EVERYONE, STOP!!!!
Please, go back and read Chapter eight again. I hate authors who do this, but I'm gonna be one o fthem. I had a major flaw pointed out, so I've gone back, fixed up the chapter and the subsequent twenty or so chapters and have now slotted Giles into this fic. He's not a major player, but he is there, so you need to re-read chapter eight 'Helping' again so you'll understand the whole thing. I aplogise, but…blame Lisette! (Sunshine, you rock btw!)
Okay…so…now we're all caught up with Chapter Eight? Cool…carry on.
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CHAPTER NINE: INTERESTING
Sirius looked around the familiar old house. It was as dark as he remembered it, and as unwelcoming as well. He hadn't seen it since he'd left at sixteen. He felt horribly uncomfortable there, until Joyce took hold of his hand and squeezed it gently.
"It'll take some work, but…we'll fix this place," Joyce assured him. "We'll make it ours."
Sirius smiled, liking the way Joyce had described it. Theirs. It sounded appealing.
They explored the dilapidated house, all of them jumping in front when a portrait of Sirius' mother suddenly began yelling at them loudly. "Filth! Scum! By-products of dirt and vileness! How dare you befoul the house of my fathers-"
Sirius turned to look up at the portrait that was the exact likeness of his dead mother. He couldn't even bring himself to feel sorry for the fact that she'd died.
"Shut up, you horrible hag, shut UP!" he roared.
Sirius grabbed hold of the frame of the portrait and tugged with all of his strength. It didn't budge. He pulled out his wand and aimed it at the portrait. "Diffindo!" Nothing happened. "Reducto!" Again nothing. "Evanesca!"
Buffy stepped forward and got a good grip on the frame.
"It's no use," Sirius said sadly. "It's obviously charmed."
Buffy wanted to try anyway. She reached deep within herself and shifted into Slayer mode, calling on every ounce of strength within her soul. She felt something familiar rise within her soul, and Sirius noticed Buffy's eyes flash with pure steel and determination. He took a step back, slightly startled by the change. He'd seen her in battle the week before, but he'd never seen that look in her eyes before.
With a massive tug, Buffy ripped the portrait from the wall and cracked it in half, shredding the canvas. Sirius looked at his daughter, his eyebrows raised, completely impressed. Buffy grinned and the steel was gone from her eyes, replaced by a rather impish look that had been passed through the Potter line.
"Well…rather embarrassing to be shown up by a girl," Sirius commented. "But, because you're my daughter, I'll just stick to being impressed."
Buffy grinned and Joyce just laughed. Giles chuckled proudly and shook his head in amusement.
"So come on…let's see what this place has to offer."
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Sirius had kept his word to Harry, and had written a letter to his godson, telling him about the good news concerning his daughter and his wife. He'd barely contained the excitement he felt when writing the letter and sending it off by owl. He was awaiting a reply, and knew that he would get one within a few days with any luck.
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Two days into their stay at the Black Manor, Buffy approached her mother, slightly nervous about what she was about to request. She knew that she had no real reason to be nervous, but she still wasn't sure where she stood with her mother. Only three days earlier, she hadn't been allowed back in the house, and even though they seemed to be getting along quite well, there was still a tentativeness between them that was upsetting.
Joyce noticed her daughter standing shyly at the door, and her eyebrows furrowed. In the last three years, Joyce had only ever seen that look on Buffy's face three times. First when Buffy had been asking questions about the divorce between Joyce and Hank. Second when she'd been trying to apologise and explain about her reasons for burning down the gymnasium at Hemery High. And third when Buffy had accidentally 'killed' Ted, the psychotic robot that Joyce had dated.
"Buffy, what's wrong?" Joyce asked.
Buffy approached slowly and took a seat on her mother's bed, thankful that Sirius was downstairs in the kitchen with Giles, comparing Defence techniques for different dark creatures.
"Mom…" Buffy trailed off. She didn't know how to approach the topic. She finally sighed and decided to just jump in headfirst. "I want my memories back."
"Your memories?" Joyce asked.
"Of Sirius…dad. From when I was younger," Buffy explained.
Joyce looked slightly shocked. She'd almost completely forgotten about that. She smiled and reached out to touch a strand of her daughter's hair, smoothing it behind Buffy's ear. Joyce nodded and stood up, moving to her dresser. She reached for her wand and quickly remembered the appropriate spell for a modified memory.
"Ready?" Joyce asked. Buffy nodded and Joyce aimed her wand at her daughter who breathed in deeply and "Cognisantia."
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Five days later, the house was looking somewhat presentable. Sirius had dismissed the creepy house-elf Kreacher, but the aged elf had not wanted to leave the house. It had died of a heart attack when Sirius had presented it an old t-shirt. Sirius hadn't been all that saddened by it, but had buried it in the yard, away from the house.
Everything that Sirius didn't want had been burnt in the fireplace, and everything else had been tided. A large amount of cleaning had been done, and with magic from Joyce and Sirius, with Buffy watching curiously, they had managed to clean the master bedroom and Sirius' old room for Buffy.
Giles had found a large area that would be good for a new training room. He'd spent most of his time trying to clean the room as well as find new equipment for his Slayer.
The kitchen had been fairly easy and the bathrooms had taken a little longer. It had, strangely enough, been a fun experience for them though. They'd bonded over it, starting water fights in the kitchen and the bathroom, and having paint wars in Buffy's bedroom. The effect of the paint war however, had created a funky looking splashed effect on the roof of the bedroom. Buffy had left it there as an artistic sort of effect.
The living room had been next, and when they'd managed to get rid of the doxies that had lived in the curtains, the four of them had collapsed onto the newly clean couch, Buffy's head in Joyce's lap, and her feet on Sirius' knees. Giles sat in a nearby chair, reading through one of the books from Sirius' copious library.
Buffy sighed, knowing that there was something they hadn't discussed.
"We're gonna hafta find a school that'll take me in," Buffy groaned. "And knowing my luck, no one's gonna wanna accept a juvenile delinquent whose been kicked out of two schools."
Joyce and Sirius shared a grin, which Buffy didn't miss.
"What?" she asked. "What are you smiling about?"
"There is a school that will take you honey," Joyce said. "A very good school in fact."
"Yeah? Where?"
"Hogwarts," Sirius replied proudly. "Dumbledore said that if you came back with me here, he'd let you into Hogwarts."
"Your old school?" Buffy asked, sitting up slightly with interest. "What, and learn magic?"
Sirius nodded. "You were always meant to have gone there," he explained.
Joyce looked slightly guilty, but pushed past it. They'd forgiven each other for the multitudes of mistakes they'd made and had begun to move on.
"But…what do I know about magic?" Buffy asked.
"Nothing," Sirius replied. "Which is exactly why you should go there. You're a pureblooded witch Eli…Buffy." Sirius still had problems with calling his daughter by the strange nickname that Joyce had thought up for the girl. "A Black and a Potter, you'll be talented, no doubt."
Buffy looked sceptical, but the idea was definitely intriguing. It sounded interesting, that was for sure.
"And this Bumblebee guy doesn't mind that I've set fire to one school and been expelled from another?" Buffy asked.
Sirius chuckled. "Dumbledore, and no he doesn't mind. He knows that you are a Slayer."
"Wow. Cool. Yeah, count me in. I'd love to," Buffy said.
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Harry's reply to Sirius' letter came the next day. Sirius read through it, Harry mostly sharing in Sirius' excitement, and begging his godfather/uncle about when he could meet his newly found cousin. But there was something that caught Sirius' attention.
A weird thing happened this morning though. My scar hurt again. Last time that happened was at Hogwarts. But I don't reckon he can be anywhere near me now, can he? Do you know if curse scars sometimes hurt years afterwards?
Sirius frowned and Buffy sat down beside him. "What's wrong?"
"A letter from Harry. His scar woke him up the other night."
"His scar? The one Voldemort gave him?" Buffy asked.
Sirius nodded. "That's not a good thing. As far as I'm aware, his scar shouldn't hurt him unless Voldemort's close by, or thinking about doing him harm."
Buffy shuddered at the thought. She wondered what it was about her family that made people want to attack them.
"Which do you think it is?" Buffy asked worriedly.
"The second," Sirius replied. "Though I'd prefer if it was just because of a random twinge."
"Poor kid," Buffy commented. "Doesn't he ever catch a break?"
Sirius smiled at his daughter's soft-heart before turning back to the letter. The ps at the end made him chuckled.
If you want to contact me, I'll be at my friend Ron Weasley's for the rest of the summer. His dad's got us tickets for the Quidditch World Cup! I asked Mr Weasley, and she said it'd be okay if Eliza and Aunt Joyce wanted to visit for a day or two. I wish you could come as well, but the only Weasley who knows the truth is Ron.
Sirius could almost see the excited grin on the boy's face. Yes, Harry was definitely James's son. They both had an affinity for Quidditch, and the same talent for it as well.
"How would you feel about meeting Harry?" Sirius asked.
Buffy's face lit up. She definitely wanted to meet her younger cousin. He sounded like an interesting sort of person, and she knew that they already had a lot in common.
"I'd love to."
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So…why haven't I written about Buffy's memories yet? Cos I only just put in that nice little scene between Buffy and Joyce two weeks after I finished writing this fic. I've got flashbacks and stuff in the sequel, which will be more of a focus on the Black family dynamics. This fic is more about Buffy's experiences at Hogwarts as a member of the Black family, and about how the Goblet of Fire would differ if Sirius had had a Slayer as a daughter.