Disclaimer: See part one for details.
Notes: Okay, so I totally forgot that the muggle shotgun line was borrowed from somewhere else. I don't remember the author but I figured I had better reassure anyone who reads it and recognises it from that other story (that I honestly remember neither title nor author of) that I know it's from elsewhere. So there's that disclaimer. I'm sorry about any delays but life has a way of creeping up on you and telling you there's no way you'll get to write any more *ever*. As to the theory about Dumbledore, that's my personal theory about how he seems to know absolutely everything that goes on at Hogwarts. If you have any complaints or questions leave a review and I'll try to get to them.
*******************
The next evening Harry and Ron were both sincerely disgusted with their respective girlfriends over their decision not to alert them and follow Buffy into the forest. "I can't believe you didn't tell us! I can't believe you didn't follow her! I can't believe-" Ron ranted.
"I can't believe you actually believe we could have caught up with her in the forest," Hermione replied tartly.
Frowning Harry said, "That's not the point. She could get hurt, badly, and since she won't tell anyone about it we'd be the only ones who were able to help her." He spoke sternly to the girls who looked over his shoulder with pointed expressions. "What?"
"*She's* right here Potter," Buffy said with an amused smile. "Am I to assume that you're worried I'm going to get killed going up against something in that forest?"
"Yes," replied Ron belligerently.
The Slayer sighed. "Guys. Unlike you people, I'm already fully trained to do this and I'm the best there is at what I do." She pinned the boys with a look when they seemed about to protest. Hermione and Ginny simply shrugged. "This isn't like when Harry's had to go up against Voldemort, stop it you three," she directed to the wincing others. "I was given special abilities and I've been training for this sort of thing for a couple years now. That's why I get the fancy title and stuff."
Ginny responded. "We were wondering what really happens when you're out hunting."
The tactful response incited Harry. "We want to help," he told her definitely. "We-" At Hermione's stern look he sighed and corrected himself. "I was worried about you."
"You want to go on patrol with me," Buffy said flatly.
Ron glanced at Hermione for help but she simply shrugged, forcing him to speak for himself. "It's just that you're . . . er . . ." He trailed off, uncertain of how to avoid dealing with monsters again but unwilling to leave Buffy without backup.
Looking around Harry realised he was going to have to take matters into his own hands. "You need someone to watch your back." He gazed at her sternly. It was a look honed by years of battles against Voldemort and was both a goad onward and a reprimand. Ron, Hermione and Ginny all reacted in spite of the fact that the look wasn't aimed at them by straightening up and firming their stances. Buffy was another matter. She leveled her I-am-the- Slayer-don't-even-think-about-messing-with-me glare right back at Harry. He didn't waver under the assault but stiffened and met her stare for stare.
The others watched in silence. Finally, Buffy's eyes narrowed and her head tilted in acquiescence. "I'll set up an anti-magic spell on the flashlights I brought and you guys can come. But," and she fixed them with the death glare she used to terrify vampires causing them all to wilt slightly, "You will do what I tell you, no arguing. Got it?"
"Yes," said Ginny and Hermione. Ron looked like a stunned bunny and Harry just nodded in satisfaction. A thought occurred to Ginny suddenly. "Why aren't we simply going to use our wands?" she asked.
A soft chuckle erupted from Buffy's throat. "How do you think Dumbledore knows everything that goes on in this school?" she replied.
"He keeps track of all the spells cast on school grounds," Hermione said slowly. "That would explain it. He doesn't even have to know exactly what spells were used, just some of the general characteristics and the rest he can determine through deduction." Her eyes were wide as she looked over at the powerful wizard on the dais.
Which was when Ron brought up an important point. "How are we going to get out if we need to use Harry's cloak to get out?" He turned to Buffy. "After all, not everyone can hop off of castle towers and not be killed." That silenced the whole group for a while and they ate as they contemplated the dilemma Ron had brought to their attention.
Ginny came up with the solution their way to potions class. "We need a ladder or some rope. Maybe Buffy could talk to that acromantula and get some webbing tonight. Then tomorrow we'll go out together."
**************
They cheerfully walked into DADA the next afternoon. It was their last class that day and then they would be free to make plans for their jaunt into the forest. Their latest professor smiled at them, then announced a surprise practical quiz. Within moments the classroom was full of pixies, boggarts and dozens of other creatures that doubly confused the class because the boggarts kept shapeshifting. The professor stood to the side, warding off whatever came her way and keeping the students from being injured.
However, so many years under constant threat had taught the Hogwarts students how to survive in worse situations than that. Within minutes the classroom was down to a single boggart. That was when the class took a sudden turn. Buffy turned around to see a bloody and battered Angel stagger over to her, flames bursting along his pale skin where the sun touched it and the scent of charred flesh filled the air. "It's your fault," he gasped to her raising an accusing hand to point at her. Buffy's mind went into a tailspin and she couldn't even bring to mind the words of a single spell.
He was suddenly consumed by the fire causing Buffy to release a scream of agony and reach for him. Even as he turned to ash before her another form took his place. Willow, sweet innocent Willow bruised and battered as Angel was, her head hanging at an unnatural angle, stood before Buffy her face ashen. As she took a step toward her friend the redhead's eyes snapped open and it became clear she was a zombie. Two words emerged from her crushed throat. "Your fault," she ground out.
Shifting again the boggart took on the form of a vampire. He was wearing a tweed jacket and he smiled cheerfully at Buffy. "My dear girl. If you had been there to protect me I would never have known this glory." He lunged at her and the two began to fight. Buffy was crying as she fought her watcher to a standstill. As she brought the stake down he grinned at her with a mouth full of fangs and whispered, "It's all your fault," then vanished as Hermione, Ginny and Harry grabbed Buffy and dragged her away.
"Ron! Get the boggart!" Harry shouted.
Ron stared at him. "Why me?" he demanded.
Hermione and Ginny were cuddling Buffy as they hurried her out the door, but Ginny took a moment to say, "Because Hermy and I are helping Buffy and the class doesn't need a dementor running around in here after that and that's what we'll get if Harry tries." She shot a glare at her brother as they hustled Buffy out the classroom door.
Blinking, the last of the group realised that Ginny was right and started to force the giant spider to go away. "Riddikulus!" he shouted and watched in satisfaction as the boggart disappeared with a pop. Then he ran off to join his friends, leaving the poor professor to clean up the chaos left behind. He arrived in the Gryffindor common room in time to see Buffy pull herself back under control. Plopping down next to the girls and shooting a glance over at Harry who was looking grim and pale by the fireplace, he asked, "Buffy? You alright?"
A hiccup emerged from her throat, then Buffy took a deep breath and replied, "I'm okay now guys. Thanks." She looked a little shaky, but since she seemed to have recovered they took her at her word.
"Who were they?" Harry asked. Hermione and Ginny both glared at him and he tried to tone down the question. "I mean-"
"Giles, Willow, Angel," she replied softly. Her eyes were unfocussed, staring into space. "So many people have died because of me. Because I brought all that slayer stuff with me or because I failed." Tears began to appear in her eyes. "I'm so terrified sometimes that I'll go back and they'll all be dead because I wasn't there to protect them. And Angel . . ." Silence permeated the room. She'd told them about him. About how much they loved each other, about her nightmares that he was being tortured and how she had no way of knowing where he was because he'd left Sunnydale so many months before to move the Judge's arm to a safe location.
"He's fine," Ginny said to her. She dropped to her knees in front of the distraught Slayer and forced Buffy to focus. "He is fine, and you will see him soon. Don't start looking for trouble. Remember how we told you what happened to Harry in his Fifth year?" They all winced at the reminder of Sirius' death, but the words helped to ease some of the tension and Buffy managed a weak smile.
"Thanks," she told them. "Look. Why don't we go to dinner and tonight we'll take a look around to see what's in the forest. Okay?" Buffy looked around at the group she was privately calling the Harryettes and grinned at their enthusiasm when there was a series of eager nods. After everyone was settled for the night Buffy, Hermione and Ginny crept up to the boys' area and met Ron and Harry and the group proceeded to make their way to the forest.
Or, at least, begin to make their way to the forest. "Ow! Harry! You just stepped on my hand!"
"Well if you weren't so slow Ron-"
"Slow! You're the one who can't seem to realise we could fall to our deaths at any minute!"
"Shut up both of you. I'm not particularly interested in hearing about our imminent deaths."
"Imminent? That's it, I'm climbing back up-"
"No you're not because you'd have to climb over me and I don't want you climbing over me."
Buffy spoke up from her position at the bottom of the rope ladder. "If you guys just climbed down instead of arguing the whole way we could probably all be on the roof by now."
"She's got a point."
"Be quiet Ginny."
"Besides, we still have to get down to ground level."
"Thanks a bunch Herm. I really needed to be reminded of that."
"Well, if I ever need to write a comedy sketch I've got all the dialogue right here," Buffy said.
Muttering grumbles drifted down to her from those on the ladder until, one by one, they finally joined her on the roof. "Now what?" Ron asked.
"We still have to get down to ground level before we go into the forest," replied the Slayer as she led the way to the next climb. A series of groans followed her, then the teenagers followed their groans. Finally they were on the ground and four waited while Ron happily knelt and kissed the ground next to the castle wall. "You finished makin' out with the grass Ron?" Buffy asked with a grin.
He hastily straightened up and Buffy handed around the flashlights, stakes, holy water and crosses. Then she held out a sword. "Here Harry. You've used a sword before so I think this'll be more comfortable for you." He took it and gave a couple quick swings before letting his arm fall to his side. "Ron, Ginny, Hermione, I don't trust you guys with the pointy sharp weapons since none of you have any experience with them." She reached into a gap in the wall and pulled out three quarterstaves. "Here. The worst you guys'll be able to do is give someone some broken bones with these, but you'll have weapons."
Buffy showed Ron and Ginny how to work the flashlights, "Torches," Harry put in, then they followed the Slayer into the woods. For the first fifteen minutes nothing happened and finally Harry asked hesitantly, "Um . . . is it just a slow night or is it like this a lot?"
Grinning, Buffy turned around. "Willow had a perfect quote to describe patrolling, 'Total boredom punctuated by moments of utter terror,'" she said. "That's what happens. You see," she explained, "I can't do anything but either look for vampires and demons, or wait for them to do something within earshot. If they're not around, nothing happens."
"Then why do you go out every night?" Ginny asked.
"Because the one night I don't go out could be the one night the vamps totally massacre the town or something." A shrug followed as Buffy easily avoided a series of roots that tripped the others. "The problem is that the demons don't usually give me their social calendars to let me know what to work around."
Hermione spoke up. "Why don't you have a torch?"
Another grin. "Does it look like I need one? I have to chase vampires down, sometimes with no preparation at all and I have to fight them in the dark. If I couldn't handle myself in the dark I'd be a pretty lousy slayer." Buffy demonstrated this night vision by catching Ginny's careless swing of her quarterstaff before it knocked Harry out.
Several minutes went by until Ron snarled in annoyance, "Why do we need these stupid staffs anyways?"
It was one of those moments that give a person the perfect opportunity to demonstrate the usefulness of something. In this case, the quarterstaves. A vampire, wielding a staff himself, vaulted down out of the trees and Buffy snatched Ron's staff up and blocked the oncoming blow from hitting Hermione. She slipped beneath the vampire's guard with a roundhouse kick, and just barely stopped his retaliatory blow with her staff. They traded blows for another couple minutes, the staves whirling through the air with deadly accuracy and speed, slayer and vampire each just barely blocking the other's strikes.
In one smooth motion Buffy dropped into a crouch and swung the staff around, knocking the vampire's feet out from under him. Before he could recover she'd dropped the staff and pulled out a stake as she dove across the clearing to plunge it through his heart. She spun around and hurled the stake through the air between Ron and Ginny to land in the chest of another vampire that had been sneaking up on the group. The audience of four stared in shock as the two vampires exploded into ashes before their eyes. With a slightly eerie simultaneity they all turned to look at Buffy still crouched on the ground. "What?" she asked nonchalantly. "Oh yeah, thanks for this," she said and tossed the staff back to Ron as she stood.
"Wow," said Ginny.
"Seconded," Hermione added. "Could you possibly . . ." she looked slightly uncertain.
Harry picked up her thought. "Could you teach us how to do that?" he asked.
"Sure," Buffy replied. "At least I can try. I mean, there are some things I do that I can only do 'cause I'm the Slayer you know." The others nodded and pelted her with questions for the rest of the patrol. They made their way back inside and went to bed.
********************************
He growled, low and completely feral, as he pounced on the terrified deer. Drawing its blood out in great gulps he felt some more of his strength return and he turned again towards the feeling that beckoned. He had not seen any of the robed men that had caused him pain since leaving the wood where they had dumped him, but he could still sometimes scent them nearby. When he did he hid from them. It rankled, hiding from those creatures, but a small remnant of his former self knew that to face them was to invite more torment. Worse, they would keep him from the thing that called to him. And he knew he had to reach it.
Although he still flinched from contact with the sun, he had learned that he had no reason to fear it. Still, he traveled only by night and kept to the shadows during the day as he slept, dreaming of a tiny blonde female that was both his hunter and his prey and who was his mate. He woke up every evening with the only word he knew on his lips. "Buffy."
"Angel."
"Buffy wake up. You're going to be late for breakfast," Hermione said as she shook her friend awake.
TBC...
Notes: Okay, so I totally forgot that the muggle shotgun line was borrowed from somewhere else. I don't remember the author but I figured I had better reassure anyone who reads it and recognises it from that other story (that I honestly remember neither title nor author of) that I know it's from elsewhere. So there's that disclaimer. I'm sorry about any delays but life has a way of creeping up on you and telling you there's no way you'll get to write any more *ever*. As to the theory about Dumbledore, that's my personal theory about how he seems to know absolutely everything that goes on at Hogwarts. If you have any complaints or questions leave a review and I'll try to get to them.
*******************
The next evening Harry and Ron were both sincerely disgusted with their respective girlfriends over their decision not to alert them and follow Buffy into the forest. "I can't believe you didn't tell us! I can't believe you didn't follow her! I can't believe-" Ron ranted.
"I can't believe you actually believe we could have caught up with her in the forest," Hermione replied tartly.
Frowning Harry said, "That's not the point. She could get hurt, badly, and since she won't tell anyone about it we'd be the only ones who were able to help her." He spoke sternly to the girls who looked over his shoulder with pointed expressions. "What?"
"*She's* right here Potter," Buffy said with an amused smile. "Am I to assume that you're worried I'm going to get killed going up against something in that forest?"
"Yes," replied Ron belligerently.
The Slayer sighed. "Guys. Unlike you people, I'm already fully trained to do this and I'm the best there is at what I do." She pinned the boys with a look when they seemed about to protest. Hermione and Ginny simply shrugged. "This isn't like when Harry's had to go up against Voldemort, stop it you three," she directed to the wincing others. "I was given special abilities and I've been training for this sort of thing for a couple years now. That's why I get the fancy title and stuff."
Ginny responded. "We were wondering what really happens when you're out hunting."
The tactful response incited Harry. "We want to help," he told her definitely. "We-" At Hermione's stern look he sighed and corrected himself. "I was worried about you."
"You want to go on patrol with me," Buffy said flatly.
Ron glanced at Hermione for help but she simply shrugged, forcing him to speak for himself. "It's just that you're . . . er . . ." He trailed off, uncertain of how to avoid dealing with monsters again but unwilling to leave Buffy without backup.
Looking around Harry realised he was going to have to take matters into his own hands. "You need someone to watch your back." He gazed at her sternly. It was a look honed by years of battles against Voldemort and was both a goad onward and a reprimand. Ron, Hermione and Ginny all reacted in spite of the fact that the look wasn't aimed at them by straightening up and firming their stances. Buffy was another matter. She leveled her I-am-the- Slayer-don't-even-think-about-messing-with-me glare right back at Harry. He didn't waver under the assault but stiffened and met her stare for stare.
The others watched in silence. Finally, Buffy's eyes narrowed and her head tilted in acquiescence. "I'll set up an anti-magic spell on the flashlights I brought and you guys can come. But," and she fixed them with the death glare she used to terrify vampires causing them all to wilt slightly, "You will do what I tell you, no arguing. Got it?"
"Yes," said Ginny and Hermione. Ron looked like a stunned bunny and Harry just nodded in satisfaction. A thought occurred to Ginny suddenly. "Why aren't we simply going to use our wands?" she asked.
A soft chuckle erupted from Buffy's throat. "How do you think Dumbledore knows everything that goes on in this school?" she replied.
"He keeps track of all the spells cast on school grounds," Hermione said slowly. "That would explain it. He doesn't even have to know exactly what spells were used, just some of the general characteristics and the rest he can determine through deduction." Her eyes were wide as she looked over at the powerful wizard on the dais.
Which was when Ron brought up an important point. "How are we going to get out if we need to use Harry's cloak to get out?" He turned to Buffy. "After all, not everyone can hop off of castle towers and not be killed." That silenced the whole group for a while and they ate as they contemplated the dilemma Ron had brought to their attention.
Ginny came up with the solution their way to potions class. "We need a ladder or some rope. Maybe Buffy could talk to that acromantula and get some webbing tonight. Then tomorrow we'll go out together."
**************
They cheerfully walked into DADA the next afternoon. It was their last class that day and then they would be free to make plans for their jaunt into the forest. Their latest professor smiled at them, then announced a surprise practical quiz. Within moments the classroom was full of pixies, boggarts and dozens of other creatures that doubly confused the class because the boggarts kept shapeshifting. The professor stood to the side, warding off whatever came her way and keeping the students from being injured.
However, so many years under constant threat had taught the Hogwarts students how to survive in worse situations than that. Within minutes the classroom was down to a single boggart. That was when the class took a sudden turn. Buffy turned around to see a bloody and battered Angel stagger over to her, flames bursting along his pale skin where the sun touched it and the scent of charred flesh filled the air. "It's your fault," he gasped to her raising an accusing hand to point at her. Buffy's mind went into a tailspin and she couldn't even bring to mind the words of a single spell.
He was suddenly consumed by the fire causing Buffy to release a scream of agony and reach for him. Even as he turned to ash before her another form took his place. Willow, sweet innocent Willow bruised and battered as Angel was, her head hanging at an unnatural angle, stood before Buffy her face ashen. As she took a step toward her friend the redhead's eyes snapped open and it became clear she was a zombie. Two words emerged from her crushed throat. "Your fault," she ground out.
Shifting again the boggart took on the form of a vampire. He was wearing a tweed jacket and he smiled cheerfully at Buffy. "My dear girl. If you had been there to protect me I would never have known this glory." He lunged at her and the two began to fight. Buffy was crying as she fought her watcher to a standstill. As she brought the stake down he grinned at her with a mouth full of fangs and whispered, "It's all your fault," then vanished as Hermione, Ginny and Harry grabbed Buffy and dragged her away.
"Ron! Get the boggart!" Harry shouted.
Ron stared at him. "Why me?" he demanded.
Hermione and Ginny were cuddling Buffy as they hurried her out the door, but Ginny took a moment to say, "Because Hermy and I are helping Buffy and the class doesn't need a dementor running around in here after that and that's what we'll get if Harry tries." She shot a glare at her brother as they hustled Buffy out the classroom door.
Blinking, the last of the group realised that Ginny was right and started to force the giant spider to go away. "Riddikulus!" he shouted and watched in satisfaction as the boggart disappeared with a pop. Then he ran off to join his friends, leaving the poor professor to clean up the chaos left behind. He arrived in the Gryffindor common room in time to see Buffy pull herself back under control. Plopping down next to the girls and shooting a glance over at Harry who was looking grim and pale by the fireplace, he asked, "Buffy? You alright?"
A hiccup emerged from her throat, then Buffy took a deep breath and replied, "I'm okay now guys. Thanks." She looked a little shaky, but since she seemed to have recovered they took her at her word.
"Who were they?" Harry asked. Hermione and Ginny both glared at him and he tried to tone down the question. "I mean-"
"Giles, Willow, Angel," she replied softly. Her eyes were unfocussed, staring into space. "So many people have died because of me. Because I brought all that slayer stuff with me or because I failed." Tears began to appear in her eyes. "I'm so terrified sometimes that I'll go back and they'll all be dead because I wasn't there to protect them. And Angel . . ." Silence permeated the room. She'd told them about him. About how much they loved each other, about her nightmares that he was being tortured and how she had no way of knowing where he was because he'd left Sunnydale so many months before to move the Judge's arm to a safe location.
"He's fine," Ginny said to her. She dropped to her knees in front of the distraught Slayer and forced Buffy to focus. "He is fine, and you will see him soon. Don't start looking for trouble. Remember how we told you what happened to Harry in his Fifth year?" They all winced at the reminder of Sirius' death, but the words helped to ease some of the tension and Buffy managed a weak smile.
"Thanks," she told them. "Look. Why don't we go to dinner and tonight we'll take a look around to see what's in the forest. Okay?" Buffy looked around at the group she was privately calling the Harryettes and grinned at their enthusiasm when there was a series of eager nods. After everyone was settled for the night Buffy, Hermione and Ginny crept up to the boys' area and met Ron and Harry and the group proceeded to make their way to the forest.
Or, at least, begin to make their way to the forest. "Ow! Harry! You just stepped on my hand!"
"Well if you weren't so slow Ron-"
"Slow! You're the one who can't seem to realise we could fall to our deaths at any minute!"
"Shut up both of you. I'm not particularly interested in hearing about our imminent deaths."
"Imminent? That's it, I'm climbing back up-"
"No you're not because you'd have to climb over me and I don't want you climbing over me."
Buffy spoke up from her position at the bottom of the rope ladder. "If you guys just climbed down instead of arguing the whole way we could probably all be on the roof by now."
"She's got a point."
"Be quiet Ginny."
"Besides, we still have to get down to ground level."
"Thanks a bunch Herm. I really needed to be reminded of that."
"Well, if I ever need to write a comedy sketch I've got all the dialogue right here," Buffy said.
Muttering grumbles drifted down to her from those on the ladder until, one by one, they finally joined her on the roof. "Now what?" Ron asked.
"We still have to get down to ground level before we go into the forest," replied the Slayer as she led the way to the next climb. A series of groans followed her, then the teenagers followed their groans. Finally they were on the ground and four waited while Ron happily knelt and kissed the ground next to the castle wall. "You finished makin' out with the grass Ron?" Buffy asked with a grin.
He hastily straightened up and Buffy handed around the flashlights, stakes, holy water and crosses. Then she held out a sword. "Here Harry. You've used a sword before so I think this'll be more comfortable for you." He took it and gave a couple quick swings before letting his arm fall to his side. "Ron, Ginny, Hermione, I don't trust you guys with the pointy sharp weapons since none of you have any experience with them." She reached into a gap in the wall and pulled out three quarterstaves. "Here. The worst you guys'll be able to do is give someone some broken bones with these, but you'll have weapons."
Buffy showed Ron and Ginny how to work the flashlights, "Torches," Harry put in, then they followed the Slayer into the woods. For the first fifteen minutes nothing happened and finally Harry asked hesitantly, "Um . . . is it just a slow night or is it like this a lot?"
Grinning, Buffy turned around. "Willow had a perfect quote to describe patrolling, 'Total boredom punctuated by moments of utter terror,'" she said. "That's what happens. You see," she explained, "I can't do anything but either look for vampires and demons, or wait for them to do something within earshot. If they're not around, nothing happens."
"Then why do you go out every night?" Ginny asked.
"Because the one night I don't go out could be the one night the vamps totally massacre the town or something." A shrug followed as Buffy easily avoided a series of roots that tripped the others. "The problem is that the demons don't usually give me their social calendars to let me know what to work around."
Hermione spoke up. "Why don't you have a torch?"
Another grin. "Does it look like I need one? I have to chase vampires down, sometimes with no preparation at all and I have to fight them in the dark. If I couldn't handle myself in the dark I'd be a pretty lousy slayer." Buffy demonstrated this night vision by catching Ginny's careless swing of her quarterstaff before it knocked Harry out.
Several minutes went by until Ron snarled in annoyance, "Why do we need these stupid staffs anyways?"
It was one of those moments that give a person the perfect opportunity to demonstrate the usefulness of something. In this case, the quarterstaves. A vampire, wielding a staff himself, vaulted down out of the trees and Buffy snatched Ron's staff up and blocked the oncoming blow from hitting Hermione. She slipped beneath the vampire's guard with a roundhouse kick, and just barely stopped his retaliatory blow with her staff. They traded blows for another couple minutes, the staves whirling through the air with deadly accuracy and speed, slayer and vampire each just barely blocking the other's strikes.
In one smooth motion Buffy dropped into a crouch and swung the staff around, knocking the vampire's feet out from under him. Before he could recover she'd dropped the staff and pulled out a stake as she dove across the clearing to plunge it through his heart. She spun around and hurled the stake through the air between Ron and Ginny to land in the chest of another vampire that had been sneaking up on the group. The audience of four stared in shock as the two vampires exploded into ashes before their eyes. With a slightly eerie simultaneity they all turned to look at Buffy still crouched on the ground. "What?" she asked nonchalantly. "Oh yeah, thanks for this," she said and tossed the staff back to Ron as she stood.
"Wow," said Ginny.
"Seconded," Hermione added. "Could you possibly . . ." she looked slightly uncertain.
Harry picked up her thought. "Could you teach us how to do that?" he asked.
"Sure," Buffy replied. "At least I can try. I mean, there are some things I do that I can only do 'cause I'm the Slayer you know." The others nodded and pelted her with questions for the rest of the patrol. They made their way back inside and went to bed.
********************************
He growled, low and completely feral, as he pounced on the terrified deer. Drawing its blood out in great gulps he felt some more of his strength return and he turned again towards the feeling that beckoned. He had not seen any of the robed men that had caused him pain since leaving the wood where they had dumped him, but he could still sometimes scent them nearby. When he did he hid from them. It rankled, hiding from those creatures, but a small remnant of his former self knew that to face them was to invite more torment. Worse, they would keep him from the thing that called to him. And he knew he had to reach it.
Although he still flinched from contact with the sun, he had learned that he had no reason to fear it. Still, he traveled only by night and kept to the shadows during the day as he slept, dreaming of a tiny blonde female that was both his hunter and his prey and who was his mate. He woke up every evening with the only word he knew on his lips. "Buffy."
"Angel."
"Buffy wake up. You're going to be late for breakfast," Hermione said as she shook her friend awake.
TBC...