I've made personal history. This is the first chapter that I didn't start until after the last was published. I fear that I'm losing my touch. If you have any suggestions or ANYTHING that you think could aid this story, feel free. Please.
It was dark when the small fleet of carpets arrived at Hogwarts. The carpets themselves were a bit worn out from the journey, causing them to land rather bumpily.
Willow and Xander climbed painfully to their feet. Buffy had retained her sense of balance during the landing and had been able to stand immediately.
"Wow..." she said, trailing off. Hogwarts was quite possibly the most exhilarating thing she'd ever seen.
"Yeah, I second that wow, and raise you an 'oh my,'" Xander said, also transfixed.
Dumbledore, along with Kennedy, approached them from behind. "Do you like my humble adobe?" he said, grinning slightly.
"Yeah...nice," Buffy said, rather weakly.
The rest of the Slayers were also experiencing awe at the sight of the huge castle. Harry took a moment to stare with them.
No matter how much he liked the Burrow, and no matter how long he'd lived at Privet Drive, Hogwarts had always been Harry's home. The castle was a dangerous place to be sometimes, but Harry knew that he would rather be there than any other place on Earth.
Or off Earth, for that matter.
Dumbledore allowed the group a moment to adjust to the sight of the castle. Then, he said, gently, "Perhaps we should get up to the castle and get inside. It will soon be raining, and Hogwarts rain is just as wet as other rain."
Buffy nodded, and motioned for Faith. "Okay, everyone, lets get going."
Faith joined Buffy and Dumbledore as they walked up to the immense structure. "What's up, B?" she asked.
"We need to work out the sleeping arrangements," Dumbledore said. "We've been adding to Hogwarts over the last few weeks; war preparations. There are five unused barracks on the opposite side of the castle. We've been meaning to garrison several units of goblins and Auror's there, but you are welcome to them in the interim."
Faith looked to Buffy. "Sounds good to me. Just one thing: what's an interim?"
"British for the right now," Buffy said. "We'll have to move out eventually."
"What ev. Shouldn't be a problem, right?" Faith asked. "I'm sure we'll come up with something eventually."
The skies were growing darker as the walked. Harry, despite his better manners, was eavesdropping, and he was getting an earful.
Goblins and Aurors? At Hogwarts? He thought. Hogwarts at war was something he was going to have to get used to.
Harry returned his attention to Dumbledore. "Construction on more barracks continues. By November, we should be able to house all of your Slayers. That is, if you don't mind such cramped quarters..."
Faith and Buffy looked at each other and laughed hysterically.
Dumbledore looked at them sideways.
"We've been living in a single house, all of us, for the last few months," Buffy explained. "Your barracks will probably feel like the Four Seasons."
They entered the castle. After the obligatory awed glances at the moving portraits, and a slightly tense meeting with the Bloody Baron, the Slayers arrived at the south exit. Harry had never known of the south exit before, and he was surprised that neither Fred nor George had ever mentioned it.
Dumbledore pointed out onto the lawns. "There they are," he said.
Buffy and the others looked out. What they saw were two squat buildings which seemed to be the size of outhouses.
"Uhh..." Buffy said. "Are you sure that we'll all fit in there?" she asked.
Dumbledore smiled. "Yes, I'm positive. Just wait."
Buffy shrugged. Perhaps they lead downstairs?
They walked out to the small buildings and filed inside. The sight that met them inside was just on this side of shocking.
The tiny huts were actually three stories high. The barracks were divided into small individual rooms, with every two sharing a bathroom and a kitchen. The whole building seemed to be at least three hundred feet long.
They all looked around in astonishment. Unsurprisingly, it was Willow who got it first.
"You enlarged them with magic!" she said excitedly. Dumbledore nodded.
"Make yourselves comfortable. Come on, Harry, lets leave them to it."
They left.
The Slayers all stood around for a moment, staring at their housing. So many new things...Buffy thought. It was all getting overwhelming.
Surprisingly, it was Giles who brought them all out of it. "Come on, people," he said. "Lets get quartered, shall we?"
As they wandered about, searching out rooms, Buffy and Faith met up and surveyed their prospects.
"Not bad," Faith said. "Joint like this takes them a couple of weeks to build? And then do the shrinkage mojo? These guys are good."
"Yeah," Buffy said, but she was distracted. A door at the end of the hall read 'CIC'.
"What's 'CIC'?" Buffy asked.
"Commander in Chief," Faith explained. "You know, the leader. That's you, B."
Buffy nodded. "Yeah, I guess it is."
They approached the door with, admittedly, a bit of apprehension. The CIC quarters were fairly large, thought they were only two stories, rather than three. There was a big desk, next to a fireplace. Two other rooms adjoined it, apparently only accessible through the bedroom. The first was a kitchen; the second was a bathroom.
"Nice digs," Faith said, and left.
Buffy nodded. Nice, indeed. As soon as the rest of the Slayers were quartered, Buffy climbed into her four poster bed and promptly fell asleep.
Harry walked up to the castle with Dumbledore. They walked in silence.
Finally, Harry couldn't take it any longer. "Sir...they're building barracks at Hogwarts?"
Dumbledore regarded Harry as they walked. "Yes, Harry. In light of the Ministry's...epiphany...and the events at the AWA, it was deemed necessary. There's a lot you could learn from these soldiers."
Harry considered for a moment. He hadn't thought much about the DA since its discovery and subsequent disbanding last year. Now that he thought about it, Harry was eager to begin teaching again, but he wasn't sure if it was needed, or if he would be allowed to, anyway.
They entered the castle and took to the stairs. "Professor Dumbledore..." Harry began.
"Yes, Harry," Dumbledore replied.
"I was wondering if...if the DA would be allowed to restart, once the school year begins again," Harry asked, nervously.
Dumbledore considered, again. "I don't see why not," he said, and Harry sighed inwardly. "Now that our Ministry troubles are at an end, I think that your defense group might become rather popular."
Dumbledore stopped. It was a second before Harry realized that they were at the entrance to Gryffindor Tower. "The new password is "Brightest Star", Harry. Good night, Harry," Dumbledore said, and he left.
Harry looked at Dumbledore's retreating back. Then, tiredly, he gave the Fat Lady the password and went up to bed.
Craig sat in a tree, staring up at the stars. Hogwarts was so dark...he could see more stars here than he could back in America.
He sat in silence and let the stars tell their stories: stories of pain, stories of joy, stories of defeat, and stories of victory. And hope. Always hope.
Even now, the voices were nagging him. But stargazing had always made them a bit softer...and sometimes, he could even ignore them. Tonight was one of those nights.
In fact, it was the first night since the destruction of the AWA that Craig had managed to ignore the voices. Some of his classmates had simply refused to stop talking his ears off.
So Craig sat, and heard the stories of the stars. He saw the North Star, shining brightly as ever, and it seemed to be speaking to him, too. Sirius had never triggered a voice before, but now it was definitely speaking to him. The star pulsed as the voice talked and talked. It talked about Harry Potter.
Craig nodded. He knew who Harry Potter was.
The star twinkled in a smile. The voice seemed at happy that Harry was okay. It talked about pain and hardship, but also of the boy's worth.
Craig would have to test that.
Then he shut the voice off. It was still there, of course - even the nicest of them wouldn't go away when he told them to - but he stopped listening. Some of its words echoed in his head, though.
Craig went back to his stargazing, though he still thought of the voices' words. Harry Potter...Whistler had once talked about a boy named Harry Potter. And Craig had met the boy, hadn't he? Briefly.
He had done okay for himself, this Harry Potter. So far, anyway. He was a survivor. Craig chuckled. He'd not only survived, but he was still able to live...that was something.
He was one of three things, Craig decided: incredibly strong, incredibly lucky, or incredibly stupid. Or perhaps some combination of the three.
Craig felt the voices rise up. A few of them had something to say on the subject of Harry Potter. Craig chose, once again, not to listen. He wanted to formulate his own opinion on Harry Potter, not get someone else's.
The branch was fairly comfortable. Craig sighed. If only life could be this simple all the time. No one else around to make the noise unbearable...a clear night...a comfortable tree...and a voice that didn't seem intent on making his life miserable. This was one of those moments that Craig lived for.
As he waited for half-sleep to take him, Craig considered the fact that he would often be sleeping here. Comfortable, quiet, and secluded, and he was happy about it. No mistaking that.
He was asleep.
Angel and the gang stood silently in front of a large, abandoned house. It was definitely old, and it definitely hadn't been inhabited by humans in a long, long time.
Wesley felt distraught over seeing his old house like this. "Home, sweet home," he said. "Our home, that is, at least for the next few weeks," he added.
Angel walked up to the house and was about to step inside, when he was thrown backwards.
"Ouch," he said, from the lying position he was put into. "Wes, you want to give me a hand with this?"
Wesley, who was suppressing a chuckle, said, "I invite you into my home, Angel."
Angel climbed to his feet again and led the others inside. The house was even larger on the inside then the out - it felt a bit like the Hyperion.
"Nice digs," Whistler said. "I'm exhausted - I think I'll hit the sack."
They all drifted slowly off to sleep. First Fred, then Gunn, Wesley, and Lorne all went up to claim sleeping space in the large house. Only Angel was left down in the entrance hall, staring out at the street.
Only Angel could see the approach of the Death Eaters.
Ten chapters! Kick ass...bit of a cliffie, I know, but you'll survive. Angel and his friends might not, but...oops. Said too much. I'll just leave you to mull that over in the back of your head. R/R...Station!
It was dark when the small fleet of carpets arrived at Hogwarts. The carpets themselves were a bit worn out from the journey, causing them to land rather bumpily.
Willow and Xander climbed painfully to their feet. Buffy had retained her sense of balance during the landing and had been able to stand immediately.
"Wow..." she said, trailing off. Hogwarts was quite possibly the most exhilarating thing she'd ever seen.
"Yeah, I second that wow, and raise you an 'oh my,'" Xander said, also transfixed.
Dumbledore, along with Kennedy, approached them from behind. "Do you like my humble adobe?" he said, grinning slightly.
"Yeah...nice," Buffy said, rather weakly.
The rest of the Slayers were also experiencing awe at the sight of the huge castle. Harry took a moment to stare with them.
No matter how much he liked the Burrow, and no matter how long he'd lived at Privet Drive, Hogwarts had always been Harry's home. The castle was a dangerous place to be sometimes, but Harry knew that he would rather be there than any other place on Earth.
Or off Earth, for that matter.
Dumbledore allowed the group a moment to adjust to the sight of the castle. Then, he said, gently, "Perhaps we should get up to the castle and get inside. It will soon be raining, and Hogwarts rain is just as wet as other rain."
Buffy nodded, and motioned for Faith. "Okay, everyone, lets get going."
Faith joined Buffy and Dumbledore as they walked up to the immense structure. "What's up, B?" she asked.
"We need to work out the sleeping arrangements," Dumbledore said. "We've been adding to Hogwarts over the last few weeks; war preparations. There are five unused barracks on the opposite side of the castle. We've been meaning to garrison several units of goblins and Auror's there, but you are welcome to them in the interim."
Faith looked to Buffy. "Sounds good to me. Just one thing: what's an interim?"
"British for the right now," Buffy said. "We'll have to move out eventually."
"What ev. Shouldn't be a problem, right?" Faith asked. "I'm sure we'll come up with something eventually."
The skies were growing darker as the walked. Harry, despite his better manners, was eavesdropping, and he was getting an earful.
Goblins and Aurors? At Hogwarts? He thought. Hogwarts at war was something he was going to have to get used to.
Harry returned his attention to Dumbledore. "Construction on more barracks continues. By November, we should be able to house all of your Slayers. That is, if you don't mind such cramped quarters..."
Faith and Buffy looked at each other and laughed hysterically.
Dumbledore looked at them sideways.
"We've been living in a single house, all of us, for the last few months," Buffy explained. "Your barracks will probably feel like the Four Seasons."
They entered the castle. After the obligatory awed glances at the moving portraits, and a slightly tense meeting with the Bloody Baron, the Slayers arrived at the south exit. Harry had never known of the south exit before, and he was surprised that neither Fred nor George had ever mentioned it.
Dumbledore pointed out onto the lawns. "There they are," he said.
Buffy and the others looked out. What they saw were two squat buildings which seemed to be the size of outhouses.
"Uhh..." Buffy said. "Are you sure that we'll all fit in there?" she asked.
Dumbledore smiled. "Yes, I'm positive. Just wait."
Buffy shrugged. Perhaps they lead downstairs?
They walked out to the small buildings and filed inside. The sight that met them inside was just on this side of shocking.
The tiny huts were actually three stories high. The barracks were divided into small individual rooms, with every two sharing a bathroom and a kitchen. The whole building seemed to be at least three hundred feet long.
They all looked around in astonishment. Unsurprisingly, it was Willow who got it first.
"You enlarged them with magic!" she said excitedly. Dumbledore nodded.
"Make yourselves comfortable. Come on, Harry, lets leave them to it."
They left.
The Slayers all stood around for a moment, staring at their housing. So many new things...Buffy thought. It was all getting overwhelming.
Surprisingly, it was Giles who brought them all out of it. "Come on, people," he said. "Lets get quartered, shall we?"
As they wandered about, searching out rooms, Buffy and Faith met up and surveyed their prospects.
"Not bad," Faith said. "Joint like this takes them a couple of weeks to build? And then do the shrinkage mojo? These guys are good."
"Yeah," Buffy said, but she was distracted. A door at the end of the hall read 'CIC'.
"What's 'CIC'?" Buffy asked.
"Commander in Chief," Faith explained. "You know, the leader. That's you, B."
Buffy nodded. "Yeah, I guess it is."
They approached the door with, admittedly, a bit of apprehension. The CIC quarters were fairly large, thought they were only two stories, rather than three. There was a big desk, next to a fireplace. Two other rooms adjoined it, apparently only accessible through the bedroom. The first was a kitchen; the second was a bathroom.
"Nice digs," Faith said, and left.
Buffy nodded. Nice, indeed. As soon as the rest of the Slayers were quartered, Buffy climbed into her four poster bed and promptly fell asleep.
Harry walked up to the castle with Dumbledore. They walked in silence.
Finally, Harry couldn't take it any longer. "Sir...they're building barracks at Hogwarts?"
Dumbledore regarded Harry as they walked. "Yes, Harry. In light of the Ministry's...epiphany...and the events at the AWA, it was deemed necessary. There's a lot you could learn from these soldiers."
Harry considered for a moment. He hadn't thought much about the DA since its discovery and subsequent disbanding last year. Now that he thought about it, Harry was eager to begin teaching again, but he wasn't sure if it was needed, or if he would be allowed to, anyway.
They entered the castle and took to the stairs. "Professor Dumbledore..." Harry began.
"Yes, Harry," Dumbledore replied.
"I was wondering if...if the DA would be allowed to restart, once the school year begins again," Harry asked, nervously.
Dumbledore considered, again. "I don't see why not," he said, and Harry sighed inwardly. "Now that our Ministry troubles are at an end, I think that your defense group might become rather popular."
Dumbledore stopped. It was a second before Harry realized that they were at the entrance to Gryffindor Tower. "The new password is "Brightest Star", Harry. Good night, Harry," Dumbledore said, and he left.
Harry looked at Dumbledore's retreating back. Then, tiredly, he gave the Fat Lady the password and went up to bed.
Craig sat in a tree, staring up at the stars. Hogwarts was so dark...he could see more stars here than he could back in America.
He sat in silence and let the stars tell their stories: stories of pain, stories of joy, stories of defeat, and stories of victory. And hope. Always hope.
Even now, the voices were nagging him. But stargazing had always made them a bit softer...and sometimes, he could even ignore them. Tonight was one of those nights.
In fact, it was the first night since the destruction of the AWA that Craig had managed to ignore the voices. Some of his classmates had simply refused to stop talking his ears off.
So Craig sat, and heard the stories of the stars. He saw the North Star, shining brightly as ever, and it seemed to be speaking to him, too. Sirius had never triggered a voice before, but now it was definitely speaking to him. The star pulsed as the voice talked and talked. It talked about Harry Potter.
Craig nodded. He knew who Harry Potter was.
The star twinkled in a smile. The voice seemed at happy that Harry was okay. It talked about pain and hardship, but also of the boy's worth.
Craig would have to test that.
Then he shut the voice off. It was still there, of course - even the nicest of them wouldn't go away when he told them to - but he stopped listening. Some of its words echoed in his head, though.
Craig went back to his stargazing, though he still thought of the voices' words. Harry Potter...Whistler had once talked about a boy named Harry Potter. And Craig had met the boy, hadn't he? Briefly.
He had done okay for himself, this Harry Potter. So far, anyway. He was a survivor. Craig chuckled. He'd not only survived, but he was still able to live...that was something.
He was one of three things, Craig decided: incredibly strong, incredibly lucky, or incredibly stupid. Or perhaps some combination of the three.
Craig felt the voices rise up. A few of them had something to say on the subject of Harry Potter. Craig chose, once again, not to listen. He wanted to formulate his own opinion on Harry Potter, not get someone else's.
The branch was fairly comfortable. Craig sighed. If only life could be this simple all the time. No one else around to make the noise unbearable...a clear night...a comfortable tree...and a voice that didn't seem intent on making his life miserable. This was one of those moments that Craig lived for.
As he waited for half-sleep to take him, Craig considered the fact that he would often be sleeping here. Comfortable, quiet, and secluded, and he was happy about it. No mistaking that.
He was asleep.
Angel and the gang stood silently in front of a large, abandoned house. It was definitely old, and it definitely hadn't been inhabited by humans in a long, long time.
Wesley felt distraught over seeing his old house like this. "Home, sweet home," he said. "Our home, that is, at least for the next few weeks," he added.
Angel walked up to the house and was about to step inside, when he was thrown backwards.
"Ouch," he said, from the lying position he was put into. "Wes, you want to give me a hand with this?"
Wesley, who was suppressing a chuckle, said, "I invite you into my home, Angel."
Angel climbed to his feet again and led the others inside. The house was even larger on the inside then the out - it felt a bit like the Hyperion.
"Nice digs," Whistler said. "I'm exhausted - I think I'll hit the sack."
They all drifted slowly off to sleep. First Fred, then Gunn, Wesley, and Lorne all went up to claim sleeping space in the large house. Only Angel was left down in the entrance hall, staring out at the street.
Only Angel could see the approach of the Death Eaters.
Ten chapters! Kick ass...bit of a cliffie, I know, but you'll survive. Angel and his friends might not, but...oops. Said too much. I'll just leave you to mull that over in the back of your head. R/R...Station!