CHAPTER FORTY-ONE: PLANNING
Monday, 15th March 1999
The remaining classes for the day had been cancelled, much to the joy of the students at Hogwarts. All of them were horrified with the reason that classes were cancelled of course, but none of the students were terribly sad that they didn't have to attend class.
The Scooby Gang found themselves sitting in a large circular room that seemed to be covered in knickknacks that were mostly gold, silver or moving. Sometimes all three.
A newly arrived Angel was pacing the room, the office, much to Draco's annoyance. He'd seen what Angel had looked like from the boggart that Buffy had been forced to face, but seeing the souled vampire in the flesh was a lot different. Hearing the worry and concern in his voice was making Draco realise just how much the vampire had loved the Slayer.
And it was in those moments of watching Angel worry about Buffy that Draco finally realised the depth of his feelings. He didn't just care for Buffy. He didn't just like fooling around with her. He loved her.
It was a startling revelation. He'd never loved anything in his life. His parents were merely the people who'd raised him, his friends were merely acquaintances that he spoke to in order to keep from being too bored, his pet owl was merely a means of communication, and Quidditch was just a game that was exhilarating.
But Buffy…he loved her.
And now he wanted her back. He didn't want to lose her to the Council. He had known that Buffy would be going back to Sunnydale eventually, and he had prepared himself for that eventuality, but having Buffy now in the hands of the Watcher's Council was far worse. He was worried about the woman he loved, it was as simple as that. And there was nothing he could do that would help her.
For all of his magical knowledge in both light and dark magic, he could do nothing that would be of any help to his girlfriend.
Dumbledore sat behind his desk, deep in thought. He was turning over different ways to prove Buffy's innocence, but he knew that the majority of the Council members were adamantly against the wizarding world's magic. They only trusted their mages who found the Slayers and Potentials, and even then the trust wasn't always one hundred percent.
While each of the people, whether wizard, witch, muggle or vampire ruminated on the possible ways to prove Buffy's guilt, a small brown owl flew through Dumbledore's open window and dropped a letter on the Headmaster's desk before gliding to perch beside Fawkes on the golden pedestal.
Dumbledore snapped out of his thoughts and slit the envelope open, reading through it's contents silently before handing the letter to Giles.
The Scoobies plus Draco all watched in worry as the Watcher's face went pale.
"Giles?" Willow asked quietly. There were salty tears tracks on her face from the crying which had seemed non-stop ever since Buffy had walked out of the DADA classroom at gun point. Willow had seen Buffy being threatened by vampires with weapons before and never had she been so afraid for her best friends life as when a human, a Watcher at that, had held Buffy at gunpoint.
"It's from my…my contact at the Council," Giles said, stumbling over his words a little. "He uh…he says that Travers has petitioned for Buffy to face trial, and, if she refuses to confess her guilt for the murder of Allan Finch, her position as Slayer will be terminated."
The room went silent.
"Terminated?" Cordelia whispered. She would never admit it, but she was worried beyond belief. She hadn't ever thought that she would miss Buffy's presence in her life, but having the Slayer gone had made life very difficult. IT wasn't just the inconvenience of having to do patrols to cover for Buffy, it was just the simple everyday things that Cordelia had missed. She missed Buffy, not the Slayer, and she was certain that if any of her former 'friends' knew about it, she would have been the laughing stock of the group. Thankfully she no longer cared, and the Scoobies had all seen how much she had missed the Slayer during her absence.
"She'll be killed," Angel said coldly.
Draco glared at his lover's former boyfriend. He'd known what the Watcher had meant, but to hear it so coldly stated was not something that he enjoyed hearing. Hearing Joyce Summers gasp wasn't something that he wanted to hear ever again either.
"Can they do that?" Xander asked.
"The Council has immeasurable power," Giles stated. He removed his glasses and took out his ever present handkerchief, polishing the lenses with a little too much force. "They could kill you with the stroke of a pen, poncy bastards."
Giles' glasses lenses popped lose and he stopped his movements, his hands trembling at the thought of losing his Slayer…his daughter.
"What about whoever convinced the other Council members to send her to Hogwarts?" Willow asked. "Wouldn't they want her to be…not killed?"
Giles nodded. "Indeed. Unfortunately, he does not hold enough power over the Council. He is one of the elder Council members, but not with enough power. Even though Buffy is one of the best Slayers that this Council has ever seen, they fear the power she holds because they cannot control it. Therefore, the people who are higher up in power are only too willing to see the position of Slayer go to someone who will follow orders."
"Like Faith," Xander said sarcastically.
Giles shrugged sheepishly, conceding Xander's point. He read over the letter again and looked up at the room filled with worried faces.
"Does the Slayer line even run through Buffy anymore?" Oz asked.
The room fell silent, considering the question. It was a valid point that Oz had raised. Buffy had died and the Slayer torch had been passed on.
"I doubt that Travers has actually considered that. I suppose he is so hell-bent on seeing Buffy dead that even if her death doesn't result in another Slayer being Called, he won't be all that concerned," Giles explained.
"Boy, when you Watchers hold a grudge, you really hold a grudge,: Cordelia commented.
Giles glared at the tactless girl. "We have twenty hours to prove that Buffy is innocent," he said grimly. "If we don't…"
He didn't have to finish his sentence to let the others know just how terrible a fate would befall on their Slayer.
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Four hours later, the Scoobies plus Dumbledore were ready to begin panicking. But Draco just looked up from the book he'd cornered himself away with and smiled widely.
"I think I know how to find her," he announced.
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"You're not going," Angel argued.
"The hell I'm not!" Draco yelled. "That's my girlfriend that we're trying to save, remember?"
Angel tried to remind himself that this was what he'd wanted for Buffy. For someone to take her into the sunlight and give her the things he couldn't give her himself. And as much as he may not have liked Draco Malfoy, he knew that Buffy truly cared for the boy. And he could tell from the boy's expression and scent that Draco more than cared for Buffy.
"Of course I remember," Angel assured Draco tightly. "But you don't know anything about our world."
"I'll learn," Draco insisted obstinately.
"It's too dangerous," Dumbledore said gently. "Angel will be the only one with the strength to go up against whatever is thrown at him. We would not wish for you to be hurt."
Draco pulled out his wand as a reminder for the Headmaster. "I can handle myself."
Within the blink of an eye, Angel had lunged towards the boy, grabbed Draco's wand and thrown it to the other side of the room, leaving Draco standing there looking both angry and humiliated. He didn't like being shown up by Buffy's ex boyfriend, especially in front of the Headmaster and all of Buffy's friends.
Willow scowled at the vampire and Draco felt somewhat mollified that at least one of Buffy's friends approved of him.
"Buffy wouldn't want you getting hurt," Joyce said gently. She had to admit that she was liking the young man who was dating her daughter more and more as the hours went by. She could tell that the boy was worried sick about his girlfriend, and the courage that he was showing was more than enough to convince Joyce that her daughter had chosen the right kind of man to have in her life.
Draco nearly snapped back at her, but years of being taught respect for one's elders held him back. That and he'd earlier hated Angel for his treatment of Buffy's mother, so he couldn't very well yell at the woman. He breathed in deeply and forced himself to calm down.
"How do you plan on getting near her Angel?" Giles asked.
"Simple…I'll just walk right up to her."
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Guess what?! I finally finished writing this damn thing. It's taken the better part of about six months to do (I think…can't rightly remember when I started this little project.) The final count is in. It ends up being a total of fifty chapters with a word count of 86, 663 words. It's beem a definite love hate relationship with this ifc, and can I just say how glad I am to have finally finished it!! So, you've got nine chapters left of this thingbefore it ends. And can I just comment on how phenomenal you guys have been with reviewing. I didn't expect to get this many reviews, but…wow! Forty chapters in and over 950 reviews. Seriously stoked about that.
Many thanks to everyone, and keep reading, My posts for this fic should be a little more regular. I'd say one chapter every two or three days (not gonna spoil you lot just yet…)
Toodles.
DKG.