Chapter 44
The Watcher
- - - - -
Buffy woke suddenly Sunday morning when she felt fingers walking down her side. For a moment, she thought she was back in Sunnydale, and Joyce was trying to prod her awake. But, she wasn't in Sunnydale. She was at Hogwarts. Which wasn't Sunnydale. And whoever was touching her like this was going to pay severely...
She opened her eyes and found herself staring into a pair of dark eyes instead.
She screamed.
He screamed.
And the girl sleeping on her legs groaned and sat up, rubbing her eyes sleepily. "Geez, you two don't have to go all out with the wiggins. It's too early."
Buffy's breath caught in her throat as Xander's face focused. He leaned back, giving her a wry smile. "Were you trying to give me a heart attack, Buff?" he asked, helping her up.
"N-No," she managed to reply as she ran a hand through her very wild hair and glanced around the abandoned common room. "What time is it?"
"It's nearly eight," Willow said as she stood up.
"Where's Harry and Faith and everyone?" Buffy asked, looking around suspiciously.
"Faith and her puppy went back through the fireplace," Xander replied as he stood, too, and glanced around the room fondly. "Everyone else crashed around four. Are you sure you're all right? You look beat."
"It was a long week," Buffy said wryly as she stretched, her back and neck cracking, causing Willow's nose to wrinkle in disgust.
Without warning, Xander tackled her back into the sofa. "Happy birthday, Buff!"
Willow stood giggling behind him before diving on top of Xander. "Buffy sandwich!" she said cheerfully as the three wrestled for a few fleeting moments before there was the sound of a throat clearing behind them.
It was a group of seventh years, led by Katie and Emma, as usual. They were both laughing, but Yasmine had decided to spare her blonde-haired friend any more embarrassment and had alerted the rowdy group to their presence. "We're going down to breakfast, Buffy. Would you care to join us?"
Buffy ran a hand through her hair, which had been piled messily on top of her head by the evilness that was Xander. "Oh, sure, right. I'll be down as soon as I clean up a bit."
"Don't bother," Katie giggled as the group passed by. "We know how long you take."
"I hope that was only a suggestion!" Buffy shouted after they walked by, laughing. "Oy! What a night."
It had been quite a night. Despite their best efforts to keep storytelling well into the middle of it, Buffy had fallen asleep on Xander's lap. She was just far too exhausted with everything that had happened. The Weasleys twins had worn her out, Faith told them with a smirk as she bent down, prodding the great black dog stretched out before them.
The dog lifted its head and, if it could have, glared at her.
"Time to go home, Snuffles," she said, patting her knee. Regretfully, the dog stood, yawned, and followed her to the fireplace where she lifted it rather easily into her arms. It was quite awkward looking, since she was rather petite and Snuffles wasn't exactly a mutt, but somehow, she managed to shout out, "Grimmauld Place!" and disappeared in a flash of green flame.
Harry, Ron and Hermione were the last three in the common room by this time. Katie and the other seventh years had gone up to bed. Ginny had let Dean walk her to her dormitory door before they parted. At nearly four thirty, Harry announced he was going after Hermione had started dozing on his shoulder. Ron followed soon after, a look of puzzled bewilderment on his face.
Which left Xander, Willow and Buffy in the common room alone. Or, rather, xander and Willow with a few sleepy Buffy.
"You could try and get her to her room," Xander suggested.
"Nah, I think I'll just curl up here," Willow replied, grinning as she laid her head on Xander's shoulder. "Besides, we won't see her for another six months."
"I forgot that one tiny detail."
"Xander!"
Buffy grinned fondly at her two best friends before hugging them again. "I'm going to go upstairs and get cleaned up, okay? And then we'll go down to breakfast, unless you find someone to mooch on."
"They can mooch off us," a voice declared and Buffy turned to see Hermione emerging from the girl's dormitory, looking innocent as she tucked a lock of her voluminous hair behind her ear. "Harry'll be down in a second, I'm sure."
"You copycat," Buffy said with mock-indignation, sticking her tongue out at the younger girl, who looked affronted.
"What did I do?" Hermione asked, looking innocent.
"I suppose the next thing you'll be doing is feeding him," Buffy teased, her hazel eyes twinkling.
Hermione felt her face tint pink. "I will not!"
"I'm glad to see things have returned to normal," Harry greeted them as he walked over to his girlfriend, who was still glaring at his sister, who was smirking at both of them. His eyes widened when he saw his sister's appearance.
"Don't ask," she told him with a parting grin as she disappeared upstairs.
"Uh, Harry," Willow said slowly as she and Xander approached him and Hermione. "I really hope you don't mind us asking this, but seeing as Buffy isn't the most timely watch in the drawer, would you mind if we joined you?"
"We'll be out of your way once we finally figure out where we're going," Xander said quickly, seeing the look the two exchanged. "We know you won't fail us, being Buffy's little brother."
"Little?" he asked sharply, arching one eyebrow while Hermione succumbed to silent giggles.
"You know what we mean," Willow said, stepping up to Harry and threading her arm through his. "Could you at least point us in the right direction? We're not ones to get in the way of true love, but--"
"Oh, this is fresh."
Their heads turned to see Ron, Seamus, Dean and Neville all walking downstairs, smirking.
"Come on, Wil... it looks like we found some other moocher-wannabes," Xander said, tugging Willow away from Harry and turning back to Ron. "It's Ron... right? Mind if we walk with you? Buffy was just headed towards the showers and she's not the speediest cat in the bottle."
There was a distinctive sound of tapping on the pane of glass behind them.
"What is that?" Willow asked, looking around.
"It's just Buffy's owl," Harry replied, releasing Hermione's hand and moving to the window to let her in. Onyx flew inside and circled around the room once before landing on Hermione's shoulder, giving the girl a cold, icy-blue gaze.
"I'm going to hurt that girl for ever getting this owl to pick on me," Hermione pouted as Harry attempted to shoo her away. But Onyx just snipped at his fingers, almost daring him to try.
"Oh, would you cut that out, mate?" Seamus asked as he walked over and held out his arm. Onyx glared at him a moment before moving to his arm. "She's carrying, anyway."
"Buffy's bird is pregnant?" Xander asked, his eyes wide.
"Yeah," said Ron, turning slightly pink. "Don't ask me how it happened. It just sort of did." He glanced at Willow and Xander, who were looking at the lot of them as though they were all growing a few dozen extra heads. "Well, let's get downstairs for breakfast! If I didn't know her better, I'd say Buffy is going to be well taken care of in that department."
Seamus gently set Onyx down on the back of the chair. She gave him an appraising sort of look before landing with a soft flutter of wings, hooting softly.
"And we had such high hopes for her," Harry sighed as they all turned towards the portrait.
Buffy emerged twenty minutes later. She was dressed in her Sunday best, which was quite the same as every other day. Xander and Willow glanced up from the Gryffindor table to see Buffy walk into the Great Hall. She wasn't alone.
She was with the cute boy with the adorable Scottish accent. He was gazing at her with a look that Angel might have given her. It was full of love, and his eyes were only for her.
They sat down together, dishing each other up. No one said anything until another person walked in, spotted them, and moved pompously towards them.
"Happy birthday, Elizabeth!" Percy said, giving her a brief, one-armed hug from behind. "I trust you slept well?"
Buffy caught Willow's eye before snorting into her cereal. "Oh, yeah, Percy... loads well."
"Good! Good!" He sat down on her other side and started pulling dishes towards himself. Willow cast Xander a look that clearly said, 'can you believe this guy?'
Obviously, Xander was even at a loss for words.
"What are your plans?" Percy asked her as he sliced a banana into his own cereal.
"Oh, you know, the usual," Buffy drawled slowly, a grin lighting up her face. "It is my birthday and I intend to enjoy it. I also have two feet to summarize in Potions, a test tomorrow in Charms and I still haven't been able to Transfigure my teacup into a tortoise yet."
"Homework on your birthday?" Katie asked from down the table, looking scandalized. "Oh, Buffy!"
"I doubt that Professor Snape would be so kind as to excuse me for my procrastinating heart," Buffy said dryly, sneaking a glance up at the faculty table. Sure enough, Professor Snape was seated next to Professor Pryce. They were pointedly not looking at one another.
And then her eyes fell on the Slytherin table.
Draco Malfoy was staring straight at her. She risked a small smile at him. He responded with a hard, cold look, a bit of fear in his eyes as he realized Percy was also glaring at him, before he turned away.
Frowning slightly, she stared back at her breakfast and continued to eat as the table erupted into conversation around her.
"When are you guys heading back?" Buffy asked Willow, since Xander was in conversation with the group of Buffy's giggling, flirtatious roommates down the table.
"We'll be going back to Faith's tonight," Willow replied with a smile. "We actually leave England tomorrow. We're just here for a few days. I'm thanking whatever power that actually brought us here that your Headmaster was okay with us being here."
"He... was..." Buffy said slowly, mentally kicking herself for not even thinking of that fact. Professor Dumbledore may be a lot of things, but suspicion she knew probably came most naturally to him. What she didn't know was that Harry himself had been the one to talk to the Headmaster and clear the way so that two of Buffy's best friends from California could come and visit her.
After breakfast, Buffy disappeared. Willow didn't know where she'd gone to, but she just seemed to vanish into thin air, leaving Xander and Willow to follow her brother and his friends back to their Common Room.
"Wait," Xander said, before Harry could go any further. "Would you mind showing us around? I don't know where Buff went, but... we wouldn't mind seeing this place."
"It was pretty impressive watching it from that bus," Willow countered with a shudder.
"I think I'll take it from here."
It was Professor Pryce. He had been following them from the Great Hall.
"Go on, Potter, Granger, Weasley. Really, I'll show these two around."
And Harry had no choice but to bid the other two farewell before he and his friends disappeared down the corridor.
Buffy hadn't disappeared. She had merely gone, with food in her arms, up to the room where the twins were sleeping. Not only did she miss out on the lightness and laughter they usually brought to the table, but, since it was her birthday, she seemed to miss it twice as much.
She knocked on their own portrait until a sleepy voice called, "Just a minute, all right?" from inside.
She waited two moments, possibly longer until the door opened and a disheveled person appeared, tugging down a thick Muggle sweatshirt and looking far too cranky for words. He was definitely not prepared for the ear-splitting shriek of the woman in front of him. Nor was he prepared to catch her as she launched herself into his arms.
George felt himself being knocked over far too early on a Sunday morning. "Bloody hell," he moaned as they both hit the floor, the girl in his arms giggling like mad. "Cut it out, Potter, will you?"
"Hey, mister grumpy face," she said with a wicked smile as she got back to her feet and helped him back to his. "What's with the Joan Collin's attitude, Weasley?"
"It's nothing, really," George said, rubbing his eyes as he glanced at a large covered basket she'd thrown aside before throwing herself at him. "What's all this?"
"Oh, a common tradition at the old house," Buffy said in a cheerful voice as she scooped up the basket and stalked past a still incredulous George into their small room. Fred was still in his bed, an arm over his face, snoring softly. "How late were you two up?"
"Just till sunrise," George said with a mysterious wink as he peered curiously into her basket. "Oh, wow, Potter..."
"Yeah, yeah, no need to get all mushy on me now," she teased as she pulled out a jug of orange juice and two glasses. "Those house-elfs are damned helpful when I need them to be."
"Since when did you start swearing?" George asked as she began to place pastries on two separate plates.
"I guess I got it from Wood," she said with a frown, followed by a slight giggle.
"Are you mad?" George asked, peering at her more carefully now. Her hair looked normal. Her eyes had seemed right.
"It's my birthday and I can act all psycho raving looney if I want to," Buffy said with a quick smile at him before she started removing silverwear.
George was starting to feel stupid for even firing all of these questions at her. He'd never had breakfast-in-bed in his life and suddenly Buffy Potter showed up out of nowhere offering it to them.
"Go to bed," she said finally, turning to George with a very resoluted look on her face.
"But, I--" He paled as he saw the sternness on her face. "Fine." He turned around and walked back to his own bed and dropped down into it. "Is this good?"
She bustled a tray over to him, gave him a brilliant smile, and went off to collect the other one.
There were just some days when he didn't understand her.
She dropped a tray on the nightstand next to Fred and then turned to him, a bemused look on her face. "Get up, you lazy punk!" she sang cheerfully.
Fred groaned and tried to roll over, but that was before Buffy used her chosen strength and was on him in an instant.
Fred gasped as he felt cold hands tickling his body, especially where his striped pajama top had creeped up during the last few hours of twisting and turning. He caught of the hands and sniffed. He felt his heart start to beat just a little faster as he turned his head quickly and caught sight of a beaming blonde hovering just a foot above him.
"Finally," she said, pulling her hand away and jumping back to her feet. "Now, eat."
Fred barely saw the well-made tray next to him as he studied her. She was dressed in a usual Hogwarts outfit. Long black cloak. But there was something different about her this morning. She looked much more relaxed. Her face wasn't as lined as it usually was.
Before he realized it, she had marched back out through their portrait hole.
"What was that about?" Fred asked George in confusion as George grinned at him, eating his waffles.
"Don't ask, because you know she won't tell us," George advised, reaching for his orange juice.
"Oh, that Potter girl!" Fred said in mock indignation as he lifted his tray on his bed. "Someday she's going to kill us with that heart of hers."
George nearly choked into his glass.
- - - - -
After being shown the entire school by the former Watcher, Xander had started asking Professor Pryce different questions. One of the first ones being how long Buffy had waited before beginning her training again.
He was startled when Professor Pryce told them he'd only been training her for a week.
"A week?" Willow asked in disbelief.
"She felt there were dangers to beginning sooner, not to mention I have no idea what she did over the holidays. I had the matters of my own daughter to attend to," Professor Pryce said, his voice getting surprisingly thick.
"Faith told us about that," Willow said in a small voice. "I'm sorry about your daughter, Professor."
"I'm not yours and I really don't think I could be. So in the corridors or naught, call me Lincoln."
"All right, Lincoln," said Xander, giving the man a confused look. "What are you having her do? Patrol? Kick a little demon-y ass?"
"It's Buffy's favorite," Willow enthused.
"If her favorite activity is punching a bag and getting her 'ass' kicked by some of my most well-rounded curses, then your Slayer is doing a magnificient job," Professor Pryce said drolly. He paused a moment. "I really don't think she appreciated becoming weak even if it was to save her own life."
"Buffy's not always known as the smart one," Willow replied with an affectionate look towards Xander. "We've had to stop her from doing something stupid on a few occasions. Her battle with Angelus, for one."
"Not to mention that spell with Angel, Wil. You've really got the mojo going."
"You're a witch as well?" Professor Pryce asked Willow in some surprise.
"Practicing wicca, is more like it," said Willow with a dry look at Xander. "I honestly would have thought Buffy had told you all of this by now."
Professor Pryce looked concerned for a moment, but the shadow soon passed his face. "It's all right. I'm used to not being told what I need to know."
"I'm pretty sure you didn't need to know about us," Xander said in his usual light fashion.
"But I'm sure you wanted to, right?" Willow asked meekly.
Professor Pryce shrugged. "Whatever works in her best favor, I suppose." His next comment was cut off when a group of Buffy's friends approached them. Xander recognized a few of them as the girl's who flirted with him at breakfast. As Xander opened his mouth, Willow elbowed him sharply in the ribs.
"Xander! They're younger than you!"
"I'm like a toddler to Anya, so what does it matter?" Xander asked, massaging his ribs. "And besides, Cordy's younger than me, too."
"You have a girlfriend..." Willow said slowly; she was eyeing some of the seventh year boys accompanying the girls.
"You hypocrite!" Xander hissed in her ear, nearly causing Willow to double over in giggles.
"Willow, Xander," the dark-haired girl named Emma greeted them. "Err, Professor... you wouldn't mind if we borrowed these two away, would you?"
"I daresay you could, Miss Vance," Professor Pryce said dryly. "The tour ends here, friends of Summers. It really was a pleasure getting to know you both and to have you both tell me things I never would have guessed about our little... charge. Good day to both of you."
He hurried away.
Willow was watching him with a puzzled expression on her face. She wasn't the only one.
"Did he just call her 'Summers'?" one of the boys asked, frowning.
"Yeah," Willow said under her breath. "He did. Anyway," she said, turning back to Emma, who was grinning at her. "What's up?"
"We sent Buffy on her merry way to the twins so we could corner the both of you," Emma said with a wicked smile. "I heard you guys were up late playing storytime."
"Yeah," Xander said, blinking at her. "It's sort of what we do when we're around our bestest Buff."
Emma gave him a dazzling smile. "Then I'm sure you won't mind helping us out. We asked the house-elfs in the kitchen to make us a little cake for our resident American. "We also asked to use an unoccupied classroom for a little get-together we're having this afternoon. Not as public as last night's party was, mind you. That way, she can get her birthday presents and stuff."
Stepping forward, she glanced behind her at Katie. "Could you finish with the decorations? We're heading down to the kitchens."
She looped her arm through both Xander's and Willow's and began dragging them in the opposite direction.
Willow's mind was only half on their task, however. She had the strangest feeling about something, and it centered around their dear Professor Pryce. If only she could get the opportunity to talk to him again...
"What are you doing, Miss Vance? And who exactly are these... guests? What are they doing inside the castle?"
It was Professor Snape, bearing down on them and looking livid.
"Merciful Zeus!" Xander gasped next to Emma, who was staring at the Professor, looking rather intimidated. It was Willow who finally decided to introduce them.
"Hi, sir... I'm Willow and this is--"
"I do not have time for pleasantries," he said, glaring at her with cold, merciless eyes. "Vance, who are these people?"
"We're guests of Buffy, you know, Elizabeth Potter?" Willow prompted gently. "It is her nineteenth today, after all."
The look on Professor Snape's face changed from rightful anger to a softened look of mild irritation. He looked like he'd been kicked in the shins for no apparent reason, although Willow was certainly willing to give it a go.
"Again, I repeat, what are you doing, Vance?"
"We're going to the Kitchens, sir," Emma said, finally swallowing her fear of the Potions professor. "We had the house-elfs bake her a cake, Professor."
"And are you aware that there are certain things Muggles can't exactly see within these castle walls?"
"Muggle?" Xander asked before he could stop himself.
Professor Snape silenced that curiosity with one cold-eyed glare. Willow swallowed nervously.
"Non-magic folk," Emma replied quietly.
"What do you mean the non-magic folk?" Willow interrupted before Professor Snape could reply. "I think I've got some handy magical skills. All right, so they're just about calling on the different elements and floating pencils, but if you tell me that's not magic, Mister--"
"You do wandless magic?" Professor Snape said, giving Willow a cool look.
"Yes," Willow said firmly.
"Fascinating," was all Professor Snape said in that livid voice of his. "And the boy?"
"I am no boy, your Jedi-nastiness," Xander said mockingly, finally getting tired of being talked down to. "I may not be some sort of magical whim, but I've patrolled enough with the Slayer to take down a demon or two."
Obviously, this wasn't the best thing to say. Especially since Emma had no idea what a Slayer was, but it was evident that this Professor did. His eyes narrowed dangerously as he turned to Xander.
"We do not speak of her in this castle," he said, his voice full of underlying anger. "There are many who want her dead, and this is not the appropriate time to discuss this."
This wasn't news to either Willow or Xander, but it appeared to take Emma by great surprise.
"What is all of this rubbish about?" she demanded angrily. "What about Buffy and the Slayer and the whole 'many want her dead'? What is going on?" She glared at Professor Snape for a moment, but he didn't reply. She turned infuriated eyes on Buffy's friends instead. "I know you two know, and you're going to tell me right here and now."
"No, they are not," Professor Snape said coldly.
"Uh, who's the boss of me?" Willow asked, giving the Professor a look of maddening superiority. "I--"
But a hand had come out of nowhere and clamped itself over her mouth.
It was Harry.
"Professor Snape, I didn't think you guarded the corridors so readily on a Sunday," Hermione said from behind him.
"I daresay I wouldn't if you horrid Gryffindors would actually stay on your own end of the grounds."
"Someone's a bit pissy today," Xander muttered under his breath.
Professor Snape stalked past them, leaving Harry with his hand still covering Willow's mouth, and both Hermione and Xander gaping after him in indignation.
Only Emma seemed to be thinking coherently when she asked, "What was that about?"
No one answered her. "Let's just get the cake and go," Harry said quietly, giving Willow an apologetic smile. "Sorry for that."
"How about we'll go get the cake," Xander suggested as Emma turned on him, looking really curious now. "You stay here and talk to Wil."
Xander took Emma's arm and hauled her down the corridor.
"Do you even know where you're going?" Emma spluttered. He was easily the cutest guy she had seen, even if he was a few years older than her.
"No, that's why you're with me," he replied as they reached a fork. "So, where do we go?"
Willow was finding that the stone floor was most fascinating. She could feel the heat and intensity of Harry's eyes on her. Hermione even seemed to be glaring at her.
"I really wasn't going to tell her," Willow finally said, raising her gaze.
"There are only a few people here who know my sister is... what she is," Harry said, still in very bad temperment. "And you heard what Professor Snape said, no matter how much I despise him. Buffy is still wanted."
Willow shivered slightly at these words.
"Harry, I think we both figured out that Willow wasn't about to tell Emma anything," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "Let's just get to classroom nine, now." They both turned to look at Willow.
"I'll just wait here until those guys come back," Willow said feebly. "Really. You two go off and make out or whatever it is you British call it. I'll be fine here. I'll just wait for Xander."
"Okay," Harry said slowly, taking Hermione's hand and walking out.
Willow leaned against a wall, staring at the bright torches lining the long corridor.
Something was making her incredibly curious, however; she could hear voices coming from the other side. Jogging along the wall, she pressed her ear to it occasionally, trying to make out actual words. She had just dashed past a ridiculous painting with a fruit bowl did she finally get her chance.
There was a doorway opening. Four figures were walking through it, led by a tall blonde-haired boy that made Willow's jaw drop. He was beyond stunning, but his words chilled her right to the bone.
"Doesn't know a thing, that girl?" one of them was asking the blonde kid as they stalked off towards the kitchens.
"Of course not," the blonde replied with an arrogant smirk quite like Percy Weasley's. "She's that thick. Honestly, give her two shakes with the Scot and they're back to Heaven-on-Earth. She has no idea what's coming down for her."
The girl simpering at the blonde's side looked up at him with narrowed, dark eyes. "How did you do it, Draco?"
"My father," the blonde replied smugly. "It was his idea. I just had to do the hard work."
"What's going on tonight?" the fourth one asked Draco as they passed along to the front of the portrait, staring at it.
"You'll find out soon enough," Draco replied coldly. "Now, how do you open this---"
His words were cut off as Emma and Xander stepped through, laughing and holding a gigantic birthday cake decorated in three-tiers of luscious chocolate between them.
"Why, if it isn't Vance and... some mudblood person I don't know."
Emma released her end of the cake, leaving Xander to juggle it as her hand shot down to her wand. "You take that back, Malfoy!"
Willow knew the time to intervene had come as she approached the group, looking very angry. "What are you looking at?" she snapped to the simpering brunette who glared at her with her arched eyebrows lowering in response.
"Let's move," Willow said pointedly to Emma, taking the other half of the cake tray as the trio hurried away.
"Good riddance!" Draco shouted gleefully after them. "And thanks for showing us the way in!"
"I hate him," Emma grumbled as they walked back upstairs. "Buffy seems to think he's nice. She's too damned trusting for her own good, she is."
They had reached classroom nine. Both Xander and Willow got the surprise of their lives when they walked inside. There were faeries, dozens of silver and golden pixies, all fluttering around what looked like a real white archway, decorated with flowers.
"She didn't mention getting married today, did she?" Xander asked in a worried voice as Willow giggled next to him.
"No, but we did decied to do a Muggle formal," another female voice replied. Xander turned and his eyes widened in shock. It was Faith... in a dress. "Don't look at me when wondering about these decorations. They're courtesy of our resident psycho looney," she said, smiling sweetly at Katie and Yasmine, who both stepped forward to greet Buffy's two American friends.
"I feel out of place here," Willow muttered, staring down at her worn overall jeans. Xander was still in his mock-military gear, looking quite scrumptous, something the other women in the room seemed to have noticed, since they were advancing on Xander as though he were the perfect groom.
Faith was still wearing a dress, after all. It was pinkish, and it had a scooped neckline, where a small stone on a fragile silver string rested in the perfect spot to accessorize her cleavage.
Katie was standing next to her, looking almost stuffily British in a blouse and sweater, a mid-calf length skirt neatly hugging her Quidditch curves.
Xander also noticed that Emma, Harry and Hermione had mysteriously disappeared.
They had been replaced by Percy, who was still in his Wizarding robes, looking around the room as though it had offended him. A pretty brunette with long, curly brown hair stood next to him in an outfit like Faith's, only in powder blue. It also went down to her ankles. She was followed by Oliver, who looked stunning in a sweater of a deep, mysterious shade of blue and khakis.
Willow felt her breath draw in sharply. Buffy was going to flip when she noticed Oliver looking so deliciously Muggle.
Then the twins arrived and Willow found herself swallowing her words.
They were wearing their sweaters their mother had made for them. It had to be, because they were both maroon, and one had a large F stamped on it, the other a G. They both wore dark pants and were looking around the room in disbelief.
"Whoa," Fred said under his breath. "All this for our Teeny Tiny?"
"Yeah," George said in wonder. "She's got the big time."
"No one deserves the best except our B," Faith said with a grin, crossing her arms in front of her. It was then that Fred and George saw Faith standing there, in a dress to boot.
"Wow, Delita!" Fred whistled appreciatively. "You sure know how to clean up."
Xander saw Faith bristle and quickly moved to stand between the two of them. "Now, now, Fred... that's a bad idea to be calling Faith..." He frowned suddenly and turned to her. "Did he just call you Delita?"
"It's my curse," Faith said with a dramatic sigh as she dropped her head on Xander's shoulder with a wicked grin at the twins. "Have I mentioned how glad I am to see you here Xander?" she purred into his ear.
"Probably not as glad as that redhead looks right now," Xander said, straightening. "You know, the one glaring at me and looking as though he wants to hex my appendages off."
"Oh," Faith said, smoothing her dress and doing a very girly-little twirl in front of Ron, who had just entered with a few of his other housemates, along with the younger Wood siblings, who just went straight to their brother, and the rest of the Gryffindor seventh years. "Do you like it?"
Ron turned a fair shade of pink. "I don't think I've ever seen you in a dress before."
"Probably not since birth," Faith said gleefully, staring down at her pale legs. "I was beginning to wonder if I ever had these!"
One of the twins coughed behind Ron, while the other snickered with laughter.
"Did you know she had those, Ron?" Percy asked in a very direct way.
"Hey now," Xander said, suddenly feeling all defensive. "Will you stop looking at her as though she's just trailer trash? These are good stems."
Willow just sighed and moved away. The girl attached to Percy's hip disentangled herself and met Willow before she reached a table displayed a half-dozen punch bowls, all filled to capacity with different juices.
"You're Willow, right?" the girl asked as Willow was ladling herself a bit of blue-colored punch into a small plastic cup.
"Oh, yeah, Willow, that's me," she said, offering her hand.
"I'm Penelope," the other girl said, shaking Willow's hand. "And you're friends with Buffy?"
"Yep," Willow said fondly. "She's one of my best friends."
"She's been so good to my ex," Penelope said, gesturing to Percy. "Can you believe he actually knows everything about her former life?"
"He... he does?" Willow asked.
"He was telling me a few stories last night," Penelope said with a sigh. "I wish I could have been there when you were all talking! It would have been fun to be part of a group like that."
"Like what?" Willow asked, now completely baffled. She was being distracted by the utter look of horror on Ron's face, the look of undeniable understanding on Xander's, and the other people standing around them were looking at Faith as though she were poison.
"Something about you being a vampire in another dimension," Penelope said casually, getting herself a glass of punch that spelled violently of mangoes. "Are you a vampire?"
"Not now," Willow said with a chuckle. "I mean, I had a vampire doppleganger."
"An alternate reality version of yourself?" Penelope asked, catching on. She was watching as the Weasley brothers accosted Ron and Faith, who was still leaning on Xander, the both of them exchanging knowing smirks. "I wonder what they're talking about."
"It's best you don't ask," Willow said, choking on her beverage, which had gone down her throat as though she'd swallowed fire. "What is this stuff?"
"I should have warned you; those Weasley twins own a joke shop," Penelope said sympathetically as Willow continued coughing.
"I think I just swallowed flaming rocks," Willow gagged, fanning her face, which had turned a brilliant shade of magenta.
"Try this," a voice said from behind her. It was Buffy, and she was holding a glass of water, smirking with this knowing look on her face.
"Thanks," Willow gasped as she happily drank the water. "You look... whoa..."
"Exactly my sentiments," Xander said, reappearing at Willow's side, reaching for her punch glass on the table.
"No, don't!" Willow and Buffy cried at the same time as Xander made to drink it.
"Geez, Wil. Possessive, much?" Xander asked, rolling his eyes as he handed her the glass. To his surprise, the other girl took it and marched it over to where the twins were standing.
"So, you were telling me about my appearance?" Buffy teased, grinning down at herself. Despite her best efforts to want to be an independent dresser in this school, she'd finally caved and let Emma help her with her wardrobe. She looked almost exactly like Katie, only she wore an oriental tunic with a long skirt. And, of course, her trademark boots. Emma had appeared also, dressed in something long and red.
Oliver had made a beeline for them. Willow saw the look in Buffy's eyes when she spotted her honey's stunning sweater set.
"You look good," she said appreciatively as Oliver stepped neatly into her arms and folded her inside a huge hug.
"And you look monochrome," he teased, glancing at her black, white and grey outfit. "It suits you."
She turned in his arms as they clasped easily around her waist, her arms folding over his. Willow shared a knowing smile with Xander; this couple was definitely a strong couple. But she couldn't help but notice that the twins were making their way towards them. One of them was looking thrilled that someone had tried their trick punch. The other was staring at Buffy before turning blue eyes to Willow.
"So, how'd you like it? We call it our Acidic Special," one of them said with a wink as he extended his hand. He was wearing a large F printed on his shirt. Willow laughed and shook it. "No hard feelings?"
"As long as I really didn't swallow flaming rocks, you're all right with me," Willow said with a grin.
"You hypocrite!" Xander whispered in her ear.
She elbowed him sharply in the ribs.
Buffy was led over to a large arrangement of mismatched desk chairs and little purple poofs that had appeared out of nowhere. Apparently someone, probably an older someone, had magicked them there.
A relatively large pile of presents was awaiting her. Buffy looked charmed as she lifted the first one. An hour later, after much teasing and playing around, she had gotten through most of them. Harry had decided to get her a few Quidditch books. Hermione and Ginny had decided to pool their money and got their old summer roommate a vast array of dark detectors, since Buffy adored Defense Against the Dark Arts. There was a sneakoscope and a large mirror that Hermione called a foe glass. Lastly, there was a chain with a small dragon attached to it, set to either burn warm or else growl when someone wasn't being trustworthy. This was all an elaborate charm of Hermione's that Buffy found quite touching.
Her other roommates had finally gotten her frames for all the pictures that kept falling off the wall from the use of Muggle scotch tape. The boys, on the other hand, decided to go for a much kinkier gift. She smirked when she saw what the five of them had come up with. And then she turned a bright shade of pink, but it was nowhere near the color Oliver had gone. Since Buffy was perched on his lap, it made it all the more humiliating. It was a small raincoat (which had made Xander blush and look away whistling while Buffy was getting severely teased) that purred when brushed in the right way. Buffy just laughed and tucked it to the bottom of her pile, her eyes sparkling with tears.
The twins gifts had been close to last. Molly had sent her a Weasley sweater at Christmas, which was green, fast becoming one of her favorite colors. Although, after today, she might have to revise that theory, because the shade of blue on her boyfriend was doing something deadly to her senses. They had given her the biggest chocolate roses she had ever seen. They had to be the size of artichokes. Beautiful, really. Not to mention a huge basket of other goodies.
Faith had given her Remus and Sirius's gift next. She had already given her Slayer her gift. It was a diary, preserving her mother's sixteen-year-old self in it. She gave Faith a significant look and tucked it away, saving it for later.
Percy's gift was a little extreme, given the circumstance. Buffy had a feeling Penelope might have helped him with it, no matter how out of touch they were. There were all sorts of hair and makeup accessories. Buffy grinned at them. Magical supplies really were superior to her old Maybelline products, after all. Especially since they came in a pretty silver trunk.
Ron had given her the most touching gift yet. His box rattled slightly, and Harry was half afraid there was something dangerous inside of it. But, no, Ron explained.
"It's a nesting box."
There had been a chorus of "awwww" and "ooooh" at this. Buffy gently removed the top and saw in a pile of leaves and twigs, four small white eggs.
It took Buffy a few attempts to unstick her throat. "My owl's having babies!" she crooned to the box as she handed it back to Ron. "And your owl's the daddy!"
"Can I have a baby Onyx?" Willow asked curiously.
"You want a baby Onyx-is-the-pet-owl-from-Hell?" Harry asked her incredulously.
"Not really, but I bet he'd be darned useful," Willow said with a grin. "Not to mention it is a Buffy thing. And Buffy didn't leave much behind when she left Sunnydale. No offense."
Buffy just gave her a wan smile. "All right," she said after a moment. "You can have a baby Onyx. I'm sure Ron and I will divide the birds up to the best of our abilities."
"I want a white one, though," Willow said, turning to pout to Ron with puppy eyes. "Please?"
Ron just looked astounded.
The party moved up to Gryffindor Tower as the afternoon progressed onward.
An hour later, Faith stood up and announced it was time for Willow and Xander to get their things together; their flight left in just a few hours and Faith wanted to get them to the airport the proper Muggle way.
"I can't believe you're leaving so soon," Buffy said with a small sigh as Xander clung to her for several long moments.
"We'll see you soon, Buffy, we promise," Xander reassured her, rubbing her back as he pulled away. "It really isn't Sunnydale without you. Or you," he continued, turning to Faith, who looked charmed.
"Joyce will be so excited to see you," Willow said, taking Xander's place as Xander moved towards the doorway, saying goodbye to the other people that he'd been talking to, including a few girls who sauntered over to him. "Can we tell her you're coming? Can we tell anyone you are?"
"I'll probably see Joyce the moment I get there, so you don't have to tell her. I want her to be surprised, maybe," Buffy said with a tight smile. "As for anyone else, no. I'll probably swing down and see Hank in L.A. before going home again."
"I'm scheduled to leave town the first week of August if you want to coordinate," Willow said seriously. "You know, flights and such."
"What do you think?" Buffy asked, turning to look at Harry, who was suddenly drawn into a conversation he'd been paying little attention to. "Care to spend your seventeenth in California?"
"Really?" Harry asked, looking from Buffy to Willow. He gave the slightest hint of a smile. "As long as I can get back and spend some time with... err... Padfoot before school starts, that would be great."
Willow grinned and hugged him, too. "Joyce is so gonna love you."
"And where one Slayer goes, the other follows," Faith said quietly as she and Xander joined them. It was sort of weird seeing the Scooby trio standing here in this obviously magically-enhanced room fit for a princess. And yet, there were Sunnydale's finest, their arms wrapped around each other as they decided the first place they would take Harry to would be the Bronze.
And then Harry's brain unstuck itself and he asked the most painfully obvious question. "What about the protection charm, though?"
"We have about six months to do some research on it," Willow said, frowning slightly. "You told us last night that it was your Mother's blood that sealed the charm, right?"
"Well, yeah."
"Giles will be so thrilled we have something to do," Xander said excitedly. "With the Initiative and all taking over the Slay count."
"You two will be most welcome when you return," Willow said wistfully, staring as Buffy took a step back to stand next to Faith. They really were something, those girls, Slayers.
"Until then, I guess this is sort of my home," Buffy said, looking at the room and beaming at it.
"You should enjoy it, B. You earned this," Faith said, giving Buffy a quick one-armed hug. She punched Harry lightly in the shoulder. And then she turned back to the other two Americans. "Ready to fly?"
A moment later, they were gone.
For a moment, Buffy stared at the fireplace with a sad smile. And then her attention was seized by Hermione, who was tapping her on the shoulder, a serious look on her face.
"It's Professor Pryce," she said quietly.
Buffy rose and left the common room, heading out into the corridor where her favorite Professor was standing there, waiting patiently for her.
"I wanted to give you your birthday gift myself," he said with a brief smile of welcome. "Get dressed; we're heading down to the Forbidden Forest."
"What?"
"You're going on a patrol tonight, Potter," he said, pointing back towards the portrait hole now swinging shut.
Buffy felt a tingle of excitement in her stomach. She was going patroling in the most dangerous part of the Hogwarts grounds! She could hardly believe it.
After a brief interlude in which she pulled on her old patrolling clothes (had it really been six months since she'd last worn them?) and ran downstairs, carefully tucking all weaponry out of sight underneath her over cloak.
She was less than surprised to see Hermione standing by the portrait hole, also wearing a long cloak, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.
"What are you doing?" she asked Hermione as she carefully tucked her stake deeper into the pocket of her jeans.
"I'm going with you," Hermione replied, crossing her arms, a look of complete resolution on her face.
"Like hell you are."
"I know more about what's in that Forest than you do," Hermione said, her chin lifting, her eyes full of determination. "And I'm better with my wand. You can't attack everything in there with wooden sticks and holy water."
"Fine," Buffy said, not really wanting to spare the time to argue her case. If Hermione wanted to go and get herself killed, she was more than welcome to go out into the night with all the other dangers of the world.
Oliver met her by the door, glancing her up and down. "Training?"
"Be back soon," she said with a quick hug.
"Good, because I still haven't given you your birthday present yet."
Buffy just gave him a quick smile before bustling out, Hermione hurrying to keep up with her.
Professor Pryce met them in the Entrance Hall. His eyes fell upon Hermione. "What are you doing here, Granger?" he asked softly.
"I'm her second," Hermione said boldly, pulling out her wand.
"Have you ever fought demons before, Granger?"
"Well, no..."
"Have you ever staked a vampire?"
"No..."
"Have you ever seen a demon that wasn't an illustration in your precious books?"
"Well, if you count Fluffy..."
"She's going, Professor," Buffy said firmly, as Hermione was starting to flush under the intensity of his eyes. When had his eyes ever been that intense?
"All right. Let's go."
They walked outside. The sky was a murky silver, with tiny stars shining through the thin wisps of clouds above them. It was quite cold, Buffy realized, pulling her cloak tighter around her. Hopefully once they got into the forest, the snow would melt away.
They reached the perimeter in twenty minutes time. Hermione cast a longing glance at Hagrid's hut as they passed it. She would have longed to be inside there in front of a roaring fire instead of heading into the Forbidden Forest with a Slayer and her unofficial Watcher.
And she was just a sixth year Gryffindor with a mighty wand.
The thought made her chuckle nervously and speed up until she was right behind the Slayer again.
There wasn't as much snow in the denser parts of the Forest, Buffy realized with a triumphant smile. It was also rather dark. Pulling out her wand, she muttered, "Lumos"
Hermione did the same.
"Remember what we taught you about your senses," Professor Pryce said, his voice dark and echoing from wherever he was standing.
Buffy pulled out her stake and circled, holding both weapons proficiently well. She had the better eyesight. She was doing something she had done before; her movements were well-practiced, even if she hadn't been using them as of late.
Hermione tried mimicking the Slayer. Her movements were that of a novice. But what she lacked in practice she made up for in the determination of her movements; she wanted to be the Slayer's second.
"Spread out more," the voice said, deepening as it disappeared into the trees. "They are hunting you."
"Oh!" Hermione said, giving a tiny gasp as though of surprise as she jerked, glancing awkwardly over her shoulder. Buffy kept moving fluidly, her eyes searching out every point as she continued to move away from the younger girl, who was still acting rather twitchy.
Buffy was moving until she noticed a rapid movement in the bushes to her left. She turned, aiming her wand for the light, and her stake to attack. Her senses were tingling on overdrive, but she did have one thought: something was seriously wrong here. She had no idea what she was facing. Why would Professor Pryce have her patrol in a forest when she had no idea what sort of creatures lived within it? It was a great training lesson and probably a good birthday present, but still. She was starting to get cold.
It was only then that she noticed Hermione wasn't following her.
"Hermione?" she asked quietly as she turned her wand tip to face the path she'd been walking. "Hermione?"
And then she let out a grunt as a snarling creature launched itself into her, knocking them both into the clump of bushes she'd been studying so intently earlier.
"Buffy?" Hermione whispered. There were so many footsteps, some were human and some weren't. She didn't know what sort of boots the other girl was wearing, so following the footprints seemed like a really stupid thing to do.
And just as she thought she spotted a set of footsteps, there was the sound of a fight about twenty feet ahead.
She had just taken a step forward when a hand came out of nowhere and clamped itself over her mouth. She felt a cold blade of steel against her throat and her eyes widened as she saw the dagger.
"Don't move."
It was a dark, deep voice. It was definitely human. But it was evil. Very evil. She felt something else nudge her in the back. It was a wand.
The fight in front of her was starting to fade away. If she was going to get out of this, it had to be now. She lifted her arm and nailed her assailant in his stomach and turned, her own wand hand trembling as the knife fell away. She looked up, trembling, and screamed into a masked face, her horrified face reflecting in the cold silver exterior.
And then she was hit by a spell from behind and felt nothing as she toppled face first into the ground.
"We'll bury her with the other."
Buffy gave a vicious kick, ducking underneath what appeared to be a werewolf, only it wasn't the full moon. It was definitely a dog of some kind, and it appeared to like blood, since it had just bitten a rather large hole into her shoulder. She could tell its fangs were poisonous, too.
And then she heard Hermione scream.
Lifting her wand off the ground, Buffy aimed it at the snarling creature. "Stupefy!" she shouted as it darted back into the woods.
Groaning as she checked her shoulder, she stumbled over to where she had dropped her stake and lifted that back up, too.
It was then she noticed that there were figures darting in the other direction, heading deeper into the forest.
"Hermione!" she shouted. "Hermione!"
Oh, God! She really hoped nothing had happened to her. Harry was going to kill her. Harry was going to kill both of them. Buffy had let Hermione come with her. Hermione obviously had been in danger because she'd screamed. Yes. Harry was going to kill both of them.
She tracked the figures until they parted and the only thing she could see in front of her were the biggest, thickest trees she had seen in her entire life. She was considering climbing one to get a better view when a twig snapped behind her and she turned, wand outstretched, to see Professor Pryce standing there.
He had the oddest look on his face, his wand down at his side.
"Professor, it's Hermione, she's--"
"She'll be okay," he said. His eyes were slanting oddly now as they looked her coldly up and down. "Out of your element a bit, Potter? Didn't know so much now, did you?"
"I... what does that have to do with this? I'm learning something, and it's a lesson well taught!" she exclaimed, watching her breath puff out before her as she stared incredulously around the Forest. "It's just teeming... with evil... and... You."
Her eyes dropped back to Professor Pryce. He wasn't smiling anymore. And his wand was lifting up to tap at his skull.
"Who are you?" she whispered, terrified.
"Lincoln Pryce," he stated calmly as he relaxed his arm and began circling around her. "Are you frightened, Potter?"
"No," she said as calmly. "I'm not scared."
"You should be," he replied tartly. "I didn't bother telling you about the nasties in the Forest because I had hoped they would finish you off before you even thought of learning. And bringing Granger with you, too."
The world was starting to spin a little more rapidly now. What was he playing at?
"You've tried being the good girl, because you did what you were told. You were played as an idiot. The Dark Lord knows this and he will come for you at your weakest moment, which, obviously, happens to be tonight." He raised his arm again. "And I get to have the immense pleasure of watching you die."
Something wasn't right here, she thought to herself as terror bubbled in her chest. "Who are you?" she asked, her voice shaking for the first time.
"Are you frightened, Potter?" he jeered at her, smirking.
"You're about two seconds from getting your ass kicked," she replied as the Slayer took over. She dodged at him, but he pulled back, still smirking.
"There are others than just me, Potter," he said coldly.
"Where is Professor Pryce?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
Out of nowhere came the snarling sounds of more of those hell dogs. Buffy turned as she heard another cry from somewhere in the forest. Was it Hermione? Or was it a fake?
"You'd best run, Potter. My dogs have a rather feisty scent for blood, and you appear to be bleeding."
She didn't need telling twice as half a dozen of the horrible, scaly red creatures burst out on the path in front of her. Using the last hint she'd gotten from Harry at his Dumbledore Army lessons, she shot a few violet sparks into the air. Dodging the first dog, she continued running. She heard them sniffling, snarling and panting as she desperately tried to outrun them, praying that Hermione hadn't suffered the same fate.
She burst into a clearing and heard an even louder rumble on the other side of the trees. She backed away in alarm...
And found herself falling into a deep chasm. She landed hard, a few twigs and a pile of snow collapsing on top of her.
There was a bright blue light flashing in her eyes. It was then that she noticed there was a wand lying next to them.
The light from above was being cut off as more things were thrown on top of the narrow hole. Buffy knew they were more than twenty feet down. It didn't inspire much confidence. She sat up and moved her feet. Her left foot brushed against something that made her scream.
It was a hand.
"Hermione?" Buffy gasped, scrambling over to the girl, who was unconscious.
Above them, she could hear voices.
"Hermione, please! Wake up!" She leaned over and took Hermione's wand and pocketed it with her own.
"Buffy, Buffy, Buffy... don't you ever learn not to play with forces far superior to your own?"
"As soon as I get out of this hole, you're dead!" Buffy shouted back up, her voice echoing around her.
"You learned your lesson once, Potter. Perhaps another trick of death would remind you again."
Oh, dear God... was that water she heard?
"We heard you prefer drowning. Goodbye, Buffy. It was sweet while it lasted, but parting isn't always sorrow. In my case, it will be great entertainment--"
He kept babbling on, but Buffy was pulling Hermione into her arms, using her lit wand tip to search for anything to climb their way from the chasm. Her eyes rested on a vine about six feet up. She climbed the uneven walls and grasped it, tucking her inside her cloak as she heaved both of them onto the narrow landing. Hermione groaned and stirred in her arms.
A rock was rolled over the entrance, cutting off the remaining bits of light. She heard a peal of echoing laughter and then... nothing.
Except the sound of the wall behind them about to burst.
Ice cold water exploded from the wall behind them. Buffy gasped as it hit her legs. The only good part was that it managed to jolt Hermione from her state, and she screamed when she saw the water swirling around them.
"Buffy!"
"Hold on!" she cried out as she felt her feet slip away from the rocks. The women were thrown upwards with the force of water, heading straight towards the rock blocking their escape, the oxygen in the dim room wearing thin.
"Don't panic!" Hermione said as Buffy clawed at the walls, her eyes huge. "Oh, where's my wand?"
Buffy pulled it out and handed it to Hermione, who grasped it in her hand. They were halfway to the top and the water was starting to affect her nerves. She couldn't feel anything below her waist. She could see that Buffy was indeed panicking. This brought about shot of terror to Hermione. She never thought in her lifetime she would ever see the Slayer panic.
"Calm down or you'll drown!"
"Easy for you to say," Buffy gasped, spitting out a mouthful of ice-cold water. "This isn't how you died the first time."
The water was starting to affect Hermione's brain. They were getting even nearer to the top. She could see Buffy was definitely not calming down.
She had to do something and fast.
Her brain was even starting to freeze under the intense pressure. She could reach the rock and the other debris above them now, and pushing on it was no good; it could collapse and crush them both within minutes.
"Who were they?" Hermione gasped as Buffy resurfaced, looking cold and terrified.
"That wasn't Professor Pryce," Buffy panted. "It had to be an imposter."
It wasn't the time to think about who had trapped them there. Unless they came up with something clever in the next few minutes, it was likely they would both drown.
And the water was so cold, Hermione could barely think, much less react to her surroundings. It was nearly pitch black. She was next to the original Slayer. And neither one of them was going to make it out of here alive.
"Go down."
"What?" Hermione said, her blue lips trembling as she turned to Buffy. Only their faces were bobbing above the water now.
"If we go down, the pressure will lift this rock off of us, and we can escape," Buffy said, her face pale as Hermione lifted her wand tip to survey the other girl quietly to see whether or not she was serious.
She was. Deadly.
Hermione could see no other choice. They would run out of oxygen in less than a minute now, anyway. Taking on last deep breath, both women gave up resisting the water as the undercurrents tugged them down. Only the small blue light showed their true predicament.
They were buried in a watery grave with no hope in sight.
Until someone released the cork. Both women flew up through the channel and were thrown, with the force of water, a good ten feet in the air before landing on solid ground.
Buffy gasped as she landed on her stomach, a wand landing right at her side. Hermione was across the way. It was then she noticed the strangest creature bearing down on her.
It was the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen. It also had four legs, she thought, her mind losing focus completely.
All Hermione could do was glance up and see the centaurs around Buffy before backing away as Hagrid ran into the forest, took a look around, and shouted, "Merlin's beard!"
"Hagrid!" Hermione gasped.
And then she fell unconscious.
- - - - -
Buffy was just being wrapped in a warming blanket, steam shooting from her ears from the pepper-up potion, when Harry and Ron burst into the room, followed by Professor McGonagall, and, for some odd reason, Professor Snape.
Professor Dumbledore had accompanied them both into this room. Percy had been beside himself when he'd heard Buffy had been nearly killed. For the second time.
Buffy just shivered under the thick red blanket as she heard Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape make their reports to Dumbledore.
"We have searched his quarters. It did look as though he were prepared to leave in a hurry tonight," Professor McGonagall was saying.
And then Professor Snape spoke up. "It did seem as though some of the students in Slytherin knew what was going to happen tonight."
Buffy stared at him with her cut-up face and blue lips. "W-What?" she managed to gasp as Harry and Ron turned away from Hermione to look at her. Behind Professor Snape, Percy ran into the room, his wild hair disheveled, looking as though he'd just seen a ghost before barreling past his brother and launching himself towards his good friend.
Buffy let him hold her. It brought her a sense of warmth on the outside.
But inside, she was still stone cold.
"Before we were interrupted by Weasley," Professor Snape said, sounding livid, "I was about to tell you of a plot to murder Miss Potter tonight and it came from the words of this young man." He beckoned towards the door.
Buffy felt her jaw drop. "Draco?" she whispered, mortified.
"He came to me rather troubled tonight after Miss Potter had left the castle and said that his Father had come to him asking for information about our young Miss Potter over there. Like the one Professor who would be willing to die for her would be our dear Lincoln."
Buffy turned away as her eyes flashed, and a hatred rose so deeply within her that she felt as though she were about to explode from the rage. Draco, of all people, had betrayed her?
"He also provided other information, such as that of Potter being the Slayer." No one else in the room moved. Everyone already knew this. "The whole of Slytherin house has known for sometime now, and certain members, specifically those with parents within the Death Eaters, including Mister Malfoy here, devised a plan which would get Miss Potter from the castle."
"Those were Death Eaters in the forest tonight," Hermione said from underneath Harry's embrace. Ron sat next to her, looking at her in horror. "The ones that stunned me and tried to kill the both of us."
"They wanted her dead," Draco spat suddenly, pointing at Buffy. "My Father told me she's far too slow and mentally challenged to accept the next course. So they decided to kill her instead. You only got in the way, Granger. Had you not gone with her..."
"She'd be dead," Harry said, exchanging a look with his sister, who gazed at him under veiled eyes. He shuddered when he saw the hard look in her eyes. And then he recalled Lupin's words just two weeks before. He shivered again, pulling Hermione closer to him.
"Do we know what happened to the real Professor Pryce?" Hermione asked, getting back on track with her questions.
"It is likely he is dead," Professor McGonagall said gently. She was looking at the Potter girl as she said this, and she saw Buffy turn away, wiping bitter tears from her eyes. "We must assume they used the polyjuice potion. If he disappeared into that forest tonight with Elizabeth, both of their bodies may have been found come morning, unless he was already disposed of. They needed him for the polyjuice potion."
"Why."
Everyone in the room turned to look at Buffy, who was staring at Draco with such a look of intense hatred, he paled under her gaze.
It would have been far worse if Giles had been a part of this deception. For all she knew, a polyjuice-potioned Wesley had been sent back to kill all of her friends in California. She made a mental note to contact Faith immediately, but then she realized that this had been foremost on Professor Dumbledore's mind as he stared at her with his kind blue-eyed gaze.
"We have already alerted Miss Black and she will see to it," he said quietly.
Buffy just stared at him before turning back to Draco.
"I am who I am," he finally said, before turning to Professor Snape. "Can I go now?"
After he left, Buffy made a silent promise with herself. Draco Malfoy was no longer an acquaintance or a pastime or a tutor. He had made himself her enemy that night. And when one was an enemy of a Slayer, they were usually murdered a lot faster.
"Buffy, I know what you're thinking--" Harry started.
"That bastard," Buffy said, her voice barely concealing her anger. "That unmentionable bastard!" She turned with tears in her eyes to gaze at Hermione. "He nearly killed you, too, you know that? I know..." Her voice was cut off as she wrapped her blanket even tighter around herself. Percy put a comforting arm over her shoulder.
But Harry had seen the look in his sister's eyes. She had been wronged. Twice. He knew that she was beyond pissed off. It had gone above simple vendettas. Whoever had messed with her head like this was looking at a death sentence. As soon as she was healed up enough to be allowed back on her own two feet, Buffy was likely to go charging. He didn't blame her. Professor Pryce was close to her.
Professor Dumbledore had turned to talk to Professors McGonagall and Snape. "I have asked Remus to fill in for Lincoln until we can locate his body," he said with a heavy voice. "Please make the necessary arrangements." He turned cool eyes to Snape. "I daresay you have a punishment planned for those involved in tonight's ordeal?"
"I do," Professor Snape said coldly, staring at the angry woman on the bed a few paces away. "They will be dealt with immediately."
"Very well," Professor Dumbledore said, standing up. "You are both excused from classes tomorrow. I expect you both to get a lot of rest. The school, I am certain, will have many questions for you."
The guests, including Harry, left with the Headmaster.
Oliver was waiting by the door, his face white. "How are they?"
"Battered, but alive," Harry said heavily. "Are you coming?"
"Oh? No... I want to see her for myself, thanks."
And Oliver snuck into the hospital wing once again and made his way over to Buffy's bed. She was staring at the ceiling. She heard him approach, but didn't move. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her to him. Her hand snaked its way from her blanket and found his soft blue sweater as she buried her face in it.
"This was definitely a Buffy birthday," she muttered, sullen.
He leaned over and kissed her head. "No more thinking tonight. Sleep now."
She gave him a weary look before setting her head back down onto his sweater, her eyes closing, sleep coming far too quickly for her own tastes.
- - - - -
Chapter 45... a new power is rising, and it's victory is quite out of hand.
Chapter 46... Buffy and Faith share more than just dreams.
To the Readers / Reviewers
I hope that didn't come as a lot of a shock to you all. Another longer chapter, so sorry about that. But it concluded Buffy's miserable birthday celebration! What was bad was good that turned into 'worse'. Why did I do it? Sometimes, you just gotta be bad. And Draco's deception was noted here. We're getting into the last heavy-duty action chapters before my hiatus, so, yay!
Anne -- I know you said it was a nice birthday and all, but don't kill me because of this chapter, okay? I think Buffy jinxed her own birthday. Willow will be returning a bit more in the next "section" too, as well as during the summer vacation visit. As for Xander, well, she'll see him come summer.
NixiNox-- I hope you enjoy it. I just know it's really long, so take frequent reading breaks. I don't want you to get all headachy! Added 9/25: ah, hell, knew I forgot something! The chapters have been getting huge though. More action coming!
CharmedChick -- Wish granted. Although I suppose someone trying to kill her has been done before. I don't know. I just wanted to keep her birthday traditions in perspective. She jinxed herself.
Emba -- I hope you got your Draco answer here. It was just... intense when I thought I could use him. And don't worry, Fred'll be fine. He still has his twin to comfort him (in the nice brotherly sense, mind).
FuFuMira -- I'm glad you like the twins! They're far too much fun. Xander won't be the only Scooby left by the time Willow leaves for England. And she'll be gone for a semester. I'll tell you Faith'll be returning (for a VERY good reason, I might add), so she and Xander will be together. And then there's always Cordelia, whom I didn't make a part of the permanent LA train. And Giles. Angel/Cordy was just weird (now that I'm watching a bit of Season 3), but Connor was even... whoa. I won't even mention that. I loved Cordy with Xander. They made a perfect couple, as much as I love Anya (who IS my favorite character from Buffy). I don't know. But Xander won't be a solo Scooby. Far from it, actually.
Nobody -- Did I tell you she's making a return trip? Nope? Hmmmmm. Poor kitty.
StarBella -- I'm not fond of surprise parties. The last time I had one was when I was thirteen. Not the best time for one, either, I might add. Mean Malfoy returns with a vengeance! Hehehe. Actually, you could probably slam me and I'd still like you. Opinions are fascinating things, aren't they?
DarkAngelMali -- Quite all right. Sometimes I update too fast. But I'm down to two weeks and with six chapters to go, it was kind of... bah. I do hope you're off the whole "grounding" thing. My parents made me endure that so little... it often surprised me when they grounded my sister or brothers!
Slayer -- Actually, I thank you for your honest opinion. I'm really not trying to turn her into a Mary Sue. I'm just trying to make her more like the normal girl she's always wanted to be. If that seems a little fake or whatnot, well... I'm only writing what I know. So, thank you. I'm not going to delete your review because of my no-reviews-deletion policy, and I actually like getting flames once in a while. I am glad you found something to like in this story, however. I really REALLY love my Faith. After years of not tolerating her on the show (until she got on Angel and then returned to Buffy, for the end, anyway), it's good to see I can turn her into something I can respect for a Slayer.
scruffybunny -- Such a cute alias! Oh, my. Don't feel bad for your geekiness. I'm a scientist; geek at heart. I just like writing WAY too much to let it go.
Lady Mione -- I'm glad you liked this chapter, but not too glad it drove you to tears. I wasn't going for that! It's just that, well... ahem. There were different paths I could've taken, too. I just did the one that was direct, I think. I'm not sure.
electric pancake -- I spelled your name right! Whoo! I'm doing good to start with. Yeah, I know, cliche chapter, but the "bitch" is coming back. I had a bird once, too. He didn't lay eggs obviously, but he never nested either. Sweet little guy. I miss him sometimes. Only my feline "girls" seem to make up for it.
Sabia -- well, knowing me, it could have been worse. I hope you enjoy the less mushy chapters to come, however!
Okay, so I'm getting near the end of my perfect little bobble. I still have most of the chapters left to do, but I know what I want to do with them now. And I'm shifting the timeline. Again. I can do that. Because there's not enough time to cram what I want to accomplish between the next chapter and Chapter 50. Which, by the way, I have huge plans for. It's already half written. I'll probably update again three times next week. And I'll try for a double update and the last update before I leave the following week. I'm gone come Thursday, October 7, so... yeah. I'll be gone until October 15. I'll probably start posting again towards the end of October or the beginning of November. I'll probably spoil you to bits, because I know what Chapter 51 ought to be.
So, thank you for reading what I've written so far. It's huge, I know. And it can be tiring to read. It's probably full of holes. But it's been damned fun, and quite a ride to take. Thank you for reviewing, those of you who have been. They're honestly quite fun to read, and they've been taking some of my anxieties away. I need that, because, honestly, wedding countdown is two weeks from today.
Next update: Tuesday sometime, perhaps. Expect a double update before the weekend!