They slipped into the park in singles and pairs, each with a predetermined list of targets and a precise schedule. The first cage door would open exactly at midnight. She figured Dumbledore, Grey and the rest would need at least two hours to get here. She needed several hours of darkness once they arrived.
It was going to be a hell of a party.
The frantic banging at Grey's door woke them both from their doze.
"I got it," he said, rising and pulling on a pair of sweatpants. He could hear Cadogan yelling from ten feet away. The one doing the banging turned out to be Ron. "Ron, what is it? Shouldn't you be…"
"It's Harry," Ron shouted, cutting Grey off. "His scar – he's had a vision. You need to come right now." Duly alarmed, Grey told Willow to get dressed and meet him at the Gryffindor common room. "And find Giles and Dumbledore," he called over his shoulder.
When they arrived, Neville had Harry propped up on some pillows. He looked completely green.
"What happened? Ron said you had a vision?"
Harry nodded.
"We've got serious trouble. I had four visions. They're attacking some place. Right now. I could feel it."
"Who? What place?"
"That woman, the dark-haired one from Halloween. I couldn't tell where. There was a lot of open space, and some fences. Lots of Death Eaters running around. The two of you were fighting … fists, not magic." Grey blanched, but nodded for Harry to continue. Jess knew everything he did about hand to hand combat, and could enhance her own speed and strength magically. "Then I saw Willow, Tara and Dumbledore. They were doing a powerful spell. I saw dragons flying all over the place."
"What kind?"
"All kinds. Ones I never heard of before. I think they were trying to contain the dragons. Then the vision shifted again. I saw Spike and Drusilla. She was torturing him. Ron, Neville and Hermione looked like they were trying to save him, but there were Death Eaters behind them." He looked at Ron. "It was on some balcony. Make sure you look behind you." Ron nodded.
"The last vision?"
"Me and Ginny, vampires all around."
Giles, Dumbledore, Willow and Hermione chose that moment to burst in.
"We've got trouble," Grey said.
The muggle residents of the village of Cansbury had always been blissfully unaware of what sat just beyond the town borders. Wizards accounted for half of the population of four thousand, however, and they knew very well what resided there.
Almost two hundred years earlier, the Ministry of Magic had chosen to place the British Magical Wildlife Refuge on a lightly wooded area outside of Cansbury. Essentially, the Refuge served as a zoo for magical creatures big and small.
Jess loved the zoo almost as much as she loved popcorn.
She had decided to bring the zoo to Cansbury, more or less. With great glee she watched as her Death Eaters opened cage after cage, allowing the animals to run rampant. Most of them, hungry for real food, headed for the town.
A Norwegian ridgeback, the first dragon released, threw back its head and roared before swooping down on some townspeople out for a late stroll. It swallowed four in one bite, then began spraying fire.
A pack of gnolls, similar to the ones she had summoned on Halloween, joined with a pack of goblins and busted their way into one of the crowded saloons. Patrons began to fly through windows at breakneck speed.
An ogre bashed an elderly muggle woman over the head with his ham fist. When she fell, he picked her up and bit off her head.
A unicorn, frightened beyond anything it had ever known, skewered a pair of lovers holding hands as it raced to flee a pursuing bugbear.
The carnage went on and on, and she knew they still had at least half the cages left to open. She rose even higher to get a better view.
Twenty minutes later, the real fun began. She had known they would arrive quickly, and here they were. Decked out in their red and blue robes and looking for trouble.
Her Majesty's Royal Guardians. The elite society of aurors. God, she hated them.
Jess turned to the Death Eater on her right, floating along with her.
"Malfoy."
"Yes, mistress?"
"Pull our people back to the dragon pens. I'm going to go and have some fun with the heroes over there. Remember, they are not to engage anyone yet, nor are they to leave."
"Yes, mistress." Malfoy nodded and left. Toadying weasel, she thought. She descended to face five of the aurors.
"I knew it would be you," the lead auror said.
"What, Adam? Does this mean you disapprove?"
"There's no need for this, Jess."
"You're right. I've been so misguided. Please, help me mend my ways." She landed in front of him and faked a sob. "I'm terrible. Evil. I need to be helped." Adam actually took a step towards her, his hand outstretched, before he recognized her tone. She barked a laugh. "You idiot. I hate that you people are so stupid, you know? This is for Grey." She raised a hand and incinerated all five.
A concentrated burst of air slammed into her from the rear, knocking her forward. As she spun to face another group, she smiled playfully. This would be fun.
The emergency owl arrived in the middle of the debate. Dumbledore nearly dropped the letter when he read its contents.
"I'm afraid this conference is at an end. I must leave immediately. They are indeed attacking."
"Where?" Grey wondered what Jess had chosen for her big show.
"The Refuge."
"Outside of Cansbury?"
"Indeed.
"Oh, shit. The dragons, of course."
"What's the refuge?" Willow, Tara and Giles all looked confused, but Willow asked the question.
"Giant zoo," Grey said. "Dragons, unicorns, ogres. They even have an undead house. It sits right outside Cansbury, which has a few thousand people, including muggles. I'm not surprised. She loves the zoo."
"She does?" Grey shrugged and nodded.
"What does the letter say, Albus?" Giles asked.
"It seems they sent in the Royal Guard and haven't heard from them. They would like me to intervene." Seeing the looks on the Sunnydale faces, he quickly continued. "The Royal Guard is an elite auror response unit."
"Jess hates them," Grey added. "We applied last year. They took her, but not me, because I had no magic. That's the worst group they could have sent. They're probably already dead." Dumbledore nodded gravely.
"Willow, Tara, Grey, I would like you to accompany me. I fear Miss O'Brien has done something more than I can handle alone."
They nodded.
"W-what about the rest of Harry's vision? The part with Drusilla and Spike," Tara said.
"We'll have to risk it," Giles answered. "We should be well defended here anyway. This clearly takes precedence. We shall have to put everyone into their common rooms as soon as possible, and bar the doors." McGonagall and Snape nodded. They had been thinking the same thing. "I must find Spike." The Watcher turned to Tara and Willow. "Do be careful."
Several floors below the impromptu command meeting, Pansy Parkinson and her mother walked to one of Hogwarts' grand arching doorways.
"Now Pansy, do like I told you."
"Yes, mum." The girl felt dazed and foggy. Her mother had cast a spell to wake her faster, but it seemed not to be working. She wondered idly why her mother's friends needed her to invite them in. She saw a score of them standing just beyond the archway. One of them, a pale woman with dark hair, smiled at her. She carried a doll. "Please come in, everyone."
"Good girl, Pansy," her mother said, her voice emanating from the black opening of her dark robes. The pale woman walked over the threshold and leaned down to speak to her. Then Pansy felt a pinch on her neck, and she passed out.