Disclaimer: All previous disclaimers apply.
Chapter 15: The Will Reading
Aisling's House
San Francisco, CA, USA
November 04, 2031
3:00 am
Aisling hears the sound of incessant knocking on her bedroom window and rolls out of bed. She slips into fuzzy pink slippers, goes over to the closet and grabs a pink silk robe. Next, she slips the robe over her thin white night rail and glides over to the window. When she opens the latch to the window, a small brown barn owl with big yellow eyes flies into the bedroom. The owl lands on the window seat in front of the bay window and holds out its talon towards Aisling. Aisling takes the manila envelope that has a picture of a tall snowy white building with burnished bronze doors on it. Next to the picture are the words Gringotts Bank, London, England, in gold letters. Under the picture are the words Miss Aisling O'Keeffe in gold ink.
"You must be very thirsty since you have traveled from London," Aisling says to the owl that stares up at her.
"Wait here and I will go get you some water," Aisling says.
The owl hoots.
Aisling interprets the hoot to mean yes and goes down to the kitchen to get a bowl and fill it with water. She returns to her room with the bowl of water and places it before the bird. The owl takes one look at the water, jumps into the bowl and splashes around in the water.
While the owl is splashing around in the water, Aisling opens the envelope and takes out the letter. She reads:
02 November 2031
Dear Miss O'Keeffe,
Your mother opened an account at our bank upon her marriage to your father. Our records show that your mother died recently. Your mother's will reading ceremony is on 04 November 2031 at 4:30 pm in my office. If you do not attend, you forfeit your inheritance.
Also, please accept our condolences.
I look forward to meeting you.
Ragnarok
Chairman of Gringotts Bank
After Aisling reads the letter, the owl that is done splashing about in the water looks up at her with its big yellow eyes.
"I am sorry, but there is no more water. You will have to drink the water you splashed," Aisling says.
The owl stares down at the cushion on the window seat, turns its body and hops over to the bowl of water. As the owl drinks the water, Aisling walks over to her desk that is in front of the wall that is across from the window and pulls out a piece of paper, a white security envelope and a ballpoint pen.
She writes:
Dear Mr. Ragnarok:
My father and I will attend the will reading. We will be bringing some friends with us for moral support. I hope that you do not mind.
Sincerely,
Aisling O'Keeffe
Then, Aisling walks over to the owl and says, "Mr. Owl, take this note back to Mr. Ragnarok at Gringotts Bank."
The owl turns around to face Aisling and holds out a talon. Aisling slips the note into the white security envelope and places the envelope in the owl's talon. Then, the owl flies out of the open window.
After the owl leaves, Aisling walks over to her father's bedroom and knocks on the door. Mr. O' Keeffe opens the door and finds Aisling standing outside the door.
"Aisling, what are you doing here?" Mr. O'Keeffe asks.
"An owl just delivered this letter from Gringotts Bank, Dad," Aisling says as she hands her father the letter.
Mr. O' Keeffe silently reads the letter and hands it back to Aisling.
"Did you send a reply to the letter?" Mr. O'Keeffe asks Aisling.
"Yes, I told Mr. Ragnarok that you and I will attend the will reading with some friends," Aisling replies.
"If we are going to the Halliwell Manor, we better hurry," Mr. O'Keeffe says as he looks at the time of the meeting in the letter and looks at the blue digits on his alarm clock.
"It is already 3:30 am here and 1:30 pm in London," Mr. O' Keeffe says.
Then, Mr. O'Keeffe walks over to the back of the walk-in closet and pulls out two black wizarding world robes. He hands one of the robes to Aisling and puts a spell on the robe so that robe will adjust to fit Aisling. While Aisling returns to her room to shower and put on a black velvet dress and black stockings under the black wizarding world robe and a pair of black boots, Mr. O'Keeffe showers. Next, he puts on a white dress shirt and black pants. Then, he puts on a black suit jacket and black wizarding robes. Afterwards, he slips into a pair of black loafers. By 4:00 am in San Francisco, Mr. O' Keeffe and Aisling are ready. Then, Mr. O'Keeffe and Aisling drive over to the Halliwell Manor.
Halliwell Manor
1329 Prescott Street
San Francisco, CA, USA
November 04, 2031
4:15 am
"Chris! Wake up!" Aisling whispers into Chris' ear as she shakes him awake.
"What? Who?" Chris asks.
"It's me," Aisling whispers.
"Me, who?" Chris asks.
"The heroine in your dreams," Aisling replies with a giggle.
Chris stretches his arms up and pulls her down until her lips touch his lips.
"Hmm, fruity," Chris says as he pulls away from her mouth after a mind blowing kiss.
"Chris! Wake up!" Aisling says again.
"You sure are real for a dream," Chris mumbles.
"I am real," Aisling says.
"Prove it," Chris challenges her.
Aisling walks around the bed and pushes Chris off the bed.
The resounding thud of Chris landing on the wooden floorboards echoes throughout the Manor.
Hearing the noise, Wyatt thinks there is an intruder in the house. He kicks off the blue bed sheets and slips his feet into the blue slippers next to his bed. . Next, he pulls a long white t-shirt that has a picture of a lighthouse on a craggy cliff overlooking rough ocean waves that crash against the cliff with so much force that it looks like the waves are trying to knock down the cliff over his head since he is already wearing a pair of yellow boxers. He grabs a baseball bat from the closet and tiptoes down the hall to Chris' bedroom. When he reaches Chris' bedroom, he finds Piper standing in the doorway, wearing a silky green robe. He notices that there is a flashlight in her hand.
"What are you going to do with a flashlight, Mom? Blind the intruder?" Wyatt whispers to Piper.
"Your idea isn't any better," Piper says as she eyes the baseball bat in Wyatt's hands.
Wyatt keeps his mouth shout and turns the doorknob. He holds the bat up, ready to hit the intruder. The door opens and Wyatt sees Chris on the floor with a pile of blankets around him and Aisling laughing at Chris. Piper tries to peer into the room over Wyatt's shoulder, but she is too short.
Seeing that there is no danger, Wyatt closes the door.
"Why did you close the door?" Piper asks.
"There is no danger. It is just Aisling. She woke Chris up," Wyatt says with a laugh.
Then, he yawns and heads back to his warm bed.
Piper opens the door and sees Aisling pulling Chris up from the floor. She enters the room and helps Aisling pull Chris up into a standing position by grabbing his arm and pulling.
"How did you enter the Manor?" Piper asks Aisling.
"I just used the duplicate key you keep under the doormat. Dad is downstairs in the living room, by the way," Aisling replies.
"Why are you here at 4:15 in the morning, Aisling?" Piper asks as she looks at the red digits on the alarm clock next to Chris' bed and yawns.
"I received a letter from Gringotts Bank. Mom's will reading is today at 4:30 pm London time, which is 6:30 am here in San Francisco. I would like you to come with me for moral support," Aisling replies.
"Paige!" Piper shouts.
Paige materializes in little white and blue lights.
"What is it Piper?" Paige asks with a yawn.
"Aisling would like us to go with her to Gringotts Bank in London We have two hours to get ready," Piper says.
With that, Paige orbs over to Phoebe's house and wakes Phoebe, Coop, Pandora and Psyche. Phoebe wakes up first and trudges down the stairs in a fluffy white robe to the kitchen to make some coffee. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee wakes up Coop. Coop enters Pandora's room and sprinkles water in her face to make her wake up. When Pandora wakes up, Coop enters Psyche's room and nudges her. Psyche wakes up and Pandora and Psyche walk down the stairs followed by Coop.
When they enter the kitchen, Phoebe is sitting at the kitchen table, drinking a cup of coffee. Paige is sitting in the chair across from Phoebe. Coop pours the instant coffee into a red mug and sits in the chair next to Phoebe. Pandora and Psyche sit in the chairs next to their Aunt Paige and wait for Paige to tell them the reason for her visit.
"Why are you here, Aunt Paige?" Pandora asks after an interminable amount of time.
"Aisling is at the Halliwell Manor and she wants us to go with her to her mother's will reading," Paige replies.
While Coop and Phoebe finish drinking coffee and talking to Paige, Pandora and Psyche race upstairs to take a shower. Pandora takes a shower in the bathroom she and Psyche share and puts on a pair of black corduroy overalls over a pink turtleneck shirt, while Psyche grabs a yellow towel, a pair of blue jeans, a white t-shirt with a red rose on it and a red hoodie and goes to the bathroom that is adjoining her parents' bedroom.
When the twins are ready, they go downstairs to find their parents still talking with their Aunt Paige. Phoebe looks up and sees that the twins are ready. She puts her mug and Coop's mug in the kitchen sink and heads up the stairs to the bathroom Psyche used. Coop hearts to the twins' bathroom.
While Phoebe and Coop get ready, the twins pack their backpacks and Paige orbs to her house to wake up her husband and children. When her family is ready, Paige orbs her family to the living room of the Halliwell Manor and returns to Phoebe's house to orb Phoebe's family to the living room of the Halliwell Manor.
While Paige orbs everyone to the living room, Piper wakes Wyatt, Emily, Melinda and Leo. They quickly shower and get dressed. Piper wears black slacks and a green blouse. Wyatt wears khaki pants and a blue dress shirt. Emily wears a black skirt with a white blouse and a black suit jacket over the blouse. Melinda wears blue jeans and a salmon orange sweater. Leo wears black pants and a yellow dress shirt under his black Magic School robes. Then, they go downstairs to the living room followed by Aisling and Chris. Chris is wearing blue jeans and a red polo shirt under a gray hoodie.
When everyone is in the living room, Mr. O'Keeffe summons black wizarding robes from his closet for everybody. Aisling shows everyone the picture of the towering snowy building with burnished bronze doors that is on the manila envelope the owl delivered to her and Piper splits everyone into groups. Coop hearts his family, while Paige orbs her family to Gringotts Bank. Wyatt orbs Leo, Piper and Emily to Gringotts Bank, while Chris orbs Melinda, Aisling and Mr. O'Keeffe.
Gringotts Bank
Diagon Alley
London, England
November 04, 2031
4:00 pm
When everybody reaches Gringotts Bank, Mr. O'Keeffe opens the burnished bronze doors and leads Aisling, Emily and the Halliwells through the large marble halls of Gringotts Bank to the counter behind which stands a three-foot tall goblin with long sharp teeth who is smartly dressed in a scarlet and gold uniform.
"Excuse me, but we have an appointment with Mr. Ragnarok," Mr. O' Keeffe says to the goblin teller behind the desk.
"Longclaw!" the goblin teller shouts.
Another goblin runs over to the goblin teller.
"Longclaw, please escort Mr. O'Keeffe and his party to Ragnarok's office," the goblin teller says.
Longclaw smiles even wider and escorts Mr. O'Keeffe, Aisling, Emily and the Halliwells to Ragnarok's office. When they reach Ragnarok's office, Longclaw knocks on Ragnarok's office door.
Ragnarok who is reading some papers quietly says, "Enter."
Longclaw opens the door and ushers Mr. O'Keeffe, Aisling, Emily and the Halliwells into the office. The office has hardwood floors, 20-foot high ceilings and mahogany paneled walls. Oil paintings of the various goblin managers of Gringotts Bank in gold frames line the walls and a large scarlet area rug with a gold border rests on the floor.
When they enter, Mr. O'Keeffe, Emily, Aisling and the Halliwells see a raven-haired lady with blue eyes sitting in a wooden chair facing a large desk with many piles of parchments on it. The raven-haired woman is wearing a black dress with puffy sleeves and a black hat with a veil on it on her head. She is also clutching a leather bag in her right hand. The only indication of her age is some wrinkles on her cheeks that makeup could not conceal.
"Mother," Mr. O' Keeffe says as he enters the room. The raven-haired lady stands up and turns toward her son.
"Mother, this is my daughter, Aisling, Aisling's friend, Emily, and the Halliwells," Mark says as he points to Aisling and Emily and gestures towards the Halliwells.
"It is a pleasure to meet all of you," Mrs. O'Keeffe says with a smile that shows her straight white teeth and sits down in her chair.
The Halliwells look around, but there are no more chairs.
Chris quickly conjures a swivel desk chair and places it next to the chair in which Mr. O'Keeffe is sitting.
"This chair is for you, Aisling," Chris says.
"What about the rest of us?" Melinda asks.
"Mel, you can help me conjure chairs for everyone. Just be careful. It takes a lot of magic to get through the wards here at Gringotts Bank and the additional ward over this office," Chris replies.
So the brown-haired witch is very clever, Ragnarok thinks as he stands up to greet the newcomers.
He looks like the other goblins, but he has two rings on each finger and each ring has a diamond, ruby or emerald in its center.
"Oh and please keep your thoughts to yourself, Mr. Ragnarok. You broadcast too loudly," Chris says with a wink.
Then, in Gobbledygook, he says, "May your gold flow."
Surprised, Ragnarok replies in gobbledygook, "I am impressed. May your gold flow as well, Witch-Elder."
Then, Chris and Melinda conjure swivel desk chairs for everyone and everyone takes a seat.
When everyone is situated, Wyatt asks Chris through their bond, "How do you know whatever language you used to speak with Mr. Ragnarok?"
"Uncle Harry taught me," Chris replies to Wyatt through their bond.
"Now that everybody is ready, we shall begin," Ragnarok says.
Ragnarok closes the blinds to the window behind him and turns off the lights.
He places a gold urn in the center of his desk and taps it with his finger. Smoke billows out of the urn and coalesces into Laura's body.
"I, Laura Colleen O'Neil O'Keeffe, of sound mind and body hereby bequeath 500,000 galleons each to Mrs. O'Keeffe, my mother-in-law, and Amelia O'Keeffe, my sister-in-law. I leave everything else to my husband in the hope that he will pass it on to our daughter upon his death. I have also left a letter in my vault for Aisling and Mr. Christopher Halliwell. Aisling and Chris, please follow the instructions in the letter.
In addition, I would like to thank the Halliwells for their kindness. My daughter will soon be a Halliwell. I wholeheartedly approve of the match. I am sorry that I will not be at the wedding, but I will be watching it from up above. I love all of you and you will always be in my heart. Blessed be!"
With that, Laura's form sinks back into the urn.
Ragnarok hands out some forms and everybody signs them, acknowledging that they witnessed Laura's will.
"You may all leave now except for Mr. Christopher Halliwell and Miss Aisling O'Keeffe," Mr. Ragnarok says.
Mr. O'Keeffe is about to protest when Aisling says, "Dad, I am just going to Mom's vault with Chris. Please wait in the lobby with the Halliwells."
"Longclaw!" Ragnarok bellows.
Longclaw enters the office.
"Longclaw, please take Mr. O'Keeffe and his party with the exception of Miss Aisling O'Keeffe and Mr. Christopher Halliwell to the lobby," Ragnarok says.
Longclaw complies and leads Mr. O'Keeffe, Emily and the Halliwells with the exception of Chris to the lobby, while Ragnarok escorts Aisling and Chris to the carts.
When they get to the vault, Aisling holds her hand up to the stone door of the vault and a little computer takes a sample of her blood and confirms that she is an O'Keeffe. When the vault door opens, Chris and Aisling enter the vault with Ragnarok standing outside the vault. The vault contains piles of gold, bronze and silver coins. They also see paintings and an old sofa with an ottoman in front of it. On top of the ottoman is a letter. Under the letter is a heavy brown book with gold gilded pages and a little green diary. Aisling picks up the letter and reads it aloud.
It says:
October 16, 2031
Dear Darling Aisling and Chris,
By the time you read this letter, I will be dead. I have lived a happy life, despite the dangers of being a witch. Please do not mourn me. I am sorry that I will not be at your wedding, but I will watch it from up there.
My death, though sad, will have one bright spot. Aisling, you will get your powers. To access them, you have to say the spell on the first page of the O'Neil family's Book of Shadows. It is the heavy brown book with gold gilded pages under this letter. I have also included a little green book. It is my diary. Please read the entry I have marked with a green ribbon. It's important.
From the depths of my heart,
Mum
Aisling takes the letter, the heavy book with gold gilded pages and her mother's diary with her and she and Chris exit the vault.
Then, Ragnarok escorts them back to the lobby.
"Thank you, Mr. Ragnarok," Chris says to Ragnarok in English.
"May your gold flow," Chris adds in gobbledygook.
Ragnarok smiles and leaves.