Albus Dumbledore stood in the unused dungeon not far from the Potion's Classroom. Lying before him on several slaps was the remains of a creature he couldn't identify, as well the various remains of the three undead dogs that had helped him, minus the intact torso and head which Severus was examining. It was paramount that they identify the poison in the dog's teeth just in case they encountered it again later. All the children were currently being looked at in the Hospital Wing but appeared to have no injuries except the bruise on Dawn Summers' jaw. The large black dog was being looked after by Hagrid but wasn't expected to make it unless Severus could find a cure. Both fallen Aurors had been taken back to the Ministry for case processing as well to notify family members.
Auror Gibbs stood leaning on the wall to his left. To his right was his team consisting of Auror McGee, DiNozzo, Todd and David. At the moment they were waiting for the Ministry Representatives so they could discuss what happened.
The door behind Dumbledore banged open as Rufus Scrimgeour thundered in. He was followed by Fudge, Umbridge, and Bones. The Head of the Aurors Office walked up to the creature on the slab and looked upon it with pure loathing. "I have two dead men. Two dead men with families that won't be going home tonight." He said in a quiet voice. He then rounded on Gibbs and shouted. "What the hell happened out there!"
"Rufus, please calm down..." Fudge began only to fall silent when the in raged man looked at him.
The Senior American Auror stepped up to Scrimgeour and held out his hand. "Leroy Gibbs."
The British Head Auror looked down at the offered hand for one second before shaking it. He then asked in a forced calm voice. "Your reputation precedes you Gibbs. I'm Head Auror Rufus Scrimgeour. Where you at the engagement?"
"No, I was not. I was doing continuous sweeps with Aurors McGee and Todd while Aurors David and DiNozzo tailed both Potter children discreetly." Gibbs explained while Anthony and Ziva stepped forward.
"I was there sir." Ziva stated. "The objective was to fallow both children without being seen as to not disrupt there outing. I requested two additional Aurors because I was fallowing Harry and believed he would have been Sirius Black's most likely target. I met up with Aurors Marks and Castle just outside the Three Broomsticks before Harry ever made it to Hogsmeade. After spotting the group we began are assignment. The day was peaceful and there was no sign of Black. The children continued their outing never knowing we were there. All went well until the children decided to visit the Shrieking Shack."
"You should have never let them leave the safety of the village." Umbridge said disapprovingly.
"Delores, please let Auror David give her statement." Amelia said annoyed.
"She's right Madam Bones, I should never have let Harry and his friends leave the village." Ziva stated much to Umbridge's satisfaction. "The Demon was most likely tailing all of us and waiting for a time when the children would be vulnerable."
"Are you sure dear. This could have been just a random attack." Cornelius said hopefully.
"How many random demon attacks do you have in Hogsmeade Minister?" Caitlin asked sarcastically.
"I highly believe this was an attempt on Harry's life and not some random attack Cornelius. My main worry is the strength of the creature. Voldemort managed to gain some demon followers during the war, but nothing that comes close to this monster in terms of strength and capability." Dumbledore stated.
"Albus is right. I want to know who had the resources to higher this creature? Could it have been Black?" Bones said while giving Cornelius a look that clearly said shut up. The man was always to worried about political and public backlash to do what was right. He only tried to do whatever made him look good.
"We can worry about that later Amelia." Rufus said. Looking at Ziva he continued. "My men were highly trained combatants. They were two of my best. They've fought Zombies, Inferius, Dark Wizards, Witches, and a large assortment of various Dark Creatures. So how did they die fighting this thing now? I don't see how this engagement could have gone so badly even with an unknown Demon combatant?"
"In some ways the training and experience that we've all had is what killed them. It almost killed me to. If Dawn Summers hadn't been present we all would have died." Ziva stated. "A Dragon is magically resistant, meaning it would take many Wizards firing at the same time to stun one. If fifty Wizards were to fire a Stunner at that monster it still would have had no effect."
Dumbledore looked away from the demon's corpse for the first time sense entering the room to stare at Ziva. "What do you mean Auror David, are you saying it was that strong?"
"Not strong Professor, immune. His body absorbed my Reducto Curse with no signs of damage." Ziva explained.
"Then how did you remove an ear?" Rufus asked.
"Dawn explained that direct magic would have no effect, but indirect magic would. Instead of blowing up his head with Reducto, I levitated a log at his face and blew that up. As for the Undead Dogs they acted completely alive. Reanimated corpses such as Inferius usually have signs that there dead. The eyes are milky white, bodies in random states of decay, or movement is awkward and artificial. The dogs had none of those tells and their eyes even looked alive." Ziva said.
"Yeah, a cleaver trick that raises more questions." McGee stated. Everyone turned to look at him as he pulled a small brightly colored glass eye out of his pocket. "The eyes weren't real which makes me wonder if they could see out of them or was it a hive mind strategy, which means they saw from there master's eyes instead. If we do encounter such dogs again, we can't rely on blinding methods of attack because they may not work unless you target the controller. It's also possible the dogs might be able to work independently of their master and see out of the glass eyes, which possibly means blinding would be an effective strategy. The fact is I've never heard of a walking corpse with a Magical Prosthetic that works before, so they could even have other dangerous modifications."
Both Dumbledore and Gibbs walked up to McGee to examine the glass eye. Dumbledore took it from him and said. "If no one objects I'll look into this possible threat personally. I have an old retired friend from the Auror ranks that could provide some insight."
The room then turned back to Ziva and asked her to continue her debriefing. "Auror Castle fell when he placed himself between the children and the first attack dog, the one that is still mostly whole, and split it with a Severing Charm at the waist as it leaped up at him. The dog was still able to bite his head off as it was already dead and being wounded so grievously did nothing to slow it down as Castle had believed it would.
"How did Marks die?" Amelia asked heavily.
"The creature charged with his two remaining dogs at his side. I was able to use Reducto on both while counting on Marks to block the Demon's sword strike. Marks was able to conjure a simple metal shield from then air, but the demon's sword dissolved it on impact with no resistance at all. Marks was unable to dodge the strike and was split diagonally from his left shoulder to his right side waist." Ziva paused to take a deep breath and gain her composure. "I would have died to, beheaded by the same strike, if Dawn Summers hadn't parried the blow with a shield of her own."
"Marks' shield had no effect, but Ms. Summers' did?" Dumbledore inquired.
"From what I could gather, Auror Marks' shield was a basic Solid Object Conjuring Charm while Mrs. Summers used a Charm I've never seen before. Somehow, she turned light itself into a Construct." Ziva explained. "Do you have the sword, and have you identified the bone used for the hilt?"
"Yes, we have the sword and the dagger. All the creature's effects were taken to the Department Of Mysteries for further analysis, but so far I don't believe we've identified the bone." Cornelius explained.
"Dawn mentioned that it was from something called a Highsp. Does anyone her know what that is?" Ziva asked.
There was nothing but looks of confusion around the room sense no one had ever heard the name. Rufus Scrimgeour decided to wait on that answer as he continued his inquiry about the battle. "I'm guessing in the end you managed to kill the monster, Auror David?"
"No, Ms. Potter appeared and took care of him. The creature tried to get around Dawn for a moment before having the dog torso that killed Castle attack her. I believe a random village stray dog heard the fighting and tried to help. It managed to push Dawn out of the way and take the blow for her on his shoulder. Dawn tried to recover but the demon knocked her across the clearing before she could. Willow appeared in a pillar of fire and forced the creature to retreat back." Ziva explained.
Ziva paused to replay the final few moments of the battle in her head still trying to understand the magic the American Wicca had used. Bones looked at her and asked. "How exactly did Ms. Potter kill the creature?"
"Somehow she was able to endow herself with strength even greater than the creature. The way she knocked him around suggested she was also a much more superior hand to hand fighter. The creature threw his bone dagger at Harry and Ginny, but I was able to levitate the undead dog torso to intercept. The Demon tried to retreat but Willow broke his neck with her enhanced strength." Ziva finished.
The group paused to think upon Ziva's story. Delores looked at her eagerly and asked. "You said Ms. Summers conjured a shield made out of light?"
"Madam Undersecretary, I don't care if it was an Earth Magic Charm she made yesterday. We will not be pressing charges!" Bones said angrily.
"No that's not what I was going for. I was just wondering if we at least knew the Charm used. Auror David stated she cast it with her wand so it must be a known Charm." Umbridge said quickly, genuinely trying to be helpful for once.
"No Delores, we do not. I believe Willow and Dawn have been working with Professor Flitwick in converting some of the wandless Celestial Magic to wands, but I've heard nothing about a light shield." Dumbledore said. "It would also not surprise me in the least if it turned out Ms. Summers invented the Charm herself."
Delores looked from Dumbledore disappointedly to Anthony. "I believe Auror DiNozzo was tailing Ms. Willow. May I ask why you weren't present during the battle?" Umbridge asked giving DiNozzo a smug look. "Perhaps if you had been lives could have been saved."
"It was decided that an Anti Disapparition Ward would be temporarily placed around Hogsmeade. This means someone could Apparate inside but not Disapparate out again, in hopes Sirius Black would accidentally give himself away and be trapped. Willow was walking back to the school when she felt the attack on her brother and teleported using an unknown method. I was forced to follow on foot." Anthony explained in an angry quiet voice.
Just then a knock was heard on the dungeon door. Cornelius answered it as he was closest. Penelope Clearwater stepped in and addressed Dumbledore. "Sorry to both you Headmaster, but there's a Vampire, William Bloody, to see you. He's at the front gate requesting entrance."
"That will be fine dear. Please show him down here." Dumbledore said kindly.
Umbridge looked at the closed door then back at Dumbledore. "Are you mad! How could you allow such an abomination into Hogwarts? Perhaps someone should go with the young girl to make sure she isn't eaten?"
"Delores do shut up already. We have quite enough to be getting on without placating your misplaced hatred." Bones said exasperated. Umbridge really resembled a toad with her mouth opening and closing repeatedly in complete shock.
Everyone waited for Spike to show. Ten minutes later there was another knock on the door and the ensouled vampire walked in.
"Hello, do you know what the hell this thing is." Scrimgeour immediately asked.
Spike gave the man an amused smirk as he stepped inside the room. He walked up to the table to have a look at the body. "Judging by his outfit I'd say he was young minded, which meaning he fancied himself young by Demon standards. There for he probably isn't that old at all by Demon standards. Species doesn't jump out at me though, so he's probably a rare breed. Who fought him?"
"I did. Me and two other Aurors. Dawn Summers helped us, and Willow killed him." Ziva stated.
Spike laughed. "Oh, I was aware Willow killed him. She and Hagrid are the only ones that could have broken his neck. How did it go down?"
Ziva explained the battle from start to finish without interruption. Spike lessened quietly not giving anything away. After Ziva was finished he took a deep unneeded breath to gather his thoughts.
"First, Ziva is correct in assuming that he absorbed magic. When a Demon becomes old or strong enough, even Vampires, they gain this ability. It means, like Dawn told you, direct magic is no longer effective." Spike explained to the group.
"Ehm, I have never heard of a Vampire with such abilities before Mr. Bloody." Delores asked with false sweetness.
"Have any of you ever seen a Vampire that has begun Demonic Decay?" He asked everyone. After only receiving confused looks he continued. "After seven hundred to one thousand years of age, Vampires begin Demonic Decay. The Demonic Soul that makes a corpse into a Vampire becomes too powerful for the vessel to hold, and it must adapt to keep itself from falling apart."
"A Vampire is a corpse and all dead things decay." He continued. "It's just because the Demonic Soul is present it delays the inevitable. When a Vampire begins Demonic Decay they gain the ability to absorb magic, but lose the ability to look human as they begin to resemble a true Demon. The loss of disguise is made up for by the gaining of strength and dark power."
"What of yourself William? Are you immune to magic somewhat?" Dumbledore asked curiously.
"Yes, I suppose, kind of. If I were still human the Reducto Curse that Ziva mentioned would destroy me. As I am now, because my demon is somewhat stronger than average, the Reducto Curse would only remove small chunks. If I were to charge fast enough, I could in theory kill you before you did enough damage with the Curse to stop me." Spike explained.
"Do you know what a Highsp is?" Anthony asked curiously.
"I've heard the name before, possibly Buffy has a weapon made of bone that Giles might have said was Highsp, but I'm not clear on what it is though." The Vampire explained.
Just then there was another knock on the door. Once more being closes Fudge answered it. Coming in from the Hallway was an irritated Madam Pomfrey. "Have any of you seen Ms. Summers or Ms. Potter? They were supposed to wait with everyone else in the Hospital Wing but snuck out when I went to my office."
"Dawn we'll be with the dog that saved her, and Willow will either be with her or she's gone back to where the fight took place." Spike said.
"So, they are down at Hagrid's are they. Thank you sir." Pomfrey said as she stormed out.
"Why would Willow go back to the scene of the fight and why would she go alone?" Gibbs asked angrily. He grabbed his team and they stormed out headed for Hagrid's and possibly Hogsmeade.
Dumbledore looked at the remaining members of the group. "Will you be taking the remains back to the Ministry?"
"Yes Albus, we just want to check with your Potion Master and see if he had made any progress with the poison." Amelia said.
Spike decided to head down to Hagrid's to see about the dog, and the four adult Wizards and one Witch made their way to Snape's private lab. Walking in they saw the long greasy haired man bent over a wooden table full of beakers and burners. Snape was looking threw an ancient book while a cauldron self-stirred over an open fire in the middle of the room.
He looked up as the Ministry Wizards and Headmaster approached him. "Evening, If your here to inquire about the poison I've made no real progress."
"You're one of the best in England. I doubt even Albus could boast to know that much more than you when it comes to potions." Amelia said shocked. "Nothing?"
"No, has the Department Of Mysteries found anything?" Snape inquired.
"At the moment no, we are hoping that at least you might have figured out one or two components, so we'd have something to go on." Scrimgeour explained with a sigh.
"Severus, have you asked Willow or Dawn for help. This may not be something new for them." Dumbledore asked.
"I was on the verge of swallowing my pride and asking third years for help, but they seem to have left the Hospital Wing." Snape said straightening up from the book with an aggravated sigh.
"Albus, we must be getting back to the Ministry. We are expecting the Widows of the two Aurors soon." Fudge said solemnly.
Fudge, Umbridge, Scrimgeour, and Bones said goodbye and left. Dumbledore made his way to his office to continue a letter he was writing to the Board Of Governors, and Snape walked down to the dungeon room where the demon's remains were to pack them up for transport to the Ministry.
Down at Hagrid's Cabin Madam Promfrey had found Dawn rubbing ointment on the dog's injured shoulder. "Really Ms. Summers, you should be resting. Out of the student's involved you are the only one to receive an injury. Professor Hagrid can handle the dog's treatment."
Hagrid stood nervously in the corner and tried to stay out of the argument. He didn't want to tell Pomfrey that Dawn's ointment seemed to be the only thing that had helped the four legged hero so far.
"I have had far worse than a bruised jaw..." Dawn began.
"I know that Ms. Summers!" Poppy shrieked. "You are still a child and in my care. You well head right back to the Castle this instant or I will make you."
The youngest Summers sister just looked at the angry Nurse in shock. She was about to answer when the door to the cabin was flung open. Auror Gibbs stomped in and looked around. After seeing Dawn but no Willow, he rounded on the little Witch and asked. "Where is Willow?"
Dawn looked startled for a second. Hagrid shuffled around nervously before saying. "She's gone up ter Hogsmeade. She wan'ed to 'ave a look over at tha Shrieking Shack."
Gibbs stormed back out into the night. His team fallowed behind him. As Hagrid began to shut the door Spike appeared in the threshold. Looking up at the half Giant he asked. "Can I come in?"
The huge man nodded and stepped back a little. Spike looked annoyed and said. "I need a little more than that Hagrid."
It took a moment for the Magical Creatures Professor to understand the problem. He blushed a little in embarrassment and said. "Right, right, ehm... come in Spike."
The dyed blonde Vampire took a set on an old chair in the corner. Dawn was glad to see him as she had discovered a problem.
"Madam Promfrey, Professor Hagrid, could the two of you step out for a moment so I can have a private word with Spike?" Dawn asked the Hogwarts staff members.
"If it is a medical matter, Ms. Summers, then I insist that you tell me as well." Poppy said sternly.
"It's nothing to do with me, just the dog. I promise I'll go straight back to the Hospital Wing the moment I'm done." Dawn said with a cute smile hoping that it worked on Poppy as well as it did her mom.
Madam Promfrey wasn't fooled in the least but decided that it wouldn't hurt, especially if it got Dawn back in bed. She turned to Hagrid, who was holding the door open, and walked out onto the grounds. Hagrid fallowed her and shut the door.
When they were alone, Dawn turned to Spike and said. "We may have a problem with this dog."
Looking at the comatose mutt Spike asked. "What, he looks like he's doing fine. Did you figure out the poison?"
"Yeah I did. It's a blood based compound that was probably brewed from the Demon's own blood. Not sure what the other compounds are but my ointment should neutralize it. Unfortunately, because I don't know the other compounds it will take time." Dawn said looking at the dog worried.
"What's the problem then? Out of chew toys and dog treats?" Spike joked.
"No, you idiot, this isn't a dog." Dawn said. Spike looked up confused as she continued. "He's what the Wizarding World calls an Animagus, a Wizard or Witch that can turn themselves into an animal at Will."
"So, this is a bloke that was running around town in a dog costume. If that's the case then why didn't he turn human like and cast spells?" Spike asked looking down at the dog.
"There's a few reasons that come to mind and none of them are good. I was very curious about the Animagus transformation and researched it. I know for a fact that there is no large black dog listed with the Ministry. That means he's probably an illegal Animagus." Dawn explained.
"Ok, so what do you want me to do?" Spike asked. He didn't like the fact some unknown man was fallowing the children around town. No telling what he wanted or what his motives were.
Dawn stood ringing her hands and thinking hard. "Take him back to Whitehall Cottage. Drusilla can look after him and I'll send potions and more ointment for his care. He most likely won't regain consciousness until around Christmas, and he won't be strong enough to retake human form for at least another day after that. I just don't want to get him in trouble after he saved my life."
"Fine, will do it your way Dawn, but I'm telling Buffy and the gang at least. Maybe Giles can speed his recovery and we can find out why he was telling you guys in disguise." Spike said still uneasy.
Dawn walked to the door and opened it to inform Hagrid he could have his cabin back. Madam Pomfrey looked at Dawn sternly as if to ask if she was ready to head back. Silently, the young Witch heads for Hogwarts with Mediwitch fallowing close behind her.
As Spike was leaving the front gate with the mock-dog, Gibbs and team were walking up to the Shrieking Shack. They saw as they came to the end of the trail, a circle of lit candles with Willow floating cross legged just above the ground where the trail entered the clearing. Her eyes wear closed, and she was taking deep steady breaths. Not really knowing how to proceed, and being in a bad mood already, Gibbs lead the team straight through the circle of lit candles.
It was a sudden head rush. The American Aurors fell to the ground as a rush of vertigo overtook them. When they climbed unsteadily to their feet they found themselves in the clearing light by sunshine.
There was a shout from the woods as Ziva Screamed look out. Still trying to get their bearings, and realizing they were seeing the past, Team Gibbs watched as the fight took place. Past version Ziva, who just screamed out her warning, charged in to protect past version Harry and his group, fallowed by the two deceased English Aurors.
Willow was floating in front of them still, now with her eyes open, observing the seen. She would raise her hands and pause certain moments, only to resume after she observed some clue she had fixated on. After the replay of past events, the scene faded away to reveal the nighttime Shrieking Shack.
She lowered herself to stand on the ground and turned to look at Team Gibbs. "Are you nuts? You don't just walk into a ritual circle without knowing what's happening. You could have died or killed all of us!"
"What was that? It looked like someone's memory." Gibbs asked angrily. He was the first to truly recover. Aurors David, Todd, and DiNozzo were bent over holding their knees and Auror McGee was on all fours trying not to vomit.
"That wasn't anyone's memory." Willow said. "Memory can be fickle or misleading. That was an unbiased view of the past. I need to see a clear picture of what happened today."
"Did you discover anything new?" Ziva asked finally straightening up still taking deep breaths.
"Yes. The first Auror that died, Castle, placed himself between my brother and Ginny. The force of his Severing Charm changed the dog's trajectory, which coast the pour man his head. Had this not been the case than Fido would have bitten Ginny. Also, the dagger was headed straight for her as well." Willow said.
"Hold on." DiNozzo said. "Your saying are assassin was after Ginny, not Harry?"
"Yes, Auror DiNozzo that is exactly what I'm saying." Willow stated as she continued to stare at the blood stained ground. The Wicca stood there in dark wondering who could possibly want Ginny dead, and have the resources to hire the Order Of Taraka. The assassins came in threes, this wasn't over.