faded background they could see other faint images moving, but the focus of the picture was one small group. A man who looked to be the adult Harry, his smiling, handsome friend, laughing despite the cut that separated them, and a slightly quivering man below them. "Hey, I think I've seen that man before," Kera exclaimed, pointing to the quivering man.

"That's Wormtail," muttered Ron.

"So your mom must have been the same Katty Sirius kept talking about." Harry silently prayed she didn't know what everyone else thought Sirius was. But Kera was too busy frowning at the picture. The three men welcome the young woman to the picture like an old friend.

"She must be, but she never told me. In fact, I never even knew my mom lived in England!" Kera was beginning to feel more than a little hurt about this new development. Her memory was, to put it lightly, faulty, but she couldn't imagine this entire part of her mother's life that she had no idea about. What else could there be that was missing. Maybe her parents weren't even… Kera's mind started to howl and she clutched it tightly.

Everyone was too preoccupied to see Kera collapse onto the rug, but her wand fell right in front of her nose. Harry was explaining, "The part with my dad I found in the scrapbook. But, when I was with Sirius last summer, at the ministry…" his voice choked slightly, "Sirius gave me these two pieces. He said the five of them had cut it up and took their pieces, but he'd gotten Wormtail's piece when he thought he'd blown him up a while back. He mentioned someone named Katty, but I guess I forgot to mention it afterwards…" Not that he'd wanted to. This little piece of Sirius and his dad was one of the few he had, and he had wanted to keep it to himself.

Ginny put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Harry probably hadn't taken his potion this morning. Ron ignored them and said, "Well then, Lupin'll have the other piece. Maybe you can get his and have the whole one."

"Ron," Hermione snapped. "Harry can't do that. He'd be taking Kera's only picture of her mother, and that's wrong! It is a bit of shame she doesn't remember anything though…"

"Yeah," asked Ginny, "How come she's not in any of the other pictures?"

Harry shrugged. "Actually, she's in a bunch. Mostly the one's with the whole group, although there's a random one of her and Sirius. I think they were distantly related, or something… I just never realized who she was, no one ever talked about her. Next time I see Lupin, I'm going to ask why."

"Hey, where is Kera?"

Kera chose that moment to give a violent unconscious sneeze, and the chair she'd been sitting in whizzed across the room, but only after clipping her ankle. "Ouch," she muttered.

"Kera, what are you doing down there?"

"Fainting," was the reply.

"Alright, that's it," Hermione said firmly. "Kera. Infirmary. Now."

Pansy, despite her 'anger' at Draco, was still feeling generous enough to come find him and repeat her offer. He just stared at her from the dark courtyard where she had him pinned. "You're insane," was all he said.

"No Draco, you're insane. I could date any guy I wanted in the school, and all you do is reject me. Sooner or later I'm just going to get fed up and move on to bigger and better things."

"Please do."

"You're so arrogant," she moaned. "Can't you see how many guys I've ignored and resisted just for you?"

"Judging by that behemoth hickie, I'd not a whole hell of a lot. Look Pansy, it might have been a fun ride three or four years ago, but I only went out with you because my parents made me. But, considering my parents and my reputation are now shit, I'd say I couldn't care less anymore!" He pushed past her.

She grabbed his hand, pulled him in, and kissed, hard. The old Draco would have just gone with it because hey, Pansy was a girl, and girl what else were girls good for? But five seconds of conversation with Weasley and Granger, ten minutes of talking with that Anasil kid, a few month spent with Kera, and a lifetime with his pissy sister were starting to make him rethink this. Besides, Pansy was getting old. He pulled away.

"Go find someone who wants to kiss you, Pansy." He turned away.

She shrieked, "You really are gay!"

He turned around. "Pansy, I am tired, cold, and more than sick of you. I need to think about some things, and if being gay means getting you to leave me alone long enough to do that… Well then, I guess I'm gayer than little fluffy bunnies on a sunny summer's day."

She looked genuinely hurt, and Draco2 was starting to feel a little bad. A little, that is, until she muttered, "I'm so going to get that bitch."

"Pardon me?"

"It's your stupid servant's fault. Sick little mudblood, she probably put you up to this."

Draco felt his anger swell slightly and sincerely hoped he didn't have to curse Pansy. It would be too much work making her uglier than she already was. "First of all, let's get one thing straight. Kera didn't put me up to this. Still, maybe it would be nicer to you if I lied, since then you could lie to yourself and say that it's not really me talking. Oops, too bad. Secondly, Kera's more pure-blooded than you could ever dream about being, not that she needs it. Three, you're so lucky I'm here instead of her, 'cause I'm too tired to turn you into the conniving lizard you really are. So, have a nice life, Pansy."

"Wait!" She ran up in front of him. He didn't stop. "Does this mean we're over? Draco, are we ever going to go out again?" She sounded oddly hysterical.

He didn't care. "I've got a splitting headache and can't think to well, put I'm tempt to tell you that I highly doubt it, to all of the questions. I don't think you'll ever let us be over." Draco decided it would just be better to leave her there and he had the perfect excuse when he saw Ginny and Hermione walk by, trying to help Kera walk.

"Kera, do you have to be so incapable of movement?" Hermione gasped.

Kera replied faintly, "Hermione? I can't feel my legs and am too dizzy to figure out what you just said."

"Yeah right," Ginny informed her.

"Need a hand?" Came the voice behind them.

Ginny yelped a promptly dropped Kera when she saw who it was. Why would Malfoy help them? Below her, Kera grabbed her immobile feet in pain and shuddered. Draco was not being very nice to her today. Did he really hate her that badly? Her head started to ache again, and she prayed another blackout wasn't coming on. "Go away, Malfoy, you've done enough damage today." She started messaging her temples.

He laughed, weakly, "So it's Malfoy now? Ouch, I'm hurt. Do you two need any help?"

"Yes," they both replied, relieved. Ginny conveniently ignored the fact that these two hated each other right now. It was such a relief not to have to carry their invalid companion around anymore.

"Well, alright then. Kera?" He held out a hand to her. She didn't moved, just looked up at him angrily. He just gave her a look, an order. Grimacing, she allowed him to pull her up onto her feet. Of course, her ankles went down like sinking ships and she collapsed at his feet. "Sorry." He pulled her back up a second time, this time off her feet into a fireman's hold. "Someone hasn't been eating properly," he told her. Kera had fainted.

"I'll get her there from here," he told them.

"No, we'll go," they protested.

He shook his head. "We need to have a little chat. Thanks, though."

He left them standing there and walked off. After a few minutes of silence, in which Draco marveled at how light his friend had become since September. She got even lighter when she stirred, blinked at him, and moaned, "Not you."

"Yes, me. What the hell happened, servant girl?" Damn. He used her nickname.

He got a poisonous glare. "Don't call me that again," she hissed. "Look, you've made it very clear you don't want to be my friend, so why are you helping me? If that's actually what you're doing?"

He shook his head. "Kera, I'm sorry okay. It may have taken a little bit, but whatever I said, it wasn't true…"

Kera started getting a lot heavy. Setting her down gingerly up against the corridor wall, he sat beside her. "Look, we've been mad at each for less than 24 hours, and I've already realized I can't go back to... whatever I was. You managed to establish some shitty thing called a conscious inside of me and it won't go away. So, I hate to say it, but you're stuck with me."

"Well all I've been is sick, so I can't say the loneliness is the same for me." She was lying through the teeth.

"At least we're kind of talking. Now let's get you to the infirmary."

"No," she hissed through clenched teeth. "I don't need to go to the infirmary. I'm totally fine; nothing's wrong. Just don't take me to the infirmary." She clung to him. A few forced tears rolled down.

"Kera, you're freezing or delirious or something. Come on, let's get you down there." He picked her up.

"No, Draco…I'm fine if you're here."

"What the hell?" He stopped, wondering if this girl wasn't really Pansy or someone else in disguise.

"Please," she buried her head into his chest, "I really don't need to go down there. Now that you're here, I feel better than ever. Oh please.. Draco…"

He only gave her a hug. "I'm sorry Kera… for everything." He drew away when he felt her go limp. Pressure points always worked well with a spell.

He brought her down the hall carefully. If his suspicions were right, then that wasn't just some effect of Kera's delirium. He felt guiltier than ever before. After all, his father was the one who slaughtered her grandmother, dragged her here, poisoned her, tried everything possible to ensure Draco and Julia could keep her under their control. A normal person would collapse under the weight, so thank the stars Draco's stony heart had just started to crack open. (A/N: Otherwise he'd be cute, but DEAD)

"Ho there, who might you be?" Came a challenging voice to his right.

It was a portrait of a strange knight, dressed entirely, and he was peered interestedly below his helmet at Draco's charge. Draco recognized the look in his eye; it was very reminiscent of George from this morning. "She a student," he said firmly, putting the emphasis where it belonged.

"Oh, I see. And why might you be carrying the fair maiden? You haven't tried to kidnap her, have you?" The knight's tone was more than a little threatening. When Draco shook his head the knight seemed extremely put out.

"She fainted," he told the portrait.

"Ah…being the chivalrous knight, are we?"

Draco decided to not reply. The knight was very clearly more than a little crazy, and quite possibly in love with Kera.

"Well, why don't you leave her here with me?"

Draco merely raised his eyebrows.

The knight emphatically shook his head. "No, it's not that! I know a portrait down the way, very good at healing and-"

"The fact that you even suggest it means you were thinking it." He left.

As Draco was turned away by Madame Pomphrey, Kera with her, he sincerely hoped that she knew what she was doing. Kera might have been sick, but all it would take was a word from Julia or him to set her off. When he left, Madame Pomphrey sent an owl to Professor Dumbledore.

Dumbledore-

I think we may have found our strange occurrences.

-MP