Harry Potter and The Key, Chapter 2
By: PepperjackCandy
Disclaimer: Harry Potter, Hedwig and the Dursleys belong to J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury Publishing, etc. Dawn, Buffy, Joyce, Giles, Willow, Tara and Anya belong to Joss Whedon, Twentieth Century Fox, Mutant Enemy? (Grr. Argh.), Kuzui Enterprises, etc. I guess I own Joy, though. I wish I did, at least. 8-)
Once again, SPOILER WARNING for those who haven't seen Season 5 of Buffy or read Book 4 of Harry Potter.
A/N: "-"s between the words indicate lines of the letter that were crossed out.
Also, thanks to mid-season hiatuses (hiati?), some of these letters don't *quite* have the right tone for their dates. Just pretend that "Forever" ran on March 6, and that things settled down until "Tough Love" on May 1. "Intervention" was a slightly lighter ep, so we'll just have Dawn take that one in stride.
~~~~~~~~
25 February, 2001
Dear Dawn,
I hope you got back to California all right.
Feel free to take a couple of days to respond. In fact, please do. Hedwig needs the rest after her trip. This is Hedwig, by the way. She likes it if you scratch behind her wings. You don't need to feed her. Just let her out at night and she'll get her own food. Do you have a mouse problem where you live? If so, Hedwig'll take care of it.
And when you want to respond, tie your letter to her leg (she seems to prefer the right leg - she'll hold it out for you) and then just say "Take this to Harry Potter" to her. Make sure you have the window open first. It'll be difficult for her to get out otherwise.
There's nothing really important to say. You only left yesterday, and my life at Hogwarts is exciting, but not that exciting. Mostly I just wanted to say hi and ask if your mom has said whether you can have your own owl yet.
Harry
==========
March 8, 2001
Dear Harry,
I'm sorry for keeping Hedwig so long. But things have been difficult lately.
-Buffy-came-home-from-school-
-Remember-when-I-told-you-that-my-mom-had-surgery-
My mom died on Tuesday. It was an -anu- -aneuris- aneurysm. A side effect from her brain surgery, they say.
I sort of lost it for a while. Did some stupid things. Remember this -- resurrection spells are a bad thing.
Well, if the offer's still good, Buffy says I can have an owl. Mom said, so, too, but I wanted to check with Buffy, too. They're both worried about how we're going to pay you back for it, though.
When I got back from Hogwarts, Buffy was all worried about me. She went to her friend, Giles, to ask about it. He's from England and knows all sorts of stuff about magic, and she thought he'd know something about Hogwarts.
He said that he did know about Hogwarts, and asked me all sorts of strange questions, like whether I was really sure that it was Harry Potter who'd given me the tour. He repeated your name several times, like he thought I was making it up or something. I didn't know what to say, so I told him about meeting Hagrid, and about the Quidditch thing, and how you were the fourth contestant in that competition, and he finally laid off me, but it was weird.
Well, that's about it really.
Write back to me soon?
Love,
Dawn
==========
9 March, 2001
Dear Mr. Potter:
It has recently come to my attention that you have been in communication with Dawn Summers. I ask that you please desist such communication, as Miss Summers has been through a difficult time recently and needs no more heartache or danger such as you would bring her through your ongoing conflict with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.
Sincerely yours,
Rupert Giles
==========
16 March, 2001 (sent with Dawn's owl)
Dear Dawn,
Where to begin?
I'm sorry to hear about your mum. If you need anyone to talk to about it, I'm here for you.
Here's your owl. She's an eagle owl. I had trouble finding something that can be found in California, but the saleslady assures me that if she keeps moving when she's outside, most people seeing her fly will think she's just a really big great horned owl.
As for repaying me, don't worry about it. My folks left me a lot of money, and I don't have that much to spend it on. Plus, you have American muggle money and converting that to British wizarding money would be a pain.
Please write back soon, I'm desperate to hear from someone who doesn't read the Daily Prophet!
Harry
==========
17 March, 2001 (sent with the owl that Giles used)
Dear Mr. Giles,
I'm sorry that you think my problems with Voldemort might cause difficulty for Dawn, but it's really not my place to make decisions for Dawn. I will offer to bow out of her life and leave it to her to decide. If she decides to discontinue our correspondence, and only if she decides to discontinue our correspondence, I will abide by her wishes.
Sincerely,
Harry Potter
==========
17 March, 2001 (sent with Hedwig)
Dear Dawn,
I don't know if anyone's said anything to you or not, but your friend, Mr. Giles, sent me an owl asking me to stay away from you. I can understand his reasons, which I won't go into here (you can talk to him about them yourself), so if you decide that he's right and want me to stay out of your life, I will.
So, have you named your owl yet?
Harry
==========
March 24, 2001 (sent with Dawn's owl)
Dear Harry,
I've named my owl Joy, because it's sort of like my mom's name. I know it's weird, naming an owl for my mom, but I read something on eagle owls and it said that they can live 60 years in captivity. I'm not sure if this counts as "captivity" or not, but my mom's name might be good if she does live for 60 years. At least better than naming, like, a hamster after her. You know?
You said that your folks left you some money. Are you an orphan or something? And what's the Daily Prophet?
I heard about the owl that Giles sent to you. When I didn't say anything about it, he finally broke down and got onto Buffy about it. She agreed with me. No matter what kinds of things you might go through, it's not like I'm not in just as much danger here. I don't know if it's safe to say things like this by owl, but what the -heck- hell.
Sunnydale is on something called the Hellmouth. It means that it's sort of a meeting point for demons, vampires, all sorts of creepy things like that. Well, not all demons are creepy. I've got a friend who's a demon. But that's beside the point. The point is that anytime I go out after sundown around here, my life's in danger. Why would having you for a penpal (owlpal?) be a problem?
HE JUST MAKES ME SO ANGRY!
Sorry. Almost ripped the paper there. But what gives him the right????!!!!
I'd better stop before I get carried away.
Love,
Dawn
==========
March 26, 2001 (sent with Hedwig)
Dear Harry,
I kept Hedwig a little longer, just because there wasn't anything new to say. Now some of our other friends are on our side, too. They all say that Buffy and I are right, and that you can't possibly expose me to more danger than I'm already in.
Giles sort of mumbled something about Griffindors? Gryffindors? However you spell it. About them having no respect or something. We didn't get it, but figured that you might be able to explain it to us.
Well, in other news, I passed my history test!!! I was so afraid I was going to fail. But I didn't. Next week I have a math test. Ick.
Love,
Dawn
==========
2 April, 2001 (sent with Joy)
Dear Dawn,
I sometimes forget what things are like in Muggle school. I haven't had math in four years. But it's not that great, though. Instead I have Potions. Speaking of Ick. The teacher, Professor Snape, hates me and my friends for no apparent reason. I wish I knew what his problem is.
I had a test Friday in Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Our teacher this year (we've had a different one every year) is a Auror, which means that he fights Dark wizards. Sometimes I think he's insane, but he seems nice other than that.
Good luck on your math test.
You asked about my parents. They died when I was a baby, so I don't really remember them. Though over the years, I've gotten a few memories of them back. Everyone says I look just like my father, though. But I have my mother's eyes. They say.
I've been raised by my Muggle Aunt and Uncle, and then there's their son Dudley, a fat git who hates me. They're not much better, really. They're just not so obvious about how they feel about me. I'm a wizard and it scares them.
I hate summers.
The Daily Prophet's a wizarding newspaper. One of their reporters seems to have it in for me. She's always making such a big deal out of how I'm an orphan and everything. She makes me out to be this tragic figure. She takes anything you say, and exaggerates it until you don't even recognize it anymore. She just wrote this horrible piece about how my friend, Hermione, is two-timing me with her boyfriend, Viktor. And I'm not dating Hermione, let alone being two-timed by her. I'm not even interested in dating her.
I'm not sure what your friend Mr. Giles means about Gryffindors. A lot of people think that Gryffindors get away with stuff that other Houses can't. Maybe that's it. My friends Fred and George are huge pranksters, and they're in Gryffindor, and they get away with it. And I've broken a few rules in my day. Always for good causes, of course.
I think Joy's a nice name for your owl. She answers to it already, I see. And it's different enough from Joyce that no-one will know that you named her for your mom unless you tell them.
Harry
P.S. - I'm glad you're going to keep writing to me.
==========
April 10, 2001 (sent with Joy)
Dear Harry,
I'm trying to write with a quill for the first time. I hope I don't make too big a mess. Black's the only color of plain ink Giles had in the store. If I'd wanted some with pigs' blood or some kind of love potion in it, I could have bought a color, though. So I'm writing in black. Yuck.
I (barely) passed my math test!!!!!!!
Ugh. That reporter that you're dealing with sounds like a real bitch. Is there anything you can do to get her to leave you alone?
I'm so sorry you have to spend your summers with a fat git who hates you. Maybe you could come spend the summer here? Or at least part of it? Have you ever been to California? We could go to the beach. One of my teachers is always going on about England, and she says that people there like to go to the beach.
Let me know if you want to come for a visit, and I'll ask Buffy if it's all right.
Love,
Dawn
P.S. - My hands are covered in ink. How do you write like this without making a huge mess?
(fingerprints from where Dawn rolled up the parchment with ink on her hands)
==========
19 April, 2001 (sent with Joy)
Dear Dawn,
I'd love to come for a visit this summer. I've never been to California. And I've been told that people in Britain like going to the beach, too, but I've never been myself. The Dursleys (my aunt and uncle) weren't in the habit of taking me places like that. Let me know what Buffy says.
I'm glad you passed your math test. I'm doing all right in my classes, except for Potions, which I don't really expect to do well in.
Sometime, I'll have to send you some samples of Rita Skeeter's writing. It's just too awful for mere words to describe.
As for writing with a quill, don't put so much ink on it at one time. I could send you a self-inking quill if you'd like. One of the good things about using a quill is that you can scrape off your mistakes if you want, rather than crossing them out.
Though I kind of miss the notebook paper and purple ball-point pen ink you used to use.
Harry
==========
April 27, 2001 (sent with Joy)
Dear Harry,
I'm trying like you suggested, with less ink on the quill. So far, so (blob) good.
I asked Buffy if you could come for some time in the summer, and she said YES!!!! I'm so excited. Willow and Tara are excited, too. They've been wanting to meet you, since they're witches and all. Anya thinks it's cute that I have a "boyfriend." She's a little strange, but I think you'll like her.
There's just so much I want to tell you, but I just don't feel right trusting it to a letter like this. You know?
Giles seems to think that something bad will come from your visit, but he's been . . . weird about this whole thing from the beginning.
I guess you have to ask your aunt and uncle for permission, now? I hope they say it's all right.
Well, it's getting late and Joy just came back from hunting, so I'm going to send this now.
By the way, you're the only person I ever send her to, so I'm beginning to think that I don't need to ask her to take my letters to you anymore. She just knows.
Love,
Dawn
==========
5 May, 2001 (sent with Joy)
Dear Dawn,
I do have to ask the Dursleys if I can visit, but they'll say yes. I have ways of making them go along with what I want, particularly when I want to stay with a friend for part of the summer. I'll tell you all about that when I see you face-to-face next time.
I think they're usually pretty glad to be rid of me, frankly.
And I really do know what you mean about having things to say. I think I know why Giles is reluctant to encourage us to be friends. But, again, it's one of those things that I should leave until we see each other in person.
Harry
==========
20 May 2001 (sent with Hedwig)
Dear Dawn,
I know I'm probably worried needlessly, but I haven't heard from you in a while, and I just want to make sure that everything's all right.
Everything is all right, isn't it?
Harry
~~~~~~~~~~
Next: May 23, 2001 and a return to the narrative format!
By: PepperjackCandy
Disclaimer: Harry Potter, Hedwig and the Dursleys belong to J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers, Scholastic, Bloomsbury Publishing, etc. Dawn, Buffy, Joyce, Giles, Willow, Tara and Anya belong to Joss Whedon, Twentieth Century Fox, Mutant Enemy? (Grr. Argh.), Kuzui Enterprises, etc. I guess I own Joy, though. I wish I did, at least. 8-)
Once again, SPOILER WARNING for those who haven't seen Season 5 of Buffy or read Book 4 of Harry Potter.
A/N: "-"s between the words indicate lines of the letter that were crossed out.
Also, thanks to mid-season hiatuses (hiati?), some of these letters don't *quite* have the right tone for their dates. Just pretend that "Forever" ran on March 6, and that things settled down until "Tough Love" on May 1. "Intervention" was a slightly lighter ep, so we'll just have Dawn take that one in stride.
~~~~~~~~
25 February, 2001
Dear Dawn,
I hope you got back to California all right.
Feel free to take a couple of days to respond. In fact, please do. Hedwig needs the rest after her trip. This is Hedwig, by the way. She likes it if you scratch behind her wings. You don't need to feed her. Just let her out at night and she'll get her own food. Do you have a mouse problem where you live? If so, Hedwig'll take care of it.
And when you want to respond, tie your letter to her leg (she seems to prefer the right leg - she'll hold it out for you) and then just say "Take this to Harry Potter" to her. Make sure you have the window open first. It'll be difficult for her to get out otherwise.
There's nothing really important to say. You only left yesterday, and my life at Hogwarts is exciting, but not that exciting. Mostly I just wanted to say hi and ask if your mom has said whether you can have your own owl yet.
Harry
==========
March 8, 2001
Dear Harry,
I'm sorry for keeping Hedwig so long. But things have been difficult lately.
-Buffy-came-home-from-school-
-Remember-when-I-told-you-that-my-mom-had-surgery-
My mom died on Tuesday. It was an -anu- -aneuris- aneurysm. A side effect from her brain surgery, they say.
I sort of lost it for a while. Did some stupid things. Remember this -- resurrection spells are a bad thing.
Well, if the offer's still good, Buffy says I can have an owl. Mom said, so, too, but I wanted to check with Buffy, too. They're both worried about how we're going to pay you back for it, though.
When I got back from Hogwarts, Buffy was all worried about me. She went to her friend, Giles, to ask about it. He's from England and knows all sorts of stuff about magic, and she thought he'd know something about Hogwarts.
He said that he did know about Hogwarts, and asked me all sorts of strange questions, like whether I was really sure that it was Harry Potter who'd given me the tour. He repeated your name several times, like he thought I was making it up or something. I didn't know what to say, so I told him about meeting Hagrid, and about the Quidditch thing, and how you were the fourth contestant in that competition, and he finally laid off me, but it was weird.
Well, that's about it really.
Write back to me soon?
Love,
Dawn
==========
9 March, 2001
Dear Mr. Potter:
It has recently come to my attention that you have been in communication with Dawn Summers. I ask that you please desist such communication, as Miss Summers has been through a difficult time recently and needs no more heartache or danger such as you would bring her through your ongoing conflict with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.
Sincerely yours,
Rupert Giles
==========
16 March, 2001 (sent with Dawn's owl)
Dear Dawn,
Where to begin?
I'm sorry to hear about your mum. If you need anyone to talk to about it, I'm here for you.
Here's your owl. She's an eagle owl. I had trouble finding something that can be found in California, but the saleslady assures me that if she keeps moving when she's outside, most people seeing her fly will think she's just a really big great horned owl.
As for repaying me, don't worry about it. My folks left me a lot of money, and I don't have that much to spend it on. Plus, you have American muggle money and converting that to British wizarding money would be a pain.
Please write back soon, I'm desperate to hear from someone who doesn't read the Daily Prophet!
Harry
==========
17 March, 2001 (sent with the owl that Giles used)
Dear Mr. Giles,
I'm sorry that you think my problems with Voldemort might cause difficulty for Dawn, but it's really not my place to make decisions for Dawn. I will offer to bow out of her life and leave it to her to decide. If she decides to discontinue our correspondence, and only if she decides to discontinue our correspondence, I will abide by her wishes.
Sincerely,
Harry Potter
==========
17 March, 2001 (sent with Hedwig)
Dear Dawn,
I don't know if anyone's said anything to you or not, but your friend, Mr. Giles, sent me an owl asking me to stay away from you. I can understand his reasons, which I won't go into here (you can talk to him about them yourself), so if you decide that he's right and want me to stay out of your life, I will.
So, have you named your owl yet?
Harry
==========
March 24, 2001 (sent with Dawn's owl)
Dear Harry,
I've named my owl Joy, because it's sort of like my mom's name. I know it's weird, naming an owl for my mom, but I read something on eagle owls and it said that they can live 60 years in captivity. I'm not sure if this counts as "captivity" or not, but my mom's name might be good if she does live for 60 years. At least better than naming, like, a hamster after her. You know?
You said that your folks left you some money. Are you an orphan or something? And what's the Daily Prophet?
I heard about the owl that Giles sent to you. When I didn't say anything about it, he finally broke down and got onto Buffy about it. She agreed with me. No matter what kinds of things you might go through, it's not like I'm not in just as much danger here. I don't know if it's safe to say things like this by owl, but what the -heck- hell.
Sunnydale is on something called the Hellmouth. It means that it's sort of a meeting point for demons, vampires, all sorts of creepy things like that. Well, not all demons are creepy. I've got a friend who's a demon. But that's beside the point. The point is that anytime I go out after sundown around here, my life's in danger. Why would having you for a penpal (owlpal?) be a problem?
HE JUST MAKES ME SO ANGRY!
Sorry. Almost ripped the paper there. But what gives him the right????!!!!
I'd better stop before I get carried away.
Love,
Dawn
==========
March 26, 2001 (sent with Hedwig)
Dear Harry,
I kept Hedwig a little longer, just because there wasn't anything new to say. Now some of our other friends are on our side, too. They all say that Buffy and I are right, and that you can't possibly expose me to more danger than I'm already in.
Giles sort of mumbled something about Griffindors? Gryffindors? However you spell it. About them having no respect or something. We didn't get it, but figured that you might be able to explain it to us.
Well, in other news, I passed my history test!!! I was so afraid I was going to fail. But I didn't. Next week I have a math test. Ick.
Love,
Dawn
==========
2 April, 2001 (sent with Joy)
Dear Dawn,
I sometimes forget what things are like in Muggle school. I haven't had math in four years. But it's not that great, though. Instead I have Potions. Speaking of Ick. The teacher, Professor Snape, hates me and my friends for no apparent reason. I wish I knew what his problem is.
I had a test Friday in Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Our teacher this year (we've had a different one every year) is a Auror, which means that he fights Dark wizards. Sometimes I think he's insane, but he seems nice other than that.
Good luck on your math test.
You asked about my parents. They died when I was a baby, so I don't really remember them. Though over the years, I've gotten a few memories of them back. Everyone says I look just like my father, though. But I have my mother's eyes. They say.
I've been raised by my Muggle Aunt and Uncle, and then there's their son Dudley, a fat git who hates me. They're not much better, really. They're just not so obvious about how they feel about me. I'm a wizard and it scares them.
I hate summers.
The Daily Prophet's a wizarding newspaper. One of their reporters seems to have it in for me. She's always making such a big deal out of how I'm an orphan and everything. She makes me out to be this tragic figure. She takes anything you say, and exaggerates it until you don't even recognize it anymore. She just wrote this horrible piece about how my friend, Hermione, is two-timing me with her boyfriend, Viktor. And I'm not dating Hermione, let alone being two-timed by her. I'm not even interested in dating her.
I'm not sure what your friend Mr. Giles means about Gryffindors. A lot of people think that Gryffindors get away with stuff that other Houses can't. Maybe that's it. My friends Fred and George are huge pranksters, and they're in Gryffindor, and they get away with it. And I've broken a few rules in my day. Always for good causes, of course.
I think Joy's a nice name for your owl. She answers to it already, I see. And it's different enough from Joyce that no-one will know that you named her for your mom unless you tell them.
Harry
P.S. - I'm glad you're going to keep writing to me.
==========
April 10, 2001 (sent with Joy)
Dear Harry,
I'm trying to write with a quill for the first time. I hope I don't make too big a mess. Black's the only color of plain ink Giles had in the store. If I'd wanted some with pigs' blood or some kind of love potion in it, I could have bought a color, though. So I'm writing in black. Yuck.
I (barely) passed my math test!!!!!!!
Ugh. That reporter that you're dealing with sounds like a real bitch. Is there anything you can do to get her to leave you alone?
I'm so sorry you have to spend your summers with a fat git who hates you. Maybe you could come spend the summer here? Or at least part of it? Have you ever been to California? We could go to the beach. One of my teachers is always going on about England, and she says that people there like to go to the beach.
Let me know if you want to come for a visit, and I'll ask Buffy if it's all right.
Love,
Dawn
P.S. - My hands are covered in ink. How do you write like this without making a huge mess?
(fingerprints from where Dawn rolled up the parchment with ink on her hands)
==========
19 April, 2001 (sent with Joy)
Dear Dawn,
I'd love to come for a visit this summer. I've never been to California. And I've been told that people in Britain like going to the beach, too, but I've never been myself. The Dursleys (my aunt and uncle) weren't in the habit of taking me places like that. Let me know what Buffy says.
I'm glad you passed your math test. I'm doing all right in my classes, except for Potions, which I don't really expect to do well in.
Sometime, I'll have to send you some samples of Rita Skeeter's writing. It's just too awful for mere words to describe.
As for writing with a quill, don't put so much ink on it at one time. I could send you a self-inking quill if you'd like. One of the good things about using a quill is that you can scrape off your mistakes if you want, rather than crossing them out.
Though I kind of miss the notebook paper and purple ball-point pen ink you used to use.
Harry
==========
April 27, 2001 (sent with Joy)
Dear Harry,
I'm trying like you suggested, with less ink on the quill. So far, so (blob) good.
I asked Buffy if you could come for some time in the summer, and she said YES!!!! I'm so excited. Willow and Tara are excited, too. They've been wanting to meet you, since they're witches and all. Anya thinks it's cute that I have a "boyfriend." She's a little strange, but I think you'll like her.
There's just so much I want to tell you, but I just don't feel right trusting it to a letter like this. You know?
Giles seems to think that something bad will come from your visit, but he's been . . . weird about this whole thing from the beginning.
I guess you have to ask your aunt and uncle for permission, now? I hope they say it's all right.
Well, it's getting late and Joy just came back from hunting, so I'm going to send this now.
By the way, you're the only person I ever send her to, so I'm beginning to think that I don't need to ask her to take my letters to you anymore. She just knows.
Love,
Dawn
==========
5 May, 2001 (sent with Joy)
Dear Dawn,
I do have to ask the Dursleys if I can visit, but they'll say yes. I have ways of making them go along with what I want, particularly when I want to stay with a friend for part of the summer. I'll tell you all about that when I see you face-to-face next time.
I think they're usually pretty glad to be rid of me, frankly.
And I really do know what you mean about having things to say. I think I know why Giles is reluctant to encourage us to be friends. But, again, it's one of those things that I should leave until we see each other in person.
Harry
==========
20 May 2001 (sent with Hedwig)
Dear Dawn,
I know I'm probably worried needlessly, but I haven't heard from you in a while, and I just want to make sure that everything's all right.
Everything is all right, isn't it?
Harry
~~~~~~~~~~
Next: May 23, 2001 and a return to the narrative format!