Into the Blue
Book 1: Way of the Warriors

Chapter 20 – Bad luck.

DISCLAIMER: Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon, and Harry Potter to J.K. Rowling. I don't own anything…

TIMELINE: AU. The fifth and final instalment of the OOTB-series. Takes place during the Order of the Phoenix and begins where Come What May (part 4) left off. Includes spoilers for Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows.

SUMMARY: BTVS/HP crossover. With Voldemort's return, and the Ministry's refusal to see it, things are more caotic than usual. Not even Hogwarts is safe anymore, something Harry and the rest of the trio, along with Sarah, who is to start her first year, is about to experience first hand. Remus and Buffy face problems of their own, at the same time as they must try and save Sirius…from himself. United they'll stand, divided they'll fall – but as the Wizarding World descend into chaos, will the light side conquer or crumble?

Remus flooed back to Grimmauld Place several more hours later, tired but pleased: Buffy had woken up for a few moments before he left and spoken to him – she'd been mostly out of it, most of what she'd said had made no sense, but it had managed to ease most of his worries: Enough of them for him floo back to Grimmauld to attend the postponed Order meeting and Phoebe.

"Dad!" Phoebe exclaimed, throwing herself in his arms the moment he exited the fireplace, and had been helped back into his wheelchair by Sirius. "Is it true?" She demanded to know. "Is what Sirius said true? Mommy's okay?"

"She's fine, Phoebs," Remus assured her, hugging her back just as tightly. "Tired, and still wounded, but she'll be okay. I plan on taking you there to see her later, but I have to attend the meeting first, alright?"

Phoebe nodded, and reluctantly let go of him. "Alright. Will Sarah be there?"

Remus chuckled, messing up her hair. "Of course – I doubt anything could keep her away."

When Remus rolled into the room where the Order meeting was to be held, he was met by someone he did not expect to see for several weeks yet: "Hagrid! You're back."

"Remus," Hagrid greeted gruffly from his giant seat, holding a large slab of meat against a bruised eye. "I 'eard 'bout Buffy. Sorry 'bout tha'." He blinked when he saw the wheelchair. "Wha' 'appened to ye?"

"It's a long story," Remus said tiredly, gratefully accepting a cup of tea from McGonagall. "Thanks, Minerva. And Buffy will be fine, Hagrid," he added.

"Glad teh hear it."

"She will be alright, then?" Tonks asked anxiously, biting her nails, her clothes cleaned up from all the blood she'd been covered in last time he saw her.

"Yes."

"Well, shall we get started with the meeting?" Dumbledore asked jovially, clasping his hands together, and the members gathered all murmured their consent. "The attack on the muggle village was, I believe, and Alastor agrees with me, an attempt to drag the Slayer – Buffy – out – and have her killed, once and for all, as his last attempt did not succeed. Luckily," the Headmaster's eyes twinkled, "he underestimated her strength, again, and the assassin – the demon hybrid that Buffy and Remus encountered on their last mission, is, I'm glad to say, no more."

The room cheered.

"How did it happen?" Arthur Weasley asked curiously. "I was there, but in another end of the village, helping to transport the wounded out – how did she kill it?"

Remus straightened up in his wheelchair - he wanted to know that as well.

"Well," Tonks exchanged a look with Moody. "Mad-Eye and I were the closest, but we didn't actually see it happen either. You'll have to ask Buffy, once she's more coherent, I suppose."

"Do we know if there are any more hybrids out there?" Kingsley Shacklebolt asked. "Or was the one Buffy killed You-Know-Who's only subject? If it wasn't, we're in trouble – none of us magic wielders could harm it at all, and Buffy barely managed to kill one, and that was nearly at the cost of her own life- if there's an army of them, and You-Know-Who decides to send them all..." He trailed off, seeing no need to finish his sentence, as the rest of the room understood all too well what he meant: If Voldemort had more of the species, they were royally screwed.

"Good question," Dumbledore said. "Severus, do you know anything about it?"

"Not more than last time," Snape admitted. "And last time, I didn't know – and neither did the rest of the Death Eaters, from what I've been able to understand – the Dark Lord created such a creature. I have no idea the resources it would take, or the magic it would require. But, if it was just a matter of waving your wand, Voldemort would have had a large amount of them running around already. It is my – hopeful - belief that it was his only one, or at least, one of extremely few."

"Well, that is one large worry put to rest, then," Dumbledore said, pleased. "As you can all see, Hagrid is back from his mission to the Giants. Hagrid, what do you have to report, old friend?"

"The meeting with the giants could 'ave gone better," the half-giant admitted. "But it could 'ave gone worse too. Olympre an' I were accepted alright. Allowed to leave our gift to the Gurg – the Chief - an' all, we met with 'im twice. But then there was a fight – Giants aren't meant to live together like tha'. And the Gurg was killed."

"Oh, no!" Emmeline Vance gasped, and Hagrid nodded grimly.

"And the new Gurg wasn't so keen on listenin' to us. Things got rather violent," Hagrid said, gesturing towards his face. "If not for Olympe…" He sighed. "Anyway, she was forced to use magic to 'elp me out, and we weren't welcome after tha'. We stayed hidden in a cave for a couple o' days and what we saw – well…let's jus' say that the new Gurg had nuthin' against all wizards. Just us. Met up with a couple of Death Eaters – one of 'em was MacNair - bringin' him gifts like we did."

"And let me guess," Sirius said bitterly, "the new Gurg had no trouble with them?"

Hagrid nodded. "You guessed right. The new Gurg – Golgomath - was very welcomin'. So me an' Olympe tried to convince some of the other Giants, those who weren't 'appy with Golgomath."

"And?" Snape asked impatiently.

"We managed to convince six or seven tha' joinin' us was a good idea," Hagrid said, and the room lit up. "Unfortunately , there was a raid, and those tha' survived didn't wan' no more ter to with us after that."

The room's occupants slumped down as one. "So there are no giants coming," McGonagall summarized unhappily. "And those that are, will join You-Know-Who."

"Sorry," Hagrid said.

"It is not your fault, Hagrid," Dumbledore said. "You did what you could. And maybe some of them will move out, because they don't want to be around Golgomath, and remember what you said. Maybe they'll come."

Few of the members were convinced this would happen though, and Remus suspected Dumbledore didn't either – he was just saying it to comfort Hagrid – but from the look on the half-Giant's face, he wasn't very convinced either.

"Damnit!" Sarah groaned when Ron let in yet another goal, and let her head fall against the railing with a thud.

Despite all her coaching, despite the fact that it had seemed Ron had managed to ignore the Slytherin jibes in the hallways, despite the fact that he hadn't let a single goal get passed him at practice, it seemed it didn't matter when push came to shove.

At breakfast, he hadn't been able to swallow a single bite - bad, because, hello! This is Ron Weasley we're talking about. Then, when they got out onto the pitch, the jibes had started again…and whatever nerve Ron had gained, was lost, as told by the current score: Fourty-Zero, in Slytherin's favor. If she heard 'Weasley is our king' one more time, she would strangle someone!

As if on cue, the awful song started up again from the Slytherin stands: "Weasley cannot save a thing, He cannot block a single ring, Thatʹs why Slytherins all sing: Weasley is our King."

Sarah grabbed her wand angrily. "Alright, that's it - I've had enough!"

"Weasley was born in a bin, He always lets the Quaffle in, Weasley will make sure we win Weasley is our King."

"Sarah, don't!" Neville said, dragging down the first year and stealing her wand by force. "Weasley is our King, Weasley is our King, He always lets the Quaffle in, Weasley is our King."

"They're not worth it," Hermione added, though she too looked as though she wanted nothing more than to hex the Slytherins to the moon and back.

Sarah pouted. She wasn't used to not succeeding, and she saw Ron's failure to block out the Slytherin chants as a personal one. And besides that, hearing about her mum's 'accident' and then going to visit her in the hospital wing, seeing her condition firsthand, certainly hadn't taken any stress off of her shoulders. Really, how many times had she almost died now?

She loved her mother, truly, and she was so proud of her, wanted to be just like her – but sometimes, she couldn't help but wish she would just be a normal mum, without a life threatening occupation. Not knowing if the last time she saw her would actually be her last; not knowing if she'd come back whenever she walked out the door…

Growing up on a Hellmouth hadn't given her or Phoebe many opportunities to truly be children. Sarah had learned that innocence wasn't something easily come by, and she had lost hers early: She had had to lose it, or she would have been easy prey: Daughter of a Slayer and a werewolf – the dead and undead had been willing to go to so many lengths to get a hold of her.

She shuddered as she remembered some of the more terrifying kidnapping attempts through her childhood.

Phoebe hadn't suffered that: When she was born, her parents had been even more overprotective of her than of Sarah, knowing what could happen. As a result, Phoebe still retained some of that innocence and naivety – far more than Sarah, too be sure, though she was quickly losing it here, in this universe; a magical universe, on the edge of war.

Still, Sarah didn't envy her that – it only made her more determined to make sure Phoebe could stay innocent, no matter what.

"Look!" Ginny said, pointing, and interrupting Sarah's line of thoughts. "Harry's got the Snitch!"

And so he had. During the time Sarah had been lost in thought, it seemed Gryffindor had managed to score one goal (at least it was something), and now Harry had caught the Snitch, ending the game, and giving Gryffindor a victory anyway.

"Oh, thank Merlin," Hermione said, standing up. "I don't know how much longer I would have been able to watch."

Unfortunately, it seemed Gryffindor's bad luck hadn't ended: When Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Sarah reached the pitch, they saw Malfoy on the ground with a bloody nose, whimpering like the pathetic little ferret he was: George and Harry were nowhere in sight, nor was Ron.

"What happened?" Ginny demanded to know of Fred, who was glaring at Malfoy over his shoulder, clenching and unclenching his fists, being forcibly lead off the pitch by Angelina, Alicia and Katie.

"Malfoy happened," Katie said, frowning worriedly. "He provoked Harry and George into attacking him…they've been taken to McGonagall's office."

Hermione gasped. "Oh, no!"

Fred rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on! It's McGonagall – she wants to win the cup as much as we do. And she has a soft spot for Potters and Weasleys. What's the worst that can happen?"

"Way to go, Fred," Ginny said, glaring at her brother later that evening. "What's the worst that can happen?" She repeated mockingly. "No Seeker, and no Beaters."

"How was I to know Umbitch was going to show up?" Fred demanded to know. "And if I had known I was going to be banned for something I didn't do, I wish like Hell I had actually done it. If Angie, 'Licia and Katie hadn't held me back…" He shook his head.

"Guys, it's no use," Harry sighed. "Fighting isn't helping. And it isn't Fred's fault. It's mine."

"It's Malfoy's," Sarah corrected. "And Umbridge's. Place the blame where it belongs. So, okay, you could have done a better job holding your temper…but that would be quite hypocritical of me to demand of you."

"I'm going to bed," George said. "Coming, Fred?"

Fred nodded, and the two former Beaters disappeared up the stairs. A couple of minutes later, Ginny left too, leaving the common room empty apart from Ron, Hermione and Sarah sitting by the fire.

"Any idea where Ron got too?" Sarah asked. Her first reaction after the game – and during it – was to chew out Ron, but she knew that would only make things worse, not better. And all her anger had disappeared since, leaving her only with a hollow feeling in her gut. Wherever Ron was now, he was probably in need of comfort and encouragement, not more blame – he probably blamed himself enough already.

"I think he's avoiding us," Hermione said, chewing her lip worriedly, as Harry shook his head. "Where do you think he-?"

The Fat Lady's portrait swung forwards, revealing Ron, clambering through the portrait hole, snow in his red hair.

"Where have you been?" Hermione said, jumping to her feet and hugging him. Ron tensed up, before relaxing in her embrace, and shrugging.

"Walking."

"Well, you must be freezing," Sarah said. "Sit."

Puzzled, Ron sat. "Aren't you angry?"

"For what?"

"For disappointing you," Ron said. "I was a fool to think I can play Quidditch. I'm going to resign – Ow!"

Sarah had hit him. "Don't you dare. So you had a bad game – everyone has one once in awhile. You're great at practice."

"But I suck at the real thing," Ron reminded her.

"Pshh," Sarah snorted. "Beginner's bad luck."

"And you can't resign," Harry said. "Then we need to replace over half-the team. Fred, George and I have been banned from ever playing again."

Ron looked more anguished than ever, and looked to be on the verge of a new guilt-trip.

Sarah held up a finger to stop him. "Don't even think about it. This was not your fault. Malfoy is a git, and it wasn't insults at you that made Harry and George act like two gorillas without brains but too much testosterone."

Ron blinked in confusion as Hermione giggled and Harry flushed in embarrassment. "Testo-what?"

"Never mind," Sarah rolled her eyes. Purebloods.

"Well," Hermione said, stepping back from the window which she had walked towards after Ron sat down. "I know something that might cheer you up – Hagrid's back."

The trio and Sarah wasted no time in getting to Hagrid's hut, hidden under the invisibility cloak. Harry knocked, and Hagrid's boarhound, Fang, immediately started barking.

"Hagrid, it's us!" Harry called through the keyhole.

"Shoulda known," Hagrid said gruffly, opening the door and letting them in, Sarah quickly covered Hermione's mouth to muffle the scream that began to escape her at the sight of the half-giant: His hair matted with congealed blood and his eye bruised and puffy.

"Oh, Hagrid!" Hermione gasped.

"Oh, that's nothing," a cheery voice they all recognized said from a corner of the cabin. "You should have seen me a couple of days ago."

"Mum!" Sarah exclaimed, rushing forward to Buffy, as Harry, Ron and Hermione all exclaimed: "Buffy!" "Mrs. Lupin!" "Professor Summers!"

"You shouldn't be out of the hospital wing," Sarah scolded. The trio was staring at their former professor with wide eyes: Buffy's face was covered in scarring, and her head was covered in bandages, one arm in a sling.

"Well, with Umbridge running around it was a little risky to stay inside the castle. I'm heading back to Grimmauld tonight," Buffy said, wincing slightly. "Really, I'm fine," she told the still speechless trio. "I mean what I said – a couple of days ago, I was near death and looking far worse. I am so grateful for Healing potions – not to mention hair-and tooth growth potions."

"What happened?" Harry demanded to know, finally finding his voice again.

"I doubt you've heard about the attack – the Ministry would have made sure the Prophet didn't mention anything about it," Buffy said. "Anyway, the hybrid me and Re ran into in Albania was there, and we went a little round or too. I won, but not without a price."

"Your face…!" Hermione gasped.

Buffy grimaced, fingering one of the scars self-consciously. "Yeah, well…two days ago, these were bleeding. My face wasn't so much a face as it was bloody carnage…but with my Slayer healing, and potions…give it another two days, and the scars will be gone."

"Wicked," Ron breathed, earning himself a smack from Hermione.

"Honestly, Ron!"

Buffy snickered. "You could do with some healing potions as well, Hagrid," she told the half-giant, pulling out her wand with her left hand. "You shouldn't have come back here, looking like that. Not with Umbridge running around – she doesn't need to an excuse to sack you, and with you wounded I bet she'd make up some sort of story of how you're a danger to yourself – not to mention the students – and have no business teaching a school."

Flicking her wand at Hagrid's hair, she made some of the blood disappear: Another flick, and some of the swelling around the eye lessened.

Hagrid shrugged. "Can't be tha' bad, cannit?" He asked.

Buffy sighed. If Hagrid didn't want to take the danger Umbridge posed seriously, there wasn't much she could do. "Just…try to lay low?" She winced a bit at her choice of words – Hagrid wasn't exactly the most inconspicuous of guys.

"What happened you, Hagrid?" Hermione asked. "Was it…the giants?" She lowered her voice.

"How di' you know 'bout that?" Hagrid bellowed in surprise, and Sarah barely refrained from rolling her eyes at him.

"We sort of guessed," Ron said dryly.

"Harry, can I have a word?" Buffy asked, standing up.

Harry frowned. He wanted to hear about the giants…

As if knowing what she was thinking, Buffy smiled at him. "I'm sure the others will fill you in. I just figured we could have a little Godmother-Godson time, for once."

Harry nodded then, stepping out into the cold, and closing the door behind them.

"So…how have you been?"

Harry shrugged. "Fine, I guess."

Buffy's lips twitched in amusement as she did a heating charm with her wand, to keep them warm, and a disillusionment charm to keep them hidden from sight. "Really?"

Harry's shoulders slumped. "Not really," he admitted. "I got banned from playing Quidditch."

Buffy looked startled. "Really? I'm so sorry to hear that…"

Harry grimaced. "Yeah. And my broom has been locked up."

"Umbridge?" Buffy asked, pursing her lips.

"Yeah."

"She has no right to take your broom," Buffy said. "She can ban you from Quidditch, but your broom is your broom and no one else's. She has no right to your property. And she hasn't banned you from flying, has she?"

Harry brightened a little, and Buffy grinned. Boys and their toys… "Ask McGonagall to have it back."

Harry nodded enthusiastically, before sneaking another look at his Godmother. "The attack…it was two days ago…that was Halloween, right?"

"Yeah." Buffy sighed. "All bad things seem to happen at Halloween."

"Do you…" Harry hesitated slightly. "Do you think you could tell me about my mother?" He blushed when Buffy turned to look at him, slightly startled. "I mean, you don't have to," he assured her. "But I hear all about my dad from Sirius and prof – I mean, Remus. But not so much about my mum."

Buffy smiled then. "I'd be honored to tell you about Lily," she said. "I was actually wondering if you were ever going to ask," she admitted. "I suppose I could have told you something without your prompting, but I didn't want to overstep my bounds. I didn't want you to think I was pushing or anything." She chuckled slightly, her eyes lost in memory.

"Lily was…Lily," she finally said. "She was sunshine and spice, fire and water. I don't know how to explain it, really. She could be so calm one minute, and then excited or angry the next. You never knew." Buffy's lips twitched. "Your dad never failed to wind her up, nor did Lily ever fail to keep him in line. He was so whipped."

Harry grinned.

"You actually remind me a lot of Lily," Buffy said. "And I don't mean just your eyes. I mean your temper, your loyalty and honesty…"

Harry's grin got even wider: Everyone was always telling him how much he was like his dad, but no one had ever said he reminded them of his mum as well.

"…But you have your dad's laziness and penchant for breaking rules," Buffy said. "And Lily was always so demanding in presence, you know? You're withdrawn. Wherever she went, heads turned – people couldn't help but notice her: Not because she tried to be noticed, but there was just something about Lily that made people want to be around her, like a moth to a flame."

Harry smiled.

"And of course, you're not quite the bookworm Lily was," Buffy continued. "I'm not saying she was another Hermione, because she wasn't. Lily wasn't near that obsessed, and she looked beyond the written: Questioned it, didn't take it at face value. And she wasn't a stickler for rules either, don't let anyone tell you that!" She laughed. "I'm not saying she was a troublemaker like your dad, but she made sure to break the rules when they didn't suit her." She sighed longingly. "Your parents balanced each other out perfectly: Lily kept your dad grounded, helped him grow into this amazing man. And your dad made your mum lighten up, helped her to really enjoy life. I am proud to call them my friends."

"Do you…do you think she'd be proud of me?" Harry asked, almost wistfully. "That they'd both be proud of me?"

"Oh, Harry," Buffy grinned, hugging him. "I know they're proud of you. They loved you before you were born. And they still love you, wherever they are. Anyone would be proud to be your parents. Well, anyone who matters, anyway."

Harry began to smile, then it faltered as he saw a light source come bobbing through the dark towards them. "What's that?"

Buffy narrowed her eyes, then cursed silently. "Umbridge." She stood up, and knocked on the door. "Don't open up!" She told Hagrid, Ron, Hermione and Sarah inside, as their voices quieted down. "Just listen: Take Harry's cloak and hide by the door. Umbridge is on her way. Hagrid, when you open the door, hold it open long enough for them to slip out."

There was a sound of scuffling from inside, which Buffy took as a sign they had heard. Buffy placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and lead him around the corner of the hut, away from the stairs, before she again pulled out her wand, erasing the footprints in the snow within her reach.

Umbridge reached the hut, face scrunched up in distaste, though her attention was still held by the four set of footprints in the snow, which ended suddenly a couple of feet from the hut.

She knocked. A moment later, Hagrid opened the door, holding it open wide.

"So," Umbridge said, slowly and loudly, as though Hagrid was deaf. "You're Hagrid, are you?" She stepped inside without waiting for an answer.

Buffy grimaced, wishing she weren't wounded; wishing Umbridge didn't hold a position of power; wishing she could kick her large ass to Hell. She knew showing herself would be madness though, and would probably cause more trouble for Hagrid – and herself, Sarah, Remus and the Order – rather than help.

She watched as three sets of footprints appeared outside the door, and stepped down the stairs. A moment later, Hagrid closed the door, and Umbridge began the interrogation, voice muffled due to the thick walls.

"Come on," she whispered to the invisible group. "Walk back to the castle, don't stop until you're inside Gryffindor tower. I'll erase your footprints behind you."

The walk towards the castle went slowly, what with three people under an invisibility cloak, and two under a disillusionment charm, of which one – who was wounded - had to constantly stop to erase their footprints.

Once they reached the castle, Buffy took off the disillusionment charm on Harry, making sure he got safely under the cloak with the others, before waving goodbye to the invisible group, and walking outside again, her destination the three broomsticks, from which she could floo: She doubted she was in any condition to apparate.

A/N: I hope you liked the chapter and that you had a nice holiday and start of the new year! Don't forget to read and review the rewrite and its website, Road of Innocence, which is up now, available from my profile page. :D A new chapter is posted regularly, every two weeks. (Wow, I have a schedule I can actually promise to keep...)

/Ida