“Her name is Olette,” Hailey proudly announced to Andi and Dora while carrying her new owl with care. 

“Olette? Sounds like Owl ette to me,” Dora cackled. Her hair was dark purple today and her eyes were a bright red. She looked rather demonic. 

Hailey rolled her eyes at Dora, before pouting. “I thought it was cute!” Hailey leaned down to talk to her owl. “Don’t listen to the mean, old lady, Olette, she’s just jealous.”

Dora mock gasped, holding her hands to her chest. “How could you call me mean, after I bought you Olette in the first place!” 

While giggling, Hailey replied, “So you’re not disputing that I called you old, just mean.”

More fake gasps followed. “Mum! Do you hear this? Rude!”

Andi was laughing at both Hailey and Dora, her grin warm and happy. “You’re on your own with this one, I’m afraid. You’ve been too great of an influence on her, Dora.”

Dora pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. “That’s totally besides the point. How was I supposed to know I was too good at teaching?”

A very unladylike snort escaped Andi’s lips as she laughed at her daughter's antics. “You reap what you sow, young lady.”

“Why didn’t anyone ever warn me that my actions have consequences?”

Andi led Dora and Hailey up the marble steps of the Gringotts bank, just before they were about to head in, one of the guards stopped them. Hailey was surprised that they’d use children for the job, before she realised that it was, in fact, a goblin wearing armour. 

“Sorry, no owls allowed inside, miss,” the goblin said in a gruff yet apologetic voice. 

Hailey automatically looked to Andi for support, who was biting her lip, trying to decide what to do. 

Dora grabbed the handle of Olette’s cage and took her out of Hailey’s grasp. “Here, I’ll look after her. You go inside with mum and organise your bank vault.”

Smiling sweetly at Dora, Hailey thanked her and the goblin, before rushing inside after Andi. Hailey immediately stopped in awe of how beautiful the large bank room was. The floor, pillars and walls were all black marble and the ceiling was white and covered in beautiful, shining, glowing chandeliers. Witches and wizards of all sorts walked or stood around the room, many of them talking to various goblins in fancy clothes that looked to be from really old styles. 

Andi stopped to let Hailey take in the sights, before leading her deeper into the building, in between a dozen or so large desks running parallel to each other, all with goblins behind them. Each and every one of them were staring at Hailey, their big bushy eyebrows raised in puzzlement, except for the goblin they were walking to. 

They walked up to the tallest desk in the room, the goblin sitting behind it looking down at Andi and Hailey impassively. Hailey had to crane her neck as far as it would go for her to still see over the desk. 

“Wands please,” the goblin said, their voice smoother than the guard outside. 

The goblin had pale, crinkly skin with long pointy ears that pointed sideways instead of up like a fantasy elf. Hailey could see his pointed teeth as he smiled at them. At least she hoped it was a smile, it was rather intimidating after all. 

“Unfortunately, we haven’t yet been able to acquire a wand for Heir Apparent Hailey Potter. I believe that you have other ways of establishing someone’s identity, yes?” 

The goblin glanced at Andi as she spoke, before looking at Hailey. She wanted to hide behind Andi, but forced herself to stand up straight and look at the goblin. 

“Very well. It is a simple procedure to test one’s blood. A wand is the easiest, but no matter. A blood test might be better to establish the ancestry for an heir of a sacred twenty eight household anyway. Place your hand upon the table please.” The goblin gestured towards a certain spot, smiling at Hailey. She could only assume it was meant to reassure her. 

“ Like this? ” Hailey asked, as she placed her hand, palm down, on the spot the goblin had pointed to. The goblins eyes went wide with shock as she spoke. Hailey frowned at him and looked at Andi, who was looking equally surprised. “What? What’s wrong?”

Hailey turned to look back at the goblin as he spoke. “ Heir Apparent Potter, how do you know how to speak Druid? ”

“ Druid? What’s that?” 

“ It’s the language we are speaking right now. It’s widely considered to be one of the languages that many modern day languages evolved from. In particular languages spoken in the British Isles. ”

Her nose scrunched up as she thought about what he had said. She hadn’t even noticed that he wasn’t speaking English at first. “ I didn’t even realise, this is the first time that I’m aware that I could speak it, let alone I was actually speaking it. I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name. ”

The goblin smiled at her again, this time it had more warmth in it compared to last time. “My name is Griphook, it is a pleasure and a surprise to meet you. We probably should speak in a language that your companion can understand, it is a common courtesy, yes?” 

Hailey nodded, smiling at Griphook. She knew he could be trusted with her money and any items she placed in the vault. But he didn’t trust mages at all. She could tell that much from his name. What she wasn’t sure about was speaking English with Griphook. Concentrating on using English, she spoke, “That does sound like a decent thing to do. Oh… it worked!”

“What worked? What were you saying just before? What language was that?” Andi asked, looking at her in confusion. Hailey was starting to get used to that look from people. 

All Hailey could do was shrug at Andi. “According to Griphook, I was speaking Druid, I have no idea how, though. I just have to concentrate on speaking English, and it worked. ”

Andi nodded at her, still looking puzzled, but didn’t comment further. 

Griphook cleared his throat. “Well, this has been fascinating, and I’ll be sure to pay attention to your career, young one, but we must be getting on with it. So if you could, please place your hand back on the table where I showed you.”

Moments after Hailey placed her hand back on the table, she felt a stinging sensation on the palm of her hand. Gasping from the surprise as much as the pain, Hailey jerked her hand back, checking her palm for any blood. Surprisingly there wasn’t any. Just a small red mark on her skin, as if she’d rubbed it for too long. 

“Done. Ah, yes. The results confirm your status as an Heir Apparent for the House of Potter. Will you be accepting your position as the head of your house? Being as you are the only surviving member.”

Hailey looked towards Andi in askance. “While it would mean you’ll have certain responsibilities, such as voting on important matters, it also means you’ll be afforded benefits and protections under the laws as well. It’s ultimately up to you, of course, but my advice is to take it,” Andi answered. 

After a moment's thought, Hailey nodded her head decisively. “I’ll take it, let’s hope it’s the right thing to do.”

Andi squeezed her shoulder encouragingly. 

Griphook stared into Hailey’s eyes for a moment, before he nodded slowly. “Very well. The paperwork won’t take me too long to complete.” He snapped his fingers and a pile of papers appeared in front of him. Pulling out a quill, he quickly began writing. Hailey and Andi fell silent, the noise of the bank and people within it washing over them. 

Several minutes later, with Griphook pointing out each place Hailey had to sign, they finally finished. “Here, one final one here, and you are all done.” The paperwork vanished with a wave of the goblins hand. “Congratulations, Lady Potter. If you would wait just one moment, someone has been sent to bring you your house ring, would you like us to provide you with some gold from your vault, or would you like to inspect it yourself?”

Hailey shook her head. “No, that’s okay. I know that I can trust you with money.” 

The goblin looked startled at her confident declaration before he nodded once. “Very well.”

After a minute of awkward silence, which Hailey spent wide eyed looking around her, another goblin finally arrived. Giving a short bow to Griphook, he placed a bag that rattled like it had coins inside of it, and a small box on the table before striding away. 

Griphook grabbed the bag and slid it across to Hailey’s side of the desk. “I took the liberty of having them bring up one hundred pieces of gold galleons.” He picked up the small box and opened it, revealing a small ring with a fancy crest. “This is your ring for the House of Potter. After the first time you place it on your finger, it will bind itself to you.” He closed the box with a soft click and slid that over as well. 

Hailey was in awe as she checked out the gold pieces, having never seen the like before, then even more so as she picked up the box with the ring. Her hands shaking, Hailey placed the ring inside of a spare pocket, she wasn’t ready to deal with that just yet. 

“ Thank you, Master Griphook.” Bowing her head slightly Hailey turned away from the goblin after he nodded. 

“Where to next?” Hailey asked, looking up at Andi, shading her eyes from the sunlight as they left the bank. Andi carried her gold as apparently one hundred gold coins was too heavy for her to easily carry. 

Andi looked around for a moment before answering. “We’ll head to get some clothes for you. Some casual witches robes as well as your Hogwarts school uniforms. We’ll stop and get your books while we are here too. Flourish and Blotts will have an idea of what you need for your coming year.”

As they walked, Hailey described her experience with the goblin bank to Dora, patting Olette through the cage that she was carrying. 

Hailey blushed and stuck her tongue out at Dora as the metamorphmagus rushed to open the door to Madam Malkin’s Robes For All Occasions , giving her an extravagant bow. “The door, milady!”

Andi rolled her eyes as she strolled in before Hailey did. “Just don’t… draw unwanted attention, alright?”

Dora snorted, pointing at her hair. “Umm, hello, have you met me ?”

Giggling, Hailey followed Andi, while watching Dora wiggle her eyebrows as her hair lit up like a Christmas tree. 

“Good point, just… keep the attention on you, and not on Hailey, okay?” Andi asked, giving Dora a serious look. 

Dora lifted her arms up, as if to surrender. “I promise,” she said, crossing her heart with her hand. 

Over the next hour, Hailey got to wear so many different types of clothing. It was exciting, because she’d never gotten to go shopping for clothes before, but it was a bit intimidating at first. Hailey knew she would’ve been lost if Andi and Dora hadn’t been there to help. 

She tried on robes of all types and colours, from dress robes to everyday robes and when they left, after they had measured her, Hailey was carrying a bag that held dozens of new clothes, all perfectly tailored to fit. She had dress robes, casual robes, her Hogwarts robes, as well as new underwear, socks, sleepwear and she even got a nice new silver necklace. The bag was even more amazing than the robes, designed to fit a whole lot of clothes inside of it. According to the shop assistant, it was only temporary though. Fit to last for a few hours then the enchantment faded and it became a normal bag. It was still amazing to Hailey though. 

They went to the bookstore Flourish and Blotts next, where Hailey struggled not to buy every magical book she could get her hands on. 

“You’ll have your hands full just with the required reading. Why do you want–” Dora paused to look at the book Hailey was reading while the shop assistant collected her Hogwarts books for the year. “ Spells, Incantations, And Other Magical Wonders ?”

Hailey shrugged, looking around before replying, “I don’t know, it just sounds interesting.”

Dora made a noncommittal noise in the back of her throat. “And The Wishes of Witches ? It’s just a trashy romance novel,” she said with a snort. 

Blushing, Hailey snatched the book from Dora’s hands. “I’ve always liked reading them, in the occasional moments I found time to. That’s not a crime, is it?”

Hailey didn’t even realise she was crying until Dora hugged her. “Hey, hey. It’s okay, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you think I was laughing at you.” 

Hugging Dora back, Hailey felt comforted by her presence. “So, you don’t mind that it’s about two witches falling in love?”

Dora pulled back, just enough so she could see Hailey’s face. “Is that sort of thing what you like? Because if it is, that’s totally okay, alright?” She said gently, wiping away some of Hailey’s tears with her sleeve. 

With a sigh, Hailey shrugged. “I just know that boys are icky and loud and gross.”

“Truer words, young lady, have never been spoken,” Dora cackled, “although, there’s always the possibility that you’ll change your mind as you grow older… I did.” 

Hailey looked confused at Dora. “What do you mean?” 

Shrugging, Dora smiled at Hailey. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll tell you when you’re older.” 

“Is everything alright here?” Andi asked, returning from where she had gone deeper into the store. 

Dora and Hailey separated from their hug with a start. “Yep, everything is peachy, isn’t it, Hailey? I was an idiot, but we patched things up,” Dora replied with a smile.

Andi snorted as Hailey nodded with a giggle. “Got everything, Hailey? We can come back later when we return for your wand. I’m glad that we came before your eleventh birthday, usually you don’t pick one up before then, but I was concerned that something like this might happen.” 

Hailey nodded again, so they made their way to the counter to purchase Hailey’s books, Hailey making sure that her hair covered her scar. The kind old lady that worked there had collected what books she knew were on the current school curriculum. As the attendant noticed The Wishes of Witches , she made a face. “Oh, this one must’ve been placed in your pile of books by accident dear, no worries, a young lady like you wouldn’t want to read garbage like this. I wish they’d never gotten anything like this into the store, it’s unnatural,” she said with a disdainful sniff. 

Wincing, Hailey looked down at her feet. The way that the old lady spoke reminded her of Aunt Petunia and she couldn’t seem to get any words out. A single tear fell as she clenched her fists tightly, staring at the worn timber flooring. 

“Oh that, that’s mine. Hailey offered to buy it for me,” Dora spoke suddenly, grabbing the book from the lady. 

Hailey looked up in surprise at Dora. Warmth flooded her chest as she realised what she had done for her. Dora had spoken up to help Hailey when Hailey herself couldn’t. 

With a disapproving frown, the old lady glanced at Andi. Andi shrugged, glancing between the two younger girls, before replying, “If that’s what she wants to do, then I have no problem with it. It’s her gold after all.”

An uncomfortable silence fell between the four of them as they purchased the books and left quickly, Hailey feeling the stare of the old lady on her back the whole time. 

“I’m sorry,” Hailey said, immediately looking down at her feet in embarrassment. 

Andi and Dora stopped walking after she did. “What for? She’s just a sad, old lady. She’s completely wrong about the book, by the way. It’s not unnatural at all. Love is love, as the people who aren’t stupid would say,” Dora replied. 

Taking the book out of Dora’s hands, Andi checked out the cover, before opening it and glancing inside. Humming quietly, she looked at Dora and Hailey. “Am I to assume that you covered for Hailey with the book, Dora?” 

Shrugging, Dora nodded. “Of course, she looked so upset, I had to do something.”

“Is this the sort of thing that interests you, Hailey?” Andi asked, bending down to appear less intimidating to her. 

Her whole body shaking, Hailey nodded. “Yes,” she said in a whisper, too ashamed to look her in the eye and too terrified of Andi’s response to do anything else. Hailey flinched as she felt Andi move, but relaxed when she felt Andi hug her. 

“It’s okay, Hailey. I understand. You don’t have to be ashamed of that. I can’t tell you that others will be as understanding, many will be like that witch in the store. I just want you to never, ever let anyone tell you who you have to be, okay?”

Hailey nodded her head in Andi’s embrace, welcoming yet another hug from a Tonks. 

Andi stood back up and ruffled Hailey’s hair gently, moving her arm slowly so she didn’t startle her. “Come on, let’s go home. We’ll have a nice lunch and relax. We can have our makeovers another day, how’s that sound?”

Offering her hand out to hold, Hailey took Andi’s hand as they left the bookstore with the mean old witch behind them.