Disclaimer: Buffy characters are the property of Mr. Whedon. Harry Potter characters are the property of Ms. Rowling. I do own the story that I am writing, but I'm just borrowing the characters for a little while. So, yeah, if you decide to sue... I'm uber-broke.
Through the Looking Glass
Chapter 22
Under the Whomping Willow
x x x x x
Willow blinked as a piece of her hair fell into her eyes. It was all she could do to not "break ranks" and move the hair out of her eyes. After all, it was considered extremely rude to move during the ceremonies.
"... the girl. Has she returned?"
Willow knew that voice by heart. Antonin Dolohov. Her new... master. It had been extremely confusing to her how she had been inducted so quickly. Even McGonagall had told her that it would probably take a little while for everyone to trust her. But, she had gotten in on Draco Malfoy's word of honor - and that little incident where she had slipped up and did some magic without a wand... but that was another matter - and from the moment she had been in her first Death Eater meeting, she had known exactly how powerful Draco Malfoy was. Willow was surprised that Malfoy wasn't running the show or that the wizarding world would call the Death Eaters the... Malfolov Tribe... or something.
"The Letum Essum, sir?" Willow heard Draco's voice answer.
"Yes. Her name?" Dolohov sounded annoyed.
"Victoria."
Willow had been one of the first people to have known about the Letum Essum girl. She was to go to Hogwarts and...
"Yes, I see. Well - she must be brought back to me." Dolohov sighed as Willow shook her head clear of thoughts. She always had a hard time of not thinking, especially around all of the Death Eaters.
"She failed, sir!" Malfoy's words echoed off the walls. "Why bring her back? Let her rot in the castle dungeons."
"I have something better planned for her failure, Malfoy." Dolohov's words seemed to tell Willow that Victoria would not be alive for very much longer. "And I will need to have someone bring her back to me. Are you all too cowardly to breech Hogwarts?"
Willow blinked again. Half because of her hair still in her eyes, and half because a chance had just jumped out to her. McGonagall had told her that if she ever got the chance, that she would need to try and make it back before Christmas.
"I will bring her back, my Lord." Willow spoke out loud, but kept her head down. "I am not afraid."
x x x x x
"I can't believe you."
"What?" Willow looked over at Draco. He looked... confused. Willow smiled.
"You have nothing to prove," Draco began as he crossed the room. "Dolohov already knows of your loyalty. You have showed your merit... more-so than many of the others." He placed his hand on her cheek.
Willow brushed his hand away. "I'm still going."
"Then I'm going with you," Draco insisted.
He obviously doesn't get hints when they are smacking him in the face, Willow thought.
"No!" Willow was surprised by her outburst. "I mean... er... no... you see... what if we're both caught?"
Draco shrugged and sat down on her bed. "At least you wouldn't be alone."
Grade A Lesbian here. Doesn't care for male companionship... unless it's Xander Harris. And that's purely platonic. Willow huffed as she thought.
"It's better if I go alone. You'd slow me down, you know." Willow smiled and gave him a knowing look.
"Fine," Malfoy shook his head. "You must return quickly... as soon as you have freed the Victoria girl... don't take your time. I'm sure Potter is just waiting for someone like you to show up..."
"I'll be fine," Willow shrugged. "I can handle it."
x x x x x
"I thought Thanksgiving was fantastic. I mean, how many parties get crashed by the Wicked Witch of the West and her cat?" Xander smiled at Buffy.
"The Wicked Witch of the West didn't have a cat." Cordelia rolled her eyes. "She had flying monkeys. Didn't you ever see the movie?"
"I did better... I read the book. No ruby slippers, you know." Xander puffed out his chest.
"Guys..." Buffy warned.
"Yeah, yeah, Buffy..." Xander held up his hands in mock defeat. "I know - HEY! Watch where you're going!" Xander looked in front of him and noticed Harry fiddling with his glasses. "Don't you look when you're walking?"
"Good to see you too," Harry said facetiously.
"Harry," Buffy began. "Why are you here?"
"I'm expecting a bit of a surprise." Harry said mystically as he wiggled his fingers. He laughed a little and continued on his way. "I'll see you guys later."
"He's so weird." Buffy cocked an eyebrow and followed Harry with her eyes. "Almost got you beat, Xander."
"No... I'm still the King of Weirdos." Xander nodded his head. "All bow before me and become weird."
"Wonder what the surprise is?" Cordelia asked out loud.
"Way to not join in on the conversation, there, Cordy." Xander joked.
Buffy faced Cordelia as she ignored Xander. "I know... could be like an early Christmas surprise."
"Maybe," Cordelia shrugged and continued walking. "Come on guys... lets go."
x x x x x
Willow held out a large piece of glass in front of her. She didn't know exactly how a piece of glass was going to take her to Hogwarts, but she wasn't going to ask Dolohov...
"Inverte reflecte." Dolohov's words seemed to float in the air, reverberating.
Willow felt the glass in her hand grow warm. Looking down, she noticed that it seemed to have turned into a silver liquid and had begun to spread all over her body. Before she could think of what might be happening to her, she noticed that she was at the foot of a tree. Willow looked up and saw that she was within Hogwarts grounds.
Willow wished that she had thought to bring a coat. The wintry weather was definitely not one of her favorite things. Willow held her hands out in front of her and mumbled a few words, in moments she felt a warming sensation protect her from the cold. She sighed in relief and noticed that the mirror that she had been holding before the trip was now at her feet.
Must be how I get back, she thought.
At that moment, Willow heard a groaning sound. She looked all around her and noticed nothing but white covered in extra white. The groaning then started to sound more like snaps and the splintering of wood. Willow looked up and saw that the tree that she was standing under was rearing back to strike. One branch came swinging from nowhere and knocked her down. When she got over the shock of being hit by a tree, Willow realized that another branch was heading her way. She held up her hands and the tree stopped mid-swing.
"No so threatening now, huh?" Willow rolled her eyes and pushed herself out of the snow. "Big Scary Tree of Snowy Doom..."
"Yer mean the Whompin' Willow?"
Willow whirled around and noticed a large black shape against the white snow. "Er... oh... hi." She then placed her hands behind her back guiltily, hoping he hadn't seen her use non-wand magic. "Just came to-"
"See McGonagall." Hagrid smiled at Willow and motioned with one of his large hands. "Follow me."
x x x x x
x0x0x
Willow pulled the cloak over her head as the mass of other cloaked figures began to slowly move towards her.
"Only death shall part you from my services."
Willow listened to the raspy voice of Dolohov and the faint hum of the cloaked figures circling them both. She realized that she hadn't been breathing and choked in some air.
"Do you swear your life to me and your fellow Death Eaters?" Dolohov's dark eyes looked deep into Willow's own.
"I swear my life." Willow repeated the ceremonial words she had been taught not five minutes before this very occasion. She noticed that Dolohov had stood up and had brandished his wand as if it were a sword. One of the cloaked figures nearby ripped off the sleeve of her robe, revealing Willow's naturally pale arm.
"This might sting."
Willow heard Dolohov then say an incantation that was lost to her memory... the only thing she remembered was the immense pain she felt burning onto her skin.
x0x0x
"Yes, I've heard it is quite painful."
Willow looked up a McGonagall. She had just told them how she had been inducted so quickly into the Death Eaters. McGonagall had been slightly surprised.
"Yeah, no kidding," Willow pushed the sleeve of her robes up and revealed the mark on her skin. "I wasn't ready to have my arm feel like it was going to fall off."
"If it makes you feel any better - everybody screams." Snape retorted, though not in his normal haughty tone. He had been standing in the corner for the most part of the story.
"No, it doesn't make me feel any better."
There was a silence that filled the room for a few moments, until Harry decided he had waited long enough without saying anything. Willow had hoped he'd be quiet... it was bad enough having to answer questions from Snape and McGonagall... but she thought that Harry would have exceedingly good questions (or bad from her point of view) about the goings on in the Death Eater circles.
"Willow, we are going to need everything you can remember," Harry pulled up a chair beside her and took a seat. "I know it's hard-"
"Ha!" Willow laughed, then automatically wished she hadn't. It was much more than hard to go back through the past coupel of months... but she didn't have to act the way she was. "Sorry - I'm just used to being put in situations I don't like."
"I know," Harry remarked sadly.
"You don't know," Willow retaliated, "I... I... I helped bring down the Muggle British Parliament!"
"Before or after your initiation into the circle?" Snape asked from his corner. Willow shot him a glare.
"Before." Willow noticed that Harry seemed surprised by the news.
"Parliament too? I thought he made a statement saying he was only targeting national landmarks?" Harry asked incredulously.
"It's a landmark," Willow monotoned.
"We've all made sacrifices, Miss Rosenburg-" McGonagall stopped suddenly and Willow guessed that she didn't want to bring in other peoples sacrifices. Another silence filled the room which gave Willow a few seconds to think.
"I have a question." Willow spoke up. "When I would be doing these... things... I'm sure my thoughts gave me away. You said that I had some sort of protection, but I can't see how it-"
"No one told her about the potion?" Snape looked at Harry and McGonagall.
"Dumbledore thought it best." McGonagall nodded curtly in Snape's direction.
"DUMBLEDORE IS DEAD!" Snape fumed.
"Don't you raise your voice like that to me, Severus! You know perfectly well that his painting still helps us." McGonagall gave Snape a glare that Willow thought would have made any other person cry. Willow knew that she'd be on the floor crying if she was in Snape's shoes.
"Potion?" Willow interrupted, although hesitantly.
"It was designed to protect your mind from those thugs," Harry ventured. "You'll need more before you go back."
"I'm not going back," Willow said defiantly.
x0x0x
Willow stared at the mirror in front of her. The mirror was virtually complete except for one missing piece. The piece she knew was somewhere in Hogwarts. Dolohov knew that too. He had told her personally that he was waiting for the opportune moment to retrieve the last piece of the mirror.
Willow turned around as the door creaked behind her. She noticed the dark figure of Dolohov.
"I don't trust you around my mirror." He wheezed at her. "If it weren't for the Malfoys, I would have had you killed by now."
Willow ignored him and turned to look at the mirror again. She tried to memorize that missing piece's space. It was as if she were putting together a puzzle in her mind. Willow then felt a powerful pull at her arm, and realized that she was being yanked away from the mirror. Dolohov had grabbed her and had turned her arm over, revealing the Dark Mark on her forearm.
"Do you even understand what this is all about?" He spat in her face. Willow tried to look away, but he used his other hand to grab her face. "It's about purging the world of those unworthy of this power." Dolohov pushed her away and pulled out his wand. "CRUCIO!"
Willow had no time to react to the curse before it hit her. She felt as if her bones wanted out of her body and that her skin was being ripped off of her. When the pain subsided she heard Dolohov laughing.
Pushing herself up, she challenged him. "I know power. More power than you will ever know."
"What?" Dolohov was still laughing. "Silly girl."
Willow held up one hand, completely forgetting about the wand that she should be using, and watched as Dolohov hurtled across the room and smashed into the door.
Dolohov stared at Willow, a trickle of blood pouring from his forehead, and raised his own wand towards her. "AVADA KEDAVRA!"
Willow felt a surge of power as she created a force field to protect her from the spell. The curse bounced off the protection and then hit her in the side. She felt an immense pain and realized that she must not be dead if she could feel pain. Looking down, she saw blood pouring from a gash on her side. She looked up, waiting for Dolohov to make another move. If he did... she would kill him... to hell with all the spying. He'd die.
Dolohov stared right back at her. He was leaning against the wall, obviously still in pain from her own spell. He was breathing heavily and smiling at the same time.
"I think that this will be the start of a wonderful relationship." He paused to catch his breath. "We'll discuss it over tea, after you and I have cleaned up."
x0x0x
x x x x x
"Did you see her scar?" McGonagall shook her head.
"I knew she was powerful." Harry nodded to McGonagall. The story that Willow had told them seemed incredible, but Harry believed every word. "I just hope that the dark magic doesn't take her over."
"We made a good decision in her," McGonagall's stern mouth was set, but there was a slight sadness behind her eyes.
"But, should we let Willow take the Letum Essum back to Dolohov?" Harry asked.
"Of course!" Snape butted in. "It was trying to cause harm to Miss Chase!"
"Yes, I was informed-" Harry started.
"That girl deserves her fate with Dolhov," Snape fumed at Harry. "Cordelia could have died!"
"Severus!" McGonagall's sharp tone interrupted the small spat. "What if the Letum Essum has obtained information?"
"Highly doubtful," Snape sneered.
x x x x x
Willow found herself lost down one of the many corridors in Hogwarts. She hadn't been gone too long, but she had been gone long enough to completely forget where everything was.
"Oh, my God."
Willow turned around and noticed a familiar face. "Buffy!"
The two friends ran towards each other and embraced in a huge hug. When they pulled away, Willow saw that Buffy was crying.
"Oh, I'm so glad to see you, Will." Buffy sputtered.
"You don't know what it's like seeing a friendly face." Willow hugged Buffy again.
"So," Buffy sniffed and pushed away the tears. "What's going on? How are you? What's up?"
"I'm okay, I guess." Willow answered truthfully. "Not dead yet."
"I hope not," Buffy smiled. "Don't know how I'd feel if I was talking to a ghost right now."
Willow laughed. "Do you know where Xander and Cordelia are?"
"Probably off somewhere fighting about who's better at making snowballs or something." Buffy shrugged. "We'll go find them."
"That would be great."
x x x x x
"I told you they'd be fighting about who's better at making snowballs," Buffy nudged Willow.
Indeed, Willow and Buffy were listening to Xander and Cordelia talk about the winter weather. Xander was boasting about a "brilliant snowball fight" with all the Hufflepuffs attacking one another with enchanted snowballs that would melt on their target. Cordelia countered with a story about how Ravenclaws charmed the snow before it even hit the ground to make snowballs.
"Go tap 'em on the shoulder... they'll totally flip." Buffy urged her friend forward.
Willow smiled and moved forward. She tapped Cordelia on the shoulder.
"Huh?" Cordelia turned around. "Willow?"
"What?" Xander looked behind him and he nearly fell out his seat. "WILL!"
"WILLOW!" Cordelia screamed with joy.
Xander noticed Buffy behind Willow and motioned for her to come over. "Buffy, look! It's WILLOW!"
"I know," Buffy laughed. The four friends all gathered together for a group hug.
"We're so glad you're back!" Cordelia exclaimed.
"Yeah - we got your letter!" Xander pulled it out of his pocket. Willow wanted to cry. He had saved her letter.
x0x0x
Willow crept into Draco's room. She knew that he was away doing an important mission for Dolohov, so he wouldn't miss his eagle owl.
Willow looked down at the letter in her hand. She then realized that her letter could be intercepted and that everything that the Order was hoping for would crumble. She then cast a small spell on the letter and the words disappeared.
x0x0x
"You figured it out!" Willow exclaimed.
"Well, no..." Buffy shrugged.
"But, we knew you were okay." Xander hurried up after Buffy's disappointing news.
"You mean - you did write something?" Cordelia asked.
"Yeah-" Willow began.
"See, we were interrupted by a green hag with moss teeth, and her mean cat with claws... which turned into a mutant rabbit... which was pretty funny... but anyway, so it's not that we're stupid and couldn't figure it out." Xander stated in one breath.
Willow stared at Xander for a moment in awe. He smiled right back at her.
"Oh, yes, we were," Cordelia huffed.
"Just pour water on it. It reveals the message." Willow took the letter from Xander.
"Geez, Cordy." Xander shook his head. "How come you didn't think to spill some water?"
"Probably because I was too pissed off about you throwing away a perfectly good macaroni pie!"
"I won't ask." Willow laughed as she looked over at Buffy. Buffy began to laugh too.
x x x x x
Remus stared at the calendar in front of him. He had hated that the full moon fell on Christmas Day this year. It was like the ever growing pain that kept growing within him every year. The moon would always take away a special night of the year. Not only did it mean that he was going to be sick on Christmas Eve, but that he'd probably still be feeling the effects on New Year's as well.
Oh, the life of a werewolf...
x x x x x
Willow stepped inside the cell where the Letum Essum girl was being kept.
"Hey, I know you..." Victoria looked surprised.
"Yes," Willow lowered her voice, so it sounded as if she were more evil. "Lord Dolohov asked me to rescue you from the foes clutches."
"He used that exact wording, too, I bet." Victoria looked at Willow skeptically.
"Well, he said that if I couldn't save you that I could very well let you rot in your dungeon of a grave." Willow hissed. "I could lie and say that you were already dead when I arrived."
Willow noticed the Letum Essum's eyes flashing. For someone so incredibly stupid, she was very brave, and... creepy.
"So, are you going to release me?" Victoria asked, rustling her chains.
"Not yet," Willow put a finger on her lips to shush her. "I'll be back in a few days. I have to create an escape route."
x chapter's end x
After Thoughts: One word: whew! I told you it was a long chapter (thought not as long as I thought it would turn out). The (x0x0x)'s indicate FLASHBACKS. So, yeah. While Willow's around we get a few flashbacks as to what's been going on with her while she's being living the life of a Death Eater. And for those of you who saw the messed up version of the chapter - SORRY! The x0x0x's are what used to be (. . .)'s. FF (dot) net is evil for messing up EVERYTHING.
Thanks to all of my readers... I dedicate this long chapter to you all. Hope you liked it. I tried to get it out quickly... don't know if I succeeded on that aspect, but... heh...
If you read, please review.
Look forward to Ch. 23 entitled:
Rowena's Riddle
A bit of sleuthing turns up an ancient text.
