Fate's Chosen (Harry Potter Fanfiction)

Chapter 10: Alive and Breathing

The trip to the library turned out to be utterly useless. There wasn't a single book that mentioned changing eye colors that weren't about Metamorphmagi. The answers Ashley, Alyssa, and Mitchelle (who had professed that she, too, had seen Cedric's eyes turn purple) were seeking could have most likely been in the Restricted Section but they couldn't have just waltzed in there. Not without the invisibility cloak which Ashley was waiting to reclaim. It was a family heirloom that Dumbledore had no right, whatsoever, to hold. She knew she had to think of something to trick the old coot into giving the cloak much earlier. She was not going to wait until Christmas holidays. She had things to accomplish.

Then, there were lunch's events. The gang, currently consisting of Ashley, Alyssa, Mitchelle, Ai, Neville, Cora, and Maia, had an agreement to sit with the Hufflepuffs until the rest of the students got along with the program. After discretely saving Seamus from the inevitable failure of the spell he was attempting to cast, Ashley received a reply from Griphook as the owls brought in the mail. She was quite ecstatic when she read the contents of the goblin's letter.

Heiress Potter,

With the limited time we had during your first visit, we barely discussed all we needed to. I suggest that you visit once again. With my recent investigations involving Albus Dumbledore, I would like you to know that I have discovered important information regarding monthly withdrawals with Vault 687. This is not a conversation that should be had over a letter. This also applied with the conversation about your godfather's case.

I have already brought up his lack of trial with the Ministry and they are willing to cooperate. However, arranging his trial will take some time. I suggest you obtain the evidence you spoke of and bring it in sooner rather than later. It would certainly help with speeding up the process of setting the date for his trial.

Business aside, if you would like, we could also continue our interrupted conversation about the process of soul bonding and what it means to have a soul-bonded mate. The fact that you have two mates is quite interesting. There is also the matter of your creature inheritance and what it would mean for you when you reach the age for it to manifest.

Griphook

Well, that was fast...

Ashley honestly hadn't expected a reply until further that week, maybe the next day, but she wasn't complaining, not at all. The faster the trial was set, the faster Sirius would be set free, and the faster she would be reunited with him and Remus. Thankfully, Hedwig was the one to deliver the letter instead of a Gringotts owl. That would have made Dumbledore suspicious. Ashley's plans were coming together, slowly but surely. Having an infinite amount of patience was a definite key to all this. The Potter Heiress was willing to wait, despite the fact that she had never been the most patient of people.

Included in the delivered mail was a letter from Molly and Arthur Weasley, addressed to none other than Alyssa. Ashley couldn't remember a time where the ginger had looked as anxious as she did when she opened her letter. One fear Alyssa had mentioned she had was that her parents would be upset and/or disappointed that she was sorted into Slytherin instead of Gryffindor like her other siblings. Her worrying was obviously unnecessary since Molly and Arthur were nothing less than supportive. They even mentioned Ashley, gushing about how proud they were of the two girls. Speaking of being proud, Neville also received a short letter alongside his Remembrall from his grandmother, congratulating him for entering the lion's den. He was beaming so brightly after that. He was just too precious.

Ashley didn't bother to read the newspaper, she was perfectly aware of the attempted break in at Gringotts, but there was another thing that happened during lunch. A girl, a first year Slytherin, the same one who Ashley had noticed during Potions, approached the Hufflepuff table, much to the surprise of her fellow snakes. The stranger's jet black hair, tightly pulled up into a high ponytail, and her piercing grey eyes reminded Ashley of a certain Animagus who bore similar features. The only visible difference between them was the girl's darker complexion. The girl, after plopping down on the empty seat to Ashley's left, introduced herself as Thalia Scott. She didn't have to reveal that she was a pure-blood. It was written all over her face, which made her table-switching all the more shocking. When asked why she decided to sit with the group, she blatantly answered that they seemed to be much better company than her House mates. Draco, who was close enough to eavesdrop with just a little effort, had such an affronted look on his face after hearing that.