Alexandra Potter
Chapter Fourteen: Back and Back Again
Scene 6/6
The last day of term arrived sooner than Alex would have liked, bringing to an end the two weeks of bliss which had followed the end of exams. While the older students were still studying frantically every night, the first-years had been able to relax, spending the sunny days running around the castle.
Slytherin had won the house cup, mostly thanks to their quidditch success, with Gryffindor coming in a close second. Ravenclaw followed, and Hufflepuff was, as usual, bringing up the rear. That hadn't stopped them from enjoying the leaving feast though, and Alex was still feeling full the morning they were due to leave.
"You have to eatsomething," said Susan, nudging a basket of freshly baked croissants towards her. "The train takes hours to reach London and the trolley only sells sweets."
Alex reluctantly took a croissant but couldn't bring herself to eat it, so she wrapped it in a napkin. "I'll have it later," she said, stifling a yawn. "It's too early."
"That's not a bad idea, actually," said Susan, and she started constructing a sandwich out of bacon and a toasted English muffin.
Professor Sprout came over and smiled warmly down at them.
"All ready to go, girls?" she said, "the elves will be taking your trunks in an hour."
"I'm all packed," said Alex, nodding.
"Me too," added Susan.
Lily coughed. "I'll just, er, finish up," she said, and Alex laughed as she ran from the hall. The last Alex had seen, Lily's bed had been covered by a small mountain of robes.
"Excellent," Sprout said, following Lily with her eyes. "Alex, Professor Dumbledore would like to speak with you in his office."
"Now?" said Alex, glancing at Susan.
"As soon as you've finished breakfast," said Sprout, "the password is toffee crisp."
Alex looked down at her empty plate. "I think I'll go straight away," she said as Sprout moved away.
"No problem," said Susan, and she passed Alex the sandwich she'd made. "Here, here take this."
Alex rolled her eyes but took the sandwich nonetheless. "Meet you in the entrance hall?"
Susan nodded. "Don't be late!"
The way to Dumbledore's office was quiet, with everyone either eating breakfast or packing. Alex made it to his door without seeing a single student.
"Come in," called Dumbledore when she knocked on the door, and she pushed it open to find him sitting behind his desk. He gestured to one of the chairs opposite. "Please, take a seat."
She did so, the memory of her arrest playing vividly in her mind. Why did Dumbledore want to speak with her? Was it about Daphne? The Slytherin girl still hadn't returned to school.
"Well, Alex, it's been quite a year, hasn't it?" he began, and he picked up a parchment and glanced at it. "I must congratulate you on your exam results. Straight Os are no mean feat."
"Thank you, sir," Alex said cautiously. "Hopefully next year will be… quieter."
Dumbledore chuckled. "The Chinese have a curse," he mused, "May you live in interesting times. I suspect you've rather learnt its true meaning this year, yes?"
Alex offered him a smile.
"Well, here's to boredom!" he continued, and he pulled out another, much larger sheet of parchment, rolled up into a scroll. "The reason why I called you here today is frightfully dull, I'm afraid, but cannot be avoided. This--" he indicated the scroll "--is the paperwork for the weregild of 1500 galleons which you are to pay Mr Greengrass."
"Oh," said Alex. She'd completely forgotten about it. Dumbledore unravelled the scroll, laid it upon his desk and passed a quill towards Alex.
"Gringotts requires your signature to authorise the transfer," he said, pointing to a space near the bottom for her to sign. She scribbled her name without flourish and passed the quill back to Dumbledore.
"Good," he said, rolling the scroll back up again. "Now, we should discuss your finances."
Her finances? What was wrong with them?
"After the goblins transfer the weregild, your balance will be 1368 galleons," Dumbledore went on. Alex did the mental arithmetic: it was just over £200,000. "Between your Hogwarts fees, books and other expenses, you are currently spending around one hundred galleons a year, which means, of course, that your balance will almost halve by the time you leave Hogwarts."
Alex nodded. It was still more money than she ever thought she would have, but she'd taken quite the hit. "So no racing brooms, then," she said with a smile, having had no intention of buying one.
"Quite," said Dumbledore. "You are far from bankrupt, but I would advise you to be careful from now on. You might even like to consider a part-time job -- in a few years, that is."
"I'll think about it," said Alex, her mind going to some of the shops in Hogsmeade. Working in somewhere likeManorcould be interesting.
"Marvelous," Dumbledore said, tucking the weregild scroll into a drawer. "Time is precious, so we should next move on to the issue of your invisibility cloak."
Alex sat up straight. "The Greengrasses don't have it?" she said, surprised.
"No, Alex," he said, "Professor Snape was able to retrieve the cloak, before Miss Greengrass' things were returned home. The cloak remains in his possession."
She frowned. Professor Snapehatedher. "Sir?"
"In light of this year's events, passing you such a powerful item was, perhaps, premature," he said, and he held up his hand to forestall her objection. "The cloak is, of course, still yours, and Professor Snape is merely keeping it safe until you turn seventeen."
"Seventeen?" said Alex, incredulous. Dumbledore peered at her over the top of his spectacles and she looked down, suddenly embarrassed by her outburst.
"Seventeen," said Dumbledore firmly. "However, should Professor Snape believe you worthy of the cloak before that time, he may choose to return it to your possession. I have left the matter in his hands."
The cloak was as good as gone. She knew better than to argue it, though: Dumbledore was resolute. "Seventeen it is, then," she muttered, speaking to her shoes.
Dumbledore smiled mysteriously. "We'll see," he said. "You have worked hard to make amends this term. I know of your apology to Miss Granger -- should you continue in this manner, I have no doubt that Professor Snape will be convinced of your maturity." He stood up and the door swung open. "I look forward to seeing you next term, Alex," he said, "and remember, my door is always open to you."
Alex forced a smile and stood up, seeing the dismissal. "Thank you, sir," she said, "and have a good summer."
The ride to London was long, yet Alex didn't want it to ever end. Every mile away from Hogwarts was another mile closer to the Dursleys and a summer of no magic.
"Why so glum?" asked Susan as they settled themselves into a compartment. The moment they sat down, their trunks popped into existence on the racks above them. "Surely you're looking forward to the summer?"
Lily cackled. "She's just upset that she's not going to have homework for months!" she joked.
Alex rolled her eyes and ignored her, speaking pointedly towards Susan. "My aunt and uncle don't really approve of magic," she said, "I expect it's going to be a very boring summer."
Susan laughed. "But of course we'll visit each other!" she said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Besides, it's your birthday in July, isn't it? We'll have to do something for that! I'm sure, if I asked Dad, he could help organise something…"
Alex's mood instantly lightened. Things wouldn't be like before. She was a witch now, and even if she couldn't do magic in the holidays she could still take the Knight Bus.
"You're right," she said, a smile growing on her face as endless possibilities occurred to her. There was so much of magical Britain she had yet to see. "Have you ever been to the Museum of Magical Natural History? I heard they actually have the skeleton of an English red dragon!"
Lily groaned and put her head in her hands. "Please tell me we're not going to a museum for your birthday," she said, and Susan laughed.
"Well, where would you go?" asked Alex, and then they were off, arguing over different activities, planning sleepovers and trips. By the time they reached London they had enough plans to last ten summers, and more besides.
"I'll write you tomorrow!" called Alex as Susan wandered off with her dad.
"And me!" demanded Lily, who had to wait for her sister.
The Dursleys were waiting for Alex on the other side of the barrier. Vernon grunted and took Dumbledore's box from her. "Good year?" he asked, his tone clearly indicating that he didn't want details.
"Yes," said Alex, her mind flicking back to all the drama. To all the magic. To her friends. "The best."