Beyond Appearances

Title: Beyond Appearances
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: Up top
Pairing: to be seen later
A/N: Takes place in the middle of 5th year, about 3 weeks before Christmas. Pre OotP, no Umbridge.

****


16 year old Tareena smirked to herself as she went to the Great Hall. She had just come from an American orphanage. See, her parents weren't dead; they just didn't want her because she was a girl who showed too much individuality, even at her young age. She questioned what they told her, instead of blindly accepting like her brother did. So they just shipped her off to America when she was only 3. She was found wandering around when she was 5 years old and put into an orphanage.

Well, about a week ago, the orphanage people found Tareena's real parents and she was forced to go back to live with them. This happened during the school year, so not many people really knew about it. Now she's going to Hogwarts, and that's where our story starts off.


"We have a new student here." Dumbledore announced, after I came in unnoticed. "I won't tell you much about her, as I am leaving that up to her discretion." He said and took out the sorting hat with a stool.

I searched the crowd at the tables, looking for one boy in particular. Once I saw him, I smirked again. He had no clue... this would be a shock for him... how fun.

"If you will, come here to be sorted, Tareena Malfoy." Dumbledore said.

All eyes were now on me as I walked up to the stool and sat on it. Draco looked shocked; I think he may have had a vague memory of me. Maybe he came to think it was just a dream over the years. Would he wonder what had happened?

I just smirked at Draco again as the hat was placed on my head, I hoped he wasn’t anything like our parents. Though since he was raised alone by them, he probably would be. I felt dread wash over me. If there was anyone I wanted to accept me it was my twin.

‘Hm… wow, lots of thoughts at once, slow down…" the hat spoke in my head.

I stifled my laughter before the hat just cursed in my head, surprising me. ‘Damnit. Just… ‘GRIFFINDOR!”

I looked amused as the hat was taken off me. A charmed talking hat that had trouble placing me in the right house and it cursed. “I’m sure you chose well.” I spoke quietly to the hat in a mix between sarcastic and serious. I looked thoughtful for a moment, wondering if that house was a bad choice or not before I shrugged and put on a small smile. I turned back to the crowd of students all at their tables.

Everyone was still just staring at me. The whispers that had picked up while the hat was on my head, now silenced as they looked.

“Well,” I started loudly, interrupting the uncomfortable silence. “Where’s the Gryffindor table?”

A couple people pointed. Some just glanced at the table, and the rest just continued staring at me.

Walking to the table with red and gold decorations, I spoke again. “Take a picture, it’ll last longer. In fact, wait until I’m having a good hair day, then I’ll pose for you.” I smiled at my own joke, before grabbing a roll from the Gryffindor table, and heading to the Slytherin table now.

The whispers started up again, and I just rolled my eyes.

I made my way to Draco, not really caring who saw or heard at the moment. "Hello dear brother of mine." I said with an I'm-here-so-haha kind of smirk. Inwardly I was still hoping he wouldn’t reject me like our parents did to me.

He glanced around him before standing, giving me a glare. My heart sunk, but I managed to mask it. He grabbed me by my arm and pulled me out of the great hall.

I looked at Draco hopefully, waiting for him so say something, but he just stood there, looking back at me. Finally he spoke, “so you’re real.”

“It would seem so.” I answered, raising an eyebrow in question. I could feel my heart almost beating out of my chest.

“…What happened?”

"Oh, I was in America. I decided I didn't want to stay there anymore and come back to my loving family." I said sarcastically. "The people at the orphanage found out about 'dear old mumsey and daddy' and forced me to come back." I spoke bitterly, though tried to make my voice sound sweet.

Draco looked a little uncomfortable before he masked it. “How do I even know you’re my sister? What would make me think they would do something like that?”

I just sighed softly. “Look inside yourself. I’m your twin. Can’t you feel it?”

Draco looked over me. He probably took in the fact that I wore casual clothes under my robes (certainly not the school uniform), my pale skin, my light blond hair, apparently all the characteristics of a Malfoy. I know I looked a lot like our mom; he had to have seen that too. The only thing that was different was my eyes. Draco had stormy sky blue eyes that seemed almost grey. Those eyes that I’d dreamt about when I felt alone. The eyes I saw as I stared at the darkened ceiling in the orphanage. My eyes were an icy blue. I wondered if he’d recognize them like I knew his.

He looked like it dawned on him that I was indeed his sister before he looked away and scoffed. “Feelings. Who needs them?”

I chewed on my bottom lip softly, looking over my brother worriedly before sighing. “Look if you don’t believe me, and don’t believe the DNA test, then just go back in the Great Hall. You can try to forget I exist, but now that I’m here, you’ll never be without this.” I sent him a mental tap to his shoulder. “Muggle twins have links. Just imagine what magical twins have.”

I turned around and went back into the Great Hall. I took a seat at the end of the Gryffindor table, where some little kids made plenty of room for me before I picked at the roast beef. I glanced up when my brother reentered the Great Hall, looking like he didn’t care what anyone would say to him and sit back down at his spot at the Slytherin table.

A voice to my left made me turn my head to see a girl with brown hair and brown eyes with a look on her face of exasperation. “I just wanted to welcome you to Gryffindor. If that hat placed you here then there’s no reason you shouldn’t be accepted, no matter what family you came from.” She turned around and gave a glare to two boys down the table. One had black hair, the other had red hair. The girl looked back to me before she spoke again. “My name’s Hermione.”

I smiled at Hermione, happy that someone would put my name away and try to see the real me. “Thanks, it’s nice to know not everyone is so hung up about last names. I have this whole story about why I wasn’t here in first year that I’m just dying to let out. You’re welcomed to sit and hear it if you want. Or just sit at all. I don’t mean to take you away from your friends; it’s just kind of awkward sitting with 11 year olds because they’re the only ones that made room for you.”

Hermione nodded and took a seat next to me, giving a look to the two boys again; the red head looked to be spluttering about. Hermione looked back to me before she spoke. “Those two are my friends, but they’re stubborn boys and they’re really hung up on the whole Malfoy thing.” She rolled her eyes in exasperation. “So about this story,” Hermione prompted with a smile.

“Okay, so I guess you already know about my parents and their beliefs. Apparently even when I was younger I didn’t agree with them so when I was 3 they shipped me off to America.” I paused when I heard Hermione gasp.

“That’s awful,” she spoke.

I nodded, frowning a bit before continuing. “Yeah. So I lived off my magic for a good two years until some people found me and put me in an orphanage. They tried all they could to find where I came from, but it wasn’t until some guy from the wizarding world came and did a DNA test on me to figure it out. The guy contacted wizarding officials from all over the world before he got a reply from England. I was forced to come back.” I took another break, looking at Hermione.

“Wow.” Hermione replied. “So you’re pretty much nothing like them then.”

“Nope.” I answered with a smile. “I’m my own person, complete with my own opinions.” My smile faded before I continued. “I just hope they didn’t mess up Draco too much. He may have been favored by them and he may have believed them completely since they are our parents, but he’s still my twin.”

Hermione pursed her lips before she spoke up again. “Well to tell you the truth, he’s a complete self righteous prat. But you should be good for him. I’m sure you, more than anyone else, can get through to him.” She smiled again. “I’m glad you came. I’m a prefect, so I can tell you just about anything you need to know about Hogwarts. I’ve also read Hogwarts: A History over 3 times.” She looked proud about that.

“Oh, so then you can be my dictionary too? I’ve heard a lot of British people hate American’s and since I’ve been there so long I may as well be one. I don’t want to say something bad.”

Hermione laughed a little. “Well I think it’s mostly because those people think American’s butchered our language, but that doesn’t say anything about the person themselves. I’ve gotten grief over my blood rather than being looked at as a person, so I will always look at everyone as a person, not a classification.”

I smiled at that. “I’m glad. I was so scared about how people would shun me. I got it a lot when I was in America because of my magic, I didn’t want to get it here. Oh, and that’s another thing. I never really got any training. If you ask me, I think it’s stupid that I have to be here when I don’t even know what the younger years know. All I know is things I figured out for myself without a wand. I just got my wand yesterday. I hate to ask this of you since I just met you, but do you think you can tutor me about everything I missed? I learn pretty fast.”

Hermione looked really excited. “Of course! I’d love to! Are you done eating? We can get started now…”

I looked around, seeing that everyone was just about done anyway. With the nerves of coming to a new place and a new school I couldn’t eat much anyway. “Yeah, I’m good.”

*

“So this is the 5th year dorms. I don’t think anyone else will come up here yet since a lot of the other girls like to stay in the common room until it’s time for bed.” Hermione explained to me.

I nodded, looking around. I saw a dark mahogany trunk with my name etched in it in purple writing at the foot of a bed. “I see they pretty much tell you where your bed will be.” I looked at the orange name on the trunk of the only bed next to mine. “Who’s Lavender?”

“Oh. She’s one of the annoying other girls here. If you want, I can see about switching beds with her.” Hermione spoke up.

I looked around for her name and saw it with cream colored words on the other side of the room. I smiled as I looked at her. “That would be wonderful! Nothing against her when I don’t know anything about her, but you were the one that came up to talk to me.” I paused as I sat on my bed, surprised to find it comfortably soft and warm. “So about this tutoring… as I said earlier, I only played around with magic on my own so I don’t know what equivalent I would know or not know.” Suddenly a thought entered my head to make things easier. “Have you ever tried to spell a book to read itself in your head while you sleep?”

Hermione’s eyes lit up. “No, I haven’t but that’s a very good idea. Have you tried it?”

“Yeah, but I can’t seem to get it to be in your head instead of out loud. I figured if it’s in your head then it goes right to your memory where as if it’s out loud, you only hear bits and pieces during the night.”

“Have you tried mixing it with a memory charm?” Hermione asked.

“No, I never heard of that before.” I answered.

“Well, let’s try it. It should make my tutoring easy if it works. I’d have to use it on myself too.” She smiled at me.

I smiled back at her before we got to work trying to create the spell.

*

A few hours passed before we got it. “Do you hear it?” I asked Hermione as the book read itself to me.

“No.” Hermione answered, her eyes sparkling. Her eyes really looked like amber. They were really pretty. Hermione spoke up again, “Did it work?”

I smile brightly. “Yes!”

The door opened and we looked to see who it was.

“Lavender.” Hermione spoke. Before the other girl could say anything else, she spoke again. “Can we change beds?”

Lavender looked around the room before she spoke. “Be my guest, I’d rather not sleep next to her.”

I clench my jaw before looking down at the book, tapping my wand on it and muttering “finite incantum” like Hermione told me to do to end the book reading spell.

“Ron and Harry wanted to talk to you down in the common room.” Lavender spoke before she turned and left.

Hermione looked at me with an encouraging smile and held her hand out to me.

I relaxed from the encounter with the other girl at seeing Hermione look at me like that. I gave her a small smile and took her hand. “Thank you,” I spoke softly. “For giving me a chance.”

Hermione kept her smile. “It’s no problem. You’re fun to be around, I’ve never met someone so into trying to create new spells like you are. Come on. I want to introduce you to my friends. Ignore them if they’re a little pig headed…”

Hermione led me down the stairs, still holding on to my hand. I felt my nerves come back a bit, but at least I had Hermione as a friend. And her hand seemed to comfort me enough that I could do this. It was a constant reminder that she’d be here with me. I hoped it would last.

I looked up to see that she was leading me to the windows from the common room where a table was set up. The red head and brunet boys from earlier were sitting there. The black haired boy looked confused and a little angry. The red head seemed to be gaping, his face tinted pink.

When we got there, the red head spoke. “What are you still doing with a Malfoy?” He asked, looking me over with a disgusted look on his face.

I glared back at him before Hermione replied. “Her name is Tareena and she’s as much of a Malfoy as I am.” Hermione looked at me, gave me another encouraging smile before giving my hand a squeeze and looking back at the boys. “Is this why you wanted to talk to me?”

The red head seemed flabergasted while the brunet’s anger seemed to ebb away a bit before he glanced at me, still curious. Hermione leaned in to me to whisper in my ear, “Harry and your brother are sort of enemies.”

I nodded, speaking for the first time to the brunet, who I assumed was Harry. “Look, I don’t know much about what’s going on with you guys and my family. I’ve been in America since I was three.” I glanced at Hermione for only a second, remembering what she said about me getting put in Gryffindor for a reason. “I think the hat put me in the right house, so for your friend’s sake, can you at least give me a shot?”

“No!” The read head suddenly shouted. “I will *not* give a *Malfoy* a shot as you say.”

“Ronald Weasley!” Hermione spoke with her voice raised. I looked over at her to see her face angry. She even looked pretty when she was angry. Woah, where did that thought come from? She pulled on my hand a bit so I took a step closer to her. She continued, “*Tara* did nothing to you. You can’t expect her to take fault for her brother’s actions.”

“Why are you even befriending her? After what all the Malfoy’s did to you.” Ron continued as if he didn’t hear her.

Hermione made a frustrated noise. “Well I can see you don’t want to listen. Harry, if you would like to listen to me, we’ll be in the other corner.” She looked at Ron again. “And don’t you dare bother us until you’re ready to listen to reason.”

She led me to a corner of the room where there was another set of chairs. She let go of my hand and sat down. I took the seat next to her. “Sorry about that,” she said to me.

I smiled at her. “It’s okay. It could have been worse, I could have been hexed.” I wasn’t expecting her to stand up for me in front of her friends. She just met me not even 4 hours ago.

Shortly after we sat, Harry came over to where we sat. I looked at where we came from, seeing Ronald fume before turning and heading up a separate set of stairs. I looked back at Harry as he sat furthest from me, but he looked at Hermione anyway. “Do you really trust her?” He asked quietly but I picked it up anyway.

Hermione smiled at him. “Well I havn’t known her long enough but she’s definatly not like her brother.”

Harry looked at me. I just smiled and nodded. “I don’t expect friendship from you off the bat, but we’re both friends of Hermione.” I looked at Hermione, hoping I was right.

She just smiled at me and nodded.

“You know you’re father probably wants me dead.” He spoke to me.

I nodded at him. “I know. He wants me dead too, but my mom managed to talk him in to sending me off to America instead.”

“Why would he want you dead?” He asked as if the thought alone was inconceivable.

I smiled bitterly. “He tried to teach us as young as possible that we were better than everyone else. I asked too many questions and didn’t believe his views so he said I wasn’t worth being a Malfoy and I was only a girl so there was no need for me. I don’t think Draco believed at first either but… well what would you do if you were three and you just had your twin torn away from you.”

Harry looked uneasy. “So that’s the only memory you had of them.”

“Yeah. Until I was forced back here. I’d rather not get into that though.” I spoke with a flinch, remembering just exactly how angry Lucius was.

Hermione got up and came over to me to hug me. I didn’t tell her what happened but she was a smart girl. I’m sure she must have figured it out for herself. I just relaxed in her embrace and it was silent for a while. When she broke away she turned to look at Harry. “Thanks for coming over. I think it‘s time we head to bed though. I still need to switch beds in the room”

Harry stood up so I stood up too. I took a step closer to him and spoke quietly. “I’m sorry about your parents. I don’t know your situation, but I lived 12 years without my parents too.” I knew about Harry Potter. I heard about him enough from when I was younger. I saw the scar on his head earlier, I just never thought too much about it. He was still just a teenage boy. “Although I’m sure your parents would have been better than mine.” With that I turned and walked up to the bed room. Hermione stayed behind a bit talking to Harry a little bit more.

I lay in my bed. I had bought all the previous years books during my short trip to Diagon Alley so I currently had the new spell on first year charms. It read itself in my head as I stared at the ceiling listening to it.

A few moments later Hermione came in, rearranging the trunks and sheets with flicks of her wand. She sat on the bed next to mine, taking out a big book. She gave me a smile before casting the spell on her own book and settling in to bed. I smiled back at her before closing my eyes to drift into sleep.