Hm, no questions to answer this time, just lots of Awwing, and 'ur so mean'-ing. *grins* I'm not complaining.
So you must all read this new chapter, and then go read witchlight, Shooting star19 and Becks89's stories, and tell becks that all my reviews aren't cos of her promoting me. I swear her head just keeps on swelling… *grins*
On with the chapter…
Chapter 25- Dearest DaughterFor the next couple of days, Buffy took Harry to see Sirius, but they didn't spend all day there. They did things with Hermione and the Weasleys, playing quidditch and wizard chess among other things. Buffy tried her best to act normally around George, unsure of what else she could do.
On the Wednesday (school would begin on the next Monday) they all received their Hogwarts letter with new book lists and any extra potions ingredients they would need. Buffy too received one, signed personally from Dumbledore, which said that if she would like to study some magic during her stay at Hogwarts, then she too would need some books and equipment- a list was included, and Buffy started getting rather excited. Mrs Weasley declared that she was going to go to Diagon Alley and would get their stuff if they wanted, but if anyone else wanted to tag along, they were welcome.
"Oooh, that's the shopping place, right?" Buffy said excitedly. Hermione and Ginny grinned, while all the boys rolled their eyes.
"I will never understand it." Fred said.
"Girls are barmy." Ron agreed.
"You coming?" Hermione asked him. Ron shrugged,
"Ok."
The group going shopping assembled before the fireplace, that is, Harry, Buffy, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, the twins and Mrs Weasley. Buffy groaned,
"Oh not again."
"Don't worry." Harry said grinning, "You'll be fine."
"Yeah, George'll catch you again if ya fall." Fred laughed.
"Yeah." Buffy said half-heartedly, not looking at George. He too just forced a smile and looked away.
"I'll go first." Hermione said loudly to break the tension. She took the powder, threw it in the fire and said, "Diagon Alley." Very clearly. Ginny and Ron followed, then the twins, Harry, and then it was Buffy's turn.
"Ok, England, England, England." She chanted to herself. She stepped into the green flames and cried, "Diagon Alley!"
When Buffy stopped moving, she carefully opened her eyes, though she hadn't realised she shut them. Harry was grinning at her.
"Thank god." She breathed, and stepped out of the way moments before Mrs Weasley appeared in the fireplace.
"So, where to first?" Buffy asked everyone, wrinkling her nose at the sight of the pub they were in. Harry grinned,
"I think we should get your wand first." He said.
"Oooh, this idea has potential." Buffy agreed, "Oh, but, erm, money would be good."
"Mum an' Dad left me a huge safe- money is covered." Harry told her.
"Oh. That's ok then." Buffy said, but her brother didn't miss the disappointment in her voice.
"I'm sure it was meant for you too." He added. Buffy smiled thankfully,
"I was never meant to know they were my parents, Harry. The money was meant for you." She said. "I have some cash I can change- I'll set up my own account even! An' then in the very distant future, when I get a job, I will soon be just as rich as my lil' bro."
"Buffy…"
"Shut it. So not sympathy time- shopping time!" Buffy smiled widely, and Harry couldn't help laughing,
"Gringotts it is then."
The group split up, all going in different directions to different shops. Harry and Buffy agreed to meet Hermione Ron and Ginny outside Ollivander's in an hour- they wanted to see Buffy's first time with a wand. Buffy scowled as they all cracked up laughing,
"I'm gonna be good at magic!" She protested. "I am!"
As Harry and Buffy walked up the steps to Gringotts, Harry chuckled again, and Buffy thumped him.
"Sorry!" He cried, laughing harder.
"You're a git." Buffy decided.
"Thanks."
"I'm glad you're… whoa! What is that!?" Buffy cried. Harry stopped laughing- the goblin who'd just walked out of the bank didn't look to happy.
"That would be a goblin- they run the bank."
"Oh… Well… erm, Hi." She said with a hopeful smile. The Goblin made a clucking noise that reminded Buffy way too much of Giles, and walked off. "Good start." Buffy murmured. Harry grinned,
"Come on."
They went inside, Buffy gaping at the huge room and the large numbers of Goblins weighing piles of gold. Harry led her to a desk, where, once she managed to actually speak, rather than making fish impressions, she said,
"I… I'd um…"She cleared her throat, "I'd like to open an account, please."
"Yes? Name please?" the goblin replied.
"Buf…" Buffy caught herself, and thinking secret identity gal, dumbass, she said, "I mean, Anne Lily Potter."
"Right…" He flipped through a huge ledger to a page on which Buffy could see names beginning with 'P'. "Potter, Potter… Here we are, squeeze you in… hm."
"What?" Buffy asked.
"Anne Lily Potter? As in, daughter to J. Potter and L.Evans?"
"Er… yeah." Buffy said, astounded.
"But you already have an account."
"I do?"
"Of course. For eighteen years… opened by your parents… if I read this correctly, a month after your birth." The goblin looked up at Buffy as if she was very inconsiderate to not know this.
"Oh." Buffy said. "Erm… do I have money in it?"
"Of course." He didn't seem about to tell her how much. Buffy was shocked. She starred blankly at the page of the book, where numbers were constantly changing all on their own.
"Erm, then… could I make a withdrawal?"
"You have the key?"
"The… but I just… I didn't even…" Buffy the almighty vampire slayer was very confused. Harry smirked,
"We don't have the key." He said, "We didn't know the account existed."
"Humph."
"Is there any other way we can get at the vault?"
"The vault cannot be opened without the key." The goblin said impatiently, "And we don't know that the account is yours if you don't have the key."
"But…"
"What is the problem?" Asked a gritty voice, another goblin; this one looked older, and even less patient.
"This young woman asked to create an account she already has, and then asked to withdraw money even though she doesn't have a key."
"Name please?" The elder goblin asked. Buffy sighed in frustration,
"Anne Lily Potter." She said.
"Potter?" He repeated.
"Yes. Potter." She snapped back, "Apparently my parents set up an account when I was a kid- I didn't know about it til now, so I don't have a key!"
"Well of course you don't."
"I don't! I didn't… huh?"
"We have the key. Your parents left this and gave orders that if you ever came looking for it, we were to give it to you." He waved a small envelope he had pulled from nowhere.
"Oh. I see."
"Of course we must check that you are who you claim." The goblin said.
"Yes… I …how?"
"Drink this." He passed her a tiny vial of potion. Buffy grimaced,
"What is it?"
"A test. Drink it."
Buffy shrugged, and drank it in one.
"Well that was gross." She said. "Now what?"
"Please state the name you were given at birth." The goblin said.
"Anne Lily Potter." Buffy replied, "I already…"
"And your parents names at the time of your birth?"
Buffy frowned,
"Lily Evans and James Potter. I said that, I…"
"Ah, then you are who you say you are."
"Huh?"
Harry grinned, he loved it when Buffy got so confused.
"I think the idea is that you could only say your true name, and your real parents names after taking the potion."
"Oh. Cool."
"Here is your letter- the key is within- Griphook will take you to the vault."
"I'd like to go to my vault too, please." Harry added, "I'm Harry Potter"
"Of course, you have your key?" Harry handed it over, "Griphook, take them to the vaults please." The siblings followed the goblin, but Buffy was concentrating on the envelope in her hands.
"You gonna open it?" Harry asked.
"Yeah… it's just a little wiggy, y'know? It's all I have from my parents."
"It looks kinda lumpy, I think there's more than just the key and a letter in there."
"Yeah." Buffy murmured as they followed Griphook through a door into a steep stone passageway lit with torches. "Creepy." Buffy commented. They climbed into the cart, and it headed off at break-neck speed. Buffy seemed unaffected. She carefully opened the envelope, and tipped two things onto her hand. One was the vault key, and the other was wrapped in white tissue paper. She looked at Harry, but he shrugged, he didn't know what it was. As they twisted and turned through the narrow passages, Buffy gently unwrapped the tiny package, and found a small, oval, silver locket. Down the centre the initials 'A.L.P' were carved in intricate design. Buffy's breath caught in her throat. "Wow." She gasped. Harry squashed closer to get a better look as she opened the locket. Inside, on one side was a picture of James and Lily standing together, grinning and laughing, and waving to Buffy- tears came to Lily's eyes; and on the other side was a picture of Lily holding a baby in her arms, tears of joy and sorrow flowing freely.
"It's you." Harry said.
"Yeah." Buffy replied, barely able to control herself for the tremors going through her body.
"You ok?"
"Yeah." She repeated. Buffy sniffed, and wipes tears away, smiling at her brother.
"They knew some day you'd find them." Harry said.
"I guess so."
"They look so young."
"Only seventeen." Buffy murmured. Suddenly, a huge jolt reminded them they were in the Gringotts cart- it had just stopped.
"Here we are." The goblin said. They clambered out of the cart and he waddled over to the vault door right before them. He opened it, and Harry grinned widely at the shock on Buffy's face,
"This is all yours!?" She cried.
"Yup."
"Whoa…"
"You have your key, miss?" Griphook asked.
"Yes…" Buffy handed it over, and he went to the next vault along.
"Huh- your vault's right next to mine!" Harry exclaimed.
"Apparently." Buffy followed Griphook, preparing herself. When the door was opened, she almost collapsed.
"Bloody hell." Harry said. There was even more money than in his. "I guess your interest rate must be good... and its had eighteen years to build up…"
"Uh-huh…" Buffy murmured. She wandered into the vault, eyes and mouth wide. "This is mine? You're sure this is mine?" She asked the goblin. He just nodded brusquely. "Damn." She said, then she chuckled, looking at Harry, "Our 'rents were loaded!"
He laughed too,
"Yeah, apparently. Come on, get yourself a load- enough for shopping, and, you gotta get some extra for Hogsmeade- you have to come to Hogsmeade."
"Ok ok, I… how does this work again?"
"Big gold ones are Galleons, silver ones are sickles, little bronze ones are knuts. Seventeen sickles to a galleon, twenty nine knuts to a sickle."
"Why?" Buffy moaned, "Ok, lets do this." She started piling coins into the little leather pouches on the floor, "That be enough?" She asked Harry. He shrugged,
"Probably, you can come back any time, so yeah."
"Ok. Cool- you got yours?"
"Yup."
"Lets go then."
So they got back into the cart and the goblin closed the vaults. Buffy stuffed the pouches of money into her shoulder bag, and turned her attention back to the envelope. This time she just pulled out the letter, leaving the locket and key safely inside, and putting the envelope into her bag.
"Ok, letter." She murmured, "Lets see…"
Our Dearest Anne,
We are all too aware that you may never read this, but it is our hope that someday you will learn of your true family, when the wizarding world is safe again, and we are older, more able to care for you the way you deserve. We leave you this vault key so that should something happen to us, we shall still be able to support you in some way; and this locket so we will always be together.
I hope, my darling child, that your new family care for you well, and that you are, above all else, happy. I wish we could have been there for you. If you are reading this, then you must recently have discovered the world of magic and all that it holds. I pray that it does not scare you, and that although no one knows about you- we were afraid that if anyone knew, you might be hurt, or, though it now makes me feel so selfish, that we might be reprimanded for having a child so young, and lying to so many- we hope that you are accepted, and that you will find a place within our world. Only your Aunt Petunia knows of your birth, my dearest, Lily could not keep it from her. This has been hard on your mother- know that we both love you with all our hearts, and we pray that someday we will meet again.
James has said all I can think to say, dear Anne. I could barely bring myself to let go of you, though I knew it would be better for you. I love you forever, I hope you have grown up contentedly, away from the pain and evil that presently fills our world. Take care, my child. You will forever be in my heart.
With love,
Your parents,
James Potter and Lily Evans.
XXX
Another jolt announced the end of their journey, and Harry had to help Buffy out of the cart- her legs felt weak, and her mind was incapable of venturing from the words on the single page. She staggered through the door with her brother, and leant against the marble wall, tears trickling down her tanned cheeks.
"Buffy?" Harry said quietly. He too had read the letter over her shoulder, and at first felt a stab of jealousy which he immediately quashed, knowing it was stupid and irrational. "Buffy, are you alright?"
"I'm fine." She replied quietly. She blinked a few times, and looked around, seeming shocked to realise they weren't in the cart anymore. She folded up the letter, and put it back into the envelope. Then she took out the locket, and put it on, "What do you think?" She asked Harry. He nodded, smiling,
"Looks good."
"Come on, I wanna get that wand." She said, grabbing his hand, and dragging him out.
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