So much for quick updates… sorry. I'm gonna try to move it on, since we still haven't gotten past Christmas! So updates might take a while cos I want to try writing more before updating. Ill still try my best to update regularly tho. Enjoy…
Chapter 36
No one mentioned what had happened. Faith went back to her training routine, ignoring Charlie, while everyone else went back to normal too, trying not to consider what it meant that Voldemort could affect people's minds over such distance ad through such barriers. The first person to try and approach Faith about it was Dawn, but while Faith didn't completely blank her, Dawn still felt like she was talking to a brick wall. The second person was Snape.
Faith sat out by the lake after running several times round the school grounds. Snape came to stand just beside her, and she looked up, frowning.
"What?" She asked.
"I merely wished to enquire about your well being." Snape replied pompously.
"Whatever." Faith murmured.
"Are you alright?" Snape said with exaggerated calm.
"Five by five."
Snape sighed, and sat down beside her, grimacing as he felt the damp ground.
"Faith, I know the powers of the dark lord. I know the distress that such an invasion of one's mind can bring. Do not shut yourself off from me, or I cannot help you."
"Didn't ask for your help, did I?" Faith snapped.
"But you need it." Snape told her matter of factly. Faith raised her eyebrows, more than a little pissed. "Think of the damage the dark lord could do if he overcame you, Faith. What if tries again, and you are not ready? What if he makes you hurt someone- someone like Miss Summers?"
Faith stiffened,
"I can handle it- I know what to do now."
"No, you do not. He will not play the same angle twice."
"So I'll tell him where to put his wand from another angle, what difference does it make?"
"The difference," Snapped Snape, getting irritated now, "Is that he might beat you next time! If he can penetrate your mind in that way, he may learn to control it too! You may be of the opinion that you can defeat The dark lord, just because you've escaped before, but it is not that simple! You did not kill him then, so you must learn to deal with him now!"
Faith snapped her head round to look at the potions professor, fury burning in her eyes,
"You did not just scold me for not killing Voldemort!" She cried, "If I had, then no one woulda trusted me cos no matter who it was, if B had thought I could just kill someone, just like that, she wouldn't have let me stay in the same continent as Dawn; but I don't kill him, and you say I'm weak! What the hell am I supposed to do then!?" Snape was taken aback- he hadn't realised that the comment would hold such weight with her.
"I was merely suggesting that the Dark lord…"
"Well you can keep your mere suggestions about Voldemort to yourself you self righteous, pompous, watcherish, egotistical son of bitch!" And with that she leapt up, storming off back to the castle, leaving Snape sitting stunned on the lake side.
"Dawn?" Hermione said, slipping into the room. Everyone else was still in the common room, but she'd come up early, trying to get some transfiguration reading done.
"Uh-huh?" Dawn looked up from the book. "S'up 'Mione?"
Hermione sat beside Dawn on the bed,
"How is Faith?" She asked. Dawn grimaced,
"I a bad mood." She replied.
"I don't get it." Hermione sighed, "She obviously has people who care, but she just shuts everyone out- I don't understand why." Dawn screwed up her face- Hermione knew the basics of the Faith dealio, but not the whole story, not the details, not the bit where Buffy and Faith had been like sisters…
"It's…"
"Complicated?" Hermione finished with a raised eyebrow. Dawn chuckled,
"Yeah… when you've been through the stuff she has, it's not so easy to just let people in. First time Faith came to SunnyDale, she acted as if she was like… on holiday. She told us her watcher was away…" Dawn paused, once again shocked by the thought that she had not actually seen this stuff- she hadn't even existed…
"Dawn?"
"Um… yeah…" Dawn shook herself, and laughed a little, "Sorry, yeah-she said her watcher was at this retreat thingy, but truth was she'd been murdered by this ancient vampire. Faith hadn't been able to stop it- she ran. Thing is, the vamp followed her to Sunny dale. When he caught up with her, Buffy was with her, and she told me Faith had just screamed and collapsed, totally terrified… I guess Faith builds up walls cos she's scared of being vulnerable like that. She figures that if she doesn't let anything, or anyone really touch her, then nothing can hurt her."
"Problem is, when walls like that break down…"
"They crash down." Dawn finished, nodding. "When something happens you just can't defend yourself from, you try to deal with it the same way, but the hole has already been made, and you just keep running, hiding within yourself…" Dawn had a far away look in her eyes… "I was so scared when Faith… turned. She'd always been so cool… it really freaked me out."
Hermione squeezed her friend's hand,
"Sorry, I didn't mean to…"
"S'ok." Dawn said quietly. "So anyway, that's why Faith is in a bad mood, cos she knows she got hurt, and she knows we saw it- she hates being weak."
"Don't we all." Hermione agreed. Dawn nodded, and they were silent for a moment. Then Dawn grinned mischeviously,
"So… hows it goin' with you an' Ron?" She asked. Hermione blushed,
"What do you mean?" She became suddenly very interested in a stray lock of hair.
"You know exactly what I mean." Dawn said teasingly.
"Maybe I should be asking about you and Draco!" Hermione teased back.
"Maybe you should." Dawn said grinning, "Cos the other day, when you guys were all studying…" She raised her eyebrows, speaking in a conspiratorial whisper, but Hermione cut her off,
"Dawn!?" Hermione exclaimed. Dawn giggled hysterically,
"Joking! I'm joking!" She laughed. Hermione slapped her playfully, and they both giggled. When they were a little calmer, Hermione said,
"Hey- Hogsmeade this weekend- you have to come, it's the best. You got a permission slip?"
"Huh?" Dawn exclaimed, "I didn't know I needed one! No one told me that!"
"Oh… erm, well, you have all week… you could send an owl to your sister…"
"That's four days, 'Mione, cos today's Monday- no owl could get to an from Sunnydale from here in four days… cept maybe a demon owl… or like, if we sent it through another dimension so time was different..."
"Earth to Dawn?" Hermione said with a grin.
"Sorry."
"You could use floo I guess." Hermione suggested, shrugging.
"'Cept we're not meant to leave school grounds, are we." Dawn said dejectedly. But then she smiled, "But Faith can."
"Yeah!" Hermione said grinning, "In fact, scrap that! Faith can sign it!"
"You think?" Dawn asked excitedly.
"Yeah! I'm sure Dumbledore would accept that!"
"Now I've just gotta get through her sh*tty mood to get her to sign it." Dawn said, grimacing. Hermione winced,
"That should be fun." She said sarcastically.
"I can't wait." Dawn agreed.