Successful Breakout (Karma and Aleesa)

Karma stepped out of the fireplace and into her livingroom with a sigh. She was so glad to be home. Sure, she was used to sneaking out of places and ending up other places, but that didn't make it easier.
Well, yeah it did.
Karma spun around to face Aleesa, who seemed to be somewhere between disbelief and relief of their success.
"Come on, I'll show you to your room."

Commuting through Floo was, Alessa admitted, wasn't the most pleasant way of travelling. It took almost most of her energy.
But I guess that's what happens when you deprive yourself from the whole world, she thought.

Karma's house was very warm, very welcoming. She followed Karma through the corridors towards her room.

Karma led Alessa through the house and up the stairs. "I hope you don't mind sleeping in this room, next to mine." It was on the second landing. It wasn't furnished with much but an empty portrait and two twin beds. "Leave your bags in here, and I'll show you my library."

"No, not at all!" Alessa replied happily, "I don't mind."
She gently put her bags in the other bed while eying the empty portrait hanging on the wall. "If you don't mind me asking," she said while clearing her throat, "who used to stay in that portrait?"

Karma shrugged as she started walking up more stairs. "Some old headmaster. I think the other one's still in Professor Malfoy's Office. Sometimes when he's bored he comes through, but don't worry, he usually doesn't..." Karma stopped at the top floor and glanced at her Uncle Sirius's door before turning and walking directly away from it. "You're a pureblood, right?" she asked, turning the handle of the door that lead to the library. "Not that it matters, of course, but I didn't hear Grandmother, so I just assumed..."

"I see," she replied, "I've read about this house somewhere- I don't know if it's accurate though, but isn't this house supposed to be Harry Potter's? I mean," Alessa glanced at Sirius Black's door, just as Karma did, "Your uncle gave this house to Harry, didn't it? But then again, it's been centuries since that happened..." she said with interest.
"Oh, yes, I'm a pureblood. Actually, my father was a Slytherin. At some point he spent some of his time at Hogwarts, and then he moved to Italy, and that's where he met mum. Also a pureblood."

"Don't ask me how I got the house, Father just says that its mine, so its mine." She walked into the middle of the library. "And good. Since your a pureblood, you can actually see and talk to Grandmother."

"Oh," Alessa said, sighing while letting the view of the library sink in, "Yeah, it's been quite a time since I've actually talked to someone, aside from my mum and you, of course."

Karma nodded knowingly and led Alessa back downstairs. "Are you hungry?" She asked quietly. "After we speak to Grandmother, I can have Lace cook us something." She stopped at the portrait covered with a curtain.
"Grandmother?" She called softly. "Grandmother? I'm not sure if you're... well, i'm sure you'll like her. This is my friend Alessa." Karma braced herself before slowly pulling open the curtain. When she didn't start screaming, Karma relaxed.
"Karma." The lady in the portrait said with a small smile. "I'm pleased to see you have a pureblood friend. Finally. After that Downie character, I feel weary" with a shockingly piercing look, Grandmother said with a haughty tone "when are you gonna bring home a goodlooking pureblood boy to continue the line?"
Karma blushed. "Grandmother!" She said. "We've already had this conversation! I haven't met anyone yet." Karma gave Alessa a weak smile and rolled her eyes. "She always goes on like this. She doesn't get that I don't need a man."

"Oh, yeah," said Alessa while she looks around the house, "I haven't eaten anything yet since last night! I've been busy planning about the breakout, so I've distanced myself from the whole family. That's why my father was really mad at me." she said, ashamed of herself, "he thinks I'm going berserk from too much reading."
Alessa spotted the curtain-covered portrait. Karma pulled the curtain open cautiously, and then her Grandma appeared without any outburst of screaming. And with that, Alessa sighed with relief.
"Karma." The lady in the portrait said with a small smile. "I'm pleased to see you have a pureblood friend. Finally. After that Downie character, I feel weary" with a shockingly piercing look, Grandmother said with a haughty tone "when are you gonna bring home a goodlooking pureblood boy to continue the line?"
Alessa laughed at the lady's last statement. "It's very nice to meet you, too!" she said with a wide grin, "Wait- Professor Downie was here? What did he want?" Alessa said with sudden curiosity. "That is, if you don't mind me asking."

Karma shrugged. "He wanted to see my family tree, and ask me about my family." She nodded to her grandmother and started down to the kitchen. She didn't tell Alessa where the rest of the conversation had ended up. "He brought me a fruit basket."
She stepped into the kitchen with little ado. "Lace? Can you cook us something?" The houseelf appeared with a crack, dressed it a bright blue tea towel around her body like a strapless dress.
"Yes, Mistress." She said, and started to prepare a meal. Karma sat at the long kitchen table and offered the seat next to her to Alessa.
"So, I don't know what you're planning. You can stay here until the end of the break, or do you want to stay here for summer too...?" Karma looked down at the table. "It's very quiet here, and lonesome. I spend most of my time reading in the family room, and talking to the family.... I'll introduce them to you later."

"Hmm... Well, I think that's kind of unusual for a History of Magic professor. Isn't he supposed to know that already? I mean," Alessa cleared her throat, "your family is... famous, ancient. It's all over the books."
Alessa shrugged. "Maybe that's what he did for the whole first semester. Interview people. He was gone the whole time."
While Lace was preparing a meal, she took a seat next to Karma while examining the house with utmost curiosity. She haven't been in their family's kitchen before. Her mother never allowed her to interrupt the house elves, or at the very least talk to them in terms of entertainment. She was only allowed to give orders, nothing more, nothing less.
And she realized that the house is indeed very quiet, very much like her library at the mansion. "I think I want to stay here for the summer." she said with glee, "It's very nice in here. Quiet in a comforting way. In our mansion, there are always errands shooting here and there, and my sister sassing around like she's all that. It's very frustrating."
She took another glimpse at Lace. "And maybe you can teach me some awesome pranks, too. I'd like to try them on my sister," she said we a smirk.

Karma smiled. "Well, you're welcome to come anytime you want." She said as Lace set two bowls of hot tomato soup and a plate of grilled cheese sandwiches in front of them. "Here." Karma dug in her pocket for a second before pulling out a black skeleton key. "Now, no matter where you go, Grimmald Place will always be your home."

Alessa took the key from Karma with a smile. "Thank you," she said. "It's really nice of you, really. Nobody's ever done this to me before. I've never felt this... welcome."
She safely put the key inside her dress's pocket and started to eat her soup.
"Lace's cooking is really good!" Alessa exclaimed.

Karma smiled. "She's the best cook I know." Karma winks at Lace before asking politely, "can you please get The Book for us, Lace?" Lace nodded and disappeared and reappeared with two cracks one after the other. The house elf nodded at her and placed the tattered, yellow-paged book on the table in front of them.
the book was thick, but as Karma turned the pages quickly, she could recognize the handwriting of four different adolescents. She smiled and flipped back to the front. "Well, Alessa, when it comes to teaching Pranks, no one does it better than the Marauders. This is their book." She closed the book to show Alessa the title. "The Marauders' Book of Mischief." She read knowingly.

Alessa gazed with amazement and curiosity as Karma showed her the book. "It's amazing!" she said with a grin on her face, "where did you get it?"

Karma smiled. "It was inside Uncle Sirius's bottom mattress. I found it when I used the mattress to slide down the stairs when I was little." She opened the book to the first page, where each of the Marauders had signed it. She brushed her fingers over the one signed 'Padfoot'. "He's the one family member I love the most. His room was my first playground. I know him best."

Alessa can't help but smile over Karma's stories. She looked at the thick book Karma's holding as she was deep in thought. "You're lucky you got to spend time with your loved ones," she said, not taking her eyes off the book. "I never got to meet my grandparents. They died in the war against Voldemort and the Death Eaters."
Alessa sighed. "And my Uncles and Aunts... Well, they're always busy. Running demands here and there. Their days are all planned, and so are mine." she paused, smiling at Karma, "That's why I was eager to attend Hogwarts."
She looked at the book once again, examining the signatures of the Marauders.

"I've only talked to portraits." Karma admitted. She flipped to the first page that was written in a scrawly handwriting and was signed "Prongs" at the end. It read 'Levicorpus'. Next to it was the description of the spell. Then a way to practice. Karma turned to Alessa and smiled. "Let's start at the beginning and make our way through to the end." She finished the soup and watched as Lace collected it. "Come on, then. Are you ready?"

She finished her soup as well with one last sip and then she handed the bowl to Lace, who was patiently waiting with Karma's bowl on her hand.
"Yup, ready as ever!" she said with a grin on her face.

Karma smiled and pulled out her wand. "This spell is nonverbal. It was made thart way." She thought 'levicorpus' ans watched as Alessa was yanked up into mid air by her ankle. With a smile, karma reversed the spell, letting Alessa down. She landed as softly as Karma could manage, which wasn't that soft at all, not really.

As soon as she was brought back to the ground, she can't help but laugh her arse off on the floor and think about the possibilities of doing all these to her sister. "That hurt, but it was AWESOME!" she said while laughing, "What else have we got?"

She stood with with glee as she skipped towards Karma.

Karma flipped to the back. There were blank pages back there, and the last entry was by Harry Potter himself. It read "Room of Requirement".
"That's odd." Karma said quietly. "I don't remember this one..." she read it over and smiled evilly. "I know what we'll be doing when breaks over." She said, sliding the book towards Alessa. "See for yourself."