"Son, she said the Royal Family needed wizards of its own. She proposed that I bear an heir and gave me a choice of several unmarried dukes. Once the child was born, I would be free to do as I pleased: I could remain a duchess or flee to another country and start a new life. I chose Gerald. I had to use a love potion to make him take notice of me."
"So I was nothing more than the price you paid for your freedom?" Richard narrowed his eyes again.
"NO!" Buffy exclaimed sincerely. "No, son! I love you more than anyone in the world. I love you so, so much!"
"But you abandoned me!"
"Son, forgive me." A solitary tear ran down the witch's cheek. "Forgive a fool... I did something stupid. Leaving you was the worst thing I've ever done. You see, Richie, I really did fall in love with your father. Yes, at first it was a marriage of convenience. But Gerald was so considerate, so generous and kind that I couldn't help falling for him."
"Madam, the facts suggest otherwise."
"Richie, I couldn't..." Tears were streaming down Buffy's cheeks now. "My darling, I couldn't look Gerald in the eye and keep lying to him. And I couldn't tell him the whole truth either, because otherwise..."
"Otherwise what?!"
"I… I don't know." Buffy shook her head. "I was afraid of the Department of Mysteries. I was terrified that if I did something wrong, they would hand me over to Father. But eventually I decided to tell Gerald the truth. I stopped giving him the love potion and admitted that I'd been slipping it to him. But I never expected him to become so angry. I only realised what a terrible mistake I'd made when Gerald quite seriously declared that he was going to throw me out and forbid me from ever seeing you."
"That's more or less what father told me," Richard said with a nod.
"Richie, I had nothing—only a little Muggle money, some jewellery and heaps of clothes. It broke my heart to leave you, but at the time I thought running away was my only option. Better than going back to feeding Gerald love potions and lying to him for the rest of my life while being eaten alive by shame."
"And you, Madam, took our family heirlooms with you..."
"Yes, I borrowed a few valuables," Buffy admitted through her tears. "I had to live on something. I was twenty-five years old and couldn't do anything. During my time living among Muggles, even my magical skills had grown rusty because I tried not to use magic. I had no profession and no particular talents. No one would have allowed me to take you with me. I knew I was leaving you with a wealthy family who loved you. You would be far better off with Gerald than with a penniless runaway witch who could barely look after herself."
"Let's suppose so." Richard frowned. "I don't care about the trinkets. It just hurts that someone who dares call herself my mother could do that to me and my father."
"Richie, forgive me..."
"We'll see. So, Buffy, you fled Eton Hall with a pile of loot. Where did you go? And who helped you?"
"Richie, Mr Smith helped me. Our old arrangement with Her Majesty still stood. The Department of Mysteries provided me with a Portkey to Canada and new documents in the name of Buffy Summers. In Canada, I was able to sell some of the antiques, buy a little house and find a job at the local Ministry of Magic."
"A job?" Richard asked, mildly surprised. "You'd never worked a day in your life!"
"No, but I was still a witch." Buffy wiped the tears from her face.
"I'm curious. What does my mother, the former duchess, do for a living?"
"Well, I..." Buffy hesitated. "Son, I joined the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. I'm now a senior specialist in vampire control."
"What a magnificent career!" Richard's sarcasm was so thick one could practically scoop it up with a spoon. "From duchess to vampire slayer..."
"We rarely have to go out on extermination calls," Buffy admitted. "It's mostly routine office work. Something genuinely serious might happen once a year, perhaps. And even then, the Aurors always help us. There's even an ancient vampire working in my department. He's no more dangerous than any wizard, except that his diet is somewhat revolting. But he drinks donated blood!"
Richard grimaced as he imagined the vampire sucking blood from a thick plastic bag.
"Let's spare ourselves the details of the bloodsuckers' diet. Mother, tell me, why did you approach me? For eight years, you wanted nothing to do with me."
"Son, darling..." Buffy's voice trembled. "I've missed you terribly. I just wanted to see you and make sure you were all right."
"Why now?"
"Richie." His mother looked at the boy with sad eyes. "I wanted to see you sooner. For all these eight years, I've dreamt of being there with you. But it was impossible."
Young Grosvenor's gaze was filled with scepticism. Buffy did her best to dispel her son's doubts.
(End of Chapter)
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