Author's Note and Thanks: Borrowed Faith's Watcher from my sister. She won't be in the story that much, but I'll try not to let her be an MS. Just thought I'd warn you right now. My sincerest thanks to spk and Moony-Mione-Padfoot for their words and support for this story, it is taking a long time to write. Sorry about the time between updates. RL is RL.
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"From the interesting look upon your imitation of a face, I would guess that the Dark Lord doesn't know that you are here." Severus nonchalantly loomed over the frozen man. His piercing eyes bored into him, watching as the color drained from his already pale face. "So the question is, what should I do with you, you conniving little worm?"
Peter stared up at him, mouth hanging open in fear. Even though he'd always been the smallest and the weakest of all the Marauders, he'd never had that vituperative gaze turned upon him. He'd been protected by James and Sirius and, to a lesser extent, Remus.
"I came here, came here seeking sanctuary," he nearly incoherently stuttered. His voice trailed off, unable to say anything else.
"With us?" he skeptically asked after a moment, just letting the man stew in the silent wake that followed his words. Severus just stared down at him, shaking his head slightly. What did the man hope to accomplish by coming to a place were two people despised him? And appealing to him, of all people, for mercy?
"Yes?" he half questioned him, as though it should be obvious to him. "I mean, after all you have Headmaster Dumbledore's ear."
"I do? That's news to me," Severus dryly said. With a twinkle in his eye, vaguely reminiscent of Albus' own mischievous one, though this held more maliciousness in it, he said. "You know what? I've decided what I'm going to do with you."
"Take me to Hogwarts?"
Severus smiled in a purely evil way. "No, that won't do at all. I'm going to take you to your good friend, Sirius Black. He's going to love seeing you again-especially since he didn't get a chance to say good-bye to you after your last meeting. I'm sure he'll love the opportunity to get reacquainted with you and will know what to do with you."
"Oh, that's all right." He shook at the suggestion, feeling the very fiber of his being shrivel up at the mention of Sirius Black. Sirius scared him in a way that Snape and the Dark Lord did not. "You really don't have to do that. We can just go to Hogwarts and not bother him because he's…he's…he's with his godson. And I would hate, absolutely hate to interrupt that."
"Peter, how can you possibly say that?" Severus' voice oozed condescension as he spoke, "He won't mind."
"No, I won't."
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Slam!
The body of the hapless man hit the wall as the black haired, slightly plump woman shoved him against it. Her grip was as hard as her green eyes and they bored into him mercilessly, seeming to read into his soul. "I don't give a damn about your orders. WHERE IS SHE?!?"
"In lockdown," he stammered, seeing no real reason to keep silent any longer. Besides, this woman positively shook with rage.
Flinging him aside in absolute, sheer disgust, the smaller female turned to look up at her companion. "Keep an eye on him."
"It'll do you no good. You'll never make it in time. The order has already been given. All you will be doing is risking your own life."
"It is my life. And something we should all be willing to do for our slayers. For this fight is not only theirs but ours as well."
"You are pathetic!" he spat at her.
A flash of fire lit the eyes and she whirled about, sneering down at him. "I'm not the one who was so weak as to yield under a little bit of torture, rodent. We'll just see about that, little man." Her booted foot connected with his face, knocking him out. "Get into the system. I'll go ahead. Radio me when you've found her."
"And the others?"
Closing her eyes briefly to hold back the automatic reply that they weren't her problem, she made a quick decision. The only one she felt she could make under the circumstances. After that, she would not think of this any longer. "These locks are all automatic. Override the system and let them loose."
"As you wish, Ms. McKane."
Bolting down the corridor, her steps never wavered. She called back over her shoulder, knowing that her partner would already be in the system. His computer skills was one of the reasons she kept him around. "Once you've done that, call Rupert Giles. Warn him that we are on our way."
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Lucius walked past the door and paused, glancing in once. Not seeing anything out of the ordinary, he went on until he saw Draco. His son was sitting in a wing backed, curled around a book in a room at the back of the mansion. One of his hands lazily stroked the white cat sitting on his lap.
Off to the right, a few of the Slytherin boys played a game of some kind in front of a warm fire, though the night was not cold. He noted upon taking a closer look, to his growing horror, that the game they played was a horrid muggle one.
His lip curled up into a derisive sneer, seeing how positively muggle his son and friends looked as they went about their business. This would not do. Instead of benefiting from learning magic and being examples towards the others of the school what pure bloods were supposed to be like, they were adapting to the habits of the muggles that surrounded them.
This situation would not do and his face showed his disapproval. "Draco!" he snapped, watching in satisfaction as the boy jumped in shock, the cat dropping to the ground with a mewl of protest.
Tail in the air, it spat at Lucius as it stalked off. Definitely offended by the slight done to its royal dignity, the boys noted before they cleared the room as well.
"Why were you not waiting for me as I requested in my letter?"
Standing up stiffly, he turned to face his father and answered, almost defiantly. "I received no such letter, father. The only letters I have been receiving have all been from mother. If I had known that you would be here tonight, I would have been waiting for you in the parlor."
Even as he said this, he wasn't entirely sure it was the truth. Of course, his mother had warned him that this would happen. She had asked him to be on his best behavior and do nothing that would disgrace the Malfoy and Black name, no matter what happened when he went with his father.
As if he would ever do such a thing. Draco knew who and what he was. He took pride in his heritage.
Narrowing his eyes, Lucius approached and tapped his cane lightly against his son's shoulder.
Though light, there was definitely a warning there. One he knew all too well.
"Insolence from you, Draco? I do believe that you have been spending too much time here in this disgustingly muggle American land. After we return, I shall ask Professor Snape," he spat out the name, "to send you home. I have had enough of this foolishness and find that it has done nothing to further your education."
Seeing Draco's mouth open, his eyes narrowed even further. "Protests, Draco?"
"No, father." His head bowed, shielding his face from further scrutiny. Inside, he was raging against this edict. Of course, he also wondered about the particularly vicious way his father attacked his Head of House. It didn't seem quite right with how the two men had been acting towards each other.
"Excellent," he practically purred. "Shall we?"
Gesturing towards the door, he watched as his son stiffly walked out. As they passed the door right beside the stairs, he paused and looked in again. Something was irking him and he couldn't put his finger on it. Aware of Draco's curious eyes watching him, he nevertheless entered the room. There was something itching in his mind, a suspicion that something was not quite right about this room.
Lighting his wand, he searched it before walking towards the sole window and looking out.
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Hermione and Amy talked on, unaware of Ron's desperate call for help. Raising his voice slightly, he started to call out again. He stopped, seeing the light flick on above them. "Of all the times to forget my wand, why did it have to be now?" he muttered angrily.
Raising her head from the shelter of his chest, "You forgot it?"
"Yes," he snapped.
"I do that to," she admitted quietly, curling back into the shelter of his arms. With a slight sniffing sound, she added. "It makes Professor Snape very angry. He gets all quiet with me and a terrible look enters his eyes. I don't like how it makes me feel."
"And yet, you defend him. Constantly." There was more than a sound of faint consternation in his voice. "I just don't get that. How can you defend him?"
"Well, he has to impress upon me the importance of carrying my wand at all times. Besides, someone has to look after him. Don't they?" she ended with a half-question, voice muffled slightly. "I mean, wouldn't you want someone to take your side when you can't?"
"Snape can talk very well for himself," he retorted, keeping an eye on the lighted window.
"There is a difference between talking and defending oneself," she argued.
"What do you mean?"
Pulling back again, she looked up at him and shrugged. "I have no idea. It just seemed like the right thing to say."
"You are a strange one, Rosenberg," he shook his head. "I don't think whoever's in that room is just going to leave. Do you think that may be he suspects something?"
Her green eyes widened as she stared at him, "You're asking me?"
"No, I'm asking the invisible ghost of the house. Of course, I'm asking you," he rolled his eyes, half amused but mostly exasperated by her behavior. "I could really use my wand right about now."
"Where is it?"
"In the bureau by my bed," he started to say. Then his eyes widened as he realized what she was going to do. Shaking his head, he fiercely protested. "Oh, Willow. You can't be thinking of…you're going to get us both in trouble if you do that."
"If we don't get out of here, we'll be in even more trouble," she commented, very glad that her reserves were back. "Do you really want to explain to Professor Snape or Lupin how we got up here? And would you please be quiet? I'm trying to concentrate. It isn't as easy as it looks, especially when doing this relatively blind-and trying to keep it out of sight."
"You're nutters," he muttered but stilled his tongue. Even though she was adept at this kind of thing, he knew it would be bad to disturb her concentration. He really didn't want to know what might happen to them if he did. When his wand came floating over to them, he reached out a hand and took it. "It's really creepy when you do that."
"Really?" she asked, tilting her head to look at him. "I find it creepy that you don't."
Trying to think how to do this, he ignored the comment. Brightening as he recalled a spell that should do the trick, he quickly cast it. They were on the ground, slightly to the right of where the girls were but out of the way quickly. He figured that it would do them no good to surprise them, considering that Malfoy may still be on the lookout for them.
"Good spell," Willow applauded him. Suddenly realizing her position, she let go of him, flushing. "Sorry 'bout that."
"I'll make you a deal," he bargained with her. "You never do that again and we'll forget this whole thing happened."
"Think I want to talk about it?"
"I don't know," he shot back. "I'm not an American."
"What does that have to do with anything?" she fired back.
"Your country has a strange sense of humor," he said, watching her eyes flash. Slightly paling as he realized the implications of his words, he backtracked as quickly as he could. "Willow, don't be mad at me to. I can't take having another girl being mad at me."
"Okay," she sighed as they walked back to the house. "I don't have the energy to be mad at anyone right now, even if they somewhat deserve it. And you do have a point. Our sense of humor is odd. Of course, I find yours equally puzzling."
"Will you tell Hermione that I can be right about something?" he asked.
"Oh, I think she knows. She just thinks that you should be more right about school work, not human nature."
"But there's more to life than books, Willow."
"Yeah," she agreed.
"So why is she focusing on just one thing?" He held the door open for her and followed her into the warm kitchen.
Thinking it over, she shrugged. "Comfort zone. Much like your Quidditch seems to be a comfort to Harry."
"Uh, not to be rude or anything but what were you doing on the roof?" Harry asked quietly.
Their heads whipped around and they saw him at the kitchen table, slightly kicking it. A mug of something in front of him, steam curled up and around his face.
"Hiding from Lucius Malfoy," Ron answered, recovering rather quickly from the shock. "How did you know we were up there?"
"Did a locator spell, I wanted to talk to you about something," he shrugged. Picking up the mug, he sipped before continuing. "You'll never guess who we have in Snape's lab at the moment. Never mind, it's Peter Pettigrew."
"Why is that rotten rat here?" Ron asked, fist tightening on his wand.
"Beats me," he said, watching them both. In the back of his mind, he filed away the reference about hiding from the senior Malfoy for later questioning. Though he knew there was a good reason for Willow to avoid him, he had never known Ron to back away from anyone.
"Why are you here instead of finding out? I mean, Pettigrew's arrival can only be bad new for you. This isn't like you at all, Harry. Usually you're right in the thick of it, trying to put together the pieces."
"I know," he agreed with him, explaining. "I was told-and I quote, 'Keep your curious nose out of this. What happens between Peter and me is not your affair. Am I making myself clear, Harry?' And since I had promised Sirius that I would be more careful, I came in here with Blaise to avoid to whole mess. She's around here somewhere."
"Who is this Peter Pettigrew?" Willow asked, looking between them. "And why do I really feel like I should know that name? That I've heard it somewhere before?"
Harry and Ron exchanged looks, wondering what they should tell her. "He's the wizard who betrayed my parents to Voldemort," he finally said.
"Oh," she faintly said. "Uhm, wouldn't it be a bad thing for him to be here? How do you know he hasn't been sent to kill you? Or take you before Voldemort?"
"Because the Dark Lord wishes to have an actual fight with Potter," Blaise coolly answered for him. Unlike them, she understood the mind of the Dark Lord all too easily. "And if Potter is killed by someone else, he won't get it. The same goes if he doesn't finish his schooling because of someone's idiocy. To Voldemort the greatest humiliation he has ever suffered was to be defeated by a small baby. He will not allow that kind of defeat to tarnish his reputation again. He wants to have an actual duel with him. I know because he's a Slytherin and, other than ambition, pride is our defining feature."
"Wonderful," Harry groaned and hid his face in his hands. "Could my life get any worse?"
"That depends, my darling son, on what you consider worse."
His head shot up and he looked about, eyes wide as his breathing came in harsh pants. There was no mistaking what he heard, though he could see nothing. He knew that voice from his nightmares, from his dreams of a past he barely recalled as being his.
It was his mother's voice.
Ignoring the looks and questions he was getting, he tentatively called out, "Mom?"
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Ring!
Giles reached over and picked up the phone, "Hello," he absently greeted.
"Giles, I need you to come over."
The voice on the other end sounded different somehow but he knew it to be Buffy's. It snapped him out of the book he was studying. "Is everything all right?" he asked, putting aside his work.
"I told mom everything. Well, not all of it because I don't know all of it. I just the part about the vampires and my being the Slayer," she answered, adding hesitantly. "Does that make out to be all right?"
Taking off his glasses, he pinched the bridge of his nose. "It depends on the reasons. Why did you choose to tell her now after so long?"
"She knows about the vampires."
"Ah."
"Yeah," she nodded, though she knew he wouldn't see it. "She told me I couldn't go to the mansion because of the dangers she just found out were here. I figured it would be best to tell her what I knew. I didn't think it was right to take the chance on not being allowed out at all. You know, total supervision, always being watched, giving me no opportunity to sneak out to do my slayer thing. Are you going to tell the Council about this?"
"There's nothing to tell," he finally said after some thought. There was no point in denying it any longer. He had ceased to be loyal to the Council when he had meet Buffy Summers and had integrated into her life. She was his Slayer-and the one who had his total loyalty. "It was naïve of us to believe that your mother would never find out what was going on. Does she know that Xander and Willow know of this?"
"Not exactly," she hedged, biting her lip and watching her mom from her position. It didn't look like her mom was listening in, but one could never tell.
"Buffy," he started.
"I know, I know. I can't keep that secret from her forever. It's just that she's only now found out about who I really am," she sighed and he heard a rustling sound, revealing that she was fidgeting nervously. "I don't want to overload her with to much information. Nor do I want to disappoint her by letting her know that my friends have known from the very beginning about the night world. But I think she suspects that they do. My mom's not stupid."
"Why do you need me to come over? It sounds to me like you have everything under control," he observed, proud of the way Buffy had calmly handled the situation.
"Mom wants to talk to you," she shrugged. "I guess she wants some in depth information-and to find out how serious you are in keeping me safe. I don't think she believed me when I said that you are a more of a partner to me than a watcher."
"Did you explain what a watcher was?" he asked.
"I tried to but I don't think my explanation pleased mom."
"Very well," he said. "Let me finish this research…"
"Giles!"
He winced at the sound of the whine in her voice. "Don't start, Buffy. It has nothing to do with your job or some arcane prophecy. What I happen to be researching is something that I believe with help Professor Snape and young Mr. Potter," he patiently explained, adding, with a slight bite in his words. "Not everything I do has to do with you or the Council, you know."
"Could've fooled me. I seem to make your life-and theirs'-have meaning."
Glancing up, he nodded at Xander who had just knocked on his office door. "Their lives might have more meaning because you are a part of it, but I do fine with my own."
"Sure you do. I know you love me," she drawled slightly before laughing. "I'll see you when you get here. And Giles?"
"Yes?"
"Drive carefully. I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you."
Buffy hung up before he could reply and he stared at it in consternation for a moment. There really was nothing he could have said anyway, really. She already knew. Shaking his head, he hung up the phone.
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End, part 15