Come What May
Chapter 2 – Toujours pur.
DISCLAIMER: Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon, and Harry Potter to J.K. Rowling. I don't own anything…
RATING: PG-13 (T) to R (M) - violence, language, angst, horror, possible mild sexual interactions, etc. If you can watch BTVS/AtS and read HP, I doubt you'll have any problem with this story.
TIMELINE: AU. Part 4 in the OOTB-series. Takes place during the Prisoner of Azkaban, the Goblet of Fire and includes missing moments from the Order of the Phoenix. It begins at Hogwarts, wizarding time, and then as it switches to Sunnydale time, we jump to where the epilogue to "Never the Same" (Part 3) left off.
SUMMARY: BTVS/HP crossover. When Dumbledore arrives at Buffy's and Remus' doorstep, they are both very surprised, but agree to come back with him to the wizarding world and protect Harry Potter from Sirius Black, the man responsible for the murders of Peter Pettigrew and Harry's parents. Sirius has somehow managed to escape prison, out for revenge...but so is Buffy and Remus. How will all this mess end?
PAIRING: Buffy/Remus
Special Thanks to: My Beta - CharmedChick
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, late August 30, 1993.
"Omph!" The Summers-Lupin family landed in a big heap in the middle of the Headmaster's office, while Dumbledore himself somehow had managed to stay on his feet and gave them all a bright smile.
"I hate universal time travel portals..." Buffy muttered, as she got to her feet.
"I second that notion," Remus said, standing dizzily, before helping Phoebe, who was looking rather green, up.
"Daddy, I think I need to puke," she mumbled.
"That was wicked!" Sarah exclaimed, bouncing to her feet. "Can we do it again?"
"NO!" Three voices exclaimed and Sarah pouted.
Dumbledore chuckled. "Well, welcome - " He turned to Sarah and Phoebe. " - And welcome back - " He turned to Buffy and Remus. " - To Hogwarts."
"It's just as when I left it," Buffy breathed, looking around at all the things in the room, from the sleeping portraits to Fawkes on his bench. "Hi Fawkes."
Fawkes thrilled a greeting, and Phoebe looked up at the firebird with big eyes, feeling a lot better already. "He's so pretty," she said, awwed, before putting her thumb in her mouth.
"Yes, he is," Remus said, smiling at his youngest daughter. Suddenly, there was a loud exclamation coming from a portrait, and they all turned around, seeing Sarah standing a poking the nose of Phineas Nigellus.
"Stop poking me, you little brat!" The portrait spat, desperately trying to escape into another portrait beside him, which resulted in that portrait waking up. This lead to the two starting to argue, and soon all of the portraits were awake, shouting at each other.
Sarah giggled. "That is so cool! They talk! I mean, I've seen some of your moving photos, mum, dad, but this is awesome!"
Buffy groaned. "Sarah, what have I told you about touching unfamiliar things."
"But he was sleeping!" Sarah protested, gesturing wildly at the now disheveled looking Phineas. "And it looked like he needed some cheering up!" She gave the portrait another poke.
"Oh, give it a rest, will you?" Phineas said, crankily. "I'm not a pet!"
"Sarah," Remus admonished gently, secretly amused at his daughter's antics. "Stop disturbing Phineas and come back over here."
"Oh, let her stay," Dumbledore chuckled. "Maybe they can engage in a conversation while we grown-ups talk."
"Alright," Buffy said. "Phoebe, join your sister. Sarah - you can talk with the - eh - nice - portrait - but no more poking."
"Okay!" Sarah grinned brightly, waving Phoebe over and sitting down at the floor, cross-legged, in front of the annoyed looking portrait.
"Hello, Sir Phineas. I'm Sarah. What is it like, being a portrait...?"
Dumbledore moved to sit behind his desk and gave Buffy and Remus a look, as they sat down at the chairs in front of it. "Now we have the matter of deciding the living arrangements. As I said, I have prepared a house for you to live in, aside from your quarters. I think it is a place you will both find familiar - it is the Shrieking Shack."
Buffy jaw hit the floor while Remus paled.
"You can't be serious!" Buffy exclaimed. "You expect us to live there? At that...place? No way!"
"I understand this may come as a shock, but I assure you, it is almost nothing like you remember. And it is the only place close enough to the school - "
" - Then we'll just stay inside the school," Buffy said. "You had quarters prepared here as well, right? Well, that will have to be enough, because I'll not set a foot in that horrid place ever again, and neither will Remus. Do you understand what that will do to him? What he will feel? You know what he's been going through in that place!"
Dumbledore said nothing as Buffy kept rambling on. "If you are quite finished," he finally said, "maybe Remus himself could come with an input?"
Buffy turned silent and blushed a little. "Sorry," she mumbled. "But you can't seriously expect us to live there...it's just wrong."
"Except being close to - and connected with the Whomping Willow and the school grounds - what else would be positive with us living there?" Remus asked Dumbledore, making Buffy's jaw drop again.
"You can't be seriously considering it?" She gasped. Remus, who still looked pale, just gave her a long look before turning back to Dumbledore. "If Dumbledore thinks we should live there...it must be a good reason for it."
"Yes, you are correct, as always, Remus," Dumbledore said, folding his hands on the top of the desk. "I admit I have my reasons for wanting you there - since Sirius knows about the Shack and the Willow, and their connection with the school grounds, he might try to use it to get to Harry. Which is what we're trying to prevent. That is why I want you there - so that it is guarded. So that you can stop it in case he shows up."
Buffy grew pale. "I didn't think of that," she said quietly. "But...are you sure there's no other way?"
Dumbledore said nothing, waiting for one of them to speak up again.
"We'll do it," Remus finally said. "We'll move inside. The good overweighs the bad. I won't like it, but my feelings about that place will have to be put aside. Harry comes first."
Dumbledore nodded. "I am glad you have agreed. Now, if you will all follow me," he smiled at Sarah and Phoebe, who stopped chatting with the portraits and stood up, "I will show you your quarters here at the school."
They stopped in front of a portrait where a small little girl with pigtails resided, playing with her doll.
"Hello, dear," Dumbledore said and the girl looked up, her mouth breaking into a grin as she stood up and curtsied.
"Hello, Headmaster. Is this the family that is going to live here?"
"Yes, indeed. Buffy, Remus, Phoebe, Sarah, this is Savannah, and she will be the portrait that is guarding your quarters."
The girl nodded, seriously. "Yes. I am your guard," she said importantly, slamming her fist against her chest. "Password?"
"Lemon drops," Dumbledore said, and the portraits swung open, to the sound of Buffy and Remus groaning. Dumbledore gave them an amused look.
"You can change it, whenever you wish, of course."
They climbed through portrait hole, and stepped into a large room with a bookcase resting against the wall, a large desk in front of the window that gave them a clear view of the lake and the beginnings of the Forbidden Forest. In the right corner, there was a large bed, and in another corner, there were two fluffy chairs placed in front a fireplace.
"Is it to your liking?" Dumbledore asked mildly.
"Yes, it's great," Buffy said. "But where are the girls going sleep?"
"Oh, right over here," Dumbledore said brightly, leading them over to the right wall where there was a door, which he opened. As they stuck their heads through, they got sight of a slightly smaller room with two identical beds standing side by side in front of the window.
"I thought you would appreciate a go-between-door instead of you all staying in the same quarters," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling, as Remus and Buffy blushed slightly.
"Yes," Remus coughed. "It's perfect. Thank you."
"Excellent. Now," Dumbledore pulled out a paper from his pocket. "Here are your class schedules. And I suggest you start making plans for what your lessons should contain. After all, the students will be here tomorrow." He gave them a wink and a smile before leaving through the portrait hole, whistling.
Buffy scowled at his retreating back. "That man is too cheery for his own good."
Remus snorted. "Yep," he agreed. "If I start making the lesson plans, you and the kids can change the password and pack up some of our stuff? Not everything, considering we need some of if in the...Shack."
Buffy nodded. "Great idea. Hey, Savannah?" She said out loud, and the portrait swung around, so her picture was facing the insides of the quarters rather than the corridor.
"Yes, ma'm?" She said promptly, which made Remus snort from where he was sitting by the desk.
"Eh, just Buffy will be enough, thank you, Savannah," Buffy said. Savannah nodded.
"Alright, Buffy ma'm."
Buffy groaned. "Yeah...anyway, how do I change the password?"
"Oh, that's easy!" Savannah said brightly. Just place your hand against my picture - though not on me directly, I'm quite ticklish - and say the old password followed by the new one."
"Great!" Buffy placed her hand against the girl's doll. "Lemon drop. Marauders."
She heard the scratching from Remus' quill come to a stop for a few seconds, before it started up again, this time with more ferocity than before.
"Old password deleted. New password - marauders - registered," Savannah said. "Was there anything else?"
"No, thank you, Savannah, that will be all."
"Yes, Buffy ma'm." The portrait swung back around.
Buffy turned to the kids and gave them a bag each. "Here," she said. "Go and pack up some stuff in your room, okay?"
"Okay!" Sarah said brightly, taking Phoebe by the hand.
"And Sarah?" Buffy said.
"Mhmm?"
"No changing the password without dad's or my permission, alright?"
Sarah sighed. "Fine."
"You promise?"
"I promise."
"Good."
As the door after the girls closed, Remus turned around from the desk and gave Buffy a long look. "Why did you change the password to that?" He asked quietly. "The marauders are gone."
"I thought we needed something to remind ourselves of them," Buffy said.
The quill in Remus hand snapped, and Buffy flinched.
"I don't need a reminder, Buffy," Remus said with a slight growl. "I want to forget!"
"Well, I don't!" Buffy countered. "I want - I need - to be reminded of all the good we had! Not the bad that is! I realize it's painful - but I need to be able to talk to you about them! They were your best friends! They were my best friends! And you just want to forget?"
"No. I don't want to. I need to," Remus said, standing up and starting to pace around the room. "I need to forget because - " his voice broke. "I just can't take it, Buffy. If I'm reminded of the 'good times'...I think it would kill me. I wouldn't be able to move on. Because what we had - we don't have anymore. And we won't ever get it back. And that hurts."
Buffy walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I realize that. It hurts me too. But...we need to remember. The years with Lily, James, Eliza, Peter and Sirius - before all the bad happened. Do you really want to forget all those moments? All those perfect moments? Lily and James' kiss? Valentine's Day? The Quidditch games? Turkey McGonagall? The Room of Requirement? That's like denying they ever happened. But they did happen, Remus. And I don't want to forget. I want to remember. And I want to remember with a smile on my face. Not with pain in my heart because I can't share those memories with you."
Remus hugged her close and took a deep breath. "You're right. I'm sorry." He buried his face in her hair. "How is it that you always make me feel better?"
Buffy smiled into Remus' shirt.
"Magic."
"You want us...to get close to that?" Sarah said as she stared up at the whipping Whomping Willow with big eyes, her facade of bravery gone the moment she set eyes on the large tree.
"Yep," Remus said. "But don't worry. It's a friend of mine."
Buffy snorted. "Yeah, right..."
Remus pulled out his wand, still bent from the whole episode with Caleb. "I really need to get this fixed," he muttered, before he mumbled something, and a stream of light flew out from the tip, hitting a knot on the tree trunk, and the branches immediately stilled.
"Come on," he said. "Let's go." Remus led the way to a large gap in the roots and crawled inside.
"You want us to...crawl through there?" Phoebe asked, sounding terrified. Buffy nudged her forward. "Go on. It's alright, honey. Daddy's right inside."
Phoebe hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath and crawled into the gap. A few seconds later, Remus voice was heard.
"I've got her! Sarah, you're next. And Buffy, push the knot again - we don't want the tree to start moving while you're under it."
"Right." Buffy quickly pushed the knot again, before throwing herself into the gap through which Sarah's feet had just disappeared.
Down in the tunnel, Phoebe was clutching Remus' hand. "Daddy, I'm scared."
"It's alright, sweetie." Suddenly, there was a loud bump behind them and Phoebe let out a large shriek of fright.
"Sorry," Sarah whispered. "Couldn't help my landing."
Phoebe stopped screaming, but was clutching Remus' hand even harder. There was another bump, and Buffy appeared behind Sarah.
"We're all here. Let's go."
They started to walk through the tunnel - Remus and Buffy bent-backed - the only light guiding them coming from Remus' and Buffy's wands.
After what felt like an eternity, and just as Sarah started to complain that her feet hurt, the tunnel began to rise and twisted. Through a small opening, they could see a light.
"Are we there yet?" Phoebe asked, her voice trembling. Remus squeezed her hand. "Yes, honey. We're there." His back was probably grateful over that fact. He was too old for walking bent like this...
Buffy blinked as her eyes got sight of the dust bunnies covering the room they'd entered. She snorted. "'Nothing like we remember' my ass," she muttered. "It's just as when we last saw it!"
And it was indeed. Actually, it was worse. Dust bunnies, spider webs, the rickety stairs...it was all there. Sarah cast her brave facade aside, clutching Buffy's hand like a life-line, while Phoebe shuddered.
"Daddy, I don't like it here," the five-year old whispered, her eyes staring transfixed at the blood covered walls.
Remus cast her a look, but said nothing. He was pale and sweating slightly. Too many bad memories of this place... he gulped.
"Let's go upstairs," Buffy said quietly, placing the hand that wasn't holding Sarah's on Remus' arm in comfort.
The family slowly made there way up the stairs, which creaked and once in a while seemed to sway dangerously. All let out a breath of relief as they came upstairs - and became silent in shock.
Where broken and thrown over furniture once had been, there was now whole couches, chairs and tables made of beautiful wood. The floor which had been covered with splinters, was now covered by a dark red rug. In the corner, a new, shiny black piano was standing, and in another corner, there was a large bed, covered in soft pillows and blankets. By one of the walls, there was a large bookcase, and by another, two small beds with a bureau between them was resting. Through the glass covered windows, sun streamed inside. The bathroom was no longer covered in water, but sparkling clean and shining.
"Okay..." Buffy was the first one to break the stunned silence. "I guess things are...nothing like we remember."
Remus pale cheeks was regaining color as he looked around in wonder.
"It's so different...I can actually see myself living here...I...actually...feel nothing." His face took on a shade of pure bliss and contentment. "No bad memories."
Buffy shot him a large grin. "That's fantastic. I think I could see myself living here too... once we fix the stairs and the lower floor. We'll have to ask Dumbledore why he didn't fix that."
Dumbledore gave them a surprised look. "Why, I thought that would be obvious. In case Black shows up, he will come either through the Whomping Willow, or from Hogsmeade. Both entrances lead to the lower floor, which looks properly damaged and abandoned. He'd get the impression no one has been there for years and years, and probably come back - maybe even stay there. And that would give you a chance to catch him by surprise, say, in case you where on the upper floor at the same time. If the lower floor looked lived in, he'd immediately realize something was wrong, and leave. Black is tremendously intelligent."
"Oh. Right. I didn't think about that," Buffy said. "Still - do we have your permission to fix the stairs? None of us really fancy it coming crashing down while we're standing on it."
"Of course. Just make sure it still looks broken - hopefully that will keep Black from venturing upstairs..."
The Shrieking Shack was the furthest from Sirius Black's mind at the moment. He was sitting in a muggle basement, chewing on some left overs he'd found in a dust-bin, while his dark eyes skimmed over a letter he'd just gotten from an owl. A letter that bore the seal of Gringotts.'Mr Black.
As your stay in Azkaban prison has come to an end, it is our duty to inform you of what you could not learn while locked up (as you know, we at Gringotts stay out of human business, as long as it is not about money, and as such, we could care less about your illegal break-out).
In 1987, your parents passed to the great beyond (May they Rest in Peace), which means that their assets in the form of several mansions on various unplottable locations, and one Grimmauld Place in London, now belong to you, along with the several million Galleons residing in the Black vault, as you are the last male Black alive today.
To claim your inheritance, you need to fill out several documents that awaits you in Gringotts, the London Branch, Diagon Alley.
Enclosed with this letter is a short message from your mother, the late Walburga Black.
We are patiently awaiting your visit,
-----Gringott XII,
---Head of Gringotts Wizarding Bank, branch Diagon Alley, London, England, Europe,
-Direct descendant of Gringott I, founder of Gringotts Wizarding Bank
xxxxxxxxxxx
'Dear, son.
If you read this, your father and I have both passed away. I am not certain you will mourn us, but we will mourn that we never got to say 'we're sorry', sweet Sirius. I never thought I'd call you by that title ever again, but you cannot believe how proud you have made us. When you was sorted into Gryffindor, your father and I were devastated, and even more so when you ran away from home at sixteen. It pained us to disown you, but it was necessary - the Black's have always prided in their pureblood-lineage, and when you decided to go your own way, it was the only option available to us, my son.
Today, I realize it was all an act.
Today, I am proud to call you my oldest son and heir.
I have just read the newspaper - read how you betrayed the Potters. Read how you killed Peter Pettigrew and those awful Mudbloods. Read how you have been a loyal supporter of the Dark Lord ever since the very beginning, working behind the scenes.
I should have known you would never turn your back on your family, Sirius.
I should have known you would never turn your back on the Dark Lord, like Regelus did. (His fate was well deserved - I cannot mourn him - your father cannot mourn him - as we both know how he betrayed the Dark Lord. How he in the last second got 'cold feet'.) We should always have believed in you, my dear Sirius, and not put all of our affection on Regulus, who turned out to be right useless. A disappointment.
I know nothing we say can make up for what we have done to you. That nothing can take back the harsh and cruel words we called you when we thought you were lost to us.
Therefore, I hope that we can do you right by giving to you three quarters of the many million Galleons residing in our vault, along with all of our mansions on several unplottable locations around the world. Their locations are guarded by Kreacher, who still lives at Grimmauld Place, London. The Blacks have never been poor, my dear Sirius, and they never will be.
Now, I am sure you wonder why you get everything, while dear Bella and Cissy get nothing. (I am sure you understand, without explanation, why Andromeda is not even mentioned)
Our assets - our fortune - is the only thing we can give you that even remotely can make up for our mistake, and as such, I am certain Bellatrix, who is more than capable of caring for herself, and Narcissa, who is quite well-off without our help considering her husband's fortune, will understand. I am also certain you will share your inheritance with both your cousins, as I know what big heart you have, and know that family is everything.
Toujours pur, Always,
Your mother.'
Sirius smirked to himself while he read the letter from his mother. So his poor parents felt bad, did they? He started to laugh. Oh, the irony! They would be turning in their graves had they known the truth. He closed his fist around the letter, and crumpled it together. Then, he slowly started to rip it apart, piece by piece, until nothing but small, tiny, tiny flakes of white remained and was swept away by the wind coming from the open basement window.
"No, mother," Sirius croaked out loud to the empty basement. "My heart is broken. And my real family is dead. Because of Peter." He stood up, his dark eyes shining with madness in the dim light. "He will pay."
A/N: Another chapter! Hope you liked it! And thank you soooo much for all your reviews! Wow! I feel really honoured! And as a gesture in how honoured, from now on, there will by a "Reviewer of the week" feature on my LJ, where I mention the person(s) who's review has meant the most/touched me in a special way. Keep reading my LJ for update notices and such as well!
/Ida
