From where I stand

by prongslet4life

She came from a dark past.Her family was killed before her very eyes, she has been kidnapped and tortured by vampires for something that she was born with. But when she escapes and finds herself in the house of the Potters...Well, grab some popcorn.Watch her as she goes on adventures, enters in random bets, learns magic and falls... in love?

32. To insult a Goblins Looks

HELLO ALL!

Well, just to make up for the long wait here is the next chapter and is a damn long Vhappie, twenty pages on Word! Yeah, can you blame me for the long wait? You can... Okay then!

So, finding out Auroras surname in this chapter, that's probably why this chapter took so long, its like two chapters together!

Anyway! Thanks to all those who favourites and followed my story!

Thanks to:Awesome Unicorn,Guest, Lightnings Pride, MissCazBroonAccioCreation, FreuerBrann!

Much appreciated.

ON WITH THE STORY!

Chapter 31

Mrs. Potter has gone crazy.

Now, don't look at me like that. I know this family isn't really up-to date with the sane instructions that came with life, but this was just ludicrous.

" Mrs. Potter, please?" I begged her for the umpteenth time.

She just ignored me and carried on choosing her next weapon of torture, I cringed back towards the curtains. Hermione was sitting on the wooden bench in the corner, she gave up an hour ago and just seemed to be ignoring me with my protests and Mrs. Potters insistence. I was sort of envious of her at the moment, sitting there in the corner with no worries or fears, the complete opposite to me.

Mrs. Potter kept on pushing hanger after hanger until there was a rather impressive pile at the end of the pole. I tried to sneak to the corner where Hermione had claimed her sanctuary, but it didn't matter, my efforts were fruitless. Another pair of jeans came flying out of nowhere and I think after the fiftieth time I had learnt to catch it without it giving me a concussion. Yes, I shall take on Rose again with the War of the Pillows ( stupid five pillows) and this time I would have had enough practice to beat her, not that I wouldn't have beat her before! Don't ever think that!
" Try those on." Mrs. Potter commanded, giving me the hands on hips and death glare treatment. I recoiled back into the safety of the changing rooms, muttering under my breath.

I removed my old pants for the who-knows how many time and yet each time I managed to fall face first into the Evil Mirror. I know mirrors can't be evil but trust me, this one was a liar. Maybe it was just this mirror or any other mirror in the world, but it made me look really, well, not so eye pleasing.

Not that I was expecting me to look like one of the super models James likes to stare at or – let's not even say HER name- but, it just made me look odd. I tried pointing it out to Mrs. Potter and Hermione, but they denied knowing anything of the sort. Okay, so I'll confess I don't usually try my utmost best when it comes to presenting myself ( Haven't you heard smirking is bad for your face, so stop with it), it's not like I go out of my way to make me look troll-like either, I just end up looking like that, sad isn't it? However ,I did try to make myself look as neat and tidy as ever and I thought I did a good job, so looking at my reflection in the mirror and seeing me look really pale, thin, scarred and tired just shot down whatever new self-esteem I was starting to build. No wonder my face kept on attacking the glass. I put my one leg through, then the other one, jumped up and wiggled again making sure everything was in. These jeans felt the exact same as the last four pairs I tried on and I knew that if I brought this up again to Mrs. Potter she would make me try on another four pairs as punishment.

I strolled out of the changing room, and walked up the little runway my caretakers made. I guess you could say that I was a master now at my minor modeling routine, it's not like I hadn't practiced it enough. I turned to face Mrs. Potter as we followed what we now considered 'routine'. She would ask me how they felt, I would answer with "fine", she would then reprimand me until I tell her the truth and from there she would either give her decision on whether or not we were taking it, from there the clothes either went to the "Leave it" or "Take it" pile.

" How does it feel?" Mrs. Potter asked, her eyes shining with excitement.

I pursed my lips, " To be honest it doesn't feel much different from the last four I tried on."

Hermione laughed, " That's because she's been making you try on the same pair for a while now."

I turned to Mrs. Potter and demanded to know, " Please tell me it's not true?"

Mrs. Potter grinned, giving me the look that all her children seemed to have inherited, " Punishment is sweet."

I folded my arms around my chest, slightly peeved off, " I swear! You Potters are always up to something!"

I stormed back into the changing room before she could reply and got dressed again.

I folded the pair of pants neatly and walked out again, still annoyed, " How did I not notice putting on the same pants four times in a row?" I muttered to myself.

Hermione got up and placed her arm around my shoulders, comforting, " Don't let it get to you, it's just the crafty mind of Ginny Potter."

Mrs. Potter, who was busy talking to the store owner, didn't hear and I was given a good four seconds to chuckle at the joke.

" You sound like Mr. Potter yesterday." I replied, chuckling again at one of my favorite couples.

Hermione shook her head and tapped my nose, " No, he sounds like me."

I laughed again.

Now I don't want any of you to think that I'm not having the time of my life at the moment, because I am , just Aurora Style. Apparently Mrs. Potter's and Hermione's brilliant idea was to Floo directly into the clothes stores, they had booked the stores ( I'm surprised you could even do that!) so that we could shop around by ourselves without worrying about the media or spies. However, need I remind you of the last time I Flooed?

Yes, the one where I entered Molly's sitting room swearing… Yes, now stop thinking about it, it's making me blush. This one wasn't the best either or well it was better than swearing in front of a bunch of random people, James kindly reminded me to keep my trap shut. Nevertheless, I only managed to knock down a floating candle and almost burn the shop down….

Hmm, my reputation exceeds me wherever I go.

" Ready all?" Mrs. Potter came back with a smile on her face.

I nodded and opened my mouth , but closed it again quickly. They both informed me of the one rule today, one that I didn't agree with at all: No, saying 'Thank you' in any way or language'.

I didn't like this rule for obvious reasons.

" Alright, next stop then." Hermione clapped her hands excitedly.

I frowned, " What about the bags?"

Mrs. Potter shook her head, " They sending it straight home. Goodness knows I wouldn't want to be the one that carries those bags around."

I thought about it for a moment and realized she was right, I don't know exactly what Mrs. Potter bought ( hopefully it wasn't a lot), but I knew that they probably weren't the easiest things to carry.

" You and me both." I agreed happily, we walked to the fireplace again and accepted the bag of Floo Powder from the Shop Keeper, we bid her goodbye quickly and Hermione took the first travel.

She grabbed a handful of Powder ( which I eyed warily), held up her hand ( Which I eyed suspiciously) and with a loud clear voice ( One that I listened to with my undivided attention),

" Ganger Dentistry"

The ember green flames erupted around her and I had to control the urge to scream and panic… or accuse someone of murder ( like before). I watched as the flames slowly died down to show and empty fare place and winced.

" What's a dentistry?" I asked Mrs. Potter, trying to keep my voice level and calm as I tried to distract myself from the thought of the flames. Although it is usually good to know where you are going to as well…

" Teeth check-up." Mrs. Potter answered and motioned me towards the fire place. I walked over to it reluctantly- Well, what did you expect? Me strolling into it with the biggest grin on my face? Never ever, not-so sorry to disappoint you. I tried to ignore the crunching sound the ashes made bellow my feet and focus on something more positive, something like: Being free.

My body rejoiced at the fact. It seemed that this was what I was made for, freedom. I felt a soft smile form on my lips, this was the life I had wanted to live for so long, the life that I wanted to keep, it was the life I was willing to fight for.

" Ready?" Mrs. Potter asked, in a calming tone. I nodded, allowing the tranquil feeling radiating off of her to keep me at bay. I reached for a the powder and raised it above my head, " See you now, I guess." I didn't wait to see how she responded, I dropped the powder, " Granger Dentistry."

I shut my eyes at the flames engulfed me for the second time that day and the spinning began. All annoyance for Mrs. Potter and the Evil mirrors ( stupid mirrors) where pushed out of my mind and were replaced with other more realistic ones:

I was going to die!

Yes, I think that could count as realistic and maybe just a little overdramatic, but hey, I wasn't cussing so that was a start. I felt my breakfast come up for the second time that day and immediately felt revolted. The spinning had just gotten to the climax and I knew it was almost finished. I pressed my elbows tightly against my waist, so tight that it hurt. I scrunched up my nose and pressed my lips tightly together as the ash started creeping its way up to all possible entrances.

Almost there…

Almost there…

My feet collided with the ground below me with such momentum I couldn't help but fall forward. My buttocks felt the floor before my head did and I was happy for that, my face had done enough 'colliding' for one day. Pain erupted through my spine and hips. I tried to shake off the dizziness, but it only seemed to get worse and worse.

Deep breaths now, Aurora. It's not like you haven't fallen down a couple of times in your life, actually it just seems like I'm permanently on the floor. After three very long seconds the pain finely subsided to something more manageable.

" Aurora, are you alright?" I heard Hermione's rushed and hysterical voice nearby.

I nodded and got up, dusting off my pants.

" Best outcome yet." I chuckled at the honesty. It just shows you what luck I have with the Floo Network.

I heard some chuckling nearby and finely looked up at my surroundings. I know that if this was a war zone I would have been dead by now, fortunately we are not in a war zone and now I don't need to walk around with dust on my pants. I was in a white, cool, tiled room with a couple of chairs and a desk that said: Reception. There were blue doors leading into other rooms, rooms I wasn't sure used for what.

" Quite a nasty fall you had there. Are you sure you're alright, dear?" An old man said kindly. He had silver hair and large blue eyes, his face was crinkled from the smile and added more lines to his face. His eyes held a twinkle in them that showed me kindness and warmth in the cool, tiled room. He seemed to be too old for to be working or even to stand.

Beside him, a short old lady stood. She had light brown hair that was tied back into a loose bun, her face was wrinkled but still managed a look of elegance and grace, her large doe like eyes glittered with happiness and compassion as she looked my way.

I blushed deeply, wondering why on earth I was allowed to be embarrassed alone and privately, but no! Someone must always be around to see…

Stupid coordination.

I nodded and had to resisted the urge to shy away.

Come on, Aurora. Socialize, goodness knows you've had enough of alone time.

I silently agreed with myself, yet again, who wouldn't? Maybe you haven't noticed but I give damn good advice, whether I take it is a different story entirely.

I swallowed loudly, taking a step back, " Ah, I'm alright, nothing my bum can't handle, ah, sir."

Smooth Aurora, very smooth.

They smiled warmly at me, which just made me uneasy. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to do this, I was far to awkward to socialize…

The fire erupted behind us and I jumped back in fright. The flames were dying down and Mrs. Potter just strolled out of there with such grace and poise that it was unfair. I swear someone's out to get me.

Hehe.

Get it? 'Cause I have a lot of very hungry vampires after me- Never mind! You guys won't understand. Jeez, I'm seriously considering if this socializing idea is all that good.

Mrs. Potter walked over and gave the old man and lady a hug, grinning from ear to ear as though she was meeting old friends again.

" Richard! Jane!" Mrs. Potter greeted them joyfully.

Huh, I guess they were old friends then. Don't judge me! It's not like I kept a book on everyone who the Potters seemed to know or met, if I did that would be a bloody thick book.

"Ginny!" The old- Richard grinned, hugged her and kissed her on her cheek.

Jane beamed at Ginny as they hugged, after a couple of seconds of joyful embrace ( Not the gross kind) she held her out at arm's length to study her, " I must say, you get more and more beautiful every time we see you, sweetie. Children not giving you a rough time at home I hope?"

Mrs. Potter laughed her musical laugh, " You haven't changed a bit, still possessing the beauty of a thirty year old."

Jane laughed merrily, " I knew there was a reason we love having you over." She turned to Hermione and chuckled, " Couldn't have picked a better sister in law."

Hermione laughed good naturedly, " My husband and his family is sort of a package deal."

Mrs. Potter put her hand over her chest, " Your husband and his stomach is a package deal, we're all just a bonus."

They all laughed along and in that moment I saw a lot of what the vampires forgot about: Love.

They didn't believe in love or maybe just couldn't feel it over their natural desire to hunt and kill. Dominance always outweighed love and that's what made them all the more crueler. They thought love as petty and a weakness, a weakness they were willing to use against you. You have no idea how many people came into that prison that saw them kill their parents, friends, collogues , siblings. It was cruel and unkind. To destroy someone for loving another, it was wrong and that was why I was going to make sure that every vampire is killed.

" And so who is this little miss?" Richard asked, nodding towards me.

I looked between all of them and blushed, knowing what they wanted me to do.

Suck it up and get a move on.

I felt my neck get hot, " Aurora, sir."

He smiled kindly, " Lovely to meet you Aurora, though I must say all this 'sir' and 'mister' is rather formal and all. You are more than welcome to call me Richard or Dentist Dude as the younger generation like to refer to me," He puffed out his chest, obviously proud of himself for gaining such a hip nickname, " This lovely lady is my wife, Jane."

She smiled at me kindly, " Pleasure to officially meet you dear."

Mrs. Potter and Hermione both beamed looking happy with the way things were going.

" Lovely to meet you both." I said earnestly.

" Is this the girl you were talking about last week?" Jane asked Hermione with keen interest.

Hermione nodded, " Smartest fifteen year old I have ever met, naughtiest too."

I blushed and objected, " I do not know what you are talking about, all those incidents were just accidents."

I knew that was an 'edited' version of the truth, but what can I say? Accidents always happen, even when intended.

Hermione rolled her eyes and stated, " And sending fourteen tables at Scorpius because he kept on laughing at you when you lost your wand was a complete accident."

I thought about it for a moment before Mrs. Potter butted- in, " She has a motive-"

" You're making it sound as though I killed someone." I rolled my eyes. Me? Kill? Never. " However that is a pretty good motive to have, if I did have, but I didn't. I think you both missed your callings in life, best detectives ever!"

They all laughed and I did too.

" So, I'm guessing you aren't here for a social visit only?" Richard asked, eying us suspiciously. Don't know why though, it's not like we could do anything wrong, well maybe Hermione and Mrs. Potter not me, if I can't send fourteen tables at Scorpius without Hermione noticing, I highly doubt that I could get away with anything less conspicuous.

" 'Fraid not. We were actually wondering if you could do a check-up on Aurora?" Mrs. Potter asked them.

Richard nodded, " Sure, hey it's what I do."

Everyone chuckled at his joke and I just stared, still not quite sure about what they were going to do. I'm sure I have probably told you a million times: Always know where you are going and what you will be doing.

Unless it's a surprise party, then it is absolutely unacceptable to know where you are going for obvious reasons which I am sure you could figure out. In those circumstances you don't know where you are going, what you might be doing or who might be with you, which could also be potentially dangerous now that I think about it…

Hmm, remind me later to mention to everyone that I do not want surprise parties, it may lead to some unnecessary injuries and broken noses.

HAHAHA!

Not like anyone would throw me a birthday party. Nah, that only happens to people with parents.

Sigh. Oh well, me and you guys can have a mental birthday party. There will be cake and dancing and the best yet is that it's all free! YAY!

Richard turned to me now and smiled, " Now let's see you smile."

I eyed him suspiciously.

I have gone through how many hours of trying on clothes, Flooed twice and probably broke my coccyx and he wants me to smile, for no apparent reason.

" Why?" I asked, slightly stunned at the request.

He seemed taken aback at a question which I thought was pretty reasonable at the moment. Hermione head snapped up as though she just remembered something. " My dad's a dentist, Aurora. He looks and fixes peoples teeth. It's almost the same as going to a doctor. Nothing to worry about." She explained calmly.

I thought that that wasn't exactly true. If I was having a heart attack, be that at a hospital or in the presence of another doctor, I would still worry. But then again, that's my opinion.

Both her parents threw her a confused look, but she just dismissed it with a shake of her head.

Richard seemed to understand quicker and carried on as though nothing happened, " My daughter is right, all you have to do is open your mouth and I'll do the rest."

I recoiled a little at the thought of someone being close to my face. Goodness knows how many punches my face has had to withstand. I swallowed and eyed them all for a moment before nodding nervously.

No, vampires. I'm completely safe. I told myself over and over again.

" Good, follow me." Richard said enthusiastically. And walked into one of the blue doors, his wife followed him and I knew I wouldn't be able to go into the room without a little support. I knew it was childish, but all this just seemed to new and safe for my mind to process.

" Hermione? Mrs. Potter?" I started to ask, but they cut me off.

" Don't worry, Aurora, where're coming with you." Hermione muttered softly and squeezed my hand. The pressure there helped me think, remember that it was okay.

" Thank you." I muttered and followed her and Mrs. Potter in.

I walked through the doors quietly, too anxious to say much. The next room was more or less like the one we had just come from, only smaller with metal appliances on steal trays and a long chair. The chair looked like a complicated bed.

I froze on the spot at the sight and started shaking with fear, I saw Mrs. Potter move closer towards the chair and I grabbed the sleeve of her robe out of instinct. I swallowed deeply, trying to keep the scream that was alive in my throat down. I felt my eyes bulge and I knew I had to get as far away from that thing as possible, I moved back until my back hit the wall, bringing Mrs. Potter with me. A thousand memories came flashing through my mind and I knew was having a mental war of my own.

" Aurora?" Mrs. Potter whispered to me urgently, her voice panicked.

I carried on shaking .

" That's what they strapped me to." I whispered in horror, my voice so soft she had to lean in.

" What?" She asked again.

" They strapped me to it and- and-" I eyed the chair and bit my lip as I saw the sharp syringes and equipment on the tray. I could taste the blood form in my mouth and that just made me feel nauseas. I shook my head, trying to forget the leering faces leaning over me in my memories. Trying to forget all the blood on the walls and knives, the laughs of those who found my unbearable pain funny, trying to forget the metallic scent that my blood gave off as they stitched my wounds back together and the screams when the pain came from them not giving me any painkillers. It was nauseating memories, ones I didn't like remembering. I could feel the walls close in on me, my body turning cold, my heart freezing.

It was probably the one thing that I hated besides the torture session and that was Meal Time. It was always so painful that you would pray that death comes quicker. They sometimes used it as a torture session as well, I mean why not? They had me there already, they were cruel, and besides, what is a little more blood for them. They would usually cut me to drain blood out. They couldn't use their fangs for the fear of venom poisoning, but they didn't mind getting dirty. Looking back I wasn't sure of how I survived that long in the place, maybe my body wasn't ready to die, maybe I did have a guardian angel…

Something seemed to glint in her eyes and I knew she knew what I was thinking, " Talk to me about it later?"

I didn't have time to argue or protest, my restraint was running thin and any second I was going to take off running. I nodded, " Please, just get me away…"

I knew begging was weak. But, I was weak in those chairs too, and I guess history seemed to have a habit of repeating itself.

" Richard, isn't there anywhere else we could do this, like a bedroom or something?" Mrs. Potter asked normally, as if this was a completely normal conversation.

They all stared at us strangely, even Hermione seemed to be confused in the beginning before understanding, like everyone always said: She wasn't the brightest witch of her age for nothing.

Richard scratched his chin, thinking, " I guess we always have the Locker Room, but that won't be very comfortable… But, if you don't trust me that much-"

I interrupted him, not wanting the kind man to feel guilty or anything, " No, it's not that. I just- I just…"

I just don't ever want to sit in a chair like that again.

"Please?" Mrs. Potter said, seeming to understand that I couldn't finish the sentence without it being a direct lie.

" Sure then. We've got extra equipment in the Locker Room anyway. Let's go then." He walked out of the room and his wife followed.

I exhaled loudly, and turned around with my lead-like legs, making my way out of the room, wanting to be as far from the chair as possible. Hermione and Mrs. Potter followed me out, whispering urgently to each other. I ignored them, not wanting to get involved in their conversation.

The locker room was different to other rooms, but still had the harsh, bright light. Twelve large lockers were placed in the middle of the room, making a wall to separate the two sides. We were on the left side of the room. A bunk bed lay in the corner with a couple of chairs in the other corner. The bed looked completely innocent and didn't bring back any frightening memories, which I was relived for. He motioned for me to lie down and rest my head on the numerous pillows he laid for me. I tried not to think about the equipment he might use ( I haven't done this before remember) and keep my memories involving Feeding Time away.

He came back with a large orange tool box and placed in on a stole. I looked up, unsure of what to do. From the corner of my eye I saw his pull out a strange device, I felt my muscles tighten with anticipation.

" Hold the torch for me, Jane dear." He said and I felt my neck relax slightly.

A torch, I could do this.

A bright light flash into my eyes and I shut them tightly out of instinct.

" Relax, Aurora. No one is going to hurt you." Jane cooed softly.

Yeah, sure. That's what they all say and if I had listened to every person- thing that ever told me that, I would be dead by now…

I felt a warm hand on my shoulder, trying to sooth my uneasiness and I knew I was making this harder than it really was. I breathed in deeply. Calm. Exhaled. Collected. Inhaled, cool.

"Okay." I whispered back, not really sure to who, but thought I should.

I opened my eyes and was happy to see that the light wasn't shining directly into them.

" Now open up." Richard said, he had a light blue guard over his mouth and white, plastic glove on. I shuddered.

" What?" I asked, slightly confused as to what he wanted me to open.

I could see him smiling behind the light blue mouth mask, " Your mouth, sweetie."

I am such an idiot. Of course he wanted to check my mouth, isn't that what Mrs. Potter said.

I popped my mouth open slightly, not sure of how much space he needed.

" More, please." He instructed and I opened my mouth as widely as I could, not wanting to make this anymore harder for the guy. He picked up another object that looked like a stick with a mirror at the end. What the hell does he use that for? I tried to see what he was doing, but in the end had to squint so much that I got a headache and stopped. The others just laughed at my attempts to see what's going on, I didn't find that that was very kind seeing as Mrs. Potter and Hermione knew, first had, how curious I could get.

Lucky for me, Richard pitied my fruitless attempts to find out what he was doing to my mouth, " This just helps me look at the more difficult places in the mouth."

I started to nod, but stopped.

Woops, my bad. I had to be completely still…

Like a mouse.

" So, how is living with the Potters, Aurora?" Jane asked , from somewhere above me.

You see now, here is the genius-ness of the question.

I tried to say, " It has been awesome" , when instead it came out of my mouth as " itghhgsdijf."

I blushed red at my reply and couldn't stop the voices in my head from screaming " IDIOT!". Talk about mental issues. Jeez, even my own brain had turned to bullying me.

How nice.

" Now, now, no talking." Richard reprimanded me, his eyebrows frowning with concentration.

I grumbled to myself. Then why do people ask me questions? Jeez, that's like asking to be slapped.

" She will need to get a couple of fillings. But other than that her teeth are perfect," IN YOUR FACE! " Strong, straight. Absolutely perfect."

The sad thing is that I was actually pretty proud of myself when he said that, I know sad. You all might have noticed I am easily pleased.

( Half an hour Later)

I stumbled through the doorway, clutching my jaw. I was supposed to be looking for Mrs. Potter, Hermione and her mother, but couldn't seem to get over the fact that I COULDN'T FEEL MY MOUTH!

He said only the left side would go numb, so I'm wondering why I couldn't feel my mouth at all. Sure, you could say that I am in shock and then I would hit you or you would just stop laughing and leave me to my misery. I bite hard on what could have been my tongue and felt nothing, it felt odd and yet slightly… cool. I know I went hysterical when the numbness started coming over me ( yes, I thought he poisoned me. Moving on) but how else do you suppose I react when I suddenly can't feel my mouth and a guy I had just met is leaning over me with a syringe? Yeah, I thought so too. The girls left shortly after that, deciding to go catch up somewhere where I do not feel the need to comment.

After bumping into a dozen things , I finally found the kitchen. There is a reason why maps were invented, for girls like me. They were huddled around a round, wooden table laughing at something Jane had told them. I was far to grumpy to act appropriate and collapsed into a chair beside Hermione.

" Oh, you're done! Finally!" Mrs. Potter said happily.

I tried to lick my lips, but I just ended up with droll all over my bottom lip. How charming.

" Hablo." I grumbled and then moaned at my awesome pronunciation.

They all stared at me, before ending up in a giggling fit. Jane at the very least tried to disguise it as a giggle ( Bless her heart), Hermione and Mrs. Potter didn't think that was necessary and laughed right-out in the open.

" Don't worry it should ware off soon, dear." Jane said kindly, amusement shining through her eyes.

I nodded that's what Richard said too, well before the… Ahh, never mind, let's not discuss that now.

" Where is Richard anyway? I thought he would be bouncing around with happiness, retirement doesn't do well for a man like him, gets bored too easily." Jane frowned and then laughed at some memory.

Great, I had a retired dude do my teeth, not that he did a horrible job. To be frank, I have no clue what he did, but it involved making my tongue numb and I didn't care much for that.

" Yeah, where's dad, Aurora?" Hermione asked looking around.

I blushed heavily, the room all of a sudden being a little too hot, " Umm… He's Tendum to hibs handump."

"What?" They all asked in sync. Hmm, I wonder if they were practicing that or if it was just by some chance?

I blushed heavier and tried to over-pronounciate my words, " He is tending to his hand."

They were silent for a moment, staring at me in shock, " What!"

" She bit my hand. Stop worrying the all of you, it's quite unnecessary." Richards booming voice came into the kitchen. He was clutching a bloodied cloth around his left hand and I immediately began apologizing again ( which was ignored by everyone). Mrs. Potters wand was already out fixing the wound and I saw Richards eyes glint with amazement and admiration as the purple mist covered it. After three seconds the purple mist-like spell disappeared and so was the wound itself, magic is such a beautiful thing.

" I'mb really sorry." I apologized again, this time they all paid attention to me.

" Don't worry dear, it was an accident." Richard said warmly, " Even a good thing actually. Had some magic done to me, mind –blowing as always."

I saw Mrs. Potter and Hermione blush at his praise.

Note to self: Witches are flattered easily by praise for wand-work.

Hermione turned to me with her wand and I shrunk back into the chair, waiting for the first blow. She just sighed and walked closer to me, " Let's do something about that numbed mouth."

She bent down in front of me and tapped her wand against my lips, warmth immediately spread through it and so did feeling. She removed her wand and I grinned happily.

MWAHAHAHA!
My mouth and I are back in business baby!
Hehehehehe!

I pouted and pulled faces, testing out the feeling in my mouth. Sure I looked like an idiot, but I'm an idiot that could feel my mouth, I was perfectly good.

" She looks like Crookshanks the time Ron gave him peanut butter." Hermione and the others laughed.

I carried on, ignoring them. Whoever that Crookshanks guy is, I bet he's a real looker that was why they were referring him to me. No, I am not vain. I am honest, big difference.

" I hate it when you do that, Hermione. It's more fun seeing them attempt speech, well with a few exceptions like this." Richard laughed along with his family.

I stopped pulling faces then, realizing that it making them laugh… How unkind.

" I know what you mean dad. It's far too cute." Hermione said happily.

"Well, we best get going. Gringotts next." Mrs. Potter clapped her hands, excitedly.

I groaned: The Moment Of Truth.

I slumped my head down onto the table, " Five more minutes?"

"As much as I'm sure you love my parents company , we must be off." Hermione stated, in her forever matter-of-fact tone.

I stood up and followed them all to the chimney for our next Floo travel, as though I wasn't stressed out enough, but no! Let's Floo while we are at it, scare everyone with my ever-present awkwardness. I was starting to think that Mrs. Potter and Hermione was hoping that I would be a expert at the end of the day with Floo-ing- I'm not even sure if that's a word.

Our Goodbyes were fairly quick: I apologized, they ignored me, I apologized again, they told me to stop saying that and made me promise to come visit…

Yeah, hopefully they meant for a social visit not an appointment, 'cause otherwise I'm sick that day. Cough, cough… Good enough to fool them, don't you think?

…

…

…

Just say yes, it's easier for you and for me.

Good. So, now that we have agreed that my acting skills are far more superior that all you other earthlings, we can move onto a more serious note: My Floo Problems.

It followed the same procedure as last time: Hermione goes, I follow as reluctantly as possible, then Mrs. Potter follows. Nothing new, nothing fancy, nothing to confuse you all.

" Gringotts Visitors Quarter ." Hermione said calmly and tossed down the powder for the third time that day, unless she came to the house by Floo Powder too and not by apparition- Shit, I'm digressing again! Again I had to control the overpowering desire to rescue her , maybe Gryffindor isn't out of the question yet. I turned to have my back against the flames, not being able to stand the mere thought of them.

"Your turn, Aurora." Mrs. Potter ushered me into the chimney and passed me the forever-dodgy looking flower pot- what's up with that flower pot anyway? It was creepy!

I eyed it for a moment, debating if broom travel was still out of the question, not that I would be able to ride a broom anyway… Sigh, and there goes Gryffindor!

" See you soon then." I smiled at the friendly old couple and before I could even plan on stalling, I threw the dodgy looking powder down and repeated what Hermione said.

I could immediately feel the turning and squeezing of all my limbs, as though I was being squeezed through lots of odds and ends. It was when I lost feeling all over my body did I come to two conclusions:

a) Richard injected me somewhere either on purpose or by accident, whichever one floats our rocky boat, or

b) I was officially dying.

Now, I don't know about you, but these were both two very well thought of ideas. Shush, you!

I was going to go for both, but then my feet found the floor and so did every other part of my body.

" Now look what you've done, you idiot!" A high-pitched voice screamed from under me.

I silently cursed and got up, ready to apologize ,and ignore the last part. I looked down and swore out loud… very loudly, I might add.

WHAT THE BEEP WAS THAT!

Its ears were long, its face was pasty and wrinkly, the nose was long and hooked, all in all it wasn't a looker. He slowly got onto his feet and I realized how short he was, I've probably seen mushrooms bigger than him.

" Stupid witch, thinks she can crash into us goblins all she wants." The goblin muttered under his breath. I stared at him in shock for a few moments trying to get over what I was seeing… Hmm, please do remember I'm not biased, racist, sexist person at all ( unless you're a vampire, I'll kill you), but it was sort of hard to think of any positive adjectives to describe his looks, height or personality. After three seconds of trying to ignore his lovely and outstanding description of me , one of which involved me having as much worth as a pig ready for slaughter, I tried to help him. Like I said, I am generally well-mannered and all that other stuff, besides I was the one that crashed into him.

He was leaning over some gold and blue coins, picking them up and putting them into an old, dusty looking bag.

I reached down to pick a stray one in the corner, it felt cool under my fingers, almost as though I was touching ice…

" Give that back! Give that back! You thief! You monstrosity!" The goblin attacked me, his fingers pinching at my hands trying to claw the coin from between my fingers.

" Ouch!" I gasped and dropped the coin out of instinct, red marks starting to form on my hands.

I glared at the goblin that was bending over his old hat, stroking it while crying away, " Dimwitted girl! Ruined it all! Should be thrown in with the dragons if I get in trouble for her brainlessness."

"HEY!" I growled. That was harsh! I didn't purposely crash into him and now he was suggesting that I be thrown to the dragons. Do I look like I would be a lovely chew toy? Do I? 'Cause I'll tell you one thing, I do not play well with others… especially if they were baring their razor sharp teeth at me.

" All my hard work for nothing." The goblin muttered away angrily, stroking the coins and stamping his feet. " Gone! Ruined! Worthless!"

I rolled my eyes at his hissy fit and ignored the looks the people who were passing threw me, " Well, excuse me! I was trying to help you-"

He stopped stroking the coin and glared at me, " So, crashing into me was supposed to help, you fool?"

" It was an accident!" I growled at it. Jeez, couldn't he just accept my apology and move on?
" Accident? You magical folk think you're better than us! Stronger-" He started but I interrupted him.

" You forgot prettier too." I added innocently.

That shut him up, but I could see red forming in his eyes and face.

I stared at him coolly. Did he honestly think that I was scared- of him? PUH-LEASE!

He opened his mouth to yell something, but a loud booming voice echoed around the large, marble visiting port, " HOGGER!"

An old-ish man walked towards us. His robes were plum and smart looking, I had a sneaky suspicion that they probably cost a little more than an arm and leg. As he walked closer I noticed the violet color of his eyes. It was strange, I had a feeling that I had seen eyes like those somewhere, but couldn't imagine where.

When he finally stopped storming he was in front of the ass-like goblin and my awesome self.

He's face showed that he was angry and I was all of a sudden wondering where Hermione and Mrs. Potter were.

" Explain yourself, Hodder." The old man said ( Second time today I had referred to people by their age) in a stern voice.

The gol- Hodder looked down at his feet and glared, " Nothing, Sir."

The man stared at the goblin and said in a low voice, " Then why are you causing a scene in front of our customers?"

I opened my mouth to explain, but something about the way the man demanded attention seemed to make me shut my mouth.

" The young," He paused, probably trying to find the correct term for me, " Misses, knocked over my Night Coins… Sir."

The man turned to me and I met his eyes coolly, reminding myself that I was completely innocent, "Something went wrong while I was in the Floo Network and I tripped when I landed, falling accidently, " I put emphasis on the word, " onto the Goblin."

The man looked between the two of us and then said in a busy voice, " I don't have time to deal with petty issues like this Hodder. It was an accident and that's that, don't make me warn you again." He glared at the Goblin with mistrust until the Goblin walked away, carrying the last of his Night coins. He then turned to me and I shrunk back , waiting for my lecture to start. We were however, interrupted by the emerald green smoke of the fireplace and Mrs. Potter stepped out. She seemed surprised to see me … and the old man. Her face showing a faint smile as she said, " Fast service, isn't it Mr. Stoughton?"

He smiled and went forward, ignoring me, and shook her hand enthusiastically, "Mrs. Potter, what a great pleasure it is to finally meet you."

Mrs. Potter smiled at him kindly, " And you. Now, how about we crack on? We still have quite a lot to do today."

He bowed his head apologetically, " Of course, of course. In the letter you spoke of performing an Ancestral and Parental Find, yes? On who?"

She nodded and motioned me forward, " This is Aurora."

I walked towards them with stiff, straight legs and held out my hand, " Nice to meet you."

He shook my hand and laughed, " Nice to meet you officially. I apologize for Hodder, he's always been rogue and slightly out-spoken."

I smiled a little warily, " I've noticed."

He laughed a booming laugh and then motioned us towards a large dark, wooden door. We followed in step behind him. I tried not to stare at everything as I was following, but it was too hard. I studied the goblins handling their or whose ever it was gold, the witches and wizards and who knows what other kind as they walked through the halls, either in a hurry or taking their time. Hermione met up with us just as we were in- well, I have no clue where we were.

She seemed slightly out of breath as she and Mr. Stoughton exchanged necessities. The hallways were huge with many doors and lead into a hundred other tunnels. It was odd walking through there, almost like a dream.

Finally we arrived at a fancy looking door and I knew we had finally come to the right place. He held open the door for us as we walked in.

His office was made of pearly white granite stone, the only things that weren't were his desk, chairs, books on the book shelf and a bench against the one wall. I shivered slightly at the cold, glossy and reflective room, though slightly better than the dentist room.

He walked to the other side of the desk and motioned for us to sit. I tripped on my toe ( YES! MY OWN TOE IS TRYING TO KILL ME! CALL THE AUROR'S!) and would have almost hit the floor if it wasn't for the arm rest of the bench. I stood up straight and walked to the seat, careful not to bump into anything else. I ignored their chuckles and refused to blush, which was easy seeing as it seemed as though my life consisted of falling over and blushing.

After a few seconds of chuckles, Mr. Stoughton finally continued, " We're just waiting for Kromhout to come with all the appliances we will need for today." Kromhout? " It's a pretty simple procedure, although I must warn you that blood will need to be given." I shuddered , but nodded. " It's the only way to check."
" And how long does it usually take to get the results back?" Hermione asked, her face frowning with concentration.

He looked thoughtful for a moment, " Well, it really depends on how strong the blood is. If there is a definite match or a strong blood line it would be fairly quick. If you have a normal blood line, about a day. If you have a weak bloodline about a two days and onwards."

I processed this and then asked a question, " What do you mean by a weak, normal and strong bloodline?"

" Not all wizards and witches are the same, you see? Some of us have a stronger bloodline because of which bloodline we come from. People with the strong bloodlines are usually well-known in the Wizarding World, examples like : The Potters," He nodded to Mrs. Potter, " The Weasleys and even the Malfoys. People with normal amount of magic in their blood is common folk. People with weak magic in their blood is probably families with more Squibs or members who marry Muggles."

I thought about this , until I realized something that could possibly be a little bad for me, " And this applies to everyone? I mean, if someone is in a family with weak magic will that affect her magical abilities or what?"

Mr. Stoughton frowned in concentration, " No. You see, all witches and wizards are different, some of them have more magic in them than normal, but come from a family with weak magic. It's almost unpredictable, almost like Squibs who come from families with strong blood. If you understand?"

I nodded slowly, a little nervous.

Just because you belong to a weak, normal or strong family it doesn't necessarily mean that you are going to fit in that category. Maybe I belonged in a normal family. That would be nice, not too strong and not weak. Enough to get by.

The door opened and another goblin- Kromhout entered, carrying a silver tray with a cattish over the contents inside, I felt my heart quicken.

He laid it out on the table ignoring the greetings. I saw Hermione look at him sadly and I knew that whatever was going on in her head, I didn't want to hear any of it. Kromhout stood in the corner watching us with distrust and distaste from his long, hooked nose.

Mr. Stoughton ignored the goblins lack of manners and carried on. I kept looking at the goblin incase he would jump us when we least expect it. And no! I am not being paranoid, I'm being cautious-

Hey! These goblins don't look child friendly, if you know what I mean?

I wouldn't put it past them to try and rid the world of the ' Rotten blood of Witches and Wizards' as my kind and caring friend Hodder would put it.

Mr. Stoughton took the cattish off the platter and placed it on the far side of the table, on the platter there was a beautiful golden dagger with a thousand different colored jewels on, the other item on the platter was a simple transparent glass tube. He removed both from the platter so that it was empty and then pulled out his wand, tapped the platter and then whispered words too soft for hearing. Immediately the platter started to change into a silver bowl, the surface looked to smooth it almost gave the illusion of water.

I peered into it with curiosity and saw Hermione and Mrs. Potter do the same. The inside was empty and I knew what we would be filling it with.

The Goblin stood next to Mr. Stoughton with a malicious smirk on his face, his spiky and sharp teeth showing. I shuddered at the look on his face.

I tried to ignore the sharp, glittering dagger that kept itself in my vision and tried to focus on what Mr. Stoughton was saying, " – After that you place your hand over the bowl and wait until I tell you that we have enough. It's best that you don't heal the wound by magic seeing as the knife creates a gate way to the rest of your blood in your body and any magic done to the wound will just disturb the cycle. However, most wounds heal once the cycle is complete, so don't get panicky if it bleeds for a little while longer than normal, okay?"

I nodded not being able to find my voice.

Here's the thing: I don't like being hurt, so volunteering to be stabbed open isn't what I would call ' therapeutic' for trying to move on.

" Now, what about the blood that is taken? What happens after it has given us the family?" Mrs. Potter asked and I was slightly relieved.

After my realization about the vampires need for my blood, I wasn't comfortable with giving anyone free samples.

He turned to me to answer, " Half of it would go to the lock on the family vault- if you have one here- but, if not we do whatever you want us to do with it, same as with you do have a vault here. So, what would you like us to do?"

I thought about it.

Hey, I know! Let's hand it out to the next potential vampire done the street and give them my address just in case they need more!

…

…

Yeah- no.

" Destroy it… destroy it all." I ordered. Those vampires weren't going to get another drop of my blood… Never again.

He nodded, and then passed me a paper and beautiful black quill, " We need you to sign this."

I raised my eyebrow, questioningly.

" It's just to say that you did give us permission to do the test." He explained patiently.

I felt a little sorry for him, in a way. All the people who he had to explain this too . It just seems like a lot of work and effort. Besides, there are probably harder patients out there, who would have been a lot more difficult to persuade.

I reached for the quill and paper, and sighed my name at the bottom and then gave a weak chuckle, " Is it okay if I don't put in a surname?"

They all laughed at my joke.

I know, it's lame. But hey! Anything to relive the pressure, right? I mean, it's not every day you go hacking your arm off.

Kromhout picked up the knife and asked in a deadly voice, " Right hand."

I swallowed and stretched my arm out over the silver bowl. I tightened my muscles to stop the shaking, but it was no use.

He held the dagger tightly and firmly in his hands, " Open hand please."

I took a deep breath in and opened my reluctant hand. There was already a scar there, and it glittered in the harsh, white light of the room. His claw like hand snatched mine roughly and I cringed back . He raised the dagger so that it's jewels winked at me in the sun, he brought it down…

" No, wait!" I yelled and he paused. I breathed a loud sigh of relief. I don't know what made me say it or why , but what I asked next was the definition of stupidity, " Let me do it, please?"

I know it's stupid, but I couldn't let someone hurt me again. If anything, all injuries were now in my hands and so be it, caused by my hands.

From their shocked expressions, I knew what I was asking was preposterous.

" By all means." The goblin grinned a devilish grin, which made me all the more glad for my request.

The adults took a lot more time to persuade, but finally I had the dagger in my left hand and my right hand stretched out over the bowl.

"Not too deep, but deep enough to have a good amount of blood flow. Don't want to do this twice." Mr. Stoughton said in his booming voice.

I nodded and tried not to think of doing it twice.

I gripped the dagger tightly in my left hand and leant it against the skin of my palm.

One…

Two…

Three…

"OOW!" I bellowed loudly, almost dropping the blade.

Kromhout grabbed it out of my hand quickly and then grabbed my other hand, placing it above the bowl.

Hermione and Mrs. Potter looked away before I cut myself ( strange seeing as Mrs. Potters a Healer), they were now hovering above me.

I tried to not look at my hand and rather pay attention to the words of encouragement that Hermione and Mrs. Potter were saying, but I couldn't take my eyes off the silver and , now, red bowl.

Blood was spilling from my hand as though it were a waterfall in there and I felt my stomach roll with disgust. The bowl was filling quickly and before I knew it the Goblins chanting had stopped and a cloth was wrapped around my hand tightly, trying to stop the blood in a more… Muggle way.

" That was a bit too deep." Mr. Stoughton informed us.

Oh, yeah! Well, it's not like I'm not aware of that now, thank you very much!
My palm was stinging and throbbing. I watched the goblin stir the blood around with the dagger mumbling words I couldn't understand. It was weird watching him at work. I wonder if goblins would make good clowns? Children are scared of clowns, aren't they? I mean, I'm not afraid of clowns, but still… Never mind, he can stay a goblin, I'll find some other magical creature to use to scare children.

" It looks like juice." I mumbled quietly.

"What?" They all asked, confused at my sudden realization.

" The blood, it looks like thick juice. Hmm, maybe like tomato soup- Gross! I don't ever want to eat soup again!" I cried out.

Stupid soup!

Stupid mirrors!
Stupid dentist chairs!

Stupid dagger!
Stupid Hodder!

P.S: Find alternative words for 'stupid'.

"Calm down, Aurora!" Hermione cooed.

I shook my head. It was strange, I almost felt hysterical. " NO MORE SOUP!"

Hermione nodded, trying to calm me down, " Okay. No more soup."

I sighed, relived. No more stupid soup.

My eyes felt heavy and all of a sudden, sleep sounded good right then. Then again, sleep always sounds good.

Sleeeeeep

Sleeeeeeeeeep

Sleeeeeeeeeeeeep.

I felt a hand on my face, pushing my mouth open. A mint of some kind entered my mouth and I sighed happily at the taste.

" Yummy!" I grinned, trying to chew the sweet.

"It's for quick energy. Get some sugar into you and all." Mrs. Potter said, happily.

Immediately my eyes felt lighter and my brain was less cloudy.

"So, is it ready yet?" I asked, bouncing up and down.

Moving time. Left leg up! Right leg up! Both legs up and don't use them again! Joke, you can't float in midair.

"No, we will send you the results by owl if you would like?" Mr. Stoughton said, eying my strangely.

I am not strange! He shouldn't be staring at me like that, best way to get rid of him was to… Stick my tongue out at him! Of course!

He jumped back at my action, seemly shocked.

See, I'm not strange. I'm awesome, that's what the 'A' in Aurora stands for you know. I'm just pulling your leg- unless you are a fish, but why would a fish be reading about my life? Hmm, hello fish?- I don't know what the 'A' in Aurora stands for, but it's my name and I say that it is for awesome.

"Yes, please." Mrs. Potter said and they started discussing details which I just ignored.

I watched the goblin stir the blood around, I tried to count how many times he was stirred the blood.

One time, two times, three times, four times-

"Aurora, we're going." Hermione called, knocking me out of my own Happy Land.

I nodded and bounced towards the door and followed the two ladies to the Floo again.

" How's the hand?" Mrs. Potter asked, concerned.

I looked down at it, it had stained the brown cloth with red blotches. " I can't feel anything." I said, surprised.

Mrs. Potter threw me her knowing smile, " I might have forgotten to mention back there that I gave you pain pill too." Both Hermione and I stopped in our tracks, " It was a muggle pill, he said anything but magical."

"That's good then. The thought of doing that again, doesn't appeal to me that much."I muttered wholeheartedly.

They chuckled and before we knew it we were back at the Vistors Room .

I groaned at the sight of it, " These things hasn't given me anything but trouble ."

Hermione patted me on the shoulder, " One more stop and then back home."

" Where to next?" I asked sullenly, not even having the energy ( which is saying something , seeing as that's all I have at the moment ) to feel daunted at the sight of it.

"You'll see." Hermione winked and made her way to the fireplace. I swear, in this family you know nothing about anything.

( Two hours later)

Well, there goes my hair. Chop, drop, comb, chop, drop, comb and so on and so on.

Apparently they thought that it was time to have my hair cut, not that I'm complaining. I haven't cut my hair in years, a cut was needed and a cut was what I was going to get.

I'll be honest with you and say that I wanted to go short, but no one agreed to that, not even the hairdresser. They went on for almost twenty minutes about how pretty my curls were, so in the end we just agreed on making it hang above my waist and a side fringe. I was okay with whatever they were going to do, it was hair not a life. I guess the only down side was when they tried to comb it out. Let me just rectify that I only broke three combs, not four. After the cutting was finished everything else went smoothly-ish.

I listened and spoke to the adults, allowing the hairdresser to do her thing.

Currently the two ladies were discussing tonight.

" It would be nice to have you and Ron over again. Harry would like that too, he's been working too hard for his own good. He needs a break night." Mrs. Potter sighed sadly.

Hermione nodded and patted her shoulder, " Besides, it might be a good thing for Hugo to spend some time with his other cousins and not just Fred and Roxanne. Goodness knows he's already stuffed pudding into my shoes twice this week."

I laughed at that, imagining her face as her toes touched the stickiness of the pudding.

" And spending time with James is better in which way?" Mrs. Potter questioned and they both laughed, " James started putting food inside my shoes when he first started walking, Harry found it hilarious, but the moment the throwing of food started I made sure he was on cleaning duty."

I chuckled, listening to their stories about their slightly out of hand children.

" News got round that Albus brought Amanda home yesterday?" Hermione inquired, a small smile on her lips.

I groaned at the name and even Mrs. Potter shuddered a little. Hermione being Hermione noticed our reactions and asked, " What?"

Mrs. Potter shock her head, " Never mind Aurora, she's just made herself an enemy."

I groaned again, " Add her to my long list."

Hermione frowned, " Why would anyone want to be Aurora's enemy? She's the most easiest going person ever."

IN YOUR FACES! I am easy going! Beat that, yall!

Mrs. Potter tried to hide the chuckle that escaped her mouth, but didn't catch it in time, " There was a little accident concerning Aurora's wand. An incident that was sort of like the one that involved Al."

Hermione stared at me in shock.

" It was an accident. Very therapeutic, but an accident non-the least." I objected and then was told off by the hairdresser for the hundredth time to keep my head straight.

"You knocked her out." Hermione whispered in shock.

"Accident." I repeated.

"What did Al say about this?" Hermione questioned.

I groaned loudly, " Al is absolutely furious. Wouldn't even accept my apology and got all angry when I refused to apologize to .. her. Didn't speak to me since yesterday."

I sighed softly.

I missed Al, but the Al from when I first got here. Not the I'm-in-a-relationship Al, he's an ass. I missed the broom flying and sun-rise watching Al. This one was just an impatient, angry, unforgiving imposter of my friend.

"You don't like her?" Hermione asked curiously.

" Not at all." I said angrily.

The sooner they were over the better, and I hoped for everyone's sake that it was soon. Al deserved someone special and kind, not cold and manipulative.

" Almost done." The hairdresser said and took out her wand, she waved it quickly and casted the drying spell.

I looked at the mirror and saw someone that I wasn't used to seeing. They say that a haircut can make you look completely different and in way they were right. My hair looked healthier and stronger and that made me look stronger , healthier and even made me look far more sophisticated.

Don't worry, I'll remain the forever awkward looking teen, but with better hair. You could still see the bite scar on my neck and a couple of cuts on my shoulder, but you could see those before the haircut too. The thing is that a haircut doesn't hide secrets, it's just a change of hair. Hermione and Mrs. Potter circled around me, inspecting the Hairdressers handy work.

" Lovely, much better. Not too short, so you still have those curls." Mrs. Potter said, twisting one of my curls between her fingers.

Hermione nodded in agreement, " Very beautiful."

I blushed beetroot red and hid my face in my hands, " Stop it, you're embarrassing me."

Mrs. Potter chuckled, " Come on, let's go home and show off your new hair style."

I grinned happily, " You do know that in a couple of days it's just going to end up looking like a birds nest again, right?"

Hermione rolled her eyes , " Don't worry, Ginny will be running after you with a brush before it gets habitable for birds."

I laughed and we made our to the fireplace. Hermione was first going home and would come over in a half an hour for dinner, we were going home too, so excuse me while I go do a three second dance party- oh, wait! Too tired to dance.

We bid the hairdresser goodbye and before I knew it we were back in the lounge and I was back to my swearing antic.

" That's the last bloody time I Floo! I Swear!" I bellowed, clutching my right hand- yup, the one that was still not healed from the Blood Tests. I know, who has luck quite like mine? No one, because I don't have luck- wait, I do. It's called bad luck and even that seems to enjoy seeing me fail more than it likes seeing me succeed.

" What happened?" Mr. Potter rushed over at the sight of me clutching my now throbbing hand.

James and Lily had just entered from the kitchen (where else? That was like the meeting place of all Potters) and I wasn't exactly sure if Albus had forgiven me yet, but judging from his missing appearance I would say that he was still rather angry .

" Blood test." I gasped through the throbbing. I stared at the thick cloth around my wound and contemplated whether or not it was worth not healing the damn thing right there and then.

Mr. Potter out his wand and I pulled my wrist away, " You can't heal it! It has to heal by itself otherwise I have to go through it all again."

He nodded, still eying my ragged bandage. I sat down on the chair along with James, Lily, Mr. Potter and Mrs. Potter. Albus still wasn't here, even after the racket I caused, and I was starting to get the feeling that knocking your best friends girlfriend out with a wand is not acceptable in some parts of the world, such as this one.

" So, how was it?" James asked enthusiastically.

Hmm, I wonder who gave him his happy sweets.

" Fun!" Mrs. Potter exclaimed, her red hair framed her beaming face. I swear of all families that I could have gotten stuck with, it had to be the ones with the most beautiful and handsome people. How unfair!
" Yeah, real," I thought of a word, " interesting."

Mrs. Potter rolled her eyes, " Of course it was for you. Only person I had ever met that would insult a goblins looks."

The family turned around to stare at me in shock, all mouths hanging to the floor: " WHAT!"

I blushed and threw my hands over my face, " He was insulting me, and- Wait, how did you know?"

I dropped my hands and stared at her with confusion. She wasn't there, she was still at Hermione's family…

She winked at me, " Word travels fast in Gringotts, it travels faster when you insult a goblins looks."

The family laughed along weakly, still in too much shock. I stared at her, still confused, " But how-"

She rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time, " Bill, he works there. I spoke to him before I Flooed. He told me to tell you, 'You've got guts kid'."

Lily was still staring at me in shock, " That's almost like telling someone a Your Mamma insult-"

James cut her off, " Forget that!" He turned to me and for the first time in a long time he looked dead serious. " You have got to be a Marauder!"

"NO!" Mr. and Mrs. Potter yelled.

I jumped back, looking between the three of them. Jeez, you would have thought someone was asking me to murder someone.

" It's bad enough with have one Marauder under the house, I'm not going to have two!" Mrs. Potter winced at the thought.

James shook his head, " But she's fully qualified-"

" Qualified?" I said slightly bemused.

Mr. Potter agree with Mrs. Potter, " Really, at the very least run it through with Fred ad Roxanne-"

"HARRY!" Mrs. Potter gasped loudly.

Mr. Potter shook his head in dismay, " We can't stop him from allowing people to join his 'group' Ginny."

James grinned happily, " Always the voice of reason, hey dad?"

" What's going on?" A new voice entered the room.

I would know that voice anywhere. Albus stood on the staircase, watching his family with confusion, he avoided my gaze. Great, he is still angry with me.

Lily shrugged her shoulders, " Meh, something to do with James asking Aurora to be a Marauder."

I honestly wasn't sure of what was going on, I thought that it was laugh-worthy at the very least, apparently Albus didn't think so.

" What about me?" Albus asked angrily, his voice louder than normal.

I cringed back into the chair, not used to people shouting anymore. He was glaring James, eyes burning with.. jealousy? We all stared at him strangely.

James shrugged his shoulders, not really understanding the tone Albus was using.

" Al, let's be realistic," Hypocrite, " chances are you're going to become prefect, if not Head Boy with your marks and being a marauder will only ruin your chances."

" James Potter was Head Boy, Lily Evans was Head Girl and even Remus Lupin was prefect!" Albus countered.

James nodded and was about to open his mouth to reply, but Mrs. Potter cut him to it, her eyes blazing, " Albus help Aurora take the things to her bedroom."

I looked at her in shock. No! Albus seemed far too angry to be in the Lets-Talk mood. He was angry at me, once again. I swear he has permanent PMS!

He looked at his mother and opened his mouth to object, but one Weasley glare from her made him change his mind. I stood up from my comfy spot on the chair and walked over to the last of the bags that weren't taken to my room. I picked up one with my left hand and then one with my right hand, but dropped it with a gasp.

You see, my stupidity is a twenty-four hour things not an occasional thing.

Albus rolled his eyes and picked all four of the bags up without even staggering with at the weight. Unfair! If I can't be pretty, you would at least have thought that they would give me some strength, but no. Then again, it's not like I have any use for strength, except fighting off my admirers.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA- No.

And we both turned for the stairs, not looking at one another. I caught Mrs. Potters stare and threw her the worst glare I could manage- so, not so scary then.

We both walked up the stairs in an uncomfortable silence. Now, whoever said that silence speaks the loudest words, was obviously someone awkward, like me… Don't laugh, it's not polite.

I opened my door for us and was slightly relived to find it clean- which is strange seeing as where're talking about, well, my room. But, don't worry, it will be its messy self in a matter of hours.

MWAHAHAHAhA!

Albus placed the parcels on the pile next to my bed and started to walk out.

" Albus!" I called and he stopped in his tracks, " I don't like her."

I told it to him straight, no beating 'round the bush. I knew that if Al and I were going remain friends, with or without his girlfriend, I had to be honest with him. Well, it was worth a shot.

He turned to me so quickly that I was sure he made a mark on my floor, and glared, " So, that's why you knocked her out? Because you didn't like her? And to think that I actually thought you were cool-"

" I have never hurt someone because I didn't like them in my life!" I hissed, getting defensive, my heart pounding fast in my chest. " And to think that you would assume that I would, hurts Al! I don't like her, she doesn't like me, but that's does not mean that I would hurt her for no reason!"

Al took a step back , raising his voice higher than mine, " Then why did you do it? She told me that you said rude things to her in the kitchen this morning-"

" I DIDN'T!" I yelled at him. That lying bitch!

" Really? And you honestly think she would lie to me?" He asked angrily, betrayal seen clearly in his eyes.

I raised my eyebrow, " And you think I would, Alie-Poo?"

He knew what I was asking him, he knew that I was asking if he trusted me and for some reason he couldn't answer with a direct answer.

He took a step back, but shook his head with anger, " You don't like her, you knock her out. It's not that hard to put two and two together, Aurora. So, if not for hatred, then what, do you just like violence?"

What? H-How could he think- think that I would be like that?

I gasped and took a step back, my hand covering my mouth. I looked away so that he wouldn't see the pain in my eyes or face.

" It was an accident, Albus." I whispered and faced the window. The sun was going do and I knew that it would be dark before the hour was up. I swallowed hard, trying to ignore the pounding of my heart. How blind could he be to think that I liked violence?

Silence washed over us or maybe he left, I didn't care. I didn't care about him or friendship. I thought he was my friend, I thought friendship was about kindness, honesty and trust, but if this was what it really was, I didn't want to be a part of if then.

" I'm sorry, that was harsh." I heard him whisper and I jumped back slightly in fright, forgetting he was there.

I swallowed and turned around to look at him, my last chance for him.

" I told you the truth about my feelings towards her, I didn't lie, I won't do that. But to think that you honestly think that I like violence and that I would deliberately hurt someone not out of self defense is another thing entirely, Albus. I want to be your," I paused, " friend again and all this fighting isn't helping."

Albus was silent for so long, I was actually start to get embarrassed. Maybe my feelings were one-sided . After a few seconds he nodded and relief washed over me.

Albus smiled, though I could see it was still strained, " I still want to be your best friend too."

I rolled my eyes as his arms folded around me.

I knew that Albus hadn't really forgiven me yet for knocking his girlfriend out, but at least he knew that it wasn't because I hated her, it was just an accident and however many more times she comes in between mine and Albus friendship, I knew one thing: She wasn't going to ruin it.

We were quite for a moment, before Albus broke the silence, " They say that if you roll your eyes it'll stay like that."

I pulled away and glared at him, and just like that things were back to normal, our normal.

He chuckled, " They say the same for glaring too."

I laughed, " And what do they say about stupidity?"

He pretended to think about it and sighed with complete dismay, " Stuck with that too, I guess. Why are you experiencing some symptoms?"

" No, but you are." I grinned happily and laughed when he collapsed… on to my bed. OH HELL NO!

I frowned and stamped my foot, " Hey! I spent a good twenty minutes making my bed this morning and you mess it up in less than a second."

He sat up and threw me his half-grin. His hair was messy and fell into his face, his glasses lopsided,

" It takes you twenty minutes to make a bed?"
I knelt down on my bed and slapped him.

" OWW!" I moaned as the pain shot through my hand and the stinging started again. Like I said this was a twenty-four-seven job, my stupidity.

Albus was in front of me already and clutching my hand, " What did you do?"

His voice was thick with concern and I was glad to have him as my best friend again, not that I was going to show it.

" Oh, other than hack my hand off with a dagger?" I asked sarcastically, still in quite a lot of pain.

I knew he would have rolled his eyes if he I could see him and if I wasn't in pain, " Why?"

I drew a deep breath as he started unwrapping the stained cloth, " The blood tests required blood and well, yeah, a wound was formed."

The cloth now laid discarded on the side of my bed as he inspected it closely, " Couldn't you have gone any deeper?"

I knew he was being sarcastic, but hey! my mind wasn't exactly right at the moment, " I guess I could have-"

" That's not what I meant," He said and shook his head, " Wait here, okay?"

I nodded as he got up and left out my door. Hey, it wasn't like I was going to do any more unnecessary walking today either- I needed relaxation time.

He came back a few seconds after holding another cloth, he took my hand with the lightest of touches and started wrapping the new cloth around it. Immediately it felt better. I looked at him immediately, " Albus-"

" I know. No magic around the wound that could interfere with the Cycle, believe it or not , but I did some extra reading on Parental and Ancestral Finds when you first told me about what they were going to do. I also know that this is a bandage made for these kind of things, so don't worry."

I stared at his hands as they wrapped my wound up nice and tightly, " Thank you." I whispered.

He tucked the last piece in and then looked up at me with kind eyes. I don't know how long we just sat there and stared at each other, but I do know it was long enough to not even feel the wound any more.
The main door banged loudly and we both jumped up and apart, blushing deeply.

" Woah- Umm- right." Albus stammered and ran his hand threw his hair.

I blushed deeply too, " Yeah." I looked away, " well, that's probably Hermione and them, your mom invited them over for dinner."

Albus laughed a shaky laugh, " Yeah, might as well go greet the other cousins."

I laughed a shaky laugh too and followed him out the door that he held open for me. We walked down the stairs in an awkward silence for the second time that day and I knew what was running through both of our head: WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!
I mentally shook myself. I was confused as to why I found it embarrassing, I shouldn't, but for some reason I did. I mean, it wasn't like we were kissing or anything, we were just gazing- looking into each other's eyes. That's it, so why was it so awkward then?

You would have thought it had been forever since I last saw Hermione with the way she greeted me, Ron complemented on my hair and this started a chain of compliments, I blushed and looked away only to catch Albus's eyes and have him give me wink.

We were all moving to the kitchen when a large, white owl flew in through the window and dropped a letter on the floor in front of Mr. Potter.

" You see, mum! Post before dinner." James yelled happily.

But Mrs. Potter wasn't paying attention to him, none us were, all our eyes were on Mr. Potter who was staring at the envelope with curiosity.

He looked up at everyone and then looked directly at me as he spoke, " It's for Aurora," Me? " from Gringotts."

Everyone' s eyes were on me, I knew that, but I wasn't watching them. I was focused on the letter in Mr. Potters hand. That's not right, it couldn't be.

" Already?" I asked, my voice showing the disbelief and confusion that I knew was on my face.

Mrs. Potter nodded seriously, " Maybe you do have strong blood after all."

I stayed silent and just kept my eyes on the letter that Mr. Potter was holding out to me. I couldn't move, my body, my arms, my mind couldn't move. I had gone numb. This was it, my future, my past, my present. I wasn't going to be Aurora Whatever-her-name-is anymore. This was me.

" Come on, Aurora. Take it." Mr. Potter said patiently, holding the letter out to me.

I wanted to take it, to open it myself and see, but I couldn't.

I cleared my throat, not taking my eyes off the letter, " Open it for me and tell me, please?"

No one said anything, and I was wondering why, why couldn't they just do what I asked for once? I couldn't open it up, I couldn't even form sentences at the present moment.

"Aurora, I think this is too personal to have someone else open it." Mr. Potter tried to reason with me.

I shook my head slightly and looked up at him at last, " I can't do it, so please?"

He looked me in the eyes and started to open the envelope, his hands weren't shaking as I knew mine would, he's hand movements were controlled. No one said a word as he started to unfold the paper neatly. My heart was beating so fast that I was surprised that no one else could hear it.

We watched as Mr. Potters eyes scanned the paper quickly and before any of us could stop him, he collapsed into the chair the stood in the hallway.

" Harry!" Ginny gasped and bent over him, inspecting him , frightened from his actions.

He wasn't looking at her, he was looking at me. His eyes were bulging as he stared at me, but I knew there was something else that shown through them other than surprise, it was realization. His mouth was hanging open and his body had frozen. He was still staring at me. I saw the letter on the floor and felt my heart stop at the sight, was it that bad?

" Harry say something!" Ron demanded, he was scared too.

I looked back at the letter only to find it in Mrs. Potters hand, she read it quickly and just as quick as Mr. Potter her hand covered her mouth in shock as she stared at me too.

My body started shaking, " What!"

My breathing came out rugged and uneven. What was so bad?

Three heartbeats of silence before I receive the answer. Three heartbeats until the life I had lived came to an end and a new one began. Three heartbeats until what I thought was freedom would turn into the worst battle I had ever faced.

Mr. Potter swallowed and I knew that he was finally seeing me.

Two heartbeats, everyone drew their breath.

One heartbeat, I received my answer.

"You're a Black." He whispered, and yet it was able to echo.

SOOOOOOOO?

What do you think?

Of her being a Black? Of Her and Albus? Of the Shopping? Of her visiting the dentist? Of her going to the bank?

See MissCazBroonAccioCreation- I made her call him Alie-Poo! ^_^

Read and review and i will try to update soooner!

Love

Prongs4life