Hi! Sorry for missing last week. I was helping with my school's play and had a bit of writer's block. Thanks to the lovely and pushy Comma Queen this has been completed!
Thank you to everyone who has commented and read so far!
December 2006
Regulus couldn't believe his brother. Did he ever think before he spoke? She hadn't even done anything to the tosser. Was he still holding a grudge against her for standing up for Snape?
"What do you want?" Sirius demanded.
"I want to know what you have against Kiara."
"What do you mean? I haven't done anything!" He stepped towards Regulus. "If anyone has done anything it's you. Why would a Slytherin be interested in a Hufflepuff? You're probably just pretending to like her so you can embarrass her in front of the school. There isn't any other reason for you to be interested in her, she is just like all the other 'puffs"
Regulus looked aghast at his brother's slander. He knew he shouldn't respond to his brother, he was just grasping for straws. Sirius didn't want to ruin his perfect world where Slytherins were bad and Gryffindors were good. Normally Regulus couldn't care less about his opinion but he couldn't let that slide, "Don't you dare say anything about her."
"If you weren't hiding something then you wouldn't have sent her away. You did that so she won't know your secret!"
"Sirius, isn't that a little far-fetched," James said, trying to stop the impending argument.
"I don't have anything to hide from her, she knows everything about me."
"Including the fact that you are our mother's perfect pureblood son?" Sirius taunted.
Regulus sighed, trying to shove his growing anger away. Sirius was trying to rile him up like always, make him fight back. Regulus looked over to the rest of the Marauders, who looked at Sirius in shock. This was most likely the first time they had seen them interact. Regulus had made it his goal to avoid his brother as much as possible so far.
"Well, aren't you going to say something, prat?" Sirius accused.
Regulus took a few deep breaths, "That isn't what I need to talk to you about. I just need you to stop acting like a complete berk for a second and listen to me. After that, you can go back to your Gryffindor ways and never have to look at me again." He glared at Sirius until he nodded, surrendering from the fight. "Kiara wants to help Remus and she will continue to do so. She will, even if you treat her like the dirt on your shoes because that's how she is. I need to know she isn't going to have her kindness taken advantage of."
Regulus looked around at the silent boys. Remus lay stiff against the bed, in what Regulus hoped was a reflection of his past treatment of Kiara. James glanced nervously between the brothers, anticipating and preparing for whatever Sirius would do in retaliation. Peter looked at his shoes, remorseful for following the boys' example towards Kiara.
"I'm not asking for much, which is more than what you are capable of doing," he muttered under his breath. "Just try not to be an idiot. You hurt her when you ignored her, Remus. The rest of you weren't any better. I don't like any of you but she does. So don't screw this up."
Regulus knew they were confused as to why he cared so much when he always tried to avoid them but he had to say that. It felt strange even asking them to do anything. He couldn't wait to get out of their obnoxious presence.
Once he saw the Marauders properly cowed he said one last thing, "If you do anything to hurt her, I'll know about it. It would be a shame if your secrets were exposed to the school."
The boys started making a racket of excuses, but Regulus just turned and left. He strode out of the Hospital Wing without a care for their justifications and lies. He had to get to his classes before someone noticed he was missing.
– o – ️ – o –
Kiara begrudgingly trudged over to the greenhouse for Herbology. The only reason she was still allowed to be a prefect was because of Regulus' help after class. She would have failed ages ago if he hadn't turned out to be one of the best herbology students in school. Plants had two reactions to her: withering away or growing at an abnormal rate. Her oldest brother Lee had guessed it was because of their healing abilities and connection to the sun. Their cabin had all been banned from gardening by Cabin four thirty years ago for that very reason. She poked her Puffapod, which was blooming at an impressive rate. Its pollen floated around her in the brisk wind, and a late Ravenclaw entered the greenhouses. Kiara leaned away from the flower and held her breath, but it was useless. She began sneezing, which caught the attention of everyone in the room. Their new professor came over with a worried look, but her fellow Hufflepuffs sighed, used to her random bouts of allergies.
"Miss Hope, are you alright?" Professor Soywir asked, leaning over the rows of planters.
Kiara had no idea how he hadn't learned that she was allergic by now.
"I'm fine, sir. I just need a moment. The pollen from the Puffapod just made my allergies act up."
The professor seemed to finally get the idea that she was fine and pulled the attention of the class back to his demonstration of the proper repotting technique. Kiara had never hated a herbology class as much as this one. As the session progressed and the students moved the heavily blooming plants, Kiara's head began to pound and her eyes watered. It didn't help that her plant decided it was best to keep growing at an alarming rate, nearly covering the whole table. The other students slowly transferred to nearby tables with a sidelong glance. Kiara struggled to even find the roots of her plant, much less repot it. Her partner had been sick and missed class, which hadn't helped the process. Once her head felt like an erumpet was stomping around in her brain, Kiara eventually took a break. She watched her classmates longingly for a few minutes as they easily picked up their plants and brought them over to their planters. She sighed in defeat before walking over to Professor Soywir.
"May I be excused from today's class? I've taken notes while you taught us, but I can't repot my plant and my allergies are stopping me from completing today's task," she requested, trying not to breathe through her nose and inhale more of the allergen.
He started to refuse before looking at her face. "Just for today, Miss Hope. I expect a paper on the care and uses of the Puffapod before the next class on top of required homework." He smiled sympathetically. "You can head out now. Go get a potion from Madam Pompfrey."
"Thank you, sir," she mumbled before heading back to her bag and haphazardly stuffing it.
She waved to the few who watched her leave with a tinge of guilt pulling at her. Kiara left the warmth of the greenhouses and entered the frigid air, prompting her to pull her sweater tighter. Soon she would have to use warming charms before even heading out of the common rooms. She shuffled back towards the castle, hoping that Remus was well enough to leave the Hospital Wing. Dread filled her as she thought about seeing him or his friends again. She just had to make it to Madam Pomfrey and then she would be free to go to the library before the classes were let out.
– o – ️ – o –
The Hospital Wing had been, thankfully, empty. Kiara picked up some medicine from Madam Pompfrey before rushing to the library. She entered the Library with a wave to Madam Pince and scooted into her regular seat. She set out her homework, trying to distract herself.
It worked.
For five minutes.
She gave up studying Latin conjugations for spells, knowing it would be impossible to focus. Her eyes wandered to a nearby shelf filled with books she had never seen before. Madam Pince must have reorganized the library again. A cover caught her eye, momentarily becoming the focus of her attention. It was bound in worn leather that looked hundreds of years old. The only thing that looked new about it was its glinting title Anima Magia. The book had a magnetism that pulled her towards it. She hesitantly walked over to take it off the shelf. Magic seeped from its spine, and Kiara handled it warily. The first rule of magic, she learned from her mother, was to never ever trust an object with malevolent energy. Kiara raised her hand near it, trying to sense its core. She had never felt such a powerful book in her life. It didn't feel wrong or evil, just…powerful. Her hand paused right before touching the leather cover. Her instincts told her not to disturb it but the strange force kept her moving.
It weighed heavy in her hands–heavier than it looked as she turned it over to see the front cover. The title gazed at her imperiously, the same pull forcing her to open it. She tried skimming through the thick pages, but it was written in Latin. She cursed the gods for making everything so difficult before heading back to her desk. She tried setting down the book but it felt glued to her hand. The words that she had such a hard time reading suddenly blurred before the text and rearranged themselves into ancient Greek. Kiara looked down at the page in shock. It looked like it had been originally written that way; the title of the chapter reading 'διακόπτης ψυχής'. Kiara gasped to herself. She had never found a book in ancient Greek, let alone one that rewrote itself in the Hogwarts Library. The familiar writing enhanced the force pulling her to read the pages. All thoughts of homework or worries fled her mind as she scanned the pages.
Kiara had flipped through most of the book before reaching a chapter on soul animals. In it, detailed instructions on how to find and channel one's soul lined the pages. Kiara had never been interested in this kind of magic before, but even though the force lessened, her engagement grew. This particular chapter stood out to her. She read and reread the description that had begun to sound similar to Professor McGonagall's lecture on animagi in third year. A giddy spark of excitement shot through her. It was similar on the whole but had one key detail that differed from what she had been taught. Those with a 'soul animal' could both transform themselves as well as create a separate physical representation. The second part was unheard of, at least to Kiara's knowledge. She read over the page again to make sure she hadn't missed anything.
A familiar bump on the table jolted her from her trance. Regulus always signaled his presence that way after an incident in the second year when Kiara unknowingly ignored him for two hours. He set his books down next to his chair once she looked up from her book.
"How was Herbology?" he asked.
"Can we talk about something other than that?" She was avoiding thinking about the class. "I need to show you something."
She looked down for the book she had been reading but there was just empty space.
"It was right here!" Kiara glared at the table.
"What was?"
"I found s-" Her voice cut off. "There was this b-" It happened again. She couldn't speak.
Kiara looked down at the spot where the book had been. Something was stopping her, and there would be nothing she could do about it until she found out why.
"It doesn't matter. Could you check over my essay for history? I kinda fell asleep and I know you're weirdly good at it."
"You should just take the books assigned and do the reading on your own." He picked up the paper that she pointed to.
"I've tried. I get halfway through the class every time but Professor Binn's voice puts everyone to sleep. Not even Cynthia can, and she is the 'model' student." Kiara rolled her eyes and leaned back into her chair.
"The first part is fine but you went on a tangent. Put your chair down." Regulus muttered.
Kiara had come a long way from her terrified first-year self and Regulus' glare did nothing to deter her. They had this ongoing argument, which at this point had become a habit, on the 'dangers' of leaning back in your chair.
"When you fall, I'm not helping you."
"I wouldn't expect you to."
Any questions are welcome. Please comment and vote. Thanks for reading!
- Natalie