"If everyone holds up the sky, then one person does not become tired."

Kamaria could never remember where she heard that quote from, but every time she had her four best friends standing by her side in some kind of act of defiance, it was always this quote that came to mind. Well, I guess, now it's only her three best friends.

Calliah Caddarick, the second oldest member of their small group (only by 12 minutes, Luther, her brother has to remind them) had been kidnapped the winter break of the first year at Hogwarts. Luther and Calliah had gone home, and only Luther came back. Kamaria remembered how broken Luther looked when he came back. He was only eleven at the time. She remembered his pale face and his shaking hands and the tears shimmering in his brilliant green eyes. He had held it together so well. He didn't let a single tear fall until Kamaria reached up to hug him. She remembered how confused she was, how little she knew. Sometimes, when she just sat and thought, she could still feel Luther's body shaking against hers as he sobbed. She could still hear his heartbreaking sobs. Sometimes, on days like today, she was brought back to the day when she lost one of her best friends.

"Liefling?"

Kamaria was drawn from her reminiscing by the sound of her father's voice. She turned away from the window she was staring so deeply into and smiled at her father. He gave her a sad smile. It was only then that she realized that she was crying. Her smile fell as she reached up to touch the tears that rolled down her cheeks and dripped down her chin. She swallowed hard as she her throat swelled up. Her nose burned as a storm of ugly crying brewed in her body.

Kraggedagte Upendo could hardly bear to see his only daughter withhold all of her emotions. The tears still fell from her 

brown eyes, but the way she shook her head and squinted up her face, he could tell she was trying to hold back the worst of it.

"Liefling...." When he repeated her nickname, all of Kamaria's walls and dams flooded. Kraggedagte fell to his knees beside her window seat as she rolled her body towards him. She brought her legs to her chest, locking her hands and book between her knees and her chest, and pushed her forehead into her father's chest as she cried. Kraggedagte's heart broke hearing his daughter sob. He put his arms around her and held her close to himself.

"I miss her so much," Kamaria said through sobs.

"I know, Liefling, I know. We all do," Kraggedagte told his daughter in hopes to calm her down. It had been three years since Calliah had gone missing. There was hardly ever a break when the three families were out looking for her. However, the Caddaricks had long since given up all hope. The only Caddarick still looking for her was Luther. He was most likely in Romania at this current moment with the Kiollsigs or the Jomeis. Kamaria and her parents had just recently returned themselves.

"How could they stop looking for her? How could they say she's dead?" Kamaria asked, her sobs calming enough to make coherent sentences. Kraggedagte sighed and pulled away from his daughter and took her face in his hands, wiping away the tears with his thumbs.

"I don't know why the Caddaricks gave up on Calliah. I don't know why they refuse to look for her. What I do know is that Calliah is a strong willed girl who has spent the last four years of her life living in hell. What I do know is that we will find her. And when we do, she'll be a little broken, and a little scared, but-"

"But we'll help her. We will always help anyone and everyone," Kamaria said, repeating the family saying, shutting her eyes and using the words to calm her breathing. Kraggedagte kissed her forehead.

"Exactly, Liefling. We help people. We'll find her. I promise." He finished with his broad, loving smile. Just then, Dra-Geduld, Kamaria's mother, walked through the door.

"Hallo, lieflinge!" Dra-Geduld called as she entered the house, hands full of grocery bags. She had just set them on the counter when she saw her husband's hands still on her daughter's tear stained face. She gave a sad sigh and let a smile make it's way up her lips. She walked over to her family and sat on the window seat beside her calming daughter.

"How would you like to make dinner, Kosbare?" She asked, petting her daughter's soft hair. Kamaria slowly sat up and sniffed once before nodding.

"I would love that, Mama," she said, managing a smile. Dra-Geduld continued to pet her hair as she leaned forward to kiss her head.

"I love you, Kosbare."

"I know, Mama. I love you too." She stood, legs wobbling slightly, and walked over to the large kitchen. She started putting the food she didn't need away, hands still shaking slightly. Kamaria breathed deeply through her noes as she prepared the kitchen for cooking. Her parents stayed where they were for a few moments, having a silent conversation with their eyes. Kamaria pretended not to notice. Once she had started cooking, her mother and father both stood and sat at the island and watched Kamaria cook.

"Your father and I did something," Dra-Geduld said, chin in the cup of her hands.

"Hmm?" Kamaria hummed, a small smile twitching up her lips. "Was it bad?"

"Well," her mother turned to look at Kraggedagte, who wore a telling grin. "Do you want to tell her, Heuning?"

"I know you don't really follow Quidditch, and we've been thinking that you and the kids need something to distract you from all this Calliah business...."

Kamaria set her knife down, a grin working it's way up her lips.

"No, you guys didn't!"

"...So your mother and I bought some tickets to the Quidditch World cup next month."

"Really?" Kamaria ran around the island and hugged her parents from behind.

"Yes, really! We thought that after everything our four families have been through, we deserve something fun."

"Are the Caddaricks coming?"

"Only Luther. We thought the Caddaricks were rich enough to buy their own tickets if they wanted to come," Kraggedagte said, chuckling.

"Please, Baba, we have enough money to buy tickets for this whole block," Kamaria said, walking back around to the food she was currently making. Her parents laughed.

"Well, if muggles went to Quidditch matches..."

Half an hour later, the family of three was sitting at their table eating a nicely cooked meal, trying to forget the happenings of a half hour prior. They made jokes and talked of the fun they were going to have at the Quidditch match.

After dinner, Kamaria ran to the library (which was the largest room in the house), and sat at her writing desk. She grabbed three different pieces of paper and began to write, in the worst hand writing any of the teachers at Hogwarts had ever seen, to her three best friends, telling them of the great news (even though they already knew). Once she called her Tawny owl, Casper, she left her writing desk and walked over to her favourite of the many bookshelves and pulled out her favourite book 'A Witches Guide to Astronomy'. The cover was a faded royal blue. The book was worn and tattered long before Kamaria got hold of it, and was in almost ruins as she opened it for the millionth time. She loved the writing inside, as it had been handwritten. She enjoyed Astronomy, above all other courses, lessons, or subjects. As soon as she discovered the book, she decided that she wanted to be a the Astronomy teacher at Hogwarts (and maybe then the Headmistress). She even had Takara paint the night sky all over her room. (Takara was rather irritated, as the night sky changed rather frequently, so Kamaria gave her a picture of the sky on the day she was born). Every night, after reading at least a few pages of her beloved book, Kamaria would study the sky above her (her parents enchanted the room after a few days before Calliah went missing to change just like the real sky does) and fall asleep to the sound of Casper hooting happily on his perch.

However, Kamaria read deep into the night. Long after the other lights in the house dimmed and her parents went to bed, long after the crickets started to sing, long after the crazy homeless person outside her house stopped screaming and settled into slumber. There was no way she was going to sleep without Casper's peaceful hooting. She waited for him to come back, which meant reading and reading and reading until he returned. As soon as she heard the familiar flap of his wings, she set her book down and welcomed him at the window. She carried him up to her room and set him on her perch. She quickly changed into her sleep wear and slipped into bed. She watched the sky above her for a few minutes, before Casper's familiar sleeping sounds lulled her into a peaceful slumber of herself.

The next morning, she awoke to the sound of sizzling bacon. She could smell it before she even opened her eyes. Her parents never made bacon. She threw her blankets off of her body, grinning. The sound and smell of bacon meant that the Kiollsigs were back, which meant that Kyp was back. After filling Casper's bowl with feed, she threw a knit sweater over her rather fancy pajamas. She shuffled from her room, the hardwood boards cool beneath her feet. She made it to the kitchen and found, not only Kyp, but her other two best friends in the kitchen. A smile broke on her face. Takara was the first to see her. Hopping down from a stool, the Slytherin sauntered up to her best friend.

"What are you guys doing here?" Kamaria asked as she hugged Takara. "I thought you guys were still in Romania."

Luther turned around on his bar stool, grinning.

"We couldn't miss our favourite Ravenclaw's birthday, now could we?" he asked. Kamaria dropped her arms and her smile drooped.

"It's my birthday?" She asked, hardly remembering what day it was. That meant that she was officially 14.

"Yes, Kam, it's your birthday," Kyp said, dropping a few pieces of bacon on to a plate and sliding it across the island towards Luther.

"But shouldn't you guys be looking for Cal?" Kamaria asked as she and Takara walked towards the island to join the boys. Luther sighed, looking down at his bacon.

"We haven't got any more leads. Plus, what's the point of looking for one friend, if you miss another's birthday?"

"Lu, she's not your friend. She's your sister. You have to-"

"You're my sister too, Kam. Cal would understand. She would want us to have this party," he said, offering a small, sad smile to Kamaria, who gave him one of her own.

"Now that you're fourteen, Kyp's the only 13-year-old," Takara said, desperately trying to change the subject from their long, lost friend. Kyp stuck his tongue out at Takara as he slid another plate of bacon across the island towards Kamaria.

"Only another two weeks, and then I'm just as old as the rest of you again," Kyp said. Takara stole a piece of bacon off of Kamaria's plate.

"Kara!" Kamaria snapped, trying to take it back before her friend ate it, but, alas, she was too late.

"Why don't you call me Taka like these two dope-heads?" Takara asked with her mouth full of bacon.

"Because," Kamaria said exasperatedly, as if she'd said this multiple time (which she did), "In, my language, Taka means waste or trashcan and I'm not going to go around calling my best friend trash."

Takara laughed and rolled her eyes, leaning her elbow in the island.

"Puh-lease, Kamaria, you all know I'm trash." Takara sent a wink at the now chuckling Kyp as he finished the bacon. Kamaria scowled and shook her head.

"You're not trash, Kara," Kamaria said with a hint of concern in her voice. The smile fell from Takara's face, but she continued to sway back and forth on her chair.

"I know, Kam. I was joking. You all know I'm fabulous." Takara finished with a crooked smile. Luther laughed uneasily and Kyp finally joined the three at the island. Kamaria and Takara stared deep into each other's eyes, having silent conversation. There was quite a bit of eye rolling on Takara's part and a few glares from Kamaria's side.

"Um...guys?" Luther's voice broke through their mind connection and both girls turned simultaneously around.

"Yes, Caddarick?" Takara asked with raised eyebrows and pursed lips, as if she was completely uninterested in anything he had to say.

"Mind having an audible conversation that Kyp and I can understand?" Luther asked, more towards Kamaria. Kamaria smiled and dipped her.

"Sure. Sorry guys," with one last concerned look at Takara (and one final eye roll), she faced her other two friends. "Why don't we go out on the town?" The words brought smiles to the lips of her mates.

"Anyone got any muggle money?" Luther asked, jumping up from his seat, offering a hand to help Kamaria off her stool.

"You know I do," said Kyp as he slid from his own seat. Kyp offered a hand to Takara, who scoffed and hopped from the seat herself.

"You know I don't," Takara said in a sing-songy voice. Kamaria inhaled deeply and forced the smile to stay on her lips.

"I've got some spare muggle money Kara and I could share," she said. Luther fell in step with Kyp and threw one of his arms around him.

"Hey, pal, buddy, good friend-" Kyp rolled his eyes, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"Sure thing, Luth. I'll lend you some money. But that means that you have to buy me some stuff when we go to Diegon Alley," Kyp replied, throwing Luther's arm off of his shoulders.

Luther did a small dance that made Kamaria laugh. Kamaria was surprised to see the ghost of a smile cross Takara's lips.

"Anyone seen my folks? I think it best that I tell them where I'm headed off to," Kamaria said. Kyp took a few long steps to stand beside her.

"Saw 'em on my way in. They were going out to get something, not sure what though." Kamaria smiled at her youngest friend. He was only a few weeks younger than her, and she saw him more as a twin brother than anything else. He was taller than her, red-headed, green eyed. He was always wearing a smile. His Welsh accent stood out from the rest of the group's Scottish accent. Kyp was always the one to make sure everyone was laughing or smiling as much as possible. He made sure that everyone was happy. He was her cooking partner and her confidante, and she was his. He was the first one she told about her dream to become the Astronomy Professor at Hogwarts. He told her that he wanted to be a professional old book Collector in return. He was the first one she met, and he introduced her to Calliah and Luther. Kamaria always felt safe when Kyp was by her side, even if he wasn't the most athletic or a natural leader like Luther was. She knew that it would always be her and Kyp, to the end of the line.

"So we leave a note," she said finally. Taking a piece of paper from on of the many stacks of paper lying around, she quickly wrote (in strangely neat hand-writing), that the four of them would return later in the afternoon. After setting the note in the Living Room, the four best friends set out from Kamaria's home, walking in perfect step.

They practically strutted down the cobblestone sidewalk of the street that Kamaria lived on. Taking one right, they passed Kyp's house, just a few yards from her own. They walked the entirety of his block, passing a muggle play ground and entering the woods, where they passed the Caddarick residency, only 7 minutes into the woods. After exiting out of the short end of the woods, they came to the slums of Cromarty in the Black Isle of Scotland. This is where Takara lived, only a few minutes' walk from the Caddarick's. The relatively short distances between the friends' homes made their relationship quite easy to retain, especially since the all were home-schooling at the Kiollsig's by age 6.

After walking rather quickly through the slums, the finally made it to the commercial portion of their nice village. This is where many days were spent (and many pounds). Today, they spent quite a bit of Kamaria and Kyp's money on clothes (mostly for the girls), books, painting materials, food, accessories, and other things. Luther spent most of his time flirting with the village girls. For being just 14, he seemed to be quite charming in the eyes of muggles. Kamaria would be lying if she said she didn't have a crush on Luther when she was younger. He was handsome and he was brave and he was loyal and he was rather athletic. He was a very nice person and could be rather gentle. Many people didn't see the heart break he went through every day, waking up and finding that his sister was still missing. It really broke him, a lot, and Kamaria could really see it.

He had left the group entirely once to follow this one very stunning muggle girl, who seemed to have all of her priorities in check. Takara, Kamaria, and Kyp were sitting at an outdoor cafe table when he returned with a rather large grin on his face. He held a piece of paper in his hand and waved it back and forth triumphantly.

"She gave me her 'number'" he said smugly, sliding into a seat beside Kyp, "What do I do with it again?" Takara, the only one not smiling, reached across the table with her death glare, snatched the paper from his hands, and tore it in two, throwing the pieces into a near-by trash can.

"That's what you do with it, block-head. Even if you knew what a telephone was, you never would have called her," she said, still glaring. With a very offended look on his face, Luther glared back.

"You know what, Jomei? Maybe I would have called her if I'd known what a telikphone-"

"Telephone," Kyp corrected.

"Whatever. The point is, I would have called her...maybe! It doesn't matter. What do you care anyway?" He snapped. Takara rolled her eyes.

"I don't care, Caddarick. We all know I don't have feelings. Heaven forbid I don't actually try and help you every once and a while." The utter sarcasm dripping from Takara's words was enough to make a shiver run up Kamaria's spine.

"Guys, can you, like, not fight, for once? Especially not on Kam's birthday," Kyp interjected. It always seemed like he was the one stopping the fighting. Kamaria felt ashamed that she didn't help more often, she just never knew what to say to make them stop. However, Kyp said, like always, just the right words. Both Takara and Luther shook their heads as if drawing themselves out of a trance and sat back in their chairs in complete sync.

"Sorry, Kam. What's next?" Luther asked. Kamaria offered a small smile before glancing up at the clock on the wall behind Kyp's head.

"We should probably head home. Mama and Baba are probably back by now," she said. The other three agreed. Kyp and Kamaria split the check and the four headed off back home. Takara and Kyp walked rather quickly ahead, chattering about some Muggle thing they had bought, while Luther and Kamaria fell behind as they entered the wood.

"How are you doing, Lu?" Kamaria asked, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. Luther, with his hands in his pockets, breathed in deeply, puffing his cheeks out as he exhaled. He bit his lower lip once as he rolled his head to the side, unsure of how to answer.

"I'm...I guess...I'm alright, all things considered," he answered finally, with an assuring nod at the end. Kamaria bit the inside of her cheek and looked up at him as they walked on.

"Are you sure? Because if you need anything...anything-"

"I know, Kam," he said chuckling, "I know. You're right here. I know you are. I know that Kyp and Taka are always there for me too." Then he added gruelingly, "Even if sometimes someone acts like they don't." Luther's eyes narrowed into a glare as he watched Takara and Kyp talk with lowered heads. Kamaria smiled and sighed, watching her two friends enjoy themselves.

"Yes, Kara can be...rather...-"

"Thick-headed? Stubborn? Bitter? Any of those the words you're looking for?"

"...Closed off. She's just like the rest of us," Kamaria said, turning back to look at Luther, who was scowling. "She's just lost, scared." Luther scoffed.

"Don't let her catch you saying that, she'll pulverize you," Luther warned with the roll of his eyes. How many times could her friends roll their eyes in one day?

Just as Kamaria was about to say something, there was a loud yelp from ahead, following by an 'off!'. Both Kamaria and Luther sighed as they approached Takara, who was standing above a rather embarrassed Kyp.

"What did you trip over this time?" Luther asked with a smile on his face.

"I don't-"

"Kyp, there's absolutely nothing on the ground except dirt! You tripped on nothing," Takara rebuked as Luther pulled their red-headed friend off the ground. Kyp scoffed and brushed himself off.

"That was me just falling for you, darlin'," he said with the wink of his eye. He leaned towards Takara with puckered lips. She gagged, rolled her eyes (maybe scoffed), and backed away.

"Charming, Kiollsig, charming," Takara said, backing away. Kamaria laughed, brushing some of the dirt off of Kyp's back. Luther put his arm around Kyp's shoulders and punched his arm.

"Ow," Kyp muttered, attempting to keep the smile on his face.

"C'mon," Luther threw his other arm around Takara's still rather tense shoulders. "Let's go home."

Kyp locked his arm with Kamaria as Takara snaked her arm around Luther's waist. The four walked all the way back to Kamaria's house.

***

Hello my darling readers! Thank you so much for tagging along on this journey of Harry Potter fanfic. So my inspiration for this story is me wanting to have a set of best friend from all four houses, a slytherin/Gryffindor relationship, interracial relationships, a Durmstrang boy/Hogwarts girl relationship, as well as experimenting with writing from different racial perspectives. This is going to be fun. I really like Takara. shes my precious cinnamon roll.
I don't have an editor, do if y'all wouldn't mind helping me out in that area, I'd be ever grateful.  If you have any suggestions, I would gladly listen.
Also, quick warning, I'm changing something rather large from GOF, so be prepared. Love you all so much!

Your Author,

The Author's Bane

B Jo Clausen.