The Staff of Troy - 3
Buffy looked around her again. 'This can't be happening,' she thought, reaching into her back pocket for a stake.
"Hey, missy, you can't pull that bloody thing out in 'ere, you'll cause a riot." called a voice behind her.
She turned to see a perfectly ugly person behind the bar. "Who are you?"
"I'm the propr'ter o' this 'ere drinkin' 'stablishment. Figaro's the name," he drawled in his thick accent, putting his hand out for her to shake.
Buffy looked tentatively around the room. Everyone was looking at her worriedly. She held out her hand to Figaro, who gave it a good healthy shake. The rest of the pub's patrons turned back to their conversations. And their drinks.
"I must say, I've seen a lot o' pretty lasses come out o' that grate, but not one o' youse has ever had a piece of wood that big in her pocket. 'Course," he added slyly "none o' youse has ever been a Slayer before." with a wink.
"How do you know who I am?" Buffy asked warily.
Figaro burst out laughing. "Didn't you see the way all the vamps moved to the other room when you popped out? Don't know why they bothered themselves. My bar's off limits to feeding and staking. Pride meself with a clean establishment. Here, sit lass, and have something to steady yerself, on the house." He placed a tall glass of something that looked dark and thick enough for a spoon to stand up in.
Buffy reached out to the glass and moved it to her mouth, eying Figaro the whole time. She took a sip and was startled to find out that it was beer, albeit the strongest she had ever tasted. "What in the world is this stuff?"
"'What is this stuff'" he croaked, mocking her. "Why 'that stuff' is Guinness, the finest drink you'll ever have, 'sides your mother's milk" he proclaimed as he poured himself a glass. "Ah yes, your friends have arrived."
Buffy turned to see a worried Willow and a relieved Professor McGonagall coming in the front door. They sat down next to her as Figaro plopped down another glass of Guinness, and a strange fizzing blue concoction, which he placed in front of McGonagall. "Minerva, glad to see ya! You still drink Wobbly Warlocks, dontcha?"
"Yes, Figaro, and thank you for taking care of Miss Summers here. We were a little worried when the wand pointed us in this direction," McGonagall addressed this last to Buffy.
"Well, I was a little worried myself when the fireplace pointed me in this direction." They all laughed a little and finished their drinks. None of the three noticed a long haired female vampire staring at Buffy from the other side of the room, twirling her empty glass.
When they left, the long-haired vampire got up and went to the phone.
As they walked out into the streets, Buffy looked around in awe. "This is Diagon Alley? This is almost the creepiest place I've ever been, but then, I have been in Xander's basement."
"No, this is Knockturn Alley. Its not the nicest place around. This is where some of the less ... savory elements of the wizarding world spend much of their time"
"So its kind of a magic red-light district?" asked Willow with a grin.
"What's a red light district?" McGonagall asked curiously.
"It's where you ... it's kinda like ... it's ... oh never mind. Where are we headed?"
"Well, as Buffy wasn't able to bring her weapons over here, Professor Dumbledore suggested that I show her Master Stoneflower's Arms Shop. You and I also have a few errands to run before you can apprentice to Professor Flitwick. Ahh, here we go." McGonagal had stopped in front of an imposing looking shop, with the name Stoneflower above the entry. We'll meet you down at Flourish and Blott's, at the corner, ok Buffy?"
"Okey-dokey, I'll just trot on in here and pick up something nice, cuddly and deadly. See ya!"
McGonagal and Willow continued down the street. "Where exactly are we going, Professor?" Willow asked.
"There is a certain step that all of our witches and wizards take, a sort of rite of passage. Since you'll be working here with us, I thought you'd like to branch out a little. Are you interested?"
"Well, sure" They stopped in front of Ollivander's. Willow looked over the door, and an excited look appeared on her face. "Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. You're serious?!"
Professor McGonagall smiled at her delight. "Yes, of course. Let's go in."
Buffy walked around Stoneflowers, completely amazed at what she was seeing. She picked up a crossbow with ornate snake carvings all over the stock. The tag said it was once owned by Salazar Slytherin. 'Who's Salazar Slytherin and what was his thing with snakes? Must have been the Mayor's great-great demon uncle.' she said to herself.
"May I help you?" Buffy jumped as the shop owner stepped around the counter. Buffy could have sworn he was not in the room when she walked in.
Putting the crossbow down she nodded, "Yes, ... I need to equip myself for some possibly dangerous work. I may have to fight some kind of dark wizard or something."
"So you're not going after vampires on this venture." Seeing her stunned expression, he nodded. "I know it must come as a shock to you, that we recognize you on sight, but you realize we must be cautious. You have an extraordinary gift, and it bears careful observation. Do you like the crossbow?"
"Well, actually yes. I like a good distance weapon, keeps the nails in good shape. Manicures can be so expensive"
Stoneflower chuckled. "Yes, we must keep up our appearances. Well this crossbow was owned by the famous Salazar Slytherin, many years ago. It's been bewitched by a curious curse. It cannot kill snakes, but it is lethally accurate otherwise. Shall I wrap it up for you?"
"Well, I need to check my funds fir--"
Stoneflower cut her off. "Professor Dumbledore has informed me that you are on Ministry Business. Your requirements have been taken care of. Use it well, my young, lethal and beautiful one."
Buffy had a very thoughtful and quiet walk to the bookstore. She didn't see the other young-looking girl leaving Stoneflower's after her.
Willow and the professor entered the shop. Tall stacks of boxes surrounded them. Ollivander stepped out of the back room and smiled at Professor McGonagall. "Minerva, how happy I am to see you. And you are ... an American? How delightful! Are you here for one of my wands my dear?"
"Yes please," Willow answered meekly, looking at Professor McGonagall.
Mr Ollivander took out his measuring tape and began to measure her arms, legs and hands. Willow gave a start when, as usual, Ollivander turned to get down boxes of wands and the tape continued to measure. He pulled out a long slender wand and placed it into her hand. She immediately felt a surge go through her arm. Mr Ollivander's eyebrows rose. "That is interesting. Well, the wand chooses the wizard, but I've never seen it happen quite so quickly." He picked up the box. "Willow, 13 inches, with an unusual combination inside. This is the only wand I've ever sold with both wolfsbane and werewolf hair inside. Well, well, well. The wand chooses the wizard, indeed."
Willow did not leave the shop with quite the level of elation she entered it with.
That night, Professors Dumbledore and McGonagal held a meeting in his office with Professors Flitwick and Binns, and Giles, Buffy and Willow.
"Professors Flitwick and Binns, we need your expert advice. The Staff of Troy has been recovered, and it is imperative that we find out the holder's true motives."
The ghostly Professor Binns began "The Staff of Troy, an ancient artifact created by the wizard Artichus, has a long and prestigious history. It's been used to fell kingdoms, slay dragons, and infiltrate dungeons. Its story begins in 200 B.C. when --'
"Oh bother, Binns, if you start you'll put them all to sleep. Albus, are you implying that Hogwarts is in danger from the bearer of the staff?" Professor Flitwick asked.
"I'm afraid so. The latest rumour was that Colin Misbane was looking for some great source of power here at Hogwarts." Giles replied.
"Well, then, I can't waste time listening to history. I need to formulate an anti-infiltration charm right away."
"What will that require?" Dumbledore asked.
"Nothing I can't find here at Hogwart's. My young apprentice, please attend me. You will need to start practicing anyway, so you may as well start now." Willow followed Professor Flitwick out the door of Dumbledore's office.
Buffy raised her hand. "I have a question. What exactly does the staff do for this guy. You said it will allow him to pose as something harmless"
Professor Dumbledore looked at Binns. Binns coughed and assumed a very serious, lecturely pose, or it would have been if you couldn't see through him.
"As I had been saying, its story begins in 200 B.C. Artichus was looking for a way to duplicate the success of the Trojan Horse. He somehow acquired a piece of the wood from the horse, and fashioned the staff from it. It took the rest of his life to summon the power to imbue the staff with its abilities. He traveled throughout the earth, seeking out the best thieves, disguise artists and anyone else who showed an expertise in surreptious entry, Muggle or wizard. Sadly, he died when a young wizard, named, appropriately, Troy, claimed it as his own. Troy didn't keep it very long, and its history has been a series of repetitions of that. No wizard has held it longer than a few years. It was finally taken, rather forcefully, by Lady Ravenclaw, and she placed a Curse of Amnesia and a Spell of Invisibility on it, supposedly rendering it almost unfindable, and impossible to use if found. What she did with after is not known, but it has not resurfaced until now, apparently."
"What about its powers? I have to know what I'm up against. " Buffy asked again.
"It gives the bearer the ability to appear as something harmless in the eye of the beholder, and I do stress the eye of the beholder. A dragon appears awfully deadly to one of us, but would appear harmless to a wizard, with a great deal of power, such as You-know-who before his downfall."
"Does anyone know anything about Colin Misbane?" Giles asked. "He's not known to any of my contacts, so I'm hoping he's one of you."
Professor McGonagall sighed. "I suppose I should answer that. Colin was a student here about 20 years ago, in Gryffindor. He somehow lasted until his 6th year, always just barely passing his courses. In his 6th year, he destroyed the north tower when a magnification amulet, which he was not supposed to even take with him when he left charms class, fell out of his pocket and landed in his cauldron while he was mixing a potion. It was a potion of displacement, so the instead of the damage being done in the dungeon, it occurred in another part of the school. Colin was finally expelled, and his wand confiscated. The last I'd heard, he was travelling the world, charging people for finding lost objects, a magical talent he'd happened to be strong in, despite his abysmal performance in other classes."
"We need to find out what his purpose is in coming here. I don't know of any great source of power that exists here that could attract him" Dumbledore mused.
Harry and Ron sat waiting for Professor Flitwick's class to start. "Is the new American witch going to be here today?" Harry wondered.
"I think so. This should be very interesting. I hope she can show me the American variants of all our basic spells." Hermione said excitedly.
Ron groaned. "Only Hermione would want to repeat our first three years."
Professor Flitwick entered the classroom, followed by Willow. She was wearing new robes and carrying her new wand for the first time. "Good morning class. Allow me to introduce again Miss Willow Rosenberg, my new apprentice. She has followed a rather different learning path, working through apprenticeships rather than a formal school, but I assure you, she is well able to assist me here. Miss Rosenberg, you may begin."
Notes:
Thanks again for the good reviews. Please continue to give constructive criticism, I look forward to writing more.
Disclaimer
The characters of Rupert Giles, Willow Rosenberg and Buffy Summers are the property and sole creation of Joss Whedon. The characters of Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagal, Professors Flitwick and Binns, Lady Ravenclaw, Harry Potter, and Ron and Ginny Weasley are the property and creation of J.K. Rowling. My thanks and respect to both of these creative people.