CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT: THE MINISTRY
The group moved through the halls of Hogwarts, heading towards Professor Dumbledore's office.
"I still don't like this," Buffy said quietly. Harry squeezed Buffy's hand comfortingly, and Buffy just sighed.
"You'll be fine," he assured her.
Buffy rolled her eyes. She didn't know how anything was going to be fine.
They'd explained to her what had happened with Blaise and how the entire school was now aware of the truth of what had happened several days earlier. But Buffy still didn't trust the Ministry of Magic. Even though Cornelius Fudge had been aware of the truth, he'd still chosen to punish her for nothing more than who her father was.
Buffy had been reluctant to even go back to Hogwarts, but Harry had changed her mind. Now she had been bullied into meeting the Minister of Magic, something that she wasn't particularly looking forward to.
"I think you'll be pleasantly surprised Buffy," Giles said, hearing his ward's distress.
Buffy sighed and continued walking. They stopped in front of the stone statue that guarded Dumbledore's office, and after Giles muttered the password, they ascended the spiral stairs to the office.
"If there's a Dementor in there I'm gonna kick your ass," Buffy declared, looking between Harry and Giles.
Draco just smirked, amused by Buffy's antics. Hermione and Ron just grinned at each other and followed Harry and Buffy up the stairs.
Giles opened the door to the office, and lead the way in, holding the door open. Buffy stepped inside, expecting to see the Cornelius Fudge. She stopped in her tracks when she saw an unfamiliar man with a kind smile seated opposite Dumbledore and beside Sirius Black.
"Miss Summers," Dumbledore said pleasantly. "Please, come in, come in. Mr Malfoy, if you would kindly close the door behind you."
"He's not Fudge," Buffy said.
The man with the kind smile chuckled and shook his head, standing up to walk towards Buffy. He held out his hand, and Buffy reached out to shake it, moving on autopilot.
"I'm Kingsley Shacklebolt. The new Minister of Magic," he said.
Buffy's jaw practically dropped in shock. Kingsley Shacklebolt was a tall black man who was no older than thirty-five. His head was completely bald, and the only hair he had was a small triangle in the centre of his chin.
"You're serious?" Buffy asked.
Harry's godfather couldn't help himself. "No, that would be me," Sirius quipped.
Buffy turned to glare at him. "You're not funny."
Sirius just smirked and Buffy looked back at Shacklebolt.
"A group of Aurors has been looking into Cornelius Fudge for the last few weeks. When we discovered that he'd acquisitioned a Dementor from Azkaban for unknown reasons, we knew we needed to take actions. When we discovered what he was using the Dementor for we had enough evidence to have him expelled from the Ministry," Shacklebolt explained. "I was asked to take his place."
Buffy nodded, taking in the information. There was only one word that could possibly have described what she was feeling. Elated. She sighed with relief and looked to Professor Dumbledore.
"He's not evil, right?" she asked. "I mean, he's not about to try and get me expelled, or take away any other parts of my magic?"
Dumbledore just chuckled. "No, my dear, he won't be. In fact, Mr Shacklebolt was the next in line as your protector if Rupert here had declined to take the position. He has always felt rather strongly that evil is not inherent, rather it is chosen."
Buffy looked at Shacklebolt, her opinion of him changing drastically. She'd heard too many times from people in power that she was evil just because of who her father was. That it was in her genes and that she would never be able to get past it.
"I think I like you already," Buffy said brightly.
Shacklebolt laughed heartily. "Good to hear it Miss Summers."
Harry nudged his girlfriend, happy to see her smiling for once.
"Aren't you glad we convinced you to come back?" Harry teased.
Buffy rolled her eyes and placed a gentle kiss on Harry's cheek.
"Yeah, yeah, you're such a hero," she replied.
Shacklebolt laughed slightly at the two bantering teenagers. He'd been somewhat surprised by the romance between Voldemort's daughter and Harry Potter. It was a strange match, but now that he could see it with his own eyes, he knew that it was definitely real.
"I believe this is yours Miss Summers," Shacklebolt said, handing the thin piece of black wood towards Buffy.
Buffy took her wand from the new Minister of Magic and felt something familiar settle in her skin. She hadn't realised how much she'd missed having her wand with her over the last two days, but now that it was back in her hands, it was definitely a comfort.
"Thank you."
She turned back to look at the Headmaster.
"So…I'm all set to go back to classes and stuff?" she asked. "I'm not about to have the other students whispering about me right?"
"No more than usual," Dumbledore replied.
It was the best answer Buffy could hope for. She could only hope that the friendships she'd built up hadn't been completely destroyed by Blaise's cruel actions.
"Now…I don't know about all of you, but I'm feeling rather peckish," Dumbledore said, standing up. "And if I'm not much mistaken, the house elves are about to serve up dinner in the Great Hall."
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Dinner hadn't been as painful as Buffy had been expecting. She'd stopped caring about most of the students opinions of her, but there were a few that mattered. A glance at the Hufflepuff table had shown her that Tara, while still painfully shy, still genuinely trusted her. The girl had waved and then turned a bright shade of red. Buffy still had to ask Willow why Tara had her address in the first place.
A glance at the Slytherins had shown her that barely any of them were glaring at her. Blaise Zabini was gone and Millicent Bulstrode, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle had all kept their eyes down, never once even glancing at Buffy. She didn't know any Ravenclaws, so that 'table didn't matter all that much to her.
The Gryffindors had thankfully taken her back into their house with very few comments. Glenn Wood had even apologised for glaring at her. She knew she would need to sit down and talk to Ginny Weasley, who, according to Harry had taken Buffy's transformation rather badly.
And Buffy had a sneaking suspicion that from the way Oliver Wood was glancing at her every few moments, she would probably need to talk to him as well.
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Buffy approached the Quidditch Pitch nervously. She hadn't particularly wanted to do this, but she'd put it off for long enough. Besides which, she wasn't someone who usually avoided things for so long. She had always prided herself on meeting tasks head-on, and she was going to do that.
Oliver Wood froze in mid-air when he saw the familiar blonde girl walk onto the pitch. He slowly made his way down to the ground and carefully dismounted his broom, holding onto the handle to keep his hands from fidgeting.
"I thought I'd find you here," Buffy began quietly.
Oliver nodded. "Well…here I am. What did you need me for?"
"I uh…I know I've kinda been avoidy-girl these days, but…I get the feeling that you and I really need to talk," she said.
Oliver swallowed hard. He hadn't been expecting Buffy to come and confront him. In fact, he'd hoped that she would never ask him about what had happened between he and her double.
"It's alright Buffy, honestly," he said, desperately not wanting to have this conversation.
"Blaise came onto you, didn't she?" Buffy asked bluntly.
Oliver winced. He hesitated before nodding. Buffy sighed. She couldn't believe how much damage one girl had done with only two hours to do it in. She was just lucky her friends and her family had been smart enough to work out what had happened, as well as prove her innocence.
"I'm really sorry," Buffy whispered.
"S'not your fault," Oliver replied, looking down at his shoes, scuffing them through the dirt.
"No, but…you thought she was me, and…and I know how you feel about me," Buffy said.
Oliver sighed tiredly.
"I know you're with Harry, and I respect that Buffy, I do. But…you're just so damn different from everyone else I've ever met. It's refreshing," he said. "And…well, if it's alright, I'd still like for us to be friends."
Buffy smiled sadly and nodded. "I'd like that."
Oliver grinned and held out his hand. Buffy shook it gently.
"You should probably know that this is my last week at Hogwarts," Oliver said. "Madam Hooch is coming back at the end of the week, so…I'm not needed here anymore."
"You'll still come to the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin match though, right?" Buffy asked. "It's on the third of January."
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," he replied. "You'll understand if I don't stick around afterwards though."
"I'm really sorry," she apologised again.
Oliver just shook his head. He stepped forward and gently kissed Buffy's cheek. "It's been good getting to know you Buffy Summers. You truly are one of a kind."
"So are you Oliver Wood," she replied.
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So, two more chapters to go. Anyone else excited? And then you get to read the sequel. Hurrah!! *lol* Hope all your Christmasses were all kinds of good and that Santa was extra kind to you all.
Toodles.
DKG.