Alright - I spose many of you are wondering why the hell you are back to the same chapter. Simple really - I had a couple of corrections. Special thanks to one reviewer who pointed out my little mistake with Harry's owls - he had 8 out of 9.

By the by, I forgot WICCAN - how stupid am I. And it's one of the cool subjects too - musta been half asleep when I wrote it. I knew there was something missing. Sorry.

WOW!! Only chapter seven and I'm already 100 pages in. Go team me!

I'm glad many of you enjoyed the Quidditch match and didn't mind the little extra fluffyness in that chapter. My favorite part was thinking up all the pressies!!! Heh heh!

To answer a comment from a couple of chapters before - Yes I know somethings may seem a bit OOC for Wesley (i.e. the "Sod off" remark). Sorry, I guess I've just been reading more fics featuring Wes and a lot of them has Wes as the kick-ass character he is – I just get caught up sometimes (besides he just so HOT now!!! – Ah, I think I'm gonna swoon – ok I'm done).


Chapter 7

OWLs and Others

Draco lay awake in bed, staring at the cracks in the ceiling.

'23, 24, 25, 26…' Draco counted in his mind. He was never one for imagination, so counting sheep was out of the question. He settled for something more real – such as counting the cracks embedded in the plaster above his head. But it wasn't working!

Draco glanced at the clock on his bedside table 3:02 a.m. – two minutes later than when he last checked it. Time sure dragged when you couldn't sleep.

With a ragged sigh Draco snapped his fingers and the room brightened with lights from an unknown source – magic of course, though he'd never really put much thought into where the light came from specifically. He then fumbled for the book on his bedside table 'The Slayer Chronicles: Josephina Winters'. The series of Slayer History was written by an ex-watcher named Silenus Athers. He was fired from the council for his radical opinions, and his constant battle with the Council to change the system so that Slayers and Watchers were not constantly bound by the rule of the Council.

Rumor had it that Athers had made copies of all Watchers diaries (something that was strictly forbidden), and using these, among other historical books (which sometimes included the diaries of the Slayers themselves if they kept them) was able to write a long and detailed biography of each Slayer.

Draco had read about thirty books of the series already. He had three absolute favorite Slayers so far (in no particular order).

One was Terina Aljamma (an Egyptian Slayer in the early 1800's) her Watcher had been Neleus Hexton who was considered one of the best Watchers of all time and even had attended Hogwarts, Slytherin House. Terina had lived longer than most Slayers under Hextons' watch.

Another was the Greek Slayer, Atalanta Florinus (her first name was that of a wild girl in Greek mythology). She and her watcher Damian Smith (a muggle) had fought with their heads, as opposed to pure strength, and in doing so had obliterated an entire army of Brakken Demons by making a canyon collapse.

Draco supposed that maybe his favorite (though he didn't like to put them in order) was Akimi Domiro, a Japanese Slayer from the late 12th Century. Her father had been a samurai and she was educated in such arts. She used her Samurai skill (and her Katana – a Japanese sword) to fight, she was one of the longest living Slayers in history. Unlike many Slayers, she never was emotionally attached to any of her Watchers as they'd never had time to form any sort of bond. She'd had five Watchers in all (all male, since it was still an age of male dominance) and they'd all died horrible, gruesome deaths.

Draco flipped through to the page he'd marked with a black strip of cloth – unlike his peers he refused to dog-ear the pages of any book. He used to, until he came to Hogwarts, where Madame Pince, the Librarian, tended to hex the books so they would do painful things to the reader if they creased the pages, or absently drew on said book. He'd developed a new respect for keeping his books neat, after being beaten fiercely on the head with a rather thick copy of 'The Differences of Demons', after he'd dog-eared one of the pages.

The thick volume of 'The Slayer Chronicles' he was reading now was fascinating; he might even call it one of his favorites when he was done. It was one of the later Slayers. Set around the time of the Scourge of Europe in the 1800. This English Slayer by the name of Josephina Winters had fallen in love with her Watcher, Drayvelon Reed. Or rather, he had fallen in love with her.

Though Draco wasn't usually one for soppy romances, the story intrigued him. And it wasn't all romance. It turned out that Josephina had a rather interesting family, one member of which she almost ended up killing because he was a vampire.

Draco turned the page and almost dropped the book. There was a non-moving sketch of the Slayer. Sharp features, long hair falling about her shoulders in ringlets, and strong determination in those soul-filled eyes. She looked remarkably like the Slayer Draco had met when he was little – the one who'd saved him – the one who'd gotten him interested in Demonology in the first place.

But it couldn't be – the text specifically said that she'd died by the hands of Angelus. One of the four vampires that made up the 'Scourge'. Besides, the one who'd saved him had an American accent. Though if this picture was accurately drawn, they could have been twins.

Draco was about to mull over this some more, when a large owl flew through the open window of his bedroom. His Hogwarts letters – excellent!

The envelope was much thicker than usual, Draco noticed as he opened it and brought out a small slip of paper. His OWLs marks!

--Ordinary Wizarding Levels

Name: Draconis Ladon Malfoy

School: Hogwarts

House: Slytherin

SubjectsMarks

Astronomy – E

Care of Magical Creatures – E

Charms – E

Defense Against the Dark Arts – E

Herbology – O

History of Magic – A

Potions – O

Study of Ancient Runes, The – A

Transfiguration – O

Arithmancy – P

Total Number of OWLs: 9

Marking Scheme

(O) Outstanding

(E) Exceeds Expectations

(A) Acceptable

(P) Poor

(D) Dreadful--

Draco smiled in satisfaction, nine OWLs of out the ten subjects he took was pretty good – 3 O's and 4 E's were good – and A's were a pass at least. Draco frowned slightly at his abysmally bad Arithmancy Mark – of course he always stunk at the subject so his hopes hadn't been very high.

He'd planned on dropping the subject anyway – Nine OWLs was enough to get a fairly decent job. Though if Draco was true to himself he didn't know what he really wanted to do with his life quite yet.

Draco pushed the paper aside and dug out his Hogwarts Letter.

--Dear Mr. Malfoy,

You will now be entering your sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As this will be the year that the subjects you take will affect your career path, please find the enclosed Subject List to be submitted by no later than July 31st. A minimum of Nine subjects is required. Booklists will be arranged accordingly.

Sincerely,

Professor M. McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress--

At this Draco noticed the other folded piece of parchment, it seemed quite long. He unfolded it only to find it was blank! Blank except for one question 'Do you know what you want to do when you leave Hogwarts?'

Snape had asked him the same question in his Career Meeting a few months ago. Of course Draco couldn't go on telling one of Voldemorts most trusted minions (Draco's Godfather or not – yes he was his godfather, not that many knew it) that he was interested in Demonology and wanted to do anything but follow in his father footsteps – any of them. So the young Malfoy had feigned interest in joining the Ministry. He wasn't sure what department – he explained – but something that would hopefully lead to the Minister of Magic one day.

Snape's lip had curled in a half-sneer – Draco interpreted that as a look of approval. He could almost see what was going on in the Potion Master's head. 'Yes – well done, Draco. Going to be like your father? Good man. And you're also going to join us Death Eaters. Wonderful. Your father's son indeed.'

The memory left a bitter taste in Draco's mouth. Instead he concentrated on the question written on the page.

'Do you know what you want to do when you leave Hogwarts?' Under that were two little check-boxes. One with 'Yes' the other 'No'.

Draco got up from his bed, clutching the paper in his hand and making his way to the expensive oak desk, where he sat down on the plush, velvet chair in front of it. Grabbing a bottle of ink and dipping a perfect Eagle-Feathered Quill into it, he spread out the page.

"No" Draco said aloud, ticking the selected box.

As soon as he'd chosen, another question appeared on the long piece of parchment directly under the long one.

'What are you interested in? (please note, does not have to be related to a school subject)'

Draco thought – should he lie, or should he tell the truth? Would Snape see this? Would anyone be suspicious?

Something snapped inside Draco. Who the f cared! Bugger Voldemort – Damn the world all to hell! His father was in prison. He'd do things his own way from now on!

Dipping his Quill which had dried while he was thinking back into the ink bottle, he scribbled one word excitedly – 'Demonology'.

Hardly daring to breathe, he waited for the next words to finish appearing.

'Suggested Career Paths:'

Under that was a list of about fifteen different jobs. Draco scanned the list of things to become. A Watcher seemed to be one of the most appealing – though Draco decided long ago that he didn't want to be in charge of a Slayer. How long could he keep one of those alive? He didn't want to responsibility – and what if he'd gotten attached to her. He'd learned earlier in life that you'd never have to bear the pain of loosing something that you didn't have in the first place.

Demonologist? There were many ways to go with that. Some of those in that field just wrote books about demons – boring – he was never going to get any field experience that way. He'd promised himself long ago that he'd never get a desk job.

There was the option of teaching Demonology – but that was sort of a desk job, and whom would he be teaching it too? Future Watchers he supposed or something like that.

There were things more interesting; like Demonologists who traveled the world, discovering new demon species, and then writing them. Not appealing, but at least he'd get some fieldwork.

Curse-breaker? How'd that get there? Draco supposed that many of them would have faced a demon or two on the job.

Suddenly Draco's quill hovered over a certain job 'Demon Hunter' now that was intriguing. Sort of like being a Watcher except he didn't have to train any Slayers and that he'd actually be able to fight all by himself.

Draco didn't know much about Demon Hunters – except that most of them usually worked for themselves. Sometimes they did it for money – like people would hire them to get rid of a demon or if a demon had a price on his-its'- head, they'd bag it and claim the reward.

Yes, Demon Hunter had certain merit. But what if that didn't work…? Draco contemplated and circled 'Demon Hunter', 'Watcher', and 'Freelance Demonologist' just to be safe.

The next words that formed on the page were 'Suggested Subjects'; underneath that was a three-column table; on the left read 'Compulsory Subjects' in the middle 'Suggested Extras' and on the right 'Remaining Subjects'.

Under 'Compulsory Subjects' was:

Charms

Defense Against the Dark Arts

Demon Anthology

Demonic History and Mythology

Physical Defense

Wiccan

Under 'Suggested Extras':

Care of Magical Creatures

History of Magic

Muggle Studies

Potions

Study of Ancient Runes, The

Transfiguration

And Under 'Remaining Subjects':

Arithmancy

Astronomy

Divination

Herbology

Draco circled every subject in the 'compulsory' column; obviously he'd have to take all of them. Though he did wonder where Demon Anthology, Demonic History and Mythology, Wiccan and Physical Defense had come from. He'd never heard of any of those subjects in Hogwarts before – or anywhere for that matter. Were they some special courses that only came after Fifth year? Perhaps. Wiccan – that wasn't even a true witchcraft! And what the hell was 'Physical Defense' anyway? Draco shook his head and moved on.

He knew that 'Suggested Extras' meant that he didn't have to take the subjects if he didn't want to – but it would be a good idea. So he chose Transfiguration, Potions and surprisingly Care of Magical Creatures - he didn't like Hagrid much, but the classes were hardly ever dull – unlike History of Magic, which he refused to take again because he constantly fell asleep.

Draco paused over 'Muggle Studies', he didn't really like muggles – he wouldn't fancy learning about them either. But what if he had to blend into a crowd of muggles or something? Draco scowled. No, he wouldn't take the subject. After all he did have a reputation to maintain – even if it was his mask at times.

He moved on assuming that 'Remaining Subjects' were just the leftovers that he really didn't have to take. He circled Herbology anyway as he knew that it would be useful to identify certain plants if he was ever in a rough spot. Besides, he was good at it.

At the bottom of the page it said 'Signature Here'. Draco signed his name and all the ink on the parchment ran together like water creating a blot on the page before sinking into it. Then words formed again, it was like a contract.

--Name: Draconis Ladon Malfoy

Year: 6

House: Slytherin

Subjects:

Care of Magical Creatures

Charms

Defense Against the Dark Arts

Demon Anthology

Demonic History and Mythology

Herbology

Physical Defense

Potions

Transfiguration

Wiccan--

It had Draco's signature at the bottom. He noticed that it hadn't added his career choice. Suddenly the top part of the long parchment tore off, folded and fitted itself into the empty Hogwarts envelope. Draco blinked more ink began appearing on the remaining half of the long parchment.

--Draco Malfoy, Sixth Year Booklist:

'Standard Book of Spells: Grade Six'

'Blocking the Dark'

'Scholars Guide to Demonology: An A to Z of Appearance and Behavior'

'Historical Demons and Common Misconceptions'

'Advanced Potions'

'Advanced Transfiguration'

'One With Nature: Spells for the Wandless'--

There were no books for Physical Defense and for Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology Draco expected them to be using their books from the previous year (i.e. Monster Book of Monsters and 1000 Magical Herbs and Fungi).

Draco laughed when he saw 'Scholars Guide to Demonology' and glanced at a copy of the book already on his shelf. Though it had been the first Demonology book he'd ever bought himself, it still looked almost new, except maybe the pages were a little worn from his constant turnings. And it was very thick as to include pictures and thorough descriptions of over five thousand demon species. Compared to a lot of the books Draco read, that one was one of his favorites as it was the most informative. The Professor teaching Demon Anthology must really know his stuff.

As Draco handed the envelope with his Subject List to the Hogwarts Owl he made a decision to go to Diagon Alley as soon as possible to get all his stuff – perhaps he'd stay in the leaky cauldron for the rest of the summer – instead of in this godforsaken house. He watched the owl disappear into the night and when he could no longer see it when back to the book he'd been reading. Yeah, he thought to himself, anything was better than staying here.


As expected, the Hogwarts Owls came a couple of days after Harry's birthday.

"Here you go, Harry" Willow said passing him a thick Hogwarts envelope over breakfast, "mail just came."

Ron, Hermione and Dawn all opened there's eagerly. As did Ginny who would be taking her OWLs this year.

Hermione suddenly squealed with joy.

"I got straight 'O's!" she shrieked waving her parchment in the air with a grin.

Ron smirked, "Bloody figures… ow! 'Mione, could you stop that?! You've been beating on me all summer!"

"Whaddyagonnado? Sue me?" Hermione snorted.

Dawn read through her letter, "They want me taking Sixth year classes, but they also want to test me on my OWLs this year with the Fifth years. Where's the logic in that!? It's impossible to learn five years of magic in one year and with me also taking Sixth year classes."

"It's alright Dawnie – you've got the best study partner here" Willow admonished.

"Oh yeah, who?" Dawn smirked, knowing the answers already.

"Duh – she's sitting right next to you" Willow said, waving her spoon like a wand at Hermione, "and I'll help you memorize stuff – since I know diddly-squat about wand magic."

"I can help you with some subjects" Hermione admitted, "But even though I got straight 'O's there are some things that I'd be no good at teaching. Harry here could probably teach you more about Defense Against the Dark Arts than I could."

"I'd be happy to help" Harry nodded, with a warm smile that made Dawn grin back just on principle.

"Thanks, Harry…"

"What am I, chopped liver?" Ron demanded with a raised eyebrow.

"Ron can help you fake Divination if you decide to take it" Hermione laughed, "He's quite gifted at that."

"Oh I feel so loved" Ron scowled, "But seriously, if you ever need a hand in any of your subjects I can help too when 'Miones busy. And she's always busy. HAH!"

Ron ducked Hermione's swing.

"Hah hah! Too slow!" Ron grinned triumphantly "OW!"

"Hah hah! Too smug!" Hermione said, when she'd hit his other arm.

Harry shook his head – those two had been playfully beating each other up all summer. Bit annoying really. The boy who lived turned his attention to his OWLs.

--Ordinary Wizarding Levels

Name: Harry James Potter

School: Hogwarts

House: Gryffindor

SubjectsMarks

Astronomy – E

Care of Magical Creatures – O

Charms – E

Defense Against the Dark Arts – O

Herbology – E

History of Magic – A

Potions – O

Transfiguration – O

Divination – P

Total Number of OWLs: 8

Harry grinned – he'd passed all his subjects. Eight out of Nine OWLs was pretty good. How the hell had he gotten an 'O' in Potions!?! Maybe it was because Snape hadn't been breathing down his neck when he'd taken the test.

Harry was glad he also went the extra mile for his Transfiguration – it had been his fathers' favorite subject (so he had been told) and was apparently exceedingly good at it (not surprisingly with the whole 'Turning into a Stag' thing and all).

He'd gotten very good on his Charms – although that 'E' must have been more due to his written paper, since he'd fumbled one of the Charms during his practical examination. But he'd fixed it himself which probably accounted for something as well.

Harry wasn't really disappointed with his Divination mark – he'd been expecting it. And what was he supposed to do with Divination in future? He wasn't taking it this year, that was for sure. At least Hagrid would be proud of his Care of Magical Creatures mark.

"How'd you do, Ron?" Harry asked.

"Better than expected" Ron admitted, "Divination's in the dustbin where it belongs – at least I won't have to take it this year. I messed up my charms a bit, but still passed. I did good in Transfiguration too – got an E. Passed all my subjects 'cept Divination, of course."

"Eight OWLs, Ronald, I am so proud of you" Mrs. Weasley said, kissing him on the cheek.

"Mum!" Ron protested, glad that no one was at the table but Hermione, Harry, Ginny, Dawn and Willow – the rest had gone to work early.

"Hey, guys, look at this" Hermione said, waving a rather long bit of parchment that came from the envelope.

"Oh, those would be your Subject Lists" Mrs. Weasley said, flicking her wand at the dirty dishes, "I remember when I got mine. Frightfully difficult when I didn't know where I was going in life – but you three should fill that out upstairs, you'll need your quills."

"Maybe I'll do it later" Ron muttered, going red around the ears a little "I was going to talk to Professor Pryce today – he said he'd test me."

"Test you?" Dawn asked.

Ron blushed even more, embarrassed "To see if I have the skills to become a Watcher."

"I think that's wonderful, Ron" Willow said proudly, "A Watcher in the family – who woulda thunk?"

Ron's blush deepened – aside from his interest in the profession, Ron also was keen on it because it would give him a chance to extract himself from his brothers shadows. He knew that Hermione had probably caught onto that as had Willow.

"When was he going to test you exactly?" Hermione asked.

"He said to come visit the Manor when I got to picking my subjects and he'd have everything ready" Ron said.

"I vote we all go" Harry said, "I need to ask Sirius and Lupin for some career advice anyway."

"Perhaps I should ask too – well, ask Lupin at least," Hermione corrected herself.

"Sirius is more than capable of offering good career advice" Harry frowned.

"I never said he wasn't" Hermione said uncomfortably.

"Alright you two" Willow said, sensing a fight, "maybe you'd better work out when you're going."

Dawn just shrugged, "How bout now?"


"Wingardium Leviosa" Faith whispered, swishing and flicking her wand at the pencil she was attempting to levitate.

It worked! The 2B pencil hovered high above her head, Faith grinned and spun her wand a bit and the pencil followed the pattern in the air. Faith glanced at the copy of 'The Standard Book of Spells: Grade 1' that was open on her lap, as she was sitting cross-legged on the empty table in the training room. On her shoulder, Bandit, her black Griffin, was curled, watching the pencil with interest.

Suddenly the pencil started flinging everywhere. It hit all four walls, the weapons cabinet, and hit the sword pinned up on the wall the little zinging sound unheard when the sword clattered noisily to the floor. Bandit flared his wings and cawed indignantly, as the pencil continued its zinging.

"Aw, shit!" Faith cursed, moving her head aside quickly as not to be stabbed. The pencil bounced off the farther wall.

"HEY! Watch it!" Wes protested, ducking as the pencil almost poked his eye out, he whipped out his own wand "Finite Incantium."

The pencil stopped short.

"You know, there's a reason you're supposed to use feathers," Wes told her.

"None available – and before you say a thing I am not plucking any of Bandits'" Faith retorted, now cradling the black baby griffin in her lap.

Wes almost smiled – a softer side to Faith that hardly anyone ever saw. The Slayer had grown quite attached to her new pet. Wes of course teased her about it at every given opportunity, but in actually thought it was kind of sweet, as the little griffin was inevitably attached to Faith (indeed he snapped at anyone who came to close to Faith, and squawked loudly when Faith argued with someone – apparently agreeing with her). And now the little black griffin was with her everywhere she went (except to Harry's birthday, because Faith hadn't liked the idea of bringing him through the fire).

"Why not?" Wes demanded, "He's got plenty – and I'm sure if that evil little feather duster really likes you, he won't mind parting with a few."

"Shut up, Wes, was a there a reason you came down here, or did you just show up for the soul purpose of pissing me off?"

"Pissing you off is just a delightful bonus, luv" Wes chuckled, "I actually came to sort out Ron's Watcher test and to tell you that we're patrolling tonight."

"Finally!" Faith exclaimed, swinging her legs over the table, causing the griffin to almost tumble down.

"Hasn't that little abomination learned how to fly yet?" Wes inquired.

"He's still a baby, he won't learn to fly for a while yet I don't think – read it in a book – yes I read!" Faith snapped at his amused look.

"I never said that you didn't."

"Yes but you've got that irritating look on your face that tells me what you're thinking."

"Just s'long as its irritating, I'm fine with it" Wes smirked.

Faith rolled her eyes.

"You know, you had that levitating spell basically correct. You might want to work on your concentration. Maybe you're putting a little too much force into your spells – or it could be the wand, Ollivander said it was powerful" Wesley put in.

"We're back to this now? Hmmm… well it's the Charms that I'm having problems with. I like transfiguration though, watch" Faith said, with a rare, excited glint her eye that made her seem more like a child.

Faith circled her wand over a small collection of buttons tapped her wand to them, and they instantly turned into a set of gold coins. Not real galleons of course, but they looked real enough.

"I think it's the wand" Faith grinned.

"Or you might have inherited your fathers' talent" Wes suggested, "God knows you've gotten other things from him."

"Do I even want to ask?"

"Evil mind, wicked sense of humor, knack for getting in to trouble, love for black leather - not to mention raunchy jokes…"

"And let's not forget picking on you" Faith smirked.

"Reminding me that that smirk of yours is exactly the same" Wes told her.

"That's what makes us fun people. C'mon, Wes, at least we know how to have fun. When was the last time you heard a dirty joke – no scratch that. When was the last time you heard one without blushing like a virgin?"

"Quite a while ago, thank you" Wes rolled his eyes, placing a stack of books on the table, "But all that aside, we should concentrate more on getting back into the step of things – like with our patrolling, for example."

"Yeah I'm up for routine" Faith shrugged, then she smirked, throwing him a sly look "It's just like ridding a biker."

Instead of some uncharacteristic blush, Wes smirked slowly and even raised an eyebrow at the comment.

"I'm sure it is" He chuckled softly, winking at her before closing the door behind him.

Faith watched him leave, and grinned. Yep – not so uptight anymore after all.


"Hi, Sirius, bad time?" Harry asked, his godfather, who'd jumped startled, when he'd emerged from the fireplace.

"Bugger, you could have at least told us you were coming!" Sirius told him, spilling his tea down his robes – his feathers definitely ruffled.

"And ruin the surprise?" Dawn asked, in an uncanny imitation of Spike, as she followed Harry out of the green flames.

"Hah bloody hah."

"Is Professor Lupin expected to show up today?" Hermione asked, appearing in the room.

"Not until later, did you want to talk to him about your subjects this year?" Sirius asked.

Hermione nodded, "Had a couple of questions, yeah…"

Ron hacked, as he rolled out of the fireplace, "I'm here – is Professor Pryce around."

"Here, Mr. Weasley" Wesley said, appearing in the room, holding a few scrolls and his wand in one hand "We can go into the kitchen" he gestured.

Ron nodded, "I wanted to see if there was any hope for me before I filled in my subject form."

"We'll see then won't we?"

"Nibblet? That you?" Spike asked, appearing a the foot of the stairs without notice – damn vampire stealthyness.

"Yay! Spike, you're gonna help me" Dawn informed him.

"Wassat?"

"With my Subject Form – future occupation and all that crap" Dawn said excitedly, "You can help Harry and Hermione too."

"Wow – getting orders from the Bint – you really are the Slayers sister" Spike rolled his eyes.

"Don't you forget it."


"Did you bring all the documents?" Wesley asked the young redhead seated nervously on the chair, "Relax, Ronald, this won't hurt and it's not hard if you've got it."

"It's not having it that I'm worried about" Ron told him – passing him a small roll of scrolls and his Hogwarts letter, "I got Dad to help with some of them."

"Family history – hmm… a few 'Watcher' generations, so it might be safe to say that could have been passed on to you."

"I think it might have been a bit too long ago" Ron confessed.

"It might be" Wes nodded, "And then again it might not be. How good would you say your grades are?"

"Average" Ron admitted, "I don't really flunk completely – but I'm no super genius like Hermione. I'd think she'd have the brain to be a Watcher."

"She might have – but unlike most assume, there's more to being a Watcher than brains. Many think that you also have to be a Prat."

Ron grinned at the joke, "I've got that bit covered then, or so I've been told… repeatedly and on a daily basis."

Wes laughed, his joke having the desired effect of relaxing the kid.

"Alright – now don't worry about academic achievements. It's not all that. Many don't even realize what they have until much much later in life. Even I wasn't always top in my class at Hogwarts."

"You weren't?" Ron asked, surprised. He didn't know why, but he just assumed that Wesley would have been a lot like Hermione.

"No – my Potion skills were non-existent."

"Then we have something in common" Ron smiled raggedly, "If I do have the... skills…to be a Watcher, will I have to take Potions, because Snape won't let me in his class. He doesn't take anything below an 'O' – I got an 'A'."

"Sounds like the slimy git" Wes muttered, Ron grinned, "Don't worry – advanced potions isn't a must, but just as long as you've taken potions before. There might be a time when you need to mix things together."

"That's good."

"Okay – so, I want you to start with some logical thinking."

"Uh oh" Ron gulped.

Wes brought out his wand and tapped the table, twelve, small different colored bottles grew out of the wood.

Wes grinned, "Easy, Mr. Weasley, it's not difficult – here I have twelve potion bottles. Four are poison, two are wine, three are water…"

Ron listened intently to the rest of the instructions – he was supposed to find what bottles contained which liquid and put them all in a specific order. It was similar to the puzzle back in their first year that Hermione had gotten through – Snapes puzzle. Hermione had told him about it and tried to explain – and he sort-of got it.

"Now, your probably wracking your brain – don't. Let the answer come to you. Relax and open your mind."

Ron hadn't a clue what that was supposed to mean, but he cleared his head and closed his eyes sleepily. Suddenly, as if he in a sort of trance, Ron opened his eyes and reached for the bottles. Shifting them every which way, absently. Suddenly his hands stopped working, and Ron snapped out of his little trance.

The young Wesley looked at Wesley who was smiled knowingly.

"Nicely done – now moving on. Take a look at this picture – how many different symbols can you see?"


"These are pretty good marks, Harry" Sirius approved.

"Don't look like any grading I've ever seen" Faith commented, looking over her Fathers shoulder.

Everyone jumped, except for Spike, no one had else had noticed her come in.

"Faith, what the hell is that!?!" Dawn asked pointing to the little black clump of fur and feathers that was perched majestically on Faith's shoulder.

"Oh, this is Bandit" Faith said, petting him, the Griffin squawked.

"It's a griffin!" Hermione announced.

"A real Sherlock Holms, this one" Spike chuckled from behind Dawns' Subject List. Both Watcher and Vampire had agreed that she should just take the subjects that interested her, instead of leaning towards a specific area of expertise.

"Ohhhh… and it's a black one – they're rare. He's so cute! Can I pet him?" Hermione asked.

Harry blinked, Hermione excited over a potentially dangerous animal wasn't classified as 'normal' in his memory, though few things really were.

"I think so" Faith said uncertainly, "Though Wes tried and Bandit here almost tore of his finger – maybe that's because we were arguing at the time…" Faith glanced at the griffin on her shoulder, "You – behave."

The griffin gave an indignant squawk, but didn't object when Faith lifted him off her shoulder and into Hermiones arms.

"Ohh… lookit – he's so soft, and warm and… listen he's purring!"

Dawn grinned, "Amateur opinion here, but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say this is not normal Hermione behavior."

"It all comes down to Hermione not being normal you see…" Sirius started.

Hermione glared at him.

"Shut it, Sirius" Harry warned, "Cleverest witch in the year – remember that. She might even hex you while your not looking."

"Can I watch?" Faith and Spike said in unison, sharing sadistic grins.

Sirius fell over in his chair, in mock hurt. "The vampire I can understand – but you, Faith? My own flesh and blood?! Oh I'm wounded."

"You're a wizard, heal yourself" Faith smirked, Sirius smirked back – yep, his daughter through and through.

"What is with this grading system, anyway?" Dawn asked, glancing at Hermiones' OWLs marks "Can't they have anything normal?" she glanced at the people in the room, "Guess not."

"It's a simple system really" Spike grinned, "O for 'Outta Yer Bloody Mind', E for 'Even an Idiot Could Do this', A for 'Apparently Being Dumb is a Privilege', P for 'Pitiful you Ponce' and D for 'Don't Damage Yourself'."

Dawn and Harry snickered behind their hands, Hermione rolled her eyes and Sirius and Faith grinned.

"How d'you think Rons doing?" Hermione asked, petting Bandit absently, while consulting her Subject List.

"Dunno" Faith shrugged, "Guy must be a nutcase, though, if he voluntarily is signing up for Watcherhood."

"Off his bleedin' rocker, is what he is" Spike agreed.

"D'you think he has a good chance of become a Watcher?" Dawn asked, glancing at the closed kitchen door.

Sirius shrugged, "I don't think there's anyone in this room who could give you a straight answer to that question, Dawn…"


"Done" Ron announced, setting down his quill and passing the scroll of completed complex riddles and puzzles back to Wesley.

"Only Seven and a half minutes for ten questions" Wes nodded, looking at his watch he'd been timing, "Now here I want you to read chapter 31 from this book on Latin. Do you speak Latin?"

"None what so ever" Ron shook his head.

"Anyway – you have to read through this passage and then I'll give you a Latin paragraph to translate. It won't be anything you haven't seen in the chapter. Don't worry, this is part of every Watcher test…"


Harry grinned and scribbled 'Auror' on his Subject Form under the question 'Do you know what you want to do when you leave Hogwarts?' after he'd ticked the 'Yes' box.

Then a list of subjects appeared in three different columns:

--Compulsory Subjects:

Charms

Defense Against the Dark Arts

Potions

Suggested Extras:

Care of Magical Creatures

Demon Anthology

Demonic History and Mythology

Herbology

Muggle Studies

Physical Defense

Transfiguration

Wiccan

Remaining Subjects:

Arithmancy

Astronomy

History of Magic

Divination

Study of Ancient Runes, The--

Harry circled Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms and even Potions (albeit hesitantly), since he had to take them.

Being required to take at least nine subjects, he chose everything in the second column. Except for Muggle Studies since he already knew enough about muggles, being raised by a muggle family and all that.

He scanned the last column, there was no way he was sitting through another History of Magic class. Binn's classes were boring enough to make any one of his students want to kill him (except perhaps Hermione) if he weren't already dead. Harry had even heard a few passing remarks on exorcising the History Teacher – but he supposed that even Dumbledore wouldn't find that very amusing.

As soon as he signed the form, he got his list of subjects and his book list which both tore away from each other, his subject list folding itself and slipping back into the envelope.

--Name: Harry James Potter

Year: 6

House: Gryffindor

Subjects:

Care of Magical Creatures

Charms

Defense Against the Dark Arts

Demon Anthology

Demonic History and Mythology

Herbology

Physical Defense

Potions

Transfiguration

Wiccan—

After tucking the Hogwarts Envelope in his pocket to send later, Harry scanned his book list.

--Harry Potter, Sixth Year Booklist:

'Standard Book of Spells: Grade Six'

'Blocking the Dark'

'Scholars Guide to Demonology: An A to Z of Appearance and Behavior'

'Historical Demons and Common Misconceptions'

'Advanced Potions'

'Advanced Transfiguration'

'One With Nature: Spells for the Wandless'—

"Looks like we've got to go shopping again!" Hermione said happily and she and Dawn exchanged high fives.

"That wacky alley place? I'm up for it" Faith said, "And can we..."

She was interrupted by the sound of the kitchen door opening. Wesley and Ron walked out - Ron looking a little pale, but with a broad grin on his face.

"Well?" Hermione demanded impatiently.

Ron just smiled.


Hermione, Ron, Harry, Ginny and Dawn were gathered in Ron's room. Ron and Harry were trading Chocolate Frog cards, Dawn and Ginny were discussing the Quidditch World Cup. Hermione – who'd had her nose buried in a book as usual – steered away from the Quidditch Talk by asking what happened during Ron's Watcher assessment. The redhead went into an eager description of all his tests.

Hermione frowned thoughtfully, "Puzzles? Riddles? Text Translation? That was it?"

"Sorry, Ron, but it sounds too… easy" Harry confessed sheepishly.

"What's that gonna prove anyway? – I'm sure a lot of people could figure them out" Ginny put in.

"And getting you to look at a picture and pick out symbols – what's up with that?" Dawn asked.

Ron shook his head, "It seemed a little strange – not too easy of course – just strange, like he wasn't just checking my answers. I had the feeling that Professor Pryce was testing me for something else. I don't know what it was…"

The others exchanged glances. Except Dawn who snorted at the 'Professor Pryce' title. Though she had to admit that Wesley had changed a lot since she saw him last. He was no longer a wimpy, stick-up-the-ass… 'Prat' (to quote Spike).

Maybe it was tradition for Watchers to loosen up some after a few years. Like Giles had. He wend from being a tweed guy, to being a button-down-shirt kinda guy, and then moved on to sweaters. Then he lost the glasses – so he must have gotten a life somewhere in between.

The same thing had happened to Wesley. And Dawn had to admit (though it grossed her out a fair deal) that he'd gotten HOT! Dawn grinned to think of what would happen if Faith and Wesley got together; probably a huge no-no according to the currently-being-rebuilt-Council. And she had no way to tell how they felt about each other – or if they were even friends now, what with the torture and all – but it was fun to play with the idea of her being the matchmaker.

"Do you think there was anything strange going on, Ron?" Hermione asked.

"Not really – except, with some of the puzzles I went into a sort of trance…" Ron started, "And everything just sort of came together by itself in my head."

"I'm fairly sure that's Watcher intellect, Ron" Hermione told him, smiling softly, "Professor Pryce told me about it the other day."

"There's got to be more to it than that!" Ginny exclaimed, "He had to be looking for something other than the right answers to certain puzzles."

"I mean even I can work out riddles, Ron" Harry added, thinking of his time in the maze during the Triwizard Tournament.

Ron shrugged, "Maybe, but what ever it was he was looking for, he found it. He said I had definite potential. I was worried that I wouldn't have the skill; it all comes down to heritage, really. We've only had a couple of Watchers in the family. It was a while ago though, which is why Professor Pryce wasn't sure if I was 'Watcher Material'."

"Well, you got in, and we're happy for ya, Ron" Dawn grinned, "Though I agree with Faith and Spike. Anyone who willingly becomes a Watcher is probably nuts."

Dawn giggled as she was promptly decked with a pillow.


"FAITH, DUCK!" Wes yelled.

The dark haired Slayer turned and ducked under the swing of a vampire with a wicked looking sword Faith brought her favored battleaxe up and under, knocking the sword from his grip and kicking the weapon so it spun and decapitated the vampire Spike was fighting.

"OI! Watch it, Slayer! I'm lucky you have decent aim!"

"What do you mean 'decent aim'?" Faith retorted, decapitating the vampire she was fighting with her battleaxe, "I missed!"

Spike gaped at her for a brief second, "Oh, you are paying for that one on the practice mats. LOOK OUT!"

Faith spun and raised her battleaxe only to be met with a cloud of dust that was formerly the vamp attacking her. Wesley stood there, wrist-strapped sword unsheathed. His own invention, and to this day Faith had no clue how it worked. But it was wicked cool.

"We're going to have to work on that," he told her mildly.

"Why? Because my 'big', 'strong' Watcher won't always be there to save me?" Faith smirked.

Wes smirked back, "Precisely… oh, shut up, no one asked you to come" the Watcher sneered at the big black dog who'd growled in complaint - he'd insisted on coming to 'protect his little girl', "It's her job, you bloody great ponce."

"Got a pair on you, Watcher" Spike smirked, "you're starting to sound like me."

"And that's just scary" Faith added.

Sirius woofed in agreement.


HELLO!! Special Note. Is anyone here from Canada? My homeland, though I haven't been home in a while (I'm living in Samoa – cookies for anyone who knows where that is). But I'll be coming back at the end of this year. Is anyone from Ottawa – do they go to RobertBordenHigh School specifically, cuz that's where I'll be? It might be nice to know someone!!!

Alright – I know this Chapter was a little abrupt. Kinda sorta. Still trying to get my thread with the writing thing. Trying to get some humor back – I think I've run out of successful witty one-liners. I miss the humor that I had in the first story. But I'll see if I can find some inspiration somewhere.

By the By – I am sooooo sorry if there are many grammatical errors and spelling mistakes and crap like that. I don't have a Beta – and sometimes when I reread my stuff I miss the details. Sorry 'bout any confusion. (oh – and I've reached over 120 pages now)