The end is nigh...
Another round of question-answer... hopefully this'll be the last. I've also decided on 35 chapters... so technically, 6 to go.
Who got the borrowed magicks and why?
Technically, only three people: Buffy, Faith and Dawn. Buffy needed the mojo to teach her class. Faith needed the mojo to uphold the "defense" that Willow put aruond Azkaban. And Dawn needs mojo for school. Although I think Giles and Wesley would have looked awesome with wands, they don't need them. As for Xander, that's explained in the supplement. Willow has a wand, as does Tara, but they already know the mojo.
What is up with Tara?
I loved her character so much I brought her back from the dead. Her "death" is explained in Chapter 24, A Walk in the Clouds. Right now I'm keeping them at a holding pattern... because they'll be needed before the end. Harry may be the most powerful wizard for his age and Dumbledore of them all, but you've never seen the might of two powerful pissed off witches before.
I figured out who the Hogwart's Slayer is... I think... right?
Before you just jump in and say "It's HER!", I need to remind you that the hint was in THIS chapter, although last chapter provided a narrow one too. I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just saying stop and think... could she POSSIBLY be a Slayer?
Now on with the story... and look, we're jumping in! And I'm sorry to say... there is a cliffhanger.. sorry!
- - - - -
Chapter 29
Suffer the Bold
- - - - -
Buffy was called out of her suite one morning to attend a meeting with Dumbledore and Aurors from the Ministry who were arriving with news. Dumbledore has asked that she arrive alone so the moment that Willow and Tara disappeared out into the corridor, she rose and dressed quickly before taking the long route to his office.
The Headmaster was alone when she arrived. "Sir."
"They will be here in a short while," he said kindly, gesturing at a chair. "Have a seat, Professor."
Buffy sat.
"I wished to speak to you alone before any of your associates could come, because they need to hear what is happening as well. I have sent for Ms. Rosenberg and Ms. Maclay and they will be here momentarily. I believe your friends from the Ministry will also be present. But I wanted to first discuss with you your course of action."
"All right," Buffy said, her voice wavering slightly. "I'm taking the Slayers through the tunnels to head off the vampire army. I realize that I have been ordering around your students, so I guess it is in my turn to ask you... what are your students going to do?"
"What is best for them?" he answered her with a question. "You are a renowned strategist. I am merely listening to the thoughts of one who might be better suited for a battle than this old man."
Buffy chuckled slightly. "You're the most powerful, most revered, most inspired wizard in this world... it is you who I should bow down to."
"My students will listen to you," he replied, his eyes twinkling. "They know you're doing what is best for them."
Buffy winced, remembering what Xander had said. "I don't want them to die."
"Death is all part of the next great adventure," Dumbledore said heavily. "Without you, these students will die. Because without your knowledge and guidance that you have been so keen on giving them these past nine months, they would never stand a chance."
"I want the purebloods out. I want them to be able to flee into the mountains if necessary," Buffy said swiftly. Dumbledore nodded, then leaned back in his chair. "As for Harry Potter... he will remain at the school. And he will be wearing the amulet, just in case."
"I fear you might be oversighting Voldemort," Dumbledore finally said after a few moments of awkward silence. "Which is why I have asked that the Order of the Phoenix will be reinstated... in a few minutes."
"You are bringing the Order?" Buffy asked in disbelief.
"They will deal with the other dark creatures," Dumbledore said. "I have not been ignorant to all of your planning. I know of other alliances that you have made."
"You probably should," Buffy sighed. "This is, after all, your school."
"Don't underestimate a dark Wizard, Professor," he said in a deep, grave voice. "For I fear that this aggressive move on his part is just a ploy to draw you away from the school."
"Another trap?" Buffy asked skeptically. "This will require some thought."
"Which I have already seen to," he said, beaming. "Ms. Rosenberg and Ms. Maclay will remain behind at the school. You and your associates will do fine without them."
Remembering Willow's uneasiness at leaving the school being defended by teenagers, Buffy knew she had no choice but to accept this. But she also had something to say. Maybe it would convince her that laying these lives on the line was the right thing to do.
"I found at my own school... our city mayor turned out to be a giant demon snake. And when the time came, when the worst possible destiny struck us, we fought. We fought side-by-side, Slayer to student. We defeated that evil because we banded together, because we--" her voice grew choked as she remembered that day. "And I was the only one. The only one that could protect them. Now you have dozens, if not hundreds. One lies within this very school. I have seen her competency, heard her questions, saw it in her eyes that she is the Slayer, only she doesn't know it. The ones who believe they are because they have been tested now know they aren't. This is my destiny. And I will see it through, to the end."
Before Dumbledore could reply, the doors burst open and Willow flew in, Faith and Tara behind her. From Dumbledore's fireplace, figures were stepping out of emerald flames.
"Excellent," he said, smiling in greeting at Remus Lupin, who was the first to step out of the fire. A knock sounded at the door and Faith, standing closest to it, pulled it open to admit several Aurors, Giles, Wesley, Xander and Cordelia. The room was now very crowded as Dumbledore stood up and glanced at Giles. "Mr. Giles, you have the floor."
The room grew silent as Giles approached the desk, replacing the glasses on his face he'd been so keen to clean. "Thank you, Headmaster.
"I have grave news, I'm afraid. You see, the vampire army is drawing nearer and nearer. They will pass into Hogsmeade by nightfall. And they will have overrun the school come morning. The time to act has come. Professor Summers?"
Buffy stepped forward awkwardly, taking the torch Giles had literally passed her. "I will be taking the Slayers down into the tunnels after sunset tonight. Angel and Spike will accompany us. I ask that Giles and Wesley return to the Ministry. I don't want everyone I know and love to die..." She took another deep breath. "Willow and Tara will remain behind to guard this institution in case Voldemort decides to spring another trap. Xander, Cordy... you two can decide what you want to do."
"You already know what I want," Xander said in an even voice. "And I don't think that asking Giles and Wesley to go away is going to help either."
"We're here for you, until the end," Cordelia said with her soft smile.
Buffy's shoulders visibly relaxed as she turned toward Remus. "What is the Order's plan?"
"We intend to follow you through the tunnel," Remus replied. "The Ministry will supply us with enough Aurors to fill the tunnel should any vampires get through. And we know of your other plans."
"Excellent," Buffy said, turning toward Giles. "I know that we haven't always seen eye-to-eye, but if you wish to stay behind and fight with the rest of us... you know how I feel about it."
"I quite imagine you would," Giles said with a sigh. "Wesley and I will remain behind at the school. You sound like you have more than enough bodies inside the tunnels."
"Great," Buffy said, turning toward Faith. "Gather them all. I will need to speak with them in about an hour. Take them into the Great Hall. They might find a last meal will calm their nerves."
"On it," said Faith, who left in a swish of her navy robes.
"What of the Professors, sir?" Buffy finally asked, turning back to Dumbledore. "I know there are several in the Order."
"Severus and Minerva will remain behind at the school," Dumbledore said. "But I believe Hagrid will be with you."
Buffy thought a moment, then grinned. "I'd forgotten." She turned back to the group. "All right, everyone. Willow, Tara, find Harry. Tell him to gather the DA. Tell him everything."
They nodded and too disappeared.
"Xander, Cordy, stay with the Order. I want his back watched, Cor... please don't let anything happen to him."
"Right," Cordelia said.
She turned back toward Dumbledore as people began to leave, some talking, others just walking.
"You have the power to make the difference here," Dumbledore said, gazing into her eyes. "You have my full support."
"And what will the Headmaster do?" Buffy asked softly.
"I will remain at the school and fight to the death if I must," he said, rising at last. "I will ensure you that Professors Flitwick and Sprout will do everything in their power to ensure the purebloods survive."
"I want everyone out if the castle is breached... or else there'll be several hundred more vampires by sunrise," Buffy said earnestly.
"Done."
"I will take my leave now," said Buffy, turning uncertainly to the door. As she walked, she could hear the voices in the corridors below.
"This is really happening..."
"I thought that if I just stayed in that office, it would have all been a dream..."
"This isn't a dream. This is real. They're coming. And the Slayers are the only ones who can stop it."
- - - - -
Harry nearly knocked over his cup of tea as the members of the DA stared at Tara in disbelief.
Next to Tara, Willow stood, looking slightly anxious.
"Tonight?" Ron asked from next to him, his voice strangely high-pitched.
"Tonight," Willow confirmed. On the other side of Ron, Dawn shivered slightly. "Which means that I must now ask that Ron Weasley come with us."
Ron stood up, looking morified. "I want to stay here."
"You've already been taken," said Tara, pointing to the tiny holes on the edge of his neck that not even magic could erase. "If they take you again, you'll turn."
Ron shuddered and moved toward the two women. "All right... but what about my sister?"
Willow turned toward Ginny, who took a step toward Harry and placed a possessive hand on his arm. "The girl stays."
"What?" Ron gasped, as Tara took him by the arm and began to lead him from the Room of Requirement. "No! NO! I won't let her stay behind! She's my sister... no! Ginny! GINNY!"
His voice faded away as two dark figures swooped in on him as he got near the doorway, dragging him outside.
Ginny wiped the tears in her eyes on the sleeves of her robe. Next to her, Harry took her hand. "Be strong, Weasley. Be strong."
Ginny smiled into her sleeve.
Tara returned a moment later. "If a-any of you would like to be on the f-f-first carriage to the mountains, this is your l-last chance. Several of your f-fellow students have also de-de-decided to run. If this castle is breached, you w-will all go, just so you kn-know."
Cho raised her hand.
Willow looked surprised. "Yes?"
"What about us?" Cho asked. "We're not running if the castle is breached, are we?"
Willow and Tara exchanged an uneasy glance. Neither of them said a word. Finally, Willow piped up again. "You may go."
Everyone left, feeling shocked. Hermione was the only one who had a focus about her, for the moment she left the room, she took Harry's arm. "What is it?"
"I need to say goodbye to Ron."
Harry glanced ahead toward Ginny, who was deep in conversation with Hannah Abbott. "Let's go."
"What about her?" Hermione asked, cocking her head toward Ginny as the two backtracked.
"She knows that if she sees him again, she'll leave... and she's not ready for that. Not yet, anyway," Harry replied as the two ran down the stairs. After a few moments, they heard Ron's protests in the corridor.
"Ron!" Hermione shouted, running forward.
"Hermione!" Ron called back.
Harry ran to keep up with them, finally finding that Hermione had thrown herself in Ron's arms. She finally stepped away, her face shining with tears. "I don't know if--"
"I will see you again," he said, placing his hand on her cheek, his fingers brushing her tears away. "I will find you. You can count on it..."
As his two guards pulled him away, Harry stepped forward. "Ron!"
"You can do it, Harry," Ron said, his voice muffled since his back was turned. "That is your destiny. And this appears to be mine."
They both watched Ron as he was taken away.
"Will I ever see him again?" Hermione asked in a tiny voice.
"Someday," Harry said, reaching over and taking her hand. "Even if someday happens to be a hundred years from now."
Hermione looked as though she were about to break down, but reluctantly followed Harry back toward the Gryffindor common room.
Several stories above them, Dawn and the rest of the Ravenclaws were proceeding toward their own common room when a figure swooped down on them. It was Draco.
"Dawn, can I have a minute?"
"Sure," she said, stepping out of the group. "I'll see you guys in a few?"
Cho waved and Dawn stepped around the corner with Draco. "What is it?"
"I've been asked to leave the castle," Draco said in a trembling voice. "My father insisted... he said that my life was in danger... and I know this will sound funny to you, but it doesn't matter. You're going to be here fighting for your life... and I'm going to just run away?"
"Draco," Dawn said gently, "it doesn't matter if you run... I wouldn't blame you if you did. I've been running all my life, and this is my first chance to show that I am someone who will fight to the end. This is, after all, my second apocalypse."
"It isn't fair to leave you behind," he said softly. "Weasley was forced to go... and now Granger is forced to realize that she may never see him again. And I began to think... why can't I be here with you... fighting beside you... and dying if I must?"
"One of us has to live," Dawn replied, tears smarting in her eyes. "Draco, you have your entire life ahead of you... I wasn't meant to exist. I'm not real."
"You are real to me," he said forcefully, taking her shoulders. "I don't know what it is I'm feeling... but I care about you so much... that the thought of hearing about you dying instead of being there to hold you one last time... it hurts."
"You have a heart, Draco," Dawn smiled as a tear dripped from her eye and down her cheek. "It's not a Wizard thing. It's a human thing."
He pulled her into his arms. "I'm staying, Harris. And there is nothing you can do or say that will take me away..."
As she pulled away, she saw that there were tears in his eyes too.
"It's my turn to make you proud," Draco said, his hands sliding down her arms to take her hands. "And if I happen to die... it'll be because of something pure, something good... and not just evil. I know I'm an evil person, Dawnie... but it's time to prove my power can be used for more."
She smiled, then leaned over and kissed his cheek. "We're not going to die, yet," she said, grinning. "But we are going to make such an end... we'll be in history books forever."
He laughed through his own tears before taking her hand and the two abandoned their corner, Dawn heading back toward her common room, Draco toward his.
- - - - -
Buffy swept into the Great Hall to see a single table in the center, Slayers all crowded up and down it. They were all in robes, all with weapons, all standing at attention.
"It's time."
As they moved out, in long lines, students moved closer to watch as the Slayers disappeared one by one down the dark corridor, lead by both Professor Summers and Faith. Willow and Tara stood back a bit and watched as Buffy approached.
She stopped in front of Willow. Willow gave a tiny smile before hugging Buffy. "This is it," she said into Buffy's shoulder.
"This is," Buffy grinned as she pulled away. After hugging Tara one last time, she turned to Xander, who was standing with the rest of the Order, Cordelia by his side. Giles and Wesley stood next to her. She hugged Xander tightly, and even hugged Cordelia, despite their tumultuous past. Finally, she reached Giles. "Giles..."
"I don't know what to say," he said simply, hugging her tightly.
After a final hug to Wesley, she turned toward the statue. And one by one the Slayers disappeared inside it, down into the tunnels.
The Order followed closely behind.
As they walked through the dark tunnels, with the lights of Buffy and Faith's wands to guide them, Buffy's speech just a few short hours earlier came back to them.
"This is it. This is the end. This is our Future's end. Unless we stand up and strike first, the world as we know it is gone. Everything that is good, and powerful, and loving, is gone. One Wizard threatens to destroy this world and it is now up to us to see that that doesn't happen. There are a thousand vampires out there, waiting to take us all. This is what our destiny is. This is what Willow has given us. Our last battle was a test. This is reality. This isn't just our city, our town. This is their world now. It's time to become what we were chosen to be. This is our greatest hour. This will be our last hour. The time has come for the Slayers to fight one last time."
Spike and Angel walked along the tunnel, slightly ahead as a large gaping hole appeared above their head where Honeydukes had once stood. As they pulled the debris out to make a suitable ladder, they waited until two narrow beams of blue light approached quickly. Faith was the first to greet them, and they hurried hoisted her out into the twilight.
The sun had just fallen below the horizon as she glanced around, seeing the remains of bodies and barrels of debris. Taking a book of matches, she quickly threw a large heap of wood into several barrels before setting them ablaze.
Buffy then came out, along with the other Slayers. "Faith, take your line, and head that way," Buffy said, pointing toward a dark expanse away from the town.
"What now?" Kennedy asked as Faith pulled just under half of the Slayers and headed toward the darkness. "We're down by half."
"Not this time," Buffy said, lifting a stake in her hand, which glistened in the deep auburn of the flames.
Angel came and stood next to her. "Where are they?"
"They'll come," Buffy said. "They know that our numbers aren't that many."
"We have over a hundred," Spike reminded her from her other side.
"Doesn't hurt to fib the odds a bit," Buffy said, turning to Kennedy, who held a crossbow. "You ready?"
"Just excited," Kennedy said. "If I thought your last plan was bad..."
"My last plan turned you into a Slayer... be glad this one didn't require turning you into an amphibian," Buffy replied.
"What is that?" Angel suddenly asked from slightly ahead of her.
In the darkness, what looked like hundreds of amber eyes were growing closer.
"All right!" Buffy shouted out as the vampires came spilling over the hills. "We're dusting everything that attacks us. None reach the school, you hear? It's time we finish what they started. Infenso! Inferi!"
And with that, she lifted a pole from one of the burning barrels into the air and hoisted it before taking off at a full run.
Behind her, the Slayers followed suit.
And behind them, the Order, with Xander and Cordelia, also ran.
The two groups clashed at the base of the hills, in a flash of fire, wood and dust.
- - - - -
Harry suddenly jolted awake as two arms wound themselves around his neck. "You look tired."
He glanced up and saw the older version of Ginny above him. "I was trying to sleep," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.
"They're coming," Ginny said, pouring him a cup of coffee and setting it in front of him. "He's sending them."
"Vampires don't stand a chance," Harry growled as he seized his cup.
"Not the vampires," Ginny said, her voice slightly sing-song.
Harry turned toward her. "What do you mean not the vampires? What else is there?"
As Sirius crossed the room, Harry's eyes widened as he realized something just as Ginny said it. "The one that took his life will return tonight... and finish the job she started..."
"No!" Harry cried, standing up. His scar throbbed painfully as he glanced around him, seeing nothing but a dark hallway where he'd dozed off next to Hermione, who was now blinking up at him.
"Harry, what is it?"
"We have to find Willow and Tara, now!" he said, breaking into a run. "Where are they?"
"At the Entrance," Hermione cried out, hurrying to keep up with him. "What is it, Harry?"
"They're coming," he said, stopping and reaching out to halt Hermione. "The Death Eaters. They were right. Voldemort will come tonight."
- - - - -
To be continued...
Infenso! Inferi! = Latin for "attack"
And if you were wondering about Hagrid... well, look next chapter. It's a hint as to what is coming.
Chapter 30 -- Death Eaters strike. Slayers fight. And Tara gets ready to take on the person who destroyed her life.