Chapter 48
Faith, Hope and Justice
- - - - -
Faith stumbled in the early evening twilight when they stopped. She braced herself hard not to fall on top of the body in her arms.
The body...
"Buffy?" Faith gasped, dropping to her knees as she gently settled the figure down on the ground. "Buffy?"
Her eyes were closed and her face reflected a bit of inner peace Faith knew Buffy shouldn't have at this moment. Why was she all quiet? Why wasn't she opening her eyes or screaming or something? Hadn't she just been in excruciating pain? Or was she really too weak to even make a sound? Faith would have given anything for just a tiny whimper...
She didn't even realize they were in front of Hogwarts. And that they were starting to attract the attention of Aurors and Professors, not to mention the faces of students pressed to the glass when they saw a whirl of black smoke and then two figures were suddenly there.
"Buffy, come on, wake up," Faith said, reaching down and clasping a cold wrist. Was she supposed to be this cold? "Buffy, please..."
The doors had opened as Aurors swooped down upon them. Faith couldn't look away from her. It was as though Buffy was a perfect porcelain replica of the vivacious young woman left behind.
Why wasn't she moving? Was she even breathing? Faith was still fumbling with her wrist to find a pulse, but there wasn't one.
She felt gentle fingers bite into her shoulders as Remus Lupin tried to pull her away.
"No," Faith moaned, fighting him and winning easily with her strength. "I'm not leaving, not until I know..."
"What do you want us to do with the body?" someone asked from behind her.
"She's not dead," Faith said, turning to look at the person. He was tall and had dark skin, and she knew she'd met him before, but his name wasn't registering in her memory. "She's not dead!"
"Faith, it's over," Remus said gently into her ear as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "Just let... let her go..."
"She's not dead," Faith protested weakly. "Please... she can't be dead..." She looked desperately at the Headmaster, who had just arrived, looking startled. The last time they'd seen Elizabeth Potter, her hair had been black as night and she was rather intimidating in appearance. Now, her golden blonde hair was shining in the pre-dusk light, and her skin was very milky white and pale.
"Take her up to the hospital wing," Professor Dumbledore said heavily as a stretcher was conjured from nowhere. Buffy was lifted gently on top of it and it floated into the castle, being led by several Professors, led by the one Sirius really didn't like.
She didn't even realize that Remus was still holding onto her. All Faith wanted to do was run after Buffy and prove that the young woman was alive. She had to. She just had to.
"Faith?" Remus said softly behind her.
"She can't be dead," Faith said, the tears threatening to blur her vision. "She just can't be. I tried to save her... I got us out... but..."
"I think it would be best if we all went inside," Professor Dumbledore said, glancing at her grief-stricken face. "And perhaps up to my office." He looked above her at Remus. "Could you kindly bring Harry down from the Gryffindor Common Room? He will want to know his sister has returned to us."
Faith didn't see any other choice except to follow him.
It was like walking into a funeral parlor, only ten times worse. Maybe it was as bad as walking through a jeering crowd on the way to an execution chamber. She put one foot in front of the other.
She had done no wrong.
She spied Percy and Oliver near the end of the queue. They had probably been following the stretcher before being held back. Sure enough, Professor McGonagall stood there, very pale and righteous in her own sort of anger, holding them both back. They turned to her, stunned. Percy was very pale and looked as though the world had just dropped out from underneath him. Oliver looked as though something hard had hit him in the stomach. His eyes were full of shock. He wasn't even beginning to feel it yet.
Faith calmly walked by them.
It wasn't until she was seated in the Headmaster's office did she finally feel the warmth of the room enter her body. She noticed she was trembling.
As she sat down, she felt something jab her in the back. Standing up and rubbing her sore backside, she plunged her hand into her pocket and took out her wand and a small glass orb. She'd taken it off of the floor when she'd picked up Buffy, she realized as she stared at it.
It flashed blue suddenly and she quickly pocketed it as the room filled with people, including Percy Weasley, who was looking as though his best friend just died.
Well, technically...
"I do believe we are all here to ask Miss Black to tell us her story and not to bring about any accusations at the present time," Professor Dumbledore said sternly, eyeing the Aurors, who all glumly nodded, and even Percy, who just swallowed hard and gave his former Headmaster a strained smile.
"All right, Miss Black, please begin."
- - - - -
Harry felt himself shake as he walked inside the hospital wing. There were many faces peering at him, but his eyes were for the girl lying on the bed alone. Although he couldn't see her because she was hidden behind curtains, he could see her outline. It wasn't moving.
She looked so peaceful.
He heard Ron gave a sharp gasp behind him, along with Hermione's soft moan. Madam Pomfrey stepped forward to hold them back. "Family only, for now," she said, giving them both a sharp look.
Harry stepped behind the curtains and felt them swing shut around him. His sister's body was lying neatly on the table, uncovered.
He reached out and touched her cold face. "It shouldn't have ended this way," he said in a voice hoarse with emotion. "Not now... not when I just found you."
Her skin tingled under his touch as he pulled his hand back. "I'm so sorry I couldn't save you."
He felt a gentle hand touch his arm and turned to see Professor McGonagall standing there, looking almost sad. Her eyes were pitying. "Perhaps we should bring you up to the Headmaster's office."
"No!" His voice was forceful. "She's my sister. I just found her. Why did he have to take her away from me? Why?"
Turning away, he pressed a hand to his mouth to stifle the sobs that were threatening to burst out. It gave his hatred a hunger he knew he wouldn't be able to justify until Voldemort was dead at his feet.
"Why did you have to leave me? Why?"
This explained the excruciating pain in his skull about an hour ago. He'd been sitting at dinner when suddenly his scar exploded with pain. He'd fallen backwards, alerting nearly everyone in the Great Hall and it had been Hermione more than anyone, really, that had convinced the Professors he was all right.
But he wasn't all right. His mind wasn't processing anything yet. All he could see was the figure of a girl lying on a table before him. She was his flesh and blood, his elder sister, and looking at her made his blood turn cold.
She was already so cold...
"Potter?"
Professor McGonagall wasn't giving up any time soon. He turned to look at her and saw the stunned, tearful gazes of his two best friends. Ron looked like he'd been socked one too many times in the head. Hermione looked dazed. She took a huge step towards him, reaching out her hand to touch his arm.
"Harry?"
"What happened to her?" Harry asked, his voice very even and very quiet.
"We do not know," Professor McGonagall said, hurriedly pulling the curtains around the bed again, as though she could grant someone who was unmoving and not breathing any more privacy. "They have taken Faith to the Headmaster's office. He asked that you would go..."
"I... I can't leave her..." Harry said, turning to look at her shadowed figure. The tears were starting to prickle his eyelids. "I just... I can't..."
Hermione took his hand in a solitary show of support and he smiled gratefully at her. She turned and gave Ron a soft look.
"Perhaps Ron and I can go if you want... if you want some time alone," she said after a long glance with the redheaded boy.
"We'll go," Ron said boldly, taking Hermione's arm. "We'll... be back soon, mate."
"Right," said Harry. It didn't sound like his voice at all.
Professor McGonagall gave him a very pitying look as she touched his shoulder. "Take all the time you need, Potter."
"Thanks."
Once everyone save Madam Pomfrey left, Harry opened the curtains again. She still hadn't moved. Hadn't bothered to take a breath, either.
She was just... cold.
He heard a muffled choke behind him and whirled around to see his former Quidditch captain standing there, his blue eyes full of tears.
"Harry..." Oliver tried to speak, but had to clear his throat as he took a few steps forward. "I..."
But it was perhaps the sight of her body that made him break down completely. Oliver's eyes were as wide as saucers as he took two stunned steps backwards, tripping over a medical table and falling onto his backside.
"Oh, Merlin... oh... oh, no..."
"It's true," Harry said flatly. "That's really my sister." The anger was starting to ebb at him now as Oliver turned to him with shining eyes. "Went off in her blaze of glory, didn't she?"
"Harry... she didn't..."
"She had to go and fulfill her duty, do her mission, do whatever the hell she needed to do without thinking that, just once, I wouldn't like to have someone I love die every single bloody year..."
"Harry, I'm sure that she wasn't..."
"It wasn't bad enough she had to suck those advanced spell books," Harry said angrily, the tears flowing down his cheeks now. He wished they would stop, because they seemed to irritate him all the more. "She just went off to face off against the Death Eaters because she wanted to go on the offensive. Well, it bloody well worked! She's dead, Wood! She's dead!"
"Don't you think I can't see it?" Oliver asked him, his voice full of shock.
"She left me," Harry said, taking this as a personal insult to him. "She left me here all alone to live because she had to satisfy a simple vendetta."
"She didn't want to," Oliver said quietly. "She loved you."
"If she loved me so much, she wouldn't have done this," Harry said, glaring at his sister's body again. "I can't hate her now... but seeing her like this..." He broke down completely as he nearly collapsed, grabbing onto her bed to steady himself before he fell.
Why? Why did she have to leave him now? Why?
- - - - -
Two hours after Faith had started talking, the questions had stopped. The Headmaster and the nearly twenty other souls inhabiting the room had finally stopped asking them. Especially since most of her answers had become, "I don't know" or "I don't care" in the past half hour.
"Is there anything else?" Professor Dumbledore asked, turning to Moody, who stood there in a long cloak. He was one of the two members there representing the Order. The other was Remus Lupin, who, although a Professor at Hogwarts along with Dumbledore, also in the Order, was supremely concerned about the younger Black. She seemed completely distraught.
"We would like to bring her back to the Ministry," one of the Aurors said, giving Faith a kindly smile. "I am certain the Minister would want to debrief her in person."
"Can I have one last request before I leave?" Faith asked, glancing at the Auror and then swinging her gaze to Professor Dumbledore.
"Yes," said the Auror, glancing questioningly at the Headmaster, who inclined his head in a narrow bow.
Faith supposed this meant she could ask the question of what was on her mind. "Can I see her? Please?" She swallowed hard. "I know I have no right to ask this, but... I knew her the longest. I really wish to see her... even though she's..."
It was so hard to think that Buffy, the original Slayer, was gone.
"Remus, could you accompany her to the Hospital Wing?" Professor Dumbledore asked. "Faith, if you would be so kind as to meet the Aurors in the Entrance Hall in one hour's time, we have a little left to discuss."
"Definitely," Faith said, giving them a faint smile before rising and leaving the Headmaster's large, circular office with Remus, and, to her surprise, Ron and Hermione. Percy brought up the rear, still looking tremendously pale and very close to tears.
Faith walked ahead of everyone, feeling as though this evening couldn't get much worse. That was until she heard a voice in her mind, completely distinct from her own conscience.
"They look like their best friend just died."
Faith nearly gasped. She clapped a hand over her mouth and focused her mind on the voice in her head. "Buffy! What the hell are you doing in my head?"
"Usually when a girl tries to die, her soul isn't sucked up by a portkey," Buffy's voice replied sarcastically. "And you have a mystical orb that managed to snatch it before I got too... far away."
"So, you're alive?" Faith whispered.
"Duh," Buffy said, and Faith could imagine that if Buffy were standing in front of her, she would be rolling her eyes. "You pulled it out of your pocket. You didn't get a hint when it glowed?"
"It jumped into a powerful corporeal body," Faith mused silently as she hurried along, completely unaware of where she was walking.
"Faith, as much as I love your mind, can I get my own body back?" Buffy asked.
"Let's see if they'll let me get close enough."
"Or else you could just put me back in the orb and then smash it."
"Are you sure that wouldn't kill you off completely?"
"You trying to get rid of me, Delita?"
"For the love of God, don't call me that," Faith muttered, getting a strange look from Remus. Hermione was also staring at her, but it wasn't a suspicious look. It was a questioning one.
Could she sense that Faith had someone else in her body with her?
"You can't hurt me. I'm in your head, you dope."
"What if I cut off my head?"
"Then I can go back to my body. Can we try it out? Please?"
"Oh, shut up. We're nearly there."
"I can use your eyes too, Faith."
"Are you... all right?" Hermione asked her suddenly, causing Faith to jump. Hearing Buffy cackle inside her head, Faith just gave her a short smile.
"Oh, I'm just... five by five..." she said, hurrying towards the doors at the end of the hallway. She stopped short when she saw the look on Oliver Wood's face.
"Oh, honey."
"Sap, much?" Faith thought, rolling her eyes as she opened the door and stepped inside. "Now what do I do?"
"Smash the orb."
"Okay, okay, you don't have to get all..."
Faith's thoughts were cut off as she saw Harry's face. She even felt the Buffy-presence inside of her stir.
He was lying next to her body.
"What is he doing?"
"He's not about to let you go."
"Is he insane?"
"He's your brother, B. He loves you."
"I love him, too, but this... this is just... morbid."
"We're Slayers, B."
"I'm scared, Faith."
"Me, too. I have to go to--"
"-- the Ministry. Yeah, I was here. I know."
"It'll be okay."
"How will it be okay? I threatened lives, I took powerful spells and I basically just ruined my reputation. Not to mention this mark on our arm..."
Faith involuntarily reached down and put a hand over her left arm, which warranted a strange look from Remus.
Percy walked in behind them and let out a loud moan.
"Oh, shit..."
"Come on, B, let's do this."
"Can you try to get everyone away from me?"
"How?"
"Act hormonal or something, I don't know!"
"I'm just going to do this now."
"All right... I'll be waiting."
"Good. There's enough going on upstairs without you playing around."
"Hey, I resent that, Delita."
"One more crack about my given name, Elizabeth, and I'll chop your head off first."
"Okay, I'm quiet."
Faith pulled the orb from her pocket and took a few steps closer when Percy nudged her and Faith stumbled backward, her hand lifting and opening to reveal the small blue orb.
"What is that?" Hermione gasped from behind her, reaching out to touch it.
Faith felt Buffy's presence leave her body as the orb glowed blue. Just as Percy stopped at the head of the bed and smiled sadly at the Potter siblings, Faith lifted her hand.
And dropped the orb.
"I hope this works," she muttered.
The orb shattered and time seemed to stop. Again.
A blue light suddenly passed through the Slayer's closed lips. Buffy let out a soft breath and opened her eyes.
Next to her, Harry felt her skin go from ice cold to warmth that felt like touching fire. He yelped when he noticed that her eyes were open and that she was breathing.
Percy shouted out loud, causing Harry to jump away in horror as Buffy continued to lie there on the bed, breathing slowly.
Her eyes had never held so much warmth.
"Buffy?" Harry gasped hopefully, reaching out a trembling hand to touch her warm cheek. She responded to his touch and turned her head slowly so her gaze could meet his.
"Did I scare you?" she asked in a hoarse, throaty whisper.
"You've... alive..." Harry said as Buffy reached a hand up and placed it over his.
"Well observed."
Harry bent down and lifted her into his arms in one solid movement. Buffy clung to him weakly, tears of gratitude in her eyes as he sat down beside her, holding her up. She turned her head to look at the stunned faces staring at her in disbelief.
"You guys should know by now that death doesn't stop me," she said with a bright smile. Percy reached out his hand to her and she took it, holding it. He relished in the fact her fingers were warm and her grip was still painfully strong.
It was then she noticed Faith's face.
Faith looked tortured about something. They had just spent the past day and a half in hell, literally. They'd both been burned with that dreaded skull on their left forearms. They had both been literally beaten to death.
And Buffy had killed Quentin Travers. She had taken a life.
Faith searched Buffy's gaze for any sign of guilt, remorse, anything... any sign to show that the Slayer knew or even cared about what she had done, besides scare the crap out of everyone at the school.
Buffy's gaze fell onto Hermione next and she mouthed the words, "Thank you."
It had been Hermione's idea for her mission in the first place.
More footsteps sounded as more people walked in. Buffy heard a gasp before a second figure swooped down upon her, nearly knocking her over as strong arms held her.
"Oliver, it's all right... I'm here..." She bit her lip to keep the tears from coming, but the look on his face had proven once and for all how he felt about her.
"I thought you were dead," he said, pulling back and touching her warm face. "I thought you were gone forever..."
"I'm right here," she whispered, intertwining her fingers with his. "Really. See? Right here."
"All right, everyone stop!"
It was Professor McGonagall. She was holding a hand to her chest and it sounded as though her breathing was rather ragged. "I ask that everyone leave now to give the patient some rest."
"I'll see you soon, B," Faith said with a tight smile at her sister Slayer before walking out with Ron, Hermione and Percy.
Oliver touched Buffy's cheek again. "I'll see you in the morning."
Harry, however, was flat-out refusing to move. "Do I have to?"
"Yes, Potter," the Professor said darkly. "Please return to Gryffindor Tower. You may see your sister again in the morning."
Harry gave her hand one last squeeze before leaving the room. Madam Pomfrey shooed the Aurors and the rests of the guests out before returning to her office, acknowledging that Professor McGonagall wanted a few words with the elder Potter girl alone.
"You put us through quite a scare," Professor McGonagall said, conjuring herself a chair and sitting down on it. Her eyes wore a well-practiced, stern look that Buffy knew meant a reprimand was on its way. "You could have informed Professor Dumbledore or even I, as your Head of House, what you were intending on doing."
"I'm sorry, Professor," Buffy said, wincing. "I really didn't know what I was doing acting so rash like that..." She looked down at her trembling hands, only to realize that there was blood on her left wrist.
"The Aurors have asked that your body be returned to the Ministry for an autopsy, but there is little need for that now that you are alive," Professor McGonagall informed her. "However, there are consequences you must face for your actions, Potter."
"I don't care," Buffy said, still staring at her wrist. Why was it aching so suddenly? "I've been expelled before. If you want to send me packing, the only place I'll go is Grimmauld Place."
"It will be a long time before you are trusted with such responsibility in the future," Professor McGonagall said briskly. "I am not going to expel you, but I must enforce on you the seriousness of what you have done. Once the others have spoken with you, you are to go before the Wizengamot. This was the penalty for Delita Black, and I am certain it will be your own as well, since your role in this... this act was much greater than hers."
"I understand," Buffy said, giving her a wary smile. "Really, I do."
The door burst open at that moment, admitting a dozen Aurors, Professors Snape and Lupin, and Professor Dumbledore himself. Professor McGonagall stood up and quickly moved her chair aside.
"I understand you just... woke up, Miss Potter," Professor Dumbledore said in his deep voice. "But I fear that we have some questions to ask you before I allow you to be turned over to the Ministry."
Buffy nodded. "Of course."
They all conjured chairs and sat down.
"Tell us how this past night began," Professor Dumbledore said, giving her a quick smile before she sighed, running a hand through her golden hair.
"It began once Hagrid and I found the body of Professor Pryce. He was found in an old riverbed by his bloodhound. Once we found his body, we... we burned it so that I could return the remains to his son, who is someone I've known for a while now." She paused. How much of Hermione's involvement did she want to detail?
"Hermione Granger came to me with a plan to get me to the Death Eaters. I don't think she knew how far it would go. I don't think she knew exactly what I was planning on doing. I did what she told me I should. I went to the Library and took some of the more advanced spells and reawakened the Slayer inside of me. I had to get out of the castle before I killed someone, so Faith chose to go with me and I made the call.
"We were trapped on a tower when Dementors started flanking us. I don't remember much, except I had these horrible memories, all of these voices telling me just how helpless and worthless I really was. I... I heard my parents. I used the memory of them to create my Patronus to get rid of the Dementors. I think we were Stunned next, because the next thing I knew we were hanging upside down on chains.
"I managed to get us both down, and for some reason, I don't remember much about what happened next. I remember fighting off the Death Eaters trying to get to him... and then a silver hand... Wormtail..."
Buffy glanced up as she noticed Remus start, his eyes widening.
"And then... and then..." As hard as she tried to remember, it was as though her mind had been wiped free, except for a few flashbacks of memories. "He told me he could show me what I truly was... what a Slayer was. He did." She felt anger stir within her and knew the Slayer was trying to reciprocate some of the horror it felt at knowing that it wasn't human. "The Slayer wasn't created as a human. The Slayer was the essence of a demon. I'm not... human. I'm not sure what I am. All I know is that they kept telling me that I was the end of the world."
She didn't realize that several of the people in the room around her were exchanging troubled looks or rolling their eyes.
"I don't remember much else, except... pain..." She touched her left arm and suddenly noticed someone directly in front of her doing the same thing. Her eyes lifted and she saw Professor Snape give her a calculating look.
"My Dad... he tried to tell me I had to let the anger and hate go, it was the only way I was going to get out of there alive. But... there was pain..." Buffy slowly rolled up her sleeve to reveal the Dark Mark burned into her skin.
At this, everyone in the room, save Professor Dumbledore, gasped.
"I... I'm not sure what this means," Buffy said, her voice now thick with tears. "And I... I can't remember anything else..." She looked up with startled eyes. "I'm sure it's repressed because I don't want to remember... but I can't... I just..."
"Miss Potter," said one of the Aurors, gently reaching for her arm. "Do not worry. We can get this information by other means. We have no wish to harm your fragile mental state as it is."
"I do not have a fragile mental state," Buffy hissed as the Auror took her arm, his fingers lightly tracing the Mark.
"Do you remember how you got this?" he asked before dropping her arm roughly, as though he were worried it might contaminate him, too.
"His wand," Buffy replied. "It came through his wand. My Dad was telling me to let go of all my anger and suddenly the Mark was there. He said it would call me to him."
"It would," Professor Snape said slowly.
"What is it?" Buffy asked, sniffling. "What does it mean?"
"It is the Dark Mark," Professor Dumbledore said heavily. When he didn't elaborate, Professor Snape picked up on the comment and chose to continue.
"The Dark Mark is the Mark that the Death Eaters wear," Professor Snape said softly. "It appears as though you have been marked as such."
"I didn't say I was going to be loyal to him," Buffy said, her voice rising in panic. "Really, I told him I was a Potter and I knew where my loyalties lay."
"It does not matter what you said," Professor Snape told her sincerely. "It is what He has decided. When he calls his faithful to him, you will be called. If you do not reply, your death is eminent."
Buffy swallowed hard before unrolling her sleeve.
"I think that's all I can tell you. For now, anyway," Buffy said, glancing at the lot of them.
"Do you remember anything about Quentin Travers?" another Auror asked.
"I don't remember," Buffy said, frowning slightly. "Why?"
"Because he is dead," the Auror replied. "He was taken by his own sword."
"He... he was?" Buffy asked, startled. She had no memory of this.
"It was Faith who told us this in great detail," Professor Dumbledore said, casting the Auror a dark look. "And you have no memory of what happened?"
She shook her head, looking him in the eye. "None."
"We will determine that, too," the Auror said sharply, returning Dumbledore's dark look with an icy one of her own.
"Can I at least ask she remain here tonight? She has friends and family who wish to see her before she is taken into your custody."
"My... my custody?" Buffy asked, her voice ending with a squeak. "What did... what did I do?"
"You broke the law," the third Auror said, inclining his head slightly. "Several of them, in fact."
"This is really is happening," Buffy moaned, dropping her head into her hands. "I don't know what happened except I wanted to do something and I came back..." She froze as the third Auror asked his question.
"Were you dead when you returned to Hogwarts?"
"Yes," she whispered. "I was dead. But my soul was taken with the stupid portkey and the orb Faith had concealed my essence up until a few hours ago. And I told her how to get in here and bring me back to my body..."
The Aurors exchanged a dark look. "We must assume that your intentions for now are not that of bringing Harry to Voldemort," the woman said icily.
Good Lord. She was almost as bad as that Caroline Mann.
"I... I wasn't, honest!" Buffy said, feeling the panic return as she gazed at them. "Please, you have to believe me."
"After what you pulled these past two days, it will take a great long while before we can believe anything you say," the Auror said, rising. "Professor Dumbledore, we will escort Miss Black tonight. We will return for Miss Potter in the morning. We ask that you have her at the Entrance Hall by eleven. Good night."
The entire lot of them swept out, leaving a very confused Slayer behind.
It was then she noticed the blood on her hands. It wasn't her own.
She was suddenly feeling very alone and cramped in this grand Hospital wing.
"I'm scared," she said softly. "I'm so scared..."
No one said anything to her for a moment. It wasn't until Professor Snape rose and extended his hand down to her. "As someone who has been in the position you are currently in, I must say that I have astounding faith in you."
"You have returned from a position of very black power," Professor McGonagall said quietly. "It only shows that you have the truest of hearts."
"I have been known to give many second chances," Professor Dumbledore said, clasping her shoulder with his weathered hand. "You will be no different. I fully intend on you finishing your year of school here and passing both of the exams I have asked that you take."
"Your life will more than likely never be the same," Professor Lupin said, giving her a kind smile. "But you have a strong heart, Elizabeth. I think if anyone can get past this, it will be you."
"Thank you," Buffy said, feeling the tears start again. It meant so much that her Professors were supporting her like this. She didn't know Professor Snape's story, but she was now curious to find out.
"Get some rest, Miss Potter," Professor Dumbledore said to her. "I assume that the next few days will be quite exhausting for you."
"Thank you," she repeated as they all left.
She rested her head back on the pillow, her eyes holding many uncertainties. She heard the door open and footsteps approached her bed. She glanced up. "I should have known you would come."
Percy sat down next to her and took her hand. "Oliver wanted to come in, but Professor McGonagall caught him and threatened to throw him out of the castle unless he went back to his own quarters."
Buffy forced a tired smile. "I'm so tired..."
"I assumed you would be," said Percy, pulling a lock of hair from across her face and tucking it neatly behind her ear. "I also know that where you were was a frightening place, both with the Death Eaters and with your own power."
"You have no idea," she said weakly. "I don't even know what's going on. I feel so cold and so numb..." Her hand reached down to her left arm and she pulled up her cloak. Percy blanched when he saw the Dark Mark on her skin. "I just want it all to go away... I don't want to remember what I did... I just want it gone..."
She was crying again, and Percy felt terrible asking her his next question. "Do you remember what happened?"
"I don't remember anything about Quentin or getting out of there," Buffy said honestly. "I don't want to, either, and the Ministry is going to make me remember. I just hope they can suppress it, because... it's bad enough knowing I'm a Death Eater in disguise as a Slayer and as a student. It's even worse knowing that this isn't just going to wash away. Faith's involved, too."
"They took her, just now," Percy told her. "She's on her way to a cell in the Ministry."
"I wish I could be there with her," Buffy said with a sigh. "Oh, God... she probably hates me because I don't have any guilt or remorse for what I've done, but I can't because I don't remember anything."
Madam Pomfrey returned then with a set of pajamas in her arms. Percy helped her sit up before moving respectfully outside the curtains, only returning once Madam Pomfrey had left for the night, locking them both inside.
"Percy, what if I am evil? What if I don't know my next plan? What if I'm only alive now to bring Harry to Him? What if I'm just trying to kill my brother? What if--"
"I think that's enough questions for tonight," he said, cupping his hand over her mouth. "You'll drive yourself crazy. Here." He reached over and seized a goblet from her nightstand. "Drink this. It's for a dreamless sleep."
She drank it. Ten minutes later, she was sound asleep. He held her in his arms, watching as the emotions crossed her face.
She was truly alive in his arms. She was as beautiful and soft as she remembered. But there was a great weight there, now. It was the weight of the world and he could feel it, just by having contact with her.
He gently tucked her in before moving away from her bed, closing the curtains tightly around it to give her appropriate privacy.
The Slayers had many trials ahead of them. The Magical world was going to be untrusting, since both women were extremely powerful. Buffy was even more so, now that she knew her true existence. Faith had told them upstairs. She'd told them everything, including the fact she watched Buffy kill Quentin and take great pleasure in doing it.
As far as Percy was concerned, Quentin was a monster. He wasn't capable of calling the once revered Watcher a human being. But in the Slayers code of ethics, it was a huge no-no to kill anyone with human blood. And Buffy had done so.
It looked as though Buffy didn't remember doing it. It looked as though she didn't remember doing a lot of things.
He unlocked the door and relocked it once he'd let himself out. As much as he wanted to be with her and watch over her now, he had to get to the Ministry. He wasn't going to let the Aurors or anyone there treat Faith like dirt. He was very well-respected because of his position and if he had to pull rank, so be it. Faith was almost like Buffy's sister, and with Buffy under Dumbledore's protection again, it fell down to him to protect her 'sister'.
But he knew the nightmare had only begun for her. Tomorrow, she would remember everything.
- - - - -
Faith groaned as she slammed her fist into the wall of the cell she was in. It was the exact same weather modification cell she'd been put in before. It was complete torture to sit around like a caged animal inside of it.
Two Aurors had been placed outside her cell, which she really didn't want, but was thankful for all the same. If Voldemort chose tonight to attack, at least Faith had her two sort-of Jedi protectors to watch over her.
And then it struck her how Muggle she sounded. She knew she was useless at magic. A squib, Quentin had called her. She'd show him.
Voices sounded outside the door. Faith's ears perked up. It sounded almost like that annoying redheaded best friend to Buffy.
It was. Percy walked into her room, gazing at the grey clouds swirling all around them. "Interesting choice for a room," he said dryly as he sat down in the only other chair.
"I've been stuck here before, so no diff," she replied, pulling her dark hair into a ponytail and wrapping their old portkey around it. "What brings you to my prison cell in the middle of the night?"
"This," Percy said, pulling out a small vial. "It contains a potion for dreamless sleep, which I assume you would really like right about now."
"No kidding," Faith scowled. "And I really want to see my brother."
"I am fairly certain you'll be released into his custody and care tomorrow night," Percy told her with a small smile.
"And Buffy? What'll happen to her? What happens to disgraced Wizards in your world?"
"She hasn't been disgraced," Percy said in a low tone of voice. "She just did something stupid. It happens. The thing is, she is going to spend the rest of her life atoning for it, so it doesn't matter what we do to her now. She has to live with the decision she made."
"Is she even dealing with it?" Faith asked sharply. "I mean, she didn't even seem to care that she killed him, did she? Look at it this way--"
"She doesn't remember," Percy said, cutting her off. "She doesn't know what she did because she has no memory of it."
Faith's jaw dropped. "She... she doesn't?"
"The Aurors told me she was technically dead when she returned to Hogwarts and it was only your knowledge of the orb that saved her life. Again. It is in this time perhaps that some power unknown to us erased those memories."
"What does she remember?"
"She remembers leaving Hogwarts, fighting off Dementors, fighting a group of Death Eaters and coming face to face with you-know-who," Percy said heavily. "She also said something that you really didn't touch upon; the Slayer is in true essence a demon."
"Yes," said Faith bluntly. "I'm a demon. So is she. So we're two demons in a really twisted pod, eh?"
"I think that knowing this is punishment enough," Percy said, reaching for her left arm. "May I?"
She let him roll up the sleeve of her cloak. The Dark Mark was just slightly darker than her skin, as though it were sitting below the surface. It wasn't black or red anymore. It still hurt. Tingled, really.
"You're a marked woman now, Faith," Percy said in a quiet voice. "When you-know-you summons all to him for his final assault on the Potter boy, you will be called to him."
"Like hell I will," Faith said evenly. "There's no way in hell I'll go up against Harry." She swallowed hard. "He means far too much to me."
"You won't have a choice," Percy said quietly. "You'll either join him or be killed. And considering you know little magic, I opt for the latter."
"I'm incapable of magic," Faith snapped. "It doesn't mean I have to know any. It wouldn't do me any good if I did! So you're basically telling me that if I stay here and this battle happens, I'll die."
"Because He'll kill you himself," Percy said.
"Bloody hell," Faith said, adopting one of Giles' best expressions as she buried her head in her hands.
Giles. For some odd reason, she had the strangest feeling that he knew what was happening to them. And Wesley, the poor bastard, who'd lost his Father and sister in one horrid month. And the others... oh, she could remember them.
"I won't stay," Faith said quietly, glancing up at Percy. "I'll go back."
"Go back?" he asked her. "Go back where?"
"Sunnydale," Faith replied with firmness in her words. "If me being here is a personal risk to Harry, I'll go back to Sunnydale and get the hell away from this world. It's either that or I join him and hurt Harry. Or I get killed because I refused to. I don't have the skills B has. I never will, unless I unleash my mean demon side, and it's probably as incapable of magic as I am."
She stood up and began to pace the tiny room.
"Buffy said that Sunnydale rested on a Hellmouth, which is a convergence area of mystical energies," Percy said slowly. "That energy might hide you away and give the appearance that you have died."
"Would it work?" Faith asked him sharply.
He nodded slowly. "It most likely would."
"I can't leave B though," Faith sighed as she sat down again, running a hand idly though her pony-tailed hair. "If she goes dark again..."
"She'll pull herself through," Percy said. "Besides, you're only a portkey away."
Faith sighed again. "I don't know if it's the best decision to make, but after I'm debriefed in the morning, it may be the only decision left. I'll speak with the Ministry and see what they would have me do."
"That's all I ask," Percy said, handing her the vial.
"Did you come here to convince me to get the hell out of here?" Faith asked him curiously as she uncorked the vial.
"Perhaps," Percy said, giving her his smuggest look.
"You really are B's best buddy," Faith said, rolling her eyes as she drank the vial's liquid.
"She cares about what happens to you as you care for Harry," Percy said, watching as Faith curled up in her chair to settle down for a small nap. "I don't think she'll have any reservations about this decision should you decide to stick with it."
"I'll think about it in the morning, Jeeves," she said with a wide yawn.
"That's all I ask," he replied, pushing the door open. "Good night, Faith."
She was already sound asleep.
- - - - -
The next morning was a dreary, drizzly morning. It was also quite cold.
Buffy was prodded awake by Madam Pomfrey, who ushered her into the shower and got her dressed and presentable in record time. It was ten past eight when Harry ran in, looking disheveled and sleepy, as though he hadn't gotten much.
The first thing he did was knock them both over as he hugged her. "I was hoping you'd still be alive."
"I'm right here," she said, as they helped each other back up. "I guess I'm pretty spry for a corpse."
"Don't say that," Harry said, shuddering.
She kissed his cheek. "I'm your big sister and I'm hoping to be appointed as your legal guardian soon. So what I say will most likely go."
"You want to be my guardian?" Harry asked incredulously.
"What, you think you're such a spoiled brat with the aunt and uncle from Hades?" Buffy asked with a smirk. "I wonder how they would take it if you did return after school got out."
"After you kicked their arses?" Harry asked with a grin. "Probably not too well. They'd be afraid you'd do it again."
"You're just afraid I'll go all evil and soulless Buffy again," she said, rolling her eyes. "It's really nothing to be afraid of. It won't happen again."
Yet, as she said it, her stomach gave a lurch. Maybe she shouldn't make promises she didn't know if she could keep.
Madam Pomfrey returned, looking dour. "You may go to breakfast now, Potter. But I want you in the Entrance Hall by eleven. You will be taken from there to the Ministry."
"I know," Buffy said, giving the older woman a warm smile. "And thank you for everything, Poppy."
"Not a problem, my dear, not a problem."
Harry escorted her to the Great Hall. They stopped just short of it when they realized someone was standing there, waiting for her.
Harry took a step back and pushed his way through the doors, wanting to give his sister and her significant other a moment of privacy.
Their hug was worth the effort, Buffy realized, no matter how much her muscles protested this use. He lifted her into the air for one brief moment before setting her down again. Their faces drew apart.
"I didn't think I'd get one of those so quickly," she teased.
"And here my worry was I'd never see you alive again," he said in a serious voice as he glanced at her fair hair.
"I'm here," she said, giving a quick little twirl. "I'm right here."
"You know what I mean," he said, his voice not losing any of its intensity. He reached down and took one of her hands and held it for a solemn moment. "This just feels surreal, I guess."
"It does for me, too," she admitted. "I'm not sure how to act or even how to react around everything. All I know is that I did something incredibly stupid and a part of it I cannot even remember, and I--"
He cut her off by hugging her again; the Slytherins were coming up from the dungeons, and seeing a Gryffindor heroine babbling on about evil and darkness wasn't something he wanted her to face right away.
"That was... nice and uncalled for," she said as they pulled back again.
He gestured to the swinging doors. "Did you really want their company?"
"Slytherin company? Oh, certainly not," she said, pretending to gag. Her stomach rumbled then as the aromas drifted from inside the large hall. Pressing a hand to her stomach, she turned to Oliver with an endearing smile. "Can we go in? I feel like I could probably eat you if I don't eat something else."
He forced out a cough as he flushed adorably. Yet, he managed to pull her along with them as they walked inside.
It was a very different atmosphere. There were whispers everywhere, and hundreds of curious eyes were directed to her. She held her head high as they walked along the Gryffindor table, stopping when they'd reached her seventh year friends. They were all looking at her with some apprehension, except for Katie, who looked irritated.
"Would you sit down and join us already? Geez, Potter, attention whore much?"
Buffy had never been more grateful.
Oliver managed to squeeze in beside her and she started to dish up for him when he gently pushed her hand away. "No, really... I'm a grown man, I can do this for myself."
"All right," she said, feeling slightly hurt. "I was just thinking, you know, in the terms of normalcy."
He gave her a look that shut her up instantly. He looked betrayed.
Well, wasn't that a change of events for the past few weeks?
Across the room at the Slytherin end, those who had just entered had only finished telling the rest of the lot that Gryffindor's golden girl was alive. It had been rumored the night before she had been brought back dead.
Draco was so incredibly relieved to see her, and he didn't quite understand why. He didn't really like her like he used to. He felt responsible for her power surges. Maybe he was just trying to protect himself.
Or, maybe, just maybe, he was really hoping that she had changed somehow.
It was clear by the reactions of the other Gryffindors that not all of them were pleased to have someone who had scared the ever-holy wits out of everyone present sitting amongst them again. It was also clear from the other reports they'd been getting that the Slytherins would be there to welcome her with open arms should she decide to go all powerful again.
Draco knew he would be among the first to welcome her.
Clearly it wasn't what she wanted. His Father had spoken with him the night before and had told him that Buffy had fought off the Death Eaters for a second time. He then said that the deal was sealed when she had taken a life.
He stared at the back of her shiny head. Was it true? Was the girl so many seemed to place on a pedestal because of her blood a murderer?
If that was the case, the time would soon come where Elizabeth Potter would be unwelcome in the Gryffindor House. She would lose her friends and more than likely her relationship with that brainless oaf she claimed to "adore about all else". She was going to lose her friendship with Weasley, that was for certain. For someone believing in rules and codes of ethics, being best friends with a killer was hardly the chosen path for someone who wanted to go far in the Ministry.
Not that Draco's father was innocent by any means, of course.
It was almost fun, imagining the things that the elder Potter could get herself into. Why, she would be a valuable asset for darkness. Not to mention she was rather gorgeous with dark hair and those stunningly cold eyes. Except when she was beating him around, Draco reminded himself as he touched his broken lip, courtesy from Potter's female friend.
She was capable of great things. Terrible, some of them would likely be. But they would most certainly be great.
- - - - -
Chapter 49... Faith makes her choice.
Chapter 50... And Buffy makes hers.
To the Readers / Reviewers:
Well, now. Buffy finally woke up normal and gets to face what she did. Faith is feeling all guilty and stuff. Throw in her debriefing from the Ministry and you have one confused little squib.
Faith leaves because she chose to. She knows that if she stays behind, something bad will happen and she wants BOTH Slayers to survive what's coming. And I think this chapter hinted at why she was choosing to go.
As for the Dark Mark thing, it was passed from one Slayer to the other, since they both carry the same "demon" thing. It's what they get when they don't think something all the way through!
To the other comments...
StarBella -- I'm glad you liked the flashback-y stuff. It was fun to write. Most of them weren't even there, I just added them back in. Kind of fun that way. And as for the Latin, it really helps that there's online sources, or I'd totally be screwed. And writing it in German or something, which wouldn't make any sense whatsoever. Thanks :) To answer your second note, she's keeping the Mark, but she has no memory (yet) of the murder. Once she does though... it brings a lot of Buffy self-doubts. Well, not everyone can turn away from her. Not really.
miz -- offend me? I've taken worse beatings in hockey. :) Nah, it continues. I just stopped it there, not for the cliffhanger of dramatic effect, it's just I was running out of time (aren't we all?).
Nikki -- thank you :) And yes, the Dark Mark will be sticking with her for awhile. You know, there's the Buffy heart and there's the Dark Mark, and somehow she'll have to balance them both. And, I know what you mean. It's just that Buffy Summers was a Slayer. Elizabeth Potter was a girl. She became Buffy Summers which led her to becoming evil Buffy Summers and now she somehow got back to being Elizabeth Potter again. As for Faith, I really hope these next few chapters explain it better!
electric pancake -- I couldn't write action sequences to save my life. In some of my old TGC stuff, my sequences were so blah that I torched them. Literally. Ripped them out of my notebook and made myself a little woodfire. Keeps me warm when it's so bloody cold up here. My action-beta totally helps me with the action stuff, since that's what she's best at (I think my best is the lovely prose and thoughts, but I could be mistaken). Nitpick all you want about sentence structure. The last chapter was barely looked over by my beta. I'm trying to cram five chapters into nine days and two of them haven't even been written yet. It usually takes me a few hours of rewriting to get it all right, so, please, point out all you want. I might even go back and correct some things. As for Faith, she didn't turn evil in my story. She's a good little Slayer. The reason why she heard Buffy had no soul or whatever came from the 46th chapter. She heard it once, and then when she was under the influence of the Cruciatus curse, she heard it again. I think I stopped her from killing the Mayor's assistant dude, because she spins off downwards then. So I made her the good little Slayer. And I couldn't help but laugh at the Star Wars version of 'American Pie'... I think I have like an arabic translation of it on this machine. So terribly witty in another language I don't understand. You have no idea how much this story affects my mind. I've even had dreams about things happening in it (for example, the three Wizards telling Buffy she's evil).
can-i-help -- no, no... my mind when opened would probably do bad things. I have just spent way the heck too much time on this piece. That's all. And on other things.
Naitch03 -- V gave B the mark which passed it on (through the demon and through Quentin's wonderful influences) to Little B. As for Buffy's new tattoo... it's going to be hard for her to overcome her loss of control. I also think Hermione didn't really believe Buffy would ever go as far as to take a human life. I think she was expecting Buffy to "trick" them and thus "betray" them, and really didn't think her plan would work IF Buffy killed someone. Faith has to make a choice now, because she, too, bears the Dark Mark, and if she stays in England, she risks exposing her brother and her dark side, and she can't let that happen, as the voice of reason. Not to mention the Ministry will have some sort of say in this. I don't know. There's three chapters in the air explaining this to great length. Really.
manticore-gurl -- unexpected, creative and insane. I believe my beta's words to me were "you're going to do what??".
AnitaBlake/BuffyFan -- Yay! She thinks my action scenes are good.. that's a good thing... since they usually suck pickles... la la la. Thanks :)
Silver Warrior -- Usually, I am, too. I think Ron/Hermione are terrific. But there was this voice in the back of my head (that oddly sounded like Alyson's) that kept saying, "try this... try something new... try this..." Ahem. So I tried it. I'm honestly not going to say on whether or not they'll work through what's coming (because it was her idea to send Buffy off to the Dark Lord to do something bad). And yes, Faith is related to the Weasleys. I think it'd be HILARIOUS once she found that out. I kind of liked Buffy's birthday party thing. I don't know. And Buffy went bed ala the Dracula thing from the first episode of Season 5. I just used Willow's characteristics from "Seeing Red" in Season 6 to get the point across. I WANTED to make a Harry/Ginny, but, damnit, I already did that. So many times. Again, the voice in the back of my head is saying, "try something new".
Nobody -- -Chained-up- Draco sounds... kinky. And, don't twitch! Evil things might happen... steals the chained-up person and runs away with him
Emba -- Yep, they both have the Dark Mark, actually. Imagine that. And she'll get her turn with the Ministry next chapter. I'm getting tingles just thinking about what she's going to say. The thing about having friends in high places though, they can be very useful. She can turn into a secret spy girl (ala Snape) or she can go back to her old existence. Hell, she can do anything she wants now. But, she's a marked woman. Buffy didn't go crazy. Not really, anyway. In fact, Buffy almost has no memory of what she did (because she died, her essence was sucked into the orb during the transfer between the castle and Hogwarts, etc). She gets to face her own music though next chapter. This was Faith's turn.
Violet Star -- To answer your questions... is the First coming into the story? Probably not. Buffy has enough to deal with, bringing that in would probably throw her over the edge. I'd rather keep it on the HP bad guy side of things now. It doesn't mean I won't change my mind later. Two, maybe. I haven't written it yet, but I have an idea of where I'd want it to go. Three, yes. I'm planning on updating within three or four weeks after I stop posting. I know what I want to do and where the story is going to go, so... yeah. I can't stop posting it. It's become almost like an addiction. I'll probably start posting again the first week of November.
Justasia -- I know I draw out things far too much. But, in my own defense, I think it's somewhat better than having nothing drawn out at all. My "specialty", although certainly not in technical writing, is prose. I just write what I know. Unfortunately, if I didn't do that, this story would be shorter and it wouldn't flow the way I think it does. That's just my defense.
DarkAngelMali-- Buffy and forgiveness go hand-in-hand, but Buffy has to forgive herself first, once she remembers what exactly had happened. The Mark will stay on her. I don't think there's any point to get rid of it. And I'm only updating fast NOW because I'm running out of time.
I have spent the last four months on this piece, since about June when I started writing it and thinking, "what if?". You know what? I never expected it to get this far, to come this close to being the ultimate piece of something I've written, and I certainly never expected it to be this well-received. I only hope some of you will stick around and read again after my break is up. I have to take one. I've been doing loopy things like leaving notes all around my desk at work saying what I need to do. I have post-its on my walls (which isn't anything new, except now they've basically taken over one of them). I'm even trying to get inside fictional character's heads. I'm dreaming about the crap I should write. Nope, seriously mental girl here needs a break. I have to think about how I want to end this story.
End? Yes, this story has a point and will come to an end. I want there to be a happy ending, so I'm planning on it. Nice, happy ending. No room for sequels or anything that'll completely adle my mind. I have some huge writing projects coming up in the next few months, and I want to finish this story in style. It'll probably be huge though (like an additional 25 chapters, or so I'm planning) so don't say I didn't warn you.
So. I'll post the next chapter on Tuesday and my last update for awhile will be on Thursday. It isn't a traditional doublet, since they'll be posted on opposite days, but I bloody well tried!
Oh, and you have my eternal thanks and gratitude, too! Love you guys. wiping eyes now