Keep It in The Family

Buffy turned the page of her Charms textbook, rereading the chapter on Mending Charms. Then, taking out her yew wand, she silently recited each spell's variation. A rainbow of colour at appeared on the end of her wand, the magic swirling up into the air.

Buffy scowled at the magical sparks. Red, blue, yellow, green, and blue again! According to the book, that wasn't supposed to happen! It had to be because she was angry after arguing with Tom. Professor Flitwick said that magic took focus, and focus took concentration. How was she supposed to concentrate after Peter Perfect's less than perfect visit? If only he'd apologised and said he'd summoned them by accident. But no! He hadn't even said he was sorry one of his snakes had tried eating her! She could forgive him many things, but setting poisonous snakes on her and her friends was not one of them.

Buffy glared at the now murky colours spiralling out from the end of her wand. She had a strong urge to hit something – hard – in the face. And by hard she meant with every ounce of Slayer strength. Weirdly enough, it wasn't Tom's face she imagined pummelling. It was some faceless demon reeking of evil. What kind didn't matter, as long she was able to release some of that pent-up Slayer rage. And, since Travers had it in his head that he was the big bad Watcher around here, it was time he did his job and found her something to slay. Something that wasn't on the Ministry's endangered species list.

"What, in the name of Merlin, are you doing?" the nurse called, interrupting her increasingly dark thoughts.

Madame Bone had emerged from her office and was standing, with her hands on her hips, looking up. Buffy also looked up. Over her bed a maelstrom of dark clouds had gathered. Was...was that lightning? "Um, I was practising my Mending Charms."

Madame Bones let out a pained sigh. "Ach! Why did I expect an answer that made any sense?" She used her wand to vanish the mini storm as she walked towards Buffy. "During my time at Hogwarts I have made a point of encouraging my patients to continue their education whilst staying in my ward. In your case, Miss Summers, I'd prefer ii if you refrained from casting any further spells until after you leave. You have a penchant for finding trouble. If you're not invoking the forces of darkness, you're arguing with those kind enough to visit..."

"It was him!" muttered Buffy darkly. "It was him who made me do it. It's all Tom's fault!"

"Tom Riddle is a prefect," replied the nurse scathingly. "I'm sure whatever you think he's said or done, is not half as bad as you imagine."

"He... he..." She couldn't mention the snakes, couldn't snitch on him like Dorothea Parkinson had done to her. "He called me fat! He made me think dark thoughts when I doing my wand-waving."

"Hmm?" the nurse replied, barely listening as she checked the potion bottles' labels that were on the night stand by Buffy's bed.

Buffy shut her textbook and slipped it back into her bag. The nurse was right, she'd do better when she was out of here – magic took focus, and she was so not focussing today. "Guess magic and wanting to pummel someone's face in are non-mixy."

"I should think so." Madame Bones poured out a spoonful of bright green liquid from one of the bottles and motioned for Buffy to take it.

Curling her lip, Buffy obediently swallowed, sticking her tongue out immediately afterwards and making a face. "Ugh! That keeps getting worse!"

"A good sign the Ophidian potion is working," the nurse replied, stoppering the bottle and giving Buffy an assessing look. "I think one more dose will be enough. It's far better to err on the side of caution with cases like this. We don't want you relapsing and back in here any time soon." Her voice died away as the door to the infirmary opened, and Professor Dumbledore appeared – resplendent in a scarlet velvet suit.

"Madame Bones, might I have a quiet word?" He waited by the door until the nurse reached him and they began to whisper, occasionally shooting a furtive look in her direction.

Buffy gazed over, not bothering to hide her curiosity. What were they saying? The two spoke in hushed whispers, and Buffy only caught a few phrases... 'The Headmaster is busy at the moment... he has other visitors.' 'A chance of privacy,' anda '….very well,in the circumstances'."

They simultaneously looked over at Buffy and Buffy waved back at them. The nurse mumbled something – too low for even Buffy's Slayer hearing – before going back into her office, collecting her cape and leaving the infirmary.

When the door had closed behind her, Dumbledore smiled across at Buffy. "My dear girl, I have the most wonderful surprise for you!"

"Yeah?" Buffy felt confused and not getting over-excited. A teacher's idea of a 'wonderful surprise' might be setting her extra homework or that he needed her help setting up the classroom for first years.

Dumbledore pulled open the door and beckoned to someone standing outside. "Come now, come along. I'm sure Buffy is as eager to see you as you are her."

'It had better not be Caradoc waiting out there!' was the first thought in Buffy's head.But when the visitor popped their head around the door, all thoughts of Caradoc Dearborn flew from Buffy's head. Flinging back the covers, she pelted for the door.

"Mom!

"Buffy!" Joyce Summers opened her arms and swept her daughter into a long hug.

"Mom, I'm so glad to see you!

"I've missed you, sweetheart." Dropping a light kiss on Buffy's forehead, Joyce tucked a lock of hair behind her daughter's ear. "Just look at you! I swear you've grown taller! How are you feeling? When the Headmaster told me you'd been bitten by a snake I came as soon as I could."

"Just peachy." Knowing her mom wouldn't let her get away with such a glib answer, Buffy quickly added, "Honestly, mom, I feel totally fine. It hardly got me." And she smiled – the special smile they'd always shared, to show she really was okay

Her mom hugged her again, and it was Buffy's turn to pull away and ask, "What about you? How you feeling?" When she'd put her arms around her mom, she'd felt how much thinner she was.

Joyce hesitated, making Buffy frown. "I'm better... I still need to visit St Mungo's every week."

That answer set off more pinpricks of anxiety. What if she was being followed? "Did you get my letter? The one about Von Kendrick being in London?"

Behind her, Dumbledore's eyes narrowed as he wondered where and how Buffy had gotten that information.

Joyce nodded. "I saw Alastor Moody in the Leaky Cauldron and mentioned it to him. He was surprised that I knew. He told me it was classified information." She laughed, a little nervously. "At one point, I thought he was going to arrest me and take me in for questioning!"

Buffy froze, sensing Dumbledore's intense stare and hoping no one came to question her on where she'd gotten her information. She hadn't realised the information was sensitive when she'd overheard Moody talking about it the night she'd sneaked out of Hogwarts. Her only thought was to warn her mom.

"After he'd calmed down, he told me not to worry, that there'd been no further sightings."

"That's good." Memories of the sudden loss of her mom in her previous life gnawed at Buffy. "Who's this new healer you told me about? What's that guy's verdict?"

Joyce patted Buffy's hand. "Sweetheart, I don't want you worrying about me. I'm doing so much better. It's just going to take longer than we thought. I haven't seen the healer I was told about. I'm finishing my course and, if I need to, I'll see him then."

Buffy gnawed at her lip, not satisfied with the answer. "If you're worried about the cost, use all those galleons from our Gringotts crypt," Buffy began. She'd no idea how much the medical treatments were costing, but she didn't want her mom to go without it. She didn't care where the money had come from – it would be money well be spent.

Joyce patted Buffy's cheek gently. "Vault, not a crypt. If I need to I'll make a withdrawal, but it isn't your job to worry about me, it's mine to worry about you." She turned to face Professor Dumbledore, her face stern. "You told me that Hogwarts was the safest place for her, Albus. You promised you'd look out for her and look how many times she's been injured. Can you tell me why you can't keep your word?"

Buffy felt a wave of relief that her mom wasn't blaming her. Dumbledore, though, looked most uncomfortable.

"Joyce, I've already said that you have my most sincere apologies. I'll do my very best to keep a more watchful eye on Buffy–."

Whoa! She'd never be able to sneak out if Rory came good on the Dementor traps. Buffy took a couple of steps away, raised her arms over her head and pirouetted. "See? Perfectly fine. I'm just, er, accident prone."

What if her mom wanted to take her out of Hogwarts? Buffy hated the idea of leaving and attending some boring Muggle school. "Please, Mom. I want to stay here." She rolled her eyes, playing up the pouting teenager. "I mean, the school work is totally burdensome because I've studied so hard I've developed permanent eye strain, but I've made new friends and... and... and Lovell's here!"

"Buffy is a very good student," agreed Dumbledore, making Buffy beam with delight. "She has made an excellent impression on her teachers and her work ethic is exemplary."

"See!"

"I still don't like it," said Joyce, her eyes on the bearded professor as if trying to send him an unspoken message. "The Ministry came her to investigate her."

"Buffy was not the sole reason for their attendance," explained Dumbledore. "They were invited here to collect the Dementor. The Unspeakable was interested in how the Dementor became entangled on her Buffy's broom."

"What about that other broom, Albus? What if it's from–." Joyce stopped, putting a hand to her head and going deathly pale. Buffy slid an arm around her waist, steadying her.

"A seat!" exclaimed Dumbledore.

Instead of fetching a chair like Buffy thought, he took out his wand and pointed it at the two empty beds that were nearest them. They changed, transfiguring into a pair of cushioned burgundy couches. Buffy lowered her mother into one, giving the cushions emblazoned with Gryffindor lions a dark look. Dumbledore smiled and Buffy let out a small huff of exasperation. It was no wonder there was so much rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin, even the professors kept up their youthful bias.

Joyce let out a small moan of pain, which got Buffy's attention again. She squatted down in front of her. "Do you need anything? Water? More air? Shall I go fetch the nurse?"

Joyce took hold of Buffy's hand. "No honey, you sit by me. We need to talk." Buffy slid into the seat next to her and, to her surprise, Dumbledore took a seat on the other couch.

"Is this about..." she began.

"I'm not sure Hogwarts is the best place for you at the moment–."

"What? No! I want to stay here!" The thought of leaving felt wrong. So wrong that her magic jumped inside her, becoming all knotted up with her Slayer powers. The cart holding Madame Bones' daily potions rocketed past them, colliding with the wall and turning over.

"Crap," murmured Buffy. Her eyes darted from her mother to her professor. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" Would Dumbledore say she wasn't fit to stay here if she couldn't control her magic?

"Oh, my dear girl, it doesn't matter." Dumbledore rose to his feet. "You're just a little upset. Quite normal after all you've gone through. I shall sort out the trolley. I'll be... just over there if you need me."

Still embarrassed, Buffy watched him leave. Her mother had fallen silent, turning the handle of her purse over in her fingers and fidgeting with the metal clasp.

Unable to look her mom in the eye, Buffy dropped her gaze. "I know Hank isn't my Dad."

She felt her mother's eyes upon her and went on determinedly. "I found the letter he'd sent you..."

"Oh, Buffy. Why didn't you tell me?"

Buffy shrugged. "There was too much things going on. You think the broom was sent by my real dad?"

"I'm... not sure." Joyce put her hand on Buffy's, drawing it to her and holding it. "Albus thinks so. He told your Housemaster, um, Professor Slug..."

"Slughorn," provided Buffy. That explained why they'd kept it from her.

"Albus told Professor Slughorn that he thought Von Kendrick had sent it. He hasn't found any sign of hidden charms or sign that it's a portkey, but..." She shrugged, helplessly.

Buffy looked over to where Dumbledore was slowly repairing the items from the trolley and wondered how much of her history he knew. "So... my dad's a notorious wizard from a dark family." Why dress up the facts? "I guess when you told him you were pregnant, he walked out on us." She snuck a look at her mom's face. A face paler than it should be and saw no signs of denial.

"Oh, crap. I'm right."

Joyce's mouth folded into thin lines of rebuke, but the scolding was forestalled by a new and panicked question. "Did he... did this guy use the Imperius curse on you? Did he... force you?"

Joyce's gaze went to Dumbledore. He was busy picking up the spilt contents of the trolley and if he'd heard Buffy's question he gave no sign. She shook her head. " I never wanted to tell you, not like this." She chewed at her lip. "I have to be honest. I never meant to tell you about him at all." She shook her head. "I was stupid to think I could keep it a secret, especially with him being... him."

"Him?" Buffy asked, confused. Who was he?

Joyce fiddled with her purse, staring down at it as if she'd never seen it before and putting it onto the floor by her feet. "He isn't the sort of man you can hide secrets from. At least, not for very long and it didn't take him long before he found out about you. I was so worried when the money appeared in my vault, thinking now he knew you existed, he'd take you from me..."

Buffy gripped her mom's hand tightly.

Joyce's eyes darted to Dumbledore and back to Buffy. "That's when I hit upon a plan. I knew he'd lose interest in you if you were a Squib, so I..." She stopped and shook her head again. "No, I'm getting ahead of myself. I'd better tell you from the beginning, or else it's going to be all mixed up. It still feels like a... crazy dream. I was only young when I met him – young and easily seduced by a silver tongue and my own vision of a future where Squibs are treated better than–." She broke off. "I shouldn't say that. My parent, your grandparents, never treated me any differently because I hadn't any magic. I never felt unloved, and wish so much they were here to meet you. They'd be so proud of you." Joyce reached up and touched Buffy's face.

"It was others who were uneasy around me, as if being close to a Squib would cause them to lose their magic. I decided to study art and get away. I left, eventually met your father – I mean Hank Summers – became engaged and rented a small apartment in Paris. That's where I met him – your real father. I'd argued with Hank over something silly and instead of staying, he walked out on me. I was so angry."

"And so you met this guyand had a romantic fling?" Buffy asked, trying to stay open-minded.

"Not quite." Joyce nodded towards Dumbledore, who was obviously staying away to give them some privacy. "Albus knows who your real father is and the steps I took to keep you safe, but... he doesn't know everything. I'll tell you exactly what happened that evening, but you must promise me we keep it to ourselves. It's very important."

"I promise."

"You see, when I walked out of my apartment, I never expected to meet someone that I–."

The infirmary door flew open. Dumbledore stopped what he was doing to look up, while Joyce and Buffy regarded the newcomers grimly.