Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Finding Mr. Snape and the Malfoys wasn't as difficult as Maera briefly feared it would be. Once she had walked into the back she simply looked for the blonde hair, it was honestly rather a dead give away which group they were in by doing this. Walking carefully past many other groups of people and the creatures like the guards outside, she snuck up and grabbed Draco's hand again. He looked up in surprise for a second before noticing that it was her. He looked like he was about to say something to her, but was interrupted by Mr. Snape speaking with one of the bank's tellers.
"What is it?" The gruff voice came across somewhat rudely, but Maera figured that it was better to forgive the supposed rudeness than to call the teller out.
Mr. Snape spoke up, undeterred by the tone, "I am here to bring Miss Potter to her vault." He had spoken quickly and quietly to the teller, likely wanting to complete their business at the bank with little interference.
The teller looked at Mr. Snape unamused. "Does Miss Potter have her key?"
Maera didn't know what the creature was talking about. A key? What key was she supposed to have? Her breath started to come quicker than she could keep up with and panic started to take hold, but then she felt something squeeze her hand. Blinking she looked at Draco and then to their joined hands, calming down.
Mr. Snape was searching his pockets before presenting the creature with a key. "Here is the key that Albus Dumbledore had." Thankfully Minerva had been able to get the key from the headmaster with little to no fuss, though he had requested it be returned to him after their shopping was completed.
The teller looked at the key for a second before looking again at their group. Maera wasn't sure why, but she felt that this was not going to be the simple trip into and out of the bank that she had thought it would be initially. "Would Miss Potter come forward so that I might test her to ensure that she is who she says she is?" The teller asked, a wicked smirk crossing their face.
Maera looked towards Mr. Snape for guidance and he nodded at her. Steeling herself for a second and pulling as much courage as she could around her like a shield, she let go once more of Draco's hand and stepped towards the teller's podium. The creature beckoned her closer before leaning down and offering her a silver dagger. She looked at it in confusion before taking it into her own hands. She stared up at the teller, confused by what was happening.
"Now, Miss Potter, you will stick yourself with that dagger and let a drop of blood fall onto this sheet of paper," it was at this moment that the teller seemed to realise how short she was, another thing that she wasn't able to fix with her appearance changing abilities. The teller grumbled for a second before the podium shrunk to be around her own height. Now she could see the paper that they had been discussing. Looking between the blank sheet and the dagger, she took a deep breath before sticking her pointer finger quickly. She let a drop of blood well up on her finger before bringing it to drop onto the paper. After the drop fell and hit the paper, she stuck her finger into her mouth to try and help it heal in any way that she could, despite it being the childish thing to do. Thankfully, Mr. Snape came forward then and took her hand, waving his wand over it. The small prick quickly healed as he waved his wand at the dagger she still held, cleaning any trace of blood off of it. She placed the dagger back onto the podium and turned back to the paper.
Words began to write across the parchment, quickly filling up the entire surface. The teller seemed surprised and took the parchment to read through. "It seems that we should take this conversation into one of the back offices." They said before moving away from the podium and indicating that Maera and the others should follow.
The path that they went seemed to be intentionally confusing as it was filled with twists and turns. She personally felt that this was so that nobody could steal from the bank. Following behind the teller, Maera fell back so that she could be next to Draco again. Maybe she could ask him about the bank. Turning slightly, she looked at his profile. He seemed to be concentrating on something, but she couldn't be sure because his face was a carefully constructed mask once more. Walking slightly closer to him, she let her hand hit his slightly to gain his attention. He turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow.
Giggling lowly at the imperious and haughty look, it seemed to be an imitation of both his father's and Mr. Snape's own blank masks, she asked quietly, "So where exactly are we and what's going on?"
The blonde boy groaned before whispering back, "We're in Gringotts Bank, it's where wizards and witches keep their money and valuables. The goblins run the bank and are known for being fearsome creatures that hate wizards and witches, so it's really a wonder that they look after our money for us at all. Finally, I can only theorise that we are currently being dragged to one of the offices because something came up when they were checking your identity that they would like to discuss." His explanation was useful in helping her understand what exactly was happening, so Maera smiled at him gratefully.
She was about to ask Draco another question, though she wasn't sure exactly what she would ask, their group stopped outside of a door. The teller ushered them all within where another goblin was waiting. The teller came forward and gave the other goblin the sheet of paper before leaving, shutting the door on their way out.
The goblin at the desk looked at the paper for a second, before indicating that everyone should take a seat. "Miss Potter, would you please come forward?"
Maera moved to the chair directly in front of the desk and sat down. The goblin looked at her and then back to the parchment, laying it down so that she could properly read it. "Now, Miss Potter," the goblin began, "my name is Ragnok and I am the account manager for some of the oldest families in this bank. You have been brought before me because of this piece of paper that could only say what it says because of your blood, does that make sense?" Nodding her head, Ragnok continued, "Okay, well, would you like to read what exactly it says?"
She nodded again and Ragnok pushed the parchment across the desk to her. Picking the paper up, she glanced at it and immediately was confused. The paper said:
Maera Harriet Lily Potter Black
Mother: Lily Jane Potter nee Evans (Deceased)
Father (by birth): James Fleamont Potter (Deceased)
Father (by blood adoption): Sirius Orion Black (Alive, Wrongfully Incarcerated)
Maera looked at Ragnok in confusion and hoped that he might understand what exactly she had just read. "Given that the test performed was simply an identity check, that is the only information that we currently have, but when you turn thirteen you will be allowed to come into the bank to perform an inheritance test if you would like. However, as you are likely aware, you are not who you thought you are, Miss Potter." Ragnok said, shocking the entire room.
Mr. Snape sat forward in his seat, about to say something when Maera spoke up for herself, "No, it appears that I am not, Mr. Ragnok, sir. It would seem that I am Maera Potter Black, or Maera Black?" The goblin blinked at her in surprise at her use of an honorific, no wizard would normally do that for a goblin.
The Malfoys and Mr. Snape stared at her, shock clear on each of their faces. Grabbing the piece of paper, she passed the document to Mr. Snape. The adults each looked at the paper before looking at each other, horrified though at what she wasn't sure. The only thing she could focus on was the fact that she seemed to have a father that was not only alive, but also in prison - wrongfully though so there was that. What could she do though to help him? She'd need to talk with someone that knew more about wizards than she currently did to find out.
"What exactly should we do with this information, Ragnok?" Mr. Malfoy asked, speaking for one of the first times since she had met him.
Ragnok smiled wickedly before explaining his plan to everyone there. Maera was grateful that this goblin was working with them rather than against them, because he seemed to be quite bloodthirsty. It seemed that the main goal was to have Sirius Black, her father, out of prison before the school year was set to begin - though it would definitely be a difficult goal to accomplish given the current Ministry of Magic (whatever that was). Maera was happy though, it seemed that she was finally going to have a family that wanted her.
Looking back in her seat at Draco, she noticed his eyes looking at her differently. Confused, she narrowed her eyes at him. The boy seemed to notice her scrutiny and schooled his face while discreetly motioning her over to him - the adults could talk strategy without her input. She walked slowly over to Draco and raised her eyebrow, signalling that he should probably explain soon.
Blushing slightly, Draco said in a soft voice, "This makes us cousins."
She blinked in surprise before smiling widely at him. He groaned as she immediately attacked him with a hug, something that she had wanted to do until she had learned how cruel and wicked the Dursleys had been. Draco wasn't like the Dursleys though, even when he was ignoring her out of spite.
Pulling back from the hug, she looked into his eyes and said, "This means that we stick together at school, right? You won't abandon me no matter what?"
Draco looked at her, seeming to weigh his options before nodding, "Yes, cousin, I'll be by your side even if you're a Gryffindor." Her confusion at the name must have been obvious as he laughed slightly before explaining, "Gryffindor is one of the houses. Hogwarts splits its students into four house groups: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. My family comes from many and many Slytherin members, so I'm definitely biased for that house, though most people would argue that each house has its own merits - I'm not one of those people though." Despite his words, she knew that he wasn't as prejudiced as he'd like her to believe. "Anyway," he continued, "Gryffindor is full of idiots that are too brave to think through the consequences of their actions, your parents actually were Gryffindors and Potters tend to be sorted into Gryffindor, so you might be a Gryffiindor. Though, Blacks are normally sorted into Slytherin, so maybe we'll share a house? Slytherin is for those who are cunning and ambitious, like yours truly. Ravenclaw is for book nerds and people that value learning above other things. And finally, I like to say that Hufflepuff is for those that they don't know what to do with, but others will say that it's where the loyal and hardworking people go."
Smiling at Draco, she jokingly said "Guess I'll have to figure out the house you'd hate me in the most so that I can ruin your reputation." She stuck her tongue out at his horrified face.
"You can't do that, Maera!" He said, pouting at her again.
She smiled even wider. He'd just used her first name! She couldn't believe it. "You called me Maera!" She exclaimed.
Draco looked at her in confusion for a second before realising that he had. "So I did, I hope that was alright. I assumed that it was okay to call you that given that we're now family, but if you'd prefer-" he started before she interrupted him.
"No! Please call me Maera. I didn't understand your insistence on calling me Miss Potter and I was hoping that we'd become close enough for you to call me by my name instead." Maera said, worried that she'd pushed him away.
"I forgot that you didn't grow up in the wizarding world." He said slowly. "It's customary for wizards to refer to those around them by their last name until given permission to address them by their first or even a nickname of some sort."
Maera nodded along to his explanation, it kind of reminded her of those old timey shows that she'd hear her ain't watch on the telly sometimes. "That seems a little old fashioned," She started, "but it makes sense. Thank you for explaining, I'll definitely need to buy some books on etiquette and culture so that I don't make any mistakes." Draco smiled at her, so she assumed that she'd made the right choice.
Before the two cousins could begin another conversation, the adults turned to them. "Maera, would it be okay with you if you were to stay with the Malfoys for the remainder of the summer break?" Mr. Snape asked. They explained that they needed her to stay with someone that wasn't her previous guardians (at this Mr. Snape looked downright furious), but they now also needed her nearby so that they could work on getting her father out of prison. Looking at Draco, she could see that he was just as excited at the prospect as she was herself. She nodded vigorously to indicate that that was perfectly fine with her.
Maera was surprised to find out that her face could hurt from smiling, she'd never smiled as much in her life as she had throughout the day so far. But, she had a reason to smile so she was perfectly fine with the slight pain. She would be living with her new family. She was finally away from the Dursleys and she had a future.