Chapter 18: Minerva and Athena

A week later found Buffy's condition unchanged. Giles had received permission to remain at Hogwarts provided he wore a collar which both prevented any use of magic and contained a poison that would be released should he attempt to remove it. Even Severus argued that it was overkill for a man who had done so much on the side of good.

Everyone at Hogwarts felt the loss of Professor Summers. Her bed in the hospital wing was surrounded by flowers and chocolates and she had received dozens of visits from students from all houses. Giles and Severus had intercepted a few Slytherin children who had tried to sneak in harmful spells. Three of the Death Eaters that Buffy had killed were parents of Hogwarts students.

Harry was a ghost of his former self. He functioned, but did little more. Hermione and Ron made sure he went to all his classes. Remus was present at all Quidditch practices because the professors were afraid that he'd be too reckless. All of the professors understood what Harry was going through, even Severus. While Severus was more curt than normal towards most of his students, he appeared to take Harry under his wing.

Poppy was at a loss as to what to do. "Most spells don't effect her. The Killing Curse is apparently the only one. And even that didn't kill her. I can't use my medicine, Muggle medicine has no cures for this. I don't know what to do," she lamented when Giles went to speak with her.

"Could we remove her necklace?" Giles mused, gesturing to the necklace that bound her magic.

Dumbledore told them, "No. Her magic is uncontrolled and dangerous when she's conscious. We have no way of tellling what she might do subconsciously."

Giles eventually stepped in to help with the DADA classes, Remus was happy to have him to help. The classes were not as physical as Buffy's were, but Giles made sure that they got the book-knowledge that Buffy had always shown some disdain for. These children were not Buffy and would benefit from more knowledge of their opponents.

Three weeks after the attack, Xander came running into Severus's sixth-year Gryffindor-Slytherin potions class. He grabbed Severus and Harry and ran out. Severus called out, "Put your things away and do your homework. If I see one cauldron dirty or see one potion completed, your House will lose all the points they have earned this year!"

Buffy's condition had changed. Finally. Her heart was beating stronger and she seemed to be regaining consciousness. The lacerations from the attack had healed, but the broken bones were still healing. The site of the curse strike was likewise still healing, having burnt most of the flesh from the site. "Harry…" she mumbled as Severus and Harry ran in.

"Yes, Buffy?" Harry said, wanting to alert her of his presence.

Buffy opened her eyes more fully and tried to focus on the boy in front of her. "Harry! Oh thank God, you okay! Is Severus okay too? Please say he didn't do something dumb and help me? Revealing his spy status would have been so totally dumb. I would have killed him myself. What the hell happened to my back? Hurts like a bitch. Giles! Why are you here?" she asked, babbling like Willow used to.

"Well…uh…" Giles managed, unable to come up with a good answer.

"I didn't die again did I?" she asked.

Severus grumbled, "Nearly."

Poppy started ordering people around at that. "Everyone but Albus, Mr. Giles, and Buffy, out. Wait twenty minutes and you can see her."

The crowd slowly followed her orders. "Giles, tell me what happened," Buffy demanded.

"Buffy, well…you got hit with the Killing Curse, which is, apparently, the only curse in the Wizarding world that we know of that can hurt you," Giles told them.

She asked, "So, I'm here now. Clearly it isn't the 'Killing' curse, soo…"

"For anyone but you, it would be. It killed Harry's parents. But…you have broken the rules yet again, thank Merlin. You've been out for three weeks. Harry's fine. He didn't get a scratch on him. So's Severus. We all are."

"Good. So when can I get out of here?"

"Buffy, you nearly died. You can't just get up and leave. We have no idea of the consequences of the curse on your body," Poppy told her.

She scoffed and replied, "It's not like I'm going that far or I'll be alone. You know that. I have half a dozen friends who wouldn't leave me alone if I begged." Giles had to nod at that.

"Ms. Summers, you may leave this hospital wing tomorrow, after I have observed you for the next twelve hours. It's not that long. Please?" she finally pleaded.

"Okay," Buffy agreed, "I'll stay. As long as you let people stay here as they want. You know Sev and Harry and Giles here will pester you anyway."

Poppy nodded her head, giving into the young woman's wishes. "Sometimes, my dear, you seem ages older than you appear."

Buffy's eyes acquired that faraway look that they did when she was remembering things long past as she said, "I know."

Poppy then did a full scan of Buffy and reported, "She's fine, except for the burn on her back, which will take a while to heal completely. Oh, and she's also dehydrated and malnourished, but that will come back quickly. So long as she eats."

"Which I will, as much as I was before the curse, at least," she conceded. Poppy knew this was as much as she was going to get from Buffy.

Finally, the others were allowed back in. They all nearly fell over each other trying to get in. Harry reached her first, hugging her with all of his strength, but somehow managing to avoid the burn. "Buffy, I was afraid…" he cried.

"Shh..it's okay, I'm fine, see, fine. Harry, I'm a good bit harder to kill than anyone you know," she tried to assure him.

He continued, "B-but it's my fault. You were protecting me, I could have helped you."

"Harry, I've had too many deaths fall on my shoulders. You would have been just as dead as anyone else had you been there. You helped me. If anything would have happened to any of you, I would have died," she told him earnestly while glaring at Severus, who looked tempted to scold the Boy-Who-Lived.

This seemed to both shock and comfort Harry. Once the boy had calmed down enough, Giles coaxed him into his arms while Severus got his chance to speak with her. "Buffy, you crazy, insane woman, what were you thinking?" Severus scolded her, then silenced her retort with a soft kiss. "When can I take you back to your proper room?" he asked.

"Poppy's making me stay till tomorrow morning. But you can stay too," she told him, her eyes pleading with him to stay. He knew as well as anyone about her fear of hospitals. A slight grin told her that he would, but then it was back to his sour face. "Sev, you can smile around them. They won't tell anyone," she whispered loudly enough for everyone to hear.

Xander replied, "What do you mean we won't tell anyone, we'll tell everyone. It'll make the headlines. 'Potions Master Severus Snape Smiles at Girlfriend.' Yeah, like they'd believe that."

At that, Severus put on a maniacal smile just for a second, much to Harry's surprise. Everyone burst out laughing.

Harry, Severus, and Giles all took advantage of Buffy's bargaining with Poppy to sleep near their friend for the night. Giles had a bed on one side of her, Severus on the other, with Harry's bed next to his. Severus and Buffy fell asleep holding hands. Actually, Buffy fell asleep long before her love, who stayed awake for quite a while, watching her sleep.

The next morning saw Buffy released from the Hospital Wing. Giles was to spend the day with her, as the others had classes during the day. "Giles, tell me about your new home," she asked him.

He began, "I bought it hoping that you and Xander would come and visit. Really, it's just a little cottage on the beach. Big enough for three people for a week, but small enough that I can manage it. I'm close enough to the village that I can go in and get books. The National Archives have hired me to translate their ancient texts."

"How is that?"

The true nerd in Giles came out as he gushed, "They've sent me about ten projects so far…nothing nearly as difficult as translating some of those codices from Egypt, but still rather challenging. I've had to brush up on my Sanskrit and hieroglyphs. Did you know that they regard me as something of an authority on Sumerian translations?"

"Congratulations, Giles," Buffy told him, embracing him in a heartfelt hug, "You're enjoying yourself? Find anyone special?"

"I've actually gotten to know the Squib sister of one of my Hogwarts mates recently. She runs the record store in town," he said, somewhat sheepishly.

"Which friend?"

"Umm…Minerva," Giles admitted.

"What's her name? Age? What's she look like? Tell me everything," Buffy demanded.

"Athena McGonagall. She's my age exactly. Her hair is short and light brown with the most piercing blue eyes. About Xander's height. Went to school at Cambridge, got a degree in Ancient Art History."

"So bonding over all things dusty?"

"Y-yes, indeed," he stuttered, pulling his glasses of his face to clean. No doubt, Buffy was still the same girl he met all those years ago. Changed, but still the same girl.

"When will I get to meet her?"

"Soon. Minerva wanted us to come to the Yule Ball this year since Dumbledore is working on getting me pardoned."

"That's in what? Six weeks?" Buffy asked.

"Five."

"Can Xand and I come and meet her next weekend?" she tried.

"I…I don't think that it would be a good idea. The Death Eaters have kept a close eye on Hogwarts. Even Athena is under protection from the Aurors. And, of course, some Wiccan stuff too. But you, my dear, you have become a thorn in Voldemort's side. More like a hot poker, perhaps, but he is gunning for you."

"Not the-"

"First time, I know. But Voldemort has far more resources than any of your past enemies. Even Angelus or Glory."

Buffy's face fell as she realize his implication. "So Harry, Sev, and Xander can't leave either? You can't leave?"

"I'm afraid not. Not until the stir over your survival has died down or Voldemort is dead," Giles admitted.

"Giles…I'll go stir-crazy. I won't have anything to do. Can I at least go to the Forbidden Forest?" she pleaded.

"Perhaps once all of your wounds have healed completely," he relented, knowing that Buffy would go without his permission if he was too strict with her.

"Good. Now would you like to help me with grading DADA essays?"

"What's the topic?" her Watcher inquired.

"What they think would be the most effective martial art against Death Eaters," she replied, "It's for First-Years, so I'm letting them have a lot of freedom. I more want them to explore what is available to them. They're too young to really defend themselves at this point anyways."

"Ah, well, then, of course I'd love to help you."

And that was how Severus found them two hours later, grading a stack of DADA essays and howling with laughter over some of the more ridiculous ideas put forth by the students.

"Pray tell, what is so amusing?" Severus asked Buffy.

Buffy wordlessly handed the essay over to her boyfriend who took a few minutes to read it before he too began laughing.

"He's not all that far off…but his reasoning is a bit…" Severus managed between laughter.

Buffy finished for him, "Insane. I mean, I agree with his logic until the second half."

The laughter died down eventually and then Buffy asked, "Can we go to dinner now?"

"Love, are you sure you want to go to the Great Hall? I mean, you've only been awake for a day," Severus asked, surprised at her request.

Buffy nodded emphatically, "I've already missed a week. We only have four more weeks till Holiday Break, then I'll be laid up for a couple of weeks."

"Well then, let's get going," Severus said, extending an arm to his girlfriend. Giles followed behind them.