Taking Chances and Making Changes
Authors Note – This story is an AU. It follows canon events up until the events of Prisoner of Azkaban. Several canon events still take place throughout the story but it does not comply completely with canon events.
Disclaimer – I own nothing excepts the OC's. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. Anything you recognise from the books/films is not mine.
Hayley (POV)
After storming out of dinner no one bothered me for the rest of the evening. The next morning I was still annoyed but I had calmed down considerably. I was the first one awake apart from the adults. I was heading down the stairs to get some breakfast when I overheard the adults talking in the kitchen. It wasn't an Order meeting more so a meeting between Mr and Mrs Weasley,Sirius,Remus, Andy and Ted and the person I was extremely unenthusiastic to hear discussing my behaviour – Dumbledore. I didn't hear everything they were saying as I came down the stairs about halfway through a conversation but what I did hear upset me greatly and left me feeling extremely betrayed.
"I'm concerned about Hayley. I don't understand why she is so suddenly distrusting. Surely she knows that we are simply doing what is best for her" Dumbledore said lowly
"We can't exactly blame her too much for not trusting us. Given that we are keeping secrets from her" Ted says sighing slightly
"Ted's right we all know how much Hayley hates being lied to. She's gone through so much dishonesty from the people that she's supposed to be able to trust the most." Remus says
"She still shouldn't be behaving the way she is. The way she stormed out of dinner last night was extremely disrespectful. I blame how much time she's been spending with Draco Malfoy and that Zabini kid. I knew that they would be bad influences on her" Mrs Weasley says
I had stood up from the stairs at this point ready to storm in and let them know exactly how I felt about their comments when someone else spoke up. I was so shocked that it stopped me in my tracks.
"I think the best course of action is to keep an eye on Hayley and try and remind her of who her friends really are. Remind her that the Malfoys especially shouldn't be trusted. I say until they return to Hogwarts try and keep Hayley here at the house unless she's chaperoned" Dumbledore says clearly putting an end to the conversation when no one else spoke up. I ran upstairs as quietly as I could and went back to the bedroom I was sharing with Ginny and Hermione.
Thankfully they were both still asleep so I was able to grab my rucksack that I kept packed with my essentials should I need to get away for a few hours in a hurry. It contained my holly and Phoenix wand as well as my dad's wand and I kept my mum's wand in my arm holster should I need it in an emergency without the Ministry able to trace it. I also kept a few books and my sketching set in there. I threw in my purse that had both wizarding and muggle money as well as my vault key should I need it. I also noticed that the will that I had gotten from Gringotts a few weeks ago was still in there unopened. I remembered that I hadn't had much time to properly look at it so i left it in there knowing i could use this time to have a look at it.
I figured that was everything I would need so I quickly grabbed one of my notebooks and wrote a note telling everyone that I had gone out for some alone time making sure to write down that I had heard what the adults had talked about. I tore the page out of the notebook and left it on Ginny's bedside table knowing that she would see it when she woke up. I took a breath throwing my rucksack on my back and quickly but quietly heading down the stairs. I could still hear the adults talking in the kitchen and quietly opened the front door sighing with relief when it didn't make any noise. I did the same thing when I closed it and as soon as it was closed ran off away from the house hoping to find a bus stop nearby so I could make it into the city centre.
I found a bus stop after walking for about 10 minutes. There were a few other people waiting at the bus stop so I politely asked one of them if the bus they were waiting on went into London centre and they said it did so I remained at the bus stop. Once the bus arrived I got on with everyone else and headed to the back of the upstairs. I didn't think that it would take too long to get into the city so I kept an eye out to make sure I didn't miss my stop as I didn't know this area very well.
It was only about 20 minutes later when the bus arrived into the centre of London and I got off at the correct stop. I got my bearings and headed in the direction that i wanted to go. I decided I would spent some time walking around the shops in London seeing if there was anything in particular I wanted to buy. I was also hoping I could find a hair salon that could fit me in today.
Ginny (POV)
I woke up around 10 glad that mum hadn't woken us all up ridiculously early for no reason as she often did during summer. I got dressed and headed downstairs to breakfast with Hermione. I noticed that the curtains around Hayley's bed were pulled shut so I assumed she was either still asleep or had already eaten but didn't want to be disturbed.
Breakfast was loud and lively as normal so I was glad to escape from the chaos when I finished and headed back up to my room. When I got back up to my room I headed over to my school trunk to get out what I needed to work on my final summer assignment. While placing my trunk back underneath my bed I knocked into the bedside table knocking over the few things that were on it. I sighed while picking everything up and putting it back on the table. I frowned when I noticed a small note. I stood up while reading the note seeing that it was from Hayley.
"Hey guys I went out this morning. I know I should have told someone where I was going but I really needed some alone time especially after what I heard the adults saying about me this morning. I will be back sometime later today although I don't know when. I just didn't want you all to worry too much when you found out that I had gone even though some (I wont say who they will know who they are) deserve it after the things they said.
See you later
Hayley"
I gripped the note tightly in my hand as I finished reading it. I couldn't believe that the adults hadn't learned that Hayley has a knack for knowing when people are either lying or keeping secrets from her.
I headed downstairs knowing that mostly all of the adults were still in either the kitchen or living room. I headed back into the kitchen seeing my parents as well as Sirius and Remus sat at the table.
"What did you discuss about Hayley this morning behind her back?" I said deciding to get straight to the point.
They sent confused glances between each other. "I don't know how you heard about the meeting this morning but whatever was discussed is none of your concern" Mum says
"it is my concern when Hayley heard you all talking about her and whatever you said caused her to run of" I said throwing the note down in the middle of the table
Remus quickly picked it up as he was the closest to it and began reading it out aloud.
The adults all sighed as he finished.
"We need to let Albus and the others know so we can start looking for her" Mum says
"There's no point. Hayley could be anywhere in both the muggle or wizarding world. We'd be better off waiting here for when she comes back. We should still let the others know though.Specifically Ted and Andy" Sirius says
"Sirius you can't be serious Hayley could be in danger being out there on her own especially with everything that's going on" Mum says
"He's right Molly there's no way we'd be able to find her. Considering she spent about half of last summer on her own she'll probably know her way around the centre of London with her eyes shut. Besides Hayley is sensible enough to stick to the areas that she knows and not to stray too far into places she hasn't been. Not to mention that after overhearing what she did i'm not surprised that Hayley took off for some alone time" Remus says
"Hayley is a child I can't believe your condoning this behaviour and suggesting that we just allow her to wander around London alone" Mum says raising her voice
"She may be a child but she's been through more than most adults ever will in their entire life. Hayley is a teenager who has every adult in her life trying to control every decision she makes and she's finally had enough. I'm surprised it's taken her this long to start acting out. She isn't going to ever start trusting us again if we keep treating her the way we are. Just be glad she still had the decency and respect to leave a note so we weren't completely out of our minds with worry. If we continue lying and keeping secrets from her then that respect is going to disappear fast" Sirius says frustrated
He sighed as he stood up from the kitchen table.
"Now if you will excuse me I'm going to tell Andy and Ted that Hayley has gone out and i'll make sure to tell them exactly why" Sirius says as he heads out of the kitchen.
Hayley(POV)
It was a few hours later when I finished all the shopping that I wanted to do and had also managed to get my hair cut. I had been quite lucky as the place that it had been done at last summer had some availability for that day due to some cancellations. I had gotten it cut to my shoulders so I was pleased that it was back to a shorter length. I decided that I still didn't want to go back to Grimmauld Place yet so I decided to get the Knight Bus to Surrey so I could go to the unused park that was about half an hour away from Privet Drive. I got off the Knight Bus where I would call it from when living with the Dursley's. I started to make the walk from where I got off to the park. When I arrived it was still as rundown and old as I remembered it being. It had been quite rundown for several years because no one really used it anymore so the local councils didn't bother much with the upkeep and maintenance. I liked this park because it allowed me to have some alone time without anyone bothering me. Because of the distance from the neighbourhood Dudley and his gang would usually avoid it in favour of the closer parks when looking for kids to bully. I opened the gate and walked through it going over to the plastic tunnel that was part of one of the play sets. Even though it was meant for children I could still fit comfortably inside due to how small and thin I was.
I took my rucksack off my back setting it down next to me. I opened it up and took out my parents will that was still sealed in the envelope that Vinclaw had given it to me in. I took a breath and broke the seal on the envelope and pulled the papers out. Placing the envelop down on top of my rucksack I started to read through the various papers. The first page wasn't anything too important mostly just legal information. I started to look at the second page which at the beginning contained information regarding what would happen to me.
Custody Order of our daughter Hayley Liliana Potter should be as follows :
Sirius Orion Black – Godfather
Frank and Alice Longbottom – Godparents
Andromeda and Edward Tonks – Paternal Second Cousins
Minerva McGonnagall
Under no circumstances should Hayley be placed with her maternal aunt and uncle Petunia and Vernon Dursley. They will not care for her as they should due to a hatred of magic.
I sighed as I put the paper down. All the years I was stuck at the Dursley's believing they were the only family I had left when I actually had so many people who cared about me and should have been the ones to take me in. I wanted to believe in Dumbledore and that he was only doing what was best for me but there was too many secrets and things that he wasn't telling me. I couldn't trust him blindly as I used to ,not with this many secrets and lies. I knew that Sirius couldn't have taken me in as he was wrongly convicted and serving his sentence in Azkaban. I didn't know the details as to why Neville's parents were unable to take me in but I assumed the had died in the war given that Neville previously use his fathers wand and that he lived with his grandmother. I was also completely unaware that Neville and I were god siblings. I wondered if Neville knew or not and made a mental note to ask him next time I saw him figuring it was best to have that type of conversation in person rather than over letter or communication ring. That ruled out the first two people on the list but there was still the Tonks and Professor McGonnagall available, not to mention it explicitly stated that I was not to be left with the Dursley's.
I continued reading some of the other parts of the will mainly to do with what different people would receive.
To Sirius Orion Black we leave 1000 Galleons.
To Remus John Lupin we leave 1000 Galleons and the ownership of Potter Cottage in Dorset.(We know you will say that you don't need or want anything but we insist you take it)
To Peter Pettigrew we leave 1000 Galleons and ownership of Williams House in Glasgow
To Frank and Alice Longbottom we leave 1000 Galleons with a further 500 Galleons to our Godson Neville Longbottom.
To Minerva McGonnagall we leave 1000 Galleons for personal use,3000 Galleons for the purchase of new brooms for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team and control of the Potter and Gryffindor seats at the Wizengamot.
To Albus Dumbledore we return ownership of the house at Godric's Hollow and 500 Galleons for the continued funding of the Order.
We authorise 300 Galleons a month to be deposited into the vault of the guardian of our daughter to go towards the cost of raising her.
Finally to our daughter Hayley Liliana Potter we leave the Potter Vault, Evans Vault, Gryffindor Vault and your trust vault. In addition we also leave ownership of Potter Manor in Dartmoor,Redwood Cottage in St Ives and Westlake Cottage in Hawkshead. When you become of age you will be eligible to take inheritance of the Potter and Gryffindor seats on the Wizengamot along with the full inherited titles of heir of the Potter and Gryffindor families.
The rest of the will was more legal information and nothing too much important much like the first page. I placed the pages back in the envelope again. While putting them away I noticed a second smaller envelope included with the will and after taking it out I noticed it was addressed to me and I assumed that my mum and dad must have written it before they died and left instructions to be given to me when I was old enough.
I hesitated in opening it because as much as I wanted to know what they had written I wasn't sure I was ready emotionally to know. I ran my fingers over the seal trying to muster up the courage to open it. I sighed as I shook my head and put the envelope in one of the pockets in my rucksack. I placed the will back into my rucksack too deciding to do some reading until I decided to go back to Grimmauld Place and face the music for running off. I took out one of my books to do some reading and decided to read some of the Wizarding Law book that Lucius had gotten me for my birthday. I ended up staying in the park reading for about 2 hours before I decided to take a break.
As I looked up I frowned as I noticed Hedwig flying down to the tunnel. When she landed just outside the tunnel I noticed there was a letter tied to her leg, I carefully took it and watched as she flew off, I opened up the letter and sighed when it was from Dumbledore. I didn't even bother reading it deciding to just put it in my bag and go back to reading. It was a few minutes later when I heard a few voices at the entrance to the park. I immeditely was wary as I knew that no one came to the park except the occassional teenagers looking to get into mischief without getting caught and the voices clearly belonged to grown adults. I had a slight suspicion that Dumbledore had put a tracing spell on the letter in an attempt to find me rather than letting me go back in my own time. I retrieved my mums wand from my arm holster and wordlessly cast a concealment charm on me before hurriedly putting my things in my bag and putting it on my back. I made sure to take the letter out and leave it inside the tube so they wouldn't be able to trace me again using the letter. I silently climbed out of the tunnel sighing with relief when I saw that Mad Eye wasn't with them as his magical eye would be able to see through the charm. I quickly my way away from the tunnel and out of one of the other park gates. Once out of the park I sprinted back towards Privet Drive. Once I got back I felt confident enough that I could take the concealment charm off. Once it was off I called the Knight bus to take me to the Leaky Cauldron. I breathed a sigh of relief once it had taken off.
Once I arrived back at the Leaky Cauldron I headed through to the alley. I walked through Diagon Alley for a bit browsing at some shops as I slowly made my way down to Gringotts. I bowed my head to the goblins that were stood guard out front as I headed inside before walking over to queue for a teller. Once I was at the front of the queue I handed the goblin my key and asked if it was possible to see my account manager. I was soon shown to Vinclaws office and knocked before heading inside.
"Miss Potter what is it I can do for you?" Vinclaw asked me politely as I sat down opposite him.
"Vinclaw I was wondering if it was possible to have a breakdown of the assets in all the vaults that I inherited please?" I asked politely and slightly nervous
He nodded and sent a goblin to go and retrieve the relevant files. "Our records show that you have full control of your trust vault and you will gain control of the Potter, Evans and Gryffindor Vaults once you are of age at 17. At the moment your guardians have control of those vaults and any withdrawals from those vaults must be done with one of your guardians present" He explains
The goblin soon brought the relevant files and handed them over to Vinclaw before leaving.Vinclaw then passed me each file so that I could have a look through them. Because of how much information there was for each vault I only took a quick glance at each for the time being before looking up. "Vinclaw would it be possible to have a copy of the breakdown of the assets for each vault to take with me?"
He nods and uses Goblin magic to make copies of the relevant pages from each file before placing them in an envelope and sealing it before handing it over to me.
"Thank you Vinclaw will there be a fee for this?" I ask as I placed the envelop into my rucksack
He shakes his head. "No there isn't a charge Miss Potter. Will that be all or is there anything else we can do for you?" He asks
"No that is everything thank you Vinclaw" I said shaking my head before leaving the office and leaving the bank.
After I left the bank I headed back through the alley to get to the Leaky Cauldron in order to call the Knight Bus to go back to Grimmauld Place. I figured I had been gone long enough and I would need to face the music for running off but also I felt it was time to discuss everything with the adults. I had had enough of all the secrets and the lies and I wouldn't be able to properly trust them if it continued and they needed to know that. They needed to know that I wasn't the same little girl who blindly put her trust and respect in them. I couldn't be that girl anymore not with everything that had happened and everything I now knew. I needed to know the truth. And I was going to find out whether they liked it or not.
Authors Note – Hey guys I'm back. Sorry for the month disappearance. My laptop stopped working so I had to work out an alternative way of writing and posting. I figured it out by buying a Bluetooth keyboard to pair with my tablet and it works amazingly. I am hoping to get onto a much more consistent schedule and I am to post either once or twice a month depending on how long each chapter is and if life gets in the way. I hope to post either the first or second of each month and then again around the 15th. Over the next few days I will be PMing random people who have either followed or favorited this story to thank them and offer them the chance of having their own OC included in a future chapter so keep an eye out for that. Thank you to everyone who has stuck with this story and enjoys reading. Next chapter should be posted in about two weeks. Thank you