Taking Chances and Making Changes
Authors Note - This story is an AU. It follows canon events up until the end of Prisoner and beginning of Goblet. I know that I said that I would usually upload on a Wednesday or a Thursday but I got this chapter finished earlier than expected so rather than waiting another day I decided to post it. Hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer - I own nothing except my OC's. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling. Basically, if you recognize it from the books/films then it is not mine.
Hayley POV
Waking up I saw that it was still quite early even for me and knowing that I wouldn't be able to get back to sleep now I decided to do something productive and continue to study my textbooks.
Because I had woken up at five in the morning by the time I realised it was now ten and I was getting hungry I had somehow managed to complete the remaining 7 chapters in each book. I smiled as I felt that I could actually manage to pass both exams.
While I was eating breakfast I decided that it was time to make up my mind about who I should have as my guardians. By the time I had finished eating I had firmly made up my mind. Once finished I went upstairs to write a short letter to Vinclaw about who I wanted as my guardians before putting the letter back in the envelope with the lineage test. Curiosity peaking I looked at Vinclaw's suggestion for my guardian that he had originally written and was glad to see that it was the Tonk's. I was also glad that I had restrained myself enough to not look at it until I had made up my mind.
Making sure that I was ready I swiftly left the pub and made my way up the alley towards Gringott's. Going inside I went over to the nearest available teller."This needs to go to my account manager" I say handing him the envelope and my vault key.
The goblin nods and puts the envelope in a pile with other letters."I will make sure it reaches him"He says
"Thank you,"I say smiling as he hands me my key back
When I arrived back in my room I saw an owl waiting with a letter attached. Taking the letter and unfolding it I smiled seeing that it was from Remus.
"Dear Hayley,
I am glad that you like the set of quills for your birthday and Sirius told me that he is happy that you liked the pendant. I had suggested to him that with the amount of trouble that you find yourself in, it would definitely be useful. He would have written himself but he is wanting to keep a low profile until we are at Potter Manor. We are well on the way with sorting through the items at his family home and should be moved into Potter Manor permanently by the end of the week. Sirius also told me to tell you that even if you do decide to find yourself, new guardians, that you will always be welcome to stay with us whenever you like. I also have some great news. I have gotten myself a new job at Obscurus Books in Diagon Alley. The owner is aware of my condition but is not bothered by it due to his uncle being one too. The pay is good and the other two staff members are kind and friendly. Sirius told me that his account manager Vintooth is aware of his innocence but due to the ever poor relationship between Goblins and the Ministry they are unable to do anything about it. This means that he has access to his vaults and that I didn't need a job but I know that I would go crazy without something to occupy my time with. Sirius has said that if you would like you can come and spend the day at the manor tomorrow as we are taking a break from sorting. You can also invite your friend to come if you wish as Sirius says that he is interested in meeting the Weasley Twins to give them some prank ideas and tips. We will be returning to the Manor from Grimmauld Place at around nine o clock so anytime after that will be fine.
Looking forward to seeing you
Be safe
Remus and Padfoot"
Setting the letter down as I thought that it would be nice to see them both of them and the look on Fred and George's faces when they met two out of 4 of the marauders would be priceless.
Making my mind up to invite them as well as Hermione, Ron and Neville I thought inside my head.
"Hey guys, how are you all?"I say
"I'm good thanks, Hayley, how are you?"Neville responds
"Hey, Hayley. I and Ron are okay. He might not respond as he's currently playing Quidditch with his brothers. How are you?"Hermione says
"I'm okay thanks, guys. That's fine Hermione. I was wondering if you guys are busy tomorrow?"I ask them both
"No how come?"Neville asks
"I don't think we are Hayley why do you ask?"Hermione says
I tell them about the letter from Remus and Sirius glad that I had explained the situation with Sirius to Neville earlier during the summer.
"I would like that Hayley and I should be able to go. I will just have to tell my grandma that we are spending the day in Diagon Alley and I should be allowed."Neville says
"I and Ron should be able to come. We will do the same thing as Neville and it shouldn't be a problem especially if the twins are with us. We will make sure they explain everything to them later" Hermione says.
The visit to see Sirius and Remus at Potter Manor came and went. The twins had been so excited that they were meeting two of the Marauders that they were speechless for what was the first time in their lives. They couldn't believe that Remus who had taught them for a whole year was a marauder and they had absolutely no idea.
Despite the day supposed to be relaxing and fun, Hermione had insisted that she quiz me on the textbooks to ensure that I was completely prepared for the exams were soon coming up.
It was about 4 days later when I got a letter from Vinclaw saying that the Tonks had replied to his letter saying that they would love to meet me before going ahead with filing the required paperwork. We had arranged to have the meeting at Gringotts on Sunday the 8th at eleven o'clock, giving me two days to try and get over my nerves and fear that they wouldn't like me. I had written to Sirius asking him about the Tonks as he and Andromeda were cousins. He had reassured me that they were very nice and friendly which helped me to calm my nerves somewhat.
Sunday morning I woke up feeling quite nervous but also very excited. I got myself ready for the day making sure that to wear something smart. Despite knowing that I really should get something to eat I was so nervous that I had almost no appetite at all. With that in mind, I decided to only get something small. Going downstairs I ordered some orange juice and two slices of toast and jam. Sitting in my usual corner I ate slowly trying to kill as much time as possible before I had to leave giving myself less time to work myself up into a nervous wreck. Once finished I ran back upstairs to grab a jacket because despite it being the beginning of August it was quite cold. Heading back down while putting my jacket on and zipping it up I left the pub and walked slowly through the Alley heading towards the bank.
Arriving at the bank I explained to a teller that I had a meeting with my account manager. After confirming my identity I was on my way to Vinclaw's office. Standing outside taking a breath gathering every ounce of my courage I knocked on the door hesitantly opening the door.
A few hours later I was back in my room at the Leaky Cauldron reflecting on my meeting with the Tonks. Sirius and Tom's reassurances that they would be really friendly were true. All three of them had been lovely and I got along really well with Nymphadora. Her reaction to her full name was hilarious and I swear that I had been able to detect a small smile on Vinclaw's face. She had told me to either call her Tonks or Dora. She told me that she had just recently finished training to become an auror and that she would start as a fully trained auror in a week. Ted was also really friendly. He was quite reserved and quiet and was more than happy to let his wife and daughter lead the conversation. Andromeda was very kind reminding me of Mrs Weasley in that respect but was also proper and had a professional vibe to her reminding me very much of Mrs Longbottom.
After the meeting had finished and the paperwork was ready to be filed within the next few days we went out for some lunch. At the end of the meal, we had arranged that I would move in with them at the end of the week so that not only did they have time to get my room ready it went that I had a chance to get all of my things packed. Knowing that it wouldn't take me too long to get everything packed I knew that I could leave it for a few days.
The rest of the week passed uneventfully and before I knew it Friday morning had arrived. I woke up much earlier than normal not sure whether it was due to nerves or excitement. I packed away the last few items that I had left out before locking my trunk and putting it next to my door along with the suitcase that I had bought after getting rid of my old worn duffel bag from the Dursleys. Once everything was done I sat on my bed until I heard a knock on the door. Opening it I smiled seeing that it was Dora. She shrunk my suitcase and trunk down putting them in her pocket. Going downstairs I saw Ted talking to Tom. After handing my key back to Tom I turned to Dora."Where's your mum?"I say as I had noticed that she wasn't there.
"Mum was called into work this morning as they urgently needed her to cover someone's shift. She said that she will be back in time for lunch though"Dora explains to me
We soon left using the floo to travel to the Tonk's home. Luckily my exit of the fireplace wasn't nearly as bad as Dora's and so I avoided looking like a fool for now. Looking around I noticed that it was very homely but also looked fairly modern and elegant. Dora showed me the house ending with my room. Opening the door for me I looked around quickly a huge grin forming as I stepped further inside. They had somehow managed to decorate the room in light blues and greens which were my favourite colours. They had also put up a Puddlemere United poster above my bed. The bedroom window looked out onto the large garden with a patio area. Dora helped me to unpack my things from my trunk and suitcase. She helped me to unpack my books by placing them on the bookcase that was next to my wardrobe. Taking the Arithmancy and Ancient Runes books from the trunk and placing them on my desk with my stationery noticing the curious look on her face. "Why are you reading the third year textbooks?"She asks me confused
"I took Divination and Care of Magical Creatures as my third-year electives but at the beginning of summer, I asked if I could change to Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. I was told that I could either take the third year exams at the end of summer or start the third year curriculum in 4th year with the current third years. So I chose to take the exams at the end of summer" I explained to her
"When are your exams then?"Dora asks
"I take the exams on Friday the 20th of August and I get my results back a week later,"I say remembering the information
"Well good luck I'm sure you'll do great"Dora says smiling at me"
"Thanks, Dora. I hope so"I say slightly nervously.
During the last week between then and my exams, I made sure to keep reviewing my notes as much as possible and taking the practice quizzes numerous times. Andromeda and Ted let me as they knew that it was important to me but also made sure that I took plenty of breaks and got enough sleep. When Tonks wasn't working she made sure that I had some fun by taking me shopping. Four days before my exams the guardianship papers were filed and by the next day, the news was all over the Ministry and by extension the press. There was no news of Dumbledore trying to repeal the change in guardians but there was also no contact from him which was something that we hadn't expected. The same day we had gone to Vinclaw who took the charm off of me and to avoid being mobbed by people in the alley we apparated straight there and back home again.
On the day of my exam, Andy had made blueberry pancakes for breakfast in the morning which had quickly become my favourite breakfast that she would make. Because my first exam was at nine o'clock in the morning Dora escorted me to the ministry for my Ancient Runes exam. I left my communication ring at home for the exam after Neville, Ron and Hermione had wished me luck. I had anticipated a lot of stares from people but Dora made sure that anyone who even looked at me for too long was given a very deathly glare.
Once the first exam was over after 90 minutes I left the exam room finding that Dora was waiting to take me to my Arithmancy exam. The Arithmancy exam was slightly longer at 120 minutes. After finishing I was glad when Dora was waiting for me to take me home. When I got home I was so mentally exhausted that as soon as I entered my bedroom I immediately flopped into bed to sleep.
Authors Note - Hello everyone. Yes, I know that chapter is much shorter than previous ones I apologise. I was suffering some major writer's block and was procrastinating a lot. I decided to not include the Quidditch World Cup. I was going to include it in the next chapter but I decided against it. Once again a huge thank you to everyone who has supported me and this story by reading, reviewing and following/favouriting.