Blood of Enemies, Blood of Friends
Chapter 14 - Prophecy
The morning after their first patrol, Dawn, Shannon, Andrew, Harry, and Ron were still talking about fighting the vampires over breakfast in the Great Hall. They were rehashing every detail for Hermione and Ginny yet again.
Willow walked over to the Gryffindor table to talk with them, "Good morning."
The teens replied with their 'good mornings.'
"Buffy and Giles got some very important information last night," Willow said.
"And that is my cue to leave," said Ginny, as she grabbed her books and headed out of the Great Hall.
"In all the commotion, I forgot that they were going to try to get some info from the vamps," commented Shannon.
"What exactly did they learn?" asked Hermione.
Willow replied, "You six should come to the Scooby common room as soon as you finish your classes this afternoon. Giles will explain everything to you then. Just know that we are gearing up for serious research mode."
****************
Dawn, Shannon, Harry, and Ron were having difficulty focusing during their History of the Slayer class. Buffy was telling the story of her first days in Sunnydale, specifically how she met Giles, Angel, Willow, and Xander. Normally the teens would have been hanging on her every word, but today they were all thinking about what Buffy and Giles had discovered during their patrol the previous night.
When the class ended, Hermione met the others outside the classroom. Wesley and Buffy lead the teens to the portrait that guarded the Scooby common room.
"The password is 'chosen,'" Buffy told them. "I am telling you the password, because we will be conducting all research from here on out in the Scooby common room. We don't want to let anyone outside of the group know what is going on. That could cause panic."
They entered and found the common room already filled with people. Giles was pacing around the room and cleaning his glasses. Willow, Xander, Faith, and Robin were sitting at a table in the corner of the room. Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Bolgya were sitting in three overstuffed chairs. Angel and Fred were standing to the side of the professors.
Buffy quickly introduced Harry, Ron, and Hermione to Angel and Fred and then indicated that they should all take seats. The teens sat on the floor, while Buffy and Wesley sat on the sofa.
Once they were all settled, Giles spoke, "Buffy and I received some valuable information from one of the vampires that we encountered on patrol last night. It appears that Voldemort is populating the Forbidden Forrest with vampires in preparation for an attack that is to come in one months time."
"Do you expect that they will attack on Halloween?" asked Professor McGonagall.
"That is highly likely," replied Giles.
McGonagall turned to Dumbledore, "Albus, we should consider canceling the Halloween festivities."
"I wouldn't recommend that," said Buffy. "As I was telling the kids earlier, we do not want to start a panic. Besides if all the students and faculty are gathered in one place, it makes things a lot easier for us to protect them."
"I agree," said Professor Dumbledore. "But we need to make sure that we are adequately prepared to defend the students if an attack should occur."
"I am not terribly concerned about the general safety of the students. We will have all the faculty members available, not to mention all of the Slayers," said Giles. "My biggest concern is protecting the specific individual or individuals that the vampires are after."
"Why do you think they would be after specific students?" asked Professor McGonagall.
"That brings us to the rest of the information we obtained last night," answered Giles. "The vampire said that Voldemort requires an offering to perform the ritual of mandata habere ab primo malo."
Dawn got very pale. Her friends were concerned, and asked her if she was all right.
"Don't any of you know Latin?" she asked.
Her friends shook their heads.
"Mandata habere ab primo malo means empowerment by the First Evil," Dawn replied.
"Wow you know Latin?" asked Ron, completely oblivious to the importance of the meaning.
Before Shannon could slap him, Professor Bolgya stepped in, "Dawn is correct about the translation. The mandata habere ab primo malo allows a person to become evil incarnate by forcing their own possession by the First Evil."
"I thought that was a myth," said Hermione.
Professor Dumbledore added, "Yes, but myths are usually based in truth that has long been forgotten."
"Apparently, Voldemort has found the knowledge to perform the ritual," replied Wesley. "We need to find a way to stop him. I cannot imagine the power that Voldemort will possess if he succeeds."
"I can," said Faith. They all turned to look at her as she continued, "The First gave its strength to that freak preacher Caleb, and I would bet he got only a taste of the First's power. So we should expect much worse than Caleb."
"Well we still have the scythe," said Buffy.
"Yes, but for now we should be finding information to stop the ritual itself," interrupted Giles.
While the adults were talking, Shannon bolted from the room.
Dawn knew instantly why her best friend had run. Dawn got up to follow, but was stopped by Harry's hand on her shoulder. "You are the research expert; so you should stay and find out everything they know. I'll go find Shannon," he said and left the room.
Hermione got up to follow Harry out the door.
Dawn stopped her, "Hermione, Harry can take care of it. Right now we are needed here."
"I know," replied Hermione, "but I just remembered a prophecy I read sometime last year when Harry was worried that he was being possessed by Voldemort. At the time it didn't mean much, but now I think it may apply to this situation. I will be right back with the book."
The adults were still arguing, when Hermione returned. "Did I miss anything?" she asked Dawn.
"No, they are still rehashing old battles," moaned Dawn.
Hermione showed Dawn the prophecy. Dawn read it, and quickly decided that this could be the one. She called Willow over. Willow's eyes grew wide as she read.
"Hermione found it," Willow said.
Everyone continued their discussions, so Willow spoke louder, "Hey guys. . .Guys." She finally yelled, "Everyone shut up and listen to me."
The room immediately went silent, as they all looked at Willow.
Willow calmly spoke, "Hermione found something that I think you should all hear."
With the rising of Topaz and the setting of Opal, he shall commingle the blood of enemies:
The Slayer Who Embraced the Dark and the Witch Who Returned to the Light
The Child of the Slayer and The Vampire with a Soul
With the rising of Amethyst and the setting of Garnet, he shall commingle the blood of friends:
The Child With No Mother and The Child Saved by a Mother's Love
The Slayer that Escaped Death and Her True Watcher
When the night equals the day, he shall take of their strength, and the darkness that was shall be called to fill him.
The hope of the light - three friends of three friends of three friends - three minds, three hands, three hearts. And their teacher shall guide the battle.
"What does all that mean?" asked Andrew.
Willow read it again. "With the rising of Topaz and the setting of Opal, he shall commingle the blood of enemies: The Slayer Who Embraced the Dark and the Witch Who Returned to the Light. I don't get the Topaz and Opal thing, but the Witch Who Returned to the Light could be me," said Willow.
"Yeah and the Slayer Who Embraced the Dark is probably referring to me," added Faith. "Though I don't think of Willow as my enemy, even though we didn't exactly get along in the past."
Willow continued, "The Child of the Slayer and The Vampire with a Soul. This must refer to Robin and Spike, but Spike is dead."
"Excuse me," said Angel, "but since when does everyone automatically think of Spike as the vampire with a soul. I have had a soul way longer than he did."
Buffy interrupted him, "Angel, it is just that. Robin and Spike really were enemies, whereas you two barely know each other. But, Will, I think it is safe to assume in this case that the prophecy is talking about Angel."
"With the rising of amethyst and the setting of garnet, he shall commingle the blood of friends: The Child With No Mother and The Child Saved by a Mother's Love"
Dumbledore spoke, "The Child Saved by a Mother's Love is Harry."
"And the Child with No Mother must be Dawn," said Giles.
"Wait a minute," said Hermione. "I know she lost her mother, but she still technically has a mother."
"Technically, I don't," said Dawn. "But if you all don't mind, I don't want to talk about it now."
The adults all nodded, and Willow continued to read, "The Slayer that Escaped Death and Her True Watcher."
"That one's easy," said Xander, "Buffy and Giles."
"When the night equals the day, he shall take of their strength, and the darkness that was shall be called to fill him."
"It is obvious that the final ritual will take place on the equinox. However, we are going to have to do some further research on the specifics of the ritual that he will use," said Wesley.
"I got it," yelled Buffy. "The equinox thing made me think that the gems had something to do with timing. The first commingling of blood will be done at midnight on Halloween, and the second will be done at midnight on January 31."
"How, pray tell, did you arrive at that?" asked Giles.
"Simple, the gems are birthstones. Topaz is November's birthstone, and opal is October's birthstone. So the changing of months would be the rise of topaz and setting of opal. Likewise, garnet is January's birthstone and amethyst is February's birthstone."
"That makes sense, though how did you know that?" asked Giles.
"Please, what woman doesn't know about jewelry," replied Buffy.
"Willow, dear, please continue," said Professor McGonagall. "We are getting to the most important part."
"The hope of the light - three friends of three friends of three friends - three minds, three hands, three hearts. And their teacher shall guide the battle."
"Of course," said Dawn. "Three friends - Willow, Buffy, and Xander - of three friends - Me, Shannon, and Andrew - of three friends - Hermione, Harry, and Ron. Willow, Hermione, and I are the minds. Buffy, Shannon, and Harry are the hands. And, Xander, Andrew, and Ron are the hearts. Though I don't know which teacher is supposed to guide us."
"That would have to be Giles," answered Willow. "He is the only person that has been a teacher to all of us."
"Hey, Wills," said Xander. "Do you think that we need something like the spell we used to defeat Adam? We did that hand, heart thing then."
"That's as good a place as any to start," Willow mused.
The group decided that each evening would be devoted to researching the prophecy and associated rituals. Professor Dumbledore gave permission for the teens to use the restricted section of the library, and Willow agreed to let them research in the Scooby common room during her Research Skills class. After all, they were gaining practical experience.
Dawn, Andrew, Hermione, and Ron agreed to pass the information along to Shannon and Harry, who had not returned.
Chapter 14 - Prophecy
The morning after their first patrol, Dawn, Shannon, Andrew, Harry, and Ron were still talking about fighting the vampires over breakfast in the Great Hall. They were rehashing every detail for Hermione and Ginny yet again.
Willow walked over to the Gryffindor table to talk with them, "Good morning."
The teens replied with their 'good mornings.'
"Buffy and Giles got some very important information last night," Willow said.
"And that is my cue to leave," said Ginny, as she grabbed her books and headed out of the Great Hall.
"In all the commotion, I forgot that they were going to try to get some info from the vamps," commented Shannon.
"What exactly did they learn?" asked Hermione.
Willow replied, "You six should come to the Scooby common room as soon as you finish your classes this afternoon. Giles will explain everything to you then. Just know that we are gearing up for serious research mode."
****************
Dawn, Shannon, Harry, and Ron were having difficulty focusing during their History of the Slayer class. Buffy was telling the story of her first days in Sunnydale, specifically how she met Giles, Angel, Willow, and Xander. Normally the teens would have been hanging on her every word, but today they were all thinking about what Buffy and Giles had discovered during their patrol the previous night.
When the class ended, Hermione met the others outside the classroom. Wesley and Buffy lead the teens to the portrait that guarded the Scooby common room.
"The password is 'chosen,'" Buffy told them. "I am telling you the password, because we will be conducting all research from here on out in the Scooby common room. We don't want to let anyone outside of the group know what is going on. That could cause panic."
They entered and found the common room already filled with people. Giles was pacing around the room and cleaning his glasses. Willow, Xander, Faith, and Robin were sitting at a table in the corner of the room. Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Bolgya were sitting in three overstuffed chairs. Angel and Fred were standing to the side of the professors.
Buffy quickly introduced Harry, Ron, and Hermione to Angel and Fred and then indicated that they should all take seats. The teens sat on the floor, while Buffy and Wesley sat on the sofa.
Once they were all settled, Giles spoke, "Buffy and I received some valuable information from one of the vampires that we encountered on patrol last night. It appears that Voldemort is populating the Forbidden Forrest with vampires in preparation for an attack that is to come in one months time."
"Do you expect that they will attack on Halloween?" asked Professor McGonagall.
"That is highly likely," replied Giles.
McGonagall turned to Dumbledore, "Albus, we should consider canceling the Halloween festivities."
"I wouldn't recommend that," said Buffy. "As I was telling the kids earlier, we do not want to start a panic. Besides if all the students and faculty are gathered in one place, it makes things a lot easier for us to protect them."
"I agree," said Professor Dumbledore. "But we need to make sure that we are adequately prepared to defend the students if an attack should occur."
"I am not terribly concerned about the general safety of the students. We will have all the faculty members available, not to mention all of the Slayers," said Giles. "My biggest concern is protecting the specific individual or individuals that the vampires are after."
"Why do you think they would be after specific students?" asked Professor McGonagall.
"That brings us to the rest of the information we obtained last night," answered Giles. "The vampire said that Voldemort requires an offering to perform the ritual of mandata habere ab primo malo."
Dawn got very pale. Her friends were concerned, and asked her if she was all right.
"Don't any of you know Latin?" she asked.
Her friends shook their heads.
"Mandata habere ab primo malo means empowerment by the First Evil," Dawn replied.
"Wow you know Latin?" asked Ron, completely oblivious to the importance of the meaning.
Before Shannon could slap him, Professor Bolgya stepped in, "Dawn is correct about the translation. The mandata habere ab primo malo allows a person to become evil incarnate by forcing their own possession by the First Evil."
"I thought that was a myth," said Hermione.
Professor Dumbledore added, "Yes, but myths are usually based in truth that has long been forgotten."
"Apparently, Voldemort has found the knowledge to perform the ritual," replied Wesley. "We need to find a way to stop him. I cannot imagine the power that Voldemort will possess if he succeeds."
"I can," said Faith. They all turned to look at her as she continued, "The First gave its strength to that freak preacher Caleb, and I would bet he got only a taste of the First's power. So we should expect much worse than Caleb."
"Well we still have the scythe," said Buffy.
"Yes, but for now we should be finding information to stop the ritual itself," interrupted Giles.
While the adults were talking, Shannon bolted from the room.
Dawn knew instantly why her best friend had run. Dawn got up to follow, but was stopped by Harry's hand on her shoulder. "You are the research expert; so you should stay and find out everything they know. I'll go find Shannon," he said and left the room.
Hermione got up to follow Harry out the door.
Dawn stopped her, "Hermione, Harry can take care of it. Right now we are needed here."
"I know," replied Hermione, "but I just remembered a prophecy I read sometime last year when Harry was worried that he was being possessed by Voldemort. At the time it didn't mean much, but now I think it may apply to this situation. I will be right back with the book."
The adults were still arguing, when Hermione returned. "Did I miss anything?" she asked Dawn.
"No, they are still rehashing old battles," moaned Dawn.
Hermione showed Dawn the prophecy. Dawn read it, and quickly decided that this could be the one. She called Willow over. Willow's eyes grew wide as she read.
"Hermione found it," Willow said.
Everyone continued their discussions, so Willow spoke louder, "Hey guys. . .Guys." She finally yelled, "Everyone shut up and listen to me."
The room immediately went silent, as they all looked at Willow.
Willow calmly spoke, "Hermione found something that I think you should all hear."
With the rising of Topaz and the setting of Opal, he shall commingle the blood of enemies:
The Slayer Who Embraced the Dark and the Witch Who Returned to the Light
The Child of the Slayer and The Vampire with a Soul
With the rising of Amethyst and the setting of Garnet, he shall commingle the blood of friends:
The Child With No Mother and The Child Saved by a Mother's Love
The Slayer that Escaped Death and Her True Watcher
When the night equals the day, he shall take of their strength, and the darkness that was shall be called to fill him.
The hope of the light - three friends of three friends of three friends - three minds, three hands, three hearts. And their teacher shall guide the battle.
"What does all that mean?" asked Andrew.
Willow read it again. "With the rising of Topaz and the setting of Opal, he shall commingle the blood of enemies: The Slayer Who Embraced the Dark and the Witch Who Returned to the Light. I don't get the Topaz and Opal thing, but the Witch Who Returned to the Light could be me," said Willow.
"Yeah and the Slayer Who Embraced the Dark is probably referring to me," added Faith. "Though I don't think of Willow as my enemy, even though we didn't exactly get along in the past."
Willow continued, "The Child of the Slayer and The Vampire with a Soul. This must refer to Robin and Spike, but Spike is dead."
"Excuse me," said Angel, "but since when does everyone automatically think of Spike as the vampire with a soul. I have had a soul way longer than he did."
Buffy interrupted him, "Angel, it is just that. Robin and Spike really were enemies, whereas you two barely know each other. But, Will, I think it is safe to assume in this case that the prophecy is talking about Angel."
"With the rising of amethyst and the setting of garnet, he shall commingle the blood of friends: The Child With No Mother and The Child Saved by a Mother's Love"
Dumbledore spoke, "The Child Saved by a Mother's Love is Harry."
"And the Child with No Mother must be Dawn," said Giles.
"Wait a minute," said Hermione. "I know she lost her mother, but she still technically has a mother."
"Technically, I don't," said Dawn. "But if you all don't mind, I don't want to talk about it now."
The adults all nodded, and Willow continued to read, "The Slayer that Escaped Death and Her True Watcher."
"That one's easy," said Xander, "Buffy and Giles."
"When the night equals the day, he shall take of their strength, and the darkness that was shall be called to fill him."
"It is obvious that the final ritual will take place on the equinox. However, we are going to have to do some further research on the specifics of the ritual that he will use," said Wesley.
"I got it," yelled Buffy. "The equinox thing made me think that the gems had something to do with timing. The first commingling of blood will be done at midnight on Halloween, and the second will be done at midnight on January 31."
"How, pray tell, did you arrive at that?" asked Giles.
"Simple, the gems are birthstones. Topaz is November's birthstone, and opal is October's birthstone. So the changing of months would be the rise of topaz and setting of opal. Likewise, garnet is January's birthstone and amethyst is February's birthstone."
"That makes sense, though how did you know that?" asked Giles.
"Please, what woman doesn't know about jewelry," replied Buffy.
"Willow, dear, please continue," said Professor McGonagall. "We are getting to the most important part."
"The hope of the light - three friends of three friends of three friends - three minds, three hands, three hearts. And their teacher shall guide the battle."
"Of course," said Dawn. "Three friends - Willow, Buffy, and Xander - of three friends - Me, Shannon, and Andrew - of three friends - Hermione, Harry, and Ron. Willow, Hermione, and I are the minds. Buffy, Shannon, and Harry are the hands. And, Xander, Andrew, and Ron are the hearts. Though I don't know which teacher is supposed to guide us."
"That would have to be Giles," answered Willow. "He is the only person that has been a teacher to all of us."
"Hey, Wills," said Xander. "Do you think that we need something like the spell we used to defeat Adam? We did that hand, heart thing then."
"That's as good a place as any to start," Willow mused.
The group decided that each evening would be devoted to researching the prophecy and associated rituals. Professor Dumbledore gave permission for the teens to use the restricted section of the library, and Willow agreed to let them research in the Scooby common room during her Research Skills class. After all, they were gaining practical experience.
Dawn, Andrew, Hermione, and Ron agreed to pass the information along to Shannon and Harry, who had not returned.