Disclaimer: All things Ats, BtVS, and Harry Potter belong to their respective owners, Joss Whedon and JK Rowling. However, the plot is mine as far as I can tell, so please ask if you want to use it.
Short Author's Note: Hmm. Nobody commented on the Sirius bit in chapter six, so either you all saw it coming, or no one noticed it:)
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Cordelia stood in the Great Hall waiting for her escort. Today, she was going to Diagon Alley to get a wand. She was still a little unnerved about the images shown to her by the sorting hat yesterday, but had realized as she lay awake fretting that it had been probably been showing examples of what made it put her in Gryffindor. Odd that it had been those moments though. Personally, she thought the best examples of her bravery were totally different from what she'd been shown. Like the time she drove her car through Sunnydale High to escape vampires, for example.
A soft, cold voice spoke then, breaking Cordelia out of her reverie. "Well, Chase don't dawdle. I'd like to get this over with as quickly as possible."
"Snape? You're taking me? Oh, that's just fabulous."
"It is PROFESSOR Snape, and your sarcasm is not appreciated."
"Oh, I can tell this is going to be fun."
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Cordelia walked into the Gryffindor common room, her hand closed around a bag of robes from Madam Malkin's. Ginny was sipping at a glass of water and watching Ron and Harry play a game of chess by the fireplace, and Hermione and Luna were both reading.
"Hey guys. Where's that Neville kid?"
"Cordy! Neville's sending a letter to his grandmother. He forgot his Remembrall. So how did the wand shopping go? What kind did you get? Who went with you?" Harry questioned her excitedly, not even noticing when Ron won the game.
"Snape."
"You all right? He didn't try to curse you did he?" Ron asked, grinning.
"Ron, Professor Snape was on official Hogwarts' business. I doubt he'd do something as unprofessional as hex an untrained witch," Hermione said huffily. Then, as if she had thought better of it she added quietly, "Right?"
"No, no, he didn't try to hex me," Cordelia said with a smile that quickly turned into a frown. "He didn't have to actually, I took care of it myself." At the teenager's questioning glances she gave them a sheepish look and turned around.
"Eep!" Ginny squealed, spitting out a mouthful of water.
"Gaah!" Harry shouted.
"You know, it looks rather like one you would find on a humpbacked Swoompter," Luna commented thoughtfully, having looked up from her magazine at her friends' exclamations.
"Oh, dear." Hermione said quietly.
"Er, Cordelia. You are aware that you have a tail aren't you?"
"Yes, Ron, I am 'Aware that I have a tail,' " she snapped with an affected British accent. After almost a full minute spent glaring at the red-haired boy who was now laughing uncontrollably, her face softened into a smile again. "It's okay. Snape said Madam Pomfrey could fix it, but she won't be here until next week. So, until then, tail city."
"Oh, I bet Snape had a FIT!" Hermione said, giggling a little now herself.
Cordelia smiled, shifted her tail to one side and sat down in one of the fluffy chairs by Harry. "Actually, I think he thought it was funny. I swear, I saw him smile."
"SNAPE?" Ron asked, incredulously. "You must have been wrong. Maybe he had gas. Wait, that's worse. Eww."
"Maybe. Whatever it was, it didn't last long. Not once I. . ."
"Once you what?" a newly arrived Neville encouraged after he had been filled in by Luna.
"It would probably be best to start at the beginning," Hermione said.
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Severus Snape swept into the Headmaster's office in a swirl of black robes, slamming the door behind him. He gave Dumbledore a fierce glare and then sank down into a chair.
Dumbledore chuckled softly. It appeared Ms. Chase had quite an effect on his Potions Master: he couldn't remember the last time he had seen Severus so flustered. Not to mention, that was quite a strange hat he had on. "Severus? What did she do to you? And why ARE you wearing that absurd contraption on your head?"
If possible the man's glare became even more pronounced as, without a word, he reached up and yanked the offensive clothing article off of his head.
At the sight that greeted him Dumbledore burst out laughing, and immediately choked on his lemon drop.
"It is NOT funny!" Snape growled.
"Oh, I assure you Severus, it is very funny," Dumbledore replied, eyes twinkling merrily. "I know the students joke about you updating your hairstyle, but somehow I don't think this is what they had in mind."
"As vile as this particular development is, I assure you it is the least shocking thing that WOMAN did today."
Dumbledore sobered up immediately. "Oh my. Perhaps you had best start at the beginning."
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Flashback
Cordelia shivered. The robe shop had been very nice. Clean, well-lit. Plus, clothes shopping was something she always enjoyed, even if the 'clothes' looked like something out of the Middle Ages. This place however, was something else entirely. It was small, and dusty, and it smelled BAD. Suddenly, a rather creepy looking man stepped out of the shadows and she jumped in shock.
"So sorry, my dear Ms. Chase. I did not mean to frighten you. Dumbledore said you would be dropping by. I am Mr. Ollivander, and I will be helping you to select a wand. Now, which is your wand arm?"
Cordelia hesitantly lifted her right arm. After a moment Ollivander returned, carrying a stack of boxes and pulled the tape measurer that had been measuring her arm away.
"Pine wood, ten inches, Grindylow blood in the core. Give it a wave."
Snape started. Grindylow blood? He had never heard of a wand containing that before. His eyes narrowed.
Cordelia waved the wand, but nothing happened. "Hmm. Odd. I was so certain that, given your condition. . ."
"Her 'condition?' " Professor Snape interrupted.
"Oh, yes. Mrs. Chase will no doubt require an unusual wand due to the fact that she is half. . ."
"Blind! I'm half blind. Guess I need a special wand to balance that out," Cordelia said frantically, not even bothering to wonder how the strange man knew she was half-demon. She gave him one of her patented Queen C glares that clearly said 'Shut up or die,' for good measure as well.
Snape's eyebrows hit his hairline and he filed that odd bit of information away to report to Dumbledore later. Half blind! That was the most ridiculous cover story he had ever heard.
"Here dear, try this one. Red oak, twelve inches, with a werewolf's hair.
Cordelia again waved the wand for a moment she thought nothing had happened again until. . .
"Ow! What was that? Did something sting me?" she exclaimed, craning her neck to get a look at her backside which was currently smarting from the sting. "Oh. My. God. Is that a TAIL! DO I HAVE A FREAKING TAIL?"
"Don't be absurd, Chase. Madam Pomfrey will be able to remove it." Snape struggled not to laugh as he attempted to reassure the distraught young woman. "You'll have to wait though. She doesn't return to the castle until next Monday," he added with a sneer.
Cordelia shot him a glare and reached for the next wand on the pile. "What's this one?"
"Beech, seven inches, leprechaun tooth in the core."
"Leprechaun tooth? Eww. And I thought leprechauns weren't real. Oh, well." Still, she waved the wand, and this time the result was immediately apparent. Cordelia doubled over in laughter.
"What could possibly be amusing about a wand that doesn't work?' Snape asked her, scowling.
"It works," Ollivander answered with a cryptic smile.
"Your, your hair, it's GREEN!" Cordelia managed to choke out between guffaws.
"Oh, bloody hell Chase, get a hold of yourself. I can fix it with a simple restorative draught," he said, through gritted teeth. Oh, he was going to KILL Dumbledore.
Cordelia glared at him and reached out to try another wand.
Willow, ten inches, veela hair. ("What in the hell is a veela?")
Ash, fifteen inches, pixie dust. ("Aw! Fairys. Cute!")
Redwood, nine inches, Phoenix tear. ("Ooh, like Fawkes. Cool.")
Cyprus, thirteen inches, demon sweat. ("Blech!")
Three hours later, Cordelia had tried every wand in the store except one. Half hadn't worked at all, and others had caused many different humorous results. In addition to her tail, Cordelia had briefly been equipped with horns, and Snape's hair had changed colors ten times before finally settling on a brilliant Gryffindor gold. He was, needless to say, not happy.
"Hmm. Last wand Ms. Chase," Ollivander said tiredly "Oak, eleven inches, blood of the vampiric seer."
Cordelia's head snapped up. "The um, vampiric seer?"
"Ah, yes. Drusilla."
Cordelia stared at the wand with pure loathing. "Figures this is the wand I'd get stuck with," she muttered under her breath. After a moment she gave the wand a hesitant wave. And promptly threw her arms over her head and flung herself on the floor as the building fell down with a loud bang.
End Flashback
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000
"You BLEW UP Ollivander's?" Harry asked, shocked.
Cordelia nodded sheepishly. "Yeah. And I broke the wand."
"Bloody hell!" Ron said.
"I suppose you're not a witch after all then," Luna said.
"No, she must be," Hermione argued. "Or else the wands just wouldn't have worked."
"Well, some of them didn't work," Neville pointed out.
"Yes, that is strange. Hmm. Cordelia, please don't take this the wrong way, it isn't meant to be offensive, but are you perhaps some sort of magical creature? Or maybe you have a magical creature for an ancestor? Like a mermaid, or a Sphinx?"
Harry and Cordelia shared a quick worried glance. Hermione was uncomfortably close to the truth. Cordelia forced a smile and said, "Er, not that I know of. Why?"
"Well, there are some instances in history where an especially powerful magical creature would get a wand and cause irreversible damage. Still, the only incident I've ever read about that was anything like this. . ." Hermione's eyes widened and she glanced nervously at Cordelia before leaping out of her chair. "I'll uh, be back later. I have to go to the library."
"Wonder what that was about?" Neville said, after she left.
"Who knows? It's Hermione," Ron answered, sending the room into peals of laughter.
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 "Don't you think it's curious, Headmaster, her reaction to the wand? She acted as though the very thought of touching something related to Drusilla disgusted her, but why would she even know who Drusilla IS?"
"Why WOULDN'T she? We know very little of Ms. Chase, or what she may or may not know about the supernatural world. As I told her, she has obviously been exposed to it, if she can see Hogwarts. What intrigues me, is her reaction to Ollivander nearly revealing her 'condition.' What could she be hiding from us? Yes, Severus I believe it is time to set the next stage of my plan in motion. You shall do what I requested of you tomorrow, at dinner time."
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Later That Night
Cordelia is standing in a vast, nearly empty hall with two other beings. One, she recognizes. Wesley. The other she does not, although he is clearly a demon, and an ancient one at that.
They are speaking to one another, having a hushed conversation that she cannot hear, though she is standing right next to them.
Suddenly, Wesley has a fireball on his palm, and has slung the demon across the room, where he now lies crumpled against the wall.
Cordelia wants to congratulate him, but she cannot. Instead, she settles for silent, unnoticed screams of happiness, mixed in with some jumps leftover from her high school cheer-leading days.
Her joy is short-lived however, and she watches the rest of the scene unfold with growing horror
The demon gets slowly to his feet and uses his considerable magic to suspend Wesley, frozen in midair. A few more silent words are spoken, and then, so quickly she does not even realize it has happened, there is a long, cruel knife embedded in her friend's gut.
0000000000000000000000000000000000000
"NO!"
Cordelia shot up in bed, her shoulders shaking with uncontrollable sobs. She was dimly aware of the fact that Hermione, Ginny, and Luna had gathered around her bed and were asking her to tell them what was wrong, but her mind was filled with only one thought: she had to get to Wesley.
Shocking the girls, she jumped from the bed, still crying, and made her way to the door. As soon as she opened it, she began to run quickly down the stairs, and the girls followed, still trying to figure out what was the matter. She had reached the portrait hole, and was about to scramble through it when she felt a pair of arms encircle her.
"Cordy, stop! What's going on? I heard you scream," Harry asked, worry filling his voice.
"Wesley's been stabbed. Harry, let me go! I had one of my dreams. Please, let me go! I don't want to hurt you, but I will. I have to get to him, he's dying."
"You'll hurt me! Cordelia, calm down! Explain what's going on, and then we'll all help however we can."
"I can't explain! There's no time, don't you understand? Wesley is dying!" Cordelia was screaming now.
Harry tightened his grip on her and Ginny and Luna moved to block Cordelia's escape path through the portrait. "Cordy please. You can get to Wesley faster if you let us help you, but you have to explain first. Please," Harry said, in what he hoped was a soothing voice.
Hermione, who was looking at Cordelia with confusion, and surprisingly, a little disgust as well broke in. "Who is Wesley, and how do you know he's been hurt?"
"Wesley is my friend. I saw him get stabbed in my dream. Please Harry, you have to let me go to him."
"Cordelia, it was just a dream. I'm sure Wesley is fine, there's no reason to panic," Hermione replied, a little condescendingly.
"Don't talk to me like that," Cordelia snapped. "I'm not an idiot, I know what I'm talking about, and it wasn't just a dream! Look, I don't have time to explain right now, I'll tell you about it after I get back from LA." She turned to face Harry then. "Harry, do you think I can use Floo powder to get there? Harry?"
Cordelia began to panic again. She waved her hand in front of Harry's face, but he didn't even blink. Glancing quickly around she saw that whatever had happened to him had also affected the girls. She grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. Nothing. "Harry? Harry what is going on!" She spun around then, as a new voice filled the room.
"I told you that you couldn't go back. Don't you remember? Not for any reason."
"Doyle! Of course I remember. You can't pull me out though. I was going to come back. I wasn't even going to see Angel. I was just going to. . .well, I don't really know what I was going to do, call an ambulance or something. Seriously though, you can't just expect me to sit here and do nothing when Wesley. . ."
"Is dead."
"What?" Cordelia sank slowly to her knees on the plush carpet of the Gryffindor common room. Tears filled her eyes and she asked in a shaky voice. "What do you mean he's dead?"
Doyle eased himself down onto the floor and wrapped an arm around his distraught friend. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have sent you the dream. I just thought you'd want to know what was going on back home. In retrospect, there's obviously a REASON it's against the rules. But hey, I sent you good stuff too. Connor remembered, and he doesn't hate Angel any more. And Fred and Wesley got together."
"Yeah, and then she DIED!"
"Er, right. Well, they've taken out the Circle of the Black Thorn. You can be proud of them," Doyle added a bit sheepishly.
"Proud! Oh, please. Wesley's already dead and the others will be lucky if they last the night!" Cordelia laughed bitterly.
"They did."
"Did what?"
"Last the night. It was in May, Cordy. Wesley's been dead for over two months."
"Oh. Thanks so much for telling me that AFTER my freak out. Well, at least he and Fred are together again," she said tiredly, resting her head on Doyle's shoulder.
"Um, right. Together," Doyle agreed with a wince.
"And I'm glad everyone else is okay. They are okay right?"
"Yeah. They were lucky actually. Angel had a strength booster from feeding off the Senior Power's liason. Plus, they had a little help from a couple of rule-breaking Higher Powers. Gunn's in a wheelchair, but that's pretty good considering the only reason he survived at all is that Angel pulled him out of the fight and dumped him in the hotel after about five minutes. And they've got the guardian I sent them."
"Yeah. Poor Gunn."
"I know. Listen Cordelia, I know you never actually went back but. . ."
"No! Doyle, no! You can't pull me out. I promise, I won't even THINK of going back again. Please Doyle, Harry needs me!" Cordelia begged.
"Relax." Doyle chuckled. "I'm not pulling you out, but the PTB's do want me to give you a warning."
"Oh, thank goodness. Warnings I can do. Consider me warned."
Doyle smiled sadly. "Unfortunately, that's not it. I have to take your gift back, and you have to prove that you're worthy of it, or you'll lose it forever."
"Wha?" Cordelia's question was cut off as Doyle leaned over and placed a gentle, short kiss to her lips. He gave her another brief smile, this one even sadder than the last.
"I'm sorry Princess," he said quietly, before disappearing in a flash of light, leaving Cordelia sitting alone on the floor, stunned.
"Cordelia? What's going on? Are you still leaving? And why do I feel like I've been standing like this for an hour?"
"No, Harry. I'm staying right here," Cordelia replied monotonously, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
0000000000000000000000000000000000000
"You lied to her," Jenny said incredulously.
"I know. I just couldn't bear to tell her. She had just found out about Wesley, I couldn't tell her. . .that. At least he's here, with, all of us. At least he can watch over his friends. Fred is just . . . gone."
Silence filled the white room for several long minutes as Jenny and Doyle both thought about the young woman they had all fought so hard to save from such a terrible fate. After a while Jenny spoke again, questioning her companion about the other thing that was bothering her.
"Why did you do it to her, Doyle? You've found ways to get around their orders before, especially when it comes to her."
He turned to face his friend with tears in his eyes. "They didn't tell me to do it."
Jenny gasped. "You mean . . . but Doyle, she could die!"
"You don't think I know that?" He leapt up, sending the white table flying. "I know that better than anyone else! It had to be done."
"I know you want this to work, but you, WE have to face the possibility that it might not. We may never fix what she messed up. Harry might lose. Angel might die."
"We HAVE to fix it. It wasn't supposed to happen Jenny. Cordelia and Sirius weren't supposed to die. Neither was Fred. I know it wasn't our fault, I KNOW that, but if the PTB's won't fix all the damage she did, then we at least have to try. We have a chance to make so much right here, if we can just get this one little timing issue to work right. Maybe it can even be better than it would have been if things had gone according to plan the first time around, now that the Circle is gone. And don't forget. If this all works out, you get to see Giles again."
"I haven't forgotten. I'm just beginning to wonder if this is worth it. We're messing with so much. It's so risky." She was quiet for a long moment before adding softly. "She may never forgive you, you know. Once she realizes what you've done to her."
"I know. It had to be done though."
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000
All right, as of this chapter you can officially figure out the plot, if you try. Or maybe you don't have to try, and its completely obvious. I don't know. Let me know!
Thanks to: Story Book, Wicked MoeMoe, rcaqua, blackwolfs900, ChibiChibi, SFBKludge, AnimeHanyou39, and TallieCat for reviews. They made me feel all warm and fuzzy, and I have this theory. Warm and Fuzzies make for happy authors, and happy authors make for faster updates. It is just a theory though, waiting to be proven. . .
Okay, done begging. Have a nice day!