CHAPTER TEN: THE RESEARCH
To say that the recurring appearances of James Potter and Jenny Calender was making Buffy worried was definitely an understatement. She, like the Scooby she still was at heart, had headed towards the library and surrounded herself with books on ghosts and poltergeists and other such spirits. She spent hours reading over the books trying to figure out why the ghosts were visiting her, and why they'd only ever appeared to her. Harry was still holding out hope that James would visit him, but the Boy-Who-Lived hadn't seen hide-nor-hair of his deceased father.
Buffy however, kept seeing James at nearly every turn. It had come to the point where she was more concerned if she didn't see the man than if she did. It was always interesting to try and predict which form of James she would see him as. Often it was the seventeen-year-old version, looking so much like Harry, that the only real difference was their eye colour.
Sometimes he appeared as the twenty-six year old who had died trying to protect his wife and son. And other times, he appeared as an eleven-year-old First-Year. But it was always the same message that he brought with him. Stay away from Harry. For a week straight, Buffy endured the visits, both day and night. Sometimes the ghosts remained silent, other times they whispered words to her. Sometimes they were visible and other times they were not.
Buffy had found nothing in any of the books that she'd pulled off the shelves, much to her disappointment. She'd found out a lot about ghosts, but each of the books concurred on the subject of their manifestation. They had to either have stayed in the world after directly after their death, or they had to have been summoned. And, considering Jenny's ghost seemed adamant about it being something that Buffy had done to cause their sudden haunting of the Slayer, Buffy knew it wasn't the latter. She had never summoned spirits, and, now that she had experience with ghosts, she would never ever try it.
She sighed and closed the book she'd been flipping through. She replaced it to its shelf and slowly walked out of the library. She began walking back up towards the Gryffindor Tower when she stopped suddenly at the sight of a very familiar ghost. One that didn't scare her at all.
"Hello Sir Nicholas," Buffy greeted him.
The Gryffindor Ghost smiled and tilted his head in greeting.
"Good evening Miss Summers," he replied. "It is unusual to see you out and about without your cohorts."
Buffy shrugged and looked up at the floating ghost.
"Can I ask you something?" Buffy asked.
The ghostly Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington inserted a finger in the stiff ruff at his neck and tugged it a little straighter, apparently to give himself thinking time. He desisted only when his partially severed neck seemed about to give way completely.
Sir Nicholas regarded her curiously. He had often had students seek him out to ask him the question he was certain that Buffy was about to ask him. But usually when he was asked, it was directly after someone had suffered a loss. And, as far as Sir Nicholas knew, Buffy Summers hadn't lost anyone recently.
"You wish to ask me about why I am still here," Nicholas said. "Why I still walk and talk within the Hogwarts walls, when so many others don't."
Buffy nodded. "Something like that."
"You know that not everyone can come back as a ghost, do you not?" Nicholas asked.
Buffy nodded. "Yeah, I get that. What I don't get is why you stayed. No offence or anything."
Nicholas chuckled slightly. "None taken," he assured her. "And it is only witches and wizards who are able to come back as ghosts. No muggles are able to."
Buffy looked at him curiously. "What about someone who was a gypsy? Would they be able to come back as a ghost?"
Nicholas stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Possibly, possibly," he replied. "But, to return within Hogwarts grounds, you must be a benevolent spirit. Not even the Bloody Baron is truly as frightening as many of the students believe him to be. And to reside within Hogwarts grounds, you need to have attended the school."
With that information, Buffy could understand why James was staying around Hogwarts. What she couldn't understand was why Jenny Calendar and Angel had been able to make appearances.
"What if it was someone who'd been dead for years?" Buffy asked. "Like…say sixteen years or something? Could they come back?"
Nicholas shook his head, reaching up to straighten his neck as his head nearly fell off at his action.
"After they've gone on, they do not return unless someone summons them. And even then, they must wish to return," Nicholas explained. "And to remain a ghost, you are giving up your chance to leave this…this half-existence."
Buffy sighed. Sir Nicholas wasn't telling her anything that she didn't already know, but his information about ghosts residing in Hogwarts was definitely helpful.
He'd said that only benevolent ghosts could stay within the school. Why then was James, Jenny and Angel's ghosts trying to make her insane? And, for that matter, why was Angel's voice haunting her at every step when she knew that Angel had moved to LA, and was working with a half-demon named Doyle who received visions from the Powers That Be.
The fact that the ghosts that had been shadowing her for the last few days looked more solid than Sir Nicholas or the Bloody Baron, or any of the other Hogwarts ghosts also bothered Buffy. She'd never taken the risk of actually touching any of the ghosts, but she was almost certain that they weren't corporeal. They just looked solid.
"Thanks Sir Nicholas," Buffy said, disappointed that she hadn't found out more.
He tilted his head once more and floated away, drifting down the corridor and disappearing through a solid brick wall.
Buffy sighed and began walking towards the Entrance Hall, wishing for some fresh air. She couldn't work out why this was happening now. She was certain that she hadn't summoned the ghosts that were insisting that it was her who'd made them appear. Then again, with the way her spells had been going wonky for the last few weeks, it could have been possible.
She walked down a flight of stairs, and almost threw a punch at the person who grabbed her arm. She relaxed slightly when she saw that it was Harry who'd stopped her. Her calm state didn't last very long when she saw James Potter walking up the stairs in front of them.
"You shouldn't be around me Harry," Buffy said, her voice shaking. "You're not meant to be here."
Harry looked at her, completely confused.
"Not meant to be where?" he asked.
"Anywhere near me," she replied. "It's…it'll end badly."
Harry shook his head. "Buffy, you're just stressed, that's all," the young man insisted. "We should go and talk to Dumbledore about this. I mean…if the whole ghost thing is bothering you that much. Come on, we'll go together."
Buffy shook her head and pushed her way past him. She called back up the stairs, over her shoulder to him. "Stay away from me Harry. For your own good."
She ignored Harry calling out her name in an attempt to stop her, and she kept walking down the stairs, going faster than Harry would have been able to walk in order for him to catch up to her.
She raced out the double doors, breathing in the fresh air of the outdoors. Her feet automatically began taking her towards the Forbidden Forest, her mind not even registering where she was walking. It was only when she hit the tree line that she noticed how far she'd walked.
She hesitated a moment, looking back up to the castle. It was strange that there was hardly anyone outside, especially on a Saturday afternoon. Then again, it was a Hogsmeade weekend, and most of the students had gone to the wizarding village. Harry, Ron and Hermione had been in the library, researching for assignments that were last minute rushed jobs. Or, in Hermione's case, she was getting ahead of her schoolwork. But, Buffy had discovered that during her months of reading ahead, she'd researched the topic and had enough information to write the required essay for Professor McGonagall and had already finished it.
She'd spent an hour in the library with her three best friends before getting out of the library when she'd seen James stand behind Harry and lay a non-corporeal hand on her boyfriend's shoulder, Harry rubbing his forehead as he tried to think of something else to write on his essay. She'd wigged and gone as far away from the room with the musty books as she could. She idly wondered if Hermione and Ron had gone to se the Room of Requirement, leaving Harry to fend for himself when she'd seen him on the stairs of the Entrance Hall.
Buffy looked up at the cloudy sky, almost hoping that it would rain for the evening. She wasn't sure why, but she enjoyed patrolling in the rain. There was something cleansing about the way the rain would wash away the vampire dust.
When Buffy was sure that no one had noticed her, she ducked into the Forest, letting the darkness camouflage her. Even though she had express permission from Professor Dumbledore that allowed her to enter the Forbidden Forest at any time of the day, she knew it would cause problems if she allowed too many people to see her going in there. It would arouse people's suspicions, and that was not something that Buffy wanted to do.
When the Forest had engulfed her, and Buffy could barely see the Hogwarts castle anymore, she began walking towards the clearing that she'd discovered during her nightly patrols. It was a peaceful area, calm and gentle, a place that often soothed her fragile nerves. She knew that after the previous week and the morning she'd just had, she would definitely need the peace that the clearing brought to her.
The clearing was, as it's name suggested, a clear area of the Forest. It was a circular area, approximately seven metres in diameter. In the centre, there was a stone tablet, resembling a headstone, but nowhere near as smooth as one crafted by magic or muggle means.
Buffy perched herself on the stone, closing her eyes and allowing the peaceful area to work its magic. She stared up at the cloudy sky and breathed in deep breaths of air.
"I'm surprised you found this place," a voice said, a tall figure coming out of the Forest towards her.
Buffy sighed, wishing her solitude hadn't been interrupted. She looked towards the intruder and recognised her as the Hufflepuff girl who'd sat beside her at breakfast the day before.
"Not many people come here nowadays," the girl said.
"Why did you come here then?" Buffy asked.
The girl shrugged. "It's peaceful here."
Buffy narrowed her eyes at the Hufflepuff girl. She looked to be a Sixth-Year like herself, but there was something old about her eyes.
"Who are you?" Buffy asked.
"Just a girl," she replied.
Buffy picked up a small stick and threw it at the girl, testing a theory. The stick went directly through the girl, and Buffy knew without a doubt that this girl was another ghost.
"Just a dead girl," the ghost said.
"From Hufflepuff," Buffy added.
The girl nodded. "My daughter comes here. But…I have to admit, I'm disappointed in her."
"Why's that?" Buffy asked.
"She's…she has been corrupted," the girl explained. "By a friend of yours. If it hadn't been for you, my daughter would be…normal. She wouldn't be living in sin."
"Look, whoever you are, I'm sure your daughter isn't living in sin, or whatever else you want to call it. I don't even know who you're talking about."
"Tara," the girl replied, as though the answer was obvious. "Tara Maclay. It was you who introduced your friend Willow to her, and it was your influence with the girl that led her to leading an impure life."
Buffy rolled her eyes.
"Uh, hello! We're not in the
1800's anymore. It's the year 2000
now. It's not sinful, it's not evil,
and it's definitely not because your daughter met me. Willow and Tara love each other, and if you really are Tara's mom,
you should be happy that she found someone."
Mrs Maclay glared at the Slayer and stepped forward. Buffy looked up at her, somewhat thankful that the ghostly woman could do nothing to physically harm her.
"And, look, you know what? I'm really not interested in anything else you have to say. If you wanna rag on Tara, go and do it elsewhere. She's my friend, and she and Willow are crazy about each other, so…just…sod off," Buffy said firmly.
Mrs Maclay laughed and bent down so that she was eye level with Buffy. The close contact with the woman sent a shiver running up and down Buffy's spine.
"You think you know…what you are…what's to come. You haven't even begun."
The words that James Potter had said to her only days ago made Buffy's hands shake, her eyes wide. The ghost of Mrs Maclay shot out of sight and left Buffy alone in the middle of the clearing. She wiped at the tears in her eyes and clenched her hands into fists.
She stayed within the safety of the clearing for several hours, playing over the conversations she'd been having with the multitude of ghosts over the last few days. Night fell and Buffy finally stood up, scanning the darkness with her senses on full. She sighed, realising that there was nothing in the darkness for her to kill, and having not had a decent fight in days, she knew that she was going to have to leave school grounds in order to find a decent fight.
She checked herself to ensure she had weapons, and, concentrating on her sister-Slayer, she apparated out of the Forest and appeared next to Faith. Her eyes widened in surprise before she threw herself completely into the battle that raged around the other half of the Chosen Two.
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Sorry for the lack of updates. Been having troubles with this fic, mainly due to the fact that I've started a new crossover (again!) So…if you have any suggestions on where you'd like this fic to go, toss 'em at me, and hopefully I'll be able to work out where the hell this fic is going. I've written up to chapter 20, but it kinda just went downhill from there, so…yeah, help would be nice!
Many thanks for all your feedback and stuff!
Toodles.
DKG.