Blood Ties
Part 16
Rating, summary and such are same as before.
Note 1: I think I name the broom that Draco used as Nimbus 1991 instead of 2001 in 'Chamber of Secrets'... let's just ignore it and pretend it's 2001 from the start... hehe... ;p
Note 2: Thank you Joahn for beta-reading the story!
"Okay." Willow took a step back as the giant rose took step forward towards her, the look on Rose's 'face' sent a chill down the redhead's spine. "You're really starting to freak me out!"
"You should be freaked out." Rose smirked, and held up a figure. Within a blink, the short figure transformed itself into a long wooden wand, and the giant rose immediately waved it at the redhead. "Incendio!" Fire shot out from the wand and landed right in front of Willow, lighting up the area around her.
Willow jumped when she found herself surrounded by fire. Looking around panicking, she raised her hands to call on a spell, when she remembered she had her wand in her back pocket. Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape had both asked the redhead not to use wandless magic, and instructed her to keep her wand with her at all times. Quickly drew out her wand, she pointed it at the fire. "Finite!" The fire disappeared, and the redhead quickly turned her wand towards Rose.
"Not bad." Rose took another step towards Willow. "Petrificus Totalus!"
"Protego!" Willow called before the binding spell could hit her, and deflecting it right back towards Rose.
Rose ducked, barely missing the spell. "Expelli-"
"Locomotor Mortis!" A bright light shot out from Willow's wand and hit Rose's legs before she could finish her spell. The giant rose fell onto the floor as her legs mystically stuck together. "Petrificus Totalus!" wasting no time, Willow called for another spell, effectively making Rose's body ridgid.
The redhead stared at the rigid body for a second, before finally getting up enough courage to take a step closer. Suddenly, the body of Rose turned itself into some kind of liquid and started transforming into another form, as if it was the T-1000 from Terminator 2.
Willow jumped back, watching with wide eyes as the liquid quickly materialized into a familiar form. "Mom?"
"Giles?" Buffy called out as she pushed open the door. The young witch had gone to her stepfather's office after her talk with Xander, half excepting to see her mother there. Instead, she found the history professor sitting at his desk, polishing his glasses furiously while his wife was no where to be sight. "Where's mum?"
"Oh?"
Professor Giles frowned and put his glasses back on. The young witch's eyes narrowed a bit when she saw the usually neat man had his top three buttons of his robes undone, a worn look on his face. "I saw her outside the castle earlier." She said.
Giles sighed. "I see."
"Dad, what's going on? Is mum okay?"
Professor Giles stood and made his way towards his step-daughter, putting a comforting hand on the young woman's shoulder. "Your mother is fine Buffy."
"But-"
"Please Buffy. I promise you. There's nothing you have to worry about." Giles smiled, and moved towards the closet at the end of his office. "Now, I know you've been practicing Quidditch..."
"You knew?" Buffy squealed. "How did you- I never told anyone, not even Xander..."
"I did practice a lot back in my days."
"Right. Ravenclaw beater." Paused. "You aren't going to tell anyone, are you?"
"Why the secrecy?"
"I..." Buffy shifted nervously. "Just don't tell anyone, please?"
"Well," Giles smiled softly as he pulled out a huge parcel. "Then I guess you wouldn't want the present..."
"Present? I got a present?" Buffy's face brightened immediately and held out her hands. "Gimme gimme gimme!"
Giles shook his head, and handed it to his daughter. Buffy quickly torn open the wrapping, and grinned when she saw a new broomstick. "Nimbus 2001!"
"I know it may be slower compared to a Firebolt, but it is much faster than the Cleansweep or Comet. You won't believe how bloody expensive it is. I myself used a Nimbus 1500 while in-" Giles didn't get to continue as he suddenly had his hands full of his young daughter.
"Thank you."
"You're very welcome." Giles smiled. "It's dark out already. Promise me you won't try it out until tomorrow?"
Buffy nodded eagerly. "I better go show it to the gang!" The blond witch grinned and quickly ran out of the office.
Giles stood there, his soft smile slowly disappeared and replaced by a deep resolve.
"Mom?" Willow blinked for a second, before rushing forward and kneed beside the older woman who was still lying on the floor, unmoving.
Suddenly, Shelia's eyes shot open and she pointed her wand towards Willow. "Reducto!" Unprepared, Willow was thrown away by an invisible force. The redhead let out a cry as her back hit the wall at the far end of the room and slid onto the floor. "Willow." Shelia slowly stood up, her wand still pointing at the youngster.
Willow coughed and looked up slowly, her eyes filled with tears. "Mom?"
"Should have killed you a long time ago." Shelia growled as she waved her wand, throwing her only daughter towards another corner as if she was a rag doll. Willow cried out in pain, her wand dropped next to her. "Should have never given birth to you."
"Mom... don't..."
"Don't what? Don't hurt you?" Shelia let out a horrorible laugh. "Should have thought about it when you murdered me! Crucio!" Willow screamed as the spell hit her. The pain was so unbearable that she wished she could pass out: every nerve in her body was on fire, her muscles twitching uncontrollably. At the back of her mind, the young witch recognized the spell as one of the illegal curses that she had read about earlier in the library - one of the Unforgivable Curse; and she knew no matter how much pain she was in, the spell would not let her pass out. "Murderer!"
"N-no..." Willow gasped. "It's-s a car a-accident..."
"Why do you think would I be in that car! I was coming back for you!" Shelia shouted angrily. "Crucio!" Willow screamed even louder as the spell hit her again. "You ungrateful trash! If not for you I wouldn't have been hunted by those damn wizards! I wouldn't have had to run and hide in the muggle world and I certainly wouldn't have died!"
"No!" Willow bit her lips and ignored the pain, trying to push herself up. "You're w-" Willow's words were cut short as Shelia once again waved her wand and introduced the girl to the hard wall.
"You honestly think it was an accident!" Shelia moved towards Willow. "It was you! You and your stupid spells! You let them tail your mark back to Sunnydale!" The older Rosenberg grabbed Willow by the collar and picked her up. "YOU. KILLED. ME!" She then threw the redhead back onto the floor.
"N-no! You're wrong!" Willow's eyes darted around, quickly located her wand lying just a couple feet away. "And y-you are not my mom! S-she's dead!" She turned back towards the older woman and shouted, slowly crawling backwards towards her wand.
"Thanks to you!" Shelia stepped closer as the redhead crawled away from her. "You are the mistake I should have corrected a long time ago." She growled. "The only reason I let you live was because I needed a bargaining chip in case they found me. I would have never thought they would find you first. And now, your use is outlived." She held up her wand and waved towards Willow. "Avada Kedavra!"
Willow rolled herself away, barely avoided the killing curse that was directed at her and picked up her wand in the process. "Expelliarmus!" She cried out, and the spell knocked the wand away from Shelia.
Shelia growled again when she dropped her wand. Willow leaned against the wall and slowly pushed herself upwards. "You are not my mother."
"Keep telling yourself that." Shelia spit. Willow's eyes narrowed at the woman before her.
Suddenly, the hands' of the man in the portrait behind Willow grabbed her by her arms and knocked her wand back onto the floor. Shelia laughed, watching as Willow struggled to get herself free. She slowly made her way towards Willow and picked up her wand. "You shouldn't have fought back, Willow." The older woman hissed. Holding up the girl's wand on both ends, the older woman broke it into two over her knees and threw them away. "Now your wand pays the price." She then cocked her head and turned towards the other side of the altar, as if hearing something. "Phoenix." She smirked, before turning back towards Willow. "So my little trash has found herself a faithful phoenix. I can hear it screaming just outside the door. Too bad this place is warded." She thought for a moment. "Maybe I can let it in, and then kill it in front of you. Would you like that?"
"You leave Bennu out of this!"
"Bennu: Egyptian sun bird, symbol of Osiris incarnate, sacred bird of Heliopolis. Cute." Shelia smiled widened. "Let's see how the sacred bird does when it encounters a killing curse, shall we?" She turned around, and moved towards the other end of the altar.
"NO!" Shelia turned back, and found herself staring at two black orbs.
Buffy had just arrived from her father's office when she saw Harry sitting at the window sill in the common room, staring at the sky as if waiting for something. She grinned, put down her broom quietly, and snuck towards her friend. "Boo."
Harry spun around. "Buffy." He sighed in relief. "You startled me."
"That's the point." Buffy grinned. "What 'cha doing anyway?" She joined Harry near the window and looked out. "Waiting for something?"
"Hedwig."
"Hedwig?" Buffy blinked. "Ah. You managed to finish the letter?"
Harry shrugged and looked out at the window again. Buffy frowned, only then she noticed the ring on Harry's right hand. "Didn't know you got a ring." She commented, holding Harry's hand up before he could protest. "Claddagh ring?"
"You knew?"
Buffy nodded. "It's facing inward..." She paused. "You sent the other one to Willow, didn't you?"
"I bought them right before the semester started." Harry sighed and retreated his hand. "I would have given it to her earlier, but I just couldn't seem to find my courage." He sighed again. "Some Gryffindor."
Buffy's head dropped a bit. "You really like her, aren't you?" She asked quietly.
Harry nodded before turning towards the window again. Buffy stared at him for a moment, before slowly turning away and walking towards her dormitory, a half-confused, half-pained look plastered on her face, her new broom long forgotten.