Chapter 6

The next two weeks of school pass by like always, boring. I go to class, train, do homework, and other typical stuff that adds to the monotony of my life. Not that I don't like things being a bit boring, or that I was sick of Hogwarts and magic, it's just that I'm still not really used to things being so normal. Plus Angel's been stressed out lately. Whereas I am calm, Angel is incredibly tensed. According to him there's some type of energy in the air, but I can't feel it. I know Angel still has the ability to feel supernatural energy, but it cannot be anything serious if I cannot feel it either.

Sitting at breakfast on a typical Tuesday morning, I groan when I read the message an owl has just sent me. "Guys not good," I shake my head.

Angel panics, "As in Whistler just contacted you?"

I roll my eyes at him, "According to McGonagall we all have to serve our detentions on Friday night."

"Bloody hell," Ron groans, "I almost forgot about that. Please tell me I don't have to spend the night with either Snape or Lockhart?"

"Better than Filch," Angel supplies.

"I think Filch is better than Snape," Harry says and we all laugh. "Come on Buffy don't keep the sususpense going."
I smirk at my intended effect. "At 7 o'clock on Friday night Ron is being summoned to McGonagall. Harry you are going to Lockhart, Angel you are with Filch," I snicker at him. "And I am with Snape."

"McGonagall?" Ron sighs, "she's a bloody drill sergeant!"

"Better than me," Angel groans. "I mean Filch really? I'd much rather be eaten alive and controlled by a Sluk demon!"

Ron and Harry don't ask what a Sluk demon is. They're too used to our strange comments to say anything; although they do roll their eyes at us. I laugh. It's amazing that we can say something about demons and not be called crazy. Thank the PTB's that we were sent to this dimension and not one of those awful ones I've heard about where everyone goes around killing each other for one out-there comment.

After a very depressing breakfast we go through our day as if nothing had happened, since technically it didn't. Thanks to Snyder's distaste of anything I did, I kind if got over the whole detention thing a long time ago. Plus the Charms test we have today is a little more precident in my mind than a detention with a professor I actually like.

Friday approached quicker than I imagined after another long and tiring borefest of a week. Turns out even learning about things that interest you can be incredibly annoying and boring at times. Before our detention though it seems that we have to go to our first quidditch practice of the year. Since all of our team from last year returned to Hogwarts and the only reason we didn't win the House Cup was because of stupid technicalities of having two of your star players hospitalized, Wood decided it was better to keep the team instead of holding tryouts.

I didn't mind though, our team plays well together and I like them all. Plus George and I are kind of as unstoppable as a pair of beaters can be. Giles is probably to thank for how good I am at it, but I'm not going to go there. Plus it could have been my cheer-leading experiences too, so no need to praise the watcher too much.

In the middle of practice a powerful force comes out of nowhere and blinds me for a moment. I hear people yelling my name. their voices die out eventually and I scream as a figure appears out of nowhere and scratches my back with a pair of claws.

The next thing I know, I am lying on the bench of the locker-room with a worried looking Angel standing above me. My head is pounding and I breathe in and out a few times to try and calm myself down and to get a grasp on my surroundings. Once I feel a little bit better, I try to sit up and groan in the process. Someone pushes me back down and starts to run a hand through my hair, must be Angel. Slowly, I sit up again, this time ignoring the pain shooting up and down my spine and through my limbs.

I take my time to look around the locker room and see the entire team plus Ron and Angel. Even though it's great that all these people do care and all, it seems too overcrowded at the moment. Angel seems to read my mind and shoos everyone out except for the three of them.

"What happened?" I ask finally.

"It was hard to tell from the air," Harry says, "but you fell off your broom."

"Impossible, I don't lose balance, it literally goes against my biological makeup!"

Ron rolls his eyes, "Buffy sorry to break it to you, but everyone falls once in a while. Doesn't matter how good your coordination is, you still fall."

Angel doesn't comment and I groan, "So none of you saw some grotesque creature rip my back in half?"

They all stare at me as if I grew two heads, "Um no…"

"Okay so it wasn't grotesque it was actually invisible," I rush out and again I am received by three stares that basically show how they think I am crazy. "I felt claws scratch my back."

Before they could protest, I slowly and painfully lift my shirt up so that they could see the giant ass scratch across my back. To ym astonishment, no one gasps. "Did it stop bleeding already? Because I don't think I was out for more than a few minutes and I usually don't start healing from something that bad for at least an hour."

"An hour?" Harry frowns. "You cannot possibly heal in an hour."

I look down quickly to avoid the glare I know Angel is sending me. "It's an American saying," I laugh awkwardly and flinch in pain. "Note to self, don't laugh."

"Um Buffy, sorry to point out the obvious, but there's no scratch here."

"Not funny Ron!"

"There's nothing there," Angel assures me and I frown. "Let me go get a mirror and I'll show you."

He goes over to my locker and pulls put my mirror. I grab it from him and put it up to my back and shiver. "Not a funny joke you guys! This thing is hideous, how the hell do you explain it if it wasn't an oogily boogily?"

Everyone stares at me and now I get furious. This is getting out of hand. Angel sees my face and through our link sends me an image of the flawless skin on my back. Confused, I send him the image I just saw in the mirror, a bleeding scrap that is obviously infected, possibly full of poison, and needs medical attention ASAP, and that's coming from a girl who hates hospitals and all things medical related.

"Wait did I actually touch the ground?"

Harry shakes his head, "Angel managed to catch you which is why there's no reason you should actually be in this much pain. I've seen you take a lot harder blows when you two spar."

I glare at him, "Obviously it hurts that much since I was frickin attacked by an invisible demon!"

Ron looks at his writ and sighs, "We kind of need to get to detention…"

"Since when have you cared about getting to detention?"

"Since I don't want to get a second one," he retorts and I snicker.

He does have a point and I send Harry and Ron on their way, having Angel stay with me. Using my sight as his eyes, he touches the part of my back that I see as bleeding and oozing weird demon goo or something. From where I'm standing, err sitting, it isn't pretty and I just don't understand how the hell nobody else can see it.

Angel doesn't know what to do however, so he carries me bridal style into the dungeons so that I can at least go and serve my detention. Snape actually likes me, and I actually like him as a teacher, so it wouldn't be in my best interest to be late or do anything that would make him look at me as if I was Harry. Really, I don't understand everyone's big deal with him anyway. Snape is just one of those teachers who won't put up with any crap and only likes teaching people who show interest. He knows what he's talking about though, and is actually kind of funny so he's good in my books.

Okay so when compared to someone like Snyder everyone is good in my book, but that's besides the point.

Snape gives Angel a dirty look when he drops me off, carefully putting me on a chair, and nodding before running off to Filch. It's funny how Angel can face any demon, yet he cowers away from a teacher. Whatever though, everyone is allowed to be scared of something. I'm terrified of hospitals, Ron is terrified of spiders, Xander was terrified of danger, Cordelia was terrified of bad hair days, Angel's terrified of Snape, no big deal.

"Professor," I wave at him.

His menacing look vanishes and is replaces by confusion when he looks at me, "What happened Ms. Summers."
"Just a little quidditch accident, I'm fine. Angel tends to overreact when I injure myself."

He scoffs and disappears for a moment before reappearing with a vial in his hands, "Here rub some of this on where ever hurts. It won't work as well as Madame Pomfrey, but it will do for now."

"Thanks," I smile and rub it on my back. It doesn't do anything except cool the burning a bit, but I'm used to hiding pain and I pretend as if it feels better.

"Don't mention it," he says with a scarily straight face. "Can't have you injured and ruin my classroom now can I?"

I nod in understanding and sigh, "So what's the what?" He stares at me and I crack a smile, "Um I mean what am I doing tonight?"

"Americans and your words."

"Technically I'm British! And yes I've been told on multiple occasions that I butcher the English language."
He ignores that, "From what I have seen in class you have a natural talent for potions that most do not. Your Mother excelled as well you said? Americans tend to brew pathetic potions," he sneers.

Oh right I did say that, "That's what my uncle told me, my mom dies when I was 5 and she grew up here."

"But she didn't attend Hogwarts," he states accusingly and inside I roll my eyes. Seriously what's with the 20Q?

"I don't know. She was muggleborn and my Uncle never told me where she went. I have her old potions journal full of notes though."

Snape seems to consider this for a moment before continuing, "Well then I have to restock my supply of multiple potions and I want you to brew me one of them tonight. You will be brewing the Alihotsy drought."

"Doesn't that cause hysteria?"

For a second I'm pretty sure he looks proud and surprised, but it disappears quickly. "It is, it is also at least a fifth year's level if not higher. You have as long as you need and free reign of the closets. Begin."

I get the sense that he's making me do this to amuse himself and to test me. Biting my lip, I walk over to the back and grab the A book of what is kind of like an Encyclopedia for potions. After flipping to the correct page I go to the storage room, grab the ingredients I need, and light the fire underneath my cauldron. Only I stop quickly before I even put the first ingredient in. Smirking at Snape's ingenious test, I go over and get the correct cauldron from him. I can't use my pewter size 2. For this potion I need a pewter cauldron size 3 with traces of gold in it.

Given the level of difficulty of the potion, I'm surprised it isn't harder than it is. I mean not that potions are hard for me in general; guess I have the Powers That Be to thank for that. Why they bestowed so much potion knowledge to me is beyond me, but I'm also not complaining to them anytime soon. For a person with such little patience, it surprises me that I can wait for things to be ready and to be so presice as I brew. It goes against everything that I am. Again, not complaining though.

Once the potion is finished, I pour it into multiple vials and bring one of them over to Snape. He doesn't open it which doesn't surprise me. When he had me brew the drought, he didn't expect me to fail, or at least it seems that way, and he isn't going to risk inhaling any of it and gaining a case of hysteria. Instead, he puts the bottle on a table next to a mouse and has me follow him to the other side of the room. With a flick of his wand, the top comes off and the mouse smells it. Suddenly, the mouse begins to go berserk and jumps around like crazy.

I smile at my job well done and smirk at Snape. He shakes his head in amusement . "I hate to say it, but job well done Ms. Summers."
Once again, I smirk at him, "And you would expect any less professor?"
"No ordinary 2nd year can brew this potion, regardless of their abilities. And no one I know of can brew it without a face-mask on for risk of inhaling it." This time he smirks and I curse silently. Snape 1 Buffy 0.

"Um, I can explain," I say weakly. "See my Mom wrote a whole bunch of random potions down, and one of them was a kind of preventive thing from other potions so I don't need to worry about this effecting me."

It's obvious he doesn't believe me, but he plays along anyway. Another reason we probably get along is because we understand that we both have a dark past and many secrets. And neither of us judges the other for it, it's a secret and it isn't a big deal. With that being said however, I don't get why him and Angel don't get along. It is obvious they have similar pasts, evil ways left behind for redemption; at least it is obvious to me… Maybe they're too similar.

And really I don't know why the potion did not effect me, it was pretty careless of me to forget the protective gear. Maybe it's a slayer thing. I am not in the mood to figure it out though, because I am in so much pain that I can barely stand. I feel the blood dripping down my leg and I've lost so much that I'm surprised I haven't passed out already. "Is that all?"

After observing me with a curious look in his eye, he nods, "But, let me get somebody to help you upstairs. You really should have Madame Pomfrey look at your injury."

"No," I say too quickly and cough to cover it up. "I mean I'm fine, I've had much worse. Um maybe Angel can come and help me? He's with Filch right," I pause in the middle of the sentence and burst out screaming in pain.

"Mr. McKinley can stay where he is, you're going to the hospital wing."

Who knew that Snape could show so much compassion? "Please no, all I need is Angel."

"Ms. Summers it seems to be a lot more than a minor injury that your boyfriend can heal. This is much more severe, at least it seems."
"Don't!" I all but scream. "I promise it isn't as bad as it looks, err appears since there's nothing to really look at," unless your me of course.

"Angel where are you?"

"Trophy room," he answers. "I'm almost done though."

"Where was his detention being held," he sighs and if I wasn't so hurt I'd do the Snoopy dance in triumph.

"Trophy room," I cough and the next thing I know, I am being swept off my feet and he is carrying me to the trophy room.

The second I get there, I run as best as I can to where Angel is and nod my thanks to Snape. I'm not sure if he saw it though because he disappears. I get really dizzy and nauseous and groaning, I puke all over Angel's nicely cleaned trophy before falling down.

"Buffy?" he asks, voice full of compassion and concern, "why aren't you in the hospital wing?"

"I made Snape take me here instead, and even he won't argue with me."

Angel cracks a small smile at my lame joke before sobering up quickly. "Your well-being is more important than you being mad at me. Come on, we're taking you there now."

"And what? Have me locked up for mental problems since there is no cut on my back? No thank you…been there done that."

He runs a hand through his hair in frustration, and grabs me anyway. As soon as he lifts me up though, Filch appears at the door. In this state, their words start slurring together and I cannot make out the entire conversation. All I get is that if Angel leaves, he'll be expected back on multiple occasions. Angel replies, but I don't hear it and he walks out of the room with me in tow.

And for the second time today, I pass out.

Sorry it isn't very long, I'm making it a two part chapter instead of one long one