Chapter 9
As soon as Sirius appeared on the other side of the portal, he was hit by a speeding bullet in the form of a boy.
"Sirius, you're back," Harry cried happily, hugging him tightly.
Staggering back a little from the impact, Sirius wrapped his arms around Harry. "Its good to be back," he said huskily.
They were interrupted by Faith who almost bumped into Sirius when she stepped out of the portal. "Do you mind," she said acidly, but with a twinkle in her eye. "You're blocking the portal."
Blushing, Sirius and Harry removed themselves from the immediate vicinity of the portal where Sirius was greeted enthusiastically by the rest of Dumbledore's group. After the last person had come back through the portal, Willow closed it immediately. The Scooby Gang then turned towards Dumbledore's group who were clustered around Sirius.
A moment later, when it was clear that the group around Sirius had no intention of leaving him, Buffy clapped her hands to get their attention and spoke up. "Hey guys. I'm sorry to interrupt your reunion and all, but don't you think it'll be better to have the reunion somewhere other than here?"
At Buffy's statement, Sirius seemed to notice his surroundings for the first time. If he was unsettled at seeing the place where he supposedly died, he gave no indication of it. Looking at the frozen aurors as well as Malfoy and Fudge, he asked curiously, "What happened to them?"
"They were interrupting a delicate spell so Tara froze them," Willow said, indicating her girlfriend.
Sirius's eyebrows rose. "You must be a powerful witch in order to be able to do that," he addressed Tara.
"Technically, she's a wicca," Harry told his godfather helpfully.
"Hey," Buffy interrupted again. "Maybe we could continue this when we're back at the school?"
"Why certainly, Miss Summers," Dumbledore said genially. "If Miss Rosenberg would be so kind..."
Willow had already begun creating the portal. Sirius's eyebrows rose again at the display of power but he said nothing. A moment later, the portal was in place and everyone began stepping through. Tara was the last one through apart from Willow. Before, Tara went through though, she released everyone from their frozen state. Fudge, Malfoy and the aurors suddenly regained their freedom of movement, but before they could do anything, Tara and Willow had already stepped through the portal and Willow collapsed it.
Back in Dumbledore's study, there was a moment of confusion when everyone started talking at once. That was quickly settled when Faith got impatient and yelled "SHUT UP" at the top of her slayer enhanced lungs. The Scooby Gang exchanged amused grins. Faith had changed for the better but she was still the impatient girl everyone knew.
Taking advantage of the silence that had occurred after Faith's outburst, Dumbledore swiftly gave Sirius a brief update on the events that had occurred after he was gone. Sirius was very profuse with his thanks to the Scooby Gang when he found out that it was they who had figured out that he could still be alive and had come up with a way to get him back.
Sirius then told the rest what happened to him after he fell into the portal. It appeared that he had been wounded by Lestrange even before he fell through the portal. However, he kept his wits around him and managed to find a place to hide and recover. Transfiguring things into food and water solved the problem of hunger and thirst. He had just recovered fully a day ago and had gone out to explore the area when he was captured by the demons.
They tried discussing the problem of Voldemort next, but it was obvious that Voldemort was now the farthest thing from their minds. In their minds, the reappearance of Sirius in their midst took precedence. Finally, it was Faith who announced in her typically straightforward way that nothing was being done and suggested that they continue this conversation tomorrow when everyone has a chance to take in the fact that Sirius is really back.
That particular suggestion was agreed upon with remarkable speed. Sirius was quickly ushered away by Harry, Ron, Hermoine and Remus while Tonks, Shacklebolt, Arthur Weasley and Moody rushed to inform the rest of the Order about the latest developments that had occurred. As a result, about an hour later, Hogwarts was suddenly awash with a sea of visitors who wanted a glimpse of Sirius to convince themselves that they had not been taken for a ride.
The Scooby Gang were invited to stay at Hogwarts for the time being. Since Sunnydale had been uncharacteristically quiet for the past couple of weeks, they accepted the invitation. Willow and Tara entrenched themselves in the library once they had discovered it while the rest of the gang continued to explore Hogwarts. Willow had not removed the aura of darkness from Angel so he could go out into the sun if he liked. However, he was careful not to stray too far away from a convenient doorway in case the spell failed for some reason.
It was just before lunchtime when Fudge came to Hogwarts. Over a hundred aurors were with him as he marched towards the gates that permitted entrance to the school. Lucius Malfoy, however, was conspicuously absent from the group of people.
Dumbledore, though, had received notice of this through his contacts at the ministry and was not unprepared when Fudge marched into the great hall with the aurors right behind him. Standing beside Dumbledore was the entire Scooby Gang as well as all the professors. Harry, Ron, Hermoine and Sirius were there as well.
"Arrest them," Fudge roared, indicating Buffy, Faith and Angel.
The three of them tensed for battle. Around them, the Scooby Gang prepared to support them if it really came down to a fight. However, before anyone could move, Dumbledore had already stepped forward.
"Stop," Dumbledore commanded, raising his hand in a stopping gesture. His presence evidently had some weight with the aurors as they stopped and looked nervously at each other. Fudge had picked these hundred aurors because of their personal loyalty to him but even their loyalty had limits. Being confronted by probably the most influential person in the wizarding world reached that limit.
Fudge, though, was seething with anger. "What are you imbeciles waiting for," he shouted. "Get them."
"On what charge, Cornelius?" Dumbledore asked politely.
"For injuring a high ranking member of the ministry by the name of Lucius Malfoy," Fudge replied.
Harry snorted. "That slimy bastard was trying to hurt Willow," he shouted angrily.
"Mr Malfoy was attacked without provocation," Fudge insisted hotly. "He was merely trying to stop the young lady from making a terrible mistake."
"And what mistake might that be?" Willow asked, her voice lowering dangerously. Those who knew Willow knew that tone of her voice. She seldom used it but when she did, mountains moved, oceans parted and those who knew her would go out of their way to make her happy until she was safely satisfied. Even those who did not know her could feel the ire she was exuding and took great pains to ensure that they stayed out of her way.
Fudge, however, knew nothing of this. He also didn't seem to know that Willow hated making mistakes. She prided herself at being the best at what she did, which meant that mistakes did not enter her scheme of things. Even the implication that she had made a mistake set her blood boiling.
"You're under the impression that you're powerful enough to create portals by yourself," Fudge said coolly, evidently not noticing Willow's tone of voice or choosing to ignore it. "You're evidently suffering from delusions of some sort. I will have you admitted to St Mungos after I've taken care of the three who had injured Mr Malfoy."
"How can you say that," Dumbledore said, aghast at the claim. "Besides us, there's a team of aurors in the same room when Willow cast her spell. Also, doesn't the fact that Sirius is back with us sufficient proof of her power?"
"I don't know what he is but he's not Sirius Black," Fudge cried angrily. "It must be an illusion of some sort or an imposter that someone has set up in order to fool all of you."
"Remember that there's a team of aurors that can, and probably will refute your claim, should you decide to take it to court, Cornelius," Dumbledore warned.
"Then, they'll never testify," Fudge roared, his face turning red. "I'll make sure of it, even if I have to kill each and every one of them myself."
There was silence after Fudge's statement. Dumbledore nodded sadly. "I was afraid of that," he admitted. Then, he raised his voice, "Miss Falore, did you get that?" he asked.
"Yes," a voice was heard from a corner of the room. As everyone turned towards the source of the voice, three figures suddenly appeared. Apparently, Laura and Shawn were using an invisibility spell to hide another woman. With blonde hair and remarkably piercing bright blue eyes that seemed to be able to see into your very soul, she had a way of capturing everyone's attention.
"May I introduce Miss Rina Falore," Dumbledore said happily. "She's a reporter for the Daily Prophet," he continued, his voice remarkably bright.
"That I am," Rina said, her voice strong and vibrant. "And I'm sure that the wizarding world would be very interested to know what happened here, as well as Minister Fudge's proclaimation."
All those standing on Dumbledore's side smiled. They had been surprised when Dumbledore had called them all to the great hall. They were even more surprised when they saw the blonde woman with him and that he instructed Laura and Shawn to hide her in a corner with an invisibility spell. However, they trusted him and Rina was safely hidden only seconds before Fudge had barged into the great hall.
Fudge himself was shocked speechless. He had not expected this level of deviousness from Dumbledore. Desperately, he racked his brain for some way to salvage this but came up empty. If Rina Falore managed to get her article to the Daily Prophet and publish it, his career would be damaged beyond any hope of recovery. In a moment of panic, he made a decision that he would regret for the rest of his life.
Pointing at Dumbledore, Fudge bellowed to the aurors, "Kill them! Kill them all!"
Time stood still for a moment when Fudge uttered his command. Then, as one, the aurors raised their wands and leveled them at Dumbledore and the rest of his group. The professors, Harry, Ron, Hermoine, Sirius, Laura, Shawn, Rina and even Dumbledore himself were shocked. Not even Dumbledore had known that Fudge would have reacted this way. Despite Fudge's incompetence, he was still the highest-ranking minister in the Ministry and as such, was expected to act with the decorum as befitting his station.
The Scooby Gang, though, were under no such illusions. They had learned from experience that anything could happen. When they saw wands being pointed at their directions, hellmouth-trained reflexes kicked in and they leapt into action.
Buffy, Faith and Angel were the quickest to react. Buffy charged forward, surprising the aurors who had expected everyone to be cowed by the sheer magnitude of their power. To the Scooby Gang who had faced apocalypses before, they were not impressed. Buffy reached the auror who was closest to her and felled him with a quick punch to the face.
Before the other aurors could react, Faith and Angel were attacking their left and right flanks respectively. All three of them dived into the midst of the aurors and started laying around them with their fists. In such cramped conditions, the aurors could not cast stunning spells effectively as they were hampered in their efforts by their own people. Besides, they had to speak out to cast any spells, and this gave Buffy, Angel and Faith, who were used to having only split second warning before someone tried to kill them, plenty of time to either take out the spell caster or simply dodge the spell.
Tara and Willow had taken on the task of protecting the rest of the group from any stray spells that happened to be directed at Dumbledore's group. Dawn, Xander and Anya stood in front of Dumbledore's group to ward off any physical attacks that seemed to be heading their way. However, those attacks were few and far between, as all the aurors were concentrating their efforts on Buffy, Angel and Faith.
Aurors were given some physical training as well as being trained in offensive and defensive spells. However, that training proved to be useless against people who went up against vampires on a regular basis. Since their magical capabilities were hampered as well, they had no real defenses against the two slayers and the vampire with a soul.
As more and more aurors fell though, it became less crowded and it was becoming easier to aim spells at Buffy, Angel and Faith. It was then that Dumbledore's group stepped in, casting stunning spells at the aurors. The aurors themselves had been focusing so much on killing the three fighters that they had forgotten that there were other people present. They were totally unprepared for the stunning spells that hit them from behind. It was only a matter of minutes before all the aurors were stunned, either by a spell, or by more physical means. In the midst of all the confusion, it was suddenly noticed that Fudge was nowhere to be seen.
As soon as Sirius appeared on the other side of the portal, he was hit by a speeding bullet in the form of a boy.
"Sirius, you're back," Harry cried happily, hugging him tightly.
Staggering back a little from the impact, Sirius wrapped his arms around Harry. "Its good to be back," he said huskily.
They were interrupted by Faith who almost bumped into Sirius when she stepped out of the portal. "Do you mind," she said acidly, but with a twinkle in her eye. "You're blocking the portal."
Blushing, Sirius and Harry removed themselves from the immediate vicinity of the portal where Sirius was greeted enthusiastically by the rest of Dumbledore's group. After the last person had come back through the portal, Willow closed it immediately. The Scooby Gang then turned towards Dumbledore's group who were clustered around Sirius.
A moment later, when it was clear that the group around Sirius had no intention of leaving him, Buffy clapped her hands to get their attention and spoke up. "Hey guys. I'm sorry to interrupt your reunion and all, but don't you think it'll be better to have the reunion somewhere other than here?"
At Buffy's statement, Sirius seemed to notice his surroundings for the first time. If he was unsettled at seeing the place where he supposedly died, he gave no indication of it. Looking at the frozen aurors as well as Malfoy and Fudge, he asked curiously, "What happened to them?"
"They were interrupting a delicate spell so Tara froze them," Willow said, indicating her girlfriend.
Sirius's eyebrows rose. "You must be a powerful witch in order to be able to do that," he addressed Tara.
"Technically, she's a wicca," Harry told his godfather helpfully.
"Hey," Buffy interrupted again. "Maybe we could continue this when we're back at the school?"
"Why certainly, Miss Summers," Dumbledore said genially. "If Miss Rosenberg would be so kind..."
Willow had already begun creating the portal. Sirius's eyebrows rose again at the display of power but he said nothing. A moment later, the portal was in place and everyone began stepping through. Tara was the last one through apart from Willow. Before, Tara went through though, she released everyone from their frozen state. Fudge, Malfoy and the aurors suddenly regained their freedom of movement, but before they could do anything, Tara and Willow had already stepped through the portal and Willow collapsed it.
Back in Dumbledore's study, there was a moment of confusion when everyone started talking at once. That was quickly settled when Faith got impatient and yelled "SHUT UP" at the top of her slayer enhanced lungs. The Scooby Gang exchanged amused grins. Faith had changed for the better but she was still the impatient girl everyone knew.
Taking advantage of the silence that had occurred after Faith's outburst, Dumbledore swiftly gave Sirius a brief update on the events that had occurred after he was gone. Sirius was very profuse with his thanks to the Scooby Gang when he found out that it was they who had figured out that he could still be alive and had come up with a way to get him back.
Sirius then told the rest what happened to him after he fell into the portal. It appeared that he had been wounded by Lestrange even before he fell through the portal. However, he kept his wits around him and managed to find a place to hide and recover. Transfiguring things into food and water solved the problem of hunger and thirst. He had just recovered fully a day ago and had gone out to explore the area when he was captured by the demons.
They tried discussing the problem of Voldemort next, but it was obvious that Voldemort was now the farthest thing from their minds. In their minds, the reappearance of Sirius in their midst took precedence. Finally, it was Faith who announced in her typically straightforward way that nothing was being done and suggested that they continue this conversation tomorrow when everyone has a chance to take in the fact that Sirius is really back.
That particular suggestion was agreed upon with remarkable speed. Sirius was quickly ushered away by Harry, Ron, Hermoine and Remus while Tonks, Shacklebolt, Arthur Weasley and Moody rushed to inform the rest of the Order about the latest developments that had occurred. As a result, about an hour later, Hogwarts was suddenly awash with a sea of visitors who wanted a glimpse of Sirius to convince themselves that they had not been taken for a ride.
The Scooby Gang were invited to stay at Hogwarts for the time being. Since Sunnydale had been uncharacteristically quiet for the past couple of weeks, they accepted the invitation. Willow and Tara entrenched themselves in the library once they had discovered it while the rest of the gang continued to explore Hogwarts. Willow had not removed the aura of darkness from Angel so he could go out into the sun if he liked. However, he was careful not to stray too far away from a convenient doorway in case the spell failed for some reason.
It was just before lunchtime when Fudge came to Hogwarts. Over a hundred aurors were with him as he marched towards the gates that permitted entrance to the school. Lucius Malfoy, however, was conspicuously absent from the group of people.
Dumbledore, though, had received notice of this through his contacts at the ministry and was not unprepared when Fudge marched into the great hall with the aurors right behind him. Standing beside Dumbledore was the entire Scooby Gang as well as all the professors. Harry, Ron, Hermoine and Sirius were there as well.
"Arrest them," Fudge roared, indicating Buffy, Faith and Angel.
The three of them tensed for battle. Around them, the Scooby Gang prepared to support them if it really came down to a fight. However, before anyone could move, Dumbledore had already stepped forward.
"Stop," Dumbledore commanded, raising his hand in a stopping gesture. His presence evidently had some weight with the aurors as they stopped and looked nervously at each other. Fudge had picked these hundred aurors because of their personal loyalty to him but even their loyalty had limits. Being confronted by probably the most influential person in the wizarding world reached that limit.
Fudge, though, was seething with anger. "What are you imbeciles waiting for," he shouted. "Get them."
"On what charge, Cornelius?" Dumbledore asked politely.
"For injuring a high ranking member of the ministry by the name of Lucius Malfoy," Fudge replied.
Harry snorted. "That slimy bastard was trying to hurt Willow," he shouted angrily.
"Mr Malfoy was attacked without provocation," Fudge insisted hotly. "He was merely trying to stop the young lady from making a terrible mistake."
"And what mistake might that be?" Willow asked, her voice lowering dangerously. Those who knew Willow knew that tone of her voice. She seldom used it but when she did, mountains moved, oceans parted and those who knew her would go out of their way to make her happy until she was safely satisfied. Even those who did not know her could feel the ire she was exuding and took great pains to ensure that they stayed out of her way.
Fudge, however, knew nothing of this. He also didn't seem to know that Willow hated making mistakes. She prided herself at being the best at what she did, which meant that mistakes did not enter her scheme of things. Even the implication that she had made a mistake set her blood boiling.
"You're under the impression that you're powerful enough to create portals by yourself," Fudge said coolly, evidently not noticing Willow's tone of voice or choosing to ignore it. "You're evidently suffering from delusions of some sort. I will have you admitted to St Mungos after I've taken care of the three who had injured Mr Malfoy."
"How can you say that," Dumbledore said, aghast at the claim. "Besides us, there's a team of aurors in the same room when Willow cast her spell. Also, doesn't the fact that Sirius is back with us sufficient proof of her power?"
"I don't know what he is but he's not Sirius Black," Fudge cried angrily. "It must be an illusion of some sort or an imposter that someone has set up in order to fool all of you."
"Remember that there's a team of aurors that can, and probably will refute your claim, should you decide to take it to court, Cornelius," Dumbledore warned.
"Then, they'll never testify," Fudge roared, his face turning red. "I'll make sure of it, even if I have to kill each and every one of them myself."
There was silence after Fudge's statement. Dumbledore nodded sadly. "I was afraid of that," he admitted. Then, he raised his voice, "Miss Falore, did you get that?" he asked.
"Yes," a voice was heard from a corner of the room. As everyone turned towards the source of the voice, three figures suddenly appeared. Apparently, Laura and Shawn were using an invisibility spell to hide another woman. With blonde hair and remarkably piercing bright blue eyes that seemed to be able to see into your very soul, she had a way of capturing everyone's attention.
"May I introduce Miss Rina Falore," Dumbledore said happily. "She's a reporter for the Daily Prophet," he continued, his voice remarkably bright.
"That I am," Rina said, her voice strong and vibrant. "And I'm sure that the wizarding world would be very interested to know what happened here, as well as Minister Fudge's proclaimation."
All those standing on Dumbledore's side smiled. They had been surprised when Dumbledore had called them all to the great hall. They were even more surprised when they saw the blonde woman with him and that he instructed Laura and Shawn to hide her in a corner with an invisibility spell. However, they trusted him and Rina was safely hidden only seconds before Fudge had barged into the great hall.
Fudge himself was shocked speechless. He had not expected this level of deviousness from Dumbledore. Desperately, he racked his brain for some way to salvage this but came up empty. If Rina Falore managed to get her article to the Daily Prophet and publish it, his career would be damaged beyond any hope of recovery. In a moment of panic, he made a decision that he would regret for the rest of his life.
Pointing at Dumbledore, Fudge bellowed to the aurors, "Kill them! Kill them all!"
Time stood still for a moment when Fudge uttered his command. Then, as one, the aurors raised their wands and leveled them at Dumbledore and the rest of his group. The professors, Harry, Ron, Hermoine, Sirius, Laura, Shawn, Rina and even Dumbledore himself were shocked. Not even Dumbledore had known that Fudge would have reacted this way. Despite Fudge's incompetence, he was still the highest-ranking minister in the Ministry and as such, was expected to act with the decorum as befitting his station.
The Scooby Gang, though, were under no such illusions. They had learned from experience that anything could happen. When they saw wands being pointed at their directions, hellmouth-trained reflexes kicked in and they leapt into action.
Buffy, Faith and Angel were the quickest to react. Buffy charged forward, surprising the aurors who had expected everyone to be cowed by the sheer magnitude of their power. To the Scooby Gang who had faced apocalypses before, they were not impressed. Buffy reached the auror who was closest to her and felled him with a quick punch to the face.
Before the other aurors could react, Faith and Angel were attacking their left and right flanks respectively. All three of them dived into the midst of the aurors and started laying around them with their fists. In such cramped conditions, the aurors could not cast stunning spells effectively as they were hampered in their efforts by their own people. Besides, they had to speak out to cast any spells, and this gave Buffy, Angel and Faith, who were used to having only split second warning before someone tried to kill them, plenty of time to either take out the spell caster or simply dodge the spell.
Tara and Willow had taken on the task of protecting the rest of the group from any stray spells that happened to be directed at Dumbledore's group. Dawn, Xander and Anya stood in front of Dumbledore's group to ward off any physical attacks that seemed to be heading their way. However, those attacks were few and far between, as all the aurors were concentrating their efforts on Buffy, Angel and Faith.
Aurors were given some physical training as well as being trained in offensive and defensive spells. However, that training proved to be useless against people who went up against vampires on a regular basis. Since their magical capabilities were hampered as well, they had no real defenses against the two slayers and the vampire with a soul.
As more and more aurors fell though, it became less crowded and it was becoming easier to aim spells at Buffy, Angel and Faith. It was then that Dumbledore's group stepped in, casting stunning spells at the aurors. The aurors themselves had been focusing so much on killing the three fighters that they had forgotten that there were other people present. They were totally unprepared for the stunning spells that hit them from behind. It was only a matter of minutes before all the aurors were stunned, either by a spell, or by more physical means. In the midst of all the confusion, it was suddenly noticed that Fudge was nowhere to be seen.