Three days had passed. Despite the mountain of work – for the Council, for her wizarding exams, on the spell to return her appearance, patrol – Dawn had managed to spend time with Harry and his friends, and with Connor. Buffy had been able to settle back into her old friendships – whilst retaining the new, of course – meaning plenty of time with Remus and Sirius. They had made little progress in fully taking up their old lives, but they had their plans. But all too soon those three days passed, and things in either world had never been stable for long…
The eight teenagers sat in the living room of Number Ten, Grimmauld Place. Now that it had been cleared, Molly had agreed that they needed space within the Black manor to call theirs – if only to keep them out of the way of Order meetings. Of course, the twins had taken this literally, and now the door was heavily booby trapped for the visitor who didn't feel the need to knock. Their reasoning ran along the lines of 'whatever you can do…', but luckily the Weasley matriarch felt that to stop them would be hypocritical – she always cast privacy charms on the door for meetings.
Ginny and Hermione were curled up in armchairs, Harry and Fred shared the longest sofa, and Ron, George and Dawn had a shorter settee each, with Connor leaning against the arm of Dawn's. Around the room, there was evidence of them – a stack of books on a side-table, Exploding Snap cards, a wizard chess set still covered in the carnage of the last game. And also modern things – Dawn's laptop resting on the main table, her bag dropped by the chair, even a television and box of DVDs in the corner. It was clear that this space had been colonised by the group, and that they were comfortable here (or as comfortable as they ever would be in Grimmauld Place).
"When are you and Buffy openly 'reappearing', anyway?" Harry asked. The question paused the previous – rather less important – conversation. All faces turned to Dawn, who could only shrug.
"I don't know, to be honest. Soon, I think, we've just been so busy. We meant to go back to the Ministry earlier this week, but then there was that minor apocalypse with the Jii'nai demons… Timings I don't know, but I know the plan."
"How are you going to handle it? I mean, there are going to be arguments, disbelievers, all manner of problems," Hermione put in, looking up from her book.
"Honestly, or as far as we can be – it's way easier to keep the story straight the more truthful it is. But the goblins have already accepted our return – if not publicly – so we'll be able to access our vaults. We've warned the Minister, giving us more back-up – I know Fudge is useless, but people listen to him, for some ridiculous reason – and we'll probably use the Prophet early on. Apparently, the Potters have a majority stock control in it… which we will be reminding them of. They've been getting far too complacent in insulting Harry, and Buffy's furious. We'll take back the family's assets, and the Wizengamot seat. And, well, Buffy's going to kill me for mentioning it, but we were wondering about becoming your legal guardians, Harry."
Silence.
"I mean, legally, there's no reason why not, unless you don't want to, in which case we really won't be insulted, Harry, I promise. It wouldn't be fair to just blitz into your life with no warning and then get mad if you didn't want to change everything, which we won't, and hey, I'll completely understand, I mean, Buffy can be a real pain to live with, she totally hogs the bathroom. Not that we have to share anymore, but we used to. It was just a thought we had, we'd love to have you, but like I said, it's your choice, completely, no strings attached, and – "
"Sunrise," Connor's deep voice cut across the babble, shocking her as he caught her wrist in his large hand, forcing her to stop gesticulating wildly, "I think he gets the picture. Now hush while he takes all that in."
"Okay," she whispered, blushing. He smirked slightly, chuckling lowly as he slid behind her onto the couch, before pulling her back against him, keeping her still.
"How do you say that much without breathing?" Ron marvelled, eyes glazed. Ginny extended on leg, kicking him, before admonishing with a glare learned from their mother:
"Ron, could you be more dense? You're ruining a big moment."
Finally, following more silence, Harry looked up, confusion marring his face. He spoke, and his voice was hoarse.
"Are you kidding? You'd actually want me? To live with you?"
"Of course we would – why wouldn't we? You're family, Harry."
"But the Dursleys…"
"What did they do? Why would you think we wouldn't want you? What have they been telling you?"
Harry began to speak, finally telling his friends and his aunt the full damage done by the sorry excuses for human beings he called family.
Buffy Anne Potter was annoyed. No, not annoyed, completely and utterly freaking FURIOUS. And everyone knew that a furious Slayer was to be avoided at all costs. Which was probably why none of the Scoobies had argued when she'd announced her intention to push the big public return forward. To tomorrow. What Harry had told Dawn, and then Dawn told to Buffy, was unforgivable. Now Harry may not know anything about the way the Muggle adoption system worked, but Buffy did – after nearly having Dawn taken away from her, she'd done her research. Those scumbags had pretended to be 'caring' for him – and what a sick, twisted version of 'care' it had been – out of the supposed goodness of their hearts. In reality, they'd been receiving money from the Muggle Government on a monthly basis to provide for him – not that he'd ever felt any benefit. They'd treated him as their little slave boy, while lavishing the money they earned from having him there on their pig of a son, Dudley. Buffy would not let them have custody of him for one moment longer than necessary – even if they wouldn't be near him until next summer.
Doubtlessly, they'd put up a fight, not wanting to lose their little earner, Buffy sneered. Her claim was far stronger than theirs – as his father's twin, compared to his mother's estranged sister – and she had the might of the Council behind her, which she would utilise if the need arose. Let alone the fact that Harry wanted to live with her and Dawn. Never mind, she'd find enough proof of his treatment there, more than enough to convince the courts to transfer custody to her. Buffy had more than enough money to drag the Dursleys through the courts, and she may even get a conviction out of it. They deserved worse than prison for what they'd done – and chances were they'd lose Dudley in the process. At least it'd give the other boy a shot at becoming a decent human being.
Buffy closed her eyes, forcing herself to breath slowly in and out, calming herself enough to think through her plans, for the next day, and further ahead. Tomorrow, she and Dawn would simply walk into the Ministry once more, and be a hell of a lot less subtle. If only the spell on Dawn had been broken already… oh well, Dawn and Willow were working separately on it, and the elder Potter had a feeling Hermione had teamed up with Dawn to look through it. If they were incredibly lucky, someone would crack it in the few hours left to them. If not, they'd use the same temporary glamour as last time. Buffy pulled her mind back to the next day – there would be a scene, she knew: the Potters had always been a powerful force in the magical community, and not since her brother's death had that power been used. There would be plenty who had been dreading Harry reaching majority and learning how to exercise even a little of the influence the family name afforded him. But for her to appear, seemingly returning from the dead… well, certain players would be literally soiling their pants. In the short time they'd been back, the two sisters had learnt of a fair number of situations that would never have been able to occur had they been around, and to be honest she was looking forward to ruining their pretty little façades.
The Prophet would be made to eat its words: after all, you could hardly write filth on a daily basis without expecting backlash, especially against a member of the family who damn near own you outright. Never mind owning the Prophet – half their funding came direct from the Potter vaults, and they would need to remember that. The simple reappearance should do the trick to stop further disparagement, but she'd ensure a printed apology, if not more. The Ministry would be forced to become more active – they'd become far too complacent in the years she'd been away, perhaps relaxing with few families left to take an interest in the Ministry's dealings. They too, she'd wager, were still drawing the contributions her great-grandfather had gifted them, despite treating Harry as a criminal for self-defence. Fudge, she expected, had been hoping to keep Harry from realising the power he had even in the slightest, so he could keep using the money – earmarked by her great-grandfather's will for the DMLE, and the Department of Mysteries – for his own ends. Oh well, she was sure a little of that money had begun finding its way to the proper recipients, and more would follow. Their return would also shake up the Wizengamot, as they would reclaim the family seat between them. From there, she would see Sirius pardoned, and compensated for his false imprisonment, and he could then take his rightful place in the Black seat. If she could, she'd get full trials for others convicted without trial. By shining a light on one miscarriage, she'd open the floodgates of inquiry. More than one would have been unfairly placed in Azkaban, and she wanted them pardoned, if only posthumously.
Yes, she'd work her way through to change. The Potters had always had power and influence, and now there was someone who knew how to wield it to the greatest effect. Her father had kept both her and James involved in the family dealings since they turned sixteen, and Dawn and Harry would learn from her how to do the same. Dawn at least knew of the command the family had, and could use that to some effect. Harry, however, had no idea. Well, that would change. The wizarding world had walked all over Harry far too many times in her absence, and she would show him how to use their name to his benefit.
Buffy froze, hearing her two oldest friends entering the room. Before she turned to greet them, a brief smile lit her face. Change couldn't come fast enough.