A Good Time For Change

Chapter 5

In The Infirmary...

Ron paused at the door to the infirmary during his hourly check on Kelli. Ever since her "episode" began exactly five hours ago, he´d come every hour to make sure she wasn´t awake yet. He was terribly worried. Madame Pomfrey couldn´t get her to wake up. Stepping in, he saw the forms of "Poppy" and the Headmaster behind the curtain around Kelli´s bed.

"Yes, they´re all over her back and shoulders, Albus," came the hushed voice of the nurse from behind the curtain. "Who would do this to her? Kelli´s such a sweet girl. Very gentle."

"I don´t know, Poppy," Dumbledore replied. Ron saw the shadowy figure shake its head. "I just don´t know."

Ron cleared his throat as he completely entered the room. "Is Kelli awake?" he asked, walking towards the American witch´s bed. Poppy dashed out from behind the screen.

"I´m afraid you can´t see her right now. I´m...performing an examination. She seems to have some...unusual markings on her back that we need to take a look at." Poppy bit her lip, trying to hide the fact that she wasn´t telling the entire truth.

"I can wait," Ron said. He sat down in a chair, making up his mind to stay. "It´s no trouble. Just do your examination, so I can see her."

All of a sudden, Kelli let out a piercing scream. The earth began to shake, and things began to fall. As Kelli´s scream heightened in pitch and volume, the ground began to shake more violently. Then, they realized Kelli was screaming words. "NO! STOP! I DIDN´T DO IT!" Kelli´s screaming continued, and the other people in the room tried to find something to grip to stay steady. Just as suddenly as it had begun, the earthquake and the screaming stopped.

Ron and Poppy dashed around the screen, to see an astonished Dumbledore staring at Kelli. Kelli was sitting up and stretching. She rubbed her eyes and asked, "You, speck with red hair, hand me my glasses, would you? My contacts seem to have fallen out."

Ron handed her the glasses, and she put them on her face. "Hello, everybody. I suppose I gave you a scare." Kelli looked at the three shocked faces. "Why are you staring at me like I´m the ghost of Christmas past?" she inquired.

"You--earthquake--scream--I--this is all too much," Ron said, sitting down on a chair with a `fwump´.

"Okay. Stop. Rewind. Play. What?" Kelli stared at Dumbledore, looking absolutely baffled. "Can I get the full version, please?"

"In a moment. Kelli, if you don´t mind my asking, why do you have scars all over your shoulders and back." Kelli took in a sharp breath, and the blood drained from her face.

Eyes darting back and forth, Kelli looked like a trapped animal. Looking at the ceiling she said, "Can I get the express exit?" She stared for a moment more then sighed. Kelli stared down at her hands. "I´ll take that as a no," she said to herself, before glancing at Ron.

"Do I have to tell you now?" she asked. Dumbledore nodded. Kelli proceeded to twiddle with a piece of her hair. "It´s a long story..."

Dumbledore smiled. "My Grandfather was Russian. I learned to like long stories." Kelli smiled weakly back at him.

"Oh...okay. As you know, Headmaster, I came from a very wealthy, Muggle family. That is to say, my mother was a very wealthy muggle--not my so-called `dead-beat dad´. At any rate, he left when my little sister, Shawn, was born. Mother was so depressed. She--she took it out on me.

"Ever since I was little, I could do weird things, you know? Like... bullies were chasing me home one day, and when one of them threw a rock at me, it flung itself back and dashed the boy in the head. Apparently this `treachery´, as my mother called it, reminded Mother of my father.

"Not wanting to be reminded of her sorrows, she became an alcoholic." She took a shuddering breath, but held up a hand when Poppy started to walk to her. "I´ve got to finish now or I never will." After taking a deep gulp from a glass of cold water, she continued. "Mother loved my sisters to pieces. Wretched creatures, just like her. So, when she flew into her rages, she took it out on me. She--she´d come at me with one of my father´s old, leather belts and...and repeatedly strike me all over the back and shoulders. If I struggled, she´d beat me longer. One time, when I was absolutely terrified she would kill me, the belt flew back in her face, and then began beating her repeatedly on the back and shoulders.

"I, of course, was completely stunned. Nothing like this had ever happened before. It stopped as suddenly as it started, but my mother was on the ground, sobbing hysterically. The last words she said to me were, `Get out. Get out of my house right now, before I call the police.´ So, at the age of ten, I packed my things and left."

The news was so shocking to Ron. He could scarcely believe it. How could someone hit their child, let alone such a sweet person as Kelli? Why would anyone every inflict pain upon her? How had she had the strength to carry on, thrown out of her own house at the age of ten? Kelli continued. "I--I didn´t know what to do. But--but Remus Lupin found me on the side of the highway, trying to read a map." Kelli smiled. "I´ve always been horrible with maps. Anyway, he explained to me all about how I was a witch, and that--unlike what my mother told me--it wasn´t my fault that my father left. Obviously, it was a great relief. From then on, I became a part of secret operations for the AW--basically it´s the American Ministry."

Shaking her head sadly, she shuddered. "We all have our scars and crosses to bare. Look at Harry. Look at Draco Malfoy. Look at me. We don´t deserve what we get. Life dishes out whatever it wants. It´s a cold, cruel world--it doesn´t have to be, though. That´s why I agreed to be an intelligence officer. I wanted to help the world be better than it is. I still do. Still, I just wish..." Kelli couldn´t take it anymore, and broke down into sobs, which racked her small, frail-looking body. Silent, they were, and hardly a tear was shed. Years of torture must have done this to her, Ron thought, silently. She´s so strong to be able to move on.

Ron took her in his arms, wrapping her in a furious hug. Kelli sobbed into his shoulder, clinging to him desperately. Dumbledore and Poppy quietly exited, leaving them alone for a moment. After several minutes of Ron´s soft assurances whispered into her hair, Kelli looked up, and the last traces of tears were gone from her face. She kissed him softly on the cheek. "Thanks, Ron." It was accompanied with a weak smile. "I think I´ll sleep now." He nodded, and helped her back into bed. I have so many questions, and so few answers. But what an amazing woman.

After several minutes, Kelli´s breathing became even, and Ron relaxed. Slumping down in his chair, he imagined a small, young Kelli being beaten with a belt. He flinched and tried to get the image out of his mind. It was impossible. His mental image of the young Kelli was completely inaccurate, but it was she to him, all the same. All of a sudden, he noticed Kelli was clutching something tightly in her fist. Carefully slipping it out of her grip, he stared at it.

It was a muggle portrait, with five figures. There was a tall, smiling, but rather nervous-looking man, with messy, black hair and chocolate-brown eyes--like Kelli´s. He didn´t look like the sort of man to be a dead-beat dad. As a matter of fact, he seemed strangely familiar. Next to him was a dignified--but horrible--personage. A raven-haired woman with piercing, deep-blue eyes and a stare that could melt stone--that must be the mother. A tall, rather plump girl with black, sausage-like curls that sprung out at odd angles on her head was standing in front of her father--a smug look on her round face, and loathing in her buggy, black eyes. Definitely Teddi, Ron thought to himself. Next to Teddi was a tiny, raven-haired baby with a small, cold and almost-distant smile for such a young face, and the same frightening stare as her mother, though slightly softened. That little girl would definitely give me nightmares if I were ever to meet her. No wonder Kelli didn´t like her sisters. They look horrible! Standing slightly to the side was a shy, precocious-looking young girl of about three. Her brown hair had natural highlights of gold and red, and reached all the way to her tiny waist. She had large, wire-brimmed glasses, hiding her huge, chocolate-brown eyes. Paler than the moon, the little girl stood out like a rose in a snow bank. Kelli. Definitely Kelli.

The fascinating thing about the portrait was that--unlike her parents and sisters--Kelli wasn´t looking at the camera. Kelli´s head was turned slightly to the side, and her eyes were looking at an object lying on the ground. Ron squinted at the photo, but still couldn´t make out what the object was. Then, to his shock, the picture started to move.

Mr. Roberts winked at Ron, and then walked over to Kelli. Kelli squealed with joy, as she jumped into her father´s arms. However, the other three women stayed perfectly still. Pointing at the object, Kelli jumped out of her father´s arms, and picked it up. She showed it to her father. It was a wand. As soon as she touched it, sparks flew out, and Mr. Roberts seemed to laugh with joy. He spun his daughter around, and sparks continued to fly. Taking the wand from Kelli, Mr. Roberts pointed it at their clothes, and they were instantly wearing robes.

"Daddy," Kelli mumbled in her sleep, "promise you won´t forget me." Ron´s mouth was hanging wide open, and his gaze turned back to the portrait. Mr. Roberts and Kelli were both in their original spots, but wearing the wizard robes, and moving around, slightly. Kelli waved at Ron, and gave an inaudible giggle. Unnoticed by Ron, Kelli had sat up and put on her glasses again. She snapped Ron´s mouth shut. "It´s like I said to Malfoy, mouth looks better closed." She grinned.

Ron spoke. "Kelli, your picture moved." Kelli spluttered--she´d been trying to take a drink of water.

"Excuse me?" Kelli raised her eyebrows, and took another sip of the water. "Did you just say my picture moved?" Ron nodded. Kelli set down the glass with a `clunk´, and put her hand on Ron´s forehead. "Don´t feel warm. You feeling okay?"

"I´m fine," Ron replied, taking her hand off his forehead and holding it in his own. "Look for yourself." He handed her the picture. Half-expecting her to pull her hand out of his, he was pleasantly surprised to find that her cool, moist hand stayed in his own.

Kelli´s eyes widened. "This picture was taken days before my father left. I definitely wasn´t wearing wizard robes. And neither was my father. Dave Roberts was a muggle, Ron. If you think that this is some sort of hilarious joke," she said, eyes narrowing to slits, quickly pulling her hand out of Ron´s, "then you are dangerously wrong."

Ron was shocked. "I didn´t do it! Honest! I watched the whole thing!" He described the scene in the picture.

Kelli´s eyebrows knitted together. She seemed to be thinking. Ron could practically see the cogs turning in her head. "I´m remembering something. I--" suddenly, Kelli´s eyes rolled back in her head, and she fell backwards onto the bed. A screaming wale issued from her mouth, and another earthquake started. This time, Ron noticed something he hadn´t before. Sparks of lightning seemed to be racing all over her. It stopped suddenly, and Kelli´s eyes snapped open.

"I was just about to remember it! Damn. Somebody´s tampered with my memory, Ron. I need to Apparate to the office really fast. Take the Floo Network. Just say Coven´s Christmas Carol." Ron raised his eyebrows. Kelli shrugged. "The name sure wasn´t my idea." Then, she was gone.

Instead of immediately taking the Floo, Ron dashed up to Gryffindor tower as fast as he could muster. Just as he was about to give the Fat Lady the password, he stopped dead in his tracks. At that moment, Ron remembered one of the pieces of trivia Hermione was always pounding into everyone´s head. Nobody can Apparate in or out of Hogwarts.

Ron turned on his heel and ran the other way. There´s something wrong, here. He puffed as he ran down the great staircase and towards the gargoyle in front of the Headmaster´s office. Something very wrong.

In Remus Lupin´s Office in the States...

"Remus!" Kelli shouted, distractedly throwing her cloak on a chair. She ran into the back part of the man´s office. "I need you now!"

Remus Lupin walked in from the hall. He looked surprised, but pleased. "Well, hello, Kelli. I wasn´t expecting you back until Easter holiday!" About to give her a fatherly hug, he stopped dead in his tracks. The look of horror in her eyes said more than a thousand words. "What happened?" he asked, worriedly, pouring her a cup of tea. "Oh, yes," Remus said, setting the cup back down, "you hate tea. Never mind. What happened?"

"Remus, I need to know everything you can find about my father." Kelli had that look in her eye--the one that said she meant business.

Remus looked shocked. "You´ve never been interested about this before. Why did you have to Apparate across the Atlantic Ocean to ask?" He took a sip of tea.

"You know that old, family portrait of mine?" Remus nodded. "It moved. My father and I are now wearing wizard´s robes." She held the picture out for him to sea.

Remus let out a sigh, and slumped into a chair. "You don´t seem surprised," Kelli said. "Remus," she continued, grabbing the collar of his robes, "don´t´ mess with me. I need to know the truth. Very odd things have been happening lately. There´s only so deep I´ll wade into your bull, so I expect this little faerie-tale to be entirely true."

"Kelli, your father is indeed a wizard--"

"Hold it. Is? Don´t you mean was?"

"No, I do not," Remus said, running a hand distractedly through his hair. "Kelli, your father was not, in fact, Dave Roberts does not exist. Your father´s name is--" he took a deep, shaking breath. "Dignity be hanged. Your father´s name is Landon Potter."

Kelli felt as if she´d just been hit in the stomach with a ton of bricks. "Excuse me," she said, clutching Remus´ desk for support, "but are you telling me that I´m Harry Potter´s cousin?" Remus nodded.

At this point, I believe a bit of history on the Potter family is in order. The Potters are a very old and wealthy wizarding family. Harry´s grandparents on his father´s, James, side, were Thomas and Alicia Potter. Thomas and Alicia had twin boys--James (a Gryffindor) and Landon(a Ravenclaw). Landon mysteriously disappeared only hours after his graduation from Hogwarts, and James married Lily, Harry´s mother, before going into hiding. As we all know what happened to them, there´s no need to elaborate. However, the whereabouts of Landon Potter were in Washington, D.C., where he assumed a job at the AWAFABW. He married a muggle woman--Leeann, Kelli´s mother--two years later. He had three daughters. After the birth of his third daughter, he began covert operations in Alaska, and had to leave his family. He had lost contact with the AWAFABW, and his whereabouts are now unknown.

Remus patted Kelli´s hand. The poor girl was clearly shaken. "Water," she croaked. He jumped up and got her a cold glass of water, which she downed quickly. "I--I think I´m okay now. Where, where is my father now?"

Remus shook his head sadly. "We lost contact with him a year after his covert operations in Alaska began. He hasn´t been seen since. I´m sorry I hadn´t told you earlier. I--I didn´t know if you could handle it."

Kelli looked up at him, surprised. "Me? Not able to handle it? Remus, this is the girl that was beaten mercilessly by her mother for seven years, who, at the age of ten, was kicked out of her own home. The fact that my father hasn´t been seen in six years--that´s pretty easy to handle after everything. However, the fact that my father was actually Landon Potter is something entirely different." She shook her head. "I wish you would´ve told me. I wish you would´ve told me," she repeated, and then stared at the fireplace. A tall, redheaded figure had just emerged.

"Ron--" Kelli stopped talking. Dumbledore stepped out of the fireplace. Remus eyes went wide, and he stood. Kelli, however, was still too shaky. "Headmaster, is something wrong?" she asked, fearing the worst.

"Just a little confusion. Did you, indeed, Apparate out of Hogwarts?" Dumbledore stared at her in fascination.

"Depends on your definition of Apparate" Kelli took a sip of her water. "Been reading Hogwarts, a History?"

Ron spoke. "Actually, I remembered that from Hermione telling me." He blushed crimson. "Good guess, though."

Nodding, Kelli set the glass of water down, then drummed her fingers briskly on the top of the desk. "Technically, you can´t Apparate off of the Hogwarts grounds from inside, and you can´t Apparate from somewhere else to get inside. However, there is, indeed, a loophole." Kelli paused, continuing to nervously drum her fingers. "Nothing is ever mentioned about teleportation."

"Of course!" Dumbledore cried. He seemed delighted. "Why didn´t I think of that, before? How did you figure that out?"

Kelli bit her lip nervously. "Do you have to know?" She took another sip of water, carefully watched by the three men in the room.

"I´d certainly appreciate it," the Headmaster replied. Kelli sighed.

"Fine. One day, this ended up in my carpet bag." Kelli pulled a tattered journal with a leather cover from her left sleeve. It was the size of a silver sickle. "Engorgio," she muttered, and it became the size of a Webster´s dictionary. "It´s the private journal of Godric Gryffindor. Or, at least, I think it is."

The men gathered around. "There are some rather...erm...personal parts in it that I declined reading. They involved some romantic...um...situations between Godric and Rowena. However, most of it I´ve read. He mentioned the loophole somewhere near the end." She flipped rapidly through the pages, then poked her finger down on a smudged page. "Here it is:

"Salazar helped me put up the wards that would keep anyone from Apparating or Disapparating into or out of the Hogwarts grounds. However, we left a loophole in case of an emergency. Of course, only those gifted with telekinetic abilities will be able to us this loophole. However, that is no problem for Salazar, Helga, Rowena, or I."

Kelli smiled as she snapped it shut. "It goes on and on. I also found some incredibly detailed maps tucked inside that I´d like to show you at some point, Headmaster." Dumbledore nodded, beaming. "It´s nice to finally get everything out in the open, so...Headmaster, Ron...there´s something I need to tell you. My father was not, in fact, Dave Roberts. I´ll give you a hint--my real last name is Potter."

Ron´s mouth dropped open. "You mean--" Kelli nodded. "And I thought being friends with Harry was weird." She punched him playfully on the arm.

"We´d best get going now. By, Remus, see you at Easter holiday?" Remus nodded, smiling. "Fantastic." Planting an exaggerated kiss on his cheek, she turned to her two traveling companions. "Headmaster, if I may--"

"May what?" He looked suspicious. Then his face broke out in a grin. "Pay your loving relatives a visit?" Kelli nodded, grinning. "Fine by me. Ron may accompany you if you wish. I will let you inform the others of...recent developments." Then, he disappeared with a `pop´.

At the Roberts´ Mansion in Washington, D.C...

Shawn Roberts was sitting home alone--again. She sat in her favorite sanctuary--Kelli´s room. Ever since her sister´s mysterious `disappearance´ five years ago, Shawn had made it into a sort of haven where she could retreat into herself.

"I wish I could meet her," Shawn sighed. "To be almost eleven-years-old and not know your older sister. I really, really wish I could meet her. It would be amazing." As if on cue, the doorbell rang. Before the bell, Shawn had been considering sending Kelli another letter. She sent one by post every year, on Kelli´s birthday, hoping that somehow, one might reach her long-lost sister.

When she reached the door, she swung it wide open, and her jaw dropped. Standing on the veranda was a handsome, redheaded youth, tall and gangly. Next to him, was a rather short, pretty young woman, with huge brown eyes and brown hair, with gold and red woven in, naturally. "K-K-Kelli?" Shawn whispered, hardly daring to breathe.

"Shawn?" the girl asked sounding surprised. Then, the girls caught each other up in a furious hug. "I got your letters," Kelli whispered into her little sister´s hair. "I still can´t believe you didn´t stop sending them."

"It´s one of the few things I got a chance to learn from you," Shawn saw, pulling away, slightly. She beamed, not caring how her sister had gotten there. Shawn was just glad she was.

"Oh, and what is that?" Kelli quirked an eyebrow at her little sister.

"To never give up hope." Shawn smiled. "To never give up hope..."