CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: THE MINISTRY
Cornelius Fudge was not a patient man. He was a man of action who liked for everything to be completely orderly. He did not appreciate being disturbed by nearly fifty owls from irate parents, complaining once again, about Buffy Summers. He also did not appreciate having to apparate to Hogsmeade, and then get the train in to Hogwarts. And he definitely did not appreciate the glares that he was getting from the five students and the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor. This was supposed to be his day off. It was Halloween for Merlin's sake.
"What exactly is the meaning of this Albus?" Fudge demanded, not paying any attention to the fact that Snape had just greeted him. He looked angrily at the Headmaster, who was sitting very calmly behind his desk.
"The meaning of what Cornelius?" Dumbledore replied.
"You know very well what," Fudge said. "I've had over fifty owls making complaints about a student using an Unforgivable Curse within Hogwarts grounds. On another student no less. What exactly has been going on here?"
"If you would perhaps take a seat Cornelius, we were about to get to the bottom of all of this before you came bursting through the door," Dumbledore said.
Fudge scowled angrily, but complied with Dumbledore's request. He took a seat, taking a moment to glare at Buffy Summers, who just glared back defiantly.
"Are the allegations true?" Fudge asked.
"No."
Fudge seemed to deflate with that very simple answer.
"Oh. What exactly is going on then?"
"One of our students managed to perfectly masquerade themselves as Buffy Summers. One can only assume it was in order to ruin Miss Summer's life," Dumbledore explained. "We've already tested Miss Summers through the use of Veritaserum and the Priori Incantatem charm. She is not guilty of what you accuse her of."
"I've had fifty owls from parents who said their children saw it with their own eyes," Fudge said. "Without proof of who it is, we'll have no choice but to lock Miss Summers up."
Buffy felt her legs go weak, and for the first time since entering the office, Harry rushed to her side to give her physical and emotional support. His arms rested on her waist, and he could feel Buffy using him as a crutch to keep herself standing, her head resting against his shoulder.
"You can't lock an innocent girl up," Giles argued.
"With as many eye-witnesses as it seems we have, the Ministry can do just that," Fudge replied. "The parents are calling for justice, and it must be made. No parent is going to want their children around a student who has shown themselves to be capable of performing a curse that is entirely illegal."
Buffy sighed. This was an all too familiar argument. She was beginning to very much hate the Ministry of Magic. There was no winning with them at all.
"Not to mention the fact that when I walked through the Entrance Hall just now, there were over a hundred children down there huddled in groups, clearly terrified by what had happened. It's not fair for your students to be placed in a situation that they are uncomfortable with," Fudge said.
"And it is not fair to expel or imprison an innocent girl purely because she has several enemies in the school who are wanting you to take such severe actions against her," Dumbledore said. "I will not let you even consider sending Miss Summers to Azkaban."
Fudge threw his hands into the air, clearly frustrated. He didn't enjoy dealing with Dumbledore on the subject of Buffy Summers. When it came to the young girl, Dumbledore seemed to be of one mind. She could do no wrong and was an innocent bystander in all of it. And while Fudge did have to admit that Buffy Summers had done them all a huge service by getting rid of Voldemort, she was still an incredibly dangerous entity just by herself.
"Something must be done," Fudge emphasised.
"I completely agree," Snape spoke up.
Buffy turned to glare at the man, fed up by his behaviour.
"You know, for someone who was given a pretty big second chance, you really have a lot of issues trusting other people. Dumbledore could have said all the stuff that you're saying about me, but he never did. I've never done a single thing to hurt anyone else, and you won't even give me a first chance let alone a second one. You used to be a Death-Eater Professor Snape. I know that for a fact. So, you can get down from your little self-placed pedestal, and start treating me like an actual person," Buffy ranted.
The room suddenly went silent. Buffy had the urge to begin fidgeting nervously, but she kept herself completely still. She couldn't believe she'd finally gone off at Snape like that. She'd kept that bottled up for several months now, and as good as it felt to say it, she also knew that Snape was hardly a tolerant man.
"Ten points from Gryffindor for speaking to a Professor in such an impertinent manner," Snape growled angrily.
Giles stepped forward and placed a hand on Buffy's shoulder.
"Ten points to Gryffindor for standing up to such a blatant display of hypocrisy," Giles defended. "Severus, you may have issues with what you yourself did while you were in Voldemort's service, but you cannot take them out on Buffy any longer. She is innocent. She never gave in to the temptation to do evil. You did. Deal with it Severus and move on."
Snape stood up to his full height and stared at Giles. But, the protector of Voldemort's daughter had seen many things in his life, and Severus Snape was no real threat to him. He was merely a man who couldn't forgive himself for being so weak as to seek power in the wrong place.
"Well said Rupert," Dumbledore said softly.
Snape turned his gaze to Dumbledore, looking and feeling utterly betrayed. The one person he had ever truly believed in was telling him that he had been wrong, and that hurt more than he cared to admit. Dumbledore just continued to hold Snape's gaze, his eyes soft and imploring, trying to silently tell Snape that his treatment of Buffy was far too brutal.
"Severus, I know that you regret what happened in your year of service to Voldemort, but you must remember that you were given another chance," Dumbledore said gently. "If you cannot give others even a first chance, how can you expect people to trust you?"
Snape sighed and stepped back.
Harry and Ron exchanged glances, both of them wondering how it was possible for them to pity a man they practically hated. They had always wanted to see Snape taken down a notch or two, and now that they had seen it, they weren't left feeling joyful or happy at all. They felt sick to the stomach and they could only hope that Snape had actually learnt something from being reprimanded.
"Fascinating though this is," Fudge said, eager to get back to his day off, "we must remember why we are here. The parents believe Miss Summers to be dangerous. And even if she is innocent as you claim, something must be done."
"We must find the true perpetrator," Giles said immediately.
"There are over three hundred students in this school…how are we meant to find out who did it if we don't have the first clue?" Harry asked.
Again the room fell silent. Buffy sighed, wondering what her future would be like if Dumbledore had no choice but to ask her to leave. She had no idea of where she could go. She had no money, she relied on Giles for that. She had no friends in the wizarding world apart from the people at Hogwarts. All that she really had outside of Hogwarts was Willow and Xander, and even then she could never truly fit in with the again. She would always be an outsider to them now. At least when she was the Slayer and in Sunnydale, she had had a purpose, she had known what she needed to do and how she'd had to go about doing it. But now that she was in Hogwarts and being faced with the sudden fear of having to leave without graduating, she had little to no idea of what her future held for her.
Before she could get too lost in her musing, it was, surprisingly the last person she had expected to speak up who broke the silence.
"I think I might have an idea."
All eyes turned to look at Professor Snape.
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"I really don't like this idea," Harry said.
"You haven't liked it for the last two hours Harry," Buffy pointed out. "Unfortunately, it's the only half decent idea that anyone could come up with."
"I mean, as plans go, it's not exactly…well…safe, is it?"
"I can handle it Harry," Buffy assured him. "As long as Fudge sticks to what we've all agreed upon. I won't feel a thing."
"But does it have to be his idea?" Harry complained.
Buffy couldn't help but laugh at the plaintive note in Harry's voice. She settled herself closer to her boyfriend, thankful to finally be able to relax in Harry's arms. She looked around their room, thankful that they had a private sanctuary away from the prying eyes of the other students.
Dumbledore had actually suggested for Buffy to stay there by herself so that the other students wouldn't bother her with their whispers and gossip while she tried to either sleep or do homework. Dumbledore had been slightly surprised when Harry had announced that if Buffy was being kicked out of the Gryffindor Tower, then he would join her in 'exile'. Buffy had protested slightly, but when she'd caught the mischievous glint in his eyes, she had stopped.
"At least the idea involves the two of us being as far away from everyone else as possible," Buffy said.
Harry let a smile appear on his face slowly, and he placed his hands on Buffy's hips, bringing her to sit on his lap, straddling his legs and facing towards him.
"That does have certain possibilities, doesn't it?"
"Mmmhmmm."
Their lips met slowly and Harry sighed in contentment. His entire day had been a roller coaster of emotion, and he was glad that everything had finally settled down. He hated thinking about the two hours where his heart had been shattered. He hated thinking about what would have happened if it had truly been Buffy who had broken up with him. He didn't think of himself as being co-dependant, but he knew without a doubt that he was desperately in love with Buffy.
"This has been the weirdest day," Buffy murmured against Harry's lips.
"You're not kidding," Harry agreed fervently.
Buffy sighed softly and pulled away from Harry, much to his disappointment.
"Do you want to talk about what happened? What she said to you?" Buffy asked softly.
Harry's face fell and he buried his head in Buffy's neck, inhaling the scent of vanilla and strawberries. He tightened his grip on his girlfriend and let himself luxuriate in having her back in his arms where she belonged.
"She said…that I wasn't mature enough for you…her. That she needed someone who understood her," Harry said.
"From the sounds of Drake's story, whoever it was thought there was something going on between Drake and I," Buffy said.
Harry nodded. He was still slightly disturbed by the fact that Buffy's doppelganger had kissed Draco, but he knew that Buffy would never do that. Not only because Draco was her cousin, but he knew that Buffy would be completely faithful to him.
Buffy gently took Harry's chin and tilted his head so that their eyes met for several long moments. After nearly a half minute, Harry's gaze dropped and he felt something akin to shame rise inside of him.
"I accused you…her of being in love with Oliver," Harry admitted.
"Oliver Wood?" Buffy asked.
Harry nodded.
Buffy could only sigh. She had often wondered what was going on between herself and Oliver. There was a definite attraction between them. But Buffy loved Harry with everything that she was. And she had squelched down any sort of warm fuzzies she'd been having for the flying instructor. He was a good friend, someone that she found to be funny and charming, but she would never allow anything to happen between them.
"We've never spoken about the whole me and Oliver thing," Buffy whispered quietly.
Harry felt his heart sink once again. "Is there…I mean, I know you'd never…cheat, but…do you…"
"Have feelings for him?" Buffy finished.
Harry just nodded, his expression almost a wince of anticipatory pain.
"I love you Harry," Buffy assured him. "I have no doubts about being with you. You're absolutely everything I could possibly want in a boyfriend, and in a lover. And I respect you, so I'm gonna be honest here. I am attracted to him. But nothing…nothing will ever happen between he and I. I'm your girl, and I'm gonna stay that way."
Harry sighed with relief. While it wasn't comforting to hear that Buffy was attracted to him, he knew that it wouldn't be possible for Buffy to never find another man attractive ever again just because she was dating him. Harry knew for a fact that he found other girls attractive as well, but he would never consider doing anything to jeopardise his relationship with Buffy.
"Thank you for being honest," Harry whispered softly.
Buffy nodded and smiled at him, gently bringing her lips to touch his in a chaste, promise of a kiss. The kind of kiss that made you believe that forever was an achievable goal.
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Awww, mush.
Now, here's something that I thought would give you guys some food for thought.
What house is James Potter in? Your instinctive answer for that of course is going to be Gryffindor, am I correct? But WHERE in the books does it EVER mention that James/Sirius/Remus/Peter are actually in Gryffindor? I mean, presume much? So…is anyone else thinking that James may well have been in Gryffindor?
(And, anyone wanting to mention that the movie has the trophy with Gryffindor on it can just not mention it, cos as much as I love the films, they're no where near gospel on the books.)
So…there's a thought for the day. (Hope I haven't just given out a weird spoiler or something, but…my sister mentioned the whole house thing and I thought I'd spread the confusion.)
As always, many thanks for your feedback! You guys rock!
Toodles.
DKG.