Disclaimer: See chapter 1 for full disclaimer and notes.
Thanks to my reviewers from ff.net and Twisting the Hellmouth. Sorry this chapter was late. Work is trying to kill me. The next chapter will definitely be up next weekend.
Chapter 18: The Prisoners of Hogwarts
"We were able to find an appropriate translating spell for the Fyarl demon before Rupert had to resort to other options," Dumbledore said, taking a seat in the infirmary where Tara lay injured.
"It's a good thing, too, because I only know of one, er, person who speaks Fyarl," Giles added, also taking a seat.
Tara gave Giles a weak smile, not yet sure just how concerned she should be at this point.
"So, what's the deal?" Dawn asked, as she looked through the potions sitting on a table near Tara's bed, despite Snape's glaring at her from the far side, where he too had taken a seat.
Giles took off his glasses and cleaned them with a cloth from his pocket.
*That's never a good sign,* Tara thought, growing more nervous with every swipe of the cloth.
Dawn's loud sigh stopped Giles's nervous cleaning session.
"You're doing that thing."
"Quite right," answered Giles, putting his glasses back on his face. "The suspicions that we had with the vampire attack have been confirmed. Both demons were sent by Doc."
Tara had been watching Dawn intently as the conversation progressed. She noticed that, though she looked calm on the outside, Dawn's body had gone rigid at this latest bit of information.
Everyone sat in silence for a long while, contemplating the situation. Finally, Dumbledore stood, breaking into their thoughts.
"Well, I would like to discuss this further, but I believe it can wait until Miss Maclay has gotten some rest." He smiled at Tara, who smiled back, gratefully.
Everyone in the room, save Snape and Pomfrey, took the cue and said their goodbyes to Tara as they left.
Dumbledore was the last to leave the room, patting Tara's hand and nodding to Snape, who stared back at him, as if to dare the Headmaster to order him to leave. Dumbledore shook his head and began to follow the others out.
"I would like for you and Miss Summers to stay inside the school for the time being, since both attacks took place so close to the building. I don't believe it would be safe for you to wander out again until we have the situation under control," Dumbledore said as he reached the door.
Tara nodded her consent and he disappeared into the hall. She looked over at Snape, who was rearranging his robes and avoiding eye contact. She nervously cleared her throat, trying to break the tension. When he finally looked up, she was surprised to see the emotion on his face. She had to go back and revise her whole list of his emotions to add this new one, that looked like concern and even a little fear.
"It'll be okay," she said, trying to reassure him, even though she wasn't feeling the least bit optimistic at the moment.
Snape shook his head, mostly to himself, and looked over her, assessing the damage once again. When he looked up at her face once more, his emotions were back to normal.
"You should be able to return to your room in the morning," he said, standing.
"I'll be fine," answered Tara, not bothering to hide her confusion at his mood swing, "I just need some sleep."
He nodded and gathered up a few of the potions Dawn had been investigating earlier.
"I'll leave you to that, then," he replied.
Tara grabbed his arm as he walked past her bed, stopping him in his tracks. "Could you come back later? I need to talk to you about something, but I think I should sleep first."
He nodded, looking down at her hand where it was gripping his arm. She let go and watched as he briskly left the infirmary. Before she had a chance to reflect on his behavior, Madam Pomfrey bustled in and began giving her descriptions of the various potions she would be taking until she was completely healed.
~-~-~-
Tara wasn't sure how long she slept, but when she awoke, the infirmary was quiet and dim, the only light an ornate kerosene lamp on her bedside table. She turned it up, trying to rid her area of all its dark shadows. Just as she got it to an acceptable level, the room grew even brighter as the door opened. The Potions Master entered, carrying a light himself, and took a seat next to her bed.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, looking her over.
"Better," she replied. "What time is it?"
"Not too late. Dinner just ended."
"Oh."
The room descended into an awkward silence.
Tara bit her lip, trying to think of something to say.
The professor spoke first. "Why were you on the grounds alone?"
"I needed to think," she answered.
He studied her face for a moment. "About Willow?"
Tara nodded, pushing a stray hair behind her ear and moving into a more comfortable position. She fixed her pajamas, stopping to wonder how she had come to be wearing them, and quickly chalking it up to magic. She looked up at him again after finally finding the right position, only to find him still staring at her in the intense way that only he could.
"I need you to do me a favor," she said.
He studied her a moment longer. "Where is it?" he asked, standing back up.
"My desk. The password is 'scooby', unless Dawn changed it again."
"I'm sure I'll manage," replied Snape, leaving the room, taking his light with him.
A minute later, there was a knock at the infirmary door and Tara smiled as a brunette head peeked inside.
"You look better!" Dawn exclaimed, flouncing into the room and plopping down on the end of Tara's bed.
The two girls grinned at each other, and Dawn reached over to hug Tara briefly.
"It's all over school, you know," Dawn said when she had situated herself back at the end of the bed. "People think you're a superhero or something. I of course totally agreed with every account of what happened."
Tara laughed as Dawn pulled a bag from her jacket pocket. She handed it over to the blonde girl, who smiled gratefully.
"Everyone thinks I have super powers by default or something," Dawn continued as Tara dug into the bag of chocolate. "It's way cool. Fred and George are totally jealous of my instant fame."
Tara was finally beginning to feel normal again. The attack almost felt like it had happened to someone else.
"Just don't let it go to your head, Dawnie," Tara replied, offering the teen the rest of the chocolate, which she gladly took.
"Oh please," Dawn said, shoving the last pieces into her mouth, "like I want to be famous. I just like it because all the first years are doing stuff for me. One of them gave me this." She motioned to the now empty bag and licked the last bits of the chocolate off of her lips.
Both girls looked up as the door opened again. Professor Snape had returned, this time carrying an envelope in his free hand. He noted the presence of the teen, with some disgust, and took a seat on the opposite side of the bed from her, handing the envelope to Tara.
Dawn peered at it as it changed hands.
"Is that the letter Willow sent you?" she asked, looking between Tara and the professor with some confusion.
"Don't you have somewhere else you need to be?" Snape asked, barely disguising the venom in his voice.
Tara looked at him sharply, silencing him, before putting the letter in her lap.
"Yeah, it's the letter," she answered Dawn's question.
Dawn and Snape appeared to be locked in a staring contest, both peering at each other through narrowed eyes, nostrils flaring with the effort it took to not lash out.
"Um, maybe we could talk later," Tara said to Snape, trying to ignore Dawn's outraged face when she failed to dismiss him out of hand.
Snape looked at her, his anger instantly turning back into his usual neutral expression, "Very well. You will need time to look it over, of course."
Tara smiled at him gratefully. As he walked past her to leave, his hand briefly touched hers, an action that did not go unnoticed by anyone in the room.
Tara knew that as soon as he was out of earshot, Dawn would go into full rant mode. She wasn't disappointed.
"Willow's getting better, you know," the teen said bitterly, raising her voice to just below shouting level.
"Shh," Tara tried to quiet her, "Madam Pomfrey is around here somewhere."
Dawn nodded her assent, but still looked determined to let Tara know exactly what she thought of the whole situation.
"I know she's getting better. That's why I'm going to read this," the older girl said, motioning to the letter sitting in her lap. "I'm willing to listen to whatever she has to say."
Dawn looked calmer, but confused. "So what was with the hands?"
"Professor Snape and I are friends," Tara replied.
Dawn raised a disbelieving eyebrow.
Tara was saved from continuing the conversation by the loud noise of two bodies colliding with the infirmary door, which promptly slammed open, depositing the people in question onto the ground in a pile of limbs.
"What is going on out here?" Madam Pomfrey asked in a shrill voice as she rushed into the room.
"Get off me!" one of the bodies yelled, as they slowly untangled.
They finally recovered, and Tara was amused to see two red faced Weasley twins.
"Well?" Pomfrey asked, waiting for an explanation, hands on her hips.
"Erm, we wanted to say hello to Tara here, but we wanted to make sure she wasn't sleeping.
"Well, she most certainly isn't now," Madam Pomfrey replied.
The twins shrugged sheepishly as Pomfrey gave them one last irritated look and huffed out of the room.
As soon as she was gone, both twins broke into grins, which dispelled any of the tension left between Tara and Dawn.
"Did you really kill a demon twice your size with your bare hands?" the twin on the right asked, as they both took spots at the end of the bed, on either side of a smiling Dawn.
"Three times my size," Tara replied.
"Wicked," the other twin said.
Tara wasn't sure if he knew it was a joke. Since both of the Weasleys had been filled in on Sunnydale experiences by Dawn, there was always the possiblity that it wasn't a joke in the first place.
"We heard you two are confined to the school," said the first twin.
Tara nodded and Dawn looked glum.
"You know, Harry is having that same problem," the second twin spoke up. "It's a real shame."
Tara narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the furtive glances both twins were giving Dawn. She would have to have a talk with the teen later about responsibility and safety. When she wasn't in the infirmary for being attacked after wandering around on her own, of course.
"Um," Dawn said, hopping up from the bed, "we have to go, um, study some stuff."
Tara rolled her eyes. "I'm injured, not stupid, Dawn."
Dawn flashed her a grin and practically dragged the twins out of the room.
Tara closed her eyes and willed the headache that was forming to go away. If Dawn was anything like Willow had described Buffy at her age, she'd be out of the school within the hour. She sat back and rested a hand on the letter in her lap, debating whether or not she was too tired to deal with it at the moment.
Her decision was made for her when the infirmary door opened yet again, this time quietly. A light entered the room, followed by a tired looking former librarian.
"How are you doing?" Giles asked as he stood just inside the doorway.
Tara smiled weakly, "Dawn just left."
Giles laughed. "Ah yes, so I imagine you're tired."
Tara nodded.
"Are you up for one more visitor?"
Tara nodded again, curious as to who else wanted to see her.
Giles disappeared outside. When he returned, he was followed by someone whom Tara had assumed she wouldn't see until she returned to California.
"Hey Anya," Tara greeted the former demon in surprise.
"Oh, you look horrible," Anya replied, rushing past Giles to take a seat at the foot of the bed.
"Um, what are you doing here?" Tara inquired, wondering if Xander was around too.
"I'm here to help Rupert," she replied.
"Oh." Tara looked up at Giles, who had laid a hand on Anya's shoulder.
He was looking down at Anya with concern.
"Um, is Xander with you?" Tara asked cautiously.
"No he's not," Anya said, frowning.
Tara glanced back up at Giles, who shook his head. When she looked back at Anya, the other girl was studying her with curiosity.
"You're a lesbian," she said.
Tara nodded, wondering if perhaps she had hit her head harder than she thought and this was all just a weird dream.
"But your almost ex-girlfriend used to be in love with Xander," Anya continued.
Tara looked at her quizzically.
She leaned forward and took Tara's hand in hers. "Don't you wish something horrible would happen to him?"
Thanks to my reviewers from ff.net and Twisting the Hellmouth. Sorry this chapter was late. Work is trying to kill me. The next chapter will definitely be up next weekend.
Chapter 18: The Prisoners of Hogwarts
"We were able to find an appropriate translating spell for the Fyarl demon before Rupert had to resort to other options," Dumbledore said, taking a seat in the infirmary where Tara lay injured.
"It's a good thing, too, because I only know of one, er, person who speaks Fyarl," Giles added, also taking a seat.
Tara gave Giles a weak smile, not yet sure just how concerned she should be at this point.
"So, what's the deal?" Dawn asked, as she looked through the potions sitting on a table near Tara's bed, despite Snape's glaring at her from the far side, where he too had taken a seat.
Giles took off his glasses and cleaned them with a cloth from his pocket.
*That's never a good sign,* Tara thought, growing more nervous with every swipe of the cloth.
Dawn's loud sigh stopped Giles's nervous cleaning session.
"You're doing that thing."
"Quite right," answered Giles, putting his glasses back on his face. "The suspicions that we had with the vampire attack have been confirmed. Both demons were sent by Doc."
Tara had been watching Dawn intently as the conversation progressed. She noticed that, though she looked calm on the outside, Dawn's body had gone rigid at this latest bit of information.
Everyone sat in silence for a long while, contemplating the situation. Finally, Dumbledore stood, breaking into their thoughts.
"Well, I would like to discuss this further, but I believe it can wait until Miss Maclay has gotten some rest." He smiled at Tara, who smiled back, gratefully.
Everyone in the room, save Snape and Pomfrey, took the cue and said their goodbyes to Tara as they left.
Dumbledore was the last to leave the room, patting Tara's hand and nodding to Snape, who stared back at him, as if to dare the Headmaster to order him to leave. Dumbledore shook his head and began to follow the others out.
"I would like for you and Miss Summers to stay inside the school for the time being, since both attacks took place so close to the building. I don't believe it would be safe for you to wander out again until we have the situation under control," Dumbledore said as he reached the door.
Tara nodded her consent and he disappeared into the hall. She looked over at Snape, who was rearranging his robes and avoiding eye contact. She nervously cleared her throat, trying to break the tension. When he finally looked up, she was surprised to see the emotion on his face. She had to go back and revise her whole list of his emotions to add this new one, that looked like concern and even a little fear.
"It'll be okay," she said, trying to reassure him, even though she wasn't feeling the least bit optimistic at the moment.
Snape shook his head, mostly to himself, and looked over her, assessing the damage once again. When he looked up at her face once more, his emotions were back to normal.
"You should be able to return to your room in the morning," he said, standing.
"I'll be fine," answered Tara, not bothering to hide her confusion at his mood swing, "I just need some sleep."
He nodded and gathered up a few of the potions Dawn had been investigating earlier.
"I'll leave you to that, then," he replied.
Tara grabbed his arm as he walked past her bed, stopping him in his tracks. "Could you come back later? I need to talk to you about something, but I think I should sleep first."
He nodded, looking down at her hand where it was gripping his arm. She let go and watched as he briskly left the infirmary. Before she had a chance to reflect on his behavior, Madam Pomfrey bustled in and began giving her descriptions of the various potions she would be taking until she was completely healed.
~-~-~-
Tara wasn't sure how long she slept, but when she awoke, the infirmary was quiet and dim, the only light an ornate kerosene lamp on her bedside table. She turned it up, trying to rid her area of all its dark shadows. Just as she got it to an acceptable level, the room grew even brighter as the door opened. The Potions Master entered, carrying a light himself, and took a seat next to her bed.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, looking her over.
"Better," she replied. "What time is it?"
"Not too late. Dinner just ended."
"Oh."
The room descended into an awkward silence.
Tara bit her lip, trying to think of something to say.
The professor spoke first. "Why were you on the grounds alone?"
"I needed to think," she answered.
He studied her face for a moment. "About Willow?"
Tara nodded, pushing a stray hair behind her ear and moving into a more comfortable position. She fixed her pajamas, stopping to wonder how she had come to be wearing them, and quickly chalking it up to magic. She looked up at him again after finally finding the right position, only to find him still staring at her in the intense way that only he could.
"I need you to do me a favor," she said.
He studied her a moment longer. "Where is it?" he asked, standing back up.
"My desk. The password is 'scooby', unless Dawn changed it again."
"I'm sure I'll manage," replied Snape, leaving the room, taking his light with him.
A minute later, there was a knock at the infirmary door and Tara smiled as a brunette head peeked inside.
"You look better!" Dawn exclaimed, flouncing into the room and plopping down on the end of Tara's bed.
The two girls grinned at each other, and Dawn reached over to hug Tara briefly.
"It's all over school, you know," Dawn said when she had situated herself back at the end of the bed. "People think you're a superhero or something. I of course totally agreed with every account of what happened."
Tara laughed as Dawn pulled a bag from her jacket pocket. She handed it over to the blonde girl, who smiled gratefully.
"Everyone thinks I have super powers by default or something," Dawn continued as Tara dug into the bag of chocolate. "It's way cool. Fred and George are totally jealous of my instant fame."
Tara was finally beginning to feel normal again. The attack almost felt like it had happened to someone else.
"Just don't let it go to your head, Dawnie," Tara replied, offering the teen the rest of the chocolate, which she gladly took.
"Oh please," Dawn said, shoving the last pieces into her mouth, "like I want to be famous. I just like it because all the first years are doing stuff for me. One of them gave me this." She motioned to the now empty bag and licked the last bits of the chocolate off of her lips.
Both girls looked up as the door opened again. Professor Snape had returned, this time carrying an envelope in his free hand. He noted the presence of the teen, with some disgust, and took a seat on the opposite side of the bed from her, handing the envelope to Tara.
Dawn peered at it as it changed hands.
"Is that the letter Willow sent you?" she asked, looking between Tara and the professor with some confusion.
"Don't you have somewhere else you need to be?" Snape asked, barely disguising the venom in his voice.
Tara looked at him sharply, silencing him, before putting the letter in her lap.
"Yeah, it's the letter," she answered Dawn's question.
Dawn and Snape appeared to be locked in a staring contest, both peering at each other through narrowed eyes, nostrils flaring with the effort it took to not lash out.
"Um, maybe we could talk later," Tara said to Snape, trying to ignore Dawn's outraged face when she failed to dismiss him out of hand.
Snape looked at her, his anger instantly turning back into his usual neutral expression, "Very well. You will need time to look it over, of course."
Tara smiled at him gratefully. As he walked past her to leave, his hand briefly touched hers, an action that did not go unnoticed by anyone in the room.
Tara knew that as soon as he was out of earshot, Dawn would go into full rant mode. She wasn't disappointed.
"Willow's getting better, you know," the teen said bitterly, raising her voice to just below shouting level.
"Shh," Tara tried to quiet her, "Madam Pomfrey is around here somewhere."
Dawn nodded her assent, but still looked determined to let Tara know exactly what she thought of the whole situation.
"I know she's getting better. That's why I'm going to read this," the older girl said, motioning to the letter sitting in her lap. "I'm willing to listen to whatever she has to say."
Dawn looked calmer, but confused. "So what was with the hands?"
"Professor Snape and I are friends," Tara replied.
Dawn raised a disbelieving eyebrow.
Tara was saved from continuing the conversation by the loud noise of two bodies colliding with the infirmary door, which promptly slammed open, depositing the people in question onto the ground in a pile of limbs.
"What is going on out here?" Madam Pomfrey asked in a shrill voice as she rushed into the room.
"Get off me!" one of the bodies yelled, as they slowly untangled.
They finally recovered, and Tara was amused to see two red faced Weasley twins.
"Well?" Pomfrey asked, waiting for an explanation, hands on her hips.
"Erm, we wanted to say hello to Tara here, but we wanted to make sure she wasn't sleeping.
"Well, she most certainly isn't now," Madam Pomfrey replied.
The twins shrugged sheepishly as Pomfrey gave them one last irritated look and huffed out of the room.
As soon as she was gone, both twins broke into grins, which dispelled any of the tension left between Tara and Dawn.
"Did you really kill a demon twice your size with your bare hands?" the twin on the right asked, as they both took spots at the end of the bed, on either side of a smiling Dawn.
"Three times my size," Tara replied.
"Wicked," the other twin said.
Tara wasn't sure if he knew it was a joke. Since both of the Weasleys had been filled in on Sunnydale experiences by Dawn, there was always the possiblity that it wasn't a joke in the first place.
"We heard you two are confined to the school," said the first twin.
Tara nodded and Dawn looked glum.
"You know, Harry is having that same problem," the second twin spoke up. "It's a real shame."
Tara narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the furtive glances both twins were giving Dawn. She would have to have a talk with the teen later about responsibility and safety. When she wasn't in the infirmary for being attacked after wandering around on her own, of course.
"Um," Dawn said, hopping up from the bed, "we have to go, um, study some stuff."
Tara rolled her eyes. "I'm injured, not stupid, Dawn."
Dawn flashed her a grin and practically dragged the twins out of the room.
Tara closed her eyes and willed the headache that was forming to go away. If Dawn was anything like Willow had described Buffy at her age, she'd be out of the school within the hour. She sat back and rested a hand on the letter in her lap, debating whether or not she was too tired to deal with it at the moment.
Her decision was made for her when the infirmary door opened yet again, this time quietly. A light entered the room, followed by a tired looking former librarian.
"How are you doing?" Giles asked as he stood just inside the doorway.
Tara smiled weakly, "Dawn just left."
Giles laughed. "Ah yes, so I imagine you're tired."
Tara nodded.
"Are you up for one more visitor?"
Tara nodded again, curious as to who else wanted to see her.
Giles disappeared outside. When he returned, he was followed by someone whom Tara had assumed she wouldn't see until she returned to California.
"Hey Anya," Tara greeted the former demon in surprise.
"Oh, you look horrible," Anya replied, rushing past Giles to take a seat at the foot of the bed.
"Um, what are you doing here?" Tara inquired, wondering if Xander was around too.
"I'm here to help Rupert," she replied.
"Oh." Tara looked up at Giles, who had laid a hand on Anya's shoulder.
He was looking down at Anya with concern.
"Um, is Xander with you?" Tara asked cautiously.
"No he's not," Anya said, frowning.
Tara glanced back up at Giles, who shook his head. When she looked back at Anya, the other girl was studying her with curiosity.
"You're a lesbian," she said.
Tara nodded, wondering if perhaps she had hit her head harder than she thought and this was all just a weird dream.
"But your almost ex-girlfriend used to be in love with Xander," Anya continued.
Tara looked at her quizzically.
She leaned forward and took Tara's hand in hers. "Don't you wish something horrible would happen to him?"
