Title: Chamber of Secrets
Part: 28
Aurthor: Cynthia Taz
Rating: G
Summary: Harry, Buffy and co entered the second year of Hogwarts. Willow showed up and dark force followed. Who's responsible?
Disclaimer: All characters, sites and such from 'Buffy, The Vampire Slayer' and 'Angel' belong to Joss Whedon, UPN, WB, and et al. All characters, sites and such from 'Harry Potter' belong to JK Rowling. No copyright infringement intended. Anything new in it belongs to the author (Yah me!). This story is not sell or for any profit.
Note: Thank you Joahn for beta reading the story! (Other notes placed on Part 30... what can I say? I'm lazy!)
Harry stared at Willow with confusion. "W-" Before he could get any word out, he felt himself being push away by some unknown force. He stumbled back, dropping the fang next to Willow.
Willow didn't even look back at Harry but reaching for the fang on the ground. Without a word, the redhead spun, and stabbed the fang right into the middle of the closed diary.
Tom screamed even louder as the fang pierced through the book. He threw his hands over his head, sparks dancing all over his body as the light got even brighter. With a last scream, the light exploded, and the memory of Tom Riddle disappeared into thin air.
Harry blinked at the redhead who was now staring at the spot where her father had once been. Bennu quickly flew towards Willow and stopped on her shoulder, but she didn't seem to notice. Harry then looked down at Ginny Weasley, who suddenly gasped and sat up, her eyes looking around fearfully. "Ginny?"
"Harry!" The young redhead spotted Harry, and started sobbing immediately. "Harry, it was me. But I swear I didn't mean to... Riddle made me! He wrote to me..." she paused when she saw Harry's bleeding arm. "You're hurt!"
Harry shook his head. "Don't worry. Ginny, you need to get yourself out. Follow the chamber, and you'll find Ron and the others..."
Bennu suddenly turned and flew towards Harry. It landed next to Harry, and whistled when Fawkes appeared and landed beside him. Fawkes took a step forward, his head lying onto Harry's hand. "You were brilliant Fawkes," Harry told the phoenix. "I just wasn't quick enough."
Bennu's head moved closer to Harry's arm, a single tear slowly slid from his eye and dropped onto Harry's wound. Instantly, the wound healed itself as if it had never existed.
"Of course. Phoenix tears have healing powers." He smiled at the phoenix. "Thanks." Bennu flew back towards his master. Harry then looked up at Ginny. "It's alright Ginny. It's over. It's just a memory." He stood slowly and held out his hand. "C'mon. Let's go find the others."
Ginny accepted his hand, before turning towards Willow. "What about her?"
"Willow?" Harry called, walking closer to the Slytherin redhead. "We have to go now."
The Slytherin redhead shook her head slightly. "You guys go." She whispered. "I know the way."
"But-"
"Please." She pleaded. "I just want to be left alone."
Harry looked at the redhead for a second. "Okay." He said, before leaving the chamber with Ginny and Fawkes, leaving the Slytherin behind with her phoenix.
Harry and Ginny moved towards the cave where Harry had been separated from his friends when they found the gang, along with Professor Giles and Professor Dumbledore walking towards them. "Harry! Ginny!" Buffy was the first to spot the pair. She quickly ran towards her friends, followed by Xander and Ron, and gave the pair a group hug.
After the group hug ended, Ron turned towards his sister. "You're alive!" He smiled, even though his eyes were watering. "You're alive!" He quickly stepped towards her and gave her a hug again. "You're alive!"
"I'm going to be expelled..." Ginny whispered, her eyes refused to reach the headmaster. Professor Dumbledore merely smiled at the youngster.
Buffy grinned, and whispered to Ron. "Remind you of anyone?"
"You, Buffy." Professor Giles plugged in angrily. "What were you thinking? You could have been killed! You all could!" He looked around at the youngsters.
"Sorry." Buffy looked down at her own feet.
Giles sighed and shook his head. "One of these days I am going to have a heart attack because of you." He rumbled.
Professor Dumbledore smiled. "Why don't we go back to me office?"
"Professor..." Harry looked at the headmaster. "Slytherin-"
The headmaster nodded. "I know." He whispered, before turning towards others. "Now, anyone know the way?"
"You don't?"
The headmaster grinned. "Rupert and I slid down from the... what did they call it in the muggle world? Chute, is it?"
"And take a couple years off me." Giles rumbled, and Buffy immediately giggled.
"I did find an opening nearby..." Ron said. "But it's about hundred feet up. I don't know how we can climb that high. Besides..." He frowned and turned towards Lockhart who was sitting on the floor nearby, humming to himself.
Fawkes, who had landed on Dumbledore's shoulder, flipped his wings and flew into the air, circling. Its action immediately earned a smirk from the headmaster and an horrified expression from Giles. "I think you just found yourself a lift." Professor Dumbledore said with a grin.
"I shouldn't have followed you here Albus." Giles growled. Dumbledore turned and smiled at Giles... somehow evilly.
Harry and company, plus Ginny, Giles and Lockhart were now hand in hand, linking the group together with Fawkes, which flew towards the opening, bringing the gang back to the ground.
"Amazing!" Lockhart screamed with joy. "This is just like magic!"
Willow looked up, smiling sadly at her phoenix as it finished a song. "Thank you." She held out her hand and softly smoothing the phoenix feather.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Willow spun when she heard a voice coming from behind - the voice that belonged to Professor Dumbledore. "Phoenix's songs are reputed to increase courage to those who have a pure heart and strike fear into those impure. Did you know that?"
"Too bad it's not true. I can't feel any fear." Willow whispered and looked back to her phoenix.
The headmaster stared at the redhead, cocking his head. "A man is not a horse just because he was born in a stable, Willow."
"But a man does not have horse's blood in him." Willow looked up at Dumbledore. "I do." She whispered, looking down at her shaking hands. "You should have never accepted me into Hogwarts." To Willow's surprise, instead of replying, the headmaster slowly kneeled, and sat beside the redhead.
"Your mother was a very bright student at Hogwarts." Dumbledore said quietly. "Probably as brilliant as Tom Riddle, who was one of the most brilliant students Hogwarts had ever seen. But one, even as bright as your mother, even as powerful like your father, can never control one thing - love."
Willow turned, staring at the headmaster as he continued. "I do not know how she met Tom, at the time she entered Hogwarts Tom had long since graduated, and had created himself a new name..."
"Voldemort." Willow whispered.
Dumbledore nodded. "The time when Voldemort raised in power, there were many witches and wizards who had joined him - but most of them did not join him because of their beliefs, but for the power he offered; for fear that one day it would be they who would be rebelled against. Only your mother... your mother joined him for love. Not belief, not power... but love."
"How could she?" Willow asked painfully. "How could she fall in love with someone like Voldemort? He had killed so many people..."
"As I said, love is not something one can control. We all don't have choices in this matter, only fools are us, who live to act." He smiled at Willow.
"When your mother found out that she was pregnant, she feared - feared that you might become the sacrifice of what Voldemort believed, that you might become the sacrifice for him to achieve his goal. You have to understand, there are many people in the wizarding world who fear him, and even more who wish harm to him. So, she left, sacrificed her love for Voldemort to protect you.
Your father did not understand though. Love is probably the one thing that Voldemort would never understand - that a mother's love could be so powerful that one would give up everything she had, give up all the love she had for the world just to protect her child."
Willow stared at the headmaster as he continued. "I do not doubt Voldemort's love to your mother, but when your mother left him, his love for your mother turned into hate. That's why your mother decided to raise you in the muggle world, decided that it might be the best for you to become a muggle instead of a witch." The headmaster drew out a bundle from his robe. "Your mother had left me this before she left for the muggle world; she wished me to give it to you if one day she had failed to shield you... from all this madness."
Willow took bundle with her shaking hands, and opened it slowly. Inside the cloth was a golden key and a folded paper. She took out the paper and unfolded it, her eyes widened at the words written on it. "A will..." She quickly read it. "You're my legal guardian!"
"She did ask once before she left... I see now why she had sent me a pair of socks instead of books which other people had insisted every Christmas." Willow stared at him strangely. "One can never have enough socks." Dumbledore said.
Willow blinked at the strange headmaster for a couple more seconds before picking up the small key, frowning in confusion. "I believe a trip to the Gringotts Wizarding Bank is in order, Willow. But I fear that there are things I need to attend to first." The headmaster stood slowly, before holding out his hand to the redhead. "Shall we?"
Willow stared at the headmaster for a long time, before finally reaching out and took his hand. Bennu flew into the air and landed onto her shoulder, and the two slowly made their way out of the chamber.
"We use the stairs next to the pipe towards the second floor girl's lavatory, I presume?" The professor asked.
"Um yeah." Willow cocked her head. "You came down from there, right?"
Professor Dumbledore smiled and shook his head. "Of course not." Willow looked at him skeptically. "So tell me, Willow. Do you like cocoa? I myself always find it enjoyable to have a cup of hot cocoa while wearing a pair of warm socks..."
