AN:...shut up. I was bored and this is what happened, okay? I don' t know if many people will like this but i am finding it entertaining to write so that's all that really matters to me. Besides, it gives me something to doand helps me think up ideas for my other fics so NO COMPLAINTS!

See chapter 3 for an explanation on the Dark Jewels Trilogy. Contains spoilers but if you don't want to read the series then it'll give you enough information.

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Chapter#1

He would have been happy to stay up in his room and not ruin their perfect little evening supper. Unfortunately for him it seemed that Dudley had taken a liking to the daughter of their new neighbours and they needed their 'delinquent' nephew present so that they could emphasize how wonderful their son was. He had yet to see the female that had caught his cousin's attention but he was told repeatedly that a girl like her wouldn't like the company of someone like him and to make sure he kept his distance.

He wasn't sure who his cousin was friends with anymore. He certainly kept his little gang away from Harry, in any case. That was a good thing because it gave Harry plenty of time to expend his own fury at his relatives in a safer way that wouldn't get him locked in his room for the summer. Not that they could actually keep him locked up but it made them feel better to send him to his room and have the door firmly shut.

It was another source of annoyance for him. For weeks now, ever since the school year had ended, he had felt a presence that had eluded him. Whatever it was it had been putting his nerves on edge and making him rather hostile toward anything that was provoking him - no matter how trivial. He had thus far been able to reign in his growing temper and had been expending it on early morning runs and other physical activity that seemed to take the bite of the urges away.

Harry was still reluctant to be forced into such a situation as a formal dinner while under the explicit instructions that he was to be sure that Dudley was the most appealing male in the room. His uncle wasn't aware of these instructions though as his aunt had also forbid him from mentioning them. She had informed him that she was perfectly aware that her son wasn't the most attractive boy but that she wouldn't have her scrawny, scruff-haired nephew ruining her Diddykins special night. He had relented and she had been content enough to ignore him up until the night of the dinner.

So as such, he was stuck in clothing two sizes too big and entirely black. His aunt Petunia had at least made sure that the clothes were presentable and had only bothered glaring at his unruly hair for a minute or two at the most. His Uncle Vernon had been perfectly happy to ignore his very existence while he gave Dudley 'helpful' pointers on women. Harry thought the very idea that his Uncle Vernon had flirted with his aunt to be utterly horrifying and so stayed very far away from Dudley's room while the discussion was going on. He had settled on sitting in the back garden and away from his relative's preparations for the soon-to-arrive guests.

Ding Dong! He heard the doorbell and knew his relatives were still being fussed over by Petunia and sighed when he heard her voice snap at him. "Get the door and get out of the way!"

He reached the door and opened it, keeping his face carefully neutral (as ordered) as he asked them politely to come in and watched the nondescript couple walk in. They had perfectly common brown hair and eyes and wore normal clothing in varying shades of brown and other neutral tones. He figured that their daughter would be just as normal (a thing that would have no doubt been attractive to Dudley, considering his fear of anything abnormal).

That was why what he was faced with was so beautifully terrifying.

Her hair was a pale white-gold colour and she had it cut short (even shorter than his) and had spiked it in a rather uncaring style that he was sure would make his aunt's skin crawl. Her eyes were icy blue and she was most definitely not dressed like her parents. She wore whitewashed jeans and comfortable looking white shoes with flat soles. Clinging to her slender upper curves, which he did not think came from her plumper mother and father, was a silvery camisole over which she had donned a light-blue jacket he suspected was made of some light and airy cotton. Hanging on a plain metal chain around her neck was a strange black jewel that caught his attention almost right away.

She paused in the threshold and regarded him. Her head tilted slightly to one side before she smiled at him. Both of her parent's coats were hanging over his arm (he had been told to take their coats like a good little nephew) and he wasn't certain if he should take her light covering or not.

"Would you please take my coat or show me where to put it?" Something in her voice whispered of an order and while he would normally balk and bristle at such a thing coming from his relatives he didn't seem to mind when it came from her. Something about her request made his tense and annoyed last nerves come back under his control for the first time that summer.

"I'll take it." She gave it to him and he quickly went to put them up in the guest room. When he returned to the base of the stairs, she was no longer there. He shuffled toward the living room and immediately spotted her. She was sitting in one of the armchairs and was surveying the chatting adults confidently while rolling her eyes every now and then in boredom. Something about her bearing whispered of a strength he couldn't see in her slender frame and he studied her unabashedly while he still had the chance.

Her gaze flickered up at his arrival and a slow grin worked its way onto her lips. Dudley - who had previously been attempting to talk to her (with much stuttering) - followed her line of sight when the unexpected reaction blossomed to life. His face paled and then he narrowed his piggy eyes and cleared his throat rather noisily - attracting the attention of the adults.

Both his aunt and uncle made disgusted faces while their guests were occupied with examining him. The female spoke first in a low throaty voice that was coated with amusement. "Hello. I don't believe we've been introduced." Her eyes flashed to his relatives briefly in question before her attention was centred on him once more. In turn, Harry did not remove his gaze from hers and instead met it head-on. He felt something flow through his veins and soothe the tense fury that threatened to bubble to the surface.

"That is our nephew Harry." His uncle's voice was decidedly angry and resentful but Harry didn't particularly care at the moment. "Don't pay him much attention, my dear, he only just got back from St. Brutus's Secure Centre for Incurable Criminal Boys."

"Oh?" The new woman eyed him warily but her daughter's grin only widened into something more amused than curious.

"Hello Harry. I'm Kirra." She got to her feet and crossed the room seemingly oblivious to her parent's worried and annoyed looks. She held out her hand and he brought his own up after disregarding his cousin and uncle's dirty look. They shook and Harry found himself unexplainably pleased at the firm pressure she exerted against his hand. He pulled his hand from hers first and something appreciative flickered in her icy eyes.

"Pleased to meet you," he replied carefully. She grinned wickedly and turned to her parents.

"Might I be able to join Harry - and Dudley if he wants to come - on a tour of the neighbourhood?" Harry was almost certain she wasn't actually planning on following their decision. He was also certain from the resentment in their gaze that she had been given similar instructions on behaviour before she had arrived that he had been given. Judging by her tone, she had only even bothered including Dudley out of politeness.

"I don't think that to be quite a safe idea . . . " Her father spoke first.

"Thank you father." She ignored him and smiled candidly at Harry. "Let's go."

He kept the grin off his face and motioned that she follow him. She did so without complaint and gave Dudley only a mildly annoyed look when he got up to waddle after them. The moment they had left the house she turned to him with a delighted smirk. "So Harry how come I haven't seen you around campus?"

He furrowed his brow in confusion and felt his anger rising when he failed to comprehend what she meant. "Excuse me?"

"St. Brutus's," she prompted. "I'm there all the time visiting my cousin and my cousin knows everyone and everyone knows him. He hasn't mentioned you at all. And I don't recognize you from any of the yearbook pictures; you look about the same age . . . " She frowned and slowly dragged her gaze up and down the length of his body in a perfectly measured pace. He squirmed uncomfortably at the sensation of having a female look at him like that and waited for her to speak. "How old are you?"

"I'm fifteen," he informed her.

"As am I!" Dudley butted in.

Neither of the males had been aware that she had begun to walk and had only instinctively followed at her motion. He wasn't quite sure when they'd arrived at the park - only that they had. Kirra gave Dudley a scathing look. "I didn't ask you." Dudley silenced immediately. Harry was silently impressed at the female's level of control over the male and smirked slightly. He wondered what exactly it was that made Dudley keep returning to this particular female if she was the type of girl that his pudgy cousin would see as horrifying.

He'd probably only seen her from afar up until tonight. Harry mused. He felt the strange contented sensation settle in his stomach and promptly ignored the feeling.

She flashed a grin that seemed entirely too feral for her features. "Where do you really go to school Harry?"

The presence of being watched annoyed him and he growled softly as it increased. Her gaze sharpened and she snapped her head up. "What's that?" she demanded. "Do you feel that?"

"I might." He avoided the question as their little trio unconsciously began to head in the direction of the disturbance. Dudley hung back but when Kirra showed no inclination to stay nearby he hurried after them as fast as his wide girth would allow.

Night had fallen only a short time ago, the sun had been setting when Kirra and her parents had arrived, and he was almost certain that the female was not afraid of the dark. She certainly seemed quite comfortable but then again she was sticking close to him. He spared her a glance and she caught it before he had the chance to tear his eyes away. A wicked smirk blossomed to life on her lips. "Afraid of the dark, are you, Harry?" she teased.

Now he was certain she was fine. "Not in the least. Are you?" She scoffed in reply.

She had easily moved to the front of their little party and led them down a narrow alley Harry remembered having first glimpsed Sirius at. She entered and frowned, peering up and around into the dark. "The hell..." The blackness washed over them like a sudden crashing wave and was accompanied by a blistering cold that sent chills up and down his spine. He couldn't see a thing in the onslaught of black but he groped about for Kirra and (although he really didn't care) his cousin.

"What are you d-doing?" Dudley gave a muted shriek. "S-stop it!"

"He isn't doing anything you twit!" Kirra snapped impatiently but her voice trembled at the cold. "Shut up and don't move!"

"Do as she says Dudley," Harry warned him. He felt Kirra brush against his arm - felt the silkiness of her shirt.

"I'll t-tell dad!" his cousin threatened. Harry strained to hear and tried to open his eyes to their fullest. Whispers floated in the dark and he felt the sinking sensation of realization kick in.

"Shit..."

"W-where are you? W-what are y-you d-doi..."

"Shut up! I'm trying to hear!" Harry snapped. He felt Kirra shift away from him and grabbed her before she got too far. "Stay close," he ordered.

"I can take care of myself." Her voice was stern and low. Dangerous. He bristled at the tone and gripped her arm harder.

"You don't know what we're up against. I do."

"I know perfectly well what we're up against Mr. Potter." And then she was gone from his grasp.

The silence stretched and he heard them: the long rattling breaths and the icy chill that permeated the air to the bone. He felt the jolt of dread strike him in the gut and wondered how exactly Kirra knew his last name and just how much else she might know.

In any case he felt his cousin barrel past him in an attempt to escape and he was knocked to the side. He heard Kirra scream in frustration as she grunted at some impact. He bet that Dudley had shoved her too.

"DUDLEY COME BACK! YOU'RE RUNNING RIGHT AT IT!" He heard Dudley's squealing yell and then heard his footsteps stop. He heard Kirra shout profanities and then she, too, was silent.

A horrible creeping chill from behind him led to only one other conclusion. There was more than one.

"CLOSE YOUR MOUTHS! WHATEVER YOU DO KEEP YOUR MOUTHS SHUT!" he yelled while he grappled for his wand on the ground where it had fallen when Dudley shoved him aside. "Wand! Lumos!" His wand tip ignited and he grabbed it, climbing to his feet quickly and whirling to face the towering hooded figure as it glided toward them.

He scanned for a happy memory and after finding one he thought adequate he shouted out his defence. "Expecto patronum!"A bit of silvery mist erupted form his wand and he snarled in anger as the voices of his memories grew louder. A new memory - something happier "Expecto patronum!" More mist.

He felt his strength draining away. Felt his happiness leaving; felt his power fading. The voices were loudest now but his thoughts were still running rampant in an attempt to save him. Something brushed against his mind and pictures of his friends sprung up. He gathered his strength and latched tightly to the thought of their faces. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" A huge silvery stag burst forth and plowed down the offending Dementor "This way!" he called to it, waving down the alley. "Dudley? DUDLEY!"

"Well I certainly feel loved." Kirra stumbled away from where she had propped herself up against the wall of a building. The stag cantered past her as Harry paused to help while yelling his last command.

"GET IT!"

He heard the shrieks of the Dementors as they were driven away by his conjured defence. "After all that work I did saving your cousin too." She motioned to the prone form of his cousin and glowered at him in tired amusement as though the whole incident hadn't happened. "Those must have at least had the power of the Red... certainly nothing I couldn't handle but there were quite a few of them." She gave him a wry sideways look. "Nice work on the Patronus, by the way."

Something approached and they could both sense it. They both snapped around to stare at the sight of Harry's batty old neighbour Mrs. Figg come running up with her shopping bag swinging from her wrist and her house slippers still on her feet. Harry made to stow his wand away quickly but she shrieked at him first.

"Don't put it away, idiot boy! What if there are more of them around? Oh, I'm going to kill Mundungus Fletcher!"

---

Harry watched Kirra wrinkle her brow and frown in the direction of her house. "I'm not going to go explain this to them," she informed him while heaving Dudley along on one side back to number four. Harry grunted in response before he managed to find the breath to respond.

"It won't be any better here."

"Better then trying to lie to my parents." She fixed him with a look. "They aren't aware of magic; at least your relatives know about it."

"Your funeral..." he growled softly and together they managed to haul Dudley up the stairs and into the house. He glanced sideways at his cousin as his aunt opened the door and began to wail at her son's condition. "Duck!" He let his cousin go and Kirra sprang back as Dudley lurched and then vomited in the hall.

His uncle stormed into the hall and helped Petunia to manoeuver Dudley into the house while avoiding stepping in the pool of puke. "He's ill, Vernon!" Harry's aunt whined pitifully. Tears leaked from her eyes at the sorry sight of her son.

Kirra made a face at the scent and sight of the puke and then shared a look with Harry. "Get me away from that."

He was only too happy to oblige. They tried to escape upstairs together before any attention was drawn to them but his Uncle Vernon's voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

"BOY, COME HERE!" Harry growled softly and winced at the tone. Kirra shot a dark glare in the direction of the kitchen and then glanced sharply at him when he complied.

"You aren't seriously obeying that male are you?" she demanded furiously. "Why would you do a thing like that? You certainly don't have to!"

"Unfortunately I do," he muttered back viciously. She snarled at him - actually snarled - and he paused to pin her with a glare. "What else could I do?"

"Refuse!"

"And get in trouble? No thanks."

She snarled again and smothered a scream before storming into the kitchen without further word to him. She entered and Harry's relatives were surprised to see the daughter of their previous guests (who had left after assuring their neighbours that Kirra would be fine) glare so furiously at all of them. She whirled to Dudley first and fixed her gaze on his slumped-over, sickly-green, form. "You: stay quiet and don't you dare speak a word until I say so." Dudley quivered and shrunk in his seat. "Harry, get in here and explain."

Harry entered now and sighed as his uncle began to make demands. "What have you done to my son?"

"I didn't do anything."

"LIES!"

"What was it darling? Did he do... you-know-what? Did he use his t-thing?" Petunia was kneeling by her son and asking him her questions while shooting dark looks at Harry and his still-visible wand.

Dudley nodded.

"Oh you little..." Kirra made as though to physically harm Harry's cousin but she tempered herself and instead clenched and unclenched her fists restlessly. "If you weren't so stupid you would know that Harry only used his wand to save you!" She pointedly ignored that she had done the saving in that respect and Harry caught the glint in her eyes when she next looked at him that said 'you-owe-me-one'.

Vernon prepared to start yelling again but was interrupted by an owl sweeping in and dropping a letter at Harry's feet before sweeping out, brushing its feathers across Vernon's head and narrowly missing his aunt's spotless refrigerator with its trailing claws.

"OWLS!" Vernon bellowed. "OWLS AGAIN! I WILL NOT HAVE OWLS IN MY HOUSE!"

Kirra stared after the path the owl had taken and then turned to face Harry. He was reading the letter she knew was from the ministry and when he was finished he looked up with a determined but grim expression. She narrowed her eyes and dove into his mind, brushing aside the weak shields. Her eyes widened and she snapped back to her own head. "I forbid it," she told him firmly. Icy eyes sharpened to keep him rooted to his spot. "Don't you dare even think about it. The ministry doesn't have that kind of power, I know."

He searched her gaze and relented reluctantly. "Apparently I've been expelled. But Kirra doesn't seem to think that the ministry is allowed to do that."

"Expelled? For what?" Vernon demanded, latching only onto the first part of the information.

"For doing magic outside of school," Harry replied shortly, knowing the conclusion his uncle would make.

"Then you admit it! You did do something!"

"He preformed the Patronus charm to save your son from Dementors," Kirra informed him with forced politeness. "It's a bit of magic that is absolutely harmless to landens, er, muggles... non-magic people." She fumbled a bit with the terminology and eventually shrugged indifferently.

"Just what is a Dementy - a dem... a..."

"Dementors. They guard the wizard prison, Azkaban." The entire room turned and stared in utter disbelief at Petunia Dursley as she clamped a hand over her mouth at the statement. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers and she looked pleadingly at her husband for him to understand. "She talked about them all the time with him."

A second owl swooped in, followed by a third and then a fourth, all of them made a beeline for Harry and dropped their letters at his feet or allowed him to snatch it from them while they circled back around and out of the house. Vernon threw a small fit and slammed the windows shut while muttering about 'enough - effing - owls'.

Harry read all of them in rapid succession and then looked up. Kirra eyed the seals used and then sighed. "A hearing?" she questioned softly. He nodded. "That can't be good..."

"Well?" His Uncle Vernon piped up eagerly, now that Kirra had her say. "What now? Have they sentenced you to anything? Do your lot have the death penalty?" The last was a rather hopeful sounding afterthought.

Kirra snorted softly as though the very idea were insane. "I highly doubt they could even attempt such a thing against him." She jerked her chin in Harry's direction. "Only a - " She snapped her mouth shut. "You know what? Never mind."

"I've got to go to a hearing," he repeated for his uncle.

"And they'll sentence you there?"

"I suppose."

"I won't give up hope then," his uncle said nastily.

"I'd suggest the opposite." Kirra spoke but her voice was not her normal tone. It was deep and dark like midnight and full of untamable fury that was being held back by little more than a veneer of civilization. Harry started at the sound of it and stared as she bared her teeth in a feral grin that made his relatives wince.

He didn't remember much of what happened after that. It was as though something had lifted the fog he wasn't aware of from around his mind. All he was aware of was the strange tugging sensation that was burning all his other instincts into nothing and the deep midnight voice of his new neighbour - of her icy eyes, pale hair and apparent connection to the magical world and most importantly of the soft dark power he could feel soothing him whenever she was near.

---

"We're going out," his uncle informed him curtly.

"Sorry?"

"We - that is to say, your aunt, Dudley and I - are going out."

"Fine," Harry replied dully, returning to staring at his bedroom ceiling.

"You are not to leave your bedroom while we are away."

"OK."

"You are not to touch the television, the stereo, or any of our possessions."

"Right."

"You are not to steal food from the fridge."

Harry shot him an only slightly annoyed look out of the corner of his eye. "OK."

"I am going to lock your door."

"You do that."

His uncle glared, clearly suspicious of the lack of argument, but left without another word anyways. Harry heard the click of the lock, the slamming of car doors and the start of the engine before he knew his relatives were gone. He rolled over onto his stomach to try and ease the rather unsettling feeling in the pit of his belly. It had been causing him discomfort for much of the time since the Dementor attack on his cousin and his neighbour.

But that was four days ago.

He glanced out the window to Kirra's house. He could see her front-facing bedroom window was wide open in the pleasant evening and he could clearly see her form silhouetted against the light shining by her bed. She was sitting on the incline of the roof (the window was her obvious entryway to her current spot) and reading a thick book. He wasn't sure what book exactly and he couldn't make out her features well enough to tell if she was enjoying it or not. Whatever the case, she had looked up to watch his relatives leave before she looked at the house and then returned to her book.

He had left his window open as well, waiting for the blessed time when Hedwig would return. The fact that it allowed him to keep an eye on his strangest and newest neighbour had nothing to do with it - at least that's what he told himself.

A crash came from the kitchen and the stirring in his belly immediately set his instincts on to full alert. Whatever it was, it was an intruder and it should be destroyed - that was what his instincts were screaming at him. He felt a soothing power calm his temper and accepted it gratefully for it helped to clear his mind enough to think clearly.

There was a tense moment of silence and Harry took the time to grab his wand and stare at the door. He felt the power that was keeping him calm flicker and the door swung open suddenly, startling him. He warily crept to the head of the stairs and stared down at the eight or nine figures silhouetted against the light streaming in from the glass door.

"Lower your wand, boy, before you take someone's eye out," said a low growling voice.

Harry hesitated at the familiar - but not - voice but he did not lower his wand. "Professor Moody?" he asked. He was surprised at the hint of snarl that made his voice deeper than it normally was. The power that was still soothing him thrummed contentedly.

"Don't know much about 'Professor', never got round to much teaching, did I?" the voice growled softly. "Get down here, we want to see you properly."

Harry lowered his wand but did not relax his grip on it, nor did he move. There was a tugging presence in his mind that urged him not to loose the dangerous edge, however small the presence seemed to think it was at the moment. Harry agreed with the presence; he didn't, after all, have very many good reasons to trust Moody. The one he had thought was on his side turned out to be just one of Voldemort's henchmen and he hadn't seen much of the real Moody to know whether or not this one was the real one. The presence kindly informed him that his distrust was justified.

"It's all right, Harry. We've come to take you away." Harry knew this voice and his heart leapt to his throat at the sound of it. Though he hadn't heard it for over a year, he would never forget the voice of his old Professor.

"Professor Lupin?" The snarl that was underlying his voice lessened but was still clearly present. "Is that you?"

The presence in his mind retreated but the soothing power went with it and Harry felt his temper at the intrusion rise again and struggled to keep it down.

"Why are we all standing in the dark?" asked a third, female, voice. "Lumos!"

The group was illuminated and Harry regarded them warily. Remus Lupin was nearest him, standing alongside the youngest of the bunch: the female who held her wand-tip alight. "Oooh, he looks just like I thought he would," said the witch delightedly, peering up at him from beneath short, spiky, violent purple locks of hair. "Wotcher, Harry!"

Harry's temper softened in the face of the witch. He felt the presence return in his mind and it seemed almost... jealous? He frowned slightly and turned to look behind him. He was surprised at what he was faced with. Kirra stood there, glowering down at the group. Her gaze turned to Harry and he blinked in surprise while the adults stiffened and drew wands. "Hold on, she's fine," he warned them off with more growl than was necessary lining his voice. She seemed pleased at the response and offered him a smile.

"Your window was open and I felt their presences from my roof. Not to mention I saw their brooms." Her lips quirked in a smirk.

"Kirra... it was rather dangerous to enter here when you knew other wizards were here."

"Good thing Moody knew it was me then." She tossed her head to one side rather arrogantly and smirked at the male with the magical eye. "Evening Mad-Eye."

"What are you doing here?" he grunted viciously. "Meddling again?"

"I don't meddle." She sniffed delicately as though insulted. "And before you come up with some ridiculous test to be sure that he is the real Harry, I'll just tell you that he is indeed the actual thing. You can fool a wizard but you can't fool a witch." She winked at Harry before smiling brightly at Moody's sulky disposition. "Psychic scent checks out."

"Alright, fine then," he grunted. "If you're all set to take another wizard..." His eye spun wildly in all directions. "None of those infernal beasties of yours around, are there?"

She smirked wryly. "No. None that would want to pounce you, in any case."

"Good." He grunted in satisfaction.

Kirra stepped lightly down the steps and Harry followed. Moody's acceptance of the female made the rest relax around her. The entire group congregated in the kitchen where Moody had already taken a seat at the kitchen table and was swigging from his hip flask as his magical eye went spinning in all directions.

"This is Alastor Moody, Harry," Lupin introduced with a soft smile.

"Ya, I know." He shifted uncomfortably at being introduced to someone he'd thought he'd known for a year.

"This is Nymphadora -"

"Don't call me Nymphadora, Remus." The young witch shuddered in disgust. "It's Tonks."

"Nymphadora Tonks who prefers to be called by her surname," Remus repeated and then finished in a tone that suggested the whole idea was ridiculous.

"So would you if your fool of a mother called you Nymphadora," she muttered darkly. Kirra smiled widely at the comment.

"A sensible witch, then," she complimented.

"And this is Kingsley Shacklebolt." Remus continued the introductions with the tall black male who bowed in response. Kirra's gaze flickered to him appreciatively. "Elphias Doge. Dedalus Diggle -"

"We've met before," the excitable male squeaked and dropped his hat at both Harry and Kirra whose smiled only widened at the acknowledgement.

"Emmeline Vance. Sturgis Podmore and Hestia Jones," he finished quickly.

Harry inclined his head to each and shifted under their gazes. His instincts were still warring with him between trusting them or destroying them. Kirra stepped forward and the instincts increased until she spoke in her midnight voice.

"As Moody and Dedalus are the only ones who have ever met me I suppose I should introduce myself." She bowed with a flourish. "Kirra S.D., though my parents will try and tell you differently."

"With good reason too," Moody growled. She just smiled at him.

TBC...