The Forgotten Line
Chapter 3: The Dreams Of Two Wolves
**From Chapter 2**
"Yeah, well, I'm Ruby Fier, and you'd be wise to show me some respect, Grease-ball!"
Severus pushed away Madame Pomfrey's hands. "Leave me alone, you silly twit," he said to her. Turning back to Ruby, he asked, "And why should I?"
"Because I'm the Slayer!"
Dumbledore blinked, and Severus gawked at her.
"The Slayer?"
"Yeah. What's the matter? Never heard of me before? 'Cause everyone else seems to know me."
Dumbledore smiled. "Well, what an interesting turn of events. One of the three Slayers in Hogwarts. Excellent."
Ruby arched her left eyebrow. "Hey, I said I was THE Slayer. As in, only one. How did you know about another one?"
He smiled once more. "I know many things, Miss Fier. Many more than I let on."
Ruby smirked. "The old man's okay."
"Please, call me Albus."
"Albus... Albus... I had a crazed great-uncle named Albus once. He was nice, but a little unstable. Made awesome cookies. He died when I was four. Told me the day he died I'd grow up to be someone great, even if no one knew about it."
"I'd say he was right."
"I guess. You all know about it." Ruby paused. "Say, how do you all know about Slayers?"
"Hogwarts and other magical schools have had numerous Watchers over the years." Dumbledore smiled at Oz. "Perhaps you've heard of some: Rupert Giles, Slytherin, and Wesley Wyndham-Price, Hufflepuff."
Oz blinked. "Yeah, I know them."
Remus shook his head. "Headmaster, you said something about Miss Fier being one of THREE Slayers. How?"
"Well, Miss Fier is sitting in front of us, Miss Morgan is in jail, and Miss Summers has been resurrected."
Oz looked up at Dumbledore, shocked. "Buffy's alive?" He turned to Ruby. "You never mentioned that!"
Ruby shrugged. "I didn't know. I only knew that she died."
Dumbledore turned to Oz. "She was resurrected by a young, powerful witch named--"
"Willow," Oz finished for him.
"Yes. How did you know?"
"I used to date her."
Ruby cleared her throat. "Who's Miss Morgan?"
"Faith," Oz said.
Ruby tensed. "Faith?"
"You know her?"
Ruby's face hardened. "Yeah. I ran into her a few years ago in Jersey. We got into a huge fight at a club. She was such a whore, slobbering over the guy I'd brought with me. Anyway, I get up in her face about it, and she decides to get physical. I'm kicking her ass just fine until she whips out a knife." Ruby rolled up the sleeve on her left arm to reveal a long, jagged scar. "She gave me that. Bitch." She quickly pushed her sleeve back down. "So, you can say I know her."
"How'd you know she was the Slayer?"
"Easy. She told me."
"She told you?!?"
Ruby shrugged. "Well, we kind of took it out onto the streets and some vamps jumped us. We dusted them, and she told me what she was then. Like it was supposed to make me fear her." She rolled her eyes at the idea.
Dumbledore smiled. "Well, I think it would be a good idea for all of us to get some sleep. Severus, Remus, the two of you have classes to teach tomorrow. Miss Fier and Mr. Osbourne," here, Dumbledore looked at Oz, who was wide-eyed, and winked, "should get some sleep as well. Slaying is a difficult thing, as well as controlling the wolf inside around another wolf."
"He's a werewolf too?!?" Severus asked, looking at Oz with a look of disgust.
"Yes, Severus, he is," Dumbledore said calmly. "So, now, you will have to make the Wolfsbane Potion for Mr. Osbourne."
Madame Pomfrey finished healing Severus' arm, which she had been working on during the whole conversation. "There. Now, I suggest that you leave those experimental potions alone for a few days."
"Don't tell me what to do!"
Severus' comment towards Madame Pomfrey made a smile creep across Dumbledore's face as he knew that Severus would do as he had been told and make the Wolfsbane Potion for Remus and Oz. 'The benefits of being Headmaster, I suppose,' Dumbledore mused to himself.
"I will have some house elves escort you to where you will be staying, Miss Fier and Mr. Osbourne, at least for the night." With that, two house elves appeared beside him. "Lillith," he addressed one of the elves, "please make sure that Miss Fier is given a towel for her shower. I'm sure she has been patiently waiting to get all that slime off of her." He noted that this comment earned him a smile and rapid nodding from Ruby. He heard Oz's stomach growl and told the other elf, "Ruben, please make sure that Mr. Osbourne has something to eat."
Both elves said, "Yes, Headmaster!" as they jumped up and down, excited to have guests in the castle to fill the empty rooms.
The elves took the hands of their respective assignments. "Please, follow me."
As Ruby, Oz, and Remus left, Ruby and Oz being half dragged by Lillith and Ruben, Dumbledore turned to Severus. "You will make the Potion?"
Severus sighed as he stood up, glaring at Madame Pomfrey. "Of course."
Dumbledore smiled. "Good. I suggest that you get some rest as well. I don't want you to take off any more points than usual because you didn't get enough sleep."
"How can I rest in a castle with two werewolves, one of which tried to kill me and the other, we know nothing about?"
"Just remember that there is a Slayer within these walls who will most likely be on her toes. If Remus and Mr. Osbourne do anything, which I highly doubt, seeing as how the full moon is a week away, she will stop them, either by knocking them out or, gods forbid, by killing them."
'Hopefully the latter,' Severus thought, but said nothing more on the subject as he quietly walked to his room.
*******
"Here is your room!" Lillith squeaked to Ruby. "Inside is bed and change of clothes-- wizarding clothes!"
Ruby sighed. The elf had chewed her ear off about Hogwarts during the whole walk. Now, she wanted nothing more than to shower and get some sleep. And possibly food. Slaying does make a girl hungry, after all.
"Thank you. Is the shower in there?"
"Oh no! Shower is next door!"
"Thank you, Lillith. That's all I need. Um," Ruby searched her pockets, "I don't have anything to give you."
"I need nothing from the lady. If the lady needs nothing more," here she gave a bow, "good night."
"Good night," Ruby said, as the house elf disappeared in a flash. She then went inside her room, grabbed the towel, notice that there were black pajamas and black robes for the next day, and walked to the bathroom for a long, warm shower.
*******
Remus sighed as he plopped down in his bed, massaging his jaw. Ruby had given him quite a punch, but he had forgotten how much it hurt until he was away from Madame Pomfrey. 'Poor woman... no one ever wants her to treat them because of those god-awful potions she makes us drink. No wonder Ruby didn't want her touching her again. She probably had to drink something to heal the hole in her gut faster.'
Remus smiled as he remembered the look on Severus' face when Ruby fought with him. 'That was classic,' he thought as he silently chuckled.
Removing his robes, which also had some ooze on it, but not as much as was on Ruby, he decided to sleep in his boxers for the night.
He would have slept commando, but every time he did that, he always woke up on the cold floor.
It was his curse, besides being a werewolf.
It even happened to him in his Hogwarts days, when he used to sneak a certain Ravenclaw girl into his room.
Remus smiled as he recalled how they would always have to borrow James' Invisibility Cloak to get her out of the Gryffindor Common Room.
'And they said I was the innocent one...'
The minute Remus' head hit his pillow, he closed his eyes and drifted off to Never Never Land.
*******
Ruben opened the door for Oz and said, "Your room, Sir."
"Thanks," Oz said. He was not sure if he had to pay the elf, but he handed out some money anyway.
"Sir does not need to pay Ruben. Besides, Sir's money is no good here."
Oz looked down and noticed that he was holding an American five-dollar bill.
"Right. Sorry."
"Sir is allowed to make mistakes. What would Sir like to eat?"
Oz thought about it. "Do you have any pizza?"
This puzzled the elf. "Pizza? What is pizza, Sir?"
"Well, uh... it's a dough that's baked into a bread and then covered with tomato sauce--"
He stopped when he noticed the elf's blank expression. He was pretty sure he'd lost Ruben at 'dough that's baked into a bread'.
"Do you have any chicken?"
"Yes, we do, Sir! Would Sir like that instead?"
"Yes."
"Very well, Sir!" The elf disappeared with a snap of his fingers.
Oz sighed and looked around the room. The people in the pictures were whispering to one another about him, something he was told by Remus, and then Ruben, was common. He wondered whether they whispered about his lancanthropy or the fact that he was a "muggle."
"Would Sir like anything else?" Oz heard Ruben say from behind him, many slices of chicken on a plate on a tray, a glass of some odd liquid also on the tray.
"What's the drink?"
"Pumpkin juice, Sir! It's very good! Ruben thinks Sir will like it!"
"Thanks," Oz told Ruben. Noticing that Ruben watched him with wide-eyed anticipation, most likely waiting for his next order, he added, "Umm.. that's all for now."
"Very well. Good night, Sir!" With that, Ruben bowed and disappeared.
Oz grabbed the fork and knife and dug into his food, grateful to have something in his stomach since around three o'clock in the afternoon.
*******
Ruby lay in bed, singing to herself.
"Lay beside me, tell me what they've done
Speak the words I want to hear, to make my demons run
The door is locked now, but it's open if you're true
If you can understand the me, then I can understand the you"
She would have continued with Metallica's "The Unforgiven II" if it hadn't been for the feeling that something was wrong outside her room.
Getting out of bed, she buttoned up the top of her pajamas so that nothing was showing, in case any boys were wandering around after hours. She then located her socks and sneakers, which were ooze-free, fortunately, and had not been stolen by the house elves. Putting them on, she found her stake and decided it was best to merely hold it in her hand.
After all, all the people in the castle ran around with pieces of wood in their hands. Maybe not thick, short, sharp, pointed pieces of wood, but pieces of wood nonetheless. She'd just tell them she was learning how to make them and this one had gone horribly wrong. Not that they would believe that one.
She opened the door and noticed nothing jumped at her immediately. That was of the positive. Closing the door behind her, she continued down the hall, following her instinct to where the danger was.
*******
Remus looked up at the beautiful Asian woman currently on top of him, smiling down at him.
"So, you finally met a Slayer? Aren't they incredible? Swift, strong, powerful. Most of them are beautiful, too, I hear." She winked at him. "Hmm. Maybe I shouldn't let you near this one alone for too long. She's so young and pretty. She's already got all your attention. I don't want her to snag you from me. How horrible would that be?"
Remus knew he was dreaming. The woman on top of him, currently wearing nothing, was Cecile Maloots, the Ravenclaw he'd gone out with in his later years at Hogwarts and spent many nights with. After she'd left to work with the Council full-time, he had not seen or heard from her.
"I'm dreaming," he muttered to himself.
"Yes, you are, but be patient. Dreams can become reality, dear Remmie. Of course, if you'd taken the offered job at the Council, this could be a reality every night." She smirked at him as she bit his shoulder. The bite being in a dream, he felt no pain.
"Every night but the night of the full moon, you mean," he said.
"Maybe not," she said, smirking at him.
Remus sighed and blushed slightly. "What about Miss Fier? I need to contact her Watcher as soon as I can; he should know where she is."
Cecile frowned. "I'm afraid you can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Her Watcher's dead."
Remus frowned. "I didn't know that. How is this a dream? Dreams subconsciously take what you know and put you into bizarre situations using that knowledge."
Cecile chuckled and got out of the bed. She pulled on a robe and walked over to the door. "Trust me, Remmie, this is no ordinary dream." She opened the door and walked out.
"She's right, you know," Remus heard someone to the left of him say.
Turning, he saw Rupert Giles, the Slytherin known during his school days as "Ripper." "Ripper, what are you doing in my bed?"
Giles smiled. "I'm here to talk to you, cutie," he said, pinching Remus' cheek in the process.
Remus blushed as he sat up. "Ripper, while I have no problem with you being gay, I wish you wouldn't hit on me. Especially when I'm naked in bed."
Giles smiled innocently. "Why? Afraid you might like it?"
"No, because it scares me that you look like a stuffy old librarian."
"Well, that's because I am a librarian, but I'm not stuffy, mind you. Old, maybe, but no older than you."
"Oh."
"Anyway... about the Slayer. It's not your time for one. And talking to her gently won't work, either. She won't talk to the purest of creatures, but she won't even tell the Devil her secrets. I doubt that you'd be able to handle what she's had to handle. The girl was the Slayer from the start of her life, really. She lived in a small town in New Jersey, but quickly discovered what lie in the darkness and that things that go bump in the night were not something that would go away when you closed your eyes. Death, destruction, solidarity, betrayal. It all lays heavily on her shoulders. She won't share that with you, though. No. Try as much as you like, she won't open up. Not unless she wants to spite you. To crush your heart so you'll leave her alone forever. To break you with the stories of her life that prevent her from dying, no matter how hard she tries."
"Why on Earth would she do that? Why push everyone away from her?"
"Simple," Giles told him, sitting up, taking off his glasses, and cleaning them with Remus' sheets. "It's all she knows to do to keep people alive."
*******
Oz looked down at the invitation he held in his hand.
You are cordially invited to the "Painted By Moonlight" ball,
to be held on Monday, May 19, 2003 at the Chalet de la Lune.
Please dress in formal wear.
Your invitation is needed to enter.
He looked at the giant palace-like hotel that the ball was to be held in. After handing the guards his invitation, he was surprised by a friendly face.
Buffy.
"Hey, Oz. Glad to see you could make it." She smiled at him as she took his arm. Her forest green dress came down to her ankles, and her shoes matched beautifully with silver stones creating a flower pattern to contrast. "Dance with me, Oz."
"Okay." And so, Oz led Buffy into a waltz, noticing that all the Scoobies were there.
Except Willow.
Buffy noticed his concerned look at smiled at him. "I know who you're looking for. Don't worry. The belle of the ball will be here shortly."
When the music stopped, a girl that looked like she could be Jonathan's cousin said into the microphone, "Please welcome the one who made this ball possible-- Miss Willow Rosenburg!"
Everyone clapped as Oz watched in awe as Willow stepped onto the floor wearing a sleek navy blue dress that came down to her ankles, but was low cut in the front and back, the straps thin and delicate.
She smiled as she took the mic. "Thank you all for coming tonight. Seeing all of you here has delighted me in so many ways." She handed the mic back to the young lady and walked over to Oz.
"Will.. You're beautiful."
Willow smiled at him. "You're not so bad yourself. I like what you did with your hair. Blue and orange spikes work for you. The tux looks great too."
"It's like we're back at the prom."
"Yeah," Willow agreed. "Except, this has one thing the prom didn't have."
"What's that?"
Willow smiled as a familiar tune began to play.
"I've heard people say that
Too much of anything is not good for you, baby"
"I got the Barry working for me."
Oz smiled at her. "Care to dance?"
"I'd love to."
And so, the young witch and werewolf danced gently to the song that the witch had used in an attempt to have sex to show that he was her one and only.
Oz dipped Willow and placed a soft kiss on her lips. She smiled as they stood up, holding each other closely.
Willow murmured soft nothings in his ear as they danced, Oz planting the occasional kiss on her lips gently.
As the song came to an end, Oz heard Willow whisper something he had waited the entire song to hear her say.
"I love you, Oz."
"I love you, too, Willow."
And with that said, he pulled her even closer to him and kissed her, feeling much like Christian kissing Satine after singing "The Elephant Love Medley" with her.
*******
Ruby sighed as she sat down in the Great Hall. Her instinct had led her here, yet so far, she had encountered no evil.
"I wonder if all the magic in this place is getting to me..."
That's when it she saw it.
There was a hole in the air of the Great Hall of Hogwarts.
And there was a boy tumbling through it. A boy who just happened to land at her feet.
"Ruby?!?"
"Jacques?!?"
++++++++++
Okay, so I don't own the Metallica song (though I wish I did) or the Barry White song. I also don't own Christian, Satine, and "The Elephant Love Medley", all borrowed from "Moulin Rouge."
I also do not own Jacques, who is being taken from "The Gatekeeper Trilogy". It was a very good trilogy in the Buffy books series. I suggest that if you haven't read it, you at least read a summary of it.
Of course, now I must be getting to sleep. I have to get up early tomorrow.
Woo! Metros tied with the Galaxy! Yes!
Don't forget to review!
Chapter 3: The Dreams Of Two Wolves
**From Chapter 2**
"Yeah, well, I'm Ruby Fier, and you'd be wise to show me some respect, Grease-ball!"
Severus pushed away Madame Pomfrey's hands. "Leave me alone, you silly twit," he said to her. Turning back to Ruby, he asked, "And why should I?"
"Because I'm the Slayer!"
Dumbledore blinked, and Severus gawked at her.
"The Slayer?"
"Yeah. What's the matter? Never heard of me before? 'Cause everyone else seems to know me."
Dumbledore smiled. "Well, what an interesting turn of events. One of the three Slayers in Hogwarts. Excellent."
Ruby arched her left eyebrow. "Hey, I said I was THE Slayer. As in, only one. How did you know about another one?"
He smiled once more. "I know many things, Miss Fier. Many more than I let on."
Ruby smirked. "The old man's okay."
"Please, call me Albus."
"Albus... Albus... I had a crazed great-uncle named Albus once. He was nice, but a little unstable. Made awesome cookies. He died when I was four. Told me the day he died I'd grow up to be someone great, even if no one knew about it."
"I'd say he was right."
"I guess. You all know about it." Ruby paused. "Say, how do you all know about Slayers?"
"Hogwarts and other magical schools have had numerous Watchers over the years." Dumbledore smiled at Oz. "Perhaps you've heard of some: Rupert Giles, Slytherin, and Wesley Wyndham-Price, Hufflepuff."
Oz blinked. "Yeah, I know them."
Remus shook his head. "Headmaster, you said something about Miss Fier being one of THREE Slayers. How?"
"Well, Miss Fier is sitting in front of us, Miss Morgan is in jail, and Miss Summers has been resurrected."
Oz looked up at Dumbledore, shocked. "Buffy's alive?" He turned to Ruby. "You never mentioned that!"
Ruby shrugged. "I didn't know. I only knew that she died."
Dumbledore turned to Oz. "She was resurrected by a young, powerful witch named--"
"Willow," Oz finished for him.
"Yes. How did you know?"
"I used to date her."
Ruby cleared her throat. "Who's Miss Morgan?"
"Faith," Oz said.
Ruby tensed. "Faith?"
"You know her?"
Ruby's face hardened. "Yeah. I ran into her a few years ago in Jersey. We got into a huge fight at a club. She was such a whore, slobbering over the guy I'd brought with me. Anyway, I get up in her face about it, and she decides to get physical. I'm kicking her ass just fine until she whips out a knife." Ruby rolled up the sleeve on her left arm to reveal a long, jagged scar. "She gave me that. Bitch." She quickly pushed her sleeve back down. "So, you can say I know her."
"How'd you know she was the Slayer?"
"Easy. She told me."
"She told you?!?"
Ruby shrugged. "Well, we kind of took it out onto the streets and some vamps jumped us. We dusted them, and she told me what she was then. Like it was supposed to make me fear her." She rolled her eyes at the idea.
Dumbledore smiled. "Well, I think it would be a good idea for all of us to get some sleep. Severus, Remus, the two of you have classes to teach tomorrow. Miss Fier and Mr. Osbourne," here, Dumbledore looked at Oz, who was wide-eyed, and winked, "should get some sleep as well. Slaying is a difficult thing, as well as controlling the wolf inside around another wolf."
"He's a werewolf too?!?" Severus asked, looking at Oz with a look of disgust.
"Yes, Severus, he is," Dumbledore said calmly. "So, now, you will have to make the Wolfsbane Potion for Mr. Osbourne."
Madame Pomfrey finished healing Severus' arm, which she had been working on during the whole conversation. "There. Now, I suggest that you leave those experimental potions alone for a few days."
"Don't tell me what to do!"
Severus' comment towards Madame Pomfrey made a smile creep across Dumbledore's face as he knew that Severus would do as he had been told and make the Wolfsbane Potion for Remus and Oz. 'The benefits of being Headmaster, I suppose,' Dumbledore mused to himself.
"I will have some house elves escort you to where you will be staying, Miss Fier and Mr. Osbourne, at least for the night." With that, two house elves appeared beside him. "Lillith," he addressed one of the elves, "please make sure that Miss Fier is given a towel for her shower. I'm sure she has been patiently waiting to get all that slime off of her." He noted that this comment earned him a smile and rapid nodding from Ruby. He heard Oz's stomach growl and told the other elf, "Ruben, please make sure that Mr. Osbourne has something to eat."
Both elves said, "Yes, Headmaster!" as they jumped up and down, excited to have guests in the castle to fill the empty rooms.
The elves took the hands of their respective assignments. "Please, follow me."
As Ruby, Oz, and Remus left, Ruby and Oz being half dragged by Lillith and Ruben, Dumbledore turned to Severus. "You will make the Potion?"
Severus sighed as he stood up, glaring at Madame Pomfrey. "Of course."
Dumbledore smiled. "Good. I suggest that you get some rest as well. I don't want you to take off any more points than usual because you didn't get enough sleep."
"How can I rest in a castle with two werewolves, one of which tried to kill me and the other, we know nothing about?"
"Just remember that there is a Slayer within these walls who will most likely be on her toes. If Remus and Mr. Osbourne do anything, which I highly doubt, seeing as how the full moon is a week away, she will stop them, either by knocking them out or, gods forbid, by killing them."
'Hopefully the latter,' Severus thought, but said nothing more on the subject as he quietly walked to his room.
*******
"Here is your room!" Lillith squeaked to Ruby. "Inside is bed and change of clothes-- wizarding clothes!"
Ruby sighed. The elf had chewed her ear off about Hogwarts during the whole walk. Now, she wanted nothing more than to shower and get some sleep. And possibly food. Slaying does make a girl hungry, after all.
"Thank you. Is the shower in there?"
"Oh no! Shower is next door!"
"Thank you, Lillith. That's all I need. Um," Ruby searched her pockets, "I don't have anything to give you."
"I need nothing from the lady. If the lady needs nothing more," here she gave a bow, "good night."
"Good night," Ruby said, as the house elf disappeared in a flash. She then went inside her room, grabbed the towel, notice that there were black pajamas and black robes for the next day, and walked to the bathroom for a long, warm shower.
*******
Remus sighed as he plopped down in his bed, massaging his jaw. Ruby had given him quite a punch, but he had forgotten how much it hurt until he was away from Madame Pomfrey. 'Poor woman... no one ever wants her to treat them because of those god-awful potions she makes us drink. No wonder Ruby didn't want her touching her again. She probably had to drink something to heal the hole in her gut faster.'
Remus smiled as he remembered the look on Severus' face when Ruby fought with him. 'That was classic,' he thought as he silently chuckled.
Removing his robes, which also had some ooze on it, but not as much as was on Ruby, he decided to sleep in his boxers for the night.
He would have slept commando, but every time he did that, he always woke up on the cold floor.
It was his curse, besides being a werewolf.
It even happened to him in his Hogwarts days, when he used to sneak a certain Ravenclaw girl into his room.
Remus smiled as he recalled how they would always have to borrow James' Invisibility Cloak to get her out of the Gryffindor Common Room.
'And they said I was the innocent one...'
The minute Remus' head hit his pillow, he closed his eyes and drifted off to Never Never Land.
*******
Ruben opened the door for Oz and said, "Your room, Sir."
"Thanks," Oz said. He was not sure if he had to pay the elf, but he handed out some money anyway.
"Sir does not need to pay Ruben. Besides, Sir's money is no good here."
Oz looked down and noticed that he was holding an American five-dollar bill.
"Right. Sorry."
"Sir is allowed to make mistakes. What would Sir like to eat?"
Oz thought about it. "Do you have any pizza?"
This puzzled the elf. "Pizza? What is pizza, Sir?"
"Well, uh... it's a dough that's baked into a bread and then covered with tomato sauce--"
He stopped when he noticed the elf's blank expression. He was pretty sure he'd lost Ruben at 'dough that's baked into a bread'.
"Do you have any chicken?"
"Yes, we do, Sir! Would Sir like that instead?"
"Yes."
"Very well, Sir!" The elf disappeared with a snap of his fingers.
Oz sighed and looked around the room. The people in the pictures were whispering to one another about him, something he was told by Remus, and then Ruben, was common. He wondered whether they whispered about his lancanthropy or the fact that he was a "muggle."
"Would Sir like anything else?" Oz heard Ruben say from behind him, many slices of chicken on a plate on a tray, a glass of some odd liquid also on the tray.
"What's the drink?"
"Pumpkin juice, Sir! It's very good! Ruben thinks Sir will like it!"
"Thanks," Oz told Ruben. Noticing that Ruben watched him with wide-eyed anticipation, most likely waiting for his next order, he added, "Umm.. that's all for now."
"Very well. Good night, Sir!" With that, Ruben bowed and disappeared.
Oz grabbed the fork and knife and dug into his food, grateful to have something in his stomach since around three o'clock in the afternoon.
*******
Ruby lay in bed, singing to herself.
"Lay beside me, tell me what they've done
Speak the words I want to hear, to make my demons run
The door is locked now, but it's open if you're true
If you can understand the me, then I can understand the you"
She would have continued with Metallica's "The Unforgiven II" if it hadn't been for the feeling that something was wrong outside her room.
Getting out of bed, she buttoned up the top of her pajamas so that nothing was showing, in case any boys were wandering around after hours. She then located her socks and sneakers, which were ooze-free, fortunately, and had not been stolen by the house elves. Putting them on, she found her stake and decided it was best to merely hold it in her hand.
After all, all the people in the castle ran around with pieces of wood in their hands. Maybe not thick, short, sharp, pointed pieces of wood, but pieces of wood nonetheless. She'd just tell them she was learning how to make them and this one had gone horribly wrong. Not that they would believe that one.
She opened the door and noticed nothing jumped at her immediately. That was of the positive. Closing the door behind her, she continued down the hall, following her instinct to where the danger was.
*******
Remus looked up at the beautiful Asian woman currently on top of him, smiling down at him.
"So, you finally met a Slayer? Aren't they incredible? Swift, strong, powerful. Most of them are beautiful, too, I hear." She winked at him. "Hmm. Maybe I shouldn't let you near this one alone for too long. She's so young and pretty. She's already got all your attention. I don't want her to snag you from me. How horrible would that be?"
Remus knew he was dreaming. The woman on top of him, currently wearing nothing, was Cecile Maloots, the Ravenclaw he'd gone out with in his later years at Hogwarts and spent many nights with. After she'd left to work with the Council full-time, he had not seen or heard from her.
"I'm dreaming," he muttered to himself.
"Yes, you are, but be patient. Dreams can become reality, dear Remmie. Of course, if you'd taken the offered job at the Council, this could be a reality every night." She smirked at him as she bit his shoulder. The bite being in a dream, he felt no pain.
"Every night but the night of the full moon, you mean," he said.
"Maybe not," she said, smirking at him.
Remus sighed and blushed slightly. "What about Miss Fier? I need to contact her Watcher as soon as I can; he should know where she is."
Cecile frowned. "I'm afraid you can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Her Watcher's dead."
Remus frowned. "I didn't know that. How is this a dream? Dreams subconsciously take what you know and put you into bizarre situations using that knowledge."
Cecile chuckled and got out of the bed. She pulled on a robe and walked over to the door. "Trust me, Remmie, this is no ordinary dream." She opened the door and walked out.
"She's right, you know," Remus heard someone to the left of him say.
Turning, he saw Rupert Giles, the Slytherin known during his school days as "Ripper." "Ripper, what are you doing in my bed?"
Giles smiled. "I'm here to talk to you, cutie," he said, pinching Remus' cheek in the process.
Remus blushed as he sat up. "Ripper, while I have no problem with you being gay, I wish you wouldn't hit on me. Especially when I'm naked in bed."
Giles smiled innocently. "Why? Afraid you might like it?"
"No, because it scares me that you look like a stuffy old librarian."
"Well, that's because I am a librarian, but I'm not stuffy, mind you. Old, maybe, but no older than you."
"Oh."
"Anyway... about the Slayer. It's not your time for one. And talking to her gently won't work, either. She won't talk to the purest of creatures, but she won't even tell the Devil her secrets. I doubt that you'd be able to handle what she's had to handle. The girl was the Slayer from the start of her life, really. She lived in a small town in New Jersey, but quickly discovered what lie in the darkness and that things that go bump in the night were not something that would go away when you closed your eyes. Death, destruction, solidarity, betrayal. It all lays heavily on her shoulders. She won't share that with you, though. No. Try as much as you like, she won't open up. Not unless she wants to spite you. To crush your heart so you'll leave her alone forever. To break you with the stories of her life that prevent her from dying, no matter how hard she tries."
"Why on Earth would she do that? Why push everyone away from her?"
"Simple," Giles told him, sitting up, taking off his glasses, and cleaning them with Remus' sheets. "It's all she knows to do to keep people alive."
*******
Oz looked down at the invitation he held in his hand.
You are cordially invited to the "Painted By Moonlight" ball,
to be held on Monday, May 19, 2003 at the Chalet de la Lune.
Please dress in formal wear.
Your invitation is needed to enter.
He looked at the giant palace-like hotel that the ball was to be held in. After handing the guards his invitation, he was surprised by a friendly face.
Buffy.
"Hey, Oz. Glad to see you could make it." She smiled at him as she took his arm. Her forest green dress came down to her ankles, and her shoes matched beautifully with silver stones creating a flower pattern to contrast. "Dance with me, Oz."
"Okay." And so, Oz led Buffy into a waltz, noticing that all the Scoobies were there.
Except Willow.
Buffy noticed his concerned look at smiled at him. "I know who you're looking for. Don't worry. The belle of the ball will be here shortly."
When the music stopped, a girl that looked like she could be Jonathan's cousin said into the microphone, "Please welcome the one who made this ball possible-- Miss Willow Rosenburg!"
Everyone clapped as Oz watched in awe as Willow stepped onto the floor wearing a sleek navy blue dress that came down to her ankles, but was low cut in the front and back, the straps thin and delicate.
She smiled as she took the mic. "Thank you all for coming tonight. Seeing all of you here has delighted me in so many ways." She handed the mic back to the young lady and walked over to Oz.
"Will.. You're beautiful."
Willow smiled at him. "You're not so bad yourself. I like what you did with your hair. Blue and orange spikes work for you. The tux looks great too."
"It's like we're back at the prom."
"Yeah," Willow agreed. "Except, this has one thing the prom didn't have."
"What's that?"
Willow smiled as a familiar tune began to play.
"I've heard people say that
Too much of anything is not good for you, baby"
"I got the Barry working for me."
Oz smiled at her. "Care to dance?"
"I'd love to."
And so, the young witch and werewolf danced gently to the song that the witch had used in an attempt to have sex to show that he was her one and only.
Oz dipped Willow and placed a soft kiss on her lips. She smiled as they stood up, holding each other closely.
Willow murmured soft nothings in his ear as they danced, Oz planting the occasional kiss on her lips gently.
As the song came to an end, Oz heard Willow whisper something he had waited the entire song to hear her say.
"I love you, Oz."
"I love you, too, Willow."
And with that said, he pulled her even closer to him and kissed her, feeling much like Christian kissing Satine after singing "The Elephant Love Medley" with her.
*******
Ruby sighed as she sat down in the Great Hall. Her instinct had led her here, yet so far, she had encountered no evil.
"I wonder if all the magic in this place is getting to me..."
That's when it she saw it.
There was a hole in the air of the Great Hall of Hogwarts.
And there was a boy tumbling through it. A boy who just happened to land at her feet.
"Ruby?!?"
"Jacques?!?"
++++++++++
Okay, so I don't own the Metallica song (though I wish I did) or the Barry White song. I also don't own Christian, Satine, and "The Elephant Love Medley", all borrowed from "Moulin Rouge."
I also do not own Jacques, who is being taken from "The Gatekeeper Trilogy". It was a very good trilogy in the Buffy books series. I suggest that if you haven't read it, you at least read a summary of it.
Of course, now I must be getting to sleep. I have to get up early tomorrow.
Woo! Metros tied with the Galaxy! Yes!
Don't forget to review!