"I couldn't help over hearing… are you alright?" Wesley asked, entering and closing the door. Faith was amazed to find genuine concern in his voice.
"Thanks to some way creep horsey-things." She nodded.
"You should see Madame Pomfrey." He said, eying her arm. Faith shook her head,
"I've had much worse."
Wesley frowned, but he knew there were more pressing issues here.
"Headmaster, what can we do?" He asked.
"I think… no one is to go near the forest. I'm going to take a Thestral myself to go and see the head of the centaurs, so they can keep guard, and I'll create a barrier to confine the demons to the forest. And… I think I may bring in someone to help you deal with them… an expert on dangerous creatures."
"Professor, they aren't just 'dangerous creatures'…" Faith began, but Dumbledore cut her off,
"He mostly works with dragons."
Faith gaped,
"Cool."
A little while later, Faith was heading to her room, to wash and change- she'd get lunch later. She was just thinking about how interesting it would be to see what this guy could really do to help, when she froze; there was someone behind her.
"Are you stalkin' me or somethin'?" She asked, without turning. The boy jumped.
"No!" He replied, "Of course not. I was just coming back to the common room after lunch." Faith said nothing about how he was going the VERY long way round. But she turned to face him as he continued, "But… erm… Ron and the others were talking… are you ok?"
"Five by five." She said smirking. His eyes were running over the rips in her clothes and the dried blood from her arm. "I'm fine… Fred, wasn't it? Ron's brother." She smiled, remembering at the last second that she had been told not to inform anyone of the plan to bring in the dragon expert. "Now if you don't mind," Faith continued, "I'm gonna go take a warm bath… I'm all achy." She stretched a little as she turned, fully aware that she was driving the teenager crazy. She knew she was being mean, but she couldn't help it. She never had taken men very seriously.
Fred entered the common room and slumped into a chair.
"Ok… what happened to you between the great hall and here!?" George asked- his brother had claimed to be going to the bathroom.
"Nothing." Fred said sulkily. Unfortunately, George had lived out his previous eighteen years at Fred's side, and could read him like a book. George grinned cheekily,
"Ah, has Freddy got 'imself an 'ikkle crushy-poos?" He teased.
"Shut it." Fred snapped.
"Sorry mate." George said with a grin. "So… Slayer has you in a twist, huh?"
Fred sighed,
"I dunno what's with me. I mean… like she'd ever even acknowledge me! She's like three years older than me… I'm an idiot." George opened his mouth to agree, but thought better of it, and for once in his life, didn't push it.
That evening, Faith was settled down on her couch, reading a comic book she'd gotten from the library that afternoon. She'd decided to find a book, and eventually came across a magical volume claiming to have the ability to become any book the reader desired. (Within certain boundaries- Dumbledore had set it to stop students from getting at books in the restricted section of the library.) Wondering if it included comic books, as she'd never been a great reader of real books, but a dedicated fan of comics, and this library didn't seem to have any, she opened it, and said the name of the next comic she would have got if she hadn't been in a coma, and then jail, and… well, you get the idea, she'd missed a lot. Anyway… it worked, so she got the book out, and was going through her missed comics one by one.
There was a knock on the door, and presuming it was Dawn, Faith just called out for it to open, not raising her eyes from the comic.
"You really ought to be more careful." Wesley said, shocking her. She dropped the comic.
"Wes."
"As I said. You should find out who it is before you let them in."
"I… I thought it would be Dawn…" She said lamely.
"Yes… well, I wanted to discuss training plans. Especially with all that's happening, the Polgaras and all, I think it is imperative that we begin a strict routine." Faith nodded, but clearly wasn't interested. Wesley frowned, "Faith. As this is one of the main reasons you are here…"
"I know, Wes." She cut him off. "I'm down with the training. But I can't take the way you're being. You act as if we're old friends. If we're gonna work together, I need you to be honest with me- I can't take the way you're holding back. I can feel it; I can see it every time you look at me, hear it every time you speak. I don't care if you hate me, Wes." She laughed bitterly, "Hell, you have every right to. But if that's how you feel, then tell me, don't act like we're best buddies, cos if you're holding back, then I don't know what level you're on, which means I don't know where I am with you, an' when I gets down to it, I can't trust you." She finished abruptly. Everything she'd being dying to say all the way through the meeting with Dumbledore. Wesley sighed.
"I don't hate you, Faith. I wont deny that I did. But I know your circumstances, and I know what you've done, and what you've been through. I've seen and heard enough to know that you're at least trying to make up for the things you've done." As he looked at her with sorrowful eyes, Faith swallowed hard. Whatever she'd been expecting, it wasn't this. "I remember what you did to me, Faith. I know what you're capable of. But I also know that I lost family when Voldemort was in power. I know people who have been tortured by him and his followers. Two good friends are in a mental institution courtesy of him… and yet you defied him. You took his punishments rather than join his forces, and even if I didn't know if you'd ever done a single other good deed in your life, for that alone I would trust you."
Faith didn't know what to say. For several minutes she was utterly speechless. When she finally found her voice, she said,
"So where are we gonna train then?"
;) sorry, not as many sparks flying as I'd planned. How did I not make Wesley a total twat? Hm… I don't even know how the hell that happened, but it fits now, so it'll have to do.