Chapter One: Friends Forever

As we go on, we remember
All the times we had together
And as our lives change, come whatever
We will still be, friends forever

Vitamin C

Aysia tugged nervously at her midnight blue robes as she glanced at her reflection in the full-length mirror of her bedroom. Today was the day of her interview for a position at the Wizarding bank, Gringotts. The position was that of a curse-breaker, something that had interested her since she was a child. She tilted her to one side, debating on whether or not she looked her best. Her long, rich cinnamon-colored hair was pulled back into a somewhat loose bun. Her forest green eyes, so deep in color they looked almost black, were sparkling with excitement and nervousness. She decided she looked as professional as she could and turned to grab her wand from her bedside table before leaving her room.

As she made her way down the stairs, she heard a cry of joy and the sound of a muffled protest coming from the kitchen of the three bedroom London flat. As she entered the room she saw her twin sister holding their younger brother in a bone-crushing hug. Aysia laughed and her brother looked over to her with a pleading look on his face.

"Aysia, help me, oxygen is beginning to become a problem!" he gasped.

She rolled her eyes and walked further into the kitchen. "For heaven's sake, Trinity let Jaerrod go before he passes out. What's all the excitement about?"

When his sister finally let go, Jaerrod pointed to the kitchen table where his Hogwarts letter sat, along with a new badge. "Oh, Jaerrod, you've been made Head Boy!" she squealed. "Who would've thought our trouble-making little brother would be Head Boy?" she added affectionately as she hugged her brother with a lot less force than her twin, and for that he was grateful.

Trinity turned to her younger twin. "Do you think we could afford to get him something nice for this accomplishment?"

"We should be able to, especially if I get this job today," she answered with a nod.

Trinity looked at the time and grabbed her cloak. "Well, good luck with the interview. I have to go, the daycare won't be safe if I don't get there soon. Jaerrod, I'm so proud of you, we'll celebrate when I get home from work. You two take care!" and with that she Apparated to Garden of Magic, her child care center for younger magical children.

"Do you have to work today?" Aysia asked.

"Bloody hell! I was supposed to be there five minutes ago. Mr. Pommes is going to have my head," he told her and ran to the front door.

"If you would wait for just two moments, I'll Apparate you there." She walked to the coat rack and retrieved her cloak and grabbed her brother's hand and pulled him close to her. "Hold on and don't let go," she told him as she pictured Quality Quidditch Supplies in her mind and with a loud pop, they were gone.

After seeing Jaerrod off to work (and making sure Mr. Pommes was not going to have his head), Aysia Apparated herself to the front steps of Gringotts. Located partway down Diagon Alley and near its intersection with Knockturn Alley, it was a tall, imposing building constructed of white marble with burnished bronze front doors. They were guarded by a goblin wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold. She made her way up the white marble steps and bowed her head to the goblin before entering the bank.

She walked into the entrance chamber and met a second set of doors. These were silver and were engraved with a rhyming warning:

Enter, stranger, but take heed

Of what awaits the sin of greed

For those who take, but do not earn,

Must pay most dearly in their turn.

So if you seek beneath our floors

A treasure that was never yours,

Thief, you have been warned, beware

Of finding more than treasure there.

The two goblins guarding these doors opened them so that she may pass into the banks main hall. The large room had a long counter with a hundred goblins, who were obviously hard at work counting and weighing coins, writing in ledger books, and examining precious stones, while sitting on their high stools. She glanced over to the many doors leading off of this room, guarded by still more goblins, which led to the vaults beneath the bank.

She was met by a goblin half way into the large chamber. "Miss Bleu, I assume?" he asked her.

"Yes?" she asked in return.

"Miss Bleu, my name is Griphook and I am here to direct you to the office of our head curse-breaker. If you would please follow me," he requested and turned on his heel trusting she would follow. He led her up a flight of stairs and down a corridor to an office marked Head Curse-Breaker, where he asked her to wait just a moment and he stepped inside. When he emerged, he told her she would be seen right away and that she was to go inside. She thanked him and did as she was asked.

She stepped inside the office and was met by two people. One was seated behind the desk with a nameplate that read Mr. Jonas Foxworth, Head Curse-Breaker, and the other was standing behind the desk, gazing out the windows into the busy street below. Mr. Foxworth gestured with an open hand to the vacant seat in front of desk, silently asking her to sit. She offered him a small, confidant smile as she accepted the invitation.

"And how are you today, Miss Bleu?" he asked as she seated herself.

"I'm perfectly well, thank you. And yourself?"

"Fine, fine. Well, I see here you have worked as curse-breaker before, in France, correct?"

"Yes, my father was French and my family moved there shortly after my graduation from Hogwarts. Wanting to live at home for an extra year, I followed them."

"Why return to England when you had a very promising career there?"

"My parents perished in an accident and considering my twin lived in London and my younger brother was attending Hogwarts, I decided it was best for my family, to be closer to each other."

"Ah, I see. Well, you are most certainly qualified for this position; therefore, it is yours if you would like it. You can begin Monday, as to enjoy the weekend and prepare yourself." He stood and moved around to the front of his desk where she was seated. She stood and took the hand he offered. "Welcome aboard, Miss Bleu, and good luck. Bill, would you kindly show her the way out?" he asked referring to the man standing behind him.

As the man turned around to face her, Aysia recognized him at once. His bright red hair was longer, but his eyes were the same light blue. He now sported an ear piercing with a long fang hanging from it. He wore casual clothing, faded blue jeans and a dark blue button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, not businesslike as Mr. Foxworth wore. It didn't surprised her to see that Bill Weasley had not changed very much since their final days at Hogwarts as Head Boy and Head Girl. The only thing that had changed about him, however, was that there were now scars intertwining on his handsome face.

He smiled at her and walked around the desk. "Aysia Bleu, blimey, it's been what, almost ten years?"

"That sounds about right, Bill. How have you been?" she asked.

"Great, everything is great. How about you?"

"Oh, just fine, thank you."

He took a step closer to her and embraced her in a warm hug. "I'm sorry to hear about your parents, Aysia. If I had known, I would have been there for you."

She smiled at him and nodded. Not wanting to talk about it in front of Mr. Foxworth, she decided to change the subject. "So, care to walk me out? We can talk along the way."

"Yes, of course, this way," he said and led her out the door she entered moments ago.

On their way down the staircase, she resumed the conversation. "So, how is your family, well I hope?"

"As well as can be expected of the Weasleys. Mum and Dad are terrific; Charlie's still in Romania with the dragons he's besotted with; Percy's working for the Ministry in the Department for International Cooperation again; Fred and George have opened their own joke shop, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes; Ron is an Auror; and Ginny is in her seventh year at Hogwarts."

"Well, they're a busy lot. I'm glad to hear they're all doing well, your family was always kind to me."

"Mum always loved you, you know. She even tried to get me to date you while we were in school."

"Did she now! Well that would have been interesting, now wouldn't it?"

Bill only nodded and looked at his watch as they reached the front doors of the bank. "It's about lunch time for me, would you care to join me? To be honest, I've missed you, it didn't really hit me until I heard old Jonas mention your name this morning."

"I would love to," she replied and he beamed at her.

When they stepped outside, he took her by the hand and began to force their way through the crowd of people. "Come on, I know just the place," he told as he pulled her up next to him.

They walked past quite a few colorful shops, such as Flourish and Blotts, Eeylops Owl Emporium, Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, and The Apothecary. Bill led her inside a small café in front of The Apothecary called The Blue Duck. Everything inside the café was a different shade of soft blue, along with soft greens and yellows. They chose a table for two in between two bay windows. They enjoyed their lunch together immensely and spent the entire time just catching up.

Bill reached over and held her hand before he changed the subject. "Aysia, if you don't mind, can I ask about your parents?" he asked her tentatively.

She took a deep breath and nodded. "About eight months ago, they went on holiday in America, we have a few relatives there. They claimed it was their second honeymoon. They were leaving for a couple of weeks and I was, of course, going to stay home with Jaerrod and such. About the time they were supposed to come home, I received a call from the Muggle law enforcement, telling me there had been a car crash and my parents were gone," she paused and wiped a few tears from her eyes. Bill gently squeezed her hand, silently urging her to continue.

"I didn't know what to do. Trinity was there in second and Jaerrod came straight home and we just sat there and cried together. Afterwards, they sent us their bodies and we had a small service for them in our home. Later, we decided it would be best if Jaerrod and I moved back to London with Trin, to stay close now that we were the only ones left."

Bill just nodded and squeezed her hand again, silently letting her know he was there for her. They quickly changed the subject again and talked about happier things. About an hour later, Bill looked down at his watch again and announced that he should be getting back to work. Aysia offered to help take care of the fee, but Bill wouldn't let her. She resigned with him agreeing to let her pay next time.

"Thanks, Bill, I had a great time with you today," she said and gave him a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek.

"So did I. Aysia, I'm here for you. If you ever need anything, anything at all, I'll be right there. I promise, I let our friendship go once, I'm not going to do it again. Listen, you should come by my parents' for dinner sometime, Mum would love to have you over and I doubt she would mind if your brother and sister came as well."

"I know, Bill, thank you. We would love too. Should I owl her or you?" she asked.

"Just drop by sometime next weekend, that's when I'll be visiting them, maybe we can all Apparate there together. And until then, I'll see you Monday at work. Take care Aysia," he said before hugging her in return and Apparating back to the front steps of Gringotts.

She just smiled to herself for no reason at all and Apparated herself home to relax before celebrating the fortunes of the day with her family.

(WC: 2,118)