Once again I would like to thank all my readers for their valuable input.
Sometimes the stuff that you guys ask gives me inspiration for stuff that I
hadn't thought of before! Thanks so much and happy reading!
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Buffy.
****************
I linger in the doorway of alarm clocks screaming, monsters calling my name. Let me stay where the wind will whisper to me, where the raindrops as they're falling tell a story. In my field of paper flowers and candy clouds of lullaby, I lie inside myself for hours and watch the purple sky fly over me. Don't say I'm out of touch with the rampant chaos- your reality. I know well what lies beyond my sleeping refuge; the nightmare. I built my own world to escape. In my field of paper flowers and candy clouds of lullaby, I lie inside myself for hours and watch the purple sky fly over me. Swallowed up in the sound of my screaming, I cannot cease the fear of silent nights. Oh how I long for the deep sleep of dreaming, the goddess of imaginary light. In my field of paper flowers and candy clouds of lullaby, I lie inside myself for hours and watch the purple sky fly over me. - Evanescence- Imaginary
****************
After Harry had exited, Draco sat back down on Hermione's cot. Rubbing her hand affectionately, he said, "Are you sure you're okay?"
Hermione, uncomfortable about where his hand was, slowly slid hers away. "Draco, I'm positive. Why would I have- wait, who is that?" she asked as a tall, dark haired, Slytherin boy entered the hospital tent.
Draco glanced at him, "Him? That's Daniel Draney. He is a year younger than us. I think he is going to go visit Seamus. Word in the halls is that Daniel is Seamus' boy friend."
"Oh," said Hermione thoughtfully, "What happened to Seamus?"
"I was told that at one point in the battle a fire broke out. Seamus got a little singed. But it's nothing major. He'll probably be better before you know it."
"Oh, that's good."
"Now," said Draco. He picked up the two swords that they had used during the battle, "Down to business. What are these things?"
"I am really surprised that I haven't figured it out yet. It seems like something that we should know, right? Swords that burn you from the inside out- I think that they would tell us about something like that."
Draco took a closer look at the swords. Now that he saw them, they were beautiful pieces of work. The hilt was twisted with silver and green ebony, leading to a point at the top of the hilt. The blade was certainly long, and Draco, who knew a bit about weapons, knew that that was not a natural size for a sword. Most swords were about three inches shorter. Draco could see that there was some writing on the blades, but it looked to be some ancient language, for he did not recognize the print.
Suddenly, there came the sound of a Stunning Spell being shouted from behind the curtain of Seamus' cot. Daniel Draney slumped to the floor. Draco looked quizzically at the place where Seamus' cot was, where he was trying to stand.
"Okay," said Draco, "Mental note, never visit Seamus when he is not feeling well."
Seamus, who had now fully risen out of the bed, came out from behind the curtain.
"Harry's in danger!" he shouted.
Hermione and Draco looked at each other. "Seamus," said Hermione, "Harry isn't in danger. He is in the boy's tent resting. Today has been a very busy day. I think that you need to get some sleep and let that burn heal."
It was true. Seamus had a large burn on his face where he had been singed by the fire. A sort of purplish looking liquid with a foul scent had been spread across almost the entire left side of his face.
"I am dead serious you guys! Cho is with Harry and he is in danger!"
"Finnigan," said Draco, "You're mental. There is no way that Harry could be with Cho. Hate to break it to you, but Cho died in battle. Now, why don't you go..."
Seamus exhaled. "Look," he said, "can we just go check on Harry? I promise I'll be a good boy and go to bed if he is all right. Bring the dem...swords and maybe a bunny."
"A bunny?" Hermione raised an eyebrow.
"You never know..."
Draco and Hermione glanced back at each other.
"Well," said Draco, "We really don't have anything to lose..."
*******************
"Cho?" said Harry peering through the darkened tent, not lowering his wand.
"Who else would it be, love?" said Cho as she came into a clearing of light that streamed through a hole in the tent. Cho looked much different then Harry had ever seen her before. Her skin had always been pale and hair dark, but it was more defined now. Her skin shone as white as the snow on the Hogwarts grounds in December, while her hair poured out from her scalp like black ink. Her clothes were different too. She was not in her traditional Ravenclaw uniform, but in a slim, long, blood red velvet dress. The dress trailed on the ground, while the top was low cut, accenting her chest.
"Cho?" said Harry, "Are you okay?"
"Of course I am, Harry. How about you?" she slinked over to Harry, her eyes pouring into his. "That battle was so rough; I thought you might be hurt."
She reached out and touched on of Harry's healing wounds. As soon as her fingers touched him, he pulled away.
"Sorry," he said, "Your hands are freezing. You should probably head over to the hospital tent. Madame Pomfrey could warm you up in a jiffy."
"But not like you could," she purred, tracing his face with a finger.
"But you- what the hell is that!" he said, noticing the large wound on her chest.
"It's nothing, Harry," she said, quickly covering it with a hand, "Think nothing of it."
"Like hell I'm going to think nothing of it! You need to treat that thing! Come on, I'm taking you to Madame Pomfrey!"
"Harry, really! I come here tonight after a hard battle expecting a little love and comfort from my boyfriend, but all you can do is nag nag nag! If I'm going to get it treated later or right now that is my business. And I was planning on getting it treated! But I wanted to see you first."
"Alright," said Harry, calming down, "One kiss and then it's onto the hospital wing for you."
Cho smiled and placed her palm on his cheek. Harry shuddered against her cold touch, but leaned in to kiss her.
"Harry, don't kiss her."
Harry pulled away and brought his wand back up again, "Who is that?"
"Seamus, Malfoy, and Hermione," said Seamus, stepping into the light. Seamus, even with the purple paste on his face stood with assurance and confidence. Malfoy was looking curiously at Cho, while Hermione had a look of horror spread across her face.
"What are you guys doing here?" asked Harry.
"Never mind that. Now, throw it, Malfoy," said Seamus.
"Wait, what are you doing?" said Harry, a bit more urgently.
"I'm sorry, Harry," said Seamus, "Throw it."
"But..." said Draco.
"Do it."
Draco inhaled, and then hefted the sword. With all his might he threw it into Cho, who collapsed, while Harry turned to them with a look of hate on his face.
"You killed Cho."
"Harry, before you get mad at Malfoy, look," said Seamus pointing to Cho's fallen body. A green lighted mist began to come out of Cho's mouth and nostrils, twirling in the air. Where the sword still stuck, black blood ran while the skin around the wound was singed. Suddenly, the body began to fade, and the blade fell on the floor of the tent.
"A demon," said Harry, the realization kicking into him. "Cho was a demon."
"Well," began Seamus, "Not always. Cho died during battle and was brought back as a demon to administer a kiss. Kind of like the dementor's kiss, except this one takes your life force and your soul. She was sent to kill you, Harry."
A sound of someone running came from outside the tent. Suddenly, Ginny burst into the tent, sword in hand, "Harry, don't- oh, well I guess you have that problem solved," she said looking at all of them.
"What are you doing in here, Ginny?" asked Hermione, still trying to catch at with what had happened.
"Well, I heard Seamus talking to Daniel and Daniel telling him everything and so I thought that you might need some back-up," she said.
"Aw," said Draco, "Weaslette was trying to save you, Potter."
"Shut up, Draco," said Hermione.
"Were you?" asked Seamus.
"Well," said Ginny, "Not single-handedly. I knew you guys would be here too."
"Thanks, Gin," said Harry, "That means a lot to me."
Ginny beamed with pride.
"I have to agree that this is all very touching," said Draco, "But I for one have a few questions for Finnigan here. For one- how did you know?"
Seamus smiled, "You got time?"
"Sure, why?"
"Because it's a long story."
Draco shrugged. Everyone found spots to sit on the floor as they avidly listened to Seamus' story.
"Well, to begin, you should know that I am not truly gay. It was a ploy that I will say reasons for later. As a school prefect I am responsible for patrolling the halls. The night that Dumbledore died, I was patrolling that corridor. I had just finished redirecting a few Gryffindor first years to the common room when I heard the gargoyle moving. I thought it might be Dumbledore, who I had a few questions to ask to about the upcoming Hogsmeade trip. Instead I saw Daniel, who was running as fast as he could. I could see blood spatters on the front of his robes, so I immediately knew what happened. I began to run to McGonagall, when I thought of an idea. We could bust Daniel now for his Death Eater ways, or I could kind of 'spy' for Hogwarts. I knew that the only way that I could get close enough to Daniel was through a romantic relationship. So, I announced to all that I had found that I was gay."
He took a breath and continued, "Daniel I can say was not really interested in me at first, being that I'm a Gryffindor and he a Slytherin. But through little hints and things that I said, I was able to convince him that I am a major supporter of You-Know-Who. Naturally, after that, he was much more open to the idea of us dating. I can say truthfully that after this experience, gay is the last thing that I want to be."
A few of the group laughed as he went on, "As Daniel's 'boyfriend', I was able to get many facts about You-Know-Who's whereabouts and what his plans were. I also knew of the countless plans of how to defeat Harry.
"Today was the day that I knew that I had had enough, and it is fortunate that today is the day that You-Know-Who decides to make his move on Harry. So today I purposely went to close to the flames even though I knew a burn would be painful. Daniel was bound to visit me and bring more news. Today he brought me the news that Cho was already trying to get a kiss out of Harry. So I stunned Daniel, got Hermione and Malfoy, and came to 'rescue' you. And that's about it."
The whole group just sat in shock for a minute.
"Wow," said Draco, "They should make that into a Muggle film and show it every Christmas."
"There is still one thing that turns a corner of my universe upside down," said Hermione. "Exactly what are these swords and how did you know what they do?"
"To answer your first question," said Seamus, "those are demon killer swords. Both owned by Salazar Slytherin, who made them. The only way to really kill a demon is to make them see their own reflection, or to make them eat fire. The sword burns them from the inside out. Unfortunately, Salazar died before he was able to make a better sword that did not have the same effect on humans. As for how did I know, I've read 'The Art of Hogwarts.'"
"Yea," said Hermione, "I still need to read that one."
"Shut me down!" said Ginny mockingly, "A book our Hermione has not read!"
"Hey!" said Hermione, "It was only published six months ago."
"True," said Ginny, "Now, I have a question. Why Cho?"
"Well for one," said Seamus, "she was dead. You can't make a demon out of a living person. And two, she was Harry's girlfriend. He would be more likely to kiss her than someone else."
"That's impossible!" said Hermione, "If Harry and Cho were dating, Harry would have told me. Right, Harry?"
"It's a long story," said Harry.
"Well," she said, "I'm in a story mood. Let's hear it."
"Okay, well, you probably remember that silly bet that you and Mal- Draco made over my next Quidditch match. Well, before the game, Cho approached me and said that she would date me, but she would like to win a match for her House before she chose another boyfriend from a different House. I really wanted to win so we could show up Malfoy - sorry Draco, but I also really wanted to date Cho. So I took the shallow choice. I lost the match and got the girl."
Harry looked at Hermione, expecting a scolding. Ginny glanced apprehensively at the two. Hermione exhaled, "Well, what's done is done. You can't undo that past. Now, I only wish you would have told me. Even though you chose only to tell Ron, I still knew you fancied Cho. I would have tolerated the month, no sweat. I just wish that you would tell me things like this. But a friendship between me and Draco has come out of this, so I guess I can't be to mad at you."
Hermione smiled at Harry.
"Well now that that's all done," said Draco, standing, "I am ready to go to sleep. Any takers?"
Harry, Seamus, Hermione, and Ginny all stood too and brushed the dirt from their bottoms, ready for a nice, long sleep.
***************** whew! Long chappie!
Hope you liked it!
Dragonfires
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Buffy.
****************
I linger in the doorway of alarm clocks screaming, monsters calling my name. Let me stay where the wind will whisper to me, where the raindrops as they're falling tell a story. In my field of paper flowers and candy clouds of lullaby, I lie inside myself for hours and watch the purple sky fly over me. Don't say I'm out of touch with the rampant chaos- your reality. I know well what lies beyond my sleeping refuge; the nightmare. I built my own world to escape. In my field of paper flowers and candy clouds of lullaby, I lie inside myself for hours and watch the purple sky fly over me. Swallowed up in the sound of my screaming, I cannot cease the fear of silent nights. Oh how I long for the deep sleep of dreaming, the goddess of imaginary light. In my field of paper flowers and candy clouds of lullaby, I lie inside myself for hours and watch the purple sky fly over me. - Evanescence- Imaginary
****************
After Harry had exited, Draco sat back down on Hermione's cot. Rubbing her hand affectionately, he said, "Are you sure you're okay?"
Hermione, uncomfortable about where his hand was, slowly slid hers away. "Draco, I'm positive. Why would I have- wait, who is that?" she asked as a tall, dark haired, Slytherin boy entered the hospital tent.
Draco glanced at him, "Him? That's Daniel Draney. He is a year younger than us. I think he is going to go visit Seamus. Word in the halls is that Daniel is Seamus' boy friend."
"Oh," said Hermione thoughtfully, "What happened to Seamus?"
"I was told that at one point in the battle a fire broke out. Seamus got a little singed. But it's nothing major. He'll probably be better before you know it."
"Oh, that's good."
"Now," said Draco. He picked up the two swords that they had used during the battle, "Down to business. What are these things?"
"I am really surprised that I haven't figured it out yet. It seems like something that we should know, right? Swords that burn you from the inside out- I think that they would tell us about something like that."
Draco took a closer look at the swords. Now that he saw them, they were beautiful pieces of work. The hilt was twisted with silver and green ebony, leading to a point at the top of the hilt. The blade was certainly long, and Draco, who knew a bit about weapons, knew that that was not a natural size for a sword. Most swords were about three inches shorter. Draco could see that there was some writing on the blades, but it looked to be some ancient language, for he did not recognize the print.
Suddenly, there came the sound of a Stunning Spell being shouted from behind the curtain of Seamus' cot. Daniel Draney slumped to the floor. Draco looked quizzically at the place where Seamus' cot was, where he was trying to stand.
"Okay," said Draco, "Mental note, never visit Seamus when he is not feeling well."
Seamus, who had now fully risen out of the bed, came out from behind the curtain.
"Harry's in danger!" he shouted.
Hermione and Draco looked at each other. "Seamus," said Hermione, "Harry isn't in danger. He is in the boy's tent resting. Today has been a very busy day. I think that you need to get some sleep and let that burn heal."
It was true. Seamus had a large burn on his face where he had been singed by the fire. A sort of purplish looking liquid with a foul scent had been spread across almost the entire left side of his face.
"I am dead serious you guys! Cho is with Harry and he is in danger!"
"Finnigan," said Draco, "You're mental. There is no way that Harry could be with Cho. Hate to break it to you, but Cho died in battle. Now, why don't you go..."
Seamus exhaled. "Look," he said, "can we just go check on Harry? I promise I'll be a good boy and go to bed if he is all right. Bring the dem...swords and maybe a bunny."
"A bunny?" Hermione raised an eyebrow.
"You never know..."
Draco and Hermione glanced back at each other.
"Well," said Draco, "We really don't have anything to lose..."
*******************
"Cho?" said Harry peering through the darkened tent, not lowering his wand.
"Who else would it be, love?" said Cho as she came into a clearing of light that streamed through a hole in the tent. Cho looked much different then Harry had ever seen her before. Her skin had always been pale and hair dark, but it was more defined now. Her skin shone as white as the snow on the Hogwarts grounds in December, while her hair poured out from her scalp like black ink. Her clothes were different too. She was not in her traditional Ravenclaw uniform, but in a slim, long, blood red velvet dress. The dress trailed on the ground, while the top was low cut, accenting her chest.
"Cho?" said Harry, "Are you okay?"
"Of course I am, Harry. How about you?" she slinked over to Harry, her eyes pouring into his. "That battle was so rough; I thought you might be hurt."
She reached out and touched on of Harry's healing wounds. As soon as her fingers touched him, he pulled away.
"Sorry," he said, "Your hands are freezing. You should probably head over to the hospital tent. Madame Pomfrey could warm you up in a jiffy."
"But not like you could," she purred, tracing his face with a finger.
"But you- what the hell is that!" he said, noticing the large wound on her chest.
"It's nothing, Harry," she said, quickly covering it with a hand, "Think nothing of it."
"Like hell I'm going to think nothing of it! You need to treat that thing! Come on, I'm taking you to Madame Pomfrey!"
"Harry, really! I come here tonight after a hard battle expecting a little love and comfort from my boyfriend, but all you can do is nag nag nag! If I'm going to get it treated later or right now that is my business. And I was planning on getting it treated! But I wanted to see you first."
"Alright," said Harry, calming down, "One kiss and then it's onto the hospital wing for you."
Cho smiled and placed her palm on his cheek. Harry shuddered against her cold touch, but leaned in to kiss her.
"Harry, don't kiss her."
Harry pulled away and brought his wand back up again, "Who is that?"
"Seamus, Malfoy, and Hermione," said Seamus, stepping into the light. Seamus, even with the purple paste on his face stood with assurance and confidence. Malfoy was looking curiously at Cho, while Hermione had a look of horror spread across her face.
"What are you guys doing here?" asked Harry.
"Never mind that. Now, throw it, Malfoy," said Seamus.
"Wait, what are you doing?" said Harry, a bit more urgently.
"I'm sorry, Harry," said Seamus, "Throw it."
"But..." said Draco.
"Do it."
Draco inhaled, and then hefted the sword. With all his might he threw it into Cho, who collapsed, while Harry turned to them with a look of hate on his face.
"You killed Cho."
"Harry, before you get mad at Malfoy, look," said Seamus pointing to Cho's fallen body. A green lighted mist began to come out of Cho's mouth and nostrils, twirling in the air. Where the sword still stuck, black blood ran while the skin around the wound was singed. Suddenly, the body began to fade, and the blade fell on the floor of the tent.
"A demon," said Harry, the realization kicking into him. "Cho was a demon."
"Well," began Seamus, "Not always. Cho died during battle and was brought back as a demon to administer a kiss. Kind of like the dementor's kiss, except this one takes your life force and your soul. She was sent to kill you, Harry."
A sound of someone running came from outside the tent. Suddenly, Ginny burst into the tent, sword in hand, "Harry, don't- oh, well I guess you have that problem solved," she said looking at all of them.
"What are you doing in here, Ginny?" asked Hermione, still trying to catch at with what had happened.
"Well, I heard Seamus talking to Daniel and Daniel telling him everything and so I thought that you might need some back-up," she said.
"Aw," said Draco, "Weaslette was trying to save you, Potter."
"Shut up, Draco," said Hermione.
"Were you?" asked Seamus.
"Well," said Ginny, "Not single-handedly. I knew you guys would be here too."
"Thanks, Gin," said Harry, "That means a lot to me."
Ginny beamed with pride.
"I have to agree that this is all very touching," said Draco, "But I for one have a few questions for Finnigan here. For one- how did you know?"
Seamus smiled, "You got time?"
"Sure, why?"
"Because it's a long story."
Draco shrugged. Everyone found spots to sit on the floor as they avidly listened to Seamus' story.
"Well, to begin, you should know that I am not truly gay. It was a ploy that I will say reasons for later. As a school prefect I am responsible for patrolling the halls. The night that Dumbledore died, I was patrolling that corridor. I had just finished redirecting a few Gryffindor first years to the common room when I heard the gargoyle moving. I thought it might be Dumbledore, who I had a few questions to ask to about the upcoming Hogsmeade trip. Instead I saw Daniel, who was running as fast as he could. I could see blood spatters on the front of his robes, so I immediately knew what happened. I began to run to McGonagall, when I thought of an idea. We could bust Daniel now for his Death Eater ways, or I could kind of 'spy' for Hogwarts. I knew that the only way that I could get close enough to Daniel was through a romantic relationship. So, I announced to all that I had found that I was gay."
He took a breath and continued, "Daniel I can say was not really interested in me at first, being that I'm a Gryffindor and he a Slytherin. But through little hints and things that I said, I was able to convince him that I am a major supporter of You-Know-Who. Naturally, after that, he was much more open to the idea of us dating. I can say truthfully that after this experience, gay is the last thing that I want to be."
A few of the group laughed as he went on, "As Daniel's 'boyfriend', I was able to get many facts about You-Know-Who's whereabouts and what his plans were. I also knew of the countless plans of how to defeat Harry.
"Today was the day that I knew that I had had enough, and it is fortunate that today is the day that You-Know-Who decides to make his move on Harry. So today I purposely went to close to the flames even though I knew a burn would be painful. Daniel was bound to visit me and bring more news. Today he brought me the news that Cho was already trying to get a kiss out of Harry. So I stunned Daniel, got Hermione and Malfoy, and came to 'rescue' you. And that's about it."
The whole group just sat in shock for a minute.
"Wow," said Draco, "They should make that into a Muggle film and show it every Christmas."
"There is still one thing that turns a corner of my universe upside down," said Hermione. "Exactly what are these swords and how did you know what they do?"
"To answer your first question," said Seamus, "those are demon killer swords. Both owned by Salazar Slytherin, who made them. The only way to really kill a demon is to make them see their own reflection, or to make them eat fire. The sword burns them from the inside out. Unfortunately, Salazar died before he was able to make a better sword that did not have the same effect on humans. As for how did I know, I've read 'The Art of Hogwarts.'"
"Yea," said Hermione, "I still need to read that one."
"Shut me down!" said Ginny mockingly, "A book our Hermione has not read!"
"Hey!" said Hermione, "It was only published six months ago."
"True," said Ginny, "Now, I have a question. Why Cho?"
"Well for one," said Seamus, "she was dead. You can't make a demon out of a living person. And two, she was Harry's girlfriend. He would be more likely to kiss her than someone else."
"That's impossible!" said Hermione, "If Harry and Cho were dating, Harry would have told me. Right, Harry?"
"It's a long story," said Harry.
"Well," she said, "I'm in a story mood. Let's hear it."
"Okay, well, you probably remember that silly bet that you and Mal- Draco made over my next Quidditch match. Well, before the game, Cho approached me and said that she would date me, but she would like to win a match for her House before she chose another boyfriend from a different House. I really wanted to win so we could show up Malfoy - sorry Draco, but I also really wanted to date Cho. So I took the shallow choice. I lost the match and got the girl."
Harry looked at Hermione, expecting a scolding. Ginny glanced apprehensively at the two. Hermione exhaled, "Well, what's done is done. You can't undo that past. Now, I only wish you would have told me. Even though you chose only to tell Ron, I still knew you fancied Cho. I would have tolerated the month, no sweat. I just wish that you would tell me things like this. But a friendship between me and Draco has come out of this, so I guess I can't be to mad at you."
Hermione smiled at Harry.
"Well now that that's all done," said Draco, standing, "I am ready to go to sleep. Any takers?"
Harry, Seamus, Hermione, and Ginny all stood too and brushed the dirt from their bottoms, ready for a nice, long sleep.
***************** whew! Long chappie!
Hope you liked it!
Dragonfires