Few...Its taken me long enough to get onto this chapter. I just haven't had time...spirit week...pep band...and I'm vice president of my class...its all very stressful. And I've got another new story going now, too. Go check it out, but be warned. It's a bit more racy than this one. Anyway, I think its story time.
Angel watched as the men in cloaks approached the house. He had a bad feeling about them; they looked like trouble.
It didn't take long for Angel to discover that they were. The foremost blew the door off and began to enter the house.
Not vampires, Angel thought. Otherwise, they couldn't enter.
The noise had undoubtedly awoken his friends, so Angel decided to take on the lead man himself.
He charged the man from the shadows and punched him in the back of the head. He spun around, hitting the wall and denting it, before collapsing to the floor as an unconscious heap.
Angel had his game face on as Wesley, Gunn, Fred, Lorne, and Whistler came running.
Two more of the eight Death Eaters had entered the house by then. The rest were quick to follow. When one of the Death Eaters noticed the unconscious one, he laughed.
"You really are him, aren't you?" he asked in a thick British accent. "The vampire with a soul? No mortal could have taken out Rookwood so quickly. And I thought that this was going to be a pointless excursion."
"Why the hell are you here?" Angel asked through his fangs. It was so much harder to talk like this.
"We're here as a welcoming committee," the lead man said. "We're here to welcome your corpses to the local cemetery."
He attacked, launching a spell at Angel. Angel ducked it, and leapt in close for a kick. Instantly, the others began a fight of there own. Wesley had the foresight to bring down some weaponry, and now tossed Gunn and Whistler swords.
"They're charmed!" Wesley yelled over the sound of spells. "They can deflect most spells!"
So the battle raged. It was fairly even; Angel would have taken out the Death Eaters in an instant if he hadn't had to duck every few seconds to avoid a spell. The rest of Angel's friends were having similar difficulties; they just couldn't get close enough.
Finally, Angel managed to get a firm hold on one of the Death Eaters. Surrounding the man's head with his hands, Angel twisted, and the mans neck snapped with a sickening crack.
The rest of the Death Eater's retreated, leaving Rookwood unconscious and the other man lying dead.
Angel looked around at his friends. Wesley and Gunn were both bleeding from cuts inflicted by Reductor Curses; Whistler seemed untouched, but he was breathing heavily just the same; Lorne had been hit with a Jelly-Legs Jinx and was having a hard time standing; and Fred was unconscious, hit by a Stunner.
"I hate England," Angel said.
Buffy woke early the next morning. Her quarters were very comfortable - compared with her previous accommodations, they were beyond comfortable.
She rose and walked to her closet, intent on dressing for the day. When she opened her wardrobe, though, she found and assortment of wizards robes.
Buffy looked at the robes appraisingly. She'd never dressed like a wizard before. Deciding not to, she delved into her bag and soon came up with an outfit for the day.
Exciting the room, Buffy discovered quickly that she wasn't the only one up and about. Faith was lounging on one side of the room with several of the new Slayers, and Xander was sitting in a corner, talking to Andrew. Buffy, nodding to Faith, walked over to Xander.
"I don't suppose you could point me in the direction of the cafeteria?" she asked.
Xander smiled. "No cafeteria," he said. Buffy's eyes filled with cold dread. Now Xander laughed. "Now that we're in England, they're called 'dining halls'".
Buffy hit him, lightly. It hurt anyway, but not too much. "Ouch," Xander said, rubbing his arm. "That's still a bit tender. Not all of us heal so quick..."
Buffy instantly regretted it. Though there was no way she could have known that her playful punch would, ultimately, remind Xander of the fight in which Anya had been killed, she still felt guilty about the sick look that passed like a shadow across Xander's face. It was gone quickly, but Buffy knew what the look meant. She'd seen it so many times...in her own mirror, some of those times.
She patted his shoulder. "It's all right, Xander," she said. "She...she died like a hero."
His eyes welled up, but he didn't cry. With a shuddering intake of breath, he pushed his feelings away and stood. "Why don't we go grab some crumpets?" he asked.
Buffy smiled, but inwardly, she was still concerned about Xander. They exited the barracks and went back up to the castle. "You know, the whole crumpet thing is just a big stereotype, " Buffy said, conversationally.
Xander grinned at her, but didn't say anything. Unable to figure out what, exactly, was causing the look, Buffy finally had to bite. "What?" she asked.
Xander laughed openly. "You sounded a lot like Willow for a second there."
I did? Buffy asked herself. "Well, I guess she's rubbing off on me."
Xander's smile faded. "Who would have guessed..." he muttered.
Again Buffy was puzzled. "Who would have guessed....what?"
Xander looked at her, and he seemed serious. "That Willow is a gay witch, you're the leader of a super powerful army of Slayers, and I'm the guy along for the ride who recently had an eye poked out of existence."
Buffy sighed. "Deal with it," she said. They laughed, turning a corner and entering the Hall at the same time.
Both of them stopped laughing abruptly, their collective breath caught in their throats. The Great Hall was a magnificent display.
They entered and Dumbledore waved them up to the highest table. It was mostly empty, though several adult wizards populated it.
"Hello, Buffy, Xander," Dumbledore said with a wide grin. "Did you find your accommodations comfortable?"
Both of them laughed. "I'd say there's a big 'yes' waiting for you in the wings," Xander said.
Dumbledore shot him a puzzled look.
Now Buffy was laughing almost uncontrollably. "He means 'yes', Professor."
Dumbledore shook his head, smiling broadly. They ate. Both Buffy and Xander were delighted by the food - it was excellent.
Finishing, Dumbledore stood. So did Buffy and Xander. "Well, now that we have eaten, would you like to tell me why it is, exactly, that I've brought you to my school?"
Buffy could have hit herself. Before she could, Dumbledore cut in. "Perhaps this conversation should wait for a closed door. My office is this way..." and he led the two out.
They walked in silence, none knowing what, exactly, to say in public, when the topic on everyone's mind was not meant for the public. Soon, they reached a gargoyle. Buffy and Xander looked confused, but Dumbledore seemed perfectly calm.
"Sugarcane," he said, clearly, and the gargoyle removed itself, revealing an archway and stairs.
Ignoring her surprise at the doorway, Buffy entered with Xander. Together, they sat down in front of Dumbledore's desk. He crossed the room quickly and sat, as well.
Buffy sighed deeply. "There are a few things you have to understand before I can make my request," she said, and proceeded to relate to Dumbledore the old story of the Slayer.
"Remarkable," Dumbledore said. "Our world does know of vampires, but we never heard about a single girl given power to kill them."
"It gets better," Buffy said. She then went ahead and told Dumbledore her own story: her calling in LA, moving to Sunnydale, getting killed by the Master and subsequently resurrected by Xander, Angel, Faith, the Mayor, Glory, Dawn, Riley, the Initiative, Willow's problems with the magic, and finally the events of the past year.
"In order to defeat the First, we changed the rules," she explained. "Willow is incredibly powerful; she used and ancient Slayer's Scythe to give every potential Slayer in the world the power. And now hundreds, perhaps thousands, of girls across the globe have all the abilities of Slayers."
She halted for a moment. "We have no way, alone, of finding them."
Dumbledore nodded. "And you wish for me to use the Locator to find your Slayers?"
"That was what I had hoped," Buffy said. She crossed her toes.
Dumbledore seemed pensive for a moment. He examined Buffy closely, then Xander. "I think perhaps I can help."
Buffy uttered a sound that was halfway between a cheer and a sigh of relief. Then she apologized for shouting.
"No problems," Dumbledore said. "Of course, adjusting the Locator to search for Slayers will take some time; but not too much. All things considered, I think that the Locator will be able to begin searching for Slayers by early September."
Buffy almost cried. Even after seeing so many of the wonders of the wizarding world, she hadn't been sure that Dumbledore could help her. Now she was.
"Thank you," she said.
"You're most welcome. Now, if you would care for some lunch...." He trialed off.
"Lunch?" Buffy asked, blankly. Then she saw a clock on the wall. They'd been in Dumbledore's office for nearly six hours.
All of sudden, both Buffy and Xander discovered that they were starving. "Lunch would be great," Buffy said quickly.
Dumbledore laughed, and lead the way out of his office.
Ginny Weasley rested comfortably in her room. She was reading, as was per usual; though perhaps not as much as Hermione, Ginny had always enjoyed a good book.
This particular novel she found to be quite entertaining. Some muggles entertained humorous notions about magic; Mr. Brooks, in particular, was very funny. The idea of magic as addictive...it was funny.
That wasn't really the point and Ginny knew it. Power was the true addiction. But she didn't dwell on that; the book was simply too funny for her to be put off.
Most unfortunately, she was. There was a knock at her door. She quickly considered feigning sleep, but discarded the idea just as quickly. "Come in," she said.
It was Hermione. "Can I come in?" she asked.
Ginny shrugged, putting her book aside. "Why not?"
Hermione sat down next to Ginny on the bed. "Well, it might have something to do with the way you've been isolating yourself," she said.
Ginny blushed, but decided to play dumb. "What are you talking about?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh, Ginny, its so obvious that it hurts. You miss him."
Ginny's face twitched slightly. She didn't need to be told who 'he' was - there was only one boy that she really missed at the moment.
"So what if I do?" Ginny asked, a bit defensively. "You miss him too, don't you?"
Hermione smiled. "I'd say that I miss Harry in quite a different way than you do."
Ginny blushed again. Hermione's smile faded slightly. "That's not it, though, is it? I mean, that's not all that's bothering you, is it?"
There was a long pause. Ginny contemplated telling Hermione about her....unique problem. Hermione was Ginny's best friend, though she was a year younger than the brainy girl.
"No...I guess that I just miss Mum..." she said.
Hermione nodded, and she hugged Ginny. Ginny smiled. "Thanks for being here, Hermione," she said.
"My pleasure," Hermione responded, and they both smiled.
Does that seem a bit rushed? Considering how long its taken, it shouldn't, but hey. I'm losing interest in this fic quickly, and I'm thinking of changing the direction a bit. You know, go more for a swords and sorcery war fic than a classic Buffy or HP deal. What do you think? Leave me your ideas on the Review space, or email me at vyo476@yahoo.com. Please.
Angel watched as the men in cloaks approached the house. He had a bad feeling about them; they looked like trouble.
It didn't take long for Angel to discover that they were. The foremost blew the door off and began to enter the house.
Not vampires, Angel thought. Otherwise, they couldn't enter.
The noise had undoubtedly awoken his friends, so Angel decided to take on the lead man himself.
He charged the man from the shadows and punched him in the back of the head. He spun around, hitting the wall and denting it, before collapsing to the floor as an unconscious heap.
Angel had his game face on as Wesley, Gunn, Fred, Lorne, and Whistler came running.
Two more of the eight Death Eaters had entered the house by then. The rest were quick to follow. When one of the Death Eaters noticed the unconscious one, he laughed.
"You really are him, aren't you?" he asked in a thick British accent. "The vampire with a soul? No mortal could have taken out Rookwood so quickly. And I thought that this was going to be a pointless excursion."
"Why the hell are you here?" Angel asked through his fangs. It was so much harder to talk like this.
"We're here as a welcoming committee," the lead man said. "We're here to welcome your corpses to the local cemetery."
He attacked, launching a spell at Angel. Angel ducked it, and leapt in close for a kick. Instantly, the others began a fight of there own. Wesley had the foresight to bring down some weaponry, and now tossed Gunn and Whistler swords.
"They're charmed!" Wesley yelled over the sound of spells. "They can deflect most spells!"
So the battle raged. It was fairly even; Angel would have taken out the Death Eaters in an instant if he hadn't had to duck every few seconds to avoid a spell. The rest of Angel's friends were having similar difficulties; they just couldn't get close enough.
Finally, Angel managed to get a firm hold on one of the Death Eaters. Surrounding the man's head with his hands, Angel twisted, and the mans neck snapped with a sickening crack.
The rest of the Death Eater's retreated, leaving Rookwood unconscious and the other man lying dead.
Angel looked around at his friends. Wesley and Gunn were both bleeding from cuts inflicted by Reductor Curses; Whistler seemed untouched, but he was breathing heavily just the same; Lorne had been hit with a Jelly-Legs Jinx and was having a hard time standing; and Fred was unconscious, hit by a Stunner.
"I hate England," Angel said.
Buffy woke early the next morning. Her quarters were very comfortable - compared with her previous accommodations, they were beyond comfortable.
She rose and walked to her closet, intent on dressing for the day. When she opened her wardrobe, though, she found and assortment of wizards robes.
Buffy looked at the robes appraisingly. She'd never dressed like a wizard before. Deciding not to, she delved into her bag and soon came up with an outfit for the day.
Exciting the room, Buffy discovered quickly that she wasn't the only one up and about. Faith was lounging on one side of the room with several of the new Slayers, and Xander was sitting in a corner, talking to Andrew. Buffy, nodding to Faith, walked over to Xander.
"I don't suppose you could point me in the direction of the cafeteria?" she asked.
Xander smiled. "No cafeteria," he said. Buffy's eyes filled with cold dread. Now Xander laughed. "Now that we're in England, they're called 'dining halls'".
Buffy hit him, lightly. It hurt anyway, but not too much. "Ouch," Xander said, rubbing his arm. "That's still a bit tender. Not all of us heal so quick..."
Buffy instantly regretted it. Though there was no way she could have known that her playful punch would, ultimately, remind Xander of the fight in which Anya had been killed, she still felt guilty about the sick look that passed like a shadow across Xander's face. It was gone quickly, but Buffy knew what the look meant. She'd seen it so many times...in her own mirror, some of those times.
She patted his shoulder. "It's all right, Xander," she said. "She...she died like a hero."
His eyes welled up, but he didn't cry. With a shuddering intake of breath, he pushed his feelings away and stood. "Why don't we go grab some crumpets?" he asked.
Buffy smiled, but inwardly, she was still concerned about Xander. They exited the barracks and went back up to the castle. "You know, the whole crumpet thing is just a big stereotype, " Buffy said, conversationally.
Xander grinned at her, but didn't say anything. Unable to figure out what, exactly, was causing the look, Buffy finally had to bite. "What?" she asked.
Xander laughed openly. "You sounded a lot like Willow for a second there."
I did? Buffy asked herself. "Well, I guess she's rubbing off on me."
Xander's smile faded. "Who would have guessed..." he muttered.
Again Buffy was puzzled. "Who would have guessed....what?"
Xander looked at her, and he seemed serious. "That Willow is a gay witch, you're the leader of a super powerful army of Slayers, and I'm the guy along for the ride who recently had an eye poked out of existence."
Buffy sighed. "Deal with it," she said. They laughed, turning a corner and entering the Hall at the same time.
Both of them stopped laughing abruptly, their collective breath caught in their throats. The Great Hall was a magnificent display.
They entered and Dumbledore waved them up to the highest table. It was mostly empty, though several adult wizards populated it.
"Hello, Buffy, Xander," Dumbledore said with a wide grin. "Did you find your accommodations comfortable?"
Both of them laughed. "I'd say there's a big 'yes' waiting for you in the wings," Xander said.
Dumbledore shot him a puzzled look.
Now Buffy was laughing almost uncontrollably. "He means 'yes', Professor."
Dumbledore shook his head, smiling broadly. They ate. Both Buffy and Xander were delighted by the food - it was excellent.
Finishing, Dumbledore stood. So did Buffy and Xander. "Well, now that we have eaten, would you like to tell me why it is, exactly, that I've brought you to my school?"
Buffy could have hit herself. Before she could, Dumbledore cut in. "Perhaps this conversation should wait for a closed door. My office is this way..." and he led the two out.
They walked in silence, none knowing what, exactly, to say in public, when the topic on everyone's mind was not meant for the public. Soon, they reached a gargoyle. Buffy and Xander looked confused, but Dumbledore seemed perfectly calm.
"Sugarcane," he said, clearly, and the gargoyle removed itself, revealing an archway and stairs.
Ignoring her surprise at the doorway, Buffy entered with Xander. Together, they sat down in front of Dumbledore's desk. He crossed the room quickly and sat, as well.
Buffy sighed deeply. "There are a few things you have to understand before I can make my request," she said, and proceeded to relate to Dumbledore the old story of the Slayer.
"Remarkable," Dumbledore said. "Our world does know of vampires, but we never heard about a single girl given power to kill them."
"It gets better," Buffy said. She then went ahead and told Dumbledore her own story: her calling in LA, moving to Sunnydale, getting killed by the Master and subsequently resurrected by Xander, Angel, Faith, the Mayor, Glory, Dawn, Riley, the Initiative, Willow's problems with the magic, and finally the events of the past year.
"In order to defeat the First, we changed the rules," she explained. "Willow is incredibly powerful; she used and ancient Slayer's Scythe to give every potential Slayer in the world the power. And now hundreds, perhaps thousands, of girls across the globe have all the abilities of Slayers."
She halted for a moment. "We have no way, alone, of finding them."
Dumbledore nodded. "And you wish for me to use the Locator to find your Slayers?"
"That was what I had hoped," Buffy said. She crossed her toes.
Dumbledore seemed pensive for a moment. He examined Buffy closely, then Xander. "I think perhaps I can help."
Buffy uttered a sound that was halfway between a cheer and a sigh of relief. Then she apologized for shouting.
"No problems," Dumbledore said. "Of course, adjusting the Locator to search for Slayers will take some time; but not too much. All things considered, I think that the Locator will be able to begin searching for Slayers by early September."
Buffy almost cried. Even after seeing so many of the wonders of the wizarding world, she hadn't been sure that Dumbledore could help her. Now she was.
"Thank you," she said.
"You're most welcome. Now, if you would care for some lunch...." He trialed off.
"Lunch?" Buffy asked, blankly. Then she saw a clock on the wall. They'd been in Dumbledore's office for nearly six hours.
All of sudden, both Buffy and Xander discovered that they were starving. "Lunch would be great," Buffy said quickly.
Dumbledore laughed, and lead the way out of his office.
Ginny Weasley rested comfortably in her room. She was reading, as was per usual; though perhaps not as much as Hermione, Ginny had always enjoyed a good book.
This particular novel she found to be quite entertaining. Some muggles entertained humorous notions about magic; Mr. Brooks, in particular, was very funny. The idea of magic as addictive...it was funny.
That wasn't really the point and Ginny knew it. Power was the true addiction. But she didn't dwell on that; the book was simply too funny for her to be put off.
Most unfortunately, she was. There was a knock at her door. She quickly considered feigning sleep, but discarded the idea just as quickly. "Come in," she said.
It was Hermione. "Can I come in?" she asked.
Ginny shrugged, putting her book aside. "Why not?"
Hermione sat down next to Ginny on the bed. "Well, it might have something to do with the way you've been isolating yourself," she said.
Ginny blushed, but decided to play dumb. "What are you talking about?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh, Ginny, its so obvious that it hurts. You miss him."
Ginny's face twitched slightly. She didn't need to be told who 'he' was - there was only one boy that she really missed at the moment.
"So what if I do?" Ginny asked, a bit defensively. "You miss him too, don't you?"
Hermione smiled. "I'd say that I miss Harry in quite a different way than you do."
Ginny blushed again. Hermione's smile faded slightly. "That's not it, though, is it? I mean, that's not all that's bothering you, is it?"
There was a long pause. Ginny contemplated telling Hermione about her....unique problem. Hermione was Ginny's best friend, though she was a year younger than the brainy girl.
"No...I guess that I just miss Mum..." she said.
Hermione nodded, and she hugged Ginny. Ginny smiled. "Thanks for being here, Hermione," she said.
"My pleasure," Hermione responded, and they both smiled.
Does that seem a bit rushed? Considering how long its taken, it shouldn't, but hey. I'm losing interest in this fic quickly, and I'm thinking of changing the direction a bit. You know, go more for a swords and sorcery war fic than a classic Buffy or HP deal. What do you think? Leave me your ideas on the Review space, or email me at vyo476@yahoo.com. Please.