Thanks Reviewers:
Sired-by-spike: Thanks for r&r. I'd get used to cliffies if I were you… :)
Passionate Darkness: No sequel planned as yet, but I am planning on doing a series of minis set in this verse- things I wanted to include but didn't flow in the story. Sorry for embarrassing you, glad you liked it though!
W1cked angel: Thanks for r&r. The next chapter's written, just waiting to be beta-ed.
Gaul 1: You're about to find out…
Mae: Here's the more you requested! Thanks for r&r
Megan- Charmed-angel4: Thanks for the lovely review. Gotta say there's not much humour in this part (check out the title) so I don't know if you'll like it as much- you seem to pick out the funny bits most!
MaryAnn: Yes I am. Thanks for r&r.
Jase: Thanks for r&r. Next chapter soon.
Matt: Computers are great aren't they!
Technocratic Sith Lord: The wrath of the technocracy? Uh-oh, please don't smite me! Sorry in advance- you'll know what I mean when you get there- but it's just such a fun way to end a chapter! Well, fun for me! Thanks for r&r
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: ADD A LITTLE ANGST
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
29th October 1994 –3:43 pm
"Harry, please…"
Lily put her baby down in his Moses basket and rocked it to and fro in an attempt to pacify the crying one-year-old. She knew being a mother would be difficult, but she never expected it to be so lonely. All of her old friends from Hogwarts had either gone on to further study or had gone into their first jobs and James was at work or doing recon for the Order so he wasn't about either.
There was a short break in Harry's crying as someone knocked on the door and he looked up inquisitively, but as soon as the knocking stopped he started crying again.
"Come on Harry." She cast an anxious look towards her son before hurrying to the door and opening it. "Oh it's you, Sirius, come in quickly- I've left Harry in his cot. He's been grisly all morning."
Sirius shut the door behind him. "Hey, Lils. Do you want me to have a go?"
"Have a go at what?"
He gestured towards the baby in the basket. "I am his Godfather."
She shrugged. "Sure, but he's been whiny all day."
Sirius picked up his godson with a big smile on his face and began jogging him up and down on his hip. "Hey there Harry-boy, what's all this about?"
Lily smiled. "I'll go put the kettle on."
When she returned five minutes later, Sirius had managed to calm Harry down. "Here." She said, handing him the tea and taking her yawning baby back.
"I just came to drop off this letter for Prongs, it's from Dumbledore. Some kind off mission or something."
"But you'll stay for a bit, right?"
"Er, I guess I could if-"
"You have to stay. I'm going out of my mind with no one to talk to every single day. I just want an adult conversation. Please, Sirius."
"Okay, okay." He grinned as something occurred to him. "You'd class me as adult conversation?"
"Well I'm desperate. I have to take what I can get." Lily replied, managing to keep her face straight.
"Oh." He said quietly, looking like a kicked puppy.
She rolled her eyes. "Give me a break Sear, if James can't pull the wounded puppy routine with me there's no chance that you'll be able to."
He grinned. "Admit it, you don't hate me!"
"I never hated you Sirius."
He cocked an eyebrow disbelievingly. "Really?"
"Yeah, I mean you're immature, lazy, arrogant, juvenile, cocky-"
"And these are reasons you don't hate me?"
Lily carried on, taking no notice of the interruption. "-and at times downright stupid. But I married a man with all of those qualities, Merlin knows why, so either I'm crazy or I see something in them."
"Aww Tiger lily- that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me." Sirius clasped his hand to his heart dramatically.
She slapped his arm playfully. "Shut up and drink your tea."
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Two sets of footsteps echoed down the stone corridors of Hogwarts School.
"Harry, wait!"
Harry finally reached the safety of the Gryffindor tower.
The fat lady looked up in surprise at the sprinting student. "Harry! Are you alright, my boy? You have a face like a yard of gravy!"
"Pindylake." He panted, ignoring the portrait and tumbled into through into the common room.
Dawn put on an extra burst of speed to get through the door before it closed. She made it, just, and followed Harry up the stairs into the boys' dorm room.
The occupants of the Gryffindor looked on. First they had seen the famous Harry Potter leg it up the stairs and then the muggle defence professor had followed him.
Ron and Hermione shared anxious glances. What had gone wrong now?
"Well there's something you don't see every day." Fred Weasley commented.
"Indeed not." George agreed.
"Well maybe once…" Fred continued.
"Or twice…" George finished.
"But definitely not every day."
"Maybe our dear brother knows what's happening."
"I don't." Ron answered sharply.
"Come on, Ronniekins…"
"You must know something…"
"Anything…"
"Anything at all?"
"Well I don't. Come on, Hermione." The only two people who could tell them anything of what was happening left, leaving the rest to speculate about the cause for the scene.
"Maybe Harry declared his undying love for the professor and she shot him down."
"Or maybe she declared her undying love for Potter…never mind."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Like many eleven year old boys would, Harry had bitten back the tears and replaced them with a sullen scowl and a glare at the woman who had just entered his room.
"Go away."
"Harry, it's not what you think…"
"Oh? So you weren't kissing some guy? A guy who isn't my dad?"
Okay, maybe it was what he thought.
"Just let me explain, please." Dawn begged.
"Who was he?"
Dawn paused. She didn't really think that 'he used to be your fathers best friend, but then he was sent to prison for our murder' would go down so well. "He's no one."
"So you just kiss anyone?" Harry's voice was laced with sarcasm.
"No, I mean, he was a friend from a long time ago."
"How long?"
"We were both in Gryffindor." Dawn answered, telling Harry that it had been one of Lily's friends.
Harry looked a bit sick. "Did my dad know?"
"What? Of course he- ohh, we were just friends. I'd never do anything to hurt James."
"Until now." Harry relied sullenly.
Dawn felt a bit annoyed; it had been ten years and an entirely different lifetime ago, how long were you supposed to wait? But Harry didn't understand that, he couldn't understand it. "Harry, please...James, your father, he can't come back. He's gone."
Harry's eyes shone. "Just leave me alone!"
"Harry-"
"Get out! Get out!"
Dawn backed out of the room. Now she knew how Buffy felt when they argued.
Harry watched her go angrily. How could she cheat on his dad like that?
Ron and the rest of his dorm mates entered the room cautiously.
"Is everything okay?" Ron asked concerned.
"What was that about?" Semus and Dean asked confused.
"Do you mind if we go to bed, now? Everyone else has, but we thought we should wait…"
"Go ahead." Harry also went to bed, ignoring the questions of his friends and soon falling asleep.
Two feet from his bed, the occupant of a painting and her friend sat wide eyed having heard everything. Could it really be true? Was Lily Potter really still alive?
"Did you hear that?" Penelope Periwinkle whispered to the person visiting her portrait.
"I couldn't have really missed it." Salazar responded dryly.
"Honestly Slytherin, why do you even bother coming here if all you hate it so much?"
Salazar rolled his eyes. "I enjoy your company." He lied, but the bimbo was conceited enough to believe it. It couldn't exactly tell her that it was his sworn duty to keep an eye on the Potter boy and then report back to Malfoy's spawn who could then pass the message onto the Dark Lord via his father.
"Oh Slythie- that's so sweet…Hey where are you going?"
"I have to return to my own portrait, Penelope; I need to speak to someone." Slytherin said smoothly.
"Fine! Just leave." And he did.
Now, Penelope was a bit of a gossip so it was in her nature to visit her neighbouring portrait to tell them what she had heard, and then to the next one and to the next one and to the next…
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dawn headed back to her room. She should never have kissed Sirius, especially with Harry liable to pop in at any moment. She just hoped that he could forgive her. When she returned to her suite, Sirius was waiting for her.
"I think I should go." He said.
"Don't be stupid, go where?"
"I never wanted to screw things up between you and Harry, I'm so sorry."
"It was hardly all your fault. You can't go; you've got nowhere to go. Besides it's me he's mad at, not you. He doesn't even know who you are."
"You didn't tell him?" He asked hurt.
"Not the point right now, Padfoot."
"Right. What are you going to do?"
Dawn shrugged helplessly. "Hope he comes round in the end, I guess."
Meanwhile, the new was being spread from painting to painting. At first not everyone believed it, but the gossip was coming from all over the castle! Several portraits near the library had heard Harry Potter and his friends talking earlier that day as well as other portraits dotted about over the school who had heard Harry, Ron, Hermione or Dawn talking.
The next day, Draco Malfoy heard about it from the portrait of Salazar Slytherin that hung next to his bed.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"I suppose it makes sense really." Someone whispered at the breakfast table.
"And how's that? It seems like a load of rubbish to me."
"Total hippogriff crap." Another student agreed.
"Well, look at the way she came running after him through the common room last night."
"He probably just hadn't done his homework." The second student scoffed.
"I don't know- all the paintings are talking about it. Oh Merlin; there he is!" She said the last bit a little louder, so several students turned to look around at the trio that had just entered the hall.
Harry looked around suspiciously at all the stares he was getting. It was quite possible that he was the only person in the hall who didn't know what they were talking about.
Draco Malfoy stood up from the Slytherin table and stalked over, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle. "So, Potter is it true?"
"Is what true, Malfoy?" Harry asked coldly.
"Oh Merlin; he doesn't know!" Draco started laughing, followed by his two gorillas. "So Potty, will you be keeping Potter or changing to Summers?"
"W-What?" Harry stumbled backwards.
"Come on Potter; is it true- yes or no? It's not hard, although I can see why you might find it hard. Personally, I hope they left her in the ground where she belongs. There're enough mudbloods clogging up the-"
Whack!
Draco Malfoy was cut off by Hermione Granger of all people punching him in the face. The attention shifted from Harry onto Hermione. Fred and George stood up and started a slow clap and soon everyone but the Slytherin's were joining in.
"I fink oo 'oke ma bose!" Malfoy whined as his goons escorted him out and to the hospital wing.
Hermione turned to a shocked Ron and Harry. "That felt good." She admitted.
Harry took another step backwards before running out of the hall. Hermione and Ron started after him, but as they were running the staircases switched making it impossible for them to follow their friend.
"Dammit!" Hermione swore, much to Ron's surprise.
"He'll be fine Hermione, let's go back to the hall. I for one want to know how Malfoy found out about it. I can't believe you hit him!"
Hermione blushed red. "I know, neither can I. I should probably apologise…"
"No way!" Ron protested. "It was Bloody Brilliant!"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Lucius Malfoy rolled his eyes at his only son's letter. Honestly, the gossip that went round that school. He opened the concealed door in his mansion and slid through into the official death eaters' headquarters.
He was surprised and slightly repulsed to see the 'face' of his master standing in front of him. Quirrell/ Voldemort walked towards Malfoy.
"What is that?" He hissed.
"My Lord, it is nothing but a letter from my son. He's at Hogwarts, learning how to use his magic so that he may join you some day." Malfoy bowed his head respectfully.
"Ahh, Hogwarts. What news is there from Hogwarts?" Voldemort sneered.
"Mostly nonsense, My Lord; I believe the portrait of Salazar is jesting with him. He claims that Lily Potter is alive, sort of reincarnated the way he tells it."
"What?"
"S-Some of the p-portraits overheard a c-conversation between P-Potter and P-Professor Summers. She was c-claiming to be his mother; she s-somehow came back to life." Quirrell spoke up.
Voldemort frowned and growled. "This can't be true. But I must be sure. Tonight we shall go to the Potter's grave. Then we shall know for sure."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Meanwhile, back at Hogwarts, the Scoobies had heard what the rest of the school was talking about: Professor Summers was actually Lily Potter.
Dawn had yet to leave her suite and Harry had vanished. Buffy and Xander walked round the outside of the castle. They had heard enough of the rumours and gossip, so were taking the long route to Dawn's rooms. It had been decided that someone should warn Dawn that everyone knew about her 'family issues'.
As they walked in silence, Buffy saw a lone figure sitting by the lake.
"Hey, Xand; can you go and see Dawn? I'll catch up, there's just something I want to do first."
"Sure." Xander went on ahead leaving Buffy to have her first conversation with her nephew.
"There are a lot of worried people up there looking for you."
Harry turned at the sound of the voice. "So?"
"Well as much as I hate to ruin your pity party, one of them happens to be my sister."
"Yeah right; I bet she hasn't realised I've gone." Harry grumbled.
"Well, no, not yet. But when she finds out, she'll be worried." Buffy assured him. "So what's the problem?"
"Ask her."
"She's not here, you are."
Harry squinted across at Buffy. "You're Buffy right? Dawn told me about you."
"Really? What did she say?"
Harry shrugged. "You're the slayer. You died to save her. You can be the most irritating thing on the surface of the planet but she still loves you."
"I am so not irritating." Buffy huffed. "She told me about you too."
"Did she tell you about her new boyfriend?" Harry said spitefully.
"No. She left that out." Buffy mentally cursed her sister. "Is that why you're upset?"
"I'm not upset. I just want to be on my own." Harry hinted heavily.
Buffy refused to be put off. "Don't you like the guy or something?"
Harry sighed- annoying blond American. He pulled a face. "I've never met him; I've just seen them."
"You saw them?" Buffy was preparing the numerous ways to breaking this guy's legs.
"They were kissing." Harry said disgustedly.
Buffy whistled. So that was it. The kid saw Dawn and her new honey making out or something and freaked out. Well, it was probably like the time she found her mum and Giles when they were turned into teenagers and that still made her shudder.
"Well that was unlucky-"
"Unlucky? I can't believe she'd do that to my dad!"
"I thought your dad was dead." Buffy said tactlessly. "Sorry, but he's been gone for ten years do you expect her to wait around forever?"
Buffy got up leaving Harry with his thoughts. She and Dawn needed to have a serious talk.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sirius had nearly jumped out of his skin when he came out the bathroom, hair dripping wet with only a towel draped round his waist, to see Dawn sitting on her bed with some one eyed stranger.
When Xander saw the half naked guy come out of Dawn's bathroom he was surprised. Dawn hadn't mentioned a new boyfriend. He trained his good eye on Sirius and glared. He wasn't in the best mood having got lost on the way to Dawn's room and then had to get directions from a little kid.
Dawn cleared her throat. "Err Xander this is Sirius, Sirius meet Xander."
There was another knock at the portrait and Buffy was let in. She glared at Sirius the moment she came in.
Dawn shuffled nervously. "Padfoot, I believe I mentioned Buffy."
Sirius smiled nervously, but still found one-and-a-half glares trained on him.
"What kind of a name is Padfoot?" Buffy demanded.
Sirius bit his tongue to prevent the automatic response based on the slayers own name.
"It's his nickname. His real name's Sirius." Dawn explained.
"Okay, so what is it?"
Dawn looked puzzled before she figured it out. "No, that's his name- Sirius. As in S I R I U S."
"Oh."
Sirius shifted uncomfortably. "I'm gonna go get changed."
"Please do." Dawn said, thankful for some of the tension to literally be leaving the room.
"Who was that?" Xander and Buffy asked in unison.
"He's an old friend."
"And?"
"You can't get mad. Well, he was kind of imprisoned for my murder, but he didn't do it." Dawn said quickly.
"What!" Buffy spluttered, prepared to pull out her sword at any point.
"He was framed, I remember it. But he's got to hide here until we can get the evidence together to prove him innocent. Please don't slay him." Dawn begged.
"I won't, for now. Wait- he's the guy from the paper, the one who seemingly vanished from the top security prison and must have had some kind of outside help. Dawn tell me you didn't, please tell me you didn't."
"Okay, I didn't….but I kinda did."
"And what will those police guys say when they realise you helped a prisoner escape!"
Dawn waved her hand, not worried and smirked. "They can't prove that."
"Err I hate to break it to you Dawnie, but the proofs standing in your bathroom."
"Oh shit…I'll worry about that later."
"Dawn…ugh, don't even bother. Was that the guy Harry saw you kissing?"
"What!" Now it was Xander's turn to splutter.
Dawn turned beetroot and looked down to the floor.
"Dawn! He's just a kid! How could you let him see that?"
"I didn't let him see it. It wasn't even meant to happen." Dawn protested.
"Did you want it to happen?"
"It can't."
"That's a yes if ever I heard one."
"Buffy- he was James' best friend and he's Harry's Godfather. It can't happen. We were talking and he just reminded me so much of James…" Dawn said in a low voice so that Sirius wouldn't overhear.
"Like that matters." Buffy hissed as a reply. "Why are you always so stupid?"
"I'm stupid? The slayer who's rather fond of necrophilia is calling me stupid?"
Buffy blushed. "And I suppose that guy you snuck out with that Halloween was totally with the pulse-having!"
"That was years ago! And at least he didn't try to end the world! But then, you like that in a guy don't you Buffy- first Angel, then Spike and who am I forgetting… oh I remember, the Immortal. Oh yeah- I'm definitely the one who's made the bad relationship choices!"
"Spike didn't try to end the world!"
"Err are we forgetting the Judge? Or Adam? Or the parents evening thing?"
"That was before we were together."
"Oh that's alright then- as long as he only tried to end civilisation before you boinked the night away-"
"What! We did not-"
"Oh you did and you know it!"
Xander, who had been watching the sisters fight, decided to speak up. "Girls! We all agree that you've both made some…bad relationship choices in the past, but-"
"We've made some bad choices?" Buffy snorted.
"Three words: Inca mummy girl." Dawn continued.
"Three more words: Preying mantis woman."
"Oh yeah? Well what about you two and that guy in the jacket?" Xander retaliated.
"At least he was human!"
Xander decided to shut up. He could never win a fight against the Summers girls.
"Besides, that wasn't our fault. There was a spell. We were bewitched!"
"Well actually Dawn, you were bewitched and the rest of us were just trying to help." Buffy said.
"Excuse you?"
"You have to admit that it was your fault that the rest of us got involved with that one."
"In that case, the Angelus fiasco was all your fault."
"No chance- Angel lost his soul and became a totally different person."
"Oh so it doesn't count if you screw a guy into all of his evil goodness? I'll make a note of that."
"Err ladies?" Xander interrupted seeing that Buffy was about to get really wound up. "I think you've forgotten the reason we came here." Buffy looked at him blankly. "We were going to tell Dawn about you know what?"
"Oh that, Dawn- everyone knows about you and Harry."
"What!" Dawn shrieked.
Xander winced. "Break it to her gently, just like you wanted, right Buff?"
Buffy shrugged. "She had to know, no point in dragging it on."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Harry hadn't moved since Buffy left him. She'd actually given him something to think about. It had been ten years after all…
"Heya mate, we've been looking all over for you." Ron said nervously.
"Yeah. Are you alright?" Hermione asked gently.
"I'm bloody marvellous. What's everyone saying?"
Ron sat down beside his friend. "Most of them don't believe it."
"Is that good or bad?" Harry wondered.
"What's wrong? Something happened when you went to see Professor Summers last night, didn't it?" Hermione pressed.
Harry nodded shortly. "I went into her room and she was there."
"And..?"
"She was kissing some guy."
"Eww! You saw your mother snogging? Eww!" Ron exclaimed.
"Ron! Who was it, Harry?"
"Does it matter?"
Hermione sat down on the freezing ground. "I guess not. Why are you upset?"
"Cause she was kiss-"
"I know, but why did it upset you?" Hermione asked.
Harry paused. "How could she do that to my Dad?"
Hermione smiled gently. "You Dad's dead, Harry. He's not coming back."
"So was she and she came back." He argued, letting his friends know what he had been hoping for the last few days- for all his family to come back to him and for them to have a fairytale-style happy ending.
"And what are the odds of it happening again? Zero." She reasoned. "Do you expect her to wait forever, just in case?"
"No…" He admitted.
"So what's the problem?"
Ron watched amazed as Hermione proceeded to sort out Harry's problems. He could never do that.
Harry laughed hollowly. "I have no idea what the problem is. I just know there is one. Isn't that enough for you?" He stormed off leaving Ron and Hermione behind him.
"Harry-" Hermione made as if to go after him, but Ron stopped her.
"Leave him, he's gonna want to be on his own."
"I guess so. I just wish I could have helped."
Ron shrugged. "Maybe you did. Come on; Snape will slaughter us if we're late."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dawn lay back on her bed staring up at the ceiling. Buffy and Xander had left and been replaced by Willow who had been replaced by Giles. She was determined not to leave her room, but they kept trying to entice her out.
Giles stopped his lecture when he realized Dawn was paying absolutely no attention to him. "What do you want me to say Dawn?"
Dawn turned to him. "I want you to tell me that life gets easy."
Giles raised one eyebrow. "You want me to lie to you?"
"Just this once?"
Giles thought back to what he had told Buffy twelve years ago when she had asked him the same question. "Yes, life gets terribly simple.The good guys are always stalwart and true, the bad guys are easily distinguished by their pointy horns or black hats, and we always defeat them and save the day. No one ever dies, and everybody lives happily ever after."
"Liar." Dawn muttered just like her sister had all those years before. "Besides it's not the bad guys I'm worried about. I screwed up, Giles. I've only been doing the parent thing for two seconds and already he hates me."
Giles joined his 'daughter' on the bed. "Maybe you did. But there's nothing that can't be fixed, you should know that, he'll forgive you, I promise."
"Thanks Giles." Dawn said giving him a hug, instantly forgetting everything that had happened between them in the recent weeks.
Giles smiled, glad to have been forgiven. "Anytime. Now are you going to join us in the hall?"
"Not tonight. I want to be alone, besides I'm exhausted."
"Okay, you get some rest." Giles kissed the top of her head and made to leave the room. "Sweet dreams."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
That night, a small group of death eaters stood huddled around the grave of Lily Potter. They all watched as Lucius Malfoy fast forwarded the time replay from when she had been buried.
"Stop." Voldemort hissed not long after they had started.
Lucius did as he was told and played the scene. It came from the first night after the burial service.
There were three muggles in brown robes gathered around the still fresh soil. There was an urn at the feet of one and several candles scattered about. They appeared to be waiting for something and after a couple of minutes it was clear what it was. There was a scratching sound that got louder and louder until a hand reached out of the dirt. The monks watched as the hand wriggled about, more and more being exposed until a bewildered young woman stood there gasping for breath. Her hands brushed the red hair out of her face and terrified green eyes darted around. One of the monks raised a muggle tranquiliser gun and shot the frightened woman. She let out a small scream before falling forward into another monk's arms. The third monk looked down at her. "Let's go; the ritual will be any day now."
Lucius Malfoy closed the scene as the monks left the graveyard and turned to his furious master.
Voldemort was fuming. But within twenty seconds he calmed himself down so he wore his usual sneering face. "Next time, she's not coming back."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Miles away, Dawn Summers woke up screaming.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Next Chapter: It all comes to a head. We're in the home stretch now, sprinting towards the finish line.
Please Review!