Buffy X-overs 1. Black Dogs and Englishmen

Spoilers: Buffy and Angel. PP/SS, CoS, PoA, GoF Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine. They belong to Joss and JK. Thanks for the lend, guys! A/N: This takes place out of continuity from the Cannon Buffy/Angelverse. Things a bit wacked up there. Yeah. You'll find out. Shippery in later chapters.  
  
Black Dogs and Englishmen. Lipton Leigh  
  
He was accustomed to people banging on his door at all hours of the night.  
  
But Wesley Wyndham-Pryce had never opened his door to be faced with a large black dog before.  
  
He was shocked.  
  
And not because the dog transformed into a black-haired, ripped-robed man.  
  
"Sirius?" Wesley asked. "Good lord. Sirius Black?"  
  
Sirius nodded. "Hello, Wesley. Long time, no see."  
  
Wesley took a step back. "Black, I don't know what you want here, but- "  
  
Sirius looked down. "Wesley. I. it's all my fault, I know," he said shamefully.  
  
"You're damned bloody right it is," Wesley snapped. "How dare you show up here after all you've done!"  
  
"I didn't turn in James and Lily."  
  
Wesley stopped dead. "Liar."  
  
"No, Wesley, I didn't," Sirius pleaded. "Please. I switched places with Peter at the last minute. He turned them in."  
  
"How dare you blame what you did on a dead man!" Wesley cried. "You're sick!"  
  
"He's not dead!"  
  
Sirius held out the Daily Prophet article he'd gotten two years back.  
  
Wesley snatched it and studied the photo of the Weasleys. He got one good look at Scabbers, or, as he now realized, Peter Petigrew, and nearly fell over. "Good lord."  
  
"I didn't turn them in."  
  
Wesley nodded, but still stood there looking stunned until Sirius gave him a short tight hug, complete with a pat on the back.  
  
Wesley's nose wrinkled. "You smell like-"  
  
"Dog?" Sirius asked. "Well, yeah." Wesley shook his head. "Sirius how did you get here? Oh, forget that. How did you get out of Azkaban?"  
  
Sirius shook his head. "Never mind that." He walked into Wesley's apartment. "Nice, mate."  
  
"Why are you here, of all places?" Wesley asked.  
  
Sirius' carefree expression turned deathly serious as he stared at his old friend. "Wes, old boy. I've got some bad news."  
  
"Well, let's have it."  
  
"Remember Voldemort?"  
  
Wesley glared. "That's the stupidest question anyone's ever asked me. What do you think, you right ponce?"  
  
Sirius sighed. "Seems that old Tom Riddle is back. And bodied."  
  
Wesley went pale. "This is a joke. How the hell did you get out of Azkaban?!"  
  
Sirius shook his head. "Wesley, I tell you. I wish I were joking."  
  
Wesley sat on his couch. "You should take a shower." He pointed. "Shower's that way. You can borrow some of my clothes. I'll order a pizza."  
  
Sirius gave him a blank look. "Pizza?"  
  
Wesley shook his head. "Just go."  
  
No sooner had Sirius closed the bathroom door, was there another knock on the front one.  
  
Wesley pulled it open to find Albus Dumbledore standing there in, of course, his full wizard robes.  
  
"Professor Dumbledore?" Wesley asked, standing aside to let the older man inside. "How did you get on my front door step?"  
  
"I apparated," he replied. "And it just wouldn't do to just show inside your home. Quite rude, I think." He looked around. "It's very nice. Has Sirius shown up yet?"  
  
"Yes," Wesley replied. "He's in the shower."  
  
Dumbledore looked Wesley over and nodded. "He told you. I'm sorry to spring this on you, Wesley, but we need your help."  
  
Wesley shook his head. "I'm no wizard, anymore. I'm a watcher remember? Just like my father wanted me to be." He sighed. "I don't think I can help you."  
  
Dumbledore shook his head. "Quite the contrary. I'm looking for some new teachers for some new class ideas I have. And. I hear you've teamed yourself with some warriors."  
  
Wesley nodded. "A slayer and a Champion. There's another slayer that's not mine, but she's very close to mine. She lives just south of here, with two witches and another watcher."  
  
"Well. I'd love for you all to come teach. And help protect the school from Voldemort," Dumbledore told him. "Any classes you want." He smirked. "And practicing magic is somewhat like riding a cycal, as you Muggles call it."  
  
"It's a Bicycle," Wesley corrected him.  
  
"Well, whatever. The point is. I want you and your friends. Whoever you think could do the trick in terms of teaching and protecting. I'd love to have you."  
  
Please Come to Hogwarts. "You wanna put young, impressionable minds in my hands? Wesley, did you get hit on the head, or something?"  
  
Wesley sighed at Faith from behind his desk in the Hyperian Hotel's main office.  
  
"It's not just teaching," Sirius explained. "It's for protection as well."  
  
Angel sighed. "And you're telling me Voldemort is back?"  
  
"Who's that?" Cordelia asked.  
  
"Dark wizard who went around slaughtering normal humans and normal human-loving wizards," Angel replied. "Spike and Dru loved him if I recall correctly."  
  
"So. how'd he die?" Fred asked.  
  
"He didn't," Sirius replied. "His body did. My godson, Harry, destroyed it. Voldemort killed Harry's parents. His mother died protecting him, and her love for the boy made him untouchable to Voldemort. The curse he cast bounced off Harry and onto him. He's spent about 14 years trying to come back to power and finally succeeded a month ago."  
  
"So, we go fight him, right?" Gunn asked. "Kick his butt an everything?"  
  
Sirius shook his head. "No. No, you can't do it that way. He's got power beyond your wildest dreams, and he's got followers. Death Eaters. No weapon will protect you from them."  
  
"So how do you expect us to fight them?" Faith asked.  
  
"We don't," Sirius replied. "We just need you to protect the children."  
  
Wesley sighed and looked to Angel. "They want Buffy, Willow, Tara and Giles, as well."  
  
Angel looked down. "Well. we'll just have to call them."  
  
"You're all right with that?" Cordelia asked doubtfully.  
  
"Why wouldn't I be?"  
  
"She's your ex."  
  
Professor Dumbledore walked into the hotel, looking around him. "What a marvelous city. I swear, the Ministry doesn't give you Muggles enough credit."  
  
*RING*  
  
Angel sighed as her voice came through the phone.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Buffy. It's Angel."  
  
"Hi," She said. "What's up?"  
  
Angel sighed. "How do you feel about teaching abroad?"  
  
That night, Angel was stuffing his belongings into two over-night bags. One for clothing and the other for weapons and books.  
  
Cordelia sighed. "I still don't see why Fred, Gunn and I have to stay here."  
  
Angel sighed back. "Someone's gotta help the hopeless, right? You guys could come visit for holiday break in December."  
  
Cordelia shrugged. "I guess so. have you called Buffy?"  
  
"Yeah," Angel replied shortly. "She, Giles, Willow and Tara are gonna come."  
  
Cordelia sighed. "I wish I was going."  
  
"Someone's gotta help the hopeless," Angel told her. "You guys'll do fine. They really need our help up there."  
  
"I know," Cordelia replied. "Just.don't get killed."  
  
Angel smirked. "You always ruin my fun."  
  
"Ha, ha, mister funny-pants."  
  
A few days later, they had apparated to King's Cross in England.  
  
Wesley felt like he was in his First year of Hogwarts again. Without a word to his companions, he went through the pillar that led to Platform 9 and ¾.  
  
Angel sighed and followed, shaking his head, followed by a large black dog.  
  
Buffy blinked. "I think I speak for all of us when I say. huh?"  
  
Dumbledore chuckled. "Platform 9 and ¾ is through that pillar. Just walk through."  
  
Buffy blinked and glanced at her friends. "Okay. Willow, you're going with me."  
  
They hooked arms, and walked right through, followed by the rest of their group.  
  
Giles sighed tiredly, and brushed his jacket off. Faith turned to see that there was a door in place of the pillar on the other side.  
  
"Okay. This just might be the weirdest thing I've ever done," she commented.  
  
"You mean besides Xander?" Angel asked, looking back.  
  
"Oh, suddenly you're all human so you have the quickest wit ever?" Faith snapped. "Shut your mouth."  
  
Angel smirked, and hopped on the train with his two suitcases.  
  
Buffy stared after him with a curious glance.  
  
Angel. alive. in the sun. making silly jokes.  
  
It was new.  
  
It was. attractive.  
  
"Someone's having lusty wrong-thoughts."  
  
Buffy snapped her attention to Willow. "So not!"  
  
Willow snickered. "Whatever you say. Come on. Let's get on the train."  
  
The two girls walked on the train, and sat in a booth with Tara and Faith.  
  
"What do you think this will be like?" Tara asked.  
  
"I don't know," Willow replied. "Fun, I hope."  
  
"Me, too."  
  
"So, Rupert. It's good to see you again."  
  
Giles smiled at Dumbledore. "You, too. I hope you're well."  
  
"I am."  
  
"Good."  
  
Wesley stared from one man to the other, and blinked. "Y-you know each other?"  
  
"Don't be thick, Wesley," Giles snapped. "I was a seventh-year at Hogwarts when you were in your first. All future watchers are sent to Hogwarts."  
  
Dumbledore smirked. "You forget, Rupert, that you dropped out in the middle of your seventh-year. That, and first and seventh-years barely give each other the time of day."  
  
Giles cleared his throat. "Yes, well. I did know a few first years. James Potter and Sirius Black."  
  
"Who didn't?" Wesley muttered, patting the black dog next to him on the head.  
  
When they arrived off the Hogwarts express, there were a few small boats waiting for, one with an incredibly large man standing in it. He had long black hair with an equally long beard.  
  
"'Lo, Professor. These the new acquisition?"  
  
"Yes, Hagrid," Dumbledore replied. "These are the new teachers. Everyone, this is Rubeus Hagrid, the Hogwarts groundskeeper and Care of Magical Creatures Professor."  
  
"By Merlin," Hagrid said in astonishment. "Issat Wesley Wyndham- Pryce?"  
  
"Hullo, Hagrid," Wesley smirked. "It's good to see you."  
  
Hagrid smiled, and patted the younger man on the shoulder as he boarded. "You, too, Wesley. How's life treated ya?"  
  
"Same as everyone else, I guess," Wesley smirked. "You've become a professor. That's wonderful."  
  
Hagrid nodded. "Thanks. I'm always excited about startin a new year."  
  
They boarded the boats, and started their journey to the Castle.  
  
Faith stared down at the water, and then at the people she was riding with. Wesley was keeping up a good conversation with Hagrid, Dumbledore was speaking with Giles, who in the other boat, and Angel was staring at. Buffy.  
  
Heh, heh, heh.  
  
Silently, she moved behind her zoned-out friend, and flipped him off the boat.  
  
"FAITH!"  
  
Wesley shook his head. "Faith. Why did you do that?"  
  
Faith shrugged. "Seemed like a good idea at the time."  
  
Hagrid grinned, and stopped rowing the boat. He grasped Angel by the shirt and lifted him back onto the boat. He smirked at Faith. "You'll fit in well wi' yer students. Specially if ya wind up with the Weasley twins."  
  
Dumbledore shook his head. "Don't get Professor Morgan ideas, Hagrid. That could end badly. for a Slytherin."  
  
Angel shook out his head and glared at Faith, he glanced at Buffy, who was giggling along with Willow and Tara.  
  
She was so beautiful when she laughed.  
  
He'd forgotten that.  
  
Although with the relationship they'd had, it was easy to forget.  
  
Faith rolled her eyes. She was about to flip Angel off the boat again, but her hand was grabbed by Wesley.  
  
"Once is enough, don't you think?"  
  
Faith rolled her eyes again and slumped back, grumbling to herself.  
  
They finally made their way to the school, and Dumbledore led them inside, where all the other teachers were lined up, waiting for their arrival. They were introduced to Professor MacGonagall, Madame Hooch, Madame Pomfrey, Professor Flitwick, and Professor Sprout, and a host of others.  
  
And then there was the greasy-looking one in black.  
  
Wesley glared.  
  
"What the hell is he doing here?" He said to Dumbledore. "You didn't tell me he was going to be here."  
  
"Now, Wesley," Dumbledore said. "He's our potions teacher. and Remus can deal with him-"  
  
"Remus has an infinite supply of patience that the rest of us could never have. You honestly expect me to deal with Snape?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Wesley shook his head. "Fine. Merlin help me, but fine."  
  
Snape glared at Wesley. "The feeling is mutual, Pryce. Believe me."  
  
"Stop it, both of you, or I'll-"  
  
Both turned to stare at Professor MacGonagall.  
  
"Just. try and get along," she told them.  
  
Dumbledore sighed at his new group of teachers, as they took their seats in his office. "Unfortunately, there aren't enough rooms in the teacher's wing to accommodate all of you. You may have to double and triple up."  
  
The group turned to each other, as Dumbledore waited expectantly.  
  
"Okay," Buffy said. "This is how it's going to work. Angel and I will share a room. Willow, Tara and Faith. Giles and Wesley."  
  
Giles gave his slayer a stern look. "You and Angel are not rooming together. You'll room with Faith, Buffy. Angel, you'll room with Willow and Tara."  
  
Buffy rolled her eyes.  
  
Dumbledore smiled at the scene. He'd heard tell of the famous Slayer/Vampire forbidden romance. He'd also heard that said vampire was now human.  
  
"Don't roll your eyes at me, Buffy Anne Summers," Giles said calmly. "This is a school, not a cheep motel."  
  
"Who said anything about cheep?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, really," Faith added on. "It's pretty swanky for a school. But I'm sure B and A could turn it into the sight for a sleazy pornography in no time."  
  
Buffy glared at her sister slayer.  
  
Angel sat between the two girls, reading a hefty book entitled: "Hogwarts: A History." He was completely oblivious to the conversation. He put it down, and looked curiously at Dumbledore. "I thought Riddle went to Durmstrang?"  
  
Dumbledore became grave and sighed. "Oh, no. Thomas Riddle was a student at Hogwarts. One of the finest. I was only a teacher at the time, though."  
  
Angel nodded and went back to reading.  
  
Tara became curious. "Who's Thomas Riddle?"  
  
Dumbledore pursed his lips. "An ex-student. Very powerful."  
  
"And dangerous, and evil," Wesley added. "He turned into one of the darkest wizards the world has ever seen. He went around killing Muggle-born wizards, and anyone who got in his way."  
  
"Who was this guy?" Faith asked.  
  
"Thomas Riddle," Giles replied. "Otherwise known as Voldemort."  
  
The Buffy and the two witches blinked at them.  
  
Dumbledore sighed. "Another time. It's quite late. Why don't you all go settle in. Tomorrow is a big day. And a word of advice, while you're here. Be aware of your students. they're not all. well. innocent."  
  
On The Fast Track.  
  
Buffy opened the door, and was about to leave, before Angel pulled her back into his grasp and kissed her softly. "See you tomorrow."  
  
She nodded with a satisfied smirk. "I love you."  
  
He sighed, resting his forehead against hers. "I love you, too."  
  
And that's when they heard a throat clear.  
  
They looked out the door slowly to see Severus Snape glaring in at them.  
  
"Professor Snape," Angel said nervously. "What brings you about this early?"  
  
"I was on my way back from a discussion with Professor Dumbledore," he replied. "And your door was open."  
  
Buffy sighed and looked from one man to the other. "Actually, I was just about to go back to my room, which is why the door's open."  
  
Snape just stared.  
  
"We were. discussing." Angel stammered. "How defense against the dark arts and. physical defense class could combine for maybe a crossover."  
  
Buffy nodded vigorously. "I. gotta go back to my room. Thanks, Angel. You're views were. helpful. We'll talk again soon." With that, she rushed out of the room and down the hall.  
  
Snape glared at Buffy's back, and then turned his glare on Angel, who could only think to shrug, and shut his door.  
  
"Severus?"  
  
Snape turned around to be faced with the headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore. "Headmaster," Snape greeted.  
  
"What's going on?" Dumbledore asked. "Why are you outside of Professor O'Brien's room?"  
  
Snape sighed. "There's something strange going on with them."  
  
Albus sighed. "Well, they're adults. I'm sure they can handle it."  
  
"They don't act like adults," Snape pointed out. "They act more like sixth-years."  
  
Dumbledore smiled. "I find it quite refreshing to see two young people who haven't lost their flare for life. Now, I'm off to bed. Goodnight, Severus."  
  
"Goodnight, Headmaster." With that, Snape walked in the other direction.  
  
Dumbledore tapped lightly on Angel's door. He opened it slowly. "Professor Dumbledore," he greeted. "Top o' th'." he looked at his watch. "Mornin."  
  
Albus smiled. "Hello, Angel. I hear you've just had a bit of a run-in with Professor Snape."  
  
Angel sighed. "Wasn't anything."  
  
"He's a wonderful teacher, Angel," Albus replied. "He tends to terrorize his students a bit though. I'm off to bed." He smiled. "Big day tomorrow. The students arrive. I suggest you get some rest, yourself." 


	2. The Shuffle

The Shuffle  
  
The train stopped at the station and Hermione, Ron, and Harry hopped off. Ron and Hermione had been acting strangely since they'd first seen each other at King's Cross. Harry wrote it off for now, too excited about the start of the new term.  
  
They were met by Hagrid as they collected some of their things.  
  
Apparently, as fifth years, they could choose any mode of transportation they wanted to get to the Hogwarts castle.  
  
"Can we ride with you again, Hagrid?" Hermione asked. "Please?"  
  
He smiled. "I don't see why not." He began to lead them to boats. "So, how were yer summers?"  
  
"We spent the whole summer at Ron's house!" Harry said. "It was great! Charlie and Bill taught us how to float tables."  
  
"Then you'll be all ready fer th' new levitation class won't ye?" Hagrid asked.  
  
"Levitation?" Hermione asked.  
  
Hagrid nodded. "Two o' the new teachers are headin' off tha' one. Should be interestin'. Good folk the new teachers are. First Muggle-born teachers Hogwarts has e'er had."  
  
"Really?" Ron asked. "What're they like?"  
  
Hagrid smiled. "There're seven of 'em. Three fellas. Four girls. Real nice people, an' they look li' they'll make competent teachers."  
  
They boarded the boat, and Hagrid began to lead the first-year boats toward the school.  
  
"Although, it's rumored tha' two of 'em er havin' and affair," he informed them.  
  
"Really, that's not very professional," Hermione said.  
  
"No," Hagrid agreed. "But they keep t' themselves. Don't make any noise. Apparently, all seven teachers've known each other for quite some time."  
  
"This should get interesting," Ron said, steeling a glance at Hermione. She smirked at him.  
  
Harry rolled his eyes. Great. Weirdness.  
  
The great hall was jam-packed, as usual, as it was, after all the great feast that opened up every school year. The sorting had been done, and Dumbledore addressed the masses.  
  
"Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts! As always, the Forbidden Forest of off limits to all students. As you all well know from your letters, we have begun an exchange program with the American Wizarding school of Plenard in Massachusetts. Only two of our numbers were brave enough to sign up for this program. Parvoti Patil, and Lavender Brown. And in return, Hogwarts will be receiving two American students. I expect you all to treat them well when they arrive. Also, This year, we have new classes, and new teachers to go along with them. May I present to you, the Magical lore and myth Professor, Rupert Giles."  
  
An man, looking a bit older than the others, stood up in gray robes. His hairline was receding and turning gray, but he was handsome, none-the- less. He nodded to the student body, very professionally.  
  
".The Levitation professors, Willow Rosenberg and Tara Maclay."  
  
A redheaded woman in equally red robes stood up, along with a blond in olive green. They both waved to the crowd nervously.  
  
".The physical defense teachers, Professors Buffy Summers and Faith Morgan."  
  
A blond woman in white robes stood up, dragging a brunette woman with her. Her robes were black. The blond waved and smirked, while the brunette did nothing, just looking amongst the masses.  
  
".The History of Magic teacher, Professor Wesley Wyndham-Pryce."  
  
A sandy-blond-haired man stood up, pushing his glasses up his nose. His robes were dark blue and he nodded, like Professor Giles.  
  
Hermione couldn't believe it. "Ron. Harry. that's. that's my Uncle."  
  
They both looked at her as if she were mad. "What?" Ron asked.  
  
"My mother's brother. Wesley."  
  
".And the professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, Angel O'Brien."  
  
A tall man, looking about the age of each of the women stood up. His hair was dark brown and spiked, and his robes were even blacker than Snape's. He gave a short bow.  
  
Parvoti Patil and Lavender Brown giggled.  
  
"He's cute," Parvoti said in a squeaky voice.  
  
"I hear he's having an affair with the blond in white," Lavender whispered. "Lucky is what she is."  
  
Dumbledore smiled upon his teachers. "Let's eat!"  
  
"I'm looking for Hogwarts: A History," Wesley told the librarian. "I'm having a bit of trouble finding it."  
  
The librarian sighed, and whispered. "The same one keeps renewing it. Has been for five years! It's amazing how many times that Hermione Granger can read the same book over."  
  
Wesley's brow furrowed. "Hermione Granger? What house is she in?"  
  
"Gryffindor, I believe. But she practically lives here."  
  
Wesley smiled. "You've been most helpful."  
  
He walked away, into the depths of the books, leaving the librarian looking rather stunned.  
  
Hermione was sitting in her favorite spot, reading a forgotten passage of Hogwarts: A History.  
  
"Should've known I'd find you lurking about here."  
  
She turned slowly, and looked up to see her uncle, Wesley smiling down at her with his arms crossed.  
  
"Uncle Wesley!" she cried, getting up, and hugging him.  
  
"Not so loud," he told her, wrapping his arms around her. "This is library, you know."  
  
"Where've you been?" Hermione asked. "Mum's been trying to reach you for ages."  
  
Wesley sighed. "After my. watching ended. I got stuck in LA."  
  
"Why?"  
  
He smirked. "You've been going to Hogwarts too long. It's called currency. And the fact that I had none. But. I was offered this job. here, as were a few of my friends. So we all decided a change of scenery might be nice, and took them. And here I am."  
  
Hermione smiled. "Wait till Mum hears. I've got to send her an Owl."  
  
Angel had notice a change since the students had arrived.  
  
Not only did he feel as if Snape was watching his every move, but every female student kept following him, trying to be noticed.  
  
'Well,' he thought. 'I may be oblivious to some things. but 250 years has taught me to know when I'm being followed.'  
  
He smirked as he passed Buffy in the hall. She was giving deathly glares to each of the girls tailing him.  
  
"I'm sending an Owl to Cordelia. Wanna join me?" he asked.  
  
She smiled and nodded. "I should send one to Dawn."  
  
They joined hands, stopping each girl dead in their tracks, and headed up the stairs.  
  
Just Like Home.  
  
Their first class the following Monday was Defense Against the Dark Arts.  
  
Hermione, Harry and Ron strode in early and took a look around the classroom.  
  
At the large wooden desk sat Professor Angel O'Brien. His brown hair was spiked, and his robes seemed even blacker than Professor Snape's. Underneath, he wore a dark red button-down shirt with black slacks, and black boots. He looked up at them and gave a nod and a smirk. He got to his feet, revealing that he was over six feet in height.  
  
"Didn't expect anyone t' be early," he told them. "C'n I get some names, please?"  
  
"Ronald Weasley,"  
  
Their Professor looked down at his attendance sheet and nodded. "Nice t' meet you."  
  
"I'm Hermione Granger."  
  
"Heard lots about you. I expect great things," Professor O'Brien told her.  
  
She smiled.  
  
"I'm Harry Potter."  
  
"Ah," their teacher said. "Now there's a name. Nice t'meet you lot. Pull up some seats, the rest of the class should be in any minute."  
  
He was right. A few moments later, the rest of the class hustled in and took to the seats.  
  
Professor O'Brien took roll, and then leaned against his desk, looking around. "You're all in the same seats from Transfiguration. Let's mix things up a bit. I'm sure no one bites."  
  
"No one except our Dark Art's teacher a couple years back," Draco snorted.  
  
The Slytherins laughed along with a few Gryffindors.  
  
"Well," Professor O'Brien said with a smirk. "I used to, so I guess tha' makes us even."  
  
The class fell silent.  
  
Their teacher smirked wildly. "We'll get to that later. Ron, why don't you and Draco switch places?"  
  
Ron went slightly pale at the thought of sitting next to Crabbe and Goyle, but did as he was told.  
  
Malfoy sat next to Hermione with a disgusted face. "Great. Right next to a Mudblood."  
  
Ron was up in a snap, on his way over to Malfoy.  
  
"Scuse me, Mr. Malfoy. What did you just call Miss. Granger?"  
  
"Nothing," Draco replied, becoming nervous at the dark look that fell on his teacher's face.  
  
"Did I hear the word 'Mudblood' come outta yer mouth?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Yes, you did," Hermione replied, slumping in her chair. "Loud and clear."  
  
Professor O'Brien shook his head. "Right then. Get out."  
  
Draco blinked. "What?"  
  
"Y' heard what I said, Malfoy. Out. Now."  
  
Draco didn't move. He was too shocked.  
  
"If you don't get outta my class room right now-"  
  
With that, Draco Malfoy rose quickly and rushed out, pushing Ron on the way.  
  
"That's eighty points from Slytherin!" Professor O'Brien cried. He looked upon his remaining students. "Sorry about that. Let's get on with our first unit, shall we?"  
  
While their first Dark Arts class had been incredibly interesting, Hermione, Ron and Harry were still shaken by their new teacher's reaction to Malfoy.  
  
"I like him already," Ron told his friends. "Eighty points from Slytherin. That had to hurt."  
  
Professor Snape rushed past them, right into Professor O'Brien's classroom.  
  
"That should get interesting," Hermione commented. "He didn't have to do that. I'm used to Malfoy being horrible."  
  
"He's not," Harry told her. "He looked rather offended."  
  
"He's Muggle-born," said a voice from next to them.  
  
They turned to look at Professor MacGonagall.  
  
She sighed. "He came to this school a very long time ago, and, according to records, was teased about being so."  
  
"Did you go to school with him?" Harry asked.  
  
She sighed. "He's much older than I, Potter. Even older than Dumbledore." With that, she walked off.  
  
"He barely looks thirty," Hermione pointed out.  
  
"Come on," Ron said. "We'll figure it out later. Let's get to History."  
  
"Hello, Class. I'm Professor Wyndham-Pryce. Welcome to Magical History in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. Obviously, I'm a new teacher, so, please, don't skewer me on my first day. If I remember Hogwarts correctly, that's saved for day two."  
  
The class giggled.  
  
"You went to Hogwarts, Professor?" Seamus asked.  
  
Their teacher nodded. "That I did."  
  
"When?" Dean asked.  
  
"A long while ago," he replied. "Before V- I mean. He-Who-Must-Not-Be- Named."  
  
"So you went to school with my Parents?" Harry asked.  
  
"Yes, actually, I did," Pryce smiled. "Along with your former Dark Arts Professor, Remus Lupin."  
  
"And Sirius Black?" Ron asked.  
  
He nodded. "Sirius, too. Along with your Potions teacher, Severus Snape, Draco's father, Lucius Malfoy, and a host of other names, you've all probably heard before. But, unfortunately, we are not here to discuss my Hogwarts days. Although, if anyone would like to spend their lunch in here one day, I could tell you the most extraordinary tales from back then. Now. onto business."  
  
She held up a wand. "If you face off against someone who is bigger and stronger than you, this is what's going to happen." Faith snapped the wand in two. It gave a little spark as she did. She dropped it on the floor and stared at their class.  
  
Buffy leaned against the wall behind her. She knew quite well that Faith was more menacing than she was. Buffy was fairly certain she could win if she and Faith ever fought again, but she wasn't menacing, with her blond hair, and nice flowered sundress under her white wizards robes.  
  
Faith, on the other hand, like Angel, wore black wizards robes. And underneath she wore a blank tank top and vinyl pants, which was not at all like Angel. Her hair was dark and down as usual, and she looked mean.  
  
Buffy could only look mean when she was feeling mean. And she was fairly chilled out.  
  
Until she heard a comment from one of their students.  
  
He was blond. Very blond. And snide-looking, too.  
  
One name came to mind.  
  
Spike.  
  
Buffy shook her head out, and listened to his comment as Faith explained the point of their class.  
  
"This should be good. A girl is going to teach us how to fight."  
  
Faith stopped dead in her tracks.  
  
The room went silent.  
  
"Did I just hear you say something, Flaxen-breath?" she asked. She walked right up to him, grabbed his collar and lifted him off the ground. "I don't like your mouth, kid. You better watch it with me, you understand?"  
  
The blond squeaked.  
  
"I expect an answer Dweebo!" Faith snapped. "NOW!"  
  
"Yes! I understand!" He cried with his eyes closed.  
  
Faith set him down, and addressed the room. "You see that? Never let anybody push you around like I just did to- what's yer name?"  
  
"D-Draco Malfoy."  
  
"Right. Whatever. Not even a teacher. You guys live in a world where anyone, anyone can go bad, and push people around. Take the V-word for instance. You gotta learn to be ready for anything. And that's what I, and Professor Summers are here for."  
  
"Welcome to Levitation! I'm Professor Maclay."  
  
"And I'm Professor Rosenberg. ugh. it makes me sound so old.. Forget that, just call me Willow."  
  
"Hey, Weasley!" Draco Malfoy called from the back of the room. "Another relative of yours?"  
  
"Shut it, you Ferret-y bastard," Ron snapped.  
  
Willow looked down at her seating chart and smirked. "Hey, you, Malfoy, Spike, whatever your name is, come sit in the front row."  
  
Draco rolled his eyes. "Wonderful." He got up and moved to the front of the classroom, right across from Ron.  
  
"Wanna see something fun?" Willow asked Ron. She raised a hand, and Malfoy flew into the air. He screamed, and landed safely back in his seat.  
  
The class laughed.  
  
"That's a taste of what you'll be learning in here," Professor Maclay said nervously. "T-Thank you, Willow, for that wonderful example."  
  
Wesley Wyndham-Pryce walked back into his classroom after picking up some lunch in the great hall to find the desks full with students. Not only ones he'd had in his class, but ones he didn't recognize, as well. Two boys who looked remarkably like Ron Weasley, along with a girl who had their features. The Gryffindor Quidditch team, along with Angel, Buffy, Faith, Willow, Giles and Tara. And, to his surprise, Dumbledore and Snape as well.  
  
He blinked. "Hello, everyone. What can I do for you?"  
  
"You said you had some juicy gossip, Wesley," Albus Dumbledore replied with a smile. "Let's have it."  
  
Wesley smiled and took a seat at his desk. "Well, let me start out by saying that these stories are true. This was all before He-Who-Must-Not-Be- Named. Back to a time when I was a third-year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.."  
  
At the same time, outside of the library A small Ravenclaw boy fell too the ground, dead. His eyes still open.  
  
It had been Neville Longbottom who'd found the Ravenclaw. Neville screamed so high and so loud it had brought everyone within a 20-mile radius running to the scene.  
  
The group that had gathered in Wesley's classroom came rushing up, Angel in the lead. He stopped short, making everyone behind him slam into each other.  
  
Angel went ghostly pale.  
  
"I didn't do it," Neville stammered. "I swear. It wasn't me. I found him like this. Please don't send me to Azkaban."  
  
Angel put up his hands. "Neville. no one is blaming you. What. happened?"  
  
"I. didn't touch him, I swear. I found him like this," Neville looked as though he were about to cry.  
  
Angel inched forward, and looked over the boy, noticing two small, red puncture holes in his neck. His skin was white. Other than the holes, the boy had no signs of injury.  
  
Angel sighed. "Buffy? Faith?"  
  
The girls came forward and glanced at the boy's neck.  
  
Faith stamped a foot. "Dammit!"  
  
Hermione looked horrified, clutching Ron's arm. "W-what happened to him?"  
  
Dumbledore turned to the crowd forming. "Everyone back to your common rooms! House leaders will wait with you until we have further information! Go! Now!"  
  
The crowd turned and walked away, all except Harry, Ron and Hermione.  
  
"You heard what Professor Dumbledore said," Willow told them. "We'll let you know."  
  
The three looked at each other, and then hesitantly headed back to Gryffindor tower.  
  
Dumbledore turned to them. "Well? You all seem to know what's going on."  
  
"Vampires," Angel said. "You've got some kinda nest in the school."  
  
"What?" Dumbledore asked. "How can that be?"  
  
"This is very clean work," Wesley commented. "They're obviously quite old and quite skilled."  
  
"Any calling cards?" Buffy asked.  
  
Angel sighed. "Not that I can tell."  
  
Dumbledore looked around them and spotted Peeves staring from around a corner. "Come on. We'd better discuss this far away from prying eyes."  
  
He herded them to his office and shut the door.  
  
"What about the body?" Faith asked.  
  
"I've already called Madam Pomfry and the Ministry of Magic," Dumbledore informed them. "They should be on their way. You said vampires?"  
  
"Two puncture marks on the side of the neck," Angel replied. "Standard obvious hint."  
  
"Usually," Giles said. "If the vampire is well-known, it will leave some sort of calling card."  
  
"It was way clean," Faith commented. "Especially for a vampire. So the vampire was female."  
  
Wesley nodded. "Yes, that should be right. But even females get a bit sloppy, especially if they're in a hurry."  
  
Angel pounded a fist on Dumbledore's desk. "Damn."  
  
Buffy stared at him. "What?"  
  
"What vampire is just insane enough to make a killing that clean?" Angel asked, looking at Buffy with worried and guilty eyes.  
  
Buffy got his drift immediately and slid into the chair next to him. "Oh, god."  
  
"And who's just crazy enough to bring her here if she wanted to be here?" Angel asked.  
  
"Oh, god."  
  
Dumbledore shook his head. "If the two great warriors have theories, there's no use in keeping them from the rest of us."  
  
"Spike and Dru," Angel replied. "It's gotta be."  
  
"No railroad spike," Faith pointed out.  
  
"Wasn't Spike's killing," Buffy said. "It was Dru's. She's anal."  
  
"We gotta find them," Angel said, getting to his feet. "I'm gonna go unpack my weapon bag. I'll be up in my room." He turned to Dumbledore. "In the meantime, if I were you, I'd start hanging crosses around every corner, and replacing all of your water supplies with the holy type." He shouted back as he left. "And keep the curtains open in the daytime!"  
  
Blood and Bleach.  
  
The school was buzzing with news of Ravenclaw's violent demise. For three days, the scene of his murder was closed off, and Ministry of Magic officials littered the halls. Several different officials had questioned Neville several different times, and Harry suspected the boy was traumatized for life.  
  
The week afterward, there was definite changes in the attitudes of the professors and the look of the school. You'd couldn't turn around without seeing a cross hanging from the wall, and all curtains, by order of headmaster Albus Dumbledore, and the Ministry of Magic, were to remain open until the sun had completely set.  
  
Night Quidditch practices were banned, and all teachers were on patrol for students wandering at night. Professors Rosenberg, Wyndham-Pryce, Giles and Maclay did nightly dorm checks and roll calls, while Professors O'Brien, Summers and Morgan roamed the grounds.  
  
Rumors of Vampires spread like wildfire.  
  
And finally, it happened.  
  
Draco Malfoy had slipped out as soon as the Slytherin check-in was through, and headed into the halls of Hogwarts.  
  
He was desperate to find himself a real-(un)live vampire.  
  
He didn't want to confront it, or kill it. Just to see it. Maybe watch it kill.  
  
He turned a corner to see a man and woman strutting through the halls, arm in arm. They looked quite pleased with themselves.  
  
"The cat tasted li' chalk," the woman pouted in a breathy voice, her long, red dress flowed elegantly as it only slightly touched the floor.  
  
The man, a bleach-blond with blue eyes, wearing black jeans, a black t- shirt and a long, leather duster, sighed. "Told you not t' eat th' cat, ducks. I offered you some janitor, but you wouldn't have it."  
  
"He looked crusty," the woman replied. Her eyes widened. "And I'd never tried kitty before."  
  
She stopped dead in her tracks, and sighed. "I smell boy."  
  
The man smirked mischievously and lit a cigarette he'd pulled from a pack in his jacket. "Do you, now? Now, that's interesting. Thought they were lockin' up th' little buggers till they fixed their vampire problem."  
  
"Rotten, stinky, dishonest boy," the woman went on. "Come out, boy. Let Mummy have a look at you."  
  
Malfoy didn't move, unfortunately, he did let out an involuntary squeak.  
  
The man stopped. "I heard that." He swaggered around the corner, and stood in front of Draco. "Hello, there. What brings you down this way at such an. unsafe time of night."  
  
"V-V-V-"  
  
"Vampires?" the man asked. "Names William the Bloody, mostly known as Spike, now. That over there, that's my baby, Drusilla."  
  
"Y-you're-"  
  
"Vampires," Spike finished, taking a drag off his cigarette, showing off his black-painted fingernails. "We knew that. You obviously knew that. Shut up so I can eat you."  
  
"He looks like you."  
  
Spike turned to Drusilla. "What?"  
  
She smiled and walked up to the two boys. She grabbed Malfoy's cheeks and pulled as hard as she could without ripping them off. "He looks just like you, Spike. Blond, and mean and nasty."  
  
"Sounds like Spike to me."  
  
The trio turned to see Angel O'Brien leaning against a wall.  
  
"You didn't think you'd actually get away, did you?" Angel asked.  
  
"You're not my Daddy," Drusilla said roughly. "Go away."  
  
"Not until you're dead, Drusilla," Angel replied. "Shoulda offed you when I had the chance."  
  
"Liar," Drusilla snarled. "You couldn't do it. You still can't."  
  
"Maybe not," Angel replied. "But I'll be perfectly happy about killing Spike."  
  
"Like you could," Spike replied with a smirk. "You're nothing but a washed up, puny human. We're vampires, mate. We can break you."  
  
"Ah, but you can't possibly break both of us," said a female voice.  
  
Professor Buffy Summers sauntered up to stand next to Angel, followed closely by Professor Faith Morgan.  
  
"Let the Slytherin go," Faith said.  
  
"Look at this. The dynamic bloody duo back together and still in denial. And they've even brought along the killer as well. Finally out of your cell, are you?"  
  
"What happened to the chip, Spike?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Dru did me right," he explained. "just plunged a hand right into my skull and ripped the bugger out, just li' the Powers did with your demon, Nancyboy. 'Cept a lot more painful."  
  
"You wanna know painful?" Angel growled. "It's gonna be when I rip your head off."  
  
"Harsh words, Poof. Can you back 'em up?"  
  
"I don't think you wanna find out."  
  
"Spike, I'm hungry," Drusilla wined.  
  
"So, eat."  
  
"You put one fang near him, and you're dust," Buffy said, aiming her crossbow.  
  
They were at a standoff. Angel and Faith ready to jump Spike, Buffy with her crossbow pointed at Drusilla, Drusilla's hand gripping Malfoy's throat tightly.  
  
And that's when Peeves showed up.  
  
"VAMPIRES!!! THERE ARE VAMPIRES AT HOGWARTS!" he screamed.  
  
Spike and Drusilla took this as their chance to make a run for it. They left Malfoy to fall to his knees.  
  
Angel, Faith and Buffy gave mad chase through the halls, not bothering to check on Malfoy. They came to a three-way intersection and split up, only to meet back at the same spot twenty minutes later.  
  
"I got nothing," Faith growled. "Dammit! Where the hell did they go?!"  
  
Angel sighed. "They coulda gone to one of the dorms."  
  
"Without a password?" Buffy asked.  
  
"They're good," Angel said. "They could easily get one."  
  
They walked back to where Malfoy was still sitting on the cold stone floor.  
  
Buffy knelt down in front of him, and began examining his head and neck. "Are you alright?"  
  
"Fine, no thanks to you lot," Draco snapped.  
  
Angel glared. "He's fine. And that's ten points from Slytherin for disrespectful words to a teacher."  
  
"And another ten for being out of bed when you're not supposed to be," Buffy added, as she finished looking over his neck. "What were you thinking, roaming around like that?"  
  
Malfoy shrugged. "I don't know."  
  
Faith smirked. "This one wanted to see him a real dead vampire, didn't you, Draco?"  
  
"Maybe," he snapped back. "What do you care? You didn't even check to see if I was alright after that witch let me go."  
  
"That was no witch," Buffy told him. "That was Drusilla. A very dangerous, very insane vampire."  
  
Angel sighed and shook his head out. "And I made her that way. Buffy, Faith, you guys get Malfoy back to his dorm. I'm gonna keep looking."  
  
Buffy got to her feet, shaking her head. "I won't let you face them alone. Spike's de-chipped. He's more dangerous than ever, now. And you're human."  
  
"With strength, and at least a little healing," Angel reminded. "I'll be okay. Go. Check on Willow and the others."  
  
"No," Buffy replied. "I won't let you take full responsibility for this."  
  
Angel's eyes became hard. "They are my responsibility."  
  
"They're here because of me, too, y'know," Buffy replied harshly. "Spike wants me dead."  
  
Faith shook her head. "Come on, Malfoy. Let's get you to bed, and let them duke it out and waste time."  
  
"Why do they fight like that?" Draco asked, looking back at the two teachers.  
  
Faith shook her head. "It's a long, sad story. You don't wanna know. No one does. I wish I didn't."  
  
"I can't believe you talked me into letting you come."  
  
Buffy smirk, and pulled her large blue sweat-pants up. Her white sweatshirt protected her from the cold, and her feet were in, of course, black and white sneakers. "You can't say no to me," she told him dryly. "If I were Spike and Dru, where would I be?"  
  
Angel sighed as they walked through the great hall. He put his hands on his black sweat-pants covered hips, and shrugged his black t-shirt covered shoulders. "I was thinking Hogsmeade."  
  
Buffy shook her head. "They can't be that far away by now."  
  
Angel sighed. "I know we're not in the sewer or anything, but we should talk about what's been happening."  
  
Buffy blinked. "That was a random change of topic. What do you mean, 'What's been happening?'"  
  
"With us," Angel replied. "Can this really work with us?"  
  
Buffy sighed. "Angel, do you love me?"  
  
He nodded. "Forever."  
  
"I love you. But you're right. We still have a lot of talking to do. About. Riley and Spike, and Cordy, and Jeirah, and missing days, and. and everything."  
  
He nodded, and kissed her. "I'm just sick of sneaking around."  
  
"Me, too," Buffy replied. "But it'll be over soon."  
  
Angel nodded again. "Okay. Let's keep looking."  
  
Little did the two professors know that they were being watched, and listened to.  
  
Underneath the long Gryffindor table, sat Harry, Ron and Hermione underneath Harry's invisibility cloak. Ron flung it off when Professor O'Brien and Professor Summers had left.  
  
"I didn't need to see that," Harry muttered.  
  
"Who are Spike and Dru?" Ron asked.  
  
"Obviously whatever it was that kill INSERT NAME," Harry replied.  
  
"Vampires," Hermione said. "I should go ask my uncle Wesley. Now, come on. If we're spotted, we'll get into trouble."  
  
"Far too late for that, Hermione Katherine Granger."  
  
The trio looked up to find Professor Wyndham-Pryce standing over them, wearing jeans and a long-sleeved shirt.  
  
"What are you three doing out?" Wesley asked. "It's dangerous. Please, go back to the tower."  
  
"What about you?" Hermione asked. "What're you doing out?"  
  
"Looking for Professors O'Brien and Summers."  
  
"They just left," Ron told him.  
  
Wesley nodded. "I'm going to escort you three back to the tower," he told them.  
  
They walked back up to the common room in the Gryffindor tower, to find Professor MacGonagall looking furious.  
  
"Good lord!" she cried. "Where did you find them!? What happened?! Why were they out?!"  
  
Wesley sighed, cool as ever. "Hermione had another sleep-walking case. when she was younger she had them all the time, not so much anymore, but once in a blue moon. anyways, I found them in the Great Hall. Ron and Harry had followed her to try and wake her up. She walked into a table, and snapped out of it, and that's when I found them."  
  
MacGonagall glared into Wesley's light blue eyes, and finally sighed. "Fine. But no more of that. Granger, look yourself in your room if you have to. I don't want anyone out at night. Period. Did you find Professors O'Brien and Summers?"  
  
Wesley sighed. "No, I did not, unfortunately. I'm certain they're fine. They're quite skilled. Not Aurors, mind you, but very good at what they do."  
  
Meanwhile, Willow and Tara were stuck in the Slytherin common room.  
  
The students were completely silent, as was Snape, who'd told them to all be silent. Willow and Tara had resorted to playing Cat's Cradle with the drawstring from Tara's gray sweat pants. Willow had given her red drawstring to Pansy Parkinson, who actually thanked her for it.  
  
And then the door was kicked open, and Faith walked in confidently, her combat boots making loud thuds on the wooden floor. She was wearing black boxers and an equally black tank top. Her hair, as always, was loose.  
  
Right behind her was Draco Malfoy.  
  
Snape looked furious.  
  
"Where have you been?" He glared.  
  
"He went vampire-huntin'," Faith replied. "Almost got himself eaten. I'd pay closer attention to your charges, if I was you, Sev. They get lost easily y'know. Oh. and. ten points off for a nasty comment to a teacher, and another ten off for being out of bed. Now, if you'll all 'scuse me, I need to go find me some dead 'uns."  
  
She smirked at Willow and Tara and tromped out.  
  
Snape glared after her. 


	3. Gym Shorts

Gym Shorts.  
  
"I don't believe it."  
  
Ron held up yellow gym shorts with "HOGWARTS" printed on the back, and a gray t-shirt with a smaller Hogwarts emblem.  
  
Hermione sighed. "They have them in Muggle schools. Apparently, you can work much better in these than you can in robes."  
  
Ron scowled. "I'm not wearing these."  
  
"Wanna bet, Weasley?"  
  
They turned to see Professor Morgan.  
  
"Did you check these out with Professor Dumbledore?" Harry asked.  
  
Professor Summers smiled as she walked up. "He thought they were cute."  
  
Malfoy walked out, wearing his gym clothes. "I hate Muggles."  
  
Morgan snickered. "The shorts are a nice match with your hair, kid. Ron, Hermione, Harry, please go put your gym clothes on."  
  
Ron grumbled as Harry dragged him into the boy's locker room.  
  
Five minutes later, the Slytherins and Gryffindors were gathered with their teachers in front of them, who were also dressed in the Hogwarts gym clothes, except Professor Summers' shorts were white, and Professor Morgan's were black.  
  
"Okay," Professor Summers said. "Even though things here at Hogwarts are kind of scary right now, Professor Dumbledore has ordered that classes go on like normal. Therefore, as planned, you're all wearing gym clothes, and have your own gym lockers. I know, it's not terribly exciting, but who knows, you might have fun."  
  
Professor Morgan sighed. "Okay, first unit today will be sword fighting. Let's pair everyone up. Slytherin versus Gryffindor, just to make things more interesting."  
  
Professor Summers didn't look pleased with her partner. "Is that a good idea?" she asked quietly.  
  
"We don't want 'em to get bored," Professor Morgan replied. "Potter versus Malfoy. Weasley versus Crabbe. Granger versus Parkinson, Thomas versus Goyle, Patil versus."  
  
Hermione paled as she saw Pansy smile. "Bloody hell."  
  
The list went on, and each student was handed a sword.  
  
"These swords are enchanted," Professor Summers informed them. "If the holder, intentionally tries to harm his or her opponent, the handle shocks them, forcing them to drop the sword." She stared at Draco Malfoy. "Is that understood?"  
  
Malfoy sneered at Harry. "You got lucky, Potter. I could slice you in two."  
  
"When snakes fly," Harry growled.  
  
"When one fighter knocks another one to the ground, the match is over," Professor Summers went on. "Each fighter will put their swords on the ground after that. No cheep tricks. No spells. If I see any, points will be taken off. A lot of them. And you won't be happy. Trust me."  
  
Professor Morgan smirked. "Okay, boys and girls. Get to it!"  
  
They walked out of their respective locker rooms and onto levitation class. Harry had had Malfoy on the ground in not time. Ron's time with Crabbe was even shorter. Hermione, however, had suffered a terrible defeat at the hands of Pansy.  
  
They walked into Professor Rosenberg and Maclay's class and took their seats.  
  
"I'll get her next time," Hermione grumbled.  
  
"Face it," Ron said. "You're not cut out for fighting. You're doomed to hide in the library for the rest of your life."  
  
"That's not a bad thing," Willow said. "Besides what you lack in physical strength you more than make up for in brain power. And it's fun to outsmart your enemies. Because most of the time, enemies are stupid."  
  
Hermione smiled. "You really think so?"  
  
"I live so."  
  
"Today's class will be spent levitating people," Professor Maclay announced. "It's challenging, but fun."  
  
"Any student who makes another student hit the ceiling will be punished, by the way," Willow told them. "So leave poor Neville alone this time."  
  
The Slytherins snickered.  
  
"So pair up! And no mixed houses!"  
  
"Vampires suck."  
  
The class fell silent.  
  
Professor O'Brien smirked. "Blood. Lots of it."  
  
The class snickered.  
  
"They're also very dead. And when I say dead, I mean pale, cold skin, they only can pretend to breath, no heartbeat, no pulse, and some of them even have skin decay, but that's rare, because, well, vampires are very vain, even though they can't see their own reflection. They love clothing, nice places, makeup, money. Anything that reflects wealth, It's a big thing for them."  
  
Hermione raised a hand.  
  
"Yes, Miss Granger?"  
  
"How does one. become a vampire?"  
  
Professor O'Brien sat on his desk and scratched his arm through his black robes. "Well. if a vampire takes a liking to a human. they drink their blood. but not all of it. just enough so they're almost dead. They feed the nearly dead human some of their blood, and the human appears to die, but. they're just sleeping. The next night, they're usually already buried by their loved ones, and they rise."  
  
"How come they're so evil?" Ron asked.  
  
"When a vampire rises, it loses its soul," their teacher explained. "Soulless beings have no clear sense of right and wrong. They want what they want, and it doesn't matter how horrible it is, or who dies or is hurt in the process of getting it. kind of like Malfoy over there."  
  
The Gryffindors snickered, and Malfoy rolled his eyes.  
  
"There was. once. a vampire with a soul," O'Brien went on. "Legend has it that he killed the wrong girl, a gypsy, and her family became so angry that they cursed the vampire with a soul. Well. he moved to America, and roamed around, feeling guilty for eighty years, because for 150, he gave ugly death to everyone he'd ever met." His expression became far away. "Family, friends. Complete strangers. It didn't matter."  
  
He blinked and shook his head. "Anyways, eventually, he decided, with the help of a few people, that he wanted to atone. So, he moved to LA and became a champion for good. After about six years of this, of helping people, the higher powers saw fit to turn him super-human. They say that he is still helping people, still making a difference."  
  
He leaned in, and his voice became low. "Some say he attended this very school."  
  
Ron and Harry looked at each other, and then back at him. Harry glanced behind him to see Hermione flipping the pages of one of her books furiously.  
  
Professor O'Brien sighed. "For those vampires who aren't just fluffy puppies with bad teeth, methods of getting rid of them are- and write these down, please."  
  
Lunch in Professor Wyndham-Pryce's classroom had been canceled so he could do some more research in the Library.  
  
Hermione smiled happily as she followed her uncle to the very back, and sat down, as he began to slide books out of their places.  
  
"What we're looking for," he told her, "are a few spells that will hopefully keep vampires from entering Hogwarts. Professor Rosenberg had a few, but. well. we had a bit of a problem a few months back, and they were set on fire."  
  
"I thought Professor Rosenberg had a computer?" Hermione asked.  
  
"She does, But the one with the spells was thrown out of a window."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Wesley smirked at her. "Get searching. I'll find more books."  
  
"Uncle Wesley?"  
  
"Yes, Hermione?"  
  
"Is it true that a vampire went to Hogwarts. the one that Professor O'Brien talks about. the one with a soul?"  
  
Wesley's lips turned up into a smirk. "Yes, I believe I read that somewhere, why?"  
  
Hermione shrugged. "No reason."  
  
Waves of Fright.  
  
Professor Faith Morgan walked by the Slytherin table in the Great Hall during lunch that day. The most prominent noise was coming from Draco Malfoy's mouth.  
  
"I heard that two of the teachers are having sex," he informed his fellow Slytherins.  
  
Faith rolled her eyes. "Malfoy, do you even know anything about sex?"  
  
"Children are conceived from it," Draco snapped back.  
  
At that point, Buffy walked by the table, and stopped to monitor her sister slayer's behavior.  
  
"Lemme tell you something about sex," Faith smirked.  
  
"Faith, no," Buffy whispered.  
  
Faith muttered something into Malfoy's ear that made him go ghostly white.  
  
Buffy dragged Faith away from the table. "What did you tell him?"  
  
"Something Lucius should have told him a long time ago. He's fifteen, and he doesn't know anything about sex. No wonder he's such an asshole." She smiled. "Scuse me." Faith ran over to the head of the Gryffindor table. "Malfoy doesn't know what sex is!"  
  
The whole table burst into laughter.  
  
"I knew he was an idiot," Ron laughed. "But that's ridiculous!"  
  
Harry snickered. "Explains why he's so cranky!"  
  
"Even Ginny knows about sex!" Ron hollered.  
  
"George! You wanna order Malfoy a whore for his birthday?"  
  
"What a smashing idea, Fred! We could get Pansy!"  
  
Hermione flinched. "I wouldn't say that if I was you, she'll kick your arse."  
  
Buffy shook her head.  
  
"Professor Morgan!" An outraged voice cried. "A word please!"  
  
Faith turned to see Professor Snape bounding toward her. She cracked up and beamed at Fred and George Weasley. "I'm in trouble now."  
  
Meanwhile Angel stopped next to Buffy. "What did she do this time?"  
  
"She's become the patron saint of Gryffindors scorned," Buffy replied. "Completely humiliated Draco Malfoy."  
  
Angel sighed. "That's our Faith. Did you hear that Filch is missing?"  
  
Buffy nodded. "I think we found out who Spike and Dru ate the night we found them."  
  
Angel nodded solemnly.  
  
"Professor Snape, what can I do for you?" Professor Morgan leaned casually against the Gryffindor table, gazing politely at Professor Snape.  
  
"You're spreading rumors about one of my students," Snape hissed.  
  
Professor Morgan sighed and reached into her robes, pulling out a small box of Altoids. "Mint?" she offered.  
  
He glared at her. "I don't find you amusing, Professor."  
  
"I don't find you scary, Severus," she replied. "You're kid gloves in terms of scary. You glare and you yell and you're ugly, but you're not scary. I've known Muggles scarier than you. I'm scarier than you. And I could have you begging for mercy in five seconds flat." With that, she pushed past him and stormed out of the great hall.  
  
Buffy and Angel watched her leave without shock.  
  
"Think one of us should talk to her?" Angel asked.  
  
Buffy shook her head. "Nah."  
  
At that moment, Ginny Weasley walked into the great hall looking like death. Her three brothers began to rush over, seeing her look, but Angel got to her first. "Ginny?" He knelt in front of the fourth-year. "What happened?"  
  
"F-Filch. and. Mrs. N-N-Norris. I found where they went off to."  
  
Angel nodded sympathetically and got to his feet. "Show me."  
  
Ginny led him out of the great hall, and the boys tried to follow, but Buffy stopped them.  
  
In the hall, Faith spotted Ginny. "Gin? Y'okay kid?"  
  
Angel sighed. "She found where Filch and his cat ran off to."  
  
Faith paled. "Oh, shit."  
  
The two teachers followed Ginny up to the Gryffindor common room and she opened the far closet with shaking hands.  
  
Filch and Mrs. Norris were hanging on two different coat hangers. The cat in two different pieces. Filch's hanger went through the skin and fit perfectly around his shoulder blades. His eyes were still open. There was no blood. He almost looked like a costume hanging there.  
  
Angel pushed Ginny behind him into Faith, who put her arms around the girl. "Take her to Madame Pomfrey. And go get the other teachers."  
  
Faith nodded, and guided the stunned Ginny to the painting.  
  
"Professor Morgan?" Ginny asked.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Was it really vampires that did that?"  
  
Faith sighed. "Yeah, Ginny. It was. Now come on. You look like you could use some chocolate."  
  
The girl nodded, and let Faith lead her out of the painting.  
  
Ginny glanced back at the painting, and gasped.  
  
Faith whirled around to see Spike's handwriting on the painting in blood.  
  
Run, Run as fast as you can. You can't catch us. We'll eat you first.  
  
Ginny began to shake, and Faith pushed her away from the painting, muttering a string of obscenities as she did.  
  
Professor Dumbledore shook his head. "This is the last straw. They can get into the dorms. We have to close the school."  
  
"Headmaster, with our combined efforts, I'm certain we can have those two in no time," Giles said.  
  
Dumbledore nodded. "I agree, but the children cannot be here when that happens."  
  
"What do we do with them all?" Tara asked. "There are so many."  
  
"Don't worry about that, Professor Maclay," Dumbledore replied. "I have a course of action. But we have to be swift about this. Minerva, send owls to Durmstrang, Beauxbatons, Plenard and Americus."  
  
The next day in levitation class, the students were silent. Even Malfoy refrained from saying a word.  
  
Tara sighed. "Willow, I think these kids are really shaken. We should do something."  
  
Willow nodded. "Yeah. Any ideas?"  
  
"Maybe. Maybe would could have a discussion about what's been going on?" Tara asked. "Try and make them feel a little better?"  
  
Willow smirked. "Yeah. that's not a bad idea."  
  
Tara sat in front of the class and sighed. Willow hopped up to sit on the desk.  
  
"Due to recent events," Tara started. "Willow and I have decided not to have a normal class today. We thought that maybe you guys'd want to talk about what's been going on."  
  
"Would anyone like to start?" Willow asked.  
  
Draco Malfoy raised his hand.  
  
"Yes, Draco?" Tara asked.  
  
"How did vampires get into the school?" he asked.  
  
His voice wasn't mean, or snappy. He was seriously curious. Ever since she'd met him, Tara had thought that there was something good about the boy. Unlike Faith, Buffy and Angel, she tried to be as kind as possible to him, and Willow had followed suit. The two witches felt that by showing the Slytherins some decency, they could make a difference in their attitudes. Not just coddle them as Snape had, or scold them as Faith, Buffy and Angel seemed so set on doing.  
  
"We're still working on that," Willow replied. "When we know, you will, too."  
  
Malfoy nodded.  
  
Ron raised his hand.  
  
"Ron?" Willow said.  
  
"Where do you think they're hiding?" He asked.  
  
Tara sighed. "We suspect in the tunnels underneath school. We're still looking into that, too."  
  
Tara grimaced. She wished she had more answers for them.  
  
"I suppose, since we've just finished our own unit on vampires, we should get into vampire slayers."  
  
Professor Giles looked over his class, and noticed that all of them were paying close attention. He smiled. "Since the beginning of time, demons have roamed the earth, and when humans came along, things became quite. well complicated."  
  
Ladies and Gentleman, the Fighting Styles of Draco Malfoy.  
  
The great hall was packed, and almost completely silent.  
  
Ron, Hermione and Harry sat together at the Gryffindor table as usual.  
  
When Malfoy walked by, they began to snicker.  
  
"Wonder if he even knows what masturbation is," Ron muttered to his friends.  
  
Draco stopped dead in his tracks.  
  
"Ron! That's gross!" Hermione cried. "We're eating!"  
  
Draco turned bright red and gritted his teeth.  
  
"I just wonder," Ron went on. "Think about it. If he doesn't know what sex is all about-"  
  
Malfoy lunged across the table at Ron, knocking him to the floor.  
  
"BLOODY HELL!" Ron cried.  
  
Malfoy flung a fist that Ron dodged easily. "Bastard!" he yelled. "Kill you!"  
  
"Malfoy, stop," Ron said. "You're embarrassing yourself!" He got to his feet, dragging Malfoy with him.  
  
Malfoy struggled and swatted at Ron, who held the blond away from him. "Fight like a man!"  
  
"Oh, shut it, Malfoy," Harry said. "You fight like a Muggle girl."  
  
Next to Harry, Hermione was laughing so hard, tears began streaming down her cheeks. "Oh, god. Oh, hell. This is ridiculously funny. Stop!"  
  
"Don't stop!" Seamus cried. "This is the best floor show we've had in a while! Slug 'im, Ron!"  
  
Dean yelled in agreement. "Give it to 'im good for the lot of us!"  
  
At that moment, Crabbe and Goyle rushed over, but were pushed away by a few teachers beginning to circle.  
  
"What's going on down here?"  
  
The group turned to see Professor Morgan, Professor Snape, Professor MacGonagall, and Professor Maclay.  
  
Snape glared. "Weasley."  
  
"What happened, Ron?" Faith Morgan asked, crossing her arms.  
  
"He started it," Ron replied, still trying to hold Malfoy away from him. "He tried to kill me."  
  
"I highly doubt that, Weasley," Snape snapped. "Malfoy?"  
  
"He-"  
  
Tara gave a sad look to Draco. "Please tell the truth, Draco?"  
  
Malfoy paused, and then sighed. "I hit first."  
  
Snape gave a glare to Tara.  
  
"Malfoy, Weasley, come with me," Professor MacGonagall said.  
  
Ron left amidst cheers from his table, as well as others. He gave a bow before being pulled by the arm out of the great hall.  
  
"Wait!" Dumbledore cried. He clinked his spoon against his glass, and MacGonagall led the two boys back in.  
  
Dumbledore sighed. "I need your close attention. This is very important. Due to recent events, it has been decided to evacuate all students from Hogwarts until our special vampyric guests are apprehended. Each house will be sent to a different school. Slytherins will be sent to Durmstrang in Germany, Ravenclaws will be sent to Beauxbatons in France, Hufflepuffs will go to Americus in Canada, and Gryffindors to Plenard in the US. You have three days to pack your essentials. Parents have already been owled."  
  
The great hall burst into noise, as the students were obviously shocked.  
  
Ron grinned. "Huh. An unknown amount of time away from Slytherins. What a godsend!"  
  
"Believe me, Weasley, the feeling is mutual," Draco snarled.  
  
"Come along, you two," MacGonagall said, leading them out.  
  
"Since you need your three days to pack, your detentions will be served right now," MacGonagall told them. "You will both be helping the house elves in the kitchen. Washing dishes. The Muggle way."  
  
Ron sighed in defeat, and Malfoy's jaw dropped, almost to the floor.  
  
"And you'll be working side by side," their teacher went on. "So, I suggest you two make the best of it."  
  
The two boys glared at each other.  
  
Hermione sat in the forbidden section of the library with her uncle Wesley, and Professors O'Brien, Rosenberg Maclay, and Giles, with Professor Morgan and Summers pacing near them.  
  
"I don't sense them here anymore," Professor Summers said. "I don't think they're in the school anymore."  
  
"They got bored," Professor O'Brien commented. "They move a lot. They don't stay in one place because of Dru's need for new scenery and Spike's short attention span."  
  
"They wouldn't go that far," Giles commented. "They still want to annoy us."  
  
"Nearest town?" Professor Rosenberg asked.  
  
"Hogsmeade," Hermione replied. "Older students spend weekends there."  
  
Professor O'Brien nodded. "Right. Let's go."  
  
Hermione got up with the rest of the adults.  
  
"Not you," Her uncle replied. "You're not supposed to be up. Come on. I'll take you up to the tower." He turned to the others. "I'll meet up with you."  
  
Wesley led Hermione out of the library and through the halls, only to bump right into Severus Snape.  
  
"Wesley."  
  
"Severus."  
  
"Caught a student out of bed?" Snape asked.  
  
Wesley sighed. "Actually, we were going over a few things in the library. I'm escorting her to her dorm."  
  
"A few things?"  
  
"If you must know," Wesley said, gritting his teeth slightly, "We may have the vampires cornered at Hogsmeade."  
  
Snape gave a crooked grin. "Ah. I see. Well, I'm sure you wouldn't mind my tagging along, then?"  
  
"I. I suppose not," Wesley replied. "Wait for me in the front hall."  
  
  
  
Ron didn't make his way into Gryffindor tower until midnight. When he opened the door, he found Harry sitting up in his four-poster, surrounded by parchment, scribbling furiously away with a quill.  
  
"How was detention?" Harry asked.  
  
Ron sighed. "Tiring. Draco kept throwing left-over food at me. So I whacked him over the head with a plate. What are you doing?" Ron asked, flopping onto his own bed, pulling off his shoes.  
  
"Writing to Snuffles."  
  
Ron sat up and raised an eyebrow. "All that is for Snuffles?"  
  
"It's not going to be easy to owl him in America, is it?" Harry muttered. He sighed. "He better not do anything stupid while we're away."  
  
Ron smirked. "What do you think about this whole going to America thing, anyways?"  
  
Harry shrugged. "Could be interesting. Never been out of England before."  
  
"I've only been to Egypt," Ron replied.  
  
Harry snorted with a smirked. "Only Egypt."  
  
Ron snickered. "Sorry."  
  
At that moment Hermione burst through the door. "Good news!" she cried.  
  
Both Harry and Ron jumped.  
  
"Christ, Hermione!" Ron cried. "Knock first!"  
  
She flinched. "Sorry," she said quietly.  
  
"What's up?" Harry asked, still writing.  
  
"The professors might have a lead on the vampires," she informed them. "We may not have to go to America."  
  
"That's kind of anticlimactic, isn't it?" Ron commented.  
  
"They found out that they've been spotted in Hogsmeade."  
  
Harry looked up, a bit panicked. "Hogsmeade? As in. Hogsmeade, Hogsmeade?"  
  
Hermione gave him an annoyed look. "What other Hogsmeade would I be talking about?"  
  
Harry paled. "The Hogsmeade where my letters go, Hogsmeade?"  
  
Ron caught his drift. "Uh-oh."  
  
Hermione's eyes widened. "Snape's going with.  
  
"If he finds Snuffles." Ron added.  
  
"Dumbledore made them shake!" Hermione cried.  
  
"Do you honestly think that means anything to him?" Ron asked.  
  
Harry reached under his mattress and pulled out an old rolled up piece of parchment. The Marauder's Map. " Ron's right. Let's get going." 


	4. Fiends and Bunnies

Fiends and Bunnies.  
  
The trio made their way through the Hogwarts tunnels under the invisibility cloak, Harry with the Marauder's map in hand. They snuck into Honeydukes' basement and out the front door into a clear Hogsmeade night, but bumped into a bleach blond.  
  
"I smell boy," Drusilla purred. "Oh. and pretty girl, too."  
  
"Again?" Spike asked. "These brats're everywhere! I love Hogwarts!" He reached for them, and grabbed Hermione's arm, pulling her out from under the invisibility cloak. She screamed.  
  
"Pretty girl," Drusilla whispered. "Just out of thin air. Where are your brothers, pretty girl?"  
  
Spike smiled. "I smell 'em. Must be around here somewhere."  
  
Drusilla inhaled deeply. "Watcher."  
  
Spike raised an eyebrow. "Whatever you say, Ducks." He turned his attention back to Hermione. "How do you feel about my drinking your blood?"  
  
Hermione glared. "No blood-sucking fiend is sucking my blood," she snapped.  
  
"Sat right?" Spike asked. He was about to bite her when he was rammed from behind with an invisible force. He cried out and lost his gripped on Hermione. She fell to the stone sidewalk and was promptly grabbed by the arm, and dragged underneath the invisibility cloak.  
  
She gave silent look of relief, as they watched Spike turn around in a circle.  
  
"Come on, kids," Spike said. "Come out for a midnight snack. Won't take long."  
  
He was promptly kneed in the groin from behind. "What did you have in mind?"  
  
Spike fell to the ground and looked up into the face of Professor Summers.  
  
"Hey, baby," He leered. "Wondered when I would see you again."  
  
He was grabbed by the collar and dragged to his feet. He came face to face with Professor O'Brien. "Peaches! Isn't this a party?"  
  
Drusilla grabbed O'Brien's free arm and bit it. He hollered in pain, and dropped Spike.  
  
"What is this?" Professor Morgan asked, coming out of the shadows. "Cheep shot night in Hogsmeade?" She lifted Spike up again, and slugged him in the face. "Why can't we all just get along?"  
  
O'Brien had Drusilla in a full nelson, while Morgan had Spike by the arm.  
  
"Ready?" Professor Rosenberg asked Professor Maclay.  
  
"Oh, yes."  
  
They took out their wands and cast spells on both Spike and Drusilla. There was a flash of light, and when it dimmed down, there were two black bunnies sitting where the two professors and two vampires were.  
  
Buffy looked around. "What in the-"  
  
She spotted Spike and Drusilla walking off.  
  
"Bye-bye, Slayer," Spike called. "See you around."  
  
Professor Summers fumed. "DAMN!"  
  
"You can turn them back, can't you?" Wesley asked, motioning toward the bunnies.  
  
"Uhm. w-we'd better take them to P-Professor MacGonagall," Maclay suggested.  
  
Giles said. "Yes, alright. Never thought I'd see Angel or Faith as little fluffy bunnies, but. you never know at Hogwarts, I suppose."  
  
"Hey," Summers said. "Where's Snape?"  
  
Under the invisibility cloak, the three children panicked.  
  
"I don't know," Wesley said. "I lost him near. the cave. bloody hell! Sirius!" He began to run, and the trio followed him, along with Professor Summers.  
  
"Get back to Hogwarts!" she yelled. "Get Dumbledore!"  
  
  
  
As soon as Sirius Black heard footsteps, he shifted into his animal form, a large black dog.  
  
Severus smirked crookedly. "So this is where you're hiding out."  
  
The dog glared.  
  
"All I'd have to do is put a sleeping spell on you, and then I could turn you into the ministry," Snape told him. "Fudge'd have you back in Azkaban before you could say Whomping Willow. And I'd be. well, a hero."  
  
Black snarled, and slowly backed away.  
  
"A handshake may be a handshake, but that's all it is," Snape said. "Nothing more. I have not yet gotten my revenge for your humiliation, Sirius, but I will have it. Tonight."  
  
"Take one more step toward that dog, and you get an arrow to the back. I swear. Don't move."  
  
"Ah. Professor Summers. How good of you to come. I'm just about to apprehend this murderer."  
  
"I know the whole story, Snape," Summers replied. "The real story. You lay one finger on that dog, and I'll shoot. And you don't want me to do that, because I'm good. Really good."  
  
"Severus, you gave your word to Dumbledore," Wesley said. "Don't do this. He'll hate you, and you know why."  
  
Ron, Harry and Hermione listened to this exchange with interest. They had no idea why.  
  
Severus turned to the two professors and sighed. "Fine. Mark my word, Black, one of these days."  
  
Black shifted back to human form. "Get stuffed, Snape."  
  
Snape had the urge to lunge for him, but kept his composure and swiftly left the cave.  
  
Wesley sighed. "Sirius, sometimes you're more trouble than you're worth, you know that?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Wesley rolled his eyes. "Keep in touch. And if you meet a bleach blond and a crazy-looking girl, bite them both in the arse for me."  
  
Sirius looked confused, but nodded. "Okay."  
  
"Hi," Buffy waved. "I'm. never mind. I'm going back." She left, dragging Snape with her as she passed the entrance to the cave.  
  
Wesley sighed. "I should, too. Take care."  
  
Sirius nodded again. "You, too. Don't suppose you'd plant a dung bomb on ol' Severus for me?"  
  
"I won't, but I know a few teachers and students who might," Wesley smirked. He walked out.  
  
When he was gone, Sirius sighed. "I know you're here."  
  
The invisibility cloak came off, and Harry, Ron and Hermione appeared.  
  
"I hate Snape," Ron grumbled.  
  
Sirius smirked. "Well. I've got something on him that will keep him off my back for a good long while."  
  
"What's that?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Dumbledore."  
  
"What's he got to do with anything?" Harry asked.  
  
"Let's just say. Well, never mind," Sirius shook his head.  
  
Harry handed him a bag of food. "Brought this just in case."  
  
Sirius nodded. "Thanks. Getting sick of just bones."  
  
"It worked."  
  
"But. not on. y'know the actual targets."  
  
Minerva MacGonagall sighed. "Who are these then?" She asked, waving at the bunnies.  
  
"Professors Morgan and O'Brien."  
  
"We had an oopsy," Willow explained.  
  
"I. see. Why can't you fix it?"  
  
"Cause we're kinda bumbling in terms of animagic," Tara replied. "Help?"  
  
MacGonagall waved a hand at the bunnies, and they turned into humans.  
  
Faith glared at the witches. "Red, if you ever do that again, you'll be really, really sorry."  
  
Angel sighed. "I hate fur." The New Girls on the Block.  
  
In the great hall the next morning, Professor Dumbledore announced the cancellation of the house splits, and everything went back to normal.  
  
Well, almost.  
  
"However, last night, Parvoti Patil and Lavender Brown did make it to Plenard in America," Dumbledore went on. "And, as I said at the opening feast, we have two of our own exchange students who should be arriving today. I expect all of you to show the utmost courtesy to our guests, as they will be with us the rest of the year, staying in Gryffindor house."  
  
At that moment, a tall, thin girl with pale skin in her fifth year, with black, shoulder-length hair, and blue eyes which were covered in dark make-up, walked in. Her baggy black jeans hitting the floor, her black peasant top sleeves reaching the tips of her fingers.  
  
The room went silent.  
  
She looked around. "What?"  
  
"Minerva?" Dumbledore whispered. "I thought you gave her a uniform?"  
  
"I did," MacGonagall replied. "I suspect she lit it on fire."  
  
The girl looked at the astonished masses, shrugged nonchalantly and walked out.  
  
"Was that a girl?" Malfoy whispered to his friends. "Or a dementor?"  
  
The door opened again, and this time a shorter, more normal-looking girl walked in. Her hair was straight and blond, her eyes were brown, and she wore only the top half of the Gryffindor uniform, instead of a Hogwarts skirt, she wore ripped blue jeans. She looked around quietly, and then, like the girl before her, walked out.  
  
Ron, Hermione and Harry stared at each other, completely baffled.  
  
"Americans are weird," Ron commented.  
  
Hermione glanced at the ridiculous amount of food on his plate. "Not as weird as you."  
  
"I'm a growing boy!"  
  
"You don't need to grow!" Hermione cried. "You're like the Jolly Green Giant!"  
  
"Hey!" Ron cried. "No fair using Muggle references on me!"  
  
Hermione giggled. "It means you're ridiculously tall."  
  
"Yeah, and what're you gonna do about it?" he said, almost leeringly.  
  
She began tickling his sides, and he yelled out in surprise.  
  
Harry shook his head, baffled by the random exchange. "You're both insane."  
  
Ron's brothers, Fred and George weren't baffled. They saw this as a choice opportunity.  
  
"Has ickle Ronniekins got himself a girlfriend?" Fred teased.  
  
"Ain't they cute?" George laughed.  
  
Hermione turned bright red, and got up. "I'll be in the library."  
  
"As I'm certain you all have noticed, we have two new students," Wesley said with a smirk. "Torianna Lupin, and Evelyn Black."  
  
In Magical History class, Harry's eyes went wide, as he looked back at the two girls. Torianna was flipping through her history book and Evelyn was trying to light it on fire.  
  
"I expect everyone to treat them kindly, as this is their first day," Wesley said.  
  
"How come our new student looks like a Dementor?" Malfoy asked innocently.  
  
"Hey, Malibu Barbie," Evelyn called starting her lighter. "That hair flammable?"  
  
Malfoy's eyes widened and he sunk into his seat.  
  
Wesley sighed. "Let's get started, shall we?"  
  
Ron turned to Hermione, a bit perplexed. "What's a Malibu Barbie?"  
  
"Black?! Lupin?!"  
  
Professor Dumbledore smiled at Harry. "With everything that's happened, I decided to request their presence here."  
  
Harry shook his head and sat down. Fawkes immediately sat on his lap. "I didn't even know they had wives."  
  
Dumbledore sighed. "Sirius' wife was killed, Remus' wife was put in a comatamous spell, and has yet to come out of it. Seeing that Black was sent to Azkaban, it was left up to me to send Evelyn to her mother's sister in DC."  
  
"And Torianna?"  
  
"Her father was a werewolf," Dumbledore replied. "The Ministry would not let Remus raise her alone. Torianna was sent to New York to live with her mother's cousin."  
  
"That's not fair," Harry muttered. "Poor Remus."  
  
Dumbledore sighed. "She's older, we now have the wolvesbane potion, and Remus has been granted custody of her once again."  
  
"Does Evelyn know about Sirius?" Harry asked.  
  
"All Evelyn knows is that her father is an escaped convict who was a soldier for Voldemort. And. she knows that he can change into a dog."  
  
Harry rolled his eyes. "How come no one's told her the truth?"  
  
"I want her to get settled first," Dumbledore explained. "Be comfortable where she is, before I turn her world upside down any further."  
  
Harry shifted uncomfortably. "Why is she so. weird?"  
  
"Where she comes from, she is not weird," Dumbledore smiled. "American Witches and Wizards are very integrated into society. They have Muggle technology, along with movies, music and television. The magical community is not large enough to have a whole society to themselves, and they pride themselves on their lack of prejudice in terms of Muggles and Wizards. I would. appreciate it if you would help them to become accustomed to things here, Harry. It's going to take a lot of time."  
  
"How come they didn't have to try on the sorting hat?"  
  
Dumbledore chuckled. "Lupin? Black? Where else would they belong?"  
  
Evelyn bounded around the Gryffindor common room. "Where the hell is the phone?" she cried.  
  
Harry held Hedwig out to her, and she gave him a skeptical look. "What the hell do I do with that?"  
  
"Her," Harry corrected with a grin. "And you write a letter, attach it to her feet, and send her off to whoever the letter needs to get to."  
  
Evelyn blinked. "Write? Don't tell me you don't have any computers?"  
  
Harry shrugged. "Don't need them."  
  
Evelyn sighed. "Man, are you British people weird."  
  
"And you Americans are so normal?" Harry asked. "Can't understand half the things Torianna says."  
  
"That's because she's from Brooklyn," Evelyn replied in her best fake accent. "If you're not from Brooklyn, you're not gonna understand anything she says."  
  
"What about you?" Harry asked.  
  
"I've roomed with her for four years. You get used to it."  
  
Harry smirked. "Who do you need to write to?"  
  
"My aunt," Evelyn replied. "No email, no telephone, how long do these owls take?"  
  
Harry shrugged. "Depends on how far."  
  
"Damn. oh well."  
  
Torianna rushed through the portrait, soaking wet.  
  
"Tori? What happened?" Evelyn asked.  
  
"Some kinda water spell," She replied. "I'll be back. I'm getting my baseball bat."  
  
Harry sighed, and walked out of the portrait, to find Malfoy, Goyle and Crabbe standing there.  
  
"Thought so," Harry muttered.  
  
"Hello, Potty. Come to get wet, too?" Malfoy asked.  
  
Harry rolled his eyes, whispered the password, and walked back through the portal. As soon as he went in, Torianna appeared. "Okay, Malfoy. Hardball time." She lifted her baseball bat, and swung, just missing him.  
  
Malfoy panicked, and ran, followed by Goyle and Crabbe.  
  
"First inning, Lupin 1, Malfoy 0."  
  
"Ms. Lupin!"  
  
Torianna turned to see Snape standing there looking quite upset. "Heya, Teach."  
  
"What is that?"  
  
"Baseball bat."  
  
"What in the world is baseball?"  
  
She blinked, said the password, and walked back into the Gryffindor common room.  
  
Snape scowled. "Next time, Lupin. Next time."  
  
Torianna sat on the couch whistling the Inspector Gadget theme.  
  
"What did you do?" Evelyn asked.  
  
"Swing and a miss." She smirked. "Next inning, he's outta the ballpark."  
  
"God, those baseball references are lame," Evelyn muttered. "Be a real person."  
  
"You first, Mistress of the Night. Why don't you get some people skills?"  
  
"I'm not the one swinging bats at people!"  
  
"At least I don't try and set people on fire!"  
  
"Yer Mom tries to set people on fire!" Evelyn cried. "And besides, that was no person, that was Malfoy."  
  
Torianna smirked. "Yeah, okay. True."  
  
"I win."  
  
"Nuh-uh."  
  
"Yeah, I win. What now, bitch?"  
  
"Ladies!"  
  
They turned to see Professor MacGonagall standing there staring harshly at them.  
  
"Scuse my French," Evelyn said.  
  
"My bad," Torianna giggled. "No more cursing. We promise."  
  
Their teacher sighed and left the room.  
  
At that moment, a small barn owl flew through the window and landed in front of Torianna.  
  
"What do you want?" She asked.  
  
The owl hooted.  
  
"What?! This ain't no Alfred Hitchcock movie, y'know, beat it!"  
  
It hooted again.  
  
"Evelyn, I'm scared."  
  
Evelyn rolled her eyes. "Harry said they're message birds." She pointed to the foot. "See?"  
  
"Oh," Torianna replied. "I ain't never seen an owl before. Kinda intimidating."  
  
Evelyn groaned and took the message off the foot, and tossed it to Torianna, who opened it. "Dear Tori, hope you're having a great time, this owl is for you to use while you're there, keep in touch - Dad."  
  
"Oh. Cool. Dad. Okay. wonder if it has a name."  
  
"How about. Scary Owl," Evelyn teased.  
  
"Shut up!" Torianna cried. "I dunno. how about. Bunsen?"  
  
"Your owl," Evelyn shrugged. "But I'll be mooching off of you a lot, just so you know."  
  
Hogsmeade Again. "Welcome to Hogsmeade," Ron announced as they walked into the small town that weekend.  
  
Evelyn squinted and put a huge black pair of shades over her eyes. She was covered from neck to foot in black, except the tips of her fingers, which stuck out of ripped leather gloves. Her shirt was long-sleeved under a large black leather jacket, and her pants were baggy as usual.  
  
This clashed heavily with her four friends.  
  
Ron wore one of his many maroon sweaters under an old-looking black coat, with kaki pants and nice shoes. Harry's sweater was blue under a matching coat, and his pants gray. Both Hermione and Torianna wore blue jeans. Torianna wore a Yankees t-shirt under her own black leather jacket. Hermione wore a long purple sweater under a white coat.  
  
Ron led the way into Zonko's Joke shop, where Ron's brothers, Fred and George already were.  
  
"Hello, Ronnie!" one of them cried, holding up a suspicious-looking pastry. "Want a cream puff?"  
  
"In your dreams," Ron replied.  
  
Torianna picked up a strange-looking object. "What the hell is 'is?"  
  
"Dung bomb," Harry informed her. "I wouldn't touch it if I was you. They smell horrid."  
  
Torianna shrugged and set it down.  
  
Evelyn looked around squinting as she took her sunglasses off. Her glance passed by the window, and spotted a large black dog. She blinked, and it was gone.  
  
"The hell."  
  
"Something wrong, Evelyn?" Hermione asked, inspecting a whoopee cushion.  
  
"No," Evelyn replied quickly. "Nothing. What else is around here, anyways?"  
  
"Well," Hermione said with a smile. "There's Honeydukes candy store, and the three broomsticks, if you'd like to get some butterbeer."  
  
"Sounds good," Evelyn said, uncharacteristically cheerful. "Let's go."  
  
Ron and Harry glanced at each other warily and followed the three girls out.  
  
They made their way to the Three Broomsticks to find Hagrid and Professor Dumbledore sitting together.  
  
"Ah!" Dumbledore smiled. "Good afternoon! I assume you've been giving the girls a nice tour of Hogsmeade?"  
  
Hermione smiled and nodded. "Oh, yes. We've shown them a lot."  
  
"Good," Dumbledore said. "Evelyn, I presume that you haven't been giving anyone or anything a hard time?"  
  
"Yes, sir," Evelyn replied, distractedly staring out the window. She'd spotted the black dog again.  
  
"Is something wrong, Lass?" Hagrid asked.  
  
"Nah," Evelyn replied. "Just not used to this much sun. I burn really fast."  
  
"I'll bet, seeing as how you look like a dementor."  
  
Evelyn glared at the sound of a new voice.  
  
"Don't you have anything better to do, Malfoy?" Ron asked. "Like get shagged? Oh, wait, I forgot. You just don't know what that means."  
  
"What does shagged mean?" Torianna asked Hermione.  
  
Hermione turned slightly red. "Well. it means-"  
  
"Getting laid," Evelyn replied.  
  
"Oh," Torianna nodded. She began to snicker. "He doesn't know about sex?"  
  
"Not until last week," Ron replied.  
  
"No wonder he's so grouchy!" Evelyn snickered. "Malfoy, you are a sad, sad, little boy."  
  
Dumbledore cleared his throat. "I think that's quite enough, children."  
  
"Yeah, the Professor's right," Harry snickered. "We wouldn't want Malfoy to grace us with his stellar fighting abilities again."  
  
"That bad?" Torianna asked.  
  
"Worse," Ron laughed.  
  
"Dammit Malfoy!" Evelyn cried. "Why do you think you're such bad-ass evil?! You're not! To quote a famous movie, you are the diet coke of evil! You'd wet yourself if you saw real evil!"  
  
Malfoy looked confused. "What's diet coke?" he asked.  
  
Evelyn growled and sat down at a table. She glanced toward the window again, and the dog was sitting there, seemingly grinning proudly at her. Evelyn shook her head out, and ordered a butterbeer.  
  
Harry pulled Ron and Hermione aside when Torianna began ripping into Malfoy with harsh cut downs.  
  
"What is wrong with Evelyn?" Ron asked. "She been acting weird all day."  
  
"Ron, haven't you noticed that Snuffles has been following all day?"  
  
Ron blinked. "Oh. Really?"  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes.  
  
"Listen, she still thinks Sirius was the traitor, and that he killed Petigrew and everything. Dumbledore wants to be the one to tell her the truth, so play dumb."  
  
"Hear that, Hermione?" Ron asked jokingly. "Dumb."  
  
She gave a smug smirk, and hit him playfully. "Shut up, Ron."  
  
Harry shook his head in confusion. "What is wrong with you two lately?"  
  
At that moment, Professor O'Brien and Professor Summers walked in, arm-in-arm, laughing quietly together.  
  
"What is with everybody, lately?!" Harry cried. With that, he stomped over and sat across from Evelyn in a booth, and turned around to follow her gaze out the window. He gave a smirk to the dog outside, who smirked back, then turned to Evelyn, who was glaring him.  
  
"You know anything about that dog?" she asked him.  
  
"What dog?"  
  
The dark-haired girl groaned and slammed her forehead down on the table in front of her.  
  
Meanwhile, Torianna swung a fist out at Malfoy, who only just dodged it, which was when Professor O'Brien stepped in, and sat Torianna down.  
  
Harry sighed. "The whole world's gone mad."  
  
Professor Wesley Wyndham-Pryce sat near the front of the Three Broomsticks, telling stories to his students and fellow teachers. Even Rosmerta listened intently from her spot behind the bar.  
  
"Fifth year was probably our most interesting," Wesley told his audience. "It was the year James and Lily, Remus and Sarah and Sirius and Emily got together, though, of course, James and Lily were the first."  
  
Harry smiled. He loved hearing stories about his parents and their time at Hogwarts. While the stories of Sirius Black's childhood made many people uncomfortable, Harry, along with Ron and Hermione, loved hearing about Sirius and Harry's father's reign as the prank kings of Hogwarts.  
  
"Though, this managed to cause a bit of a stir," Wesley informed them. "You see, even though he normally hated Muggle-born students, Lucius Malfoy had developed quite a thing for Miss Lily Evans."  
  
Gryfindors snickered. Slytherins rolled their eyes. Draco Malfoy just turned red.  
  
"One day, between classes," Wesley said. "Lucius stopped her in the halls, and things. well, they got out of hand, you see. Malfoy became angry, and a bit violent. He would have given Lily her first black eye if Sirius Black hadn't been walking by. Sirius, as you know, was James Potter's best friend in the world, along with Remus Lupin. And they all had always been fond of Lily. Sirius had stepped right in front of Lily and caught Lucius' fist in his own hand."  
  
Dumbledore chuckled. "I remember that incident, actually."  
  
Wesley smiled. "Sirius Black was a large young man. He was very much in shape, tall, and quite strong. He glared at Lucius and said 'If you ever swing a fist at any girl ever again, I'm going to tear it off and eat it like a large medieval turkey leg."  
  
The room burst into giggles.  
  
Harry leaned over to Ron and Hermione. "Remind me to ask Snuffles about that."  
  
Ron smirked.  
  
"Fifth year was also the year that Sirius Black began to play with fire," Wesley went on. "Somehow, he'd gotten his hands on a Muggle lighter. actually, I believe it's the exact same lighter that Evelyn carries with her. "  
  
Evelyn fiddled with her lighter, and then set it down on the table.  
  
"Anyways, Sirius got himself banned from the Library for the rest of the year, because while most of us were doing our homework, he'd already finished, and was playing with his lighter. Well, Professor MacGonagall walked by-"  
  
"Professor Wyndham-Pryce," Professor MacGonagall cut in. "Please."  
  
Wesley smirked. "She walked by, and Sirius accidentally lit her flowing robes on fire."  
  
The students tried to hold back their laughter.  
  
"Well, all Black could do was sit there and laugh at his complete misfortune, and Professor MacGonagall did what she always did. Grabbed young Sirius Black by the ear, and dragged him all the way to her office. Her robes still flaming."  
  
Dumbledore couldn't help. He chuckled, earning him a glare from MacGonagall.  
  
"Not only was Sirius playing with fire, literally, but figuratively as well," Wesley went on. "Fire as in fiery Miss Emily Dumbledore, the headmaster's daughter."  
  
The trio gave each shocked looks.  
  
Wesley laughed to himself. "Before he met Emily, Sirius Black flirted with anything that moved. Isn't that right, Rosmerta?"  
  
Rosmerta grumbled. "Little scoundrel, he was, back them."  
  
"He was probably the biggest flirt Hogwarts had ever seen," Wesley said. "And then he fell for Emily, and that was it. To him, no one compared to her."  
  
"Wesley," Dumbledore called. "It's getting quite late. I believe you should wrap things up."  
  
Wesley nodded. "Alright, then. Another time. Everyone to your rooms."  
  
Oh, Those Crazy Hogsmeade Nights.  
  
Evelyn had gone for a late walk, and had realized from the beginning that she was being followed.  
  
And she knew it was the large, black dog that had been following her all day.  
  
"Look, the Dementor's on patrol."  
  
Evelyn sighed. "Go away, Draco." She turned to stare at him.  
  
His hair shone brightly in the half-moonlight. His eyes glistened mischievously. His hands sat on his hips.  
  
All of the sudden, it didn't matter so much that he was an asshole.  
  
And that gave her an idea.  
  
Evelyn smirked and strode slowly and purposefully toward him. "Looking to get me in trouble, Blondie?"  
  
"M-Maybe," he replied, taking a step back.  
  
She advanced the step forward that he'd taken back, and ran a finger down his cheek and neck, until it landed on his top shirt button, which she began to play with. "Do you really wanna get me in trouble?" she asked, getting closer. "Because, y'know. there are. other ways."  
  
She undid the button she'd been playing with, and then walked into the inn.  
  
Malfoy was left to stand on the Hogsmeade sidewalk, red-faced. He rushed in, went directly to his room and locked himself in.  
  
When Malfoy passed the shadows Evelyn had been hiding in, she slipped out the front door, back into the night with a sigh. "The things I do for answers. Thank god I always wear black."  
  
Before she could go looking for the dog again, she heard two familiar voices.  
  
"We shouldn't be doing this."  
  
"I know that, but. well. How else will this work?"  
  
Evelyn slipped back into the shadows as Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger passed by hurriedly.  
  
"Ron, wait. we should tell him," Hermione said. "Harry deserves to know. He's our best friend."  
  
Ron sighed. "I don't wanna deal with being a public couple. Don't tell me you don't get off on sneaking around." He got closer to her and kissed her forehead.  
  
"Ron," she groaned with a smile. She playfully pushed him away. "Come on, we'd better go in."  
  
"Not just yet."  
  
Someone else stepped out of the shadows and stood before them.  
  
"Professor Summers!" Hermione cried. "We were just. we just-"  
  
"Are really busted," Summers replied.  
  
"What about you?" Ron asked. "Why are you out here now?"  
  
Summers faltered. "Well. I. um. that is to say-"  
  
"That we were doing exactly what you were."  
  
Out of the shadows, right near Evelyn stepped Professor O'Brien.  
  
Professor Summers sighed. "Angel."  
  
"We've been sneaking around together," O'Brien explained. "So here's the deal. If you guys go up to your rooms right now, we won't tell anyone you were out here. And you won't tell anyone that you saw us together."  
  
Hermione considered. "That sounds fair."  
  
"Good."  
  
Ron looked skeptical. "You won't tell anyone?"  
  
Summers smiled. "Not anyone."  
  
The two teens nodded, and walked into the inn.  
  
After they'd gone, Buffy sighed. "Alright," she said. "I'm tired. I'm going to bed."  
  
Angel nodded and smiled. "I'll be up in a while."  
  
He kissed her before she left.  
  
Evelyn panicked as Professor O'Brien advanced toward her spot in the darkness.  
  
"Angel?"  
  
He turned around to see Professor Wyndham-Pryce walking out of the inn, carrying a large sack.  
  
"Wesley," Angel greeted. "Going to give the weekend amount?"  
  
Wesley nodded. "Just doing my part."  
  
"Want company?"  
  
Wesley smirked. "Sure."  
  
Evelyn followed her two professors just outside of town, up a mountain, just outside a cave. Angel and Wesley stopped dead in their tracks. A moment later, the former stormed in, Wesley close behind him. Evelyn followed just up to the point where she had a clear view inside.  
  
A business woman with brown hair stood before an unshaven, dirty, ragged man.  
  
"Sirius, what's she doing here?" Wesley asked harshly.  
  
"Don't look at me," Sirius replied, stretching his long, bony arms. "I was sleeping when she walked in. Woke me up." he eyed the bag Wesley carried. "That dinner?"  
  
Wesley smiled and tossed the bag to him.  
  
"So. Lilah," Angel said slowly. "Miss me?"  
  
The woman named Lilah glared. "Actually, I came to speak with Mr. Black if you don't mind."  
  
"He doesn't want to talk to you," Wesley snapped.  
  
Sirius raised an eyebrow. "I can speak for myself."  
  
The trio turned to look at him. He got to his feet, and looked Lilah up and down.  
  
"No. He's right. I don't want to talk to you." Sirius sighed. "Who are you, anyway?"  
  
"Lilah Morgan, attorney. I work for Wolfram and Hart in LA."  
  
Sirius rolled his eyes. "An American Lawyer," he muttered. "Get out."  
  
"Mr. Black, please hear me out," Lilah snapped. "I'm here to offer you a deal. You work for us, and you can have your freedom back!"  
  
He stared at her, obviously unimpressed.  
  
"If you do work for us here, we'll make sure your name is cleared of all that you've done!"  
  
Sirius' lips twisted into a harsh smile. "Ms. Morgan," he said. "Let's get a few things straight, shall we? 1. I really don't like lawyers. Sans Wes over there."  
  
Lilah gave Wesley a questioning look. He just shrugged.  
  
"2. I wasn't a death eater. And I didn't kill anyone. 3. Sod off. Thanks for stopping by, Wesley. I'm gonna go."  
  
"But you live here," Lilah reminded him.  
  
Sirius didn't reply. He shifted into his dog form and walked out.  
  
Only to be met with a gaze that was uncannily like his own.  
  
The girl had long black hair and big blue eyes. She got to her feet, showing him that she was quite tall.  
  
He backed away, realizing who she was. She advanced toward him silently, and he ran.  
  
Evelyn Black growled and ran after him. "DAMMIT! GET BACK HERE!"  
  
Her yelling brought Angel, Wesley and Lilah running.  
  
Wesley caught sight of Evelyn chasing a large, black dog, and sighed. "Bloody hell."  
  
"Should we go after them?" Angel asked.  
  
"No," Wesley replied. "It'll draw too much attention. Come on. Let's get back to the inn. We'll be missed."  
  
"What about Evelyn?"  
  
"She followed us," Wesley shrugged. "Whatever happen, happens. Padfoot'll have her back safely."  
  
Angel shook his head.  
  
"You coming Angel?"  
  
"In a bit."  
  
She finally caught up to him and tackled him from behind. He turned from canine to human, and she jumped off him towards the nearest wall. Breathing heavily from the running.  
  
Sirius got to his feet and looked upon the teen.  
  
They stood in silence for a moment, until Evelyn got angry.  
  
"What in the hell?! How the hell?! What the hell?! You're just staring at me! Why don't you just kill me like you did to Mom, and those others. what, the Pots?"  
  
"Potters," Sirius replied softly. He averted his eyes from her in shame.  
  
Evelyn blinked. "You killed Harry's parents?"  
  
Sirius sighed. "Are you going to let me explain, or are you going to rant for the rest of the night. And, by the way, you're not even supposed to be out now. You could get into trouble."  
  
"Now, why on earth would Sirius Black care at all about getting into trouble?"  
  
Father and daughter turned at the same time to find Albus Dumbledore walking up to them in his pajamas.  
  
"Good," Evelyn said. "Arrest him."  
  
Sirius rolled his eyes in exasperation. "She's not letting me speak."  
  
"Of course not, Sirius," Dumbledore replied. "She's been told all of her life that you're a murderer. Would you let you speak?"  
  
Sirius sighed and stood down.  
  
"Yeah, you like that?" Evelyn said defiantly. "What now?"  
  
"But," Dumbledore cut in. "She will listen to me. Won't you, Evelyn?"  
  
Evelyn shrugged. "Okay."  
  
"Your father did not murder your mother, the Potters or anyone else for that matter," Dumbledore explained.  
  
"Okay, so who did?" Evelyn snapped.  
  
"A man by the name of Peter Petigrew," Sirius replied.  
  
Evelyn whirled around to glare at her father. "Hey. Didn't I say I wasn't speaking to you?"  
  
Sirius threw his arms to his sides and sighed in frustration.  
  
"It was, as your father said, a man by the name Peter Petigrew," Dumbledore continued. "Your father was originally the Potters' secret- keeper while they were in hiding. Sirius, fearing they'd come for him first and get it out of him, convinced them to switch to Peter, not knowing that he was a Deatheater."  
  
Evelyn let his words sit for awhile. "So. who killed my mother?"  
  
Sirius clenched his fists together, as well as his teeth. "If I knew I'd-"  
  
"Sirius, please, get a hold of yourself," Dumbledore said calmingly. "Sirius was the one who'd gone to confront Peter about giving over the Potters. Peter turned the whole situation around, making it look to everyone like Sirius had done it all. It was Peter who blew up the street-full of Muggles."  
  
"So. he killed himself?" Evelyn asked.  
  
"Peter Petigrew was one of four unregistered Anamagi, along with your father. He could, appropriately, I suppose, turn himself into a rat. He did so then. Leaving only a finger behind."  
  
"So. in other words. Dad got framed?" Evelyn asked quietly.  
  
"If that's how you'd like to put it," Dumbledore replied. "Then, yes."  
  
"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Evelyn said, glaring from one man to the other.  
  
"Evelyn, you've got to believe them," said a voice from behind them.  
  
Harry threw off his invisibility cloak, and walked to stand next to Evelyn.  
  
"What in the hell."  
  
Harry smirked. "I followed you. I've gotten pretty good at using this thing."  
  
Evelyn scratched the back of her head. "You believe all this?"  
  
Harry sighed. "I've seen Petigrew. I've seen him at Voldemort's side." Harry lifted his shirt sleeve to reveal a scar on his upper arm. "He gave me this."  
  
After thinking everything through, Evelyn turned slowly to looked upon Sirius. "I. I guess. I guess I'm sorry for acting like a big idiot without knowing everything."  
  
Sirius nodded. "Salright," he told her. "Runs in the family."  
  
"So. hi," Evelyn said nervously holding out her hand. "I'm Evelyn Black. Your daughter."  
  
Sirius gave a strange look to his daughter's hand, and then her face.  
  
Harry rolled his eyes, and, taking initiative he didn't know he possessed, shoved Evelyn into a hug with Sirius. They gripped onto each other tightly.  
  
She laughed. "Man, do you smell bad."  
  
He laughed with her.  
  
"Very touching, Sirius. Really, quite moving."  
  
Sirius shoved Evelyn, and then Harry behind him when he saw Peter Petigrew saunter up.  
  
"Be glad your last moments were happy ones," he told them, holding up his wand.  
  
"Peter," Sirius said casually. "I don't know if you've noticed lately, but you've always been, and always will be, a really sucky wizard."  
  
"Yes, but anyone can do unforgivable curses," Peter replied. He held up his wand. "Ava- AH!"  
  
"EXPELORAMUS!"  
  
Peter's wand went flying behind him, and he was put into a half- nelson.  
  
Professor Angel O'Brien smirked, and tossed Dumbledore the wand. "I still got it."  
  
Sirius rushed Petigrew, who disaparated before he got there.  
  
"NO!" Sirius cried. "Dammit!"  
  
"Boundalious!"  
  
All of the sudden, Sirius' hands flew behind his back, and remained stuck there by heavy metal bindings.  
  
Cornelius Fudge emerged with a dozen or so Ministry goons behind him.  
  
"Sirius Black," Fudge said pleasantly. "How wonderful to see you again."  
  
Evelyn glared heavily. "Let him go."  
  
"Do you not know the horror story that is your father's life, my dear?" Fudge asked.  
  
"Ten Galleons says I know a hell of a lot more than you do," she snarled. "Let. Him. Go."  
  
"This is Ministry business, my dear," Fudge said, in an equally rude tone. "And you have no business telling me what to do, seeing as you're a little girl."  
  
Harry was shocked to hear her growl. She was about to advance, when Professor O'Brien took hold of her and dragged her back.  
  
"Cornelius, don't do this," Dumbledore said. "I know it's hard to believe, but give the boy a chance, give all of us truth spells, and you'll find that Sirius Black is quite innocent."  
  
"Oh, I don't think so," Fudge said. "It's back to Azkaban for this one."  
  
It was Harry's turn to be outraged, and try and move forward. "You can't-"  
  
Dumbledore blocked him.  
  
"I'm surprised at you, Albus," Fudge mentioned. "I'd think you'd want to see him locked up after what he did to your daughter."  
  
Harry blinked. "Daughter?" he asked Dumbledore.  
  
"You mean you didn't know, Harry?" Fudge asked. "Black was married to your headmaster's daughter. And then he led Voldemort right to her, and she died. Poor girl had no idea what was going on. Now, if you'll excuse us." He nodded to them and walked off.  
  
The goons led Sirius away, his eyes still on Harry and Evelyn. Fudge followed them.  
  
Evelyn finally ripped herself out of Angel's hold.  
  
"That's it?!" she cried. "That's it?! They win, just like that?! You're making me stand here and let them take the wrong guy?!"  
  
"They don't know they have the wrong guy," Angel replied.  
  
"I'm going after them," Evelyn said, determined.  
  
"No, Evelyn," Dumbledore said.  
  
"Do you realize that was the first time I've seen my father since I was one?! And I find out he's not a murderer?!"  
  
"Evelyn, please," Dumbledore said softly. "Don't do this."  
  
Evelyn stalked off, leaving the three men standing there.  
  
"How did they know he was here?" Harry asked quietly. "The only people who knew were Us, Ron, Hermione and Wesley."  
  
Angel's eyes narrowed. "I know exactly how. I'll see you in the morning." He, too stormed off.  
  
Dumbledore shook his head. "Come, Harry. We should both get some sleep. I've got to go in the morning and see Remus Lupin." He literally had to drag the boy from the scene.  
  
When Harry got back to the Three Broomsticks, he told Ron and Hermione everything that had happened. They both sat in a daze.  
  
"What do we do?" Ron asked. "We can't let Snuffles rot in that hell- hole."  
  
"There's nothing we can do," Harry said. "I wish it weren't so. He could really use a jail break."  
  
"You. bitch."  
  
"That's business, Angel, you know that. If he's not with us, he's against us," Lilah took a sip of pumpkin juice in her room in an inn just outside of Hogsmeade. "And the best part? He was dispensable. How did you find me, anyways?"  
  
Angel shook his head. "You just put an innocent man back in Azkaban."  
  
"Are you that surprised? We'd been trying to contact him for months, with no replies. I was just sent to get a straight answer and do my job." Lilah explained.  
  
"What do you want here?"  
  
"Oh, please, Angel," Lilah replied. "You mean you don't know? Linwood wants me to make some deals with the Dark Lord. Make sure we have a cut in this whole rise of Voldemort thing. And since you have no idea where the hell he is, you can't stop me. Now get out." 


	5. Life Goes On

Life Goes On,  
  
When Draco Malfoy came home from Hogsmeade, he received an owl from his parents. The gist of it was that when he came home for winter holiday, his father planned to start his training as a Deatheater.  
  
He'd received the same letter a week before, and the week before that.  
  
He sent his third howler back home, telling his parents he wanted nothing to do with their choice of occupation. As much of an asshole as he was, he was no one's pawn, and certainly wasn't into killing people for fun.  
  
The knock on the door nearly made him jump.  
  
"Draco? Draco, it's Professor Maclay."  
  
He cleared his throated hid the howler under his bed. "Come in!"  
  
Professor Maclay poked her head into the room. "Hey. Whatcha up to?"  
  
"Nothing," he replied. He turned in his chair. "What do you want?" He didn't mean for that to come out so harsh, but he was in a bad mood. Threats of Deatheater training did that to him.  
  
"You seemed pretty upset at dinner today," the blond witch replied. "Just checking on you."  
  
He had been upset. By the letter. He'd almost been tempted to ask Evelyn Black if he could borrow her lighter so that he could light his parents' letter on fire.  
  
"I'm fine," he told her.  
  
She nodded. "If there's anything, y'know, you wanna vent about, well, you know where my classroom is."  
  
He nodded. "Yeah."  
  
"And. Willow says hi."  
  
Draco blinked. "Umm. hi."  
  
Tara smiled at him and left.  
  
He took his howler back out and finished it.  
  
".So Sirius and James took all the jam they could muster up from the kitchen and dumped it all over of the Slytherin common room." Wesley smiled at the snickers he got. "but this heinous prank did not go unanswered. Oh, no. A day later, the Gryffindor common room was covered by one of the ten plagues of Egypt. Frogs. Tons of them."  
  
The Slytherins in the room laughed.  
  
"Now, Remus loved frogs. He had about three living with he and his friends in their dorm," Wesley explained. "So he adopted a few more. Now, he sat behind your Professor Snape in Potions. And one day, Remus took one of the many frogs he had out of his pocket, and dropped it into Snape's robes. And. well. somehow, it got into his trousers."  
  
Dumbledore smiled. "Ah, yes. I recall this incident."  
  
"So, Severus gets to his feet, and starts running and jumping around like a maniac," Wesley continued. "Sirius Black sticks one of his foot, and Snape goes sprawling, writhing on the ground. That was the first, and last time Remus Lupin got detention."  
  
Snape glared at Wesley menacingly.  
  
"Oh, come off it, Severus," Wesley snapped. "How old are you? Four?"  
  
"And on that note," Dumbledore chimed. "Time for bed."  
  
Ron, Harry and Hermione walked out of Professor Wyndham-Pryce's classroom together, that is until Hermione pulled Ron back.  
  
"Let's tell him."  
  
"What?"  
  
"About us. Let's tell Harry."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because we've been skirting around him for nearly a month, and we need to tell me."  
  
Ron stared at her for a moment, and then sighed. "Well. alright."  
  
Harry was giving them a confused look. "What's going on?"  
  
"Harry," Ron said. "There's something we need to tell you."  
  
"What?" he asked suspiciously.  
  
"Uhm. Ron and I have been, well." Hermione trailed off.  
  
"Seeing each other?" Harry asked in an annoyed tone. "About bloody time you actually just said it."  
  
"You knew?" Ron asked.  
  
"Of course I knew!" Harry yelled. "I'm only your best friend! And you couldn't even just tell me?"  
  
"We thought it would make things weird," Hermione said quietly.  
  
"What was weird was having you two sneaking around, like I'm some little kid," Harry snapped. "You could have just told me."  
  
"We know," Ron muttered, looking down. "I'm sorry we didn't."  
  
"Fine," Harry said shortly. "Whatever. I'm. I'm gonna grab my cloak and go see Hagrid."  
  
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Hermione asked. "Petigrew could still be about."  
  
"I don't care," Harry snapped.  
  
He did exactly as he said he would. He fetched his invisibility cloak, and walked through the grounds, only to be grabbed by the hair, and a hand closed over his mouth.  
  
"Not a sound," Petigrew growled. "Not one squeak."  
  
At that moment, Harry knew that he should have listened to Hermione. Again.  
  
Flippage Outage.  
  
"Hagrid, have you seen Harry?"  
  
Hagrid looked up at Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley curiously on that Saturday morning.  
  
"No' since class yesterday."  
  
"That's it," Ron said, his voice cracking. "You were right. Petigrew got him. He's gone. He's dead. You-know-who chopped his head off and it's all our fault."  
  
Hagrid looked at the fifth year with worried, curious eyes. Ron was pale, and had dark circles under his eyes. His fly was unzipped, and his sweater was on backwards.  
  
"What's happened?" Hagrid asked.  
  
"Well," Hermione said. "Harry told us last night that he was going to see you. and. well. Ron said he never heard him come back last night, and he wasn't there in the morning in the Tower, or at breakfast, and. well. we don't know where he is."  
  
"Didja ask Dumbledore?" Hagrid asked.  
  
"Ask Dumbledore what?"  
  
They turned to see their Headmaster standing in the doorway.  
  
"Professor!" Ron cried.  
  
"I was looking for Harry," he told them.  
  
"He's dead," Ron said, still panicked. "We've killed him."  
  
"Will you get a hold of yourself?" Hermione said. She turned to Dumbledore. "He said he was going to come here last night, never showed up here, and hasn't turned up in the castle, and he can't have gone to see Snuffles, because. well. you know."  
  
Dumbledore rubbed his chin. "This is interesting, isn't it? It's not like Harry to not turn up."  
  
"Petigrew got him and it's all our fault!" Ron cried. "We've killed him!"  
  
"What in Merlin's name are you talking about, Ron?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
"Well. we waited till last night to tell Harry something we should have told him awhile ago," Hermione explained. "He got upset, and that's why he was going to come here."  
  
"Oh," Dumbledore replied. "I see. I think. We'd better talk to the other teachers before we jump to conclusions. And. Ron, you look as if you could use something to calm you down. Perhaps we should stop by the hospital wing."  
  
"I'm a horrible friend," Ron muttered. "I suck at being a friend, and I should be taken out and shot."  
  
"Lad, maybe you should have some tea," Hagrid said nervously.  
  
"I don't deserve tea. I don't deserve anything. I'm a bad friend."  
  
Hermione looked worriedly to Ron and sighed. "He's been going on like this all morning. I don't think he got any sleep last night."  
  
"I waited up for him," Ron told them.  
  
"Ye're not a bad friend, lad," Hagrid said. "Yer worried, aren't ye? An' ye care that he was angry with you."  
  
"If it weren't for us, he wouldn't have gone off," Hermione said guiltily. "We've just got to find him!"  
  
"We will," Dumbledore assured her. "Perhaps he's with another professor."  
  
"Maybe Snape ate him," Ron grumbled.  
  
"I'll ignore that comment," Dumbledore said. "Now, come on."  
  
They looked for about two hours, and no one had seen hide nor hair of Harry. After that, Dumbledore sent for Snape, The Angel Investigations members, the Scooby gang, and MacGonagall to come to his office.  
  
Hermione thought she saw Ron twitch.  
  
"I feel horrible, Hermione," Ron said. "You were right. Again. We shoulda told him sooner."  
  
Hermione sighed. "I warned him about Petigrew."  
  
"Petigrew is dead," Snape snapped.  
  
"You saw him!" Hermione cried.  
  
"No, he didn't," Ron replied. "We knocked of the hell out of him, remember?"  
  
"I tried to block that out of my memory," she told him. "And don't curse!"  
  
"If Petigrew's got Harry. that's bad," Wesley said.  
  
"Way to state the obvious, Wes," Faith said. "Where would he have gone?"  
  
"We don't know," Dumbledore replied. "That's our fist problem."  
  
"We could try a locator spell," Tara offered.  
  
"It's an option," Angel nodded. "But I think I know someone who can help us as a first choice. Come on. We need to get to Hogsmeade."  
  
"I wanna go, too," Ron announced, getting up. "This is mostly my fault."  
  
"Me, too," Hermione said.  
  
"Oh, no, I don't think so," Wesley told them. "Hermione, what your mother say if she found out I was taking you to fight Voldemort? And Ron. I've met your mother. I'm not even going to go there."  
  
"But we've got to go," Hermione said. She turned to Dumbledore. "Please?"  
  
Buffy was suddenly reminded of her own sister, begging to tag along, and suddenly missed her very much. "This is way dangerous," she told them. "You guys are not old enough, or experienced enough to come. Please, just. stay here. Maybe Harry will turn up, yet."  
  
"He's my best friend!" Ron cried.  
  
"Mine, too!" Hermione said.  
  
"Hermione, please," Wesley said. "We're wasting time. Just stay here."  
  
Ron visibly twitched, and Hermione slumped back in her seat.  
  
They were staying.  
  
After leaving Dumbledore's office, they walked through the halls, and ran into Evelyn and Torianna, and informed them of what was going on.  
  
"Why didn't you guys go?" Torianna asked.  
  
"We weren't allowed," Hermione explained.  
  
"And that stopped you?" Evelyn replied. "Why didn't you just follow?"  
  
"No invisibility cloak," Ron replied. "Harry had it. And now he's probably dead, and it's all my fault, and we shoulda told him, and now I've gone and gotten him killed. I mean it's not like he needed my help, he's had half of England on his arse for year, and I'm a bad friend, and."  
  
"Has he been doing this all day?" Torianna asked Hermione.  
  
Hermione nodded. "No sleep."  
  
"Could get my bat," Torianna offered.  
  
"I'm considering it," Hermione replied.  
  
"Gasp!" cried a voice. "The Weasel without Potty? It's uncanny!"  
  
Ron whirled around a slugged Malfoy right in the face.  
  
Evelyn cringed. "Youch."  
  
"Oh, no," Hermione moaned.  
  
"Go, Ronnie," Torianna said.  
  
Malfoy put a hand to his bleeding mouth. "What the fuck, Weasley?!"  
  
Ron blinked, and gave Draco a blank stare. "What?"  
  
"I'm sorry, Malfoy," Hermione said. "You'll have to excuse Ron. He's really, really tired." She put her hands on Ron's shoulders and steered him the other way, followed by Evelyn and Torianna.  
  
Draco Malfoy stood there in shock.  
  
"Draco?"  
  
Malfoy turned around to find Willow standing there. She'd stayed behind from the search group for fear of what might happen if she was exposed to Voldemort.  
  
"Hi."  
  
She rushed up to him and took his hand away from his bleeding face. "What happened?"  
  
"Got slugged," he replied, still staring after the quartet.  
  
"Ron?"  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"He's really, really tired."  
  
"Come on, let's get you to the hospital wing."  
  
"I left for here as soon as I hear about Sirius."  
  
Dumbledore grimaced. "I've been in contact with Fudge. Trying to convince him to give the boy a fair trial."  
  
Remus Lupin looked down. "When I find Petigrew-"  
  
"You'll bring him into that courtroom to confess," Dumbledore cut him off. "Remus, I know you. You wouldn't-"  
  
"I almost did, in the Shrieking Shack with Sirius," Remus replied. "I want him to suffer and die like Lily and James, and Emily."  
  
Dumbledore shook his head. "He's Sirius' best chance for freedom."  
  
"Well, Padfoot's luck has always been rotten."  
  
"You're staying in this bed if I have to chain you here."  
  
Ron raised an eyebrow at Hermione. "Chains?"  
  
She blushed deeply, and threw the covers over him. "Stop that. I think Evelyn's having a bad effect on you."  
  
"Nah," he said with a tired smirk. "I'm my own bad effe-AAAHHH!!"  
  
"RON?!" Hermione cried.  
  
He gripped his hair, his eyes squeezed shut, his teeth grinding together. Tears automatically spilled from his eye as he keeled over in his bed, curling up into a fetal position.  
  
"Ron?!" Hermione cried again "What is it?! You're scaring me! Stop!"  
  
All at once, images of Voldemort, Petigrew and other death eaters ran through his head, almost laughing at him. He saw Harry. oh, god.  
  
A horrific scream ripped through him that filled the Gryffindor tower.  
  
It ran down the stairs, through the halls, and right to the ears of the other Weasley siblings.  
  
"I'd know that scream anywhere," George said to Fred and Ginny.  
  
Ginny led the way. She ran from the halls, through the portrait hole, and right up to the boys' dorm. She swung the door to Ron's room open hard, to find Ron thrashing on the bed, with Hermione leaning over him, trying to make him still.  
  
Fred looked completely baffled by the scene. "Kinky sex game?" he asked curiously.  
  
"What in the hell is going on?" George asked.  
  
"Get Dumbledore!" Hermione cried. "NOW!"  
  
Ginny ran from the room.  
  
"Help me keep him still, he's out of control!" Hermione yelled at the twins.  
  
Ginny didn't even bother knocking on Professor Dumbledore's office door. She shoved the door open and stumbled in.  
  
Dumbledore and Remus Lupin stared at her, obviously startled.  
  
"Ginny?" Lupin asked.  
  
She was pale, and out of breath from running from one end of the castle to the other. "Ron's flipping out."  
  
The Mind's Eye  
  
"Ron? Can you hear me?"  
  
Ron's eyes opened slowly to look up at Willow, Professor Dumbledore and Professor Lupin. "Yes."  
  
"What happened?" Lupin asked.  
  
Ron squeezed his eyes shut again and jerked.  
  
This time around he saw Sirius Black sitting in a dirty corner of his cell in Azkaban, a dementor looking through the cell bars at him.  
  
Ron screamed, and went back to being curled up in a ball.  
  
"What the hell is happening to him?!" Fred cried. He had an arm around Hermione, who was crying, while George had both his hands gripped onto Ginny's shoulders.  
  
"We're not sure," Lupin replied. "I've never seen anything like this. Professor Rosenberg?"  
  
Willow shook her head. "It seems kinda familiar, but I have a feeling Angel might be better suited for this sorta thing."  
  
"Well, he's off trying to find Harry," Dumbledore reminded her.  
  
Lupin's brow furrowed. "What happened to Harry?"  
  
Ron's teeth clenched. "Petigrew. Voldemort. death eaters."  
  
"He can't know that!" Hermione cried. "He's been completely freaking out about it all day!"  
  
Willow shook her head. "Oh! OH! I know! I know! Oh! Oh. This is bad. This is really, really bad."  
  
"What?" Lupin cried. He panicked as Ron started to thrash again.  
  
"He's got visions."  
  
The room went silent.  
  
"What?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
"Visions!" Willow cried. "He sees things that are happening right now, or will possibly happen. It makes perfect sense! The gripping the head, the. the knowing where Harry is. or. will be. the thrashing. Cordelia had the same thing."  
  
"How do you get rid of it?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Umm. you can't."  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
"Where. is Petigrew."  
  
Angel smirked. "I'd tell her if I were you. She gets cranky when she doesn't get her way."  
  
"Forget cranky," Faith muttered. "Just kill 'er. She swiped my last name."  
  
"Let's try this again," Buffy said, tightening her grip on Lilah's throat. "Where the hell is Petigrew."  
  
Lilah gagged. "If you let go of my throat, I'll tell you."  
  
"How about loosen?" Buffy suggested, loosening her grip on the lawyer's throat. "Now. Where the hell is Peter Petigrew."  
  
"On his way to Voldemort," Lilah replied. "Bringing the kid."  
  
Wesley's eyes narrowed. "Harry. If anything happens to Harry-"  
  
"You'll do what?" Lilah snapped. "Kill me? And then get hunted by the authorities of two countries, not to mention Fudge and his buttheads? I don't think that's what you want, Wesley."  
  
Buffy tightened her grip again. "I'm not hearing what I want, Lilah."  
  
"He's gone to Riddle House!" Lilah cried.  
  
"How far away is that?" Tara asked.  
  
"Too far," Lilah choked out. "He can't possibly be there yet, and it's too far to apparate."  
  
Wesley sighed. "Riddle House."  
  
"I need a phone!" Willow cried. "Anybody! A telephone! Or a long- range disapparating spell to Los Angeles! Anything!"  
  
Lupin sighed. "I only know a spell that'll take you as far as New York. The only person I knew who could do an disapparating spell that advanced was Lily Potter."  
  
Hermione chimed in. "Perhaps two or three apparating spells at once?"  
  
"That's a possibility," Remus nodded. "But how on earth would she get back?"  
  
"Perhaps if we went with her?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
"Then who, besides the kids, will look after Ron?" Willow asked.  
  
"That one is very simple," Dumbledore replied. "Poppy!"  
  
Cordelia Chase sighed as the phone rang in the Hyperian hotel. "Angel Investigations. We help the hopeless."  
  
There were a few clicks, and silence.  
  
Cordelia blinked. "That's. really weird."  
  
"What weird?" Lorne asked, walking over to her desk.  
  
"Phone screwed up," Cordelia replied. "No sign of Gunn or Fred, yet?"  
  
Lorne shook his head. "Not yet. Probably off somewhere having smoochies."  
  
Cordelia smirked. "I just wonder why the phone is so wonky."  
  
And then she got her answer.  
  
A bolt of blue lightening hit the lobby floor, and in a bright flash, Willow stood in her Professor's robes, with one man on either side of her.  
  
Lorne smirked. "Remus Lupin and Albus Dumbledore."  
  
Remus squinted. "Lorne?"  
  
"The one and only. What brings you back to LA?" Lorne asked, stepping forward.  
  
"Back?" Dumbledore asked Remus.  
  
Remus shrugged. "I did have thirteen years."  
  
Cordelia got up. "Are you guys the reason for the phone screwing up?"  
  
"Probably," Willow replied. "We need your help."  
  
"Me?" Cordelia asked.  
  
"Both of you," Willow replied. "There's a boy at the school, who's writhing in agony because he sees things in his head."  
  
Cordelia's expression became worried. "Oh, god. a kid?"  
  
Remus nodded. "They're continuous. They don't stop."  
  
"Cordy," Lorne chimed in. "You've met Albus Dumbledore, or, so you told me. This is Remus Lupin. Dazzlingly intelligent, slightly depressed, and. a werewolf."  
  
"Nice to meet you," Cordelia said, sticking her hand out to Remus.  
  
Remus raised an eyebrow, and glanced at Lorne.  
  
"Hey," Lorne snapped. "She has no reason to be afraid of you. She's a half-demon."  
  
Remus sighed, and shook Cordelia's manicured hand with his raw, pale one.  
  
"Hey, Reme," Lorne commented, nodding to his disturbing-looking hand. "Thought you were taking something for that."  
  
Remus snatched his hand away, turning slightly red.  
  
"You said the visions are continuous?" Cordelia asked.  
  
Willow nodded. "He's been screaming for about two hours straight."  
  
Cordelia ran into the office as best she could in her orange heels. She opened up a desk drawer and took out a ripped up scroll. She brought it out, and sighed. "Do any of you know how to read ancient Arabic?"  
  
They'd finally caught up with Petigrew two hours after Buffy had knocked Lilah out cold, and Wesley had led them in the direction of Riddle House. Peter was dragging a bloody, tired-looking Harry behind him.  
  
Buffy felt anger boil up inside her. She really felt for the boy. He was caught up in something completely insane that he had no control over.  
  
She could relate.  
  
Which was why she jumped out in front of Petigrew and kneed him in the nuts.  
  
He squeaked, and lost grip of Harry, who would have fallen straight to the grass below him if Tara hadn't caught him.  
  
"Well," Giles muttered. "That's one way of dealing with this. Buffy, I think Faith's having a bad effect on you."  
  
Buffy smirked. "Worked, didn't it?"  
  
"Guess what?" Tara asked.  
  
"What?" Harry asked hoarsely, eyes half open.  
  
"You've been rescued."  
  
Wesley smiled at Peter and held out his wand. "Bounda-"  
  
And then he was gone. Disaparated.  
  
"DAMN!" Wesley snarled. "I almost had him! When the hell did he get so damn strong?!"  
  
"Ron? Can you hear me?"  
  
He nodded slowly at the pretty brunette kneeling in front of him. He'd obviously been moved to the hospital wing, but had no recollection of being removed from his bed. He'd been so wrapped up in the sights he was seeing, he could barely hear what the people standing around him were saying. He was desperately trying to push the visions back to he could try and help himself by listening to the people in the room, but it was becoming increasingly harder.  
  
"Okay, Ron, honey," Lorne said, kneeling next to Cordelia. "I need you to hum me a few bars of something. Anything that comes to mind."  
  
"How the hell will that help?" George snapped.  
  
"Don't swear," Ginny scolded.  
  
"That's okay," Lorne replied. "We get a lot of swearing in this business. Ron, please. Just let something out."  
  
Quietly, Ron hummed out a scratchy, out of key rendition of Beethoven's Ode to Joy. His voice shook and cracked, and he squeezed his eyes shut again.  
  
"Okay," Lorne said. "Definitely visions."  
  
"He's only human," Cordelia said. "He's not supposed to have visions. It's not safe for him to have these. He could die."  
  
Hermione's hand shot to her mouth, and Remus sighed.  
  
"I think perhaps maybe you four should wait in the Gryffindor common room," he suggested.  
  
"We're not moving," Ginny replied.  
  
Cordelia sighed. "Remus, you said you could read Arabic?"  
  
Remus nodded as she handed him the Scroll of Aberjian.  
  
"It worked for me," Cordelia told them. "Let's hope it's not a disposable."  
  
"Wesley, we have to get Harry back to Hogwarts," Giles said. "We don't have time to go looking for Petigrew."  
  
"You get Harry back," Wesley told the other man. "I've got to find Petigrew."  
  
"He'll be with Voldemort," Angel said. "You wanna get the big AK?"  
  
"All I want is Petigrew," Wesley replied. "With him, we can clear Sirius' name, and-"  
  
"Get killed by Voldemort," Giles finished. "Wesley, Petigrew is Voldemort's right-hand man. He's not just going to let him go. Especially if it means Sirius' exoneration. Another time."  
  
"Oh, you mean after Sirius gets the Dementor's kiss and it's too late?"  
  
"The What's what?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Dementor's Kiss," Wesley replied. "It leaves you without a soul, and crazier than Drusilla."  
  
Tara shuddered. She'd only met Drusilla once or twice, which was enough to tell her that she was nuts.  
  
"Wesley," Giles said. "Dumbledore won't let that happen. You know that. Now come on."  
  
Wesley stared at the group for a moment, and then stared at Harry, who was being held up by Faith and Buffy, barely conscious.  
  
"Fine."  
  
"Unbind. Unbind. Unbind."  
  
A bright light filled the room. When it died down, Ron slowly opened blood-shot eyes and looked around while slowly sitting up. He spotted his siblings and Hermione.  
  
"Ginny? Fred? Mione? George?" he said hoarsely.  
  
Ginny was the first to rush over and throw her arms around him.  
  
"What brings you back here?"  
  
Remus sighed at his daughter. They were sitting across from each other in the Gryffindor common room while most everyone else was still taking care of Ron. "Sirius Black. What else?"  
  
Torianna smirked. "Yeah. Right."  
  
"Did you get the owl?"  
  
"Yeah. Thanks for that," she nodded. "I named him Bunsen."  
  
Remus raised a curious eyebrow at her.  
  
"Y'know, from the Muppets?"  
  
"Alright," Remus replied slowly. There was a pause. "School is going well?"  
  
Torianna nodded again. "Yeah, it's okay. I feel real outta place, though. Evelyn fits in much better than I do."  
  
Remus shrugged. "Maybe. maybe some more time would help. Get to know everyone better."  
  
"Yeah, maybe. I'd. kinda like to get to know you better, though," she told him, feeling a bit embarrassed.  
  
Remus gave her a full blown smile. "Well. well, we'll have all summer for that, won't we?"  
  
She smiled nervously at him. "Yeah. right. I am kinda worried about Evelyn, though. She hasn't said word one about her dad."  
  
"These Blacks, they make for difficult friends, don't they?" Remus chuckled.  
  
Torianna laughed sincerely at this. "Yeah, they really do."  
  
Remus sighed and picked up the cup of tea in front of him. "She needs you, though. And I think Harry would benefit from you're being around. I. know you don't know him very well. if things had been different. just. he's not a bad guy to know."  
  
Torianna nodded. "Yeah. so how long are you staying?"  
  
"As long as it takes to help Dumbledore convince Fudge to give Sirius Black a fair trial. Probably a week or so," Remus nodded.  
  
"Good, you can help me with my Potions homework. Snape sucks."  
  
Remus cracked another smile at his only daughter. "Anything you want."  
  
It was odd.  
  
It wasn't often Harry had two roommates in the Hospital wing, but there they were. One on either side of him.  
  
Ron was curled up in a ball on the bed, looking to be in a troubled sleep. Tossing and turning, occasionally moaning quietly in pain. Next to him sat Hermione, looking almost ill with worry.  
  
On the other side of Harry, Draco Malfoy sat up in his bed with a rather swollen lip that Madam Pomfrey had yet to tend to.  
  
"What happened to you?" Harry asked Draco.  
  
"The Weasel," Malfoy grumbled. "Poncy bastard slugged me."  
  
Harry sighed, and turned to Hermione. "So."  
  
Hermione stared over at him with a worried look. "Harry. I just. I'm sorry. I'm sorry you got nabbed by Petigrew because of us. We really should have just told you."  
  
Harry nodded. "You should have."  
  
"Ron's been freaking out about it. cause. you know, you were missing. He thought you were dead for sure, and he really blamed himself for it," she told him. "And this. vision hit him, and-"  
  
"Vision?" Harry asked.  
  
Hermione nodded. "He sees things. Not like Trelawney. More accurate, and he feels the pain of the people in the visions. it. I. they've killed people these visions."  
  
"Ron's. Ron's gonna die?" Harry choked out in disbelief. He got to his feet slowly and walked over to sit next to his friend.  
  
Hermione nodded. "That woman. Cordelia. she said he may not even make it to seventh year." She sniffed, and Harry put an arm around her. "He doesn't even know it." She put her head on his shoulder.  
  
"Hermione, maybe you should go get some sleep," Harry said. "We have class tomorrow."  
  
"For the first time in my life, I don't think I can think about class," Hermione told him. She got to her feet, and gave Ron a last look. "Feel better, Harry."  
  
Harry nodded. "Thanks."  
  
After Hermione left, Harry slid to sit on the floor, leaning against Ron's bed, resting his head on the side. He soon fell asleep.  
  
Cordelia sobbed into Angel's shoulder in the room he shared with Willow and Tara. "He's only fifteen."  
  
Angel nodded. "I know Cordelia. I'm so sorry."  
  
"There's nothing we can do for him," she cried. "He's just gonna die."  
  
Angel shook his head. "He might not. Look at you."  
  
"They're not gonna give him that chance," Cordelia replied. "Look at me. I don't even know the kid and I'm crying like a baby."  
  
"You feel his pain," Angel replied. "You know what it's like." He sighed. "Wesley, Dumbledore and I have to talk to his parents."  
  
Cordelia wiped her eyes. "I wanna be there, too."  
  
Angel sighed. "I don't know about that, Cordy. did you even bother telling Fred and Gunn you were coming here?"  
  
She smiled through her tears. "Oops?"  
  
"Cordy."  
  
"I wanna be here, Angel," she begged. "I wanna help him."  
  
Angel sighed. "You're needed in LA, though."  
  
"But Ron-"  
  
"Has people here," Angel finished. "Who care about him. Whom he trusts more than he probably trusts you. If things get really bad, you'll know, and you'll be here to help, but there's nothing you can do for him right now."  
  
"So. what are they for?"  
  
Molly Weasley sat in Albus Dumbledore's office, her husband, and three eldest sons standing and sitting around her.  
  
"They're for a warrior, so he or she can go out and stop the vision from occurring," Wesley explained. "It's a very noble, and, unfortunately, a very tragic position."  
  
"Tragic?" Arthur Weasley asked.  
  
Angel sighed. "Most human seers die within three years of their task."  
  
Molly's eyes widened, and her hand flew to her mouth.  
  
"There's no way to make them stop?" Charlie asked quietly, putting a hand on his mother's shoulder.  
  
Wesley shook his head. "Not that we've found."  
  
"Why aren't you still looking?" Molly demanded.  
  
Percy sighed. "There, there Mum. There have to be answers somewhere. Maybe the ministry-"  
  
When the inhabitants of the room stared at him sharply, he shut him mouth. 


	6. Demons Demons Demons

Demons, Demons, Demons  
  
Harry woke up the next morning to find that Malfoy was no longer in the room. Ron was slowly sitting up in the bed, stretching, and scratching his red hair.  
  
"Something doesn't feel right," Harry commented.  
  
Ron blinked and looked around. "No. you're right. I feel weird. like. we're. not awake."  
  
"Wow. They said you guys were pretty quick. I'm impressed."  
  
Their attention turned to the huge figure standing in the doorway. He was huge, with black and gray. scales? He had large horns over his head and a large chin ring. He almost looked like a cross between a human and a bull. Neither boy could identify the species. They only knew he. it. whatever, wasn't human.  
  
Ron's eyes widened, and he scrambled out of bed to his feet. "Holy shit!"  
  
"Hey! Boys your age shouldn't be using language like that!"  
  
Harry took three steps backwards. "What. what are you?"  
  
"A demon."  
  
"Holy shit."  
  
"Hey, come on, Weasley, stop saying that. It's just not polite."  
  
"How do you know my name?" Ron asked, obviously confused.  
  
The demon smirked. "Maybe you're not as quick as they thought. You guys are new warriors for the PTB."  
  
"What are they?" Harry asked. "And who are you, anyways?"  
  
"Oh," the demon smiled. "I'm Skip. How ya doin?" He held out a hand.  
  
Harry looked at it tentatively, obviously intimidated by the size and color.  
  
"Harry, don't, he could be dangerous!"  
  
"Aw, heck no," Skip replied. "I'm not dangerous. Just intimidating."  
  
"Got that right," Harry replied, shaking his hand. "So. the PTB?"  
  
"Power That Be," Skip replied. "They want you to be a warrior for good. Harry Potter, right? Boy who lived?"  
  
Harry rolled his eyes. "Harry's fine."  
  
"The Powers want you to go out and fight evil for them."  
  
Harry blinked, and looked back at Ron. "Don't I already do that?"  
  
"The big problem is. well. with your buddy. We were supposed to pick a non-human to take the visions, but. there was a mix-up. and we turn you into a half-demon or something like that except. you're a minor. We can't change without a permission slip signed by your legal guardians. And, unfortunately, the Powers really want you to be the seer, cause you and Harry are best buds. They're not willing to give them to anyone else."  
  
Ron blinked. "So. Unless I get a permission slip from my mum and dad, I'm stuck with head-splitting agony?"  
  
"That's the gist," Skip replied.  
  
"My mum'd kill me if I asked to become even a half-demon."  
  
"Ron, they said the visions could kill you," Harry replied.  
  
"So could my mum."  
  
"Ron!" Harry cried, "This is serious! You really need to consider what you do here!"  
  
"Harry's right," Skip nodded. "I'll give you a month to ask your parents."  
  
With that, there was a bright flash of light, and they were awake, Dumbledore, Hermione, Remus, Hagrid and all eight Weasleys were standing there.  
  
When Ron's eyes opened, Hermione threw her arms around him. "Thank Merlin! We thought you'd died or something!"  
  
Harry got to his feet from the floor and looked around. "How do I get into these things?"  
  
Harry, unlike Ron, was let out of the hospital wing an hour later, after Madam Pomfrey had checked him over.  
  
Hermione came in-between classes to visit Ron about six different times. Sometimes, she brought him candy, other times, homework. Harry came with her a couple of times. Professor Morgan came once to check on him. George, Fred and Ginny came to visit often, and Charlie and Bill were in and out as well. Percy had to go to work. His parents came in as often as they could. They'd been talking to Dumbledore nearly all day.  
  
The one person that didn't leave all day was the woman who'd come with the green demon. The ones that had helped him.  
  
He stared at her curiously. She was flipping through a magazine that read "Cosmo" on the front.  
  
"What are you reading?" he asked her.  
  
"Cosmo," she replied. "It's kinda for girls. You wouldn't like it."  
  
They fell into more silence.  
  
"I. thanks for helping me the other day," he said sheepishly. "That was really great of you and your friend and Professor Lupin."  
  
The woman closed her magazine slowly and gave him a smile. "Don't worry about it. Just doing our job."  
  
"I'm Ron," he said. "Who're you?"  
  
"Cordelia," she replied. "You're feeling better?"  
  
Ron nodded. "For now, I guess."  
  
"It's not gonna be easy," Cordelia told him. "I might be able to help you if you need it. I have visions. but I'm a half-demon, so. it really doesn't bother me too much."  
  
Ron blinked. "I. Harry and I had a shared dream. about a big demon guy named. Skip?"  
  
Cordelia stared at the redhead, and then got to her feet and sat on the bed next to him. "And what did Skip have to say for himself this time?"  
  
Long, Stupid Stories.  
  
It hit him in the middle of potions the next day. He dropped the ingredient he'd been holding and it shattered on the ground. He cried out in pain and wound up on the floor.  
  
Harry must have jumped five feet in the air, and the whole class turned their attention from Snape to Ron.  
  
Snape glared. "Weasley! That's five points from Gryffindor for disrupting my class!"  
  
A moment later, Ron pulled himself to his feet with Harry's help.  
  
"Two Muggles. slaughtered in Wales. death eaters," Ron told Harry. He lost his balance and landed on the ground again.  
  
"Weasley!" Snape cried. "That's another five points off! Now stop being mellow-dramatic and finish your potion."  
  
Ron pulled himself up with out any help from Harry this time. His hands were bleeding from the broken glass on the floor.  
  
Snape saw Hermione start to move toward him. "Miss Granger, stay where you are."  
  
Hermione's expression saddened and she obeyed.  
  
Ron, however would have none of this. He slowly, shakily made his way to the door of the dungeon and left.  
  
Draco Malfoy watched this, and for the first time, felt a pang of pity for Ron.  
  
"You walked out on potions?"  
  
Ron nodded. "What else was I supposed to do?" he asked.  
  
Faith sighed. "Spit on him?"  
  
Ron looked at her curiously as she watched Madam Pomfrey heel his hands. "What's your problem with Snape, anyways? You've had it in for him since you got here."  
  
Faith sighed. "Long, stupid story."  
  
"I got time," Ron replied.  
  
Faith smirked and put a hand through the boy's hair. "Another time. Y'know, your parents are roaming around with your brothers. They're gonna wanna see you."  
  
Ron nodded, his face pensive. "Faith?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Am I gonna die?"  
  
She opened her mouth to something, but no sound came out.  
  
"Professor Dumbledore?"  
  
Albus Dumbledore looked up from the book on his desk. "Ah. Harry. Come in."  
  
Harry complied and sat across from the old man.  
  
"What brings you here? And during your lunch hour. Shouldn't you be in Professor Wyndham-Pryce's classroom, listening to stories?"  
  
"Well. you're usually there."  
  
Dumbledore sighed. "I know all the stories, I thought I'd catch up on my reading."  
  
Harry sighed. "What was she like?"  
  
"Who?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
"Emily. You're daughter."  
  
Dumbledore sighed and leaned back. "Good-natured. Silly. Smart. She loved Sirius very much."  
  
Harry nodded. "A death eater killed her?"  
  
Dumbledore nodded. "Everyone just assumed it was Sirius. And I thought so, too for a long time." Dumbledore sighed. "When I saw him before he went to Azkaban, I told him I never wanted him to say her name again. As far as I know, he's complied. He won't say her name. Not even now that I know he's innocent."  
  
"I wish I'd known all of them," Harry said. "I feel like parts of me are totally missing, because I never knew my parents, or Emily, or Remus' wife."  
  
Dumbledore smiled. "Sarah Marshall was practically Remus' antithesis. She was very outgoing, a lot like Sirius, actually."  
  
"Then how did she wind up with Remus?"  
  
Dumbledore smiled wider. "Talk to Wesley about that."  
  
"What about Remus?" Harry asked.  
  
Dumbledore sighed, his smile fading. "It's a painful subject."  
  
Harry nodded.  
  
"Uncle Wesley?"  
  
Wesley didn't look up from his books. "Yes, Hermione, what is it?" he asked, flipping a page.  
  
Hermione sat across from him in his office. "What are you researching?"  
  
"Visions."  
  
"Oh," Hermione said softly. "Can. can I help?"  
  
Wesley looked up. "I. I didn't want to ask you. I thought you might get upset."  
  
"I want to help him," Hermione replied. "I need to do something, otherwise I'm going to go crazy."  
  
"Don't you have schoolwork?" Wesley asked with a smirk.  
  
"Finished."  
  
"That-a girl," Wesley snickered. He took a book from the enormous pile on his desk, and put it in front of her. "Here. You can start here."  
  
"Severus. Wonderful. Please sit."  
  
Severus Snape sat across from Professor Dumbledore. Around him sat his fellow teachers, sans Wesley, and including Remus Lupin. Leaning against the wall was Faith Morgan. She gave him a harsh look.  
  
"What is this about?"  
  
"This is about Ron Weasley," Dumbledore replied. "I need all of you to make some exceptions for him. These visions are spontaneous. There's no telling when they'll. If he collapses in class, or looks ill, please send him to the hospital wing immediately."  
  
"What if he fakes a vision?" Snape asked.  
  
Faith glared. "The kid wouldn't do that. oh, wait, yeah he would. For your class."  
  
Snape snarled. "Shut your mouth, little girl. I was not addressing you."  
  
"'Little girl,' huh?" Faith asked, standing upright.  
  
Angel and Buffy rose at the same time. They both looked worried.  
  
"Faith, stop," Angel said. His voice was solid and reasonable.  
  
Dumbledore sighed, obviously annoyed by the interruption. "We are not here to discuss old grudges," he said. "We are here to discuss a child who may very well die before he leaves this school. Now take your seats."  
  
They did. Snape and Faith still glaring at each other harshly.  
  
As they walked into the halls of Hogwarts, Angel grabbed her arm.  
  
Faith whirled around to look at him. "What's with the grudge?"  
  
Faith rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about it."  
  
"No, Faith. What happened?" Angel asked, letting go of her arm.  
  
Faith sighed. "It was a long time ago."  
  
Angel gave her a stare.  
  
"Okay, so maybe you know a thing or two about long times ago."  
  
Angel nodded.  
  
"Severus Snape. he was. he was my mother's brother," Faith explained. "He's my goddamn uncle, and he's the reason she's dead."  
  
Angel's brow furrowed. "How?"  
  
"He asked her to come to England to help with the Voldemort thing," Faith explained. "He sent this desperate owl for help. She didn't know, though, the Uncle Sevvy was one of Voldemort's at the time. So, y'know, my mom went. and when she got there, the death eaters were waiting. And they killed her. And my Dad had already run out by then, so, y'know, until I got a watcher, I had no one. I was tossed around in orphanages and foster homes. It sucked. And it was all his fault."  
  
Angel looked down. "Faith. I'm. I'm so sorry."  
  
Faith shook her head. "You wanted to know why I hate him. Now you do."  
  
"Albus, this is ridiculous."  
  
Ron nearly snarled. "I know what I saw! Those two Muggles were ripped apart by two men with dark marks on their arms!"  
  
"Visions never lie."  
  
"Who in Merlin's name are you?"  
  
She got to her feet and held a hand out. "Cordelia Chase. I get visions like him. Except they don't hurt me anymore."  
  
"Why is that?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
"Because I was made a half-demon," Cordelia replied.  
  
Albus sighed. "An idea this boy's parents would not be thrilled with."  
  
"Me mum'd kill me," Ron replied.  
  
"Voldemort is gone," Cornelius Fudge snapped. "He's long dead. Thirteen years!"  
  
"Of waiting," Dumbledore finished. "He's been waiting to come back. And now he can. He's just taking this slow. He's creeping right under your nose and you don't see it."  
  
Fudge glared at Dumbledore before walking out, leaving Cordelia, Ron and Dumbledore sitting in silence.  
  
I'd Like to Teach The World To Sing  
  
Tara had taped the flier to the front of her classroom door and smiled.  
  
"What is this?"  
  
Tara turned to see Professor Dumbledore standing. "Oh! Hello, Professor. This is the flier for my brainchild."  
  
"Brainchild?"  
  
"After school chorus group."  
  
Dumbledore smiled. "What a wonderful idea. Before the war, we had one, but people seemed to lost interest with the rise of you-know-who."  
  
Tara smiled. "Well, Professor Giles and I thought it would be fun."  
  
At that moment, the hall filled with students, and Gryffindors and Slytherins began to pile into the levitation classroom, glancing and commenting at the flier as they walked in.  
  
Tara saw Draco Malfoy smile brilliantly as he walked in, as well as other students, such as Neville Longbottom, and Millicent Bulstrode. Tara smiled widely. "I think this is going to be fun."  
  
"There's one thing that I order you to do with this group," Dumbledore said solemnly.  
  
Tara became serious. "What?"  
  
"Let me sit in?"  
  
Tara smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way."  
  
The first person to arrive into Giles' classroom the next day after school was Neville Longbottom.  
  
Giles smiled. "Hullo, Neville."  
  
Neville smiled back. "Hello, Professor. This is the for the chorus meet?"  
  
"That's right," Tara replied. "You're student number one. Be proud."  
  
"Neville, do you know what part you sing?" Giles asked, taking up a pad of paper and a pen.  
  
"Tenor one, sir."  
  
Giles nodded and wrote it down. "Good, good. Hopefully all the boys won't be the same."  
  
"I can't believe you talked me into this. I know nothing about singing."  
  
"Yeah, but I hear you in the shower. You're not bad. Tenor, I'd say."  
  
"Oh? And what are you?"  
  
"Bass one."  
  
"I don't want to be here."  
  
"Come on, Harry, please? It'll be fun, I promise."  
  
Harry Potter rolled his green eyes and slumped down into a seat. Ron Weasley sat next to him and shrugged at Tara and Giles.  
  
"Ron, you're a bass?" Giles asked, writing again.  
  
Ron nodded. "Yeah. I don't know, but I think Harry's a tenor."  
  
Giles nodded. "Well, he'll just have to do a few scales and then we'll know."  
  
"How come Hermione didn't come?" Tara asked them.  
  
Ron shrugged again. "She told us she had too much work to do, but she looked really nervous when she said it."  
  
Tara and Giles glanced at each other and said "Stage fright," in unison.  
  
"Who's got stage fright?" Evelyn asked, walking in and sitting on the table Ron and Harry were sitting at.  
  
"Hermione," Ron replied. "What if she just can't sing?"  
  
"It wouldn't surprise me in the least," said a voice from the door.  
  
Evelyn rolled her eyes and hopped off the table. "Malfoy. Get a personality, will you?"  
  
Draco walked up to stand a few feet away from Evelyn. "Y'know what I think, Black?"  
  
"No. And frankly, I don't wanna know."  
  
"I think you like me."  
  
Evelyn smirked. "Oh, is that right? That's what you think?"  
  
"You wouldn't pay any attention to me otherwise," he replied, stepping closer. She took a step back, and wound up against hitting the table. She glared into his gray eyes with her blue ones. "So, what, did you pick up the Idiot's Guide to the Art of Seduction?"  
  
Giles snickered softly. "All right. That's enough sexual tension for one day. Sit down and stop bothering each other. Malfoy, what's your voice part?"  
  
"Tenor two."  
  
"Evelyn?"  
  
"Alto two."  
  
"Good, you won't be standing next to each other," Giles nodded. "Ah! Ginny! Come in, come in."  
  
Ginny Weasley walked in quickly and sat behind her brother.  
  
"What voice part are you, Ginny?"  
  
"Soprano," she replied.  
  
"She's good," Ron told them. "You should hear her."  
  
"Shut up, Ron," Ginny replied, turning slightly red.  
  
Pansy Parkinson, who claimed to be an alto, and Millicent Bulstrode, also an alto walked in after Ginny and sat near Draco.  
  
"Hello, Draco," Pansy said with a smile, obviously trying to get his attention.  
  
He grunted in return, still glaring at Evelyn, who was glaring back, occasionally sticking her tongue out at him.  
  
Torianna (who turned out to be a soprano) walked in with Katie Bell (another soprano) and Angelina Johnson (an alto) and sat down. After them, Fred and George Weasley (both basses), along with Seamus Finnegan (another bass) walked in, with Lee Jordan (a tenor to his dismay) and lastly Cho Chang (another soprano).  
  
Harry smiled brightly at her, and she smiled back and waved.  
  
Ron rolled his eyes and smacked himself in the head. "Oh, brother. Well, I did tell you you'd have fun."  
  
Giles stepped up in front of the group and sighed. "Not a badly sized group." He counted softly to himself. "Sixteen, with four members in each section. That's rather lucky. Now, this class is mostly singing, but we'll be doing listening as well. And it is mostly Muggle music, as Professor Maclay nor I know anything about Wizard music. If you'd like to bring in some music to listen to, that's fine as well. Now, how many of you play an instrument?"  
  
Malfoy, Cho, Evelyn, Pansy and Seamus raised their hands.  
  
"Ah, good," Giles smiled.  
  
Tara snickered. "This is going to be fun."  
  
Giles smirked back. "Now, I want everyone to get into your sections on the risers I've set up."  
  
Everyone moved into position. Pansy and Millicent on one end of the alto section, Angelina and Evelyn on the other. Harry, Lee and Neville were as far away from Malfoy as possible, and while the sopranos stood together, Cho seemed left out. The only section in social harmony was the bass section. The Weasley brother and Seamus seemed to get along fine.  
  
Tara blinked. "Mix up! One group representative on each row."  
  
On the first row stood Harry, who was in the middle of Ginny and Cho. Next to Cho was Seamus. The second row consisted of Malfoy standing directly in-between Evelyn, who was flicking him in the ear, and Pansy, who glared, with Ron standing next to Pansy, but as far away as he could. The third row consisted of Fred, Angelina, Neville and Katie. The fourth row of George, Lee, Millicent and Torianna.  
  
Tara sighed. "Why are there two altos in the second row, and two sopranos in the first row? Evelyn, switch places with Cho."  
  
Evelyn shrugged, and Harry looked disheartened, but the two girls switched.  
  
"The first step to becoming a good chorus is trusting each other," Giles explained. "You need to sound like four different boys, and not sixteen. Ron, please move closer to Pansy."  
  
Ron took one step closer.  
  
"Ron."  
  
"She's scary, alright?" Ron cried, motioning towards Pansy.  
  
"No wonder Malfoy likes her," Evelyn muttered to Harry. He snickered.  
  
"This is what Giles is talking about," Tara chimed in. "Just because you guys are in different houses, you hate each other?"  
  
Giles sighed. "Houses often reflect social and financial status. Gryffindors are normally not very rich, but have brains and dignity, and most of all bravery."  
  
"What about Longbottom?" Draco asked with a snicker.  
  
Giles glared. "Slytherins depict rich socialites who are ambitious and often cruel. Many, many Slytherins wound up on the side of you-know-who during the war."  
  
"Yeah," Torianna said. "So, take that."  
  
"But," Tara said. "It doesn't matter. If they're going to do this, they have to be able to want to sing together."  
  
"I suspect that houses are much like high school clicks," Giles said. "Even if there weren't houses, the same groups would still form, with the same grudges and friendships."  
  
"We need an override button," Tara sighed. "hmmm. let's try this. Get back into your sections."  
  
They did, in the same fashion as before.  
  
"Draco, stand in-between Harry and Neville."  
  
"No way," Draco replied.  
  
"Do it," Tara replied.  
  
Draco rolled his eyes, and pushed his way in-between the two Gryffindors.  
  
"Cho, stand in-between. Torianna and Katie."  
  
She did without complaint.  
  
"Evelyn, stand in-between Pansy and Millicent."  
  
Evelyn looked into the frightening face of Millicent. "Holy Merlin's buttom, I don't think so."  
  
Angelina pushed her, and Evelyn sighed and stood in-between the two Slytherins.  
  
"Umm. Ron. stand in-between your brothers."  
  
"Yeah, come on, Ickle Ronniekins! We don't bite!" Fred laughed.  
  
"We'll just annoy you to death," George said pleasantly.  
  
Ron blinked. "I'm in hell."  
  
"Okay," Tara went on. "Lee, Ginny, Angelina and Seamus, come sit down. I want to try out this group." She took out her wand and waved it, saying, "Pianisimo," and a baby grand piano replaced one of the student desks. She sat down on the bench, and played a scale. "Sing this." They did. The sound was in-tune, but quite tense. "Okay," Tara said. "Ginny, go stand in-between Cho and Katie. Seamus, go stand in-between Ron and Fred. Angelina, got protect Evelyn from Millicent. Lee, go stand in-between Draco and Neville."  
  
"What about him?" Draco asked jerking a thumb at Harry. "I don't want to stand next to Potty."  
  
"And you think I'm enjoying this?" Harry asked. "You're the biggest prat I've ever met!"  
  
"Tough noogies," Tara replied. "You're staying where you are. For now."  
  
There was a knock on the large oak door, and everyone turned their attention to the middle-aged red-head in the doorway.  
  
Molly Weasley grinned at the two teachers. "Could we borrow Fed, George, Ron and Ginny for a moment?"  
  
Giles nodded with a smile. "Of course. Draco, please stop inching away from Harry."  
  
The four siblings walked into the hall to be met by their parents, and three older brothers.  
  
"What's up?" Fred asked.  
  
"We're leaving," Arthur told them. "We've got to get back to the Burrow."  
  
Bill sighed and scratched the back of his head. "It's time I headed back to Egypt."  
  
Percy nodded. "I really need to get back to the ministry. I've spent far too long away." He was promptly kicked by Charlie, who was looking bitterly at the wall. "What?"  
  
Arthur gave a tentative hug to each of the children before Molly stepped up to the plate.  
  
Molly gripped Ron in a tight hug. "Do stay out of trouble this year. Owl if you need anything. And if you want to come home-"  
  
Ron smirked. "I'm not coming home, Mum. I'm staying here."  
  
Molly sighed and let him go to hug her other children. "Be good to your brother."  
  
"Okay, Mum," George replied. "Only the best dung bombs for ickle Ronniekins."  
  
Molly seemed to pay no mind to him as she stepped back and looked at all seven of her children. "All right," she said with a sigh. "Be good. All of you."  
  
They all walked off down the hall.  
  
All but one.  
  
Charlie Weasley stood with his younger siblings.  
  
"What're you still doing here?" Fred asked. "Don't you dragons to tend to?"  
  
Charlie smirked and ruffled Fred's hair as if his younger brother were still five. "Lucky you. I'm staying."  
  
Ginny's eyes widened. "You mean it?"  
  
"Yep," Charlie replied. "Dumbledore wanted one of us to stay, and since I have the most casual job out of all of us, and Mum'd drive everyone nuts, I volunteered. I'm going to be Hagrid's teaching assistant for the rest of the year."  
  
Fred and George slapped each other five, and Ginny jumped onto Charlie, who let out an "oof." Ron just sighed. He hated all the extra attention. They were all acting as if he'd drop dead at any moment.  
  
The Weasley siblings walked back into Giles' classroom, Ginny dragging Charlie in by the wrist. The chorus were either talking quietly, arguing or ignoring each other.  
  
Giles looked miserable until he saw the new-comer. "Ah! A visitor!"  
  
"Hello," Charlie said politely, sticking out a calloused hand. "I'm Charlie Weasley."  
  
Tara smiled. If she didn't like girls so much, she'd have a crush.  
  
"I'm Professor Hagrid's new teaching assistant."  
  
"Wonderful," Giles replied, grasping the younger man's hand "Rupert Giles. I teach Magical lore." Charlie looked over to Tara. She was very pretty. Long dirty-blond hair, and big beautiful eyes. "Hello," he said. "I'm Charlie Weasley."  
  
Tara blinked and shoved her hand into his. "Tara Maclay. I'm one of the levitation teachers."  
  
"Levitation," Charlie said with a smirk. "Didn't have that while I was here. You're American?"  
  
Tara nodded. "Mostly Muggle-born. My mother was a witch."  
  
"Ah."  
  
"Will you all please take your places again?" Giles asked. They did. "I'd like to try this one more time. Do you sing, Professor Weasley?"  
  
Draco snorted. "Professor Weasley," he snickered.  
  
SLAM!  
  
"BLOODY HELL!"  
  
Ginny had picked up one of her school books and smashed Draco over the head with it. She was now glaring at him. "Don't say mean things about my brother."  
  
Evelyn snickered wildly.  
  
Tara sighed. "Ten points from Slytherin for heckling a teacher. Fifteen points from Gryffindor for the retaliation."  
  
Charlie sighed. "I used to sing, a bit. But I'm afraid I'm not so good anymore."  
  
"That's all right," Tara urged. "You should join a section."  
  
Charlie sighed, and walked to stand with his brothers and Seamus in the bass section. He looked around at his brothers and blinked. "What have I gotten myself into?" 


	7. Into the Woods

Into The Woods  
  
Katie Bell, new captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, was freaking out.  
  
Their first game was in two weeks, and they were short two players.  
  
She had yet to find suitable replacements for Alicia Spinnet, and Oliver Wood, who'd both graduated the year before.  
  
"Don't worry so much, Katie," Angelina said. "We'll find new players."  
  
"Yeah," Harry encouraged.   
  
Fred nodded. "Can't be that hard."  
  
Katie burst into tears. "I'm a horrible captain! Oliver would have never let this happen!"  
  
"Wood was a raving loony, remember?" George asked. "You're not."  
  
"But we don't have enough players!" Katie wailed. "And I'm a horrible captain!"   
  
George shook his head. "That settles it… we need Wood."   
  
  
The owl known as Hedwig flew into the small dorm room that belonged to Oliver Wood at four in the morning. He took the letter… and then another one. He read the first letter, which was a plea for help from his old Gryffindor Quidditch team.  
  
He sighed. He couldn't just up and leave school. As much as he loved Quidditch, and he loved Quidditch as if it were the only lover he'd ever had (and in all likelihood, it was), he needed to get some kind of degree. It was important to him to go to school. He wanted to learn, even if he was doing it the Muggle way.  
  
The second letter made him go completely pale. It was from Professor Albus Dumbledore, and it contained a Daily Prophet article about two dead Muggles, and their supposed death eater murderers. He read the last paragraph twice:  
  
  
I wish I didn't have to request you here, but I'm loading up on reinforcements for the rest of the year. I want to be ready, and I know that I can count on you to be on my side when things begin to really sour. If you are willing to come, I can offer you a position as the teaching assistant to Professor Wesley Wyndham-Pryce, who is our new Magical History teacher, and a former Gryffindor.   
  
On a lighter note, one Katie Bell is losing her mind as Gryffindor Quidditch captain, and would very much appreciate your council.  
  
You do not have to owl back if you're coming. You only need show up in Hogsmeade.  
  
Sincerely,  
Albus Dumbledore  
  
  
Oliver wood didn't even blinked before packing his things, simultaneously writing a letter to his parents.  
  
  
The next day, Friday, Katie squealed in delight. She was clutching a letter tightly, while next to her, Harry was petting Hedwig.   
  
"He's coming!" Katie smiled. "Thank Merlin! He's going to meet us in Hogsmeade this weekend!"  
  
Harry smiled. "Great. I've missed him a bit."  
  
"We all have," Angelina said, sitting on Harry's other side in the common room. "Even if he is obsessive. It'll be good to have him here for a while."  
  
Hermione and Ron sat across from each other at the chess set, speaking quietly. Harry glanced their way, seeing both of them looking quite uncomfortable. He hoped they'd be all right. Ever since Ron had began receiving visions, Hermione had been nervous around him. Almost avoiding him, and it had made Ron quiet, which worried Harry to no end.  
  
  
"I just… everyone is skirting around me like I'm on my deathbed," Ron explained, tapping a finger on the chess board. "I hate it. I'm still here, Hermione, and you're treating me like I'm a ghost."  
  
Hermione sighed. "I just… I don't know how to react, Ron," she replied. "You're… you're going to die."  
  
"Maybe not. And I've got a few years left. I don't feel like I'm going to die. And there's still a chance that-"  
  
"I don't know if I can deal with this. I think… I think we need to not… do what we've been doing."  
  
Ron looked down. "So, this is it, then?"  
  
"Ron, you're going to die!"  
  
"Why should that change how we feel about each other?!" Ron cried, slowly getting to his feet. "I still feel… things for you!"  
  
Hermione looked up at him, nearly in tears. "I don't think I can handle this. I can't handle being with someone who could drop dead on the spot."  
  
"I'm not going to drop dead!" Ron yelled.   
  
"How do you know?! Why do you have to be so pig-headed about this?!" Hermione cried. "You think you're so invincible that nothing can kill you?! Well this can! And it probably, and it's my choice if I can't deal with a dead boyfriend!"   
  
Ron seemed to be without words. A mix of anger, and sadness and frustration played across his face, until he finally just stormed out of the Portrait hole.   
  
Hermione burst into tears, and went running up to the girls tower.  
  
Harry put his head against the back of the couch. "Damn."   
  
  
Evelyn had opted not to go to Hogsmeade. She'd had enough of Hogsmeade.   
  
Unfortunately, Draco Malfoy found out.  
  
It was Saturday morning, and he was following her around.  
  
"You like me," Malfoy kept saying. "There's no denying it. You… like… me. Why else would you argue with me so much?"  
  
"Harry argues with you," Evelyn said, still walking. "Ron argues with you. I doubt they're in love with you."  
  
"They're boys!"  
  
Evelyn stopped with a smirk. "And?"  
  
"They don't like other boys."   
  
"How do you know?" Evelyn snickered. "Do you live in Gryffindor? I don't think so."   
  
Draco became flustered for a moment, but regained his grip when Evelyn began to walk again. He followed. "You do like me, though. Stop trying to hide it."  
  
"I wouldn't touch you with a forty-foot pole," she told him.  
  
"What about a fifty-foot pole?"  
  
"I'd beat the shit out of you with it."   
  
  
"I don't want to leave you alone, Ron, but we're supposed to meet Oliver at the train."  
  
Harry and Ron stood outside the Three Broomsticks.   
  
"It's okay, Harry," Ron replied. "I'll be fine."  
  
"You're sure? You're not going to go and have another one of those visions and fall over?"  
  
Ron rolled his eyes. "I'll be fine. Go on. Have fun."  
  
"What about you?"  
  
"I'm fine."  
  
"You miss her already."  
  
"Do not. She doesn't want to be with me because I'm a freak, I understand."  
  
"Ron, it's not that you're a freak," Harry cried. "She's scared."  
  
Ron's complacent expression didn't change. "Whatever."  
  
"Damn it, Ron! Why don't you take this seriously?! This thing could really kill you, and you don't seem to care! Why the hell aren't you scared?"  
  
At Harry's last word, Ron turned and walked away from him, down the street, toward Zonko's.   
  
Harry stood staring sadly at his best friend's back before he was tapped on the shoulder by Katie.   
  
"Come on, Harry. We've got to go get Oliver."   
  
  
"OLLIE!"   
  
Both Fred and George jumped Oliver Wood as he exited the train.  
  
"We've missed you, Ollie!" George cried.  
  
"Give us a kiss," Fred laughed, puckering up.  
  
Katie shoved both of them out of the way and threw her arms around him. "Thank Merlin! I can't do this Oliver! I just can't! I'm not good at being captain!"  
  
Oliver smiled and hugged his friend back. "Don't worry. I'll help."  
  
Katie squeezed tighter, and Oliver choked. He looked around. "Dumbledore around?"  
  
Harry shrugged. "Probably somewhere."   
  
Fred smiled at two people approaching that Oliver didn't recognize. "Professor O'Brien! Miss Chase!"   
  
The two walked up; a tall man with dark hair and eyes and pale skin, a woman with short, brown, blond-streaked hair and tanned skin, looking quite curiously at the scene playing out before them.  
  
"Professor, Miss Chase," George said. "Meet Gryffindor's savior, Oliver Wood."  
  
Oliver smiled at the two and held a hand out. "Nice t'meet ya."   
  
The woman was staring at him with a strange face, almost in horror. He blinked, and slowly took his hand back. "Is somethin wrong?" he asked.  
  
Cordelia couldn't believe it. The hair color, the eyes, the face. It was the most uncanny thing she'd ever seen. Even the accent was dead-on. "Angel?" she asked softly. "Are you seeing…"  
  
Angel nodded. "What did you say you're name was?"   
  
"Oliver Wood, Sir," he replied. He gave them a lopsided smile, that made Angel's mind flash to a night years ago in LA when a certain friend had tried to get him to stop brooding and go out on a Friday night.  
  
Cordelia couldn't take it. Her eyes rolled back and she passed out.  
  
Oliver blinked, obviously flustered. "Was it somethin' I said?"  
  
A dark alley flashed through his reeling head. Two familiar screams.   
  
No.  
  
Ron pushed off from the wall he'd been gripping and broke into a sloppy run for the.   
  
  
They were talking when they'd been grabbed. Talking about Ron, about the visions. About her fears.   
  
It really wasn't their fault this time. They'd been walking by the alley, and two people had just nabbed them.  
  
Ginny and Hermione were cowering in a corner from the two death eaters, who had their wands raised high with malicious smirks on their faces.   
  
"Mudblood," one of them snarled at Hermione.  
  
"EXPELARAMUS!"   
  
Both of the death eater's wands went flying out of their hands, and into the pale, shaking hand of Ron Weasley. They glared at him and began to advance. He took a step backwards, and hit something.  
  
Actually, someone.  
  
Ron whirled quickly, and nearly fell over from the sickened feeling in his head and stomach.   
  
Both Professor Summers and Professor Morgan were standing there, stakes in hand.   
  
The death eaters glared, and ran off, but not before Ginny tripped one of them. He snarled and grabbed for her, but didn't quite reach, because Faith had tackled him to the ground.   
  
Hermione and Ginny got up and ran to where Buffy and Ron stood.   
  
"What were you guys doing?" Buffy said.   
  
"It wasn't our fault," Ginny said. "We got grabbed."  
  
"It's true," Ron said quietly, holding onto Ginny's arm tightly to steady himself. "It wasn't they're fault."  
  
"Ron?" Ginny asked worriedly.   
  
"I saw…" he told them. "I saw what would have happened…" The dizziness became too much, and he began to fall backwards. Buffy caught him before he could.  
  
"Okay," Buffy said. "I think it's time we went back to Hogwarts, Ron. You look like you could use some chocolate."   
  
"No food," Ron muttered. "Gonna toss."  
  
"Oh, boy," Buffy muttered. "Faith. I'm taking Ron back to Hogwarts. Can you get that guy to Fudge or whoever?"  
  
Faith got to her feet, dragging the beat-up death eater with her. "No prob."   
  
Buffy sighed as she slowly walked Ron away from the scene. "You get the visions. You don't fight off what's in the visions. Multi-tasking isn't a good idea."  
  
"Couldn't let them hurt my sister. Couldn't let them get her."  
  
Buffy stopped and stared at Ron's weary, sad face. "Hermione dumped you, didn't she?"  
  
Ron didn't replied. Not a nod or a shake of the head, just a stare in another direction.   
  
She knew then that she and a certain Gryffindor a-student needed to have a chat.   
  
  
"Cordelia, are you alright?"  
  
She sat up and found that she was in the same place she'd been when she fainted. "Yeah… I think so."  
  
Angel helped her to her feet, and she was faced with the entire Gryffindor Quidditch team, plus Oliver.  
  
The boy blinked at her worriedly. "Are you alright?"  
  
Cordelia closed her eyes and sighed. "I'm fine, Doy… Oliver."  
  
"Who's Doy?" Fred asked.  
  
"Her boyfriend," George snickered.  
  
"A boy named Doy?" Fred asked.  
  
"Okay, you two," Angel smirked. "Cut it out."  
  
"You just look a lot like someone I used to know," Cordelia explained. "No big. I'm good."  
  
Oliver smiled and stuck out his hand again. "Care t' try again, Ms. Chase?"   
  
Cordelia shook his hand tiredly. "Nice to meet you."   
  
Angel made a mental note to have a long talk with Albus Dumbledore.  
  
  
Evelyn had stalked all over the grounds, and finally wound up in unfamiliar territory. She wasn't stupid, though. She knew where she was.   
  
"Dammit, Malfoy! You ran me right into the Forbidden Forest, you dumb-ass!"  
  
Draco smirked and shrugged.   
  
"You really are convinced that I have a thing for you," Evelyn said.  
  
"Because you do," Draco said, his hands out. "It's so obvious."  
  
"Have you ever stopped to think that maybe you have a thing for me?" Evelyn asked. "You wouldn't be following me if you didn't. And why haven't you said anything nasty all day, huh? It's very un-Malfoy to not comment on my dementor-like appearance, or my criminal father. I believe you're smitten with me. You, Draco Malfoy, are a Smitten Kitten!"   
  
"I am not smitten!" Draco cried. "Malfoys don't get smitten. And I am not a kitten!"  
  
Evelyn giggled in a girlie manner. "You'd be cute as a kitten. Although, I've heard you make an adorable ferret."   
  
"Potter told you that, didn't he?!"  
  
"Multiple times."   
  
Draco stood there brooding.  
  
"So, you really think there could be a thing here?" Evelyn asked  
  
Draco rolled his eyes. "How many times do you intend to ask the same question?"  
  
"As many times as it takes for me to stop feeling like you've gone out of your mind."  
  
He stepped closer to her, and got right in her face. "I'm not crazy. You have a thing for me."  
  
Evelyn smirked and shook her head. "You just don't give up, do you?"  
  
"Not ever."  
  
They were very close to kissing, when a massive throat cleared behind them. They jumped apart and turned around.  
  
"Hey, Hagrid. What's shakin?" Evelyn asked, her normally pale face going red.   
  
"The Forbidden Forest, it seems," Hagrid replied. "You two aren't supposed to be here."  
  
"What're you gonna do about it?" Draco snapped.  
  
Evelyn stepped on his foot, and put a hand to his mouth. "We're really sorry, Hagrid. I was trying to get rid of this pest, but lost track of where I was going."  
  
Hagrid sighed. "Alright. If it happens again, I'm gonna have at take points off."  
  
"It won't happen again," Evelyn replied. "Don't worry."  
  
Hagrid sighed as Evelyn walked passed him, dragging Draco with her.  
  
  
Hermione returned to Hogwarts early, and steered clear of the hospital wing, where Ron had been ordered to spend the night. She couldn't deal with him. She needed time. She sat in the empty library trying to read a large text book, but the words seemed meaningless.  
  
"Hermione?"  
  
She nearly jumped out of her seat at the male voice. She turned to see her uncle standing there. "Uncle Wesley. What's up?"  
  
"I was just about to ask you the same thing," Wesley replied. "I thought you'd gone to Hogsmeade with Ron this weekend."  
  
Hermione sighed. "Ron and I… we are just friends now."  
  
"Is that right?" Wesley asked. "When did that happen?"  
  
"This morning," Hermione replied. "I told him it wasn't going to work."  
  
"That's funny. It seemed to be working fine before the visions hit him."  
  
Hermione pursed her lips and put an enormous book in front of her face.  
  
"Hermione," Wesley said, taking the book away. "I don't expect you to understand love. I don't understand-"  
  
"Love?!" Hermione replied. "I'm not in love with Ron Weasley."  
  
"Not yet," Wesley said with a smirk. "But you care about him."  
  
"I care about Harry."  
  
"So does Ron. So does Professor Dumbledore. This is different, and you know it."  
  
Hermione sighed. "So what? I have a thing for Ron. But it's not love."  
  
"Yet."  
  
"Stop saying that!" she cried. "I'm not going to fall in love with a someone who's fated to die!"  
  
There was a very uneasy silence between them.  
  
Wesley sighed. "Hermione, I… it's not going to be easy, but… what do you expect to do?"  
  
"Not be with him, and wait for the feelings to subside."  
  
"And if they don't?"  
  
"They will."  
  
"And if they don't?"  
  
They sat in more silence before Hermione began to cry.  
  
Wesley got up, moved to her side and pulled her into a hug. "Everyone dies, Hermione. It doesn't matter when. The idea is to make the best of whatever time you've got."  
  
  
"Told you not to have anymore of those visions."  
  
Ron smirked from his bed in the hospital wing. "These really are going to kill me, aren't they?"  
  
Harry sighed and sat down on his bed. "I'm not gonna let that happen… When're you gonna ask your parents about the half-demon thing?"  
  
Ron shrugged. "Soon, I guess. It shouldn't be too bad, Cordelia looks okay, and she's a half-demon."  
  
"So… Where's Hermione?"   
  
Ron shrugged. "Library is my guess. Why should I care, anyways?"  
  
"I don't know, Ron. Why do you care?"  
  
Ron stared at him. "I don't care."  
  
"Stop being a prat, you do."  
  
"Since when do you yap on like this?" Ron asked, surprised.  
  
"Since my two best friends ridiculously fell for each other, and aren't together anymore," Harry replied. "Listen, Ron. I've known you since we were eleven. It's been five years. I know that for the entirety of those five years, you and Hermione have argued about everything from me, to what you like to put on your mashed potatoes."  
  
"There's nothing wrong with putting gravy, butter, salt and paprika on potatoes."  
  
Harry smiled, even though he'd always been disgusted with Ron's taste in foods. "That's not the point. The point is that you belong together. You really do. I hate to see you two fight just as much as she hates to see us fight."  
  
Ron sighed. "She doesn't wanna be with me. You were there, you know what she said."  
  
"She's scared, Ron, for you," Harry replied. "And, frankly, so am I. You barely eat during meals, which is really scary. You don't sleep anymore, and… you're not scared of this."  
  
Ron shrugged. "I don't know, Harry. You don't seem to be all that afraid of You-know-who."  
  
"Voldemort."  
  
"Don't start."  
  
Harry sighed. "I suppose your right. I guess we let other people be afraid. You're afraid of Voldemort, and I'm afraid of your visions."  
  
"They're for you, y'know, the visions."  
  
Harry nodded. "How the hell can we take care of them while we're in the school."  
  
Ron shrugged. "Most of what I've been seeing lately has been happening near us. That should help. You just need to be around to take care of them. I nearly threw up when I snatched that death-eater's wand."  
  
"Just… don't die," Harry told him.  
  
Ron smirked tiredly. "You neither."  
  
  
Make-Ups and Shake-ups  
  
"Ron?"  
  
It was very late, and Ron was nearly asleep when she'd shown up. She looked tired, like he did, wearing a pair of plain blue shorts and an old t-shirt. Her hair was still wet, obviously from a shower, something Ron was looking forward to in the morning.   
  
He was still lying in the hospital wing, not allowed to leave. He'd stripped himself of his sweater and button-down shirt, now left in his white undershirt and blue slacks. It was a warmer mid-September night to the surprise of staff and students alike.  
  
"Hey," he replied, sitting up.  
  
"I thought you'd be asleep."  
  
He shrugged, scratching the back of his head. "I was gonna, but if you wanna talk-"  
  
"No, you sleep. You need it." She began to walk off, and he saw that she was pale, and her eyes were red.  
  
"Hermione?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Are you alright?"  
  
"Fine."  
  
"No you're not."  
  
"Yes, I am, Ron."  
  
He got to his feet and slowly walked to her. "No, you're not. Have you been crying?"  
  
"Of course not," Hermione said quickly. "Why would I cry?"  
  
Ron shrugged. "I… I don't know… Hermione, why did you come here?"  
  
"I… I actually came to… thank you for saving my life," she replied, turning slightly red.   
  
"Oh," Ron said awkwardly. "Well… y'know, it's the new job," he told. "I'm supposed to."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Hermione?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"This sucks."  
  
She finally looked at him. "What?"  
  
"This sucks," he repeated. "I can't even talk to you."  
  
"Well, it's normal," Hermione replied. "We just broke up."  
  
"I hate this," Ron told her. "I hate this broken-up thing. Listen, I know these visions are making me sick, but if I can convince my parents, there may be a loophole… I just… if that doesn't work out… I don't wanna be without you."  
  
"I'm right here."  
  
He sighed and leaned against the wall. "But so far away. I really care about you… bordering maybe… I don't know. I just… I hate being without you."  
  
Her eyes became wet, and she wiped away tears angrily. "Stop it, Ron."  
  
"No. Hermione, I… I think I might be falling in love with you, and it might just be scarier than these visions."   
  
"Stop it."  
  
"I really need you, Hermione," he went on.   
  
There was a very long pause.  
  
Ron set his head against the wall. "Can't believe I just said that. Okay, that's it. I need sleep. Goodnight, Hermione."  
  
He began to walk back into the room, but Hermione grabbed his arm, and slammed him into her, flinging her arms around him and kissing him.  
  
He was fairly shocked at first, but settled into the kiss easily.  
  
When it ended, she held onto him still, sniffing into his shoulder. "I don't want you to die," he heard her say.  
  
He closed his eyes and hugged her tightly.  
  
"I thought I heard something in the broom closet."  
  
The harsh, and fairly sadistic male voice came from around the corner.  
  
"We are adults, Severus," said another male voice. It was softer though, and slightly agitated.  
  
"Yeah," a female voice added. "If we want to be immature and make out in a broom closet, what's it to you?"  
  
"You're setting a bad example for the students."  
  
Snape, Buffy and Angel came around the corner to find Hermione still holding onto Ron for dear life.  
  
"See?" Snape snarled. "What is going on here?"  
  
The teens let got of each other, both looking slightly embarrassed.   
  
"Give them detention, Professor Summers," Snape ordered. "They're out of bed very, very late at night."   
  
Buffy sniffed loudly. "I can't give them detention!"  
  
"Professor Summer-"  
  
"Snape, look at them. They're soo cute!"   
  
Snape groaned. "Oh, please. They're out of bed late at night. Having a make-out session."  
  
Buffy sniffed again. "I wish I were fifteen again."  
  
Snape rolled his eyes. "Good lord. Fine, I'll give them detention!"  
  
"No! You can't! They're too cute! No detention for the cute."  
  
All Angel could do was snickered softly. The love of his life. Ever the compassionate one. Then he realized that if Buffy gave them   
detention, she'd be the ultimate hypocrite. How many times during their on-again, off-again relationship had she snuck out under everyone's noses to see him? Too many times to count.   
  
Ron and Hermione were staring oddly at their Professors. Hermione wiped her tears away and put her head against Ron's arm.  
  
"Buffy? Angel?" Professor Rosenberg walked up, rubbing her eyes. She was holding a small mug of steaming liquid. "What's going on?"  
  
"Cuteness," Buffy replied. "Ron and Hermione just made up."  
  
Willow smiled sleepily. "Aw… Yay."  
  
Snape sighed. "Surely you see the seriousness of their being out of bed this late."  
  
Willow paid no attention. "You had smoochies, didn't you?"  
  
Ron and Hermione both turned a bit red.   
  
Willow giggled, and then turned to Snape. "Have you no heart? They're up for the righteous cause of smoochies! I agree with Buffy. No detention for the cute!"  
  
"Professor O'Brien, please tell me you're not under the same delusions as these two silly girls?"  
  
Angel sighed and smirked at Ron and Hermione. "Well… I mean… they didn't really do anything wrong, and the Wizard populace has dwindled a bit since You-Know-Who… And, I mean… they are… teenagers, and… y'know, teenagers… they…" he smirked at this, not quite believing he was about to say it. "Like the smoochies."  
  
Buffy smirked leeringly at Angel. Teens weren't the only ones.  
  
Willow gave her a curious look she didn't seem to notice.   
  
Snape threw his hands in the air, and finally walked away.   
  
Buffy, Angel and Willow smiled at Ron and Hermione and walked away.  
  
  
"So, you convinced Fudge?"   
  
Remus Lupin sighed at his daughter. "We're… wearing him down. Slowly. It's harder than we thought it would be. Without Petigrew…"  
  
"Ya got zip," Torianna nodded. "Right. Isn't there anything else?"  
  
Remus sighed. "Not unless James and Lily Potter miraculously rise from their graves," he told her sadly. "It seems as if I'll be here a while longer."   
  
"Cool!" Torianna smiled. "More homework help. You're really good at that, y'know? How come you're not a teacher?"  
  
"I was for awhile," Remus told her. "I… it wasn't safe fore me to teach children."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Torianna, I'm a werewolf, you know that."  
  
"So?"  
  
"So, no one wants their child's teacher to be a werewolf."  
  
"You could teach in America," Torianna told him. "They don't care whatcha are. We had a half-giant as a potions teacher last year. He was pretty cool. Ten zillion times better than Snape."  
  
Remus looked thoughtfully at his food. While he'd visited America before, he'd never though about living their. "Hm."   
  
  
He wouldn't leave her alone.  
  
They were now in Potions, and he was still at it.  
  
"You have a thing."  
  
"Get stuffed, Malfoy."  
  
"You do, though. There was something there."  
  
"Can't you see that I'm trying to make this?"  
  
"Is there something the matter, Ms. Black?" Snape asked rudely. He and his new teaching assistant, Marcus Flint, had turned to look at the agitated fifth-year.  
  
"Yeah, Malfoy's hitting on me. Make him stop."  
  
The class giggled.  
  
"Mr. Malfoy, is there something you'd like to share with the class?" Snape asked.  
  
"She likes me," Draco blurted out.  
  
"Ooh, please!" Evelyn yelled. "You're the one who's been following me for the past day and a half! I can barely go to the bathroom without you on my heels!"  
  
"Because you're in denial! You like me!"  
  
"And you have delusions of grandeur! Get over yourself, you crazy boy!"  
  
"You are so in denial!"  
  
Evelyn fumed. "Fine! Fine! You want the Letterman list? Fine! Top ten reasons why Evelyn Black doesn't, and will never fall for Draco Malfoy: You're a death eater's son, you've got a nasty mouth, you're weak, you're cowardly, you're lazy, you're spoiled, you're a jerk, ya use too much hair gel, you're delusional, and you're a bigot. NOW STOP FOLLOWING ME!" She wasn't finished. "And here's another one, just for luck! You're the lamest excuse for a ferret I've ever seen!"  
  
It was everything the whole of Gryffindor house had been saying behind Malfoy's back for five years.  
  
Evelyn sat down in her seat, brooding.  
  
Malfoy just stormed out.  
  
Snape glared after him, but took off no points.  
  
Torianna stared at her best friend in shock. "Whoa. That was really heartless."  
  
  
Tara looked up from her papers to find Draco Malfoy sitting across from her. She hadn't even heard him walk in. "Draco? Aren't you supposed to be in potions?"   
  
Draco sighed. "I left."  
  
Tara glanced at him. "Why?"  
  
Draco looked down. "Well…"  
  
"Evelyn?"  
  
Draco raised an eyebrow. "How did you know?"  
  
Tara smirked. "You'd be surprised by what I know. What'd she say?"  
  
"I guess what could sum up what she said is 'Ruthless Bastard.'"  
  
"You like her, don't you?"  
  
Draco rolled his eyes. "No."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"No."  
  
"Draco, you really like her. Ever really liked a girl before?"   
  
Draco twiddled his thumbs. "I don't know… there was Pansy, but… well… I don't like her. Maybe… maybe I do like Evelyn."  
  
Tara shrugged. "Try being nice to her."  
  
"But she's a Gryffindor."  
  
"So?"  
  
"So, I'm a Slytherin. Crabbe and Goyle will kill me!" Draco cried. "Besides. She's a Black. My dad and her dad don't exactly have any great love for each other."  
  
"Hmm… very Shakespearian," Tara commented. "You don't have to tell your dad, do you?"  
  
"Not… right away."  
  
"Good. Now you just have to win her over." Tara sighed. "Which shouldn't be too hard. She's probably feeling guilty for calling you a Ruthless Bastard.  
  
"You think so?"  
  
Tara snickered. "The biggest thing to know about women, Draco Malfoy, is that they are infinitely fickle."   
  
  
Angel sighed. "I guess I'll see you in December," he told them.  
  
Cordelia hugged him. "Take care. Don't do anything dumb."  
  
"You neither," Angel replied. He let go of Cordelia and turned to Lorne. "I barely got the chance to see you. What were you doing this whole time?"  
  
Lorne shrugged. "This and that. I mostly stayed in Hogsmeade after Ron's visions died down a bit. Rosmerta let me do a bit of a karaoke session."  
  
Angel smirked. "You coming for the Yule ball?"  
  
"There's a Yule ball?" Lorne asked. "Of course I'm coming! I wouldn't miss a chance to get dressed all spiffy and come to Hogwarts, what are you crazy, Angelcakes?"   
  
Angel sighed. "I guess so. Send Fred and Gunn my best."  
  
"Tell Wesley, Willow, Tara, Giles and Faith we said bye," Cordelia told him. "And tell Buffy to stop looking at you funny."  
  
Angel raised an eyebrow. "She doesn't look at me funny."  
  
"Mm-Hm. Sure."   
  
"Have a good trip," Angel said, changing the subject.  
  
They boarded the train, and Cordelia turned back. "Angel?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Tell Ron I'm around if he needs me, okay?"  
  
Angel nodded. "Definitely."  
  
  
Ron hadn't gone to class that day. Madame Pomfrey was very suspicious about his health, and had ordered him to spend at least another day in the hospital wing.   
  
Hermione walked in during her lunch break, and sat across from him, leaning over to kiss him briefly. "Brought you homework," she told him.  
  
"Which was the exact wrong phrase to use after kissing me," Ron told her. "Homework may put you in the mood for snogging, but it's a bit of a turn-off over here."  
  
She smirked, and dumped a few books into his lap, accidentally letting loose one of her own.  
  
Ron picked it up. "The Iliad," he read. "What's this, then?"  
  
"It's a poem."  
  
Ron flipped through it. "The whole thing?"  
  
"Epic poem," Hermione nodded. "It's really quite good. It's about a war."  
  
Ron brightened up. "Really? You've got my attention."  
  
"I was hoping the kiss would have done that."  
  
"You said Homework," Ron replied. "You lost me at that, remember?" He sighed. "I don't think I could read this on my own. I'd go crazy. Wanna read it to me?"  
  
Hermione smiled. "Oh, Ron."  
  
"Oh, Ron."   
  
Harry flopped himself down on the bed in-between them. They looked bitterly at him, and then gave knowing looks to each other, before tickling Harry.  
  
"AH! NO! NO! STOP! AH!"   
  
  
After classes, everyone yet again showed up in Professor Giles' classroom for the chorus meeting. Even Ron was able to slip by Madame Pomfrey to come to rehearsal.   
  
When Evelyn walked and sat in the alto section with Angelina, she gave a blank glance to Malfoy, who made no attempt to look at her. He sat by himself, away from the rest of the tenors, as usual, buried in a large book.  
  
Did Evelyn feel bad? Yes, to some extent. She'd hurt his feelings. With the way Malfoy carried himself, she hadn't realized he has any feelings. The night in Hogsmeade when she'd come onto him, for the sole purpose of getting rid of him, hadn't really crossed her mind. She didn't think it would really affect him.  
  
Apparently, she'd thought wrong.  
  
But Evelyn knew Draco Malfoy would never admit to having feelings for her. According to the Gryffindors, he never admitted things like that to anyone. Pansy Parkinson had been dropping him blatant hints for the better part of five years without any result.   
  
But she wasn't surprised. The blond looked fairly frigid in terms of emotions. Most Slytherins did.  
  
Malfoy, she noticed, was different. He had a fire burning somewhere in his outwardly harsh exterior. The boy definitely had potential. But while she saw potential, she also saw a lot of hurt. Evelyn knew that getting involved with Malfoy could cause some complicated problems. Not only would it take time to open up to each other, as she was no cuddly puppy, herself, but their families didn't exactly hold each other in high regard. She knew for a fact that her aunt Amanda really hated Narcissa, and that her mother had no real love for the woman, either. And Wesley's stories proved Evelyn's father's distaste for Lucius Malfoy.   
  
But looking at his calm face as he read, she didn't really care. He was intelligent, and had good looks. And she could see herself beating some decency into him.  
  
"Alright! Everyone to your feet!" Giles cried. "Warm-ups!"   
  
At the back of the room sat Hermione and Dean Thomas.   
  
Torianna, from the soprano section, raised an eyebrow at Hermione as she looked up from her book, staring dreamily at Ron, who was staring right back, despite the snickering of his older brothers. She looked to Harry, who was standing next to her on the edge of their sections. He looked quite satisfied with his best friends' distracted looks.  
  
Torianna nudged him. "Ey. What's wrong with them?" she asked, nodding towards them.  
  
Harry smiled. "They're really good together, aren't they?"  
  
Torianna smiled. "Yeah. Real cute in a Han and Leia kinda way."  
  
"Who?" Harry asked.  
  
"Han and Leia?" Torianna replied. "Star Wars? The Scoundrel and the Princess? Your Holy Worship and the Scruffy-lookin Nerfherder?"   
  
Harry blinked, obviously confused.  
  
"Oy," Torianna muttered. "Do you live under a rock during the summer?"  
  
"Actually, a cupboard," Harry corrected her. "Well, a few years ago, anyways."  
  
Torianna smacked herself in the head.   
  
For the second week in a row, Charlie Weasley showed up to rehearsal, and this time, he was followed in by Oliver Wood, who took a place amongst the tenors.  
  
Malfoy groaned. "Not another one."  
  
"You sing?" Harry asked him.  
  
Wood shrugged. "I time most of my Quidditch plays to certain songs."   
  
Harry sighed. "Oliver, you do know what a one-track mind is, right?"  
  
A moment later, a dark-haired boy around Oliver's age walked in. Wood stepped off the risers and up to the boy.   
  
"Marcus Flint," Wood snarled.  
  
"Oliver Wood." Flint growled back.  
  
"What're you doing back here?"  
  
"I was gonna ask you the same thing. Thought you were going to one of those lousy Muggle Universities."  
  
"Lousy?" The only thing lousy I see in this room is you, Flint."  
  
"Hey," Charlie snapped. "Stop that. We're here to sing, not kick each other's butts. Now get on the risers."  
  
Wood went back to the tenors, while Flint stepped up to the basses, where all of them but Charlie moved away from him.  
  
So much for social harmony.   
  
They finally started warm-ups, and things were going fine, until Professor Morgan stormed in. Giles sighed.  
  
"What is it, Faith?"  
  
Charlie stared at her. Long, fairly wild brown hair and big brown eyes. Her teaching robes were nowhere to be seem, and she wore a pair of very short denim shorts with a dress shirt that was tied into a knot, revealing her flat stomach. A red and gold Gryffindor tie was hanging loosely around her. She glared into the bass section, and Charlie's eyes widened.   
  
Not only was she attractive, she looked ridiculously intense.   
  
"Oh, shit," Ron muttered. "Busted."  
  
"You."  
  
Ron sighed. "Hi, Professor Morgan."  
  
"Ronnie, Pomfrey is ready to kick your ass. Get the hell back to the hospital wing."  
  
"But… chorus," Ron argued.  
  
Faith rolled her eyes. She marched herself into the bass section and grabbed Ron by the ear and proceeded to drag his ass off the risers and out the classroom door.   
  
"OW!" they heard Ron cry. "That's my bloody ear!"  
  
Giles sighed. "Right, then."  
  
"That's Professor Morgan," Fred explained to Charlie. "She's a vampire slayer. Hot, too."  
  
"Very," George agreed.  
  
Charlie nodded. "Yeah." He noticed Hermione get up from the back of the room and walk out. He smirked. "Has Ickle Ronniekins gotta girlfriend?" he asked his brother.  
  
"Yeah," Fred nodded.   
  
Charlie smirked. "Wait till Mom hears about it this."  
  
As Faith left, dragging Ron with her, Hermione got up a followed.  
  
Charlie raised an eyebrow at the twins. "Ickle Ronniekins has a girlfriend?"  
  
The boys snickered and nodded.  
  
  
"So, this Oliver Wood kid," Angel said, standing the doorway of the headmaster's office.   
  
Dumbledore looked up. "Yes. What about him?"  
  
"He looks a lot like someone I used to know," Angel replied, coming in.  
  
"You knew Allan Doyle, didn't you?" Dumbledore asked solemnly.   
  
"You knew him, too?" Angel asked, confused.  
  
"He married one of my former students," Dumbledore replied. "A very bright Ravenclaw girl. A good friend of Sirius Black's elder sister if I remember correctly. Arabella Figg."  
  
"So?" Angel asked. He was quite disheartened to find out Doyle had married twice. So much for being completely honest with each other. So much for no more secrets.   
  
"They had a son," Dumbledore replied. "They named him Oliver, and they were quite happy, the three of them. And then the war started. Oliver was around three or four years old. Allan and Arabella were members of the Order of the Phoenix."  
  
"What's that?"  
"The main organization against Voldemort."  
  
Angel nodded. "So she was killed?"  
  
"Arabella?" Dumbledore asked. "No. She lived. And Allan and the child lived. But they didn't know it. Allan was made to believe his wife and son had been killed by Death Eater, and Arabella was made to believe that her husband had betrayed us and killed their son. Most of us believed what Arabella had. Allan left England, and Arabella stayed until the end of the war and then left."  
  
"And the boy?" Angel asked.  
  
"The night I left Harry with his aunt and uncle, I went through Hogsmeade, just for a walk before going back to Hogwarts, and there he was, in front of the Quidditch supply shop, ironically enough. I took him to the Woods, a couple who'd gone into hiding and survived the war, and they raised him very, very well."  
  
Angel sighed and got up. "He was my first seer, and a great friend."  
  
"Tell me, Angel," Dumbledore said. "Did he die senselessly?"   
  
Angel shook his head. "No. He died a hero. Thank you Professor."   
  
  
"No. No, no, no, no, no. Anything but this."  
  
"Ron, calm down, she's your professor," Professor Morgan said.  
  
Ron got up from the bed he was sitting on. "I'm going down to chorus. This is ridiculous."  
  
"I have the sight as you do, Ronald," said Professor Trelawney. "I can help you."  
  
Hermione snorted from next to Faith.  
  
"Just because you do not have the sight, my dear-"  
  
"Not many people do, Professor," Hermione cut her off. "Ron has a serious problem, and I personally don't think you're qualified for anything that doesn't have to do with tea leaves and crystal ball, which, I believe are both quite ridiculous."  
  
Faith sighed. She had to admit that Professor Trelawney looked fairly fake. She wondered why Granger didn't like her, though.  
  
"It's alright, Professor," Ron told Trelawney. "I don't need your help. I do, however, need a good bout of warm-ups. So I'm going back down to sing. I'm obligated, y'know. The basses need me. Besides, I have Cordelia to help me."  
  
Morgan sighed. "She left this morning, Ron. She was needed back in the states."  
  
Ron's expression fell.  
  
"She's around if you need her," said Professor O'Brien's voice from the door. "She told me to tell you that."  
  
Ron nodded. "I'm going back to chorus." He left, Hermione following him.  
  
Trelawney looked deeply offended as the teens passed Professor O'Brien out the door. "Well, I never."  
  
Faith rolled her eyes. "Put a sock in it, Miss Cleo."  
  
  
Chorus had ended, and students and teachers alike were relaxing or doing homework before dinner.  
  
Evelyn Black sat on the floor outside the Slytherin portrait hole, reading a book. Waiting.  
  
It was nearly six when the person he was waiting for finally emerged from the hole. She looked up at him, and he looked down at her, bewildered.  
  
She got to her feet and dusted off her black slacks.   
  
"Black, what-"  
  
"Shut up for a minute, Malfoy," Evelyn snapped. "Lemme say something."  
  
He did, and crossed his arms.   
  
She sighed. "I just… I wanted to say that I'm sorry about Potions today. It was really crappy of me to call you those things. I'm just not used to being stalked."  
  
"I wasn't stalking you," Malfoy defended himself.  
  
"Then what do you call it?"  
  
He stayed silent.  
  
"Yeah. Well, I'm sorry I called you spoiled and a jerk and nasty, and weak, and cowardly, and-"  
  
He cut her off with his mouth.   
  
"AH! I'M BLIND!"   
  
Shocked out of their embrace, they both looked over to see Ron Weasley and Harry Potter, Ron with his hand over his eyes.  
  
"You're blind because your hand is covering your eyes, Ron," Evelyn explained.  
  
"I never wanted to see that," Harry said. "What the hell are you doing, kissing Malfoy? He's a ferret, you know. You might get rabies."  
  
"Oh, and you've gotten all your shots from living with those Muggles," Draco shot back.  
  
Evelyn rolled her eyes and put her arms around Draco. "You know what this means, don' you boys?"  
  
"What?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"You have to be nice to each other around me."  
  
There was silence.   
  
"You wish," Ron finally said. "I'm not being nice to that nasty, ferret-y git. All the things Evelyn said about you during Potions are true. You're a horrible, miserable person! And you don't care about anyone or anything but yourself! You don't even have any real friends. Crabbe and Goyle are your lackeys!"  
  
"Ron-" Evelyn began to argue.   
  
"Like I want to give you any respect," Malfoy replied cutting Evelyn off. "Not only are you poor, but you're not good at anything. At least your siblings can do things. And you're going to die, running up medical bills your parents can't pay. At least when you kick the bucket there'll be more food on the table for the rest of your family. You're just a waste of space."  
  
Evelyn let go of Draco and backed away. "Jesus, I can't believe you just said that." She was expecting Ron to stalk forward and reacquaint Malfoy with his fist, but Ron stepped back, turned around and walked off.  
  
"Ron, wait!" Harry cried, running after him.  
  
Evelyn shook her head at Malfoy and walked off, leaving him to stand there, completely bewildered at what had just taken place.  
  
  
"Ron, you know that's not true."  
  
"Then how come I'm not good at anything? How come if I don't become a half-demon, I'm gonna die?" Ron asked uncomfortably.  
  
Harry had given up following him, and went to get someone who could actually help the situation. He'd run to Hagrid's hut, and found Charlie helping to get some fuzzy little creatures Harry had never seen before under control. He'd explained to Charlie what Malfoy had said, and led him to the Quidditch Pitch. Harry had made his exit for dinner, leaving the brothers alone.  
  
"You're good at lots of things, Ron," Charlie replied, sitting across from him. "You're a great Quidditch player-"  
  
"Who hasn't made the team, and even if I did, I'd probably get a vision and fall off my broom."   
  
Charlie sighed. "You're a great chess player-"  
  
"Bill's better."   
  
"So? Dad's better than Bill. Percy's better than Dad," Charlie argued.  
  
That didn't help. "Malfoy's right. I am a waste of space."  
  
"No one thinks that but Malfoy," Charlie told him. "Come on, Ron. So you're not as smart as Percy or Bill. So you're not as cute as Ginny. So you don't cause trouble like the twins, or are good with dragons. There are other things."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Well, for one thing, you've got a mouth to beat all mouths." Charlie started. "You're a brave kid, and you don't back down from what you believe in, no matter what. Your resolve is as solid as Malfoy's head, and that's impressive. Secondly, you're a much better singer than any of us boys will ever be."  
  
"What about Ginny?"  
  
"Ginny's a girl," Charlie replied. "She's in a class of her own. She doesn't really have to compete with us all that much. I'm talking about the fact that Percy and Bill can't sing, and the twins and I are not half as good as you are. Professor Giles says you've got perfect pitch, and it's natural."  
  
"Won't get me a job," Ron replied.   
  
"Ron," Charlie sighed. "You're fifteen. You don't have to worry about getting a job yet." He paused. "Y'know, Ron… I heard Professor Summers say you're not bad in a scrap, and I believe it. We've toughened you up good. You could be an Auror, or a ministry guard or-"  
  
"I don't want to be a goon," Ron told him.  
  
"Aurors are not goons," Charlie told him. "Okay, ministry guards are, but you've got to be smart to be an Auror, and you're smart as hell, you're just lazy, like I used to be. You've got to stop comparing yourself to your brothers, otherwise it'll bog you down forever. Stop worrying about what we're good at, and start paying more attention to what you're good at." He sighed and got to his feet, then helped Ron up. "Now listen to this part, because it's really important: I don't care what Malfoy says. You don't deserve to die. You're our brother, you know. Through all the teasing, and wrestling we like you, and we want you around, even if Percy can be a lousy git sometimes. So next weekend, you and I are gonna go home and talk to Mum and Dad about the half-demon thing. I promise. Now, come on, we're way late for dinner."  
  
They walked through the halls, talking about Quidditch and Charlie began telling him some interesting stories about Romania, when they passed Professor Morgan.  
  
"Hello, Professor," Charlie nodded to her.  
  
"Hi… Charlie Weasley, right?" Faith asked, stopping. "Ron's big brother?"  
  
Charlie nodded. "Yeah. You're Faith Morgan, right?"  
  
"Faith's fine," she replied with a smirk. "Ronnie, you never told me your big brother was cute. I'll see you guys in the great hall." With that, she walked off.  
  
Charlie turned as red as his hair, and Ron stood, staring wide-eyed at where Professor Morgan had been.  
  
"Did she just hit on me?" Charlie asked.  
  
Ron needed. "I think so."  
  
Charlie shook his head out. "Wow… speaking of women, Fred and George tell me you and Miss Granger are having a thing." He smiled as his youngest brother turned very red.  
  
Charlie laughed and they walked to the great hall. "Ickle Ronniekins' got a girlfriend."   
  
  
It was his turn to sit and wait.  
  
Draco Malfoy sat outside the Gryffindor Portrait hole, just waiting and thinking.   
  
He got up when someone stepped out of the portrait.  
  
"Oh, it's you," he sneered.  
  
Torianna Lupin raised an eyebrow. "What're you doin?"   
  
"Nothing."  
  
"Nothing right outside the Gryffindor hole?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Malfoy, you really like Evelyn, don't you?"   
  
"No."  
  
She slapped the Slytherin across the cheek. "Don't lie."  
  
He glared at her.  
  
"What, I don't get a retaliation?"   
  
"You're a girl."  
  
"And…?"  
  
Malfoy rolled his eyes. "So what if I do like her? As long as she hangs out with Potty and the Weasel-"  
  
SMACK!  
  
"Harry and Ron," she corrected.  
  
"As long as she hangs out with them, I don't have a shot."  
  
"They don't influence her decisions," Torianna told him. "She makes decisions offa what she sees. So if you tell Ron he deserves to die or whatever you said, you don't have a shot."  
  
"You want me to be nice to them?"  
  
"Want you to leave them alone," Torianna replied. "You don't have to say anything."  
  
"As long as Weasley's a pure blood and Hermione Granger's a mudbl-"  
  
SMACK  
  
She didn't have to say anything this time.  
  
"I don't get it, that's all," Draco muttered, rubbing his cheek gingerly.   
  
"Would you still like Evelyn if she wasn't pure-blood?"  
  
Draco thought about this. "I don't know."  
  
"You really wanna impress her?"  
  
Draco raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Apologize to Ron."  
  
Draco blinked, and laughed.  
  
And then he was smacked again. 


	8. Tales From the Broom Closet

Thank you to everyone who reviewed! It's so awesome that you guys keep reading!   
  
Tales From the Broom Closet  
  
The next night, in the Gryffindor Common room…  
  
"She had sex with… a swan?"  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes. "It was Zeus, disguised as a swan!"  
  
"But she still shagged a swan," Harry commented.  
  
Hermione and Ron were cuddled on the couch together in front of the fire, Hermione holding The Iliad. Harry sat on the floor next to Evelyn as they listened to, and argued with Hermione.   
  
"Anyways, Lida managed to give birth to the most beautiful woman the world has ever known," Hermione went on. "Helen of Sparta."   
  
"Then how come they call her Helen of Argos?" Evelyn asked.  
  
"I'm coming to that," Hermione replied.   
  
Torianna walked in, and sat down next to Evelyn. "What're we talkin about?"  
  
"Sex with swans," Harry replied.  
  
Torianna blinked, and glanced at Hermione.  
  
"Why can't you drop it?!" Hermione cried. "It was Zeus, disguised as a swan. And it's a myth!"  
  
"But she shagged a swan," Ron replied innocently.  
  
She started swatting him.  
  
At that moment, Remus came shooting through the Portrait hole. He spotted them. He was smiling wildly.   
  
Torianna hopped to her feet. "You got it?!"  
  
"We got it!"  
  
Torianna hugged him.  
  
Harry blinked. "Got what?"  
  
"Sirius a trial," Remus told them all. "Two days to prove his innocence."  
  
Harry got to his feet, almost not believing his ears. "Really?"  
  
"Really," Remus replied. "It's next week. I've got to travel to Azkaban to tell him. I'm leaving Saturday morning."  
  
Evelyn got to her feet behind Harry. "Azkaban, huh?"  
  
Remus nodded. "Not the happiest place on earth, but at least I'll go bearing good news."  
  
Torianna and Evelyn glanced at each other, and then looked back at Remus. "Can we come?"  
  
Harry, Ron, Hermione and Remus stared at them in shock.   
  
  
  
"I cannot allow you to take them."  
  
"Torianna and Evelyn are my charges," Remus replied.  
  
"And what about Harry?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
Remus sighed. "Weather Harry comes is your choice, seeing as the Dursleys would let him go just to see if it would finally kill him."  
  
"It might, Remus."  
  
"Talk to Harry," Remus said, getting to his feet. "Work it out. We leave Saturday night."  
  
"Remus, why are you doing this?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
Remus sighed. "Because it's important. It's important for Evelyn to see her father, and it's important for them to see what can come of taking the wrong path."   
  
  
Oliver Wood smiled at the two newest additions to the Gryffindor Quidditch team on October first. "Welcome aboard. Hope you survive the experience."  
  
Torianna Lupin rolled her eyes.   
  
Ron Weasley leaned toward Torianna. "I didn't know Americans had Quidditch?"  
  
Torianna sighed. "We don't. We have snitch ball," she replied. "Same idea, with a few differences."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"What about you?" Torianna asked. "What about the visions?"   
  
Ron shrugged. "Gonna go talk to my parents this weekend," he told her. "If things go well, the visions shouldn't be that much of a problem anymore."  
  
Torianna smiled. "Good f' you."  
  
"When's the next practice?" Ron asked Wood.  
  
Oliver looked down at his watch. "Now."  
  
  
  
After class the next day, Professor Dumbledore sat in his office, across from Harry Potter in silence for several minutes before finally deciding to speak up.  
  
"Remus is taking Evelyn and Torianna to see Sirius."  
  
Harry paled. "He said yes?"  
  
Dumbledore nodded. "The girls want to go. Sirius has very little hope if we do not find Petigrew. This is a start, but a small one. Remus wants to try and give him a little hope. It's something Emily would have done, but I don't think she would have let the girls go with her."  
  
Harry shrugged. "Evelyn saw Sirius for the first time, and that lasted about three seconds," Harry said. "They need to talk a little."  
  
"And what of you?"  
  
"Me?"  
  
"Yes, Harry. Remus wanted me to ask if you'd like to accompany them."  
  
Harry sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I'd like to go and see Sirius, but the Dementors…"  
  
"So you won't be going?"  
  
Harry paused for a moment, before nodding his head. "I have to go. I can't be afraid anymore. I have to face them, and, like I said, I want to see Sirius. After all, I am the progeny of a Marauder." He smirked at this.  
  
Dumbledore sighed. "I expected as much."  
  
"Do you want me to stay?"  
  
"Quite frankly, yes," Dumbledore replied. "But this is your decision. I cannot make it for you." He sighed. "Meet Remus in the library Saturday morning. I know you have a Quidditch game the night before, but get lots of rest."  
  
Harry's eyes widened, and he hopped to his feet. "Oh, hell! Quidditch! Practice! Now! Oliver's gonna kill me!"  
  
With that, Harry bolted out of Dumbledore's office.  
  
Against his better judgment, Dumbledore snickered.   
  
  
"YOU'RE WHAT?!"  
  
"Ron, don't yell," Harry told him. "And don't pop a vein, either."  
  
They were standing on the Quidditch pitch after practice, and Ron looked as if he might spontaneously combust.  
  
"After all you went through in third year with those damned Dementors, and you're going to Azkaban?"  
  
He'd put the emphasis on "going" and "Azkaban."  
  
"I know it seems strange," Harry began.  
  
"No, not strange," Ron told him. "Stupid."  
  
Harry rolled his eyes. "Ron, this is something I have to do. I have to go, okay? My parents woulda gone."   
  
Ron sighed. "And you're worried about me getting killed?"  
  
Harry sighed and turned to Ron, putting his hands on his shoulders. "Ron. I'll be fine. You, on the other hand, better not have one of your bloody visions while I'm gone."  
  
"I'm going to talk to parents about the half-demon thing this weekend. I'm leaving with Charlie Saturday evening."   
  
Harry smiled. "They'll say yes."  
  
"I hope say," Ron replied, gravely. "I they don't, I'm as good as kicked off the Quidditch team."  
  
Harry glared. "You freakish prat."  
  
Ron smiled triumphantly. "Thank you!"  
  
  
"You have to be kidding."  
  
Harry sighed. "Nope. Going to Azkaban, Hermione."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"To see Sirius."   
  
"You can see him at the trial!" Hermione cried. She paced back and forth in the Library, where Harry had found her after talking to Ron.   
  
"Not soon enough," Harry replied. "And he doesn't know there is a trial yet."  
  
"Those Dementors could kill you!"   
  
Madame Pince gave them a withering glare. "Shh."  
  
"You can't go to Azkaban," Hermione hissed. "You'll be mentally eaten alive."  
  
Harry shrugged. "Least I'll be in good company."  
  
"Please, don't go," Hermione said. "Please? This is madness."  
  
"I have to go, Hermione," Harry replied. "There are a list of things I just don't want to live in fear of anymore. Dementors are very near the top of that list. Along with the Dursleys."  
  
"Just… just don't die, will you?" Hermione asked. She smirked wryly at him. "Things might get boring without you."  
  
Harry snickered. "Make sure Ron doesn't die, either," he said. "We won't have anyone to argue with otherwise."  
  
"He argues because he cares," Hermione smiled. "And what kind of girlfriend do you think I am? Of course I'll make sure he doesn't die."  
  
Harry smiled. "Yeah. I should let you get back to studying."  
  
Hermione smiled. "Thanks. Maybe I'll be able to get something done before Ron shows up."  
  
Harry snickered. "The ultimate distraction."  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Right… y'know… Cho… I see her giving you some interesting looks during chorus."  
  
He turned slightly red. "That's… nice… speaking of chorus-"  
  
"No. I'm not singing," Hermione cut him off. "I don't have the time."  
  
"You can't sing, can you?"  
  
Hermione sighed. "I'm not like you and Ron. I don't have that kind of talent."  
  
"I'm sure if you asked Professor Maclay to-"  
  
Hermione sighed. "Bye, Harry."  
  
He rolled his eyes and left the library.  
  
  
It had been an hour since Angel had sent the owl to Cordelia. For that entire hour, he'd been looking out the window of the owlery.   
  
"Angel?"  
  
He turned around and smiled. "Buffy."  
  
"What are you doing up here?"  
  
"Nothing. I just sent an owl to Cordelia about Oliver." He turned back to the window.  
  
Buffy sighed and walked to stand next to him. "Doyle never mentioned anything, did he?"  
  
Angel shook his head. "Not one word. I only knew he was married once. He didn't lie, really. He just kept it away from us."  
  
"Did it really matter?" Buffy asked. "I mean, in the big scheme of your relationship, was it that important that yu know about what he thought to be a dead wife and son? That'd be like… him bringing up your parents and sister. It had to be really painful."  
  
"But he knew what happened to my parents and sister," Angel replied. "He, Cordelia and I made a promise to keep no more secrets. I kinda figured he'd come clean about everything, but… I guess not."  
  
"Angel…"  
  
"I just feel like he didn't trust us… it hurts. I told him everything, even when it did hurt."  
  
Buffy put an arm around him. "It's just something you and Cordelia will have to live with… have you talked to Oliver yet?"  
  
"What do I say?" Angel asked. "Hi, I'm a friend of your dead biological father who was accused of being a death eater? I can't answer any questions, I can't reassure the kid that his father loved him, he never mentioned him. I just… I don't think I can."  
  
Buffy sighed, and then a look of confusion fell upon her face. "Angel?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Did you see Faith after classes today?"  
  
Angel blinked. "I don't think so. That's odd. She's usually around."  
  
"Majorly weird," Buffy muttered. "Maybe we should look for her?"  
  
Angel sighed. "Well, if you were Faith, where would you be?"  
  
"New Faith of Old Faith?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Take in a little of both," Angel replied.  
  
"Then she's either taking a jog around the grounds, or she's making out with a random guy in the broom closet."   
  
"There really isn't anyone to make out with here, is there?" Angel asked.  
  
Buffy thought for a moment. "Well… Dumbledore'd be gross. Flitwick… no… Snape… ugh… Hagrid… not Faith's type… She doesn't go for cradle-robbing, so we can pretty much rule out the students… I hope."  
  
"What about Charlie Weasley?" Angel asked.  
  
She blinked. "To the broom closet."   
  
  
"So, you're gonna teach me how to fly?"  
  
Oliver nodded. "Definitely. Just gotta get you a broom."  
  
Willow Rosenberg smiled. It didn't matter that Oliver was younger than she was. He was a cutie. The little head in her voice had mentioned something about liking girls the   
minute he'd smiled at her. She was quite conflicted about her feelings, but she could at least make a new friend, right?  
  
He led her through the halls of Hogwarts just before dinner that night to a small-looking closet. He took out the key that Madam Hooch had suspiciously lent him and unlocked the door. He opened it, turned pale, and then shut it again.  
  
Willow raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothin," Oliver replied. "Not a thing."  
  
Willow walked up and opened the door to find Faith Morgan and Charlie Weasley standing there. Charlie's red hair was mused, and Faith's was nearly as bad.   
  
"What's up, red?"   
  
"Me?" Willow asked. "W-what about him? He's the one with the red hair and face."  
  
Faith smirked. "Hate to break it to you, honey, but your face is so damned red-"  
  
"I knew it!"  
  
Buffy was now standing next to Willow. "I knew you were having your way with some random guy."  
  
"He's not some random guy," Faith replied. "He's Charlie. Charlie, you've met Professors Summers and Rosenberg, right?"  
  
He sighed. "Hello, again."  
  
"And I wasn't 'having my way.' Jeez, we were just kissing," Faith told them. "And the word around the teacher's lounge is that you were in here with Soul Boy last night, B, so cut the hypocrisy."   
  
"We were in here after-hours."  
  
"And got caught, anyways," Willow pointed out. "No… wait… You were making out with Angel?! Since when are you and Angel back together? How come I wasn't informed of Buffy-Angelness?!"   
  
"Wills, I… I…"  
  
Angel sighed. "Maybe you should let them out of the closet." He glanced at Oliver, who was no longer pale, but turning red from embarrassment "You okay?"  
  
Oliver nodded. "Oh, yeah. Fine. Real good. Just never caught teachers in the broom closet before."  
  
"And what were you doing in the broom closet anyways, Willow?" Buffy shot.  
  
"Helloo, getting a broom."  
  
And then someone cleared their throat.  
  
The whole group stopped talking and turned to see Giles standing there looking quite annoyed.   
  
"Heya, Giles," Willow said nervously. "What's up?"  
  
He raised an eyebrow. "Faith, bring that poor, clueless boy out of the broom closet please."  
  
"Hey, now…" Charlie started, getting somewhat offended.  
  
"Faith? Buffy? Willow? A word in my office, please?"   
  
"Nice going, B," Faith muttered.   
  
"Grow up, Faith."  
  
They followed Giles away from the broom closet.   
  
Tara walked up to the boys with a curious look plastered on her face as she watched the girls being led away by Giles. "Hey, guys. What's going on?"  
  
"Buffy, Faith and Willow got into trouble," Oliver replied.  
  
"Why am I clueless?" Charlie asked.  
  
Angel sighed. "Because you're getting attached to Faith."  
  
"How does that make me clueless?"  
  
"You'll see."  
  
  
"So, why are we in trouble again?" Buffy asked.  
  
"You cannot have make-out sessions in broom closets," Giles told them. "You're setting a bad example for the children. You're no longer students, you have to be role models for these children"  
  
"Hey, I haven't ever made out in a broom closet." Willow said. "Can I go, and be away from Miss 'I'm back with my ex and didn't wanna tell my best friend?'"  
  
"I knew you would take it like this!" Buffy cried, getting up.   
  
"I'm only taking it like this because you never told me!" Willow said, getting to her feet. "If you'd have told me right off the bat, instead of leaving me in the dark, I'd probably be happy for you! But, no, y-you had to be all secret-keeping. I thought you were done with Angel secrets! You promised no more Angel secrets! You lied! A lot!"  
  
"Oh, good lord," Giles muttered. "I feel like I'm in an episode of Passions."  
  
Faith sighed. "Hey, have I gotten my slap on the wrist?" she asked. "Can I go, now?"  
  
Giles groaned. "Buffy, Willow, sit down, and stop fighting. Now."  
  
They sat down, and turned away from each other.   
  
Giles sighed. "Buffy, I don't appreciate being left in the dark either. You've done it once, and it wasn't good for anyone."  
  
"You guys woulda gone ballistic," Buffy replied. "I know you guys have your reservations about Angel-"  
  
"Which we woulda gotten over!" Willow cried.  
  
"I'm sorry, okay?!" Buffy cried. "I'm sorry!"  
  
"Can I go now?" Faith asked.  
  
"No!" they cried in unison.   
  
  
Giles kept the girls in his office until they finally worked out their differences. Faith sat in her chair, bored an annoyed, and complaining that she'd been in the middle of a very nice make-out session when Oliver had opened the door, but she was made to stay anyways.  
  
Charlie met up with her when she'd finally been set free from the office.  
  
Charlie put an arm around her. "Let's go get some dinner."  
  
"Sure. Got any cheeseburgers?"  
  
He raised an eyebrow at her.  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Wizards. Let's just go."  
  
  
Willow sighed. "Okay, okay… I'm sorry I yelled… I shouldn't have… it's your life."  
  
Buffy sighed. "You're right. I should have told you. I'm sorry."  
  
They hugged, and Giles groaned.  
  
"Finally."  
  
  
Meanwhile, Angel had marched himself back up to the owlery.  
  
  
Dear, Cordelia,  
I should have told you when you were here, or at least in my owl. Buffy and I are back together. I know you don't like her, which is a bitof an understatement, but I love her. I love you, too, which is why I'm telling. Better late than never, I suppose. Hope to hear from you soon.  
  
Love,  
  
Angel  
  
  
He attached the letter to a large, strong-looking owl, and let it fly. 


	9. A Little Mud and Muck Never Hurt Anyone

A Little Mud and Muck Never Hurt Anybody  
  
"What do you mean you're not going to try and talk him out of it?"  
  
Ron shrugged. "Mione, Harry obviously wants to do this," he told his girlfriend from the common room couch. "If it's something he feels he has to do, why should I argue with him?"  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes as she paced. "Ron, do you really want him to visit Azkaban?"  
  
"No," Ron replied. "But it isn't my choice, now, is it? It's his, and if he wants to visit death central that's his business. If you're so worried about this, why don't you try and talk him out of it?"  
  
"He never listens to me," Hermione replied. "You're his best friend."  
  
"So're you."  
  
"Yes, but you're a boy."  
  
"And when did this revelation hit you, love?"  
  
Hermione glared at him. "Why won't you just talk him out of it?!"  
  
"Because it's his choice!"  
  
"You're sending your best friend to his doom!"  
  
"I am not!" Ron yelled getting up. "I don't want him to go, but I won't stop him. These are his skeletons to face, not mine!"  
  
They glared at each other for what seemed like eternity, until Hermione pushed passed him up to the girls' dorm.  
  
He rolled his eyes, and pushed open the portrait hole to step out.  
  
  
"So… What are you saying?"  
  
"I knew your father."  
  
Oliver Wood looked confused before realization dawned on him. "Oh. That father. The death eater one."  
  
"Oliver… he wasn't a death eater," Willow told him from next to Angel. They were in Willow and Tara's combined office, just talking.  
  
"How do you know?" Oliver asked suspiciously.  
  
"First of all," Angel said. "I woulda seen the Dark Mark on his arm at some point, and there wasn't one. Two, I knew Doyle. He was a good man."  
  
Oliver looked perplexed. "His name was Doyle?"  
  
"Last name."  
  
"Oh."  
  
There were a few moments of silence before Angel cleared his throat. "Listen, he… he never mentioned you or your mother, but I think you woulda gotten along really well."  
  
"Yeah, well," Oliver muttered uncomfortably. "That's great."  
  
  
Faith walked into the Magical Lore classroom after classes the next day to see an interesting scene before her.   
  
No one was singing.  
  
No one.  
  
Ron and Harry were sitting together, completely silent. Hermione was across the room, not looking at either of them. Harry was staring dreamily at Cho… again. Cho, occasionally, gave him a leering smile. Ginny was staring at Harry. Pansy was staring at Draco, who was staring at Evelyn, who was too busy talking to Torianna to notice. George, Fred and Lee were sitting together, probably up to no good, and Neville was roaming around the room, calling the name of his toad, who was obviously lost again. Seamus was doing his best to help, but to no avail. Katie, Oliver and Angelina were working out Quidditch moves for the game on Friday night, and Millicent was sitting alone, doing homework.   
  
At the front of the group sat Willow, Charlie and Tara.   
  
Charlie smiled and waved her over. She smirked and joined them.  
  
"What's the what?" Faith asked Charlie.  
  
"They won't sing together," he replied. "Professor Giles got fed up and left."  
  
"Why won't they sing together?"   
  
Tara shook her head. "Ron quote 'doesn't feel like it' because he and Hermione fought… again. Harry doesn't really care, except Cho keeps distracting him. Fred, George and Lee are quote 'busy.' As long as Draco is here, Evelyn won't sing. As long as Pansy's here, Draco won't sing. As long as Evelyn's here, Pansy won't sing. Neville lost Trevor… again. Ginny is just as distracted as Harry and Cho. Katie and Angelina and Wood are talking Quidditch. The only people who have no problems are Millicent and Seamus, but we can't work with just an alto and a bass. This is a mess. And a bad idea. This is ridiculous."  
  
"It was a good idea, Tara," Charlie reassured her. "It's just going to take some work."  
  
Faith blinked. "Man, this sucks."  
  
At that moment, Giles walked in and stared at the group. "Listen up."  
  
The group stared at him.  
  
"Did you, or did you not decide to join this group? No one said it would be easy. No one said that it you would be with all of your friends, and blending would come automatically. Now, if you don't get your little arses on those risers, I'm going to take ten point from each of you for being lazy and apathetic to an activity you signed up for."   
  
A moment's silence later, the group had slowly made their way to the risers, and Tara got up to stand next to Giles.   
  
Faith smirked. "Damn."  
  
Charlie smirked. "Yeah, I know. He's good isn't he?"  
  
"Always has been," Willow replied. "He's easily the sternest man alive."  
  
"You mean besides Snape?"  
  
"No, that's the meanest man alive," Faith replied.  
  
Charlie snorted. "Or the greasiest."  
  
They snickered.   
  
For the first time, Charlie gave Willow a good look-over. "Have we meant? Are you a relative?"  
  
Willow laughed. "I wish."  
  
"Betcha we could sneak you in," Charlie joked. "No one would know the difference. We could name you the 'distant American cousin.' My mum'd be delighted."  
  
"Jewish cousin," Willow corrected. "And it wouldn't be very believable."  
  
"I don't, know, Red," Faith replied. "I think you could pull it off. I, on the other hand, would have to go in as 'The Girlfriend.'"  
  
Willow's eyes widened, and she stared at Charlie and Faith. "Already?!"  
  
Charlie shrugged and put an arm around Faith. "Yeah, I guess so."  
  
"Man. That was quick," Willow said. "But then again, Faith is… well… never mind."  
  
"Speaking of meeting the family," Charlie said to Faith. "I'm taking Ron home this weekend to talk to them about the half-demon thing. Since I don't know that much about it, I thought maybe you could come along, and help us out?"  
  
Faith smirked. "Yeah, okay. Sounds good. Just as long as your mother doesn't try and kill me."  
  
"She won't… much."  
  
  
Harry slammed his head against Professor Summers' desk. He'd gone there to talk. He found that the blond slayer provided an ear, and insight that was fairly valuable. She had experience in crazy friends, and he really liked talking to her.   
  
She looked up from the magazine she was reading, and stared at him. "Stop. You lose more brain cells that way."  
  
Harry sighed. "Ron and Hermione have been fighting for two days. They won't talk to each other. They'll barely look at each other, and it's because of me."  
  
She blinked. "What do you mean?"  
  
"I'm going to Azkaban with Remus, Torianna and Evelyn."  
  
"And Wesley," she added.  
  
"Professor Wyndham-Pryce is coming, too?"  
  
Buffy sighed. "Apparently, he's going to be acting as Sirius' lawyer, however that works. I didn't even know he had a degree, but whatever. How do you know they're fighting about you?"  
  
"Because they won't talk to me, either," Harry told her. "When they won't talk to me, they're fighting about me."  
  
"Harry, listen to me," Buffy said, leaning over the desk. "There isn't anything you can do. Things will work out one or another, but don't stress, okay? You've got enough to think about with the Quidditch game against Slytherin on Saturday morning, and Azkaban in after that." She looked out the window at a group of people walking toward the Quidditch pitch. "And I think you have an elsewhere to be."  
  
Harry sighed. "Yeah. Practice. Right. I just… they both seemed okay with my going to Azkaban."  
  
"To your face," Buffy replied. "They're worried about you, that's all. Angel was telling me about Azkaban and Dementors and stuff, and it sounds pretty wiggy."   
  
"Wiggy?"  
  
"Freaky."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Harry, it's your life," Buffy told him. "You can listen to words of wisdom all you want, but it's always gonna be your choice in the end."  
  
Harry nodded and got up. "Yeah. Okay. Thanks, Professor Summers."  
  
"No big," she told him. "Now get out, or you'll miss practice."  
  
  
"This is a joke, right?"  
  
Evelyn shook her head. "Nope. I'm going to visit my dad." She'd decided to talk to him again, just to tell him where she would be headed for the weekend. Just to make him crazy. She was still fairly upset at what he'd said to Ron.  
  
Draco stared. "In Azkaban?"  
  
Evelyn nodded casually as she adjusted her book bag. He was following her to the Gryffindor portrait hole.   
  
"Why?"  
  
"To see my Dad."  
  
"A murderer. The guy who killed Potty- er… Potter's parents and a bunch of Muggles."  
  
Evelyn rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Sure."  
  
"You're nutters."  
  
She stopped walking. "I'm what?"  
  
"Nutters."  
  
"What the hell does that mean?"  
  
"Crazy!"  
  
"Oh," Evelyn replied. "Okay. Yeah, I'm crazy." She started to walk again, but he grabbed her arm. "Off, Malfoy."  
  
He stared at her. "Be careful, okay? I've heard really bad things about Azkaban."  
  
She stared back. "Are you showing actual concern for another person?"  
  
He glared at her.  
  
She patted him lightly on the cheek. "There may be hope for you yet. I might even be able to get you to apologize to Ron before the week is out."  
  
She left him fuming alone in the hallway.  
  
  
Practice was long. And it had started raining like crazy, but for once, no one cared. Near the end of practice, Fred and George had started a huge mud fight. Eventually, they'd all abandoned their brooms and took to the ground for a spontaneous bout of mud wrestling, which involved Torianna pinning Angelina to the ground and shoved mud in her face after she'd dropped some down Torianna's shirt. Katie had gotten in on it, too, throwing mud at both girls. Even Oliver had loosened up, and had started flinging mud at the twins, who, in turn, flung twice as much back, seeing as there were two of them.  
  
Harry had tackled Ron.  
  
"Talk to me!"  
  
"I do talk to you, you great ponce, gerroffa me!"  
  
Harry smirked, and picked up a wad of mud. "Tell me the truth."  
  
"I had a fight with Hermione about your going to Azkaban!" Ron cried, staring with frightened eyes at the mound of mud.  
  
"What?!"  
  
"She's mad at me for not trying to talk you out of it! Now put the mud down!"  
  
Harry shrugged. "Okay." He smashed the mud in his best friends face.  
  
And then the Slytherins showed up for their practice, and things got worse.  
  
The Gryffindors glanced at each other, and Oliver screamed out something much akin to a battle cry before leading his team, mud in hand, toward the Flint and the Slytherins.  
  
"Oh, shit," Flint muttered.  
  
The Slytherins began to run, but to no avail. They Gryffindors had caught up to them, and all hell broke loose. After it was all over, both Ron and Harry had Draco completely covered in muck. Oliver had Flint begging for mercy, and the girls and the twins had the rest of the team, running for the hills.  
  
Fred flung one last handful of mud after them, but it didn't hit its intended target.  
  
It hit Professor Minerva MacGonagall.  
  
"Oh, bloody hell," Fred muttered.  
  
"WEASLEY!!!!"   
  
"Nice, Fred. Fan-bloody-tastic!" George grumbled.  
  
The entire team had gotten detention that night. They had to do the laundry for the whole of Gryffindor house after the Quidditch match. The Muggle way.   
  
They almost looked like a chain gang, walking single-file down the hall behind a still-muddy MacGonagall.  
  
  
Hermione was hard at work in the library after dinner that night, flipping through Hogwarts: A History. Ever since Professor O'Brien had mentioned a month ago that a vampire had gone to Hogwarts, she'd been determined to find out more.  
  
"What are you looking for?" asked a voice above her.   
  
She looked up to see Professor O'Brien himself standing over her. "Uhm… just… something."  
  
He raised an eyebrow. "Which would be?"  
  
"Well, y'know how you mentioned that vampire who went to Hogwarts…?"  
  
He smirked, and looked at the cover of her book. "Won't be in there. You'll have to go a bit more b-list. Conspiracy theories and such."  
  
"You mean… like Hogwarts: An the Untold History?"   
  
Professor O'Brien shrugged. "Could be a start. Good luck." He walked off to the restricted section.   
  
She hopped out of her seat and found the book she was looking for. She sat back down with it, flipping through, finding out that there was a small paragraph that named a vampire the book referred to as the Scourge of Europe.   
  
  
Her eyes narrowed, and she read on until the library closed.   
  
  
Harry arrived back in the common room, still dripping with mud. None of it had dried.  
  
Hermione looked up from her Arithmancy homework in shock. "What in…"  
  
"Hey, Hermione," Harry greeted, still trying to get all the mud off his glasses.  
  
"What happened?" she asked.  
  
"We mud-bombed the Slytherins," Fred said proudly, walking in with Angelina and George.  
  
"Yeah, and then you mud-bombed Professor MacGonagall," Angelina added. "And then we served detention."  
  
Ron walked through the portrait hole, still wiping mud from his hair.  
  
Hermione spotted him, and turned the other way.  
  
"Oh, please," Harry muttered.   
  
Ron rolled his eyes. "Come on, Hermione, don't do this."  
  
She didn't reply.  
  
"It's not my fault Harry's going to Azkaban!"  
  
"But you won't even try and talk him out of it!"  
  
Harry blinked. "I'm right here."  
  
"We've had this conversation already!" Ron cried. "It's not my place. If Harry wants to go, it's his choice."  
  
Harry sighed.  
  
Ron paused for a moment, before thinking an odd thought. "Mione… if you don't talk to me, I'm going to hug you."  
  
She finally shot a look at him, looking up and down her mud-covered boyfriend. "You wouldn't." She had to admit, as horrible as the mud was, it did something to make him seem more, well, as Torianna would put it, yummy.   
  
The infamous Weasley grin spread across his face as he advanced on her. "C'mere, Hermione. Give Ronnie a big hug."  
  
She got up. "Ronald Weasley, don't you dare."  
  
He grinned even wider, and opened his mud-covered arms. "Come to me, my love!" he cried.  
  
Harry couldn't help it. He burst out laughing, and flopped down on the couch next to Ginny. He turned to her, and smiled. "Hey, Ginny."  
  
She smiled quietly. "Hello, Harry."   
  
He looked her over. She was sitting with her charms book. "You're all clean."  
  
She blinked at him.   
  
He smeared some mud onto her nose and smirked. "That's better."  
  
She blushed hotly, and began to pick the mud off. "What was that for?"  
  
Harry shrugged. "Dunno. Seemed like a brilliant idea. And you look cute."  
  
He blinked at his blunt words. Cute? Ron's sister? What was he thinking?   
  
She blushed even brighter at his words, and covered her face with her book.  
  
Ron now had his arms wrapped tightly around Hermione, who was squealing and squirming, getting mud all over her. After being mad for a few minutes, she finally started to giggle, as did Ron. She looked up at him and stopped. So did he, but he was still smiling. He leaned down to kiss her, but stopped short at:  
  
"TEAM!" Wood cried. "BED!"  
  
Ron rolled his eyes. "Bloody hell."  
  
"Don't swear," Hermione scolded.   
  
He glared at her, and pressed his lips to hers. "Night, Mione."   
  
"Good night, Ron."   
  
  
"Are you okay?"  
  
Oliver shrugged at Willow. She'd just entered the Gryffindor common room an hour after the team had gone up for the night. "Why shouldn't I be?"  
  
"Because of your dad," Willow replied. "It's a lot to take."  
  
"I didn't know him," Oliver replied. "It doesn't bother me that much. I have parents, doesn't matter that I wasn't born to them. They   
love me. Did you know him? My father, I mean?"  
  
Willow shook her head. "No. I never met him. Buffy met him once, I think, but Angel and Cordelia really knew him. He was Angel's seer."  
  
"Seer?" Oliver asked. "Like Ron?"  
  
Willow nodded her head. "Yep. He was a half-demon, too."  
  
Oliver blinked. "Half-demon?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Oliver paled a bit. "Well… well, what does that make me?"  
  
Willow pursed her lips together, but had no answer for her friend. 


	10. Dream a Little Dream

Thanks again to everyone who feed backed me! Thank you so much for reading!   
  
Dream a Little Dream  
  
Friday flew by, and before anyone could saw Bertie Bots, Wood was yelling "TEAM! BED!"   
  
And before Harry Potter knew it, he was dreaming.  
  
He dreamt of a warm house with a big fire going, and a big bowl of candy in front of him. The home was so familiar, but he could have sworn he'd never been there before.  
  
"Big game tomorrow, ay, Son?"  
  
Harry looked up, and nearly jumped straight through the ceiling.  
  
"D-Dad?"  
  
James Potter smirked. "That would be me."  
  
"B-but… you… and…"  
  
James shook his head. "Don't worry about it right now."  
  
They stood in silence until a tall red-head rushed in. "What's all this silence? James, you haven't been this quiet since you found out Sirius was getting married."  
  
"What happened when Sirius got married?" Harry asked, his attention grabbed.  
  
Lily Potter smiled. "You're father fainted right in the middle of the Leaky Cauldron."  
  
Harry snickered.  
  
"It's not funny!" James cried indignantly. "I was in shock. You're Uncle Sirius prided himself on his bachelor status, and then he up and decided to pop the question to his Hogwarts sweetheart of all people. And then Remus followed suit… I started a trend, you know."  
  
"James, love, you're rambling," Lily informed her husband, patting his cheek lightly. She turned to Harry and smiled. "I hear someone's got a big game tomorrow."  
  
"First of the season," Harry replied. "Against Slytherin."  
  
"Oh," James said excitedly. "Kick their arse!"  
  
"James!" Lily cried. "Do you mind not teaching your son bad language?!"  
  
"Sorry, Lils."  
  
Harry had no idea what was going on. While he was fairly certain he was dreaming, he really loved seeing his parents. They seemed so silly together, and they smiled at him like he really mattered.   
  
Lily's expression became serious. "Harry, I know you really want to see Sirius. Please be careful."  
  
James raised an eyebrow. "I thought we were going to ease into the subject."  
  
Lily shrugged. "Oops."  
  
James sighed. "She's right though. Be careful. You're not meant to join us yet. It'll be a long time, thank Merlin."  
  
Harry sighed. "I really want to know you guys."  
  
Lily had the "he's so cute" look in her eyes. She walked over and sat next to her son, pulling him into a tight hug. "All you need to know, for now, is that we love you. We always have. And we're so proud. You're turning out so well."  
  
"Lils, you're gushing over the boy."  
  
"Yeah, I am," Lily admitted. "But it's the truth. You're father has too much testosterone to admit it."  
  
"Do not."  
  
"Shut it, James."  
  
"I wish you guys could come to the game tomorrow," Harry admitted. "And to Azkaban with us."  
  
James sighed and sat on Harry's other side. He picked up the bowl of candy. "Have a great game, Harry. We'll be watching."  
  
  
Harry woke with a start, and looked around the dim room. The clock read three in the morning. Harry sat up, and a small piece of parchment crumpled in his lap. He picked it up. The hand writing was unmistakably Ron's, but shakier.   
  
  
Harry,  
  
Gone out. Be back in time for Quidditch.  
  
Ron   
  
  
Across from him, Ron's bed was empty.   
  
Harry scrambled out of bed. "Bloody hell."  
  
  
It occurred to him that she was very pretty… in an insane psycho-killer kind of way.   
  
"Pretty, pretty baby boy… all mine," she hissed.  
  
It didn't matter that Ron didn't like the ferret-y git, or that his head felt as if it were being ripped to shreds. All that mattered was that Drusilla was going to bite the hell into Draco Malfoy.  
  
Rain in the early hour almost didn't register to Ron, nor did the fact that he might fall over at any second. He only shoved Malfoy out of the vampire's grasp, knocking him to the muddy ground.  
  
Drusilla pouted. "You spoiled my dinner!" She took a long knife from her coat pocket, and advanced towards Ron, who stumbled back. Another dizzy spell hit him and he was on the ground next to Malfoy.  
  
"Oh… tea and cake," Drusilla said lightly. "How lovely."  
  
At that moment, a large axe flew out of nowhere, and just missed Drusilla's head. "Back away from the kids, Dru," Professor O'Brien's voice called through the heavy rain.  
  
"Weasley?"   
  
Ron's eyes were squeezed shut. He didn't answer.   
  
Draco got onto his knees in front of Ron, and smacked his face lightly. Ron's eyes opened weakly.  
  
"Betcher havin' fun slappin me, aye, Draco?"   
  
"Dammit, Weasley, what'd you have to do that for?"  
"Vision."  
  
"Aren't you supposed to tell Potter?"   
  
"He's sleeping."  
  
"Not anymore," Harry's voice said sharply. He came through the rain. "I got Professor O'Brien as soon as I got your note."  
  
Ron nodded heavily. "S'nice."   
  
"Ron?" Professor O'Brien called. Drusilla was gone. How or why, none of the boys care. "You okay?"  
  
"Hurts lots," he replied.   
  
O'Brien nodded. "We gotta get outta this rain! Let's head for Hagrid's!"  
  
  
"Professor?"  
  
Angel rushed in, half-carrying Ron, with Draco and Harry behind him.  
  
"Merlin's beard!" Hagrid cried. "What happened?"  
  
"Another vampire attack. Ron had another vision."  
  
"Saved my arse," Malfoy muttered, shaking his head. "Dunno why, but he did." He seemed in shock.  
  
"Sit, Malfoy," Angel ordered.  
  
Surprisingly enough, he did.  
  
"I'll be back," Hagrid said. "I'm goin t' get Poppy." He walked out, leaving Angel to sit Ron next to Malfoy. Harry stood, staring at the unreal scene before him.  
  
"He can't do this," Malfoy muttered. "He can't save my life and die."  
  
"Malfoy-"  
  
"He can't make me feel guilty and then just kick the bucket!" He got to his feet and shook Ron, who was half asleep. "You hear me, you red-haired, Mudblood-loving freak?! You can't die!!!"   
  
"MALFOY!"  
  
Angel's voice was so loud, and so angry, it made Draco sit back down, and Harry nearly jumped five feet in the air.  
  
Ron's eyes opened slightly. "You call my girlfriend a Mudblood again, and next time I let you get bitten."  
  
Hagrid showed up with reinforcements. Charlie hovered over Ron as Madame Pomfrey looked him over and gave him a potion to help the headache.   
  
An hour later, the teachers escorted them back to the castle, Harry helping Ron move along when he got to tired.   
  
"You gonna be able to play Quidditch?" Harry asked.  
  
Ron nodded. "Yeah. I'll be fine."  
  
  
To Harry's complete shock, by the time ten am rolled around, Ron was awake, and ready to play Quidditch, despite the pale color his skin had turned.   
  
The rain had, for the most part, stopped, but it was still a bit cold out.  
  
"You're sure?"  
  
Ron rolled his eyes. "Yes, Mummy."  
  
Harry swatted him. "You know I'm just worried about you."   
  
Ron sighed. "You don't have to."  
  
"Shut up, Ron."   
  
  
"Y'know? I didn't think I'd be excited about this," Buffy said, sitting next to Angel in the stands. "But I really am."  
  
"You hate sports," Willow pointed out. "Even though you were a cheerleader, you hate sports."  
  
Buffy shrugged. "But… they're on brooms, and they throw things, and the goals are all colorful. And Harry and Ron and the twins are playing. A-and I had a jumbo cup of super-coffee this morning."  
  
Angel sighed. "Shoulda guessed."  
  
"I feel like I should have pom-poms," Buffy pointed out. She turned to Wesley and Giles. "Can I have pom-poms?"  
  
Giles sighed. "Perhaps next time." He looked around him. "Where's Faith?"   
  
Angel sighed. "She said she was going to go scout out the dark forest. See if she couldn't find Drusilla and or Spike. They weren't together this morning."  
  
"They probably broke up again," Buffy said. "He has the worst luck with women. Drusilla… Harmony…"  
  
"You," Willow added.  
  
Angel raised an eyebrow high. "You never did tell me the full extent of your relationship with Spike."  
  
"Oh," Buffy squeaked. "That's not important. I don't like blonds, anyways."  
  
"You're blond," Charlie pointed out, sitting in the row above them. "Where the devil is Faith?"  
  
"She'll be here soon," Angel replied. "So… you're introducing her to your mother."  
  
Charlie nodded. "She told you?"  
  
"She tells me lots of stuff," Angel nodded. "Don't be surprised if your mother hates Faith with a passion. I know my mother would."  
  
"You're mother is ridiculously old-fashioned," Buffy reminded him. "She would have hated any woman you brought home. She lived in the-"  
  
Angel covered his girlfriend's mouth with his hand. "Remind me to hide any and all coffee from you in the future."  
  
  
The game started as any normal game would. Madame Hooch let everything loose, and signaled for the go.  
  
Buffy, Willow and Tara were incredibly baffled by the whole thing, completely confused by what a quaffle was, as apposed to a bludger, or why the snitch was worth so many points. Angel caught on fast, listening to Lee Jordan's commentary closely ("They didn't have Quidditch back in my day," he told them). Wesley was well on his way down nostalgia avenue, and Giles sat, occasionally looking up from the papers he was grading, to cheer with the crowd.  
  
Ron had no visions, and worked well with Katie and Torianna as Chasers. Fred and George displayed their usual amounts of beater-ness (Or, so Willow put it. She liked the word.) Angelina made for an excellent keeper, and Wood sat in the stands next to Hermione and Evelyn, looking happier than a pig in mud. Harry had found the snitch.  
  
And incidentally, so had Malfoy.   
  
They were now trying to outdo each other for the "little golden wing-y thing-y."  
  
"Buffy, it's a snitch," Wesley corrected her.  
  
"That's what I said. A little golden wing-y thing-y."   
  
"Oh," Tara said worriedly. "What if they knock each other off the brooms. T-they could be hurt!"  
  
"They'll be fine," Lee reassured his professor. "They're two of the best!"  
  
An hour into the game, after two goals had been scored by Slytherin, and three by Gryffindor, Harry managed to grab the snitch. Cheers rang out in the stands as the team engulfed Harry in a massive group hug.   
  
"Yay!" Willow called. "Go Gryffindor!!"   
  
Charlie looked around curiously. "Where the hell is Faith?"  
  
  
The potions dungeon was nothing but creepy. Faith sat at a student desk, glaring at Snape.  
  
"I don't blame you for hating me," Snape told her suddenly.  
  
"Good. Neither do I."  
  
He growled. "Do you have to be so trying all the time?"   
  
"Yep."  
  
Snape mixed the thick potion in front of him. "You're just like your mother."  
  
There was a cold silence.   
  
"Don't talk about my mother."  
  
"Right. Fine. Sorry."  
  
"You should be." She sighed and paused again. "I'm going to the Weasleys' with Charlie and Ron. We're leaving tonight."  
  
Snape gave her a strange look. "Why?"  
  
"Because Charlie and I have been making out in broom closets all over the school, and he wants me to meet his parents."  
  
"You… and a Weasley?"  
  
"Yeah. He's hot, too. Can't wait to get him nekkid."  
  
Snape glared. "You're telling me this to make me angry and uncomfortable."  
  
"Yep."  
  
"Well, I'll be taking leave this weekend, myself," Snape told her.  
  
"Oh, yeah? What're you gonna do? Go terrorize some poor helpless Gryffindors in Hogsmeade?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Than what?"  
  
Snape sighed. "I'll be going to the Little Hangleton Cemetery."  
  
"What's there?"  
  
"Voldemort."  
  
Faith glared and to her feet. "You bastard."  
  
"I'm going under-cover, you silly twit."  
  
"You call me a twit again, and you're really gonna wish you didn't have a stick up your ass. Because I'm gonna-"  
  
"Empty threats, little girl. Always empty threats."  
  
She slugged him in the stomach, and stared at him.  
  
"I ain't no little girl anymore, Uncle Severus," she snapped. "You don't wanna take me on. I warned you."   
  
With that, she stalked out.  
  
Dumbledore watched her pass him, and sighed.  
  
"Family trouble, Severus?"  
  
Snape groaned. "Only a little, headmaster. Only a little."  
  
  
Hermione hugged Harry.   
  
"Be safe. Be really, really safe."  
  
He nodded. "Yeah. Don't go crazy with homework while we're gone."  
  
She smiled. "Right."  
  
Harry turned to Ron, and they hugged each other.  
  
"Great game, Ron. You were really something."  
  
Ron smirked. "Nice seeking, Mate."  
  
Harry snickered. "Yeah, well, Malfoy wasn't really at his best today. Still can't believe you saved him, of all people."  
  
"Me, neither," Ron replied. "This place just keeps getting crazier and crazier."  
  
"Oh, Harry," Hermione interrupted. "Before you leave, have you ever heard of someone called The Scourge of Europe?"  
  
Harry shook his head. "Not ever. Why?"  
  
Hermione shrugged. "No reason."  
  
"Harry! C'mon! My Dad's about ready to spontaneously combust!" Torianna called. "We gotta go."  
  
Harry sighed. "See you guys later. Good luck, Ron."  
  
"You, too."  
  
Harry jogged off to meet up with Torianna.   
  
Hermione sighed and turned to Ron. "So… two days apart."  
  
Ron shrugged. "I've got to get this all sorted out," he told her. "It's not that much time apart, is it?"  
  
"No," Hermione replied. "I suppose not. I will miss you, though. And I'm worried. You looked awful after your vision."  
  
Ron raised an eyebrow. "How did you know what I looked like after my vision? I was in the hospital wing at five in the morning?"  
  
"I…" Hermione began. "I may have borrowed the invisibility cloak for a quick peek… Chuddly Cannon boxers?"  
  
Her turned red. "I like them! They're bright orange!"  
  
She got on her toes and kissed him. "I'll see you in a few nights."  
  
He nodded. "Yeah."  
  
"You will be alright, won't you?" she asked, wrapping her arms around him.  
  
He nodded. "Yeah. Don't worry about me." He hugged her back.  
  
"Weasley?"  
  
The couple pulled apart, and turned around to see Draco Malfoy standing.  
  
"What?" Ron asked.   
  
Hermione was surprised. He didn't sound annoyed or anything. It was just a simple "What?" No rage.   
  
Draco cleared his throat. "I… uhm… thanks… fer earlier… y'know, the save… and… and… I'm sorry about what I said a last week… about you dying. It was stupid."  
  
Ron nodded, and Draco rushed off away from them.  
  
"That was… that was weird," Ron muttered. "Really bloody weird."   
  
Hermione kissed him again. "You'd better get going. Charlie and the twins will be livid."  
  
Ron nodded. "Yeah. I am really gonna miss you, though."  
  
She smiled. "You'd better."  
  
  
Draco sighed. "I did it. Happy?"  
  
Evelyn turned from the bag she was about to lug out the door. "Did what?"  
  
"I apologized to Weasley."  
  
Evelyn blinked in shock. "No way."  
  
"I did."  
  
Evelyn grabbed him by his green shirt collar and kissed him hard.   
  
Harry walked up with his own bag and rolled his eyes. "Didn't I already say I didn't want to see that?"  
  
Draco smirked at Harry when the kiss had ended. He held onto Evelyn. "Jealous?"  
  
"No," Harry replied. "I never, ever want to kiss you, you prat."  
  
Torianna walked up behind them. "What's up?"  
  
"They were kissing," Harry said, wrinkling his nose.  
  
"Aw," Torianna said, her accent, very thick. "So cute!"  
  
Remus cleared his throat as he entered the front hall. "Come along, you three. We've got to get a move on. Evelyn, please detach yourself from Mr. Malfoy before Harry throws up on the floor."  
  
Evelyn rolled her eyes and let go of Draco. She sighed. "Gotta go."  
  
"Be careful," Draco told her. "My dad says it really sucks there."  
  
"Yeah," Evelyn nodded.  
  
She kissed him on the cheek, and then led the way out.   
  
Draco stared after the group as they walked down the from steps of Hogwarts.  
  
"Bloody hell." 


	11. Home and Hell

Hell and Home  
  
They stood before the huge, thick gate, looking up at its great height. It was black and had spikes all around it.  
  
Remus sighed. "Are you ready?"  
  
Wesley sighed. "Not really."  
  
Remus stepped forward and tapped on the gate twice with his wand. A huge guard opened it, and they walked in, met by three Dementors.   
  
Remus held up a document to them. "We are here to see Sirius Black."  
  
They stared for a moment before nodding and leading the war toward the huge, square fortress.   
  
Remus followed.  
  
Wesley followed.  
  
Torianna and Evelyn followed.  
  
Harry stayed stone still.  
  
The two girls back-tracked and both grabbed a hand. He stared at both in turned, and squeezed both of their hands.  
  
They walked on.  
  
  
Molly Weasley opened the Burrow door to find a surprise.  
  
"Charlie? Fred? George? Ron?"  
  
Charlie smiled broadly, brown eyes twinkling, arm around a busty brunette who was in Muggle clothing. Vinyl pants and a tank-top, to be exact.   
  
Fred and George were looking quite nervous. Probably guilty of something.  
  
Ron was looking worn and then with pale skin and deadened eyes.   
  
"Hey, Mum," Charlie said. "We've come for a visit."  
  
She let them in in a daze, and turned her stare on the brunette.  
  
"Mum, this is Faith Morgan," Charlie announced. "She's one of the physical defense teachers."  
  
Faith offered her a hand. "Hi, Mrs. Weasley. Nice to meet you."  
  
Molly gave her a suspicious look but shook her hand. "Yes, Dear. You, too."  
  
Faith smiled.  
  
"So… what bring all of you home?"  
  
Charlie sighed. "We'd better wait till Dad gets home. You'll want to hear this together."  
  
Molly nodded. "All right." She turned her gaze on the twins. "What did you do?"  
  
"Nothing," they said in perfect unison.  
  
"They tossed mud a MacGonagall," Charlie said.  
  
Molly fumed. "What?"  
  
"Rainy Quidditch practice," Fred muttered. "Meant to hit a Slytherin."  
  
Molly turned to Charlie. "Where were you when this happened?!"  
  
"Making out with the Professor," George chimed in.  
  
Molly glared, and turned to Ron. "And you?"  
  
"Making out with Hermione Granger," Fred blurted out.  
  
Ron rolled his eyes. "I was on the Pitch with you, you numbskull."   
  
Molly gave Ron a shocked look. "Ron… Hermione?"  
  
He sighed and walked away from them, climbing the stairs to his room, slamming the door behind him.  
  
Charlie shook his head. "I'm gonna-"  
  
"Leave him be for awhile," Faith said. "He could probably use some time alone."  
  
Charlie sighed and nodded. "Yeah, alright."  
  
Molly glared at the twins. "Gnome duty. Now."  
  
Faith raised an eyebrow. "What's gnome duty?"  
  
Fred smiled. "We'll show you!"  
  
They dragged her away out to the garden.  
  
Molly sighed. "So… you… and Faith."  
  
"You don't like her, do you?"  
  
"Why would you say that?"  
  
"You don't, do you, Mum?"  
  
"Now, Charlie. I only want what's best for you. You know that… and Faith seems…like…uhm…"  
  
"A hussy?" Charlie asked. He snickered "A scarlet woman?"  
  
"Well…"  
  
"It's the vinyl pants, isn't it?"  
  
Molly sighed.   
  
"She's not bad, Mum. You'd really like. Giver her a chance, please?"  
  
Molly gave another sigh and looked out the window to see Faith fling a gnome very far away. "How's Ron? Really?"  
  
Charlie sighed. "Holding up. He's got Quidditch which is good for him."  
  
"And Hermione?"  
  
"Yeah," Charlie replied. "They get the cute award from the staff. She's good for him."  
  
"Hrm…"  
  
Charlie snickered. "Mum, you don't like any of Bill's girlfriends. You don't like Faith. You hate Penelope Clearwater. You don't like Fred's girlfriend, Angelina Johnson. And you don't like Hermione. Now woman will ever be good enough for your sons."  
  
"Just you wait till Ginny starts dating," Molly said, shaking a finger. "Then you'll know how I feel."  
  
"The day Ginny brings home a boy is the day seven Muggle shotguns are displayed in the front hall," Charlie laughed.  
  
"Eight," Molly corrected. "Don't forget mine."  
  
"One of them already is yours," Charlie replied. "Dad wouldn't know what to do with one."  
  
They snickered.  
  
  
He couldn't believe the screaming. There were no other noises inside the prison, just blood-curdling screams.  
  
Harry held Evelyn and Torianna's hands tightly as they walked through the huge fortress.   
  
'Have to be strong. Have to be brave. Can't let them get to me.'  
  
He was actually doing an alright job of keeping visions of his mother and Voldemort back.   
  
The Dementors floated in front of them, leading them.  
  
No one spoke. Just walked.  
  
They stopped in front of a dark cell at the very end of the hall. It almost looked empty it was so dark. Harry squinted to see inside, but to no avail.   
  
Remus slowly got closer to the bars. "Sirius?"  
  
"R-Remus?"  
  
"We've come to speak with you, Sirius."  
  
"W-we?"   
  
"Yeah," Evelyn spoke up. "We."  
  
Suddenly, a pale hand with long, dirty fingernails shot out and snagged Remus by the collar.  
  
Harry, Torianna and Evelyn jumped back a bit.   
  
The Dementors moved forward, but Remus put a hand up and they stopped.   
  
"You brought them here?!" Sirius snarled.  
  
"Let him go, Sirius," Wesley said. "They wanted to come."  
  
Nervously, Evelyn took her backpack off and held onto it. "I brought you some stuff, Dad. Tooth brush, tooth paste, razor and shaving cream, soap and shampoo, nail clippers and file, scissors for a haircut… you're gonna wanna look nice for your trial."  
  
He let got of Remus, his eyes huge. "Trial?"  
  
Remus nodded. "Fudge finally broke down. It's not much, but it's a start. Dumbledore and I will be by Tuesday to pick you up for a Wednesday night trial."  
  
"What about Petigrew?" Sirius asked.  
  
"We'll get him," Torianna replied.  
  
"Hang in there, Sirius," Harry chimed in.  
  
Evelyn stepped forward to hand the backpack to Sirius, but was stopped by a Dementor. It was obviously angry. It turned its nonexistent gaze on all three children and breathed in.  
  
All of them stumbled back into each other.  
  
Lily Potter's screams filled Harry's head, and he squeezed his eyes shut as the world went black.  
  
  
At the Burrow, Lily's screams and pain reached Ron Weasley. He stumbled to his knees, gripped his hair and screamed right along with her.  
  
His screams did not fall upon deaf ears. Molly and Charlie came running. Charlie busted open the door.  
  
Ron was on his knees, his forehead against the wall. He was crying openly, his skin even paler than before.   
  
Molly slowly walked in and knelt behind her youngest son. She had barely touched his shoulder when he nearly jumped out of his skin, flipping around to face her, his back making a thud against the wall. His blue eyes held fear and seemed a bit crazed and unfocused.  
  
"Ron?"  
  
"S-she died."  
  
"Ron, wha-"  
  
He gripped his hair again. "She t-tried to protect him and he k-killed her…killed her…stop, stop, make it stop, please, make it stop…"  
  
Molly got to her feet, and turned to Charlie. Tears filled her eyes. "Oh, Merlin… what now?"  
  
Charlie, as helpless as his mother and Ron, could only shrug  
  
  
His eyes opened slightly as he saw Remus standing angrily front of the Dementor that had attacked them. Remus' eyes were narrowed,   
and he was yelling and snapping, trying to make the Dementor understand him. Harry had never seen him so angry.  
  
Evelyn was already on her feet. While Remus yelled at the Dementor, she slipped her book bag through Sirius' cell bars and then stepped away.   
  
Torianna shook out her own head and got to her feet. She looked pale, but sufficiently angered. She rolled up her the long sleeves on her Yankees jersey and snarled, ready to make her way to try and teach the Dementor a lesson.   
  
Harry grabbed her arm from his spot on the floor. She looked down at him, and he shook his head.  
  
She grudgingly stayed where she was. She helped Harry to his feet, just as Remus walked over to them.  
  
"This wasn't a good idea," Remus said. "This was a bad idea. Dumbledore was right. You three shouldn't have come. I'm taking you back to Hogwarts. Let's go."  
  
"No! Wait!" Evelyn insisted. "It was my fault with the bag. Can't we try again, tomorrow?"  
  
"Listen to Remus, Evelyn," Sirius said. "You three shouldn't be here."  
  
"Wasn't asking you," Evelyn said. She turned back to Remus. "Please?"  
  
Remus sighed. "Well… Torianna? Harry? What do you think?"  
  
They glanced at each other, and shrugged at the same time.  
  
"Guess we could try again," Harry said.  
  
Torianna nodded. "We should."  
  
Remus sighed. "Alright… let's get off the island and find a place to stay. We'll come back tomorrow."  
  
Sirius groaned. "Fine. Risk your lives and get killed. Be my bloody guest."  
  
  
Percy Weasley came home to a house that was nearly as quiet as death. "Hello? Mum? Anyone?" He walked into the kitchen to find Fred and George sitting in silence.   
  
Percy rolled his eyes. "What did you two do, this time?"  
  
George shook his head. "He just wouldn't stop bloody crying and screaming. We even promised 'im no more Canary Creams, and he wouldn't stop screaming. Merlin, he just wouldn't stop."  
  
Percy looked suspiciously at them. "What're you on about?"  
  
"Shh," Fred replied. "Charlie just got him to swallow a sleeping potion. Don't wake him up."  
  
"Who?" Percy asked. "This is ridiculous. Stop being so cryptic!"  
  
"Sshh. I don't know how reliable that potion is," Charlie said, coming down the stairs. "If you wake up Ron, I'll-"  
  
"What's happened to Ron?"  
  
Charlie sighed. "Really, really bad vision. He's been screaming for hours."  
  
The door opened and closed, and Arthur Weasley entered the room, completely baffled at having so many sons inhabiting his kitchen in October. "Hello, boys. What's going on?"  
  
"Ssshhh."  
  
It came from all four of them.   
  
"Ron's had a bad day," George said.   
  
Arthur paled. "Oh… I see."  
  
Charlie sighed. "I'm gonna go get Mum. I think you should all hear this."  
  
  
The inn rooms were small, but cozy. It had been decided that Remus would have his own room, and the three children would share one.   
  
"You need to be together," Remus told them. "I think it's safe to say nothing will happen." He'd turned to Harry and smirked. "If they try and maul you, you can take to the floor in my room. Or Wesley's."  
  
Harry smirked back, and they'd split up for the night.   
  
Wesley cleared his throat. "Actually, I'm afraid I've gotten a rather strange and urgent owl. I've got to go back to Hogwarts."  
  
"Oh?" Remus asked. "From who?"  
  
"I'll… I'll fill you in, later. I hope all goes well here. Tell Sirius to hang in there for me."  
  
They nodded, and said their goodbyes as Wesley walked off out of the inn.  
  
Harry wasn't worried about sharing a room with Evelyn and Torianna. He was coming to think of them as sisters, more than anything else.  
  
Even though it was still quite early in the evening, they'd decided to get into their pajamas. They sat in silence on the bed, facing each   
other, until Torianna spoke up.  
  
"What did you see?" she asked.  
  
"When?" Evelyn asked.  
  
"When the Dementor turned on us. What did you see?"  
  
Evelyn sighed. "Dad getting hauled off to Azkaban for the first time…I don't even remember that."  
  
They sat in silence for a while, the girls staring at Harry.  
  
"I see my Mum die."   
  
Torianna didn't give a reply. They sat in silence for a while before all three of them got under the covers of the small bed and fell asleep.  
  
  
"So… the only way he's going to live is if he's made into a half-demon?"  
  
Faith nodded. "Pretty much. No human has ever survived having visions. This is the only way. But… well… he kinda needs written permission from you guys."  
  
Molly and Arthur stared at each other meaningfully, before Molly sighed.  
  
"Alright. If it's the only way, we agree."  
  
"What?" Percy snapped, getting to his feet. "Dad… Dad what would the Ministry say."  
  
Charlie glared. "Percy…"  
  
"You really are a prat, y'know that?" George asked.  
  
"I can handle this, George," Arthur cut in, getting to his feet as well. "Percy… I don't think you've fully understood what's been going on with your brother. He's dieing. It's very slow, but over the next three years, he will deteriorate until his mind completely shuts down."  
  
"Actually," Faith cut in. "The last human with visions get her brains blown out the back of her head."  
  
"You're not helping, love," Charlie informed her, taking her hand.  
  
Faith sighed. "Yeah. Sorry."  
  
Arthur shook his head. "The point is, Percy, that the last thing your mother and I want is for any of our children to die. We love you all very much. If this is the only way to save Ron, then so be it. Sod the Ministry, they don't even have to know. We have to do this."  
  
"Think of it this way, Percy," Molly cut in. "If your son were dieing, and there was one thing you could do for him, and it could possibly get you into trouble, but it was the only way, what would you do?"  
  
Percy sighed and sat back down. "Yes. Fine."  
  
  
Skip sat on Ron's bed, looking over a piece of parchment with a pair of reading glasses perched on his nose. "Hmm…" he nodded at Ron, who was still lying in bad.   
  
He felt helpless, and completely limp, even in his dream.  
  
His room opened up on the far wall, showing his most recent vision of Lily Potter screaming at Voldemort to leave her son be.  
  
"Everything seems to be in order, Ron," Skip told him, removing his glasses. "Both signatures."  
  
"How?" Ron asked weakly. Even in his dreams he was drained from his vision. "I haven't even asked yet."  
  
"You're brother asked for you," Skip replied. "They said yes, and here we are. In your dream. Again."  
  
Ron didn't reply. His eyes were locked on the scene of Lily Potter versus Voldemort. "That's how it happened, huh?"   
  
Skip nodded. "Yeah. That's it. She's not happy Harry wound up with her freaky sister."  
  
"You know Harry's Mum?" Ron asked in disbelief.   
  
Skip smiled. "She and James and Emily come and play poker with me Friday nights! Always talking about their kids."  
  
Ron blinked. "Emily is Evelyn's Mum, right?"   
  
"Yep. Nice lady."  
  
"W-What about Torianna's Mum?"  
  
Skip blinked. "Sarah? Sarah Lupin's not dead. Now sit still."  
  
Before Ron could protest, Skip placed his hands on the sides of Ron's head and a bright glow engulfed.   
  
Ron woke up on the floor of his room.   
  
He must have made a rather loud thud when he hit the ground, because his family were standing at the door, his father in the lead. He shook his head. "Hi, Dad."  
  
Arthur walked in knelt down to his son's level. "Ron? Are you alright?"  
  
Ron shook his head out again, his eye shut, and sighed. "Yeah. I think I'm good."  
  
Arthur squinted at Ron, and took out his wand. "Lumos."   
  
The tip of the wand lit up, illuminating Ron's face. The light gleamed off his eyes and Arthur's own became wide.  
  
"What in Merlin's name…?"  
  
"What?" Ron asked.  
  
His eyes were completely white, instead of the deep blue they'd once been.  
  
The family stared in shock.  
  
"What?"   
  
  
They went back. Their hands held tighter together this time. Remus was not happy about taking them back, but there wasn't anything he could say to make them change their minds.   
  
Evelyn strode up to the cell bars and smiled into the darkness. "Morning Dad."  
  
"I'm going to kill Remus," Sirius growled.   
  
Evelyn rolled her eyes.   
  
"He gave up trying to talk us out of coming back," said, standing next to Evelyn.  
  
Sirius came into some semblance of view, and Evelyn laughed.  
  
"You used the tooth brush a paste!"  
  
Sirius rolled his eyes. "What, you honestly think I like being this grimy? Feels awful."  
  
Torianna stood in-between Harry and Evelyn and shrugged. "Little paste goes a long way."  
  
"Well, I brought you something else," Evelyn told him, reaching into the pocket of her baggy jeans. "I forgot to give them to you yesterday." She pulled out a small box that read "Altoids" on it in bold letters. "Thought you could use these." She tossed them to her father, and he caught them easily.  
  
Sirius raised an eyebrow. "I'm sitting in prison and you bring me Muggle mints?"  
  
"For the dog breath?" Torianna offered.   
  
"Right," Sirius said sharply.   
  
Remus sighed and stood next to Harry. "Hello, Sirius."  
  
"Remus. How close are we to finding Petigrew?"   
  
Remus cast his eyes down. "No word, yet. Dumbledore is in talks with Moody, trying to get him on it. It's not easy convincing people."  
  
"Isn't there anyone else we could use?" Torianna asked. "Someone who saw Petigrew in action?"  
  
Sirius sighed. "Your mother was the only one who really caught him in the act. She was there the day he blew up all those Muggles in the street… She was the only real survivor… 'cept she might as well be dead, anyway."  
  
  
Albus Dumbledore didn't like leaving his school, not even on a weekend, but he was told that it was very important that he came to St.   
Mungo's. The nurses led him to a dark, secluded room on the top floor.  
  
Dumbledore stopped dead in his tracks. "My god…"  
  
Sitting up in the bed, was a sickly-looking blond woman in her late thirties. Her blue eyes looked up with confusion and anger.  
  
Dumbledore shook his head. "How?"  
  
Sarah Lupin glared. "Where's Remus, where are my clothes, and where the bloody fucking hell am I?" 


	12. Of Guitars and Girls' Clubs

A/N: I really appreciate all of the feedback I'm getting, thanks everyone! But one request I ask: if you post feedback, please don't do it in all capitol letters. I know it's silly and petty, but I'd really appreciate it! Thanks! J   
  
Of Guitars and Girls' Clubs  
  
Hermione was bored. While she was thankful to have Ginny's company, along with Seamus, Dean and Neville's, she missed Ron, Harry, Evelyn and Torianna.   
  
But, as to be expected, mostly Ron. He would be back by evening, but it wasn't soon enough for Hermione.  
  
And she was worried. What if his parents refused to let him become a half-demon? What if he… died?  
  
She shook out her head, and decided not think on it anymore. No thinking about visions, or red hair, or freckles, or big blue eyes, or cute smiles, or silly flirting, or warm hands, or-  
  
Damn.   
  
"Hermione, you haven't even touched your breakfast," Ginny pointed out. "Either you're thinking about homework or you're thinking about Ron. And if it's Ron, I don't want to know."  
  
Hermione smirked. "Sorry, Ginny… why didn't you go with them?"  
  
"Well, I wasn't the one what threw mud at Professor MacGonagall, was I?" Ginny asked. "And… I don't think I could deal with… y'know, that situation."   
  
Hermione nodded. "I hope he's alright."  
  
Ginny nodded. "Me, too."  
  
"Hey!" Dean cried. "Look!"  
  
He had two straws shoved up his nose.   
  
"I don't know what I am!" he told them. "But I look funny, don't I?"  
  
Hermione blinked. "Dean how much sleep did you get last night?"  
  
"Two hours."  
  
Hermione groaned.   
  
Ginny sighed. "I do hope Harry's alright. I can't believe he went to Azkaban."  
  
Hermione sighed. "Me, neither. Those boys really are crazy, aren't they?"  
  
"It's the red hair for Ron," Ginny explained. "And I think he's been rubbing off on Harry."  
  
Hermione smirked. "Maybe I'll get some real work done, while Ron's away. He's a real distraction, lately."  
  
"So, what?" Seamus asked, chiming in. "You're grades only get up to 110 percent instead of 120?"  
  
Hermione glared. "Don't push it, Seamus Finnighan. My boyfriend's away for the weekend. I'm irritable."  
  
Seamus paled a little, and shut up.  
  
Across the hall, at the Slytherin table, six owls carried an oddly shaped package and set them down on the floor behind Draco Malfoy. He smiled wildly, as if it were Christmas and his birthday all at once. He got up from his table, to bewildered looks from his house-mates, and carried the package out of the great hall as best he could.  
  
He didn't pay much attention to the two teacher he passed in the halls until he heard what they were talking about.   
  
"Buffy-"  
  
"Why do you want to know, Angel?" she asked him. "Why? What should it matter to you?!"  
  
"Buffy-"  
  
"It's not like you ever tell me anything! I'm in the dark about your whole life. That's a long life."  
  
Angel snorted. "You're telling me."  
  
"Why does this matter to you so much?" Buffy asked. "Why do you absolutely have to know my exact relationship with Spike? Why? So you can be angry about something? So you can be angry at me?"  
  
"I'm not angry at you!" Angel cried. "No one's angry at you!"  
  
She stopped walking and turned to him. "I was in a really bad place in my life. I know you know what that's like. Please, let's just leave it at that."  
  
He sighed and nodded. "Fine."  
  
"Are you angry at me?" she asked.   
  
"No," Angel replied. "I just hate that there's so much… stuff to talk out still… and I hate that we're being watched, too."  
  
Buffy turned around to see Draco leaning against the wall.   
  
"What are you doing?" she asked him.  
  
Draco smirked. "Watching the floor show. What's it look like?"  
  
Buffy glared, and Draco snickered, and carried his package away.  
  
"Wonder what he's got there," Angel mused.  
  
"Probably something really, really disturbing," Buffy muttered. "Let's get breakfast.  
  
Draco opened the package, and unpacked a full-sized acoustic guitar. He had an electric and an amplifier at home, but they wouldn't work at Hogwarts, seeing as there was no electricity.   
  
He sat in the Slytherin common room, the guitar on his knee, tuning it the best he could. The only thing he envied Ron Weasley for was perfect pitch. If he had that, he'd have no problem tuning.   
  
"What are you doing?" asked a low, confused voice.  
  
Draco looked up at Crabbe and Goyle. "Tuning. Or… trying to."  
  
They looked at him in more confusion.  
  
Draco blinked, and got to his feet. "I'll be around."  
  
With that, he left.   
  
He walked through the halls with his acoustic guitar slung over his shoulder by the strap and headed for the great hall, which was, hopefully by this time, empty.  
  
He walked in to find one person sitting at one of the Gryffindor tables.   
  
He sighed and shook his head. He walked over and sat down across from her. "Shouldn't you be in the library, or something?"  
  
Hermione sighed and looked up from one of her books. "Shouldn't you be jumping off the roof, or something?"  
  
"Oh. I'm scared now," he muttered.  
  
"I'm not in the mood," she told him, slamming her book down on the table. "Go away."  
  
There was a long pause.  
  
"I was only kidding. I didn't mean to insult you," he told her.  
  
She looked shocked, but picked her book back up. "That's… a very interesting statement. Maybe you should go the hospital wing."  
  
He rolled his eyes, and started to tune his guitar again. "What are you doing, anyways?"  
  
"Reading."  
  
Draco shook his head. "Fine. Be that way."  
  
Hermione growled. "You're the one who doesn't like me, remember? The dirty Mudblood? Why should I even give you the time of day after the way you've treated Harry, Ron and I for the past five years?!"  
  
"Well, I'm trying to be nice, now!"  
  
She'd resorted to ignoring him, burying her head in her book.   
  
'What the hell am I doing?' he asked himself. 'Why am I fighting to be nice to her?'  
  
Deciding he wasn't going to get any peace in the great hall, he got up and stormed off. He strode down the halls, and finally came to knock on Professor Maclay's and Willow's office door.  
  
It flung open, and Willow stood there, looking a bit panicked. "Oh. Hey, Draco."  
  
"Hi," he replied. "What's going on in there?"  
  
Willow sighed and opened the door fully. Muggle portable CD players were flying all over the office, and Tara was doing her best with her wand to get them under control.  
  
Draco raised an eyebrow and stepped in, dodging a disc-man. "What the hell happened?"  
  
Willow sighed. "Tara wanted to give each Chorister a disc-man to play music on, but they don't work at Hogwarts, so… we… tried to enchant them…"  
  
"And?"  
  
"And… well… t-they're enchant-y… only… a little too enchant-y."   
  
"Any suggestions?" Tara asked. She'd resorted to standing on her desk, and grabbing as many floating disc-mans as she could.   
  
Draco shrugged. "Get Dumbledore?"  
  
"Dumbledore is out right now," Tara told him. "He w-went to St. Mungo's. Something urgent came up. Maybe if I c-call them like I do Miss Kitty Fantastico, they'll listen?"  
  
Draco raised an eyebrow but didn't ask.   
  
"OH!" Willow cried. "He can borrow a cage from Hagrid! A-and put them in there until we figure out how to reverse the spell!"  
  
"Assuming we can catch them all," Draco replied.   
  
"We?" Tara asked him.  
  
Draco nodded and stepped up on the desk next to Tara, trying to catch a few disc-mans.  
  
Willow smiled. "I'll go talk to Hagrid!" she rushed out.  
  
"So… nice guitar," Tara smiled. "Professor Giles would be jealous. His is s-still in Sunnydale."  
  
"He plays?"  
  
Tara nodded, catching another disc-man. "He's g-good, too."  
  
Draco smirked, and hopped up to catch another one. "Hey, Professor Maclay?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Why do you suppose Ron came after me the other night?"  
  
Tara sighed. "I know you guys don't really get along real w-well. But you're a human, a-and I think if you were the one with the v-visions, you would have g-gone after him."  
  
Draco sighed. "I'm not so sure of that…I'm a product of my upbringing."  
  
"Y-you don't have to be," Tara told him. "You c-can change. Anyone can. I h-heard about the Death Eater mentality about M-Mudbloods… I don't think y-you're that way… you only act l-like it."  
  
"I shouldn't, should I?"  
  
"N-no, you shouldn't."   
  
"You think… maybe I should apologize to someone if they're really not all that bad except for being a bitch occasionally?" Draco asked.  
  
"Don't call someone a bitch unless they take it as a complement," Willow scolded, reentering, dragging a cage with her.   
  
Draco smirked. "Can you guys handle this from here?"   
  
Tara smiled brilliantly as she almost dropped her pile of disc-mans. "Go ahead."  
  
Draco got down from the desk and dropped his own stack of disc-mans into the cage. "Bye."  
  
As he left, he heard a yell of "No! Tara! Don't drop them!"  
  
  
Once in a blue moon did Quinton Travers travel to Hogwarts. It didn't matter that all his future watchers attended. He didn't like it. It   
was large, it was eerie, and the people could seem rather eccentric to a Muggle like himself.  
  
But there was a job to be done. A slayer to be called. Normally, he'd be sending the watcher who would take on the slayer as an apprentice, but this was different. This was a special case.  
  
Not only special, but also quite insane.  
  
He was led through the halls of the castle by Professor Minerva MacGonagall. She was a tall woman in teaching robes.   
  
"Now… you're saying you're looking for a young man?" She asked. "I thought slayers could only be girls."  
  
Travers sighed. "Professor, it's a long story."  
  
"And which young man are you looking for?"  
  
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. I just hope his mind isn't too poisoned."  
  
MacGonagall raised an eyebrow, but walked on and knocked on Dumbledore's office door. She knew he'd just gotten back, and had looked so tired when he'd arrived, but this was important.  
  
"Come in!"  
  
She led Travers in.  
  
Dumbledore stared. "Mr. Travers. What brings you here?"  
  
"A slayer to be called."  
  
"Here?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Dumbledore sighed and sat down behind his desk. "Who is she?"  
  
"She's… She's a he."  
  
Dumbledore looked surprised. "Well, I can't say I've ever heard of a student with that name."  
  
"No, Dumbledore!" Travers cried. "A male! A boy!"  
  
"Oh… oh, dear. Is it-"  
  
"It's not the Potter boy. Please. These things are never that predictable, look at the two slayers you've got here already!"  
  
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, obviously annoyed. "I will thank you not to speak ill of anyone on my teaching staff, Mr. Travers."  
  
"Right. Sorry."  
  
"Oh, good god," MacGonagall said worriedly. "Please tell me it's not a Weasley."  
  
Travers sighed. "No. Not a Weasley."  
  
"…It isn't Neville Longbottom… is it?" Dumbledore asked slowly.  
  
"No. Not quite that unbelievable, but fairly wild."  
  
At that moment, Wesley came bolting in.  
  
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "I thought you-"  
  
"I did," Wesley replied. "Got an owl from Travers. Have I missed much?"  
  
  
It was after dinner when he finally got his guitar nice and tuned, and decided to venture back into the great hall.  
  
She was still sitting there.   
  
"I'm an arsehole. Wanna play chess?"   
  
Hermione looked up from her book at the lunch table. "If I play chess with you, will you leave me alone after that?"  
  
"Fine."  
  
An hour later…  
  
"I want a rematch!"   
  
"Not again!"  
  
"Come on, Granger, I wanna win against you just once!"  
  
"You wont', y'know," she told him. "I'm dating the reining champion of Wizard's Chess. I pick things up."  
  
Draco snickered.  
  
Hermione glared. "That wasn't dirty."  
  
"No, but it could have been."  
  
She glared harder. "No rematch for you, Malfoy."  
  
He laughed harder, nearly breaking a string on the guitar which sat on his lap.   
  
She kicked him under the table.   
  
"Oh, playing footsy now, are we? I may have to tell your Ronniekins."  
  
They laughed, but sat in silence for a moment.  
  
"Malfoy?"  
  
"What, Granger?"  
  
"Why are you being nice to me?"  
  
He stared at her. "Well, I reckon I owe the Weasel fer saving my life… least I can do is be nice to his Mudb- girlfriend."  
  
She smiled at him. "Ready for that rematch?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Mr. Malfoy."  
  
He swung around to see Dumbledore and Wyndham-Pryce staring at him seriously.  
  
"Uh-oh," he muttered. "Trouble."  
  
"Uncle Wesley?" Hermione asked. "When did you get back? Are Harry, Evelyn and Torianna with you?"  
  
Wesley sighed. "I'm afraid they're still there," Wesley replied. "I was called back early. A word, please, Mr. Malfoy?"  
  
Hermione smirked. "Have fun."  
  
Draco got to his feet. "You owe me a rematch, you horrible twit."  
  
"Can't wait to get your bum handed to you again, aye?" she snickered.  
  
"Sod off."  
  
  
"…One girl in all the world. She alone will stand against the vampires, demons and the forces of darkness."  
  
"That's very nice. What does this have to do with me?"  
  
Quinton Travers cleared his throat. "You're that girl."  
  
Draco Malfoy blinked. "Do I have to drop my trousers to prove you wrong?"   
  
"We don't know how this happened, Draco," Dumbledore explained.  
  
"How could I be a slayer? I'm male! And I'm weak, for Merlin's sake! Why not Potter? Or Weasley? Or even Granger?!"  
  
"Harry's a Warrior," Giles pointed out. "Can't be both."  
  
Draco got to his feet. "Not doing it. No way."  
  
"Unfortunately, you don't get a choice," Travers told him. "It's your destiny."  
  
"Piss off," Draco snapped. He didn't give a second glance before storming out.   
  
He'd stormed out of the headmaster's office, through halls, and across the grounds.  
  
He had no idea where he was headed. Not only because it was dark, but because he just didn't really care. He stopped half-way to the forbidden forest. "SHIT!" he screamed. "I can't do this! I can't change this much all at once! I can't be all these things!"   
  
"Draco?"   
  
He snapped around to find Remus, Evelyn, Torianna and Harry standing there with their luggage.   
  
"Jesus," Torianna muttered. "We got away for a few days and the whole world goes to hell."  
  
Evelyn rushed away from the group, and threw her arms around Draco.   
  
Remus cleared his throat and led the Torianna and Harry inside the castle. Standing in the front hall was Dumbledore.  
  
"Remus? A word?"  
  
Remus sighed, weary, but nodded. "Yes. Of course. Are you two alright?"   
  
They nodded.   
  
Remus nodded once back to them and followed Dumbledore. 


	13. Returns and Revelations

Returns and Revelations  
  
Harry found Hermione in the great hall, with a chess set and her books.  
  
He sat across from her. "Who were you playing? Ron's not here."  
  
Her head snapped up from her book. "Oh! Harry!" She walked around and hugged him. "Thank goodness, you're alright! You are alright, aren't you? You didn't get hurt, did you? How's Sirius? Is he alright? Are Evelyn and Torianna alright? How's Professor Lupin? How's-"  
  
He clamped a hand over her mouth. "Everyone's fine, Hermione. Who were you playing in chess?"  
  
She shoved his hand away and sighed. "Malfoy."  
  
Harry looked completely confused. "Malfoy?"  
  
"Malfoy. Oh! Harry! I've got something really interesting here!"  
  
"What?" he asked as she returned to her seat across from him. She handed him her book.   
  
"You remember my question about the Scourge of Europe?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Well… it turns out that he's actually a vampire named Angelus. And Angelus received a soul in 1898. There was no record of him after that, until he began actually helping people in California not too long ago. He changed his name to Angel."  
  
Harry looked down at the book, and an old picture of a man with long hair stared up at him. "That's… that's Professor O'Brien!"  
  
"Yes it is," Hermione nodded. "He was the Scourge of Europe. A vampire! I approximate him to be about twenty-seven in the picture. Records say that he was turned into a vampire in 1753, so… I estimated what his first year of Hogwarts would have been, and I looked up his name in the library student section, and I came up with one Liam O'Brien. A Ravenclaw." She shoved a picture of a young boy over to Harry.  
  
"That's him?"   
  
Hermione nodded. "In the year 1737."  
  
"Wow… this proves it. You're good."  
  
"Another really scary thing I found was something called the Hogwarts Massacre," Hermione went on.   
  
There was a pause.   
  
"I hate to ask… but… Azkaban…"  
  
"Was scary," Harry nodded. "Really scary. I think it did Sirius some good to see us. We had a bad run-in with a dementor, but we're all right… What's wrong with Draco?"  
  
Hermione shrugged. "My uncle and Professor Dumbledore ask for him, but I haven't seen him since."  
  
Harry shrugged. "Hm."  
  
  
"So… you're a vampire slayer?"  
  
Draco nodded.  
  
They were sitting on the grass in front of the castle.  
  
"So… why does that mean that you can't go home?"  
  
Draco sighed. "Vampire slayers fight for good. They fight darkness. My family bloody-well is darkness."  
  
Evelyn sighed. "Can I ask you something?"  
  
"Okay."  
  
"If you weren't a slayer, or whatever, what side would you be on in this whole good versus evil thing?"  
  
"I don't know," Draco said. "I'm no Death Eater, that's for certain."  
  
"So… wouldn't that make you… one of us?" Evelyn asked.   
  
"I don't wanna be on either side!" Draco cried. "After school, I want to move far away from all of this."  
  
"Well, you probably won't get a choice," Evelyn pointed out. "Everyone's gonna have to choose a side here. What side would you be on?"  
  
"Whatever side you're on," Draco replied.  
  
"Cut the mush, Malfoy," Evelyn snickered.  
  
"I'm serious," Draco replied. "Whatever side you're on is fine by me."  
  
"So… if I decided to go with Voldemort, you'd follow me?"  
  
Draco didn't reply.  
  
"One of us," Evelyn chanted. "I knew it. You're so one of us."  
  
Draco groaned. "I'm gonna get the worst thrashing of my life because of this mess."  
  
She stared at him in silence for a moment before wrapping her arms around him and kissing him.  
  
In mid snog, they heard something hit ground in front of them, and a groan.  
  
"Bloody hell."  
  
Draco sighed when the kiss ended. "You and Potter really know how to screw up a moment, Weasley."  
  
Ron smirked and shrugged. "I try."  
  
"Ron, it's dark and you're wearing sunglasses," Evelyn pointed out. "Who do you think you are? Elwood Blues?" Both boys blinked at her and she rolled her eyes. "Wizards need cinema."  
  
"Why are you wearing shades, Weasley?" Draco asked. "You're first efforts in covering up that gruesome face?"  
  
Ron sighed and took off the shades.   
  
Neither Evelyn nor Draco said anything.  
  
"Well?" Ron asked.  
  
"Well, what?" Evelyn asked. "You've got eyes, Ron. You act like they got gouged out or something."  
  
Ron blinked. "You mean, they're-"  
  
"Still very blue, and very pretty," Evelyn cut him off. "Now go inside so we can be cute and gross."  
  
Ron smirked. He still looked a little confused, but he shook his head and walked past them.  
  
As he walked past, Draco noticed something interesting.  
  
Weasley'd forgotten a belt, and his trousers were obviously too big for him. Maybe a pair from one of his older brothers.  
  
Malfoy took the opportunity presented before him. How could he not? He grabbed one of Ron's pant legs and yanked.   
  
The pants slid down, and Ron stood frozen, in one of his many pairs of orange Chuddly Cannon boxers, face as red as his hair. He looked down at Malfoy, rage building up. "You fuck." He lunged for Draco with a growl, and they began to wrestle on the grounds. All Evelyn could do was point and laugh hysterically. She had to admit, Ron fighting Draco with his pants down was pretty funny. But Ron was winning.  
  
And then they heard someone clear their throat.   
  
They both hopped to their feet, Ron with his pants at his ankles, with their arms draped around each other's shoulders.   
  
"He's my mate."  
  
"Thass right. We weren't fighting. We were being friends!"  
  
"We're best friends."  
  
"That's right."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"He's my buddy."  
  
Professor Giles looked thoroughly unconvinced. "Weasley, pull your trousers up."  
  
Ron turned red again, and did as he was told.  
  
"The only reason the two of you are not getting detention is because I really have no desire to find out what you were doing," Giles said sternly. "Now get to your rooms. Draco, I want to speak with you first thing in the morning." he didn't wait for a response. he only took off and went inside the castle.  
  
The boys hurriedly moved their arms away, staring at each other.  
  
"That was close call," Evelyn smirked. "Ron… orange boxers?"  
  
"Chuddly Cannons," he replied, blushing yet again. "Favorite Quidditch team."  
  
"S'okay, Mate," Draco said, pulling the elastic of his own boxers out. "Bright green."  
  
Ron blinked. "Mate?"  
  
They stood in more silence.  
  
"Well… guess we should go in," Draco said. "Before Giles comes out and actually does give us detention."  
  
Ron nodded. "Yeah."  
  
They walked into the castle and parted ways, Evelyn and Ron to the Gryffindor portrait hole, and Draco to Slytherin's.  
  
Evelyn grinned. There was hope.   
  
  
Hermione had moved her studying into the common room from the great hall, as it was getting near curfew. She didn't notice when Ron entered.   
  
He walked behind her and put a hand over her eyes.   
  
"RONALD WEASLEY!" she screamed, jumping nearly five feet in the air.   
  
He laughed and moved his hand away.   
  
She got up, looking startled, and slightly angry. "Don't scare me like that!"  
  
"Since when are you easily frightened?" he asked, his smile fading a little. "Mione? You alright?"  
  
She shook out her head. "Just… reading something a bit disturbing, is all." She stopped speaking and stared at him for a moment, before throwing her arms around him, and reaching up to kiss him.   
  
"BOO!" came a cry from Dean. "Get a room!"  
  
A canary cream was launched into the air and just missed them.   
  
"Oy!" Ron cried, pulling away from Hermione. "You said no more canary creams!"  
  
"We said we wouldn't get you to eat anymore canary creams!" George cried.  
  
"We never said we wouldn't throw them at you!" Fred added.  
  
"So, what happened?" Hermione asked, urgently. "Are you… I mean, did they-"  
  
He smiled. "I'm going to be fine," he told her. "My eyes did something funny when it first happened, but I'm fine now."  
  
"So, you're a half-demon now?" Hermione asked.  
  
Ron nodded.   
  
She pulled him into another kiss, making the rest of the common room groan more.   
  
She ended the kiss and just hugged him, as Harry walked in.  
  
"Oh, no," he said. "They said no, didn't they?"  
  
Ron let go of Hermione and walked up to Harry. "Well…"  
  
"God, Ron," Harry said quietly. "I'm so bloody sorry."  
  
"Harry-"  
  
"If I weren't some bloody warrior, this wouldn't be happening."  
  
"Harry-"  
  
"I don't even do anything as warrior! I sit like a lump! You wind up multi-tasking!"  
  
"Harry-"  
  
"And Sirius is in Azkaban, and we can't find Peter Petigrew, and-"  
  
"HARRY!"   
  
He blinked at his best friend, who was smiling.  
  
"They said yes, Harry. I'm alright."  
  
Harry blinked again. "Really?"  
  
"Really," Ron nodded.   
  
Harry hugged his best friend.   
  
Things were bad. But this was good.  
  
  
Sarah Lupin felt as if it had only been yesterday that'd she'd roamed the halls of Hogwarts. In her mind, it had only been a day.  
  
In the real world, it had been somewhere around fourteen years.   
  
She'd looked in the mirror earlier, and had let out a string of curses that would have put even Sirius Black to shame. To say the least, Madame Pomfrey had not been amused by her colorful vocabulary. But she couldn't help it. She didn't remember looking so old and worn.   
  
But she remembered everything else.   
  
She remembered James and Lily's and Emily's deaths. She remembered her husband, Remus. Her daughter, Torianna. Her surrogate niece and nephew, Harry and Evelyn. Sirius.  
  
Most of all, she remember that she couldn't wait to get her hands on Peter Petigrew.  
  
He was the reason she'd been in a coma so long.   
  
She hadn't meant to become caught up in her thoughts, but it happened. She bumped into someone, and muttered an apology.   
  
And the someone she'd bumped into grabbed her arm before she could continue walking. She snapped toward the person, and nearly stopped breathing.   
  
He stood silent. Light brown hair speckled with gray. Amber eyes looking at her in wonder and pain.   
  
She didn't waste any time with curses or any sort of words. She threw her arms around Remus and kissed him like she hadn't kissed him in fourteen years.  
  
Because she hadn't.  
  
  
"Shouldn't you be in bed?"  
  
He nodded. "I just have a favor to ask of you."  
  
Faith and Buffy glanced at each other, and then back at Draco Malfoy. Giles had told them all about Draco's new status as vampire slayer, and his reluctance, which may have rivaled Buffy's when it came to accepting fate.   
  
"Shoot, kid," Faith nodded.   
  
"I want you two to train me to be a vampire slayer," he told them.  
  
Buffy shook her head. "That's what watchers are for."  
  
"I don't want a bloody watcher," Draco replied. "I don't want some stuffy bastard telling me how to do things. I want people who know what they're talking about because they've been through it."  
  
Faith sighed, and looked to Buffy. "He's right, y'know. I woulda killed to be trained by an actual slayer."  
  
Buffy sighed. "Yeah. Okay. We start tomorrow right after dinner. You're late, and… and…"  
  
"Ten extra push-ups," Faith finished. "And don't wear any hair products or perfume. Demons smell that shit from a mile away."  
  
Buffy blinked. "They do?"  
  
"Shyeah," Faith replied. "Why do you think Angel always has issues? He won't quit it with the products."  
  
Buffy snickered. "Remind me to tease him."  
  
Draco beamed as he walked away from his teachers.   
  
  
"No. Absolutely not. He needs a watcher."  
  
They hadn't even had breakfast yet when Dumbledore had called the two slayer, Angel, and the two watchers into his office for a meeting.  
  
Faith turned to Giles and Wesley. "Permission to kick his ass."  
  
"Denied," Wesley replied. "Quinton, it may be beneficial. No slayer has ever lasted long enough to help train others."  
  
"They're both renegade slayers!" Travers replied. "One's a murderer, the other is…"  
  
"The best slayer you've ever had?" Giles suggested. "Because she is. No slayer has lived as long as Buffy."  
  
Buffy blinked. "But… I've died twice."  
  
"That's not the point," Giles snapped. "The point is that she and Faith are very capable of training Malfoy."  
  
"To be what, Giles? I killer?! A Death Eater?! He probably already is one!"  
  
Buffy was holding Faith back as best she could. Wesley and Angel stepped in to help.  
  
Dumbledore got to his feet. "Mr. Travers, I have already asked you to be professional and not speak ill of my professors. Unfortunately, I must ask you to leave."  
  
"What?" Travers cried. "What about the boy?!"  
  
"I will see to it that Draco is trained," Dumbledore informed him. "He is no longer your concern."  
  
"He's a slayer! As long as that is true, he will be my concern!"  
  
Dumbledore sighed. "Professor O'Brien, please show Mr. Travers to the door."  
  
"My pleasure," Angel replied. He grabbed Travers by the shirt collar, and dragged him out of the office.  
  
Dumbledore sighed. "As long as I am headmaster of this school, no outsider will insult anyone on my teaching staff. Now… Draco's training… While I am all for you ladies training him, I would very much like for Rupert to oversee. Make sure things go smoothly."  
  
"That's the thing," Buffy replied. "There isn't such a thing as smooth slayer training. And It'll probably be harder on Malfoy than anyone. And not just because he's a boy. I don't know how good an idea it is for him to keep this a secret from his parents. He's already not telling them about his girlfriend."  
  
"How do you know that?" Wesley asked.  
  
"Please," Buffy scoffed. "How long did it take for me tell my mother I was making out with a vampire?"  
  
"Point," Wesley nodded.   
  
"I've already called Lucius," Dumbledore informed them.  
  
"What?" Giles snapped. "Why?"  
  
"No sense in delaying the inevitable," Dumbledore replied. "He's on his way here with his wife and daughter."  
  
"Malfoy's got a sister?" Faith asked.   
  
Dumbledore sighed. "She's a seventh-year at Durmstrang."  
  
"Whoa," Buffy muttered. "That's the mix-up! She was supposed to be the slayer, and the powers screwed up the siblings!"  
  
"Or perhaps they didn't 'screw up,'" Dumbledore suggested. "I'm certain that you've all noticed that Draco Malfoy hasn't been living up to the Death Eater standards his family expects. Perhaps he truly is meant to be a slayer."  
  
  
"Ron?"  
  
He looked up from his large plate of food. He was wearing sunglasses.  
  
Harry blinked. "Are you alright?"  
  
Ron shrugged. "Fine."  
  
"Gimme the shades," Harry told him.  
  
"No."  
  
"Give 'em, Ron."  
  
"I said no," Ron snapped. "Just leave it be, Harry."  
  
Harry reached over and snatched the shades.  
  
His eyes were completely white. The pools of blue that usually stared at Harry were gone.   
  
"Ron…"  
  
Ron glared. "Happy? Now give 'em back, you great prat."  
  
Harry, completely shocked, gave them back. "What…?"  
  
"It happens when I first wake up in the morning," Ron told him, putting the shades back on. "It's a demon thing."  
  
"Half-demon."  
  
"Right." Ron sighed, and played with his food. "Did you want something?"  
  
"I want to talk to you about your visions."  
  
Ron shrugged. "Okay. What?"  
  
"I want you to actually start telling me about your visions."  
  
"I do tell you."  
  
"I mean, when they happen," Harry replied. "They're not just meant for you, y'know. I'm supposed to do things, too. So, from now on, we do the vision quest together."  
  
Ron smirked. "Yeah. Alright. I think I can deal with that."  
  
"Hi," Hermione chimed in, sitting next to Ron. She raised an eyebrow. "You look ridiculous."  
  
"Well, it's better than looking frightening, I suppose," Ron muttered. 


	14. The Trials

Hey folks! Thanks for all the feedback!  
Be warned, there's a little more cursing than normal.   
  
The Trials  
  
The days flew by as Sirius' trial approached. All except for classes.   
  
Professor Rosenberg, Professor Summers, Professor Morgan, Professor O'Brien and Professor Giles had all taken leaves of absence. No one knew where they'd gone, but Harry and his friends had been miserable, as Professor Snape had taken over Defense Against the Dark Arts yet again when he came back from his own excursion into oblivion. Charlie, or Professor Weasley (Ron and his brothers couldn't say this without a snickered,) had taken over Magical Lore, and watching Professor Flitwick try and teach physical defense was actually humorous.  
  
Sirius arrived at Hogwarts late Tuesday night, wearing a heavy black robe, the hood up. On either side walked Remus and a blond woman, who looked quite pale.   
  
Harry blinked. It had been two days since his return from Azkaban, and he'd never seen the woman before.   
  
"Harry?"  
  
It had been Sirius' voice.   
  
Harry threw off his invisibility cloak and walked up to Sirius. "How are you?"  
  
Sirius sighed, and put his hood down. He looked much better than two days prior. His black hair was cut to just above his ears, parted down the middle, his teeth were very clean, and he looked like any other wizard Harry had ever seen.   
  
The blond woman gripped Sirius' arm as she stared at Harry. "Oh, Merlin. It's like looking at James all over again…"  
  
Harry's attention snapped to her.   
  
Sirius sighed. "It is, isn't it? Lily's eyes, though."  
  
The woman sighed and shook her head. "I'm going to kill Voldemort with my bare bloody hands."  
  
Remus sighed. "Sarah…"  
  
"Sarah?" Harry repeated. "Sarah Marshall?"  
  
"Oh, hell, I haven't been called Marshall in forever," the blond snickered. "I'm a married woman." She winked at Remus, who sighed and shook his head.   
  
"You're Torianna's mum!" Harry cried. "Bloody hell!"  
  
"Oy," Sirius snapped. "Just cause Sarah curses doesn't mean you can, too. Merlin, Lily'd have my head on a platter if she heard you say that."  
  
"But, you are, aren't you?" Harry asked Sarah. "You're Torianna's mum."  
  
Sarah nodded, and then stopped. "Wait… how do you know about Torianna? She's in the states, you've never met her, have…" She turned a harsh stare to Remus. "You didn't tell me she was here."  
  
Remus blinked. "I wanted to surprise you."  
  
"I don't know weather to kiss you or kill you."   
  
"Preferably, neither," Sirius voiced. "Can we find my room. I'd really like to actually sleep on a bed for the first time in fourteen years."  
  
Sarah grumbled. "Mother fucking Petigrew… I'll kill him, I will…"  
  
"Will you keep the cursing to a minimum?" Remus snapped. "First of all, we're in a school. Second of all, Lily's son is standing right here. If we're not careful, she's going to start haunting us."  
  
Sirius sighed. "Sometimes, I wish she would. Where's Wesley?"  
  
"Preparing for tomorrow," Remus replied. "Now, come on, let's find you a room."  
  
"Potter! Ten points from Gryffindor for being out of bed after hours!"  
  
Remus, Sirius and Sarah looked past Harry to Snape.   
  
"'Lo, Severus," Remus smiled. "How was the mission?"  
  
Snape glared. "Potter. Bed."  
  
"Put a shoe in it, Severus," Sarah snapped. "Before I do."  
  
Snape glared. "None of you are teachers here," he said sternly. "I, however, am."  
  
Sirius raised a hand. "Legal guardian. Now sod off."  
  
"Twenty points from Gryffindor, for foul behavior from the alumni."  
  
Remus automatically held Sarah back. "Sarah, calm down. We're all on the same side, here."  
  
Snape turned his nose up at them and walked off.  
  
"Ugly little shit," Sarah grumbled.  
  
Sirius sighed. "Y'know what?"  
  
"What?" Remus asked.   
  
"I could use a bed. And some fire whiskey."  
  
Remus glared. "You are not getting drunk the night before your trial. Save it for Halloween."  
  
The three adults went silent.  
  
Sirius finally cleared his throat, and addressed Harry. "You should go to bed. You've got class in the morning."  
  
"No," Harry replied. "I'm coming to the trial. With Ron, Hermione, Evelyn and Torianna."  
  
Remus shook his head. "There's no reason for all of you to miss class. You're staying here."  
  
  
Evelyn brushed her hair out and sighed at the boy behind her. "What are you staring at?"  
  
Remus and Sirius had caved. Even Sarah, after seeing Torianna for the first time caved.   
  
"How do you know I'm staring?"  
  
"I'm standing in front of a mirror, dumb-ass."  
  
Draco sighed. "You really think he's innocent, don't you?"  
  
"I know he's innocent," Evelyn replied. "Listen, if Dumbledore, and Remus, and Harry think-"  
  
"Potter's an idiot," Draco said bitterly. "Don't listen to him."  
  
Evelyn rolled her eyes. "Bite your tongue about my friends around me, will you?"  
  
"Can I bite your tongue instead?"  
  
"Y'know… it was only a month ago that you had no idea what sex was," Evelyn commented. "Now, you're getting all kinky? What is this?"  
  
Draco smirked. "Maybe I really am evil," he replied.   
  
Evelyn rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. How did you get into the Gryffindor tower, again?"  
  
"Ron let me in," Draco replied.   
  
She blinked and turned to him. "Ron?"  
  
Draco shrugged. "Ron."  
  
"So… you guys are friends?"  
  
"I wouldn't say friends," Draco replied, shifting uncomfortably. "I'd say… casual acquaintances who like to call each other rude, tactless names."  
  
Evelyn smirked. "He's your buddy."  
  
"Kiss my arse."  
  
"There will be no arse-kissing," said a sharp voice. "What is he doing in the Gryffindor common room?"  
  
Evelyn rolled her eyes at her father. "Give it a rest, Dad. Draco's fine. He's just staring intently at my ass."  
  
Sirius blinked. "Please tell me you're not dating him…"  
  
"And what if I tell you I am?"  
  
Sirius turned a glare on Draco. "If you don't keep your hands off my kid-"  
  
"Dad… go get ready for court," Evelyn instructed.   
  
Draco stared as Sirius fumed for a moment, but stormed out of the portrait hole. The man was everything Professor Wyndham-Pryce had described, and Draco had to admit to being intimidated. But he didn't have to admit it to anyone else.   
  
  
Harry sat in-between Ron, who was wearing his shades again, and Hermione. On either side of them sat Torianna and Evelyn, along with Remus and Sarah. Dumbledore sat in front of them, next to Draco, along with Arthur and Molly Weasley, and Bill, Percy, and Charlie.  
  
The trial had been going quite slowly, as all of the evidence against Sirius was presented to Fudge and the rest of the court.   
  
Sirius sat in the very front, next to Wesley, who looked stiff as a board.   
  
Harry sighed deeply. It was going to be a long day.  
  
  
"We lost the track again," Angel called.  
  
"Shit!" Faith cried. "Shit, shit, shit! Where could this shithole be?!"  
  
"Wherever he is, he's not here," Willow commented. "Maybe some kinda tracking spell would do the trick?"   
  
"Not done by you," Giles told her. "Not here. We're too close."  
  
"I hate Little Hangleton," Angel commented. "Even when I was a vampire this place gave me the creeps."  
  
"It should," Buffy replied. "This is Voldemort's stomping ground."  
  
Willow sighed. "He can't be far, can he? This place must be smaller than Sunnydale." she asked.  
  
Buffy sighed heavily. "I miss Sunnydale. The big bads were so uncomplicated. They just killed to kill. Indiscriminate. Didn't matter who you were or where you came from. They just killed you."   
  
Angel looked around as they walked through the town, earning strange stares from other passers-by. "What do you guys think about the grave yard?"  
  
"I think it's our best bet," Buffy replied. "Onward to the cereal boxes of death."  
  
  
They'd asked Sarah to take an oath as she got up on the stands. She did, and one of the potion makers began to explain the implications of the Veritaserum to her, but she just glowered at him, took the mug from him, and chugged the whole thing.  
  
"Bloody brilliant," Ron muttered. "Guess now we know why Torianna's such a bad-arse."  
  
Harry smirked briefly, but kept his eyes on Sarah as Wesley asked the questions and the truth, the real truth, came out.  
  
  
"COME BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE FUCK!"   
  
Peter Petigrew wet himself.   
  
He had a very angry-looking brunette chasing him through the cemetery. He screamed, and hit something very hard.   
  
He looked up, expecting to see a person, but looked up to see a mausoleum. "Hell."  
  
He was dragged to his feet, and turned around, to face the two slayers, the witch, the warrior and the watcher.  
  
"Finally," Faith sighed.   
  
Before Petigrew could apparate or even struggle, he was slammed in the face, and passed out.  
  
  
The entire court broke into chatter as Sarah's account of what happened fourteen years prior came to a close. She was led off the bench, by Wesley, as the potion hadn't worn off.   
  
Fudge banged a gavel, and the court settled down. "We will continue this trial tomorrow, at the request of Mr. Wyndham-Pryce. Adjourned."  
  
  
"You okay?"  
  
Sarah turned her zoned-out gaze from out the train window to her daughter.   
  
"Yes, I'm alright. Just a little dazed from the potion. You?"  
  
"I'm okay, I guess," Torianna replied. "It's been a weird few weeks… hell, it's been a weird existence, lately."  
  
"Existence, you'll find, is nothing but weird," Sarah smiled. "This has to be some trip. Don't suppose you were expecting to meet your parents when you signed up for this thing?"  
  
Torianna shook her head. "Nope. Not at all."  
  
"Do you miss the states?"   
  
Torianna shrugged. "Sometimes. Miss my friends. Fit in there much better than I do here. Evelyn fits in well here, though."  
  
"I noticed," Sarah replied. "She's with a Malfoy, I hear. Sirius is going to sh- I mean… he'll-"  
  
"Shit?" Torianna asked.   
  
Sarah shook her head. "Don't say that. I don't care so much, but I think your father might get upset. And It'll make me look like a bad mum."  
  
Torianna smirked. "Yer not a bad mother."  
  
Sarah sighed and put a hand through her daughter's hair. "Dumb luck I ended up with you and your father, you know. Dumb bloody luck."  
  
  
"I don't see why we have to be here," Percy complained. "I have a lot of work to do."  
  
Molly sighed. "We're here to support Harry and Sirius."  
  
"But what if Sirius really is guilty?" Percy asked.  
  
"He's not, Dear," Molly replied. "I trust Dumbledore more than anyone."  
  
Percy sighed. "I suppose. I just want to get back to work."  
  
Arthur sighed. "Tomorrow evening, Percy. Just be patient. This means a lot to Harry."  
  
Percy sighed again. "Fine. But did you see Fudge giving those odd stares at Ron? Those shades look ridiculous!"  
  
Molly and Arthur didn't reply. Only sighed at each other.  
  
  
Charlie sighed as he paced the main halls of Hogwarts that night.  
  
"What are you waiting for?" Bill asked him. He was sitting on the floor, flipping through a magazine.  
  
"A girl."  
  
Bill snorted. "You think some girl is going to walk through that door and-"  
  
The double doors swung open harshly, and a short, pale brunette rushed in and threw her arms around Charlie.  
  
Bill got to his feet, his magazine forgotten. "Bloody hell." He looked up. "Where's mine?"   
  
Faith sighed, and looked at Bill, her arms still around Charlie. "Another brother?"  
  
"My older brother," Charlie told her, kissing the top of her head. "Bill, this is the girlfriend. Faith."  
  
Bill nodded. "Nice t' meet you."  
  
Faith nodded. "Yeah." she looked up at Charlie. "We have a present for Dumbledore."  
  
  
"Oh, god," he whimpered. "Please don't hurt me."  
  
Sarah snarled, as Remus did his best to hold her back.  
  
"Calm down, woman!" he cried. "We need him, remember?"  
  
Buffy sighed as she finished bounding Peter to a chair. Across from her, Faith was doing the same to Sirius.   
  
"This really isn't necessary," Sirius told her. "I can just turn into a dog, and then you wouldn't know what to do."  
  
"Sorry," Faith shrugged. "Giles' orders."  
  
"And we animagus-proofed the office," Willow added. "Can't have rat-boy running off on us."  
  
Dumbledore entered his office, followed by Cornelius Fudge. He stopped dead in his tracks at the scene.   
  
"Hey, Professor," Buffy greeted. "Oh! Hey, Cornhole! You should see this, too."  
  
"His name is Cornelius," Giles informed her.  
  
Buffy glared at Faith. "You told me his name was Cornhole!"  
  
Angel raised an eyebrow at Faith. "Cornhole?"  
  
Faith nodded. "Cornhole Fudge-Packer."  
  
"Ew," Willow muttered.   
  
"That's…" Fudge stammered. "That's Peter Petigrew."  
  
"Darned tootin it is!" Willow cried. "We caught him."  
  
"Actually," Buffy said slowly. "He kinda ran into a crypt. But that's not the point!"  
  
"Why is Sirius tied up?" Dumbledore asked. "Has he been trying to light Professor MacGonagall on fire again?"  
  
"It's a precaution," Giles replied. "Just to make sure he doesn't try and kill Peter. Yet."  
  
  
The trial the next day was swift.   
  
Peter was given the Veritaserum, given a life sentence in Azkaban, and Sirius' name was cleared. Remus presented him with a large bottle of fire whiskey on the way home, and Sarah began throwing out suggestions on where he could find a place to live.   
  
Harry was ecstatic.   
  
"No more Dursleys. No more cupboard. No more Dursleys."  
  
"You said that, already, Mate," Ron replied.   
  
"I don't care," Harry said quickly. "NO MORE DURSLEYS!" 


	15. The Ties That Bind and Put You In A Full...

The Ties That Bind, and Put You Into a Full Nelson   
  
He got an owl at lunch the next day.   
  
"Oh, bloody hell," Harry muttered. "Bloody fucking-"  
  
"Harry!" Hermione cried indignantly.   
  
"He can't come here!" Harry yelled. "He probably won't even be able to see the place!"  
  
"Who?" Evelyn and Ron asked at the same time.  
  
"My cousin."  
  
Ron spat out his pumpkin juice. "What?! Here?! Why?!"  
  
Harry sighed. "Says here that Smeltings gets a fall break, and my Aunt and Uncle are out of town for a family emergency. He's arriving tonight. And here's the death threat from Uncle Vernon if anything happens to him. Damn!"  
  
"Stop cursing!" Hermione scolded. "Merlin, you're getting to be as bad as Ron!"  
  
"Well, we are best mates," Ron replied.  
  
"Did I hear correctly?" Fred asked, sliding over, taking the letter from Harry. "Dudley's coming here?"  
  
Harry sighed. "Yes, Merlin help the lot of us."  
  
"Oy!" Fred cried. "George! We gotta whip up some more Ton Tongue Toffee!"   
  
Harry shook his head. "I think I'm going to cry."  
  
"Really," Hermione said, "That isn't very nice."  
  
"Neither is Dudley," Harry pointed out. "You haven't met him yet, Hermione. He's a terror."  
  
"A whale of a terror!" George called.   
  
Torianna snorted.  
  
"I wouldn't laugh, ladies," Fred pointed out. "You never know. He may have started fancying girls."  
  
Each girl immediately stopped laughing.   
  
Hermione sighed as she, too, received a late owl during lunch. She opened it up, and found that it was from Lavender and Parvoti.   
  
  
Hermione,  
  
WHAT?! You and RON WEASLEY?! That's… That's…! MERLIIIIIIIN! That's so exciting!! Is he a good kisser? How far have you   
two gone?! Is it serious, or is it just a fling? Are you in LoooooooooOVe? We thought you two HATED each other! Wow! I guess all those fights were because of gasp! SEXUAL TENTION!  
  
  
Hope to hear from you soon!  
  
Lavender and Parvoti   
  
  
PS: Tell Ron we say Hi! ;)   
  
  
  
Hermione could almost hear the giggling and squealing. By the end of the letter, she was bright red. It wasn't that she didn't like Parvoti and Lavender. She did, but she was grateful for the fact that Evelyn and Torianna didn't shriek.   
  
Ron blinked. "Mione? You okay?"  
  
She held the letter loosely, and Ginny grabbed it. She read and laughed. "Good god! How did they find out?"   
  
Hermione huffed. "They know everything!"   
  
"Know what?" Ron asked. He snatched the parchment from his sister, and, after reading it, went reader than Hermione. "Uhm… I… I think I have some music I need to… transpose… and… yeah." He got up abruptly, But Ginny grabbed his hand and pulled him to sit back down.  
  
"Big baby," she muttered.  
  
  
Defense against the dark arts was the last class of the day, and Hermione stayed after, since Ron and Harry needed to get to chorus. She walked up to Professor O'Brien's desk, and dropped a stack of parchment in front of him.  
  
He blinked up at her and slowly read took the parchment, skimming over the first page. "You know."  
  
She nodded.  
  
He sighed. "Knew you were a smart girl."  
  
"You… you killed all those people… for… a hundred and fifty years."  
  
He nodded. "I did." He looked up at her calmly. "You afraid?"  
  
"A little."  
  
"A little fear can be a good thing," he told her. "Any questions?"  
  
"The Hogwarts Massacre… that was you?"  
  
He nodded again. "Yeah. I killed the entire Ravenclaw house in one night."  
  
"Why?"   
  
"Why what?"  
  
She sighed. "Why did you do it?"  
  
Angel sighed. "Because it was fun."  
  
She paled. "I don't understand."  
  
Angel sighed again. "Hermione, I explained to you in class about souls and the fact that vampires don't have them. I didn't have one, and the only thing that mattered to me, was me, really. Vampires are ruthless, sick creatures. When I got my soul back, I spent eighty years wondering around, trying to come to terms with what I'd done. I'm still trying."  
  
  
Draco grumbled, as he sat in Professor Giles' classroom, waiting for chorus to begin.   
  
He was finally getting around the replacing his broken string, and retuning his guitar.  
  
It wasn't going well. Everything he did made it worse.  
  
Ron burst through the door and ripped the guitar from Malfoy. "Merlin! What are you trying t' do, kill me?! The poor thing is flat, and it's driving me nutters! If you can't tune it, wait for someone who can!"   
  
After a few moments, the guitar was in tune. Ron handed it back to Malfoy and sat next to him on the risers.   
  
Draco played a few chords and shrugged. "Thanks."  
  
"Yeah," Ron replied. "So… how long have you been playing?"  
  
"Long while… six years, I suppose."  
  
"That's… nice."  
"Yeah." Draco started to play a few chords.  
  
A chord progression which made Ron smile, and start singing along a little.  
  
And that was how Tara found them. Singing along to Draco's playing.   
  
She smiled.  
  
  
"So, what's next?"  
  
Sirius sighed. "Buy a place, I suppose."  
  
"Us, as well," Remus said, taking Sarah's hand.  
  
"You should get a place together," Torianna said.  
  
Sarah sighed. "Sirius and I might kill each other," she snickered.   
  
"I'll probably wind up across the street anyways," Sirius grinned.   
  
The three adults and three teens smiled at each other in silence for a moment.  
  
"Well," Remus said. "We'd best be off."  
  
"Right," Harry nodded.   
  
Sirius pulled Evelyn into a tight hug. "If Malfoy hurts you, I'll kill 'im."  
  
Evelyn snickered. "Okay, Dad."  
  
Torianna hugged Remus tightly as well.   
  
Harry sighed, and looked at his shoes, feeling slightly envious, wishing for another dream about his parents. He hugged Sirius and clasped hands with Remus. He turned to take Sarah's hand, but she wrapped her arms around him instead, giving him a comfortably tight squeeze.   
  
It was strange. He'd only known the woman a few days, but she was hugging him as if he were her own son. The hug felt like a motherly hug should. He stood with his hands glued to his sides, for a moment, before returning the hug. She let go a moment later, and put a hand through his hair. "Take care, Harry." She turned and Hugged both Torianna and Evelyn in the same fashion.   
  
  
Dudley Dursley hated Hogwarts. He'd only been there five minutes, and he already hated it. It was cold, it was huge, and Harry lived there.   
  
Harry walked down the steps wearing black slacks, and a white dress shirt with a red and gold striped die. His hair was as it usually was, and his glasses still hung off his nose slightly. He held a stick in his hand that lit up the night a little.  
  
But there was something different about him that Dudley couldn't quite figure out. He walked up to stand in front of him. "I want you to be here just about as much as you want to be here. Let's just try and make the best of this."  
  
Dudley snorted. "I hate it here."  
  
"Good," Harry snapped. "So the next time something like this happens, you'll peg your parents to leave you someplace else."  
  
Dudley glared. "You better watch it, Potter, or I'll-"  
  
"Hit me?" Harry interrupted. "Go ahead and try. I can whip out my wand and stupefy you before you get the chance… not that you need any more stupefying."  
  
"THAR SHE BLOWS! MOBY DICK!"   
  
Harry jumped, and turned to see Fred and George standing at the top of the stairs leading into the castle.   
  
"I wanna captain Ahab!" George cried.  
  
"No!" Fred cried. "I'm captain Ahab!"  
  
Harry rolled his eyes. "What do you two want?"   
  
"Quidditch practice starts now," Fred replied. "Oliver wants us all on the pitch."  
  
Harry groaned. "Tell him I'll be down as soon as I get Dudley situated."  
  
"But Harry," George wined. "We don't have enough room in the tower for him! He can't even fit through the portrait hole!"  
  
Dudley turned a bright shade of red and looked down.  
  
Harry sighed, exasperated. "Come on."  
  
When he put Dudley's things in his dorm room, he put on his Quidditch gear and picked up his Firebolt. He sat Dudley down in the common room. "Okay, Dudley. I have to go to Quidditch practice. I'll be back in a couple of hours… If I'm lucky, and you just sit here… and… stare at the wall."  
  
Dudley glared as Harry rushed out of the common room.   
  
Harry passed Ginny on the way out.   
  
"Gin! I've got a really huge favor to ask!"  
  
Ginny blinked. "What?"  
  
"Look after my cousin in the common room while I'm at practice?" he asked.   
  
Ginny blinked. "Alright, I suppose. I can do homework there for awhile."  
  
Harry smiled brilliantly, leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. "Life saver, you are. Thanks, Ginny!"   
  
She turned a deep red as he rushed off.   
  
"Periwinkle," she muttered to the fat lady.   
  
"Well, wasn't that sweet," the fat lady smiled, and opened up.   
  
Ginny walked in, and blinked at Dudley. "Hi. I'm Ginny. Harry asked me to keep you company while he's at practice."  
  
Dudley glared at her.  
  
Ginny sighed sat in a chair next to the couch Dudley sat on. She took out her school books. She wondered if that kiss was worth looking after the tub of bitterness next to her.  
  
  
Draco smirked at Evelyn as he passed her the halls.  
  
She smirked back, but stopped short.   
  
She blinked.  
  
Draco.  
  
No hair gel.   
  
She turned to look at him as he walked away from her. His ridiculously blond hair was loose and soft-looking, falling a just short of his ears.  
  
For the first time, she really, really wanted to touch his hair.   
  
He felt her eyes on him, and stopped, but didn't turn around. "See something you like, Black?"  
  
She snickered. "Tell you later, Malfoy."  
  
He grinned, and walked off.  
  
  
"YOU WHAT?!"   
  
Harry couldn't believe it.  
  
Ginny looked awfully guilty as Harry began to flip out.   
  
"How could this happen?!"  
  
Ginny sighed. "George made a bunch of comments about whales and lard and the like, and Dudley just ran off. I'm really sorry, Harry. I tried to go after him, but he's quick for a large one."  
  
"Calm down, Harry," Hermione said soothingly. "He can't have gone far."  
  
Ron's brow furrowed in thought, and he tapped his temple with a finger. "Actually… I believe we have a problem."  
  
"Don't tell me you're having a vision now," Harry snapped.  
  
"He's in the dark forest."  
  
Harry shook his head. "Bloody typical." He ran up to his dorm, and came back down a moment later carrying his invisibility cloak. He sighed, and was about to throw it himself and Ron and Hermione, but stopped short.   
  
"If any type of naughtiness takes place under this cloak, I'm going to put at least one of you in a binding spell."  
  
Ron glared harshly, and Hermione turned a deep shade of red.  
  
Harry's lips twisted into a smirk for a moment before throwing the cloak over them.  
  
"What about me?" Ginny asked, hands on her hips.  
  
"You're not going into the Forbidden Forest," Ron's voice replied. "Stay here."  
  
Ginny sat down on the couch grumpily as the portrait hole opened and closed.  
  
  
"So… the spying was good?"  
  
"It was fine."  
  
"You're talkative."  
  
Snape sighed. "Dumbledore does not want me to speak about this to anyone but him."  
  
Faith nodded. "Yeah, okay." She sighed, and looked around the Forbidden Forest. "Damn. I thought you said there were giant spiders in here!"  
  
"Acromantulas," Snape replied. "They're here somewhere. You've got to keep… why are you being nice?"  
  
Faith blinked. "Shut up and enjoy it while it lasts," she snapped. She kept walking.  
  
Snape just shook his head.  
  
  
Draco slumped onto the couch.  
  
Snape and Dumbledore had transformed one of the dungeons into a training room.  
  
"It's okay to lose," Buffy told him. "Better to lose here against me, than to an actual vampire. And I'm a little tougher than your run-of-the-mill undead guy."  
  
He nodded. "Guess so. Am I improving at all?"  
  
Giles nodded. "A little. Mind you, it's only been two hours, Draco. You must be patient."  
  
Draco rolled his eyes. "Right."  
  
"Draco?"  
  
He looked up to see a very pale MacGonagall staring at him from the steps out of the dungeon.  
  
He got to his feet.  
  
"Your father is here to see you."  
  
His mind reeled into a panic. "Bloody fucking hell."  
  
Lucius Malfoy walked slowly down the stairs, staring at his son harshly. "A moment alone with the boy, please?"  
  
Buffy stood up, ready to argue, but Giles grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out, closing the door behind them.  
  
"What are you doing?" Buffy snapped. "Do you know what might happen in there?"  
  
"This is Draco's fight. Draco's choice. "Not ours."  
  
Buffy sighed.   
  
  
They had barely entered the Forbidden Forest when something dropped on them from above.   
  
They all screamed in surprise and scrambled out from under the cloak.  
  
Hermione was grabbed and a hand clamped over her mouth.  
  
Harry noticed that she didn't look frightened at all, even though her captor wielded a large axe. She mere looked quite annoyed. Her brown eyes rolled in exasperation.  
  
Harry lifted his wand. "Lumos!" It lit up and Harry's attention turned to Ron.  
  
His eyes were a burning white. A deep, animalistic snarl escaped. It was nothing Harry'd ever heard out of his best friend before. Frankly, it was scary.  
  
Hermione's captor was around their age, with shaggy brown hair and horrible taste in Muggle clothing.  
  
Harry, at this point, was more frightened of Ron than Hermione's assailant.   
  
"I'd let her go," Harry warned the other boy. "They're dating. He'll kill you dead."  
  
Another low, menacing rumble came from Ron. An agreement, Harry wagered.  
  
"Who are you?" the brunette boy asked.  
  
"Students," Harry replied. "Please let her go. I really don't want my best friend to rip you limb from limb. He's a half-demon, y'know."  
  
The boy glared, and raised his axe to Ron, who riped it out of his grasp and chucked into the trunk of a tree behind them.  
  
"Oy! Watch it with that!"  
  
Harry turned sharply. "Dudley?! That you?"  
  
Dudley walked up to them, looking frightened. "What is this place?"  
  
"Forbidden Forest," Harry replied. "Emphasis on Forbidden."  
  
All of the sudden, Hermione's captor howled in pain and threw Hermione at Ron, who shoved her behind him.   
  
"What did you do?" Harry asked her.  
  
"I kicked him where it counts," Hermione replied. "He bloody deserved it."  
  
"Alright, Animal," the boy said. "You really want a piece of this?"  
  
Ron glared.   
  
"Ron, no," Hermione spoke up.  
  
"Stop," Harry agreed.  
  
"Bring. It. On."  
  
Ron's eyes glowed even more, almost as much as Harry's wand. He felt stronger than ever. He knew his half-demon was fueling this, and he didn't care. The only thing he could think of was Hermione with the axe to her head.   
  
The boy lunged for Ron, but was grabbed by the hair and thrown to the ground. Professor Morgan stood over him. "Oh, Connor. You've been a bad boy."  
  
"What is the meaning of this?" Snape growled from behind Faith. "Potter Granger? Weasley?… What happened to Weasley?"  
  
"We came in after Dudley," Harry explained. "He wandered in here."  
  
"You guys shoulda told a teacher," Faith chided. She stopped. "Damn, am I a hypocrite." She noticed Connor getting to his feet, and she kicked him. He fell on his back.  
  
"Ron got a vision," Hermione said. "We had to go."  
  
"You have nothing to do with Weasley's visions, Granger," Snape told her.  
  
"C'mon, Sev," Faith voiced. "She's got every right to tag and you know it. She's the Wes to her versions of Angel and Cordy." She dragged the fallen boy to his feet. "Cmon, Connor. Time to go see Daddy."  
  
"Who is he?" Hermione asked. She took Ron's hand in hers. He sighed, and his eyes slowly changed to their natural state.   
  
"This is Connor O'Brien," Faith introduced.   
  
"Professor O'Brien has kids?!" Ron cried.  
  
"Just this one, not including the vampires," Faith replied. "Come on, kiddies, let's go in."  
  
  
"How did he get here?"  
  
"Beats me," Faith replied. "He and Ron were about to throw down in the Dark Forest."  
  
Angel sighed as he leaned back in his desk chair. "Not surprising. My son pisses everyone off. We gotta get in touch with LA, see what they have to say… he's lucky he didn't run into Spike and Dru."  
  
"Or Buffy," Faith added. "She was training Draco… thinking about taking him into the forest."  
  
Angel sighed.  
  
"You haven't told her about Connor, have you?"  
  
"Well… no."  
  
"Dumber than advertised, ladies and gentlemen," Faith quipped. "Tell her."  
  
"I will."  
  
"ANGEL!"  
  
"Too late, I'm gone," Faith got up and dashed She rushed past Snape, who caught her arm.  
  
"Where are you going?" He growled.  
  
"Charlie Weasley's room."  
  
"…Why?"  
  
"I can't tell you," she told her uncle. "You're too innocent."  
  
Snape raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Severus, you have the libido of a seven-year-old cootie-fearing second-grader. Now leggo." She rushed off, turning back to him for a moment. "Oh! Don't go to Angel's office unless you have the ultimate death wish."  
  
"What?"  
  
"The shit has hit the fan. Steer clear." 


	16. Night Dramas

Thanks for all of the wonderful feedback!  
Note: Okay. Giving credit where credit is due. The dubbing Cornelius "Cornhole Fudge-Packer" is a joint custody line. I originally came up with Cornhole, and when I informed my brother of this, he cracked up and added the "Fudge-Packer" Bow down to Dave, everyone. He rules. ;)   
  
Night Drama   
  
Narssica found her son sitting on the couch in the dungeon, with a wet cloth on his bruised left cheek. She knew Lucius had done that. She sat down next to Draco and reached a hand out to his multicolored face, and he batted her away violently. As a reflex, she smacked his other cheek.  
  
He barely blinked.  
  
He'd stopped flinching and cowering when he was nine.  
  
He sat in front of her now, as if nothing had happened, tending to his face. He didn't look at her but she kept her eyes trained on him.  
  
"Stop staring at me."  
  
"Come home, Draco," she ordered. Don't stay here. Don't turn against us. We're your family."  
  
He finally stared at her. He'd seen family. He'd seen Evelyn hug her father. He'd seen Ron stand up for his sister, and his twin brothers worry over him after a vision. He'd seen Torianna play chess with her father.  
  
He'd been slammed against walls, and smacked in the face, and sneered at, yelled at chased and kicked.   
  
Never embraced. Never worried over. Never stood up for.   
  
"Draco?"  
  
He got up without a second thought and walked out.  
  
  
Harry was, once again, about to spontaneously combust, as he paced around his dorm room. "Dudley! What were you thinking?!"  
  
"They were calling me names!"  
  
"Fred and George call everybody names! You could have been killed!"  
  
"What do you care?!" Dudley screamed.  
  
"Your parents will kill me!!" Harry screamed back.  
  
"We're not getting any sleep tonight, are we?" Dean asked no one in particular.  
  
"We aren't," Seamus agreed. "Neville's already passed out, though. Lucky bastard. Where's Ron?"  
  
"Where do you think?" Dean snapped, trying to plug his ears from the yelling. "Sod this. I'm going to sleep in the girls' dorm if I have to."  
  
Seamus got up. "Sounds good to me."  
  
  
"Thanks, Tara."  
  
"Hey, if you gotta play, you g-gotta play," she replied. "Just don't get carried away, alright?"  
  
Ron nodded, and sat down at the piano, which, moments ago, had been a normal table.  
  
Tara tousled his already messy red hair, before exiting the common room.  
  
He'd given Hermione a bit of scare that night. The new demon in him had come out rather suddenly, and it had startled she and Harry. He looked fairly calm now, pressing down the keys, seeming to test them. She decided not to bring it up.  
  
"I didn't know you played," Hermione said without looking up from her school books.  
  
Ron sighed. "I don't… y'know I never got lessons… just pick things out, is all. We can't really afford a piano at home, and I doubt my mum would appreciate my turning a piece of furniture into a piano."   
  
Hermione smirked, but still didn't look up.  
  
Ron sighed and started to play a few chords, which randomly formed a song that Hermione recognized. She finally looked up from her books to find him staring down in concentration.  
  
"How do you know that song?"  
  
"Oh, come on, Mione, what do you take me for?"   
  
"A wizard who pronounces telephone pheli-phone-tone. How do you know Muggle music?"  
  
Ron sighed, still playing. "Well… y'know, The Weird Sisters are really the only decent Wizarding music that isn't classical. And Dad's got a thing for Muggle stuff… and we've got a few things laying around…"  
  
"Oh…"  
  
"Wanna sing?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I'm an awful singer."  
  
"I could teach you."  
  
"Ron, I have work to do."  
  
"You always do work."  
  
"Yes, and you never do work, so I suppose we balance out somehow."  
  
Ron smirked. "Yeah."  
  
They fell into silence again, until Ron started to sing to his playing.  
  
That did it for Hermione. She slowly put her quill down and watched him.   
  
Ron Weasley. Biggest distraction ever.   
  
She got up and sat down next to him on the piano bench. She rested head on his shoulder, closed her eyes and just listened.  
  
  
She straddled his waist, pulled the Daily Prophet from his hands and threw it behind her. "Hi."  
  
Charlie raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"  
  
"Sitting on you," Faith replied. "What does it look like?"  
  
"It looks like you want to do very wicked things to me," Charlie replied matter-of-factly.   
  
"Oh, a perceptive one… I'm not sure I've ever been with one of those before," she joked.   
  
"Have you been with a lot of guys before this?"   
Faith sighed. "Yeah… but… they never really lasted." She sighed, and began to unbutton his shirt. "But let's not talk about them."  
  
"No," Charlie replied, sitting up a little. "I wanna talk. We never talk. How come they never lasted?"  
  
Faith sighed. "Mix of two very simple factors. One, I was a slut. In fact, I'm pretty sure I've still got some slut left in me. And two, I was dumb."  
  
"Dumb?"  
  
"I had no clue how to keep a relationship going," she snickered. "I'm shocked this one has lasted longer than a week. What about you? What's the girl count?"  
  
Charlie sighed. "Well… you have to understand the women in Romania are… well… there are two types. The completely chaste and the raving whores."  
  
"Hook up with the raving whores?"  
  
Charlie sighed. "Well… yeah."  
  
Faith snickered. "We're just a match made in heaven, aren't we?"  
  
Charlie sighed. "My mum says there are two factors that hold a relationship together. Openness and trust."  
  
Faith nodded. "Sounds about right… your mother should write a book."  
  
"Been telling her that for years," Charlie replied, shaking his head.   
  
They sat in silence for a while.  
  
Charlie smirked, and turned the tables. She was underneath him in a heartbeat. "I've gotten bored with the talking," he informed her.   
  
"Oh, yeah?" Faith asked with a laugh. "Good."  
  
  
"So, I'm supposed to tell you all about what happened with Darla, but you can keep everything you did with Spike a secret?"  
  
"I didn't get Spike pregnant," Buffy snapped. "I can't believe all this happened, and you've been keeping it from me for so long."  
  
"Why would you want to know, Buffy?" Angel asked. "What possible good would it have done for you to know that I went nuts, slept with Darla, got her pregnant, lost the kid to a hell-dimension, only to have him show up and try to kill me. A lot."  
  
"Is it true that Wesley took him?"   
  
Angel nodded. "Yeah… it's past."  
  
"And now, Connor is here?"  
  
"He's tied up in Wesley's office."   
  
"Because tying him up is going to make things all better," Buffy quipped.  
  
"Would you rather have him trying to kill Ron, or even Oliver, for being a half-demon?" Angel snapped. "We can't have him loose. We've got to get him out of here."  
  
"…Why does he hate demons so much?" Buffy asked, crossing her arms in her seat.  
  
Angel sighed. "He was taught that all demons are evil. He partially the reason that Lorne went to Vegas."  
  
They sat in silence for a while, until Buffy got up. "How could you do this?! How could you sleep with Darla?!"  
  
Angel rolled his eyes and got to his feet. "I was in a bad place in my life, sound familiar?"  
  
"That's… that's totally different… I died!"  
  
"And in a lot of ways, so did I!" Angel cried. "You have no idea what I was going through!"  
  
"So why don't you just tell me?!"  
  
"Why don't you?"   
  
They stood staring in silence.  
  
  
Seamus and Dean had done just what they'd planned. They didn't even bother knocking on the door. They swung it open, and both flopped onto Torianna, who was sitting in her bed, doing homework.   
  
She yelled out in surprise as both boys landed on her and her work.   
  
"What the hell?!"  
  
"Hi!" Dean said pleasant. "We're hiding from Harry and Dudley. They're arguing. We're sleeping here."  
  
Evelyn sighed. "Ah, the ties that bind."  
  
"And choke," Seamus snickered. "So, what're you ladies up to?"  
  
"Potions homework," Torianna said grumpily. "You two jerks landed on it."  
  
Dean got up, and sat on the floor, while Seamus just slid to sit next to Torianna.  
  
"Waiting for Draco," Evelyn said.   
  
"What do you see in him?" Seamus asked, crinkling his nose. "He's such a… Malfoy."  
  
Evelyn smirked. "Yeah, but he's a hot Malfoy."  
  
Seamus blinked. "Ew."   
  
"So, what do you think of Dudley?" Dean asked.   
  
"Fat," the girls said in unison.   
  
"Does need to lose a little weight," Seamus commented. He was staring intently at Torianna.   
  
Evelyn raised an eyebrow, but made no commented.  
  
"Bet I could whip him into shape real good," Torianna said, not looking up from her work.  
  
Evelyn snorted. "No way in hell."  
  
"Bet you I could," Torianna said, looking up from her books.  
  
"What're we talking?" Evelyn asked leaning in. "Money? Candy? Chores?"  
  
"Potions homework," Torianna smirked. "One week of mine if I get Dudley skinny by the end of five whole days."  
  
"And if it can't be done?"  
  
"I'll do a weeks-worth of Trelawney's shit," Torianna replied, snapping her Potions book shut.  
  
Evelyn's mouth twisted into a grin. "Deal."  
  
They both leaned over their beds and shook on it.  
  
Evelyn noticed that Seamus was still staring intently at Torianna.   
  
  
Willow sighed as she sat with Draco in the hospital wing. "What happened, again?"  
  
"I got hit by the punching bag."  
  
Willow reached a hand out to touch the nearly-healed bruises on his face. "The punching bag did this?"  
  
He nodded.   
  
"May I have a minute with him?"   
  
Willow's head snapped up to a girl who looked about seventeen. Her hair was stick straight and Draco's color. Her eyes were exactly like his, a pale, steely gray. She was tall and thin, wearing black robes.  
  
This could only be the sister.  
  
"No, you can't," Draco said sharply.  
  
Willow looked to Draco. His expression was blank. "Maybe it's a good idea, Draco."  
  
"It's not, believe me," Draco replied. "I don't want to be left alone with any of them ever again."  
  
The girl glared at him. "What did you say to him?"  
  
"I said I wouldn't kill for him or the Dark Lord," Draco spilled out. "I told him he could go to hell."  
  
"So you did have it coming," the girl mused.  
  
"Sod off, Maureen," Draco snapped. "Just sod off!"  
  
She shrugged. "Suit yourself." With that, she walked out.  
  
Willow gave Draco a grim look. "Punching bag, huh?"  
  
  
"How did it go with your son, Lucius?"  
  
Lucius Malfoy glared at Dumbledore as Narcissa led Maureen out of Hogwarts.  
  
"I have no son."  
  
Dumbledore stared sadly as Malfoys left. He knew that if ever they returned, there would be much bloodshed.  
  
  
"Ron?"  
  
Ron and Hermione had gotten tired in a hurry. They shifted from the piano to the couch. He was half-asleep, and Hermione was passed out, curled up next to him.   
  
Professor Wyndham-Pryce walked to sit on the table in front of the teens.  
  
"Hi," Ron said.  
  
"I need to know exactly what happened with Connor in the Forbidden Forest," Wesley told him.  
  
"Gonna give me detention?"  
  
"No," Wesley replied. "What happened?"  
  
"He jumped us," Ron replied. "Which is unbelievable to begin with, considering we were under the invisibility cloak. He grabbed Mione, put an axe to her head, and I got angry."  
  
"And then?"  
  
"I was… growling," Ron replied, looking past Giles into the fire. "I felt so… angry, more angry than I've ever been… And I felt my eyes go white again, and I was strong."  
  
"The demon?"  
  
Ron nodded. "Guess so… and then Hermione took my hand, and it was like a shot of ice ran through my whole system, and I was back to normal."   
  
Wesley sighed. "You've got to keep yourself under control at all times, Ron. The demon the Powers fused you with can obviously be quite volatile. I was wondering if perhaps you would be interested in training with Draco… I was going to go speak with Harry as well. It might be a good idea. I'm sure we can find some techniques which will keep your demon in check."  
  
Ron nodded, sleepily. "Yeah, alright."  
  
Wesley sighed and got up. "Alright… I'm off to bed… and Ron?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"If you touch my niece in any inappropriate ways, I'll kill you."  
  
A snort sounded from next to Ron, and both he and Wesley glanced to Hermione, who still seemed to be sleeping.  
  
Ron glared at her. "Faker."   
  
  
It was many hours later that Harry walked into the common room. He was drained. He couldn't argue with Dudley anymore. They'd fought about everything.   
  
He walked over to the couch to find Ron passed out, sitting up. Hermione was curled up next to him, her head on his chest, her eyes still open.  
  
"You're still up?" Harry asked.  
  
She nodded. "Yeah. So're you."  
  
"I just got done fighting with Dudley," Harry sighed. "He can't take this. He can't take being the outcast. He's never the outcast."  
  
Hermione sighed. "I think you might be wrong," she said softly, taking Ron's limp hand and entwining her fingers with his. "He's not exactly a normal size… he's probably always been an outcast."  
  
"Except at home," Harry pointed out. "He's always the center of attention, spoiled-"  
  
"But that's only at home," Hermione replied. "At school… who knows… The Dursleys hate you at their home, but here, in Hogwarts and the wizarding world, you're a celebrity, and you're brave. Maybe Dudley's just as outcasted at Smeltings as he is here."  
  
Harry sat down in front of the couch. "Maybe you're right… but that doesn't mean he can act up like he did. I know he didn't know about the Forbidden Forest, but I even got Ginny to keep him company while I was at practice. I don't understand why he had to run off."  
  
"He was upset," Hermione shrugged. "You can't just expect him to sit there and take George and Fred's quips."  
  
Harry sighed. "I could… try to be nice, I suppose."  
  
Hermione smiled. "You should get some sleep," she yawned, cuddling closer to Ron's still form. "It's late."  
  
"Do you mind if I… I mean, can I…?"  
  
Hermione smiled, and Harry joined his two best friends on the couch.   
  
They both fell asleep. 


	17. Twitch

Hey everyone! Sorry this got so wordy! Hope you like!  
Twitch  
  
He was in Godric's Hollow again, this he knew. The candy dish was still there, filled with Every Flavor Beans. In front of him sat a heavy photo album. He absently reached out to touch it when someone cleared their throat in front of him.  
  
Harry looked up from his spot on the couch into big, blue eyes. Dumbledore's blue eyes… except different.   
  
She was a thin woman who possessed those blue eyes. Her hair was a medium brown that fell straight just to her shoulders. She gave him a smirk that would send all three Marauders running for the hills.  
  
"Emily?" he asked.  
  
Her smirked turned into a full smile and she sat down next to him. "Hi, Jam- no, no, sorry. Harry. I'll get it right, I promise."  
  
He smiled. "That's alright. Where are my parents?"   
  
"Having a hay-day with Sirius' subconscious," Emily replied softly. "They wanted me to meet you."  
  
"Oh."  
  
She sighed, and stared at him. "You are… you're like a little green-eyed Jamie."  
  
"You call him Jamie?" Harry asked, intrigued.   
  
She snickered. "It always made him angry." She sighed, and looked down at the photo album. "This old thing? Lily!"  
  
"What is it?" Harry asked.  
  
"Besides a photo album?" Emily asked. "It was a gift Sirius and I compiled for your parents on their first wedding anniversary. It's a compilation of Our Hogwarts years and a little after that." She opened it to the first page, to reveal a set of seven people standing on a street corner in dress robes. Emily smiled down at the waving people. "The blond with an arm around a shy-looking boy-"  
  
"Sarah and Remus," Harry stated.  
  
Emily nodded. "If ever a couple fit the description of opposites attract, it was them. Next to them are Sirius and I. You can tell not just because he looks like Sirius, but because his tongue is hanging out. He loved ruining pictures. It was a favorite pastime. Next are your parents, looking like the perfect couple. And then there's Peter. He always went stag."  
  
"What was this for?" Harry asked.  
  
"The Seventh-Year Ball." She flipped the page over, and on the back were the same people, in the same clothes, but looking much crazier.  
  
Sarah had a leg wrapped around an obviously blushing Remus, while Sirius and Lily were playing tug of war with James as their rope. Emily had an arm around Peter, who looked more than pleased.   
  
"We always took two shots," Emily informed him. "Just to make sure we didn't forget we were all insane…" She glared down at her younger self, almost looking as if she could wrench the girl's arm from around Peter with her mind. She sighed. "We should have known about him. We never saw it coming."  
  
"It's over," Harry told her. "Peter's been put away and Sirius is free."  
  
Emily's eyes closed. "He's free. But that long in Azkaban changed him forever." She got up. "I'm so angry, and there's nothing I can do about it because- well, I'm dead."  
  
Harry sighed. "Is there something I can do?"  
  
Emily shook her head. "No. You just keep at what you've been doing."  
  
"Emily?"  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"Do you ever visit Evelyn or Torianna?" Harry asked.  
  
She sighed. "I would if they ever thought about me… Harry, your parents, and what happened to them, are nearly always at the front of your mind. You think about it constantly. We're in your thoughts, and therefore, we're able to become tangible to your subconscious. Evelyn and Torianna don't like to think about it… They push it away. Sarah does it, too. She doesn't like to remember that she lost fourteen years of her life."  
  
Harry stayed silent.  
  
"Bloody Merlin, I remember when you were just a baby…all round and bouncy with big green eyes and a giggle that made the neighbors complain."  
  
Harry turned red.   
  
She smiled at him, and put a hand through his hair. "Be good."   
  
  
Faith walked into the great hall that morning and sat in-between Buffy and Angel, who were obviously not speaking to each other. They sat, eating breakfast in silence.  
  
"Still fighting?"  
  
Neither replied.  
  
"Okay," Faith sighed. "You two aren't going to talk, so I will. Angel. A few years back, you went crazy because Darla came back human and then died and came back again as a vampire. She teamed up with Dru and drove you crazy. You got so damned frustrated that you screwed her right into the mattress and then told her to get out. She did, but came back a few months later pregnant with your kid. Darla killed herself so Connor could live, and then Holtz came back, his demon buddy made Wes believe you were out to kill Connor, and the rest is history."  
  
Buffy was staring at Angel blankly, but she said nothing.  
  
"B. You died, and then go ripped outta heaven by Willow. You were a walking basket case for about eight months. You didn't give a shit what happened to you, and you couldn't figure out how to be human again. You nailed Spike multiple times before getting your head back together. End of story. Now stop acting like a couple of first-year girls."  
  
With that, she got up and walked off.  
  
Angel blinked. "How did she know all that?"  
  
  
"Can… can I stop now?!"  
  
"NO!" Torianna cried across the Quidditch Pitch. "Keep running, Dudley! You've got ten more laps!"  
  
"He doesn't look so good, Tori," Seamus commented. "Maybe you should give him a break."  
  
"Not a chance," Torianna smirked. "I am not doing a week of Divination."  
  
Seamus smirked back, but just stared at her.   
  
Torianna blinked, and glanced at Seamus. "Whataya looking at?"  
  
Seamus' eyes narrowed. "Huh?"  
  
"Never mind, Emperor of La La land," she joked. "Go back and sit on your royal throne of insanity."  
  
He smiled at her.  
  
She'd never noticed it before, but Seamus was quite attractive. Wavy light brown hair and pleasant light green eyes. And his smile was so cute.   
  
"Hey," he said.  
  
"What?" she asked.  
  
"You goin' to Hogsmeade this afternoon?"  
  
Torianna blinked. "Well… yeah, I guess. Why?"  
  
"D-do you maybe wanna go with me?" he asked nervously.  
  
A slow smirk spread across her face. "You're asking me out?"  
  
Seamus went redder than Weasley hair. "Well…"  
  
"I'd love to," Torianna snickered.  
  
"G-great!"  
  
  
"Okay, the point of this exercise is not to kill each other. So… no killing each other."  
  
Harry and Draco circled each other, barefoot, and shirtless on the training mats laid out for them. Buffy and Giles stood a few feet away, observing thing.   
  
"You're gonna get it, Potter."  
  
"I don't bloody think so, Malfoy."  
  
Ron pouted. "When do I get to fight?"  
  
Faith sighed. "We all know you can kick some ass, Ron. You need to learn how not to. Gotta wait for Angel to get down here so he can start you on whatever Chi he wants you on."  
  
"Chi?" Ron asked. "I have to do Chi? Bloody hell."  
  
"It's not so bad," Faith snickered. "Besides, it'll keep you five by five."  
  
Ron raised an eyebrow.  
  
Faith shook her head. "Just relax."  
  
"NO! NO STRANGLING!" Buffy rushed in and ripped the two boys apart. "Don't do that! Fair fighting!" She sighed and stepped back. "Try it again."  
  
Giles shook his head. "Perhaps we should let Harry spar with Ron."  
  
"They're best friends," Buffy replied. "They'll go easy on each other. Guaranteed."  
  
"Don't suppose there's room for one more boy?"  
  
Wesley stepped in, dragging Connor behind him.  
  
Ron's eyes began to glow instantly. He got to his feet.   
  
"Down," Faith ordered, taking hold of Ron's arm.  
  
Connor glared at Ron. "What's the monster doing here?"  
  
Harry turned his attention from Draco to Connor, and walked forward. "Shut your hole."  
  
"Make me."  
  
"If you talk about my best friend that way again, I might," Harry threatened.   
  
"And I might just help," Draco snapped. "This the prat what tried to slice Granger open?"  
  
Harry nodded.   
  
"Oh, then we don't need to step in. Ronnie, he's all yours," Draco said.  
  
Ron let loose a low, loud rumble in response.  
  
Giles blinked. "Connor, you'll be sparring with Harry. Shoes off. Shirt if you wish. Ron, you'll spar with Draco."  
  
Ron shook his head out, making his eyes go back to normal. "I'm sparring?"  
  
"Until Professor O'Brien gets here."  
  
Ron set to work in stripping his shoes and shirt off.   
  
A few minutes into the sparring, Willow came barreling into the dungeon. "Buffy?"  
  
She turned. "Will. What's up?"  
  
"We have company. Angel found him."  
  
Buffy blinked. "Willow, what-?"  
  
"Buffy?!"  
  
Her attention turned to the stairs, where Riley Finn came rushing in, Angel following him, looking bitter. Riley looked fairly beat up.   
  
Buffy blinked again, and shook her head. "Oh, isn't this nice… You picked a fight with Angel?"  
  
"Buffy. I've got some really serious things I need to talk to you about," Riley said, walking up to her. He carried a rather large gun, and wore his army fatigues with a large pair of combat boots.  
  
"This is a school, Riley," Buffy scolded. "Put the gun down."  
  
Riley sighed, and set the gun down. "What are you doing here?"   
  
"Teaching," Buffy replied. She gestured toward the boys behind her. "See? Students."  
  
"And… what are you teaching them?" Riley asked, bewildered.   
  
"Fighting," Buffy replied. "We've got Champion Harry, Seer Demon Ron, Draco the Vampire Slayer, and… Connor."  
  
"HARRY! BEHIND YOU!"   
  
Connor had been just about ready to grab Harry from behind, but the green-eyed boy twirled around, swinging a fist that connected with Connor's jaw. Connor went down fast.  
  
"Damn," Faith muttered. "Nice swing, kid."  
  
Connor slowly got to his feet, wiping blood from his lip.  
  
"Buffy, I really need to talk to you," Riley said, still looking bewildered.  
  
Buffy shrugged and looked around. "Go ahead, Riley."  
  
"Around students?" Riley asked.  
  
"Yep," Buffy replied. "Spit it out."  
  
"Spike and Drusilla are here," Riley announced.  
  
Buffy blinked. She heard a snort from Draco, and a sigh from Ron. She caught Angel shaking his head.  
  
"We know, Riley," she told him.  
  
"Well… why haven't you done anything about it?" Riley asked.  
  
"We have more important things to deal with," Buffy replied. "It was nice to see you again, Riley."  
  
"Wait!" he cried. "There's something else…"  
  
"What?"  
  
"There's been dark energy rising in this area for the past week," Riley told her. "I think something's gonna happen."  
  
Buffy sighed.  
  
  
"I wonder why all of these military people are about," Hermione wondered as she walked down Hogsmeade with Ginny and Cho.  
  
It wasn't easy to spend time with the two girls. They honestly didn't like each other, and Hermione had the sneaking suspicion that the reason for this was named Harry Potter. She sighed. She was really glad that there wasn't another girl crawling all over Ron.   
  
Evelyn caught up to them and sighed. "Tori's having alone time with Seamus. Mind if I tag?"   
  
Hermione smiled thankfully. "Sure. Where's Draco?"  
  
"Training with Ron and Harry," Evelyn replied. "I hope no one kills each other down there."  
  
Hermione sighed and glanced at Cho and Ginny's bitter looks. "Quite frankly, I'm more worried about that up here."  
  
  
Ron had Draco pinned in seconds.   
  
"Are we sure he's the slayer?" Faith asked.  
  
And then Draco had turned the tables. Ron hit the mats hard.  
  
"Never mind," Faith said, putting her hands up. "Forget I doubted."  
  
It went on like that for a while. They kept pinning each other, but it never lasted.   
  
"Alright," Giles called. "I think that's enough. Harry and Connor, you're up."   
  
Ron and Draco nodded to each other and got off the mat. Faith tossed each of them a bottle of water, and they sat on the floor.   
  
"You got a lucky cheap-shot in last time," Connor told Harry as he got ready to fight. "You won't be so lucky."  
  
"Please," Harry said. "Just stop speaking."  
  
Angel walked down to the dungeon. "I escorted Riley off the grounds."  
  
"Yeah?" Buffy asked. "You hit him?"  
  
"Buffy…"  
  
"I have nothing to say to you."  
  
Ron blinked. "You're fighting?"   
  
Draco got to his feet. "You can't fight."  
  
"Oh, yes they can," Giles told them. "And they do. Often."  
  
Buffy sighed. "This isn't any of your business, you guys."  
  
Ron looked slightly hurt. "Don't fight. Please?"  
  
Buffy stared at the red-head oddly. He'd sounded very child-like. As if she and Angel had become a pair of parents away from home. She had to admit that she really liked Ron and Harry, and Draco was growing on her like weeds. She sighed. "Listen, things are just… weird right now, guys. Don't worry about it."  
  
Angel's attention was directed elsewhere. "Uhm… Buffy?"  
  
Buffy turned to the mat to see Giles trying to pry Connor off of Harry. "Oh, boy." She rushed over and threw Connor off. "What did I say about the not-killing?! This is training!"  
  
Connor rolled his eyes. "Told him he'd pay."  
  
Angel sighed. "Damn. Connor, come here."  
  
He didn't.   
  
Angel sighed, and snagged Connor by the arm, dragging him up the stairs.  
  
Harry coughed a little as Giles helped him to his feet.   
  
"Are you alright?" Giles asked.  
  
Harry nodded. "Yeah. Yeah."  
  
"Okay," Faith called. "Break time, kiddies. Take ten."  
  
The three boys exited out of the Dungeon.   
  
  
"What the hell is the matter with you?!"  
  
"They told me to fight!"  
  
"Fight! Not kill! Never kill!"  
  
"I don't have to take this from you, you god-damned hypocrite!" Connor yelled. He got up and knocked over his chair. He rushed from the office, and made his way to the front entrance. Angel made attempt to follow. He'd lost hope.   
  
"Leaving so soon?" asked a kind voice.  
  
Connor turned to see a man with white hair, wearing long wizarding robes. "Leave me alone, old man."  
  
Dumbledore sighed. "Why such anger?"  
  
"You wouldn't understand," Connor spat. "No one ever does."  
  
With that, he left.  
  
  
The Three Broomsticks was quite crowded that night. This forced the quartet of girls to sit at the bar.   
  
Ginny sat at one end, Cho at the other. The man next to Ginny was hooded very well, covering his face. She paid no attention to him and ordered a butterbeer.   
  
  
Spike was awfully drunk. He always got himself wasted after Drusilla dumped him. It was just a thing he did. She'd done it again. He was evil, and she still dumped him.   
  
He stared at the little red-headed girl from behind his hood, taking her in, marveling at how much she looked like another red-head.  
  
Actually this red-head really looked nothing like the witch he knew. The only resemblance was the hair.  
  
Close enough.   
  
He grabbed her arm, and began to pull her to her feet and out of the pub.  
  
"Hey! Let go!" she cried loudly.   
  
The three girls who were sitting next to her got to their feet as well, looking shocked.  
  
The one with poofy brown hair grabbed the red-head's arm, but it was no use. Spike pulled her out. He didn't pay attention to the girls following, or the three boys he'd shoved aside drunkenly. He just rushed off, the girl yelling out the whole time.  
  
  
"Gin?"   
  
"RON! HELP!"   
  
Ron fumed, trying to hold back the demon within. He stalked after his kid sister, Draco and Harry, along with Evelyn, Hermione and Cho followed.   
  
  
"Are you certain?"   
  
Snape nodded. "They're planning something for Halloween… They may be catching onto me. They wouldn't tell me what was going to happen."  
  
Dumbledore sighed. "We must make certain security is tight for the next week."  
  
Snape nodded. "I agree."  
  
Dumbledore sighed. "It's beginning again."  
  
  
"Why? Why do I always attract the weird ones? First Riddle, and Neville likes me for some reason, and now you! Why can't I attract the nice ones? Why?"   
  
He'd dragged her to an old, abandoned warehouse just outside of Hogsmeade. Ginny was now tied to a pole inside, her wand lying on a table.  
  
The bleach-blond was leaning on the table, staring at her, looking as if he might cry. He took a swig from a bottle, and sighed. "I bloody hate fire whiskey."   
  
"So stop drinking it, and untie me," Ginny replied. "I didn't do anything to you! Why are you doing this?!"  
  
"Because, Pet. I'm evil," the man replied. "Really, bloody-fucking evil. And I do things like this." He sniffed. "And Dru left me. Again."  
  
Ginny shook her head. "Bloody hell. I have my own love-life issues! Specifically the lack-there-of. I don't need to hear yours as well."  
  
"You'll listen, Red," Spike said. "Or I'll kill you."  
  
That got her attention. She shut her mouth immediately.  
  
"Do you know what she left me for?! She left me for a Dementor! And I thought the Chaos demon was embarrassing! A Dementor! What the hell is she thinking?!"  
  
"That you're a right loud one, and that Dementors don't speak at all?" Ginny offered.  
  
Spike snarled, and kicked a chair in two.   
  
As he did this, the door busted open, and Draco stalked in, followed closely by Harry, Ron, and the girls.   
  
Ron wasn't looking like the happiest camper ever.   
  
In fact, his eyes were white again.   
  
Harry noted that this was not a good sign.   
  
"Let her go," Ron snarled.   
  
"Oh," Spike drawled. "Scary. The little boy is gonna get me."  
  
Draco's stomach gave a small twinge as he stared at Spike. "Vampire."  
  
Spike groaned. "Another blond slayer?! What happened, you get a sex-change?"   
  
Draco growled, and stalked up to Spike, slamming his fist into the other blonde's face.  
  
"Shit," Evelyn muttered. "How can you tell who's who?"  
  
Harry rushed over to Ginny, and flipped out his wand, muttered a heat charm to burn the ropes down.   
  
Draco and Spike kept fighting, now dodging each other's blows. Spike got one good clip in, and Draco went reeling back, blood flying from his lip.   
  
"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!"   
  
At that moment, Spike dropped, still growling.   
  
Hermione gave a satisfied smirk as she put her wand away. "There," she said. "That's better."  
  
Harry helped Ginny over to the group.   
  
"Are you alright?" Ron asked, his eyes going back to normal.  
  
Ginny nodded. "Yeah, I think so."  
  
"What do we do with him?" Cho asked, motioning towards Spike's rigid form.   
  
"I say we leave him," Evelyn replied.  
  
"Good thought," Harry nodded.  
  
Draco got to his feet and joined the group.   
  
Evelyn gave him a worried look, dabbing a finger on his busted lip.  
  
"I'm fine," he reassured her softly. "Let's just leave."  
  
  
Buffy snorted. "You put Spike under the Petrificus Totalus? That's… Why didn't I think of that?"   
  
Willow snickered. "Because you didn't know what it was until you got here?"  
  
"Good point," Buffy replied. "Is everyone okay?"   
  
The kids nodded. Draco had a wet cloth on his lip.   
  
Willow snickered. "I can't believe he kidnapped Ginny."  
  
"Must have thought she was you," Buffy pointed out. "And he said Dru broke up with him?"  
  
Ginny nodded. "Said she left him for a Dementor… ugh."  
  
"If I knew what a Dementor was, I'm sure I'd be grossed out, too," Buffy said. "Dru doesn't exactly have stellar taste in men. I mean, Spike's hot, but… man he was psycho… way psycho."   
  
Harry raised an eyebrow. He wondered why Buffy had such a guilty look on her face.   
  
  
"So… how was the date?"  
  
"Fine."  
  
"Fine?! Just Fine?! No fair, no fair! I want details!"  
  
Torianna rolled her eyes from her position sitting on-top of Dudley, who was on his way to doing two hundred push-ups. "We walked around. We browsed the stores. He bought me a butterbeer. We talked. We came back."  
  
"Did he kiss you?!" Evelyn asked. "Don't hold out on me here! I told you everything about Draco!"  
  
"Yeah, you mean everything I didn't want to know?" Torianna snorted. "Yeah. He kissed me right before we walked back into the   
castle. Happy?"  
  
"Was it good?"   
  
"Shut up!"   
  
Dudley groaned. "If I have to do this, at least stop having girl-talk!"  
  
"Hey!" Torianna snapped. "Get back t' work, ya bum!"   
  
Dudley grumbled something, and Evelyn snickered. "Tori's gotta boyfriend," She chanted.  
  
Torianna fumed, got up, and chased after the raven-haired girl.   
  
Dudley sighed, and thought about stopping, but decided this was better than invoking the wrath of the skinny blond.   
  
  
Fire. Death. Blood. Skull. Snake. Stench.   
  
And one name.  
  
Voldemort.   
  
Faith shot up in bed, and glanced around in the darkness.  
  
Only a dream.  
  
Only a scary-as-hell slayer-dream.  
  
Buffy was also sitting up. She looked miserable. "You saw?"  
  
Faith nodded. She was about to get up, when there was a light tap on the door.   
  
Buffy slowly got to her feet, and opened the door to find three figures standing there.   
  
She knew what had happened.  
  
Another slayer dream.  
  
A vision.  
  
A hurting, glowing scar.  
  
She wordlessly let the three boys in.  
  
"What is going on here?" snapped a voice from the doorway.  
  
Buffy looked up to find Snape standing in front of her in his night clothes. He looked positively irked.   
  
"Slayer business," Buffy replied. "Bad dreams. Voldemort dreams."  
  
Ron cringed at the name, while staying silent with Draco and Harry.   
  
Snape sighed. "Perhaps it would be best if we discussed this someplace other than your bedroom?"  
  
Buffy nodded slowly, and motioned for Faith to follow.   
  
The group congregated in the Potions dungeon.   
  
"Now," Snape said. "Tell me exactly what each of you saw." 


	18. All Hollow's

Yo. The first part of this goes from present to past. Hence the …'s. I hope you can get through this without mishap. It makes sense to me.  
  
All Hollow's   
  
"Let's go over this one more time. Start from the very beginning."  
  
Buffy sighed tiredly. She was drained. She gripped Angel's hand tightly as she spoke.  
  
"It started after the Halloween dinner," she explained. "I took the boys down for some training, and things were fine. A bunch of the other kids came for a visit an hour before curfew, so I let them stay. What the hell, right…?"  
  
  
…Hermione stared, her face red.  
  
"Don't tell me you've been dating for over a month and you haven't seen him without a shirt on," Evelyn said.  
  
Hermione's face turned a deeper red, and Torianna snickered.   
  
"Holy crap!" Evelyn cried. "You're kidding?! You've known the guy for five years!"  
  
"It's… we…"  
  
"Aw," Torianna squealed. "They're shy… that's so cute."  
  
Hermione gave a mean glare.  
  
Ron was circling Harry, getting ready to try and trounce him. Both boys were snickering and talking as they circled each other, shirtless and shoeless.   
  
Ginny and Cho were both eyeing Harry appreciatively. All three boys had been bulking up quite a bit since they'd started training. A week's worth of hard work had done wonders.   
  
Dudley sat in the corner, not speaking to anyone. He was feeling alright.  
  
And Evelyn had a week's worth of Potions homework to do.   
  
Seamus, Dean and Neville were watching them, and jokingly placing bets on who would win. Occasionally one of the fighters would throw a comment their way. Draco just stood on the side-lines looking anxiously on, waiting for his turn…  
  
  
"…And then?" Dumbledore asked gently.  
  
"Eventually it was time to wrap it up, so ten minutes before curfew, I sent them all up to the dorms. But apparently, when they got there, there was a problem…"  
  
  
"…Where the fuck is the fat lady?" Torianna asked, annoyed.   
  
Hermione cleared her throat, obviously annoyed at Torianna's cursing.   
  
"Gum Drops," Dean said.   
  
Nothing happened.   
  
"I don't like this," Ron said in a small voice. "Bloody hell, I really don't like this."  
  
Harry, as well as Hermione noticed he'd gotten very pale. Hermione took his hand and gave it a squeeze. He kept staring ahead.  
  
"oy, you lot!" Draco called. "I can't get into my bleeding dorm!!"  
  
"Me, neither. There's no portrait," Cho said, walking up behind Malfoy. "What's going on…?"  
  
  
"…And that was when all the Death Eaters started filling the halls. It was crazy. I remember walking up from the dungeon, and just being bombarded with hexes."  
  
"And what of the children?" Fudge asked.  
  
"They thought up a plan…"  
  
  
"…Alright. Malfoy, Torianna, Evelyn, Dean, Dudley and Seamus," Harry whispered, handing a piece of parchment with directions through the secret to Draco. "Get to the tunnel that goes to the Honeydukes basement. Stay there as long as you can. The rest of us will head to the Shrieking Shack and stay there."  
  
"Don't you watch movies, Harry?" Evelyn snapped. "Splitting up is a bad idea."  
  
"There are too many of us to keep track of," Harry replied. "We've got to…"  
  
  
"…We understand the story up to this point," MacGonagall told her softly. "It's the rest we're a bit fuzzy on."  
  
Buffy sighed. "I don't understand much of it, myself."  
  
"Try," Sirius Black replied. "Please."  
  
"Well," Buffy started up again. "There was a hoard of about thirty Death Eaters waiting for Harry's group in the Shrieking Shack…"  
  
  
…A wand had raised to Harry.   
  
"Avada Kedavra!"  
  
Harry could find the strength to move himself. A horrible fear filled his entire being.   
  
Ginny had panicked. Big time. She grabbed Harry by the shirt, and yanked him just out of the way.   
  
The curse hit what was walking into the Shrieking shack directly behind Harry.  
  
Cho Chang's lifeless body fell instantly.   
  
Harry's eyes filled with tears, and he stared out at the masked men before him.   
  
It all happened so fast.   
  
"CRUCIO!"   
  
It headed straight for Hermione, but Ron pushed her so hard she landed on the floor. The curse connected with Ron, and he fell, but caught himself on his hands and knees. His eyes glowed a dim yellow, and his breathing became short as he, and the demon inside him tried to deal with the immense pain.   
  
"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!"   
  
Ginny fell to the floor with a thud.   
  
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"   
  
Another death curse headed straight for Harry. Ron reached out a shaky hand and pulled him to the floor.   
  
The curse hit the wall behind them, and it began to crumble. Stone and wood fell on Hermione, who screamed. Her screams were silenced with a piece of stone knocked her out cold.   
  
And Neville Longbottom had had enough.   
  
He stood, glaring at the Death Eaters before him. He wasn't afraid. He was angry. Angry for himself. For his parents. For his friends were on the floor, in pain. He slowly took out his wand, and pointed it at the group before him.   
  
"EXPELIRAMUS!"   
  
He screamed it with a fury that almost frightened Harry.   
  
Thirty wands flew to Neville's feet, and the Death Eaters stood, shocked.   
  
Harry got to his feet, helping Ron, who was shaky, but snarling. His eyes were quickly turning from their sickly yellow to their angry bright white.   
  
He snarled.  
  
Harry nodded in solemn agreement.   
  
The two boys dove into the Death Eaters, swinging fists, kicking legs, throwing elbows around.  
  
Harry was grabbed behind, and Ron picked up the stone that had hit Hermione on the head. He smashed it hard over the Death Eater's head, and he let go of Harry.  
  
One had gotten a hold of another wand, and pointed it at Ron. "CRUCIO!"   
  
Ron dropped instantly.  
  
And then Harry got mad.   
  
When fifteen Death Eaters fell to the ground, unconscious, the rest began to flee.   
  
Harry walked and slumped down next to Cho.  
  
Ron was lying on the floor, unconscious, not far away from Hermione.   
  
Ginny, free of the Petrificus, walked to stand next to Harry's slumped form, and started crying.   
  
Neville still stood in the doorway, staring intently at his wand…  
  
  
"…Jesus," Faith muttered. "I knew the training was effective, but it's only been a week."  
  
"Sometimes a little goes a long way," Angel replied.   
  
"What happened to the group in Honeydukes?" Remus asked.   
  
Angel sighed. "They didn't hear any Death Eaters upstairs, so they left the shop…"  
  
  
…Draco had never smelled so much blood before. He tripped and stumbled over something. When he looked down, he learned that it was the body of a man in army dress.   
  
The same man who'd come to see Professor Summers the other week.   
  
There were about twenty commandos dressed just like him, their bodies strewn about the streets of Hogsmeade. Dead.   
  
All dead.   
  
And his father wondered why he didn't want to be a Death Eater.  
  
"Holy shit," Torianna muttered.   
  
Dudley was scared. More scared than he'd ever been in his entire life. When he tripped over a body, he fell on his now not-so-large stomach. He screamed, got to his feet, and ran.  
  
"Damn," Seamus snapped. "DUDL-" he was cut off by Torianna's hand over his mouth.  
  
"There could be more," Torianna told him. "Don't yell."  
  
"The little bitch is perceptive."  
  
Draco looked up with a glare. "You."  
  
Lucius Malfoy took off his mask and glared back. Behind him, ten more Death Eaters stood ready.   
  
Draco took a stake from the back pocket of his pants.   
  
"Draco, no," Evelyn whispered.   
  
Draco got into a fighting stance and pounced his father…  
  
  
"… I didn't know they fought," Charlie said.   
  
Angel sighed. "According to Dean they did."  
  
"And?" Snape asked. "Then what…?"   
  
  
…He had him pinned to the ground, the stake raised high, ready to strike. The other Death Eaters had been ordered to leave, and they did.  
  
And then Evelyn snatched the stake out of his grasp.   
  
Draco whirled around, his foot still to his father's throat. "What the bloody hell are you doing?!"  
  
"Keeping you from becoming a murderer, you jack-ass," she snapped. "Let him up."  
  
Draco sent a swift, hard boot into his father's face. The older man's eyes rolled back and he passed out…   
  
  
…Fudge snorted in disgust. "He would have killed him!"   
  
Giles snorted. "You try getting beaten by your father, and then tell me you wouldn't wish some kind of ill will on him."  
  
Molly Weasley shook her head. "What happened to Dudley…?"  
  
  
…He rammed into someone in a dark alleyway.   
  
"S-sorry." Dudley tried to rush off, but the man he'd bumped into grabbed his arm.  
  
"Hold on, there, Son. I'm not going to kill you…"   
  
Dudley watched as the man's normal eyes turned to an amber shade.  
  
"I'm just going to kill you."   
  
Dudley's screams did not go unheard.   
  
By the time Connor showed up, it was too late.   
  
Spike stood, wiping the blood from his lips, and licking his hand. "Oh," he laughed. "Desert."  
  
Connor put up a good fight, but in the end, was no match for William the Bloody…  
  
  
…The look of guilt returned to Angel's face, and Buffy gave his hand another squeeze.   
  
"Where is the vampire now?" Arthur Weasley asked.  
  
"Dungeon," Buffy replied. "We'll deal with him a little later."  
  
"It looks as if everyone managed well here, though," Fudge voiced. "However did you defeat all of them…?"  
  
  
"…I knew I'd need all this eventually."  
  
Angel spread nearly his entire arsenal on a table in the great hall.  
  
"Chose your poison."  
  
The teachers each picked a weapon to go along with their wands.   
  
"Take prisoners," Dumbledore ordered, lifting a broadsword. "And please be careful. All of you."  
  
Buffy shook her head gravely, hefting her crossbow. "Go, team…"  
  
  
"…And the rest of the houses?" Fudge asked.  
  
"All safe," Wood voiced up. "The Death Eaters couldn't get into the dorms no matter how hard they tried."  
  
"How are the kids now?" Sirius asked.  
  
"They're in the Hospital wing," Tara replied. "Most of them are sleeping."  
  
"That doesn't answer the question," Sirius said.   
  
Wesley sighed, walking into the Great Hall, suddenly. "It's not going to be easy. Harry's been muttering to himself since we found him. Saying something about killing the spare, and someone named Cedric?"  
  
Dumbledore's eyes saddened. "And the rest?"  
  
"Asleep, mostly… Ginny's awake. She's… she feels very guilty about what happened to Cho," Wesley explained.   
  
"She saved Harry's life," Remus said softly. "It was one or the other. Did she see Cho walk in?"  
  
"I don't think so," Wesley replied. "Neville is… well, he's… afraid."  
  
"I would be, too if I just randomly started showing magical talent when I was pissed off," Buffy said.  
  
"How's Draco?" Tara asked.  
  
Wesley shook his head. "He seems fine, actually. Awake. Alert. Generally just angry."  
  
"Here's what I don't understand," Charlie spoke up. "How the hell did they get in? Didn't we up security for Halloween?"   
  
Dumbledore sighed. "I've been milling this over in my mind, and the only explanation I can come up with is that someone let them in."  
  
Silence resonated around the table.  
  
  
Draco almost felt jealous of Harry.   
  
Hermione lay asleep in Ron's arms as he dozed. On her other side, slept Harry, curled close to her. On the end, Ginny Weasley was passed out, with an arm around Harry.   
  
Draco was almost jealous of the trust. The closeness. Not things Malfoys usually longed for, but then again, he was barely a Malfoy anymore.   
  
He stared at the quartet curled closely in the hospital wing.   
  
"Draco?"   
  
Hermione slowly sat up and stare at him, blearily.   
  
"Hey."  
  
"Come here."  
  
He walked to stand next to the bed.  
  
"Sit."  
  
When he did so, Ron jerked awake. He sat up. Draco noticed his eyes were a very dim yellow. "Hey, mate."  
  
Draco nodded in return.   
  
Hermione leaned forward and examined his face, brushing her fingers over the gash on his forehead. She gave him a worried look.   
  
"I'm fine."  
  
Ron rolled his eyes. "I'll get some water and a cloth." He was about to rise, but Draco stopped him with a hand to his chest.   
  
Ron flinched, and Draco, guiltily took his hand away. "Don't get up. I got it." He fetched the supplies and Hermione took them from him. She dipped the cloth into the water and dabbed it on his cut. He didn't flinch.   
  
"You alright?" Draco asked.   
  
Hermione sighed. "As well as can be expected."   
  
They sat in silence, Hermione cleaning the dried blood from Draco's cut.  
  
Harry woke up suddenly and shot up, Ginny along with him.   
  
"Harry?" Ron asked worriedly.   
  
He gave wide-eyed stare to his best friend, who looked concerned.   
  
"Fine," Harry replied. "I'm alright. Just… bad dream."   
  
"Poor baby," Draco muttered to himself.  
  
Harry glared. "You think I have it easy, don't you?"   
  
"Harry…" Ginny started.  
  
"You have no idea what it's like," Harry spat.   
  
"And you think I've had it so bloody great?"  
  
"Frankly, yes, you over-privileged little shit!" Harry cried. "Never had to suffer for anything, have you? Bet Daddy never locked you in a cupboard."  
  
Draco got to his feet. "Fuck you, Potter! I haven't had it easy, either!"  
  
"Rich daddy, and socialite mummy, always giving you everything you've wanted!"   
  
"That's not true!" Draco cried. "Fuck off!"   
  
While they argued, Ron put his hands to his head. "Noise," he whispered. "Too much bloody noise."   
  
Evelyn and Torianna rushed in.  
  
"What the hell is going on?" Torianna asked.  
  
Harry and Draco pointed to each other and said "He started it!"  
  
"Of, for shit's sake," Evelyn grumbled. "Can't the two of you leave each other alone for three damned seconds?!"  
  
"Harry, what is wrong with you?!" Hermione cried. "Why are you acting like this? This isn't like you!"  
  
Harry shook his head. "People keep dieing because of me. My parents and Emily died, and Cedric died, and now Cho. And Dudley's dead because of my life! Me! This is my fault! I hate them, but how the hell am I supposed to face Vernon and Petunia?! How?!" He fought back tears. "People keep dieing… And now Ron's all screwed up because he's a half-demons who gets my visions, and on top of that, he's going crazy from the bloody crutiatus curse!"  
  
"I'm not crazy," Ron snapped. "You're just too damned loud."  
  
"…And Hermione got hit in the head with a ton of stones from a curse that was meant for me! My god, they're just killing the spares!"  
  
"Harry…" Hermione said softly, getting up.   
  
"Kill the spare," Harry said in a daze.   
  
"Harry, stop," Ron said. "Come on, mate. You're scaring us."  
  
He shook his head and let out a shaky breath. "Kill the… kill the spare."  
  
Draco shook his head. "Oh, for fuck's sake." He nearly smacked Harry, but was grabbed by Torianna.  
  
"I don't think so, Malfoy. You gotta get through me, first."  
  
Draco seethed, but put his hand down.   
  
"Well, if he won't do it," Ron said, getting to his feet. "I bloody will." He smacked Harry across the face, making the boy who lived stumble a bit.   
  
He looked at Ron with hurt, but much saner eyes. "What the hell was that for?"  
  
"Your own good," Ron replied. "Please believe me when I say that. You need rest. Probably more than the rest of us. Can we please   
just speak more about this in the morning? Two days from now?"   
  
Little by little, the group filtered out. Harry and Ginny took separate beds, while Ron and Hermione stayed in the same one. Torianna   
disappeared to find Seamus.   
  
Evelyn took Draco's hand as they walked out. "Harry didn't mean what he said back there, whatever it was that got you pissed off," she told him. "He's just had a bad night."  
  
Draco shook his head. "We've all had a bloody bad night. I don't see anyone else taking it out on other people."  
  
"Harry doesn't blow up," Evelyn explained. "I've noticed that his pain is very private."  
  
"So what brought this on?"  
  
"Cho's death. Dudley's death. Both," Evelyn speculated. "It's just too much, sometimes."  
  
Draco sighed. "Yeah. I know the feeling."  
  
"So why don't you get along?"  
  
For the life of him, Draco couldn't come up with an answer. Not one reply came to mind.   
  
Not one. 


	19. Believe

Believe  
  
"How can you still deny this?!"   
  
Cornelius Fudge sighed. "Death Eaters does not necessarily mean You-Know-Who is back, Albus. You cannot keep believing this!"  
  
"Get a clue, Cornhole," Faith snapped. "Voldie's back, and you're scared shitless."  
  
Fudge fumed. "How dare you talk to me that way!"  
  
"Somebody's got to!" Faith yelled, getting to her feet.   
  
Dumbledore sighed. "Please, take your seat, Professor Morgan. Let us all try and be calm about this."  
  
"Sure," Buffy voiced. "Calm about the big, honking evil that wants all of us, and most of our students dead. Let's all be calm."  
  
"The first step in defeating Voldemort is admitting that he is a real threat," Giles said. "This was no fluke, Mr. Fudge. They killed one of our students, and two other children! They used an unforgivable curse!"  
  
"A few of them," Molly Weasley snapped. "Why are you so bloody blind to this, Cornelius? We all see it! What's wrong with your eyes?"  
  
"Molly, please," Arthur said soothingly.   
  
"You're just upset because your son was a victim," Fudge said. "A son who happens to be a demon? What if he was one of them? What if he is only acting injured to cover his tracks?"   
  
Charlie and Arthur held a very angry Molly in her seat.   
  
That didn't stop Percy from getting up.   
  
"My younger brother is… is many things," he stammered quietly. "But he is not a traitor."  
  
"But he is a demon, is he not?" Fudge asked.   
  
"Half-demon," Angel corrected sharply. "There's a huge difference."  
  
"Still dangerous. Still prone to evil, yes?" Fudge asked. "And what of the young Malfoy? His father was in on this attack, was he not?"   
  
"Draco is innocent," Tara spoke up. "H-he'd never do such a thing."  
  
"Malfoys are very slippery, as I have learned in these past few days," Fudge replied. "They cannot be trusted."  
  
"So… Half-demons and Malfoys," Buffy said sarcastically. "Check. No trusting. Right."  
  
"Are you mocking me, young lady?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
Fudge sighed. "Who else could it have been?"  
  
"What if it was not a student?" Remus spoke up, finally. He had been quite busy keeping Sirius and Sarah in their seats. Both looked about ready to wallop Fudge but good.   
  
"A teacher, then," Fudge said. "What about you, Professor Snape? What were you up to last night? Tipping off your fellow Death Eaters, perhaps?"  
  
Faith got to her feet in a fury, but was pulled back down by Angel and Buffy.  
  
"Professor Snape has been infiltrating the Death Eaters for some time, now," Dumbledore chimed in. "If not for him, we would not have known the Death Eaters were coming at all."   
  
Fudge stayed silent.  
  
"Yeah, that's right," Faith snapped. "What now, bitch?"   
  
  
"Now, just hold still a moment."  
  
Harry didn't move. Not a muscle. He was sitting on the couch in Godric's Hollow… again. This time, his parents and Emily were present. His mother was treating the cuts on his arms.  
  
"I'm going to kill those bloody Death Eaters for this," James snarled, fist clenched.  
  
Emily sighed. "Trust me, I'd be right with you if we weren't so dead."  
  
"There's nothing we can do," Lily said. "And… Harry's not alone. He has Sirius and Remus and Sarah, and all of his friends."  
  
Harry said nothing.  
  
"Are you alright?" his mother asked.  
  
He stayed silent, looking at a spot on the wall behind her.   
  
She took him by the chin and gently forced his eyes on her. "Harry. You… you can't possibly think this is your fault…"  
  
He tried to not look at her, but she made it impossible.   
  
"Harry. This was not your fault."  
  
"I split up the group," Harry said finally. "I dragged Cho, and Neville, and Ron, and Hermione, and Ginny to the Shrieking Shack. If we'd all just gone to Honeydukes, Cho would still be alive! Maybe Dudley, too!"   
  
Lily sighed. "Harry, you did what you thought was right. It was a mistake. Either way, someone was going to die. It's going to take time to recover for everyone. But you've got to."  
  
"Cho's dead," Harry whimpered. "It was supposed to be me."  
  
"Harry, she's safe," Emily said softly. "She's with Cedric, now."  
  
"And Dudley died thin," James pointed out.  
  
Lily glared at her husband. "Very nice, James."   
  
He grinned sheepishly. "Sorry." He walked to sit on Harry's other side. "You need to go on. You're needed, Harry. You're a warrior. And your friends need you to be strong with them."  
  
"With them or for them?"  
  
"Have you ever known your friends to be weak?" Emily asked. "Even in the face of death?"  
  
Harry smirked, thinking about Ron and Hermione's equal stubbornness, Evelyn's big mouth, and Torianna's fists.  
  
"Thought not," Emily snickered.   
  
"We know you're hurting," Lily said softly. She put a hand through his black hair. "But know that we all love you, and Sirius, Remus and Sarah love you. You're friends love you. Use that. Lean on that. They're there for you, as you are for them. You can be strong. We believe in you."  
  
  
As much of a glory hound as Ron Weasley could be, he hated being worried over.  
  
But that was what everyone was doing.   
  
When MacGonagall had come to check on them, she gave a harsh glare, and sent Hermione back to her own bed. things became a little colder after she'd gone.   
  
Ron was secretly plotting to abandon his own bed for hers the moment his family was done visiting.   
  
Harry had been placed in the farthest bed from the door, near the window, and Ron didn't remember when Sarah Lupin had shown up, but she was sitting with Harry, now. They were speaking quietly.   
  
Ron and Hermione had spoken a little about Harry when they'd woken up that morning. Neither knew what to say to him, and Ginny hadn't even been able to look at any of them. She'd been given permission to leave earlier that morning.   
  
Suddenly, the door burst open, and Molly Weasley rushed in and thrw her arms around Ron, who gave a flinch, and an "Urk."  
  
Behind her, walked Arthur, Charlie, Percy, George and Fred.   
  
"Oh, Ron! Thank Merlin you're alright!"  
  
"Hi, Mum."  
  
She pulled him back to look at him, putting a hand through his red hair. She frowned at his dim, yellow eyes. "Oh, Ron."  
  
"I'm okay, Mum."  
  
She gave him a sad smile. "Of course, Dear."  
  
"Move, Woman!" Fred cried.   
  
Molly rolled her eyes and made way for Fred and George.   
  
They flopped themselves down on either side of Ron.  
  
"Much Better."  
  
"Oh, yeah."  
  
Charlie rolled his eyes and sat down on the bed. "How ya feeling?"   
  
"Okay," Ron replied. "Madam says I'll have to stay here a few more days. I'm really starting to hate this place."  
  
"Well, if you'd stop landing yourself here, you wouldn't hate it so much," Percy replied.  
  
"Thanks, Percy," Ron dryly. "I'll keep that in mind."  
  
  
Draco was training.   
  
No one was with him. No one had asked him to. He just felt like kicking some ass without making a fuss. So he decided the best thing for him was the beat up the punching back.  
  
"Having fun?"  
  
Draco didn't stop hitting. "Hi."  
  
Evelyn walked up. "Haven't seen you all morning."  
  
"I know."  
  
"You okay?"  
  
"Fine. Happy as a pig in shit."  
  
"Nice."  
  
"I thought so."  
  
Evelyn grabbed the punching bag, and held it as Draco punched. "This is eating you, isn't it?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Last night. Your dad."  
  
"Didn't I already tell you I'm fine?"  
  
"Do you really expect me to believe that?"   
  
Draco stopped punching. "So it's eating me! It's eating me that Ron went down so fast. It's eating me that Potter's turned into a raving fucking loony, and it's eating me that my old man is out to kill the lot of us!" He put a hand through his hair and shook his head. "What am I supposed to do? Is this the bloody darkness I'm supposed to be fighting? I thought I was a vampire slayer."  
  
"I don't know," Evelyn said. "I guess you're just supposed to fight for what you believe in."  
  
"And what do I believe in?"  
  
"You tell me."  
  
"Okay," he replied. "I believe that Harry Potter is a right ponce."  
  
"We knew that," Evelyn replied. "And what did I say about calling my friends names?"  
  
Draco rolled his eyes. "Right. Not in front of you. I believe that Hermione Granger is damned smart. I believe that I like Ron Weasley even more for smacking Potter around last night. I believe that my father needs to die. I believe that Voldemort has to die."  
  
"Anything else?"  
  
"I believe your hot… For a Dementor."  
  
She blinked, and swung the punching bag at him. He caught it easily and laughed.  
  
  
His feet felt a little wobbly, but he could stand. That was a plus, considering that when he'd woken up, he could barely move.   
  
Ron hoisted himself carefully off the bed, and slowly took the few feet to Hermione's.   
  
She turned over and looked up at him with groggy eyes. "Morning."  
  
"Hi," he replied. "Mind if I join you?"  
  
"We already got into trouble once," she warned.  
  
"News flash, Mione," Ron replied. "We're always in trouble. Now scoot over. I'm getting tired, and my bed's cold."  
  
"You've been standing for all of a minute!"  
  
"Well, I feel tired again."  
  
She shifted over with an amused sigh, and he pulled back the covers and hopped in.  
  
"It's funny," Hermione said.   
  
"What's funny?"   
  
"I don't feel awkward about this."  
  
"About what?" Ron asked.   
  
"Sharing a bed."  
  
He stayed silent for a moment, feeling his face turn slightly red. "I think you just made it awkward, but it wasn't awkward a moment ago."  
  
"Oh. Whoops. Sorry."  
  
"Knock, knock!"   
  
Ron was grateful for the interruption, but wasn't quite certain he liked the nature of it.   
  
The Gryffindor Quidditch team trouped in, all still wearing their pajamas, all covered in a white powdery substance. Angelina, Katie and Torianna made it look very adorable. Most of the substance had settled itself on their faces. Fred and George, however; were covered in it, as was Oliver, who looked very bitter.  
  
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "You know, you could get expelled for drug use."  
  
Ron snickered. Yay for killer wit.   
  
Angelina Johnson turned her attention to Ron, and Harry, who'd just turned to face them. He sat up slowly, and gave them an odd glance.  
  
"We convinced the Kitchen Elves to let us bake you cookies!" Katie said cheerily.   
  
"Us being the three of us," Torianna said. "Fred and George just played with the flour the whole time."  
  
"And Oliver tried to help," Katie pointed out. "But… well… it kind of went wrong a bit."  
  
"Ronnie!" George cried in mock shock. "How indecent can you be?! Sharing a bed with a girl!"  
  
Ron wrapped an arm around Hermione. "Jealous?"  
  
"You know it," George replied. "Katie barely sits next to me at lunch!"  
  
"The only reason I don't sit next to you at lunch is that you repeatedly try to feed me things that will turn me into various animals, you prat!"  
  
George shrugged. "What else is lunch for?"  
  
Harry snickered at them, and Angelina threw him a small package of cookies.   
  
"Thanks."  
  
"Don't thank us yet," Fred replied. "We never taste-tested them."  
  
"Does this mean I'll be turning into an elephant, then?" Harry asked.   
  
"Don't eat too many," Oliver warned them. "Soon as the two of you are better, you've got to practice. We've got games coming up."  
  
Fred saluted Wood. "Yes, sir, Captain Blood, sir!"   
  
Oliver rolled his eyes.   
  
Hermione sighed and got to her feet. "I need to go find Professor Rosenberg, I have some questions about the levitation homework."  
  
"We get a day off from class, and you want to ask about homework," Ron marveled as she walked out. "Tell me again how we're compatible?"  
  
"Animal Magnetism," Harry remarked with a giggle. He didn't know why he was making so many jokes all of the sudden. Maybe it had helped to see his parents and Emily. Maybe it helped that his friends had cared enough to make he and Ron cookies.   
  
Whatever it was, it was masking the grief that was going to be settling in to stay for a long time.   
  
Ron glared. "Shut your hole!"  
  
"Feeling better, Harry?" Torianna asked.  
  
Harry sighed. "Yeah, a bit." He smirked a little. "Must be the cookies."  
  
  
"What are you suggesting, Ms…?"  
  
"Morgan. Lilah Morgan. My firm can offer your school very, very efficient magical protection."  
  
Sirius Black snorted loudly.   
  
Dumbledore blinked, and turned his eyes on his son-in-law. Sirius was glaring at Lilah with a horrible look.  
  
"Something to say, Sirius?"  
  
Lilah hadn't recognized him. He looked so different when he was cleaned up. Very handsome.  
  
Hermione walked into the Great Hall quietly, watching as the entire staff stared at the one woman.  
  
"She's working with Voldemort, her and her firm," Sirius replied. "She offered me a job because she thought I was a Death Eater."  
  
"It's true," Wesley chimed in. Hermione decidedly didn't like the way her uncle was looking at the woman in question. "I was there."  
  
"Me, too," Angel said.  
  
Dumbledore sighed. "Well, then Ms. Morgan. I will have Professors O'Brien and Snape show you to the door. I'm sorry to say that you are not welcome here."  
  
"Wait, Sir, please let me explain-"  
  
Angel had grabbed the woman by the arm and dragged her to her feet.  
  
"It's time to go Lilah," he said. "Wave bye-bye to the nice teachers."  
  
Snape sighed, and followed, looking his usual, annoyed self.   
  
When they'd left, Hermione cleared her throat.   
  
The teachers turned to her, most regarding the smartest girl in fifth year with warm smiles, and nods.   
  
"Hello, Hermione," Dumbledore smiled. "Feeling better, I see."  
  
"Yes, thank you," she replied. "I was hoping to have a word with Professor Rosenberg, please?"  
  
Willow got to her feet and smiled at the younger girl. "Sure." She followed the girl out into the hall. "What's up?"  
  
"I… I have a favor to ask of you," Hermione admitted, looking her red-headed teacher right in the eyes. "I've been doing research on the type of magic you do in the states, the… informal sort of magic that isn't really taught in any of the wizarding schools."  
  
Willow's expression became very serious. "What about it?"  
  
"It's a more offensive magic," Hermione went on. "Some Aurors are known to use it in battle… I was wondering if perhaps… you could teach me?"   
  
Willow blinked, and stared at the girl in shock. It was all she could do. 


	20. Deal But Don't Lie

Deal but Don't Lie   
  
"No."  
  
"Wesley-"  
  
"I said no, Willow! You'll not teach her that sort of magic!"  
  
Willow rolled her eyes. "Can't you just hear me out on this?"  
  
"Fine. But the answer is still no," Wesley replied. He sat down at his desk and waited.  
  
"Think about this, Wesley," Willow said. "If I refuse to teach her, she can learn it on her own. Hermione is way smarter than I was at fifteen. She'll learn it quicker than I did, because she already knows a different form a magic." She paused. "We've all seen what can happen to self-taught witches…"  
  
"It could happen anyway," Wesley replied. "That kind of magic is very, very risky!"  
  
"So is this kind of magic!" Willow cried. "Look at Voldemort!"   
  
Wesley sighed. "Willow…"  
  
"She just wants to be able to help her friends," Willow went on. "Think about it. Her boyfriend is a half-demon seer. Her best friend is a champion for the powers that be, and Draco's a vampire slayer. You'd feel helpless and left out too if you were a sucky fighter who's only defense was a wooden stick."  
  
"Wands are very powerful," Wesley defended.  
  
"And easily lost and broken!"  
  
"You lost your wand, didn't you?"  
  
Willow fumed. "We're not talking about me! And I'll get it replaced eventually!"  
  
Wesley sighed. "It's a very real possibility that Ron or Harry could die in an upcoming battle, Willow. They almost did. Do you remember when you thought Tara was dead? Do you remember what happened?"  
  
"And that's why she needs guidance," Willow pointed out. "So we can lessen the chances of that happening."  
  
"But there's still a chance," Wesley said. "And I'm not willing to take it. And I don't think her parents would be, either."  
  
Willow groaned. "Wesley! I've been hiding the fact that I'm a witch from my parents for the better part seven years!" She sighed and got to her feet. "I guarantee you she'll learn independent witchcraft on her own, no matter what you, or I, or her parents say."  
  
"She wouldn't disregard authority like that," Wesley snapped.  
  
"For Ron and Harry? You'd better believe she would. And she will if she has to. Just think about it." With that, Willow turned and walked out.   
  
  
They stood in the train station, near the pillar that led to platform nine and three quarters.   
  
Harry couldn't even look his uncle and aunt in the face.   
  
"I wish you'd died instead."  
  
Remus hated having to hold both his wife and his best friend back at the same time. This wasn't their fight. They were only there for moral support.   
  
"I know," Harry replied dimly. "I'm sorry."  
  
Vernon's face grew redder than it had ever been. "Sorry?! You're SORRY?! Do you know how little that means?! Do you have any idea of the burden that you've been to us your whole life?! Do you have any idea what you've put us through?! YOU KILLED OUR ONLY CHILD!"  
  
Harry's voice grew dark. "He didn't have to come here. You didn't want him here. Neither did I. He'd be alive if you'd left him someplace else."  
  
Vernon snarled and raised a hand to hit the boy, Sirius was over in a flash, standing in-between them.   
  
"You hit him and you'll be sorry," Sirius warned dangerously.   
  
Petunia stepped forward, as if in a daze. Her eyes looked dead to Harry as she handed him a small suitcase. "Here are the rest of your things. You're all moved out."  
  
Harry took the suitcase, wondering what her reaction had been to his mother's death. Probably much different.   
  
"Come along, Vernon," Petunia said. She turned, and began to walk away from the group.   
  
Vernon followed without a word.  
  
Sirius took hold of Harry's shoulder, and they went back through the pillar.   
  
  
"It's a possibility to consider."  
  
"Oliver…"  
  
"Well? Where the hell does he go when he's not helping Snape with Potions class?" Oliver asked. "He came to chorus all of once, and I occasionally see him in the halls. Other than that…"  
  
"Let me get this straight," Fudge said. "You believe that Marcus Flint somehow let the Death Eaters in on Halloween?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
Dumbledore stared at the young teacher's aid intently, his expression unreadable.   
  
"That's preposterous," Fudge scoffed. "The Flints are a very upstanding family-"  
  
"As were the Malfoys," Dumbledore replied. "Or so you thought."  
  
"Then why are we trusting their son?!"  
  
"It makes sense!" Oliver cried, cutting into their debate. "His family is full of Death Eaters!"  
  
"Not necessarily making him one," Dumbledore pointed out. "We'll question him, Oliver. It's the most we can do-"  
  
"Truth potion?" Oliver asked.  
  
"No, Oliver," Dumbledore replied. "Innocent until proven guilty."  
  
Oliver sighed and nodded, and left the Headmaster's office.   
  
Willow was waiting for him in the hall.   
  
"So?"  
  
Oliver sighed. "Said they'll question Marcus, but can't promise anything. How'd things go with Professor Wyndham-Pryce?"  
  
"Won't budge," Willow replied. "The last thing I want is for Hermione to wind up like me. And… y'know, I'm not the best person to teach her to do magic, but I'd have Tara's help. I just don't want her teaching herself. Wesley'd better change his mind."  
  
"Well, if I remember Hermione correctly, she'll do whatever it takes to learn," Oliver told her. "The most we can do is watch out for her."  
  
  
"What on earth are you doing? And where did the pianos come from?"  
  
As always, Ron was the last one stuck in the hospital wing. And he was very, very bored. Granted he still felt week, but that didn't cure boredness.  
  
So he'd taught himself how to do the piano spell that Professor Macclay knew.   
  
And so, there were three pianos sitting in the hospital wing. Ron stood in-between two of them, levitating his music up in the air. He played each piano with one hand, and Hermione was quite baffled as to how.   
  
"I'm practicing a piece Professor Macclay left me, and doing my levitation homework." He didn't look at her. "Hear that Mione? Homework. Be proud."  
  
She raised an eyebrow. "And the pianos?"   
  
"Got bored," Ron admitted. "Taught myself the piano charm."  
  
She walked into the room fully and sat down on his bed. "Why are there three, if you can only play two at a time?"   
  
Ron blinked, and stopped playing. "Y'know, that's a bloody brilliant question." He shrugged and went back to playing.  
  
"Ron, are you sure you're up to this?" Hermione asked. "You still don't look so well."  
  
He shrugged again, not looking back at her. "I'm alright."  
  
"Are you lying?"  
  
"Maybe a bit."  
  
"Ron, please don't hurt yourself. Maybe you should go back to bed."  
  
He turned to look down at her. "What's with you?"  
  
"I'm worried."  
  
"Usually when you're worried, you order me about," he pointed out. "Ronald Weasley!" He cried in the best falsetto voice a baritone singer could manage. "You great prat! Get back in bed this instant!"  
  
She laughed lightly and he began to cough. When the coughing didn't stop, her laughter did. She pulled him onto the bed next to her by the arm. "Ron?"  
  
"Sorry," he said. "Right again. It's back to bed for me."  
  
Hermione sighed. "You know, it's one thing to cough up slugs on my behalf. It's quite another to take on an unforgivable curse for me. I'm really, really grateful, but… you shouldn't have nearly thrown away your life for me."  
  
"I'm going to pretend that you didn't just say that," he told her seriously, his brow furrowed. "Because I know you know what my answer is going to be."  
  
Before Ron could move to get into bed, Hermione wrapped her arms around him and planted her lips on his for a long kiss.  
  
Which was, to the two teens' annoyance, cut short.   
  
"Hermione Granger! Ronald Weasley!"   
  
They both broke off the kiss quickly, both red with embarrassment, Ron looking quite bitter at getting caught.   
  
Professor MacGonagall glared harshly at them. "Honesty! I expected more from you two!"  
  
Hermione heard Ron mutter something that sounded like "More? Would you rather we be naked?" and rolled her eyes.   
  
"Hermione, your uncle would like to speak with you," MacGonagall said. "Ron, Professor O'Brien would like a word."  
  
Ron sighed and looked at Hermione longingly.   
  
She smirked. "We should get this over with."  
  
Ron nodded. "Right… get professor meetings over with now… more pleasant activities later."  
  
Hermione turned bright red again before rushing out.  
  
  
"So… Why Seamus?"  
  
The two girls walked into the Great hall for lunch and sat down at the Gryffindor table.   
  
"He's cute!" Torianna cried. "He's all.. Irish and stuff! And he's got a really pretty voice, and he's got his Transfiguration down pat! And I'm American. Do you know how many Plenard girls would slaughter to be with an Irishman?"  
  
Evelyn snickered. "Are we thinking of someone in particular? Say… one Abbie Mienburg?"   
  
Torianna rolled her eyes. "Hey. Didn't we agree not to speak of annoying American Plenard bitches while we're here? Next subject. Why Draco?"  
  
"Jesus! Have you seen the boy? He's really, really hot. Really mean and annoying sometimes, but really hot."  
  
"Bet he tastes like sin," Torianna giggled.  
  
"Oh, he does. He does. Especially since my Dad hates the boy."  
  
They snickered.  
  
"Have you talked to your dad much about Draco?"   
  
"Just a little more than you've talked to your dad about Seamus."  
  
"My Dad doesn't need to know about Seamus!"  
  
"And when he finds you've been hiding a boy cute Irish boy in your closet over the Summer?"  
  
Torianna smirked. "Closets too obvious. I'll just swipe Harry's cloak."  
  
"Y'know," Evelyn giggled. "I would, too… but I don't think Draco would touch something that stinks of Potter."  
  
Torianna sighed. "Y'know… Ron and Draco get along. Hermione and Draco are okay with each other. I get along with Draco. You've had your tongue down his throat-"  
  
"Say it louder, why don't you? I don't think the population of Tasmania heard you."  
  
"But why not Harry and Draco?" Torianna finished.  
  
Evelyn sighed. "They'll get along eventually, won't they? It's just gonna take some time, right?"   
  
  
"Hermione. Please, sit."  
  
She sat across from her uncle in his office.   
  
"You're looking better," he commented. "How are you feeling?"  
  
"Better," she nodded. "You wanted to see me?"  
  
"Yes," Wesley replied. "Willow mentioned to me that you wanted to learn informal magic."  
  
"Yes, that's right," Hermione nodded. "I believe I'd be more useful if I could do that sort of magic."  
  
Wesley sighed/ "Hermione, there's a lot of risk involved with that kind of magic. Things go wrong. Often. Willow, herself has had some very bad experiences with it."  
  
"I know that things can go wrong," Hermione replied. "I understand the risks. But I need to be more useful than I am. I need to be able to defend myself and others, and also be able to help fight. I'm a horrible fighter, but if I learn-"  
  
"I don't think I can allow you to do this, Hermione," Wesley cut her off. "It's too dangerous, and as your family member, and teacher, I must forbid it."  
  
Hermione blinked. "Forbid?"   
  
Wesley nodded. "I'm very sorry, Hermione."  
  
She got to her feet, with all the dignity in the world, and cleared her throat. "Then, I suppose I'll have to go on without your permission."  
  
Wesley didn't reply.   
  
"After all, I never asked for your permission," she pointed out. "And if Willow or Tara won't help me, well, I'll just have to teach myself, then, won't I? It can't be that difficult. After all, both Professor Macclay and Willow taught themselves, and my schooling here should be of some use. Well, I'd better get started."  
  
Wesley watched her leave his office, speechless.   
  
  
Ron walked out of the hospital wing, and into the hall, only to run right into his sister.  
  
"Ginny?"  
  
She barely looked at him. "Hi, Ron." She tried to walk off but he grabbed her arm. She whirled around and they stared at each other. "Let go, Ron."  
  
"Not until you talk to me," he replied. "Are you alright?"  
  
"Fine," she replied softly. "Fabulous. Now let go."  
  
"Gin-"  
  
It was too late. She'd wrenched her arm out of his grasp.  
  
He stared after her  
  
  
As soon as he'd arrived in Professor O'Brien's office, he was slightly confused. Harry and Draco were there as well, both looking very drained.  
  
"Good," O'Brien nodded. "Ron's here. Let's go."  
  
"Go where?" Ron asked.  
  
"Dungeon," O'Brien replied. "You've got to train."  
  
Ron blinked. "If Madame Pomfrey catches me-"  
  
"I'll take care of it," O'Brien replied gruffly. "Now come on."   
  
They followed Professor O'Brien down the stairs in near silence.  
  
"Do you really feel up to this?" Harry asked Ron.  
  
Ron shrugged. "Guess we'll find out. How did things go with the Dursleys?"  
  
Harry didn't reply.   
  
Ron nodded. "Right. Not surprising."   
  
"I don't wanna talk about it," Harry replied. "Let's just get the training over with."  
  
"How long is it today?" Ron asked.  
  
"Till Curfew," Professor O'Brien replied, not turning to look at them.   
  
Draco stopped. "It's three in the afternoon. Curfew isn't till ten."  
  
"I know that, Malfoy," O'Brien said. He opened up the door to the dungeon to be met with Professor Morgan and Professor Summers.  
  
"Buffy. Good you're here. Let's get them started."  
  
The blond blinked. "Started on what?"  
  
"Training."  
  
Professor Morgan walked up to Ron and put a hand to his forehead. "Hell, no."  
  
"Faith-"  
  
"Hell, no, Angel! First off, he's burning up."  
  
Ron blinked and put his own hand to his head. "Bloody hell… didn't even notice."  
  
"Second off," Professor Morgan continued. "He looks like death on legs." She turned and surveyed Harry. "Jesus, this one looks about ready to off himself! He's not going near a sword for the next week." Her eyes scanned Draco. "And this one looks like he might off anything that moves. Nope. No training today. You, go back to bed. You, go get yourself a nice dose of Prozac. You, valium. Now."   
  
The boys blinked.  
  
"Just get the hell upstairs!" Morgan cried. "And Harry, make sure Ron doesn't pass out on the way back to the hospital wing. Charlie'd kill me."  
  
The boys turned and left.   
  
Angel glared at the girls. "They need to train."  
  
"And you need to lay off," Faith snapped. "You're gonna kill them."  
  
"Better killed here than killed out there," Angel replied.   
  
"Like Connor," Buffy said. "Okay. I get it. You feel like if you'd reached out to Connor more, you would have been able to train him, and he coulda taken Spike. But you didn't, and he couldn't. Don't take it out on them."   
  
"I'm preparing them for a war!" Angel cried. "They're major players!"  
  
Faith blinked. "Major players… like… you're a major player? Apocalyptically?"  
  
Angel nodded. "Lilah told me right before I threw her out of the castle."  
  
"Threw, really threw?" Faith asked.  
  
"Nah," Angel replied. "Just a shove."  
  
"Okay, training starts after the recovery," Buffy cut in. "I don't care if they're major players or whatever. They need rest. Harry's mental state sucks right now. Ron is falling apart, and we are not going to deal with another Fai- I mean rogue slayer."  
  
"Thanks much, B," Faith said sarcastically.  
  
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Besides. We need to figure out what to do with Spike."  
  
"Well, B, there's always your route," Faith snickered.   
  
Buffy glared. "What is that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Let's just say that was payback for the rogue slayer jab." Faith sighed. "We could soul the bastard."  
  
"Or we could kill him," Angel replied. "That's my vote."  
  
"We should talk to Dumbledore," Buffy said. "See what he thinks."  
  
Angel sighed. "Fine. Right. Dumbledore."  
  
"Angel, I'm really about Connor," Buffy told him, seeing the hurt that was still in his eyes. "If there was anything I could have done…"  
  
"You were defending the school, like I was," Angel said. "There was nothing anyone could have done. He went down fighting. It's what he would've wanted."   
  
  
"Ginny?"  
  
She nearly jumped out of her skin at the voice behind her. She looked over the arm of the couch near the fire in the Gryffindor common room. "Hi, Mum."  
  
"Oh, Ginny," Molly said. She rushed over to her daughter and pulled the girl into a hug. "Are you alright?"  
  
"I'm… okay."  
  
Molly gave her daughter a wary look. "You're not lying, are you?"  
  
Ginny sighed.   
  
"Ginny…"  
  
"Mum, don't. Please?"  
  
"Ginny, this was not your fault. You saved Harry's life."  
  
"Then why won't he speak to me?"  
  
"He's not speaking to much of anyone, Gin," Charlie chimed in. He leaned on the back of the couch. "He's sad."  
  
Ginny sniffed. "I didn't mean to kill her."  
  
"You didn't kill Cho," Molly told her. "You didn't kill anyone. This wasn't your fault."  
  
Ginny burst into tears, and Molly's heart broke. She pulled the girl to her again.  
  
Charlie just sighed. This was going to be a long month. 


	21. Deer and Monkey

I love Joe. He has the best ideas. I know he doesn't read this, but he deserves mention, just for being him. Thanks, Joe!  
  
Deer and Monkey   
  
"Where's Harry?"  
  
Ron sighed. "For the first time in five years, I have no bloody clue."  
  
Torianna raised an eyebrow. "Hermione?"  
  
She shook her head. "I haven't seen him since breakfast."  
  
"Weasley!" Snape snapped from the front of his dungeon. "Where is Potter?"  
  
"I don't know, Professor Snape."  
  
Snape raised an eyebrow. "I don't believe you."  
  
"That's nice," Ron muttered. "It doesn't change the fact that I don't know, does it?"  
  
"Detention, Weasley, for being cheeky. And five points from Gryffindor."  
  
"Shit"  
  
Snape glared.  
  
"Shoot?"  
  
"Just get to work," Snape growled.   
  
"I can growl better than that," Ron muttered to himself. "That was the diet croak of growls."  
  
"That's diet coke, Ron," Evelyn snickered from behind him.  
  
"Whatever."   
  
Torianna sighed and raised a hand.  
  
"What, Lupin?" Snape snarled.  
  
"Hey, Teach, can I go look for Harry?"  
  
"Do not call me Teach. And no."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because you have work."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because it's important that you do work."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I bloody said so!"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Fine!" the teacher yelled. "Go look for Potter, but stop saying why!!!"   
  
Torianna smiled brilliantly at her Potions Master. "Thanks, Teach!" With that, she got up and walked out, leaving Ron, Hermione and Evelyn to stare at each other in confusion.   
  
  
She found him roaming around by the lake.  
  
"Harry?"  
  
He didn't reply. He was looking off in the distance.  
  
Torianna walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, Potter."  
  
He jumped nearly five feet in the air and turned to her.  
  
He looked tired, and sad. His skin was very pale, and his eyes seemed deadened. His school uniform was wrinkled, and his tie was crooked. He'd been getting worse since Halloween. He never spoke. The Lions had lost any chance for the cup because of Ron and Harry's frequent absences from practice, and even games.   
  
In fact, Ron, Harry and Hermione had all become more withdrawn since Halloween. Ron spent most of his time in the company of some piano or another. Hermione had buried herself in more books than usual, she said she was studying, but most people were suspicious of what, exactly she was studying. The time she and Ron spent together as a couple was limited. Not only could they not find time to be alone, but they couldn't figure out how to balance a relationship between their personal projects.   
  
And then there was Harry. He didn't sleep very much anymore. His eating habits were erratic, his grades had been slipping swiftly.  
  
And now this.   
  
"Harry?"  
  
"I saw him."  
  
Torianna shook her head. "What? Who?"  
  
"My father," Harry replied. "He was right over there… he went that way."  
  
"Harry, that way is the Forbidden Forest."  
  
He shook his head and began to walk away.   
  
"Hey!" she cried. "Wait! You can't go in there, you'll get in trouble, or killed or something!"  
  
"I don't care, I gotta find him."  
  
Torianna sighed. "At least lemme come along?"  
  
"Whatever."  
  
She followed him to the edge of the forest, and looked around.  
  
"I don't see anyone, Harry," she voiced finally. "Let's go back."  
  
"No," Harry said firmly, turning to face her. "I saw Prongs."  
  
"The deer?" Torianna asked. "Harry…"  
  
"I saw him! And it wasn't the time-turner or my imagination! It wasn't! He was here!" His eyes became desperate. "I saw him. I did. You have to believe me."  
  
"Harry… you're tired. You're hungry, and you're goin insane," she said. "You have to come back with me. You'll go to the hospital wing, you'll get checked out, and have a week-long nap or something."  
  
"I'm not crazy!" Harry said firmly. "Why don't you believe me?"  
  
"Because, Harry, your dad is dead."  
  
He stared at her for a long moment, because dropping his head and cried.   
  
Torianna slowly wrapped her arms around him. She didn't know what to say, so she said nothing.  
  
  
"Professor Summers, we feel that, since you and Professor Rosenberg are much younger than we are, you would be much better suited for planning the Yule Ball this year."  
  
Buffy gave Professor Dumbledore a brilliant smile.   
  
"What do you think?" he asked his, his eyes crinkling with his smile.  
  
She smiled wider. "I think I could definitely get into it."  
  
"And Professor Macclay, do you think you could organize some music?"  
  
"I could try," Tara replied with a smirk. "I'll need to do it fast. A month isn't very much time to practice."  
  
"Then you'd better get started," Dumbledore replied.   
  
"Professor Dumbledore?"  
  
"Yes, Buffy?"  
  
"What would you say to a Muggle-themed Yule Ball?"  
  
  
"Okay. Down to business."  
  
The chorus stood in front of their two directors, patiently waiting.  
  
"We need a band for the Yule Ball," Tara told them. "And… I know Draco plays guitar. And I know Ron plays piano."  
  
"We all know that," Lee quipped from the tenor section.   
  
"Oh! T-that's another issue! Ron, you've got to stop leaving pianos everywhere," Tara said. "Snape is ready to kill you."  
  
"When is he not?" Fred asked.   
  
"Alright, you lot," Giles said.  
  
"Anyways, we need a drummer," Tara went on. "W-who plays drums?"  
  
Seamus timidly raised his hands.  
  
"He plays drums?" Torianna whispered excitedly to Ginny and Katie. "I'm dating a drummer?"  
  
"It appears so," Katie replied wryly.   
  
Torianna let out a small squeak.   
  
"Great," Tara said. "Any bass players?"   
  
Evelyn raised a hand casually, which gained her a glare from Pansy.   
  
"Great," Tara smiled. "We've got a band. Now, if anyone wants to sing something for the Yule Ball, just let me know, and we'll set it up. In the meantime, you four figure out what songs you want to do… and… it's Muggle-themed, so you guys are gonna have to stick to the Muggle stuff."  
  
The room burst into chatter.  
  
"Muggle-themed?" Seamus voiced. "Sounds good."  
  
Pansy let out a disgusted snort, and Millicent rolled her eyes at the idea.   
  
Tara sighed. "Well… this'll be interesting…"  
  
  
Willow couldn't help it.  
  
She had to laugh.  
  
Even Angel was laughing. Loudly. In fact, he looked as if he might fall over.  
  
"Where is Spike, and what the hell is that monkey doing here?" Buffy asked, crossing her arms.  
  
"It's not my fault," Angel told her, still laughing. "It was all Mad-Eye."  
  
"Mad-Eye? Who the hell is Mad-Eye?"  
  
"Him," Willow giggled.   
  
Buffy glanced at the man, standing there holding a wand. He had gray hair, and very, very strange looking eyes… and a peg-leg. "Uh… Uhm… A vast ye scurvy knave?"  
  
"Buffy, this Alistor Moody. Mad-Eye. He's an Auror," Angel explained. "He's come to take Spike to the ministry."  
  
"And… And Spike was being Spike, y'know?" Willow breathed. "And.. Mad-Eye got fed up, so… so he turned him into a monkey!" She burst into another fit of laughter.   
  
Mad-Eye looked smug. "He deserved it."  
  
Buffy blinked. "You're taking Spike to the ministry?"  
  
"S'what we do with all the vampires we catch," Moody replied. "It's law, Professor."  
  
"Listen, Mr. Moody, I'm a vampire slayer. I can handle… Spike… the monkey, oh, god." She couldn't help it. She cracked up. "Oh, good, sweet god turn him back! Please!"  
  
"No!" Willow cried. "Don't, don't! I wanna find a camera!"  
  
Moody sighed and flicked his wand. In a flash, Spike was back to normal.   
  
"I hate you all."  
  
Angel smirked. "Oh, come on, William. It was all in good fun."  
  
"Shut your hole, Angelus," Spike snapped. "You didn't just get turned into a ruddy fucking chimp! I've the right mind to kill you all!"  
  
Buffy snorted. "Please. Spike. You might make me laugh harder than when you were a monkey. Seriously, Mr. Moody. I can deal with Spike."  
  
"Fudge's orders to come get him," Moody replied. "Gotta be wary of these sort of things, vampires. CONSTANT VIGILENCE!"   
  
Buffy blinked. "Oh, boy."  
  
  
"Why didn't you tell me before?"  
  
"I don't know," Faith replied, shinning one of the swords the students had used that day. "Embarrassment? It slipped my mind?"  
  
Charlie raised an eyebrow. "Snape being your uncle and getting your mum killed doesn't just slip your mind, Faith. Or it would never slip mine."  
  
Faith smirked. "It's… it's been pretty hard to figure out just how the hell I wanna treat him. I've been switching from treating him like crap, to treating him how I treat everyone else… besides you."  
  
"How do you want to treat him?" Charlie asked.  
  
"Like everyone else, I guess… but it's hard, y'know?"  
  
He nodded, taking her hand. "I know for a fact that this is going to sound very hokey, but I'm here for you."  
  
"Great," she replied softly. "Come to dinner with us tonight?"  
  
Charlie blinked. "Us? Us as in you and Snape?"  
  
Faith nodded.  
  
"He doesn't like Weasleys."  
  
"He doesn't like anyone," Faith snorted. "But he's the only family I got. Necessary evil, y'know? It'd mean a lot to me if you came with… as… y'know, the boyfriend?"  
  
Charlie sighed. "My brothers will never let me live it down, but… well… alright."  
  
  
"You want to do what with Spike?"  
  
"Put him under the Petrificus Totalus and dump him back in Sunnydale."  
  
Angel sighed. "I don't think that's such a good idea, Buffy. Dawn's still in Sunnydale, remember?"  
  
"He would never hurt Dawn," Buffy replied.  
  
"We don't know that."  
  
She rolled her eyes. "You don't know that. I do."  
  
Moody sighed. "I don't about this, Professor. William the Bloody is dangerous."  
  
"So am I," Buffy snapped. "Why does no one here believe that I can handle a vampire? I'm a vampire slayer. This is what I do."   
  
Moody shook his head. "Ministry sent me to-"  
  
"I don't care," Buffy cut in. "I'm not part of the ministry. Neither is Spike. Spike is a vampire. Again, I'm a vampire slayer. Just let me do my job."  
  
Dumbledore sighed. "Well, Buffy, if you feel you can handle Spike, I don't see any reason to keep you from doing your job. One request?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Take Draco with you for a little while. Let him get a feel for what it is you actually do."  
  
"Draco?" Moody asked. "As in Malfoy?"  
  
Dumbledore nodded. "He's a vampire slayer."  
  
Moody looked confused. "But-"  
  
"We know he's not a girl. He even threatened to drop his pants to prove it." Buffy sighed. "Okay. Draco tags along to dump Spike back in the Dale."  
  
"Good. Then we're settled," Dumbledore nodded. "I'm sorry you had to come all this way for nothing, Alistor."  
  
Moody sighed. "Did get a good transfiguration in." He smiled broadly. "Got a good laugh out of Liam."  
  
Buffy blinked. "Liam?"  
  
Moody smirked. "Your Angel. Good kid."  
  
"Kid? God, how old are you?!"   
  
Moody's smirk widened, and he got to his feet. "Well, I'm off."  
  
Buffy groaned, as Moody said his farewells, and left.  
  
"You'd best fetch Draco," Dumbledore said. "I'll connect your home in Sunnydale to the Floo network for easy travel."  
  
  
"I hate you both."  
  
"You're the one who wouldn't go to the hospital wing."  
  
Harry grumbled. He'd never been chained to his four-poster before.   
  
Evelyn and Torianna stood over him, arms crossed.   
  
"Okay, Harry. Go to sleep."  
  
"No."  
  
Torianna began waving her arms around frantically. "This is oooonly a dream…"  
  
"Sod off."  
  
"Okay," Evelyn shrugged.   
  
Both girls began to walk out of the room.   
  
"Wait!" Harry cried. "You can't leave me tied up!"  
  
Torianna snorted. "Yeah, we can."  
  
"And we are," Evelyn added. "See ya, Harry."  
  
The two girls giggled as they heard Harry growl from his four-poster. They walked down to the common room to find Ron sprawled out on the floor, surrounded by sheet music.  
  
"Oh, my god," Evelyn said in astonishment. "You've been working on this stupid music for a week straight, Weasley. Don't you have anything better to do? Like… I don't know… make out with Hermione?"  
  
"She's in the library," was Ron's muttered reply. He didn't look up at them.   
  
"Well…" Torianna started. "Why don't you grab her and show her the music you've got? Or play it?"  
  
"She's busy," he replied. "She doesn't really care."  
  
Evelyn rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, Ron… she's your girlfriend, she has to care."  
  
He didn't reply. He only shook his head, and went back to writing out the musical charts before him.   
  
Ginny rushed passed them, tripping over Ron. She scowled, and turned menacing eyes on her brother. "Can't you do that somewhere else?" she snapped.  
  
Slowly, Ron looked up at her. "Can't you watch where the hell you're going?"  
  
This was another reoccurring theme. The Ron and Ginny fights.   
  
"Don't swear."  
  
He got to his feet, and got in Ginny's face. "I'll swear where, and when I bloody fucking well want to!"  
  
"Christ, Ron, chill out," Torianna ordered.  
  
"You- You're… you're horrible!" Ginny spat.   
  
"Shut up!" Ron snarled. "You have no idea what you're talking about! I've not been horrible!"  
  
"You're a recluse!" Ginny cried. "This is all you do anymore! You're stupid music!"  
  
"It's not stupid!" Ron yelled. "You're stupid!"  
  
"Oh, very mature, Ron!"  
  
"Who the bloody hell said I was mature?!"  
  
"Stop Cursing!"  
  
"Okay, that's it," Torianna muttered. She snagged Ron by the shirt, and dragged him out of the common room.   
  
"Ginny, I think Harry wants to see you upstairs," Evelyn told the red-headed girl.  
  
Torianna turned for a moment, and gave Evelyn a confused look, but the raven-haired girl just shrugged as Ginny stormed up the stairs.  
  
  
Draco glared thickly at Buffy. "No."  
  
"Draco Malfoy," she said in warning. "If you don't go catch that vampire right now, I'm going to tell Professor Wyndham-Pryce to double- no- Triple your homework. And you'd better believe he'd do it."  
  
That did it.  
  
Draco was off like a bat out of hell.  
  
"I'm starting to think this wasn't the best idea," Buffy admitted as she and Willow stood in the cemetery. "He's out of his element."  
  
"But he's gotta learn to deal with being out of his element, right?" Willow asked.   
  
Buffy sighed. "Yeah… I'm just glad to be rid of Spike. Put him under the Petrificus, and no worries. It's a nice feeling."  
  
"That Moody guy was creepy," Willow commented.   
  
"He reminded me of a pirate."  
  
"Obviously," Willow snickered. "A vast ye scurvy knave?"  
  
Buffy shrugged. "It seemed like the right thing to say at the time."   
  
At that moment, Draco came stalking back toward them, with a taller man following him.  
  
"He killed my vampire!" Draco complained.  
  
Buffy's eyes widened. "Xander?"  
  
Both teachers launched themselves at Xander, who grinned wildly.   
  
"What the hell are you guys doing here?!" Xander asked. "I thought you were doing your parts for the youth of Britain?"   
  
"We are," Willow told him. "Oh, Xander, I missed you so much! I have so much to tell you!"   
  
Draco tapped his foot, his arms crossed, a stake clenched in his hand. "He… killed… my vampire! And nobody cares!"   
  
Xander blinked and looked Draco over. "Did Spike shrink? Please say yes. Because he looks like Spike, and he sneers like Spike, but… he's so short."  
  
"No," Buffy replied. "This is Draco. He's our new slayer in training."  
  
"That's funny," Xander commented. "He looks suspiciously male."  
  
"Hence the 'he,'" Willow told him. "First of his kind. He fights like Buffy, looks like Spike, and broods like Angel."  
  
"Wow," Xander said. "That's… impressive… impressive, and very scary."  
  
"This does not change the fact that he killed my vampire!" Draco cried. "I want another."  
  
And Draco Malfoy got his wish.  
  
A very dead vampire took this opportunity to lunge out at him, and knock him over.   
  
"FUCKING HELL!"   
  
"Hey!" Buffy cried. "You can't curse! You're not injured yet!"  
  
At this point, Willow was speaking excitedly to Xander, who made his comments and Buffy switched between helping Draco and joining the conversation.  
  
Buffy smiled. Vampires…Xander… cemetery… she'd missed this familiarity.  
  
"Xander, where's Dawn?"  
  
"She's sleeping over at a friend's tonight," Xander informed her. "I thought I'd take the time to… y'know try my hand at slaying a little vampire. It's been working okay… but most of the time I have to run to Cordy and her crew in LA for help."  
  
"I'm really sorry, Xander," Buffy replied sincerely. "I wish I could be here, but things at Hogwarts have just been really, really bad lately, and they need me."  
  
"No… it's all good, Buff," Xander reassured her. "Nothing big has happened here for awhile, which is… scary and surprising, but it's nice. It's okay. You do your school thing, just keep in touch."  
  
Buffy nodded, and hugged Xander again.   
  
  
Torianna tossed Ron into the chair opposite Hermione. "You deal with him."  
  
Hermione put her witchcraft book down and raised an eyebrow at Ron. "What happened?"  
  
"I got in a fight with Ginny."  
  
"Again?"  
  
Ron sighed. "I dunno… ever since… y'know… Halloween… she just hasn't been the same."  
  
"None of us have," Hermione nodded. "I don't think we can go back to the way we were… I don't think I want to."  
  
Ron sighed. "So… that means we're…"  
  
"What?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Breaking up?"  
  
"What?!"  
  
Madam Pince glared harshly at her outburst.  
  
Hermione shook her head. "What gave you that idea?"  
  
"Well… we don't really spend all that much time together anymore, do we? I mean… not that my goal is being attached at the hip or anything but-"  
  
"Ron, you're ranting."  
  
He sighed and looked down.  
  
"Do you want to break up?" She asked him.  
  
"…No…"  
  
"Neither do I," she replied.   
  
"But… I would like to spend more time together… I know you're busy with… whatever it is that you do…"  
  
"And you're busy, too," Hermione pointed out. "I never see you without your sheet music or a piano anymore…"  
  
"Yeah," Ron sighed. "Mione?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?" Ron asked. "I've heard they're thinking about making it the last one of the year because of the stuff that's gone on."  
  
She smiled. "I'd love to."  
  
  
Dinner was not going well.  
  
It didn't take long for Faith to realize that Charlie Weasley and Severus Snape had absolutely nothing in common. They sat in the small restaurant in Hogsmeade in silence.  
  
"So," Faith said clearing her throat.   
  
"Yeah," Charlie added, picking at his food.  
  
"Well, this was… pleasant," Snape said. He got to his feet, and was promptly dragged back down into his seat.   
  
"Faith."  
  
"You're finding common ground, and you're finding it tonight, or I'm gonna hurt you," she informed him.  
  
"Faith, it isn't as if I hate the boy," Snape started. "Well… Hate's a bit strong… slightly loath would be a better term-"  
  
"Point. Now."  
  
"The point is that we don't have anything in common, and he doesn't like me, either."  
  
Charlie sighed. "Well… you did give me detention on the first day of my first year," he pointed out. "First impressions, Professor, you understand, don't you?"  
  
"Of course," Snape replied. "Faith, you don't even like me."  
  
"Well, I'm trying, aren't I?" she asked. "You are family… Really, the only I have, so…"  
  
Snape sighed. "And… you are mine, but that doesn't mean we have to like each other."  
  
"And it doesn't help that he doesn't like anyone," Charlie pointed out.  
  
Faith shot daggers at him with her eyes.   
  
"…I'm just going to eat my food and never speak again… ever."  
  
"He's right!" Snape cried. "I don't like anyone."  
  
"So… you don't like me."  
  
"I never said that."  
  
"You just said you don't like anyone."  
  
"But-"  
  
Faith rolled her eyes. "This was sucky idea. Sorry." With that, she got up, and left.   
  
Charlie put his fork down, and began to get to his feet, but Snape shook his head.   
  
"I'll go after her."  
  
  
"So… Evelyn said you wanted to see me?"   
  
Harry blinked. "She did?" he asked. He'd actually fallen asleep, and was actually feeling a bit better.   
  
"She lied, didn't she?" Ginny asked.   
  
Harry nodded. "Reckon so."  
  
"Harry?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Why are you chained to the bed?"  
  
Harry blinked and sighed. "I don't know. Ask Evelyn and Torianna."  
  
Ginny sighed and sat next to him, silent.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
Ginny groaned, and leaned against the chains that were binding Harry's legs. "Everything. I've been avoiding my brothers, except Ron, who I just fight with. My grades are horrible, and you're upset with me."  
  
Harry blinked. "Upset with you?"  
  
Ginny nodded. "About Cho?"  
  
He shook his head vigorously. "No! I'm not angry with you! I blame myself for what happened to Cho!"  
  
Ginny looked down.   
  
"Listen, Ginny," Harry said. "I know I haven't spoken to you very much… or anyone, actually… and I did have a great bit of a freak-out today…but I think I'm thinking a bit more than I was… and I'm sorry if I led you to believe I was angry. I haven't been. I'm not. Don't blame yourself, because this was more my fault than yours. That curse was headed for me… and if not for you… I'd be pretty dead right now. And I don't think Cho would want you to blame yourself, either."  
  
She sighed, and looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "Harry…"  
  
"Listen, Ginny, will you just please unchain me?"  
  
She sniffed a little, and nodded, and managed to use her wand to unhook the chains. When she was done, Harry sat up and wrapped his arms around her.   
  
For the first time since her mother had left, she cried.   
  
Harry held onto her tightly.   
  
  
"Faith, please, you're being irrational."  
  
She kept walking. "I'm a chick. It's what we do."  
  
Snape sighed. "Will you slow down, girl? This is ridiculous?"  
  
"So stop following me."  
  
"I can't do that."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because… you're… upset… and… as you're family member, I'm supposed to be concerned."  
  
She stopped and sighed. "Are you?"  
  
"Yes… listen, I know you honestly don't care for me, and I don't really care for much of anyone, but you are family," he admitted. "And… I should be making more of an effort."  
  
She turned him. "Really?"  
  
"Well, if I didn't mean it, I wouldn't say it, would I?"  
  
Faith smirked. "Yeah… come on, we'd better get back to the restaurant before Charlie eats the rest of our food." 


	22. You're Going

Ahem.  
This is pretty late. And I'm sorry but I'm trying to pass five college courses, work two jobs and deal with disgruntled parents. So if it's late, you'll wait. I'm really glad that people like to read my story, and I'm really grateful that you take time out to read it, and I'm not trying to be a bitch, but please don't push me to rush, I'm doing the best I can.   
  
  
You're Going   
  
The rest of November went by as quickly and quietly as it possibly could have.   
  
Marcus Flint was never found guilty of letting the Death Eaters into the school on Halloween night, and Oliver had nearly put his hand through a wall because of it.   
  
For many, the announcement of the Yule ball was a welcome distraction from Halloween's events.   
  
The slayer-in-training, the demon seer and the warrior were no exceptions to this.   
  
Harry and Ron circled each other on the mats in the training room a week before the ball.   
  
"Forget it, Harry. I'm only going to the ball to play."  
  
"And you're taking Hermione. And you'll have a lovely time. And if you don't, I'll kill you."  
  
"Do you even remember last year's ball?"  
  
"Ron. Krum's not here. Get over it."  
  
"I don't wanna go."  
  
"Tough shit."  
  
"Hey!" Faith cried. "No potty mouths in the training room unless you have a grievous injury."  
  
"Ron, don't be a prat," Draco called. "Just go with her and get it over with!"  
  
"You going with Evelyn?"  
  
"Maybe," Draco nodded.   
  
"Hey, if she says no, and Hermione says no, I'll be your date," Ron joked.  
  
"Oh, Weasley," Draco said in his best falsetto. "How romantic!"  
  
"Y'know I wonder if you actually have a penis when you use that voice," Ron mused.  
  
"Because our Ronnie's all full of romance," Harry snapped, ignoring Ron's jab. "Or he would be, if he wasn't such a ruddy great prat!"   
  
With that, Ron tackled Harry to the ground. "Take it back!"  
  
"Ask Mione to the Yule Ball!"  
  
"Take it back!"  
  
"I can't take it back when it's true, Ron," Harry drawled. He shoved his red-headed best friend off of him with his feet. "Just ask Hermione to the bloody ball, will you?"  
  
Draco got down on one knee in front of thin air. "Mione, I know I'm a ruddy great prat, who gets unreasonably jealous at everyone and everything, including that cockroach that climbed up your arm the other day, but will you do me the complete honor of being my date for the ball. Please? Pretty please? With chocolate frogs and Bertie Bots on top? I'll be a good boy, I promise!"  
  
Ron and Harry both got to their feet. Ron looked quite bitter.   
  
"Let's get him," Harry voiced casually.   
  
Ron gave out an agreeable snarl in response.   
  
They both leapt on Draco, who began to scream and yell and curse up a storm.   
  
Faith blinked. "Okay. I'm going for a coffee break, guys. Don't play too rough.   
  
None of them paid any attention, of course. Faith just sighed and left them to their own demented devices.   
  
  
"I'm Gred."  
  
"I'm Forge."  
  
"It's corking to meet you!"  
  
"Absolutely corking!"  
  
"Corkingly spiffing, even!"  
  
Dawn backed away a little. "Buffy…"  
  
The two boys smiled at her.  
  
Buffy glared suspiciously at the Weasley twins. "Stay away from my sister."  
  
Xander Harris grinned. "I like them."  
  
"Thought you would. They're names are actually Fred and George," Buffy replied. She blinked when she saw Faith walking through the halls with a large mug in her hands. "Faith?"  
  
"Hey, B," she replied, walking over. "Xander, Dawn. Good to see you guys."  
  
Dawn waved and Xander nodded.   
  
"Aren't you on training duty this morning?"   
  
"Yep. Harry and Ron tag-teamed Draco just for fun. I'm heading back down there now."  
  
"You mean they're beating one of their friends up?" Dawn asked. "That's kinda wrong, isn't it?"  
  
"Harry and Draco are not friends," Faith replied. "They're two kids who are forced to work with each other. And Ron's… Ron."  
  
  
"…And this is the training room."  
  
Gunn looked around. "This is nice. I like this."  
  
"And those are Harry, Ron and Draco… Harry and Ron, what are you doing to Draco?"  
  
"Beating 'is poncy arse!" Ron cried.   
  
"What did he say?" Fred asked.  
  
Gunn shrugged. "Beats me… or the blond apparently."  
  
Angel crossed his arms. "Where's Professor Morgan?"  
  
"Professor Morgan?" Gunn snorted. "Damn. That's just funny."  
  
"She went to get coffee," Harry told them.   
  
Angel sighed. "On your feet, you three."  
  
They got up and stood before the three adults, Ron standing in-between Harry and Draco.  
  
"Guys, this is Charles Gunn, and Winifred Burkle. Gunn, Fred, these are Harry, Ron and Draco." Angel sighed. "What have I told you about training in your pajamas?"  
  
"Would you rather us be naked?" Draco asked. He reached for the elastic top of his gray sweat pants, but was slugged in the arm by Harry.  
  
"Oy! Watch it, Potty!"  
  
"Make me, Veela-boy!"  
  
Draco growled, and lunged, just missing Ron. He knocked Harry to the floor.  
  
Angel sighed and pulled the boys apart.   
  
"I'm hungry," Ron announced.  
  
"You're not done for the morning," Angel replied. "Breakfast after training."  
  
"But I'm hungry," Ron whined. "And Mione's probably waking up about now."  
  
Draco made a kissy noise, and it was Ron's turn to make a leap for the blond slayer.   
  
"Hermione… isn't that a David Bowie song?" Lorne asked, walking down the steps of the Dungeon.   
  
"Letter to Hermione," Draco and Ron replied in unison.   
  
"Oh, that's right," Lorne mused. "Great song. Hi, guys."  
  
"'Lo, Lorne," Ron replied.   
  
"Who's he, again?" Harry asked.  
  
Angel sighed. "Harry, Draco, this is Lorne. Lorne, you've met Ron. These are Harry and Draco… who are still trying to swipe at each other. Stop it!"  
  
At that moment, Faith came rushing down the stairs, past Lorne, and grabbed hold of Draco's thin, green t-shirt, pulling him away from Angel and Harry. "Malfoy. How many times do I have to tell you? If you're gonna go for somebody like that, fist him. You're not a girl! Don't use your nails!"  
  
"Faith, they shouldn't be trying to beat each other up in the first place," Angel remarked. "They're supposed to work together. Remember?"  
  
Faith sighed. "What time is it?"  
  
Gunn gently took up Fred's arm and looked at her watch. "Six thirty in the morning."  
  
Faith whipped around, and stared at Gunn, Lorne and Fred. They looked tired and disheveled from the trip. She didn't remember how they said they were getting to Hogwarts, and it didn't matter. She launched herself at Fred and wrapped her arms around her.  
  
"Holy shit! Do you know I completely forgot you guys were coming?" Faith asked excitedly. "Crap! Why didn't it dawn on me when I saw Xander and Dawn?"  
  
"Because it's six thirty in the morning?" Gunn suggested.   
  
Faith hugged him next, and then Lorne. "Where the hell is Cordelia?"  
  
"Willow grabbed her," Fred replied. "They should be catching up soon, though."  
  
Faith sighed. "Why don't you three animals go upstairs and grab some breakfast?"  
  
"Cause Professor O'Brien told us not to," Ron grumbled.  
  
Faith whipped around to face Angel. "What have we said about driving them too hard? If they're hungry, let them eat. You know when they get hungry they get cranky, and when they get cranky, they annoy the hell out of everyone around them."  
  
"Thanks bunches, Professor Morgan," Draco grumbled.   
  
  
"So… any cute boys here?"  
  
Willow snickered at Dawn as they walked with Cordelia through the halls. Classes had long ended, and Dawn had really enjoyed roaming around, and meeting teachers and students alike. Seeing her older sister handle classes of kids was especially amusing, and she was surprised at how easily instructing a class came to Angel.   
  
"There are plenty of cute boys… but they tend to be kinda taken," Willow replied.   
  
"What's up with the influx of red-heads?" Cordelia asked. "You must feel right at home."  
  
"The Weasleys?" Willow snickered. "Yeah. They're great. They want to take me to their house for winter break as their 'American cousin' and see if their mother notices I'm so not related."  
  
Dawn snickered, but stopped, and stared at something in the distance. "Hot guys," she squeaked.   
  
Willow blinked and looked up to see Ron, Harry, Draco, Seamus, Lee and Dean lugging instruments and mics through the halls. She   
shook her head. "Four out of six are taken, Dawnie."   
  
Dawn pouted. "Lemme guys, the blond, the red-head, the brunette and the bespectacled one?"  
  
Willow nodded. "Yep. Pretty much. Oh, and I think Lee's been seeing a Hufflepuff of some sort. But… I could possibly try hooking you up with Dean."  
  
  
"What are you saying, Lorne?" Angel asked, getting up from the desk in his office.  
  
"I'm saying that something not good is going to happen at the Yule Ball," Lorne replied. "I walked into a band practice for the Yule Ball and heard Ron singing. Angel-Cakes, you can't let those kids go."  
  
Angel sighed. "It's out of my hands, Lorne. They'll go if they want to."  
  
Lorne sighed. "Don't say I didn't warn you."  
  
Angel didn't get a chance to reply. Buffy rushed into the office. "Angel! There you are, thank god! I need your help!"  
  
"What is it?" he asked, walking over to her, putting his hands on her arms.  
  
"I just remembered. The boys need suits!"   
  
Angel blinked. "Beg pardon?"  
  
She gave him a distraught look. "For the Yule ball! Harry, Ron, and Draco, and probably their friends need suits!"  
  
Angel blinked. "Oh… I thought it was something important."  
  
She glared.  
  
"Not that this… isn't important, it's just that… well, I thought someone was dead or-"  
  
"Morbid much?" Buffy asked. "Listen, Angel, love of my, you'd be the best boyfriend ever if you'd take them shopping tonight."  
  
Angel blinked again, and shook his head. "No."  
  
"Please?"  
  
"No, way, Buffy. That's not happening."  
  
"But you have good taste!"   
  
Lorne snorted. The couple stared at him.   
  
"Sorry," he voiced.   
  
"Lorne, you do it," Angel said.  
  
"No, way. I don't want them to go in the first place," Lorne replied.   
  
"Oh, they're going," Buffy said darkly. "They're going and they'll like it. This is going to be the best Yule ball ever, do you hear me?"   
  
Lorne blinked. "Wow."   
  
"Angel, you and Lorne are taking them suit shopping, or you'll be sorry," Buffy said, poking Angel in the chest. "Very sorry." She turned on her heels and stormed out.   
  
  
"It's a simple plan, really. Nothing too elaborate. Just need some rope and a sock, is all. Oh, and you lot."   
  
Draco smirked. "I'm in."  
  
Evelyn nodded. "Yeah, me, too."   
  
Harry sighed. "He'll kill us later."  
  
"I agree with Harry," Neville voiced. "Won't he be mad?"   
  
"But won't it be worth it?" Ginny asked.  
  
Dean grinned. "Ginny's right. It will be worth it. Let's do it."  
  
Katie smiled at George and Fred. "I knew you boys were evil, but this…"  
  
Angelina nodded. "Bloody brilliant, in the words of our victim."  
  
"What about you, Torianna?" Fred asked. "You and Seamus in?"  
  
"Hell, yeah," Seamus cried. "Wouldn't miss it!"   
  
  
Fred and Gunn each had one of Wesley's wrists, and were dragging him out the main entrance of Hogwarts.  
  
"I have papers to grade," he told them. "I don't have time to play!"  
  
"English, you may have spent your whole life here, but I haven't. I have never seen snow before. Neither has Fred. We are going out in it. We're makin' snowmen, we're building forts, and we're having snowballs fights. Now."   
  
"This is childish!" Wesley cried.   
  
"Wesley, stick out of butt!" Fred cried. "Oh! We can use it for one of the snowman's arms!"   
  
Wesley sighed and let himself be dragged.   
  
"What's going on?"   
  
"We're playing in the snow!" Fred cried to Cordelia.   
  
The former May Queen blinked as she watched them walk out. "Wait for me!"   
  
  
Ron was at it again. Piano set up, music in front of him. His friends were all around him, doing homework, playing exploding snap and chess. He was in the middle of his warm-up scales when a tall brunette sat down beside him on the bench.  
  
"Hi. I'm Dawn. What's your name?" she asked.  
  
"Ron," he muttered.   
  
"Hey, we rhyme," she giggled. "Cool. You play this often?"  
  
He didn't reply, just kept playing.   
  
"Uhm… hey, I wouldn't bother him when he's-"   
  
Evelyn was too late to warn the girl. Ron had made his way up the piano keys, and knocked her off the piano bench. She squeaked and stared up at him in shock.   
  
He stopped playing, and looked down at her curiously. "What're you doing on the floor?"  
  
"Here, lemme help you up," Torianna said, walking over. "Sheesh, Ronnie, don't you ever pay attention?" she helped Dawn to her feet.   
  
"Was that my fault?" Ron asked. "Hell, I'm sorry… what did you say your name was?"   
  
"Dawn." she sighed.   
  
"Word of advice," Torianna said. "Don't try talking to him when he's sitting there. He wouldn't know you from his mother when he's playing. He's very rude! I'm Torianna."   
  
"Dawn."  
  
"Oh, hey you're Professor Summers' kid sis, right?" Torianna asked. "Cool."  
  
"Yeah, sometimes," Dawn nodded. "Who are you?"  
  
"Torianna."  
  
"It's nice to meet someone who's not in their own little world."  
  
Ron sighed. "Sorry."   
  
"Dawn! There you are! I've been looking for you everywhere!" Buffy rushed in. "I have to talk to you. Let's go."  
  
Dawn rolled her eyes. "Buffy, I'm trying to socialize!"   
  
"There'll be plenty of socializing later," Buffy promised. "Come on."  
  
Dawn sighed and shrugged at Torianna. "Sorry. Freak of a sister." She was dragged from the Gryffindor common room.   
  
Torianna sighed, and went back to her seat next to Seamus. Ron went back to the piano.   
  
Fred and George smirked at each other, an they both dropped their text books on the floor of the common room.   
  
The group got up, Angelina holding a rope, Katie holding a sock. They stood behind Ron at the piano. He stopped playing and turned to face them.   
  
"What're you lot doing?"   
  
"NOW!"   
  
They jumped on him. All of them.   
  
"GAH! WHAT THE FUCK?!"   
  
"Ron! We want you to ask Hermione to the Yule ball," Evelyn informed him. "Now hold still."  
  
"I've already asked Susan Bones!" Neville cried. "I'm loads more cowardly than you are!"   
  
"It's not hard," Seamus said as they fought to tie the red-head up. "Here, now, listen. Torianna, will go to the Yule ball with me?"   
  
"Sure," Torianna smiled.  
  
"Here's another example," Draco said. "Evelyn, do you want to go to the Yule ball?"  
  
"With you?"   
  
"No, with my mother," Draco snapped. "Of course with me!"   
  
"Okay, Draco, I'll go with you," Evelyn said.   
  
"What about you, Ginny?" Harry asked. "Would you be my date for the Yule ball?"   
  
Ron growled. His hand shot out and smacked Harry.  
  
"OW! Right, then! Well deserved for not asking you first."  
  
"Damn right!" Ron yelled. "Lemme go!"   
  
"Not until you ask that poor girl!" Katie yelled back.  
  
"This wouldn't be so hard if you'd just hold still!" Angelina cried.   
  
"Yeah, come on, Ronnie, stop struggling," Fred said.  
  
"This is for your own good," George said.   
  
When all was said and done, Ron was hog-tied and being hauled off to the girls' dorm.  
  
"Yes," Ginny said.  
  
"Yes what?" Harry asked.   
  
"Yes I'll go to the Yule ball with you."  
  
Ron began to struggle. His yelling was muffled from the sock in his mouth.   
  
Harry smiled. "Great."   
  
Torianna opened the door to the room she shared with Hermione and Evelyn. "Hey, Mione."  
  
"Hello," Hermione replied from her spot sitting on her bed surrounded by books.   
  
Ron was tossed into the room, and the door was slammed shut.   
  
Hermione blinked at the bound red-head, and snickered.  
  
Ron glared at her. "Hu funnu!" he cried through his sock.  
  
She sighed and took the sock from his mouth. "What happened?"  
  
"They hog-tied me and shoved me into your room," he replied.  
  
She raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Right. You knew that."   
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because they want me to ask you to the Yule ball."  
  
"Ron?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Why haven't you yet?" she asked.   
  
He sighed as she untied him. "Because of last year."  
  
"Ron, Krum's not here," she informed him, pulling away the last of the ropes.  
  
"But-"  
  
"Ron," she took his face in her hands. "Krum's… not… here."  
  
He sat up, her hands still on his face. "Mione, will you go to the Yule ball with me?"   
  
  
"…Not doing this when he's too nervous to sleep with her," Fred grumbled.  
  
Angelina smacked him.   
  
The lot of them had sat themselves in front of the bedroom door.   
  
"That's something he'd better not be afraid of," Draco grumbled, glaring at Harry. "Never teaming up with him again."  
  
"Liar," Evelyn snickered, cuddling close to him.   
  
"Don't do that," Seamus said. "It's sickening."  
  
"What's this?"   
  
The group looked up to see Faith standing there, her hands on her hips.  
  
"Hey, sis!" George cried.  
  
"Hey!" Faith snapped. "I'm still your professor. You don't get special treatment just because… because…"  
  
"You're snogging our brother?" Fred offered.  
  
Faith only faltered for a moment. "Who in the room?"  
  
"nobody," the group chorused.   
  
She rolled up her sleeves. "If you guys don't movie, I'm gonna-"  
  
They cleared out of the way and Faith kicked the door open.  
  
Ron and Hermione jumped apart and to their feet.   
  
She looked at them she looked at the rope and the sock on the floor. The couple was bright red.  
  
"Alright, Romeo and Juliet, out in the hall."  
  
They rushed out and stood with the rest of their friends.   
  
"Now. One of two things happened here. One: Ron and Hermione got frisky- and kinky- and the rest of you have developed one hell of a sick fetish for listening in. Or, two: This was all Fred and George's idea."   
  
No one spoke.   
  
"To avoid scandal, I'm gonna go with number two, take ten points from the Gryffs, and eight from the Slyths, give the twins a nice healthy detention, and let this go. Sound good to everyone? Good. Those of you with testicles: OUT OF THE GIRLS' DORM!!"   
  
Faith sighed and left the girls' dorm, herding the boys in front of her into the common room, where Buffy was waiting.   
  
"Sup, B?"  
  
"I need your help," Buffy replied.   
  
  
"I don't believe this. Holy shit."   
  
"Don't swear," Hermione scolded.   
  
Faith shook her head. "I can't believe I got roped into this."  
  
They were standing in a large department store in London, she, Buffy, Dawn, Cordelia, Willow, Tara, Fred, Hermione, Torianna, Evelyn, Angelina, Katie, Pansy, Millicent, and Ginny. All had at least one dress in their arms.   
  
Hermione sighed, and looked down at the two she'd picked. One was a long-sleeved pristine white that seemed very chaste. Too chaste. Her parents would approve. The other was blue, with a square neck that had thick straps instead of sleeves. It was long, and she really liked it. Her parents wouldn't.   
  
All of the sudden, the white dress was plucked from her grasp.   
  
"Hey!"  
  
"Hermione, no," Evelyn ordered. "There's no way I'm letting you go looking like the Virgin Mary."   
  
"I…"  
  
"It was something your parents woulda liked?" Torianna asked. She had an armful of different orange dresses.  
  
Evelyn sighed, and held out her collection of eclectic black dresses she'd picked up from all over the store. "How thrilled is my dad gonna be about any of these? Do I care? What did you wear last year?"  
  
Hermione sighed. "Blue… but it wasn't revealing or anything! Not like this one!"   
  
Torianna sighed. "It's not like it's smutty. Try it on."   
  
Ginny was lifting a green dress to herself. She sighed. "These all look way to long for me."  
  
"We'll get them hemmed," Cordelia reassured her. "No one's dress is the right length at first, trust me."  
  
Ginny smiled, and ran into the dressing room.   
  
Pansy sneered at the dress choices. "These are horrid."   
  
Faith rolled her eyes. "Aw, come on kid, there has to be something you like."  
  
"These are dirty Mudblood clothes! What would my parents think?" Pansy asked.  
  
Hermione flinched at her words.   
  
Torianna stood frozen. "What did you say, Parkinson?"  
  
"What's a Mudblood?" Fred asked Willow.  
  
"It's a nasty name for a Muggle-born person," Willow whispered back.   
  
"Oh," Fred replied. "That's not very nice."   
  
"You hear me, Lupin. Got a problem?"  
  
"Yeah, big one," Torianna replied, pushing the other blond girl. "An' it's you and yer big mouth."   
  
"Hey," Buffy snapped. "No brawling in the department store! God."   
  
"Hermione," Willow said, waving the girl over to her.   
  
Hermione walked over. "Yes, Professor Rosenberg?"  
  
Willow sighed. "It's just Willow, remember?"  
  
Hermione smirked. "Yeah, okay. What's up?"  
  
"Well… I was wondering… how are your studies going?" Willow asked. "I mean… you're not-supposed-to-be-studying studies?"  
  
Hermione sighed. "They're going alright. Why?"  
  
"Well… I was gonna tell you… if you need any help, Tara and I would be happy-"  
  
"That's alright," Hermione cut her off. "I'm doing just fine on my own. I'm getting the hang of it fairly quickly."  
  
"Well… okay," Willow shrugged. "If you ever need-"  
  
"Right. I know." Hermione smiled and went back to stand with Torianna and Evelyn.  
  
"Well. That went… how did you that go?"   
  
Tara sighed. "I wish I could say that it went well but…it really d-didn't."  
  
  
"Well, that was easier than I thought it would be," Angel commented.  
  
Lorne smirked. "Not sweat, Sweetie. These boys were easy."  
  
Angel sighed. "Buffy's gonna kill us."  
  
Lorne thought about this. "Yep."  
  
  
"You're dressing them up like Bugsy Siegel's mafia?"   
  
Angel shrugged. "We were looking through this store… and they were vintage, thirties and forties, and the boys really liked 'em, so…"  
  
"So they're going as the Hogwarts Mob? Angel, that's ridiculous!"   
  
"It was Lorne's idea," Angel informed her. "And… the boys liked it, so…"  
  
Buffy sighed. "Fine. Fine. As long as they have suits."   
  
Angel sighed. "So… Buffy… you wanna… I don't, go with me to the Yule ball?"  
  
She blinked. "That's a silly question."  
  
He smirked. "It'll be like Prom… without the hellhounds."  
  
She laughed.   
  
  
"So… I was wondering… if you didn't have anyone to go with to the Yule ball…"  
  
Faith smirked. "God, you're cute."  
  
Charlie sighed and turned slightly red.  
  
"I gotta go with you just because you're so damned cute."  
  
  
"You and I are so going together."  
  
Wesley laughed at Cordelia. "Yes, because we make a lovely couple!"   
  
"It'll be funny!"  
  
"Just as long as we don't share another electrifying kiss," he muttered sarcastically.  
  
She swatted him, and they both cracked up.   
  
  
"You know you're the only one I'd ever consider putting a monkey suite on for, right, baby?"   
  
Fred snickered. "Yeah. It'll be fun though. I mean, I actually have a date to a school dance!"  
  
Gunn snickered. "You don't go to school here."  
  
"Doesn't matter," Fred replied. "School dance. And I have a date."   
  
He laughed at her, and she shoved snow into his face.   
  
  
"Aw."  
  
"Is that a no?"  
  
Willow giggled. "No, dummy, that's a yes! Oliver, of course I'll be your date! It'll be so much fun!"  
  
Oliver smiled widely. "Great!"   
  
"And I even got a dress today! Oh, it's so pretty, you have to see!" She dragged him off to her room, and he sighed.  
  
"Women."  
  
  
"So, Dawn officially has no date to the Yule ball. Tara tried to hook me up with that Dean guy? Turns out he's got a date. Her name is Hannah Abbott. What kinda name is that?"  
  
"Sounds like she should live in Sunnydale," Xander commented. "Dawnie, I don't have a date, either. Why don't you and I go together. I can be your older man! You'll be the envy of all these stuffy British chicks."  
  
Dawn sighed. "No thanks, Xand. I'll be okay. Besides. Aren't you going with Tara?"  
  
Xander shrugged and smiled. "I can pimp."  
  
She stared at him a moment before cracking up. "Oh, my god! Don't ever… ever say that again!"   
  
Xander cracked into a smile. 


	23. Let It Snow

Raining Men is by the Weather Girls. Underground- Ben Folds Five. Heartless- Heart. Bad Reputation- Joan Jett. Strange Currencies- REM. The Unforgiven- Metallica. You May Be Right- Billy Joel. Natalie Portman- Ozma. Swinging on a Star- Frank Sinatra. A Change- Sheryl Crow. Every Little Thing- The Police. Eep Op Ork Ah-Ah- The Violent Femmes rendition. Rock the Casbah- The Clash. I recommend all these songs.   
  
Let It Snow   
  
"Man, think about how popular chess woulda been in high school if it was like this…"  
  
Willow snickered as she watched Ron slowly trounce the pants off of Xander at wizard's chess. It hadn't been an easy task getting Ron out of bed this early, but when Willow said the word chess, the tall red-head was up in a flash.   
  
"Your move," Xander said, leaning back in his chair.   
  
Ron didn't blink. He didn't lean forward, or look perplexed in any way. He moved one of his pieces, with one word. "Checkmate."   
  
"No!" Xander cried. "No, no, no! How did you do that?!"   
  
Ron smirked, and pointed out the fatal mistake Xander had made.   
  
"Wow," Xander marveled. "You're good… hey, are you related to Willow?"   
  
"Yes, Xander. He's my son."  
  
Xander rolled his eyes. "Oh, you're just a bucket of funny today."   
  
"I'm excited about the Yule ball," Willow smiled, changing the subject completely around. "It's gonna be great. Buffy and I have been planning for weeks, and it's gonna kick some patoot."   
  
Ron sighed and got to his feet. "I should head down to training."  
  
"No need," said a voice from behind them.  
  
Ron turned to see Buffy walk into the Gryffindor common room, followed by a very drowsy-looking Draco.   
  
"Aw, is the poor ickle Malfoy still tired?" Ron mocked.  
  
Draco gave Ron a one-fingered reply, and slumped down on the couch.   
  
"What's his problem?" Ron asked.  
  
"I woke him up," Buffy replied. "We need to get Harry, and a bunch of your friends. You guys are on out-door duty today. I'm gonna teach you in a battle sitch."  
  
Ron raised an eyebrow.   
  
  
"Hey, guys."  
  
Cordelia nearly jumped four feet in the air. She whirled around to face her smirking friend.  
  
"Angel! Get it through your thick head! You're not a creature of the night anymore! Stop sneaking up on people!"  
  
Angel smirked as he began to walk with his friends. Gunn and Fred were arm in arm, Cordelia and Faith were huddled together for warmth. Wesley walked alongside of them at one end, and Angel at the other.   
  
"It's not like you to rise this early on a weekend," Wesley commented to Angel. "Buffy throw you out of bed?"   
  
"Just saw you guys walking from my window," Angel replied. "Thought I'd join you."   
  
"Gasp," Cordelia commented. "He pried himself away from his beloved blond!"   
  
"There's nothing wrong with having a blond," Faith commented. "I've had a few."  
  
"Just not this latest one," Gunn smirked. "What's his name?"  
  
"Charlie Weasley," Faith replied, with a silly, uncharacteristic smile.  
  
"Aw, Faith," Fred giggled.  
  
Faith sighed, and felt redness creep up to her face.   
  
"Is that a blush I see?" Gunn asked.   
  
"Blow me," Faith snapped with a glare.  
  
Her friends snickered and snorted a bit.   
  
"So, how have things been back home?" Wesley asked finally.   
  
"Quiet," Fred replied. "Gavin's been running Wolfram and Hart because Lilah's… dropped off the face of the earth, apparently, and he's not very good at it. Gunn keeps kicking his butt every time he steps anywhere near the hotel."  
  
"Lilah's here," Wesley informed them. "She's been working with Volde-" he cleared his throat. "You know who."   
  
Gunn blinked. "No. I don't know who, English. What's yer problem?"   
  
Angel sighed. "Voldemort," he told them. "I wrote you about him."  
  
"How come Wesley won't say his name?" Cordelia asked. "We've probably faced scarier back home. I mean, hello? Wolfram and Hart? Darla? The Scourge? The giant graduation day snake?"  
  
Wesley said nothing. Angel sighed.  
  
"This dude is apparently so damned scary that 9 and a half out of ten people won't say his name out loud," Faith told them. "Like Wes, here. Who almost did. Go, Wes!"   
  
Cordelia blinked. "Oh. That is scary… I guess."  
  
"I'll fill you in more later," Angel promised. "How's the client flow?" he asked, changing the subject.  
  
"Not bad," Fred nodded. "We've been holding up pretty well."  
  
"Good," Angel nodded.   
  
"So…" Cordelia cleared her throat. "How are things going with Her Slayerness?"   
  
Angel nodded. "Fine. Things are good."  
  
"Now that the gypsy curse is gone, I bet things are great," Cordelia chided. "Oh, Angel," she mocked.  
  
"Oh, Buffy," Wesley cut in sarcastically, playing along.  
  
"Oh, not this again," Gunn moaned.   
  
A snowball hit Wesley's back, and he stopped dead in his tracks. He turned on his heels to see his niece standing by herself. He gave her a confused look, but she only grinned.   
  
"Hermione, what?-"  
  
And that was when all hell broke loose.   
  
They were surrounded.   
  
Faith raised an eyebrow as she turned around. "What the hell is this?"   
  
"Just a little fun," Buffy replied, coming into view next to Xander. "Let's get 'em, guys."   
  
The snow flew, and the Angel Investigations crew were surrounded.  
  
"Right then," Wesley called to his friends. "Faith, you're in charge of every red-head in the vicinity. Take them down." He glared at the Weasleys and Willow.  
  
"I dig it," Faith replied.  
  
"Angel, take the blonds," Wesley went on, glancing at Buffy, Torianna, Katie, Draco and Tara.  
  
Angel rolled his eyes. "Are you ever going to let that go?"   
  
"Fine, take down Oliver, as well," Wesley sighed.  
  
Angel smirked as he saw Oliver falter a little.   
  
Wesley looked to Angelina and Evelyn. "Fred? Cordelia? Take on the gothic-looking one and the athletic one that's not blond."   
  
The girls nodded.  
  
"Gunn? Do you see the three boys grouped together??" Wesley asked his friend, glancing at Harry, Dean and Seamus.  
  
"Yeah, I see 'em," Gunn replied.   
  
"Take them," Wesley ordered. He glared at his young niece. "I've got the bushy-haired one."   
  
The group sprang into action.   
  
By the time it was all over, Faith was sitting next to Ginny, on top of both Ron (who was muttering darkly to himself) and Charlie, with both Fred and George in headlocks. Willow was sitting nearby, brushing snow off of herself.   
  
Angel had Buffy thrown over his shoulder and was carrying Draco upside down by the legs. Torianna hadn't given up. She was hanging off of her Dark Arts professor's neck. Katie and Tara were sitting in the snow, left behind when they'd fallen from the barrage of snowballs.  
  
Angelina had Cordelia on the run, and Evelyn had overpowered Fred easily, leaving her to try and help Draco out of Angel's grasp.   
  
Seamus and Dean had fallen easily as well, but Harry was still holding his own in a snowball fight against Gunn.   
  
And Hermione had fallen to Wesley's snow, which he'd stopped trying to make into snowballs, and was just throwing it at her.   
  
She laughed, and, out of reflex, put her hands up, and a large, bubble-like shield engulfed her, protecting her from her uncle's attacks.  
  
He dropped the snow and stared at her blankly.  
  
She stared back through pitch black eyes, and he turned and walked away.   
  
Faith blinked as her former watcher passed her. "Wes?"   
  
He didn't reply. He only kept walking.  
  
Hermione sighed and got to her feet, chasing after him.   
  
Harry watched her run, and was about to follow, but Gunn pelted him one last time, and he fell in the snow from the shock.   
  
Ron tried to get out from underneath Charlie and Faith, but failed. "Bloody hell."   
  
  
Dumbledore sighed and looked around at his teaching staff. Mind you many of them had opted to play in the snow rather than attend his meaning, and he didn't really mind. The teachers in the snow were the ones who already knew what he had to say.  
  
"Be extra wary tonight," he told them. "I've been given warnings from numerous sources that something may go terribly wrong at this ball."  
  
"Any idea as to what?" Professor MacGonagal asked.   
  
Dumbledore shook his head.  
  
"I have seen nothing to suggest anything will go wrong," Professor Trelawny informed them. "I think things will be just fine."  
  
Snape rolled his dark eyes, and Professor Sprout gave him a knowing smirk, and nodded ever so slightly to convey her agreement.  
  
"Even so," Dumbledore went on. "Keep your eyes open. Let no student wander too far. Since the First, second and third year students are going home today, this should be slightly easier to do, but please be on alert at all times."   
  
  
"Uncle Wesley!"   
  
She chased after him through the halls, but he kept walking.  
  
"Oh, honestly!" Hermione cried. "You're acting like a first year!"   
  
Wesley stopped, and turned to her. "You directly disobeyed me."  
  
"Yes," she said quietly. "Yes, I did."   
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because this was something I had to do."   
  
"Something you had to do?" Wesley asked. "You're putting yourself, and everyone around you in danger!"  
  
"So is Harry! You don't see him getting scolded! Ron's a half demon! He's dangerous! Draco's a bloody slayer!"  
  
"They don't have any choice!" Wesley yelled. "You did! You chose to learn this magic, and all it can bring is trouble! You could get addicted! You could botch a spell, and who knows what could happen!"  
  
"And maybe I'll do things right!" Hermione yelled. "Maybe I'm not the screw-up you obviously seem to think I am!"  
  
"It's not a matter of screwing up!" Wesley said. "It's a matter of getting in it too deep! It's a matter of power addictions! No, Hermione, you're as far from a screw-up as you can get. But you're ignorant about what you're doing."  
  
Hermione fumed. "I am NOT!"   
  
A new voice cleared her throat. "Okay. I'm only gonna say this once. SHUT UP!"   
  
Both uncle and niece turned around to see Willow rushing towards them.   
  
"Okay," she said. "Wesley. First of all, yes, what she's doing is dangerous, and there are all sorts of icky risks. But Tara and I have been monitoring what she's been reading and what she's been learning, and she doing fine."  
  
Hermione's eyes widened. "What?!"   
  
Willow sighed. "Where do you think all those witchcraft-y books came from? Mars? We put them there for you to find. What you've been learning is strictly white and gray magic. Protections, seeking spells, lessons in mind speak, moving spells. Yes, it's powerful stuff, but since you've been soaked in a different kind of magic for five years, give or take, you're can handle it."   
  
Wesley began to speak, but Willow raised a hand.   
  
"Wesley, I know she's your niece. I know you care about her, but if she wants to learn this, you have to let her. If you keep yelling at her for it, she's only gonna wanna learn more, and sooner or later, she'll find the black stuff, and then we'll have an uh-oh. Do you want an uh-oh?"  
  
Wesley didn't reply.  
  
"I didn't think so," Willow went on. She turned to the brunette girl. "Hermione, just know that addiction is a huge risk. It happened to me, and it was no fun… which is the understatement of the century. It led me to a not-so-happy place. Just be careful."  
  
"I still-"  
  
Willow lifted a finger to Wesley. "Do you see my face? This is what is widely known as my resolve face. Fear it. Now. I'm gonna go and attempt to beat the pants off of Faith for trouncing me with snow. You two hug and make up." With that, she walked away from them.   
  
They turned to each other, not looking at each other.   
  
Wesley sighed. "I'm… sorry I yelled at you. I know you want to help your friends. I'm just worried about you. I'm not used to you being so grown up."  
  
Hermione shrugged. "Well… I'm sorry I went behind your back… I know I shouldn't have."   
  
Wesley smirked. "Am I forgiven?"   
  
"Yes," Hermione replied. "Am I?"   
  
Wesley nodded.  
  
They were about to hug, when Hermione muttered something, and a rather hefty snowball formed in hand. She chucked it at her uncle, hitting him square in the chest. She grinned evilly.   
  
Wesley glared, and chased her through the halls.   
  
  
Back outside, the large group had begun to pile in the castle.   
  
"Hi! Remember me?"   
  
Ron turned and blinked at the tall brunette girl. "Oh! Yeah! You're the one what ended up on the floor! Uhm… Dawn?"  
  
"Yeah," Dawn nodded. "And you're Ron."  
  
Ron smirked, and gestured to the people walking alongside him. "This is Harry, and that's my sister, Ginny, and you've met Torianna. The scary one is Evelyn, and the other equally scary one is Draco. Thass Seamus and Dean, and those are my brothers, Fred and George."  
  
"We've met," Fred smiled. "Smashing to see you again."  
  
"Corkingly smashing," George chimed in.   
  
"Pay no mind to them," Harry rolled his eyes. "They do this to everyone. It's in homage to their older brother, Percy."  
  
Dawn blinked, and glanced at Ginny and Ron. "How many of you are there?"   
  
"Seven," they replied in unison.   
  
Dawn blinked. "Wow. That's gotta get interesting."  
  
"You have no idea," Harry snickered.   
  
  
Angel grasped Buffy's hand in his as they walked to the castle. "So… why the attack?"  
  
Buffy shrugged. "The guys were getting bored," she told him. "They needed a change. Something to be excited about. And, y'know the Yule Ball is tonight. They need to save their energy for the stage and the dancing, and the fun."   
  
Angel sighed. "Just… don't go easy on them."   
  
"Angel," Buffy snapped. "Their fifteen-year-old boys. Yeah, they need discipline, and all that good stuff, but they also need some normal."   
  
"They live in the wizarding world, Buffy," Angel explained. "There's no such thing as normal here. Anything can happen."   
  
Buffy blinked. "You think something bad's gonna go down tonight, don't you?"  
  
"There's a good chance," Angel nodded. "I trust Lorne."  
  
"Lorne could be wrong," Buffy said. "Nothing is gonna screw up tonight's hootenanny. And if it does, I'll kick its ass."  
  
Angel smirked, and brought her glove-covered hand up to kiss it. "Let's go inside."   
  
"Definitely," Buffy snickered. "The snow was fun for a while, but now… not so much."   
  
  
"Right, then. We go by the parchment."  
  
The band gathered in the Great Hall in the afternoon for a brief meeting before they got ready for the Yule ball that night.  
  
Ron sighed. "We start out with Katie and Angelina singing Raining Men, which is a pretty good opener. We take a quick break in music to introduce ourselves as… what was it?"  
  
"Evil Candy," Evelyn informed him.  
  
"Right," Ron nodded. "We go into Harry doing Underground, make a really quick instrument switch for Ginny, who's doing Heartless, then go right on into Evelyn doing Bad Reputation. After that, Seamus goes into Strange Currencies, and then we take a quick break. Malfoy does The Unforgiven, and we go straight into my singing You May Be Right, and then we go to Oliver, who's singing Natalie Portman. After that, we drag Neville onstage for Swinging on a Star, and then we do a quick break before Torianna does A Change. After that, it's onto Seamus singing Every Little Thing. Lee, Fred and George doing Eep Op Ork, and then we go out with Malfoy singing Rock the Casbah. Everyone got it?"   
  
The group blinked at their piano player in confusion, and Draco flicked a guitar pick at him.  
  
He nodded. "Right. Good. I'll call out songs as we go along."  
  
"Wasn't Pansy gonna sing something?" Seamus asked, scratching his light brown hair with a drum stick.  
  
Ron nodded. "Yeah, but after I told her she was flat during practice, she called me a Mudblood-loving freak who wouldn't recognize talent if it smacked him upside the head." He grinned deviously. "So I cut her song."   
  
Draco laughed, and leaned over to tousled Ron's hair. "Thata boy, Weasel, now you're learning."  
  
Tara smiled as she walked up to the snickering quartet. "Hey, guys, how's everything coming?"   
  
"Great," Ron nodded. "I think we're ready."   
  
Tara smiled wider. "Are you ready to kick some musical butt?"  
  
"Yeah!" they chorused.   
  
"Are you ready to have fun?" Tara asked.  
  
"Yeah!"   
  
"Are you ready to show that bitch Parkinson what real talent is?!" Draco cried.  
  
"Yeah!"  
  
Tara glanced at the blond with a raised eyebrow.   
  
"I mean… uhm… Quick! Weasley! Tell me to shut up!"   
  
"Shut up, Draco," Ron complied.  
  
"Right, then."   
  
  
"Arthur Weasley."  
  
Arthur looked up from his spot in the great hall. He'd been watching his youngest son speak with some other students about that night's entertainment. "Rupert Giles. It's been a long time."   
  
"That is has. How have you been?"   
  
Arthur sighed. "As well as can be expected with all that's been happening."  
  
Giles nodded sympathetically. "What are you up to these days?"  
  
"Head of the misuse of Muggle artifact department," Arthur replied.  
  
"Ah, a Ministry man," Giles laughed.  
  
Arthur shook his head. "Where did you wind up?"  
  
Giles sighed. "Oh… you know. I had a band for a while… and that failed… and I played with some illegal magic for a while… and that was a horrible idea… so I broke down and became a Watcher."   
  
"And now?"  
  
"Now, I'm teaching, and trying my best to protect these children from what's coming," Giles replied. "Though I must say I don't think   
we're doing much good."  
  
Arthur shook his head. "You're doing the best you can. It's all anyone could ask."   
  
So… you're chaperoning tonight?" Giles inquired, changing the subject.  
  
Arthur nodded. "Dumbledore asked for Molly and I. And from what I understand, Sirius Black will be here as well, along with Remus and Sarah Lupin."  
  
Giles smiled. "Good. At least I'll have people to talk to."  
  
Arthur sighed. "I've also heard that Narcissa Malfoy will be here, as well."  
  
Giles sighed. "Blood hell." 


	24. Ballroom Blitz

Whoo! This ran long. Sorry. Hope you enjoy! Thanks to everyone who's reviewed!  
  
Ballroom Blitz  
  
"WHERE THE HELL ARE MY COMBAT BOOTS?! TORIIIII! HARRYYYYYY!"   
  
Twas the afternoon of the Yule ball, and all through Gryffindor dorm, all the children were preparing, causing quite the proverbial storm.   
  
Harry came dashing into the girls' dormitory wearing a gray vest with white pinstripes, matching slacks, a white dress shirt, a gray tie, and gray socks. He still had yet to put his shoes on, and he'd given up on his hair an hour prior.   
  
Evelyn was pacing the length of the room, wearing a black dress that covered everything just above her knees, and showed quite a bit of neck and chest. The bottom had maroon lace, and her hands and most of her arms were covered by opera gloves that were the same shade of red. Her black hair hung loose, and had somehow acquired blue streaks. Her feet and legs were covered in black and red-striped leggings.   
  
No combat boots.   
  
She looked as if she were about to spontaneously combust.   
  
She also looked pretty hot.   
  
Harry shook out his head.   
  
Ron walked in just behind Harry, wearing nearly the same outfit, but in a deep blue shade, and he had a matching blue fedora on his head. "What's wrong?" he asked.   
  
"Evelyn can't find her combat boots."   
  
Torianna shoved her way into the dorm, and tossed a hefty pair of footwear to Evelyn, who breathed a sigh of relief as she caught them.   
  
Harry and Ron blinked at Torianna. She was wearing a long, bright orange dress that fit as if it were a toga, covering her left shoulder and sloping down to cover her torso, but left her right arm bare. Her long blond hair was held up in a neat, thick braid. She grabbed her own shoes, a pair of black cleats, and began to put them on.   
  
"Wow," Harry said meekly.  
  
Torianna gave the boys a cocky smirk. "Yeah, that's right. Take it all in, boys. I look good."   
  
  
When all was said and done, they congregated in the common room.   
  
Fred and George wore matching maroon suits.  
  
Ron rolled his eyes.  
  
"We only picked them because we knew you hate maroon," Fred told his little brother.   
  
"That and we look bloody fantastic in them," George added. "In't that right, Katie?"   
  
Katie Belle had opted for a silvery, spaghetti-strap dress that went down to her ankles. She shoved a neat piece of blond hair back, and sighed. "Yes, George, bloody fantastic."   
  
Ron sighed. "Where the hell is Hermione?"   
  
"Don't be so pushy, I'm right here."   
  
Ron turned around to see a brunette standing there, hands on her hips. She wore a square-necked, floor-length deep blue dress, with thick straps that covered most of her shoulders. Her hair was in thick curls, most of it held up atop her head, but a few stray ones framed her face.   
  
Ron blinked. "Uh… Uhm…"   
  
"Oh, good," Fred muttered to Angelina. "His brain's draining."   
  
Angelina shook her head, and straightened out her long, lavender dress. It's neck was shaped into a V, and it was floor-length with a lighter lavender mesh overtop the solid skirt. "Leave the poor boy alone, Fred."   
  
"I can't!" Fred cried. "He's my ickle brother!"  
  
"Y-you look really great," Ron said hoarsely.  
  
Hermione smiled, and looked him over. "You, too."  
  
"Ginny! Come down, please?"  
  
"No! I look ridiculous!"   
  
"That's it!"   
  
Torianna came rushing down the stairs in her orange dress and cleats, with a small red-head flung over her shoulder. She set the smaller girl down on the couch.  
  
Ginny Weasley wore a long, deep green dress. The top was covered in a black spider-web design. The green skirt was covered in a thin layer of black mesh. Her red hair was clipped up in a bunch, her hands were covered by a pair of black gloves.   
  
George smiled. "Aw, Gin, y'look great."   
  
"Harry's gonna be floored when he sees you," Katie said.   
  
"If he makes any wrong moves, just come and get me and I'll kill him," Ron said.   
  
Hermione rolled her eyes.   
  
  
Buffy Summers looked pretty darned good, and she knew it.   
  
Her hair was up atop her head, her dress was a powder blue, with the faint hint of glitter on it, her hair was put up elegantly, and she was applying make-up in a full-length mirror.   
  
Behind her, her roommate and sister slayer was applying thick, dark lipstick. She wore a deep maroon corset-styled dress.   
  
"Way to look slutty, Faith," Buffy joked.  
  
"I like to think of it as sultry."  
  
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Please," she muttered.   
  
"Well, at least I don't look like Miss America," Faith snapped. "I like puppies, and I want to end world hunger," she mocked in a high-pitched voice.   
  
"What's wrong with puppies?"  
  
"Shut up, B."  
  
  
"You look great," Draco told Evelyn, as she stepped out of the Gryffindor portrait hole.  
  
"Not too shabby, yourself," Evelyn smirked. "What's up with the suits? You guys look like a blast from the mafia's past."  
  
Draco shrugged. "I like it… even if it is Muggle. Where's the rest of the lot?"  
  
"Coming, I hope," Evelyn replied. "I think Torianna is still waiting on Seamus, but Ron and Hermione are ready, and I think Harry is still trying to coax Ginny out of the common room."  
  
"What's wrong with her?" Draco asked.  
  
Evelyn shrugged. "She doesn't think she looks good, or something."  
  
Draco shrugged. "You wanna go?"  
  
Evelyn sighed. "Yeah. They'll all catch up, and we'll see Ron and Seamus on stage."   
  
Draco offered her an arm and she took it with a smirk. They began to walk.  
  
And came face-to-face with Narcissa Malfoy.  
  
Draco stared at her harshly, and pulled Evelyn. "Let's go." He dragged his raven-haired companion down the hall.  
  
"Draco?"  
  
"I'm fine."  
  
"Don't lie."  
  
"I'm not lying. I'm fine. Let's just get to the great hall, and forget we just saw her, alright?"  
  
"Draco-"  
  
"Forget it," Draco snapped.   
  
Evelyn sighed, and they walked.   
  
  
Ron held the great hall door open for Hermione, who smiled at him, and stepped in. He followed her and looked around with his hands in his pockets.  
  
The moon and stars shone brightly through the ceiling, illuminating everything, with the help of a few strategically-placed electric lamps and candles.   
  
How Professor Summers had convinced the older teachers to help her make Muggle lighting work at Hogwarts was far beyond anyone.   
  
Posters of Muggle movies, musical icons, Broadway shows, operas, and sports figured lined the walls. Ron smirked at the darkened stage he would be occupying later.   
  
A camera flashed in their faces.   
  
Ron squinted, and saw a red-headed woman beaming at him. "Mum?"  
  
"Hello, Ron, dear," she said sweetly. "Oh, don't you look so handsome."   
  
"Mum, what are you doing here?"   
  
"Dumbledore asked your father and I to chaperone!" She exclaimed happily. "Hermione, you look lovely."  
  
"Thank you," Hermione smiled.   
  
Molly took another picture, and Ron sighed. "Mum… no cameras, please?"  
  
"I want pictures," Molly said firmly. "Where are George and Fred and their dates?"   
  
"Why don't you go after Charlie?" Ron asked. "He and Professor Morgan are over there."   
  
Molly smiled. "Alright! I'll see you two later!"   
  
Ron sighed. "Bloody brilliant," he muttered.   
  
Hermione snickered. "Let's just sit down. You'll forget all about it once you have food in front of you."  
  
"What? Food?"  
  
She rolled her eyes, and led him to a table.   
  
  
"Combat boots?"  
  
Evelyn jumped nearly five feet in the air at the voice in her ear as she walked into the great hall.   
  
She whirled around to see a tall man with a smug smirk playing across his lips. His eyes matched hers.  
  
"Dad?!"  
  
"Lo, Luv. You look smashing."  
  
"What are you doing here?"   
  
Sirius shrugged. "Chaperone… and I was thinking about spiking the punch, but we'll see if I can slip it past Sarah and Remus." He eyed Draco. "Malfoy."  
  
"Mr. Black, sir," Draco nodded. It was then that he realized he really hated being polite. To anyone.   
  
"Have you been treating my daughter kindly?" Sirius asked, with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"Cut the crap, Dad," Evelyn sighed. "He's fine. I'm fine. We're all fine here. Go spike the punch."  
  
Sirius smirked. "You kids have fun." He glared at Malfoy. "But not… too much fun." With that he walked off.   
  
Draco sighed. "He's really got it in for me."  
  
Evelyn rolled her eyes, and pulled Draco further into the room. "Forget about it."  
  
  
"So… yeah, family, this is Seamus. Seamus, these are my parents."  
  
"'Lo," Seamus nodded nervously.  
  
Sarah smirked. "Hello, Seamus. Nice to meet you."  
  
Remus raised an eyebrow. "Hello, Mr. Finnighan."   
  
Seamus swallowed hard. "Lo, Professor Lupin."  
  
"So, how long have you two been together?" Remus asked.  
  
"Not long," Torianna replied. "A while, but not too long."  
  
Sarah smiled wider. "So… are you in the band, Seamus?"   
  
"I'm th' drummer," Seamus replied.   
  
Remus stared. "Drummer… is that so?"  
  
"Yes, sir," Seamus replied nervously. "I'm gonna… go get something t' drink. Want anything, Tori?"   
  
"Nah," Torianna replied. "I'll catch up."  
  
Seamus nodded. "Nice meetin' ya, Missus Lupin. Nice t' see ya again, Professor." He rushed off.  
  
"Isn't he great?" Torianna asked.  
  
Sarah beamed. "My girl has taste."  
  
Remus sighed. "He's wonderful."  
  
Torianna gave her father a reproachful look. "Dad…"  
  
Remus sighed again. "Yes, fine. He's fine."  
  
Sarah quirked an eyebrow. "Over-protectiveness is Sirius' department. You'll like your daughter's boyfriend. Now."  
  
Remus rolled his eyes.   
  
  
Harry smiled at Sirius. "Fancy meeting you here."  
  
Sirius smirked. "Hello, Harry… Ginny Weasley?"  
  
"Hello, Mr. Black," Ginny replied quietly.  
  
  
"You're quite the couple," Sirius snickered. "You both look great."  
  
"Have you seen Ron and Hermione?" Harry asked, looking around.  
  
"They've probably already gotten seats to get something to eat," Ginny replied. "He's always hungry."  
  
And a camera snapped in their face.  
  
Ginny looked up. "Mum!"   
  
Molly snickered. "Oh, Ginny, you look wonderful!"   
  
Ginny blushed.   
  
"And Harry… very nice."  
  
Harry turned a shade of red as well. "T-thanks."  
  
Sirius smirked. "Molly, I think you've gone a bit crazy with the camera." He glanced at Fred, who was standing not too far away, pretending to be blind on Angelina's arm. She was snickering loudly.   
  
"Nonsense!" Molly cried, taking another picture of Ginny and Harry. "Always good to have some memories lying about!"  
  
Harry sighed and smirked at Ginny. "Regular Collin Creevy, she is."  
  
Ginny giggled.   
  
  
Cordelia and Wesley arrived alongside Fred and Gunn. Cordelia had opted for a long, black dress, and Wesley had gone with a black, stiff-looking suite.   
  
Fred's dress was a deep purple with a scoop neck and a long skirt. She held onto Gunn's arm tightly, and looked to the ceiling. "This place in incredible."  
  
Wesley smirked. "Always has been." He looked around calmly, and smiled when he spotted Hermione smiling and speaking with Harry, Ron and Ginny.   
  
Cordelia followed his eyes. "That's your niece, right? The bushy-haired one with too many books?"  
  
Wesley nodded.   
  
"Oh, she looks great," Fred said.   
  
Wesley smiled. "Yes, she does. Her mother's going to kill me for not bringing a camera."   
  
  
*SNAP!*   
  
Charlie groaned. "Wish Mum would stop with the pictures."  
  
Faith smirked. "Aw, c'mon, Charlie. It's not everyday you look this cleaned up."  
  
"Are you saying I look grubby on a normal day?" he asked, a little irritated.   
  
She thought for a moment. "What's a word that you Brits will understand… Rugged."  
  
Charlie smirked. "That's better. Bloody hell, I feel like such a tool in this outfit."  
  
"Charlie…"  
  
"I know, I know. I am a tool," he groaned.  
  
"Besides, don't feel too bad. I feel like a pirate wench in this corset thing."  
  
"A pirate wench?"   
  
"Yeah, I feel like I should be 100 pounds heavier, carrying three mugs of beer and a baby."  
  
Charlie snorted. "Why three beers?"  
  
"One for you, one for me, and one for the baby."  
  
"You're going to feed our child beer?" Charlie asked in confusion.  
  
Faith gave him an evil smirk. "Never said it was yours."  
  
"Oh, you'll pay for that, Professor."   
  
Faith poked him in the chest. "Gotta catch me first."  
  
Charlie smirked as she walked off. "Always did love a good chase."   
  
  
Buffy and Willow were circling each other right outside the great hall entrance.   
  
Willow's dress was long and a faded shade of grass green.   
  
"I like the dress, Will. Very you."  
  
"The light blue looks good, makes your hair stand out more," Willow appraised.   
  
Oliver blinked, and turned to Angel. "They do this often?"   
  
Angel sighed. "I don't know. I wouldn't put it past them."  
  
"Okay, we're of the good," Buffy commented, taking Angel's arm. "Let's go."  
  
Willow hooked her arm through Oliver's. "Ready?"  
  
He nodded. "Yeah. You look great, by the way."  
  
Willow beamed. "So do you. Very suave."  
  
He turned a slight shade of red and she snickered at him.   
  
"Wait for us," Tara called. "Sorry we're late." She rushed up, fixing her dark magenta dress. "H-how do I look?"   
  
"Aw, Tara, you look really cute," Willow said. "Where's Xander?"   
  
Tara looked around. "Oh. Did I leave him in the dust? Oops."  
  
"No worries, people, I'm good," Xander called, catching up. "Sorry about the lateness. Somebody stole my shoes."  
  
"It was Peeves," Tara explained. "And it was a mess, and there was lots of running into things."   
  
"But we're good now," Xander nodded. "Shoes and all."  
  
  
Dinner went well. The slightest hint of a food fight could be detected from George and Fred's end of the table, but was squashed by Ginny.   
  
When the dinner ware was cleared away, most of the tables disappeared, and the stage lit up.  
  
Ron shot up like a bolt of lightening and almost tripped on his way up to the stage. Seamus, in his brown and white pinstriped suit, Evelyn and Draco snickered at him, and made their way to their patiently waiting instruments. The boys shed their suit jackets, and Evelyn pulled her opera gloves off.   
  
Katie and Angelina joined them, taking up two wireless mics which appeared before them out of nowhere.  
  
Giles watched the show from afar, with a smile on his face. As the girls began to sing, his smile grew very wide. Their blend and intonation was spectacular. They'd improved tremendously since the beginning of the year.   
  
Until he spotted her.   
  
She stood stone-still. Gray eyes cutting into him. He stared back, blankly, showing no emotion. He turned on her heels and stormed in the other direction.  
  
"What is it with you and your slayers' mothers?"   
  
Giles jumped. "Buffy."  
  
"You and Mrs. Malfoy, huh?" Buffy asked.  
  
"It… That was a very long time ago," Giles assured her.  
  
"So… let me take the soap opera route," Buffy said, arms crossed. "You dated her back in your Ripper days, met up with her years later, had one hot night of passion with her while she was married, and Draco came along?"  
  
Giles snorted. "Nothing of the sort. I haven't seen Narcissa since I dropped out of Hogwarts. Draco is not my son. God help me if he was."   
  
"Damn," Buffy replied. "I was kinda hoping for it… so you seriously dated the Ice Queen?"  
  
Giles sighed. "She wasn't this way when we dated, I'll tell you that."  
  
"I don't wanna know the specifics about your adventures in Date Land," Buffy told him with a wrinkled nose.   
  
Giles sighed. "How did she wind up with Lucius, is what bothers me."  
  
"I don't know," Buffy mused. "I mean… sans the whole cranky evil thing, Draco's dad is kind of a dish."  
  
Giles blinked at her.  
  
"What?!"  
  
"If you were my daughter, I'd disown you," he told her, and walked off.   
  
Buffy huffed. "What?!"   
  
  
Harry hopped off the stage after finishing his song, to be met by Ginny, Torianna, Dean, Neville and Hermione. They hugged him, and patted him on the back, and cheered.  
  
Ron leaned down from the stage to ruffle Harry's wild, sweaty locks.   
  
He smiled up at his best friend. "Who's next, then?"   
  
Ron's eyes wandered to his sister.   
  
Ginny turned a bright shade of red as her friends pushed her to the stage, and Ron helped her onto it, and handed her the mic with a smile. Behind them, Torianna, Katie and Angelina set themselves up as back-up singers.   
  
"Knock 'em Dead," he told her.  
  
She looked out at the crowd, and slow smirk spread across her face. "If you insist," she said softly.   
  
"Ginny!" Seamus called from behind the drum set. "Ready?"  
  
She took the clip from her hair and swung out the red locks to loosen them a little. "Absolutely."   
  
Ron didn't have time to question before Seamus counted off and the song started.   
  
"The Doctor said come back again next week, I think that you need me…"   
  
  
As Ginny got into the song, and began to move with the music, Harry turned a brilliant shade of red, watching her hips move.   
  
Dean pat him on the shoulder and laughed. "Lucky, lucky man, you are."   
  
Harry gave a squeak as a reply.   
  
"Man," Lorne commented walking up to the entranced boy. "Who knew a little thing like her had such big lungs." He smiled at Harry. "She your date?"  
  
Harry nodded.   
  
"I liked your number, by the way," Lorne told him. "You're solid."   
  
"T-thanks," Harry replied, not pulling his eyes away from the fiery ball of energy on stage. "Who did you come with, Lorne?"   
  
"Professor Trelawny," Lorne said with a short laugh. "She's a riot. Thinks she's a seer. She's only ever gotten two premonitions in her whole, or so Albus says."  
  
Harry smirked. "So… what do you see in Ginny?"   
  
Lorne winked knowingly. "Love. Oh, and be careful, tonight, Harry. I've been getting some bad vibes. Keep your eyes peeled." With that, he walked off.   
  
"Harry!" Hermione called. "There you are! Ginny's song is over! Did you hear her?! Isn't she amazing?!"  
  
Harry smiled and let his best friend drag him over to the side of the stage, where Ginny was stepping down.   
  
She smiled at him. "Well?"   
  
"Well, what?"  
  
"Was I okay?"   
  
"You weren't okay," Harry replied solemnly. "You were bloody fantastic. Where did you learn to do that?"   
  
Ginny shrugged. "It was just a thing," she told him nervously. "Ron's a lot better at it than I am."  
  
"In a guy way," Harry replied. "You have some lungs."   
  
She snickered. "I could use something to drink."  
  
Harry took her by the hand with a wide smile. "Come on, then."   
  
  
Sirius watched his daughter belt out the lyrics to "Bad Reputation" with swelling pride.   
  
"Amazing, isn't she?"  
  
Sirius nodded. "Nothing like me. I can't sing a lick."   
  
Dumbledore chuckled. "I remember… And James was worse than you were."  
  
Sirius nodded with a sigh of agreement. "'S'true. The boy sounded like a dying moose when he sang… Lily on the other hand…Well, we know where Harry gets the voice from… and Evelyn gets hers from her mother."   
  
"That she did… And if I remember correctly, Remus was quite the tenor in his day."  
  
"Still is," Sirius replied. "He sings when he cooks."   
  
Dumbledore laughed. "How are you, Sirius?"  
  
The younger man sighed and put a hand through his raven hair. "Holding up, I suppose. Arthur Weasley got me a decent position in the ministry… hunting out Death Eaters. Go figure, right?"  
  
"What about Remus?"  
  
Sirius shook his head. "No luck yet. Bloody hell, so what if he's a sodding werewolf, the man needs to put food on the table!"  
  
"Has Sarah started back at St. Mungo's?" Dumbledore asked, changing the subject.   
  
"Yeah," Sirius replied. "She's been running around constantly, doctor that she is."   
  
"I can only imagine," Dumbledore said. He glanced at his son-in-law. "You will be with us when things become truly dire, won't you?"  
  
Sirius regarded the older man with the utmost seriousness (no pun intended). "What kind of question is that, Albus? You know we're behind you one-hundred percent. Don't ever doubt that."   
  
Dumbledore nodded. "Alright, Sirius." he glanced around him in silence for a moment, spying a few unruly fourth-years. "Sirius?"  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"You didn't do anything devious to the punch, did you?"   
  
Sirius smirked mischievously. "Why, Albus, I'm certain I don't know what you're talking about."   
  
  
Strange Currencies was Ron's break. He sighed and slid out from behind his piano and off the stage. He smirked when he spotted Hermione as the song started up and tapped her shoulder, distracting her from speaking with Wesley. She turned to him, and almost looked surprised to see him.   
  
"Wanna dance?" he asked her.  
  
She smiled, and shrugged at her grinning uncle as she let Ron guide her onto the dance floor with other couples. She didn't care that he was sweating like crazy from playing. She put her arms around him.   
  
Ron spotted his sister and best friend dancing near them, and felt a bit angry.  
  
"Stop staring at Harry and Ginny," Hermione chided. "It's not polite."   
  
"Hermione, that's my sister," Ron pointed out. "If he hurts her-"  
  
"Ron, stop talking, and dance," she commanded. "There's nothing you can do about it, so don't be a prat."  
  
He sighed. "Yeah, all right. But if he-"  
  
"Harry is your best friend, is he not?"  
  
"He is," Ron agreed.  
  
"You trust him with your life," Hermione pointed out. "And he's saved hers before, remember? Trust me, if he hurts Ginny, I won't be too happy, either. But just let it be, for now… You're amazing, by the way."  
  
He blinked and looked down at her. "What do you mean?"  
  
"The singing… the playing… I've never heard you sound this good."  
  
"It's the adrenaline," Ron replied. "Thanks."  
  
She snickered. "I've decided to never be a musician… but I think they're very… very attractive."  
  
"Good," Ron nodded. "Because I've decided I want to lose my virginity on top of a piano."  
  
Her eyes went wide and she smacked his arm. "Ronald Weasley!"  
  
He laughed, and they danced.   
  
  
The Unforgiven was the song Draco went crazy on. He sang it well, and he played his guitar without a pick.   
  
Narcissa watched from the very back of the room, as her only son played his heart out.   
  
"He's quite talented."  
  
Narcissa didn't answer her former friend.  
  
Severus Snape rolled his eyes. "Narcissa, stop being huffy. It doesn't suit you."   
  
"He is very talented," Narcissa nodded finally, ignoring his comment. "But it is a waste of time. He has more important things to do than play that infernal Muggle noise maker. Like studying."   
  
"And training to be a laky for Voldemort?"  
  
Narcissa glared at him.  
  
"He is not like you, Narcissa," Snape shook his head. "Let him be."   
  
A slow smile spread across her face. "Oh, Severus… just because I have married a Death Eater, and gave him children, does not mean that I, myself am a Death Eater."   
  
He rolled his eyes. "Don't play, Narcissa."   
  
Narcissa Malfoy snickered. "You honestly thought you were the only spy who succeeded in infiltrating the Dark Lord's domain?" she sighed as she walked away from him as he stared at her in shock. "Men are so very naïve."  
  
  
Ron was flooring the audience with "You May Be Right." He'd picked up the tempo a little, making it move faster. He wasn't even sitting on the piano bench anymore. He'd kicked it away, and was now banging the keys furiously, and singing into the mic.  
  
Molly looked on worriedly. "He'd better not give himself a seizure up there."   
  
Arthur smiled at his wife. "Just enjoy the fact that your son is bloody amazing, dear."   
  
Molly sighed. "Did you know that Charlie told me Ron doesn't think there's anything special about him? What a ridiculous thing to thing!"  
  
"Well," Arthur replied. "It's hard to be the youngest of six boys. What do you think about a piano for that house?"   
  
  
Oliver's song was so blatantly dedicated to Willow it was making her blush.  
  
"If I'm a proper Jewish boy… will her family love me?!…"  
  
Buffy had her arms wrapped around her best friend. "Someone's a smitten kitten!"   
  
"Stop it!" Willow cried. "There's nothing wrong with smitten. And the feeling is entirely mutual."  
  
"I know the feeling," Buffy snickered. "Being with Angel again… god, I never knew it could be this good, y'know? It was always…"  
  
"Bad?" Willow supplied.  
  
"Well… yeah! But now… he smiles, he makes with the funny. It's amazing."   
  
"Now who's a smitten kitten?"   
  
"Oh!" Buffy cried. "We should form a club! The Smitten Kitten Club!"   
  
Willow laughed.  
  
"What are you guys talking about?" Fred asked, blinking at them. Gunn had abandoned her to talk to Wesley about old times.  
  
"We're forming the Smitten Kitten Club," Willow replied. "You're dating Gunn, right? Wanna join?"  
  
She smiled nervously. "Uh… okay!"   
  
  
Neville looked terrified. "No! I've changed my mind! I don't wanna go!"   
  
Draco snarled, grabbed the Gryffindor by the ear and dragged him onto the stage.  
  
"Ron, please," Neville pleaded. "Don't make me do this!"  
  
Ron shook his head as he sat at the piano, straightening his fedora out. "Sorry, mate. Flitwick is expecting us to use the horns he enchanted. Your song is the only one with horns in it." He shoved the mic into his hands. "So sing."   
  
Neville squeaked.  
  
Evelyn sighed and set the upright bass down carefully. She stepped over it to stand in front of Neville. "What is gonna make you stop freaking out?"  
  
"I-I don't know…"  
  
"Neville, you're awesome," Evelyn told him. "You're arguably the best tenor in the school. Most of the kids staring at us right now? Can't sing worth a crap! You can kick the shit out of them with your lungs. Now do it!"   
  
Neville sighed, and looked out at the audience again. "Yeah, alright."  
  
They started the song.   
  
  
Fred, George and Lee jumped up onto the stage after Torianna's had finished A Change.   
  
They started Eep Op Ork, in which the three of them sang, and ran and jumped around on stage and harassed the band members to no end. The number was good, Draco was very tempted to smash one of the twins over the head with his guitar.   
  
The last number, Rock the Casbah, was played, and the room broke into applause.   
  
As each member left the stage, they were crowded by friends and family.  
  
  
Draco walked Evelyn to the Gryffindor portrait hole.  
  
She sighed, and smiled at him. "I don't know about you, but I had a great time."   
  
Draco smirked. "Yeah. It was good. Set went well."  
  
"Well?! Well?! How about amazing! We rocked that bitch!"   
  
Draco snickered. "Still wired?"  
  
"Hell, yes!" Evelyn cried. "It must be an American thing. So… I'll see you in the morning?"  
  
He nodded. "Definitely. Meet you for Breakfast."   
  
She reached up and kissed him fully before she turned to the Fat Lady.  
  
"You two have some nerve, doing that in the hallway!" she cried.  
  
"What can I say?" Evelyn snickered. "I'm a Black! I have no shame!" She said the password, and was gone.  
  
When Draco got to the Slytherin portrait hole, a tall blond was waiting for him. He didn't pay any attention to her. She put a hand over his mouth before he could utter the password. She dragged him away and to the side.  
  
"What the hell are you doing?!" he cried. "Jesus, Mum!"   
  
"Ssh," Narcissa whispered. "Listen to me for one moment, Draco."  
  
"No."  
  
"Draco-"  
  
"Get. Out. Of. My. Life."   
  
She stared at him for a moment, before turning around and storming off.   
  
Draco sighed, and was about to say the password, but something pointy poked his back.  
  
He whirled around to see three when in boring suits, aiming… something at him.   
  
A bolt of electricity shot from it, connecting with his body, and the world went black.   
  
  
He was literally dancing her down the halls to the Gryffindor portrait hole, and for once, she didn't chide him on being ridiculous. She only giggled as he twirled her. He'd left his jacket in the great hall, but had resolved to get it in the morning.   
  
"Did you have fun tonight?" Ron asked her.  
  
"Of course," Hermione replied. "And you?"  
  
"I had a fabulous time," Ron replied. "What do you want to do now?" he asked her.   
  
"Hmmm… I'd like to do some homework."  
  
"Bloody hell!" Ron cried. "I was trying to be suggestive!"   
  
Hermione laughed. "I'm not dense, you know. I know when you're trying to get me into a good snog."   
  
"Really?" Ron asked. He twirled her and backed her up against the wall next to the portrait hole.  
  
"Like now," she pointed out.   
  
He smiled, and was about to kiss her, when something stuck into his shoulder. He turned around, and caught a glimpse of a well-dressed woman in front of ten Muggle guards before his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell to the ground, passed out.  
  
Hermione glared. She didn't even get the chance to utter a protection spell before being shot with s tranquilizer dart.  
  
Everything went black.   
  
  
They really weren't supposed to be walking around the grounds that late at night. They could get caught, and points could be taken off, and they could get detention. But they'd snuck out under the invisibility cloak. Just to walk around. They hadn't even changed out of their   
formal dress.  
  
But just then none of them really cared.  
  
"So… so you really think it was good?"   
  
Evelyn nudged Harry with a smile. "Would we lie to you? Even if you sucked, would we lie to you?"  
  
Harry cracked a smile. "No… you'd ban me from ever touching a microphone again."  
  
"Exactly," Torianna said. "And would Ron have even let you on stage if you sucked?"  
  
"No… Did you see Pansy's face?" Harry asked with a short laugh.  
  
"No, thank god," Evelyn snapped. "Sorry… I really don't like her… she gives Draco Funny looks."  
  
Torianna rolled her eyes.  
  
"Hey!" Evelyn cried. "If Seamus' ex gave him funny looks, you'd be unhappy, too!"   
  
The blond nodded. "Yeah, okay."   
  
"Did you two talk to your parents at all?" Harry asked.  
  
"Yep," Evelyn replied. "Dad threatened Draco."   
  
"My dad gave Seamus nasty looks."  
  
Harry smiled again. "Ridiculous, really… except the Draco thing. I Threaten Draco a lot, too."   
  
"Hey, come on!" Evelyn cried. "I know he's a little shit sometimes-"  
  
"Sometimes?" Harry asked. "This is the boy who dressed up as a Dementor and showed up at one of my Quidditch matches just to scare the hell out of me!"  
  
"He did that?" Evelyn asked. "Well… at least my boyfriend is inventive."   
  
"Thanks," Harry replied bitterly.   
  
"Oh, come on, Harry," Evelyn replied. She stopped walking. "What do you want me to do, choose between my god-brother and my boyfriend? If that's the way we're playing things, you can take your second-grade crappy 'tude, and shove it up your- oh shit."   
  
Harry blinked. "What?"  
  
"Don't… turn around."  
  
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Why?"   
  
Torianna glanced behind Harry. She turned ghostly white.   
  
"What?" Harry asked, starting to get scared. "What's wrong?"   
  
Torianna waved, her hand shaking. "Hiya Mr. Malfoy… sir…" 


	25. Just Plain Crazy

Just Plain Crazy  
  
They piled into Dumbledore's office. It was cramped, but they all somehow managed to fit.   
  
"So…" Buffy started. "Let me get this straight… Draco's been nabbed… Ron and Hermione have been nabbed… and Harry, Evelyn and Torianna have been nabbed."  
  
Dumbledore sighed. "It would appear so."   
  
"Well, this is just a barrel full of fun," Buffy muttered.  
  
Lorne turned to Angel and shook his head. "I don't want to say I told you so-"  
  
"Then don't," Angel cut him off.  
  
"First thing is to stay calm," Wesley said.  
  
"Calm? Calm?!" Buffy cried. "Those kids were our responsibility! We were so wrapped up in the fact that nothing screwed up the actual ball that we didn't think about afterwards!"  
  
Professor Trelawny put a hand to her head. "I see death," she said hauntingly.  
  
The entire inhabitants of the room turned to stare at her in silence.  
  
"Can I drop-kick her, already?" Faith asked, turning to Dumbledore.   
  
Snape snorted. "Potter, Lupin and Black should not have been out after hours. This is their own fault."  
  
Sirius gave the potions professor a harsh glare. "Sod off, Severus."   
  
Sarah rolled her eyes. "No use crying over a broken rule. What's done is done. Now where the hell are they?"   
  
"Riddle House. Where else?"  
  
Sirius turned his glare on Narcissa. "You did this, didn't you?"   
  
The blond woman rolled her eyes. "Oh, for Merlin's sake, Black."  
  
"She's one of us, Sirius," Dumbledore said loudly. "She always has been."   
  
"So why marry Lucius?" Sarah asked suspiciously. "Why beat your children?"  
  
Narcissa glared harshly at the other blond woman. "There are more pressing matters."   
  
"So… if we assume that Harry, Evelyn and Torianna were taken by Death Eaters," Wesley reasoned. "What about the others?"   
  
"Who has it in for Draco?" Willow asked.  
  
"Harry," Willow said. "But… that's out."  
  
"And Lucius has basically disowned Draco," Narcissa added. "He wouldn't bother with him. And Voldemort doesn't want anything to do with him. So who would?"  
  
Realization dawned on Giles first. "Bloody hell, the watchers."   
  
"You really think so?" Angel asked. "You think they'd go that far?"  
  
  
"Ah. Good. Hello, Mr. Malfoy."   
  
The two well-dressed men had dragged him in handcuffed.   
  
Gray eyes glared harshly at the older man. "Can I help you?"   
  
Quinton Travers smiled. "Yes, actually. You're very important to us, Draco. We want what's best for you. We've decided to pull you out of Hogwarts, and train and teach you privately… here. How does that sound, my boy?"   
  
Draco blinked, and made a hacking noise. A moment later, he spat up something foul looking onto Travers' shoe. He then took off and did and backwards flip while the two watchers were still holding onto his arms and pulled his arms in so the two men slammed into each other.  
  
"Most impressive, Mr. Malfoy," Travers nodded.   
  
A man came up behind Draco and shocked him with a Muggle shocker again. He fell to his knees, and glared up at Travers again.  
  
"But I'm afraid you're out of your element."   
  
  
Well… it was an office. Presumably in an office building.  
  
She lifted her heavily, to find that Ron was already awake. His eyes were already glowing a bright white.   
  
"Ron?"  
  
He snarled in return. "They took my wand."   
  
She sighed. "Do you know where we are?"  
  
"Not a fucking clue."  
  
"Don't swear," muttered. "It could be worse. At least we're not dead."  
  
"Yet."  
  
"Ron, calm down," Hermione said. "We'll get out of this."   
  
The red-head sighed and got to his feet. He loosened the tie around his neck, and tried the door. Locked. He rammed it with his shoulder.  
  
Hermione sighed. "Ron?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"What are you doing?"   
  
"Trying t'open the bloody door," he replied.  
  
She sighed again. "Stop, Ron."   
  
He did and heaved out a breath.   
  
She shook her hand reached into her dress from the top.  
  
His eyes went wide. What the was she doing?!  
  
She pulled her hand out, now gripping her wand. She looked up to see him staring at her like a deer in the headlights. "What? This dress has no pockets."   
  
He took two steps to stand in front of her and kissed her. "Bloody brilliant."   
  
She smiled and turned to the door. "Alohamorah."   
  
It swung open and the couple hooked arms.  
  
"Shall we?" Ron asked.   
  
She nodded, her smile getting wider as they exited the office. They walked casually down the corridor and Ron poked his head into a good-sized office with the name Gavin Park on the door. A man paced with a phone to his ear, speaking loudly.   
  
Ron smirked and eyed his wand, sitting on the desk.   
  
Hermione handed him her wand, and he held it up.   
  
"Accio wand," he whispered.   
  
The wooden stick flew off the desk and into Ron's free hand.  
  
"You've been practicing!" Hermione commented, sounding surprised.  
  
"Proud?"   
  
"Very." She took his arm again and snatched her wand back. "Come on."   
  
"Once sec," he replied. He pointed his wand at the man on the phone. "Confundus!"  
  
"Ron!" Hermione scolded.   
  
"Just covering our tracks," he defended. "And… it's funny!"   
  
"Ron you're going to get us in trouble! Again!"   
  
He smiled and took her hand in his. "Mione, Luv, we're always in trouble. Now come on."   
  
  
"So… that leaves Ron and Hermione," Wesley said. "Who, besides Voldemort would want them?"  
  
Angel glanced at Wesley. "Let's think in broader terms, Wes. Hermione's your family… who wants to hurt you?"  
  
It didn't take him long to catch on. He shook his head. "She wouldn't."  
  
"She's evil, Wesley," Angel replied. "Granted not Voldemort evil, but still evil. I wouldn't be surprised if she did this. Especially after you left her high and dry."  
  
Buffy blinked from one man to the other. "Explanation. Any time. Really."   
  
Wesley sighed. "Where would she take them?"  
  
"LA," Angel replied. "If they got loose they'd stick out like sore thumbs."  
  
"So we think Lilah has Ron and Hermione?" Fred asked.   
  
Buffy blinked. "Lilah? As in the bitchy lawyer?"   
  
"Yeah," Cordelia replied. "Wes slept with her."  
  
Wesley turned an annoyed glance on his friend.  
  
"Hello! Howdy! You did!"  
  
"Let's just work on getting them back," Angel said.  
  
"What about Harry, Evelyn and Torianna?" Remus asked.  
  
"What about us?"   
  
The group of adults turned to see Harry and the girls, still in their formal attire.  
  
Sarah jumped to her feet and pulled all three teens into a tight hug.  
  
"Mom…" Torianna choked. "Mom, air!"   
  
"We thought they had you guys for sure!" Willow cried. "What happened?"  
  
"Harry kicked some Lucius Malfoy patoot," Evelyn replied, sitting next to her father. "It was awesome. It needed popcorn, but it was awesome."   
  
Narcissa blinked at the boy who lived. "You…"  
  
"In Ron's words," Harry replied. "I beat his poncy arse. And he deserved it. No wonder I don't like Draco."   
  
"Draco isn't half the bastard his father is," Narcissa replied.  
  
Harry blinked. "You're…"  
  
"Narcissa Malfoy."  
  
"Oh, shit."  
  
"Hey!" Faith snapped. "No injury, no potty-mouthing!"   
  
Harry blinked up at Faith. "…Shoot?"  
  
"Where is Lucius now?" Dumbledore asked.   
  
"Passed out in a full-body binding on the front lawn," Torianna replied. "Our Harry may be shrimpy, but he can kick some ass."   
  
Harry blinked and thought for a moment. "…Why is everyone in here? Has something happened?"  
  
The adults gave each other wary looks.   
  
  
When Lilah walked into Gavin Park's open office door, she didn't expect to see him wandering around his office as if he had no idea where he was.  
  
Lilah took out her cell phone, and pressed two buttons. "It's Lilah. They're loose. Find them."  
  
  
Draco woke up behind bars. Three goony-looking men were standing guard outside his cell, playing cards. He sighed and sat up, realizing they hadn't noticed him yet. He smirked.  
  
"OI! ROOM SERVICE! WHAT'S A MAN GOT T' DO T' GET A DECENT PILLOW IN HERE?!"   
  
The three men screamed and jumped. Cards went flying everywhere, and their make-shift table was knocked over.  
  
Draco laugh heavily.   
  
"What the hell is the matter with you?!" One of them asked.   
  
"You," he snapped. "You're what's wrong with me! You've got me locked in a bloody cage! You took my wand, and my stake, and you're ugly! All three of you, absolutely hideous, and I have to look at you! Do you see my dilemma?! Do you understand why I'm upset?! Who the hell are you people, anyways?!"  
  
"Collins."  
  
"Smith."  
  
"Weatherby."   
  
Draco blinked. "I'm renaming you. Ugly One, Ugly Two, and Ugly Three. Now go get me a sandwich or something!"  
  
The three men stood staring at him in confusion.  
  
Draco turned his piercing glare on them again. "What the hell are you waiting for?! GET ME A BLOODY SANDWICH!"   
  
The three men jumped from nervousness and ran off.   
  
Draco snorted, and then let out a full-blown laugh.   
  
  
"Harry, we don't even know where they are."  
  
He wasn't listening to Torianna's pleas for reason. He was too busy sharpening the large axe he'd pulled out of the weapons closet in the training dungeon.   
  
"Harry, listen to-"  
  
"I'm going to stop at the Watcher's Council and get Draco first," Harry cut Evelyn off.  
  
She thought for a moment. "Okay. I'm in."   
  
"Evelyn!" Torianna cried. "This is crazy! You expect to just barge in and play the hero?!"  
  
Harry thought for a moment, and nodded. "Yeah, that sounds about right."   
  
"Harry!"   
  
"Listen!" he snapped. "Whoever these lawyers are, they have Ron and Hermione! Ron and Hermione are the closest friends I've ever had! I am NOT losing them! Ever!"  
  
The two girls stared at him.  
  
He sighed. "Come on, don't be like this. I love you both, you know that, but Ron and Hermione are important to me, too." His expression fell. "If something's happened to them…"   
  
Torianna sighed and lifted a dagger from the weapons closet. "Fine. Fine. First stop: Draco."   
  
They turned to leave, but the door was blocked.  
  
"Going somewhere?"   
  
Harry cleared his throat at his potions professor. "We're going to find Ron, Hermione and Draco."   
  
"I don't think so, Potter," Snape replied. "You've already broken- AH!"   
  
He was all of the sudden shoved to one side by his niece and her friends. Faith smiled broadly at them. "You guys five by five?"  
  
Harry nodded. "Loaded and ready."  
  
She nodded. "Good deal. Just let us get suited up, and we can go."   
  
Snape glared at the brunette. "Faith…"  
  
"Four words, Uncle Severus… Out of Your League."   
  
"They are students at this school, and I have a duty to-"  
  
"Let them do the right thing," Faith finished. "Glad we agree."   
  
She, Buffy, Angel, Wesley, Giles, Gunn and Cordelia finished loading up on weapons, and Cordelia herded the trio out of the dungeon.   
  
Snape growled and followed them through the halls. They passed Sirius, Remus, Sarah, Narcissa and Dumbledore.  
  
"Good luck," Dumbledore said to Angel. "We'll be waiting to hear from you."   
  
"Wait!"  
  
The group turned to see Charlie, Arthur, and Molly Weasley walking up to them.   
  
"Oh, no," Giles muttered. "Molly…"  
  
"Shut up, Rupert. This is my son that's been taken. I'm coming with you.."   
  
Dumbledore sighed. "Molly, have you ever fought before?"  
  
She faltered. "Well…"  
  
"I'm gonna find them, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said.   
  
She gave him a shocked look. "You're going?"   
  
Harry sighed. "Let's just call it some on-the-job training."  
  
Sirius glanced at the two girls. "I don't think so."   
  
Evelyn scowled. "Harry's going!"  
  
"Harry's got an excuse!" Cordelia cried. "He's freaky like us!"   
  
Everyone stared at her.  
  
"What?!"   
  
"Sirius is quite right," Sarah spoke. "Neither of you are going. It's too dangerous."   
  
"But-" Harry started.   
  
"No," Remus voiced.  
  
Torianna squeaked. "But-"  
  
"No," Sarah snapped.  
  
Evelyn growled. "But-"  
  
"Bloody hell!" Sirius cried. "No!"   
  
Snape smirked. "That's right, you two. Now back to your tower, the both of you."   
  
The two Marauders and the Maraudette glanced oddly at Snape.  
  
Sirius turned back to the girls. "Bloody hell. Go."   
  
Sarah nodded. "Go."   
  
Remus sighed. "You two…"  
  
"Do you want to agree with the greasy git?" Sirius cried.  
  
Remus rolled his eyes. "Merlin forbid either of you should stick with a decision and not spoil your children."   
  
  
"Oh, but Mione! I wanna use the slug hex!"   
  
Hermione rolled her eyes. "You've used the slug hex three times, Ron! Use something else!"  
  
When Lilah Morgan had decided to kidnap Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger in the hopes of handing the young witch and half-demon over to Lord Voldemort, she never dreamed they would best her. But lo and behold, she was sitting in her office, in a full-body binding spell, with the two teens arguing over what non-fatal hex to blast her with.  
  
The couple reminded her of a saner, very young, very non-evil version of Spike and Drusilla. Not that'd she'd ever really met Spike, but she'd heard stories.   
  
"She's under the pertrificus. She could choke on the slugs and die! Why not just put her under a stupefy?" Hermione asked. "Besides, we should leave soon. People are going to worry, and we can't stay here forever."   
  
Ron huffed. "But I'm not done!"  
  
Hermione smirked, and took his hand in hers. "You can practice your hexes on Malfoy when we get home. I promise."   
  
He smiled. "Oh. That sounds fun."  
  
Lilah smirked as security kicked open the door and rushed in. They came in shooting.   
  
"Ron! Du- AH!"   
  
Ron whirled around to her, and saw that her arm had started to bleed. He couldn't tell if she'd been shot or grazed, but it didn't matter. He slowly turned back to the guards, who'd stopped shooting. He growled darkly, and threw himself at the guards, eyes now burning white.  
  
"Ron! Wait!" Hermione cried. She clamped a hand over her bleeding arm. She spotted one of the guards pull out a hefty looking club as Ron slugged one of the other ones.   
  
She lifted her hand, her eyes turning onyx. A harsh wind blew through the office, flipping papers, and messing hair. "BACK!"   
  
The guards flew out the door, and it slammed harshly.   
  
Ron slowly walked up to her, his eyes still white, hers still black. "Mione?"  
  
She nodded. "I'm alright."   
  
"Your eyes… and the magic-"  
  
"I can explain," she cut him off. "I've been learning a different type of magic… the kind that Professor Macclay and Willow are accustomed to."  
  
"And it turns your eyes black."  
  
Hermione nodded. "Yes."   
  
"Your arm-"  
  
"Will heal," she finished. "We've really got to get out of here."  
  
The couple turned to the door, but were blocked by Lilah, who was now holding up a gun that one of the guards had dropped. "Going out?"   
  
Ron growled again, but Lilah stood her ground.   
  
"One of you makes a wrong move and the other gets shot. Now sit… down."  
  
  
Wesley sighed. "Alright. Buffy, Faith, Evelyn, Torianna, Willow, Tara, Xander and Giles, you will all go and get Draco. Angel, Harry, Gunn, Fred, Cordelia, Charlie and Iwill try and rescue Ron and Hermione."  
  
Molly cleared her throat at the same that Narcissa did.   
  
Giles rolled his eyes and glared at the two women. "Bloody hell. Neither of you are going."  
  
Molly glared. "Watch your tone of voice with me, Rupert Giles. I won't be spoken to like that. Especially not by you."   
  
Buffy blinked. "You date her, too?"  
  
"Of course not," Giles snapped. "…It was her sister. Molly, this is ridiculous. You don't know how to fight."  
  
"I know how to fight," Narcissa snapped. "You don't live in Malfoy Manor and remain defenseless."   
  
"That's funny," Sarah replied darkly. "Your son did."  
  
"That's enough!" Dumbledore cried, getting out of his chair. "I am sick and tired of listening to the lot of you bicker while Merlin knows what's happening to those three children! Wesley has come up with a perfectly sensible plan of action that none of you are taking! Molly, you've never, ever gone into a battle situation in your entire life! How do you expect to help?! Narcissa, are you trying to jeopardize your standing in the Death Eater ranks?! If you're found out, Severus is sure to follow, and that cannot happen! Now, I want everyone who has been given a task to get out! Now!"  
  
The entire group of them stood staring at Hogwarts' headmaster.  
  
The elder man fumed. "OUT!"   
  
They rushed out of the teachers' lounge, and split up into their respective groups.   
  
"Damn," Evelyn muttered. "Go, Grandpa."  
  
  
They were tied together, and even in that position, Ron could tell Hermione wasn't doing so well.  
  
"You alright?" he asked her.  
  
Her eyes had gone back to their normal brown shade. She felt weary, tired, limp. "I'll be okay."  
  
"How's your arm?" Ron asked her. "Stop bleeding."  
  
"Yes. For now."   
  
"You sure you're alright?"  
  
She sighed. "The magic makes me a bit tired… I'm not that good at it."  
  
"Good enough to save my hide," Ron pointed out. "Thanks, by the way."  
  
"Let's just call us even for the save in the shrieking shack, shall we?" she suggested.  
  
"Didn't know we were keeping score," he replied.   
  
"Will you two shut up?" Lilah snapped. "I'm on the phone… No, Goyle, not you, of course. Tell Lucius and Your Master that I have them… alive as instructed."   
  
At the sound of those name, Ron snarled. He felt himself growing warmer with anger.   
  
"She's gonna hand us over to You-Know-Who," he deducted.  
  
Hermione sighed. "Honestly, Ron. You hadn't figured that out until now?"   
  
"Some of us aren't bloody know-it-alls."  
  
"I may be a bloody know-it-all, but at least you like it that way," she snapped quietly.  
  
He felt some of his anger subside at her words. A smirk crept onto his face, and somehow managed to take her hand in his.   
  
"Are you scared?" Hermione asked.  
  
Ron shook his head. "Not in the least. I may be tied to a chair, but you are, too. So I'm fine."  
  
She gripped his hand tighter.   
  
  
Buffy kicked down the door to the Watchers' meeting room, and Quinton Travers looked up, shocked, before being lifted out of his chair and slammed up against the far wall.  
  
"Draco. Now."   
  
Travers swallowed hard, and led the way to the cell.  
  
Draco Malfoy was sitting in a chair on the outside of the cell, munching on a sandwich, playing solitaire.   
  
Inside the cell, Collins, Smith and Weatherby were knocked unconscious.   
  
Tara blinked at Draco. "How-?"  
  
"I wanted a sandwich," He told them, taking a bite.  
  
Evelyn smiled, and dragged him to his feet by his hands, kissing him shortly. "How did you do it?"  
  
Draco rolled his eyes. "I ordered a sandwich, they brought it to me, opened the cell door, and I kicked their sorry arses. And now I'm eating my bloody sandwich… where are Potty, Weasel and Granger?"  
  
  
Harry kicked open the main entrance to Wolfram and Hart's LA offices. He had no idea where he was, or where he was going, but Professor O'Brien had suggested that he lead the way in.  
  
And so he walked right up to the information desk in the lobby.  
  
"Hello. I'm Harry Potter. I'm looking for Ms. Lilah Morgan?"   
  
The guard at the desk did not bother to look up from his newspaper. "She's not available at the moment."   
  
Harry sighed, and pulled an axe from the sheath behind his back. He pointed it at the guard. "Let's try this again. Hello. I'm Harry Potter. I'm looking for Ms. Lilah Morgan."   
  
Faith sniffed a little. "I'm so proud."   
  
  
Draco sat nervously in the Headmaster's office, fidgeting with the stake in his hands. He was still wearing his suit from the Yule ball, but he'd lost his hat. Tara had promised to find him a new one.   
  
Now, he was facing Albus Dumbledore, and his mother was pacing behind him.   
  
He hated her.   
  
He hated her so much for that she'd done to him, and all the things done to him that she ignored. She had been detached and cold to him his whole life.   
  
And now he knew why.   
  
Why hadn't he noticed anything before? Even his father had shown some affection for him when he did things right.   
  
But now he knew why she'd looked at him with disgust so many times. Now he knew why she never really spoke to him.   
  
He'd suspected before that she'd never really wanted him, but now he knew why. Her whole marriage, her whole life was one big spy mission. Which made his life, in his eyes, one big joke. One big scam to make sure she didn't get found out by his father.   
  
Draco didn't know weather to be angry, confused, or heart-broken.   
  
Anger seemed like the logical choice. He hated being confused, and he refused to be heart-broken over a mother who never cared.  
  
He heard her sigh. "Draco…"  
  
"Don't talk to me," he said.   
  
"Oh, for Merlin's sake," she muttered.   
  
He got to his feet and faced her. Head up, eyes focused, fists clenched. He repeated his earlier words to her. "Get out of my life." With that, he walked out.   
  
Narcissa rolled her eyes, and looked to Dumbledore, who sat motionless at his desk.   
  
  
"Honestly, Mister, I really don't want to hurt you. You see the thing is that this Lilah woman has my two best friends locked up and is probably going to hand them over to my worst enemy. And if that happens, I'll have to go after him, and I'm just not ready for that yet. You see, I'm only a warrior-in-training so far, and Voldemort basically drop-kicked my arse all over Riddle House last year, and the only reason I survived is because of our wands being related. So, please, do hurry up and find her office."  
  
They followed Harry, who was holding his axe to a guard's back to get him to move.   
  
"Angel?"  
  
"Yes, Wesley?"  
  
"Perhaps Buffy's influence is a bit too strong."  
  
"You know," Angel replied. "I was just thinking that."  
  
"Poor kid," Cordelia shook her head. "He's turning into a whiny-Buffy clone."   
  
"Cordelia…"  
  
She groaned at Angel's complaint. "Sorry."   
  
At that moment, Charlie went rigidly still, and shoved the entire group behind a corner.  
  
Faith was confused. "Charlie, what-"  
  
"Malfoy," Charlie whispered.   
  
Harry blinked. "Who cares. I beat him up before…"  
  
Angel nodded. "He's right. We get his wand and he's practically helpless."  
  
"Aw," Faith said. "Is Charlie afraid of the big bad Death Eater?"   
  
"Yes," Charlie nodded. "I'll need special attention and cuddling later."   
  
"This is the part where I plug up my ears, right?" Gunn asked.  
  
Cordelia wrinkled her nose. "Definitely."   
  
"Can we just go smash Lucius Malfoy over the head?" Wesley asked. "Please?"   
  
Harry smiled. "I can't believe I'm going to beat up a Malfoy twice in one night and not get expelled."  
  
  
"Wait up, will you?"   
  
Draco didn't stop for Evelyn.   
  
"Draco!"  
  
"What?" he snapped, stopping finally.   
  
She caught up to him. "Are you okay?"  
  
"No," he replied. "Was that all?"  
  
"What is wrong with you?"   
  
"Right now? Everything."   
  
She sighed. "Listen… about your mom-"  
  
"Don't say it," he cut her off. "You wouldn't understand. You're mother's dead, and you're probably better off for it."   
  
Her expression turned into one of shocked hurt, and she raised a fist to hit him, but quickly dropped it and stormed off.   
  
He stormed off in the opposite direction.   
  
  
They'd successfully beaten the stuffing out of Lucius Malfoy and shut him up in a janitor's closet.  
  
They stood in front of Lilah's office door, and Harry looked up at his teachers and their friends. "Can I do it? Can I?"  
  
Faith, Angel and Wesley all glanced at each other and shrugged.  
  
"Yeah, okay," Faith said. "Go ahead."  
  
Harry beamed and kicked the door open.   
  
Inside, Lilah was facing the window, talking on a cell phone, and Ron and Hermione were tied to two chairs, back to back.   
  
Ron, being the one facing the door, smirked at Harry. Harry crept in with the others guarding the door. He snuck up to his friends, and began to untie them, but Lilah whirled around and shot at him.   
  
She missed, but only because he hit the ground completely.   
  
This did not make Ron very happy. His eyes glowed again, and he snarled, trying desperately to break free of the ropes.   
  
Lilah aimed her gun at Hermione. "Weasley, if you don't stop, I'll-"  
  
A crossbow dart flew from the doorway and knocked the gun out of Lilah's hand.   
  
Fred smiled from behind her crossbow. "Hi! Remember us?"   
  
  
The trio walked through the Gryffindor portrait hole, patched up, and relieved to be home.  
  
Ginny shot up from her spot on the couch in the common room and threw her arms around her brother. "Oh, Ron! I'm so glad you're alright!"   
  
He shrugged at his friends and hugged her back. "I'm alright, Gin."   
  
She let go of him, and then hugged Hermione, and then Harry, whom she pecked very lightly on the lips.  
  
They stared at each other, both quite embarrassed.   
  
"Uhm…"   
  
Ginny cleared her throat. "Well, I'll… goodnight!" she ran up the girls' dorm stairs and disappeared.   
  
Ron turned a withering glare on Harry.   
  
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Ron, let's play chess."  
  
"Chess?"   
  
She dragged him away from Harry, who sighed and sat himself down on the couch, where Torianna had an arm around Evelyn.  
  
Harry blinked. "What happened?" He glared at no one in particular, all of the sudden knowing exactly how Ron felt. "What did Malfoy do?"   
  
Torianna sighed. "He made a pretty crappy remark about dead mothers. I'm planning on kicking his ass tomorrow morning before breakfast."  
  
Harry felt livid. He could feel his face turn red. "You and I both." 


	26. Can't Take My Eyes off of You

Man, I'm such a loser. Okay, The song is by Frankie Valie and the Four Seasons. This part is for anyone who has a thing for "10 Things I Hate About You." And Happy Chrishanikwanzamidan everyone!  
  
Can't Take My Eyes off Of You  
  
Draco had no idea where the hell he was. He assumed he was dreaming, but this didn't feel like a slayer dream. Was he lucid dreaming? He had no idea.  
  
The room was cheerful enough, the coffee table in front of him had a large box of sugar quills sitting atop it.   
  
Someone cleared their throat, and he shot up off the couch he was sitting on, ready for a battle.  
  
"Oh, sit down. I'm not going to pick a fight with you."  
  
He narrowed his eyes.   
  
She was fairly tall, with brown hair and big, blue eyes. Her arms were cross impatiently and she had an eyebrow raised. She circled him. "Hm… well, Evelyn's got good taste in the looks department, I'll give her that… attitudes a bit sour, though."  
  
"Who the hell are you?"  
  
"Oh!" she cried, surprised. "Sorry." She smirked and held a hand out to him. "I'm Emily Black."   
  
His silvery eyes widened. "Y-you… Y-you're…"   
  
She nodded. "That's right. I think you and I need to have a chat."   
  
"We do?"  
  
She nodded again. "Sit," she ordered.  
  
He obeyed and she sat next to him.  
  
"You hurt my daughter," Emily said matter-of-factly. "What you said wasn't very nice."  
  
"I'm not very nice," he admitted. "Never have been."  
  
She sighed. "That's not the point."   
  
"Listen," Draco told her. "I'm what's commonly known as an emotional basket case. I've never been in a healthy relationship before. I didn't even know they existed before I got into one with Evelyn."  
  
"So why muck it up?"  
  
"Can't help it."   
  
"Bollocks," she replied. "That's a load of bollocks and you know it. Did you mean what you said to her last night?"   
  
"Well… no…"  
  
"Then apologize."  
  
He blinked. "That's it?"  
  
She sighed and shook her head. "Merlin, you boys make things harder than they have to be, of course that's it. Maybe throw some chocolate frogs in just for good measure."   
  
"She doesn't like them," Draco informed the older woman. "She says they creep her out."  
  
"Oh," Emily said softly.  
  
There was a pause.   
  
"Well, Draco, it was nice to finally meet you."  
  
He nodded, and things began to fade.  
  
"Oh, and Draco?"   
  
He glanced at her.  
  
"If you ever hurt my daughter again, you'll be very, very sorry."   
  
  
He shot up, and looked around his dim dorm room.   
  
What. The. Hell.   
  
He sighed and reached underneath his mattress and pulled out a over-sized pack of sugar quills, got up and walked out the door.  
  
  
"So… this new magic thing…"  
  
She looked up from her book to see Ron and Harry standing over her.   
  
"What about it?" she asked casually.  
  
"Why didn't you tell us?" Harry asked.   
  
She sighed and set her book aside. "I didn't want to worry you."  
  
Ron rolled his eyes.  
  
"What?" Hermione asked. "Why the eye roll?"  
  
"I just feel kind of lied to," he muttered.  
  
"I didn't lie!" she cried. "When I told you I was going to the library to study, that's what I was doing!"   
  
Harry sighed and sat down next to her. "It's just… we're your best friends, Hermione. I mean, we would have appreciated being told about this."  
  
"Why?" she snapped. "Why is it so important?"  
  
"This stuff is dangerous!" Ron cried. "You could get really hurt!"  
  
She leaned back on the couch and glared up at him. "Oh, how the tables have turned."  
  
"Hey!" the red-head snapped back. "I can't help the visions! You dove into this!"  
  
"To help you!" she yelled, getting to her feet. "To help you fight what's coming! What, Ron?! You thought I was just going to sit around while you and Harry and Malfoy went out and got killed by Voldemort?! I don't think so!!"  
  
Ron flinched slightly at the name she spat. "Don't start that!"   
  
Harry blinked. "Who said anything about getting killed?" he asked calmly.  
  
"You stay out of this!" Both Ron and Hermione cried in unison. They glared at each other. "Don't copy me! Stop that!"   
  
"SHUT UP!" Harry roared. "Bloody hell! When did you two start this again?! Ron, Hermione's right. We shouldn't expect her to just sit around while we play super-heroes! Hermione, it really hurts both of us that you chose not to tell us about what you were doing! It's ten times worse than not telling us about the Time Turner or Krum, because we've heard what happened to Willow!"  
  
There was a deadly silence between them.   
  
Ron gave her a hurt look. "The thought of that happening to you is- it's-"  
  
"Scary," Harry finished. "Really, bloody scary."  
  
"I've got it under control," She told them softly. "Nothing's going to happen to me. I can control it. I've been doing really well."  
  
The two boys stared at her worriedly.   
  
"Stop staring at me like that!" she cried. "Nothing's wrong! I can do this! Stop treating me like a child!"   
  
They averted their eyes, but said nothing.  
  
She scowled, and stormed out of the portrait hole, running right into Draco Malfoy.   
  
"Watch where you going!" she spat.   
  
"Me?!" Draco cried. "You're the one what came barreling into me."  
  
She scowled again, but he stopped her from storming off.  
  
"Let me in, will you?" he asked.  
  
She shook her head, put her hands over his ears, and said the password. She shoved him through the portal.  
  
Ron and Harry jumped to their feet.  
  
"Mione, we're really-" Ron stopped. "Oh, it's you."  
  
Draco rolled his eyes. "What'd you do this time, Ron?"  
  
He sighed. "It's nothing. I'm going to bed." He sighed and walked up to the boys' dorm.   
  
Draco glanced at Harry who was glaring at him harshly.   
  
"What are you looking at?" Draco snapped.  
  
"A right bastard," Harry replied.   
  
Draco rolled his eyes. "When did you figure that out?"  
  
"When you hurt Evelyn."  
  
Draco groaned. "I'm not having this chat with you, Potter. Forget it. Leave me the hell alone."  
  
Harry blocked his path. "What are you doing here anyways?"  
  
"None of your bloody business, Potter," Draco snapped. "Now sod off."   
  
"If you ever hurt Evelyn again-"  
  
"I'll be very, very sorry," Draco finished. "Right, then. Sod off." He shoved Harry out of the way and stalked up to the girls' dorm.   
  
Harry shook his head and slumped back down on the couch.  
  
  
He knocked on the door for the fifth time, but no answer came. Again. He sighed.  
  
"Evelyn, open the bloody door!"  
  
The door swung open, and a fist swung out at him, making a loud crack against his jaw. Draco whirled around, holding his face in one hand. He looked back to see Torianna standing there, cracking her knuckles and glaring.   
  
"What the fuck, Lupin?!"   
  
"Could ask you the same thing, Malfoy," she snapped. "What's the big idea, sayin' crap about Evelyn's mother?"   
  
Draco groaned. "I was pissed, and I was confused, and I said something stupid."  
  
"Well your something stupid sent her back into her whole Queen of the Damned mode."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"She charmed her bed curtains from red to black fishnet, she's reading Dickinson and she blocked up the windows," Torianna explained. "I think Hermione's gonna wind up camping out in the common room just from the lack of light to read by, because every time I do a lumos she gives me her 'I'm a sad, sad girl' glare."   
  
"Lemme talk to her," Draco said. "I wanna apologize. I shouldn't have said that about her mum, I know."   
  
Torianna sighed. "Fine. See if you can talk her outta this. She's only been semi-gothy since she got here, now she's back to uber-Goth." She stepped aside to let him in.  
  
  
"And so, we give you… The Mistle-Bow!"  
  
Harry blinked at the twins the next morning. They were holding a green and red colored crossbow, but instead of being loaded with actual arrows, it was loaded up with mistletoe.   
  
"I don't follow," Harry admitted.  
  
"Observe," George ordered. He pointed the bow at Ron and Hermione who were walking into the common room from breakfast. Harry grimaced. They still weren't speaking to each other after arguing the night before.   
  
Fred lifted the Mistle-Bow and shot a piece of Mistletoe. It flew and levitated above them.  
  
Ron looked up, and rolled his eyes. He began to try and walk away, but was blocked by an invisible force.  
  
Hermione tried to move as well, but it was no use.   
  
"What did you two rotters do?!" Ron cried.  
  
"That's the beauty of the Mistle-Bow Mistletoe," Fred explained. "It creates a magical barrier around the two people underneath it."  
  
"Well, how do we get out?" Hermione asked.  
  
"It's Mistletoe!" George cried. "Figure it out! Cleverest witch in fifth year, my arse."   
  
"Well, get it over with, you two," Harry encouraged.   
  
Hermione glanced at Ron and shook her head. "I don't care if I stay here all day. I'm not kissing him until he apologizes."  
  
Ron sputtered. "For what?! Worrying about you?! It isn't as if I broke up with you like you did to me!"   
  
She swung up and smacked him in the face.   
  
His glaring eyes glowed white for only a moment, and he grabbed her by the arms, pulling her into a rough kiss.   
  
The mistletoe above them flashed for a moment and then fell to the ground.  
  
Neither Ron nor Hermione showed any signs of letting each other go. Her arms wrapped around his neck.  
  
Dean walked down the stairs to the sight of this and blinked. "Now that's animal magnetism."   
  
Harry groaned and hit his head on the back of the couch. "Ugh… nothing worse than seeing your best friends snogging."   
  
At that moment, Evelyn and Draco came through the portrait hole.   
  
"Oh, god!" Evelyn cried. "Not in front of the door!"   
  
Draco blinked. "Ew. Weasley, stop trying to eat Granger, it's really gross."   
  
Fred stuck out his hand to his twin, who took it, and shook it vigorously.   
  
"Smashing, brother mine," George said.  
  
"Absolutely," Fred nodded.   
  
Harry blinked up at Evelyn and Draco. "Stopped fighting have you?"   
  
Evelyn shrugged, swinging her hand in Draco's. "He gave me sugar. He's off of my hit-list."   
  
Faith walked through the portrait hole, and sighed at the sight of the couple. She took hold of their shoulders and pulled them apart.  
  
Hermione glanced at Faith, her arms still around Ron. "Good morning, Professor Morgan." They both turned a deep shade of red.  
  
She shook her head. "You're lucky I wasn't Professor MacGonagal."   
  
"You don't look a thing like her!" Fred cried. "You've got bigger boobs!"  
  
"Oh, we are not talking about that," Evelyn said. "Not now, not ever."   
  
  
Charlie was not expecting to get any owls at lunch that day, but lo and behold, Errol crash-landed in his food. He sighed. "Bloody hell, Errol. Do you have to do this every time?"   
  
Faith poked at the bird with her fork.   
  
Charlie gave his girlfriend a disturbed look. "What are you doing?"  
  
"Figure if it's dead, we could roast it," she joked. "Never had owl before."   
  
Snape snorted out something much akin to a laugh from the other side of her, but Charlie just seemed horrified.   
  
"Aw, come on, baby, take a joke," Faith nudged him. "You know I was only kidding."   
  
Charlie shook his head and unburdened Errol of his letter. He sighed, opened it and read it. "Oh, Merlin help the lot of us."   
  
"What?" Tara asked him from his other side.  
  
"My parents, Percy and Bill are coming here for Christmas. They only just left!"  
  
Snape groaned. "That's all this place needs. More Weasleys. Like we don't have enough trouble trying to keep track of your siblings."   
  
"They're not that bad," Charlie replied.   
  
Snape glared.  
  
"Right, then. Maybe they are, but it's not as if they've caused any real damage."   
  
Snape glared harder.  
  
Charlie cringed. "Faith, make him stop."   
  
  
"Not going."  
  
Wesley sighed and walked briskly after his niece on the way to the library. "It'll only be for two days, Hermione. You can stick out a family get-together for two days, can't you?"  
  
She sighed, but kept walking. "I'm not going. The last time I went, Mum and Grandad got into a screaming row that lasted nearly four whole hours! It may have been the worst Christmas I've ever had in my entire life! Add you into the mix, and you can double that four-hour scream-fest to an eight. Logic dictates, if something isn't good for you , stay away from it. I'm following logic, claiming I have far too much work to leave Hogwarts for Christmas, and am staying here."   
  
Wesley stopped walking. "If I'm going, you're going."  
  
"Absolutely not!" she cried, stopping to face him. "I'm no masochist!"   
  
"We're your family!" Wesley exclaimed. "You have to put up with it."   
  
"I most certainly do not," Hermione argued. "And I refuse to. You can go and have a miserable time with a woman who ignores every little thing that's wrong with her family, and a man who ignores every little thing that's right with his family, and my parents, who smile through   
it all, but I won't. And you can tell Mum I have work to do. Besides, I want to see Ron's face on Christmas morning when he opens my present."  
  
"What did you get him?" Wesley asked.  
  
She smirked. "I'm not telling you. You're horrible at keeping secrets."   
  
Wesley looked taken aback. "Am not!"   
  
Hermione snickered and began her walk to the library again.  
  
Wesley wasn't giving up. "I can keep secrets!"  
  
  
When Harry walked back into the common room after lunch, Ginny, who was sitting on the couch, immediately got to her feet and began to walk out.  
  
"Oh, for- Ginny, wait."  
  
She stopped, and slowly turned to Harry, face red. "Hello."   
  
"Hi," he replied. "You've… you've been avoiding me a lot."   
  
"Have I? I hadn't noticed."  
  
Harry sighed. "Oh, come on, Ginny. Ever since you kissed me you've been avoiding me…"   
  
She obviously wasn't listening anymore. She'd turned from him and was walking briskly up the stairs to her dorm.  
  
"Bugger," Harry muttered.  
  
Torianna blinked from her spot on the couch. "Girl trouble?"  
  
Harry sighed and sat next to her. "Yeah."   
  
"The kiss?"  
  
Harry sighed again. "Yeah."  
  
"Well, she made the first move, and you made the wrong one," Torianna told him.  
  
"What?!"   
  
Torianna rolled her eyes and turned to him. "She kissed you, and you stared at her like she had six heads and two assholes."  
  
"I was taken aback!" Harry yelled. "I was not staring oddly!"  
  
"Yeah, ya were!" Torianna yelled back.   
  
Harry groaned. "Okay. Maybe I did give her a funny look. What do I do about it?"  
  
Torianna thought for a moment, but a light bulb seemed to come on.   
  
  
"So here's the plan," Torianna said after getting the group assembled. "Hermione, Draco and Evelyn, buy us time with the teachers. Don't let them into the great hall right away. Ron, you know the horns charm that Flitwick uses, right?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Good. You know what to do. Seamus and Dean, you make sure the spotlight goes on Ginny. Fred, George, make sure she gets to the great hall early."  
  
They both saluted her at the same time.   
  
"What about you?" Seamus asked, nudging her.   
  
"Somebody's gotta make sure Harry actually gets on the table. Right, Harry?"  
  
The Boy Who Lived blinked. He looked very pale.  
  
"We're going to get into trouble," Hermione commented.  
  
Ron nodded. "Again."   
  
  
Draco blinked at Snape. "Do you… have any hobbies?"  
  
Snape glared.   
  
  
Ginny looked from one twin to another as she poked at her food. "What's going on?"  
  
"Nothing," they replied in unison.  
  
"There's something going on, isn't there?" Ginny asked with a smile. "What is it."   
  
"Ginny, would we lie to you?" Fred asked.  
  
There was a slight pause before George added a "Don't answer that."   
  
  
Harry spotted Ginny in the great hall, beginning to eat with Fred and George on either side of her. He turned to Torianna. "I can't do this."  
  
"Yeah you can," she replied. "You know the song. I know you can move at least a little, you'll be fine."  
  
"I'm making an arse out of myself."  
  
"Don't think of it as making an ass out of yourself," Torianna said. "Think of it as… sacrificing yourself on the alter of dignity."   
  
  
All of the sudden the lights in the great hall dimmed, and a spotlight shined itself onto Ginny, and then another figure standing on the teacher's table.   
  
Ginny squinted, and realized it was Harry. "What-?"   
  
He put his wand up to his throat, and a muttered a "Sonarus."   
  
"What is he doing?" Ginny asked nervously.   
  
And then the music started. Unseen horns blasted from no where, and Harry started singing.   
  
"You're just too good to be true. Can't take my eyes off of you. You'd be like heaven to touch, I wanna hold you so much. At long last love has arrived. And I thank god I'm alive. You're just too good to be true. Can't take my eyes off of you."   
  
The teachers walked in the doorway, and stared open-mouthed at the scene. Hermione and Evelyn slapped hands, and Draco began laughing uncontrollably.   
  
Harry pointed to Ginny, and couldn't help but smile. "I love you, Baby and if it's quite alright I need you baby, to warm the lonely night, I love you, Baby, trust in me when I say…"   
  
"Is that Harry?" Angel asked Buffy.   
  
Buffy smiled brilliantly. "Yep. And he's exhibiting the cuteness. Go Harry."   
  
"Whoa, pretty baby, don't bring down I pray, oh pretty baby, now that I've found you stay, and let me love you, baby, let me love-."  
  
The lights came on in a snap, the horns died down, and the spotlights went off. Snape glared at the culprits. "Potter, Black, Granger, Malfoy, Weasleys, Finnighan, Thomas and Lupin! Detention!"   
  
  
Detention had been painful. They'd all had to clean out the cauldrons in the Potions Dungeon. Not a happy time.  
  
Ginny smiled at Harry from her cauldron. "That was really sweet, Harry... did you mean it?"  
  
He glanced at her, a little nervous. "Y-yeah."  
  
She smiled and leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.   
  
"Shit, cauldron gunk sucks," Evelyn snarled.  
  
"Don't curse," Hermione snapped.  
  
"Oh, shove it," Evelyn replied, pegging the brunette with some of the cauldron muck.  
  
Hermione growled, and threw some back. Evelyn ducked, and the disgusting muck hit Draco instead.   
  
Draco glared. "That's it. This means war."   
  
Fairly soon, the entire room had busted out into a cauldron muck fight.   
  
"What is going on, here?!" Snape cried, rushing.  
  
He was subsequently hit with a ton of cauldron gunk. He glared at the group of students.   
  
Torianna snickered horribly. "Happy Christmas, Teach." 


	27. He's Baack

No. I'm not explaining the Ozzy joke. Word up to the 'American friends.'   
Note: Yeah. Updating will be sparse from now on, because I'm kinda grounded, and updating from school is a pain in the you-know-what.   
  
He's Baack  
  
Christmas came and went, and life went on as usual. The Weasleys went back to the Burrow, and in Bill's case, Egypt. Xander and Dawn went back to Sunnydale, and Fred, Cordelia and Gunn went back to LA. The students flocked back to their dorms, and classes began again.   
  
And then… the unthinkable happened.   
  
"Did you hear?" Harry asked, lifting his sword to Ron's in the training room. "Lockhart's got his memory back."  
  
"Bloody hell," Ron wined. "You mean that git's back?"   
  
Harry nodded. "Yeah. And there are only a few of us who know he's a phony. Even with his memory gone, word never got out to anyone else. Y'know what else I heard?"   
  
"What?" Ron asked, blocking a sword thrust from Harry.   
  
"He's back"  
  
"Back?"   
  
"At the castle. He's eating Breakfast with the teachers right… now."  
  
Ron pale. "No."   
  
"Who's Lockhart?" Faith asked from the sidelines.  
  
"A really stupid git," Draco replied, smacking the punching bag in front of him with as much force he could muster. "He's the reason blonds are considered stupid."   
  
Harry put his sword down for a moment, and thought. "No… too easy."   
  
Draco glared at the boy who lived. "Shut up."  
  
"Make me."   
  
"Yeah, make him," Faith encouraged. "Ron, hand Draco your sword. You're switching places."  
  
Ron shrugged. "Yeah, alright."  
  
"So… this Lockhart…" Faith pressed on.   
  
"You'll see for yourself at breakfast," Draco told her, abandoning his sword and pulling Harry into a headlock. "You will see."   
"Professor O'Brien, I'd like you to meet Mr. Gilderoy Lockhart," Dumbledore said gently, as the teachers ate. "He was in your teaching position a few years ago."  
  
Lockhart got to his feet and held out a hand to Angel with an annoyingly perfect smile. "Gilderoy Lockhart. Order of Merlin, Third Class. My, but it's wonderful to be back. Thank Merlin those doctors found a way to restore my memory."   
  
"Memory?" Angel asked.   
  
"Why, yes," Lockhart replied. "While I was teaching, one of my more adventurous students used a memory curse on me. But, the doctors at St. Mungo's finally found a way to restore it."   
  
"A student cursed you?" Willow asked, overhearing. "Which student?"  
  
Lockhart shrugged. "That's the one thing I don't remember."  
  
"Ten bucks says it was Ron," Tara snickered to Willow.  
  
"What, you think I'm stupid?" Willow giggled. "I'd be a dope to take that bet."   
  
"Well… it's… uh… nice to meet you, Mr. Lockhart," Angel said, trying to be polite.   
  
"How did you get the position of Defense against the Dark Arts professor?" Lockhart asked. "It's rather prestigious. The most challenging position at Hogwarts, I'd say. I'm writing a new book on it!"   
  
Angel shrugged. "Lotsa dirty work in the dark arts," he replied. "I've been fighting the forces of evil for a good long while."  
  
"Ah, a man after my own heart," Lockhart smiled. "I, too, have experience with the dark arts. Have you read any of my books?"  
  
"Well… no," Angel replied sheepishly.  
  
"They chronicle all of my heroic and daring adventures."  
  
"…uh… okay."  
  
"Tell me, have you faced off against a vampire before, Professor O'Brien?"  
  
From across the table, Wesley spat out his pumpkin juice, and was promptly stared at by his co-workers. "Oh… Pardon me… So sorry."  
  
"Well, I've faced a few," Angel replied with a smirk.  
  
"A Werewolf?" Lockhart asked.  
  
"Maybe once," Angel replied.  
  
"Demons?"  
  
"I think there was an instance, yes."   
  
"Well, I see you've had a bit of experience, then," Lockhart smiled. "That's wonderful."  
  
"Uh… yeah."   
  
Angel sat back down and leaned over to Willow and Buffy. "That smile could make a vampire burst into flames."   
  
Buffy wasn't listening to her boyfriend. She was too busy staring at Lockhart. "How does he get his hair so shiny?"  
  
Angel rolled his eyes.   
"Ah… Severus! How lovely to see you again!"  
  
Snape groaned, and stopped as he and Faith walked through the halls from breakfast that same morning. "Yes, yes, very nice to see you as well, Lockhart."   
  
Faith raised an eyebrow at the brightly clad wizard. "So, this is the infamous Gilderoy Lockhart I've heard all about?"  
  
"Yes, that would be me," Lockhart said, flashing her a smile that made her squint. "And… who might you be, my dear lady?"  
  
Snape sighed. "Lockhart, this is my niece, Professor Faith Morgan."   
  
Faith twitched as Lockhart took her hand and kissed it. 'Man, this guy is blonder than B,' she thought, pulling her hand away and wiping it on her Uncle's robes.  
  
"Charmed to meet you, Professor Morgan," Lockhart drawled.   
  
A hand found hers and gasped it tightly.   
  
"Morning, Love."  
  
Faith looked up into the tired, yet wary brown eyes of Charlie Weasley. She reached up on her toes and kissed him lightly, pretty much forgetting her uncle and Lockhart were standing there.  
  
"Morning. You missed breakfast," she scolded. "Where the hell were you?"  
  
"Sleeping," Charlie replied. "I'm afraid you wore me out last night."  
  
She gave him a devilish smirk. "Slayer stamina. Gotta love it."   
  
"Faith," Snape snapped. "I will thank you not to engage in this conversation in public. In front of me."   
  
"Right," Faith nodded. "Sorry. Libido of a seven-year-old. Forgot about that."   
  
Snape glared. "Classes start quite soon. I'll be in my dungeon if you need me." With that, he stormed off to the tune of Faith's snickering.  
  
"I think we annoyed him," Charlie said.  
  
"What else is new?" Faith asked. "Oh, Charlie, have you met Gilderoy Lockhart?"  
  
Charlie gave a suspicious glare to the blond, sizing him up.   
  
Lockhart, all of the sudden, felt very small when put next to sturdy, muscular Charlie Weasley.   
  
Charlie raised an eyebrow. "He hasn't been giving you problems, has he, Love?"  
  
Lockhart cleared his throat. "Well… I'd best be off… going to sit in on Professor O'Brien's Dark Arts class, you know. It was splendid meeting you, Professor Morgan." With that. He glided away.   
  
"Dammit, Charlie! You scared him off!"  
  
"I saw him put the moves on you," Charlie said. "He did!"  
  
"So, what, Charlie? You think I'd actually go for him? First of all, I don't go for blonds. Second of all, I don't normally go for slimy, and third of all… Jesus, Charlie! Look in the mirror! Why would I want that scrawny little dough ball when I've got you?"  
  
Charlie growled lowly.  
  
Faith rolled her eyes and kissed him again. "Stop that. You're turning me on, and we have classes to teach."   
  
Charlie sighed with a smirk. "Come on. I'll walk you to your classroom."   
The moment Evelyn Black laid eyes on Gilderoy Lockhart, she hated him.   
  
His gleaming smile, his shiny golden hair, his beautiful, prissy robes, his enthusiastic disposition.   
  
She hated it all.   
  
"What is that?" she asked as they walked into Defense Against the Dark Arts class that morning.   
  
"Lockhart," Seamus informed her as they and Torianna walked into the classroom. "A big bloody arsehole."   
  
"Jesus, he's blonder than Professor Summers," Torianna snickered.   
  
"Something must be done," Evelyn said determinedly. "We're sending an owl after class."  
  
Torianna blinked. "To who?"   
  
Evelyn smirked.   
Angel was not having a good teaching day. His fifth-year Slytherins and Gryffindors didn't get any work done on account of Lockhart talking so much. Lockhart basically took over his fourth-year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, and his second-year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws had been a disaster, no matter how on-task the ever-studious Ravenclaws tried to stay. It was obvious to Angel that the man had never faced off against anything remotely dangerous before, no matter what he claimed his books said, and it was annoying to have to sit around and listen to lies.   
  
His seventh-year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws piled into his classroom that afternoon, specifically the Weasley twins, Lee Jordan, Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson.   
  
Fred Weasley passed Lockhart on his way in, and patted the former professor on the shoulder. "Good to see you again, Mr. Lockhart," he said casually.   
  
Lockhart seemed quite surprised. "Oh! Yes. Good to see you again, as well, my boy." He turned to the door, and Angel blinked.  
  
A piece of parchment had been attached to the back of the blonde's robes. At first, it merely read "Kick me." But a moment later, the writing changed to "I eat flobber worms," and then to "Boogers are good for you."   
  
Angel blinked at Lockhart's back, and then glanced at the group of snickering Gryffindors seated in the front row.  
  
"Good afternoon, Professor O'Brien," George said pleasantly.   
  
"Hi, George," Angel nodded. "How's your day going?"  
  
"Fine," George replied, with a smirk. "But it's about to get a whole lot better."  
  
Angel took a peek at the sign again, and noticed it had changed to "Kissing Snape is fun." He shook his head with a smirk. "I'm not gonna be able to teach my lesson today, am I?"  
  
"Doubt it," Katie said simply.  
  
"You didn't happen to write 'Cops Suck' on there, did you?" Angel asked.  
  
"What're cops?" Fred inquired.  
  
Angel only shook his head again.   
"So… you sing?"   
  
Lockhart nodded to Tara. "I'm a brilliant singer."   
The chorus was once again sitting on their risers. They had drafted a few new members since break had ended, including the new tenor, Justin Finch-Fletchly, new soprano, Hannah Abbott, and new alto, Sally-Anne Perks. Occasionally other stragglers would join in, such as Blaise Zabini, who seemed to get along well with Evelyn in the alto section, and Susan Bones, who seemed to think she was the best soprano ever, and was too good for the likes of their chorus.   
  
And now Lockhart claimed he had the voice of an angel.   
  
Giles rolled his eyes. "Alright, Gilderoy, let's here a scale. Ron?"  
  
Ron stepped down from the bass section, and plopped down at the piano. He was used to playing the choral warm-ups, and played a C major scale fairly slowly at the first, but decided to show off on the way back down.  
  
Giles gave him a stern look, and he just shrugged innocently.   
  
Lockhart cleared his throat, and let out the first note of the scale.   
  
At that moment, Hermione walked in, trailed by Wesley, both looking into the same book. They looked up, spotted what was going on, and they both promptly turned on their heels and left.   
  
Ron had his hands clamped over his ears in an instant. Draco dropped his folder of music, and Harry gritted his teeth. Ginny sighed, and turned around on the riser, trying not to let the rest of the group see her snickering.   
  
Ron played the original first note. "Bloody hell, that wasn't even close! I played a C! Was that even a note?!"   
  
Torianna snorted, and turned around as Ginny had. Seamus sighed and rolled his eyes.   
Nanc, Dart, 'Landa, Hank, and JT-  
Hello from Brit-Land! Hope things are going well where you are. Things here are interesting. We'll write more when we have the time. Enclosed are a pack of Chocolate Frogs. They rule.   
  
We need to ask you a bit of a favor: We need two super-sized bottles of Nair. We'll send pictures, we promise!   
Love you lots!   
Evey and Tori  
Torianna attached the note to Bunsen's leg.   
  
"Who are these people?" Seamus asked, as they stood in the Owlery that afternoon.   
  
"Our American friends," Torianna replied. "Nancy, d'Artagnon, Yolanda, Hank and Joe."   
  
"Should we send Ozzy with him to help carry the bottles?" Evelyn asked.  
  
Torianna glanced at the little black bat sitting on Evelyn's shoulder. Her grandfather, the headmaster had given him to her as a Christmas gift. "Yeah. That'll work."  
  
"Why'd you name his Ozzy?" Seamus asked curiously.   
  
Evelyn smirked, and patted the bat on the head. "If you can't figure it out, I'm not going to tell you."   
  
They let the owl and the bat fly out the window, and watched them soar away.   
  
"So… what's the next step in 'Operation De-blonding?" Torianna asked.   
  
"We gotta go talk to Snape."   
"Welcome to the training room, Mr. Lockhart," Faith said, leading him into the training dungeon, where Buffy was over-seeing the trio of boys, and Hermione was doing her homework on the sidelines.  
  
"This looks… very efficient," Lockhart nodded nervously. "Who is it for?"  
  
"The two kids beating the living hell out of each other and the other kid doing a handstand." Faith smirked. "You're into fighting big bads, right, Locky?"  
  
Lockhart cleared his throat. "Well, I-"  
  
"Good!" Buffy smirked. "You can give them a few pointers. Harry, let go of Draco. Ron, stop that, you'll make all the blood rush to your head."  
  
Ron stood upright, and wobbled a little. "Too late," he muttered.   
  
Hermione snickered, and Ron stuck his tongue out at her.   
  
"So, who wants to go first?"   
  
"Me! Me!" Draco said excitedly.   
  
Buffy blinked at the other blond. "I don't think I've ever seen you this enthusiastic, Draco."   
  
Draco smiled brilliantly. "Just eager to train. Gotta be all I can be, after all."  
  
Harry snorted.   
  
Draco whirled around, lifting the finger that seemed to get the most use out of all of his fingers.   
  
Buffy glared at the blond. "Put that finger down. Now."   
  
Draco rolled his eyes and turned back to Lockhart. "Ready, Sir?"   
  
Ron smirked and sat down next to Hermione. "This oughta be brilliant."   
  
And it was.   
"Gilderoy! What happened to you?" Professor MacGonagal asked in an aghast tone.   
  
"Nothing!" Lockhart squeaked as Madame Pomfrey worked on the bruises on his face. He'd gotten a fat lip, a bloody nose and a black eye from his spar with Draco. He just didn't know how to duck. "Just… went a few rounds with some of the students in the dungeon."   
  
MacGonagal fumed, and whirled around to face Faith. "Professor Morgan!"   
  
"Aw, come on, Prof Mac. Draco was just playing," Faith snickered, and lightly pinched the cheek of her blond pupil. "Wher'ncha, kid?"   
  
"Games are fun," Draco said, sounding quite pleased with himself.   
  
MacGonagal then turned her attention to Buffy. "And you stood by and let this happen, Professor Summers?"   
  
"Nothing I could have said to Faith would have made her change her mind," Buffy replied. "And I can't get all riled up now. I have a date tonight!"   
  
MacGonagal blinked. "A… date."   
  
Buffy nodded excitedly. "Angel's taking me out, and I have this really cute outfit picked out, and it's… you really don't care, do you?… right… well… Draco, let's get you back down to the training room, shall we?"   
  
MacGonagal cleared her throat. "I believe someone has detention for walloping a former teacher?"  
  
"He asked for it!" Draco cried.  
  
MacGonagal raised an eyebrow.  
  
"He did!"  
  
"Oh, yes!" Lockhart cried. "Don't punish the boy, I volunteered to show him a few new moves. He's blamele- ow!"   
  
MacGonagal glared at the physical defense teachers.   
Torianna squealed. "I knew they wouldn't let us down!"  
  
"'Dear, Ladeeth…' Evelyn read. "Okay, now we know Hank is writing. 'Things here are quite the same, with the exception of our new Britishish friends. They're very lovely, and seem to fit in well. Rock. School is school is school. Thank you for the chocolate frogs, though it took us a while to keep hold of them. Rock. Enclosed are two jumbo bottles of Nair. Rock. Please do send pictures. - Love (Rock) Dart, Landa, Nanc, JT and Hank. PS: Sorry about the Rock's. Dart kept grabbing the pen.'"   
  
Torianna lifted the bottles and cackled.   
"You want… what?"  
  
"A sleeping potion," Evelyn replied. "A really strong one."  
  
"Please?" Torianna begged. "I'll never ask you why again. I promise!"  
  
"Just… what are the two of you up to?"   
  
"Nothing," they replied in unison.   
  
"This scheme wouldn't have anything to do with… say… our visiting ex-professor, would it?" Snape asked, getting up and pacing behind his dungeon desk.  
  
"No!"   
  
"Course not!"  
  
Evelyn gave her professor a mocked hurt look. "How could you possibly think that of us… it's for Draco, actually. He hasn't been sleeping well, and since tomorrow is Saturday, we thought he could use with some-"  
  
"Do you honestly find me this stupid?" Snape asked.   
  
Torianna hesitated. "Don't answer… don't answer…"   
  
"If you're planning to do something dastardly to that blond boob, just say it," their Potions professor snapped.   
  
"Dastardly…" Evelyn repeated. "What a fabulous word…"   
  
Torianna snorted. "He said boob."   
  
"Well?" Snape asked.  
  
Torianna lifted one of the jumbo bottles of Nair. Snape took it, and read the label. His lips curled into a greasy, smug smirk.   
  
"Well… why don't I… just get on that potion of yours… it'll be ready in twenty minutes."   
  
"If I didn't despise you, I hug you," Evelyn said excitedly. "We owe you."  
  
Snape shook his head. "Just take photographs."   
Torianna almost couldn't help her snicker as she and Evelyn made their way to Lockhart's room.   
  
"Ssh," Evelyn said. "You're gonna get us caught."   
  
"Am not," Torianna replied.   
  
When they reached the portrait hole leading to Lockhart's room, they stopped.  
  
"Okay," Evelyn whispered. "Wands?"  
  
"Duh."  
  
"Nair?"   
  
"Yep."   
  
"Collin Creevy's camera?"  
  
"Check."   
  
"What do we have here?"   
  
The girls turned to find two redheads holding up their lit wands standing behind them.  
  
Evelyn sighed. "Damn. Busted."  
  
One of the redheads lifted his wand to his face. "Not quite."   
  
"Fred?" Torianna asked. "George?"   
  
"You didn't really think we'd miss this chance, did you?" George asked. He held up a large bottle that read "Hair No More" on the front.  
  
Fred smiled brilliantly, and offered an arm to Evelyn. "What's say we make a night out've this?"   
  
Evelyn smiled, and took his arm gratefully. Torianna took hold of George's arm, and they whispered the password.   
  
"Magnificent Me."   
The screaming the next morning woke the entire teacher's wing. Doors flung open, and professors flung themselves out of their rooms.   
  
Angel reached the room where all the screaming was coming from first, followed closely by Giles, Wesley, Buffy, Faith, Charlie Willow, Tara and Snape. Behind them were MacGonagal, Sprout, Dumbledore, and Trelawny.   
  
Angel opened the door, and inside, Gilderoy Lockhart stood in his night robes, bald as Captain Pickard.   
  
Wesley fought back his laughter. "I… It's…" He ran from the room, and back into his own, slamming the door and proceeding laugh wildly.   
  
Angel blinked. "Well…"   
Evelyn and George smiled proudly, as they held up hands of pictures at breakfast that morning. "Balder than Mr. Clean, my friends."  
  
Seamus shook his head. "Wow…"  
  
Ron snickered. "Bloody brilliant."   
  
"The best," Fred replied arrogantly.  
  
"Did you hear that he left when he stopped screaming?" Harry asked.  
  
"That's relief," Hermione replied. "We didn't get anything done in Dark Arts class yesterday. Did you see the scowl Professor O'Brien developed when Lockhart kept interrupting him?"  
  
"But he's always scowling," Draco pointed out.   
  
"He's not wrong, y'know," Ron commented.   
  
"Hey!" Evelyn cried. "You guys are ruining our moment!" She gave out a fake sniffle. "I turned Lockhart into Professor Xavier, and you guys don't care."  
  
Draco rolled his eyes and kissed Evelyn on the forehead. "Eat your breakfast, love." 


	28. Adventures

Adventures  
  
"Who's brilliant idea was this?!"  
  
"Yours, Harry!" Ron growled, swinging an axe. "All yours!" He groaned as the large squid-like demon grabbed Harry.  
  
"I didn't wanna do this! I says to Harry, I says, 'we don't know anything about LA, or what kind of evil we'd be facing, or even where the hell the nearest bathroom is!'" He sliced off the arm that held Harry captive. "But, no. You had to have the job training!"  
  
Harry fell to the ground and looked up at his best friend.  
  
Ron lowered his axe. "Say it with me now: I should have listened to Ron!"   
  
Another tentacle grabbed for Harry, but the tall red-head sliced through it, and another one swung down at Ron.  
  
Harry, who was still on the ground, locked Ron's feet out from under him and he landed next to Harry with a thud, avoiding one of the demon's many arms.   
  
Harry glared at the beast. "New approach." He flung his sword aside, and dove for the demon, wrestling it.   
  
"He's absolutely nutters!" Ron cried.  
  
And then the cell phone in Ron's pocket rang. He yelled out in surprise and took it out. He opened it up and held it to his ear. "Hello?! Hello?!"   
  
"It's upside down, you great… big… prat!" Harry screamed, as the demon grabbed him by the shirt.  
  
"Oh." Ron turned it the right way. "Hello?!"  
  
"Don't yell," Angel commanded. "Ron, tell Harry to go for the nose."   
  
"The nose?"  
  
"Stab the nose."  
  
"Right. Thanks." He turned off the phone and put it away. "Harry! Stab the nose!"  
  
"I've got nothing to stab it with, Ron!"   
  
"Well, who's fault is that?!" Ron sighed, and took up his axe again. "Harry! Catch!"   
  
He flung the axe, and Harry caught it, and slammed it down onto the beast's nose.  
  
The demon groaned horribly, and exploded into a load of purple slime, covering everything in the ally.  
  
Including the two boys.   
  
Harry got to his feet, and looked around at the goo-covered ally, taking off his slime-covered glasses, and squinting beneath the street light above them. "Remember when things used to be simple?"  
  
Ron blinked. "You mean… the Professor with You-know-who living under his turban? And… the giant Basilisk who belonged to the ghost of the fifteen-year-old Tom Riddle that came out of a diary and possessed my sister? And… the rat that my family owned for thirteen years who turned out to be one of your parents' killers? And… the Tri-Wizard tournament?"   
"Yeah."   
  
Ron sighed. "Yeah… those were simple times." He sighed, but gripped his head and closed his eyes.   
  
"Ron?" Harry asked worriedly. "What's going on?"   
  
The redhead's eyes opened, and he shook his head out. "We have to go."  
  
"What?" Harry asked. "What did you see?"   
  
"Look behind you."   
  
Harry turned around, to face a group of ten Death Eaters, all masked, wands ready. "So… we can stay and fight… or we can run," he said. "We could flip a coin, but we'd probably be dead before you called it in the air."   
  
Ron nodded. "Run?"  
  
"Yeah."   
  
Harry lifted his sword from the ground and they ran.   
  
"It's been two hours," Cordelia said worriedly, pacing the lobby of the Hyperian. "They should have been back by now."   
  
Angel sighed. "Maybe they stopped off somewhere to get something to eat," he offered. "Maybe… they're checking out the sites. They've never been to LA before."   
  
Wesley shrugged. "I suppose that's possible."   
  
Faith sighed. "What if that thing got them?" she asked, pacing in the opposite direction as Cordelia.  
  
"It didn't," Angel said solidly. "They're better than that."  
  
Gunn shook his head. "You guys worry too much. They've been training for months, right? They'll be fine. They probably spotted a couple a hotties."  
  
"I should hope not," Wesley replied. "They're both fairly taken."   
  
"Yeah, but they're guys," Faith reasoned. "Fifteen-year old guys."   
  
Cordelia sighed and shook her head.   
  
They stopped for a breath a while later. Harry did a quick spell to clean their clothing off, and they stood still for a moment.   
  
"I think we lost them," Ron huffed out.   
  
Harry sighed and looked around them. He didn't recognize their surroundings at all. "Speaking of lost…"   
  
Ron blinked and looked around them. "Oh, great. Just brilliant! Where are we?"   
  
"Probably in a lot of trouble," said a dark, hissing voice from the shadows.   
  
They turned around, and a hideous-faced vampire slowly walked toward them.  
  
Harry sighed and handed Ron his sword. "Hold this, will you?"  
  
Ron shrugged, and hefted it as Harry took out his wand and pointed it at the vampire. "Incendio."  
  
Energy shot from the wand to the vampire, who instantly caught fire, and began screaming.   
  
Harry sighed, put away his wand, and took his sword back.   
  
"They went this way!"   
  
The boys glanced at each other and kept running.   
  
Spike struggled against the hex he'd been put under, but it was no use. He glared up at the three witches standing over him.   
  
Willow smiled. "Okay, Hermione. I'm gonna teach you a very, very important spell."   
  
The younger witch raised an eyebrow as Tara pulled out a few bottles of herbs and an orb.  
  
"It's Romanian," Willow went on.   
  
Spike struggled harder.   
  
They ran down the stairs of a small building and into what looked to be a semi-classy night club. The décor was very crimson. There was a bar, and a small stage in the front of the club.   
  
Ron looked down at his thin, blue t-shirt and baggy blue jeans, and then at Harry's white and red striped shirt and black jeans. "Something tells me we shouldn't be here."   
  
"What was your first clue?" asked a voice.  
  
The boys looked up to see Lorne staring at them with a raised eyebrow.   
  
"Uh… Hi Lorne," Harry said with a nervous smile. "It's nice to see you again."   
  
"What are you two doing here?" Lorne asked. "What are you doing in America?"   
  
"Slike this, right?" Harry started. "Ron got a vision about a demon here."  
  
"So we took the floo to fight it," Ron added in quickly.  
  
"We beat the crap out've the bastard," Harry went on. "And then Ron got another vision."  
  
"Fat lotta good that did us," Ron chimed in.  
  
"And it was of Death Eaters apparently." Harry sighed. "So now we're running from them, trying to get away, because I don't think we can fight them this time around."   
  
"Why not?" Lorne asked. "You've been doing well so far."   
  
Ron swallowed hard. "We discussed it while we were running… we're afraid things might get out've hand and we might wind up killing someone."   
  
Lorne sighed. "Alright. Well, you guys can chill out here until you think it's safe. I don't mind… in fact… you boys sing, don't you?"  
  
"He sold us out."   
  
Torianna nodded. "Yep."   
  
Evelyn put her head down on the desk they sat at. "We shoulda seen it coming, you know."  
  
"Yep."   
  
Evelyn groaned. "God, I hate detention!"   
  
The door to the Potions dungeon opened and closed, and Snape whisked in, holding a Weasley twin by the arm in each hand. "Hello, ladies."   
  
"You sold us out," Torianna glared.  
  
"Honestly, Lupin, what do you take me for?" Snape asked. "A Decent fellow? This way I saw Lockhart absolutely humiliated, and I also get to spend some quality detention time with four of my favorite Gryffindors."   
  
"You don't have a favorite Gryffindor," Evelyn grumbled.  
  
"Precisely," Snape replied. "Now get up and start on cleaning the cauldrons… and if muck finds its way to my face this time, you will suffer."   
  
"Why?" Torianna asked.  
  
Snape glared. "You promised."  
  
"And you sold us out," Evelyn countered.   
  
"Why?"  
  
The twins glanced at each other with smirks.   
  
Snape glared harder. "Lupin…"  
  
This time, Fred and George joined in. "Why."   
  
"…. Goodness, gracious, Great Balls of Fire!"   
  
Lorne was actually enjoying himself, watching Ron on the stage in Caritas. The boy was definitely in his element behind the piano the bartenders had graciously rolled out for the teen. The boy could fly on those keys. It wasn't often that actual musicians took to the Caritas stage, but when they did, it was a treat.   
  
"What do you see in him?" Harry asked. "I mean… you do feel things when people sing, right?"  
  
Lorne nodded. "He's a little nervous about this whole Death Eater thing… he misses his girlfriend a little… He's thinking that the piano could use a little tuning. Nothing heavy at the moment."  
  
Ron finished up the song, he almost tried to sit on the piano bench, but then realized he'd kicked it out from under himself. He sighed and left the stage to a decent amount of applause.   
  
He walked over and plopped down into a chair next to Lorne, putting the demon in the middle of the two boys.  
  
Lorne smirked. "You're good."   
  
"Thank you," Ron said, obviously out of breath. "I've also been slacking on practice, which is why I'm about to fall over."   
  
Lorne smirked. "Don't worry about Hermione, Ron. You'll see her in a few hours." He turned to Harry. "You feel up to it?"  
  
Harry shrugged. "I suppose I could give it a shot." He got to his feet and headed for the stage.   
  
Draco sighed. "I'm bored."  
  
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Stop saying that."  
  
"Well, I am! How come Potter and Weasley got to go after a big demon, and I have to do this?"  
  
They were sitting in front of a grave, waiting for a vampire to rise in one of the twelve Sunnydale cemeteries.   
  
Buffy sighed. "Draco, Harry is a warrior. Ron got a vision, and they went. This, what we're doing now, is half of what vampire slayers do. We wait, we fight, we slay, we do one more decent sweep and we go home."  
  
"Boring."   
  
"If you don't stop complaining, I'm gonna-"  
  
It was then that a hand shot out of the dirt and a vampire began to claw its way to the surface.   
  
"How the hell do they get out of those coffins?" Draco asked.  
  
"That's why we have to wait so long," Buffy replied, getting to her feet. "Not easy clawing out of those things with nothing but your bare hands."  
  
Draco didn't have time to inquire how his teacher knew this. He got to his feet, and stood with his stake ready. As the vampire's chest came into view he plunged the piece of wood into the heart, and the vampire became dust scattering over its own grave.   
  
He shrugged, and dusted his pants off. "That was easy."   
  
"New ones always are," Buffy replied. "Good job. Now we do a sweep, and we're so out of-" She stopped dead in her tracks when she caught sight of the tall, thin blond woman walking toward them. "Here…"   
  
Draco rolled his eyes and groaned. "What the hell is she doing here?"   
  
The woman, Narcissa Malfoy, stopped in front of her son and his teacher. "Hello, Professor Summers."  
  
Buffy nodded stoically. "Mrs. Malfoy… I'd say it's nice to see you again, but…"  
  
She sighed. "Yes, I quite understand. May I speak with my son in private, please?"   
  
"No," Draco said before Buffy could give a reply.   
  
Narcissa closed her eyes and sighed. "Draco, please. Just take a few moments."   
  
"Why should I?" he snapped viciously. "Give me one good reason."  
  
"Because you might not get another chance."  
  
Both Malfoys turned to the slayer, Narcissa in curiosity, and Draco in shock.  
  
Buffy took Draco gently by the arm, and guided him a few feet away from the older woman. "Draco. I think this is important. I think you should hear her out."  
  
Draco shook his head and began to reply, but she stopped him.  
  
"Listen to me. There is a war coming," Buffy said. "And it's gonna be a doozy. All I'm saying is that you might not get a chance to talk to her again, and you'll regret it for the rest of your life. You don't wanna know what that feels like. Do you know what one of the last things I said to my mother was? Pass the milk, please. I didn't tell her how important she was to me, or that I loved her, or anything that mattered."  
  
"At least you can say that truthfully," Draco spat. "I-"  
  
"If you tell me you hate your mother, I will break every bone in your left hand," Buffy hissed. "Now go talk to her. I'll do a sweep this way." With that, she walked off in the other direction.   
  
Harry had come to the end of Carry on My Wayward Son by Kansas, and the audience clapped for him.   
  
Lorne started to get up just as the Death Eaters filed into the club.  
  
"Oh, shit," Ron said, obviously irritated. He got up, pulling out his wand.   
  
"That doesn't work in here, Sweetie," Lorne informed the young redhead. "I've got this place protected out the waz."   
  
Ron shrugged and put his wand back. He rolled up his sleeves. "Right, then. We'll do this the old-"  
  
"That won't work, either," Lorne cut him off. "But there's a back entrance down that hallway."  
  
Ron spotted the hallway Lorne spoke of and then caught Harry's eye and nodded towards it. Harry nodded, and at the same time, they dashed away.   
  
"Psst!"  
  
Evelyn looked around at the loud noise in her ear but saw no one. She turned to the twins. "You hear that?"  
  
George raised an eyebrow. "I think maybe the cauldron muck is going to your head."   
  
Snape glared from his desk at his prisoners. "No speaking. This is punishment."  
  
Torianna sighed and began to sing to herself quietly. "Sell out. With me, oh yeah. Sell out, with me tonight. The record company's gonna give me lotsa money and everything's gonna be alright."   
  
Evelyn and the twins snickered as Snape glared.   
  
"Psst!"   
  
Evelyn whirled around and saw no one. She turned a glare on the twins. "What are you two up to?"  
  
George's brow furrowed. "Nothing that I know of. Fred?"  
  
"I'm cleaning cauldron muck…"  
  
Evelyn sighed and cleaned her cauldron more. "I wonder how flammable this stuff is…"   
  
At that moment, flames burst out of the cauldron to her right, and the four Gryffindors yelled, screamed and jumped back.   
  
Snape rose quickly. "What is the meaning of this?!"   
  
"Search me," Evelyn said. "I left my lighter in my room."   
  
Snape glared at the twins and Torianna.   
  
"Didn't do it," the boys said in unison.   
  
Snape then leveled his gaze on Torianna.  
  
"Wasn't me," she told him.   
  
"Somehow, I doubt that," Snape growled. "I'll be back. I'm going to speak with Professor MacGonagal." With that, he stormed out, his robes billowing behind him.  
  
Torianna sighed. "Crap."   
  
"Cheer up, children," said a voice behind them.   
  
They turned to see a cloak removed and Sirius Black stood before them.  
  
He smiled. "It's fun time."   
  
They ran through the back alley and were stopped by a large troop of them. They turned to go the other way and found themselves surrounded.   
  
"Right, then," Ron nodded. "We're gonna die."   
  
Harry shook his head. "No. There is no way I'm dieing like this. It's just too embarrassing."   
  
Ron nodded. "Okay, so what do we do?"   
  
"We… we fight," Harry nodded.   
  
"All of them?" Ron asked. "Alone?"  
  
"We've done it before," Harry pointed out.   
  
"Yeah, when I was angry," the redhead replied.  
  
Harry rolled his eyes. "Who are you, the Incredible Hulk?"  
  
"Who?" Harry groaned in annoyance and kicked Ron hard in the shin. The taller boy growled loudly, and glared bright white eyes at his best friend.  
  
"What the bloody hell was that for?"   
  
Harry looked frantic. "Get angry!"   
  
At that moment, Faith shoved her way through mob of white-masked men and smiled at the boys. She was followed by Angel, Cordelia, Fred, Wesley and Gunn. "You two look like you could use a hand."   
  
Angel slugged a Death Eater, who fell to the ground. "Or six."  
  
The bright blast of light that came from Spike's crypt sent Buffy flying off of her feet and to the grass. She squinted. "What the hell?"   
  
The screaming coming from inside got her back to her feet, and running to the door, kicking it open. She blinked at Willow, Tara and Hermione. "What the hell are you guys doing?"   
  
"Oh," Willow said with a smile. "We gave Spike a soul."  
  
Buffy stared wide-eyed at her best friend. "What?!"   
  
Snape stormed back into the dungeon with MacGonagal in tow, only to find Sirius Black standing with the four Gryffindors, surrounded by more than a dozen flaming cauldrons. The man was having the time of his life.   
  
MacGonagal was not amused. Which was the understatement of the century. "BLACK!" 


	29. Goings Ons

AUTHOR'S BIG NOTE OF DOOOOOOM!: Did Lee read OotP? Yes. Yes she did, and she loved it!! She finished it in a mere three days, and started writing a post book 5 fic that everyone should go read!! (shameless plug. I'm deeply sorry.)  
  
Unfortunately, if Lee went by book continuity, the Draco/Evelyn relationship would be of the highly squicky nature. Equalling a definite "Ick!" factor. So please disregard book five in cannon, as it doesn't really work here. On with the fic!   
  
Goings Ons   
  
"In all the years I have taught here, I have had to contend with Potters, and Blacks, and Lupins, and Snapes, and Weasley, after Weasley, after Weasley, after Weasley." Minerva MacGonagal fumed as she sat across from her former pupil. "But never, ever have I had to deal with this kind of juvenile, barbaric, immature behavior from a parent," The professor said bitterly. "Sirius Black, I am ashamed, and disgusted that you would do such a thing. And all because of a grudge that has lasted nearly twenty-five years!"   
  
Sirius smiled.   
  
"This is no laughing matter!" MacGonagal cried. "Wipe that ridiculous smile off of your face!"   
  
"Oh, come, now, Professor, I was only having a bit of fun," Sirius told her. "No one was hurt, nothing was broken."   
  
"You think that it's alright to pull these pranks and get caught because you're an adult," Professor MacGonagal stated.  
  
Sirius shrugged. "Well…"   
  
MacGonagal fumed. "Sirius Black, you have detention!"   
  
If it were humanly possible, his jaw would have hit the floor. "I beg your pardon, Professor?"  
  
"Detention," MacGonagal snapped. "With Hagrid tomorrow night."   
  
Sirius shook his head. "You can't do that! I'm-"  
  
"Nearly forty years old," MacGonagal finished. "Merely a boy in my eyes. Now, I have a lot of papers to grade, so if you wouldn't mind?" She gestured towards the door.   
  
He got up, still in shock, and left.   
  
______  
  
"I'm just confused. What do I say? How do I treat him?"  
  
Giles shook his head at his slayer. 'I don't know, Buffy. Perhaps you need to give this time."  
  
She nodded as they walked around the dark grounds. "I know, I just… I never imagined Spike with a soul… what now?"  
  
"Now…? Now things get worse."  
  
She'd apparated in front of them, which was highly unbelievable on Hogwarts grounds.  
  
"Narcissa?"   
  
She collapsed on Giles, who caught her.  
  
"What happened?" Buffy asked.  
  
"I've been found out," she told them. "Merlin only knows how, but I've been found out."   
  
_______  
  
Draco Malfoy caught one look at the platinum vampire sitting in the corner of the training room and tried to take a running leap, but was held back by the shirt collar.   
  
Angel shook his head as he gripped the back of the boy's shirt. "No, Draco."  
  
"You're cracked!" Draco cried. "That's Spike!"   
  
"With a soul," Willow told him, standing in front of the crouched figure. "He's got a soul. Which means no touchy."   
  
Draco snarled.   
  
"Let 'im," Spike croaked. "Not like I don't deserve it."   
  
"Yeah!" Draco nodded. "Let 'im!"   
  
"No," Angel and Willow replied in unison.   
  
Spike laughed brokenly. "Oh, isn't this precious? You're protecting me… you want me dead."   
  
"I did," Angel nodded. "I really, really did… but now I get to try and help you… which pisses you off more than death. So this is pretty much a win-win situation for me."   
  
Draco struggled against Angel's grip, but it was no use.   
  
"Draco?"   
  
Angel turned around so Malfoy could face Tara, who was rushing down the stairs.   
  
"What is it?" Angel asked.  
  
"Draco, go to the hospital wing. Now. Your mother's here."   
  
Angel shoved Draco towards the stairs and the boy flew up the stairs.   
  
Angel raised an eyebrow at Tara, who sighed.   
  
"Apparently, Narcissa was caught."  
  
"How?" Willow asked.   
  
Tara shrugged. "She just said Voldemort knew."   
  
A low groan escaped Spike's throat, and the trio turned to stare at him as he gripped his head.   
  
He finally looked up at them. "From beneath you, it devours."   
  
  
  
__________  
  
Harry sighed as he stepped out of the Gryffindor boy's bathroom, rubbing his wet black hair with a towel. It had been one hell of a night. Demons, Death Eaters, karaoke… it was all very exciting in a very "run for your life!" kind of way.   
  
He turned to walk back into the fifth-year boy's room, and was stopped.   
  
By ten, tall, black-clad dementors.   
  
His eyes widen as he felt an unbearably cold rush run through his bones.   
  
"Oh, shit."   
  
_____________  
  
"You gave him a soul?"   
  
Hermione nodded. "It was so exciting! And a challenge, Finally," she told Ron as they walked through the halls to the Gryffindor portrait hole. "It was the first spell Willow ever performed, and she said I did it flawlessly."   
  
Ron smiled and put an arm around her. "You do everything flawlessly."   
  
She turned a light shade of red and leaned into him. "How was your night?"   
  
"Uhm…" Ron scratched the back of his head. "Demon… Death Eaters… Karaoke… you can figure it out."  
  
She snickered.   
  
When they reached the portrait hole, Ron was about to say the password, but all that escaped his lips was a squeak.  
  
Hermione blinked. "Ron?"   
  
"Ugh…"  
  
"Ron?"   
  
"Shit."  
  
"Don't swear. Ron!"  
  
His eyes widened. "ARAGOG!" he stumbled back a bit, turned and fled like a chicken with his head cut off.   
  
Hermione blinked, confused, and turned to the portrait hole.   
  
There was nothing there.   
  
____________  
  
"Stop!"  
  
He did.   
  
The voice sent chills down Draco's spine.   
  
"Where do you think you're going?!"  
  
Draco didn't move. "To see Mother."   
  
"You most certainly will not," the voice snapped. "You have homework, do you not?"   
  
"I-"  
  
"You have training, do you not?"   
  
He didn't reply, and his father walked to stand in front of him.   
  
"Answer me!"  
  
He found that he couldn't, and was smacked across the face.   
  
"Draco, you answer me."   
  
He began to shake miserably.   
  
He was smacked again. "Well?! What's wrong with you?! Answer me!" He advanced on Draco, wand drawn, and Draco could do nothing but back against the wall.   
  
__________  
  
Faith sighed, crossing her legs as she watched Charlie grade papers.   
  
"Bored?" he asked, smirking.  
  
"Nah," Faith replied. "Me? Never."  
  
He shook his head and kept grading. "We'll do something more interesting after I'm done."   
  
She smirked.   
  
"Maybe play exploding snap, or something."   
  
She shook her head. "How old are you, eight?"   
  
Charlie laughed and leaned back in his chair. "Yes. Yes, I am. But you've got to stop distracting me if you want me to finish these sometime this century."   
  
She nodded. "Okay. I'll behave."   
  
"Fat chance."   
  
That hadn't been Charlie's voice. She whirled around to the door, to stare into a set of brown eyes.   
  
Her own.   
  
She got to her feet, much to Charlie's confusion. "Faith?"   
  
She didn't reply, only circled herself.   
  
"We've gone soft, Girl. We used to be amazing. Now, look at Us. Pathetic."  
  
She shook her head. "What the hell are you?"  
  
"You."  
  
"No, I'm me."  
  
Charlie got to his feet. "Faith, who are you talking to?"   
  
"You really think he cares about us?"   
  
She shook her head. "Don't you even go there."   
  
"We're only good for a good screw, you know that. He knows that. Hell, the entire world knows that." She pulled out a familiar looking knife. "We used to be good for other things, but… you decided to take the high and helpless road, didn't you?"   
  
Faith tried to put her fist through the other version of herself, but the mirror image disappeared. She stood there, staring at nothing.   
  
Charlie reached out and gently took her arm. "Faith?"   
  
She shook her head. "Gotta find B." 


End file.

Buffy X-overs, Drama, Humor