(a/n: Per usual, I thank each and every one of you for your reviews.
(a/n 2: I will use my own ideas and understanding of the original works. Occasionally, I will twist a fact to suit me, or in my own, sneaky, underhanded way fashion the truth to work with my story. If there is an extraordinary problem with anything I write, please, please e-mail me and tell me! I will gladly take any advice you have for me.
(a/n 3: If you are still annoyed by something that may turn up occasionally in my story, by all means e-mail me ( jinxiemeyersyahoo.com ) and tell me so. I'll gladly explain myself. I will indeed even argue my point about it! (believe me, it's fun to do). Thanks again, and enjoy the story.
a/n 4: I have corrected the mistake involving the howler, and I apologize for it. Wow…someone actually got me to apologize. Pixie of Chaos….should you ever read this…don't have a heart attack. I'm wrong sometimes…unbelievably, sometimes I even go so far as to admit it. I'll show you where I went wrong, if you want. It started when I didn't read all of book five again before I started writing this. I hate being wrong. Bloody sucks!)
Chapter 2 of Unexpected Losses
"You ready, Wills?" Xander finally asked, holding two of Willow's four suitcases. Willow had a duffle bag hanging from her shoulder, and she held the strap in front of her with both hands. Oz insisted on taking her other two suitcases. Willow sent Xander a silent 'what-are-you-crazy?' looks, and he grinned back, understanding her answer. "I don't think the plane's going to wait for you."
"When is it leaving?" Buffy interrupted, speaking of the plane, obviously.
"In another hour." Willow answered, shrugging her bag farther up her shoulder. "You guys don't have to stay if you don't want to, I assume it's going to get really boring, just waiting."
"Of course we're staying," Buffy answered before anyone else got a chance to interrupt. "I mean, it's only another hour, and it's less boring if we're all together. Have anything to do?" Xander, with a wicked grin, pulled out a deck of cards. After reaching Willow's assigned gate and turning in her luggage, they began a game.
An hour later found all five sitting in a circle, exchanging dark looks with one another. All five held hands of cards turned in towards themselves. Willow was the first to speak, and turned to Oz. "Got any threes?" She questioned, grinning in victory when he handed her two cards. "Yay-ness!" She announced, and added the four cards to her rather impressive pile. "Cordy! Any queens?"
"Go fish." The brunette answered after scanning her cards. "Xander, sixes?" She questioned, and was rewarded with one card. She added four cards to her own pile. "I hate this game." She informed them brightly. "Buffy, any kings?"
Buffy sighed, and handed Cordelia her remaining cards. "I'm out."
"Flight 1712 boarding. Last call for Flight 1712." The intercom announced. The group of five all froze. The hour had seemed like minutes. Their last hour with Willow for who knew how long.
Cordelia hugged her tightly, and winked. "Don't forget a thing I've taught you. And stay away from everything ucky!"
Oz kissed her and embraced her. "Call me when you get there, Will. Let me know that everything's okay." He stepped back in line with Cordelia, giving room for Buffy to step up and knock the wind out of Willow in a fierce hug.
"Don't let anything get you, Wills. Don't make me have to come all the way over there to slay something. Good luck with the witch-y stuff. And don't forget, accessorizing isn't always a good thing, and sometimes too little is better than too much!"
Xander was the last one to hug the redhead, shielding the tears in his eyes with her hair when he hugged her. "Don't let any bad guys with sticks get too close. Keep your cool. Study hard. All the good stuff. Call me the second you get there, and remember to e-mail me at least three times a week. If you don't, I'm coming after you. Love you, Willow."
"I love you, too, Alexander Harris." She answered, feeling her eyes mist up again at the thought of leaving. She hugged every one of them once more, informing each of them (even Cordelia) that she loved them. She turned and headed for the gate entrance, giving them one more wave after she handed her ticket to the woman by the door. She headed on and out of sight.
Surprisingly, Xander still had tears in his eyes, as did Buffy. Oz actually seemed to be feeling an emotion, and Cordy was doing her best to make sure that no one knew that she was sniffling. Willow walked on, out of sight, her usually cheery demeanor lost in her sadness at leaving her family of friends. She'd even miss Cordelia, and that was something in and of itself.
Petunia waited in the airport, sitting alone with a book. Vernon was working still, and now fully aware that when he came home that there'd be another child that wasn't his to care for at his home. He wasn't happy that she'd kept Willow a secret, despite the fact she'd only known two days in advance. Petunia sighed into her book at the thought of her husband. She loved him, but sometimes he could be such a problematic man.
Willow's flight wasn't due for another twenty minutes, but Petunia was well aware of the sporadic time changes at many airports. She didn't want her best friend's daughter to be waiting for perhaps hours because her plane was early. She had settled in at a gate where she noticed that she wasn't alone in her distrust of airports, as many other people were also waiting. She wasn't yet halfway done with the novel, one of her favorites, and so she settled in.
It was another half hour when a tap on her shoulder pulled her from the book. She'd been so submerged, she didn't even notice when the plane had arrived (shockingly enough) on time. A timid-looking redhead had been the one to call her attention. Emerald green eyes met her own, and the girl bit her lip questioningly. "Mrs. Dursley?"
"Willow, darling," Petunia answered, and noticed the girl calm considerably at her answer. "I'm so sorry! I didn't even realize that anyone had arrived. Are you all right, dear? I didn't mean to frighten you by not being here."
"It's all right. That happens to me sometimes, just start reading, and the world is kind of lost to you." Willow answered. "I'm just glad I recognized you. You just seemed like a Mrs. Petunia Dursley."
"Call me Aunt Petunia, dear. I'm so sorry about your mother. She was a fine woman, and a good friend of mine." Petunia answered, feeling terribly guilty that she'd gotten so lost in her story. Who knows how long the girl had been waiting for her. "Let's get your things and head home. My husband should be home later today, and you can meet them. Dudley, my son, will be off school by the time we get home.
"I told him to come home, but he may not be. He's got so many little friends, he's probably going to be off for a few hours after school."
"Of course, and thank you." Willow answered, and the pair headed off towards the luggage retrieval carousel. They were there for another, almost painfully silent, fifteen minutes, when Willow's things arrived. She picked up two of her suitcases, and with an embarrassed look at Mrs. Dursley, realized she needed help in carrying her things. Petunia didn't seem to notice, and picked up her other two bags. For a moment, she seemed a little surprised at the weight of them.
She remembered then that Willow was not coming to visit. She'd left her life behind in California, and was moving everything she owned and could take with her to Surrey, England. Petunia paused at her realization. She'd lost her parents and her old life in a short span of time, and managed to still keep her life in a form of control. Petunia felt sorry for the girl who didn't seem to feel badly for herself.
"Yes, dear, come along."
Harry Potter exchanged a significant look with Ron at breakfast. He'd just received mail from an owl he didn't recognize. He didn't open the letter yet, but he also didn't recognize the handwriting on the outside of the letter. He pocketed it, and picked at his breakfast until Ron finished eating. Hermione was off in the library. Ever since the beginning of the year, she had barely stopped studying.
Their newest Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was a woman named Caitriona Kehoe, who was an Auror who opposed the ministry in its stand against Dumbledore. Instead of, as some others did, acting as a go-between for Dumbledore and the ministry, she left her position to begin teaching. She had been voted the best Defense teacher yet, an equal to Lupin by most of the school. The Gryffindors seemed to disagree with her being that good, but they still all liked her.
Professor Kehoe was their youngest teacher yet, in her mid-twenties. She was a common crush among the male students. She was well-respected for her skill. She had little patience for those of little wit and did not allow for lethargy among her students. Most of her classes were practical lessons, and when her students were disruptive, they were invited to leave. One student had been invited to leave permanently. After serving almost a month's worth of late-night detentions, they were allowed back, with no more chances.
Kehoe had long ash-blonde hair that was always braided. She had dark cerulean blue eyes and a glare that seemed to cut into one's soul. She was short, barely hitting the five three mark, but physically threw one of her more cocky male seventh years across the room, with ease, in one of her demonstrations.
Kehoe was one of the reasons that Hermione studied so much in her sixth year. She had lots of advice for her, including praise for the girl, insisting that she should consider becoming an Auror. Hermione listened to the woman, and with some advice from Kehoe, had herself on a strict study regiment, leaving little time for her boyfriend, Ron, and best friend.
After Ron had finally had his fill, the pair headed on towards their common room so Harry would have the opportunity to look at the letter he'd received. They had twenty minutes until their first class ([coincidentally to my blathering: Defense Against the Dark Arts]), and plenty of time to see what news the letter held. Making way across the common room and sitting in their customary seats by the fire, Harry opened the letter.
"It's not from a wizard." Harry informed Ron, by simply looking at the letter. Ron cocked an eyebrow at the raven-haired boy, who grinned. "Look, Ron, have you ever sent any letter in an envelope like this?" He handed it to the redhead, who was fascinated by the plastic square that read 'Harry Potter' from within.
"But what muggle would sent you mail?" Ron asked, flipping the envelope over, as if there would be a return address. "It's not even sealed!"
"Sure it is, it's glue. Muggles don't use wax." Harry informed his friend, and tore the envelope open, tearing cleanly by sticking his finger under the half-glued back flap and tearing it across. He fished the letter out and opened it. The first line alone told him exactly who sent it. "Bloody hell."
"What is it, Harry?" Ron asked, an edge of panic on his voice.
Harry sighed and began reading it aloud.
"Harry,
"It seems as if this year you must come home for the Christmas break. Uncle Vernon will be picking you up at the train station, so mind him. My goddaughter will be living with us, now, and until the guest bedroom is finished being remodeled, you and she will be sharing a room.
"We will be keeping a close eye on both of you, and for your sake you'd best behave yourself. We will not be putting up with your usual nonsense during this Christmas break. That includes owls. They will not be flying into my home all during break, you can keep your pet with you, but you are not to send letters to your little friends. If we find that you do, she will be in her cage for the rest of your stay.
"Do not send a reply, we'll see you on December 15th."
"It's signed: Aunt Petunia." Harry rolled his eyes. "This is so stupid. And it's probably going to be another Dudley running around. Not to mention that I get to stay in the same room as her."
"Why are they making you come home, that is bloody stupid! You've never gone home for the break before!" Ron shared in Harry's anger. "And why would you want to try anything with her? She's probably horrible."
"Let's go and tell Hermione, she'll want to know. Look at it this way, you guys can finally go home for a Christmas." Harry knew that the reason both stayed was because of him. He was grateful for their thoughtfulness, but now he felt bitter that they had a good place to go and feel welcome, while he had no choice but to go home and suffer through three weeks of the Dursleys, and plus one more.
Ron could hear the bitterness in his best friend's voice, but he didn't know how to react to it. Hermione would know what to say to calm him down, something that had never been one of Ron's strong points. He usually just got himself into more trouble than out of it, so he wisely kept his mouth shut.
Besides that, he did feel a little guilty. He'd met Harry's family, and they were horrible to him. No kid wanted to be in a place like that for Christmas. And what about presents?! They probably couldn't even send an owl then, and because he and the probably she-Dudley would be sharing a room, he couldn't even go there to get his mail, nor for a bit of peace.
The headed to the library in an uncomfortable silence. Hermione was, of course, there, sitting towards the back of the library. She was less likely to be bothered by the opening and closing of the doors there. There was a half-circle of books piled around her, and she was buried in a tome so large Ron stifled a gulp. It was easily twice as thick as Hogwarts: A History, and two feet along the spine.
"Hermione?" He asked, his voice cracking, still in awe of the book before him. She didn't seem to hear him. Ron, surprisingly, gave Harry a wicked grin and crept up behind her. She was still too absorbed in the book to pay attention. He crept up behind her, in a silent fashion that would've make Fred and George proud. "Hermione." He whispered in a singsong voice, less than an inch from her ear. She made no response.
Gently, he kissed her behind her ear. The brunette jumped and in her surprise dropped her book, which hit the table with a resounding 'bang.' "Ron!" She hissed and lightly whacked the back of his head. He flashed her another wicked smile, and she blushed. "You're going to get me in trouble." She added, and marked her place in the huge book.
Ron simply offered a lopsided grin, and she rolled her eyes. "C'mon, we've got some stuff to tell you." Immediately Hermione's playful attitude was replaced with a business-like briskness that had the trio out of the library and heading down the hallway in a matter of seconds.
"Well, what is it?" She questioned, maneuvering around other students easily, heading towards the DADA practical classroom.
"The Dursleys say I have to go home for Christmas." Harry answered, and ran into Hermione from behind when she stopped suddenly at his announcement. "Ow." He muttered, rubbing his nose, which had hit Hermione's head. He was three inches taller than her, giving him just the right height for the offending feature to be squashed. "My nose."
"Stop whining." Hermione said immediately, even as she checked to make sure that it wasn't bleeding, but was rather just very pink from the impact. "You're fine. Now, what did you just say?"
"I got a letter from my aunt Petunia." Harry explained, and rubbed his throbbing nose. "She said that I have to come home for Christmas break this year. Not only that, but when I get home, I have to share a room with her goddaughter."
"But why?" Hermione responded. "They've never wanted you home before. I'd think that with another kid there that they'd want you home even less than they usually do…um…no offense of course." She muttered, blushing as she realized what she said. Harry simply shrugged as he opened the door for their DADA classroom and allowed she and Ron to pass in front of him. After all, it was the truth.
"That's what I'd like to know."
"Mr. Potter, if you're quite through?" Professor Kehoe asked, with a small smile adorning her lips.
Harry blushed at the attention called to him, and he nodded swiftly. "Sorry, Professor."
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, if we could just get started, then." She took a seat on her desk, facing her class, who all stood in a half-circle, all facing her attentively. She crossed her legs and leaned back comfortably on her hands, looking most unprofessional. "Today's lesson…sorry kids, pull up a chair, we're starting with a class discussion.
The group began pulling up their chairs from the sides of the classroom and seating themselves as they wanted. Professor Kehoe began again. "Today's lesson: What is a demon?" Hermione's hand was in the air, and Kehoe grinned impishly at her. "Very good Hermione, but the question was rhetorical.
"What is a demon? It is defined as an evil, supernatural being. A devil. An evil spirit. While not entirely wrong, the definition is also not entirely correct. Can anyone tell me how many different types of demons that there are? No. Good. You shouldn't be able to, I haven't taught you that yet. Demon, in a way, is an opinionative word." Kehoe jumped lightly to her feet and began pacing. "Hermione, what do you think a demon is? And listen carefully, Ms. Granger: not tell-me-the-book-definition-of-a-demon…tell me what you think a demon is."
Hermione paused, blushing, because she was indeed about to spout the definition for the word. "I-I suppose someone or something that is inherently evil."
"Thank you, Ms. Granger. Do you have an example for me?"
"A-a vampire." The teenage answered hesitantly.
"Excellent, Ms. Granger. Take five points. Does anyone else have any opinion of what a demon is?" Kehoe asked again, glancing over her students, most of whom were mulling over the thought carefully.
"What about banshees?" Seamus Finnegan spoke up, with a shiver to his voice.
"Good. Take another five house points." Kehoe answered.
"Dementors." Ron added in a quiet voice, sparing a glance for Harry, who sat almost rigidly at the word. Kehoe held up her hand, indicating another five points for Gryffindor. She made a little skipping motion towards her desk and took her seat again.
"Voldemort." Harry spoke after a few moments silence. His voice was impressively quiet but because of the silence of the room, he was easily heard. "If that's not a demon, nothing is."
"That will be ten points, Mr. Potter." Professor Kehoe nodded quietly, and seemed to turn her thoughts inward for the moment. "Yes, I agree with you. Voldemort is a demon. As Ms. Granger has pointed out, a being of inherent evil. That is something you will all need to learn in my classroom. Just because something doesn't look like it came from a pit of hell…doesn't mean it's not."
"Except he does." Harry muttered, and though Kehoe heard him, she didn't comment. Instead she merely bit back a laugh and turned again to face the whole of her class. "But for today we will focus on the broader spectrum of demons. Generally, the ones that look more like it. For now, we will be discussing Doppelgangers, Jovocs, and well, these." She waved her wand and a covered case appeared before them. Most of the class had a sudden flashback to one of Lockhart's more memorable classes involving Cornish pixies.
Most of the girls, and admittedly, a few of the guys, in the classroom jumped when she revealed the case to hold a large and frightening olive-green, cat-like creature. "I, unfortunately, was not able to convince our headmaster to let me bring in an adult. This is, of course, just a kitten, barely six weeks old."
"That is a kitten?" Ron asked, staring in shock at the almost four-foot-long beast.
"Unfortunately." Kehoe answered, apparently unaware of his slight panic. "This is a Swamplight Lynx. They are carnivores, and if this little baby was able to hunt, we would be on the menu. The main reason that I am not allowed to bring in a full-grown lynx is because I don't think we have much at this school that could contain it. They are extremely powerful, and just about as welcome to eating people as looking at them.
"They usually grow to be about ten feet long, and as the name suggests, they usually live in swampy areas. The coloring of them usually ranges from yellow to the olive-green of this specimen. No one, and I repeat, no one panic. If you think you are unable to handle yourselves, leave now. This may be very young, but then again, so are you. I am going to let it out of its cage, because should you ever come across one, there are certain weaknesses."
A few students twitched, as if to move, but no one did. Kehoe opened one side of the cage. The kitten lynx looked up at Kehoe, as if bored, and it slowly made its way out of the cage. It pawed at Kehoe's cloak, and toppled over as it tried to press against it. Most of the class had to stifle giggles at its clumsiness. "Don't be fooled." Professor Kehoe warned. "They grow more graceful as they age. The kittens are often, for lack of better word, little klutzes and likely to get themselves into trouble.
"One thing in particular to notice, it's paws. Like even household cats, these have retractable claws." Kehoe sat next to the lynx, on the floor, and grabbed its paw. She pressed on the padded bottom, and four three-inch-long, deadly-sharp claws were forced out of the lynx's toes. The lynx seemed to be chewing on her hand to get her to release its paw.
"Professor, you're bleeding…" Hermione said in a faint voice. Kehoe released the animal's paw and glanced down at her hand.
"Well, then. Serves me right." Kehoe nodded to herself. "That's another fun attribute to our new friend. Sharp, sharp teeth. Two inch long canines, and sharp as knives." Kehoe wrapped up her hand with a long bandage from off of her desk. "None of you, of course, are allowed to touch her, she puts up with me, because I can boss her around. Now, being named Swamplights…there is one more trick our friend can show us."
Professor Kehoe firmly shoved a finger in between the big cat's ribs. In a defensive reaction, the cat was hidden in a ball of the brightest light any of the students had ever seen. All of them had to look away. Kehoe, who'd been expecting it had tightly screwed her eyes shut, and even then spots danced in front of her vision for a few minutes. "Now, she'll use that to stun anyone she comes across that seems to want to hurt her. For now, it's purely defense.
"When she grows up, that will be one of her offensives moves. She'll stun people with a flash, and then attack before they can recuperate. "These guys are bloody dangerous, but if, while they are using a light attack you either manage to run or put them out, they're not lethal. Now, children. We all know the general spell for putting out our lights."
"Nox!" The class chorused back to her.
"If you can managed to use the spell while they're using their own magic, they themselves will be stunned, giving you a chance to build yourself a better defense, finish them off (which is generally frowned upon…they are endangered), or--"
"Run like hell!" Offered several students. This last was greeted with laughter, even by their professor.
"Very good, kids. But this is also very important. Nox is generally a spell used to reverse the affects of a Lumos spell. Make sure that you cast the spell correctly. The only difference is the way you move your wand. Mr. Longbottom, please come up here." Kehoe indicated Neville, who walked up to the front of the classroom. "Now…we all know that 'nox' will generally work no matter what you do with your wand. With Miss Kitty over here, you want to…well, copy me."
Slowly, and with a lot of stress on her movements, the professor moved her wand in very deliberate strokes. It vaguely reminded him of their own "swish and flick" but with more swishing and a definite loss of emphasis on the flick. "Very good, Mr. Longbottom. If you would please, I'm going to split the class in half, show your half exactly the movement I have shown you."
"Yes, Professor." Neville answered, a faint confidence in his voice that had never been there before.
"Now…as for Doppelgangers…Mr. Finnegan…pay attention!"
(a/n: that's all for this installment. I don't own Swamplight Lynxes, by the way. They, Jovocs, and many of our demon friends in this story, will be owned by everyone's favorite Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manual one and two. That's my disclaimer for them. Sorry! Harry's bad news: he's goin' back to the Dursley's for Christmas! Maybe that's not…like…god-awful news, but still…not of the good. I wasn't sure if we should venture into the classroom, but I fell in love with Caitriona Kehoe, and I wanted to visit her for a little bit. Let me know if you want more classroom scenes or not. Well, then, review please! Hope y'all liked it!)