East Meet West

Lanae stood down by the dark lake. It was dark as the sun had set two hours ago. The firecracker that she had set off was heard most everywhere in Hogwarts except...they hadn't done anything to her yet. Mostly because they couldn't find her. She had run out of the Gryffindor common room after being shoved down by Ron after she had tried to talk to Ginny. She had just stared at him, an undefined feeling in her eyes and face. She simply stared at him before clenching her hands into fists and running out. Staring out over the lake she tried to think of why whenever she went to a new school she always had to have the bitchy bad girl rep.

"It's unfair that's what it fucken is." Her eyes closed slightly as the wind ruffled her hair back from her face. There was no moon that night. New moon. It suited her perfectly. She was new and the moon was new. Trekking down to the Forbidden Forest she took one look back, one hand on her wand before she pushed forward into the darkness. She was relatively quiet as she made her way into the woods. Her thoughts were scattered like fallen leaves; her eyes shut slightly in thought.

She knew there had to be some ulterior motive to why her grandfather would make her and Louis come over just after the summer of terror that had been going on in England. She had read about it in the Daily Prophet and was to say the least, amazed at the way things were progressing. He had all his old death eaters and even a few new ones. That she hadn't found out from the paper. No, she had her own sources. But just standing here and looking at the stars through the breaks in the branches, she felt a cord of hate that had begun to twist it's way through the wizarding world. She had too block out the muggle hate as that was everywhere. But around the cord of hate there was a shiny red that dug into the cords of all wizards alike. She guessed it was Voldemort's power. Lowering her eyes to the dark forest she bit her lip before beginning to act.

She made as if she was walking off a train during Christmas, looking to an invisible person next to her before turning and gasping. Staring in fear at an unseen figure she backed up before spilling to the ground. She imagined the invisible person pressing a wand to her inner forearm giving her the death eaters mark. Her skin would burn and crackle as she screamed in pain before being smacked upside the head by the figure. She flew to the ground, one hand cradling her arm before moving up to cup her own cheek. She was actually quite good at acting even if she was a bit shy.

"Ah oh dear dark lord please-Hey...this is a perfect place I can practice my acting! Hmm...I can come down here maybe every night and practice. It'll be a helluva lot better than being sneered at by the other Slytherins." She stood up quickly, swaying slightly as blood rushed to her head. As soon as she was able to stand she moved to go out of the forest, thoughts crossing her mind at random intervals.

~Meanwhile in the Gryffindor dorms~

"So...Louis. This is where you can sleep for the year. Um, we'll wake you up in time so you won't be late ok?" Seamus and Dean both grinned before heading to their own beds and beginning to get dressed for bed. Louis also began to get ready for bed, his clothes being slipped off as he shrugged and slid between the cool sheets clad only in his boxers. After closing the drapes on his bed he laid awake for a bit just thinking. He really should have stood up for his sister when Ron pushed her down but she really did push people to the limit. And Ginny was the guy's little sister. Hell, she was his ONLY sister and Lanae was just trying to shove on in and make her conquest. Turning over to sleep Louis sighed again, making a note to meet with Lanae tomorrow and talk to her. Hopefully they would have classes together and Louis could talk her out of it.

~Slytherin Dorms~

Lanae on the other hand wasn't sleeping comfortably. She was sitting up letting old songs tunes run through her head along with her thoughts. She wished she could change her ways but she just seemed to lash out and act without thinking. It was like that old saying about guys having a brain and a dick and having only enough blood to run one at a time. She had a brain and a temper and only enough blood and adrenaline to fuel one at a time. A harsh laugh slipped out of her mouth as she slipped out of the bed, grabbing her favorite cloak and slipping it on. She had heard about the rule about being out of bed at night but...she needed to think. Screw the rules. She could take whatever they threw at her!

"I bet they make em write a thousand words or something." She giggled softly before slipping out of the dorms and downstairs to the common room. Taking a look about to make sure no one was about to tell on her she slipped out of the common room making for the Gryffindor tower. Thank god she had heard the two twins that Louis knew say the password earlier when they were running. Slinking along the walls of the corridor, she kept an eye out for that damned cat Ms. Neurotic or whatever. She was quiet oh yes, but invisible...only slightly with her cloak. But it wasn't an invisibility cloak. She was hoping to get one of those on her next birthday which would be unfortunately this December with her parents in hiding.

"Damn that Voldie!" She swore softly to herself before clasping her hands over her mouth and freezing when she heard movement near her. Although it didn't sound like the sound of a cat. That she knew fondly...in fact it sounded like robes being dragged. Moving forward and peering cautiously about the corner she spied three pairs of sneakers on the floor...but nothing attached to them. Her eyes narrowing slightly she moved forward behind the feet, ducking behind suits of armor and crouching down in shadows. The feet had to be attached to three people under an invisibility cloak. But she had seen the prices of them and they were high...how could a student here have one?

"Ah! Get off my foot!" A soft girlish whisper cut through the still air outside as the feet that showed suddenly became covered. Lanae narrowed her eyes before picking up a stick and creeping forward behind where she heard the noises. A small bit of shoe was revealed at least to her eyes so she could see the group was heading toward Hagrid's cabin.

"God have we grown bigger or has your cloak shrunk Har-" A loud boyish voice was suddenly cut off almost like by a hand. Lanae froze, watching the feet that were shown slowly turn. Ducking down she rolled to the feet grabbing the ends of the cloak and pulling it down. It fell down over her covering her partially but leaving her hand out.

"Ah! Harry! Get the cloak back on us!" Lanae saw the three people now. It was Ron, that boy Harry, and that girl who had bushy hair. She hadn't caught that girl's name. Harry's right hand suddenly fumbled on the ground, searching for the fallen cloak. Lanae scooted back trying to pull her hand under the cloak. But it was all worth naught as Ron, spying the hand sticking out of mid-air, immediately stomped his foot on top of it. She bit her lip hard before groaning in pain. She sat up quickly, the cloak in a puddle of silver beside her as she cradled her hand. The group all stared shocked at her, the cloak being picked up by Harry and held close.

"What are you doing out here? Looking to find where Ginny is so you can play with her mind more?" Ron sneered down at Lanae, ignoring her hurt hand. She kept her eyes and head lowered before standing, mumbling a sorry before turning and moving back into the school. Instead of turning to go to her brother in Gryffindor she turned to the dungeons toward her room. She wanted to curl up and cry. Even though Ron's words had hurt her they did have a grain of truth to them. That's what hurt the most. The girl Ginny was only a year younger...and it wasn't really right of Lanae to take advantage of her.

"Yes...that's what I'll do. I'll stay away from her from now on. That way she can go on and live her little life." Lanae sniffed suddenly, surprised at the tears that filled her eyes. Running down the stairs past the Potions classroom and toward the Slytherin common room, she nearly passed the wall. Stepping back three paces she uttered the password before stepping in. Thankfully there was no one in the common room so Lanae just ran to the dorm she was assigned too and threw herself on her bed.

~The next day. Gryffindor Dorms~

Louis snapped his eyes open and scrambled out of the bed, nearly tearing the hangings off the bed in his hurry to pull on his robes and run a brush through his hair. He had to get down to breakfast early in case he missed Lanae. He had to talk to his twin and quickly. As he walked on out of the common room he noticed a sort of smug look on Ron's face. Putting it to memory he ran on down to the Great Hall, throwing the doors open as he scanned the hall for his sister's familiar face. Not seeing it he ran down to the Slytherin table, ignoring the looks they gave him.

"Have-have any of you seen Lanae? My twin sister? The frea-"

"Yea I've seen her. She's still down in the dorm getting ready. Now get away." One of the girls who had interrupted him waved a hand at him before turning back to her food. Louis sighed settling down at the Gryffindor table next to the two twins, shoveling food onto his plate as he ate it with great haste. He wanted to hurry and find his sister to talk too. While he was drifting off to sleep last night he had felt a sharp pain in his right hand. It had awoken him and it left him cradling his hand. It was obvious that the pain that he felt yet that left no mark had been from his sister. Something must have happened to her hand. Once he was done eating he stood up so quickly he almost fell back off the bench. he would have in fact if not for the two twins reaching out and grabbing his arms. Louis smiled sitting back down, vaguely remembering to find Lanae later and talk to her before the twins engaged him in a conversation that took all of his attention.

Meanwhile Lanae was walking down the hall deciding to skip breakfast as she didn't want to be tempted by Ginny. Not to mention she didn't want to face her twin whom she knew had to have felt the pain in her right hand last night. He proberly would jump on her the minute she walked into the hall. Just as she reached the front doors Professor McGonagall picked that moment to walk down the stairs.

"Ms. Juneau! What are you doing out here? You need to go into the great Hall to receive your schedule." McGonagall took Lanae's left arm tugging her into the hall much to her distaste. She had left her hair unspiked today although she did wear her favorite black elbow length shirt. It had words encased in rainbow colors written across the bust. They read clearly, 'Let's get 1 thing straight...I'm not!' She had picked a pair of her favorite baggy black jeans and paired them with her army boots. As soon as she sat down at the Slytherin table she lifted her eyes to find Louis. A smiled quirked her lips as she saw Louis engaged in close conversation with the two twins he liked.

Lanae picked at the food, quite used to grabbing a chocolate bar and soda for breakfast in the morning. Ignoring the food in front of her she moved her eyes about the hall people watching. She made the mistake of looking toward the doors as when she moved her glazed eyes to them, Ginny picked that time to walk through them. Lanae's mind seemed to zone out as her body moved toward Ginny. Her lips parted to form her name before Lanae's hurt bandaged hand touched Ginny's left shoulder. Ginny spun to face Lanae, a gasp passing her lips before she moved back. Lanae knew in that moment that Ginny had been talked to by her brother.

"Ginny. I want to-" Lanae was cut off by a sharp out cry of anger behind her. Turning her head slightly she saw only Ron with his wand out before her reflexes took over. Her mind jumped to attention suddenly as she moved away, her bandaged hand covering Ginny's right and clutching it tightly. Ginny tried to move back even as Lanae pulled her out of the hall and toward the outside. Lanae dragged Ginny down to the lake before she spun to face the terrified red head. Her lips parted to try and explain her vow from the night before that she had made to herself in the safety of her bed when Ginny just pulled back. Lanae's body moved of it's own accord again, somehow detached from her mind. Her lips covered Ginny's pale parted ones while her arms encircled Ginny's trembling body. Lanae did no tricks this time. She only pressed her lips to Ginny's in a desperate attempt to feel human love again. With a force that surprised them both, Ginny pushed Lanae back before running up the slope to the Great Hall, her hands wiping her slightly bruised lips.

Lanae sat trembling, her hands laying on the ground and dragging slightly as she trembled with the emotion of reject. Her mind snapped awake again as she gave herself a mental slap.

'Why are you just lying here like a broken toy? Get up Lanae! Now! Don't let anyone see this weakness of yours!' Lanae slowly stood, still mentally battering herself even as she walked slowly up to the castle. She locked her depression back, not letting it take her over as it had when she was at her muggle school. Slipping back into the Great Hall she took a seat at the now crowded Slytherin table. Staring downward she felt a nudge from someone on her left. She ignored it even as it persisted.

"Hey! Dumbledore's grand-daughter!" She lifted her eyes at that, her empty brown meeting with cool gray blue eyes.

"My name is Lanae Juneau. Not 'Dumbledore's grand-daughter.' " Lanae sat up straighter even as the boy held his hand out smirking.

"Fine Lanae. I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." Lanae slowly shook his hand, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. Draco noticed this and ignored it. "I see that you seem to be quite lonely here even as your brother seems to be making friends by the dozen over there in Gryffindor. Unfortunately he seems to be making the wrong sort. I can help you there." Draco said, his eyes carefully watching Lanae's movements.

"Ah. You mean I befriend you so as to create a stir possibly even angering my brother when you insult his crushes? Ah I'm afraid I will have to decline your invitation. I will handle my affairs no matter how botched they are by this point alone. I befriend no one. I do not like people, I dislike people who seek my hand only to further themselves up in this school so as to hide and bend the rules to their pleasure even more than I dislike the human race. And that includes wizard and muggle alike." Lanae turned away from Draco, her eyes cool and confident again. Draco opened his mouth to retort back a remark although Snape picked that moment to walk by handing out their schedules. Lanae took her own with a note of disdain while she looked over it.

"Juneau. Seems that we have classes together with Gryffindor Tuesday and Thursday. Double classes in the afternoon it seems." Draco turned toward Lanae who just nodded while tucking the schedule into her pocket. She stood up quickly, moving out of the great Hall quickly as to gather her materials for Charms with Hufflepuff this Monday. She really didn't want to go to class, rather she wanted to stay in her dorm room and concentrate on carving her depression in her legs and arms. But she still plodded down to her dorm room, gathering the books that she had traveled to Diagon alley to get before proceeding up to Charms. The same boy from before, Draco ran up to her, two large gorilla looking boys on either side of him. She shook her head and just ignored him while she stepped into Charms, taking a seat in the back.

~Lunchtime~

Louis ran from his class down to lunch, ignoring any people who called his name. He needed to talk to his sister and badly. As he slid into the Great Hall he caught sight of her walking swiftly toward the dungeons, a slim pocket knife in her hand. His eyes widened as he remembered the year before when she would cut herself.

"Lanae! Stop!" He urged his legs to move faster as she stopped, turning slowly while her eyes just stared at him. He ran up to her grabbing her hand and prying the knife from her now limp fingers.

"Louis...what-what are you doing?" She seemed to be in a daze, her eyes glazed over slightly as Louis tucked the knife away. He sighed taking her hand and leading her into the Great Hall, feeling the depression that threatened to over-take her.

"Lanae...please cheer up. Come on, eat something then we can hang out by the lake till the next class. You don't have any other class in the afternoon do you? So that way we can hang together?" He led her to the Gryffindor table, ignoring the stares at them while he situated her next to him, loading food onto her plate and his.

"No...I have no other class after Herbology. Louis...do you think I should stay away from Ginny?" She came to life slowly, her limbs moving sluggishly about as she began to nibble on a piece of bread. Louis nodded slowly, also nibbling on a piece of bread.

"Yea...most likely. She's young...and she's Ron's only sister. But Lanae, I'll always be here for you. Please don't cut yourself again." He leaned over throwing an arm about her and hugging her. She smiled slightly, finishing the bread and beginning to eat faster. Louis grinned also beginning to eat the food in front of him. The two glanced at each other over the food, smiling before turning back to the food. The two seemed to communicate in eyes alone as they ate, their eyes meeting and filling with laughter.