Gravity

by leahhlee

The last heir of Gryffindor has resurfaced to attend Hogwarts at 16yrs old. Muted by a restricted life in the dark, she finds the harsh reality of the wizarding world hard to accept, and seeks out the comfort of her bloodline's worst enemy. DracoOCHarry

2. ii Exposure

ii. Exposure

Lionsgate: Gravity

The ceiling of the London apartment was boring. It had the raised residue of a bad paintjob, but was otherwise was as bland as a bowl of rice. Well, Audrinne should know better than to refer to something boring as a bowl of rice since she had been eating rice at least once a day since the teahouse was opened six years ago. Nevertheless, she was still lying on her back, eyes turned on the texture of the ceiling above.

The last few hours seemed like a blur. She could remember only pictures with distant voices, blobs for heads with monotone tags of speech hanging from their mouths. Maybe it was because she never got to dance that she didn't remember it that well.

Apparently, Eleksis had been able to shanghai a Hogwarts acceptance letter out of Dumbledore. Then Eleksis expelled everyone form the Lotus room and the two of them Apparated to this shamble of a hotel room. Audrinne hoped the Maria was okay. She seemed overjoyed when Eleksis announced that Audrinne would be studying abroad that year, but now that Maria had no reason to stay in Manhattan, she wondered where she'd go.

So this was it then. She was going to be a witch. But after her two years at Hogwarts, then what?

Oh yeah. The whole Gryffindor's-last-heir thing.

There was probably family business to take care of. That would be difficult, as she couldn't really call Gryffindor her family, since the Flamels had raised her. Even then, they made it a point to treat her like an orphan instead of an actual daughter. Audrinne always felt guilty when she referred to Eleksis as Mother. But then, if her real mother was out there somewhere, she certainly hadn't made any maternal efforts regarding contacting her at all. Audrinne suddenly realized she had no concept of family at all.

Eleksis was going to take her shopping up Diagon Alley. Eleksis had described it to her as the Canal Street of the wizarding world. Audrinne wondered if there were any Asian wizards.

Eleksis walked out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel and her shower cap. "Audri, could you hand me my wand? I can't see anything without my Vision Charm and it wore off in the shower…figures…good girl."

She magically corrected her vision and then perfectly dried her hair with a stream of hot wind out of the tip of her wand. Audrinne turned on her side. "I think it's odd that my matron looks more like a pin-up girl than an actual role model."

"Pike off, you." She made a rude face before zipping into her traveling kimono, which was an orange silk with a silver waterfall pouring from the knee into a slate-blue ocean. Brown cliffs split the waterfall with knotted driftwood at the base embroidered with lacquered threads. Her magic tied the obi for her—a russet and brown highlighted with gold threads—and she scraped her straight black hair into a complicated twist. Audrinne got to her feet, already in her robes, and helped position the jade comb in Eleksis' hair. Audrinne would rather travel in 'peasant pleasantries' and Eleksis referred to her clothes: Sperry top-siders, jeans, and a layered camisole and long-sleeved sweater.

"I'm going to Apparate to the Leaky Cauldron," she said matter-of-factly. "You can do a Side-Long Apparition. I don't want to attract unnecessary attention. Come, gather round."

"Eleksis, any attention you attract is unnecessary—"

All the breath woofed out of her as the encompassing compression set in. This time she was prepared for it, so she braced her abs against the force leaning against them and pulled all the muscles in her throat into a knot so as to conserve oxygen. At last, she was released and she took in a generous lungful of air, careful not to look worn and clumsy. Eleksis immediately shook her hand off of her kimono sleeve.

The Leaky Cauldron was a shabby place. Audrinne wondered if every famous hideaway in London was as rundown as the pub and her hotel. The walls looked damp and the ceiling was layered in a haze of smoke, small columns spinning into the end of long pipes clapped tightly between the teeth of several customers in the back. Most of the tables were empty and only three men stooped over the bar, and the bartender was leaning against the wall, fast asleep, a cleaning rag still in his fist.

"Thomas Weatherby," Eleksis muttered to Audrinne. "Lazy fellow when he goes astray, other wise one of the best Brandywine brewers in the world."

She moved towards a wine cellar in the back, weaving through the smoky with a single hand. Audrinne noticed just what an epic character she was when she saw Eleksis shrouded in the mist—she was truly a beautiful creature, yet the terror about her demeanor marked her evidently as an ambitious witch.

Thomas awoke from behind the bar. "Who…oh, Merlin, Mrs. Flamel! I didn't even…forgive my rudeness. Welcome to the Leaky Cauldron, Mrs. Flamel." His lazy eye pointed at Audrinne. "Now who's this pretty little miss?"

Eleksis and Audrinne exchanged glances. Audrinne decided to bend to Eleksis' side, the feudal Japan side, where novices were seen and not heard. She bowed to the barkeep, but otherwise said nothing. Grimacing, Eleksis pronounced clearly, "Audrinne Gryffindor, apprentice of the Flamel household."

Someone puffed so hard on their pipe that the ashes hit the floor in a charred ball. Now all eyes had turned upon her, including the drunken ones hunched on the bar stools. Audrinne kept her hands folded at her waist and her face expressionless as she was taught, sweeping them a second curtsy. "Pleased to meet you."

Thomas snatched his hat of his head. "Oh, my…the Gryffindor? Godric Gryffindor?"

"The very same."

"But…I thought…since Roy…"

"He simply vanished, he did not die," Eleksis said flatly. Audrinne could feel her temper rising—Eleksis disliked being delayed. "There's a strange magic for you."

She turned promptly on her heel without bowing goodbye as Audrinne did. It was done. Eleksis had introduced her to the world. It made her gut tremble a bit, knowing that she could be swarmed with people who would claim to be related to her, people who would treat her differently because of her last name, maybe even some who would seek her out just to say hello to the last heir of Gryffindor.

"There are some who would do you harm in there, too," Eleksis said. Audrinne tried not to look surprised when the brick wall melted away. "A lot of people may judge you to be an elitist pureblood."

"You know how unfair it is when you read my mind," Audrinne said crossly.

"Then keep your Occulemency guard up at all times," Eleksis said, and stepped into the street.

Audrinne had heard stories about the wonder of true wizarding establishments, but no power she knew could arrest the images of Diagon Alley to words. There were beautifully painted portraits of pretty women on broomsticks, their hair waving in an imaginary wind, and they would occasionally wink or blow a kiss to a passerby. Boys on bikes loaded with wrapped goods zigzagged to and fro on the streets, occasionally crashing after a sizzling look from the girls huddled in bunches along the curb. Squawks and screeches resonated with the several vernaculars spoken in the street and packs of owls flowed in what looked like traffic lanes over head. It was a queer place, buzzing with oddity, yet one that Audrinne could tear her eyes away from. The noises were exotic and new, the smells and sights etching themselves into the back of her brain with every blink and whiff of salted air. It was wonderful!

The cobbled main street was crammed with people in varieties of clothing: brightly coloured robes, plumed hats, metal armor, and even antebellum dresses. For the first time, Audrinne felt out of place in her Western clothing, whereas Eleksis looked right at home. She turned to the star-struck girl in the entrance and said firmly, "Close your mouth, you blowfish! Come, come, and try not to make a fool of yourself, Miss Gryffindor…"

Together they fell into the rush of traffic, scuffling up the lane in a whirlwind of chatter and laughter. Audrinne's neck was sore from pivoting to scope out the entire picture of Diagon Alley, the intense colours and astonishing nature entrancing her to the point of exhaustion. Eleksis was perusing her list of things for school, mumbling to herself, and finally broke away to enter an angular-looking shop called Flourish and Blotts.

Inside the store were twelve rows of book that spiraled in a star-shaped pattern with a desk in the nucleus. Small globes of light seemed to orbit the five clerks' heads as they checked out books and pointed customers down the rows. As they approached, Audrinne could see that they were tiny multicoloured humanoids, rushing pencils back into canisters and flying books back to their proper shelves. There must have been fifty of them zooming around the shop.

"Maisy," Eleksis said to the lead clerk with a red swatch of fabric on her uniform hat. The woman looked up, shoving her flowing brown hair over her shoulder.

Marvel was splayed across her face. "Eleksis! Is…is it time?"

"Yes. She is coming out. I believe you have the school books I preordered?"

"Of course, they're right here. I figured you'd turn up in the rush. Can I get a good look at her, if you don't mind?"

Audrinne wasn't even paying attention. Two of the pixies toting thick tomes had collided and dropped their cargo on the head of a redheaded girl, who was looking up angrily at the pixies who had begun to wrestle in mid air. Their auras began to turn red as the fight intensified.

Eleksis clapped Audrinne on the shoulder and she snapped together, smile falling and back straightening. She bowed to the clerk, who had stuffed a thin pair of glasses up her thin peak of a nose. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

The woman leaned across the desk. "Yes, there is something quite lion-like about her. Proud eyes, smooth face, gold hair…definitely true to her blood, Eleksis."

Eleksis grinned, but it vanished quickly as she reminded herself why she was here. "Her books, please. Here's the gold."

She placed two piles of money on the counter and Maisy dropped two pixies over them. They sorted the coins into drawers before zipping away, and Maisy began to stack books, one by one, onto a metal sheet. "Such an honor to meet you, Audrinne. Your mother told me about you a few years ago, after I saw you dance in the teahouse. 'Song for the Lonely Lover' it was, blue kimono, red collar. I remember it quite vividly."

"That's odd, Maisy, since you drank your weight in sake at that party."

Maisy's smile cracked as a customer rang the bell on the desk. He was the first in a growing line, and he was obviously not pleased that Eleksis had cut just in front of him and his family. His wife looked disgruntled too, probably because she was carrying the books. "Hey, we've been waiting for a good half hour and someone can just waltz in here and be served right quick? What's the secret?"

"Do you even know who this is?" Maisy said, gesturing at Eleksis. Audrinne had turned to watch the brawling pixies again, who were now surrounded by kids egging them on with cheers and zaps from their wands. "This is Eleksis Flamel, great witch of the West, come here from America. You'd do well to respect her!"

"And she'd do well to obey the rules! Get in line!"

One of the pixies had turned completely red. The children applauded loudly.

"I'll not have you speaking to Mrs. Flamel in that manner! One of the greatest witches there is, married to Nicholas Flamel, another legend…Sorcerer's Stone you know…"

The weaker pixie shook itself off after it had been thrown against a bookcase. The red one had picked up a letter opener and was squeaking at the other in a menacing way. The ring of spectators quickly called to their friends to come and watch the finishing blow.

Audrinne couldn't believe no one was going to stop it. She tugged on Eleksis' sleeve. "Onesan…"

"I'm really sorry to have disrupted you, sir, but we are in a rush, and we cannot simply dwindle about in line."

"Like the rest of us have time dedicated to waiting in line? This is poor service right here, absolutely dreadful…"

The red pixie, letter opener in hand, began its plummeting dive towards the fallen pixie that lay in a sprawled heap on the floor. The kids took in an excited breath.

"Protego!"

Audrinne leaped out from the curl of Eleksis' arm and onto the carpeted flooring of the shop. Her hands gave birth to a wave of translucent blue light that twined with the pixie's brandished weapon and smashed it to pieces. The rips of metal in the room shuddered against the floor and the children gasped in awe. A string of energy loped out from her sphere and crackled around the defenseless pixie, squealing in terror. The red one crashed against the globe and fell away, astonished.

Silence pervaded the store as she shoved the kids out of the way, scooping up the frail pixie in the cradle of her palm and clenching the scarlet one tightly in her fist. She bounded back to the front desk and dropped the stunned forms of the little creatures on the desk, much to Maisy and Eleksis' surprise. "They hit each other in mid air and started fighting. This one tried to kill the other one."

Her rubbed her temples; she must have had another migraine. She watched the red colour of the malevolent pixie sizzle away into the usual bluish yellow. The pinpricks of thousands of eyes suddenly raised goose bumps on her body and she turned slowly towards the astounded congregation who stared at her like a giant bunch of lockjaw germs.

Eleksis snapped back to life. She waved her wand and the books disappeared with a bang, and she grabbed Audrinne's shoulder to hustle her out of the bookstore. This would be the second time she'd neglected the proper farewell ritual as a direct result of Audrinne's appearance. As soon as they were safely back in the hustle of street traffic, Eleksis rounded on Audrinne.

"What in the name of Merlin…never, in all my days, have I seen someone override the Property of Energetic Transfer…" Audrinne was terrified, suddenly realizing that she was in trouble.

"No, no, no, by no means are you in trouble! This a wonderful, wonderful thing, Audrinne." Eleksis said hurriedly. "We must go to Ollivanders…yes…come now…"

She shoved her across two lanes of shuffling people until she was tugged into a shop with a rounded sign reading 'Ollivanders—Makers of Fine Wands'. Other than the fact that it was smaller, the store's innards bore an astonishing similarity to that of Flourish and Blotts. Cases and papers were stacked into organized piles, divided by armoires overflowing with books and small oblong boxes.

Suddenly, one of the sliding ladders crashed against a bookcase, dumping the rider onto the floor in a trembling heap. Apparently, the man had been so surprised to see them that he'd accidentally tried to slide right off the tracks. She and Eleksis helped him to his feet and he backed up into a pile of cases and collapsed again, mumbling to himself excitedly.

After extracting himself from the piles and straightening the overturned cases, he readjusted his thick spectacles and took in the contrasting image of the women in his doorway. "My! Eleksis, so wonderful to see you…and Audrinne!"

He was old, but you could never tell if you judged him by demeanor alone. His wrinkled hands were peppy and cheerful, an air of frivolity lavishing him with energy. "The last Gryffindor. Oh, I had certainly hoped one of your line would come back to my shop… my great-great-grandfather always said it wasn't in Roy's character to commit suicide…"

Before Audrinne could bow in greeting, he had pounced upon the ladder and was whizzing down the aisles, changing ladders expertly. After a triumphant "Aha!" from within the labyrinth, he whooshed back and handed her a smooth red case, his face flushed and sweaty with enthusiasm. "Holly, nine and three-quarters inches, braided lion's mane at the core"

She popped the cover off. The case was lined with velvet and, resting in imprinted grooves, contained a single wand. The handle was skillfully carved with a roaring lion's head and sloped into a smooth shaft with a beautiful stained wood colour. The carving was so lifelike that the windy breeze outside seemed to echo with a distant, throaty howl, but it was hard to tell since the man, presumably Mr. Ollivander, was urging her to take it out.

"Place it tightly into your fist there, and try it out!"

"Mr. Ollivander, I already have a wand." She produced her ashy-looking wand from her purse. He snatched it away and examined it closely. Audrinne noticed that Eleksis looked very uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"Where did you get this wand?"

"We went to a little seaside shop in Italy a few years back—"

"It's nothing, Gideon," Eleksis said nervously, sweeping the wand out of his hand and breaking it over her knee. The unicorn hair inside peeped through the wooden splinters.

Audrinne screamed. "My wand! Eleksis, what in the name—"

"Hurry up and try out the other wand, I must speak to Mr. Ollivander."

She crossly removed the new wand from its case and held it awkwardly in her fist. Her anger subsided at once, and she swished in a small circle before bringing it down to her side. A loud growl emanated from the wand, much to Audrinne's shock. A curl of crimson smoke issued from the tip and Mr. Ollivander squealed with happiness. "First time! And on a Gryffindor!"

"Congratulations, Gideon," Eleksis said impatiently, paying him several Galleons and Sickles for the wand, which he placed back in the box and handed to Audrinne. It emitted a bang and disappeared, and her palm tingled slightly. "But I have a serious matter of which I must discuss with you—"

"Gryffindors are not wand-makers, Eleksis."

"Thank Merlin, else she'd be working with those Italian louts already," Eleksis said, boredom in her tone. Mr. Ollivander looked insulted. "I mean to say that Audrinne is an Evoker."

Mr. Ollivander looked like something marvelous yet terrible had overcome him. His old knees knocked together and he put a clammy palm across his forehead. Eleksis called a chair to him and he sank into it like sand falling through water. "Oh…she's truly of Gryffindor then…was an Evoker himself, he was."

"In Flourish and Blotts, two pixies had a skirmish and one was just about to finish the other off when Audrinne used a Shield Charm. Completely wand-less. Everyone was staring, including myself, and there hasn't been an Evoker since Tia Dalma in the 1700's…just amazing to watch."

"What's an Evoker?" Audrinne finally piped up.

"An Evoker is someone who can perform Evocation magic," Mr. Ollivander said slowly, almost unconfidently. "They can directly manipulate the magic energy force with the use of a transfer medium. " He held up his wand as an example. "They are extremely uncommon, but there are more Evokers than Parselmouths, luckily, or unluckily, depends on how you look at it…"

"So I can cast spells without a wand?" When they nodded, she smartly replied with, "Then why do I need a wand?"

"Go on, then, levitate this book." Eleksis pointed at a thick, snakeskin tome sitting placidly on the cluttered counter.

"Fine." She pointed her open palm towards it and shouted. "WingardiumLeviosa!"

The book hovered a few inches but quickly slammed back down. Audrinne suddenly had a tearing headache, much like the one she had back in Flourish and Blotts, yet noticeably stronger.

Eleksis allowed her to soak in the pain along with her silent message of defeat. She them muttered a pain-relief spell before saying keenly, "Still want your wand?"

"Don't be sour, Auntie."

Eleksis turned back to Mr. Ollivander. "I wish to speak with you in private. Audrinne, take your list and go get the rest of your things. Most of them are preordered, except for the Apothecary supplies, so just tell them my name. Send them back to the apartment. Go on, then."

She was shooed out the door and into the lane. She sarcastically thanked her creator for making her in such an odd fashion; in addition to surviving a long line of famous wizards, she also was an Evoker, some weird type of magician who was as rare as twelve-pound diamond. Wasn't there an ounce of normality in her blood, just a drop?

Something in the back of her head whispered, no, you are a witch. You're about as normal as they come for people like you. She silently agreed. A quirky life would be better than an ordinary one.

She glanced at her list. She needed her uniforms, a cauldron, a telescope, and brass scales. What on earth were brass scales? She scrutinized the paper a second time, watching a milky font appear next to the text. It was Eleksis' flourished handwriting, noting the names of shops in which to go to. Eleksis was always ten steps ahead.

She stopped by the cauldron shop, amused that it wasn't the Leaky Cauldron itself. She then supposed she wouldn't want to buy a cauldron from a place with a name like that—bad marketing on their part. The caldron store was generally boring, and she made sure she waited in line this time. The witch merely handed her a pewter disc and turned to the next customer. She then remembered that this was a collapsible cauldron. The ones in the alchemy lab of the Flamels' house were solid lead or palladium propped up on steel bases and complete with self-stirring magic.

There were plenty of students in Madame Malkin's. Again, she had implemented the use of pixies, but these were much brighter yet a lot slower. Six of them would work on one student while Madame Malkin herself would drift about, charging parents and setting up new workstations. As soon as she had pronounced the first syllable of Eleksis' name, Madame Malkin stuffed four wrapped parcels in her hands and rushed away to call the pixies off a poor boy as they all fought for the same needle.

She passed the Eeylops Owl Emporium on her way to the Apothecary. She imagined there was a great load of noise laced behind those wooden doors. The Flamels had a beautiful Siberian snow owl named Grayden (for her grey-spotted belly). Grayden was unusually calm for a Siberian owl; Audrinne recalled the hilarious incident in the kitchens when correspondent of Nicholas sent his owl over on an empty stomach. It fluttered into the lead cook's face and wrecked havoc everywhere. It pooped in the soufflé and pecked the daifuku to pieces, not to mention it frightened the scullery maids out of their wits. Needless to say, dinner was ruined for that night, but it still made great conversation.

The Apothecary was an interesting shop. There were barrels full of rat heads, bags near overflowing with lizard bones, and even a tank with evil-looking eels swimming quietly with a sign that said, "Your pick for four Galleons and a Sickle." Audrinne was familiar with lacewings and stew-able slugs, but there were other more morbid potion ingredients: dung beetle shells, shrunken heads, and long, twisted wiry things called kelpie hairs. The man at the counter had glittery beady eyes that immediately reminded Audrinne of the large rounded buttons on her black Oxford jacket.

"Can I help you?"

"I'm picking up an order from Eleksis Flamel…oh, right," she said, remembering that Eleksis hadn't ordered potion ingredients, probably because they changed annually with the curriculum. "I need materials for a sixth-year at Hogwarts."

He smiled an oddly dark smile. "Of course, Miss…"

She inhaled sharply, blessing herself with confidence. "Gryffindor. Audrinne Gryffindor."

He dropped a glass vial and it shattered loudly. His lower jaw seemed to have fallen alongside the vial since in now hung open in bewilderment. She tried to keep her face as professional and normal as possible, and he quickly regained his composure and fixed the vial with a tap of his wand. "Of course, my apologies, just never thought…never thought you'd come back."

He carefully selected a few potion ingredients and excused himself to go to the storage room in search of brass scales. She wandered around the inside of the shop, still entranced by the assortment of things that could be used in potion making. There was a wall of small angled cauldrons filled with strange things like newt toes, cans labeled 'frog's breath', fairy dust, and shark oil. One on a higher row had a note tacked to it saying, 'lion tongues'. The contents were out of her sight, so she went up on her toes to see that they looked like.

"You must be a dancer," someone said. She immediately flopped back down to earth. There was now a boy at the counter. He had platinum blonde hair that sharply contrasted the gloom around him. Her eyes immediately found his; they were so recognizably blue that she could have sworn she'd seen them in a Calvin Klein add or something.

He smiled weakly. "Beautiful poise. You were perfectly on the box."

"Do you dance?"

"I know a few witches who do."

"Know Maria Jostinzo?"

"Not offhand," he said, handing her the parcel full of supplies.

She mentally kicked herself. "That was silly of me. I'm sure there are thousands of dancers in the wizarding world."

"So you're new here? New to the community?"

"An unwilling outcast, you might say."

"You're with the Flamels?"

"They're my sponsors, I guess. They raised me, if that's what you mean." She found herself leaning towards the counter instead of towards the door. "I never met my parents."

"Were they our kind?"

"Both pureblood."

He smiled brightly, crossing his arms and falling against the counter. "Good! So you're transferring to Hogwarts this year?"

"You could say that," she said, biting her lip. The sense of urgency that Eleksis had instilled in her was beginning to burn at the back of her head, but the boy continued.

"That's great. I go to school there. Know what house you'll be in?"

Audrinne kicked herself again. This boy had no idea who she was and she'd been assuming the whole time that he'd known her inside out. She hated when her pride caught her by the foot. "I can't really say. I don't suppose it matters so long as I get a good education."

"I'm in Slytherin," he said, finally straightening up and giving the charge pad a cursory look. "That'll be…fifteen Galleons, eight Sickles and a Knut."

Audrinne was getting tired of kicking herself. "Damn. I totally forgot to stop by the bank while I was out. All my other things were preordered." She put the package back on the counter. "Damn. That was stupid of me."

The boy chuckled to himself. "It happens. I bet you were really busy."

"Yeah, Eleksis wanted to speak privately with Mr. Ollivander, so she sent me to do the rest of the errands. I got lost so many times; it's not even funny. I suppose it was fun until it got real. Listen, can I run to Gringotts real quick and come back with the money?"

"Do you even know where Gringotts is?"

Now that she thought about it, she could have kept him waiting an awful long time if she had to go out at find the bank by herself. She'd seen pictures in the Daily Prophet back when Harry Potter had been involved with her patron's Stone, but that wouldn't do her any good if she didn't know where it was.

"Um, actually, no."

He jumped over the counter, her parcel in hand. She saw he was wearing a finely cut chiffon robe with an expensive velvet cloak. "Tell you what. I'll waive the equipment fees if you let me walk you to the bank."

"Why? Then I'd owe you both for the stuff and for the directional help."

"No worries," he said. "I'm always here to help a fellow student in need, especially a new student."

"That's not very Slytherin of you," she said before clapping her hand over her mouth, embarrassed. "Sorry. I'm too judgmental. I'd love to go with you."

He opened the door for her. "Name's Draco Malfoy. You might have heard of my father, he does a lot of things in the wizarding world, Lucius Malfoy."

"No, I really haven't." She had, in fact, heard of his father. They were not good things; mostly things about how he was suspected for involvement in a recent scandal or murder. He was on the usual list of the Ministry's bad folks, barely avoiding punishment by hearty donations to Ministry operatives. "I'm Audrinne."

Before he could ask for her last name, they had diffused into the rush of the alleyway. Draco turned a corner abruptly, Audrinne tagging behind him. As they plodded through the people, Draco droned on an on about Gringotts, thinking Audrinne was brand, spanking new to the wizarding world. This was an unfair assumption, but so was the one she was making that saw him as a proud aristocrat, even though hers was true.

Draco greeted several shady looking people before stopping before a white Greek-looking building. The stone pillars were crooked and crumbling, and the entire place looked as though it would give way any minute. Draco saw the look on her face, and said with a grin, "It's been like that for a thousand years. It's not going to fall."

"Good," she said uneasily, gliding up the first of several stone steps.

"I have to go," Draco said suddenly. "My shift is up at the Apothecary and I have other stuff to do—"

She mumbled her thanks and took the package from him. "I really appreciate it. Thanks for everything. See you at school," and with that, he dissolved back into the crowds.

Audrinne pulled her new wand out if its case again and rapped on the parcel of ingredients. It disappeared with a bang and she jumped, though none of the wizards around her did. It was weird to see wizardry a part of everyday life, whereas at home it was always a secret.

"Where'd you get that?" someone said behind her.

She turned to face a group of people standing about three steps down from her. Two were boys, one with red hair just like his sister, who must have been the victim of the pixies' collision, based on the bruise on her forehead. Another girl, about the same age as the boys, was with them, her fizzy hair tucked into a long braid down her back. An older couple wandered up behind them, distaste instantly springing up on the man's face. It was the customer from the bookstore who had complained about Eleksis.

She bowed to them and smiled. "Hi."

The boy at the forefront repeated the question. That's when she realized who it was.

His tawny brown hair was flowing in the wind, pulling it off his face just so she could see the puckered scar sleeping on his forehead. It was a thin purple line that jutted in a zigzag—the unmistakable lightening bolt. It was Harry Potter. This boy was Harry Potter. She was face to face with the biggest legend in wizarding history since her father.

"You," she said to herself, but he read her lips. His eyes narrowed.

"Hey, weren't you the one who cut us in Flourish and Blotts?"

"Um…er, yes, I suppose, b-but it was an accident, it was actually my Aunt, well, not really my aunt, I wouldn't have cut you… she's just one of those people, you know, always on the move—"

She heard herself spouting out babble, and her hand slapped over her mouth again. She sorted the words with a calming breath through her nose before saying clearly, "Yes, and I apologize. We were wrong to cut you, and I'm sorry."

The redheaded boy smiled. "No problem. I heard the Flamels are real cocky."

"Ron!" His mother whacked him in the shoulder with a magazine. "I'm sorry. No filter between his mouth and mind. I'm Molly Weasley, by the way…"

"Audrinne," she said courteously, extending her hand. "Pleased to meet you."

The man stood his distance, pretending to be interested in the safety bulletins posted on the walls. Molly poked him hard in the stomach. "Arthur! She's apologized and it wasn't even her fault. Be polite!"

Begrudgingly, he extended his hand. "Arthur Weasley."

"Audrinne," she repeated with a smile. "Again, so sorry for everything."

Harry Potter tapped her red case. "Is that a wand?"

She brandished the carved wood that was formerly in the case. "It's a wand from Ollivanders. Just got it this morning."

Harry gave her a quizzical look. "Mr. Ollivander vanishes two months ago."

"He was in the shop when I went in with Eleksis."

He stared at her for a moment before a small smile crossed his face. "That's really weird."

"Mmhmm."

She couldn't think of anything to say. It was really Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. He'd fought He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named more than once and lived every time. It was glorifying to be this close to him. She was tempted to ask for his autograph, but that would be very rude considering she had already gotten off on a bad note with him.

"Harry Potter!"

A woman with hair the same colour as Draco's had just spotted him and stood in the square with her hands clasped to one side of her head on apparent glee. There was a brilliant green quill hovering near her, perfectly matching her pea green vest and tailored pants. Her glasses jostled on her face as she fought through the crowds to get to him.

The frizzy-haired girl choked, "Rita Skeeter! I thought she would have known better than to come and find you by now…hurry! Into Gringotts!"

The whole lot of them, Audrinne included, darted up the stairs and into the bank, quickly getting in one of the farther, shorter lines. Harry ducked behind Ron, who was turning quite pink. Arthur Weasley resisted making a snide remark about Audrinne being in front of them in line after his wife pinched him on the arm.

"So you guys go to Hogwarts?" she said in a friendly manner, trying to heal the wound.

"Yep," Ron said, smiling. "I haven't seen you around…"

"I'm new," she said with a childish face. She felt a little stupid, even though she probably knew loads more then they since Eleksis had taught her. "I'm transferring to Hogwarts this year. I'm home schooled."

"By Eleksis Flamel?" the girl blurted. "She's got to be the greatest witch since Tia Dalma, or even Stella Bell…you must be a really good student."

There was a competitive edge in her voice that was confirmed when Harry Potter said, "Worried she'll upset you from your number one spot, Hermione?"

"No," she said quickly. "I'm Hermione Granger, by the way."

"Audrinne," she said again, shaking her hand. "Nice to meet you."

Ron's hand instantly appeared from the protective fuzz of his sweater. "Ron Weasley."

"Ginny," the girl beside him said, staring up at her with big blue eyes. Audrinne frowned guiltily. "Did the pixies get you? Hope that doesn't hurt to much."

"Harry Potter."

She tried to take his hand as calmly as she could. There was a strange warmth that seemed to echo in his skin, and when her fingers really clamped down, she could feel a soft hum of electricity buzzing there. She gripped hard and shook once. "Ever so pleased to meet you."

"Harry?" a shrill voice sounded in the background. "Harry! There you are!"

"Oh, Merlin," the boy said, slouching in disappointment.

"Next!" the Gringotts goblin said.

Audrinne hustled to the counter. The scrawny wrinkled goblin stared back at her with a tiresome frown on its face. "Um, hi. I need to make a withdrawal, but I don't have my key. It's probably going to be the first time the account will be opened in a few centuries."

The goblin pulled a funky-looking apparatus towards him and took a chunk of copper from a jar nearby. He opened the crystal dome on top and dumped the metal in and pressed a button on the front. She could see that the metal was melting amazingly fast, and a tiny beep announced that it was ready to be poured. "Your name, miss."

"Audrinne Gryffindor."

At first it was only the people in a five-meter radius that fell silent, and then the rest of the bank followed suit. Even the goblin gave her a surprised look before typing in a series of runes on the front panel of the machine. The liquid metal seeped into the bowels of the mechanism, and after a few very awkward minutes, a drawer popped out with a freshly baked key. The goblin blew on it several times before shoving it in his jacket. "Right this way, Miss Gryffindor."

As she slid though the hinged doors of the Gringotts counter, she heard Rita Skeeter mumble in the tip of her wand, "Reggie, get some reporters in her. Gryffindor's back."

The goblin opened the door to an iron cart before getting in himself. The stone passageway had a faint metallic smell, one of either blood or flame. There were braziers on the wall, but the darkness suggested a more sinister nature to the labyrinth than its appearance showed. A mist hung limply in the caverns, but it quickly dispersed as the car jolted to a start and began zooming through the underground, turning every which way and dipping over hills and darting through rubble. She couldn't tell if she was still deep underground or in a raised cave. The goblin in the cart simply sat there professionally and seemed perfectly content to be silent. She liked that out of such an unsightly creature.

After a while, the cart stopped at an island of four vault doors. The doors were massive things, perhaps six meters tall by four meters wide, and made of solid bronze. The bolts on the side had a glittery sheen that reflected her face back at her in a warped image. The goblin plugged her key into a keyhole on the left side, and then walked across to the right and inserted a second key into another slot. She saw the dolled-up 'G' at the head of the key; there must be two keys to every vault for security.

"If you'll just twist that on three, Miss Gryffindor. One, two, three!"

A loud sucking sound rang through the dungeon as the door shuddered and peeled away from the wall. Before she could pull the key out, she found herself bathing in rays of warmth and the reflection of a huge fortune splayed before her. Literally, there were mountains of gold sloping off into the back of that vault some fifteen meters away. In between the mounds of Galleons and Sickles, there were pyramids of jewels—rubies glowing like coals, sapphires like knots of the ocean, and emeralds that seemed to have forests within them. She stood there in the light, completely awestruck.

She stepped into the vault, followed closely by the goblin who perched himself on the edge to show that he wasn't going to lock her inside, and took a handful of gold coins in her fists. They were warm and polished to a glossy shine. She flung them to the far corners of the vault, laughing with joy.

A long clang echoed in the rear. That's when she noticed the suit of armor standing triumphantly at the back. It was a gorgeous thing; the chest plate was molded from gold and steel, emblazoned with a roaring lion's head. After comparing it with the one on her wand handle, she saw that they were the same—just as real as the material they were engraved on, yet more fantastic than anything she'd ever seen. The suit was an angel's battle attire, done in cold steel instead of rays of sunlight. There was a cloak studded with topaz gemstones that swept from shoulder to the back of the calf, fluttering in an imaginary wind, and attached to the shoulder with golden clasps shaped like claws. She touched the lion's teeth, whispering a prayer to her great ancestor. A zephyr of a voice seemed to breathe back at her, calling softly, "Audrinne."

"Huh?"

"Yes, Miss Gryffindor, did you need something?"

She realized that she was becoming delirious from all the gold. "Nothing," she called back, dropping to her knee to fill her purse with handfuls of Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts. When she barely managed to shut the sack, she made herself a quiet promise. She would put more gold into this vault than she took out. She wanted her daughter to be overcome with happiness when she set eyes on the fortune, just as she had. With a last look at the arms, she repaired back to the cart, and whisked up the caverns back to the lighted entrance to the lobby.

The cart had banged up the sides of her ribs, but she was otherwise just dizzy. She fixed her hair with a flick of her wand and pranced up the stairs to the foyer.

No soon had she appeared in the doorway than a thousand flashes lit her vision. Her eyes instantly reeled in purple. She couldn't see a thing. After a quick Vision Adjustment Charm, she caught a glimpse of about twenty people clutching cameras to their faces and screaming for her to look their way. The goblin went back to his desk and asked for another customer.

The Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione were still there. Hermione motioned for her to come towards them, and she did so without thinking, her mind stunned by the bursts of white light firing to her sides. Suddenly, wand tips appeared from nowhere, as well as floating quills and pads of paper. Harry batted them away. "Rita called in the Daily Prophet. You need to get out of here."

Hermione and Ginny began clearing an alleyway in the throngs of people. Harry helped usher her to the doors, which burst open with more people and reporters. She felt several hands on her arm, pulling her to the side for comments.

"Are you really the last heir of Gryffindor?"

"What happened to Roy Gryffindor?"

"Tell us everything!"

"Oh, please, miss, come this way!"

"I'm with the Daily Prophet, if I could have a word—"

She managed to make it to the steps before she lost Harry and the Weasleys. More wands appeared, some even daring enough to poke her in the cheek. Even though she wasn't saying a word—and just stood there speechless—the quills were scribbling and people were still photographing.

"Gryffindor has come! In our hour of need, Gryffindor's back!"

"STOP IT, ALL OF YOU!"

Silence hit like a summer squall. A woman was coming towards the bank, her wand out and hair flaming behind her like a blazing flag. Her kimono was open in the front to reveal tanned, muscled legs that took a carefully measured stride and turned it into a dance move. She was suddenly elegant and horrifying at the same time; her beauty was reserved enough to entrance and seduce, yet swift enough to send fright riddling into the hearts of those who beheld her. Stunning but terrifying, with the sweet softness of magic floating about her in a crackling sphere, this woman practically oozed power.

Eleksis was thundering up the steps as people squealed and ran out of her way. Anger and frustration seemed to cackle at her fingertips. Even the reporters withdrew their quills and back into the building, leaving Audrinne exposed on the landing.

Audrinne knew better than to be afraid of Eleksis, and she knew better than to think Eleksis was angry with her. Sure enough, she trudged right past her and hulked in the doorway of the bank, a look of utter revulsion on her face that made all who saw it quiver in fright.

"Never, in my six-hundred years of witchcraft, have I seen such disrespect towards the line of Gryffindor. I cannot ask you to be ashamed anymore; shame has since perished in this world. But you would do well you heed my caution: another camera shot or Quick-Quotes Quill note, and it will be the last honorable thing you do in a thousand years."

Her words reverberated through the lobby for several minutes as she returned to her usual lofty state. She turned to Audrinne and took her arm, and the pair glided down the stairs together, leaving the congregation in the bank startled and flabbergasted.

"Next," called a goblin, and things snapped back to normal.

--fin--

Notes:
--Onesan—a name novices in Japan refer to their female masters as. It's also a symbol of closeness. You wouldn't call your teacher 'Onesan', but you would call your older sister or a close friend (who is older than you) your Onesan. Pronounced ohh-nay-uh-san.

--I make a lot of references to geisha. If you don't know what a geisha is or would like to learn more, please look it up on Wikipedia or Google. I read both Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden and Geisha, A Life by Mineko Iwasaki, so I consider myself a self-proclaimed expert on the story. I guess I'm a lot like Eleksis... proud, thinks she's powerful, big on beauty and respect... but I'm not a pushover, thank Merlin, haha!

--Thanks so much for reading again! This is so exciting... can't beleive I'm finally posting this story. Hope you enjoyed it!