"To Whom It May Concern –"

Disclaimer: Is this really necessary? If anyone really thinks these characters belong to me, then I've got some *great* real estate investments I'd like to discuss with you. All of the Buffy characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, etc., and the Harry Potter characters belong to J. K. Rowling. I'm just borrowing them for a while. There is no intent to profit from this. Only the story is mine, and if anyone waves enough money in front of me, even that is negotiable.

Author's Notes 1: This is my first Buffy/Harry Potter crossover fic, based on a challenge, so it’s going to be completely AU as far as HP canon goes. I’m looking to have fun here, people, so be warned. ;-)

Author's Notes 2: Thanks to Lori Bush, Bill Haden, Drake the Archr and Theo (Starway_Man) for beta-ing this story.

As usual:

{ word } is thought.

:: Word :: is mental communication

~~~

Chapter 33 – "To Whom It May Concern –"


10 Downing Street
City of Westminster
London, England (Wizarding World)


"I must say, that was most certainly quite a – an interesting, as well as an extremely comprehensive – presentation which you've provided to all of us here today, Mr. Hammond."

The speaker was a rather ordinary-looking, middle-aged man seated next to this world's Prime Minister and who bore little resemblance to the Prince of Wales, Heir Apparent to the United Kingdom, back in his native universe, the former general reflected to himself as he finished what the Council now generally referred to as the "Hi There, I'm Here To Tell You That, Yes, Your Worst Nightmares Are Actually Real" speech.

Glancing at his own universe's British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who had accompanied him on this trip and was currently seated next to him, the retired Air Force Lt. General nodded his head agreeably at the Royal Heir's comment and said, "Thank you, Sir. We very much appreciate the fact that you have interrupted your no-doubt quite busy schedule in order to meet with us and allow us the opportunity to offer the presentation to you."

"You're welcome, old chap. And since you were so clearly anxious about providing us with that rather – thought-provoking – briefing at the earliest possible opportunity, Governor Hammond, I would further venture to say that you believe that all this information you have provided us is of more than just casual interest to both Great Britain and the Commonwealth, yes?" Prince Harold observed. "And I would also venture that there is, most likely, even more information you have not yet disclosed that you believe will be of equally noteworthy interest to the Crown."

"You are quite correct to think that, Your Highness," George agreed, nodding his head as he mentally took a deep breath before moving onto the next part of his presentation. Briefly, he prayed that the man sitting across from him and listening to what common sense said was ridiculous was as reasonable and understanding as he appeared to be.

"You see, Prince Harold, there have been a number of events of extreme significance which have occurred in my native universe over the course of the past several weeks which were not covered in that briefing, and which I wished to discuss with a representative of His Majesty's government as soon as possible, in order to preclude any possible misunderstandings regarding the motivation behind them," George said as he schooled his features into what he personally referred to as his "Diplomat's Face.'

"And what, exactly, are these events that you are referring to, Governor Hammond?" the Prince asked, his voice conveying the same casual interest as if he was merely inquiring about the plot of one of the previous night's television shows.

"Well, you see, Sir, the current heads of the Council had believed that their son, their only child, had been murdered just over two months ago at the direction of the ruler of another alternate dimensional empire, and in the course of expressing to him their extreme displeasure at his actions, they inadvertently ended up inheriting control of his empire," George began his explanation, condensing his description of events as much as he felt he could reasonably manage, and smiled mentally as he saw the Prince's eyes narrow and his jaw clench with sympathetic anger as he listened to what was undoubtedly one of every parent's worst fears.

"As it turns out, however, Harry – that's Buffy and Alexander's son, Sir, whom we all had believed had been murdered," he noted parenthetically, "had actually been kidnapped by a group of this dimension's wizards and witches for reasons which are still unclear at the moment.

"Once it was realized that this was the case, that the boy was still alive and had been kidnapped," George continued his explanation, "the Council then focused its resources on locating Harry, just as it would have done for any of our personnel who had been abducted by hostile forces.

"Our own magic-users quickly determined that Harry's abductors had shifted him to what we believe is their home base in this dimension," he said, "a base which appears to be located in one of the Wizarding enclaves within your Commonwealth. More specifically, Prince Harold, the kidnappers' headquarters is located in Northern Scotland, near a village named Hogsmeade, inside what appears to be some type of school." The Prince and the PM shared a look upon hearing this declaration.

"And since both Buffy and Alexander have always had a very 'hands-on' attitude with regard to any situation they've had to deal with in the past, Sir," George informed his audience, "they decided they would personally accompany the group tasked with retrieving Harry, in order to deal with things as expeditiously as possible.

"Given that that is basically how they've always handled things in the past and since apparently, in their rush to locate and rescue Harry, no one gave any consideration as to the possible ramifications of how their new status as the Lord and Lady Zar'khandash – those are the titles they inherited from their predecessor upon his death, Sir – would influence events, I wanted to establish, as quickly as possible, formal contact with someone as highly placed in your government as was feasible, in order to prevent what could, under certain circumstances, possibly be misperceived as an invasion of your borders."

George took a deep breath after that rather long and statesman-like statement. "And then, after I've hopefully explained everything to your satisfaction, I was going to ask you for a small favor…"

~~~

Gringotts Bank
Diagon Alley

Off to one side of the bank's main lobby


"Ah, Cornelius, it's good to see you here," Albus Dumbledore gave the Minister of Magic one of his most benevolent smiles as he watched the officious and self-important little man come striding imperiously through the bank's main doors.

"It's good to see you here, too, Albus," Fudge proclaimed loudly, as though he could counterbalance, or at least conceal, his lack of personal appeal and charisma by a combination of volume and decibels when he spoke.

"Jorkins informed me just a few minutes ago that Gringotts had filed notice with the Ministry that they will be holding a reading of the Potters' wills within the hour, and that they're also demanding a hearing before the Wizengamot regarding what they referred to as 'transgressions' that have been committed against the Potter estate. Not to mention demanding an investigation into possible crimes that may have been committed against the estate over the course of the past ten years," the portly little man half-whined to the Headmaster.

"Well then, Cornelius, it's provident, indeed that you will be present at the reading of James' and Lily's wills," Dumbledore declared in an authoritative tone.

"It is vitally important that someone with the requisite legal authority be here to represent the best interests of the Potter estate and to make sure that no one is attempting to take advantage of James and Lily's deaths and direct the resources of a Noble House in ways they would not approve," Albus added, skillfully playing to the Minister's vanity and self-importance.

"After all, we still do not know who is it who managed to persuade Gringotts to open the Potter wills, or exactly what pressures might have been exerted in order to accomplish that feat," he noted sagely, while smiling to himself as Fudge reflexively preened at his words of praise.

"I know we all can depend upon you to ensure that the Potter legacy is preserved for the Wizarding World to appreciate."

~~~

One of Gringotts' smaller conference rooms


"Hey, Remus. Hey, Sirius. It's good to see that you guys could make it."

Both wizards had reflexively smiled and risen to their feet upon seeing Harry almost bouncing into the conference room, although the smiles had almost immediately shifted to much more guarded expressions as they unconsciously assessed the four adults who'd followed Harry into the room, with each giving a mental "Oh shit!" after completing their initial evaluation.

Before either of the wizards could say anything in response to his greeting, Harry straightened up into his version of a formal stance and smoothed his features into what was obviously an attempt at a more reserved expression as he began formal introductions between the two groups.

"Master Black and Master Lupin, I have the honor of presenting to you the Lord and Lady Zar'khandash, my parents, Alexander and Buffy Harris," Harry addressed Sirius and Remus as he indicated the smaller of the two women present, a petite, almost diminutive, blonde beauty, and the taller, more massive of the two men who had accompanied him into the room with a short bow and a brief wave of his hand.

"And this is Mistress Dawn Summers, my aunt, and Warlord Jon Carter, her fiancé," he said, indicating the remaining two adults, before continuing the introductions.

"Mom, Dad, Aunt Dawn, Uncle Jon, may I present Master Sirius Black, my Wizarding godfather, and Master Remus Lupin, another close friend of my birth parents from before they were murdered by that lunatic who attacked them," he said as he introduced the two still-surviving Marauders to his family.

"I'm glad we've finally gotten the opportunity to meet both of you gentlemen," Buffy smiled at the two wizards (although there was, admittedly, a bit of a chill in her tone), with Xander echoing her greeting.

"Yeah, I've been looking forward to meeting you guys for a while now, too," Xander nodded his acknowledgment of Harry's introduction.

"Mom and Dad wanted to talk to you guys before the reading of my birth parents' wills," Harry informed the two wizards, somewhat superfluously – at least from their point of view.

"But don't worry," he added brightly, "I've explained to them about there being a prophecy involved and everything, so they're not gonna kill you or do anything like that."

For some reason, Harry's words didn't seem to reassure either of the two wizards as much as he'd thought they would, but Sirius and Remus both each nodded their heads and smiled their appreciation to him at his thoughtfulness before turning to face his family.

What happened next, though, was what really astonished Harry.

"Lord Zar'khandash, Lady Zar'khandash," Sirius addressed Buffy and Xander as he made a formal bow acknowledging Harry's introduction, before then dropping to one knee before them, with each of his actions being matched precisely in each detail by Remus, "both my companion, Remus Lupin, and I humbly beg your forgiveness for our participation in the abduction of your son from your home.

"The only excuse we might possibly offer to mitigate any of our actions is that, on the basis of the information given to us, we truly believed that Harry had been kidnapped and taken to another dimension by unknown parties who we believed at that time did not have his best interests at heart and that he was at risk of possible serious and even lethal injury in the environment which we were shown him growing up in," Sirius declared as he bowed his head to Harry's parents.

"As an indication of the sincerity of our apology, we each wish to swear a binding oath against our magic as to the truth of our words," he went on, and both Buffy and Xander noticed that his statement had caused Harry's eyes to grow nearly as large as those of the characters starring in the various anime series back home. "With your permission, we would like to draw our wands, since we would need to use them as a component while swearing those oaths I mentioned."

Seeing his family glance over to him for input, since he was much more familiar with the local customs given his having lived in the Wizarding culture for several weeks, Harry told his parents, "Swearing an oath against their magic? That's a really, *really* big thing they're offering to do, Mom, Dad.

"If a witch or wizard lies or breaks that kind of oath, then they'll lose their magic – forever," he said, his eyes still wide with surprise. "It's not something that they would ever do unless it was really important to them."

After a quick glance at Buffy, during which they seemed to somehow have a detailed, but silent, conversation, Xander nodded their agreement with Sirius' offer and said, "Okay, go ahead, then."

Moving slowly and carefully so as to not cause Harry's family to become either suspicious or alarmed, both Sirius and Remus both drew their wands while they remained kneeing in front of Buffy and Xander, while Harry, Dawn and Jon watched quietly off to one side.

"I, Sirius Tiberius Black, do hereby swear upon my magic that I participated in Harry's kidnapping from his home with you because I truly believed that he had likewise been kidnapped from his birth parents' home by unknown parties and taken from his home dimension, and that he was being raised by people who, to the best of my understanding and belief, did not have his best interests at heart," Sirius stated clearly and distinctly. "I also swear that if anything that I have said regarding this matter to either the Lord or Lady Zar'khandash is false or untrue, then may I lose my magic for all time."

The radiant glow that instantly surrounded him was impossible not to notice.

"I, Remus John Lupin, do hereby swear upon my magic that I, too, had truly believed, based on all of the information available to me, that Harry Potter had been kidnapped by unknown parties and taken from his home dimension and that he was being raised by people who, to the best of my understanding, did not have his best interests at heart," Remus declared as he began his own oath.

"I further pledge that if, from this moment on, I should ever act in a manner that is not in my cub Harry's best interests, then I will sacrifice both my magic and my life," he then added as he lifted his head to look directly at Buffy and Xander as he spoke.

The near-blinding flare of light that followed Remus' oath left everyone present blinking in surprise, at both the result of his vow and the unmistakable ramifications of it.

"Ohhh-kay," Xander finally managed to say, after glancing around and seeing that everyone present was clearly surprised and stunned by Remus' promise.

"I guess we can all be pretty certain now that we can at least trust you guys to act in Harry's best interests," he said slowly.

"Now, we just have to make sure that we all agree on just exactly what his best interests are, exactly."

***

"So after we finally got things straightened out with Prongslet, here, and he'd agreed that going to Hogwarts was the best thing for him to do under the circumstances, he started telling us about how you people found him, right after Lily and James were murdered by Voldemort," Sirius was saying as he told Harry's adopted father, along with his aunt and her fiancé, about the aftermath of his and Remus' initial discussion of the Wizarding World with Harry at the King's Cross railway station.

"Hold up there just a minute, man," Xander immediately interrupted, holding up his hand and breaking into whatever it was Sirius was about to say. "There's a couple things seriously wrong with what you think you know about this whole situation."

From their position on one of the couches across the room, Buffy, Harry and Remus paused in their discussion of Harry's classes at Hogwarts to look over and determine exactly what was the reason for the disruption.

"First off, we didn't find Harry – he was sent to Dawn and me," Xander corrected Harry's godfather, the tone of his words leaving no room for doubt. "He popped out of thin air into my arms, right in the middle of the apartment we were staying in while we were searching for one of your dark wizards who'd popped over to our dimension and stolen a nasty little trinket that we really didn't want him playing around with.

"I gotta say, Harry surprised the hellmouth out of me when he did that – I almost dropped him on his little butt on the floor," he grinned reminiscently for a moment before his expression became serious once again.

"Anyway, there was also a piece of parchment that'd appeared along with him, and it said that Harry's parents had been murdered and that their spell had sent him to the people who were best suited to protect him, and it pretty much begged whoever it was who found him to take care of him, since they couldn't.

"And that's what Buff and I have been doing ever since," Xander said, as he looked over and smiled at the petite beauty he'd been involved with since almost the first moment he'd seen her.

"Look, man, I understand that you're his godfather and that you're concerned about him, about how he's grown up and everything, and hey – I’m glad to hear that, and I want to make sure both of you know you're more than welcome to stay involved in his life," Xander went on as he turned back to face Sirius directly, "but one thing you need to keep in mind is that Buffy and I *are* Harry's parents, not you.

"We've raised him from pretty much the very first moment he first came to us, along with Dawn and Jon here and his Grandpa Giles and his other aunts and uncles, and we're not gonna let anyone take him away from us," he stated in a voice that brooked no argument.

"I really don't know or care exactly who this Dumbledore idiot everyone around here is so impressed with is, except for the fact that he's the one who's behind this whole operation to kidnap Harry and bring him back here," Xander then stated flatly with a huge scowl.

"A place where, from everything Harry's told us that he's learned," he noted, "a bunch of cowardly, mouth-breathing, inbred idiots who were too afraid to stand up for themselves against some two-bit would-be Big Bad and his asshole minions ten years ago now evidently expect our son to take on the aforementioned shmuck and eliminate him so that *they* can all live happily ever after.

"All I'm gonna say about that particular idea," he half-snarled, "is that if anyone thinks we’re going to just stand around and let Harry be offered up to some self-proclaimed would-be dictator so that he can be prevented from ruling over all of the drooling idiots we've had the misfortune of meeting ever since we've come here, then they're even more stupid than I thought they were!"

Sirius shivered slightly as he listened to Harry's father talk and that part of his psyche that directed his animagus aspect urged him to turn his head and expose his throat to the man sitting in the chair next to him.

That aspect of him wanted to make sure that this being in front of him – somehow, he was quite certain there was no possible way that Harry's father was merely a regular muggle – realized that Sirius was more than willing to acknowledge him as the Alpha of this particular group. There was no way the wizard wanted this Xander Harris to think that there was any need for him to prove his right to lead, since he was equally sure that that was something that he would not enjoy experiencing.

Glancing over at the petite and ostensibly frail blonde sitting next to Remus, the shiver along his spine intensified as, just for a moment, he looked into the eyes of an apex-level predator staring back at him. Instantly dropping his eyes in reflexive acknowledgement of the woman's superior status, Sirius gave silent thanks to any deity who might be listening that he and his fellow Marauder had been given the opportunity to apologize to Harry's parents for their near-fatal blunder – and that they had apparently been forgiven, too.

Refocusing his attention on Harry's father, Sirius nodded his head in silent agreement at the man's next words.

"Anyone who tries to mess with our son is going to end up in the next grave over from the one this Volde-moron putz is going to be filling, once we find him," Xander promised.

"And once we've finished dealing with this Dumbledore ass-wipe, we're going to start seriously looking for him."

~~~

Department of Magical Law Enforcement
Level Two
Ministry of Magic
London, England


"Excuse me, ma'am, but we've just received an owl post from the liaison office at the Palace," Auror Robert Proudfoot announced as he stuck his head into the Assistant Director's office.

"It was sent directly from Buckingham Palace, and I think you need to see what it's ordering us to do before anyone here does anything else, ma'am," Proudfoot elaborated slightly as he offered the missive to her.

"Yes, Robert, you're right," Amelia Bones agreed as she read the instructions on the sheet of parchment. "I think I'll have to handle this personally.

"I've never ordered anyone to do something that I'm not willing to do myself," she noted, as she focused on keeping herself from grinning with delight at the thoughts the instructions detailed on the sheet inspired. "And I'm not about to start now. Call Shacklebolt, Robards and Savage and tell then to be ready to move in fifteen minutes," she directed him.

"And, Proudfoot, I want you personally to make sure that all of the equipment we'll need has been checked out and is ready to go when I get downstairs," Amelia added before dismissing him.

{ Damn. Every once in a while, you get to put the screws to someone who really deserves it, } she grinned to herself as she rose from her desk and began checking out her own equipment.

{ And here I thought Christmas wasn't due to come around until December. }

~~~

Gringotts Bank
Diagon Alley

One of Gringotts' conference rooms
Two hours subsequent to the Scoobies' meeting with Sirius and Remus


"Thank you for your punctual attendance," Vergaskempt nodded his acknowledgement of the audience's presence as he glanced around at the various people seated in the several rows before him.

Sirius, Remus, Nymphadora's parents, Andromeda and Ted Tonks, Arthur and Molly Weasley, Alice and Frank Longbottom and Neville Longbottom's grandmother, Augusta Longbottom, were all seated in a small group near each other in the first two rows on the left side of the room, Dumbledore noted as he moved up the aisle to join them, while a second group, consisting of approximately a dozen people, several of them with the hoods of their cloaks pulled up to hide their faces, were seated on the right hand side of the chamber.

Albus thought he'd detected the barest beginnings of an amused grin on the bank manager's face as the goblin's gaze passed over him as he took his seat, but he dismissed the thought immediately. After all, everyone knew that goblins had absolutely no sense of humor, so his earlier notion that Vergaskempt might be laughing at him for some reason was merely a flight of fancy, so he turned his attention back to what the little creature was saying.

"In accordance with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement's ruling that both James Potter and his wife, Lily Potter, were each murdered on October 31, 1981 by the terrorist self-designated as Lord Voldemort, with said ruling being based on pensieve memories of the now deceased wizard Peter Pettigrew first made available to the Ministry immediately following the events of said date, Gringotts Bank has agreed to process their wills in accordance with the request of the primary heir, Harry James Potter Harris," Vergaskempt declared as he read from the sheet of parchment in his hand.

Dumbledore's mouth tightened slightly as he heard the goblin announce Harry's full name during the reading; that was confirmation that someone with at least partial knowledge about the boy's upbringing was involved in finally getting the thrice-damned will read, he immediately realized.

It also meant that there was at least one member of the Order whose loyalty to him was questionable –something that he'd have to check into as soon as possible. Dumbledore realized that it wouldn't do to have anyone who didn't fully agree with the cause (as *he* defined it) to have access to the boy and possibly corrupt him with thoughts that might sway him from his ultimate destiny.

But that was something to be done once the reading was finished, he reminded himself; he quickly refocused his attention back on Vergaskempt.

"Witness now the Potters' stated intentions," the goblin had finished speaking with what was a clearly formal declaration, as he then made a complicated gesture at the shallow, rune-carved stone basin, and a life-sized image of James and Lily Potter seated behind a table similar to the one holding the basin suddenly appeared above the bowl.

"Hi, everyone," James had a somewhat strained smile which matched the one on Lily's face, as they stared out at the people gathered in front of them.

"I have to say, given the reasons involved, I'm really not all that happy about our making this will, but it's something that needs to be done so that we can be sure that Harry will be properly taken care of, should anything happen to us," the ghostly image declared.

"And given the information we've received over the past few days and the way this war we're involved in has been going lately, we can't simply trust to fate that things will work out the way we originally planned them," he continued, letting a small sigh escape.

"Accordingly, I am hereby formally declaring that, in the event of my death, I, James Meredith Potter, leave all of my worldly assets to my wife, Lily Evans Potter, to be used to raise our son, Harry James Potter, in a manner suitable to his station in life and to protect him from anyone who might intend him harm."

"I, Lily Evans Potter," Lily immediately picked up as James finished speaking, "am also hereby formally declaring that, in the event of my death, I leave all of my worldly assets to my husband, James Meredith Potter, to be used to raise our son, Harry James Potter, in a manner suitable to his station in life and to protect him from anyone who might intend him harm."

"In the event that neither of us should be alive to raise our son, Harry," James picked up the narrative, once Lily had finished her declaration of intent, "we officially declare that we want custody of Harry, along with authority to manage the Potter estates until Harry reaches his seventeenth birthday, to be transferred to the following people, in this particular sequence, should any of the people named not be alive at the time of our deaths: Harry's godfather, Sirius Tiberius Black; Peter Alfred Pettigrew; Frank and Alice Longbottom; Andromeda and Ted Tonks; Arthur and Molly Weasley; Augusta Longbottom; Amelia Bones; and finally, Albus Dumbledore."

"Under no circumstances is custody of our son to be given to my sister, Petunia Dursley, and her husband, Vernon," Lily stated firmly. "They have already made it clear to us that they believe anyone and anything having to do with the Wizarding World is, in their words, 'unnatural,' and we do not want to risk having him exposed in any way to their small-minded bigotry and prejudices."

"And to our good friend, Remus Lupin, please understand that we truly consider you a full member of our family, and that we would have preferred to have named you as one of Harry's guardians, right after Sirius, but that the petty bigotry that far too many of the congenital idiots who currently make up the Ministry have shown towards people with your particular condition would make it impossible for you to receive any impartial consideration," James added.

"So, Mooney, all we can do at the moment is simply state to whomever might end up as Harry's parental guardians that we want Remus to continue to be considered as Harry's uncle, exactly as he is now," James said, as Lily nodded her agreement.

"Well, I guess that takes care of everything we need to address," he noted after a moment's consideration. "And with any luck, none of you people will ever see this."

The image of Harry's birth parents vanished an instant later, and Vergaskempt stood up again.

"The Potters' wishes regarding their child's welfare and the disposition of the Potter estate have been duly noted," he stated simply, "and Gringotts will prepare and process all necessary forms and paperwork and then forward them to the appropriate Ministry within the next three business days.

"With the Potters' will now having been properly witnessed, this meeting is now concluded," Vergaskempt added simply. He then turned and began heading towards one of the two doors set in the wall behind the table he had been sitting at.

"Now, you wait just a minute here, Verdigris or whatever your name is!!" Minister Fudge half-yelled in the direction of the goblin's back as he lurched to his feet.

"This meeting is NOT concluded! Where in Merlin's name is Harry Potter? I demand to see him right now, do you hear me!" he bellowed indignantly.

"Seeing as you were not mentioned in any manner whatsoever in the Potters' will, Minister Fudge, I cannot see how you can claim to have any further interest in the disposition of the Potter estate," Vergaskempt said calmly, although his eyes as they gazed at the Minister were alight with only partially concealed malicious amusement.

"While you may be correct in pointing out that the good Minster was not named in the Potters' will, Manager Vergaskempt," Dumbledore stated diplomatically as he came up and joined the two of them, reaching out and putting a calming hand on Fudge's shoulder as he did so, "I will point out that I, as well as several other people present, was mentioned in James' and Lily's will as a potential guardian for Harry.

"And I am sure I speak for us all," he continued, an aura of grandfatherly beneficence, and not a little compulsive magic, radiating from him as he spoke, "when I say that we are quite eager to know that Harry is safe and sound, especially since I have been unable to contact him since his unexpected departure from Hogwarts following the dastardly attack by that group of Death Eaters two days ago.

"Since neither Sirius Black nor any of the other people named as potential guardians have informed me that Harry is safe with them, I am gravely concerned that he may have been taken by people who do not have his best interests at heart," he concluded, a concerned expression on his face.

"Yeah, right!"

Dumbledore looked up at that loud and quite clearly sarcastic interjection, an annoyed frown distorting his typically genial features as he looked over to find a petite blonde woman (and by her accent, an American, too!) with an exceedingly angry and hostile expression on her face staring at him.

"I do not know who you are, young lady, but I am quite certain that the identity of Harry Potter's guardians is of no concern of yours," he declared firmly, feeling quite indignant at some colonial girl's effrontery at making such a comment to him.

The young woman – she looked to be scarcely old enough to be a mother of one of his first-years – had not only spoken in an exceedingly cynical tone, she had actually looked at him with an expression as if he were something unpleasant she needed to scrape off her shoe!

"And once again, you're wrong," the blonde declared loudly, shaking her head and giving him a look that seemed to imply she was talking to an imbecile. "You sure seem to be making a habit of that."

Hearing her response, Dumbledore was momentarily outraged! He had never in his entire life been treated with such blatant disrespect as the young woman was now displaying!

"I beg your pardon?" Albus replied imperiously, as he drew himself up to his full height and looked down his nose at the woman.

"Beg all you want, Gandalf – you're never gonna get it," the woman said dismissively, as she glared back at him while she tossed her hair over her left shoulder.

Her action focused Dumbledore's attention on the crest embroidered on the front of the woman's robes, and the headmaster's eyes narrowed with a mixture of confusion and anger as he belatedly recognized the Potter family crest.

"Exactly who are you, young lady? And what do think you are doing, wearing robes bearing the House Potter crest?" he demanded.

"You know, for someone who's supposed to be a really smart guy, what with him supposedly being the headmaster of the local magic school, as well as the grand high poobah of this international confederation of lizards you mentioned and the head pillock of this Whizzers-gamut thing you wizard guys have going here, he really doesn't seem all that bright," Dumbledore heard a man's voice off to the side commenting and interrupting his questioning of the rude young woman. "Is he *really* the guy we've been looking for?

"'Cause from what I've seen so far, I gotta say, it looks like he'd have a hard time throwing himself to the ground and hitting it," the man went on, drawing muffled chuckles from several unidentified observers and a contemptuous smirk from the blonde who'd first insulted him.

His cheeks flaming with a mixture of indignation, embarrassment at the condescending and insulting tone of the comments he'd just heard and righteous anger at the disrespect directed toward him, Albus turned to face the newest speaker, ignoring for the moment the young woman who'd initiated this imbroglio.

"Whoever you are, young man, I will not stand here and listen to any further insults," Dumbledore declared haughtily as he tried to look down his nose at the dark-haired man who was now looking at him with open derision, while a group of several other young people, together with an older couple, stood behind the man, all of them glaring at him with a variety of expressions ranging from anger and contempt to outright hatred and loathing.

"Especially from two rude and ill-mannered strangers who clearly have no grasp of the proper way to behave while in public," he finished his retort with a stern and disapproving frown.

"Well then, I suppose you better pull up a chair and get comfortable, buddy," the young man replied as he returned Dumbledore's frown with what could only be described as an extremely feral smile, "because, believe me, we're just getting started as far as the insults go."

"And, personally, I think we're both behaving in an exceptionally gracious and *extremely* restrained manner, all things considered," the young woman stated as she moved to stand beside the man who'd just insulted him.

"Because, hey, look – you're still alive and talking, and your body is still intact with your limbs not scattered around the bank's meeting room here, decorating the walls," the blonde pointed out with a cold smile, as she waved her hand to indicate the conference room they were in.

The frown on Dumbledore's face grew more pronounced as he recognized the not-at-all subtle threat implicit in the woman's words, and he reflexively wondered why she might be so angry with him, since he didn't have even the faintest idea as to her identity.

"I think we better introduce ourselves to the old fart before he blows a gasket trying to figure out what the hell we're talking about, sweetheart," the man commented as he glanced down at the young woman, completely ignoring the angry expression which filled the older wizard's face at this latest insult.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, honey," the woman nodded her agreement, looking up and smiling at the man next to her before she turned to again face Dumbledore.

"As far as who we are is concerned, I'm Buffy Harris," the blonde woman finally introduced herself, giving him a smile just as frigid as the one her companion had sent in his direction a moment earlier, "and this is my husband, Alexander Harris.

"We're Harry's parents.

"And we're delighted to finally meet you – you bastard."

***

Remus had barely managed to not laugh out loud as he saw the annoyed expression appear on Buffy Harris' face as that incompetent nitwit, Fudge, jumped up and began making demands of Vergaskempt about the Potter estate.

He'd also managed to stifle most of his amusement as she reduced Dumbledore's dignity to shreds and left his former headmaster red-faced with anger and embarrassment with just a few well-chosen words.

Bit it was when the petite blonde's husband joined in the verbal harassment and completely destroyed any remaining traces of the older wizard's decorum and poise, however, that a few loud chuckles managed to finally escape his rigid self-control, and the werewolf was pleased to see that he was not the only person to find amusement at the headmaster's expense.

It was when the Slayer finally introduced herself and her husband to the up-to-now oblivious wizard, and Remus took a good, hard look at the ostensible smiles on both of Harry's parents' faces that any and all possible humor in the situation instantly faded away and he realized that a final resolution regarding who would be overseeing Harry's future was about to occur.

And it was also abundantly clear that – if the Harrises had any say in the matter – that Dumbledore wasn't going to be involved in any way, regardless of what he might think about the subject.

Choosing that moment to display both a remarkably poor sense of timing and an even worse sense of self-preservation, Fudge interrupted the ongoing discussion to again make demands of the now-visibly smiling goblin bank manager.

"What is the meaning of this nonsense that this, this – muggle – is talking about, Vertigo?" Fudge demanded loudly, missing completely the glare Buffy shot at him at his implicit dismissal of her words. "Neither of these muggles were even mentioned in the Potters' will! How can they possibly claim that they're Harry Potter's parents?"

"There was a later addendum made to the Potters' will, which bequeathed guardianship of the orphaned child to them," Vergaskempt explained calmly to the red-faced politician.

"Gringotts' staff has examined the document and is satisfied as to its authenticity and, accordingly, has begun processing all matters related to the Potter estate, as I announced just a few moments ago," the goblin elaborated a bit further, enjoying the look of consternation that had appeared on Dumbledore's face upon mention of the addendum document.

"That is ridiculous! I demand to see this alleged document –" Fudge began ranting, only to be stopped in mid-sentence by a large hand that had reached out and grabbed him by the lapels of his robe.

"Okay, that's enough! Listen up, Pudge, or whatever your name is," Xander Harris said as he spun the smaller man around to face him directly.

"Manager Vergaskempt has already politely pointed out to you that you have no justification whatsoever for even being present at the reading of the Potters' will, let alone having any say in how their estate might be distributed. So, I suggest that you leave right now, before you annoy me even more than you have already, and I end up helping remove you from the bank's premises, and possibly your spine from your body, too," Xander gave the Minister a teeth-baring smile identical to the one Dumbledore had received, and Fudge paled to a shade that Remus was quite certain that people normally never attained while remaining conscious before simply nodding and then sliding back to melt into the crowd.

And while Xander was dealing with the Minister, Remus noticed, Buffy had taken the opportunity to confront Dumbledore and let him know, in precise and exacting detail, her opinion of the various machinations he'd conceived of and then overseen in his efforts to kidnap Harry and bring him back to Hogwarts.

"…you not only attacked our home, you kidnapped our son!!" Buffy declared loudly, her announcement instantly producing expressions of astonishment and shock on the faces of all of the people present.

"And then, you manipulative asshole, as if destroying our home and nearly killing one of our friends while you were kidnapping our son wasn't bad enough, you arranged things to make us think that Harry had been MURDERED, you arrogant son of a bitch!!!" the diminutive blonde half-screamed, all of the furious rage and brokenhearted anguish that she'd felt at the thought that Harry had died ringing clearly and unmistakably in her voice as Buffy listed the Headmaster's transgressions for all to witness.

The woman standing in front of Dumbledore and castigating him for his actions might have been tiny, the werewolf thought as he watched with undisguised interest – just like everyone else present was doing, he noticed distractedly – but there was no possible way in this world that anyone with the slightest bit of sense could look at her and not realize the very real danger that was contained within her and just waiting to be unleashed.

"And after we finally managed to track Harry down here, we find out that you've not only stuck him in some third-rate school staffed with a bunch of deluded idiots who've somehow bought into this ridiculous idea of you being a wise and venerable father figure who knows what's best for everyone," Harry's mother continued her tirade without any sign of abating, "you and your minions aren't even competent enough to protect him and his fellow students from a bunch of moronic, bigoted, inbred, mouth-breathing idiots who just waltzed right in and took over this school that's supposed one of the safest places in the country!

"Goddess! Seeing all of this really makes me wonder – has there been some sort of magical plague going around the country that kills off most of your brain cells, or are you people just normally this stupid?" Buffy momentarily paused in her diatribe to ask.

***

Dumbledore scowled with outrage and anger at the diminutive blonde woman who was busy leveling so many insolent and impertinent insults at him, her behavior made even more disrespectful and offensive since she was doing so in a public setting, before the Minister and numerous members of his Order.

"Young woman, I find both your tone and your accusations insulting and offensive in the extreme," the elder wizard declared, his voice stern and uncompromising as he once more drew himself to his full height and looked down his nose at her with his most intimidating expression.

Before Dumbledore could say anything further, however, the young trollop interrupted him – again!

"Well, *good*! I guess you're not really as stupid as I thought you were, then," she said, flashing that insolent smile at him once more as she spoke.

"I also noticed that you didn't deny anything I just said, either," the woman pointed out before continuing her diatribe, "so I'm gonna guess that you're going to try and justify everything you did, and that you think you're going to be able to make the people here believe that you really aren't the scheming, manipulative and completely honorless bastard that you really are, right?"

Dumbledore could barely believe what he was hearing! { Did this little strumpet actually *dare* say all of that to me? } he wondered to himself in shocked disbelief.

This woman was behaving as though everything he'd done to retrieve Harry wasn't in the best interests of either Harry or of Wizarding society!!

Certainly, it was a shame that it would be necessary that the boy sacrifice himself in order to ensure that Riddle was defeated, once and for all, but unfortunately, there were times when extreme sacrifices had to be made for the greater good, and this particular instance was one of them. He regretted it, but he simply couldn't allow anything to stand in the way of destiny.

History would not only vindicate his decisions, Dumbledore reminded himself, it would applaud him for having the courage to make the hard choices that other people sought to avoid – he had no doubts about that, at all!

Before he could do anything more than sputter with outrage and indignation at the woman's latest words, though, the situation degenerated even more – something that he initially hadn't believed was even possible – when one of the doors in the far wall opened up and Amelia Bones strode into the conference room, followed by a team of Aurors.

Instead of greeting him with the deference he was entitled to, however, Amelia declared, loudly and clearly, in front of everyone present, "Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, you are hereby notified that, by order of His Majesty, King William V, you are under arrest and charged with the following crimes: masterminding and participating in the kidnapping of the heir to the Zar'khandash throne, attacking the Zar'khandash Royal family's home, physical assaults on members of the Royal family, members of their extended family and the Royal family's guards, mental assault and unauthorized memory modification of a member of the extended Royal family, interference with the Zar'khandash line of succession, interference with the lawful custody of a minor and unauthorized and unlawful access to and misappropriation of the House of Potter's finances and assets!"

Smiling at him with an expression that could have frozen a Hungarian Horntail solid in a fraction of a second and an expression that indicated she was hoping he would refuse, the Assistant Director of Magical Law Enforcement asked, "All right, Albus, are you going to come with us quietly – or are you going to try and resist arrest?"

~~~