Author's Note: I'm sorry this is taking so long. Organic chem is kicking my butt this semester. Another update in the next week though, I hope!
Chapter 17: Dinners and Death Eaters
The weekend had arrived with no more incidents from the Death Eaters. Harry was getting ready for dinner with Buffy and Severus. He was putting on a nice set of robes for dinner. "Oooh, Harry, got a hot date tonight?" Seamus asked from the other side of the room.
"Snape is taking Professor Summers and I to dinner tonight," he told him.
Ron screeched, "What in the bloody hell are you saying? The greasy-faced Slytherin is taking you two to dinner? He's probably just trying to deliver you to the Death Eaters! I mean, Professor Summers is hot and she's dating him?"
"Ron, Snape isn't all that bad. You should see how much he cares for her. Plus, he hasn't been nearly as bad lately with Professor Summers here," Harry found himself defending his most hated professor.
"True," Seamus mused, "Snape hasn't taken away nearly as many points or given nearly as many detentions in the last month or so."
"But it could all be an act!" Ron argued.
"I think Professor Summers could take him out in a heartbeat. I mean, you've seen what she's done to vampires and the like."
"He's a Potions master, he could drug her," Ron threw out.
Harry rolled his eyes and said, "I'll keep an eye out for it. Even Remus doesn't have a problem with it, so why should you?"
Ron was debating this carefully before he finally conceded, "I don't know. But if something happens, I'm holding Snape responsible."
"Have it your way, I'm off," the raven-haired boy decided, leaving Gryffindor tower and making his way to Buffy's room.
When he arrived, Severus was waiting impatiently. "You are late, Harry, though not nearly as late as Buffy," he groaned, "Why must women take forever to get ready?"
Buffy's voice yelled from the bathroom, "Sev, you take forever as well with all that hair…you just got to begin two hours ago while I was still grading essays until twenty minutes ago."
"Fine, you win, love," Severus conceded, sensing that pushing it might not be in his best interests. He turned to Harry and asked, "How was the rest of your week?"
"Umm, quite good, Professor," Harry responded, taken aback by his teacher's kindness, "And your own?"
"Very busy," Severus told him, "Buffy managed to capture a half-dozen Death Eaters a few nights ago, nearly gave me a bloody heart attack when she called for a pick-up."
"I had the situation completely under control," Buffy's voice said. Both men looked up to see the blonde sweep into the room dressed in a black dress the fell just below her knees and black boots. She continued, "Sevvy here just freaked because I got a little cut on my face. See, completely gone."
"Let's get going," Severus pleaded. They walked to the gates of Hogwarts, then he removed a key from his robes and put it out. "This will take us to Calypso, our dining establishment tonight."
As soon as all three hands touched the key, it was activated and the trio soon found themselves in the lobby of a very nice restaurant. They were seated immediately and Severus ordered a bottle of red wine for him and Buffy and Harry ordered a soda. "Buffy, you are of age. You can have some wine," Severus pointed out.
"It's red," she said shortly. Harry looked utterly confused by this, so she covered it by adding, "Plus alcohol and Buffy are unmixey things."
The menu came. Severus selected a filet mignon with sautéed mushroom and garlic potatoes. Harry ordered roast chicken with fennel. When it came to Buffy, she ordered the minestrone. "That's it?" Harry asked.
Severus began to say something but Buffy put up a hand to stop him. "Harry, there are some things about my past that you don't know. You will know, in time. But for now, you have to understand that there are some things that I am still recovering from."
Harry nodded, pleased that she didn't yell. The meal continued in peace, with the three of them carrying on a good conversation. The food came and went and Severus finally talked the small blonde into a glass of brandy at the end of the meal.
It was late by the time they finished. The port key transported them to the gates of Hogwarts. Just as they landed, a dozen Death Eaters appeared, this time with something new. A troll.
Buffy was already grumbling, "Oh great, a troll. Just the worst ending to the most wonderful evening. Well, not really the worst, but you know, I was hoping for like some smoochies and a night in front of the fire. And this is totally not what I expected."
"Buffy, you are unarmed," Severus warned her. Then she withdrew a sword from her cane.
"Not entirely. You get Harry inside the gates. One hair on his head is harmed and I will make sure you never reproduce…ever. Don't come help, Voldemort will know. Please, Severus," she warned before turning to engage the Death Eaters and their troll.
Three of the Death Eaters were dead before Severus and Harry had moved. Then the troll came forth. Buffy did an excellent job of ducking it several times before it finally got its hammer in contact with her. Her body went flying. But she tumbled in the air and landed like a cat on her feet. Two more Death Eaters were killed by her sword. The second the gate was closed, Severus was running to get help. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Pomfrey, Lupin. Anyone. Harry watched helplessly from the other side of the gate.
Buffy managed to hold off the Death Eaters for another two minutes before the troll hammer hit her again. And this time, she didn't get back up. In a second, Harry slipped his arm outside of the gates, pointed his wand at one of the Death Eaters and yelled, "Petrificus Totalis!" He did it again and again, using his split-second reflexes from his time as Seeker to knock out three more Death Eaters. It gave Buffy enough time to recover and stand again. Weakly, she fought off the remaining two Death Eaters and the troll. One more Death Eater fell to her sword before the Death Eater managed to hit her with a curse. It was shining green as it hit between her shoulder blades. The Slayer dropped like she'd been shot. Harry heard several people arrive behind him just as the troll smashed his target once more with his enormous hammer. The Death Eater saw help arrive and quickly vanished, taking his pet with him.
No sooner was the Death Eater gone than Harry tried to run out to help his new "family." Severus grabbed the boy by his collar and hissed, "Harry, she did this for you. To protect you. Do not risk yourself. She would not want it."
Meanwhile, Poppy, Remus, Albus, Xander, and Minerva rushed past Harry to help Buffy. "Was…was it the Killing Curse?" Severus asked, his face three shades paler than normal.
Harry babbled slightly, equally as pale as the taller man, "It-it-it was green. And-and-and…yes. Yes, I think it was."
Tears began streaming down both of the raven-haired men's faces. Wordlessly, Severus engulfed the younger boy in a hug. They stood their, waiting for word from Poppy.
Minutes later, she had magicked Buffy onto a stretched and was taking her to the infirmary. The look on her face made everyone fear the worst. "She's alive," Poppy said and everyone breathed a sigh of relief until she continued, "Barely. It was the Killing Curse. I-I've never seen anyone survive it, not like this. She-she's in a coma. I don't know what to say."
The group moved to the infirmary where Poppy called some people from St. Mungo's to come in and consult. After two hours, she emerged from behind the curtain. "She's still in a coma. Aside from that, the troll managed to break half a dozen ribs, her wrist, and give her a good concussion. It appears the curse dehydrated her and gave her a heart attack," Poppy reported, "The mediwitches from St. Mungo's agree with me that, given time, she will recover from this. Unfortunately, we don't know much more than that. Time, fluids, and rest are our treatment, for now. We wait."
Everyone in the room was extremely relieved to hear that the small blonde was still alive and would recover. Severus and Remus escorted Harry back to Gryffindor Tower, where Hermione and Ron immediately took him with them and promised to keep an eye on him.
Xander was waiting in Severus and Buffy's quarters when Remus and Severus returned. "I-I just don't want to be alone right now. Albus is sitting with Buffy right now. I thought I'd give him some alone time with her. Minerva's working on getting Giles permission to come and visit her."
Severus nodded. The three men sat in silence for several minutes before Remus called a bottle of firewhisky to them. Over the course of two hours, they told each other memorable stories of Buffy. Eventually, the trio passed out and fell asleep on the couch in Buffy and Severus's common room.
Noise from the fireplace woke them up in the morning. Giles had arrived. Giles came at Severus from the first second out of the fireplace. "Bastard! You set that up! You told the Death Eaters what you were doing! You could have helped her, could have saved her, but you didn't!" he yelled.
Xander was the one who got between Severus, who wasn't attempting to defend himself, and Giles, who looked like he would have been perfectly happy to kill the Potions Master then and there. "Giles. GILES! Stop. Now. Severus would never hurt Buffy. Never. He loves her more than Angel or Spike or Riley ever did. Or they did combined. You know Buffy, better than most of us. She told him not to help her. She knew it would probably get him killed. The last thing Buffy needed was another death happening if she could have prevented it. Even if Severus didn't die helping her, she probably would have done the deed herself for scaring her," Xander pleaded.
Giles stopped, breathing heavily, and glanced at Severus, who looked completely heartbroken. "Good god, Sev, Xander's right. I've never seen that look on anyone's face. You really love her. Merlin, I didn't know you were capable of it…" He drifted off before abruptly pulling Severus into a hug.
"I'll take you to see her," Severus offered. Remus and Xander were left sitting on the couch.
"Am I really imagining things or did that really just happen?" Remus asked, clutching his head.
"I'm pretty sure that did just happen."