Out of the Blue
Chapter 22 – That slip of a girl.
DISCLAIMER: Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon, and Harry Potter to J.K. Rowling. I don't own anything…
RATING: PG-13 (T) to R (M) - violence, language, angst, horror, mild sexual interactions, etc. If you can watch BTVS/AtS and read HP, I doubt you'll have any problem with this story.
TIMELINE: Takes place after season two in BTVS, and during the marauders last year at Hogwarts.
SUMMARY: BTVS/HP crossover. Life sucked for Buffy Summers. After taking her refuge to LA, she had hoped she would finally have some of that peace the Hellmouth couldn't provide. She should have known she was hoping for the impossible. When she gets propelled into another dimension, her life changes forever - but is it for the better or for worse?
CENTRAL PAIRING: Buffy/Remus
OTHER PAIRINGS: James/Lily, Sirius/OC
Special Thanks to: My Beta - CharmedChick
Sirius stared at her. Her father? He turned to look at the man more closely. He had Eliza's raven colored hair, he saw, but instead of the deep, mystified, yet calming blue color her eyes had, his looked to be almost as dark as his hair. And he was mad. Really mad.
"Shit..." Sirius muttered.
"Your father?" Lily sounded shocked.
"But...he looks so..."
"...Evil," James finished for her.
Eliza let out a dry laugh at this. She was still pale as a ghost, and looked like she would faint any second.
"Well, he is."
The others looked at her, surprised. (Except Sirius, who was glaring daggers at Mr. de Mort)
"But...he's your father..." Lily said, surprised that anyone would think that of a parent...even though that he looked evil.
Eliza turned her head towards Lily, eyes flashing dangerously.
"So? You're so naive, Lily. You think everyone is so good and nice just because your parents are. You'd be surprised at what kind of bastards there are out there."
Lily looked shocked, and then hurt. Eliza's eyes widened as she realized what she'd said.
"I'm so sorry, Lily, I didn't mean it, I just - "
"WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?" Mr. de Mort suddenly bellowed out over the hall.
"We have to get her out of here," Sirius hissed.
James looked surprised at him, but then nodded, realizing he was right. He didn't know what had happened between Eliza and her father, but from their expressions, you could immediately see it wasn't anything good. They didn't get a chance however, as Dumbledore stood up.
"If you would so kindly state your name and business, it would be rather helpful," he said.
"You know very well who I am, Dumbledore!" Mr. de Mort said. "NOW WHERE IS SHE?"
"Your daughter?" Dumbledore said, a pleasant expression on his face, but his eyes weren't twinkling- a sign that immediately told you something wasn't right.
"What makes you think she would be at our school?"
The students started to talk excitedly between each other. What was going on?
"I've got information from a very reliable source - and he tells me she is here!"
"Very well - if I could have your name, please, and I am sure we can get to the bottom with this?"
"You know who I am, Dumbledore! Don't act like a fool!" The man sneered.
Dumbledore didn't answer. Instead, he just watched Mr. de Mort over his half-moon glasses. Finally, Mr. de Mort must have had enough, because he started to sweep his eyes over the student body.
"ELIZA!" He roared. "I KNOW YOU'RE THERE!"
The students started to whisper even more now when they knew who he was looking for. They all moved their eyes towards the Gryffindor table.
Eliza made a decision, and stood up.
"I'm here, father, what do you want?" She said coldly. Father and daughter's eyes met. For a long while, they just stood there, seemingly having some kind of staring contest.
Dumbledore clapped his hands.
"I believe this feast is over," he said. "Will all students please return to their common rooms? I trust that the prefects, and the Head-boy and girl will make sure they all arrive at their destination."
Remus, James and Lily had to leave with the other students, as they couldn't disobey an order from the Headmaster. However, they gave Eliza a miserable and (what they hoped were reassuring looks) as they left. Sirius and Buffy remained behind, however. (Peter had snuck out as soon as he could, mad and afraid of what would happen.)
Mr. de Mort gave Dumbledore a furious look.
"I thought you told all the students to leave!" He hissed.
"I know that I did," Dumbledore said calmly. "Mr. de Mort, what do you want with your daughter?"
"Is that any of your business?" Mr. de Mort sneered.
"As a matter of fact, yes," Dumbledore said. "Eliza is a student at this school, and as her Headmaster, I have a right to know why you felt it necessary to storm in here during the feast. It didn't occur to you that a lot of younger students could be quite upset? If you had booked time - "
"I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS NONSENSE!" Mr. de Mort bellowed, and yanked Eliza hard in the arm towards her. She let out a whimper of pain. Buffy's eyes widened in realization.
Flashback.
"The de Mort family is one of the eldest and most respectable pureblood wizard families in Britain."
"Oh, please don't tell me we'll get a muggle hater in our house!"
-I-I-I-
"Why weren't we informed earlier? So we could be prepared?"
Dumbledore's eyes seemed to darken a bit, and beside Sirius, Eliza stiffened.
"It was a very short notice, I know, but it was decided very quickly. If you want to know the reasoning behind it, I am sure Miss de Mort will tell you sooner or later."
-I-I-I-
The man let the whip fall at the floor, and the sound echoed through the room.
"ELIZA! WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU?" The man roared. "HAVE I TAUGHT YOU NOTHING! IT SEEMS LIKE I HAVE TO USE SOMETHING ELSE TO MAKE YOU SEE THE ERROR OF YOUR WAYS!" The whip fell again. Eliza's eyes were wide, as she stared at the face of the man. Suddenly, a knife appeared in his hand. The knife was full of blood.
"THIS IS YOUR FAULT, ELIZA!"
"R-ridikulus..." she said shakily. BANG.
The man turned into a woman covered in blood, face scared, eyes hollow.
"Look what happened to me, Eliza," she hissed. "All your fault. Look what you did. You ran away. Stood aside. Let it happen. You could have stopped it. You are nothing but a disgrace. Traitor."
"R-riddikulus."
BANG. There was the man again, wand in his hand, a maniac smile on his face.
"Your fault, Eliza. All your fault. You are a disgrace." He hissed, and then lifted his wand.
-I-I-I-
Eliza had her back turned, and when she pulled of her T-shirt, Buffy could clearly see a long scar on her back, not yet fully healed. She gasped in surprise, and Eliza turned around, and hastily grabbed her robes and held them against her as to cover herself. Buffy had a feeling the scar on her back was not the only one.
"You're awake!" Eliza sounded panicked.
"Yup," Buffy said, and walked towards her own trunk.
"How did you get that scar?" She asked, in what she hoped was a casual voice, but she wasn't able to hide her curiosity completely.
"That's none of your business," Eliza snapped.
End Flashback.
Suddenly, Buffy understood everything. Or almost everything. Eliza's father...he hurt her. That's why she'd run away. She gave Sirius a quick look. He looked furious. He obviously already knew.
Her eyes narrowed, and she took a step closer towards Mr. 'bloody bastard' de Mort, her arms crossed over her chest.
"Let her go," she said, danger in her voice. Mr. de Mort laughed, but there were fear in his eyes. Something with that slip of a girl told him all to clearly she was not to be messed with.
"And what if I don't? You have no right to keep her here - I am her father, however, I have the law on my side!" He strengthened his grip on Eliza.
Buffy just raised her eyebrows slightly.
"Really," she said. "I thought we were in seventh year. And aren't you supposed to be considered an adult, when you're seventeen?"
Mr. de Mort laughed again.
"Silly girl!" He said. "Eliza is not an adult! She doesn't turn seventeen until in December!" He started to yank Eliza with him towards the exit.
"Mr. de Mort," Dumbledore said slowly. "Let go of your daughter, or I will have no choice but report you for child abuse."
"You know you can't do anything," Mr. de Mort said, turning back, a sneer on his face.
Dumbledore sighed, and looked down. He was right. Eliza was his daughter, and not an adult yet - Dumbledorehad no claims on her. And, unfortunately, child-abuse was a very closed subject in the wizarding world - it wasn't illegal to hurt your children, because family-business was just that - family-business. And the fact that Mr. de Mort was highly respectable in the ministry didn't help.
Now Eliza looked panicked. She cast a pleading look at Sirius, who started to raise his wand. However, a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned around, and looked up in McGonagall's eyes. She was slowly shaking her head.
"They may not be able to do anything," Buffy said. "But I can. And I will."
Faster than you could say 'bollocks', Buffy was standing right in front of Eliza's father, and took a hard grip on his arm, yanking it backwards. He let go of Eliza with a small scream of pain.
As soon as Eliza was free, she half ran, half stumbled the short distance to Sirius' waiting arms. Mr. de Mort was white in the face, and was gripping his arm.
"This isn't over," he hissed. "I will remember this, be sure of that!" He turned around and left, his black robes sweeping behind him as he left.
As soon as the door went close, Eliza collapsed. She sank down on her knees, and just cried, clinging to Sirius for all she was worth. She'd been so scared. Memories she'd almost been able to push away during her short stay at Hogwarts had emerged again. Eliza knew her father would never leave her alone. His 'visit' had been a harsh reminder of that the world wasn't safe out there - and that she was not completely safe even at Hogwarts. And she knew she'd never be free from the fear, or be able to live normally without having to look around every corner until her father was...dead.
"Miss de Mort," Dumbledore said."I believe a night in the hospital wing is just what you need right now." Eliza was barely aware of Sirius lifting her up, carrying her to the hospital wing and dreamless sleep potions.
When Buffy stepped into the common room, they were met by a storm of questions. However, they ignored everyone, and motioned for Remus, James and Lily to follow them to the boy's dormitory. As soon as they got inside, Remus cast a locking charm and a silencing spell on the door.
"Well?" Lily asked. "What happened?"
"He tried to take Eliza with him with force," Buffy said, sitting down on Remus' bed.
"What?" James exclaimed.
Buffy nodded. "Yeah. He didn't succeed though. She's in the hospital wing right now, Sirius is there with her."
"Hospital wing?" Lily said with a shaky voice. "Did he hurt her?"
Buffy got a dark look.
"No. It was the shock. But I think he has before. Eliza was practically pulsing with fear."
"Remember the boggy-class?" Buffy asked.
"Boggy...? Oh, you mean the Boggart," Lily said. "Yes."
"Well, if you think about it...the Boggy-man and Eliza's father...didn't they..."
"...look a lot alike," Remus finished. "You're right."
"But that would mean he's really evil!" James exclaimed. "And tried to hurt Eliza!"
Lily'd gone pale.
"But...he wouldn't do that...would he?"
"You'd be surprised at how many evil people there are out there," Buffy said bitterly. "And I've got proof that Eliza's father is one of them."
The other turned to look at her.
"You do?"
Buffy nodded. "The first morning after she came, I saw a scar on Eliza's back. And the woman...the other part of Eliza's boggy...I'm pretty sure it was her mother. I think Eliza's father killed her, and Eliza escaped."
James sighed. "It's a good theory, Buffy. But you can't be sure."
Buffy stood up.
"Then let's ask the only one who do knows for sure - Eliza herself."
Sirius sat beside Eliza's bed, holding her hand. He was really worried about her. The shock of her father showing up like that - it must have been terrible.
"Hey," a low voice said behind him. He turned around.
"Hi guys."
"How is she?"
"Sleeping. Madame Pomfrey gave her a potion. She wanted me to leave, but I refused."
James nodded.
"Ehh...Sirius," he begun. "Do you know anything about Eliza's father and her...relationship with him?"
Sirius eyes darkened, and he gave Eliza's hand a harder squeeze.
"Yeah. She told me after that fight we had."
"And...?" James prompted.
"And what?"
"What did she say?"
Sirius didn't meet his eyes. "Why do you want to know?"
"Because we're worried about her! She's our friend!" Lily said. "Buffy believes he hurt her. Is that true?"
Sirius just nodded. "Yeah. He did more than that...he killed her mother as well. Eliza thinks he's a Death Eater, and wants her to follow his footsteps - when she obviously wasn't so keen on the idea, he hurt her."
Lily gasped.
"Oh, Merlin..." she whispered. It was one thing to suspect something, and another to have it confirmed.
"Mr. Potter! Miss Summers! Miss Evans! Remus! Out - now!" Madame Pomfrey suddenly said appearing from seemingly nowhere. "The girl needs rest! I'd be very pleased if you left as well, Mr. Black."
Sirius just glared at her.
"Idon't think so. I stay. She's asleep, it won't matter if I'm here or not! Plus, she's my girlfriend."
The other's blinked. Even though they'd seen them hold hands twice now, they hadn't thought their relationship was official yet...or that serious. Sirius was (no matter his name said the opposite) never serious with girls.
They grinned a little.
"We'll leave you here, then, Padfoot," Remus said. "We'll be back in the morning."
Eliza was up already next morning (even though Madame Pomfrey had insisted she'd stay another day and rest). When she came to the common room, however, she found it was empty, except for Buffy, who was practicing magic.
"Hi," Eliza said. Buffy smiled, and turned around.
"Hi. Are you feeling better?"
"Not really. But I can't stay a day in the hospital wing- it would drive me crazy, unless I already am."
Buffy grinned. "I know the feeling."
"Where are the others?" Eliza asked, and sat down.
Buffy smirked.
"You mean, 'where is Sirius?'"
Eliza blushed. "Well...yes."
"They're all in class," Buffy said. "You want some?" She held up a bag for Eliza to see.
"What is that?" Eliza said, looking weirdly at the stuff.
"It's popcorn - I had the house-elves make it. It's really great! Try it - it's a big hit in the muggle world."
Eliza looked skeptical, but still did as Buffy said, and was pleasantly surprised.
"It is very good," she agreed.
Buffy bit her lip, and looked down.
"Look, Eliza - I haven't been completely honest with you," she said. "Remember how you asked us all if we had anymore secrets? Well, I do."
Eliza looked down as well. "It's alright. You don't have to tell me."
"No, I want to," Buffy said, looking up again. "You deserve to know. I didn't know you so well before, and wasn't sure if you could keep this secret...it's kinda big."
"Bigger than Remus being a werewolf and the others animagi?"
Buffy nodded. "I guess - in some ways."
Eliza looked surprised. "Okay...are you sure you trust me now?"
Buffy smiled. "Yes. I do." She took a deep breath. "I'm the Slayer."
Eliza blinked. "The Slayer? The Vampire Slayer?"
Buffy nodded. "Yep. The one and only...or actually, one of two."
"I thought it could only be one..." Eliza said, then she frowned."Hey, you can't be a Slayer! She's a myth!"
"Well, I'm not. Or maybe in this world, but in my world, I'm not."
Eliza blinked again.
"Okay, Buffy, now you're confusing me. What do you mean 'your world?'"
"I'm not from here. I'm not even from this universe."
Eliza just stared.
"Oh, shit." She muttered. "Wow."
"Yeah...it's kinda complicated, but the short story is that I jumped down in this portal-thingy, and then I ended up here."
"Wow," Eliza said again. "That is a big secret." She took another handful of popcorn.
"Yeah. You can't tell anyone."
"Promise," Eliza said. "So...what kinds of creatures have you slayed? Or do you only slay vampires?"
Buffy laughed.
"Hell no! I mean, sure, mostly vampires. But there are a lot of other people- stuff- too. Like a witch."
Eliza looked horrified.
"You killed a witch?"
Buffy realized her mistake.
"Oh, but she was evil!" She hastily corrected herself. "She switched bodies with her daughter, so she could keep being a cheerleader, and almost killed anyone who stopped her from making the team. She ended up being victim for her own spell in the end."
Eliza stared google-eyed at Buffy, who was busy chewing popcorn for all she was worth.
"She wanted to be a cheerleader? That's why she hurt everyone?"
"Well, yeah. Pretty much. The Hellmouth makes you do strange things to people...you want a firewhisky? I nicked seven of 'em from the kitchens. I should warn you though, they're pretty strong stuff."
"Oh, thanks!" Eliza gladly accepted the drink, before continuing to ask questions. "The Hellmouth? You lived on a Hellmouth? The center of mystical energy which attracts the forces of darkness?"
Buffy blinked.
"Yeah...wow, you've really done your reading."
Eliza grinned. "Anything else?"
"Well, there was this giant she-mantis who tried to copulate with all virgin male-students so she could lay eggs." Buffy said, and tog a swig of her bottle, grimacing after doing so.
"Blah..." She said, shaking her head.
"Gross!" Eliza exclaimed, and took a sip out of her firewhisky.
"Yep," Buffy confirmed. "And then we also have and invisible girl who felt neglected by her classmates and tried to kill them..."
"...And then there was this Inca Mummy girl...and let's not forget the Halloween costumes who turned you into whatever you were dressed as. I made a pretty pathetic noble-woman."
"What?"
A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter. REVIEW!
/Ida
