Disclaimer: See chapter 1 for full disclaimer and notes.
Thanks to my reviewers from ff.net and Twisting the Hellmouth. You guys rock. I hope this chapter clears some things up. Sorry it's so much exposition. The next chapter should be up next weekend.
Chapter 7: The End of the Beginning
"Rupert," Dumbledore said, getting the attention of the worried watcher who was rubbing Dawn's arm in an attempt to soothe her. "Perhaps you can take Miss Summers into my sitting room until she is feeling better." He suggested, motioning toward the door through which he had first appeared.
Giles nodded and stood, while Tara helped Dawn to her feet. Professor Lupin handed Giles what looked to Tara like a small piece of chocolate. She had heard the saying that chocolate cured everything, but wasn't that taking it a bit far? Giles nodded his thanks, escorting the shaking girl out of the room.
Meanwhile, Anya and Halfrek also took their leave of the group, disappearing down the stairs after saying goodbye to Dumbledore and Tara, presumably to discuss wedding details. Tara was grateful not to be dragged into the conversation simply by virtue of her being a female. Or perhaps Anya asked her opinions because she seemed to be the only one in their small group who didn't mind all of the blunt sex comments. After all, once you got past the first hundred or so embarrassing incidents, you really have to start wondering why everyone still acted shocked that Anya had no conversation censor. And, considering the way things had been going lately, maybe total honesty wasn't such a bad thing. It certainly would have saved her and Willow a lot of time.
*Now's not the time for Willow thoughts,* Tara had to remind herself. Dawn's current crisis was much more important.
The room was tense with silence, and seemed to have gotten smaller to Tara, though now it had only four occupants remaining, not including the portraits, who all seemed to be waiting for some sort of explanation as to what had just happened.
"If it is not too much trouble," the Headmaster finally said to Tara, breaking the silence, "perhaps you could fill me in? Not necessarily all the specifics, maybe just a general overview?"
As all eyes turned to the blonde girl, she suddenly became very nervous. "Um."
The Headmaster gave her a reassuring smile, "I assure you, it will not leave this room. If it would make you more comfortable, Professors Lupin and Snape could step out for a moment and you could just relay the story to me."
Tara was tempted to take him up on his offer, but she knew there was no reason for her to be this wary of Lupin, and she didn't want to get off on the wrong foot with either him or Snape.
"No, it's okay," she finally replied, after casting a few nervous looks at the man in the chair by the door, which didn't go unnoticed by Snape.
He looked at Tara with confusion, which quickly turned into boredom when he realized she was looking back at him.
"It's a sad story, but one that Dawn managed to get through almost undamaged. I don't want anyone pitying her. That isn't what she needs right now. Or ever." Tara began, still studying Snape, whose face showed nothing but indifference, though there seemed to still be an emotion just below the surface.
She finally turned back to Dumbledore to begin the tale in earnest.
"A short while ago, telling you about Dawn's true nature could have resulted in her death, but now she seems to be handling it okay, even making jokes about it sometimes. She isn't a regular person, and she's much older than everyone in this room combined. She's even older than Anya."
At this, the Headmaster chuckled, while Lupin looked confused, and Snape - well - Tara was trying to ignore Snape, who was studying her so hard that she felt like his eyes were trying to bore through to her brain. Which, in a manner of speaking, they were.
Twenty minutes later, Tara was still explaining the intricacies of Dawn's existence.
"And so this Doc person is?"
Tara could not help the slight flinch that came when Lupin interrupted her, reminding her of his presence a few feet away.
"Um, well, not a person exactly. When Dawn's mom died, Dawn wanted to bring her back, and she figured she could do it with magic."
Lupin and Snape drew in audible breaths at this.
Tara chuckled humorlessly. "Yes, well, dark magic is a story for another day."
Dumbledore gave a slight wave of his hand, "Please continue."
Tara drew in a calming breath and dove back into her story, "So Spike took Dawn to see this guy Doc about bringing Joyce back. She had, well, still has I suppose, Spike wrapped around her little finger. Not that it's easy to deny Dawnie anything, but Spike doesn't always make the best choices. Or, er, any good choices."
"And Spike is?" Snape's low voice came from the dark corner where he was still lurking, finding the chairs offensive in some way.
"Spike is kinda hard to explain. Basically, he's a vampire turned good. Well, maybe not good so much as helpful. At times."
"Is Buffy mot a slayer of vampires? Why does she keep him around?" Lupin asked.
"Well, there was this whole thing with this chip implanted into his head. Basically, he can't harm any human being without an unbearable amount of pain. So he fights on our side now. Well, in between threats about when he gets his chip out and Xander's bloody death."
Lupin looked confused, "I've never heard of a Slayer who took the time to distinguish between good and bad creatures."
Tara smiled at this, "that's why Buffy's one of a kind. Well, that and the whole dying a couple of times thing. Besides, her first boyfriend was a vampire with a soul, and she used to be good friends with a werewolf. No one in the group is really demon free as far as friends go."
Tara began to wonder if she had gone too far when she realized that all three men were staring at her with incredulous shock. Lupin was the first to recover.
"Good friends with a werewolf, you say?" he asked, mostly to himself, his entire demeanor becoming more relaxed.
Tara studied Lupin for a moment before deciding to try to get back to the original point.
"So anyway, Dawn ended up changing her mind about bringing Mrs. Summers back, and no one really thought about Doc again until Xander and Spike went to him for information about Glory. I don't really know about that meeting, but I do know that Doc was back at the final showdown with Glory. The whole thing went down as planned, I was told. I was a little.out of it.at the time. Anyway, so as Glory was distracted, somehow Doc, who we discovered was one of Glory's followers, um, he managed to get up on the tower."
Another loud gasp was heard, this time just from Lupin, as Snape seemed to be distracted by his own thoughts.
"So Spike goes up to get rid of him, but somehow Doc gets the upper hand and pushes Spike off. He actually gets a few cuts in before Buffy finally threw him off the tower. Dawn said that they thought it was all okay, but some blood managed to drip down enough to finish the ritual and start opening the portal."
"So Buffy had to jump to save Dawn and the world," Lupin supplied.
"Yes. Doc was the one responsible for taking Dawn's sister from her."
There was a lengthy silence as the men absorbed the information and Tara tried to push the bad memories back where they had been hiding before she let them out to tell the story.
This time, the silence was broken by the sitting room door opening and Giles reappearing without Dawn.
"Ah, I can see Tara has cleared up any confusion," he said, glancing around the room, before removing his glasses to rub his tired eyes. "Dawn is sleeping at the moment."
Tara finally sat back, feeling some relief at the thought of Dawn being in a peaceful sleep, if only for a little while. Giles took a seat next to Tara, giving her a small smile and a reassuring pat on the arm. Tara gave him a weak smile in return.
"I guess Dawnie and I will go back to London. I have a little money left, and I can probably get a part time job or something. Enough to get by, hopefully. I don't have a work permit or anything," Tara said, trying to figure out how much money she had left.
Giles frowned, "I should check with some sources and try to help Buffy with her search for this demon, but I would like to offer my flat for your use until this is resolved. I don't know how safe you will be, but I can work out some method of protection in case his revenge brings him all the way to Dawn."
Tara and Giles were pulled out of their thoughts by the clearing of a throat.
"If I may interrupt," Dumbledore said, a sparkle in his eye, "Hogwarts is open to all those who seek help."
Thanks to my reviewers from ff.net and Twisting the Hellmouth. You guys rock. I hope this chapter clears some things up. Sorry it's so much exposition. The next chapter should be up next weekend.
Chapter 7: The End of the Beginning
"Rupert," Dumbledore said, getting the attention of the worried watcher who was rubbing Dawn's arm in an attempt to soothe her. "Perhaps you can take Miss Summers into my sitting room until she is feeling better." He suggested, motioning toward the door through which he had first appeared.
Giles nodded and stood, while Tara helped Dawn to her feet. Professor Lupin handed Giles what looked to Tara like a small piece of chocolate. She had heard the saying that chocolate cured everything, but wasn't that taking it a bit far? Giles nodded his thanks, escorting the shaking girl out of the room.
Meanwhile, Anya and Halfrek also took their leave of the group, disappearing down the stairs after saying goodbye to Dumbledore and Tara, presumably to discuss wedding details. Tara was grateful not to be dragged into the conversation simply by virtue of her being a female. Or perhaps Anya asked her opinions because she seemed to be the only one in their small group who didn't mind all of the blunt sex comments. After all, once you got past the first hundred or so embarrassing incidents, you really have to start wondering why everyone still acted shocked that Anya had no conversation censor. And, considering the way things had been going lately, maybe total honesty wasn't such a bad thing. It certainly would have saved her and Willow a lot of time.
*Now's not the time for Willow thoughts,* Tara had to remind herself. Dawn's current crisis was much more important.
The room was tense with silence, and seemed to have gotten smaller to Tara, though now it had only four occupants remaining, not including the portraits, who all seemed to be waiting for some sort of explanation as to what had just happened.
"If it is not too much trouble," the Headmaster finally said to Tara, breaking the silence, "perhaps you could fill me in? Not necessarily all the specifics, maybe just a general overview?"
As all eyes turned to the blonde girl, she suddenly became very nervous. "Um."
The Headmaster gave her a reassuring smile, "I assure you, it will not leave this room. If it would make you more comfortable, Professors Lupin and Snape could step out for a moment and you could just relay the story to me."
Tara was tempted to take him up on his offer, but she knew there was no reason for her to be this wary of Lupin, and she didn't want to get off on the wrong foot with either him or Snape.
"No, it's okay," she finally replied, after casting a few nervous looks at the man in the chair by the door, which didn't go unnoticed by Snape.
He looked at Tara with confusion, which quickly turned into boredom when he realized she was looking back at him.
"It's a sad story, but one that Dawn managed to get through almost undamaged. I don't want anyone pitying her. That isn't what she needs right now. Or ever." Tara began, still studying Snape, whose face showed nothing but indifference, though there seemed to still be an emotion just below the surface.
She finally turned back to Dumbledore to begin the tale in earnest.
"A short while ago, telling you about Dawn's true nature could have resulted in her death, but now she seems to be handling it okay, even making jokes about it sometimes. She isn't a regular person, and she's much older than everyone in this room combined. She's even older than Anya."
At this, the Headmaster chuckled, while Lupin looked confused, and Snape - well - Tara was trying to ignore Snape, who was studying her so hard that she felt like his eyes were trying to bore through to her brain. Which, in a manner of speaking, they were.
Twenty minutes later, Tara was still explaining the intricacies of Dawn's existence.
"And so this Doc person is?"
Tara could not help the slight flinch that came when Lupin interrupted her, reminding her of his presence a few feet away.
"Um, well, not a person exactly. When Dawn's mom died, Dawn wanted to bring her back, and she figured she could do it with magic."
Lupin and Snape drew in audible breaths at this.
Tara chuckled humorlessly. "Yes, well, dark magic is a story for another day."
Dumbledore gave a slight wave of his hand, "Please continue."
Tara drew in a calming breath and dove back into her story, "So Spike took Dawn to see this guy Doc about bringing Joyce back. She had, well, still has I suppose, Spike wrapped around her little finger. Not that it's easy to deny Dawnie anything, but Spike doesn't always make the best choices. Or, er, any good choices."
"And Spike is?" Snape's low voice came from the dark corner where he was still lurking, finding the chairs offensive in some way.
"Spike is kinda hard to explain. Basically, he's a vampire turned good. Well, maybe not good so much as helpful. At times."
"Is Buffy mot a slayer of vampires? Why does she keep him around?" Lupin asked.
"Well, there was this whole thing with this chip implanted into his head. Basically, he can't harm any human being without an unbearable amount of pain. So he fights on our side now. Well, in between threats about when he gets his chip out and Xander's bloody death."
Lupin looked confused, "I've never heard of a Slayer who took the time to distinguish between good and bad creatures."
Tara smiled at this, "that's why Buffy's one of a kind. Well, that and the whole dying a couple of times thing. Besides, her first boyfriend was a vampire with a soul, and she used to be good friends with a werewolf. No one in the group is really demon free as far as friends go."
Tara began to wonder if she had gone too far when she realized that all three men were staring at her with incredulous shock. Lupin was the first to recover.
"Good friends with a werewolf, you say?" he asked, mostly to himself, his entire demeanor becoming more relaxed.
Tara studied Lupin for a moment before deciding to try to get back to the original point.
"So anyway, Dawn ended up changing her mind about bringing Mrs. Summers back, and no one really thought about Doc again until Xander and Spike went to him for information about Glory. I don't really know about that meeting, but I do know that Doc was back at the final showdown with Glory. The whole thing went down as planned, I was told. I was a little.out of it.at the time. Anyway, so as Glory was distracted, somehow Doc, who we discovered was one of Glory's followers, um, he managed to get up on the tower."
Another loud gasp was heard, this time just from Lupin, as Snape seemed to be distracted by his own thoughts.
"So Spike goes up to get rid of him, but somehow Doc gets the upper hand and pushes Spike off. He actually gets a few cuts in before Buffy finally threw him off the tower. Dawn said that they thought it was all okay, but some blood managed to drip down enough to finish the ritual and start opening the portal."
"So Buffy had to jump to save Dawn and the world," Lupin supplied.
"Yes. Doc was the one responsible for taking Dawn's sister from her."
There was a lengthy silence as the men absorbed the information and Tara tried to push the bad memories back where they had been hiding before she let them out to tell the story.
This time, the silence was broken by the sitting room door opening and Giles reappearing without Dawn.
"Ah, I can see Tara has cleared up any confusion," he said, glancing around the room, before removing his glasses to rub his tired eyes. "Dawn is sleeping at the moment."
Tara finally sat back, feeling some relief at the thought of Dawn being in a peaceful sleep, if only for a little while. Giles took a seat next to Tara, giving her a small smile and a reassuring pat on the arm. Tara gave him a weak smile in return.
"I guess Dawnie and I will go back to London. I have a little money left, and I can probably get a part time job or something. Enough to get by, hopefully. I don't have a work permit or anything," Tara said, trying to figure out how much money she had left.
Giles frowned, "I should check with some sources and try to help Buffy with her search for this demon, but I would like to offer my flat for your use until this is resolved. I don't know how safe you will be, but I can work out some method of protection in case his revenge brings him all the way to Dawn."
Tara and Giles were pulled out of their thoughts by the clearing of a throat.
"If I may interrupt," Dumbledore said, a sparkle in his eye, "Hogwarts is open to all those who seek help."
