Chapter 7
Most of the people were making preparations to go back home. The more powerful wiccans simply flew back. As far as Dumbledore could see, their method of flying was similar to apparation in the wizarding world. They disassembled their body components to individual molecules and then sent those components flying at high speed to wherever they wished to go. When they reached their destination, they would reassemble the molecules to form back their bodies.
Wiccans who did not possess so much power were using more mundane ways to travel. Several cars and motorcycles were seen scattered around the clearing. There were even two buses to convey the wiccans to and fro from LA.
Buffy's group approached Dumbledore's group. Laura and Shawn were talking to Dumbledore and Arthur Weasley, but they stopped their conversations as Buffy's group approached.
"We have to talk," Buffy told Dumbledore bluntly.
"Indeed, Miss Summers," Dumbledore replied pleasantly. "I assume you would like our conversation to be a little more private?"
Buffy nodded.
"Well then," Dumbledore continued, producing a towel from somewhere within his robes. "If you would just take hold of this portkey, it will transport you to a place called Hogsmead. From there, its only a short distance to Hogwarts and I can guarantee that no one will eavesdrop on us when we are in my study."
Buffy's group eyed the towel doubtfully but nonetheless, they held on to it. A moment later, there was a tug on their navel and they were sprawled on the ground. Buffy, Angel and Faith rolled with the momentum and came out of their sprawl in a defensive crouch. The rest of the group were less graceful, although just as quick, in getting up. Years spent in Sunnydale taught them that lying on the ground was a good and fast way of getting killed.
Dumbledore's group had experience with portkeys but even they stumbled a bit when they landed. Harry, Ron and Hermoine fell ungracefully to the ground. Laura and Shawn were also experiencing portkeys for the first time and none of them managed to keep their balance.
"Okay, I'm never taking one of those rides again," Dawn grumbled.
"Once is more than enough," Willow agreed. "I think I prefer to go by portal."
"Portals are much less painful," Xander threw in his vote.
"I'm going to have to agree on that point," Shawn mumbled, still a little dizzy.
Everyone got to their feet, some of them still grumbling, and looked around. They were in Hogsmead. Not so far away, they could see a majestic castle, its towers reaching towards the sky. Nearby, were some carriages.
"Whoa, what are those," Dawn exclaimed when she saw the bat winged horses in front of the carriages.
"Thestrals," Anya replied absently, still absorbed with the important task of brushing the dirt off her clothes.
"What are you talking about," Laura asked, a little puzzled. "What are thestrals?"
"Those bat winged horses who are pulling the carriages," Remus supplied helpfully. He then continued a little sadly. "Only those who have seen death can actually see the thestrals."
"No wonder we can see them so clearly," Dawn muttered, still a little unnerved at the sight of the thestrals.
"Yeah. With all the death we've seen..." Xander added, also a little wary.
Some eyebrows were raised at those cryptic remarks but nobody said anything. They got into the carriages. Xander, Anya, Dawn and Faith shared a carriage. They let Buffy and Angel share a carriage by themselves. Willow and Tara shared a carriage with Professors McGonagall and Flitwick. Laura and Shawn shared one with Dumbledore and Snape. Harry, Ron and Hermoine shared a carriage together. Moody, Arthur Weasley and Remus also found themselves in a carriage. Soon, all of them were heading off towards Hogwarts.
"So, I believe you wish to talk," Dumbledore addressed Buffy's group. They were all seated in comfortable chairs in Dumbledore's study. They were joined by Nymphadora Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt who were waiting for them. After the initial introductions, they had gone to Dumbledore's study to talk.
Buffy nodded. "Yes we do. But what we have to say is going to take a long time, and judging from your expressions, I'm sure you guys have a lot of questions you're just dying to ask. So, before anyone chokes to death from holding those questions in, why don't we give you the chance to ask any questions you may have."
Harry burst in first. "Did you really manage to cast a resurrection spell?"
Tonks and Shacklebolt raised their eyebrows. 'Resurrection?' they thought disbelievingly.
Harry's question was addressed to Willow. A flash of pain briefly appeared in her eyes before she nodded. "Yes, I did," she said softly. Beside her, Tara reached out and clasped Willow's hand. From the other side, Buffy did the same. Willow gave both of them a grateful smile.
Harry did not notice that. He was overcome with excitement as he asked his next question. "Can you resurrect my parents?"
There was a sudden intake of breath from almost everyone in the room at that question. All eyes turned towards Willow as she fixed a level gaze on Harry.
"No," she replied firmly.
"But why," Harry almost begged. "You did it once before. You can do it again."
"I can cast a resurrection spell, but I won't," Willow said sadly. "Back then, I was young, foolish and arrogant. I was too full of myself and my power. And I cast the resurrection spell without knowing the full consequences of what I was doing."
Before Harry could speak up, Buffy interrupted, "I was the one whom she resurrected." Everyone turned towards Buffy but she continued to look squarely at Harry. "I was in heaven, you know," she smiled at the thought. "When I was dead, I was in heaven. It was paradise. There, I was happy. Contented. When Willow brought me back, I was ripped out of that perfect existence and brought back to this world. It took me almost a year before I pulled out of my depression and started to adjust to this world again. And even though I've adjusted, a part of me will always remember the perfection of heaven and long for it. From what Dumbledore has told us about your parents, when they were killed by Voldemort, I've no doubt that they've gone to heaven. Do you really want to put your parents through all that?"
Harry's shoulders slumped. Everyone looked at him with various expressions of pity. "I don't suppose I can convince you to resurrect my godfather too, huh," he mumbled.
"I'm sorry, Harry but the answer's no. But I can do a blessing for him to help smoothen his path to the afterlife. Can you show us where he's buried?" Willow asked gently.
"There's no body left to bury," Harry replied in a soft voice. "He was fighting Lestrange and he got his by a spell. He fell into an archway through a black veil and disappeared."
There was a moment of silence. "And then?" Willow prompted gently. "How did he die?"
"He fell through the veil and disappeared," Harry repeated monotonously.
Buffy's group exchanged puzzled looks. "How do you know he's dead?" Buffy asked carefully.
"He fell through the veil," Arthur Weasley answered for Harry. "From what I've heard from the Department of Mysteries, anything or anyone who goes through the veil is never heard of again."
"So they say, but if you've never seen the body, then he could still be alive," Tara said, speaking up for the first time.
"And besides, why do you think that falling into a portal automatically means that he's dead?" Dawn asked.
"Even if that were true, there's no way of getting him back," Remus said sadly.
"Why not?" Willow asked.
"Because nobody can do it, that's why," Snape said irritably.
Willow frowned. "Harry, do you mind explaining what exactly happened during your fight back there? Don't leave anything out, no matter how unimportant it may seem."
Initially, Harry was upset when they were discussing the incident. But as the conversation continued, he picked up on the point that Buffy's group brought up. There was a possibility that Sirius was still alive. A small possibility perhaps, but still, he would take what he could get. When Willow asked him to describe the fight, he was more than willing to do so.
After Harry's description of the fight, Willow turned to Tara. "Definitely a type of portal," she affirmed.
"Its most likely to be a one-way portal," Tara agreed. "But where does it lead to?"
Harry couldn't stand it any longer. "Does that mean you can bring Sirius back if he's alive?"
"We'll have to examine the portal," Willow told Harry. "Then, we'll tell you if its possible."
Harry turned to Dumbledore. "Could you arrange it Professor?" he asked eagerly.
Dumbledore frowned. "I believe so," he said slowly. Then he shook his head. "I can't believe I missed that. I've been thinking that 'anything that goes through the veil is lost to us for good' for so long that I couldn't see the other possibilities."
"You're not the only one," Shacklebolt said, a little embarrassed. "The ministry has issued that particular statement over a century ago and since no one over there can prove otherwise, we've all been thinking of that as a fact."
"You guys need to do something about this over dependence on the ministry for information," Faith said bluntly.
"I see that," Professor McGonagall said, not very happy about being hoodwinked by the ministry.
"Well, since that we're now hooked on the topic, we might as well go and check out this portal and see if we can get Sirius back," Laura suggested. "I don't think anyone can think of anything else until this has been settled in one way or another."
"Well, I can file an application to visit that place," Arthur Weasley said slowly. "If I push it, I can get approval in a day or two."
"Bureaucratic red tape," Faith said scornfully. "You guys really need to stop looking to the ministry for answers. In any case, this is an emergency, and in an emergency, all sorts of rules get broken, or at least suspended." She smiled a little at the thought of breaking rules. "Willow here can create a portal directly to wherever that archway is and cut through a day of paperwork."
Willow nodded. "I'll have to scan Harry's mind to find the location, though," she said. "Do I have your permission to scan your mind, Harry?"
Harry nodded eagerly. Anything he could do to help get his godfather back, he would do it. He kept the image of the room containing the stone archway firmly in his mind as Willow turned her eyes on him and her face took on an expression of concentration.
A moment later, she nodded. "I've got it," she announced. Harry was surprised. He hadn't even felt Willow in his mind. Ever since he took lessons in occlumency, he was able to detect a foreign presence in his mind, even if he was unable to fight it off successfully. Then again, Willow was no ordinary person, he reflected. No matter who or what she was, he decided that if she could restore his godfather to him, he would gladly worship her until the day he died.
As Willow prepared to open the portal, Dumbledore raised his hand, stopping her. "Miss Rosenberg, Hogwarts is protected by wards which do not allow apparation or any form of teleportation for that matter. The ministry is also protected by wards. Are you sure you can open a portal under the circumstances?" he asked.
During the ride to Hogwarts, Willow and Tara had questioned Professors McGonagall and Flitwick about magic in the wizarding world and they knew what apparation meant. Quickly, Tara used the mind link between them to explain to the rest of their group while Willow replied to Dumbledore's question.
"I don't think its going to be a problem," Willow said confidently. "Portals do not work in the same way as apparation and besides, if the wards interfere with the spell, I can go around them."
Had it been anyone else, Dumbledore would have insisted, but knowing of Willow's power, he decided to keep his opinions to himself. The wards around Hogwarts were placed by four of the most powerful wizards and witches the wizarding world had ever known, but if anyone could circumvent them, it would be Willow, who was a legend in her own right. And if she could go around these wards, the wards at the ministry would be a piece of cake.
To those who had witnessed Willow's power before, it was no surprise to them that Willow managed to open the portal despite the presence of the wards. Tonks and Shacklebolt were stunned but Remus and Arthur quickly pulled them along towards the portal. When they emerged from the portal to the other side, they could see the archway in front of them.
Willow, Tara and Anya walked around the portal, examining it with their magical senses. They conferred mind-to-mind about what they had discovered and found out that their conclusions were similar.
The rest of the people were exploring the adjourning rooms. Suddenly, Willow and Tara snapped their heads up and looked at one another. Raising her voice, Willow called out, "Hey, everyone get back here right now!"
The note of urgency in her voice sent everyone scurrying back to her.
"What's up?" Xander asked.
"Someone's activated an alarm," Tara informed them.
Willow was a bit more direct. "Which one of you touched something he or she wasn't supposed to?" she asked pointedly.
The guilty looks all of them sported answered her question. Just about everyone had not managed to keep their curiosity in check. Now they could hear the sound of footsteps towards the room they were in. A moment later, the door to the room burst open and a team of witches and wizards entered.