Chapter 6- A History of the Slayers
June, Snape, and Hermione were admitted quickly into Dumbledore's office. They found the old Headmaster sitting patiently behind his desk. Instead of the customary two seats on the other side of his desk, three more had been conjured. He gestured for them to sit.
"I saw what happened through my window. I've taken the liberty of calling Ron and Harry here as well," he said. Then, turning to June, he added, "We have some confessing to do, you and I."
June nodded. It was simply moments before the two boys appeared at the door.
"What is this all about?" Harry asked confusedly as he and Ron took their seats.
"Someone please bring Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley up to speed," Dumbledore said.
Hermione seemed to jump at the opportunity. She turned to them.
"We--Professor Snape, June, and I--were all outside. Then, these creatures attacked and June…she killed them," she said in one breath.
"What kind of creatures?" Harry asked, turning worriedly to June.
"Vampires, very old and ancient vampires. We call them ubervamps," June said.
"'We'?" inquired Snape.
June sat straighter in her chair. She glanced fleetingly at Dumbledore--who smiled encouragingly--before locking eyes with Harry.
"Slayers. Vampire Slayers."
There was a complete silence as these words seemed to echo around the room.
"Are you…mad?" Ron asked incredulously.
"Aurors take care of vampires," Hermione said.
"No, actually, they don't," Dumbledore said. "Not anymore. They used to."
"What changed?" Harry asked.
"The world of the Slayer changed, Harry," Dumbledore said.
"To each generation, a Slayer is born. She alone has the strength and skill needed to defeat the vampire," June said, recalling the old rule. "That's how it used to be, Harry. One girl--cause the Slayer is always a girl--would be born with the power, strength, and so on to kill vampires--The Chosen One. But that all changed two years ago. Buffy Summers, this generation's Chosen One, was faced with a great evil in her home town of Sunnydale. The Evil. The First Evil, dubbed rightly so, The First. The First was trying its best to come into power. To rule the world through the use of ubervamps and the Hellmouth, a portal under the town's school that led directly to Hell. It began to kill off girls that had the potential to be Slayers--Potentials--and their Watchers--the people who trained a Slayer to do her duty. So one Watcher, the only Watcher to survive, or so we thought at the time, Rupert Giles, began gathering Potentials and bringing them to Buffy, for protection and further training. I wasn't brought because my Watcher, Miles Gothuma, wanted to keep me in Wizarding school. He knew that, if my time came to be Slayer, my skills in magic would help me be a better one. Anyway, Buffy found out that hundreds upon hundreds of ubervamps were holed up inside the Hellmouth, and she needed a better way to kill them. Finally, she found this ancient weapon created by past Slayers away from the knowledge of their Watchers and asked Willow, a witch specializing in Wandless Magic, to use it to give the power of the Chosen One to all Slayers, present and future."
"You see, Aurors used to kill vampires before this was done because they knew the Chosen One couldn't be in two places at once, but after this, they stopped because they knew that Slayers would be more accessible now," Dumbledore said.
"Wait, what about a Time Turner?" Hermione asked. "Wouldn't that have worked when there was only the Chosen One?"
"I'm the only witch to be a Slayer ever. No one would give a Time Turner to a Muggle, not even if she was the Slayer. To give the Slayer power to all was Buffy's only choice. But even then, it took more than Slayers to defeat the evil of The First," June said.
"What else did she do?" Snape asked. They all seemed genuinely enthralled by this story.
"It wasn't really what she did. Her ex-lover, a vampire with a soul named Angel, showed up the night before the big fight and gave her an amulet. He told her that a champion should wear it. He wanted to, but she said no. She told him that if her line fell, he needed to form a second one in LA. Instead, she gave the amulet to her current lover, also a vampire with a soul, named Spike. When the battle got going inside the Hellmouth, the amulet activated and brought down sunlight upon the ubervamps. The town itself began to collapse. Spike knew he had to stay or else the amulet's power wouldn't work. He was burnt up by the sun along with the ubervamps."
"So, how do you come into all of this?" Harry asked, a tinge of anger in his voice.
"My Watcher became terminally ill with cancer and contacted Giles. He entrusted me to him before he died. Miles, my Watcher, died last year. I was whisked off to Rome with Buffy, her family and friends, and the surviving Potentials where we started the Slayer Headquarters. I was schooled there for a bit in magic and Slayer technique. Then Giles saw that I was home sick and made arrangements for me to attend my old Wizarding school in Salem and live in Rome in the summer."
"That's quite a story," Ron said.
"I'm not done yet. Summer before last, Angel began working for an evil law firm by the name of Wolfram and Hart. We didn't trust his gang much anymore after that. But, when it came down to it, Angel had just been playing the firm until he could find a way to destroy it. When he finally succeeded in the destruction of the building, the only people left to face the final wave of the attack was Angel, Illyria--an ancient goddess who had taken the body of a friend of Angel's and killed the friend in the process--and Spike."
"Wait. I thought Spike was dead?" Hermione said.
"We did to. But turns out that the amulet had preserved his spirit and an old enemy of Angel's gave him back his body. Anyway, it was only the three of them--because another friend of Angel's was fading fast--left to face the horde of demons and such that the annihilation of Wolfram and Hart brought forth. It was sure that they were going to lose. But Buffy now trusted Angel again and sent a group of Slayers to help him fight, myself included. In the end, we brought the three of them with us to join the Slayer HQ. It was quite a shock to Buffy to find Spike alive. Anyhow, then we found out that Voldemort--"
Ron jumped and Hermione nudged him.
"Had allied himself with ubervamps--which we thought were all dead. Headmaster Dumbledore sent for me, and here I am. Any questions?"
June gave a weak smile after that. Snape looked thoughtful, Ron looked astounded, Hermione looked faint, and Harry looked pissed.
"How could you not tell me all this?" he asked of his sister.
"Harry, only Dumbledore and myself knew of my being a Slayer. Slayers like to keep a low profile. I was forbidden by Buffy to let anyone who didn't need to know that I was a Slayer. I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you. Honest."
"But Dumbledore said Mum and Dad gave you to your destiny…is that true?" he inquired.
"Yes. Slayers aren't supposed to know their parents. Buffy only did because her name slipped through the cracks. Mom and Dad understood. They gave me to the Watchers' Council on the condition that I would still be trained as a witch."
After this, the group fell silent. This gave Dumbledore time to speak.
"You all are not to speak of this to anyone…do you understand? This is the greatest secret. Severe consequences lay ahead for any who tell…am I clear?" he asked.
"Yessir," everyone around June muttered.
"Now what? I mean, exactly why are you here?" Ron asked.
"I'm here to stop the ubervamps and to protect Harry," June replied.
"Protect me? Don't I have enough protection?" Harry asked.
"Vampires are immune to Wand Magic. You need Slayers to deal with them."
"I could see where that might be a problem," Snape said.
June smiled. She opened her mouth to make some sort of sarcastic reply, but then the door to the office burst open. Draco Malfoy, whom June knew to be a Slytherin, ran in. Dumbledore and Snape stood.
"What is the meaning of this, Mr. Malfoy?" Dumbledore asked incredulously.
June stared at the blond haired boy. He had a cut on his cheek, his hair was disheveled and dirty, and he looked as thought he'd been hit once or twice. June now stood as well.
"Death Eaters," the boy gasped. June heard Harry scoff.
Don't do it, Harry, June silently begged.
"Buddies of yours?" Harry said harshly.
Draco stared coldly, and hurtfully, at Harry but didn't reply. Instead, he turned to stare at Snape.
"They were outside. Pansy and I were walking, and they grabbed hold of us. They said that she hadn't been doing the job assigned to her by Voldemort and that I should take note that this is what happens to those who disobey the Dark Lord…they had these creatures with them with bumpy faces and sharp fangs…and they…they….they bit her. They killed her!" Draco sobbed. June could see the boy's tears hit the ground.
"Why would you care?" Ron asked.
"Ron!" Hermione gasped.
Glad someone said it, June thought.
This comment, however, Draco chose to reply to.
"I'm not completely heartless, you twit. I loved Pansy, honestly. And now she's dead…I left Karkaroff outside with the body…he told me to come and get the Headmaster."
Now this was the one thing that made June angry.
"You left him with the Death Eaters and ubervamps?!" she exclaimed.
"No. They'd left before he came by. How do you know what those creatures were?" Draco asked vaguely, looking up at the Slayer.
"She's a Vampire Slayer. It's her job to know what they are," Hermione said briskly. Draco didn't ask anything further, but June sighed.
There goes that secret.
"Come on. Let's get to Karkaroff," June said as she was the first out the door.
End Notes: I hope that wasn't too long winded. Or boring. Anyhow, please R & R! Thanks!
