Buffy and Faith... age 11,
Not on their birthday
Buffy and her younger sister were in their hidden room within their bedroom. They were mixing a string of hair-changing potions for themselves. They already had a few normal ones to give your hair a change to a certain color, and then a couple to different things like tiger stripes or poka-dots, when Buffy finished one she was working on.
It had a three hour wait period, and had to be re-mixed once every hour or so. She smiled happily and made a sound kind of like a laugh, showing her excitement. Faith walked over to her to see what she finished. They liked to surprise each other.
They poured them out into vials, and wrote the ingredients down. Buffy tried her potion out. Faith smiled at what came out of it.
Buffy's hair had just changed into an almost mystical version of rainbow colors that shimmered and blended together. You couldn't exactly tell what color came out of what. It was utterly beautiful.
Buffy laughed at the face faith made. It wasn't quite in awe... more like bewilderment.
"How the heck did you manage that B?" The younger Winters sibling asked.
Buffy grinned evilly. She pointed to the flowers they had made change colors. When Faith looked over at them, she laughed. It was obvious. The flowers were mixed and frozen into a rainbow color. 'B sank two birds with one stone.' Thought Faith.
She had done two different creations in one experiment. "Go B!" Faith said to her sister as they high-fived each other.
That's when two owls appeared in the window to their bedroom.
The girls froze, knowing exactly what they hoped the letters would be.
Then, before they knew it, they were dashing towards the owls with the letters. They slowly walked downstairs with them, and sat down in front of their mother in the kitchen. To Ame, they might have looked gloomy, but as their mother, she could see the wheels in their heads turning.
She saw the letters and realized what it was that was bothering them. Ame sighed and put her hand out. Before she could blink, both letters were in her hand, and the girls were staring at her sweetly, almost afraid at what they would say.
Ame made sure to make the moments worthwhile. Her and her husband had both gone to the school. She was certain that her children would get in as well. Ame and Carl knew that they were keeping some 'abilities' hidden from the world, as well as them.
She smiled. She tried to make it as pitying as she could. She failed though, and neither of the two eleven year olds twitched or moved a muscle unless they needed to blink.
She opened the top one, and read it. Then she opened the second one, and read it. They were almost identical, except for the names.
Dear Miss Winters.
You have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry. Congratulations. On the list below, are the things you will need to get through the school year....
Ame read through it, and pursed her lips. She actually did a good impression this time, and her daughters looked at her anxious. She sighed again, trying to make herself seem sad or disappointed.
After a minute of staring though, she shoved the acceptance letters in her daughters' faces and laughed, with a smile on her face.
They jumped up and hugged each other. They had wanted to go to Hogwarts since they first heard of it. Although, they still laughed sometimes when they heard the name.
Then they playfully hit their mom on the arm for the wait, and for making them anxious and worried. Then all three of them laughed.
It was going to be an interesting time.
'This year us gonna rule!' both eleven-year-olds thought together through their link. Both were smiling and happy to get their acceptation letters.
They ran back to their rooms with Spike and Dru barking excitedly behind them.
Spike and Dru were both of a rare breed of dogs that had much longer life spans and aged slower.
When they got to their room, they started planning a new string of things to try out at the school. They had a new feeling of higher confidence, and a new edge to plan with.
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Some weeks later. Diagon Alley.
They couldn't get the smiles off of their faces as they entered the brick-like entrance to Diagon Alley. It was just like before. They had their wands in hand. (They weren't actually in their hands.) And they were back on their way to Gringotts. The gremlins creeped them out though, and they couldn't understand why. Okay, so they were creepy, and they were small and freaky. But they made their skin crawl in a way that bewildered them.
But it wasn't like the death eater had on their birthday. They could tell when one was near now though. It was giving them both the wiggins, but they ignored it. Nothing could scorch their mood away at the moment.
They went to their vault and got two handfuls of money each again. That meant that there was eight handfuls worth. They had enough in the weight-less bags to last them a good long while. And as usual, they could fit anything.
They went to a clothing store to get uniforms first. Both of them wrinkled their noses when they realized that they would have to wear uniforms. They despised uniforms.
Buffy got six different shirts, five pairs of shorts, three skirts, two pants, and six robes. Two were black, one was red, one was blue, and one was purple.
Faith got four skirts, four shorts, two pants, and the same robes as her sister.
They got plenty of socks, and many pairs of shoes. They were 'in' the fashion columns. And they paid as much attention as they could. Plus, they loved shoes.
But they had to get a certain amount of shoes for the school dress code anyway. Buffy almost snarled aloud when she heard the word. Faith did. Ame and Carl were amused. Of course, they hated the uniforms when they went to the school as well. But all of the magical schools required uniforms now-a-days.
Then they got the things that they wanted to wear when they didn't have to be in uniform.
It took them an hour and a half to get all of the clothes together. They went to the bookstore next.
They each got six books each for their upcoming classes. But then they got over twenty books put together for their own uses. It was a lot of money, but they didn't really care about that. They were one of the richest wizarding families in the world. They had a lot more money compared to Bill Gates, and it was spent on small things. It wasn't really a matter for the big stuff, and they were fine with it.
But as they were walking out of the bookstore, a man with whitish hair walked down a staircase. Buffy and Faith were immediately on the defensive as their skin prickled. They imagined themselves throwing invisible daggers at the man. He felt worse then the death eater had when he entered their house years back.
Then they saw a boy their age walking behind him grumbling. It was obvious that he was the elder man's son. But the first thing that came to their mouths came out as well.
"Mini-Spike!" they said. The father didn't seem to notice, but the boy turned towards them, and glared.
"Well, if it isn't a couple of mud bloods." He said sarcastically. He turned towards them, and smiled, trying to seem like a predator.
They almost burst out laughing. He was going to intimidate them? Puh-lease! They were the scariest people/things he would ever meet.
They both smirked at his failed attempt. He pursed his lips, wondering why they weren't bowing down at his feet.
Buffy rolled her eyes. Faith let an eyebrow up. Was he stupid or something?
"Well? Are you, or are you not a muggle?" he almost demanded.
"Why is that any of your business mini-Spike?" Buffy asked, seemingly innocent.
The boy's anger raged at them, and Faith smirked. Buffy rolled her eyes again.
The boy's father called him. "Are you coming Draco?" His father asked. It was in a sarcastic tone, but definitely demanding.
The boy snorted as he turned and went to where his father was, and left the two girls giggling over the meeting.
'Mini-Spike' had come out so naturally to the two girls, it was almost funny. Of course, when they saw the look on the boy- Draco's face, it made it worthwhile.
They quickly packed their things into the bas as they paid, and headed out the door.
They headed to the 'surprise' shops next, and got a bunch of goodies for their trip, and year at Hogwarts. Although, they figured it would only last about the first few weeks of class.
Afterwards, they went to some of the other places, and got many treats to munch on. That included some for Griffin.
Their parents thought that 'Griffin' was an odd name for a female phoenix, but the twins were final in their naming. Griffin had already agreed on it anyway.
They soon returned home with their parents after a nice long shopping spree with only the rest of the night to prepare for their departure to their new school.
Buffy made sure their electronics were enchanted so that they could use it at Hogwarts, while Faith made sure all of their potions and tonics were securely locked into their supplies. They were spelled to be fine, and gravitize towards the bottom of the boxes anyway.
They double checked everything, and then checked again.
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Thought and NOTE
The Harry-has-to-stay-with-the-Dudleys-because-he-has-to-have-a-blood-relative-near thing doesn't exist. I never got the reason for that anyway. He just has to stay there because the Dudleys are his only blood relatives left, and his God-father is in Azkaban.
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And back to the fic piece...
When they were sure everything was loaded, they got their carry-ons together that they wouldn't have to use before they left, and then made sure Griffin was ready to leave soon. They spent a bit with Spike and Dru to get them accustomed to their absence. Buffy had a feeling that they would be missed. Especially by the dogs.
Faith agreed, and thought that their parents deserved some fun without them. That thought caused both of them to put their hands to their heads, and try to replace the scary image place they had both just gone to.
Griffin, sensing their discomfort, almost hooted in a try to get their minds off what they were trying to repress, and on to more important things.
They smiled and went back to goodbyes with their dogs.
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The next day, after getting everything together, they made a lat ditch effort to get everything together. Their parents were going to send them their brooms when they arrived. They had them designed especially for them. And they were made out of the same wood their wands were.
Buffy and Faith tried not to think of how much it would cost.
They were both hesitant a moment when the wall to the train was explained, but pulled out of that discomfort to say their goodbyes to their parents. Ame started crying, and Carl held his own tears back.
After some goodbyes though, they finally made their way to the Hogwarts Express. Both were a little awed at the private train. But they put their luggage in the to-be-loaded section, and went off to find a room to converse in and make some friends.
Buffy was wearing her leather jacket, her necklace from the box, and the ring. Faith had the stake hidden in a secret compartment in her own jacket. Both had their lockets above their shirts on.
They took a few peeks in some of the compartments, and finally came into one that just had a boy in it. He had black hair and glasses on. They ignored the scar; it told them who he was.
"Hi. Mind if we sit with?" Buffy asked.
Harry blushed when he saw faith behind the girl who spoke up, and then shrugged to Buffy. They both walked in and took a seat across from him.
Once they got comfortable, another boy stepped in. He had red hair, and his face was a bit dusty.
"Floo?" Buffy asked. Wondering if that's how he had become to look so dirty. He nodded.
"Yeah, I hate to travel that way." He said. The girls nodded.
He stuck his hand out to the girls. "Ron Weasley." He said. They took his hand and shook it. He gave it to Harry, and then he stopped.
His eyes widened when he saw the lightning scar on his forehead. "Whoa." He proclaimed. "You're him aren't you?! Harry Potter?" He asked bewildered. He had apparently forgotten his manners.
Harry blushed under the sudden attention. He then nodded, and Ron tossed his hand into the famous boy's.
The girls rolled their eyes. Yes, they knew who he was. Who didn't? But it didn't matter who you were on the outside; just the in.
The girls smiled politely, not showing that they particularly cared about his history.
Harry was thankful.
They started a small conversation when another girl walked in. She smiled. "'Scuse me. Mind if I sit here? All the other ones are filled." They shrugged, not minding, although Buffy saw Ron blush slightly, and smiled inwardly.
She saw Harry's glasses needed mending, and said "Your spectacled don't look so good." She said. There was no tact in it, and Buffy found herself wondering who it reminded her of.
Faith pointed her wand to it and said the spell to fix them. They snapped back together perfectly, and Harry almost went cross-eyed. Then he smiled. "Thanx," he said to the girls.
The girl introduced herself as Hermione Granger, and sat down beside the girls.
They made the introductions, and then Harry's chocolate frog got away. He got the card of Dumbledore, and they talked about that for a while.
Buffy took out a handful of goodies. Some of the things were evident, but Ron didn't recognize many of them. "What are those" he asked.
The twins smiled mentally, and Buffy held out her hand. "They're Winter Surprises. Would you like some?" she asked, using one of her many good innocent voices and faces.
He took one and got a little concerned as he swallowed it; it tasted like grapefruit. The two girls burst out laughing.
"What?" he asked.
Buffy put her hand over her mouth to hide her grin as she waited for the effects of the candy. Faith just smirked and got the other two to watch him.
When it happened, it was priceless. Ron's concerned mouth turned into the hugest smile anyone had ever seen. Ron panicked and tried to get the other two to tell him what was going on. But he couldn't do anything about his mouth. Harry stared wide-eyed, and Hermione burst into a fit of giggles.
Finally, Faith took pity on him. "Don't worry Ron, just give it another two minute or so, and you'll be back to normal."
"Gee, wouldn't that be a shame." A voice spoke from the doorway. "So, to answer my question. Are you guys mud bloods or not?" Draco asked, with two heavy boys behind him.
Ron glared. Hermione put her chin up confidently. Harry just stared at him. He had had an encounter as well earlier with the boy.
The twins however grinned. They acted as if they were offended. "Mini-Spike. Huuuuhh..! How dare you use that type of language in front of ladies."
Draco smirked. "Ladies is it? Well, whatever happened to the two gals I saw the other day?"
Buffy put on an innocent face. "What do you mean? We were talking about the two larger ones behind you."
Ron, who was finally able to use his mouth, held back his laughter. Hermione got upset, but waved it off. Harry was listening intently though.
Draco walked off gloomily and grumpily. He had never realized that Harry had been sitting there.
When Draco was out of range, Ron let his laughter erupt. Harry looked contently at them. Hermione smiled, and then turned to the girls.
"Who's mini-Spike?" she asked.
"It's what we call Malfoy." Faith said. Yes, they had studied about them when they got home the night before. They were prepared. They both gathered that his father was a death eater, and the son was following in his footsteps.
They talked together for the rest of the ride, when Hermione announced that they would be there soon, and the rest of them better get their robes on.