Disclaimer: Anything that rings a bell is JK Rowling's

Chapter 46: Lesson 1: Learn to knock

"Nessie!"

I should have asked Kinks for the time before she left. I think it was late at night already, not that you can see the sky outside Grimauld's kitchen windows. Nobody was in the kitchen. That was strange. My heart started beating a little faster; Nessie should be in the kitchen, right? Right? She always greets people in the kitchen…why wasn't she here. I then remembered that the last time I had seen her she had 'fallen' down many flights of stairs. Just then, I heard a noise.

I rushed down the passage and took the stairs two at a time.

"Nessie!"

I heard a scream! I looked down the corridor! It came from her room!

I banged the door open, wand poised to strike. My heart stopped for a moment. For a nanosecond. Every fibre of my being froze as if hit with liquid nitrogen.

The next moment the door was to my back, the corridor was a blur, and the thud of my footsteps blocked their shouts. I pushed through the first door I saw and closed it shut behind me.

I sunk slowly to the floor.

"Can I help you?" The room, which was dark moments ago, filled with light. Sirius Black stood up from his bed, confusion etched on his approaching face.

I nodded slowly, "Obliviate me. Make me forget the last ten seconds of my life. Fifteen to be safe."

His confusion grew and then his eyes snapped to the door as there was a loud thud,

"Ky! Ky! Are you in here? K-"

"Linus! Just give her some space. She just needs sometime…oh my goodness. Let's just go downstairs. Oh, my goodness."

I heard Nessie's soft footsteps on the stairs.

"Ky-"

"She's here Linus. We'll be down for dinner in a moment."

"OK Ky…er…I'll be downstairs Ky…OK?"

I made a gurgling sound of some sort in acceptance. I heard the thud of his footsteps on the stairs.

Sirius crouched down to my eye level, his grey eyes dancing in delight.

"So…not so nice when it's you on the other end eh? When you're on the other side of the walking in? Want that talk about the birds and bees now?"

I glared at him! Why did I have to run into the most immature adult's room? He laughed and dropped to the floor next to me.

"Look, I would obliviate you, but I do think this is character building stuff."

"Cha…character building. I just walked in on my brother shagging his ex-fiancé. How is that character building!"

"Well for one thing, you could learn to knock on doors before entering. I could very well have been entertaining a guest in here," He laughed, "That would have been something huh? You run away from that just to be greeted again by-"

"I get it. Stop. No more details."

He laughed; he was enjoying this too much. "Well like I said, knock before-"

"I thought…I thought…she was screaming!"

"They tend to do that. Only when it's good-"

"Blah blah blah I am not listening to how my brother is good in bed blah blah blah I didn't see anything blah blah blah."

He laughed at me trying to erase my own memory, eyes closed, and ears clamped shut with my hands. I opened my eyes and saw a hand hovering in front of me. I took it and he pulled me to my feet.

"Look, you'll forget whatever you saw. I once walked in on Peter having sex." He opened the door for me, and I walked out, "It still makes me feel microscopically better remembering just how microscopically small his…little wormtail was."

I laughed at that and entered the kitchen. Nessie froze in the middle of setting the table, her face was flushed red. I heard the scrape of a chair as Linus pulled one out to sit on, his face hidden by the newspaper. Thank heavens; I thought he was going to want to talk about this whole ordeal. Walking in on them might have worked to my advantage…they were so embarrassed they didn't even wonder what I was doing here yet.

I sat down when I heard the rustle of newspaper, "Look Ky, if you have any questions-"

"I DO." I didn't look at his pink face, "Did you make butternut soup? I don't feel like onion-"

"WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR SHOULDER!" They screamed in unison; I just took my jacket off to sit down. I then recounted what happened concerning Cynthia Bullstrode.

"That was very irresponsible Ky. I am highly…" I was waiting for the disappointed, but it just didn't come. I raised an eyebrow, Linus definitely didn't look impressed but there were definitely traces of sympathy, "Does it hurt?"

I sighed, sometimes he just knew when enough was enough. I already had Nonno's unsmiling disappointment on my shoulders. I rose from my seat and sat on his lap, leaning my head on his shoulder, he swung his hand around my waist, "Only when I move it. It'll be healed up in a day or two."

I felt him sigh, "Oh Ky. Why can't you go one year without doing yourself an injury?" I felt his hand rub my back and then stopped, suddenly he jerked his shoulder, "What! What is this?"

I felt him pull the back of my shirt where Harry's name was, I quickly got off him, "Watch out, you'll tear it!"

"OHHHH!" Nessie stopped cutting the roast lamb and started jumping up and down, "You and Harry!"

Oh, dragon balls…I completely forgot that we haven't discussed this yet. Linus' face skipped angry and was going to furious whilst Nessie was heading towards complete glee. I caught Sirius' eye, and he didn't seem surprised at all, actually he was observing the situation with an amused look on his face.

"Explain."

What did Linus expect me to say, "Harry and I, how did Nonno put it, are an 'item'" I made air quotes with my fingers and sat down. The next moment the kitchen door banged shut, Linus had stormed out, hopefully not on his way to Hogwarts to strangle Harry.

"I'll go talk to him." Nessie ran off, thank heavens… I thought she was going to go full Nessie and want all the details.

"Oh, and we'll talk abouteverythingwhen I get back."

I sighed as her voice floated from the closed door. I glared at Sirius, who was laughing into his meat.

"I'm glad you find this so hilarious."

"Oh, believe me, this is the most fun I have seen since…since …I can't remember." Godric, that sad look on his face was more annoying than his amusement at my expense.

"We need to get you out of this place."

His grey eyes shone with an emotion I couldn't quite place, "Let's not piss off the parentals too much now."

I rolled my eyes, "It's like a damn disease, even when I'm trying to do something right, I end up screwing it up."

"Preaching to the choir. Granted, I never started a riot at a quidditch match!"

"It wasn't a riot! Yes…there were a few fights…and one near death…" I chewed my lamb, "Godric, I started a riot." A smile broke on my face, "I started a riot."

"Don't gloat now, I did create the Marauders Map."

"Helped create it, that thing has Lupin written all over it."

"Hey, I'll have you know that I spent more time on that map than-"

The door opened again, and Linus and Nessie re-entered, followed by Len…and a woman. She had dark skin, was tall and looked like a librarian with her bun and her thick framed glasses.

"Hey Principessa," Len kissed my forehead and I continued staring at the new addition. The new addition didn't notice however, she was too busy inspecting the kitchen walls as if looking for the source of a termite infestation. I looked at Linus, an eyebrow raised in confusion; he did not return my confusion though, his face still as if he was sucking a lemon immune to the stranger's strange behaviour.

Nessie was stifling a grin and doing a poor job of it. Her blue eyes danced in glee has she looked from Linus to me. Len took the seat next to me, was I the only one that can see the stranger? No…Sirius was staring at her too. OK, so I'm not crazy.

"OK!" Nessie sat back down, her face glowing with excitement, "Since nobody else wants to start, I'll go first. When did he ask you out? What did you say? Have you kissed? Where was your first date? Oooh what does he call you? What do you call him!"

Before I even replied stating if Harry started calling me honey or cutie pie or whatever I would kick him in the nads, Linus cut in, "No. No. No. No." I was waiting for the rest, but his eyes were unfocused and he seemed like he couldn't say anything but the word.

"I think what Linus is trying to say is that we don't need to know all of that. We knew this day would come; we just never expected it to be so-"

"So soon. Too soon." OK Linus was giving me crazy eyes.

"I am fifteen years old! Fifteen."

"Exactly! Just fifteen. Just think five years ago you were ten! And ten years ago, you were five. Remember five Ky. Remember when boys where yucky?" Linus' face was in my own as if willing us both to go back in time with severity of his stare.

"I think what Linus is saying is that we understand that you are old enough for a boyfriend. And we trust you. And Harry." Len gave me a stern look over his words.

"I don't. I don't. What do we really know about the boy?"

Nessie rolled her eyes and pulled Linus back into his seat, "Everything. Harry is amazing, he's sweet and shy and he looks like he's a good kisser."

She was enjoying this too much! Linus glared at her, and she pecked his cheek affectionately. Wait…were these two back together! I mean they were shagging but that could have been some sort of weird physical arrangement they had…ugh stop thinking of your brother shagging!

"I don't understand."

The 'librarian' took the seat next to Sirius, her face pulled into a puzzled expression. Sirius backed away slightly from the overly critical look she was giving him.

"Who are you?"

"Oh, that's right Ky, you haven't met Alexia. And neither have you Sirius. Alexia this is-"

"I know who they are. Dumbledore's great great granddaughter and he is the owner of this house." She spoke to Nessie yet still continued staring at Sirius, the intensity making him shift uncomfortably in his seat. "Do you have the original plan of this house?"

"Original plan? No, I don't think so it might be in the library…"

"There is no original plan. It was burnt two hundred years ago for security reasons."

The librarian then turned to me, "What's your source?"

My source? What was I, Wikipedia? "Gamp's diary."

Her eyes widened but the shock was restricted exclusively to her upper face; she was weird, "Gamp? Hesper Gamp. You have her diary?"

"Had. Gave it to a friend."

"You gave Hesper Gamp's diary to a friend?" Her voice leaked incredulity.

"Yup." I continued eating, the librarian was weird.

I liked her.

She then rose from her seat and turned her glassy stare onto Len, "Direct me to the library?"

He looked up, cutting his meat. "Look, I am not an errand boy, I was just doing Kingsley a favour by fetching you from the airport, I'm not-"

"Alexia, follow me. I'll show you to the library." Nessie stood; her plate already gleaming clean. Linus followed suit, taking his last bite,

"I better go with you two, it's not safe."

Ridiculous thought for a library to be deemed unsafe but it was true in this situation; Black Manor had all sorts of nasty tricks for muggles.

"Is she a muggle?"

Sirius was still staring after her in shock and Len was wolfing down his food.

"No. Squib. She's Kingsley's niece. Alexia Moreau. French." He wagged his eyebrows up at Sirius and the latter smirked.

"What is up with boys and French girls?"

"Ahhhh Principessa, if we had to answer that, then we would lose our intrigue." Len stood and dusted his shirt of breadcrumbs, "We men are a complex intricate design never to be elucidated by the simple minds of woman."

"What's so complex about eat, sleep and shag. It's just three functions? My calculator can do more than that."

He laughed and kissed my forehead, "I can't argue with that. I will get back as soon as I can, don't start any riots while I am gone."

"You're leaving already?" He just got here, like ten minutes ago!

His bright hazel eyes dulled in disappointment, "I want to stay, believe me, I do. But I have to go, OK?"

"OK. Be careful."

He mocked gasped, "When am I never?"

And with that Len was gone. I sighed and looked to my dinner partner.

"Why would I have the plans of the house? Do you know how old this house is? Maybe they are up in the attic…" Sirius' face was set in thought, and I shook my head, and they said girls dissected a situation too much.

-x-x-x-

"Come in." I knew it was Nessie, even her knock was dainty. She poked her glowing face in first, and then slowly entered looking around. "Don't-"

"I know not to touch anything. Believe me, I tip toe around this house."

I looked up from the potion I was brewing. I was fiddling with Mrs Skowzers, trying to make it better somehow.

I was bored, Kinky had just left with the letter I had written to Harry, Ron and Mi letting them know that I was OK. Luckily my working hand was unharmed, I shifted the sling a bit, I can't wait to take it off in the morning. Well, it was practically morning already.

"Don't worry, just a few more hours and that thing will be off. You're lucky you only have to have it on for a day, I had mine on for weeks when I hurt my arm. Dancing injury."

"I figured. Couldn't exactly be sword fighting, but then again I heard you and Len are making quite some progress with your defence training."

She shrugged and blushed, "Len isn't training me anymore, Linus took over."

I looked at her through the steam from the potion, her blush turned to a huge smile, and I rolled my eyes, "Spit it out."

"I really should wait for Linus to get back so we can tell you together."

"So, the wedding is back on?"

She didn't have to answer; she was minutes away from bursting into song. I couldn't help but smile back at her. "Set a date yet?"

The smile disappeared from her face, and I lowered the fire to allow the potion to simmer over night. I jumped up on the desk and sat with crossed legs, my eyes level with her sapphire ones. She leaned back on the counter behind her,

"It's not exactly a good time for a wedding, is it?"

I shrugged, "Because we're on the brink of war? Actually, I don't think there is a better time." I looked down at my shoes and fidgeted with the laces, "I mean…with all the hate and crap, we could do with a little bit of love?"

I felt a hand cover my fidgeting fingers; I didn't want to look up. I knew what I would see, Nessie would be fifty shades of glowing that I let slip one soft hearted comment.

"Harry is really lucky to have you Ky."

I looked up at that, meeting shiny sapphires for a fleeting moment. I sighed and jumped off the table, making for the door, "Of course he is, did you get a load of this ass?" I laughed and she joined in, and we made our way up the stairs.

I smiled to myself, yeah…we could all do with a little bit of love.

A/N: Harry is slowly melting Ky's sarcastic armoured exterior. I guess everybody has to grow up sometime, do you see signs that she has?

Kalina