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The night will come and rip away her wings of innocence through every work we say. Maybe it's time to spit out the core of our rotting union hopefully before it chokes us to our senses. I guess it's too bad that everything we have is taken away. Swim in the smoke. The hero will drown. Intoxicating beauty tears everything down. But still our hands are bound at the wrists. This romantic tragedy is suffocating from your fist in a sea of fire. Hero- this word you'll never know.
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Chapter 13- And The Hero Will Drown
Buffy woke up sluggishly, head aching in a most intolerable way. While attempting to gather her thoughts, unknown voices snapped her to reality. Men spoke in hushed voices about a woman, a prisoner that was not to be touched until someone had returned. One of the men, who talked with a coolness that she'd only heard in two other individuals, said her name in foolish agitation. And she knew exactly where she was, and she knew exactly who she was with. Lucious Malfoy...
Trying to raise her head, the action was useless. Now understanding the full horror of the situation, she kicked and fought and screamed only to find that she had no lips to udder such words. Her face had been contorted, mouth sealed as if by some mocking fate to insure her assailants victory. If she couldn't scream, couldn't move, what hope had she left to fight when Voldemort returned?
"Has she woken?" Lucious said, slicing the air with his voice as surely as his son's had when he'd been around her.
"I don't believe so, but I have not yet checked this hour. Wait one moment." a man approached her, his heavy footsteps alerting her of his presence. With a quick prod of his wand he made her lips return, and Buffy couldn't help but take in a deep breath. The man, after giving a disgusted sigh, poked her in the side with the wand once more and again she was quieted.
"She's awake." he said in answer to Malfoy's question.
"Good, I'll get Master. He'll be pleased."
"She's nothing but a muggle you realize."
"It is none of your concern what she is or is not. She's useful, and that's all you need to know." With that he walked away, leaving Buffy with the unknown man.
"What's so special about you, girl?" he asked her, stooping over her tied down body as if contemplating her abilities, "Is there something underneath that makes you different? Well, that's for Master to find out, now isn't it? He's going to have fun with you..." It was killing her having to sit there when she could snap his neck. Sure, he was still human, but so border-lined that she was positive she could kill him with no remorse.
"What are you doing?" Voldemorts words were harsh, accusing even.
"Nothing Milord. I was merely..."
"Merely what exactly? You were not told to speak to her, you were told to guard her," he paused, as if to compose himself, "Leave us." A cool chill ran up her spine as Voldemort got closer. She couldn't see him, but the unrestricted power that lingered around his being was enough to set of the most humble of creatures. He released her from her magical prison with a single word, and she gasped for air. Sitting up and swinging her legs over the edge of the wooden table she'd been laid out on, she heard him speak.
"Finally we meet in person Ms. Summers. I was all aquiver with anticipation." She looked at him, a ghostly pale man who seemed aged beyond his years. Wanting to make eye contact to show her need for dominance, she lifted her head to gaze into his eyes only to find two quarter size pools of water. They seemed as if they were liquefied with no definite shape or cornea... they were just existing in sockets that neither held them nor released them from their cell.
"Nice to see you too Tommy boy." she said, ridiculing him by using his muggle name. His manner completely changed, but he recognized the challenge and let it slide.
"You are amazing. Speed, agility, and courage all wrapped up in a small package that is almost unnoticeable for what it really is. Barbaric is what you are, Slayer, and barbaric is exactly what I need."
"I'm sorry, but I have to decline your offer. I actually like people. All people." his laugh, a sick chuckle that stripped her of all her defenses, made her stomach churn.
"And what makes you think that you have a choice?" he leaned foreword slightly to whisper in her ear, "From the moment you drank from the vile you were mine."
"But how?" she asked, fearful for both her life and Harry's, "Harry gave me that potion." Once again he grinned.
"Ah, Potter. The boy who crawled his way into your heart. Disgusting really, I expected more from you. But I hear that you and Malfoy's boy have had your own bit of fun, so perhaps there is hope for you after all. The vile he gave you was created by me, a little something to enable my men to get you here without a fight. Getting you to drink it of your own free will was difficult though, but as you can see, I always find a way."
"So Harry was never..."
"Oh, yes. He was unfaithful sure enough, but not by his own will. It was difficult
to influence the pair, but as I said, I have my ways. Now, enough pleasantries. It's time
for business." he yelled to his men, "Bring them in!" Buffy was shocked to see Angel,
Xander, and Ron being lead in by Death Eaters. All of them were bound, gagged, and
blindfolded. How...? Weren't they...? Her memory came rushing back in a flood.
Reading her face, Voldemort commented, "Resurrection is tricky, but not impossible. Their lives for your services."
"How do I know they're real?" she asked, and a Death Eater zapped Xander. He screamed through the gag, and Buffy rushed forward only to be held back.
"Ah, ah, ah. You don't get to play until some blood is shed. Deal or no?" Buffy stared at her friends, and suddenly she realized something.
"No." she said blatantly. Looking over behind Angel, a small strip of light showed through, barely touching the edge of his hand.
"Their lives are worthless to you?"
"Yes, because that's not Angel."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes I'm sure. Look, there's light on him and he's not on fire. That's kind of lame, I mean you're supposed to be the greatest wizard of all time and all you could do to pull me over to the dark side is some lame glamour? Suddenly I have to wonder how smart Harry is not to have killed your sorry ass yet."
"Hold your tongue. Obviously you are not familiar with resurrection. That man,
Angel, he's no vampire, he's..."
"Human." she cut him off as one of the Death Eaters removed the blindfold to show her his face. Only one man could look at her that way, and she was sorry to say that that man was not Harry.
"Well, since you said they are worthless, I might as well kill them now. I have no use for them either." he lifted his wand, but she stepped in front of him.
"Don't do this. What... what do you want?" she stuttered, afraid of what her gut was telling her to do. It was telling her to let them die.
"Kill Harry Potter."
"No." a tear formed at the edge of her eyelid, but she determinedly blinked it away,
"Who the hell do you think you are? A freaking gift? When I look at you all I see is an
old man who has nothing better to do than scare little girls into submission. Well guess
what, I'm not just some damsel. I'll kill you, you stupid son-of-a..." the sound of her fist
impacting Voldemort's face blocked out the sound of her last word. To Buffy's surprise,
Voldemort smiled, ordering the Death Eaters to stand down.
"That took a lot of nerve you foolish girl. It will cost you dearly." he nodded to one of his followers who then took out their wand and muttered the death curse. A green light shot at Angel full speed, and Buffy dove in front of it. Somehow she became immune to the spells that they were throwing at her to keep her still. The death curse hit her side, and she screamed. Voldemort rolled his eyes.
"Collect her, we'll reverse it in the morning. Kill the others, and make sure they
can't be brought back." Voldemort left the room and Buffy opened her eyes. Her body
felt numb, but she was still alive. A man lifted her, and she elbowed him in the face.
Another came at her from a different side, adding a spell that made her curse. A simple
kick to the face disabled him, and to Buffy's amazement, the magic that came at her
wasn't effecting her really. She had no time to find the reason for this strange occurrence,
but it was odd that the fight that transpired between her and the Death Eaters was in no
way painful, even with the spells.
"I think I remember the way out." Angel reported, signaling for them to follow
after they had all been untied. The castle that they were in was a labyrinth of sorts,
created to confuse those who were not accustomed to living there. Surprisingly, though,
Angel kept up his deal and was able to lead them outside to safety. There were no guards,
no magical barriers. It was almost as if they'd been allowed to escape.
"Here, grab my hand." Ron ordered as they exited the castle.
"Why?" Xander asked. He had quiet while inside, and the sound of his voice shocked Ron. It was strange, Buffy thought, how incredibly fragile looking he was.
"So that I can dissapperate us out of here!" Ron replied, annoyed.
"Why didn't you do speak up earlier? We could have dissapperated right out of the castle!"
"No, we couldn't have."
"And why not?" Buffy asked.
"Because there was some kind of spell that blocked me from doing it when we were first brought there. But now that we're outside, let's get the bloody hell out of here and fast. They'll be coming after us at any moment, and we have to get to Hogwarts. It's the only place that's safe."
"Fine, let's go." Everyone grabbed a hold of Ron, who then used his magic to take them to Hogwarts. Problem was that when Buffy opened her eyes, she was still outside of Voldemort's large, black, creepy castle. It was then that she heard the clapping.
Spinning around, she placed her arms into a defensive stance. Voldemort's clear eyes bored into hers, this time without the not too subtle humor to keep out the cold.
"Nice work. I thought your having died before could come in handy, but the sheer brilliance of it astounds me."
"Huh?" she asked confused and a little scared. How insane was this man?
"Your death. It creates an astonishing loop-hole when someone tries to kill you with the Avada Kedavra. You are dead, so there is no worsening your condition. My follower's spells have no effect on you."
Buffy couldn't help but be intrigued, "I only drowned. There was nothing magical about it. Several people are brought back from drowning and still able to die."
"You don't really believe you were killed through water, do you? A vampire bit you, drained you, and left you. Whether he left you in a puddle or not makes no difference. Your death would have come either way."
"So if I'm so invincible to your kind, what makes you think you can keep me here? And how were you able to hold me in that room."
"My dear, you forget one important fact. I'm dead as well." he drew his wand and started to circle her. She allowed him to do so, not moving to keep him in eyesight as to show that she was not afraid to have her back to him.
"So we play cat and mouse? You try to make me kill people, I get away. I try to murder you, you barely slip through my grasp. That doesn't sound promising for either of us." Buffy knew she had to keep him talking, and the more she surveyed the area around her for an escape, the more useless it seemed. Was she really going to end up his puppet? He had power over her, and she realized it was only through his will that she had not yet been made one.
"I don't plan on letting you escape. I could kill you. You know this, I know this,
and stalling is not going to gain you the upper hand. I am no vampire, and as you said,
you are no average girl. So, let's compromise. I have no intention of making you slay
young Harry. What I want can only be given by you and it can only be given through your
command. So many of the powerful spells require free-will, so in return for one favor I'll
give you something that I'm certain you desire."
"Not saying that I'm interested, but what could you possibly give me that would be good enough?"
"Life. Your life and so many others. Your friends, the three that just left have been placed under a spell. They will die in an hour or so unless I release them, which I will only do once you grant me my wish."
"And that wish would be?"
"For you to share a little of your power with me. No murdering, no performing duties. Just one minute in which you allow me into your power source." Buffy looked at him strangely.
"That's all you want? A pick-me-up? You nearly kill my friends and myself so you can get a little extra juice?"
"Yes, I believe it is. So, is it a deal?" Buffy knew there had to be a catch, but she also knew that he wasn't joking about her friends being slowly drained.
"Tick, tock, Ms. Summers. Every second you waste is a second that your friends suffer."
"Fine, I'll agree as long as you allow me to go back to Hogwarts after." she finally spoke, adding, "What do you have to do?" She knew that doing this for him was the only way that she could get away and allow Hogwarts to remain safe for a little while. When she got back to school she knew Dumbledore would think of something.
"Close your eyes." he said, very close to her now, "And concentrate on your
energy flowing through you." Standing there for a couple of seconds, she felt foolish.
Suddenly, though, she felt him place a hand on each of her shoulders, and (to her horror)
she felt his lips being placed on hers. She started wrenching away, more by instinct than
by anything else. No matter how she struggled, no matter how many times she struck him,
he wouldn't break the kiss. Slowly she fell, and he held her in his arms until he finally let
go. Feeling every fiber of her being slip away, she knew that complete darkness was about
to come for the second time that day.
A/N: I need you to understand that Voldemort is not being soft, he's being diplomatic. Using strategy and all that. Review please, I'm going to need suggestions for next chap!
