Chapter 20

Meeting the family.

As soon as Professor Dumbledore left, Buffy sat on the bed and opened the envelope he'd given her. There were several sheets of paper folded together. She unfolded the first one, her eye was instantly drawn to the colourful coat of arms at the top of the page. It depicted a snake, a lion, a badger and an eagle with the school's motto emblazoned underneath.

"Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus" she recited. That was Latin for 'Dragon sleeping, never tickle'. Something about her translation didn't feel right. She thought again and changed the order to 'Never Tickle A Sleeping Dragon'.

She'd heard that before. Who'd said it to her? Her eyes alighted on the desk, and the handkerchief Dumbledore had left behind. Of course, it had been Professor Dumbledore! He'd said it to her after she'd kicked him for sneaking into her room. She scowled. He probably thought it was funny.

Muttering to herself about wizards with an odd sense of humour, Buffy scanned the rest of the page.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster:

Armando Dippet

Dear Miss Buffy Anne Summers, We are pleased to inform you that your transfer has been accepted to Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed lists of all necessary books and equipment for the start of the year. Term begins on 1st September. Yours sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore Deputy Headmaster.

Besides the letter, there was a train ticket for the 'Hogwarts Express' leaving platform 9 ¾ at Kings Cross station on the 1st September. There were also the lists of textbooks, clothing, and equipment that the letter mentioned.

Buffy read one of them out, "Wand, pewter cauldron, dragonhide gloves, and a plain, pointed hat."

They had to wear a real witches hat? Surely those things weren't fashionable any more? She had a sudden vision of Tom Riddle wearing one to class and giggled.

She continued reading her lists and found out that there was a school uniform. White blouse, tie, grey pinafore, sweater or cardigan for cold days, black robes, and sensible shoes with grey or white knee-length socks. It occurred to her that she was going to look like a total dork dressing like this. The only thing making her feel better was that everyone else in the school would look a complete dork as well.

She picked up the book list next and found that if the uniform hadn't made her shudder, the book list certainly did. The list was not only for the books she needed this year but for all the years she'd missed as well. There were twenty-five textbooks. There was even another list of books, that came under the heading 'suggested reading'.

She put the papers down and walked to the desk, staring out unseeingly at the rain beating against the window panes.

September was one month away. That meant if she began now, she'd need to cover a year every week. Six books to get through every week and on top of that, she had lessons with Dumbledore. Buffy rubbed at the knots in the back of her neck.

Was she wasting her time? Was she wasting everyone's time? Was it possible to catch up? She felt fairly certain that back in Sunnydale, Willow had helped her to keep her grades up. At this school, there were brand new subjects to learn. Subjects with names like Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, Potions, Dada (whatever that was), and Transfiguration. She had to start from scratch and there was no one there who'd help her. No friendly Willow explaining where she was going wrong, not even a Giles to show her where the books were that she needed for class.

She knew being the new girl was hard enough. If everyone thought she had learning difficulties, it was going to be a nightmare. She could see herself trudging along a maze of unknown corridors in her new dorky clothes as she tried to find her way to class. All the other kids would avoid her, and the teachers would see her as extra workload and not worth the trouble. It was, sort of, depressing.

Should she send Dumbledore a note saying that she'd thought about it and changed her mind?

"Buffy must still be in her room." The sound of Martha's voice in the corridor, jerked Buffy from her musing.

"That's her room, that one over there," Martha said. "You're the second visitor she's had today. A Mr Dumbarton called earlier to discuss continuing her education."

Buffy heard a man's voice reply and then Martha's louder one.

"I'll just check she's decent first. She'll be made up to see you, Mr Lovegood. I know she's been very worried about her Ma, especially with the hospital not allowing visitors."

It must be her uncle!

Buffy darted to the wardrobe. Pressing her forehead against the wardrobe door, she hissed, "Spikey, don't come out! I've another visitor." The last thing she needed was the boggart jumping out and creating a bad impression.

The footsteps stopped at the door and someone lightly tapped on it. Martha cracked it open and poked her head around the door.

Beaming happily at Buffy, she said, "Buffy, a Mr Lovegood is here to see you. He says he's your uncle and has come straight from seeing your Ma. Are you ready to see him?"

"As I'll ever be." Buffy smoothed her hair self-consciously. Her mother's maiden name had been Lovegood. She hadn't known that until now.

The door opened, and Buffy had her first look at her uncle. Tall and gaunt in stature, Peregrine Lovegood wore a coarsely-woven black suit and a wide-brimmed hat that cast dark shadows over his face. He tilted his head to regard her. Buffy was vaguely aware he'd a mop of frizzy, white-blonde hair and his eyes were a piercing shade of blue. But it was hard to focus on his face. Not when his hat was winking at her.

Technically, she supposed it wasn't his hat winking. It was the dead bird stuck to the side of it.

Peregrine Lovegood had a blackbird stuck on the side of his hat.

Buffy was fairly certain that the bird must be stuffed, given that it was a hat decoration. Except stuffed birds don't wink. She caught her bottom lip with her teeth. Should she say something or was it one of those things it wasn't polite to mention?

Buffy glanced at Martha, who was looking at Buffy rather than the hat. Buffy decided that she wouldn't mention it. At least not in front of Martha.

Peregrine Lovegood stepped forwards, the light from the window behind her illuminating his face. Something about the man's features, his eyes or the shape of his nose, reminded Buffy of her Mom.

"You're the image of Joyce as a young girl. I'd recognise you anywhere!" He said, in a soft voice with a musical lilt to it. Before she could reply, he'd pulled her into a tight hug.

Half-smothered, with the bird hat hovering above her head, Buffy had a tense moment when her Slaydar tingled in reaction to his odd brand of magic. She took a deep breath, letting it out again slowly, forcing herself to relax. There was no faking her uncle's warmth or his resemblance to her Mom. Peregrine Lovegood was the family she'd been looking for, he was not a candidate for her Slay list.

Clueless to her discomfort, Peregrine rattled on happily. "To think, I'm holding you like this. The last time I saw you, you were a babe in Joyce's arms. You've grown so much in between!"

Buffy gently pulled away from him, taking a step back, she smiled awkwardly. "Guess that's what us kids do. Grow."

Martha closed the door softly, so as not to disturb them and Buffy heard her footsteps retreat down the hall.

"I suppose they do." Peregrine Lovegood laughed and it made him look years younger.

"It's nice to finally meet you... Uncle Peregrine." She stammered a little over his name. Less than an hour ago she'd been speculating who the 'P' was in her Mom's note. It was embarrassing that she'd thought he was her mother's lover.

"Did the doctors tell you I have amnesia?" she asked. He nodded, and she went on, "I found a note from you in Mom's things, but I'd no idea how to contact you."

"Ah, and my address isn't listed in any Muggle directory," he explained. "My home is in Devon and rather out the way."

Buffy's eyes went to the top drawer in the desk. Some of those pamphlets she'd found in their hotel room, several had been about Devon.

Peregrine continued, "I had no idea you'd arrived in England until Alastor Moody owled to say you'd been in an accident. Thank Merlin, he did!"

They stared at each other, in an awkward moment where they both had a lot to say and neither knew where to start. More rain hit the window, and from somewhere in the orphanage Buffy could hear the sound of kids arguing, Martha telling them to shut up, and then crying.

"Would you like to sit?" Buffy asked, still feeling awkward. "There's the chair or the bed?" She bit her bottom lip anxiously, she should haven't have mentioned sitting on her bed. If he accidentally banged the wardrobe as he sat down, the boggart might explode out the door.

Luckily, he chose to sit further up, well away from the wardrobe. Taking off his hat, Peregrine dropped it onto the bed beside him and raked his flattened hair with his fingers. It frizzed up even more, and Buffy stared at it. Fighting back the urge to provide hair-care advice.

Tugging her eyes away from his hair, she pulled up a chair. "So... Professor Dumbledore said you were transferring Mom?"

Her uncle's lip curled. "Indeed I have. I got her away from those strange doctors as fast as I could. We'll visit her this evening and speak with the healers." He gestured with his thumb at the door. "Has that scary woman gone? Martha? She isn't hovering behind the door, is she? Should I be casting a muffling charm?" Peregrine looked nervous. "I'm a bit out of practice with all this. I've not had to be dealing with the Muggles for a long time. I've seen that many today, it feels as if the Wrackspurts have infested my head."

Buffy frowned, Wrackspurts? What were Wrackspurts? Since her uncle was still regarding the door nervously,she decided to put him at ease by saying, "Martha went a while ago. I heard her footsteps on the stairs."

Peregrine physically sagged with relief. "Oh, thank Merlin! It's always a worry in case I let something slip. Then I'd need to contact the department of Magical Calamities at the Ministry to help me undo the damage, I'd be too nervous to try fixing it myself." He gestured at his old-fashioned suit. "Take my outfit for example."

"Hmm?" Buffy would go a long way to avoid taking it, but she wasn't going to offend by telling him that.

"I hadn't the slightest idea what I should wear today to visit Muggles. I hit upon asking Professor Dumbledore for his advice." Doing a passable imitation of Dumbledore, he said, "Wear your dullest and most conservative outfit, Peregrine, and you'll do fine."

Buffy blinked, horrified. This was his idea of conservative dressing? A suit with twelve-inch wide lapels and a hat with a half-alive bird stuck on the side?

Thankfully, Peregrine didn't notice her reaction. "Tis my own ignorance of Muggle customs that makes me nervous." He let out a long, sad sigh. "Me wife, Breda, was the one who delighted in Muggle society. After she died, I never ventured out into the Muggle world again."

He leaned forwards, his bright blue eyes wide, as he confided, "I don't mind admitting it, Muggles scare me."

Buffy wasn't sure how to respond. Up until Dumbledore telling her that she had magic she'd been a Muggle and wasn't scary. Okay, technically she'd been a Slayer and scary to creepies, but no one else knew that.

"Martha's nice," she said. "It's Mrs Cole you need to watch out for." Her uncle shot a panicked look at the door. She grinned and added, "It's her day off, she won't be back until later."

He closed his eyes and put a hand to the left side of his chest. "Be still my beating heart. Am I so bad, Buffy, that you wish to give me a heart attack before you even know me?"

Buffy chuckled. Her uncle seemed nice, a little odd, but nice.

"Now," he said with a kind and surprisingly shrewd smile. "I'm sure you'll be wondering what Joyce was like as a sister?"

With that, he began to talk. He told Buffy about them growing up together. How he'd been accepted into Hogwarts and his parents had Joyce to follow him. When her magic hadn't developed, she'd been sent to a Muggle school and later a college. Afterwards, Joyce's love of art led her to study on the continent. It was while she was in Paris that she met an American student called Hank Summers, fell in love, and married. Shortly after Buffy's birth, Joyce made the difficult decision to cut all ties with her Wizarding family and move to America with her Muggle husband.

Peregrine stopped speaking, his face sad, eyes misting over.

Buffy reached out and gave his arm a little squeeze.

"I'm so sorry." He sighed heavily. "At my age it's easy to became lost in memories. I was thinking back to the day when Joyce and Hank invited myself and Breda over to meet you. Such a happy day for us all, it was. You were born a month early, a tiny scrap of a thing wrapped up in a pink shawl. Joyce fussed over you continually."

His face grew mournful as he gazed at Buffy. "Joyce left for America later that summer and my wife died of dragon pox a few years later. Those were dark days for me. Our parents were dead and it felt as if I'd lost everyone. If it wasn't for Lovell..." he shook his head, his eyes bright with unshed tears. He gave Buffy a tight little smile, "I was so pleased when Joyce sent a message through MACUSA to say she was returning. We waited and waited, and then, when the Auror contacted us to say that you'd both been involved in the London Muggle attack, I was besides myself with worry..." His voice trailed away as he took in his surroundings.

"And this is where you've been all this time?" He shuddered. "It's the most dreadful place that I've ever set foot in."

"Yeah," she agreed. "When I first came in here, I wondered if there were demons living in the cellar."

Her uncle turned his azure gaze onto her, his eyes sharp and assessing. "You have inherited the Lovegood sensitivity, Buffy. Our family have long had knowledge of a world many others disbelieve in." He squinted around the room. "I sense something here too. It's very strong in this room. It makes me wonder if there's a Nargle living here."

Buffy shot a guilty look at the wardrobe and hoped he didn't mean Spikey. Almost on cue, the little boggart bumped at the side of the wardrobe.

"Shh. Did you hear that?" Peregrine whispered, grabbing her arm and looking at the door. "Has that woman come back to spy on us?"

"No, she's still downstairs. It might be the pipes contracting or mice in the walls," Buffy replied with fake cheerfulness.

"I hope you're right." He didn't look reassured. Rising to his feet, he said, "I think it's time we left. Have you packed?" He stepped towards the wardrobe. "If not, let me help you. I'll pass over your clothes and you can pa-."

"NOOOO!" Buffy jumped in front of the wardrobe. "I mean, um... Am I going somewhere?"

"You're not staying here!" He seemed astounded that she thought he'd leave her. "You're coming to live with me. Ive already spoken to Joyce and she agrees."

Buffy pulled an empty case from the stack in the corner and began taking clothes from the dresser.

Peregrine wiggled his fingers and his hat flew into the air to land on his head. He adjusted it so the bird was facing Buffy and continued talking. "Lovell is very excited about meeting you. As soon as I told him, he left off hunting for the Lymantryne Double-Horn Moth he's been looking for the past week. He's spent every day seeking it out it ever since Henry Diggory saw one fly over a Muggle house in Ottery St Catchpole."

Buffy, her mind on the boggart and the occasional scratching noise it was making, only caught the words 'hunting' and 'moths'. "Moths?" she asked, folding a sweater. "Who's hunting moths?"

She was coming to the end of the clothes in the dresser. She folded her pyjamas and took a sly look at the wardrobe behind her uncle. The boggart was nosy. If she opened the door it was bound to come out, to see what was going on.

"My son is the lepidopterist. That's someone who studies moths and butterflies."

"Your son?" Buffy had stopped her folding, to goggle at her uncle. "I have a cousin?" He'd mentioned a Lovell before, but she hadn't expected it to be a cousin. Then again, she hadn't expected an eccentric uncle either.

Peregrine nodded, plainly happy to talk about his only child. "He's a little older than you, born in September to your January."

"How cool is that? I've an uncle and a cousin, I never knew about."

Her uncle smiled. "He's very excited that you're going to Hogwarts with him. He's in Ravenclaw and hopes you'll be sorted into his house."

"Yeah, about me going to Hogwarts," said Buffy, remembering all those books she needed to buy and the studying she had to do. "I still don't know if I should go. What if I can't do magic or I'm too stupid to learn?"

Her uncle didn't appear concerned by her worries. Buffy thought he might think differently if he was the one about to make a fool of himself in front of an entire school.

"You'll be fine," he said. "We're staying in the Leaky Cauldron tonight so that we can avoid the crowds by visiting Diagon early in the morning for your school supplies. Have you finished packing? "

"Almost." She'd filled one case, but there were still clothes in the wardrobe. How was she going to finish packing without her uncle seeing the boggart? She cast around, racking her brains for some reason to have him leave the room.

"Um, it's mainly lady things that are left..." she let her voice trail away and dropped her head, faking embarrassment.

Peregrine Lovegood looked uncomfortable and Buffy pressed her advantage, "Can you wait downstairs, please? I'll come down as soon as I've finished packing. I want to say my goodbyes to my friends here."

"Ah, rather than waiting downstairs, I'll take your mother's luggage back to the Leaky Cauldron. If I come back in... say, thirty minutes?"

Buffy nodded. "That's fine." It would give her time to pack, persuade the boggart to get in the gas mask box and say goodbye to Tom and Martha.

"Until later then." Peregrine took her mother's cases from her, holding one in each hand. As Buffy Buffy passed him, intending to open the door for him, Peregrine gave a mysteriously little smirk.

There was a loud crack and her uncle vanished. Disapparating and leaving behind motes of magic floating in the air.

Buffy, her heart banging in her chest, slowly rose up from the defensive fighting crouch she'd dropped into. Across from her, the boggart hovered in its puffer fish form outside the wardrobe door.

Her startled eyes met Spikey's wide ones. "Kind of him to warn us, wasn't it?"

The boggart nodded, and she gave it a narrow and calculating look.

"How do you feel about getting in the box again, Spikey? I'm moving to Devon."

...

A/N;

I really wanted Lovell to be Xenophilius but Luna's father wasn't born in 1942. Lovell is Xeno's father. Just imagine both Lovell and Peregrine looking like Luna's father from the films.

This chapter was supposed to include Tom's reaction to Buffy leaving. Since it went on for a while (I still haven't finished it) I decided to split and post that in a few days.

The next section is about meeting Lovell, also Buffy outs herself in front of her new relative and also a well-known figure in the Wizarding World. Ooops. Poor girl hasn't even got her wand yet.

Thank you for all your lovely reviews. They were nice Christmas presents for me!