CHAPTER FOURTEEN: THE CHANGES
When Giles woke up in the late afternoon, his first order of business was to ensure that Buffy was still safely ensconced in the infirmary. Knowing his charge incredibly well, he knew that if Buffy had awoken, she probably would have sweet talked her way out of the hospital wing and into her own bed, regardless of how much Poppy Pomfrey protested.
He was therefore quite surprised to enter the infirmary and see that Buffy was still unconscious. Even more surprising than that was to see Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy sitting on either side of Buffy's bed, talking civilly with each other.
"No change?" Giles asked.
Both Draco and Harry shook their heads sadly. "She hasn't even stirred in the slightest," Harry said.
Giles frowned and stepped closed to Buffy, pressing a hand against her forehead. There was no fever.
"She's been asleep for nearly twenty-one hours," Giles commented softly.
"You'd think Fudge would have done this during the summer holidays," Draco said, a scowl on his face. "Why'd he have to wait until school started back again?"
"I suppose he just needed time to convince the rest of the Ministry about the advantages of having the spell done in the first place," Giles replied.
A sudden soft groan sounded from Buffy, and the three visitors immediately moved to get closer to the stirring girl.
"Buffy?" Harry whispered softly, gently squeezing Buffy's hand.
Buffy's eyes fluttered open. "Ow," she whispered tiredly.
Giles chuckled a little and looked at her intently, trying to read Buffy's expression. He could tell that she was still tired and drawn-out, but that overall she didn't seem to be having too many side-effects from the spell.
"How do you feel?" Draco asked.
"Remind me never to let anyone do that spell to me again," Buffy whispered, her voice quiet and throaty. Giles handed her a glass of water, which she gratefully took. "And I thought the Cruciatus Curse was painful."
Giles winced, and Buffy saw it straight away.
"It wasn't your fault Giles," she assured him. "I told you that I wanted you to be the one to do the spell. Better you than Fudge."
Giles just nodded, not quite convinced. He looked at Harry and Draco, who were still grinning ear-to-ear, thankful that Buffy seemed to be alright.
"Perhaps you two could give us some time alone," Giles suggested.
Their grins dropped, and they looked like they were about to protest. With one look at an exhausted Buffy, though, they knew better than to push their luck. Draco smiled softly at Buffy, bent down and kissed her forehead.
"Get better alright," he whispered. "I didn't become a softie just to have you up and die on me."
Buffy grinned a little and nodded, that small movement painful for her. Draco stepped back and Harry came forward. He brushed a soft kiss on her lips and cupped her cheek with his hand.
"You had me worried Summers," he said quietly. "I think you're trying to send me to an early grave."
"Sorry Potter," she replied, staring up at him, a smile playing on her face. "Trouble seems to find me no matter what I do."
He grinned and kissed her cheek. "I love you."
She smiled and closed her eyes, letting the words wash over her like a healing elixir. "Love you too."
Draco faked a fit of disgusted coughing. Harry just rolled his eyes and began walking from the room, Draco following him. Buffy just smiled at their antics, always thoroughly amused whenever Harry and Draco where in the same room together.
Giles sat down in Harry's now vacant seat and leant forward, staring intently at Buffy.
"How are you?" he asked gently. "Really?"
Buffy sighed, knowing that Giles wouldn't give up without hearing the truth.
"Honestly, I'm still in a bit of pain. I don't think I've ever had a headache this bad before," she admitted.
Giles nodded and reached for some of the potions that Pomfrey had laid out on the bedside table. He gently eased Buffy into a sitting position and helped her drink the two vials that had been left for her. Buffy sighed thankfully, the headache dissipating almost immediately.
"Thanks," she whispered.
He smiled softly at her and helped her lay back down.
"Do you feel any different?" he asked.
Buffy nodded, tears stinging in her eyes. "Yeah. My vision isn't as good as it was. My hearing as well. I can only barely sense you now. I used to be able to feel you really strongly," she explained.
"No doubt with a bit more practise now that you've lost your slaying abilities, you'll be able to adapt to just having your magic," Giles said comfortingly.
Buffy nodded and brought one hand up in front of her face, studying it intently. She clenched her hand into a fist and stared at it as though she'd never seen her hand before.
"I feel weak," she admitted. "I mean, I'm fairly certain I could still do any of the martial arts moves you taught me, but I'd be no where near as strong as I was."
"That's to be expected."
"Hermione's probably going to be able to beat me on our morning runs now," Buffy said with a slight laugh.
Giles just looked at her, fairly certain that Buffy was about to break down any minute now. He knew that even though Buffy had protested at first to being the Slayer, she had come to accept it as part of who she was. He remembered a time when Buffy had told him that as much as she didn't like being the Slayer, she did enjoy the extra perks that came with it.
"It's so weird Giles," Buffy whispered. "All of last year I knew I wasn't the Slayer, but…"
"But it never really registered with you until you actually lost your powers?" he finished.
Buffy nodded and closed her eyes tiredly.
"At least you don't have to worry about protecting yourself against Voldemort anymore," Giles said comfortingly. "And with Harry and Draco around, I doubt anyone will even try to mess with you."
"Not to mention I'm a pretty kick-ass witch," Buffy quipped, a genuine smile coming to her face.
Giles chuckled a little but sobered when the question he'd been asking himself for so long came back to the front of his mind.
"Why did you give in so easily Buffy?" he asked quietly.
Buffy sighed softly and looked at her mentor. She gave him a sad-smile.
"They'd have done it no matter what. I'd hoped that if I actually gave in voluntarily, I'd earn some brownie points or something. And, honestly, I figured that I could just find whatever spell they used on me four years ago and perform it on myself. But…if it's going to be that painful to get It removed every time, well…I don't know if it would be worth it," she replied honestly.
Giles nodded understandingly. Buffy sighed again and curled her fingers to make a weak fist.
"My strength…it'll never come back will it? Not to the extent that it used to be?" she asked.
"No, no where near Slayer strength. I'd wager that you're still stronger than the average girl, but that would mainly be because of the muscles that you gained through effort, rather than through just the spell," Giles explained. "I'd imagine that you're healing will never be quite as good either. Then again…I suppose this spell has never actually been done before, so…perhaps we could be wrong."
Buffy nodded and closed her eyes tiredly. Giles saw the exhaustion written clearly on her features and stood.
"I'll leave you to get some rest," he said.
Buffy looked around, finally taking in her surroundings.
"Uh…Giles? I don't suppose I could just go back to my own room?" she asked, pouting petulantly. She knew that Giles had always been a sucker whenever she pouted.
Giles removed his glasses and cleaned them with a handkerchief, resolutely not looking at Buffy's bottom lip. He personally thought that girls or women using pouting as a tool for blackmail should have been illegal.
"I mean, I'm likely to heal faster if I'm somewhere more comfortable, right?" she pleaded.
Giles sighed. He knew that Buffy wouldn't give up until she got her own way.
"I'll try and arrange it for you."
She grinned at him and closed her eyes once more, letting pain and exhaustion take over much more, and she fell into the darkness of sleep.
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