Any and all things recognized from the Harry Potter books are © JK Rowling, who is fabulous.
By the following week, the two roommates had pretty much settled into a routine. Liz would stay home and do things like laundry, dusting, vacuuming, and cooking while Bunny was at work. Liz swore up and down that once she had a job, she would help Bunny pay rent.

It wasn't a perfect situation but one that Liz could live with.

"Hey, hon? We're running short on some stuff and I have a long shift today. Could I coerce you into doing some grocery shopping?" Bunny asked as she poured water from the kettle into two bowls of instant oatmeal.

"Oh, yeah. Sure," Liz nodded, mentally checking her remaining funds.

"Cool," Bunny grinned and pulled a couple pieces of paper off the refrigerator, handing them to Liz. "There's the list and that twenty should cover it." Liz looked at the papers, one was a list of foodstuffs written in a slightly sloppy hand and the other was a green slip that felt more like parchment than paper with a still picture of an old man and large '20's in the corners.

"Oh, no, Bunny! I have money!" Liz protested, though she then realized that she only had Galleons, Sickles and Knuts.

"It's fine, honey," Bunny smiled, setting a steaming bowl in front of Liz. "You pay me back when you have a job. You need rainy day money. Remember, it rains a lot in Seattle," Bunny giggled.

"O-okay," Liz nodded doubtfully, her face hot with embarrassment. "Where do I go to get them?"

"I can drop you off at the Pike on my way to work, and then to get back you hop on the seven, we're in the 'Free Zone' so don't worry about fare. The seven will drop you off right on the corner here," Bunny told her cheerfully, "There's a spare key under the mat."

"And 'the seven' is a coach, right?" Liz asked, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Bunny chewed her lip, looking a little unsure.

"A bus," she said after a moment, "I'll show you the best stop to get on when I drop you off, okay?"

"Okay," Liz nodded. "Thanks, Bunny."

- - - -

Liz came off the stairs and knew she'd taken a wrong turn. She sighed. The Pike Street Market, as a sign above the main open part declared it, was more confusing than Diagon Alley was. She was now in a cobbled alley with high, featureless walls on either side. Featureless, of course, except for the veritable mosaic of gum blobs on the far brick wall. Looking down towards the end, she could see a large, hanging sign declaring this place 'Palm Alley,' along with a flock of dodgy-looking pigeons.

Sighing again, Liz turned back towards the stairs she'd come down from the market and froze. The gum-wall across from her was suddenly not so empty as she had though. There was a large, maroon door directly across from her with a sign hung above it reading 'Department of Licensing and Registration.' Beside the door was a lit, neon sign declared 'OPEN' in twisty, fused-together letters.

Liz stared at it for a while and became quite certain that it had not been there a moment earlier. Shouldering her grocery bag, she squared herself and walked across the dusky Alleyway, opening the door and stepping inside.

It was a cramped, noisy little room with florescent lighting, a wide counter against one wall, and meagerly padded chairs filling the rest of it, with people filling every last one of them. A ticket was suddenly shoved into her vision by a thin, little arm and Liz started, looking around her grocery bag at chipper little house elf.

"Number eighty-seven, Missus!" it squeaked at her.

Liz stared at it for a moment trying to decide what struck her as amiss and then realized that the elf was wearing neat, little, black shirt and slacks, complete with shoes and socks. She blinked.

"May I carry for you, Missus?" another squeaky voice below her enquired. Liz glanced down and saw another house elf in the same uniform, smiling up at her.

"Oh, yes, thank you," Liz smiled and gave her grocery bag to him. He accepted it and scurried over to the assembled chairs, leading Liz who looked at the slip of paper the other one had given her with '87' scrawled across it.

An East Asian man with his hair combed into almost a greaser do, stood and smiled at her, gesturing towards his seat.

"Oh, thank you!" Liz said gratefully and smiled widely at him as she had the impression that he did not have a firm grasp on the English language. He smiled back and nodded.

"Would Missus like anything? Water?" the house elf asked, setting down her bag by her feet.

"Water would be nice," Liz nodded and the elf scurried away again to return a moment later with a paper cup of cold water. "Thank you," Liz smiled at him and he beamed back.

"Fifty-nine," a woman called loudly from the counter in the front.

"You're from England, eh?" the woman to Liz's left asked.

"Yes," Liz smiled shyly, "Are you from around here?"

"Wouldn't be sitting here if I was," the woman grinned, "But close enough. Just over the boarder, really. Came down from Victoria."

"So... I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing here..." Liz blushed, "I saw the door and came in and then everyone was just being so nice. What are we waiting for?"

The woman threw back her head and laughed. "Registration," she choked out as her laughter faded a little.

"Have you got a visa yet?" she asked.

"Yes," Liz nodded, "I don't know if it's still good though, I was supposed to stay in Atlanta." Liz felt a stab of apprehension.

"Ooh, I don't know either," the woman shook her head, "My name's Dee, by the way," she held out her hand.

"Elizabeth," Liz nodded and shook the proffered hand, "But generally just Liz."

"Ah, yeah. Mine's really Claudia but I hate it," Dee made a face; "I'm down here for University. You?"

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"That's fine." Dee put up her hands dismissively.

"Everyone's really nice here," Liz said with a little smile, "I always heard American's were rude."

"They're just loud, but then so are Canadians so I wouldn't know," Dee laughed, "And they're being nice to you because you're expecting. Nobody offered to go get me any water."

"Oh," Liz blushed, "I guess that would make a difference."

"You can expect a lot of sweet guys to give you their seats for a while." Dee winked.

"Hey, Dee?" Liz asked, looking back at the house elves, "Are these house elves free?"

Dee looked confused for a moment and glanced over her shoulder at them.

"Oh, right. No, not really, well, maybe, it's a different system with the government elves. But it's been the standard for elves to be uniformed since around the eighteen-forties, I think. That's how they are in some of Asia and the idea came over here with the immigrants. Melting-pot, you know." Dee smiled.

"Ah." Liz nodded.

"Seventy-nine."

"Oh, that's me," Dee said getting up. "Nice talking to you, Liz!"

"Yeah, thanks." Liz smiled as she left.

An Indian woman with a large, silk scarf covering her hair and shoulders and a bright red bindi mark took the empty seat. Liz smiled at her and she smiled and nodded back. It was several more minutes before the numbers they were calling behind the counter got to her but finally a loud "Eighty-seven," rang across the room and Liz pushed herself up. The scarved woman got up and offered her a hand, which Liz gladly accepted and managed to get to her feet.

"Thank you," she said a little breathlessly and the woman nodded and smiled again

"Name?" the witch behind the counter asked as Liz reached her.

"Elizabeth Potter."

"Middle initial?"

"G."

"Kay," the woman filled out paper in front of her.

"Age?"

"Fifteen."

The woman looked up at her suspiciously and Liz cringed.

"Where are your parents?"

"England," Liz looked at her hands. The woman sighed and called over her shoulder, "Aaron! You need to take this one!"

A man in a smart, black suit came out of a slightly open door behind the counter. He smiled at Liz and waved her through a little break in the countertop. Liz followed him feeling very heavy and worried. He lead her back into the room where there was a desk and a few nice chairs.

"Have a seat." he said as he moved around behind the desk and took one himself.

"Thank you."

"So, what seems to be the trouble?" Aaron Johnson, as the plaque on his desk read, asked politely. Liz looked down at where her lap normally would have been.

"I'm fifteen," she said quietly.

"Ah, that is a bit sticky," Aaron nodded, "And your parents are in the old country."

"Yes sir," Liz was almost ready to cry, wishing she hadn't come in, "But they did send me here."

"And they didn't arrange your paperwork before hand?" Aaron tilted his head.

Liz nodded, "But I've changed states. And I want to stay longer."

"Okay," Aaron smiled encouragingly, "Let's see what we can do about that." He opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out several pieces of tri-colored paper.

"Can I see your visa and passport?"

Liz rested her purse on her knees and pulled out her paperwork. She hadn't been expecting this trip but she had felt it wise to carry these bits of identification everywhere she went. "Thank you," Aaron said as she set them on the table.

"Now... Elizabeth, can you tell me why you moved?"

Liz looked down again.

"They... were going to make me get rid of my baby...," she answered quietly. Aaron opened the drawer and pulled out a few more papers.

"Okay..." he said as he laid them on the desk and scribbled on them.

"So you would like to apply to live here, correct?" he asked.

"Yes, sir," Liz felt a swell of hope.

"Okay..." he made some more notes, "Do you have a sponsor?"

"Yes," Liz said with a happy smile, "Bunny Stanfield. Uh... She's a muggle," Liz added hesitantly.

"That's fine," Aaron nodded, "And her address?"

"205 Union Street. Um, her flat number is twelve," Liz nodded to herself, having been sure to memorize the numbers on her way out that morning.

"Okay..." Aaron said again, writing the address down in several different places.

"Now, I am going to have to write your parents and tell them where you are, but you and your child are protected, so they can't make you give it up."

"Oh thank you!" Liz gasped.

Aaron grinned and winked at her, "Not at all. Okay... So let's get you registered for school while we're at it. Northwest High School and Cascade Terrace Magical Institute are the closest to where you're staying."

"School?" Liz blinked.

"You're still under sixteen, so that's not optional," Aaron sighed. "You can quit when you're sixteen, but please, let me recommend you keep up at least until you've graduated high school."

"But... I..." Liz put a hand on her belly. She did want to go to school, but how could she?

"The YWCA on first has a free daycare," Aaron told her gently, "And you can take classes on raising a child."

"Oh!" Liz sat back in her seat, "Oh, wonderful!" she exclaimed.

Aaron grinned happily.

"And you are transferring from?"

"Hogwarts."

"Okay, now, do you have a wand?" he asked, shifting his papers around again.

"Uhuh," Liz nodded, still feeling dazed.

"Can I see it?" Aaron chuckled.

"Oh, yeah, sure." Liz dipped into her purse and pulled out her wand, there but unused for a while now.

"Okay, thank you." Aaron looked it over, put it on a scale, measured it, then took out his own wand, and cast a spell on it. It glowed momentarily a deep green color and then looked normal again. He took out a little card from a smaller drawer in his desk and set it in his typewriter, glancing back between what he was typing and Liz's passport.

"Okay," he said, pulling the card out of the typewriter and sliding it into a plastic sleeve. "You've got a minor's magic use permit. Do you know how that works?"

"No."

"This card," he said, dropping it into a little machine that made a humming noise, "says that you can use this wand for the approved spells for your age. You have to come in and reregister every year, sixteen has more spells that they can use, and seventeen has more spells that they can use. At eighteen you'll get a full license."

Liz nodded, looking at the card as he handed it back. It was warm in her hands.

"Do you have a broom or an enchanted bicycle or anything?" Aaron asked.

"No. My broom's back at home." Liz shook her head.

"You'll probably want a bus pass then," he nodded, "For you, that's fifty for the year."

"Galleons?" Liz asked, biting her lip.

Aaron laughed.

"No! Dollars! We've haven't been on gold standard since the thirties!" He chuckled and pulled out a small box covered in buttons.

"Let's see… in Galleon that would be… five Galleon and three Sickles."

"Oh, thank goodness," Liz sighed, "Can I give you that or do I need to go to a bank?"

"No, I can take it. That's fine. But you will want to go round a bank to get your money changed soon," Aaron nodded, accepting a handful of coins from Liz. He then reached behind him and pulled a few brightly colored pamphlets out of a rack on the wall.

"And here's a map of Seattle, a visitors' guide, and some general information." He pulled the white sheets off all of the papers he'd been writing on and handed Liz a stack of pink and yellow.

"Bring these out to Mary and she'll get you on your way. Can I help you up?" he asked, coming round the desk and offering her a hand.

"Thank you," Liz let him pull her to her feet, "Thank you so much!" she found a sob fall out of her throat and she hugged Aaron.

"Hey, it's just my job, Miss Potter," he smiled and patted her back gently.

It was thus in high spirits that Liz returned home, completely exhausted. She was so tired she missed the fact that the door was unlocked, that her bed was out when she and Bunny put it away every morning. In fact, nothing hit her as amiss until she sat down on her bed and accidentally sat on someone! Two yelps wrenched the air, Liz instinctively yanked out her wand, as the lump under the blankets began to move. Finally, a face appeared followed by an upper body as a bleary-eyed boy of maybe twenty-two appeared. His hair was a deep ruby red and going everywhere. His eyes and face looked like Bunny's, though more masculine.

"Who are you?" They demanded at the same time. They stopped, and Liz went first.

"I'm Elizabeth Potter. I live here! Who are you?"

"I'm Richard Stanfield. I'm Bunny's younger brother!" Liz stared, her wand still carefully trained on him, for a moment before finally stating coldly, "Any identification?" He looked at her as though she was nuts for a moment then reached into his pocket and pulled out a UW student ID. Liz nodded, accepting it as proof.

"Sorry, can't be too careful these days." Richard shrugged then stretched for a moment before taking all of her in. He blatantly stared at her pregnant belly until Liz snapped, "That's very rude you know." The impudent boy just shrugged again, stating, "You can't be more then fifteen. Who'd want to mess around…?" Before he could finish, Liz's warning growl silenced him.

"What exactly are you doing here?" Liz questioned the newcomer as she migrated to one end of the bed and he to the other.

"Bun-bun usually lets me crash here. I'm gonna be a med Student at the UW, though I'm on summer break right now." With that, he rose of the bed and began to raid the refrigerator, making two sandwiches. He generously brought one over to Liz and helped her prop her swollen ankles up. They lunched in silence for a few minutes before he began to ask her questions. Where in London she was from, why she'd come, and when the baby was due.

"Sometime within the next two weeks," Liz answered, not daring to think about how painful it was going to be. She'd always assumed she'd have her mother by her side and an anxious husband waiting outside when she had a child. But no, she'd be alone.

Richard suddenly leaned forward and patted her arm.

"Don't worry. The hospitals around here are good; they'll make sure you're taken care of and happy." Liz offered a wobbly smile, thanking him for trying to make her feel better.


A note from The Chica:
And here we have chapter 13! YEAH!!! Many thanks to Sand3 who actually wrote much of this chapter. Yeah Sand3! You should all check her out here on !