All About The Blood

Students from all four Houses crowded the entranceway that led from the main stairs into the Great Hall. As the Slytherins exited from the door leading to the dungeons, they heard a commotion coming from the main stairs. Buffy's group paused, craning their necks to look up.

Making their way to breakfast was a crowd of rowdy Gryffindors, girls and boys all laughing, shouting and pushing one another. The Slytherin boys around Buffy groaned, and she heard several sarcastic comments made at their rival House's expense.

Ignoring them, Buffy examined the group on the stairs. Hagrid stood out. Despite his youth, his large size made him hard to miss as he towered over the heads of the other students. Seeing Buffy smiling, he grinned at her shyly, then reddened and looked away. Not wanting to embarrass him in front of his friends, Buffy turned away to check out the rest of the group. Was Caradoc amongst them? She spotted the familiar golden head amongst a group of older students and bounced up and down on her toes, waving. Heads turned in her direction, including a certain dark-haired Slytherin whose deep blue eyes narrowed as he took in the exchange whilst up on the stairs, Caradoc grinned and waved.

His eyes still on her, Caradoc didn't notice the Gryffindor boy next to him. Bringing his hands up fast, the boy shoved Caradoc hard into the bannister. The golden-haired boy fell sideways, hitting the spindles with his hip and clutching at the railing to keep his feet. Quickly righting himself, Caradoc turned angrily on the other boy.

"His friend disapproves of your friendship," Antonin Dolohov said to Buffy, his mouth too close to Buffy's ear for comfort. "The feud that Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor started almost a thousand years ago continues on. It is better not to make friends from that House. Safer for all."

Buffy regarded him sourly. "I'm sure most Gryffindors and Slytherins are capable of friendship without going mad axe murderer on each other."

Dolohov let out a soft huff of amusement. "You'd be surprised. The Magical World clings to traditions and dislikes change for the sake of change." He looked back up towards where Caradoc was berating his friend. "But is it wise to continue this friendship? Caradoc Dearborn went to Durmstrang. They teach -."

"The Dark Arts there," said Buffy, completing the sentence for him. "I know. Tom told me." Despite Tom's apology to her and Caradoc, she hadn't forgotten how angry Tom had been. Nor had she forgotten how fast Caradoc had drawn his wand against an unarmed boy.

As she said Riddle's name, she looked around to see where he'd gone. She eventually spotted him and Malfoy on the opposite side of the hallway. Malfoy looked unhappy. Why? The pair of them had been acting oddly since the Quidditch conversation. If there was less noise in here, she'd have a better chance of eavesdropping on their conversation.

She was so intent on the two of them that when Dolohov clamped a hand on her shoulder, she jumped.

"Can we speak privately?" he asked, looking shifty. "It's important."

"Over there's fine." Buffy nodded to a stretch of wall between two statues. They'd be out of the way there but still in view of others. The corners of Dolohov's mouth turned downwards, no doubt thinking the place wasn't secluded enough for a tête a tête. It was tough, she'd no intention of going off somewhere with him. The guy totally creeped her out.

Resting her shoulder against the cool castle wall, she watched Tom and Malfoy enter the Great Hall, then smiled when Uma and Fiona paused alongside them. Her roommates looked from Buffy to Dolohov, uncertainly.

Buffy called, "I'll follow you two in. Save me some breakfast, Fee."

Fiona grinned, and when they'd gone out sight, Buffy turned to the boy next to her. His dark brown eyes had never left her face, and he was looking at her so intently Buffy wondered if he was going to ask her on a date. Since slimeballs weren't her type, he was headed for disappointment.

He leaned closer, his face grim as he said, "What I'm about to tell you isn't a secret, but neither is it common knowledge. I'd feel better if you promised me you won't reveal who you heard it from."

Buffy felt puzzled. "Sure, I won't say a thing." If this wasn't about being asked on a date, what was it about?

Dolohov waited until a group off chattering Hufflepuffs passed, then continued, "You need to be careful of Tom Riddle."

Buffy almost let out a laugh. Was this a joke? "Careful of Tom?" she repeated. Falling back into her dumb blonde persona, she added, "Why? What has He-Who-Wears-The-Shiniest-Prefect-Badge done?"

"Don't let Riddle fool you." Dolohov's deep brown eyes bore into her. "He is neither helpful nor a sweet, kind boy."

Buffy gaped at him. Had he been over-indulging on one of Slughorn's dodgier potions? If you left out the part where he'd glued her homework to the desk almost causing her to burn the library down, the Tom she knew was sarcastic, bordering on rude. He was stubborn and at times he was one big-headed jerk. Of course, Buffy had eyes. Tom was easy on the eye, fun to be with, intelligent, and had a touch of brooding darkness about him that drew her to him.

Dolohov took her drooling silence for shock. "It surprises you. I swear what I am saying is true, he is hiding a very unpleasant side to his personality. Those that share his dorm, Malfoy, Avery, and Nott have all been subjected to at least one episode of Riddle's wrath."

"Riddle's Wrath? I can hear the capitalisation," she replied pertly. "Aren't we being a little overly?"

"Overly what? Overly dramatic?" Dolohov asked. "Indeed not. His roommates leaned of Riddle's vindictiveness in their first year. When Riddle was sorted into Slytherin with them they played the usual pranks on him."

"What did they do?" she asked. Whatever it was, Tom wouldn't have liked it. She already knew how sensitive he was to insults and slights, real or perceived. He'd sulked for days when he'd thought she hadn't returned to the orphanage to visit him.

"The pranks were nothing... how did you put it? Ah, yes... overly." Dolohov leaned back against the wall, keeping one eye out for Riddle yet always watching the effect of his words on Buffy. "His roommates simply added an extra ingredient to his food, urinated on his belongings, set fire to his bed curtains while he was slept..."

"Just the mild stuff, then," Buffy replied, her voice neutral and keeping anger off her face. Those weren't pranks. What did the Purebloods think was going too far? Gouging another kid's eyes out with a wooden spoon? Throwing them off the castle's battlements? This wasn't hazing, this was bullying a kid who had no family to support him. "I take it, Tom complained to Slughorn?"

Dolohov stared at Buffy as if she'd grown an extra head. "Slytherins don't seek justice, they strike back!"

"So Tom went all revenge-y?" Silently, Buffy cheered. She hoped he'd done something really nasty and made every one of them suffer.

"He used his fists like Mudblood filth," Dolohov spat. "No Wizard worth a Knut uses their fists once they're at Hogwarts..."

Buffy flinched. A Slayer fought with any weapon available, including her fists. These kids were going to hate her if they ever found out.

Dolohov continued, "...Riddle soon realised he was acting like a pathetic Muggle and turned to his real power – his magic. It was then that we realised he'd an affinity with the Dark Arts."

"Yeah? What happened?"

"Malfoy's broomstick caught fire."

"Shaaame," Buffy drawled, struggling to keep a straight face. Abraxas loved his broomstick and setting it on fire was a great way to get revenge.

"Malfoy didn't find it so amusing, he was flying it at the time," Dolohov replied, irritated Buffy wasn't as horrified as he'd hoped she'd be. "The flames set Malfoy's trousers on fire and he panicked. If it wasn't for Dumbledore's well-aimed water spell, there might never be another generation of Malfoy."

"Oh... that's bad luck," Buffy replied. She guessed it was Malfoy who'd set fire to Tom's bed. "What happened with Avery?"

"Severe incontinence. It took Madam Bones a while to come up with the counter-curse. We think Riddle must have found a very old and obscure hex to use. It was never linked back to him, just like the fire jinx."

Avery had to have been the one peeing on Tom's stuff. "And Nott?" she asked. "What happened with him?"

"We aren't totally sure. The healers think a snake bit him whilst he was asleep." Dolohov's eyes flicked nervously towards the Great Hall, almost as if he expected Tom to march from the doorway with a large snake draped around his shoulders. "Nott's body swelled, his skin turned black and bits began flaking off. He spent most of his Christmas holidays in a St Mungo's ward regrowing his skin."

"How did the snake get into the dorm?" Buffy asked. It was hard keeping a boggart hidden, she had no idea how Tom kept a poisonous snake undetected. "Where did he keep it? Is there a snake pit somewhere in the castle? And how did the snake know who to attack?"

"It knew who to attack because Tom is a par-." Dolohov broke off, glaring at Buffy for how he'd almost revealed a secret. He backtracked. "He could have found it in the Forbidden Forest."

"In winter? What kind of snake was it?" Buffy went on, letting her disbelief show. "Lovell told me there's only one poisonous snake native to the British Isles and it hibernates in winter."

Dolohov was irritated. "It may have been purchased on a trip to Hogsmeade. Look, at the end of the day, does it matter where it came from!"

"I'd prefer knowing," Buffy replied relentlessly. She was enjoying baiting Dolohov. "I don't want a snake slithering into my room in the middle of the night. We have enough problems with the Grindylows trying to get in." Struggling to keep a straight face, she asked, "Where does Tom keep his snake?"

Dolohov's face darkened, his cheeks turned an unflattering shade of purple. "HOW SHOULD I KNOW ABOUT HIS SNAKE!"

Students looked over, and Dolohov lowered his voice. "Look, the whole point is... Riddle was only eleven years old and he made a beeline for the darker hexes. The darker the hex the harder it is to cast. You have been told that for any spell to be successful you need intent? For the darker hexes you need to wish the person harm with every fibre of your being for it to work. This is what defines a dark Wizard, the ability to cast a harmful spell on his fellow Wizard or Witch. Most do not have it in them, yet it came easily to Riddle. I'd wager Riddle would take on Grindelwald if he stood in his way."

That didn't impress Buffy. "Yeah? If I find Grindelwald is behind the attack on my mom, I'll take him on as well."

"Then you're an idiot!" scoffed Dolohov. "What could you do against powerful Dark Wizards like Von Kendrick and Grindelwald? Cast a Patronus and hope they'll run away?"

"I've got skills!" she exclaimed.

"In what?" he snapped. "I've been told you are hopeless where curses and counter-curses are concerned!"

That hurt. She spent a lot of time studying and was working through the curriculum, but there was still a lot she needed to learn. Feeling out of sorts with him, Buffy asked, "Why are you telling me this? Aren't you all best buddies now?"

"We aren't his friends, we're his knights!" Realising what he'd just admitted, Dolohov grabbed her wrist, his tightening cruelly. "I've taken a chance warning you about Riddle. You must heed it."

Buffy looked down at the hand clamped around her wrist with revulsion. She could sense Dolohov's magic and her own rose, wild and angry, demanding to be released. Buffy swallowed, pushing back at it and refusing to let anger dictate her actions. Dolohov wasn't a demon to slay. She couldn't around hexing people for being obnoxious and having tainted magic. She wasn't a dark Wizard like Grindelwald.

Something told Dolohov that he was pushing his luck. The peevish expression vanished; he let go of her wrist and dragged his fingers through his dark hair – ruffling it.

"I apologise," he said, his voice shaky. "I...I should have known this was a waste of my time. I saw your face in the library when you were arguing with Riddle. I knew then that despite your anger you'd fallen for him."

Buffy said nothing. Knowing a Slytherin trying to save his face and regain lost ground when she saw one.

"I'll go." He turned and as he strode off, Buffy heard him mutter under his breath. She couldn't hear the first part of the sentence, but she clearly heard the latter part of it. "...it's all about your blood."

Moving out into the corridor, Buffy mulled over his words. Why was he talking about her blood?

'It's all about the blood...' Lifeblood, taking blood, spilling blood, her sister's blood, blood being the key...

The wordstriggered memories, once more, Buffy's surroundings grew hazy and indistinct as scenes from the past played out in her head...

There was the swirling energy vortex, the high tower, the rushing wind against her face as she took the fateful leap. And then, another image replaced it. One that she hadn't seen before... could never have seen... not whilst she'd still been alive.

A grave marker flashed into her mind...

'Buffy Anne Summers

Beloved sister, devoted friend

She saved the world, a lot.'

Heart banging wildly in her chest, Buffy closed her eyes and pressed the palms of her hands against her face. No! No, she could not have seen this. This wasn't right. Why was she seeing it?

The image of the gravestone vanished, to be replaced by Willow's face.

In the hallway, she stumbled. People stared over and whispered. A group of Ravenclaws began to giggle as they watched the newest Lovegood blunder around with her eyes closed.

Buffy floated above the graveyard watching a ritual taking place below her.

"Osiris!" cried Willow, "Here lies the warrior of the people! LET HER CROSS OVER!"

She doubled over, heaving. To Buffy's horror, something protruded from her friend's mouth. She floated downwards for a closer look and saw that it was a snake. The snake's black eyes glinted in the candlelight as it stared directly at Buffy.

Could it see her? Had this really happened after her death? Or was the scene a metaphor for something?

Willow heaved again, and the snake dropped from her mouth. It took a last look at Buffy before slithering away.

What had her friends done? She'd been dead so long that the grass had covered her grave and a headstone had been erected. Surely, they'd realised this ritual was dangerous?

Buffy opened her eyes. The light shining through the windows felt too strong for her eyes, the sound of voices and tramping feet hurt her ears, and from all around came the pulse of ancient magic. It was too much. Her Slayer senses overloaded.

Putting her hands over her ears to drown out the sounds, she closed her eyes tight and hurried off in the direction she hoped the main doors were in. Students pushed against her. Buffy was turned around and turned around again, until she lost all sense of direction.

She'd lived a non-magical life until Von Kendrick had come along. Was Lovell's theory correct? Had the Dark Wizard's spell combined with the resurrection spell and the one to contain her magic? The Power of three spells hitting her... If only she knew what spell Von Kendrick had used? She had to remember...

A green light flashed behind her eyelids.

Green light1 Afterwards, there'd been... nothing. She'd woken underground and dug her way out to start a new life. In a way, it felt as if she'd been reborn. Reborn as a Slayer and a Witch.

Buffy opened her eyes and found the world had become normal once more. The lights and sounds around her were at a manageable level and the pounding magic had faded into the background.

She was also nowhere near the main doors.

Fine, she could do this. It was just another weird day in Buffy-land. All she had to do was figure out who the Big Bad was and what her blood had to do with it. Compared to what she'd been through in the past, it was no big.

Buffy set off for the Great Hall, looking for the one person she could trust here – Lovell. She'd only gone a few steps when a wave of dizziness hit her and sent her colliding into a tall, haughty Ravenclaw girl. The bag Buffy carried over her shoulder was knocked. It fell, contents spilling out all over the floor.

Buffy watched with a curious detachment as her books dropped onto the stone flags, an inkwell clattered , then rolled away, and a boy stepped onto her favourite quill. Students stared over, some sniggering as they watched her scrabble to gather up her things.

The Ravenclaw girl she'd bumped into glared, making no attempt to help her. "Watch where you're going, Squib!"

Still feeling spaced out, Buffy crouched and began to gather up her books. "Sorry," she said. "Must have Wrackspurts fluttering in my head."

"You're nuts!" the girl said over her shoulder as she hurried off to her friends. Buffy heard her say, "That Slytherin first year is bonkers!"

First year? First year!? Buffy rocked back on her heels, horrified. "I totally don't look like a first-year!" she wailed. Was it the ponytail? Did it make her look like a kid? She'd been going for cute, not kindergarten. Did she have time to go back to the dungeons and do a restyle?

"Buffy?" Lovell called, pushing his way through a group of students to reach her. Taking her hand, he propelled her back the way he'd come. There was a bench in an alcove, and they took a seat. "I was worried when you didn't come in to breakfast. Fiona said you were out here. What happened? You look awful."

"Gee, thanks. You sure know how to make a girl feel great about herself," Buffy replied, rubbing at the spot between her eyes. She no longer felt disorientated, but her head had begun to hurt. "I've a headache. Maybe... maybe my ponytail is too tight." She tugged on the band holding it in place and once her hair was loose, ran her fingers through it and tidied it.

"You've had one of your zone-outs again, haven't you?" Lovell said, his face anxious. "What did you see this time?"

"I was not zoning out!" Buffy protested, putting the hair tie with its butterbeer cork into her book bag.

Lovell looked as if he didn't believe her. Buffy knew it wasn't fair lying to him. "Okay, maybe a little one." She'd tell him everything once they were alone and wouldn't be disturbed. "Dolohov said something to me and I had this flashback... Lovell, why is everyone interested in my blood?"

He frowned. "You mean everyone as in," he lowered his voice, "vampires?"

"Um, no," she replied. "Not what I was meaning, but okay, vampires are interested in blood. What I meant was what about the others? The non-blood sucking types? Why would they be interested in my blood?"

Lovell peered at her as if she was a species of moth he'd never encountered before.

"Dolohov said something about my blood," she explained.

"Ah! Now that, I understand. It's less to do with blood and more to do about bloodlines. I hadn't given that stupid rumour much thought before, but... are you positive Hank Summers is your father?"

Buffy stared down at her hands, unable to meet Lovell's eye. "I don't think he is," she whispered. What if her Dad was a creepy Dark Wizard? What if he turned out to be Dumbledore? Or Von Kendrick? Which was definitely ugh, with a large portion of yuck.

Apart from gazing at her as if he was trying to work out what family of moths she belonged to, Lovell didn't seem concerned. "If Aunt Joyce had a fling with a haughty Pureblood, it's possible he knows about the attack in London and sent someone to watch over you."

Buffy had already thought it, and nodded.

"I dismissed it at the time," said Lovell, "but when I was in my room at Grimmauld Place, I looked out the window and spotted someone in the street watching the house. When he saw me, he slipped back into the shadows."

"Was he the same Wizard who burned the vampires?" Buffy asked.

Lovell shrugged. "I never saw him, only heard his voice. The man watching the house was only short with wide-set shoulders. He wore a bowler hat like the Ministry men do and what I thought at first was a long overcoat. I took him for a Muggle until I remembered the Blacks have an anti-Muggle ward on their house."

"He doesn't sound anything like the one in the park. Though, I suppose he could have changed his appearance to be taller and slimmer." Buffy knew you could use Transfiguration to alter your appearance. As she'd always fancied being taller, she thought it a nifty skill to have and been disappointed to learn it was taught only at NEWT level.

"There might have been more than one watcher. Someone else might have taken his place later or when he realised you were in danger he contacted his superior. You do know if he did send someone to watch you, it begets another question..." Lovell let the words hang in the air, his eyes on Buffy's face wondering if she'd guess where he was going with it.

Buffy had no idea She pouted. "Tell me. You're our resident Ravenclaw. I just sneak around and do Slytherin type things."

Lovell snorted. "Slytherins are not noted for the things that you enjoy getting up to."

"I'm not your average Slytherin," Buffy replied happily. "So what's the new question?"

Her cousin slowly smiled. "The next question is... How did he know you'd be visiting the Blacks on that particular night?"

Buffy shrugged. "Someone told him."

Lovell leaned closer. "Who? Not the Black family. They are all desperate to know the identity of your father. So who else knew you where you'd be this weekend?"

"I guess most of the Slytherins," Buffy replied. "Walburga and Lucretia were talking about it in front of everyone. From the other Houses, only you, Roz, and Caradoc. Several of the professors knew, Slughorn, Dumbledore, and the Headmaster. Any one of them could have passed on the information."

Lovell's eyebrows suddenly rose as an idea occurred to him.

"Whatcha thinking?" Buffy asked, recognising the signs. He'd either had a great idea or just remembered where he'd left his moth magazine.

"Buffy," Lovell began, "do you think it could have been your mum?"

Seeing surprise and instant denial on her face, he added quickly, "Wait! Think about it. Remember when we visited her for the first time in St Mungo's? Minister Lestrange asked why you were there when she'd told him you were a Muggle and Aunt Joyce went into a panic when she heard your magic had awakened."

Buffy nodded. Her mom had freaked.

"Dad calmed her by saying Hogwarts was the safest place for you to be. What if she was worried another attack on you would happen this weekend and contacted your father? Your REAL father. It could easily have been her."

"I really need to know who my father is," said Buffy glumly. Her mother had a lot of answers to give her.

…...

A/N thanks too all those who took the time to leave me reviews, cyber wine and delicious fat free cyber chocolate last chapter. All appreciated.

Hmm, confusing chapter? I hope it wasn't. Buffy has so many questions that need answering, it seems once she has one answer another springs up.

Anyway, Quidditch next. Then a side adventure going into the heart of Rowling's research and my own fascination with British folklore and ancient landscape. It will lead to new friends and a new Watcher. Not sure if that is a good thing or not.