Chapter 5: Petrified
One of Dawn and Willow's lessons they arranged for Angel to come. They had magically darkened the windows and then opened a portal for him to come through.
"This is Angel," Dawn said. "Our next lesson will revolve around him. Angel if you could go into gameface."
Angel nodded as his demonic visage became visible.
"Before anyone begins to worry about Angel being a vampire. First let it be known that Professor Dumbledore himself approved this lesson," Willow said. "Second Angel is different from common vampires, he has a soul. Which keeps his demon in check. He is one of only two vampires to ever have a soul."
"Angel received his soul," Dawn said. "Thanks to a Romani curse. The Romani are gypsies, but don't go calling them that to their faces. The term gypsy has become offensive to them. How long ago Angel did they curse you?"
"A hundred and fourteen years ago," Angel said.
"Angel did not join our side at first. At first his soul tormented him," Willow said. "It was not till 1996 that Angel was approached by the messenger of a higher being. We refer to them as the Powers that Be. This messenger sent Angel on his path to redemption."
"Redemption?" Harry asked.
"Yes," Angel said. "What first started with Dawn's sister in Sunnydale, California. Led me on a path to helping the helpless against others of my kind as well as the demonic forces bent to end our world."
"Now we want to see how much you know," Dawn said. "What will ward a vampire off?"
"Garlic," said Neville.
"Myth," Angel said. "Garlic has no more effect on us than it has on you. The vampires that are repulsed by it are ones that disliked the smell of it when they were still human."
"A cross," said Harry.
"That one is fact," Dawn said. "To a degree anyways. While a cross will ward off a vampire. It has more to do with your faith. If you're not the religious type the cross will not work as well for you as someone who is a religious zealot. That said though as I mentioned it will still ward off a vampire long enough for you to turn and run. What can kill a vampire?"
"Fire?" Hermione asked hesitantly. After Dawn had said Lockharts book was fake she had gone to the library and done some research.
"Yes," Willow said. "Fire does work. The problem with fire is being able to set a vampire a flame."
"Vampires," Angel said, "tend to shy away from fire."
"A wooden stake to the heart," Justin Finch Finley said.
"Stake to the heart is the most common," Dawn said. "Most humans muggle or wizard do not have the strength to shove a wooden stick into a vampire's heart. Which brings us to the person chosen to fight them."
"The Slayer," Willow said. "We do not know exactly when the First Slayer was created. We do know that the First Slayer was embued with the heart of a demon. Which gave the Slayer her strength, her agility, her speed, her improved senses. The Slayer is born to fight the darkness. And the Slayer most times is a muggle with no magical training. Till recently no witch had ever become a Slayer. That is until Dawn. Dawn is a Slayer and a witch."
"How I was called is a long complicated discussion," Dawn said. "That I think I will leave for another time."
"Next time we will be talking about werewolves," Willow said as the bell rang and everyone filed out.
"Thanks for coming, Angel," Dawn said.
"You're welcome," Angel said. "Tell Buffy I said hello."
"We will," Willow said as she opened a portal and Angel stepped through it.
Willow and Dawn woke early on Saturday morning and lay for a while thinking about the coming Quidditch match. Other than the practice session the Slytherins had interrupted they had yet to see much of Quidditch.
They eventually got up, dressed, and went down to breakfast early, where they found the Gryffindor team huddled at the long, empty table, all looking uptight and not speaking much.
As eleven o'clock approached, the whole school started to make its way down to the Quidditch stadium. It was a muggy sort of day with a hint of thunder in the air.
Dawn and Willow hurried over to Harry the moment they spotted him and wish him luck just before Ron and Hermione came up to them doing the same.
As Dawn and Willow sat with Hermione, Ron and Hagrid they watched as the Gryffindor team walked out onto the field, a roar of noise greeted them
Flint and Wood shook hands.
"On my whistle," said Madam Hooch. "Three… two… one…"
With a roar from the crowd to speed them upward, the fourteen players rose toward the leaden sky. Harry flew higher than any of them, squinting around for the Snitch.
Willow watched and frowned at Malfoy as he shot underneath Harry. Then she saw it a heavy black Bludger went pelting toward Harry; who avoided it narrowly. "That was close."
Dawn had to nod in agreement as George streaked past Harry and hit the bludger toward a member of the Slytherin team, but the Bludger changed direction in midair and shot straight for Harry again.
Harry dropped quickly to avoid it, and George managed to hit it hard toward Malfoy. Once again, the Bludger swerved like a boomerang and shot at Harry's head.
"Hagrid," Willow said. "Is that supposed to do that?"
Hagrid shook his head. "No. That bludger has to have been tampered with."
"How?" Hermione said. "Their locked in Madam Hooch's office when not used for practice or a match."
Harry put on a burst of speed and zoomed toward the other end of the field. The bludger continued to follow him.
Fred Weasley was waiting for the Bludger at the other end. Harry ducked as Fred swung at the Bludger with all his might; the Bludger was knocked off course.
For a moment it looked like the Bludger had finally been detered from its target. Then as though it was magnetically attracted to Harry, the Bludger pelted after him once more and Harry was forced to fly off at full speed.
Dawn looked to Willow and made her way around the stands to Madam Hooch who hovered near the teacher's box. "Madam Hooch. That Bludger has been tampered with."
"Impossible," Madam Hooch said without taking her eyes off what was going on just the rain started to come down. "Their locked in my office when not in use. No one could have tampered with it."
"Then explain to me how that Bludger keeps following Harry and no one else," Willow said as she came beside Dawn.
Madam Hooch looked briefly at Willow and Dawn and then at the Bludger in question and blew her whistle. "This match is suspended till determination can be made on an Bludger that may have been tampered with, however impossible that may be."
"I'll cast a spell and freeze it where it is," Dawn said as Madam Hooch nodded. She looked toward the Bludger. "Kali, Hera, Thonic; air like nectar thick as onyx. Cassiel by your second star, hold my victim as in tar."
The Bludger halted in midair as Madam Hooch approached it. Dawn and Willow could see she that she had pulled out her wand and waved it over the Bludger a frown coming over her face. She flew back to Dawn.
"There is magic involved," Madam Hooch said. "Beyond just your spell now. It has not been tampered with but is being magically controlled none the less by someone here in the stands."
"Is this rogue Bludger," Dumbledore said as he approached them. "A danger to the students?"
"Only Harry it seems," Willow said. "It's chasing him only. And all attempts to knock it away are futile. It just resumes chasing him."
Dumbledore nodded and he raised his wand and pointed it at the Bludger. "Finite!" he said as the bludger exploded. "Madam Hooch will get a backup Bludger and the game will resume momentarily."
Ten minutes later the game resumed with the backup Bludger. The new Bludger did not have the same problems its predecessor did and the game proceeded as normal with Harry catching the snitch and winning the game.
The next day Harry led Hermione and Ron into Willow and Dawn's office.
"Harry?" Dawn said.
"You remember when Ron and I missed the train," Harry said as Dawn nodded. "It was this house elf by the name of Dobby. He stopped the barrier from letting us through."
"Why?"
"Apparently to keep me safe," Harry said. "Then yesterday, the Bludger, he did that."
"Why?" Hermione wondered.
"Again to keep me safe," Harry said.
"What a way to keep you safe, grievously injured and at home with your aunt and uncle," Ron said.
"I know," Harry said. "He then let slip about the Chamber of Secrets being open. But he clammed up before I could get more out of him."
"Ah good you both are here."
They turned to see Dumbledore standing in the doorway.
"Dawn, Harry with me, please," he said. "Mr. Weasley, Ms. Granger please return to your common room for now. I will let Harry send for you later."
Hermione and Ron looked at each other and then turned and left.
"What is it, Professor?" Harry asked as he and Dawn followed Dumbledore out of the room and down the corridor.
"There has been another attack," Dumbledore said.
Harry looked at Dawn and then realization struck him. "Dawn, where is Willow?"
"I don't know," Dawn said. "She went to the library late last night to read up some more on basilisks so I know how to kill it. She never came back. I thought she might be in our office and that was where you found me, looking for her."
They entered the hospital wing to find Madam Pomfrey standing over a bed. It was not till they came up besides the healer they saw who it was … Willow.
"She has been petrified," Dumbledore said. "She was carrying this …" he held up a small compact mirror. "I assume she was using it to look around corners so that she would not look directly at the basilisk. She must have caught it's eyes in the mirror … and ,,,"
Harry and Dawn nodded in understanding as they sat in chairs on either side of the bed that Willow's petrified body laid upon.
"As soon as the mandrakes are ready," Dumbledore said. "She will be restored."
"Thank you, Albus," Dawn said as she looked at Willow tears falling from her eyes.
"This also confirms our suspicions," said Dumbledore, "that the Chamber of Secrets is indeed open again."
Author's Note: Seven reviews for the first two chapters and then nothing at all for chapters three and four. What happened folks? With the number I got for the first two I would have thought there would have been at least one or two each for three and four not nothing at all.
