Disclaimer: See chapter 1 for full disclaimer and notes.
Thanks to my reviewers from ff.net and Twisting the Hellmouth. Sorry this is a little late. I spent all of Saturday playing "Chaos Bleeds". Stupid addictive game. The next chapter should be up next weekend.
Chapter 8: Settling In
"That's very nice of you, but-" Giles began before Dumbledore held up a hand, cutting him off.
"Let me ask you this," Dumbledore began, moving out from behind his imposing desk, "If you had the room and the inclination, would you turn down the chance to help a friend in need? Or, a future friend, if I may be so bold."
Giles smiled and shook his head, placing his glasses back on his face after a brief cleaning. "I suppose not. However, I feel the need to repay you in some way for helping Dawn. Perhaps I have some texts at my disposal that may be of use to you in your impending, um, predicament."
Tara glanced at Giles in confusion at this last statement.
Dumbledore again waved aside the comment, putting a hand on Giles's arm and leading him out the door, with the others close behind, "yes, yes, I'm sure something will come up in the future. Meanwhile, I shall send Madam Pomfrey, our resident nurse, to check on Miss Summers, and perhaps I can persuade Professor-"
Dumbledore broke off, looking from Lupin to Snape, and then glancing at Tara, "Professor Snape to show you to guest quarters."
Snape scowled, while Lupin looked disappointed but understanding.
"I assume that you will be staying here with young Dawn," the Headmaster said to Tara, somehow managing to make it a statement without sounding like a command.
"If that's okay," Tara replied, smiling shyly at the Headmaster, "I don't want to leave Dawnie alone, and I can take some time off from school. With the way things are now, I'm probably in the easiest position to stay with her."
"Very good," replied Dumbledore, leading the group down the hall and working out the details of their stay.
~-~-
Tara was beginning to doubt whether Professor Snape had any facial expressions besides surly and scowling, and that brief moment of shock earlier. She got the impression that showing her to her and Dawn's future rooms was the equivalent of a slow torturous death to him. Or perhaps worse, if the anger in his eyes was any indication.
She finally grabbed his arm, nearly getting yanked off her feet by his sudden turn. "If you need to be somewhere else, I'm sure you could just give me directions or something."
She tried to read his expression, but he wasn't revealing anything. "I mean, we got lost earlier, but that was because we were trying to remember the directions backwards, and I think we took a right when we should have taken our first left, and then the staircase moved-"
"Miss Maclay," Snape interrupted, stopping her almost Willow-sized babble, "I apologize if you misinterpreted my silence for distraction or discomfort. I was merely trying to get you settled in a timely fashion."
"Oh," Tara replied, suddenly feeling a bit awkward.
Snape nodded slightly and resumed their trek to Tara and Dawn's new residence. A short while later he stopped them in front of a large portrait of a family sitting around a dinner table. Tara couldn't help but smile a bit at the happiness that the family seemed to radiate, while it seemed to make Professor Snape's scowl grow.
"This is the entrance to your residence. You may simply inform the family of your password and everything will be in order."
Tara looked at the portrait nervously.
Snape's brow furrowed, "I assume you are familiar with the system of entry into the residences after your earlier tour."
"Yes," Tara replied, still looking unsure, "but don't I need to wave a wand at it or something? I mean, doesn't it require magic to begin working?"
"Albus took care of it while you were exploring the school."
At this, Tara's nervousness turned into outright confusion. "But the Headmaster didn't know we were going to have to stay here. That's kind of strange. Is it a normal precaution when you have guests or something?"
"No," Snape replied, "Albus tends to know these things beforehand."
"That's just freaky," Tara muttered, before turning back to the portrait.
"At times," Snape said before he walked off in a billow of black robes.
Tara smiled at this, before turning her thoughts to her new password. It would have to be something she and Dawn could share but no one else would be able to guess. Unless Mr. Giles or Anya needed to get inside for some reason.
"Excuse me," she finally said to the family in the portrait.
The youngest child, a small blonde girl, looked up from her meal. "Yes?"
"Um, I have my new password," Tara replied, restraining herself from taking a large step back.
The girl looked at her expectantly.
"Hellmouth."
The girl nodded, "Thank you. Welcome home."
Tara was about to reply when the portrait swung open, and her words turned into a sigh at the doorway that was revealed.
"Oh good. No climbing." She said as she entered her new rooms to start getting settled in.
~-~-
Two hours later, after Dawn had woken and been informed of the situation, which Tara thought she was handling very well, considering, there was a knock at the door to their new rooms. Tara was sitting in the main room, a large bright area filled with comfortable chairs and a large fireplace, with Giles discussing his plans for finding Doc as Dawn was getting settled into her nearby bedroom. Tara couldn't help but think that the size of the bedrooms had something to do with Dawn's graceful acceptance of her situation. The four-poster beds alone were as big as Tara's dorm room, which, granted, wasn't saying much, but they also took up less than a fourth of the overall rooms.
Tara crossed to the door, expecting Anya and Hallie, but instead opening it to reveal Professor Snape.
"The Headmaster invites you to have your dinner with the staff and few remaining students in the dining hall," Snape told her.
Tara smiled at him, "Okay. Let me go get Dawnie. Would you like to come in for a moment?"
Snape looked surprised at the offer, which Tara stored in her memory as his fourth expression, though possibly just a subtler version of the third. He nodded and followed her back through the door. Tara noticed that he still didn't take a seat, but rather forced Giles to stand awkwardly to greet him, as she went to get Dawn for dinner.
A short walk from their rooms revealed the school's dazzling front hallway, now subdued because of the lack of sunlight through the colorful windows. The group, led by Snape, entered into the dining hall. Tara and Dawn looked around in amazement at the enormous room. Giles watched them from the back of the group, smiling at their shocked expressions as they looked up at the deceptively missing ceiling.
"Holy crap! The ceiling's gone!" Dawn exclaimed, causing the entire group of people already seated around a large table in the middle of the room to look up.
"Good entrance, Dawn," Tara muttered to the young brunette as they took the four empty seats on one side of the table.
Dawn just rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the people around them. Tara was surprised to note that Anya was already seated on the other side, with Hallie nowhere to be seen.
"Ah yes, Halfrek was called away on business, I'm afraid, but I daresay there may be new friends to be made here," Dumbledore said to Tara, who looked up at him in surprise, and then glanced at Snape, who had what could have almost been a miniscule smile on his face.
"Introductions are in order," Remus said from the other end of the table.
The Headmaster took it upon himself to go around the table introducing the newest arrivals to the students and teachers, and vise versa. He ended with a name that Tara was surprised to hear, as was Giles, if his sudden cleaning of his glasses was any indication.
"And this is Harry Potter, who is in his third year."
Dawn and Tara smiled in greeting, while Giles examined the boy's forehead, which bore a scar almost completely obscured by his messy hair.
"I daresay our guests have heard of you, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore addressed Harry, "perhaps they are not as far removed from our world as I first believed.
"He's in a few of Mr. Giles's books back in Sunnydale." Tara said as she too took a peek at the boy's forehead, which was now completely obscured by his hair as he flattened it down self-consciously.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare," Tara told Harry apologetically, "I guess we're just used to matching the symbol to the prophecy."
"Yes, well, I believe it is time for the feast to begin," Dumbledore said loudly, making Tara think that perhaps he was changing the subject on purpose.
As the food appeared, seemingly out of thin air, much to Dawn's excited surprise, Tara didn't notice the confused looks that the three Gryffindors across the way were throwing at her.
~-~-
Tara was relieved when the day finally ended. She felt as if she had been battling demons or doing complex spells all day, rather than simply meeting new people in a strange new place. Giles retired to his own temporary quarters after saying his goodbyes to Dawn and Tara, explaining that he didn't feel as if waking them up at the early hour he planned to leave for England would be such a good idea. Tara had to agree, after being on the receiving end of cranky morning Dawn. Anya was also leaving with him, to get back to Sunnydale and her money, but she promised to send along a letter that Tara and Dawn had written to Buffy and Xander, and separate letters that Tara had written to Willow and Dawn had written to Spike.
"So how are you doing?" Tara asked Dawn as she took a seat beside her on the couch in front of the warm fire.
Dawn gave Tara half of her wool blanket, settling down further into the large cushions. "Good. I guess if you're gonna be in hiding somewhere, this is a good place to be. I mean, it's like hiding out at camp or something."
Tara smiled at her analogy, "Yeah, it's gonna be fun. Maybe you'll get to meet the troublemakers that the Headmaster mentioned earlier."
"Yeah," Dawn replied mischievously, "maybe I'll be the bad influence."
"Dawnie," Tara said warningly, the threat lessened by the large grin still on her face.
"You know what the coolest part about this all is?" Dawn said, grinning as well.
"What?"
"No school."
Thanks to my reviewers from ff.net and Twisting the Hellmouth. Sorry this is a little late. I spent all of Saturday playing "Chaos Bleeds". Stupid addictive game. The next chapter should be up next weekend.
Chapter 8: Settling In
"That's very nice of you, but-" Giles began before Dumbledore held up a hand, cutting him off.
"Let me ask you this," Dumbledore began, moving out from behind his imposing desk, "If you had the room and the inclination, would you turn down the chance to help a friend in need? Or, a future friend, if I may be so bold."
Giles smiled and shook his head, placing his glasses back on his face after a brief cleaning. "I suppose not. However, I feel the need to repay you in some way for helping Dawn. Perhaps I have some texts at my disposal that may be of use to you in your impending, um, predicament."
Tara glanced at Giles in confusion at this last statement.
Dumbledore again waved aside the comment, putting a hand on Giles's arm and leading him out the door, with the others close behind, "yes, yes, I'm sure something will come up in the future. Meanwhile, I shall send Madam Pomfrey, our resident nurse, to check on Miss Summers, and perhaps I can persuade Professor-"
Dumbledore broke off, looking from Lupin to Snape, and then glancing at Tara, "Professor Snape to show you to guest quarters."
Snape scowled, while Lupin looked disappointed but understanding.
"I assume that you will be staying here with young Dawn," the Headmaster said to Tara, somehow managing to make it a statement without sounding like a command.
"If that's okay," Tara replied, smiling shyly at the Headmaster, "I don't want to leave Dawnie alone, and I can take some time off from school. With the way things are now, I'm probably in the easiest position to stay with her."
"Very good," replied Dumbledore, leading the group down the hall and working out the details of their stay.
~-~-
Tara was beginning to doubt whether Professor Snape had any facial expressions besides surly and scowling, and that brief moment of shock earlier. She got the impression that showing her to her and Dawn's future rooms was the equivalent of a slow torturous death to him. Or perhaps worse, if the anger in his eyes was any indication.
She finally grabbed his arm, nearly getting yanked off her feet by his sudden turn. "If you need to be somewhere else, I'm sure you could just give me directions or something."
She tried to read his expression, but he wasn't revealing anything. "I mean, we got lost earlier, but that was because we were trying to remember the directions backwards, and I think we took a right when we should have taken our first left, and then the staircase moved-"
"Miss Maclay," Snape interrupted, stopping her almost Willow-sized babble, "I apologize if you misinterpreted my silence for distraction or discomfort. I was merely trying to get you settled in a timely fashion."
"Oh," Tara replied, suddenly feeling a bit awkward.
Snape nodded slightly and resumed their trek to Tara and Dawn's new residence. A short while later he stopped them in front of a large portrait of a family sitting around a dinner table. Tara couldn't help but smile a bit at the happiness that the family seemed to radiate, while it seemed to make Professor Snape's scowl grow.
"This is the entrance to your residence. You may simply inform the family of your password and everything will be in order."
Tara looked at the portrait nervously.
Snape's brow furrowed, "I assume you are familiar with the system of entry into the residences after your earlier tour."
"Yes," Tara replied, still looking unsure, "but don't I need to wave a wand at it or something? I mean, doesn't it require magic to begin working?"
"Albus took care of it while you were exploring the school."
At this, Tara's nervousness turned into outright confusion. "But the Headmaster didn't know we were going to have to stay here. That's kind of strange. Is it a normal precaution when you have guests or something?"
"No," Snape replied, "Albus tends to know these things beforehand."
"That's just freaky," Tara muttered, before turning back to the portrait.
"At times," Snape said before he walked off in a billow of black robes.
Tara smiled at this, before turning her thoughts to her new password. It would have to be something she and Dawn could share but no one else would be able to guess. Unless Mr. Giles or Anya needed to get inside for some reason.
"Excuse me," she finally said to the family in the portrait.
The youngest child, a small blonde girl, looked up from her meal. "Yes?"
"Um, I have my new password," Tara replied, restraining herself from taking a large step back.
The girl looked at her expectantly.
"Hellmouth."
The girl nodded, "Thank you. Welcome home."
Tara was about to reply when the portrait swung open, and her words turned into a sigh at the doorway that was revealed.
"Oh good. No climbing." She said as she entered her new rooms to start getting settled in.
~-~-
Two hours later, after Dawn had woken and been informed of the situation, which Tara thought she was handling very well, considering, there was a knock at the door to their new rooms. Tara was sitting in the main room, a large bright area filled with comfortable chairs and a large fireplace, with Giles discussing his plans for finding Doc as Dawn was getting settled into her nearby bedroom. Tara couldn't help but think that the size of the bedrooms had something to do with Dawn's graceful acceptance of her situation. The four-poster beds alone were as big as Tara's dorm room, which, granted, wasn't saying much, but they also took up less than a fourth of the overall rooms.
Tara crossed to the door, expecting Anya and Hallie, but instead opening it to reveal Professor Snape.
"The Headmaster invites you to have your dinner with the staff and few remaining students in the dining hall," Snape told her.
Tara smiled at him, "Okay. Let me go get Dawnie. Would you like to come in for a moment?"
Snape looked surprised at the offer, which Tara stored in her memory as his fourth expression, though possibly just a subtler version of the third. He nodded and followed her back through the door. Tara noticed that he still didn't take a seat, but rather forced Giles to stand awkwardly to greet him, as she went to get Dawn for dinner.
A short walk from their rooms revealed the school's dazzling front hallway, now subdued because of the lack of sunlight through the colorful windows. The group, led by Snape, entered into the dining hall. Tara and Dawn looked around in amazement at the enormous room. Giles watched them from the back of the group, smiling at their shocked expressions as they looked up at the deceptively missing ceiling.
"Holy crap! The ceiling's gone!" Dawn exclaimed, causing the entire group of people already seated around a large table in the middle of the room to look up.
"Good entrance, Dawn," Tara muttered to the young brunette as they took the four empty seats on one side of the table.
Dawn just rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the people around them. Tara was surprised to note that Anya was already seated on the other side, with Hallie nowhere to be seen.
"Ah yes, Halfrek was called away on business, I'm afraid, but I daresay there may be new friends to be made here," Dumbledore said to Tara, who looked up at him in surprise, and then glanced at Snape, who had what could have almost been a miniscule smile on his face.
"Introductions are in order," Remus said from the other end of the table.
The Headmaster took it upon himself to go around the table introducing the newest arrivals to the students and teachers, and vise versa. He ended with a name that Tara was surprised to hear, as was Giles, if his sudden cleaning of his glasses was any indication.
"And this is Harry Potter, who is in his third year."
Dawn and Tara smiled in greeting, while Giles examined the boy's forehead, which bore a scar almost completely obscured by his messy hair.
"I daresay our guests have heard of you, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore addressed Harry, "perhaps they are not as far removed from our world as I first believed.
"He's in a few of Mr. Giles's books back in Sunnydale." Tara said as she too took a peek at the boy's forehead, which was now completely obscured by his hair as he flattened it down self-consciously.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare," Tara told Harry apologetically, "I guess we're just used to matching the symbol to the prophecy."
"Yes, well, I believe it is time for the feast to begin," Dumbledore said loudly, making Tara think that perhaps he was changing the subject on purpose.
As the food appeared, seemingly out of thin air, much to Dawn's excited surprise, Tara didn't notice the confused looks that the three Gryffindors across the way were throwing at her.
~-~-
Tara was relieved when the day finally ended. She felt as if she had been battling demons or doing complex spells all day, rather than simply meeting new people in a strange new place. Giles retired to his own temporary quarters after saying his goodbyes to Dawn and Tara, explaining that he didn't feel as if waking them up at the early hour he planned to leave for England would be such a good idea. Tara had to agree, after being on the receiving end of cranky morning Dawn. Anya was also leaving with him, to get back to Sunnydale and her money, but she promised to send along a letter that Tara and Dawn had written to Buffy and Xander, and separate letters that Tara had written to Willow and Dawn had written to Spike.
"So how are you doing?" Tara asked Dawn as she took a seat beside her on the couch in front of the warm fire.
Dawn gave Tara half of her wool blanket, settling down further into the large cushions. "Good. I guess if you're gonna be in hiding somewhere, this is a good place to be. I mean, it's like hiding out at camp or something."
Tara smiled at her analogy, "Yeah, it's gonna be fun. Maybe you'll get to meet the troublemakers that the Headmaster mentioned earlier."
"Yeah," Dawn replied mischievously, "maybe I'll be the bad influence."
"Dawnie," Tara said warningly, the threat lessened by the large grin still on her face.
"You know what the coolest part about this all is?" Dawn said, grinning as well.
"What?"
"No school."
