Keeping it in the Family

VII- Make-up Potions, Conversations, and an Unknown Person most Foul

"Transfiguration, History of Magic, Potions for you of course... I think that's it! And speaking of Potions..."

Neville took out two rolls of parchment along with a case packed with ingredients, and handed them to Keira, who looked at them in dismay.

"This long?" The two were sitting in an empty classroom, which McGonagall had allowed them to use because of Keira's need to make up her Potions lessons.

"'Fraid so," Neville sighed. "At least it's the second to last part. We just need to add this to our cauldrons in the dungeons and we'll finally be done with Niveus Veneum. I hope he assigns us an easier one next time, but knowing Snape..."

"Mmm..." Keira muttered, not really listening as she pulled the ingredients towards her and took her Potions kit from her bag. She took a root and started chopping, for once not caring whether her slices were the same size or not.

I'm pitiful, she thought. It's been how many weeks already and I'm still in a mess over my aunt...It's not like she's suddenly turned more dangerous or anything!

Keira sighed. She knew but... Sorcery schools had fought over Bellatrix Lestrange! She shook her head. Her aunt must have had, no, have power and potential that perhaps equaled Voldemort's... Keira recalled Bellatrix Lestrange's wizard photo in the SSTACAV and shuddered.

Someone who has power, ambition, and who isn't afraid to torture people to the death is free! Out there! Running wild! And worse, no one knows where she is, and what she could possibly be planning...

Keira shook her head, formed her slices into a pile, and took another root. She felt motionless, helpless.... as usual. I want to stop her, but I know I can't do anything. The best sorcerers and wizards have no clue where she is, and I have no chance of finding out myself...

She took out a mortar and pestle from her potions kit, and started grinding the slices grimly. What was she going to do, burst out of Hogwarts and hunt her aunt and the Death Eaters down? And if she ever found out where they were, was she going to just suddenly explode into their hideout and duel them all?

Keira knew that the only thing she and everyone else could was wait, but she hate hate hated waiting. That's all I should do now. Just wait and bide my time...

Sure. She would just bide her time while her aunt ran around and... Keira clicked her tongue. Maybe this is why Harry Potter's so uptight... He's rumored to have had run-ins with the Death Eaters, he might have seen them do their... Aargh!

Keira hit her herself lightly on the head. She had to stop worrying and focus on her studies. She knew she had been slipping in the past few weeks... Keira looked up from her roots determinedly. Her hair was falling in her face again.

She took out her black hair ribbon and tried to tie her hair back neatly, but for some reason her hair absolutely refused to cooperate. Sighing, Keira tied her hair as neatly as possible, and glanced at Neville, who was writing an essay at top speed, his tongue sticking out slightly.

"Keira, who was the leader of the Chinese sorcerers again?" he asked her, not looking up from his work.

"Um, uh... Kai Lien, I think." she answered haltingly.

Keira sighed again inwardly. How could she focus her mind on her own studying if Hogwarts could suddenly collapse around their ears at any moment? What if Hogwarts ended up like....

That's enough! she thought. I need to close my mind off and concentrate!

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

"Keira... Keira.... KEIRA!"

Keira came back to the classroom with a start. The stirring rod in her cauldron was going around by itself again...

"If you over stir that, it will get too thick, you know...." Neville said, slightly amused.

"I know..." Keira answered, her voice flat and head still bowed. She took the stirring rod from the cauldron, tapped it once to remove the mixture clinging to it, and covered her cauldron with a cloth.

"Are you alright?" Neville asked, staring at her curiously. "You've been pretty down for the past few weeks..."

"Really?" Keira twisted her hands in her lap. She looked up at Neville and tucked a strand of stray hair behind her ear.

"I'm just worried about my studies," Keira lied. "My essays have been coming back to me with awful grades..."

"Is that all to it?" Neville went back to his essay, but stole glances at Keira. "I'm sure you're acing your wand lessons, at least..."

Keira reached into her bag and pulled out her own half-finished History of Magic essay, a quill, and some ink. "Oh yes! I've graduated from Wingardum Leviosa to turning beetles into buttons!" she said mock cheerfully while rolling her eyes. Neville laughed.

"I don't know," she said as she dipped her quill into her inkpot and balanced it on her piece of parchment. "It seems like I suddenly became lazy and started slacking off..."

She leaned back in her chair, put her feet up on the table, and closed her eyes. Neville put the finishing touches on his own essay, looked up, and gazed at her strangely.

"Keira?"

"Yes?" She didn't open her eyes, and started to rock her chair back and forth lazily.

"What are you doing?"

Keira cocked one eye open and grinned at Neville.

"Writing my essay, of course."

"Writing your...?" Keira pointed at her quill, which was moving across the paper by itself. Neville left his seat to see what it was writing:

Growing tensions between the Scandinavian wizards and the Chinese sorcerers erupted in the Sino-Scandinavian War of 1219. After initial domination by the Scandinavian

"This is amazing!" Neville whispered, astounded.

"This is nothing," Keira said, sitting up properly and frowning at the quill, which had started to falter slightly.

"I had a professor who could think his lectures directly onto the board. I never saw him use a piece of chalk." The quill gave a little shiver then fell on her essay, causing the ink to blot. "Oh great!"

Keira picked up her quill and pointed at her paper, clearing the ink blots.

"What a waste of ink!" she muttered. She smiled at Neville and shrugged self-apologetically. "Can't sustain it when I'm having a conversation... I need to work on that."

"Do you want me to stop talking?"

Keira laughed and waved it off. "Oh no, that's fine, I'm almost done, I'll just write it normally." She dipped the quill into her inkpot and started to write out the remainder of her essay as Neville heaved himself up on a desktop.

"You know what you were saying earlier? About the laziness?"

"Hmmm?"

"It might be because Christmas break is coming soon!"

Keira's head jerked up. "What? It's nearing Christmas already?"

"It seems so soon, doesn't it? Time passes by so quickly in Hogwarts..." Neville sounded a little wistful. He looked at Keira.

"Um... Are you leaving after sixth year?"

Keira scratched her head with a quill. "Yes, because technically sorcery schools are only until sixth year anyway; I just need to finish this year so I can get certified."

And get out of this school, she added to herself. Even though people were starting to get used to her and the practical jokes had all but ceased, she had never felt truly comfortable or accepted in Hogwarts. Well, except when I'm with Hermione, Ron, a few other students, Tonks, and of course Neville.

"Uh... What are your plans this break?" Keira changed the topic swiftly. "Going home?" she asked Neville cheerfully.

He looked down. "Actually, no... My grandmother's having our house warded, so she owled me saying that I should stay at Hogwarts over the holidays..." Neville's voice had suddenly turned gloomy.

"Warded?" Keira raised her eyebrows. "You should tell your grandmother to be careful... there are a lot of fake warders out there, especially now that they're in such demand."

"On the contrary, I think I should warn them to be afraid of my grandmother." Neville's dry comment elicited a laugh from Keira.

"Oh, well, I'm sure staying here wouldn't be too bad for you," she continued soothingly. "At least you get along with everyone..."

"How 'bout you? Are you going home?"

"I'm expecting to... I just owled them a week ago, I should get a reply soon." Keira said with a smile. She was looking very much to going home to the orphanage, even if just for a few weeks.

She wrote the last sentence of her essay with a flourish, then started waving the parchment around, waiting for the ink to dry. "Wait, Neville, what day is it today?"

"Today? It's Wednesday, isn't it?"

"Wednesday!" Keira hurriedly rolled up her essay and started fixing her Potions kit.

"What's wrong?" Neville asked. "Oh yeah, your wand lessons!"

"Tonks is going to be mad," Keira said as she started stuffing her things into her already-bulging bag. "I was already late last time..."

"Somehow, I don't think she'll be." Neville picked up her quill and handed it to her as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

"I'll just bring my potion down later." She fixed her bag and rushed to the doorway, where she hesitated and turned back.

"Oh and Neville?"

"Hmmm?"

"Have you... have you ever heard strange noises in the night?"

He looked at her incredulously. "What?"

"Well, um... I don't know if it's just me, but I've been hearing, uh... strange noises..." Keira winced. The words that had left her mouth sounded as stupid as she felt.

Neville shrugged and chuckled. "It might be just Peeves making a racket."

"You're right... I must be just overreacting. Thanks loads." She grinned at him, and sped off.

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

Keira rushed through the hallways, head bowed, walking as fast as she could without running. She went down a flight of stairs hurriedly and collided into someone-

"Ow!" A bushy-haired girl clutched her shoulder, and the books she had been carrying fell .

Keira's eyes widened in surprise. "Hermione! I'm so sorry!" She started picking up the books that had gone flying.

"Keira!" the prefect smiled. "That's fine. Where are you going? You seem to be hurrying."

"Uh..." Keira momentarily stopped. "S-special lessons with Tonks." She winced, knowing Hermione couldn't see her. Why don't I want to admit that I'm taking wand lessons?

"I see..." Hermione gazed at her searchingly.

"Hermione, are these all of your books?"

"Yeah, thanks, I-" Hermione's face gave way to a look of pure terror.

"K-Keira! Behind you!"

Keira half-twisted around, but it was too late for her to react any further. A spell hit her straight in the chest, knocking the wind out of her and causing a burning sensation so painful that she felt herself fall first on her knees, then to the ground. W-what is this? What spell, what curse? Her sight started fading. Someone's screaming...Far away... The burning sensation intensified and spread, the last pain that she felt before she blacked out completely.