Chapter 6
Of course, in a scheme by now way too familiar, Harry, Ron and Hermione had to wait until everyone was in bed before they could put on the robe and sneak out. Naturally, they had to avoid Finch and his cat, and had a very close call when Peeves floated right through the cloak and them. They exited the castle through the door behind the Cyclops painting in the main hall (Cyclops was busy chasing Odysseus and didn't notice)
"Those trees look so beautiful at night," whispered Hermione as they took off the robe.
Harry and Ron just shrugged, as the trees at night were a common sight to them, and merely looked like, well, trees.
"Now, we turn right from our stairs to get to the main hall, so Crookshanks should be ... that way!" Harry pointed, then started walking.
"Oh I do hope he's all right!" Hermione whimpered, then glared at Ron. "I told you two it wasn't a good idea!"
"Well, if you hadn't jumped up like that!" Ron hissed, his ears turning red. It wasn't as though he didn't know it was his fault, but he wouldn't admit it to Hermione.
"Sshhh!" Harry whispered. "There he is. He's fine." Hermione sighed with relief as she saw Crookshank's tail twitching. She picked him up and started stroking his fur. They turned and started walking back to the secret exit.
"Meowr!" Crookshanks howled then leapt from Hermione's arms, running in the other direction. Harry, Ron and Hermione started to follow, then jumped in the bushes when they heard a sound behind them. Harry had just gotten the cloak over them when Fang came around the corner.
"Oh, Fang, why now?" Ron moaned. The three of them got up and followed Fang around the corner. Crookshanks was on top of a bush, hissing at Fang. Hermione reached up and pulled him down, under the cloak. Fang stopped barking with a grunt, looking around.
"Here Professor, Fang's found something," they heard Hagrid's voice. Then Hagrid and Snape came around the corner.
"Well, Rubeus, what has he found, a squirrel?" snarled Snape, stomping off, leaving Hagrid to scratch his head at Fang's behavior. The three of them followed Hagrid and Fang quietly. They stopped just as Hagrid caught up to Snape.
"Hagrid, here in the passage the intruder used to exit the school. Did you know it existed?" Snape pointed at the blank brick wall in front of them.
"What passage?" Hagrid asked as he pressed the wall, to no avail.
Snape snorted, then pulled a small potion bottle out of his cloak. He pulled the stopper, then placed a drop on his palm. After placing the bottle back in his pocket, he clapped his hands, then blew gently on the cloud of potion that formed. A rectangle of light appeared on the wall. Hagrid smiled and nodded, then pushed on the wall. Still to no avail.
"The light is red. That means the door only opens outward. Still, you should do something about it. I'll notify Dumbledore, then someone can keep watch on the door." Snape marched off. Hagrid, walked off in the other direction.
"What are we gonna do? They'll be keeping an extra tight watch tonight! We can't go in the front door." Hermione looked at the two of them in worry.
"Calm down, we've got the map." Harry sat down to study it. "Hey, there's a entrance right here. It's by the dueling room, so we can come in that way, then if anyone asks, we can say we were practicing. Let's go!"
They walked around the castle looking for the doorway. They watched the map, waiting until their dots on the map were lined up with the doorway on the map. "Here it is, and there's noone anywhere near it inside. Hermione, do your stuff"
With an exasperated look on her face, Hermione shifted Crookshanks to her left arm, then withdrew her wand. "Alohomora!" The doorway opened and they walked through.
Harry pulled the cloak off of them. "Whew, let's get bac--"
"Don't move a muscle, any of you!"
The three of them froze, then slowly turned. Buffy stood there, crossbow aimed at them. "Uh, Professor Summers ..." Ron stammered, then shut his mouth, as he had no idea how to explain this.
Harry's shocked look must have convinced Buffy, as she dropped her crossbow and gave them all a dirty look. "What are you doing!? Don't you know you could have been killed?!" Harry, jaw still dropped, looked from Buffy to the map repeatedly.
"You're ... not here, I mean ... not there, I mean not on the ..." he drifted off.
"What are you talking about? And don't you three have a curfew?"
"We went to get my cat. She fell out the window and I was afraid she was hurt." Hermione, as usual, knew the best way to talk to a teacher. She held up Crookshanks, who Buffy reached out and petted.
"Well, then, you have your cat, now get out of here." They looked nervously around, then Harry looked at the map again.
"Quickly, Snape's coming." Harry took off into the dueling room, followed by the other two. Buffy closed the door and sighed as Snape came into view. She failed to see the eyes looking at her from the forest.
"Well?" he asked.
"Well, what?"
"The door's been opened. My potion signaled me. "
"Oh, that. I heard something scratching, so I opened it to look. It was a student's cat, so I let it in. Miss Granger's, I think"
"Oh, well I had hoped you had ... oh never mind." He waved his wand, and a second stool appeared next to Buffy's. He sat down.
Buffy yawned, then apologized. "Sorry, don't mean to be rude."
Snape had a cross look on his face, then thought better of it. "No, no, don't worry at all. Would you like some tea?"
"Not really a tea drinker. Can I get a cappuccino around here ... guess not, tea it is" she said as she saw the puzzled look on his face.
He let a drop of liquid fall from a bottle onto the floor, and a tea tray appeared on yet a third stool.
Harry, Ron and Hermione took the cloak off in the Gryffindor common room. "That was close," Hermione said. "I'm going to bed!" then shuffled up the stairs.
Harry sat there, looking at the map. "What's the matter, Harry? You've looked spooked ever since we came in. What's got you so surprised?"
"You mean besides looking at the wrong end of Professor Summer's crossbow? This!" He pointed to the map, specifically at the doorway they just came in. There was a dot for Snape, but none for Summers.
"That's a little strange. Maybe it doesn't show Americans ... oh wait, there's Professor Rosenberg."
"Why doesn't she show up on the map?"
"Well, that not nearly as strange a question as, 'Why was she waiting there with a crossbow?'" Ron grimaced. "She almost skewered us!"
"This is strange. She's not a normal instructor, is she?"
"So, how does one become an professor in a school for Wizards?" Buffy asked.
"Well, Miss Summers, I've studied potions for quite a while, and Professor Dumbledore gave me a chance when I was a little ... down I guess is the right word. I suppose it would be just as easy for you to explain how one becomes the Slayer."
"Well, unfortunately, its because someone died. The previous slayer was killed, and I was ... Chosen. Not a very satisfying explanation, I guess. How long have you been here, Professor Snape?"
"Call me Severus, you are a teacher here now." Snape tried to smile, but it came off a little forced.
"Well, Severus, you can call me Buffy." she said a little tentatively
"I've been here about 14 years. I attended here as a boy."
"Oh, I guess that makes it better, being a wizard in a school full of wizards. Me, I was the only supernatural freak in my high school."
"Oh, that actually sounds a little interesting. Did the Muggles there look down on you because of it?" Severus didn't realize it, but as soon as he stopped forcing the smile, it was replaced by a more natural looking smile.
"Actually, we kinda kept my 'specialness' a secret. People knew there was something strange about me, but it just wasn't an open topic of discussion." Talking about her past was not something that normally made Buffy comfortable, but she was strangely relaxed here. "Giles and Willow and the gang were the only ones who knew the whole truth. Oh, and Angel."
"Angel?"
"In your world, you probably know of him as Angelus."
"Ah, yes the vampire with a soul. He's quite well known in our world. I believe Flitwick is distantly related to the tribe of gypsies that cursed him."
'Small world." Buffy observed wryly.
Giles sat in his office, looking finally at a picture of the staff. It had taken him days, but he had finally found a book with its picture. Madam Pince had found it, just an hour ago and had brought it down to him, along with a pot of her "very special tea." He'd chatted with her for the hour about the history of the book in his hands, and she had only just left. "Amazing woman. Her talent for research exceeds that of anyone on the Council."
He read on until the end, then put the book down in frustration. There was a knock on the door. "Come in."
Dumbledore walked in. "Studies going well?"
"There is no known procedure for destroying it, at least according to Mildred Mousewhite." he said, glancing at the author's name on the book.
"Well, she is the expert," Albus said kindly. "What about an impervious flame charm?" he asked as he sat down.
Giles picked up the book. "'Partridge McIlhenny Borealis attempted to destroy the staff with an impervious flame charm in 204. He was engulfed in flame himself, then blown into the sky by the ensuing explosion.'"
"I've always wondered why my Great-Grandmother went to Norway on vacation. She always said she was visiting family."
"Well, Willow and I will search some of our references. Given our lack of innate magic, our history may have developed stronger potions to compensate. Any luck with the physical searches?"
"Severus found an exit from the castle today, but it was one way only. Miss Summers is still guarding the suspect entrance?"
At Giles's nod, Dumbledore rose. "It's time to put these weary bones to bed."
"Myself also. Goodnight, Albus"
Harry and Ron were still puzzling over the map at breakfast the next morning. "Whatever do you think is going on?" Harry asked Ron.
"I simply don't know. She's different, to say the least. I mean look at her; she even gets along with Snape!"
At the head table, Professors Snape and Summers were deep in conversation, almost ignoring their breakfasts.
Hermione, plopped down across from Ron. "What's the matter?" Ron asked, looking at her puffy eyes.
"Crookshanks is gone again! He came to bed with me, but now he's gone."
-------------------------------------------------------
Many characters in this story, now too numerous to mention, are the creations of J.K. Rowling and Joss Whedon. My thanks to these two fine artists for their contributions to this genre.