Part Seven
***Hogwarts, England***
The year was starting off awfully quiet. Too quiet for his liking.
Yes, there was the usual cheer of starting off the new school year,
friends meeting up once again after a long summer away. There was a
bit of anticipation as well, for the what next year had to hold.
But it was still quiet. Everything was hushed, as if people were to
afraid to speak their thoughts out loud. Too afraid to rejoice for
fear that something would come and rip it away if they weren't
careful. Overall, they were all just a bit afraid.
The teachers weren't helping any. They were all just as subdued as
their students, which in turn subdued the students even more for they
felt like their teachers were despairing. The fear was feeding
itself, not too big right now, but growing as time went on. Everyone
knew this year wasn't going to be like the rest, nothing would be
like it was before. Things had changed in their world, and not for
the better.
Voldemort was back. They all acknowledged it, but no one dared to
say it. He was back, the monster was back. That wizard they had all
learned to fear since the day they were born was back. And with
Harry Potter back at Hogwarts, everyone had a pretty good idea where
HE would show up next.
Harry sighed, trying to ignore the fearful looks around him.
Hermione noticed his discomfort, one of the rare times she was able
to come out of the fog she had been in since they met at the Leaky
Cauldron, and shot him a reassuring smile. He tried to return it,
but it came out as a grimace. Hermione was another thing that was
bothering him, him and Ron that is. Their friend was quiet,
withdrawn, not even raising to the bait of many of Ron's jokes. She
hadn't even cracked open a book yet, instead sitting silently, lost
in her thoughts. Harry wasn't sure what she was thinking about, but
he knew it wasn't good. Hermione looked a bit paler than usual, a
haunting look passing over her features far too often for his
liking. He wanted to know what was bothering his friend. He wanted
to know now.
But she wasn't telling. Not anyone, though all had noticed. Hell,
even Malfoy had noticed, sending the girl a few curious looks of his
own. Malfoy was another problem. Harry felt like he had something
to do with Hermione's distraction. Because other than the few
curious looks on his face, Draco held something else on his features
when regarding Hermione. Understanding. Malfoy knew what was
bothering his friend, or least he thought he knew. Harry didn't like
that one bit.
He gave another sigh, shooting a worried look Ron's way. The redhead
shrugged, his eyes going to the once again silent Hermione. The girl
didn't notice his attention, focusing on moving her food listlessly
around her plate.
Harry swallowed a growl of frustration, resisting the urge to demand
answers. Instead, he looked helplessly towards the staff table,
seeking Dumbledore with his eyes. He passed over the faces of Snape,
Sprout, McGonagall, and Oliver Wood (apparently the Hogwarts graduate
had come back to take over Madame Hooch's duties at the school while
the woman dealt with some family issues elsewhere) before reaching
Dumbledore.
He didn't like the look on Dumbledore's face. The professor sat
there, contemplative and generally withdrawn, almost like Hermione.
He wasn't looking around the Great Hall, fixing students with grins
and that mischievous twinkle in his eyes. No, Dumbledore seemed
preoccupied with something else.
Harry turned his eyes back to his plate, frowning at the food there.
Nothing was normal this year, everything was off.
And he didn't think it was going to get any better.
*****
***London, England***
"We're going where?"
Willow sighed, shooting a sympathetic look Giles's way as the Watcher
attempted to explain the situation to a newly arrived batch of
Slayers-In-Training. The girls, coming from a range of ages, were
frightened, agitated, and sometimes, surly. And poor Giles had to
deal with all of them.
"Come," he motioned to the brunette standing in front of him. "I
have books and such in my office that can show you exactly where
we're going. And trust me when I say, no matter what you think of
it, it is the safest place for you girls right now."
And with that, he was leading the girl away. Willow watched him go,
amusedly watching his resigned face. Poor Giles.
Rasping from her side drew her attention away from the Watcher and to
her charge. The redhead startled, springing to action as Spike began
to cough harshly.
She was quick to get an arm around him, helping him into an upright
position. Though he was better than before, Spike was still too weak
to move much of his own accord. The blood they had been feeding was
slowly taking affect, the vampire beginning to fill out his drawn
features once more, but all the wounds were far from healing. And
the mark on his back, it wasn't going anywhere for a little while.
"You okay?" she murmured in his ear, relief flooding over her at his
nod. But he was still coughing, so she propped him up best she could
before reached for the blood she had ready on the coffee table. It
was rather amazing that the Watcher's Council had agreed to let Spike
stay at their headquarters, but they had no choice in the end.
Whatever was coming, Spike was integral, and they didn't want to lose
him just yet.
Bringing a mug of blood to his lips, Willow shook her head,
marvelling at the similarities this situation had to the one of her
freshman year at UC Sunnydale. Both times had her taking care of
Spike in lieu of the information he could possibly provide them with
on the latest big bad. Only this time, Spike wasn't chained, and she
actually cared what happened to him. She was the only one to watch
him, not trusting the any of the others not to just abandon him after
a while. The Watchers, though allowing him in here, were still far
too weary of the vampire to venture near him for that long.
"Is he doing better?"
The soft voice from behind her didn't startle the witch in the
least. She turned her head, sending a smile Dawn's way as the
younger Summers settled down next to the redhead. Her blue eyes were
trained on Spike, worry and confusion there. Willow understood the
mix of feelings. It was Spike, but Spike with a soul, and as of yet,
they couldn't tell what kind of difference the soul was making on him.
"He's better, but not good yet," Willow shrugged, moving a bit so
Dawn get a better view of the vampire. Spike's eyes lit up with
recognition and he tried to lift his hand in a bit of a half wave.
Dawn just smiled, grasping the hand in her own and patting it in
reassurance.
"You'll be good as new in time," the teenager promised him. "We're
going to see to that."
"It's a damn good thing that those people agreed to allow him in
their school," Willow muttered tiredly. "I hate to think what we
would have done then. We're running out of safe places to hide."
"Tell me about it," Dawn murmured, watching as Spike finished his
blood and drifted back into sleep. "What's going on Willow?"
The redhead shrugged, settling down on the floor next to Spike's
couch and leaning her head against the vampire's arm.
"I don't know," she answered truthfully. "All I know is that there's
this really bad guy, with his band of evil flunkies, that's running
around killing Slayers-In-Training and Watchers, in an attempt to
accomplish something. What he's trying to do, Lord knows."
"This school," Dawn began. "We will be safe there, right?"
"As safe as we can get," Willow replied, closing her tired eyes a
bit. "We'll find out, won't we?"
"Not really all that inspiring Willow," the teenager giggled. The
redhead felt a ghost of a smile come over her features.
"Yeah, but it's realistic. And no matter how disheartening it is,
we're going to have to face facts. We will be safe there, but we
can't expect that to hold. These guys, they're coming Dawnie. And
if we don't accept that, they're going to kill us all."
*****
***Sunnydale, California***
"I just don't see why we need her out."
Angel sighed, exchanging a look with Gunn. The dark man just
shrugged his shoulders, going back to assessing weapons and leaving
Angel to deal with Buffy.
"We need all the help we can get," the vampire finally
answered. "And if that means we have to get Faith out, we're getting
Faith out."
"But we don't know for sure that she can help," Buffy muttered
darkly. "I know you think she's changed Angel, but can we even take
the risk? What if she hasn't changed all that much? What if the
bitch screws us over like she did last time?"
"First of all, she has changed," Angel grounded out, anger washing
over him briefly. "I'm not getting back into that with you. Faith
is in jail willing, not because she got caught, but because she felt
like she deserved to be there. She's trying to find her way back,
though its going to be difficult. I know what that's like, and I get
that she might not be ready, but we have no choice. Whoever these
guys are, they're killing potential Slayers for now. Once they
realize that Giles hid all the potentials, they're going to head
straight for the real ones. And Faith is a sitting duck in jail."
Buffy pursed her lips, trying hard not to pout at the concern Angel
was showing for the rogue Slayer. Her mind was racing with different
feelings, most of them hatred. She hated Faith, she didn't want the
psycho out. In fact, if someone did go after her in jail, Buffy
wouldn't mind it one bit. Faith deserved what she got.
But on the other hand, Angel was right. Whoever the hell was doing
all this crap wanted all the Slayers dead. And letting him get even
one more victim was just helping him along the way. While killing
Faith would ultimately just lead to another Slayer being called, it
wouldn't help their side all that much. They needed a trained Slayer
not someone new to the whole deal. If it came down to it, they
needed a good fighter on their hands, and Faith was good at being a
Slayer.
"Fine," the blonde muttered. "We'll get her out. But I'm not going
to like it. I will tolerate her and needed her help, but I'm not
changing my mind on her that easily. There's nothing you can say
that will make me like the idea of freeing Faith. But I'll work with
it."
Angel sighed, nodding in relief.
"That's all I ask for."
*****
***Hogwarts, England***
"May I have your attention please?"
Draco started at the sound of Dumbledore's voice, ringing out across
the Great Hall. Dinner was over, people had been sorted, and
everyone was getting ready to leave. But at the Headmaster's
request, they all stilled and settled back in their seats.
Curious, Draco trained his eyes on Dumbledore, wondering what the man
had to say.
"I'm sure you all realize that feelings are running a bit tense
lately," the Headmaster started. "There are those who accept
Voldemort's return and prepare for it while others try to hide from
it. Either way, it cannot be ignored much longer. Voldemort has
returned and he has begun something that none of us can comprehend."
Frightened whispers started up around the Hall, most eyes going
immediately to Harry at the Gryffindor table. Draco snorted at that,
knowing that Harry wasn't the issue here.
"For the protection of all of us, and the protection of innocent
lives, we will be having guests staying at the school this year,"
Dumbledore continued. "They will begin arriving tomorrow, and
continue for some time after that. Know that though these guests are
Muggles, they are anything but ordinary."
"Muggles?" Draco heard Pansy repeat in disgust. "What kind of
extraordinary Muggles could he be bringing in here?"
As if he heard her question, Dumbledore turned his eyes to the
Slytherin table before continuing.
"By tomorrow, the first of the Potential Slayers and their Watchers
will be arriving. And by the end of the week, we hope to have both
active Slayers among us."
A collective gasp went up from all the students, and whispering began
in earnest once more. But this time, it was done in more excitement
than anything else. Draco shook his head, thinking he must have
heard wrong. Dumbledore was bringing the Slayer to Hogwarts?
The Headmaster only smiled, the twinkle back in his eye as he sat
down again. And Draco knew it was all true.
The Slayers were coming to Hogwarts.
*****
***Hogwarts, England***
The year was starting off awfully quiet. Too quiet for his liking.
Yes, there was the usual cheer of starting off the new school year,
friends meeting up once again after a long summer away. There was a
bit of anticipation as well, for the what next year had to hold.
But it was still quiet. Everything was hushed, as if people were to
afraid to speak their thoughts out loud. Too afraid to rejoice for
fear that something would come and rip it away if they weren't
careful. Overall, they were all just a bit afraid.
The teachers weren't helping any. They were all just as subdued as
their students, which in turn subdued the students even more for they
felt like their teachers were despairing. The fear was feeding
itself, not too big right now, but growing as time went on. Everyone
knew this year wasn't going to be like the rest, nothing would be
like it was before. Things had changed in their world, and not for
the better.
Voldemort was back. They all acknowledged it, but no one dared to
say it. He was back, the monster was back. That wizard they had all
learned to fear since the day they were born was back. And with
Harry Potter back at Hogwarts, everyone had a pretty good idea where
HE would show up next.
Harry sighed, trying to ignore the fearful looks around him.
Hermione noticed his discomfort, one of the rare times she was able
to come out of the fog she had been in since they met at the Leaky
Cauldron, and shot him a reassuring smile. He tried to return it,
but it came out as a grimace. Hermione was another thing that was
bothering him, him and Ron that is. Their friend was quiet,
withdrawn, not even raising to the bait of many of Ron's jokes. She
hadn't even cracked open a book yet, instead sitting silently, lost
in her thoughts. Harry wasn't sure what she was thinking about, but
he knew it wasn't good. Hermione looked a bit paler than usual, a
haunting look passing over her features far too often for his
liking. He wanted to know what was bothering his friend. He wanted
to know now.
But she wasn't telling. Not anyone, though all had noticed. Hell,
even Malfoy had noticed, sending the girl a few curious looks of his
own. Malfoy was another problem. Harry felt like he had something
to do with Hermione's distraction. Because other than the few
curious looks on his face, Draco held something else on his features
when regarding Hermione. Understanding. Malfoy knew what was
bothering his friend, or least he thought he knew. Harry didn't like
that one bit.
He gave another sigh, shooting a worried look Ron's way. The redhead
shrugged, his eyes going to the once again silent Hermione. The girl
didn't notice his attention, focusing on moving her food listlessly
around her plate.
Harry swallowed a growl of frustration, resisting the urge to demand
answers. Instead, he looked helplessly towards the staff table,
seeking Dumbledore with his eyes. He passed over the faces of Snape,
Sprout, McGonagall, and Oliver Wood (apparently the Hogwarts graduate
had come back to take over Madame Hooch's duties at the school while
the woman dealt with some family issues elsewhere) before reaching
Dumbledore.
He didn't like the look on Dumbledore's face. The professor sat
there, contemplative and generally withdrawn, almost like Hermione.
He wasn't looking around the Great Hall, fixing students with grins
and that mischievous twinkle in his eyes. No, Dumbledore seemed
preoccupied with something else.
Harry turned his eyes back to his plate, frowning at the food there.
Nothing was normal this year, everything was off.
And he didn't think it was going to get any better.
*****
***London, England***
"We're going where?"
Willow sighed, shooting a sympathetic look Giles's way as the Watcher
attempted to explain the situation to a newly arrived batch of
Slayers-In-Training. The girls, coming from a range of ages, were
frightened, agitated, and sometimes, surly. And poor Giles had to
deal with all of them.
"Come," he motioned to the brunette standing in front of him. "I
have books and such in my office that can show you exactly where
we're going. And trust me when I say, no matter what you think of
it, it is the safest place for you girls right now."
And with that, he was leading the girl away. Willow watched him go,
amusedly watching his resigned face. Poor Giles.
Rasping from her side drew her attention away from the Watcher and to
her charge. The redhead startled, springing to action as Spike began
to cough harshly.
She was quick to get an arm around him, helping him into an upright
position. Though he was better than before, Spike was still too weak
to move much of his own accord. The blood they had been feeding was
slowly taking affect, the vampire beginning to fill out his drawn
features once more, but all the wounds were far from healing. And
the mark on his back, it wasn't going anywhere for a little while.
"You okay?" she murmured in his ear, relief flooding over her at his
nod. But he was still coughing, so she propped him up best she could
before reached for the blood she had ready on the coffee table. It
was rather amazing that the Watcher's Council had agreed to let Spike
stay at their headquarters, but they had no choice in the end.
Whatever was coming, Spike was integral, and they didn't want to lose
him just yet.
Bringing a mug of blood to his lips, Willow shook her head,
marvelling at the similarities this situation had to the one of her
freshman year at UC Sunnydale. Both times had her taking care of
Spike in lieu of the information he could possibly provide them with
on the latest big bad. Only this time, Spike wasn't chained, and she
actually cared what happened to him. She was the only one to watch
him, not trusting the any of the others not to just abandon him after
a while. The Watchers, though allowing him in here, were still far
too weary of the vampire to venture near him for that long.
"Is he doing better?"
The soft voice from behind her didn't startle the witch in the
least. She turned her head, sending a smile Dawn's way as the
younger Summers settled down next to the redhead. Her blue eyes were
trained on Spike, worry and confusion there. Willow understood the
mix of feelings. It was Spike, but Spike with a soul, and as of yet,
they couldn't tell what kind of difference the soul was making on him.
"He's better, but not good yet," Willow shrugged, moving a bit so
Dawn get a better view of the vampire. Spike's eyes lit up with
recognition and he tried to lift his hand in a bit of a half wave.
Dawn just smiled, grasping the hand in her own and patting it in
reassurance.
"You'll be good as new in time," the teenager promised him. "We're
going to see to that."
"It's a damn good thing that those people agreed to allow him in
their school," Willow muttered tiredly. "I hate to think what we
would have done then. We're running out of safe places to hide."
"Tell me about it," Dawn murmured, watching as Spike finished his
blood and drifted back into sleep. "What's going on Willow?"
The redhead shrugged, settling down on the floor next to Spike's
couch and leaning her head against the vampire's arm.
"I don't know," she answered truthfully. "All I know is that there's
this really bad guy, with his band of evil flunkies, that's running
around killing Slayers-In-Training and Watchers, in an attempt to
accomplish something. What he's trying to do, Lord knows."
"This school," Dawn began. "We will be safe there, right?"
"As safe as we can get," Willow replied, closing her tired eyes a
bit. "We'll find out, won't we?"
"Not really all that inspiring Willow," the teenager giggled. The
redhead felt a ghost of a smile come over her features.
"Yeah, but it's realistic. And no matter how disheartening it is,
we're going to have to face facts. We will be safe there, but we
can't expect that to hold. These guys, they're coming Dawnie. And
if we don't accept that, they're going to kill us all."
*****
***Sunnydale, California***
"I just don't see why we need her out."
Angel sighed, exchanging a look with Gunn. The dark man just
shrugged his shoulders, going back to assessing weapons and leaving
Angel to deal with Buffy.
"We need all the help we can get," the vampire finally
answered. "And if that means we have to get Faith out, we're getting
Faith out."
"But we don't know for sure that she can help," Buffy muttered
darkly. "I know you think she's changed Angel, but can we even take
the risk? What if she hasn't changed all that much? What if the
bitch screws us over like she did last time?"
"First of all, she has changed," Angel grounded out, anger washing
over him briefly. "I'm not getting back into that with you. Faith
is in jail willing, not because she got caught, but because she felt
like she deserved to be there. She's trying to find her way back,
though its going to be difficult. I know what that's like, and I get
that she might not be ready, but we have no choice. Whoever these
guys are, they're killing potential Slayers for now. Once they
realize that Giles hid all the potentials, they're going to head
straight for the real ones. And Faith is a sitting duck in jail."
Buffy pursed her lips, trying hard not to pout at the concern Angel
was showing for the rogue Slayer. Her mind was racing with different
feelings, most of them hatred. She hated Faith, she didn't want the
psycho out. In fact, if someone did go after her in jail, Buffy
wouldn't mind it one bit. Faith deserved what she got.
But on the other hand, Angel was right. Whoever the hell was doing
all this crap wanted all the Slayers dead. And letting him get even
one more victim was just helping him along the way. While killing
Faith would ultimately just lead to another Slayer being called, it
wouldn't help their side all that much. They needed a trained Slayer
not someone new to the whole deal. If it came down to it, they
needed a good fighter on their hands, and Faith was good at being a
Slayer.
"Fine," the blonde muttered. "We'll get her out. But I'm not going
to like it. I will tolerate her and needed her help, but I'm not
changing my mind on her that easily. There's nothing you can say
that will make me like the idea of freeing Faith. But I'll work with
it."
Angel sighed, nodding in relief.
"That's all I ask for."
*****
***Hogwarts, England***
"May I have your attention please?"
Draco started at the sound of Dumbledore's voice, ringing out across
the Great Hall. Dinner was over, people had been sorted, and
everyone was getting ready to leave. But at the Headmaster's
request, they all stilled and settled back in their seats.
Curious, Draco trained his eyes on Dumbledore, wondering what the man
had to say.
"I'm sure you all realize that feelings are running a bit tense
lately," the Headmaster started. "There are those who accept
Voldemort's return and prepare for it while others try to hide from
it. Either way, it cannot be ignored much longer. Voldemort has
returned and he has begun something that none of us can comprehend."
Frightened whispers started up around the Hall, most eyes going
immediately to Harry at the Gryffindor table. Draco snorted at that,
knowing that Harry wasn't the issue here.
"For the protection of all of us, and the protection of innocent
lives, we will be having guests staying at the school this year,"
Dumbledore continued. "They will begin arriving tomorrow, and
continue for some time after that. Know that though these guests are
Muggles, they are anything but ordinary."
"Muggles?" Draco heard Pansy repeat in disgust. "What kind of
extraordinary Muggles could he be bringing in here?"
As if he heard her question, Dumbledore turned his eyes to the
Slytherin table before continuing.
"By tomorrow, the first of the Potential Slayers and their Watchers
will be arriving. And by the end of the week, we hope to have both
active Slayers among us."
A collective gasp went up from all the students, and whispering began
in earnest once more. But this time, it was done in more excitement
than anything else. Draco shook his head, thinking he must have
heard wrong. Dumbledore was bringing the Slayer to Hogwarts?
The Headmaster only smiled, the twinkle back in his eye as he sat
down again. And Draco knew it was all true.
The Slayers were coming to Hogwarts.
*****