CHAPTER TWELVE: LEARNING
Buffy and Joyce spent another day after the Quidditch match at the Burrow with the Weasley's until they decided they should spend what time they had left back with Sirius in Grimmauld Place. Term would start in two days, and Buffy still needed to get all of her school things from Diagon Alley.
"We'll see you at the Station then," George said, trying to sound as casual as possible.
Buffy nodded and hugged him hard before letting go and hugging Fred as well.
"It's definitely been an adventure," she commented.
The twins grinned and Buffy threw her handful of powder into the fireplace and disappeared quickly.
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Sirius had listened to his daughter's excited stories about the Quidditch match, laughing with her and hanging onto every word she was telling him. He was worried about the attack that had happened afterwards, and hoped that the Ministry would look into it fully. He worried that the Ministry would be too easily corrupted by old money such as the Malfoy's.
He explained to Buffy about the way Hogwarts worked, especially the way that students were placed into different houses. He explained about the Slytherins being the type to easily be corrupted by the pursuit of power, and how the Death-Eaters had predominately come out of the House with the sign of the serpent. Sirius explained how any news about the Death-Eaters that came from the Slytherins could probably be trusted, though it needed to be taken with a grain of salt. They enjoyed boasting about their actions, and would hyperbolise the truth of the events. Buffy promised to relay any information she could discover if she happened to find anything out.
"What about my training?" Buffy asked curiously, looking at her Watcher.
Giles reached into his jacket pocket and removed a piece of folded up parchment, handing it to his Slayer. Buffy took the proffered item and unfolded it, reading over the contents of the letter written with beautiful emerald green calligraphy.
"You're going to be the assistant librarian?" Buffy asked with a grin.
Giles nodded, thankful that he'd been offered the position. He'd been worried that he wouldn't be able to be close to his Slayer for the year, but Albus Dumbledore had given him the perfect excuse to go to Hogwarts.
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The day before Buffy was due to catch the Hogwarts Express, Joyce took Buffy and Giles into Diagon Alley, the three of them accompanied by a large black dog on a lead. Sirius had protested about the lead, but it had made sense for such a large dog to be leashed, rather than able to walk around freely. It looked less suspicious.
And so, as Buffy and Giles stepped out of the back door of the Leaky Cauldron, and her mother withdrew her wand and tapped a certain brick three times, Buffy got her first glimpse of Diagon Alley.
"Wow," Buffy whispered, incredibly impressed.
They made their way down the street, stopping in all of the appropriate stores to get the items on the list that Buffy had been sent while she'd been away at the Weasley's. She purchased her books (Giles had opted to stay in Flourish and Blotts while the Black women continued their shopping), and her other supplies, such as ink and quills, parchment and a cauldron ("you realise how cliché this is right?" Buffy commented), and then the group headed into Madam Malkin's.
After a quick measurement, Madam Malkin found the right size uniform for Buffy, who had wrinkled her nose, but not complained about it. She was fitted for her school cloak, and half an hour later, they walked out of the store with several parcels in their arms.
Their last stop was at Ollivander's. Sirius opted to stay outside in the fresh air, knowing that inside was slightly musty. Buffy stepped in, slightly nervous about getting her hands on a wand. The only 'magic' she'd really done was willing herself to not be affected by the Weasley's sweets. Apart from that, she'd never even thought about doing magic before.
"Ahhh…young Eliza Black," a quiet and creepy voice said as a short man emerged from the shadows. "Yes, I wondered if we'd ever see you return to the magical community."
Buffy swallowed hard, wondering how this man had known exactly who she was. It was more than a little creepy.
Mr Ollivander wandered over to the shelves and began running his fingers across them, waiting for a wand to jump out at him. He pulled out a box and handed the wand to Buffy who took it nervously.
"Twelve inches, with a core of dragon heartstring set in mahogany," Ollivander said. "Your father had something quite similar. Now, give it a wave."
Buffy nodded and cautiously waved the wand, but nothing happened. Ollivander snatched it from her hand, shoving another wand at her.
"Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try-"
She tried, but it was quickly snatched away from her, another replacing it just as quickly.
"Ebony and unicorn hair…eight and half inches."
Again the wand was taken from her, and Ollivander continued to hand wands to the girl, trying to see which would choose her.
"Hmmm…tricky, tricky. Of course, I had this problem with your cousin too, I recall," Ollivander mused. "Ended up with a wand that brothered an enemy. Any enemies, my dear?"
Almost as though by magic, a single word slipped unbidden from Buffy's lips. "Angelus," she whispered.
Ollivander stepped back, his eyes widening in shock. He suddenly nodded and stepped onto a short ladder and pulled out another wand, handing it to her. Red and gold sparks flew from the end of it, and Buffy felt as though the wand was simply an extension of herself. Something that she was meant to have had for a long time.
"Made from the wood of the First Slayer's favourite stake, and the blood of the vampire named Aurelius. The two most powerful beings that ever opposed each other. The blood remained forever on the wood of the stake that killed him, and it was passed through the generations until one of the Slayers was born into a wizarding family. The Slayer made it into a wand, and a most powerful one at that," Ollivander explained. "I should have realised that you are the Slayer."
Buffy just shrugged. "I try not to advertise it," she said.
Ollivander nodded. "Of course, of course. I shan't say a word," he assured her. "Good luck at Hogwarts Miss Black."
Buffy walked out of the store, tucking her wand into the back pocket of her jeans.
"He's as strange as I remembered him to be," Joyce commented.
Buffy glared at her mother. "A little warning might have been nice."
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The night before the she had to leave, Buffy sat in the living room with Joyce and Sirius, the three of them sharing stories about all kinds of different things. Buffy had felt far more comfortable with Sirius after she'd had her memories from her early childhood restored, she actually felt connected to the man she had learned to call dad.
Sirius spoke about his days as part of the Marauders, and the antics he and his three friends had got up to. Joyce spoke a little about her brother, and about her best friend, but found that she couldn't talk about them for too long.
And Buffy spoke about some of the happenings of her Slaying life. She told her parents about he loyalty of the Scoobies and about some of the less dangerous situations she'd been in. Sirius and Joyce sat on the edge of their seats, listening to the detailed story that their daughter was giving them about vampires and demons, and one of her friends discovering he was a werewolf. Joyce listened, shocked at some of the things she'd heard about. She couldn't believe that for two and a bit years, Buffy had been able to keep her life as a Slayer a secret from her.
Or, more correctly, what Joyce couldn't believe is that she'd never noticed.
//How many times have you washed blood out of my clothing and you still haven't figured it out?!//
Her daughter had been right. She'd been blind to the truth because she hadn't wanted to see it. She rationalised the blood away, and told herself that it was just stains from a sauce of some kind. She explained her daughters multitude of shopping expenditures as just her teenage daughter trying to keep up with the fashions. And now she was shamed to realise just how obvious Buffy's double life truly was. And she'd ignored it because she'd wanted her daughter to live a life away from magic.
The grandfather clock in the living room struck twelve and Buffy stood to her feet, knowing that she needed to sleep before the long train journey. Sirius stopped her and dug something out of his pocket. He took hold of Buffy's hand and flattened the palm, dropping the item into her outstretched hand and closing her fingers around what he'd given her.
"What's this?" Buffy asked, looking at the small silver ring on a silver chain.
"It's a portkey," Sirius replied. "Only a Black can use it. And since Dumbledore's letting you attend school, but drop back in on weekends, we figured that it'd be easier. I know you're not a fan of Flooing, and, frankly it'd be too difficult to get Dumbledore to set up a secure line between Hogwarts and here. So, Joyce and I made you this ring. Whenever you put it on, you'll portkey straight into your room."
Buffy grinned and hugged her parents tightly.
"Thank you," she whispered.
She undid the chain and clasped it around her neck, the cool metal of the ring resting against her skin.
"Oh, and if you wanna bring someone around…your Watcher, your cousin, or…well, just anyone," Joyce said with a sly smile that told Buffy that Joyce hadn't missed the connection between Buffy and George Weasley, "then all they'd have to be doing is touching you."
"And they'd better be careful of where they're touching you," Sirius growled. "I'll not have some boy groping at my daughter."
Buffy just smirked and walked out of the room shaking her head. Joyce hugged her (ex) husband tightly and stood on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear.
"You're a little late for the sex-talk Sirius."
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The ring is inspired/stolen from CS Lewis's 'The Magician's Nephew' and from JRR Tolkien's 'Lord of the Rings.' (in case you didn't quite get the reference.)
Much thanks for all your feedback and stuff. You guys rock!
Toodles.
DKG.