A/N:- sorry for the lengthy wait... crazy summer's made me busy and I've been desperately trying to improve the previous chapters and properly figure out all where I'm going. Continuing on that note... I'd really love it if someone out there would like to help me with this (and beta coming chapters...) I think I need someone to discuss this story with to seed things up. If any of you are interested, just let me know.

Allen Pitt - I'm thrilled to see you review! as part of my 'getting back into this story'I've been reading all the reviews (and my garbled replies). seeing them all at once really drove home just how helpful your thoughtful reviews have been... there's barely any that didnt give me at least a little nudge towards a new idea/way of approaching an issue. Parents... now... I''m alot more certain of just how thats going to be found out... and it shall be fun (for me... and hopefully all who read this) but not for a bit (I keep saying that huh?). And yes... slowly it will emerge just how interconnected all their destinies are (I dont want Buffy to be a mary-sue... but it would be equally pointless for her to not be involved) well... anyway that is yet to come...

Getuie - I seem to be in a reflective mood at the moment... more action in the next chapter tho! I enjoy exploring characters motives too much to not go off on tangents at times... ah well.

sparky24 - we'll just have to wait and see about DA huh? This is one thing I really hope goes how I plan... so often the characters mess my ideas up...

Carrebear14 - thank you!

anywhoo... I keep redoing bits of this over the last month (it was actually mostly written a while ago) and cant get it perfect.... so I've decided perfect is unobtainable. Here it is anyway. Oh and the next chapter is getting there... I'm busy the next two weeks but will hopefully get a chance to look at it after that.

If it's Broken

Buffy entered the Great Hall for dinner to once more find the students milling about, unsure what to do. This time not because of altered seating arrangements, but because there were no seats left to take. The small tables which had littered the hall at lunch were gone, leaving only the teachers table left at the far end of the hall.

Most of the teachers were already present, seated at the table ahead with similar anticipation for what was doubtless to come as the students were, with a few notable exceptions. Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape and Umbridge were all absent from their usual seats.

The crowd of teens slowly began to get more restless; minutes had passed since the last of the students arrived to find the barren hall, and tensions were beginning to rise. With no clear place to go they ended up grouped up together in front of the door, and the lack of houses did nothing to alleviate the animosity between various groups of students. Finally the door behind the teachers table opened and the missing professors emerged followed by the group of wizards and witches Buffy had seen that morning in the entrance hall.

Dumbledore moved in front of his seat before looking out at the eager faces in front of him "It seems the recent Educational Decree was never intended to affect the Houses or social interactions between students" he started in his ever amiable tone, leaving no way of telling his opinions on the words he was saying, especially as his phrasing carefully failed to attribute any to him personally. "It has therefore been repealed with immediate effect." with a careless wave of his hand as he sat, the banners which, until the previous evening had marked out the house tables reappeared high on the walls above the teachers table and began to unfurl. At the same time there began to appear, first as a faint shadow which slowly grew more solid, house tables.

Those students who had been standing in areas the tables usually occupied quickly moved away before they became too dense. The noise rose as students were pushed out of the way and then began to move towards their house tables to sit back where they belonged. There was a sense of relief on the air; worries that the house situation might not be resolved draining from the students.

A sharp rap of wood on wood quieted the Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor tables who had failed to notice that the Slytherin table was silently watching the front of the hall where the blonde man, Draco's father, stood in front of the table waiting to address them.

"I have been asked to address you as spokesman for the Hogwarts School Governors. Due to the..." he paused disdainfully and glanced at Dumbledore "misinterpretation... of the recent Decree it was felt that we should deal with recent changes at the school."

"while it was agreed by..." he barely suppressed a sneer "all that the social activities of pupils should not be monitored," his voice made his disagreement evident, something he seemed to be making little effort to hide "however there have been ongoing concerns about the quality of teaching and decisions made regarding disciplinary action."

"As High Inquisitor on behalf of the Ministry, Professor Umbridge will continue to monitor lessons and observe the interaction between the Professors and Students of this institution. A majority vote of the Board of Governors has granted her their backing to act as she sees fit." as he finished he indicated towards his fellow board members. They all made some gesture verifying the truth of his statement, although some didn't seem as forceful in their agreement with Mr Malfoy, one wizard in particular required a pointed stare before he stiffly nodded.

"To this end, a new Educational Decree was proposed by the High Inquisitor and passed by the Minister with the support of…" he glanced towards his peers, a flash of anger crossing his previously serene and almost charming expression as he locked eyes with one who was defiantly glaring back. "most of the Board of Governors. Delores if you would" He half-bowed towards the woman in question as she moved to stand beside him at the front of the hall.

"Good evening."

So many of the students had the correct response to a greeting in that sickly voice drilled into them that the response was almost universal throughout the hall. "Good evening Professor Umbridge."

She smiled, enjoying the newly confirmed influence she held over all those at Hogwarts, students and teachers alike, and the smug edge to her grin made it obvious that her announcement would only further consolidate that power.

"I would like to announce the most recent Educational Decree." She muttered a spell and tapped the parchment in her hand causing it to rise up and expand so that all in the hall could read the words.

Educational Decree Number 25

The High Inquisitor will henceforth have supreme authority over all punishments, sanctions and removal of privileges pertaining to the students of Hogwarts, and the power to alter such punishments, sanctions and removals of privileges as may have been placed by other staff members.

It was evident from the faces of the staff that they hadn't been informed of the new Decree before that evening, something that severely undermined their power. Professor McGonagall seemed particularly shocked at what she had read, already in frantic conversation with the Headmaster but surprisingly enough the teacher who usually gave the most violent responses to any perceived slight showed no concern at the change. Professor Snape had barely looked at the sign, his only reaction a slight tightening of the jaw.

"As you can see, this Decree is impossible to misinterpret." Her gaze flitted over to the Gryffindor section where the girl who had caused all her troubles was seated.

"Well, now that that's over I think we should get back to matters at hand, don't you?" Dumbledore asked in his ever jovial manner, speaking during the pointed pause before Umbridge could take a breath to continue, and seemingly unaffected by the announcement. At his words food appeared on all of the tables and the Professors began to help themselves to the dishes in front of them. Realising that she had lost her audience, Professor Umbridge decided to step down gracefully and, giving Dumbledore one of her sickly smiles which always seemed more filled with hatred than the occasional glares of annoyance she was unable to hide, took her seat.

"Would any of you like to join us?" Dumbledore asked the governors still standing at the doorway, gesturing at the empty seats on the high table which must have been conjured at some point, though Buffy wasn't certain when. Their spokesperson quickly refused the offer, pompously stating that he had pressing business to attend, and it seemed that all would follow his lead until the one of the wizards who had seemed most disapproving of Mr Malfoy's speech, a large man who doubtless enjoyed his food, took a seat loudly proclaiming that "I'll never give up a chance to eat some of Hogwarts fine cuisine."

This seemed to give the others leave to do as they will and soon half a dozen of the Governors were sitting at the table conversing with the teachers, while the others politely made their excuses and left through the main doors into the entrance hall.

"Well that changed allot" Padma mumbled sarcastically as she began to take food from the platters which had appeared in front of them.

"At least she can't get rid of our clubs if she decides she doesn't like us" a girl Buffy wasn't sure the name of responded. From conversations the previous week, Buffy had gathered that she was in the Charms Club, and had got quite worried when it took so long to be reinstated.

"Yeah but that wouldn't stop her banning you from attending; she has 'supreme authority over all punishments' remember."

"Yeah... I guess." the brief optimism showed by the girl quickly disappeared and most of the students concentrated on their food, still mulling over what had been said that evening.

With all the thoughts of family bought up by the dissolution of the houses, it wasn't surprising that lying in her own bed again after returning to her room that evening, her thoughts were of home. Of the people that had become a closer family to her than most linked by blood could hope to be.

She reached for the bottom of her trunk where a small box filled with parchment lay hidden beneath her clothing. It was stuffed with letters she would never send. While she knew she could trust them with a secret, she couldn't risk the trouble that would result if wizards found out they knew, couldn't be sure they wouldn't let their fierce loyalty demand they come and help her. That they wouldn't inadvertently reveal everything.

The ability to write as if she was talking to then, even if she knew the letter would never be sent, reduced her sense of loss somehow, allowing her to imagine their responses and smile. There were words written to Willow, Xander and Giles relating how different things were here, the excitement of being magical, the fear of her power within. But there were none to her Mom. She had tried, oh so many times to put pen to paper in again, to tell Joyce that she was safe and cared for. That all was well.

While she found it almost refreshing to write to her friends that had helped her so much with her calling, using the words to sort through what was happening and their imagined responses prompting her to act in ways she might not have thought of without this way to analyse events. Writing to her adoptive mother was different. She had meant so much to her for so long, had done so much for Buffy, not merely taking her in and loving her but truly being her friend for most of her life.

Until Buffy had been called.

Thinking about Joyce made her angry; furious at all the things that had come between them, not just the recent events which had put an ocean between them, but all the secrets that had built up since she had been called. Slowly becoming bigger secrets that corrupted not just her childhood but also her family, tearing her parents apart.

How could she write to her when even the action itself was a lie? The letter never really intended to be sent.

Once they'd had a relationship untainted by deceit, her adoption had never been kept from her, the mother and child with a bond far more like a friendship. She hated that all these things had torn her apart. All apparently due to something in her blood, that inescapable connection to her biological parents which kept invading her life and changing it for the worse. They were the reason she was here, obviously magical enough to be a part of the wizarding world. More than that something passed on from her birth mother had given her the potential to become that thing which had destroyed her life.

Buffy shut the box with a loud crack, earning her groans of annoyance from the nearby beds, she had meant to use these frail connections to home to alleviate her loneliness but this time that refused to work.

Xander and Willow had once joked about adoption, before they knew about her, laughingly claiming that their parents barely cared enough about them to count. It was ironic that out of three sets of parents, the only one who acted like she truly cared, the one who worried about her child being out late at night, fretted over homework, the one who did all the things parents should had no genetic connection to her child. Her real parents had taken the ambivalence of Willow and Xanders' a step further, caring so little about their child they left a screaming newborn alone to face the elements. Not that her friends knew that part of the story.

She had never told her friends about what she found out over that summer. Another secret. It had been so long since there was someone she could speak to anyone without having to remember what she was keeping from them.

Buffy almost wished that she had never sought out information on her adoption, something that hadn't helped at all in her disillusioned sense of self after she defeated the Master, after she died. All finding out had done was deliver a shattering blow to the faint childish belief that perhaps she had been wanted, that something had forced her birth mother to let her go, and solidified the wall which had slowly grown between mother and daughter since her calling.

More than that, at least without the key and birth certificate, without the knowledge of her place of birth, she would have been able to stay in the same country as her family. But what good would that have done, she would still have been trapped in the midst of an odd community of magic users, unable to return home. She would have lost the chance to meet those she now tentatively called friends, and the opportunity to learn enough about her heritage to control it.

Even when her resentment of the people who had passed down these traits to her was at its highest she couldn't seem to forget them. Couldn't ignore the abilities which, despite their connection to her heritage, were still hers to manage. It was her decision either to allow these powers to run rampant and overcome her or to learn how to make them work for her.

Despite her growing disillusionment with her childhood hopes, she hadn't been able to give up on them, hadn't been able to abandon the idea of her parents as they had her. That was why she both despised and cherished the key, her only reminder, unable to understand the contradiction of what they had done and what they had left her with.

With her mind troubled by events both long and recently past, Buffy finally fell into a fitful sleep; strange dreams of terrible creatures and secret lives preventing any restful slumber.