Here's a quicker update for ya! I thank Mother Nature for that. I spent a lot of time Friday writing most of this chapter. School was out thanks to the beautiful ice and snow although I did have to reshovel the driveway. Not fun. Anywhoo, those who have seen a certain teaser-trailer for the third Harry Potter movie, which I have dozens of times since my sister can't seem to stop playing it, will notice I slipped a little something from that into here.
Just to clarify some things. Jordan, Harry, Aidan, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione do not know about Willow's walk on the dark side. Dumbledore probably has a hunch, not sure about that yet. And of course Dawn has kept a lot of facts about Buffy's second resurrection hush hush for good reason I'm sure you agree. Once again many thanks to my reviewers.
Red2: Yes, we will be seeing more of Hermione's slayerness. I can't think of another word either, but it may be because it's like 1:15 in the morning.
matt: Your review made me laugh my ass off. Very clever of you to use the slang and Hermione and Vi doing bong hits? Yeah sure that'll happen.
NoAlias: More of them (well mostly Willow) coming right up.Miss Kayl: I assume you have read past chapter 14 and see my reasoning in placing Dawn in Slytherin. I never said the hat didn't choose "half-bloods" for Slytherin. Dawn's not a half-blood anyway. If you'll read on I have cleared that bit up too. I just said it never chose Muggle-borns, meaning those born to two Muggle parents. Plus Voldemort was the heir of Salazar Slytherin, so that might've also been a major factor.
ScruffyWes: Sorry, but be patient. More Wesley to come. He's the least of my worries right now anyway.
Silver Warrior: Yeah, as do we all.
Tiger Tiger2: I loved that episode. Go Joyce! But poor Spike, must've been one hell of a headache. The only reason I started watching Angel was because Spike was on there lol.
Thanks also to tiffany2321 for reviewing. Your support means a lot guys keep it up!
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The stone hallways of Hogwarts echoed with the light footsteps of a young redheaded woman. Willow walked casually and slowly taking in every detail of the strange, but hauntingly beautiful castle. Everything about this place was enchanting. Everything about this world was enchanting. She could sense the magic undulating around her. It felt different from the dark magic of the Hellmouth in Sunnydale. This magic felt clean, pure, and made her feel warm inside. After performing the spell in which she awakened all the potentials, she had finally let go of all the guilt and doubt she had been carrying since she had lost herself in dark magic and nearly destroyed the world. After doing that spell she felt cleansed of any remaining remnants of that darkness and the high she got afterwards hadn't been too bad either.
"Are you lost milady?"
Willow jumped in surprise and clapped her hands over her mouth when she saw a transparent figure dressed in late 1400s clothing. He was floating about five feet above the ground and wore a genuine smile that implied friendliness. She relaxed.
"Oh. Um, I don't think I am. I was just taking a walk," she said proud that her voice didn't betray her slight trepidation in meeting an actual ghost.
"You must be new. I don't recall seeing you before. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington. Although you may call me Sir Nicholas or even Sir Nick, if you must. I am the resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower. What is your name fair lady?" he asked politely even giving a gentlemanly bow.
"Um, I'm Willow Rosenburg. I'm actually here helping you guys fight the good fight against your big bad. I'm not your kind of witch though, I'm a Wicca," she explained feeling her apprehension slowly ebbing away.
"Ah! You are among our new allies. It is a pleasure to meet you Miss Rosenburg and I must say on behalf of the good, respectable witches and wizards of the world, thank you. I am sure they will be most grateful for your help. We have fallen into dark times indeed. Darker than ever I saw back in my living days," he shook his transparent head sadly.
"Well, I'm happy to help and so are my friends. After all, what affects you guys will eventually affect us too," she said.
"Quite true milady. Quite true," he replied cheerfully.
Willow was unsure how to ask the question that had been growing in her mind. It seemed a little brazen, especially for her even though she had come far since her high school days. But she really was getting curious about it.
"Can I ask...?" she trailed off nervously.
"What is it like being a ghost?" Sir Nicholas finished while smiling kindly.
"I mean...I don't mean to...intrude or be....rude or anything, I just never really met a ghost in the flesh or well you're not exactly flesh are you? I mean I never met a ghost in the transparent floaty whatever substance that you're made of, which is really surprising considering I lived on a hellmouth and met all sorts of nasties. I've heard ghosts, sexually repressed crybabies in my freshmen year of college. That wasn't fun. But I've never talked to one before and I must sound like a complete idiot to you right now," she winced when she realized she had been babbling. That nervous habit had, sadly, never died.
Sir Nicholas chuckled good-naturedly.
"No worries young lady, I am used to this question and I take no offense at all if that was what you were afraid of. Unfortunately there is not much I could describe to you. Being a ghost is most unpleasant and it is times when I see the students feasting on the seemingly scrumptious dishes that Hogwarts serve I wish I had not chosen this path. Tis a near torture to see all that succulent food and not be able to taste a bite of it. There are advantages, of course, I can fly, I can walk through walls and if I happen to accidentally stare another basilisk in the eye I won't have to worry about dying because I am already there," he said to her.
Wow that's sad. Being a part of this world, yet not being a part of this world at the same time. As much as she longed to see Tara again. To see that beautiful face, see that captivating smile, hear her melodious voice so full of love and understanding would be almost heaven to Willow. But she loved Tara too much to wish this depressing existence upon her just for the sake of being able to have her lover again. It was better for Tara to have crossed over into a that place that Willow herself had so selfishly torn Buffy out of, or if not that specific place then somewhere like it. Somewhere tranquil and warm where there was no pain or suffering only eternal bliss. That was what Tara deserved more than anyone and even though Willow would do anything to have her lover back she would not compromise Tara's happiness. She had learned her lesson. Besides, Tara didn't die a mystical death like Buffy had, so there was no coming back. Does Tara know what I did? Was she watching the whole time? The very thought of it made Willow sick to her stomach. Her eyes welled with tears and she turned away from Sir Nicholas to wipe them.
"Milady? Is something wrong? Are you well?" the noble ghost asked with concern.
Willow sniffed and the urge to cry passed. She turned back to her new friend and gave him a reassuring smile.
"No, Sir Nicholas. Everything will be fine," she said and she hoped it was true.
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Harry ran his hand through his forever unkempt hair. It wasn't an attempt to tidy it up because that attempt would be in vain. No, it was a gesture of nervousness as he quietly crept out of the boys' dormitory. It was very early in the morning and the sun was just peaking out over the eastern horizon, but Harry could not sleep. Half the night he had been kept awake by the things he had learned about Dawn's past. Little did the beautiful girl know how much that story of her sister being brought back to life would affect him. He didn't think it was possible. Dumbledore had told him before that no magic on this earth could bring back those who had passed on. But either the old man had been lying so as not to give Harry ideas, which irked the teenage boy just a little, or he had truly thought there was no magic on earth powerful enough to bring life back. But there was. Buffy was living proof of that. He needed to know. He desperately needed to know if there was any chance at all Willow could bring another person back to life. Another person who had fell into death so undeservingly and was sorely missed.
Harry doubted either of the two would be awake, but he didn't plan on going to them right now because he didn't know what to say. He needed to think about this before approaching either of the two young women. And that in itself was unnerving. Just knowing that Buffy had died not once, but twice, made him feel even more intimidated by her. And Willow, the Wicca that brought her back; he was in awe that such a person could possess such power yet not abuse it like Voldemort had. He was very glad that Willow was on their side. Very glad indeed.
He hadn't pressed the issue last night because it was clear Dawn had not been in any condition to answer the questions he had. She had been grief-stricken over the death of her friend, Spike. He couldn't believe that Dawn actually had William the Bloody, one of the notorious Scourge of Europe along with Angelus, Darla, and Drusilla, as a surrogate brother and protector. The notion was so bizarre, yet he didn't doubt Dawn for a second when she spoke of it and Jordan even confirmed it.
He pondered over grabbing his invisibility cloak. It wasn't like he was going to be snooping in some forbidden room or taking a stroll after hours. It was more out of habit then necessity that he opened his trunk and threw the silvery cloak over himself. He felt like disappearing for the time being.
Harry opened the portrait and stepped out into the chilly stone hallways of the castle. Maybe I should research a bit more on Wiccan magic before I ask Willow about this. I can get a better idea of it. Yes, I should go to the library. He walked quickly, but quietly to the large school library. Hermione's favorite place in all of Hogwarts most likely. Madame Pince was nowhere to be seen, but she wouldn't have been able to see him anyway. He proceeded to look through the collection of books for anything on Wiccan magic and resurrection. He halted when he spotted someone sitting at the tables bent over a book. As he got a little closer he saw that it was Jordan. What is she doing up so early. He crept a bit closer confident that his cloak would conceal his presence.
Jordan's head snapped up. She was sure she heard something. She turned her gaze to her left where she was certain the noise came from.
"Is someone in here?" she asked loudly.
There was no answer and there didn't seem to be anything there, but the tingly feeling on the back of her neck that Buffy referred to as the, "spidey sense", whatever that meant, contradicted that. She knew she wasn't alone, but this presence, whoever it was, was not malevolent from what she could sense. That's a relief, wouldn't want to get into a fight first day at a new school.
She stood up from her seat and narrowed her eyes when she looked at the end of the table. The person/thing/ghost/whatever was there, watching her. A week ago she wouldn't have noticed, but now that she was imbued with all the Slayer perks she could feel it. After a few moments of stretching out her senses, or more like closing her eyes and just trying to not think, she ascertained that it probably wasn't a ghost. Jordan was still new at the whole "sixth sense" thing, but ghosts gave her a different feeling. She couldn't really describe it; it was just a different feeling. It ticked her off that someone could see her, but she couldn't see them though.
"Okay. Whoever or whatever is there make with the visibility because it is really ticking me off that you can see me and I can't see you. I know you're there!" she demanded letting out more anger than she had meant to.
Harry had frozen under her shrewd gaze and he had almost stopped breathing. I barely made a sound! How can she know I'm here?! Once she starting demanding that he show himself he decided it was best to comply with the girl's demands. He quickly pulled off his invisibility cloak and managed to meet Jordan's angry, but surprised stare.
"An invisibility cloak," she stated matter-of-factly then she sat back down.
Her anger was dissipating. Hermione had neglected to mention about Harry owning an invisibility cloak and she understood the need he might have for one. Her mother owned one, which she kept hidden away from Aidan and Jordan lest they use it for mischievous purposes.
"How did you know I was there?" Harry asked in disbelief still staying where he was in case Jordan was still angry.
Jordan surprised him by grinning cheekily at him. "You gotta lot to learn about slayers Harry," she pointed to her ears. "We have super sensitive hearing and not to mention the sixth sense thing."
"Oh," he mentally slapped himself in the head for forgetting that Jordan was a slayer too. "I'm sorry. I wasn't spying or anything. I just came in looking for some books and happened to see you here."
Jordan narrowed her honey-colored eyes again. What did he need to be invisible for?
"If you were just in here looking for some books then what's with the cloak? Surely being in here this early in the morning isn't against the rules," she said and then alarm shone on her face as she said, "Is it?"
"No, it's just I...it's a habit. And I...just felt like not being seen," Harry replied lamely.
Jordan nodded in understanding. She knew the feeling.
"Have a seat. Maybe I can learn a bit more about the famous Boy Who Lived," she gestured to the seat across from her. "And his intentions towards my best friend," she added slyly.
Harry's face reddened at that, but he sat down anyway.
"What do you mean by that?" he asked pretending not to know what she meant at all.
"Oh come on. Slayer, remember? I see things that others miss, but actually I've always had an eye for that sort of thing. My pals back in the states called me 'Cupid'," she said.
"You mean you put people together?" he asked.
"No, well, not in the way you're thinking. I see the attraction between two people, and not just the straight ones, but I see the attraction and give them a little push in the right direction. I don't make the matches. It's already there, it just needs a little encouragement," she explained.
"So you want to encourage me to date Dawn?" he inquired.
"Sure, why not? I mean you two do seem to fit, and she's a great girl and you so far seem to be a decent guy. But right now, you both are at pretty vulnerable stages. I don't know exactly what happened to you, but Dawn did mention that you lost your godfather. I say cover your emotions first and wait until the both of you have let your grief go. That way you're sure you're not going to each other out of pity or anything. Now that doesn't mean you can't make a move now, just take it slow. You can help each other through your grief," Jordan said with a stunning amount of wisdom.
Harry mulled over what she said and decided that Jordan had made a good point.
"I don't know what Aidan was thinking. You're pretty smart," he joked.
Jordan raised an eyebrow.
"I'm joking," he said putting his hands up.
"Yeah well it's selective intelligence. If only that applied to Transfiguration as well," she replied glumly gesturing to the book she was reading. It was a book on Transfiguration.
"So what sort of books were you looking for?" she asked.
"I was...erm...well...I wanted to know more about Wiccan magic. What Dawn said about her sister..." he broke off not wanting Jordan to know he was planning on finding a way to bring Sirius back.
Jordan frowned. She had an idea about what Harry wanted to know, but since she didn't know him very well she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.
"Anything in particular you wanted to know about Wiccan magic?" she asked.
Harry was quiet for a moment as he debated on whether or not to tell Jordan what exactly he wanted to know. She seemed understanding and easy going enough, but he only known her for a few days. He finally decided that he could tell someone and Jordan might as well be that someone.
"I want to know more on resurrection spells. If Willow can bring Buffy back from the dead, who's to say she can't bring someone else back as well?" his green eyes were shining with hope.
"Uh, okay?" Jordan said uncertainly.
"Do you think she would do it? I know she hasn't known me very long, but I really need to have him back. He was like a father to me. He was the only father I knew," he seemed to be pleading for her approval.
Jordan was at a loss about how to respond to Harry. Her heart ached for him and the suffering he must be going through. But she honestly didn't know what she could say. Bringing people back from the dead was territory she had judged best for her to stay away from. But if something happened to Aidan....
"Harry, I don't think I'm the person to talk to. You should ask Willow or Buffy about this because I don't know anymore about it than you do. When Dawn was telling Hermione and I about it at my house a few nights ago she wasn't very forthcoming about it. It was painful for her to speak of it, which leads me to believe that something went wrong or very nearly did," she said softly.
Harry was taken aback by her answer. He hadn't thought about it that way, but even Jordan's unspoken (and maybe even unintentional) warning would not deter him from his quest. He would find a way to bring Sirius back. He owed that much to him.
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Dawn nervously descended the steps to her Potions classroom. At breakfast this morning Ron and Ginny had forewarned her about the Potions professor, Snape. They told her how he loved to torment Harry and always favored the students from his house. She then had to remind them that she was in his house, so maybe he wouldn't be so hard on her. She certainly hoped he would be nicer to her.
Okay Dawn, you can do this, he's just a teacher. Much less scarier than anything you've seen or handled. You've kissed a vampire! You can handle one mean teacher. He is the head of your house after all. Dawn shivered as she entered the classroom and she was really wishing she had remembered her jacket. Being a native of southern California was a serious setback to attending school in Scotland. Even though it was summer and fairly warm, the Potions classroom was still chilly.
Professor Snape wasn't in the classroom and she wasn't sure if she was relieved about that or not. She would have preferred to have Jordan with her, but her friend had Charms as her first makeup class. Besides, Jordan would be studying at a higher level than Dawn herself. Carrying all her necessary potion-making materials Dawn chose a seat in the middle of the first row and waited for her teacher. She didn't wait long. As soon as she sat down she heard a door open and then slam shut.
"I see you are at least learned in the ways of punctuality Miss Summers," an oily, sneering voice uttered as a pale, hook-nosed man in black robes with greasy black hair walked briskly to the front of the classroom.
"Um, thanks?" she replied.
Snape's dark eyes narrowed at this young Muggle-born who was now supposedly a member of Slytherin House. Why the Sorting Hat chose to place her in his house he didn't understand. She was born of two Muggles (unless he heard wrong) and was raised in the Muggle world. The hat had been known to choose half-bloods for the house of the serpent. Lord Voldemort himself had been a half-blood. But it had never before chosen a full-blooded Muggle. He refrained now from using that distasteful term "mudblood". It had often been a word coming out of his mouth in the past. A past he wanted very much to forget. Besides, he had to grudgingly admit that Granger was a witch with more wits than many purebloods he knew. Crabbe and Goyle are such disgraces.
"First Miss Summers, I am the head of Slytherin House of which you are now apart. If you have any problems you come to me. Understood?" he asked.
Dawn nodded.
"Second, you will not be needing your wand in this class unless instructed otherwise. We do none of the silly wand waving here," he said.
"Got it. No making with the magic," she replied.
Snape glared at her. Not only was she Muggle-born and almost completely ignorant of how things worked in the Wizarding world, she was also American. Three new students and they're all American. What is Dumbledore trying to do to me? He was dreading having the Firewell girl after lunch. Her parents and him weren't on the best of terms. A lot of enmity still existed between the two men. Jordan's father, Gabriel, had accepted that Snape was no longer a Death Eater and was now a valuable asset to the fight against evil, but he still didn't like the man. Gabriel had once believed that it was in fact Snape who had killed his father, Christopher Firewell, but fortunately for Snape that was proven false.
Dawn felt her teacher's eyes burning into her with undisguised displeasure. She felt it was her duty as a rebellious teenager to meet his eyes and stare right back.
Snape noticed that the girl didn't react in fear towards him which both intrigued and annoyed him. He had always enjoyed the looks of pure terror from the younger students. Perhaps it was the girl's more mature age or her growing up on a hellmouth. Whichever it was, she had not only met his eyes, but was staring back with equal vehemence. His lips almost curled into a thin smile.
"Well, Miss Summers, shall we begin?"
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"Relax Hermione, just take some deep breaths," Buffy said to the young slayer.
Hermione was dressed in her blue training suit, which she might add was very exposing but she supposed that was the way they all were, and had managed to pull back her thick, curly brown hair into a ponytail. Around the training room other slayers sparred in pairs and she had to admire the grace in which they moved. How was she ever going to move like that?
"Better?" the blonde slayer asked.
Hermione nodded. They had been training for over an hour and so far Hermione had spent the better part of that time getting acquainted with her new powers. Buffy felt it was best she know what she was capable of before throwing a punch or a kick. She was already getting used to the immense amount of physical strength she possessed and was now testing out the lesser obvious aspects that come with being a Chosen One. One Buffy affectionately dubbed "the spidey sense".
Hermione had cleared her mind, a very difficult thing to do in her case, and let her senses stretch out. She was awed and delighted about the fact that she could feel the power of the Slayer emanating off every girl in the room, but what she was most delighted about was she could feel the magic around her. It was indescribable this feeling. She only knew that she very much liked the feeling.
Now she was into the physical part of her training. Buffy and Faith had each demonstrated numerous defensive moves and offensive moves. Hermione had successfully managed to block 2/3 of the punches thrown at her by both of the original slayers.
Faith had been especially impressed with the "new recruit" when she learned that Hermione had hit a demon with a chair.
"Shows you're resourceful kid. That's good. It'll keep you alive longer," the raven-haired slayer had said.
Hermione didn't think it had been very resourceful. Any half-wit would have used that chair as a weapon. It was so obvious, or so she thought.
After a grueling amount of exercises, in which Buffy and Faith managed to wear Hermione out enough for her limbs to ache, they finally called for a lunch break. Hermione was all too happy to obey.
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Ron's eyes lit up when the slayers walked into the dining hall for lunch. Of course there were a good bit of beautiful young ladies dressed in form-fitting training suits, which he didn't fail to notice, but most of his attention was on one particular curly-haired brunette. He hadn't noticed before the fantastic feminine figure she had. Probably because he had mostly seen her in Hogwarts uniform covered with robes. Muggles are quite possibly the best bloody dressers in the world. Simply brilliant.
"Ron, you're...erm...drooling," Harry said trying not to laugh.
"Bloody hell Harry. Look at her...erm...them," he said in awe.
Harry had indeed noticed the girls walking in. But he was a bit more discreet about it.
"Ron, you might wanna stop gawking cuz they might take it the wrong way and well, I think you know what they could do," Aidan warned him.
The tall redhead's stunned look switched to alarm and he quickly averted his gaze. His sister giggled mercilessly beside him when Hermione sat down across from them and the tips of Ron's ears turned bright red.
"Shut up Ginny," he mumbled.
Aidan and Harry snickered at their friend's predicament.
"Whew! Herbology is an odd subject," Dawn said as she came and sat down beside Harry.
"How was Potions? Was Snape mean?" Harry asked.
"Well I think he was a little disappointed that I didn't quiver with fear, but he was alright. Bearable I would say," she said.
"He should treat you nicer since you're in Slytherin though. I wonder how he'll act towards Jordan," Ginny said thoughtfully.
"Well our father told us that if we get any problems from him we are to owl him right away. Dad never liked Snape. Mom's okay with him though," Aidan told them.
"Dawn? How were your first classes?" Giles asked as he, Xander, and Willow joined the group.
"Good. I haven't actually done any magic yet, but I will after lunch. I've got Charms and Transfiguration next. I can't wait," she answered.
"You'll be turning people into frogs in no time," Xander said.
"No! No frogs!" Willow exclaimed. She didn't like frogs.
"Hey Dawnie! How were the magic classes? Set fire to anything?" Buffy asked sitting down beside her sister.
"No," Dawn said.
"Well that's good. Unless you were supposed to set fire to something. Were you?" the petite slayer said.
"No wand flicking yet. First two classes dealt with bubbling cauldrons and weird plants," her sister said.
"That reminds me of Macbeth," Willow said thoughtfully.
"Double double toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble," Hermione recited.
"Something wicked this way comes," Aidan pointed and they all saw Jordan approaching.
Jordan had not been having the greatest day. Charms went fine, but she was good at Charms and Professor Flitwick was real cool. Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall had been nothing short of a nightmare. To come to a table where everyone was suddenly laughing at her didn't help.
"What?" she asked crossly.
"Got me mate," Ron shrugged.
"It's nothing Jordan. Just a little Shakespeare reference," Aidan assured her.
"How do you know about Shakespeare?" Harry asked.
"Muggle studies. That was the famous Muggle I did a report on," the tall American boy said.
"Yeah. I think you went overboard on the report. You didn't have to actually read his plays," Jordan said.
"What? They were good," Aidan said.
"You changed clothes," Dawn remarked. "Why?"
Jordan cleared her throat and eyed the staff table. Professor McGonagall wasn't there yet.
"Let's just say I have another memory of Transfiguration class to repress," the girl shuddered.
"What happened?" Buffy asked.
"Well, for one thing she just had to start with a fricken worm for 'review'. I was supposed to transfigure it into a lock of hair," she paused to collect herself. "And well, I point my wand at it, say the spell, and POP! Worm guts everywhere."
Xander sprayed pumpkin juice everywhere. Willow put her hand to her mouth.
"Good lord," Giles grimaced.
"You blew it up?!" Aidan couldn't help but laugh at that. "That's a first."
"Disgusting," Ginny dropped her fork.
"Gross," Dawn grimaced along with Giles.
"Wicked! Fred and George would love you!" Ron exclaimed.
Hermione and Buffy didn't say anything, but their expressions of intense disgust were more than enough to declare their feelings.
"Bet McGonagall enjoyed that one," Harry joked.
"Oh yeah. Maybe she enjoyed it so much she'll kick me out of class and I won't have to take it anymore," Jordan said glowing at the thought of no more Transfiguration.
"Nice try. But McGonagall loves a challenge," Ron said.
"Lucky me," Jordan muttered.
"Oh come on Jordan. I'm sure it was only because of your thing with worms and hey Mom and Dad are here," he gestured to a group of Aurors including Tonks, Moody, and Jordan and Aidan's parents.
"Sorry to interrupt your lunch, but we need you, you, you, and you," Mr. Firewell said as he pointed to Buffy, Giles, Willow, and Xander.
"Is this about the demons?" Willow asked.
"Yeah," Tonks answered.
"What about us?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, one of the bastards broke my arm! I wanna know what the hell they were doing," Jordan spat letting her ire from what happened in Transfiguration get the better of her.
"You will, honey. After we speak with these four. And don't swear," her mother said.
Buffy, Xander, Giles, and Willow excused themselves and left the dining hall with the Aurors leaving behind leaving six very peeved teenagers glaring at where they left.
"Well that sucks," Dawn said folding her arms indignantly over her chest.