A Possible New Ally?

Leighton sat at one of the sticky tables in The Three Broomsticks. She played with a strand of her straight blonde hair. Leighton still hadn't gotten used to her blonde hair, even though she had it all summer. Leighton had died it once her parents and brother died. Almost as if on a reaction, Leighton's throat constricted when she thought of them. They had died over the summer in a house fire. Leighton was at her aunt's house when that happened and she blamed herself. Leighton had gotten into a fight with her mother before Leighton flooed to her aunts house. That night her family died in a fire. They were asleep and wasn't even aware of it until it was all too late. Leighton knew that she should've been killed to. She wished she died. Leighton was in a dead state. She was a heartless Slytherin poster child now.

Sighing into her pumpkin juice, Leighton closed her eyes in thought. With everything happening to her family, Leighton didn't know if Lachlan was returning to Hogwarts. Her parents were heartbroken and the last she heard of was that they could be enrolling Lachlan into Beauxbatons. Leighton's new guardian, her aunt Astoria, wanted Leighton to stay at Hogwarts. It was amazing how much Leighton was like Astoria.

Hearing a voice say something to her, Leighton opened her eyes lazily. Leighton raised a perfectly arched eyebrow at the person. "Yes?" Leighton wondered, her American accent blank.

Kyra entered the Three Broomsticks with her little brother, Mikey. The little boy was two years old and had flaming red hair, that, Kyra thought with a pang, looked much like Shelly's. The girl held her little brother's hand as she smiled and cooed to him. Mikey giggled and walked along with her. Kyra loved her little brother, but he was no replacement for the sister she had lost four years prior. It hurt to think that little Michael would never know his eldest sister, thinking he only had one.

Kyra noticed a blonde girl who looked about her age. "Hey? Hello?" she asked uncertainly. Mikey pulled on the hem of her shirt and said, "Maybe we should weave her awone." The girl chuckled. "Maybe we should."

As the duo turned away, Kyra couldn't help but to look at the blonde girl, who seemed so...dead. She looked down at Mikey, who seemed impatient. "C'mon Mike." She picked up her brother, who was rather light, and walked timidly over to the girl. "Are you all right?"

Leighton smiled gently at the little boy. He was adorable, but he brought back memories of her older brother. Leighton waved softly at the little boy, wondering when she grew soft for small children. Leighton supposed that she was a different person than she was before. Blaming her misfortune, Leighton nodded softly to the girl that looked about her age. "Just tired." Leighton half-lied.

Motioning with skinny and pale fingers, Leighton looked at the redhead. "You can sit. I'm sure I can buy you and little man some pumpkin juice." Leighton offered, wondering why the hell she was being so nice. Leighton knew that she had no short on money, since she was left with the Vladimir fortune. Which was huge.

Kyra smiled softly as the girl smiled at Mikey, who smiled and waved back. "Hiya," he said cheerfully. The little boy was so sweet; it was no surprise that everyone loved him so much. "Ah, I know what you mean. I mean, I have to go between my mum and dad every other week," she rambled. She caught herself as Mikey poked her with wide eyes. "Sorry, I ramble when I'm sort of distracted." Kyra chuckled a bit. "So yeah, sorry about that."

Kyra looked at Mikey and smiled. "D'you think we should sit down?" Her baby brother nodded fervently. "Okay then." She took a seat across from the girl, Mikey in her lap. "No, there's no need to do that. I have money." Mikey squirmed in her lap; something told Kyra that he had a little crush on this girl. It made her chuckle. "I'm Kyra. Kyra Henderson. This little ray of sunshine is-"

"MIKEY!" Mikey yelled, laughing. Kyra shook her head but smiled. "Yeah. What's your name?"

Leighton smiled at the little boy. "Hiya," she replied in her most cheerful voice, which was nothing compared to her cousin's. Leighton wished that she could be with her friend Lyss, but Lyss had moved away, leaving Leighton by herself. Hearing the girl talk about her parents, Leighton cringed. Too soon, too soon. Her mind chanted, making her want to throw herself out the nearest and tallest tower at Hogwarts. "That's fine, I'm used to it. My cousin is a babbling idiot." Leighton said, her fond tone contradicting her otherwise harsh words.

Leighton watched with an amused expression as she saw the girl interact with her little brother. When the girl sat down, Leighton smiled feebly. "Just offering." Leigh stated kindly, wondering where her Slytherin hardness went. Leighton blamed the adorable two year old.

"Well, its nice to meet you Kyra and, of course, Mikey." Leighton replied, grinning at the little boy. "I'm Leighton Vladimir." Leighton didn't know if the girl would recognize her last name. It was the last name of a famous Romanian family, but that meant little. Then again, there was a huge chunk of the Daily Prophet that spoke about her family's death. Kyra might know her from there.