Keeping it in the Family

"No, Harry, the carriage is full.... We'll have to try elsewhere...."

An unsure voice floated down floated down from the train corridor, accompanied with much scratching of trunks being pulled along. Keira swore and scooted in her chair, away from the noise. No one else was with her in her compartment, except for her brown owl sleeping in its cage. She was already dressed in her black Hogwarts robes, her long shiny black hair had been tied up messily, she had black circles under her eyes from sleeplessness.

She was nervous, though she wouldn't admit it to anyone. Last night, she had done nothing but toss and turn on her hard bed in the orphanage before leaving early for King's Cross Station. Like a bad movie, all her experiences had been played and replayed in her mind... the faces of her best friends, talking and laughing, the kindly head of the orphanage, the only one which would dare accept her, floating books, outraged fellow orphans and their parents pointing at her, the smoking ruins of her school... Determinedly pushing them all from her mind, Keira pulled her cloak more snugly around her and turned to the wall again. She needed sleep badly...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Neville Longbottom, Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley, and Luna Lovegood had come to the last Hogwarts Express carriage, but they were still looking for a compartment. Ginny peered through a door while the rest waited, tired from lugging their trunks around.

"Here, this one looks empty."

She turned the doorknob and went in, but stopped abruptly in the doorway. The compartment was not empty at all. A sleeping girl with long black hair and a caged sleeping brown owl were there, almost tucked into a corner.

"Yeah, Ron and Hermione will join us later," Harry's voice boomed out. "They just-"

"Shhhhhh!!!!" She shushed him and pointed to the girl. Suddenly everyone was silenced, for the girl did not look like a first year at all. In fact, she looked fifteen or sixteen years old.

"The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" Neville asked in hushed tones. Harry's heart gave a leap, remembering how he, Ron, and Hermione had accidentally discovered Professor Lupin three years ago, but Luna shook her head and pointed to the girl's robes, which had the Hogwarts crest. "She looks much too young, anyway," she whispered.

Harry's eyes narrowed. It was not normal for Hogwarts to accept new students in fifth or sixth year! And there was something else- she looked oddly familiar, but his mind couldn't place her... His thoughts automatically moved to the Department of Mysteries last year, where Sirius had- But no, he told himself. Dumbledore would not accept entirely new students without a good reason...

"C'mon," he told them. "There are two more compartments to the back...."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Oh, hurry up, hurry up!" Ron Weasley moaned, clutching his stomach. "Where are McGonagall and the first years, I'm starving!"

"You can wait!" Hermione Granger snapped back. "It's not like you're going to die of hunger or anything..."

"But I am!" Ron groaned. At that moment, the doors swung open and Professor McGonagall led a row of first years in front of the Great Hall as usual, only this time one 'first year' particularly stood out, with her height and what looked like a badge attached to a red cord tied around the neck of her cloak, and her eyes, cold and forbidding, which seemed to be fixed on a point above the students' heads. Harry, Ginny, Neville, and Luna immediately recognized her as the girl from the train.

Hermione started frowning at the girl, as if trying to place her. She turned to Harry and Ron.

"Haven't we seen her somewhere?"

Ron scratched his head. "She looks familiar but....."

Whispers broke out over all the tables.

"Who is she?"

"Some really tall first year I bet-"

"No, it can't be!"

"A repeater perhaps?"

Professor McGonagall shot no-nonsense looks at all the whisperers, who immediately stopped. Clearing her throat, she proceeded to read from a roll of parchment.

"Avery, Nancy!"

So it went on, but Ron was no longer groaning and clutching. To Harry, it seemed like the Sorting had been going on forever, he was as almost as hungry as Ron, but he was really curious about the strange girl... He knew he had seen her before...

He looked up at Professor McGonagall. She had reached the L's but the tall girl still had not been called.

Suddenly, she stopped for a moment before reading the next name, and her eyes flicked briefly to the tall girl who stood with her chin high, face unreadable.

"Lestrange, Keira!"

Harry's heart gave a thud. He looked around at the immediate people around his table, Neville, Ron, and Hermione. They all looked as shocked as he felt. Neville's face suddenly turned a very pale grey, and he was seemed to have been frozen, and Ron and Hermione wore looks of disbelief on their faces.

Now Harry remembered why she had seemed so familiar, where he had seen her long, shiny black hair before: on the head of Bellatrix Lestrange.

He was shaking with rage. Who was she to come to Hogwarts when her probable relative had killed the closest person to a father he had ever known? Who was she to dare appear before him with those cold eyes, that stubborn chin? She who was probably as evil as Bellatrix...

Hermione had one hand over her mouth, the other wordlessly clutching Ron's shoulder. Ron's freckles were standing out, his face white with shock. At the Ravenclaw Table, Luna was looking her usually dreamy self, but a flicker of hardness had appeared in her eyes. All were remembering the end of last year, the happenings at the Department of Mysteries.

Hubbub had broken out at the Great Hall. The looks directed at the proud figure at their front were ones of shock, surprise, terror, anger, and even pure venom. Only the Slytherins looked gleeful, as if preparing for new blood. Draco Malfoy was smiling up at the staff table and rubbing his hands in anticipation. A Lestrange, soon to join the noble house of Slytherin!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was all Keira could do to keep her head high and unwavering. The hostility that she had been greeted with when her name had been mentioned was enough to unnerve anyone.

I knew I should never have come here! she thought. It was mad to. She should have just stayed in the orphanage, learned magic out of books bought at Flourish and Blotts, where she was just another faceless witch, should never have come here to this cold school.

But, her anger rose pretty easily, and it was rising steadily now. Did Hogwarts students just base you on your name and write you off, not give you a chance to show your true self? At Rosehill, some people had timidly approached, discovered that she was not a maniac, and had become her friends. Hogwarts students were supposed to be the cream of the crop in England, maybe in Europe for that matter. Didn't they have a nice bone in them?

I have to be strong, she told herself. I'll have to show them what I'm made of... I have to do it, for them...

She walked as gracefully as she could to the stool, which was obviously too small for her, snapped up the Sorting Hat, and jammed it on her head. It was still too big for her, but it did not slide over her head, only over one ear, leaving an eye which stared out at the Great Hall.

Hm, said a voice in her ear, you're a late transferee but you were still accepted here, and I can see why. Power, talent, oh yes, you have massive quantities of it, and you've put them to good use. You're strong and you have the capacity to get even stronger... Stubborn, yes, very, you don't give up easily... Now, where shall I put you? In Slytherin? They seem to be the friendliest towards you...

No, no, no! Keira cried out in her mind, as she clenched the stool tightly. Not Slytherin, anywhere but Slytherin! I don't want to be seen as a copy of my aunt and uncle!

Not Slytherin? You would have the easiest path there you know, people would be friendly and help you, as your family is very well-regarded there...

No, she thought savagely. Don't put me somewhere will I have an easy time. Put me somewhere where I will be challenged, where I can prove my worth!

Are you sure? asked the voice, slightly amused. Stubborn girl... You will have a very, very hard time of it...

Do it! Keira thought, staring out at the Great Hall defiantly with one eye. I will handle it, I will overcome them...

All right, all right, said the voice, Don't go running to me when you suffer at their hands then, just remember that you have chosen the hardest way... the way of GRYFFINDOR!

She heard the hat shout the last word loudly to the hall. "Thank you," she whispered. "Hopefully I won't regret this anytime soon..." She took of the hat, placed it on the stool, and walked to the Gryffindor table, with no accompanying applause except that of Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall.

The walk down the Great Hall was her first test. Keira's burst of temper and courage disappeared as her eyes searched the Hall.There was not one friendly face in sight, no welcoming wave. People were looking at her as if at filth, even the Slytherins were now looking at her like she was a traitor. If anything, the stares of the Gryffindors were even worse. Some looked huffy, some looked at her quickly but turned away soon, as if they would be turned to stone if they stared a moment longer. Keira sat down at an empty space across from a bushy-haired girl at the table, and noticed that the people sitting next to her moved slightly away. No one made any friendly overtures until the bushy-haired girl nervously stretched out her hand.

"Welcome to Gryffindor," she said in a brisk business-like manner. "I'm Hermione Granger, a prefect. The other one here is Ron Weasley." She gestured to a tall red-headed boy on her right, who gulped nervously, like he was expecting to be devoured at any moment.

All students at the Gryffindor table were watching her, as if expecting her to coolly ignore Hermione's hand. Keira's temper flared up again. Why would she ignore the only remotely friendly face she had seen since she had stepped on the train? Who did they think she was, Voldemort's right hand man?

She clasped Hermione's hand with her own and shook it. "Thanks," she said wryly. "You've probably heard my name already so..." She threw a friendly grin at the prefect, who smiled shakily back. The tension at the table seemed to loosen up a bit, as people seemed to be letting out their held-back breath. However, Keira noticed that there was still one person, with his head bowed, messy black hair obscuring his face, who was still shaking. Suddenly his head snapped up, and a pair of intense green eyes stared her in the face, and she recognized him by his scar: the famous Harry Potter.

"Are you in anyway related to Bellatrix Lestrange?" he asked.

His voice was cold, as if he was trying to bite back extreme anger.

Keira was dismayed. Had her relative done something to Harry Potter that could make him look like this? Suddenly, she realized that maybe that was the reason why the Hogwarts students were so cold toward her. They could be children or relatives of the countless people Bellatrix had killed....

She forced herself to look straight into Harry Potter's angry eyes. It's not like I haven't done this before... Besides, I have nothing to do with anything she ever did.

"She's my aunt by marriage.... she married my uncle on my father's side."

Her voice had a bite to it and she spoke stiffly. There was no hope of her trying to repair her aunt's damage if she didn't acknowledge her openly, and she had uttered that line umpteen times already, but still...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

So, she had finally opened up and said it. Harry's hands clenched and unclenched on his wand under the table. He had expected many turns and twists in his sixth year, but he had never expected to be sitting at the same table with Bellatrix Lestrange's niece. She seemed alright but who knew what she was here for? She could even be a part of a ploy to take over Hogwarts, who knew? He crossed his arms and looked at Neville, who was still shaking.

Shaking her head, Keira seemed to notice and addressed the whole table, her voice loud but a bit shaky.

"Yes, she's my aunt. If there are any relatives of her or my uncle's victims here, I know no amount of apologies from me can possibly come close to righting what they did, but..."

She looked down at her hands and grimaced. Everyone at the table was silent. Finally, Neville swallowed and held out his hand.

"Welcome to Gryffindor." His voice was as business-like like Hermione's had been, but only three other people sitting at the Gryffindor table knew what it must have taken to say that.

Keira beamed at him and shook his hand eagerly.

"Thanks very much!"

At that moment, Dumbledore stood up to make his start of the term remarks.

"To all the new students-" his eyes lingered on Keira for a moment, and then he continued, "Welcome to Hogwarts! To all the old students, welcome back! Now, everyone tuck in!" He sat down to many cheers as the food magically appeared before them.

Keira took some lamb chops, mashed potatoes, and buttered vegetables and ate with a vengeance. She was extremely hungry, so hungry that she looked like she was having an eating race with Ron. Hogwarts isn't looking so bad, after all, she thought hopefully.

Hermione was staring at the red cord and badge around Keira's neck between bites with a small frown on her face. Then she suddenly spoke up and asked, "Keira?"

She swallowed the food in her bulging mouth quickly and answered. "Yes?"

"Um... What's that red cord and badge for?"

"This? Oh... It signifies that I'm a sorceress-in-training."

Hermione, who looked taken aback, opened her mouth but thought better of it. The people who had overheard only wore puzzled looks on their faces.

"Can I see it?"

Keira hesitated for a moment, then undid a clasp and handed it over to Hermione, who turned it over, examining it.

It was merely a badge, showing red sparks coming out of a forefinger on a blue background, attached to a cord. It didn't look like anything out of the ordinary. Hermione handed it back to Keira.

"Thanks, Keira..." she cleared her throat and went on. "So, excited to be at Hogwarts for your..." here she hesitated and looked uncertain.

"Sixth year." Keira finished.

Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown looked outraged, Neville looked away suddenly, Ron looked uncomfortable, Harry's head jerked up, and Hermione looked speechless.

"Si-sixth? I... I see..."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Harry had joined Hermione and Ron at the head of a column of Gryffindor first-years, Keira included. He checked to make sure she was nowhere near, and then leaned towards Ron and Hermione. "Well?" He himself could still not believe that a living, breathing Lestrange was at Hogwarts, in Gryffindor House, no less!

Ron shook head wordlessly, as if still in shock, but Hermione looked thoughtful.

"I don't know what to expect of her," she said simply. "Even if you forget for a while that she's a Lestrange and take into account that she's simply a sorceress-in-training..."

Harry looked puzzled. "What is a sorceress?"

Ron cut in before Hermione could answer. "Sorcerers and sorceresses are supposed to be diabolical people with monstrous powers. Many were part of You-Know-Who's army..."

"Oh, don't be silly, Ron!" Hermione said in an annoyed voice. "Not all of them are diabolical, the good ones just weren't well known..."

Ron looked highly affronted. "Well, most of them are!"

"So, they really have monstrous powers?" Harry asked.

Hermione sighed. "Well, they say that to get into a school that teaches sorcery, you have to have lots of potential. And people aren't picked by sorcery schools like Hogwarts does with its students, they have to apply themselves and undergo all of these tests for magic ability. I've read that the teaching methods that they use at sorcery schools are very unconventional, the students don't use wands at all!"

Harry and Ron looked incredulous. "They don't use wands?!? Then how do they cast spells and stuff?"

"I've read sorcerers and sorceresses only use their hands, they utter the spell in their head and cast it using their fingers. The best only need to look at the target for the spell to work..."

Seeing that Harry and Ron were engrossed, she went on. "Schools that teach sorcery only have six years. Spells and magic are taught until fifth year, and when students reach sixth year, they are chosen as apprentices by a trained sorcerer or sorceress, with shorter class sessions, meaning they spend almost half the day outside the school with whoever they're apprenticed to."

"Wow," said Ron suddenly. "I wonder if they get to pick who they're apprenticed to?"

"Yes, we do, ideally," said a soft voice behind him, making the three of them jump. It was Keira. How much of their conversation had she overheard?

"But, as there are no sorcerers or sorceresses, here, I guess I won't have a choice as to who I'll be apprenticed to. Not that I'm complaining or anything..." she shrugged carelessly.

Harry was intrigued. "You already know who your master will be?" he asked in spite of himself.

Keira nodded. "The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Nymphadora Tonks."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were shocked. "Tonks is the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?"

She looked surprised. "Yes, didn't you three hear Dumbledore's announcement? And you know her?"

Ron still looked shocked. "She can't be a sorceress! She knows how to use a wand!"

"She probably learned how from her master, or she could have studied how to herself. It's hard, but it can be done. As for being a sorceress, I'm certain that she is. Nymphadora Tonks graduated from the same school that I used to go to, the Rosehill Academy of Sorcery."

"So why don't you go there anymore?" the words were out before Hermione could think, and as soon as she had uttered them, she deeply wished she hadn't. A change had come over Keira. She had been slightly friendly just moments before, but now her eyes grew colder, her voice even softer and she suddenly looked at the carpet.

"I prefer not to talk about it."

"I-I understand," Hermione answered nervously.

Keira only looked at her and sighed, a bit sadly. "No you don't," she said, as to a child. And she turned and walked to the end of the column first-years once again.

Harry was indignant. "You'd think she'd have some manners-"

He was interrupted by Hermione, who held up her hand. "No, she's right. We shouldn't go prying into what isn't our business."

Meanwhile Keira was looking outside the windows she passed by, what magic and hope the night had held gone for her. When Hermione had mentioned her school, what she was trying to forget had forced itself into her mind once more. She knew that the nightmares would visit her again tonight...