It hadn't taken that long for Draco and Willow to make their way to the Defense classroom, or for her to collect the lesson plans from Wesley. As his assistant, Willow would be taking his scrawled notes and turning them into legible lesson plans, complete with the occasional note, referring to this book of demons or that book of spells. After that, Draco made his way off towards the pitch for the Slytherin Quidditch practice and Willow made her way to meet her uncle.
"How much of his lessons are his own, and how much of it is assistance from you, my dear?"
Uncle Sev's voice pulled Willow up from her worry about the Hogsmeade trip. He'd mentioned that his father, her grandfather would be there, that he'd wanted to meet her. Her grandfather Snape… Grandfather Rosenberg had been disappointed that she wasn't a son, that she had ended up an only child, that she wasn't interested in sports… in so many different ways.
Willow looked at him, smiling. "He does actually know his material. But his handwriting is terrible. I was thinking maybe I could find him one of those enchanted quills that would write things for him, only legibly? Sometimes I have to remind him that the students aren't going to be able to follow some of the bigger words, so he needs to use language appropriate to the grade of students… But that's not the same as telling him how to organize his stuff. Those are just organizational details."
"A competent instructor who is truly who he claims to be and entirely human… we haven't had one of those in the Defense position for years." The amusement in his voice was easy to hear.
"Really, Wesley isn't that bad. He's a bit nervous, but a bit of practice will take care of that. There're a few Cordy-clones, but… I think that probably falls under the category of normal school misery. I didn't expect to get along with everybody at school. What's the plan for the meeting today?" Willow smiled at her uncle, walking beside him through the halls and towards the gate, where they would find the carriages to Hogsmeade.
"Today, you will be meeting your grandfather, Darius Snape. He stays in a cottage in Hogsmeade. Father has mentioned meeting you since we learned that you were born. The discovery that you have magic… that made things even better. He's hopeful that you might want to learn the Snape family traditions and history," He smiled at her, looking oddly reminiscent.
After a brief pause, he continued, "Your mother was the one who chose to leave, although I will admit that some of the Snape family did not precisely make her feel welcome when it became known that she lacked magic. She wanted to go far away and pretend that she'd never known anything but the Muggle world, somewhere that she could forget. California was just about as far as she could go unless she went to the Southern Hemisphere and took up residence in Australia."
"So she picked Sunnydale? Way to go Mom," Willow wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh or cry at the irony of it all.
Uncle Sev just laughed, the sound echoing through the halls, startling many students.
Arriving at the carriages, Willow blinked. Each carriage was pulled by one of those skeletal looking winged horses, which looked almost lizard up close. "Uncle Sev? What are those things? They look like winged demon horses, and there's one hitched to each of the carriages. I've seen them flying over the forest, but… Am I the only one that's a bit unsettled by them?"
"Demon horses… ahhhh. Those are Thestrals. Most of the students are unable to see them, and thus believe that the carriages pull themselves along the lane. Some people believe them to be creatures of ill-omen, but they are simply… creatures. They have a strong sense of direction, are rather territorial, and are scavengers. Thestral skin is used in several potions, as are their tears and the trimmings from their feet." His voice slipped into his lecture mode, and he continued on about the uses of various thestral bits in potions.
Willow decided that she'd rather find another way to repel something called klopper-sneiths, rather than surround her house with a grease made from a base of thestral dung and augry blood. Hoping to distract him from the long and disturbing list of potions and ingredients, she slipped a question in when he paused for air, "Uncle Sev, why would someone think that they're ill-omened? Why don't the other students see them? They are sort of large and hard to miss."
"To see a Thestral, you must have seen someone die. That is also considered a bit of an ill-omen by some," he replied. "If I recall correctly, there aren't any wild herds of them in America, let alone near Sunnydale. You should never have been living in a place like that… But I suppose Sheila always had some of the most dreadful luck. Combined with the fact that she is appallingly stubborn… But you don't have to go back, unless you choose. You have family here, and you'll always be welcome with me." He smiled at her, most likely hoping to sooth her worries.
"Thanks, Uncle Sev. That sort of helps. But I'm still nervous. What if he doesn't like me? What if I'm a disappointment because I'm still fighting with the second year charms? What if he's ashamed to have someone in the family that has so much trouble with transfigurations? What if I'm not witchy enough because of growing up mostly muggle? What if he'd rather have a grandson? Or someone who can do that swoopy menace thing that you and mom can both do? What if…." Willow didn't quite mean it, but some of her worries began to slide right out of her lips. The worries slipped out as they stepped out of the carriage, and walked towards a row of little cottages, with thatched rooftops and boxes of plants, some holding colorful flowers, some cooking herbs, and others things that could only be Wizarding plants.
"Severus, you didn't mentioned that she babbled quite so much." The voice had a very similar sound to her uncle's, but it was a bit lower, a bit harsher. "Come in, I don't bite. So, you're Sheila's girl. Little slip of a thing, aren't you?"
Willow blinked, discovering they had arrived at a grey cottage while she had been nervously babbling. The door was open, and there was a man standing just inside, a little shorter than her uncle, dressed in dark robes with graying hair. The family resemblance was unmistakable. She felt herself blushing as she walked inside, biting her lip in mortification. She hadn't even been introduced to her grandfather and she'd already convinced him that she was a babbling twit…
Uncle Sev followed her inside, shutting the door behind them. He gestured for her to have a seat in the living room as he settled at the end of the couch, which looked to have started out Slytherin green before fading. Willow sank onto the cushion beside him, hoping that she wasn't shaking quite as visibly as she felt.
"Hello, I'm Willow Rosenberg… Sheila's daughter." She smiled, hoping that she didn't look as nervous as she felt. That he wouldn't be as disappointed as Grandfather Rosenberg. That he would be family, like her uncle Sev.
"Severus has mentioned you often. For years we thought that you were lacking in magic, as your mother had been, due to the simple fact that none of the American schools offered you an acceptance letter. But it appears that this was not the case." He was looking at her, the same dark eyes as her uncle, peering at her from under thick dark brows. This was what her uncle would look like in about forty years…
Willow didn't know quite what to say. She could feel her face burning, and knew that she was blushing again. "I'm not exactly a proper witch… I have some huge gaping holes in my magical knowledge. Things that second year students are doing and they give me problems."
Her grandfather chuckled, the sound almost dry. "But not from a lack of magic, grand daughter. Severus mentioned purchasing a wand for you, what was in it? And how did you study before it was presented to you?"
The porcelain tea set on the table was pouring them all cups of tea while Willow watched. "It's an eleven inch Willow with powdered basilisk scales. Mister Ollivander looked really pleased, which could have just been because of the big mess that we ended up with testing the other ones or maybe because we finally found one that didn't make something catch fire - and I really hope that his eyebrows grew back - but Uncle Sev said that it was rather unusual, so maybe it was just that he was glad to see it get a home… I'm babbling again, aren't I?"
"That is most unusual… Basilisk scales?" Her grandfather looked thoughtful as he took a cup of tea.
Willow reached towards the mug of steaming tea, discovering that it was just out of reach. With a small sigh, she used a tendril of power to float the cup to her, as well as a cube of sugar to sweeten it a bit. "Basilisk scales, and I think Uncle Sev went to talk with Mr. Ollivander about where he managed to get those and what other basilisk parts might have been available. I tested out of Defense, was awarded an OWL level qualification in Divination which I am not taking further, and I'm taking fifth year potions, but my Charms and Transfiguration are… weak at best. Patchy."
Her grandfather looked sharply at her, brows pulls towards each other in what she hoped was intense thought rather than aggravation. It could be tricky to read Uncle Sev's expressions, and he had such a strong family resemblance that it was even harder to read her grandfather's face. "You just floated that teacup over. Without the use of your wand. Do you do that sort of thing often?"
Willow paused, about to take a sip of the tea. "It's just a teacup… It's really not that heavy. You just have to watch the balance or it spills… Levitating things was the first magicy trick that I learned to do. I can also summon… umm… three of the four elements and read auras. And I can cast barriers, and there's an uninvited spell to rescind a vampire's invitation to a house…"
"Without a wand." His voice had gone lower, almost but not quite soft. It didn't quite sound like his voice could get soft. "You cast and summon without a wand. Is this a trick that you learned while helping that Slayer? What was her name, Bitsy?"
She snickered, wondering if any of her relatives besides uncle Sev would ever get Buffy's name right. "Her name is Buffy. I sort of stumbled into magic helping her, but… Nobody ever told me that I was supposed to need a wand. I had to figure stuff out from the books… Giles wasn't very good at magic right then, more on the rituals, potions, and prophecies part. And figuring out what that icky and dangerous thing was and how to kill it before it got us. Jenny was the witch, more of a techno-pagan actually, but she… she died. And after I sort of had the jump in the river and try not to drown version of yeah, I do have magic, and I wanted to learn more. But it's sort of hard to figure out from Watcher books while helping fight evil and going to school."
Her grandfather was smiling at her again, and he glanced over at her uncle as if to ask if Willow always babbled so much. "Exactly what was this throwing into the river method?"
Willow blushed, and looked into her tea, noticing some tea leaves swirling at the bottom. Her voice was faint when she answered. "umm... There were a few potions to fight the demons, and I learned to float some pencils which make tolerable emergency stakes for vampires. But the big one was the Soul Restoration. Jenny got killed before she could cast it."
"That is a bit more extreme than most. Are you certain that it worked?" Her grandfather sounded stunned.
She knew that she was blushing again. "Oh, yeah. Next time we saw him, he was Angel, not Angelus. He even sent me a birthday card… really surprised me."
After that, there was quiet while the three of them drank tea. Willow studied her grandfather, trying to figure out what he was thinking, but he was harder to read than her uncle. He kept glancing from her to Uncle Sev, those dark brows lowered, and he was muttering things under his breath. She caught something about potions and vampires and souls, as well as American schools, but it didn't seem like he was trying to talk to her or Uncle Sev. Better still, he didn't seem to be inclined to throw her out.
For now, she'd just sit here and drink the tea. It seemed so much better here than back home, maybe that was why Giles kept muttering about 'American tea' as if he was using dirty words?
End part 11.
Grandfather Snape was the first person to speak, breaking the soft sounds of teacups and the background noises of Hogsmeade. "I would say that this certainly means you have magical talent. As for using magic without a wand… a most impressive accomplishment. Perhaps one that you can help more people learn to duplicate. I must admit that I wasn't certain what to expect of you, but… you are most definitely welcome, and I assure you that I wouldn't prefer that you were a boy, or had dark hair, or whatever other nonsensical worries that may be whirling in your mind."
"Really? Not even… you know, sort of wishing that I could manage the same basic transfigurations and charms that a normal thirteen year old witch could do? Or at least not worry the teachers about accidentally setting their desks, the chairs, or their robes on fire?" Willow felt hope fluttering inside. She had always wanted her family to accept her, and while she did have Uncle Sev… well, she'd always envied people with large, affectionate families. People who knew they belonged, and that they were loved.
He just laughed. "Willow, you can do controlled magic without a wand, something that most wizards never manage. You have not only attempted but achieved a Soul Restoration, which probably less than a dozen people in the world would be willing to try to attempt. I think the Charms and Transfigurations will come with a bit more practice."
"I've been practicing, although the transfiguration diagrams are a bit hard to follow sometimes." Willow sipped at her tea again. "Are there a lot of Snapes?"
"Enough of us. We'll introduce you to more of them, but not all at once. It wouldn't do to overwhelm you." He looked almost amused.
"Oh good. I umm… I sort of get nervous in front of large groups of people." Willow was blushing again.
Uncle Sev chuckled. "Willow, you had no problems when you and Draco were attacked by four vampires, or when we were invading the lair of a Dark Sorcerer to get him back, and you're nervous about meeting your relatives?"
"Well, yeah. I know how to deal with vampires. And an evil mage… scary, but he was just another big scary evil. We went, and he went down. But meeting relatives, that's a whole different story." Willow tried to explain her concern. "You just kill the vampires, defeat the evil mage and probably watch them get taken away. You're stuck with your family, and it's illegal to kill them if they bother you."
"I don't think anyone has ever been more worried about meeting the family than a pack of vampires before. Not even our family," Her grandfather looked amused. "Do not worry too much. You have plenty of power, and I'm sure that they will come to understand that you do indeed belong with the family."
"Grandfather? Why did you look… well, like you hadn't expected the wand to have basilisk scales?" Willow couldn't quite contain her curiosity, but she didn't want to offend her grandfather.
He chuckled, looking a bit amused. "Most wands are made from unicorn hair, or phoenix feathers, or dragon heartstrings. Occasionally there will be more exotic things, like griffon feathers or powdered doxie wings. Those are unusual, but not entirely abnormal. Few witches or wizards would dare use basilisk scales because they are considered to make a temperamental wand, powerful but a bit finicky. If the spell went wrong, they fear the backlash. Some also would fear to use something that contains part of a basilisk. Giant serpents are considered quite monstrous and terrifying."
"Basilisks… we never faced one of those in Sunnydale. But actually, I haven't had any problems with the wand being touchy or cranky or anything. Just… the transfiguration books are sort of confusing." Willow smiled a bit. "Besides, all the phoenix feather wands jumped away, the dragon heartstrings caught things on fire, and the unicorn ones just… they felt horribly wrong and almost fragile. Probably a side effect of growing up in Sunnydale… Anyhow, after a few dozen of those, Mr. Ollivander started trying what he called the more exotic combinations. There was siren hair, and griffon feathers and claws, and augry feathers, and cerebrus hair, and grindylow tendons, and manticore venom… it was fascinating."
"I'm sure that it will come to you. Perhaps you can find someone to help you learn. Will you come to the Snape home for Christmas?" He was smiling at her, looking pleased.
Willow paused, considering things. Should she bring up the fact that she'd been raised Jewish? Would he already know? "I really don't do a lot of Christmas celebration, but it might be good to meet everybody. I think I'd like to go."
Willow was feeling surprisingly good as they left the house where she'd met her Grandfather. "He sort of… I think that's what you have ahead of you when you're going gray, Uncle Sev. And he has the whole swoopy intimidating thing that you have. Am I the only person in the family who doesn't have some form of swoopy and intimidating? Will there be people trying to be loomy and intimidate me?"
"Willow… I somehow think it will take more than the Snape family to intimidate you." Smiling, he rested his hand on her shoulder. "Now, was there anything that you wanted to buy while we're here?"
"Can we try to find a magic quill for Wesley? One that will write out what he's saying, only legibly?" She smiled, feeling just a little mischievous.
His eyes sparkling with laughter, her uncle gasped in mock horror. "Disrespectful bratling! Don't you realize that it's not appropriate to speak of one of the faculty in that manner? What would you do if someone told him what you'd said?"
"Pout about the surprise being ruined?" She grinned at him, entirely unworried at his mock glare.
"What are we going to do with you," He sighed, smirking just a bit in an effort not to smile.
"Hmm… I thought this was a school? Aren't you supposed to teach me?"
"Brat."
"Grump."
Things continued in that vein as they headed towards the stationary store. Neither of them paid much attention to the stares of younger students, or the shocked expression on the face of Professor McGonagall.
End part 12.
Rumors were flying the next day. Whispers and speculations spread, based on the fact that Willow had been seen walking with Professor Snape, laughing and joking. Willow had managed to be blissfully unaware of the speculations for almost three days.
She was sitting in the Ravenclaw common room, looking over a Transfiguration book with a fourth year student named Emily Wickham. They'd set up a deal: Emily would help Willow with Transfigurations, and Willow would help her with Potions. The next thing she knew, a group of sixth and seventh year Ravenclaws appeared, including Jasmine.
Unfortunately, it was Alacia who spoke first. "Are you having an affair with Professor Snape?"
Willow blinked, her face shifting to an expression of shocked horror. "You think… you think that I'm having an affair with… with Professor Snape?"
One of the other students, a sixth year named Kim, scowled at Willow. "Justin told me that his sister Kelly saw you laughing with him and calling him… Sev."
"That sort of trick may have helped you in America…" Alacia's words dripped scorn. " Things don't work like that here."
Willow shuddered. "Glehhh. I'm not having an affair with anyone right now. And if I were to change that, Sev would be the absolute last person on the list."
"Sev? That sounds… awfully close for someone that you're behaving properly with." Jasmine was frowning again.
"For crying out loud, the lot of you sound like some sort of Inquisition! He's my uncle! My mother was his little sister, and he's always been my favorite uncle, why not call him by his name?" Willow glared at Alacia, debating an attempt at turning the girl into a vase or a statue or something.
"Your uncle?" One of the guys who had been sitting playing a game of Exploding Snap looked over, startled. "I didn't know that Snape even had any family…"
"Yes, my uncle. Now, since it's impossible to study with so many people staring, I'm going to go somewhere else for a while. Jeez, some people." Willow closed her books with a snap, dropping them into her book bag. She shook her head as she left the Ravenclaw tower, wondering just how such a ridiculous idea had got started anyhow.
She was still grumbling and cranky as she made her way to the small field where Hagrid taught Care of Magical Creatures. It turned out that his lesson for the day was over Griffons, and that distracted her so much that she actually found herself in an almost cheerful mood. Willow decided to take shameless advantage of the fact that she had a free period, her uncle thought getting outside for a while was good for her, and Hagrid would welcome anyone to listen to him talk about his interesting creatures and joined the lesson. When he asked for volunteers to touch the griffon, Willow found herself running her fingers over the fur covered shoulder, tracing over the feather crest on his head with the most delicate of touches. The griffon closed his eyes, making a sort of warbling noise, and tilted his head towards her just a bit.
"He's very soft." She smiled at Hagrid, delighted at the chance to learn about unusual animals when they weren't trying to kill her.
"A wrong move and it could rip her arm off." The mutter came from Ron Weasley, who was looking at the griffon with concern.
Smiling, Willow turned. "Draco, why don't you come touch the griffon?"
He chuckled, looking at Ron and his friends as he came closer to Willow and the griffon, moving very slowly and carefully. "Are you sure it's safe? He had hippogriffs here once, and one of them ripped my arm open."
"He seems pretty calm right now. Don't make any sudden moves and don't make eye contact and it should be just fine." Willow smiled at him.
Draco reached out, his hand brushing over gleaming bronze feathers and sleek amber fur. "It is soft." Carefully, he walked back away from the griffon, making his notes at what he hoped was a safe distance.
One of the other Slytherins leaned over, whispering something to Draco and gesturing at Willow, who was now scratching under the griffon's jaw. With an expression of dismay, Draco slapped the other Slytherin's hand away. "She is NOT! There is no way on Earth that she'd be having an affair with him!"
"But… they were all…" The Slytherin made a few gestures, looking confused.
"What is he talking about?" Ron's whisper carried a bit better than he'd probably intended.
"Probably the rumors concerning Willow and Professor Snape." Hermione's voice was disapproving.
"Now, let's have no more o' that! Just t' set the record straight for all of yeh, Willow over there is Professor Snape's niece." Hagrid was frowning at the boy who'd brought up the rumors, looking very intimidating.
Willow chuckled a little bit, looking at the griffon out of the corner of her eye. "You'd think that everyone just thought he sprang from the ground one day, the way they're carrying on."
The griffon just made a noise that would have been described as a chirp on a canary. He then butted his head against her hand, an unsubtle hint to get back to scratching his chin.
The rest of the day seemed to be filled with yet more people thinking that she and her uncle were having an affair, an idea that was just… wrong on so many levels.
Even Draco's offer to have an affair with her to defuse the rumors didn't make her day particularly good, although it did make her smile.
Hogwarts was certainly not like Sunnydale High, even with the Cordelia-clones and abundant homework. She liked most of it, especially the wonderful food and the part where she had family that cared, but… Willow hadn't even considered the idea of someone assuming really untrue things about her and Uncle Sev.
End part 13.
Willow made her way into her Transfiguration class, feeling awkwardly too big, too old, terribly ignorant. She was sitting in with a group of second years, going over beetles to buttons. And she was having more trouble with it...
One of the other students, a dark eyed girl with a wild mane of pale hair that almost looked like a dandelion gone to seed looked over, glancing first to make certain McGonagall was looking elsewhere. "I heard there's something up with you and Professor Snape. What's going on?"
Sighing, Willow looked over. It really wasn't Susan's fault that there were so many gossips in the school, and at least she was trying to get the truth directly. "He's my uncle."
"Didn't know he had any family." The mutter was from a slightly larger boy, with close cropped dark hair and a name that she kept forgetting. "I always thought he sprouted like a toadstool."
Willow scowled, certain that it would be bad form to scream at him. She put her wand on the desk with a firm click, counting to ten in an effort to calm down. English, French, German, Latin, Hebrew... Nope, definitely not working. Stabbing her finger at the scurrying beetle, she turned it into a button, a thin dark line passing down the center of an oval brown button. Amazing... and all she'd had to do was put down the wand. Hmm... maybe she could try that again. Several buttons later, she tried it with the wand. Hmm... well, it wasn't a very good button, but it was a button instead of a beetle.
"Excellent, Miss Rosenberg. Now, try changing them back." Professor McGonagall's voice was approving, and caused the murmurs about Professor Snape to fade.
She was feeling almost cheerful as she made her way towards the dungeons for her Potion class. She'd actually gotten her transfigurations right... even using the wand. She just might be able to get the hang of all this after all.
" ... with Snape ... Imagine... just disgusting." The scattered words carried towards her, coming from a tall boy with long blondish hair pulled into a ponytail.
As Willow swept past him, trying not to show anything on her face, she saw that he had the gold and scarlet badge of a Gryffindor. He was scowling at her as if she was some sort of dreadful criminal.
She gestured, the door to the Potion room swinging open before her. She was determinedly not scowling as she walked in, taking her place beside Draco for the class. Glancing at the chalkboard, she placed her cauldron on the table, a small gesture putting a fire under it, a dark sullen green flame that made the eyes itch to look at.
"Calm down, Rosenberg." Draco hissed towards her ear. "Before you blow something up." He paused, looking at her face, continuing in a softer voice. "Before you blow somebody up."
"What makes you think I'm not calm?" She didn't quite look Draco in the face, knowing full well that 'calm' wasn't how she felt right now.
"Apart from the way the door almost smacked Potter on your way into the room?" He gave a small grin, amused by Harry Potter being endangered by the oaken door. "well... there's the green fire, the fact that your book bag's doing the Hokey Pokey... Should I go on?"
"Drat. Okay... I'm not calm. There have been the most horrible rumors... and some arrogant jerk was going on about how it was just disgusting to think about Snape and... grrrr." Willow frowned, thinking of the various bits of rumor that she'd overheard. "Made me want to turn him into a... turn him into a fat toad. With warts."
"Relax, Tree. Just have him serve as the demonstration the next time you need a victim in Defense class. Half the time, you seem to be able to get away with near murder in that class..." Draco's eyes seemed almost too bright at the idea of some obnoxious Gryffindor being the monster/victim in a class demonstration.
"Draco... she's... You don't need some foreign mud-blood to help you with your Potions." The girl was wearing a Slytherin house badge, and her robes seemed to cling to her generous curves far more than the standard fabric. She looked up at him through dark lashes that framed eyes that gleamed like sapphires.
Willow gestured at her, murmuring a few words under her breath, and the perfect coral hued lips seemed to just... vanish, leaving her without a mouth. "I don't like being insulted."
"If you do not return Miss Zabini's lips to her at once, I shall be forced to remove points from Ravenclaw." Her uncle's voice flowed through the air, rich with amusement.
Willow paused, tilting her head as if in thought. "Very well. How did that go? hmmmm..." She picked up her wand, pointing it at the girl with a slightly exaggerated look of concentration. "Finite Incantium."
The girl's lips returned to her, their color oddly paler. Her lashes had also paled, and the smoky shadows around her eyes were gone, her cheeks pale and looking thinner. Her hair lacked the same shine, and the curl began to fall out, the robes suddenly relaxed, as if they were no longer held to the girl's body by static. As the Slytherin gasped, Willow looked at her uncle, smiling sweetly. "I have removed my spell."
Zabini looked as if she was about to protest, but held her words in. Instead, the obvious anger returned the color to her cheeks, and she spent the rest of the class glaring at Willow. Willow ignored her, certain that there was no point in tempting herself to practice any more hexes or creative curses against anyone today. Besides, it made her uncle cranky if he didn't think people were paying attention to his lessons.
Draco leaned closer, and whispered, "Can you do that with your wand? Or... forget the wand, can you teach me that one?"
end part 14.
Willow had slipped out of the Ravenclaw tower, finding her way to the roof of the Arithmancy tower. She couldn't sleep, her mind too busy pulling at the various thoughts. The rumors about her and her uncle, Draco's father having an affair with Drusilla... and where was Spike during this affair? She'd met her grandfather, and would be meeting more Snapes... there were British Cordelia clones in her tower... and Draco was on his broom, dressed in silk pajamas, hovering in front of her.
"Aren't you supposed to be off sleeping?" She spoke the words softly, without bitterness. After all, maybe he was too twisted up by worry to sleep.
"What if his crazy girlfriend turns my father into a vampire?" Draco moved over the roof, stepping down from his broom. As he got closer, she could see that his left eye wasn't in shadow, it was bruised, and his lip seemed a bit swollen. "My mind started thinking about all the ways that that could go terribly wrong."
Willow looked over Draco, wondering how he'd been injured. He'd looked perfectly healthy during Potions... "I don't know. I was actually worrying more on the line of where's Spike during all of this, and how many people is he going to kill out of annoyance?"
"errr... good question." Draco looked over the tower, frowning suddenly. "Willow, do you see that? Does the grass look like it's moving to you?"
Willow looked, making a small 'ohhh' as she saw what he meant. "It is moving. But... are there ways to become magically invisible?"
"Of course there are. Shall we go figure out what... or should I say who is out there?" Draco smiled a little, pulling his broom closer.
Willow carefully put herself on the broom behind Draco, feeling extremely glad that her flannel pajamas had pants instead of just a big tee shirt or a gown. They swooped away, moving closer to the rippling in the grass. There was an area where the air seemed almost distorted, like a heat shimmer. The grass was moving as if two people standing close were moving, and they were going towards Hagrid's hut.
"I bet it's Potter." Draco's whisper carried back to Willow. "I think he has an Invisibility Cloak."
"There are really cloaks to make you invisible? Oh, wait, focus." Willow felt questions bubbling inside. She could ask questions later, but watching now might answer some of them.
There was a sudden shimmer, and Harry and his friend Ron were standing in front of Hagrid's door. The door opened, allowing them to go inside, and Hagrid looked up, his eyes finding them in the night. "What're you two doing there? Yeh might as well come on in."
Reluctantly, Draco brought the broom down, allowing Willow to dismount first. They followed Hagrid inside, Draco somehow managing to keep Willow between himself and Harry.
"None o' yeh should be out t'night." Hagrid muttered, passing them each a mug of hot tea.
Draco just shrugged half glaring across the table at the other boys, while Willow offered a small smile. "Too many thoughts. I couldn't sleep."
"Yeh know there' safer ways t' deal with that than be flying around on brooms in the middle o' th' night?" Hagrid sighed, passing a plate of fudge around. "Why not jus' ask yer uncle for a sleeping potion?"
Willow sighed, feeling almost grateful that she wouldn't have to explain her relationship to her Uncle here. "No... some of these thoughts are important, and need unraveled. Preferably when I'm not in class."
Something thumped against Hagrid's door. The sound repeated, an insistent thudding that sounded almost but not quite like something knocking. Willow wondered why she'd phrased it like that... something, not someone.
Hagrid walked over, muttering things under his breath. Opening the door, a spider the size of a donkey was revealed, moonlight highlighting the gray fur that covered the massive body, gleaming on facetted eyes. Ron and Harry both became very tense, with Ron's face taking on an unhealthy greenish cast. Draco looked at the spider, eyes very wide and whispered "Can we trade that to get the griffon back?"
"What seems t' be the matter then?" Hagrid sounded reasonably calm, as if he saw nothing wrong with giant spiders coming to his door. It was more like he was wondering why the spider was here than what it would do.
Leaning over to Draco, Willow whispered "Is that an Acromantula?"
"Yes. Almost doesn't seem surprising that he's got one... There was that dragon, and those awful hippogriffs." Draco was trying to stay calm, but Willow could tell that he wasn't quite as calm as he wanted to look. "They eat people."
"Something hunts in our Forest, Friend Hagrid." The words were slightly garbled by the clacking of the spider's mandibles.
"Not like it was a few years back, I hope? Not... not after the unicorns again?" Hagrid didn't sound happy at the news.
There was a slight wheezing sound from the spider. "No... not the unicorns. It hunts the lesser beasts, killing them, leaving the bodies nearly whole. We do not know what it is..."
Willow felt a dark suspicion forming in her mind. She'd been kidnapped the last time Spike and Dru had relationship problems, now that Dru was involved with this wizard, could another kidnapping be in store? "Excuse me... these bodies. Have they been... torn at the throat? Is the blood gone?"
"Yes." The spider seemed to shift, and Willow could feel it's attention on her. "How did you know?"
"I think... I'm worried that there might be a vampire hiding in the forest. A vampire would only be feeding on the blood of his prey, so the rest of the body would be of no use. Although he'd need somewhere out of the sun to sleep in the daytime..." Willow had been hoping that she was wrong.
"Vampire?" Ron's squeak went unheeded in the hut.
Hagrid looked over, a frown on his face. "Why would there be a vampire in the forest? Not safe... not safe for a vampire."
"Well, it sounds like the sort of remains from a vampire kill. And... umm... there's this vampire that I think might be there.... he's trouble, and he takes a lot of risks. Spike." Willow paused, trying to think of how much to say. "It has to do with his girlfriend Drusilla... Scary things happen when they have relationship troubles. He might... he might try to kidnap someone and force them to do a love spell to get her back."
"Do you have problems with vampires a lot then? You seem rather calm about it." Harry was looking at Willow, who had just taken a bit of Hagrid's fudge.
"mmm." Willow paused, swallowing the last of the mouthful of fudge. It was thick, and sticky, and she was almost certain that it held pecans, maybe even cinnamon roasted pecans. Absolutely wonderful, but not something that could be eaten in a hurry. "I haven't had to worry about anything vampire related for almost two months now. I think that's sort of a record."
"How likely is this one t' cause problems?" Hagrid was clearly not happy, even after the spider had left.
"It's Spike. There will be trouble for someone..." Willow closed her eyes, sipping the tea. She could almost imagine Giles over there, looking in a book murmuring 'oh dear's and making those unhappy thoughtful noises. "He's got a short attention span, little patience, and hates to be bored. He's spent over a century doting on his crazy girlfriend who's almost as scary as Trelawney. err.. Professor Trelawney that is. He'd killed two Slayers. Spike is trouble."
"Why's he here then? Why not somewhere with more people then?" Ron sounded almost curious.
Draco sighed, sipping a bit at the tea himself. "I would have thought he'd be more... south. Where Dru is."
"He's here because we don't want him here. Because he can cause problems and trouble, and he probably doesn't want to try to attack Dru's new boyfriend directly." Willow sighed, wishing that things would stay simple, just a little bit longer.
"D'you think he's working for... for You-Know-Who?" Ron's whisper shook with fear.
"You-Know... oh, that Voldemort guy." Willow stopped, glaring at Ron and Hagrid for flinching. "He's an evil wizard, and it won't hurt you to say his name. But if it'll make you happier, no, Spike isn't working for the dead-warts sorcerer. He has issues with authority figures and doesn't take orders. So he won't be a minion of the evil wizard because he's a master vampire, not someone's minion."
"I still don' like t' sound o' this guy." Hagrid didn't look at all happy. "Yeh should all go back t' the school where it's safe."
Draco sighed, running his hand through his hair. Collecting his broom from where it leaned against Hagrid's hut, he glanced at her, "Right. Shall I give you a lift back, Willow?"
"Sure." Willow mounted the back of Draco's broom. Just thinking about the idea of any vampire, let alone Spike, made the solid stone walls and the fact that boarding schools counted as a residence far more appealing."What about Ron and Harry?"
Draco shrugged, and Willow imagined that he was probably grinning. "I'm not worried about either of them getting eaten. But I like you."
Willow just sighed, trying not to smile. "Draco... would it kill you to try to be nice?"
end part 15.
