Chapter Five: The Games We Play

When Remus arrived back the next day, he had Dumbledore in toe. Albus knew his daughter could be forceful and commanding but he'd never seen the air of authority that Remus had described. The headmaster supposed that was the toll of not being around his daughter enough while she grew up. It had hurt to practically give her away. Ninety percent of the communication they shared was via owl.

So Dumbledore was anxious to see Buffy but he was also there to check on young Malfoy. The boy was under his charge during the school year after all and he felt it was his duty to look after him.

Buffy was already downstairs by the time they arrived. She was talking enthusiastically with Tom about the dangers of serving beer in a place where magic was as common as a hiccup. The poor bartender didn't seem to know what to say to the girl in response to tales of cavemen and fires. When he spotted Dumbledore, his shoulders sagged in relief and he pointed out their location to the young blonde.

She smiled and led the two gentlemen back on the street. She's been cooped up all night in the room watching over Draco and the lack of slaying left her jittering with energy.

"Buffy where is Draco?" her father questioned.

"He's still not feeling well. I left him with strict orders not to leave the room. He was up half the night explaining everything to me and getting patched up. It was kind of nice. I haven't been around someone my own age in a while," Buffy enlightened with a smile and a shrug.

Albus was glad to see his daughter so happy but he was still worried about the Slytherin's welfare.

"How is he really? Remus told me you seemed in a great hurry to get him off his feet."

"He's doing much better. He'd been hiding for a few days with no one to trust so he hadn't taken any time to help himself. I know what that's like," here she paused and seemed to shake herself out of a memory. "At first he seemed reluctant to even let me see the wounds, but I guess he figured the whole 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' policy was going to apply. His dad hurt him, his dad is after me - hence I am really the least of his worries."

"Remus said you smelled blood. I'm curious to how you did that when someone of Remus' …capabilities… didn't smell a thing."

"It's something I did. I was researching spells with Wil… a friend…and I figured that smelling blood would come in handy. Some people never get the chance to scream so I don't get to them fast enough. I figured if I could smell blood from across town I could find the baddies easier."

Both men looked shocked at the revelation. Something of that magnitude should have been far above Buffy's ability. Buffy simply smiled and continued to walk.

"Buffy," Remus sputtered, "how on Earth did you accomplish that without a wand?"

"I studied Wicca and other techniques instead of doing my homework. What's the point of doing homework for a class I was going to have to skip to save the world anyway? I just decided it was more practical to find ways to better protect myself. Magic on the Hellmouth is strange though. Nothing ever works perfectly. The blood thing, for example, makes being in hospitals unbearable. I had hoped that it would only work while I was slaying."

"So you do wandless magic then?"

"Mostly. I had to learn how to channel all that power somehow. It itched under my skin. Being a witch and a slayer allows for a wide spectrum of attributes. It's like double the magic sometimes."

"Buffy I hate to bring it back up… but you were parleying information about Malfoy's condition…" Sometimes Dumbledore could be a stickler for details. His daughter knew this better than anyone.

"He actually hurt himself. It's quite funny actually, though I'm sure not to him. He was running away from the death-eaters his father sent and he slipped into a ravine of sorts. He nicked his side rather badly. It's a superficial wound though; he should be fine by tomorrow."

Dumbledore seemed satisfied with her diagnosis and so Buffy decided to let them in on the juicy gossip she'd learned the night before. You can take the girl out of the valley, but you can't take the valley out of the girl.

"You'll never guess who it was that found him there, in the ditch, and helped him to escape," she giggled in excitement. It was so fun knowing things that others, especially her father, didn't. Well it was fun until said father ruined it with his response.

"Severus told me how he'd heard Lucius' plans and decided to join the group in order to save the boy."

"Oh go on and take away all the surprise," she grumbled. Then she had a devious thought and turned to Lupin. "See Remus, I told you Snape was a good guy. He's working as a double agent to help save humankind." When she saw the effect her words were having on the werewolf she nearly jumped for joy. He was getting antsy about hearing Snape's good graces. If her father was going to spoil the guessing game she could always find her fun elsewhere. "He was like a white knight coming to the rescue; so very brave and heroic," she even swooned as an added flourish.

"Yes well, shouldn't we be getting you that wand?" Without waiting for a response Remus started for Ollivander's.

Dumbledore waited until Lupin was out of hearing before he turned to the slayer. "You know you really shouldn't tease him like that."

"But he's so easy to fluster; how could I not? Besides only half of what I said was for show. Severus really does seem like a decent guy and Draco sees him like a pseudo role model by the way he was talking."

"Yes, I suppose Draco would. Did he tell you why his father had an attack planned?"

"Draco refused to join the death-eaters. He may hate Harry but not enough to sell his soul."

"I always saw potential in him. I've just been waiting for him to show it."

"Everyone has got to step out in their own time dad. It took me a long time to really embrace the whole slayer deal. I think he was trapped in a role that he'd been placed in at birth and has just now found the will to break free."

"And when, my daughter, did you become so wise?" Dumbledore wrapped an arm around Buffy's shoulder.

"Just recently." The teen snuggled into the wizard's robes more firmly, never wanting to let go.