Chapter 32
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It was a quaint little log cabin they found themselves standing in front of when the feeling of apparition stopped. Something Oz thought he would need to get used to, sooner or later. The logs of the cabin were thick. The door was heavy. The windows were unbreakable. Even without being magically reinforced nothing would be able to get in… or out. The smells told him they were deep in the middle of an old growth forest, at least it seemed like they were near the middle as the only scent of civilization came from the cabin itself. He was soon told that the witch didn't want to chance hurting or infecting anyone else which is why she chose to live in the middle of nowhere. Lavender Brown had been infected when she was bitten by a werewolf during the final battle of the last wizarding war while protecting her alma mater Hogwarts.
The group that he came with consisted of Willow, Hermione and another attractive witch named Parvati Patil. Willow had said another witch had wanted to come as well. Katie Bell was a healer and was very interested in meeting Oz to discuss how controlling the Wolf within was possible. Hermione didn't want to overwhelm Lavender with to much attention and Oz agreed. He told Hermione to tell Katie that he would make it a point to talk to her another time. With Higher Powers adding more names to his list of contacts he felt he would be very busy for the foreseeable future.
It wasn't that hard to get Lavender to open her door and let them in for a visit as they thought it would be. They thought she might have been agoraphobic but it just wasn't the case. It turned out that during one of her strolls through the forest she came across a tour group hiking through some trails. From then on when Lavender felt too cooped up she would apparate near the beginning of the trail and join the next tour. She had taken it so many times that one day when in the middle of the tour the tour guide over worked her vocal cords while having a sour throat. The tour guide was ready to turn everyone around and head back when Lavender took charge as she now knew the spiel by heart. The tour continued and by the end the tour guide, a woman named Kathy offered her a job. Since Lavender had nothing better to do with her life she said yes. Then Lavender and Kathy had been inseparable friends even though Kathy was a Muggle. Parvati had been a little upset that she had been replaced as best friend but Lavender had told her that she had nothing to worry about. If it hadn't been for Parvati leaving her alone for so long she may have never stepped out of her cabin in search of companionship. She now had as many friends as she had at Hogwarts and wanted Parvati to join her the next time they went to the local pub which was several miles away.
When Lavender was told that there was a way to control her wolf. She didn't believe it. But when Oz showed her that he could transform in the middle of the day, weeks away from the next full moon and still keep his mind she couldn't wait to get started in learning the technique that would help her. The only problem had been that Oz didn't have the time to stay and teach her at the moment. But, one of his students and sometimes girlfriend had begun teaching the practice in LA at a former hotel which had been the home of the former Angel investigations. Oz told Lavender that she would be more than happy to take on another student.
That's why after a short stop to pick up Jim and Blair at the Guardian Council the group now found themselves in LA standing in the alley of the Hyperion Hotel. Wards and sanctuary spells had been put on the hotel since Angel and company had so disappeared many years ago. The wards kept people that were looking to cause harm from entering the hotel while the sanctuary spells kept violence from breaking out once you were inside. Even an uncontrolled werewolf couldn't attack while inside the building. Even so there were extra cages added to the basement for those without control just in case. Nina Ash wasn't someone to rely on magic alone to keep her employees' students and customers safe. The place was buzzing with more activity than when Angel had owned it. Besides the teaching of werewolf control the place served as an over night stay for demon hunters and slayers, a Wicca coven convention center, as well as Tai-Chi and yoga classes being taught in the mornings. Many of the occupants would have rather been learning some form of martial art but the sanctuary spells made it impossible to even teach it. Oz took the lead and opened the front door. Nina was at the reception desk.
"Hey beautiful." Oz said making Nina look up from the morning mail.
"Oz! I was just thinking of you." She said coming around the desk for an embrace.
"And here I am. The world works in mysterious ways." Oz replied as their lips met for a brief kiss.
"Who are your friends?"
"Yeah sorry, this isn't totally a social call, Nina I'd Like you to meet some friends of mine, some old some new. Starting with the new we have Hermione Granger, Parvati Patil, and Lavender Brown. Lavender needs your help and will be your new student if you'll take her."
"Oz! Of course I'll take her. No one should be left without control." She said Shaking Lavenders hand.
"Sorry, I just didn't want to presume. The two gentlemen are Jim Ellison, and Blair Sandburg their police officer in the know."
"Wow, I would have thought you were hunters. They sure make big cops wherever it is you guys come from."
"Cascade Washington, it a pleasure to meet you." Jim said and he and Blair shook her hand.
"And lastly the woman you said you'd like to meet someday my ex but still my dearest friend Willow Rosenberg."
"It's such a pleasure to finally meet you." Nina said shaking Willows hand.
"You wanted to meet me?" Willow squeaked being put on the spot like this.
"Well yes, you see if you hadn't helped Oz and filled him with love and understanding when he first became a werewolf he wouldn't be the man he is today and he wouldn't have been looking for werewolves to teach, so I never would have met him and I'd still be without control. So yeah, I wanted to meet you and thank you."
"Oh, umm, you're welcome. Umm, I love what you've done with the place." She said changing the subject because she wasn't sure how to continue the one they were on. "The look it had before made it feel like you were stepping back in time. But I suppose that didn't matter to Angle being a century old and all."
"That's right, you knew my former boyfriend as well. And thanks, it took a lot of work to remodel the Hyperion. Luckily Angel left me the money to do it in his will. Living over a century seemed to allow him to collect a small fortune in Antiques. I couldn't find anyone around here that would buy them but the east coast snatched them up fast. So I made out quit well, better than I'd ever imagined actually."
Nina then turned to Lavender.
"Your the reason my boyfriend is back in town so that makes us best friends already. It's so much better than bringing an apple for the teacher on the first day… Oh! Sorry that sounded like I was talking to a child just then. I was actually trying for levity to break the Ice."
"Consider it broken. I'm very eager to get started." Lavender replied.
"I haven't met a werewolf yet that wasn't eager to get started but I think it would be best for you to get settled and get familiar with some of your surrounding so they don't become a distraction. We can start tomorrow. I have a single room all ready for you to move into for the time it will take for you to finish you studies."
"Um, just one question. I was never told how much any of this is going to cost. That is I'd pay any price to get control but my family threw me out and I don't have much money in my vault that was set up when I was a child. I was lucky they let me have that."
"That's horrible." Willow blurted out. Jim and Blair looked angry as well.
"Yes, my sister did the same to me when she found out. My niece was also afraid at first but she didn't stay that way for long. She sneak down here every once in a while to see me. She thinks my wolf form is cool.
Anyway The Guardian Council Academe pays for your education with a scholarship. It pays for your classes and your room and a small amount for food. Sorry they don't pay for clothing but the cells are private so you can get naked before you transform so you wont rune them."
"What or who is the Guardian Council and why are they willing to help werewolves, or is it just me?"
"No we help all werewolves to get control. The more people get it the less likely they are to spread it, Lycanthropy that is." Willow said. "Officially we are a school for gifted girls. But we're actually so much more. We can talk about that once your lessons are over." Willow explained.
"Let me guess, I'm going to have to work for you to pay off the dept, right."
"Not unless you want to. We aren't like that. The Guardian Council isn't even part of the wizarding world. We just found out about it this past year." Willow replied.
"They're muggle?" Parvati boggled.
"It turns out several of their people were witches of the wand waving verity and never knew it, yet they dealt with problems such as werewolves all along. They have their own form of magic as well." Hermione told them.
"Muggles using magic?" Parvati and Lavender wonder in unison.
Hermione looked to Willow and Willow nodded.
"Willow here never knew she was a witch so she studied Wicca magic. Parvati, would you mind being part of a demonstration."
"No, I'm game." She said.
"Alright this is something a kin to your shield spell but on a greater level." Willow announced.
Willow handed her wand to Hermione and waved her hand. Parvati found herself in a clear magic force field bubble which rose a foot of the ground.
"The force field can be in any shape and I just added the floating part just for the demonstration. You can try to bust your way out but you'll just feed it more energy to strengthen it with." Willow educated.
Lavender raised her wand and said 'finite incantatem' but nothing happened.
"We have found that in some cases the two magic's don't work together well in other cases not at all." Hermione explained.
"Willow let Parvati down and dropped the force field."
"That's fascinating." Parvati said.
"We'll talk about it more later, if you'd like. Right now let's have Nina show you to your room."
"I'd like to stay here as well, to support my friend." Parvati announced. "I'll pay may own way of course."
"That is something we encourage. Do you want to share a room or do you want one of your own?"
"That's up to Lavender. I want to be there for her but I don't want to crowd her should she need the space."
"Thank you for understanding Parvati. I know we shared a dorm room for seven years but I have lived on my own for almost as long. I think neighbors would be better. We'll probably spend most of our time during the day together anyway."
"Of course she will. She can help you study. There are some private study rooms on the ground floor as well as a small library." Nina announced.
It was then Oz spoke. "Listen Nina; Jim, Blair, and I will need rooms for a couple of nights. And I was hoping you were free for dinner."
"That's definitely a yes kind sir. Nina said and turned to the rest of the group as she continued. "He may only be a part time boyfriend but he knows how to make up for lost time."
"Willow moved to Jim and Blair and asks. Are you guys taking notes? There will be a pop quiz later this week." She said in her strictest teacher like voice looking down her nose at them.
"We do just fine without dating tips from Oz." Jim replied as Blair made a big show of pulling out a pen and notebook he just happens to always carry. When everyone started giggling Jim turned around to see what Blair was doing and mumbled loud enough for everyone to hear. "Your going to let me copy your note later right?"
"Sure man." Blair replied with a smile.
Everyone laughed. "Oz was a little red being put on the spot like that but even he had to chuckle."
/Scene Break/
After getting everyone settled Willow and Hermione went back to Guardian Council England. Hermione left the continental jumps to Willow, leaving Hermione to assist in the local trips. Hermione was just about to leave when Willow stopped her.
"Hermione we need to talk."
"Sure Willow what about? It sounds serious."
"Well it is kind of. Buffy, Giles, and I have been worried about the groups we've been inducting. From the very beginning the groups have come close to getting seriously if not fatally injured before they can all make the connection that what we are showing them are true Demons and not magical creatures."
"Yes, I knew Ernie Macmillan was a bit thick and had thought we were pulling a prank but I had no idea he was going to do everything he could to anger the Demons into steamrolling us like that. I've never been so frightened."
"Yes I know, so was I but some of the people you told me about in the next group don't sound any better. This Justin Finch-Fletchley, and Seamus Finnigan sound just as thick."
"Well. Yes, I suppose they can be. I won't lie about that but they've earned there right to come with us and I'm sorry we wont leave them to die."
"Hermione!" She said appalled. "I would never suggest that and nether would Buffy or Giles. But what we thought was that they might be less thick if they weren't under the influence of document zero in the first place. We wouldn't have to take them to a room full of demons, maybe just a room or graveyard with two or three. As a matter of fact I could have my friend Clem and a few of his nonviolent demon friends come along and show them what they're all about. Actually we wouldn't need to show them demons at all since the spell would be broken but I think they should know anyways."
"Alright, that sounds like a good idea but how do we bring them out of the documents influence? I mean that was why we were showing them demons in the first place."
"Well we were thinking that we could cut the influence of the document from the whole wizarding world."
"Hermione looked at her stunned before asking. And how do we do that?"
"Well… by destroying the document actually."
This stunned Hermione even more before saying. "That could send the wizarding world into chaos… I like it, when do you want to do it?"
"In the morning I think. I'll get Buffy and we can discuss the traps and what-not at breakfast before we head out."
"That sounds brilliant. I'll be here at nine then alright?"
"That sounds good. See you then."
/Scene Break/
The next morning Hermione arrived with two garment bags. When Willow saw them she quirked an eyebrow and said. "I thought were beyond all the robe wearing because we're known witches."
"This is different; we're heading into the ministry or magic itself. There is a certain amount of decorum that needs to be displayed. I don't know how it's done in the United States but in the UK whether in the magical or muggle world you don't head into a capital building in a jumper and blue jeans. Buffy may not like it but in the ministry you need to wear robes."
"Okay, I get it. But Buffy won't be going with us today. She was heading up a demon raid last night and didn't get in until late this morning." Willow said on there way to the private dinning room.
"Well then who are we taking with us?" Hermione asked as Willow opened the door to reveal Faith devouring her plate of eggs.
"Faith? You're the one that will be going with us today?"
"Yeah, sounds like a blast. How could I resist?" Faith replied with a smile and a wink.
"Well at least I won't have to shrink my robes to fit you, like I would have Buffy."
"Oh! Don't let her hear you say that. Buffy doesn't like anyone commenting on being vertically challenged." Willow announced.
"Okay, so noted. That's quite a spread of breakfast food." Hermione commented.
"Slayers are hungry bottomless pits the morning after a night of slaying." Willow said.
"I can't argue with that. Doesn't mean I wouldn't like to because it sounds insulting, but I can't deny what's true." Faith replied.
Hermione sat down and filled the plate in front of her. They then started to talk about traps and pitfalls Hermione experienced on her last excursion in finding document zero handing them both information on the dunker lilies and MacBoons. Willow and Faith were both impressed at the way she was able to think on her feet.
The most important thing Hermione needed to test was if and how well they could fly on a broom. Mr. Ollivander had told Hermione and Willow that Willow's core was different than other wizards and witches. Hermione needed to know if this would give her any problem trying to fly. And as Hermione didn't know if the enchantments would support magical creature or being with some form of magic in them, she needed to see if a slayer could operate a broom as well.
So they went to the private outdoor training area and began the basics. What they found was that Willow could put the broom into motion but was somewhat unstable. It was to be expected as it would be for any beginner. Faith however was disappointed that she couldn't get her broom to do anything even with different brooms nothing worked. This meant that Faith would have to ride double with Hermione. This could be a problem as Hermione never had tried riding with a passenger. With a little practice before they went on their mission Hermione was confident that for the time it would take to descend down to the chambers it would be possible.
Willow and Faith decided to bring a few things as well. Hermione had her beaded bag and lord knows what she had in there but there were tools and weapons that Willow and Faith both felt better in having on their person just in case.
As they made their way to the teleport room they were stopped by Luna Lovegood. She had a large coil of rope in her hand. She walked right up to Faith, looked her right in the eye and said.
"Here you're going to need this. Hermione won't be there to create any avatars like mine to help this time around but with some mutual admiration you may be able to come to an accord." With that Luna quickly left the room.
"I hate when she does that." Hermione stated.
"Does what?" Willow asked.
"Says something cryptic and then vanishes. It always makes me want to chase her down to make her tell me what she meant. I mean, I never told her that I made an avatar of her to help distract the MacBoon, and that particular avatar acted strangely at the end which still leaves me with questions that make me think she knows the answers to."
"Yeah, she shows up before some of our patrols and says things that don't make sense at the time but when you're in the thick of it you recall what she said and then it makes sense and you barely survive intact. If it weren't for her some of the slayers wouldn't be alive or have all their parts intact." Faith confirmed.
"You mean she actually warns you of impending danger?" Willow asked.
"No, she comes up to us and says the oddest damn thing you've ever heard about Barb Winkel Gerb Fluffers or something like that and it sure as hell doesn't mean anything until the very moment you need it. It's the weirdest damn shit. It just sounds so whacked and then its over and your praising her name all way home and thanking her the next time you see her but she looks at you like she doesn't know what your talking about."
Hermione wasn't sure why she was smiling but it sure felt good. She suspected that it was because she wasn't the only one befuddled by the enigma which was Luna Lovegood.
They entered the teleport room and vanished.
/Scene Break/
Willow and Faith weren't impressed with the Ministry. Oh sure they were impressed with the building in general but the people they eavesdropped on who were obviously muggle haters and some of the notices on the bulletin boards about werewolves rights suppression left a bitter taste in their mouths.
They tensed when they had to hand in their wands to be weighed. Faith's wand was barrowed from Hermione. It was the same one Willow used the first time she came to Diagon alley but they needn't have worried as all he seemed to do was weigh it and give her a recite. When Willow handed in her wand the guard was befuddled.
"What in the world? Why does this wand have two cores?"
With that Willow explained that Mr. Ollivander told her that it was because she was handicapped with a fractured core and that because of it, even with the help of a duel core she would never be very good with magic. Willow would rather be under estimated then worried about. As they left the guard Hermione asked her where she came up with that explanation.
"Some of the books I bought at the wizarding book store were wizarding medical text in hopes that there would be something I could use on injured slayers. I came across some ailments that I figured could be applied as a convincing ruse in a given situation like this one."
Later in the records room of the Ministry of Magic the women busied themselves looking like they were researching something important as they waited for a couple of ministry workers to leave the area. Twenty minuets later they were ready. Hermione pulled out the ministry seal which she never did get around to returning. As far as anyone else knew the seal was just a symbol of government power. The fake that Hermione left with the Minister was serving that purpose just fine.
She pressed the seal to the wall under the tapestry and just like before the wall clanked as if large gears were moving and possibly opening several locking mechanisms. When everything just seemed to stop the two women on ether side of Hermione turned to look at her. It was at that moment the wall twisted open like a jagged camera iris so quickly it made both girls jump.
"Christ, a little warning would have been nice there Hermione." Faith announced trying to still her fast beating heart.
"Relax Faith, I've come to the conclusion that she gets a kick out of not saying anything when she knows others are about to experience something that will make them jump out of their skin." Willow explained in irritation.
"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about. But if I did, I just might tell you that it's the little things in life that makes me happy." Hermione replied indifferently and proceeded to move forward.
"Alright maybe it's just you witches that are weird." Faith commented to Willow.
As they made their way to where the start of the steps were Hermione looked down the abyss and noted a slight breeze.
I had half expected the steps would have reformed. I thought they were made of a solid magical conjuring, designed to deteriorate once you began your journey downward and trap you at the bottom. It still might be the case but maybe they were never designed to reappear."
"Well, it looks like we're flying down." Willow said a bit nervous at the notion.
"Yes, I suppose your right." Hermione said as she dug out the two brooms.
"Just take your time there isn't a rush and we'll be alright."
The women mounted their brooms and began to hover next to the abyss.
"Well here we go." Hermione said as she moved forward and over the deep dark hole and began her descent. Willow would have rather been the one hanging on Hermione letting her drive. At the moment she felt very alone as Hermione and Faith got swallowed up by the darkness. Moving the broom forward felt like suicide. Like jumping off a building but she wasn't going to let her friends down. She moved forward, her heart thumping as she began her slow descent. After a minute of spiraling downward the breeze began to pick up and soon turned into gale force winds nearly knocking Willow off her broom. She contemplated turning back the way the wind was blowing her but her friends were down there somewhere, they could be hurt if they were blown into a wall or off their broom. She tried to call out to Hermione and Faith but didn't hear any response. She desperately tried to hang on and control her descent but the more she tried the harder the wind would blow. It took five minutes before she came out of the darkness and out of the wind. She saw Hermione and Faith just below her as they were sitting against the wall of the cavern catching their breath. She almost let out a cry of relief that they were alright. As she touched down she ran to her friends on wobbly legs and wrapped her arms around both of them.
"I'm so sorry Willow that wind wasn't there last time." Hermione announced.
"It was so scary. I didn't think I was going to make it. I don't know much about flying but I was worried that you guys might have been hurt. I kept calling out to you but you never responded. I couldn't have been that far away from you." Willow said.
"We were just talking about that. That darkness wasn't natural." Hermione said.
"Yeah, Hermione was right in front of me and I couldn't see or hear her and she couldn't hear me even though I was screaming in her ear." Faith announced.
"It's was a spell that was designed to unnerve you, making you feel isolated. It makes me wonder what else has changed." Hermione said.
"You mean they might know that someone was down here before and redesigned the traps?" Willow asked.
"Not necessarily, I once had a conversation with Arthur Weasley's son Bill who works at Gringotts as a curse breaker. He told me that some tombs had spells designed not to let the same grave robbers in for a return visit. You might have been better off if I hadn't come along."
"We couldn't do this without you Hermione. You know what the wizarding world could and would throw at us and maybe the traps change every day so you can't go blaming yourself." Faith assured her.
"You're right, I hadn't considered that. I took a peak into the next chamber, it looks unchanged. But before we get started I'd better give you your things and I'll need to put the spells we talked about on you both."
All three women discarded there robes as they were wearing their more comfortable muggle clothes underneath. Faith and Willow took their equipment and Hermione started casting. When she was done they moved into the next chamber. Faith looked over to the other side of the chamber to see if she could spot the creature Hermione spoke of.
"That chamber is a decoy; we won't need to go in there." Hermione said.
"Yeah, you told me that, I just wanted to see the big bad beastie, the wizards used to guard their treasure."
Willow looked over to Hermione and said. "It's a slayer thing."
Hermione shook her head with a smirk and was about to lower herself into the water. As she sat down she caught movement under the water and jumped back as something resembling a scale-covered monkey jumped out of the water reaching for her throat. She screamed as Faith stepped forward with one of her machete's.
"No Faith, don't. You'll only make things worse if you hurt one of them." Hermione warned.
"What are they?" Faith asked
"They're called Kappa Demons." Hermione replied.
"Kappa Demons? But I thought the wizarding world didn't believe in demons." Willow wondered.
"When a witch or wizard say demon they're merely thinking of it as a dark magical creature not an actual demon. At least that was the way our professors at school and the text we were to study said they were." Hermione explained.
"Well those idea are about to change forever once we're done here." Faith announced.
"If I had one of my books I might be able to figure out how to get by them." Willow said.
Hermione smiled at those words realizing this was the way she sounded to her friends. "We don't need them I remember very well what to do. I prepared Harry in case he came up against one of them during the second task of the tournament he was forced to participate in. It was unlikely he would have come across them as they tend to stay in shallower waters like this but he had to be prepared for anything."
"Oh I remember something I think. Don't we have to get them to tip their head and release the water in the depression on top of their heads?"
"Very good, that's the source of their strength but it won't do any good here as we would be fighting several while swimming underwater amongst them. But we won't be fighting them at all if I have the right stuff in my bag." Hermione opened her bag and said "Accio cucumbers."
To Hermione's dismay only two came out.
"Cucumbers, what are they for? Faith asked."
"Believe it or not you can appease the kappa by throwing a cucumber carved with your name on it into the water but I only have two. One of you will have to stay behind."
"And you just happen to have fresh Cucumbers in your bag."
"Well, I do try to prepare for anything but I must admit this wasn't something I thought we would run across. And these Cucumbers were put under a stasis spell months ago when I was in a hurry to pack a lunch. I just forgot about them."
"Well, I'll stay but you owe me a trip to that day glow alley you two and Dawnie talk about. Some of the stores sound wild." Faith announced with a smile purposely getting Diogon alley's name wrong.
"Are you sure? I mean, I thought you would want to be destructo-girl." Willow said nervously.
"It sounds like fun but I just have this weird feeling that I should stay here to watch your backs and I've learned to listen to those feelings."
"And I would need you with me anyway Willow. There may be some protective spells that I may not be able to break if their Wicca or demon in nature." Hermione added.
"Right, I hadn't thought about that. The Bolac demons couldn't perform wizarding magic but they were more than capable of casting either of the other magic's." Willow replied.
"Alright, now remember Willow you need to stay under the water or the dunker Lilies will reach out, kill you, and drag you to the bottom."
"Right no pressure then." Willow said.
"You'll be able to breathe just fine with the bubble head charm I've put on you and your clothes will stay dry as well. Hermione said as she finished carving their names in the Cucumbers and threw them into the water."
"Well here we go." Willow announced nervously.
"Is there something wrong?" Hermione asked.
"How cold is the water?"
Hermione giggled. "You're worried about the temperature of the water?"
"I'm one of those people that have to ease into the pool."
"Oh, well I can fix that." Hermione said.
"You can?"
"Sure." Hermione confirmed and with a wave of her wand a large spout of water shot out of the surrounding pool. Only at the last second did Willow realize what was about to happen. The spout curved to come down upon her drenching her from head to toe, but her clothes stayed dry. When it was over Faith was laughing her ass off. Hermione pretended to look apologetic but the smile she sported wasn't convincing anyone and Willow while trying to look angry sported a smile as well.
"Thanks." She growled not meaning it.
"I sure you'll do the same for me one day."
"Oh, you can count on it." Willow confirmed with zeal.
They both jumped into the water and submerged themselves beginning their underwater journey Hermione leading the way.
Faith watched them progress across the pool. The water was clear enough to do so. The pair didn't run into any problems all the way to the under water entrance to the chamber that housed document zero. Faith would keep them in sight until they entered the passage. Faith's eyes nearly bugged out when they got close to the entrance and started to speed up only to be sucked into the entrance with such force they looked like they got sucked into a vacuum cleaner. The two shot into the chamber twisting and twirling so fast it took a moment to figure out which way was up. They pulled themselves to shore breathing heavy, not from lack of air but from the scary ride.
"What the hell?" Willow said.
"I don't know. It's a new one on me as well."
"How are we going to get out of here when we're ready to leave?" Willow asked.
"I'm not sure yet. But I'm sure a pair of smart witches like ourselves will think of something before we're done here."
Willow turned a bit pink at the praise before she looked over at the pedestal with what looked like a carver fountain on top. "Is that it?" She asked.
"Yeah, are you ready to get started?"
"No time like the present. I just wish we could find a way to send a message to Faith. If she saw us getting sucked through the passage she's probably freaking out and a freaked out slayer doesn't always think rationally. I hope she isn't thinking of jumping in after us."
"I better take care of this now." Hermione said and waved her wand saying "Expecto Patronum." A silvery mist shot out of her wand forming into a silvery otter. Then Hermione began to speak.
"Faith, we made it and we're fine. We may have a bit of trouble getting back but we're going to complete our mission before trying. We'll keep you informed as much as possible. Please don't try anything foolish. We may need you where you are." With that she flicked her wand and the Otter scurried through the underwater passage unaffected by the current.
With her Patronus sent on its way, the pair began to analyze the protections set upon the pedestal and document.
/Scene Break/
As expected Faith had been freaking out and was contemplating jumping in after them when the silver otter swam out of the passage and out of the water to deliver the message of their safety. Relived, Faith sank to the floor and took a deep cleansing breath. After sitting there for a few moments she began trying to think of a way to help them. It didn't take long for her to realize what had to be done and so she got up and knew she had to get to the other side of the boardwalk. She looked at the plants on either side of her and knew this wasn't going to be easy and maybe not even fun. But she'd try anything once. She reached into her pack and pulled out an Mp3 player. Finding the appropriate music she hit play pulled out the two machetes that crossed her back and began walking across the chamber via boardwalk.
/Scene Break/
The Pair of witches were creating a spectacular light show as they began to peel the layers of protections away from the document. Hermione was in awe and slightly nervous. She was helping Willow with the spell work as much as she could but Willow was in a class all by herself. To feel such power rolling off the other witch in waves that could only be measured in tidal forces was humbling but Willows eyeballs turning completely black was somewhat disconcerting. She didn't think Voldemort could have displayed such force and probably would have either pissed his robes in fear or salivated over such raw magical power. Hermione trusted Willow to know what she was doing and not kill them both. It was both scary and impressive, especially since Willow was working without her wand.
With a flash the last of the protections fell. Willow slumped forward and was catching her breath when Hermione asked if she was alright.
"Sure, I'll be fine. Being a conduit for that much energy can have all kinds of sensations come with it."
"Like what?"
"Pressure, pins and needles, one time it felt like I was getting an brush burn over my entire body."
"And this time?" Hermione asked.
Willow's face broke into a huge grin as she said. "Better than sex."
Hermione just stared at her in awe wondering what that sensation would even be like.
Once Willow was finished basking in the afterglow she went to her backpack. She reached in and pulled out several sticks of dynamite.
"Do I even want to know how you obtained that much explosives."
"I had to fudge the books on how much we actually used to break apart the granite on one of the Guardian Council's properties so we could keep the extra."
"Willow there must be twelve sticks here."
"Fifteen actually, I'm working under the assumption that the document is made of something impressively strong and will need to be blown to smithereens for the spell to be completely and forever broken."
"Aren't you concerned that an explosion of this size will bring down the chamber?"
"Well to be fair I didn't realize how small the chamber would be but I'm going to try to shape the charge so that almost all of the explosive energy is focused entirely onto the document using magically enhanced steel plates. You might want to let Faith know what's happening and the pitfalls we might experience. Tell her you'll send another message after the explosion to let her know if we're okay or not."
/Scene Break/
This had turned out to be a longer and harder trek than Faith had thought it would be but with her tunes blaring it was just another workout and a satisfying one at that. The otter made another appearance and delivered its message in Hermione's voice. With a nod she continued her deadly dance with both of her blades whirling around her. She was in her element. She was more than three quarters of the way to the other side as she continued to slice the tentacle-like lily vines that tried to whip and wrap around her to pull her under. It had succeeded to almost do just that but Faith realized that the piece that wrapped around her legs was a piece that she had already cut off the main plant. It had been laying there when she stepped on it. After slicing it from her legs she made sure not to step on any large pieces again. Once had been scary enough. All the while this dance was going on a pair of eyes watched her from the shadows bidding it's time until she reached its side of the chamber.
After another fifteen minutes she was finally across she put her blades back in their sheaths and began to quickly look for a place to tie off the coil of rope she brought across the chamber with her. Finding a solid torch holder she began securing one end of the rope to it when she felt something sneaking up on her. A smile broke out on her face as she realized she was going to meet the big bad guardian of the chamber. She turned just as the Macboon attacked.
"Well hello there, my names Faith and I'll be your slayer this evening." She said as she blocked its attack.
/Scene Break/
Willow and Hermione finish strapping the Dynamite to the pedestal and fountain in such a way that ninety percent of the explosion was focused inward towards the document.
How are we going to set it off? Muggle timers might not work here.
We're going old school. Willow replied as she pulled out several yards of fuse from her backpack.
Gosh Willow, I really hope this doesn't turn out to be like a Wile E. Coyote cartoon.
Willow smirked. "That's what I think to myself every time I play with explosives."
/Scene Break/
Faith was having fun. As a sparing partner for slayers this MacBoon thing could be a real workout. Too bad she couldn't bring it along to show the other girls. She still had a lot to learn about its capabilities and this thing was full of unexpected moves. Earlier she watched as the thing cart wheeled away from one of her attacks which she thought was impressive. At the moment it faced her, it had its two legs extended farthest away from her while the front three were bent at the knees. Its face was nearly vertical as it circled each other. All of the sudden it stood up on three legs and used the other two as arms to swing down upon her. She brought her arm up to block one, then she brought her other arm up to block the other; leaving herself wide open. The third center leg shot out like a piston right into her solar plexus sending her flying several feet back down the board walk. She had just caught her breath when she saw a lily vine come out of the water heading straight for her. She quickly pulled at one of the handles of her machetes and in several graceful arks cleaved the vine to pieces. Faith looked at the MacBoon as she re-sheathed her blade and said.
"Looks like I missed that one last time." But the look on the MacBoons face said something to Faith as she added to her comment in realization. "But you already knew that didn't you?" She would swear it snickered.
/Scene Break/
Willow lit the end of the fuse while Hermione waited in the water for Willow to join her. The fuse began hissing and Willow jumped into the water. They both began swimming to the under water passage to leave the chamber.
/Scene Break/
Yet another new capability Faith found that the MacBoon had was that its leg joints were omni directional as it now hovered over her. Its legs bent the other way as it stared into her eyes as its face was now on its underside. But to her surprise it snorted and backed off. She sat up not understanding. It had her right where it wanted her and it backed off. Not that she didn't have a move to counter it; but still it backed off. Was it playing with her? She got up and cautiously approached it looking for an opening to attack when they heard and felt the explosion. The MacBoon looked around nervously.
"Looks like my girl accomplished her job." Faith said with a smile as she made her move to attack.
The MacBoon may have been concerned about the chamber falling in around it, but it was ready for Faiths attack. It tried to concentrate on the fight but still wondered about the chamber.
"Come on, I can see your getting distracted. Do you want to stop?"
"Its only response was another piston kick half way across the chamber."
As she got up she said. "I'm telling you I'm going to find a defense for that move sooner or later."
Just as she got close enough to attack, the otter showed up once more.
"Faith, the document has been destroyed but so is most of the chamber. We're trying to fight the currant by clinging to the walls of the passage but the hand holds are few and far between while the currant is strong. We haven't any worries about breathing because of the bubble head charms. But it may take us awhile to get back, as we have been set back by the current a couple of times already."
With that the otter vanished.
"Great!" Faith sarcastically commented to no one. She then looked to the rope she had tied to a torch holder but never got to through into the water before she was attacked. The MacBoon was now between her and it. This thing was way too much fun but it was evenly matched for slayer sparring and she knew that it was going to make her fight all the way back to the rope. She was just about to attack when a mind boggling event happened. The Macboon kept a careful eye on its opponent as it backed up to where the coiled rope was and kicked the coil into the water right at the entrance to the passage. The current then sucked it into the mouth of the passage. Faith stood there confused watching the rope move down the passage. It was then the Macboon attacked once more.
/Scene Break/
Neither Hermione or Willow was a strong swimmer. Nor did ether of them have much upper body strength. This was something they both had mentally told themselves that they needed to work on in the past as well as thinking it right now. Trying to climb through this passage was difficult. Actually they both felt it might be impossible but neither of them would tell the other this. Willow was mentally running through every kind of spell she knew trying to think of something that could help them in this situation. She would have to be careful; if she used a spell that didn't work she may make things worse. Besides the spell that made this current in the first place it may just make the current worse if other spells tried to stop it. No, she couldn't risk it. They needed to somehow find the strength to pull themselves to safety. Willow hung on to a piece of slimy rock with one hand while she forced her other arm over her head to feel for the next hand hold she knew was there. Hermione was ahead of her and therefore had something to hang on to. She desperately hung onto the slimy hand hold, praying she wouldn't slip. It was to her horror that the rock broke. Her hands desperately searching for any hand hold that would stop her from losing the little progress she had made. She came across a root of some sort. She didn't know how long it was but perhaps she could pull herself along until it came to its end and then continue looking for hand holds. As she climbed she realized it was a length of cord and that it had a series of knots in it for climbing.
Oh my gosh, this is the rope Luna gave Faith to carry. Willow realized as she was now even with Hermione. When Willow first went into the water she wondered why the bubble head charm surrounded her whole head and not just her mouth and nose. Hermione told her that that was how the charm usually worked but this modified version allowed them to keep most of their hair dry, and also allowed for communication when the bubbles touched. Willow purposely brought her head next to Hermione's so that the bubble head charm bubble merged with Hermione's as she could now talk to her.
"Hermione, Faith sent this rope through to us; grab on." She said breathing heavy.
Without saying a word Hermione reached for it. Willow let her take the lead. They just hoped that it was strong enough to hold both of their weight as well as the force of the current pushing on them.
/Scene Break/
Faith knew exactly when one of her friends grabbed the rope, as it went taught. She also knew when the next one grabbed the rope when it stretched even more. As she continued to fight this creature she had to wonder about the information Hermione made her read about MacBoons before they embarked on this adventure. This creature doesn't show any of the traits described in the information she was given. This thing seemed to be highly intelligent. Mean yes, but it was still intelligent. It seemed to be learning her moves as she had been learning its moves. It also seemed to enjoy the sparring as much as she did. It seemed to understand the few comments she threw its way. But the really weird thing was how it seemed to understand what Hermione's otter message said and that Faith wanted to throw the rope to them. That hadn't been a coincidence; it did it purposely and seemed to do it so nothing would interrupt their sparring.
It had been five minutes since the rope had been thrown in. From what Hermione told her about her first trip, it only took her a minute and a half to get to the chamber when there wasn't a current. They should have had enough time to pull themselves through by now. The current must be stronger than it appears and now she was beginning to worry about them. It was time to end this.
"Alright, enough!" She said and the Macboon stopped with a growl as it backed away.
"We both know we've been playing and testing each other. And I do want to continue this but my friends are in trouble right now and need my help. Nothing is going to stop me from doing that. I'll pull my blade and slay you if that's what I have to do but you're a damn good sparring partner and I'd really hate to do that. So please back off so I can help them.
The Macboon looked her in the eye for a moment before it snorted and moved away back into its own chamber. Faith was surprise that that had worked. She moved to the rope and began to slowly pull. She didn't want to end up pulling the rope out of their hands. It didn't take long before she saw one, then the other witch being dragged out of the passage. All of the sudden it began to get easier to pull them through the current. She looked in back of her to find the MacBoon actually helping her; the rope wrapped around one of its appendages. She didn't say anything at the moment. She was too confused by its actions. She kept pulling. It took a moment before they were clear of the current. Hermione surfaced at the base of the stone platform Faith was standing on. As she began pulling herself out of the water she saw the MacBoon and yelled "Faith look out behind you." her wand sprang to her hand but Faith immediately snatched it from her grasp.
Yeah, I know all about him. Now calm down and get up here. Faith said putting Hermione's wand behind her ear the way she had seen Luna carry hers.
As Willow was pulled out of the water she looked over at the MacBoon standing next to Faith. She quirked and eye brow in Faiths direction and asked.
"I'm guessing you've made new friends."
"Yeah, that book couldn't have been more wrong about Boon here."
The MacBoon growled at Faith because of what she called it and Faith caught on quickly. Hermione jumped back.
"I don't think he likes that name. He seems intelligent and stuff, and I think he understands English." Faith explained.
"But that can't be right." Hermione said. "All the stuff I read about Quintaped indicates that they are of very low intelligence and aggressive."
The MacBoon growled loudly and took steps toward Hermione frightening her.
"Did you hear me mention it understands English?" Faith said in warning. "And I don't think he's aggressive as much as he is grumpy living down here for so long."
The Macboon snorted in disgust of its suroundings.
"But,… but." Hermione stammered. "All the information on them was from a government report."
"Have you forgotten how reliable your government is?" Willow asked. "And it's not the first time one of your wizards printed fraudulent information, the biggest being that Lockhart guy you told me about. Who's to say that the guy sent to study the creatures on that island wasn't so afraid of them that he didn't turn right around and spend his time on a beach somewhere making up some fiction about them."
"Or maybe they didn't want anybody on the island they live on for some reason. So they told the people the creatures were too dangerous and hid the island." Faith added.
"Oh, that's a good point. I wouldn't have thought of that." Willow said commending her friend.
"Damn, another lie. I can't believe how many I keep coming across that I used to believe so willingly." Hermione said angrily.
She then turned to the MacBoon and winced at its short hair that had been slowly growing back since the last time she was there.
"I'm terribly sorry about our last encounter. I tried not to hurt you but that explosion took me by surprise. It's not what I meant to happen."
The MacBoon growled but made no move to attack.
"What do we know about its habitat for real?" Faith asked.
"We can't rely on any of the information at this point. For all we know they could have a way to build shelters or something." Willow said.
"But that's the thing. The wizards put him in this chamber. They didn't know for sure that he could survive in these conditions. I wonder how long it's been since he has seen the sun." Faith continued.
"That's, that's horrible." Hermione realized.
Faith turned to the MacBoon. "What do you say, do you want to get out of here?"
The MacBoon looked at her in awe. It couldn't believe what he was being asked.
"You mean you want to take it with us?" Hermione squeaked.
"Well yeah, you said you realized that we could use one of the port things in the chamber we landed in. We can take it right to the Guardian Council."
"That sounds good but it might freak out the guard on duty." Willow realized.
"Hermione, How far and how fast can you send your otter messenger? Can it reach the G.C.?" Faith asked.
"It's a Patronus Charm and it wouldn't be a problem to send one there from here. It could make the journey in about a minute."
"Okay so we can send a warning ahead of us." Faith said.
"Actually, I think it would be better sending it into the gym. It won't feel so cooped up and there are doors that lead right outside." Willow said.
"But why take him to the G.C. at all? Shouldn't we send him right to its island?" Hermione asked.
Unnoticed by the women, the hope in the MacBoons eyes turned to one of trepidation.
"Not until we can check the place out for ourselves." Faith said. "Besides, it may like living in Africa with us. I know it likes to go a few round as much as the slayers do. Maybe he'd like to be a trainer or something."
Willow and Hermione looked at each other then back to Faith as they said in unison. "Only a slayer would think of that."
Faith's face split into a huge smile as they moved into the entrance chamber.
"Alright, if we're going to do this I'd better readjust the wards. And yes I can do that from here." Willow announced.
"Your magic never ceases to amaze me." Hermione said.
"Yours is kick ass too." Willow said returning the compliment as she watched her take her wand back from Faith and send off another Patronus Charm with the necessary information.
"They waited for a couple of minutes before Hermione brought out the rope port key which everyone held onto. A length of it was left on the floor of the chamber for the MacBoon to step on. It looked at it suspiciously."
"If you want to be free just step on it." Faith said.
The MacBoon cautiously did so. Hermione said the password and they were transported right to the gym of the G.C.. To their surprise they had an audience. It seemed that everyone wanted to see the creature they were bringing back. The look in the slayers eyes were one of predators and it made the MacBoon nervous. Faith knew she had to nip this in the bud before it got out of hand.
"Alright everyone this is not a demon and therefore not to be slain. This is a magical creature; it's sentient and if I can talk it into it, will possibly become a sparring partner."
The slayers looked to it with its five appendages and were beginning to get excited about the idea.
"But first we have to come up with a name it likes and I think it may want some time alone at the moment." With that Faith walked over to the door and said. "Hey Boon. You want some time outside?"
The Macboon ran to Faiths side in an excited second. Faith opened the door and the creature was bathed in sunlight. There was awe shown upon its face. It had thought it would never have sunlight on it face again. It saw the green grass in the enclosed courtyard. A few trees some shrubs and flowers. Faith could tell it was excited.
"Go on, go wild, have fun. Just stay within the walls. We don't want others to see you."
The Macboon didn't have to be told twice. It ran out the door and ran to the center of the yard as it breathed in the fresh air. It didn't like some of the odors it smelled such as car exhaust but it was better than the air of the chambers. All the slayers came out to watch the new addition to their ranks and smiled a sad smile at what they were watching. A captive enjoying its new found freedom after being a prisoner for who knows how long running this way and that.
It finally walked over to the shade of a tree, turned away from it, and plopped down to just sit and enjoy the sensation of the sun and being free.
"I still don't understand why you were so eager to bring it back here."
"Tell me Hermione, you said that these things can only be found on that one island. So there wouldn't be any in that forest you were talking about next to that wizard school right?"
"That's right." Hermione confirmed.
"So when the world ends so do the MacBoon. I don't know about you but I don't think that's fair." She whispered, the music coming from one of the slayers boom boxes drowning out her hushed voice from the other slayers.
"So you don't have any intention of taking it to the island." Hermione stated.
"Maybe, maybe not, but I was thinking if we do it'll probably be to find him a mate. Can't have them killed off. Especially now that we know they're intelligent."
Willow slung her arms around Faith "you are such a softy." She said smiling over her shoulder.
"Yeah well, don't let it get around." Faith said with a smile.
As they broke apart Hermione asked if they wanted to go to Diagon alley to which they both said yes. Ten minutes later they were walking through the leaky caldron and out to the brick wall. As Hermione opened it she watched the people on the street and was perplexed by what she saw.
"I don't understand. No one seems to notice anything."
"What did you expect, panic in the streets?" Willow asked.
"Well maybe some confused looks at the least. They lived with the enchantments all there lives. You would think they would have noticed something was missing."
"You didn't until we told you, and you only saw it in hindsight as your mind was free to expand. Don't worry; from here on out this community will start moving forward and when it does, I'm sorry but it will probably descend into chaos for a while." Willow announced.
"Only to calm down long enough to see the end of the world." Hermione continued sadly.
"You're not upset about what we did are you?" Willow asked.
"Cant change it even if I wanted to; but no, it's better that they knew freedom before their time is over. The minds of every witch and wizard across the world are expanding and for the very short time they have left we will know they will leave this existence with their mind free. I wonder what sparks of intelligence we'll see before it's over."
"I think you see things with rose colored glasses." Faith commented. "It's been my experience that people can easily self-delude. Even in our old haunt the first hell mouth that we guarded they had a name for it. It was called Sunnydale syndrome. People didn't like change and they liked their little worlds to have order they understood. Magic and demons just didn't fit into that. I don't think your going to see too much of a difference."
Once Faith was done speaking she looked at the glair Willow was shooting her way and decided to recant.
"But hey, I'll admit it. I've been wrong before. And maybe with a little poke and stir you can get the bee hive buzzing." Faith paused to see if anyone had anything else to add before saying. "Now, let's see this joke shop Dawn keeps talking about. Xander and Andrew have some pay back coming from the previous pranks they've played on me and the rest of the girls and I plan on stocking up for a prank war.
"Oh me too!" Willow said excitedly. "They've had it coming for far too long. That spell Andrew gave us on Saint Patrick's Day that turned our hair a sickly shade of green for a week and Xander for putting cling wrap on my toilet bowl. I should have suspected something when I saw he put the seat down.
Shivers ran down Hermione's spine at the evil smiles plastered on her companion's faces as they walked down the ally towards the joke shop. Xander and Andrew were headed for bad times. She felt sorry for them. She just hoped they survived long enough to make it out alive.
A.N. (Reviews can make a story even better.)