- - - - -
Chapter 2
The Gathering, Part II
- - - - -
Buffy was halfway back to the sitting room when her tattoo burned bright red underneath her white blouse. With a sharp gasp, she fell against the railing and dropped what she was carrying, papers from the coroner's flying in every direction to the entryway below.
Her cry of alarm alerted those upstairs to her presence, and led by Professor Dumbledore, they found Buffy sitting on the stairs, breathing hard, trying to fight something that they couldn't see.
"Buffy?" Dumbledore asked quietly as she turned to him, looking as though she were in the deepest state of torment.
"Professor… Harry… danger…" she whispered, her eyes starting to roll. "He's… going… to…" There were tears of frustration in her eyes now. "I… saw… him… going…"
The Aurors in the staircase all exchanged troubled looks before brushing past the group and hurrying outdoors so they could Apparate to wherever Harry was and help him. The call to the Ministry was made, but apparently the Aurors from the Ministry had already gone to Harry's rescue.
"Go," Buffy said, closing her eyes. "Go to him… please?" she asked, glancing at her former Headmaster, desperation in her eyes. "I have… to fight this…"
Professor Dumbledore respected her enough to pull away and do as she asked. Percy remained by her side, along with Emma, who came out of the room with her mother, the last of the Aurors to leave the house.
"Buffy?" Percy asked quietly.
"I'll be okay, Perce," she said, turning her head and catching the mess of flying papers and broken glass below. "Oh."
"We'll pick that up," Emma told her gently. Both Percy and Emma went to pick up the papers and the mess as Sirius approached from above.
He gently helped her back to her feet. She steadied herself on his arm and glanced down, seeing the people talking in hushed whispers below, along with the sound of intermittent portraits talking. "Look at them all," she said quietly.
"Harry will be fine," Sirius said, gently turning her in the other direction. "Come on, let's get you back upstairs."
She had taken one step when a deep feeling that something else was even more wrong came to her. She grabbed onto the railing, halting their progress. "I have to go… I have to get there," she said, pulling away from Sirius. He looked dumbfounded as she turned and raced down the stairs, landing at the end by pressing herself against the wall, trying to calm the deep migraine now firmly implanting itself in her skull.
"Harry," she whispered, feeling his panic as though she were feeling the same thing. She heard voices behind her and turned just as she fell to her knees, losing sense of everything around her. In her mind, she could feel Willow and Harry running as fast as they could, yet there were too many… It wasn't just Harry in danger anymore…
"The Death Eaters… they're coming for them," she whispered as Percy ran to her side. "I have to get there…"
She heard a whisper as Dumbledore reappeared, handing her one of the tacky hats Faith had left hanging along the corridor. "Take this," he said. "It will take you to the alley."
"I'll go, too," Percy said, but Buffy's hand quickly batted his away.
"No, I don't want you to get hurt," she said, taking the hat from Professor Dumbledore. "When?"
"Thirty seconds," he replied. Buffy nodded and dashed past the rest of the group just as she felt the irresistible tug forward, and everything became a hazy blur.
- - - - -
Harry felt his jaw drop as he noticed who was standing behind him.
It was Lupin.
"Come on, Harry," he said, pulling him away from the wounded woman. "Trained medi-Wizards are coming."
Time seemed to stand still as Harry watched the Aurors fight back the Death Eaters, who eventually turned, ran and Disapparated. At last, he heard another familiar voice.
"Harry? Harry? Harry!?"
"I'm here," he said, although no sound came out of his mouth. The medi-Wizards had arrived and were now bent over Willow. He saw his sister pushing her way through the Aurors and she stopped at Harry, throwing her arms around him. She was followed by Arthur Weasley who looked as immensely relieved to see Harry alive as his sister did.
"Oh, thank goodness! Are you all right? Did they hurt you?"
"Buffy… Willow," he said, his voice breaking. He saw the look on her face as she whipped around and saw her best friend lying on the street.
"Willow? Oh, God," she said, noticing the bloody dagger lying on the street as the Wizards were gently applying bandages to her deep stab wound. "Willow? Willow?" Her voice became feebler as she pushed her way between two of the medics to go to her best friend. "Willow, answer me…"
"Buffy… I tried… to get him away," Willow said, her bloody hand rising in the air. Buffy took it firmly in hers. She made another soft moan before passing out from her loss of blood and the shock to her system.
"Willow," Buffy moaned, pulling back, her face stunned. She looked truly alone as she pulled back and turned to see Harry standing there, and their eyes met. Knowing the sacrifice her best friend had made for Harry was a shock to her system, but it came to show that Buffy alone wasn't after his best interest. She walked towards him when Bill Weasley took her arm and said something in her ear before handing her Harry's wand. She took it.
"Are you going back to the Burrow?" she asked him quickly.
"I need to make an appearance at the Ministry, but I can," he said, noticing the look on her face. "Why?"
"Take Harry with you. He'll be safe at the Burrow with Ron and Ginny. Or, at least, a hell of a lot safer than he is here…" Her gaze went back down to Willow and her hard gaze melted into anguish. "Please?"
"Okay," he said, resting a hand on her shoulder. "I'll take him with me."
Together, Bill and Buffy went to where Bill's father and Lupin were standing with Harry, currently being questioned by Aurors.
"Harry," Buffy said, edging up to him. "I want you to go to the Burrow. Don't ask questions, you'll be safer there." She pulled out his wand and handed it to him. "I'll see you in a few hours."
"Buffy?" Harry asked, just as one of the medi-Wizards came up to her and announced they were taking Willow to St. Mungo's.
"Please, just go," Buffy said, looking as though she couldn't take any more drama as she clasped his shoulder with her bloody hand. The blood that had come from the Wicca lying on the ground, potentially bleeding to death. "Please?"
"Buffy?" Harry asked, watching as she went back to the crowd. The arrival of Wizards and Witches was getting a lot of attention from the Muggles. Harry felt sickened as he noticed the growing pile of bloody gauze on the cobblestone street next to where Willow was still lying, passed out.
"Come on, Harry," Bill said from next to him, holding another Portkey in his hands. "It's safer this way."
"Buffy!" Harry shouted, just as he felt the invisible hook behind his navel drag him forward, and the image of his sister watching her friend being lifted from the ground was forever burned into his memory, as it was the last thing he saw.
Buffy saw her brother disappeared and sighed deeply just as Nymphadora Tonks appeared at her elbow. She was talking quietly to Lupin, both of their faces very grave.
"They're gone," Tonks said, glancing down at the redheaded girl now being loaded onto a stretcher. "How is she?"
"She's lost a lot of blood," Buffy said in a low voice, so much unlike her own. "They're taking her to St. Mungo's."
"Are you going them?" Remus asked her. Buffy nodded. "We'll ask Albus to hold the meeting, then."
"No," Buffy said, shaking her head. "No. It has to go on. People need to know what's going on. I'll take care of Willow and I'll be back as soon as I can. Can you… can you tell him that?"
"Of course," Tonks replied, tapping Buffy's shoulder as she and Remus blended back into the crowd.
The next half hour passed in a blur. Buffy found herself riding in the back of what on the outside looked like a normal Muggle ambulance. But she was certain that inside it wasn't anything of the sort. Potions were neatly marked and were tied to the shelves covering the walls. The lights were a soft shade of neon blue. And the vehicle drove as though she were driving it, weaving in and out of traffic and finally driving into a brick wall. Buffy tried not to scream her alarm, but the instant they passed through the barrier, there were Witches on the other side, ready to accept the incoming patient.
An hour later, Buffy was finally able to see her.
Willow was still rather pale, but nearly completely healed. She watched as the medi-Witch in charge bent over Willow, gently tucking her sheets in. Standing inside the doorway was another nurse and Buffy saw to her surprise that the other nurse was completely familiar to her. "Cynthia?" she asked softly. "I thought…"
"Oh, yeah… this is my Mom," she said, gesturing to the medi-Witch who was currently checking Willow's vitals. "I kind of work here now."
"That's… good, right?" Buffy asked, frowning slightly.
Cynthia shrugged. "It's good pay."
Seeing that Willow had company, she moved to Buffy's side. "I have checked her for identification. Does she have any family?"
"I'm her family," Buffy said firmly.
"All right," the Witch said, turning to a clipboard with a quill that seemed to move across the parchment by itself. "We stopped the bleeding and managed to heal her cut. The problem is that the dagger had been poisoned to kill anyone with any magical blood. Luckily, she didn't seem to hold the poison. The only matter that remains is whether to provide a memory charm on her."
"No," Buffy said shortly. "No memory charms. She knows about the Wizarding world, even if she isn't one of us."
"As you wish, but I'll have to inform the Ministry of your decision," said the medi-Witch.
"Whatever," Buffy replied. "Can I see her?"
Buffy walked into the room and was surprised when Cynthia followed her, looking almost fearful.
"I never thought I'd ever see that girl again," the other woman admitted as Buffy sat down on the edge of the bed and reached for one of Willow's bandaged hands.
"Hey," she said softly.
Willow's eyelids fluttered open. "Buffy?" she asked softly. "Where… Harry?"
"He's okay," Buffy said. "He's been taken out of London."
"Thank goodness," Willow said weakly. "I was kind of worried that he'd be stuck in a bad place. I told him to get away…"
""He couldn't," Buffy replied. "He wasn't going to leave you behind."
"I tried… I tried to protect him, Buffy… but my magic… I'm so sorry…"
"You were up against twelve Death Eaters. They have the power to kill you with a curse and I'm glad they didn't do just that," Buffy insisted.
"They were going to… they wanted to… bleed me to teach Harry a lesson."
Cynthia overheard this as she walked to the other side of the bed, a cup of Potion in her hands. Her eyes were downward and sympathetic. She handed Willow the Potion and drew away from the room. Seizing her chance, she ran into the staff room and saw the fireplace. Jotting a quick note on a bit of parchment, she sent it off to the Ministry.
Buffy sat with Willow until she drifted off to sleep, the effects from the Potion. Rising, she turned and saw Emma Vance standing there. "Em," she said quietly, joining her friend as they made their way down the hallway.
"How is she?" Emma asked breathlessly.
"She'll live," Buffy replied as the doors swung shut behind them. "But now, I'm pissed."
- - - - -
Harry didn't have the chance to protest as he finally came to a jolting stop in front of the Burrow. No matter how much he'd been longing to be here this summer, he longed to be back with his sister, where he knew he was safe.
It didn't help that Bill disappeared about ten seconds after he arrived. He was even more agitated when Ron and Hermione spotted him and started asking many, many pointless questions. At the risk of not wanting to sound rude, he brushed past them and headed upstairs where he found himself staring at identical evil grins. Not even Fred and George would distract him, he thought miserably as he pushed past the evil duo. Locking himself in Ron's bedroom was the only way he was going to get time alone to think.
Ron's bedroom was the perfect escape. Sort of.
He wasn't sitting on the second bed for ten minutes when Ron walked in, closing the door and magically sealing it behind him. Harry didn't look up at him. He didn't move his face from where it was buried in his hands. Ron saw the anguish on Harry's face clear as day, and it scared him a little.
"Don't want to sound rude, mate, but you were sort of… rude," Ron said, walking over and sitting on his bed, where the bright orange Chudley Cannons comforter blazed under the bright sunshine filtering in through the arched windows. When Harry didn't reply, Ron continued. "Dad told us about what… what happened," he said quickly. "Is she going to be okay?"
"I don't know," Harry said in a dead voice, looking up with dark green eyes full of anxiety. "I just wish… I just wish Buffy would trust me. I could have been there with her, but instead I'm some stupid brat who almost got her best friend killed."
Ron saw the look on Harry's face and looked away, his fingers idly playing with the comforter. "It wasn't your fault, Harry."
"It doesn't matter," Harry replied hoarsely, burying his face in his hands again. "I don't know if she can… I don't know…"
Ron didn't need Harry to finish speaking to know what he was thinking. "Dad said Mum's coming home in an hour or so," he said, somewhat cheerfully. "We might be going over to Sirius's."
That seemed to brighten Harry up rather slightly.
Molly sent word an hour later for the kids to take the Knight Bus to Grimmauld Place, but told them specifically to not give the number of the house. Feeling slightly better that he would see Sirius again, Harry was the first to stand in front of the door at the Burrow, waving Hermione, Ron and Ginny onwards. Fred and George were both accompanying them, more than likely on their Mother's orders, since Harry, Ginny and Hermione couldn't yet Apparate. Ginny and Hermione were still too young and Harry hadn't been in England long enough to get his Apparating license, something he really wanted to do before starting Hogwarts in just two weeks.
Fred and George were both rather quiet, and Harry knew they knew something he didn't know, but pressing them only seemed to make the matter worse.
After a walk towards the village of Ottery St. Catchpole, Fred made the call for the bus, and they boarded. The ride was rather short, if not the usual hell-like ride. When they finally arrived on the street corner on Grimmauld Place, the four Weasleys, Harry and Hermione got off the bus on rather shaky legs.
It was starting to turn towards evening, and the air was relatively cool for the time of year. After a small walk to number twelve, they all repeated the same gestures from the years before and were soon standing in front of an old, dilapidated house. Harry was the one to knock, and was quite relieved to see Sirius standing on the other side. His godfather glanced at him silently before holding the door open for him. Minutes later, Harry was face-to-face with Percy, who apparently had just been given good news and couldn't wait to share it with Harry.
"It's all right," Percy said, standing in the doorway to the room Ron and Harry shared. "Willow is going to be fine."
Thank goodness, Harry thought to himself. Ron, too, looked relieved. Harry watched Percy pull away before calling out, "Did she say when she was coming back?"
Percy stepped back, looking thoughtful. "All she said was that she had something else to do first, and then she'd be back here."
"Did she say what it was?" Harry asked.
Percy was beginning to look annoyed. "No, but she said it was important. You can ask her about it when she gets back."
- - - - -
Buffy was standing in front of a large glass window, staring inside the long-term ward at St. Mungo's. Inside was a very large figure lying on his back, staring straight upwards. Taking a small breath, she pushed open the door and walked inside, where it was nearly pitch-black.
"Hello," Buffy said quietly.
Her cousin didn't utter a sound. Buffy felt the strangest sensation as she walked over to him and sat down in the chair next to his bed. "I don't know if you can hear me," she said softly. "I don't think you'll understand me, but I understand you. I'm sorry this happened to you, and I'm going to make sure it'll never happen again to anyone."
Dudley's mouth opened and closed a few times, but his dark eyes remained on the ceiling, lost in thoughts she knew had to be troubling. Since the attack, his skin had turned a pale grey and his hair had been coming out in great clumps. Seeing her cousin who she had met just a year before brought hot tears of anger to her eyes. This had to end.
"I'm sorry," she replied, standing up and walking to where a single light shone on his pale face. She put her hand to his cold cheek. "I'll come and stop by soon… and maybe… maybe by then you'll be able to talk again." It was getting hard for her to talk, and she was the one talking. Biting her lip, she glanced at the evident injuries of torture that had been done to the boy for hours on end. Her jaw tightened with anger. Turning her eyes back to her cousin, she bent down and kissed his clammy forehead. "Get well," she said, pulling away.
Outside the ward, she saw the charge Healer making her rounds, glancing up as Buffy left the high-security area. "Are you all right, Miss Potter?"
"Five by five," she echoed quietly, walking past the Witch and back into the hallway. Emma, who had been sitting on the floor staring at the doorway for the past fifteen minutes, got to her feet when she saw Buffy emerge.
"How's your cousin?" she asked, brushing her hands on her jeans as they both headed towards the elevators.
"Insane," Buffy replied. "I honestly don't know what I can do for him."
"Could you… heal him?" Emma asked. "I heard that's what you did for Percy."
"I could, but then…" Buffy paused. "I can heal him. The only problem is that it's deep Slayer-crafted magic and we both know where that comes from."
"Do you think the Healers can do anything for him?" Emma asked, tapping on the button for the elevator as they both waited.
"I don't know," Buffy replied, rubbing her face with both hands. "Right now, I just want to crawl in bed and sleep for the next few months."
"I hear you," Emma replied as the cage doors opened and they both stepped inside. "But at least he's alive, right? Is there still no word on your Uncle?"
"None," Buffy replied, crossing her arms as Emma spoke the instructions for the elevator and the cage began to lower. "Are you going back to Grimmauld Place?"
"I was planning on going back, since that's where my Mum is," Emma replied as the cage doors opened again. "Aren't you coming?"
"I don't want to leave Willow," Buffy replied with a sigh. "I want to believe she's safe here, but…"
"You need to sleep, Buffy," Emma replied dryly. "Not to mention the fact that you helped coordinate a gathering of all of the Aurors from England in a matter of two days. You've got to be exhausted."
"I am," Buffy said, shrugging. "It's not like I haven't done this before."
"What we need is a strong Slayer now," Emma admonished her. "We don't need a – what is it?"
Buffy had just stopped walking and was staring down the hallway, looking surprised about something. Emma followed her gaze and let out a long, pent-up breath with relief as a figure came rushing towards them and swept Buffy into a bone-numbing hug.
"I came as soon as I heard," Oliver set, setting her down on the ground. "How are you doing?"
"I'm all right," she said, not letting go of him completely. "The others aren't so much."
"They'll be okay though, right?" he asked, wrapping an arm over her shoulders and steering her out of the way of passing Healers and nurses.
"How did you know?" Emma asked him as they continued towards the family waiting area.
"Cynthia," Buffy said under her breath. "Did she contact you?"
Oliver nodded. "She told me that you were in some sort of crisis because your friend was almost killed today. After talking to… you-know-who, I finally figured out it was Willow. Is she going to be all right?"
"She'll be fine," Buffy said, feeling slightly less anxious now that Oliver was there. Then again, he was always able to ground her rather hothead when she needed it. "I'm sorry you missed your meetings."
"They were boring anyway," he assured her as he gently set her down upon one of the many sofas scattered throughout the larger room. He noticed the look on Emma's face and took her arm, pulling her backwards out of the room.
"How is she, really?" he asked.
"Exhausted," Emma replied honestly. "She's been going since early this morning, right?"
Oliver nodded. "I suppose so."
"Oliver, she needs to sleep," Emma replied. "If we're doing what I think Dumbledore wants us to do, we're going to need her… well, not like this."
"I'll take her back to her place," Oliver replied. "It's probably better if we separate her from Harry for awhile… we don't need her to blame him for what happened."
"Do you think she does?" Emma asked, not really having considered this before.
"I don't know," Oliver shrugged. "I just want to make certain she gets well-rested before the meet-up tomorrow."
"It's a good idea," Emma replied. "The only problem is, how do we get her out of here?"
"I'll go and talk with Cyn," Oliver replied. "They might have a sleeping potion she can take. What are you going to do?"
"I was going to go back to Grimmauld Place and find my Mother," Emma chortled. "But I suppose I can hang around here until someone else is sent."
"Or you can go back and delegate someone else for Watcher duty," Oliver pointed out.
"Or I could listen to you and actually do something smart," Emma replied, smirking. "All right, I'm gone. Can you just make sure she doesn't really fret a lot? She's already stressed to breaking point, and if something else were to happen tonight, I'm not sure we'd have a very reliable Buffy on our hands. I'd hate to see what she's like when she's really pissed off."
"You don't want to know," Oliver retorted. "I don't think she was really angry last January when she—"
"I know," Emma said quietly. "Can we please not talk about this now? I really want to find my Mum and I'm pretty sure you want to go and talk to some good-looking chic Buffy totally despises."
"I'm doing it for the right reasons," Oliver protested as Emma rolled her eyes. "Are you her conscience now?"
"No, but since she's really not saying what's wrong, I better speak up for her," Emma replied, folding her arms. "And if you do anything to really piss her off, I swear to Merlin I'll kill you." Giving him a brilliant smile, Emma darted off and disappeared around a corner.
Oliver returned to the place where he'd left Buffy and saw her pacing back and forth inside the room. She took no notice of him, and he didn't want to tell her where he intended to go. Slipping out unnoticed, he found Cynthia with the rest of the Healers behind one of the desks, talking quietly with her own Mother.
When she saw him, she darted around the edge of the desk to speak to him privately.
"I'm glad you got the message," she said once they'd retreated to an empty room.
"Thank you for sending it," he replied, frowning slightly. "I don't know why you did though. I didn't think you gave a damn about—"
"I… I know how bad things have gotten," Cynthia said, quickly explaining her actions. "I just… she means a lot to you, and to see her in that much pain… I knew she'd need you."
"You must have seen some pretty bad things if you're even talking to someone you couldn't stand to look at six months ago," Oliver pointed out.
"What can I say?" Cynthia asked, shrugging. "War changes people, Oli. I watched her help a Muggle today, and three days ago her cousin was brought in completely helpless. The girl's been through hell and it's probably not stopping until the end comes."
"It probably won't," Oliver replied. "But I'm glad you're here, doing good things for the world. I'd rather be out there playing than doing something normal, but I'm glad you found your place."
"Six months of training and all I got was this lousy outfit," Cynthia replied sarcastically, glancing down at her candy striper's garb. "I suppose it could be worse… your girlfriend could have gone mental and tried wiping the entire world off the charts."
"She's not like that," Oliver said angrily. "She's a hell of a lot more decent than a lot of women I know, so just lay off of her!"
"Sorry," Cynthia snapped, backing off with her hands in the air. "It's just that… she went mental once. How do we know she's not going to do that again?"
"Do you honestly think she'd do something so stupid when her brother's life is at risk?" Oliver asked, his voice not losing the hard edge.
"I don't know!" Cynthia replied back, her voice echoing in the small room. "All I know is that she could have killed you, and I don't want that to happen, ever!"
Oliver bristled at her hostile tone. "I can take care of myself, Cynthia. Just because you've done something good doesn't excuse what you could be doing right now."
That shut her up. Folding her arms, she glared at the opposite wall. "What do you want from me?" she asked sullenly. "I've accepted her as a huge part of your life, but if you expect me to stand by and let her ruin your life and potentially get you both killed, I won't."
"It's not your problem anymore," Oliver told her quietly as some of the tension left the room. "You're the one who resigned."
"I'll come back if we play, but only if we play," Cynthia replied coolly. "I love Quidditch far too much to ignore it."
"I know how you feel," Oliver replied, leaning over and clasping her shoulder. "I just want you to know that I do value your friendship. I value all of my friends."
"But you're in love with her," Cynthia finished resolutely. "Yeah, I got that."
"I didn't come here to fight," Oliver said in a tired voice. "I came because I need your help."
"I'll see what I can do," she said, giving him a tight smile. "What can I do?"
"I need a sleeping potion for Buffy," Oliver said in his straight-forward voice. "She's stressed out about Willow and her cousin and this huge Order gathering that she helped organize… she's had a rough day. I would really appreciate it."
"Of course," she said, moving past him and back into the brightly lit corridor. "I'm here to help."
"Is that a motto?" he asked teasingly.
"I'm working on it," she replied, ducking behind the Healer's desk and rummaging through the Potions on the shelves underneath. "If I give her one for dreamless sleep, can you tell her it didn't come from me? I don't want to encounter that wrath again."
"I understand," he said, accepting the small bottle. "Thanks, Cyn."
"Anytime, Oli," she said, watching as he disappeared back down the corridor. With a sigh, she returned to her work.
Oliver found Buffy still pacing the room. She turned on him the moment she saw his shadow. "I thought you'd left," she said, her voice tired, yet carrying an underlying strength.
"Not a chance," he said, moving into the room and stepping up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, gently pushing the bottle into her unwilling hands. "Can you drink this for me?"
"What is it?" she asked, giving him a suspicious look.
"Just drink it," he said, tightening his arms soothingly. "I promise it'll make you feel better."
"Sleeping potion," she sighed, rolling her eyes.
"Or you could completely guess it and ruin the surprise," he said, releasing her. Seeing the apprehensive look on her face, he didn't blame her. Yet she uncorked it and drank it in just a few short gulps and soon handed it back to him.
"It tastes like crap," she muttered, yet she found herself growing drowsy to the point where standing seemed really stupid. She moved to the sofa and sank onto it, burying her face in her hands.
Oliver disposed of the bottle and moved to her side, pulling her back to her feet. "I'm taking you home," he told her.
"You are?" she asked sleepily as she stumbled on her first step.
He pushed her hair back from her face so that she could see. "You bet."
"Never leave me?" she asked in a feeble tone. It was astonishing how incapable she was of moving even with her levels of power when under the influence of a powerful sleeping draught.
"Not for the world," he assured her. They tried another step, and he found it better to lift her into his arms rather than have her stumbling and eventually passing out on the floor. Her arms went around his neck rather weakly, yet her eyes blazed into his.
"Thanks," she mumbled as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm so… sleepy."
"You need it," he said, stepping out of the room and heading back towards the doorway.
It took him nearly twenty minutes to maneuver both of them into the Floo network. Once he stepped out of the fireplace into the flat he was starting to consider home, he picked up the figure that was lying on the floor in front of him. She was barely awake as she clung to him. It took some more patience and even more time to get her upstairs.
He finally set her down upon her bed. As he covered her up, he laid next to her, watching her sleep. Even under the influence of a potion, she was stunning when she slept.
She stirred little in her sleep and he started to focus on other things, namely the reason behind Willow's attack. Rising, he ran a hand through his hair and walked out of her bedroom, disappearing downstairs. He wasn't at all surprised to see that the place was empty, all things considering. Dumbledore was probably still holding this 'very important' meeting, and Oliver knew that many of Buffy's friends and colleagues were a large part of it.
It bugged him how much he really didn't know about what was going on. He knew that Buffy was far from open at times, and this was one of those times. Oliver had always wanted to be more than just the Quidditch player. He wanted to be there when he was needed the most.
Unfortunately, it wasn't now.
He was torn about what to do next. Night was fast approaching and he knew that staying here would be the smartest thing to do. On the other hand, he hadn't been home for weeks. Everyone at home would want to know what happened.
Making up his mind, he checked on Buffy one last time, sleeping contently in the darkness, before turning and heading back downstairs. He would return later.
- - - - -
Harry was dozing lightly when he heard Ron and some unfamiliar female voice talking in the room. He forced his eyes open and saw Emma Vance standing in the doorway, bathed in the bright light emanating from the hallway.
"I'll tell him when he wakes up," Ron was saying.
Harry watched Emma gesture and say something else inaudibly before backing out of the room. Ron closed the door and gave a slight start when he noticed Harry was awake and staring at him.
"What did she say?" Harry asked, more emotion in his voice than there had been earlier that afternoon.
"Buffy's not coming," Ron said, shrugging. "Something about the fact she's been at St. Mungo's all day with Willow. She's exhausted, so Oliver took her back to the flat."
Harry sat up and pulled on his glasses and began redressing. Ron watched him mildly for a moment before interrupting, "Where do you think you're going?"
"Home," Harry replied, pulling on his cloak. "Buffy needs me."
"Wrong," said Ron, leaning against his headboard and watching Harry drowsily.
Harry froze, halfway through slipping on his shoes. "What do you mean, wrong?" he asked, frowning. "She's my sister. I think I can be the perfect judge of character when it comes to being the boss of me."
"And you're assuming she doesn't blame you for the fact her best friend nearly died?" Ron asked.
Harry sighed and dropped his left shoe. "I hadn't thought of that."
"Willow was there to watch over you, and the Death Eaters made sure she paid for that, whether it was because she was protecting you or else it's because she's connected closely to Buffy," Ron explained.
"You've spent far too much time around Hermione," Harry groaned as he pulled on his left shoe before settling back on the bed. He watched as Ron lifted his wand and aimed it at the fireplace. The warm flames now licking upwards were warm and welcome. Harry hadn't felt this cold in a long time.
Rising, he removed his cloak and headed towards the door. "I'm not leaving… I just want to see Sirius."
"Suit yourself, mate," Ron said, shrugging as he pulled his cloak up to his chin.
Harry opened the door and peered into the hallway. Apparently the meeting Dumbledore had called had ended for the day. He could smell something wonderful cooking downstairs and tiptoed out, sniffing the air hopefully.
He found Sirius cleaning up the Drawing room. His face was tense and grey. "Sirius," Harry said, quickly announcing his presence so not to startle the older man. Sirius gave him a bright smile before returning to the table where he was collecting the plastic products Faith had insisted they buy for such occasions as the meeting they'd had today. Harry took an armload of garbage from Sirius and retreated downstairs into the dining room.
Molly Weasley was in the Kitchen, supervising dinner preparations. Both Hermione and Ginny were setting the table. Ginny gave him a warm smile of welcome, but Hermione barely noticed him, her miserable eyes cast downwards as she neatly stacked silverware. Harry deposited the plastics into the sink and threw the paper products into the fireplace before leaving the room; it was far too chilly for his tastes.
Emma Vance and her mother were in the corridor, pulling on coats to depart. As soon as Emma saw Harry, she came forward. "Did Ron give you the message?" she asked curtly, wrapping her cloak around her shoulders.
"He did," Harry replied.
"Good," Emma said, and with a short nod, she and Emmeline both vanished into the darkness outside, obviously in a hurry to get home.
This left Harry feeling even more miserable. Going back upstairs, he saw Sirius standing in the Drawing room, looking affectionately around at the decorations still on the walls.
"She'll come back, eventually," Harry told him.
"I hope so," Sirius replied. "I actually miss her, the little Yank."
"Funny," Harry muttered, running a hand through his unkempt hair. "So do I."
Sirius gave him a strange look just then. It was long and calculating and he opened his mouth to speak, closing it when Ginny came upstairs, calling everyone down for dinner.
It was a muted affair. All of the Weasleys except Charlie were present, along with Sirius, Harry, Hermione, Remus and Tonks. Percy was eating without his usual gusto, wanting to get to the flat to check on his closest friend. He got his chance after dinner, and Harry grudgingly asked Percy to bring him a change of clothes and perhaps some personal items.
Percy went to the flat immediately following dinner, looking around in surprise at the very dark apartment. "Hello?" he called to the darkness. "Buffy? Oliver?"
There wasn't a sound.
He moved to the stairs and took them two at a time. He reached the top quickly and pushed open the door. Inside, lying in a pool of bright lights shining from London outside, was Buffy, sleeping rather peacefully, if not soundly. Oliver wasn't in sight.
This angered Percy slightly, as he had depended on Oliver to watch her in case something terrible should happen, as it often did when one was asleep. She looked so peaceful, not even knowing what the gathering had decided.
He sat down next to her, gently pressing his hand on hers. She stirred slightly, but didn't open her eyes. Instead, she rolled towards him, and he could see the lines on her face. They hadn't been there when he'd first met her, but then again, she hadn't carried the same worries and troubles that afflicted her now. He leaned down and kissed her forehead before departing.
There was a whoosh and a figure stepped out of the fireplace, looking forlorn. When Oliver turned and saw Percy standing in a newly-lit living area, his eyes widened and then narrow suspiciously, but Percy didn't say anything as he made himself a cup of tea, except, "Where have you been?"
"I went home," Oliver replied testily, setting his own traveling cloak on the back of the barstool. "What are you doing here?"
"Emma told me what had happened," Percy replied calmly as he sipped his hot beverage. "So I decided to check up on her. Smart thing, too, since you couldn't even be counted on to do that."
Oliver glared at him for a moment before staring at the tea kettle, scowling. "I think I know how to take care of my own girlfriend," he snapped.
"Apparently not," Percy said dryly, setting his mug aside. "You left her alone, asleep and unarmed in case a hundred enemies showed up to take her down?"
Oliver winced slightly, not wanting to admit to the other man that this is what he dreamt of, night after night. Buffy dying and he hadn't been able to save her. "I was just a few grates away," he continued sharply as he filled the kettle with water and set it back on the stove. "Don't worry."
"I wasn't worried about you," Percy said, coolly emphasizing this. "I was worried for her. You'd think she's gone through enough… but no. Our little Buffy is a fighter, no matter what her condition." Sighing, he pushed his mug away. "Maybe someday you'll understand that about her."
"I think I know her pretty damned well," Oliver said, at the end of his patience now.
There was a loud cry above them.
"Apparently not well enough," Percy muttered as both he and Oliver darted around the island and hustled upstairs, eager to see what the source of the woman's discomfort was.
- - - - -
Despite being given a potion for dreamless sleep, she should have known it wouldn't work when prophecies wanted to speak. Her mind was already linked with Faith's, and the two of them were strolling once again through one of the familiar cemeteries around Sunnydale.
"It beats the shit out of fighting," Faith said, kicking an old, dented soda can towards Buffy's feet.
"I don't know," Buffy shrugged, kicking the can backwards. "I sort of like the fighting."
"You can only fight what you see, and you can't see this," Faith reminded her, crossing her arms.
"You can fight what you can't see," Buffy protested. "You're just not very good at it."
"All this Slayer prophetic crap is disturbing, B," Faith laughed. "And we both know what it means. The end has come."
"It's the end of the world and we both feel—"
"I feel like sunshine and bloody daisies," Faith giggled. She was actually giggling as the scene around them transformed, the colors of darkness swirling away in a twist of color and sound, only to be replaced by the most beautiful white garden. When Faith next turned to Buffy, she saw that they were both donned in long, white gowns. "It's different than what I expected."
"What did you expect?" Buffy asked, glancing around as tiny white birds started darting in and out of the bushes surrounding them.
"All little Slayers when their time comes go to Hell, didn't you know?" Faith asked girlishly as she stepped off a marble stair and descended them until she reached a railing, overlooking the dark world below. Buffy joined her as her entire life flashed in the gloomy fog below. She smiled when she saw Harry's face swarm in and out of these thoughts.
"I wonder what happens to him," she wondered out loud.
"His end will come," Faith replied, peering thoughtfully as the figure as it fought off Dementors below. "Maybe sooner than he wishes, but… it's the end we've all hoped for, B. It's the end of our era. The Slayers have finally come to this crossroads and now…" She watched as the thoughts seemed to melt away. "It just goes away. The pain, the guilt, the grief… it just slides away."
Buffy smiled and looked down, only to find that the palm of her hand was bleeding. Gasping, she leapt back, glancing at the long stream of red that ran down the front of her gown. "Faith…" she gasped.
She saw the brunette turn to her, a look of horror in her eyes. "This is what I saw," she said, her eyes wide as the scenery changed around them again. "This is what I've feared… I'm scared, B."
Buffy watched as her hand continued to bleed. "It won't stop," she whispered. "Until the blood stops flowing, it'll never stop."
"I should know," Faith said, suddenly drawing out a dagger before throwing it over the edge of the cliff. "He killed you."
"What?" Buffy gasped.
"Death was his gift," Faith said, smiling sadly as she took Buffy's bleeding palm in her hand. "Until your blood stopped flowing, there was evil in the world. Now that we're dead…"
"This isn't possible," Buffy snapped, pulling her hand away. "This isn't right."
"It's only a prophecy, foretold thousands of years before we were born," Faith said. "You know it. You saw it."
Buffy closed her eyes as the memory came to her mind. She had been locked in a room and had been singing a song… "Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket, never let it fade away…" There had been orbs in the room, and she had seen one, burning brightly with the fire of a hundred suns, despite the blackness of the room.
"It's us," Buffy said, her voice cracking. "The end of the world has come… because of us."
"You have gathered them, but you have brought them to their deaths," Faith said, gently touching Buffy's shoulder. Buffy cried out and fell to her knees, the loss of blood overwhelming her. "The end has come."
"I have to save him," Buffy whispered. "I have to save Harry…"
"It's not your job anymore," Faith said quietly. "You gave it up when you turned to him."
"No," Buffy said, bitter tears springing to her eyes. "I'm not letting my brother go. No, no, no…"
"B, you have to let him go… because if you don't…"
Buffy glanced down and saw her hand covering her brother's face. Gasping in horror, she scrambled to her feet and backed away, watching as his body disintegrated before her very eyes. "NO!" she screamed.
She woke up thrashing and screaming.
The door opened and she soon found a pair of comforting arms encircling her, holding her close as she watched her own hands take her brother's life.
Death is your gift.
"No," she whispered, the tears flowing freely now.
Percy stood in the doorway, watching as Buffy completely melted in the arms of her boyfriend, her bitter sobs serving as a cold reminder of the harshness of the day she'd been forced to endure.
He backed away, closing the door, wanting to leave the couple in private.
Oliver gently pulled back and reached for a box of tissues, lifting one to wipe her eyes. She met his gaze and gave him a tiny smile.
"I'm sorry," she said in a small voice.
"Don't worry about it," he replied, tossing the crumpled tissue aside. "It was just a dream."
"It wasn't a dream," she said, shaking her head, her eyes large and frightened. "It was the prophecy."
"The one about…"
"No," she said, shaking her head more vigorously this time. "No… this prophecy was ours. Faith's and mine. It said… it said…"
"Shhhh," he said, gently taking her hands. "Don't think about it."
"I'm going to die," she said, glancing down, her lip starting to tremble. "The end is here and before it's over, I'm going to die."
"No, you're not," he said, giving her hand a strong squeeze. "No, you're not going to die. You're too damn strong to let them hurt you like this. They've taken hits at you and now… No. I'm not going to listen to this. I am not going to let you throw your life away on some prophecy."
"You don't understand," she said tightly. "My dreams are real, Oliver. I don't have a choice."
"You're not even going to be here," he said, touching her face and tipping it so that he could look into her eyes. "I won't let you go."
"It's not your choice anymore," she said sadly. "I'm not here anymore. I'm just… I'm nothing."
He rested his forehead against hers. "You're everything," he said quietly. "You're a fighter, Buffy. You're strong and you're smarter than I thought you were. And you've got a chip in your shoulder the size of Russia sometimes and you know what? I love you. To me, that's what matters the most. If I lose you now…"
"Let's not find out?" she asked, pulling back slightly.
He wrapped her in his arms again and held her until she was sound asleep, his thoughts troubled. Faith had told him about their prophetic dreams, and it scared him beyond anything to know that his girlfriend had just foretold her own death.
- - - - -
In Chapter 3, Harry and Hermione talk; Buffy prepares to say goodbye to Harry, Oliver and England.
In Chapter 4, Faith begins to realize her part in this story isn't over; Buffy leaves England; Oliver goes back to Quidditch; Harry goes to Hogwarts.
Those of you waiting for your moment of Buffy/Oliver should check out the next chapter. I couldn't give those two a proper send-off without some mush.
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Random Notes
I know this is late. Actually, it isn't. I've just had one of the worst days, and somehow sitting in front of my computer staring at this story made me feel slightly better. To give a slight recap, my brother totaled his car in an accident this morning, waking me up around 9 after I got home from work at 5:30 am. To make matters worse, it was his own stupid fault, and since I'm the only sister in the area, I had to go and take care of him. After working about seventeen hours in a row. Not a happy camper. To top it off, my baby brother was arrested around ten tonight for some hazing ritual at this fraternity he's trying to join... he'd been locked in a trunk of a car completely addled and after going down to the police station and seeing him, I'm now at my night job, feeling exhausted and quite angry. That's the reason why this chapter was posted tonight. I have one carless brother and my baby brother is in Detox. To top it off, our parents are completely clueless about it, and I really really need to give them both a hearty trottle.
Oh, well. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Two advance chapters were sent out, including a rather extended version of this one. The Quadi girls have been talking about setting up another yahoo group again (after we had team-on, we kinda dropped yahoo, but now that our team-on account has been dead for over two months, we're deciding on yahoo again). If we do that, all advance chapters will be posted there, along with all of the other stories the Quadi girls (there's seven of us: me, Char, Katrina, Jesse, Aly, Grace and Trish) write. That way, we have a nice place we can store them, others can read them, and we don't have to keep all fifteen zillion websites we have up and updated all the bloody time. Remembering the good old days with just one site was fantastic... way back before we were even called Quadi. The sad part is, the first four of us have been together over seven years now... tragic.
Reviews would be welcomed, smiled upon and you will doused in something fabulous. Trust me, they'd cheer me up.
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Reviewer Comments
So much fun reading the reviews. I could have given everything away... but, nope. Not yet. So... this chapter concluded Willow's melodrama, so hopefully you're all satisfied that she's alive. I didn't want to scare you TOO easily; I just wanted to point out that Harry is hardly safe in anyone's possession!
solhattaght -- Thank you :) Willow won't die... I'm not saying she won't be a target though, because, you know... she's kind of close to the one person Voldemort actually WANTS.
Laen -- She didn't. Be relieved (please?).
Violet Star -- I know I'm cruel. I never get to do any fun cliffhangers anymore... so I finally had a chance, and I took it. For this, I will apologize. Willow is not a casualty of war... at least, not yet. She was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Naitch03 -- I'm damned, I know. I'm sorry! And, yes, the attacks are becoming more personal and will spread even to the places where Buffy thinks people are safe... Faith, perchance, being Marked, is about to become a disaster for where she is. Buffy's job will be handled with her usual grace and flair. And no, Wormtail's little redemption comes at a later date. This I will promise. (On a side note, I like your new story!)
AnitaBlake/BuffyFan -- Truthfully, yes, the other story was... beyond large. I just wanted a nice medium set between Harry's sixth and seventh years. I honestly don't know how long this is going to be yet, because while I plot, the ideas just keep on a-comin'. I think you're the first person I know that has ever called a cliffhanger "great". Hehe.
DarkAngelMali-- Willow isn't going to die... now. The Fred/George question was fabulous, since I really hadn't thought of how they would react, so that point was completely disclaimered to your question, since... yeah. Brainless me. Harry saw... well, not going to give that away for people who alone read the comments.
electric pancake -- my writing ALWAYS lags. I needed to set up the action sequence... so it took some really boring stuff to do so. Just my way. Did Fred/George say 'Voldemort'? I was going to make certain they NEVER would. Why? Just because... one of my little things. I'm killing EVERYONE off. Just kidding. Round, ballpark figure? I can't say. I'll say two for now, but the number will either grow or stay the same. And it wasn't Draco Malfoy, it was his father. Draco isn't a Death Eater yet, and Lucius HASN'T met Willow before, like Draco did (back in Chapter 43 I think). And because of that, he just assumed she was a witch, and because he doesn't know her from his own family (where everyone is interrelated), he just assumed, Mudblood. The story is a new one because the other one was getting WAY too long and tedious and I wanted to start something new and fresh!
Anne -- yeah, yeah, I know. Evil becomes me. I really hope this person hasn't surprised Harry so much, but there was a reason why this person was there.
jim hawking jr -- nope, not Buffy! She's not there yet!
Emba -- I know... poor Willow! Well, actually, poor Harry. He was the target... they just wanted to bleed the person "protecting" him to teach him a lesson!
Black Cat Gurl -- ah, yes, the issue of Tara. Well, that's up in the air at the moment, considering... well, you'll see. I would LOVE to bring her in, as she is my second favorite in the whole Buffy verse (my first the unquenchable hormone circuit known as Anya). But, there are issues. Like whether or not to make her gay. See, I would love to. I know Grace would want me to. But... I might put it up for the masses to decide.
Internal-Dragon -- aww, thank you! I love cookies! Yes, total geekiness there. I digress. But thank you, nonetheless!
hermionefairy -- I'm not going to kill Willow now, I promise. And, actually the hand belonged to Remus. If it had belonged to a vampire, eeeeep. Awkward much? Maybe at a later date would they pay our heroines a visit. Harry won't be kidnapped now, but in the future, you'll have to wait and see. As for Harry/Hermione, well, we just spent a year learning about their relationship. Now we learn to see how the end of their relationship effects their friendship, until Hermione realizes the real reason it collapses and, well, let's just say she's not one girl who gives up easily. And I agree, the Cho thing was a little... bizarre. And Faith will find someone... and, yeah... it's not one of the twins. That would be a little TOO weird. Buffy and Oliver will stay together, for now... but in the future, I don't know what will happen. I'd love to give them a happy ending, if there was an ending to return to. Spike may come back... I just have to decide whether or not he's someone I want to use for something. As for Draco, he's going to get dark. As in the darkest a human being can go and still remain human. He and Harry will have a face-off, and from what I can tell you, it's not going to go well for either one of them. Wow... lots of spoiler-ish stuff in there... interesting. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
narmolanya -- why, thank you! And, no, Willow's not dead. She only got a little wounded.
Adrie -- I only sent two, since I haven't finished revisions on the third... and yeah. Note above. Thanksgiving was great (for some odd reason though, deep-fried turkey doesn't taste the same as traditional).
snave bobst -- And would you know at the beginning of starting this whole fic, I never would have considered a Buffy/Oliver pairing? Grace convinced me that it would work, and so far... it has. So far. Many, many thanks!
The Witch From Next Door -- Awww, thanks! :)
Lightdemondarkangel -- I can assume Angel ended on a bad note then, since I haven't seen it. I know it was a crappy place to end it, and I wanted to post this second chapter sooner, but the problems on this site became a mighty headache and... didn't really work. And here be chapter two!
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End.