
Part Eight-Dogs, Prisoners, and Seasick Teenagers
***Hogwarts, England***
They were coming in a few hours.
Albus Dumbledore fluttered about his office, showing far more anxiety in private than he would ever allow in public. He had good reason to be worried. So many things were happening. The Slayers were coming to his school for protection. The Watchers and Aurors were finally working together, sidestepping the Minister of Magic when Fudge refused to acknowledge the rising situation. That little bit of news had yet to be announced to the Wizarding Community at large, and Dumbledore was grateful for that. No matter how valid their reason for disobeying Fudge, mutiny was mutiny. And Dumbledore didn’t for one second doubt that some people would try to use that little fact to their own advantage . . .
But that wasn’t the cause of his concern. In fact, none of the above reasons were the cause of his concern. They were very important things no doubt, but now that everyone was finally working together to stop this crisis in the making, they would be easily dealt with. Voldemort may have considerable power now, but so did they.
And they were expecting him now.
However, there was one tiny complication that was causing him a bit of concern. Only one thing left to be done before the war plans could be discussed and the troops are gathered properly. It was going to be tricky; in fact, it was going to be downright dangerous as well. Dumbledore disliked interfering with Muggle institutions on sheer principle, but there were times when you had to do what you had to do. And these were one of those times.
They needed to get Faith the Vampire Slayer out of prison.
It went without saying. They could not leave just leave the girl, as a sitting duck for the Death Eaters. Sure, she would put up a good fight for the monsters, but what could she do against a Killing Curse? They needed to get her out, and since the Watchers had no idea as to how to go about that, they had turned to Dumbledore. And Dumbledore knew exactly what had to be done.
The knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts. A faint smirk came over his features before he called for his visitor to enter. Minerva stepped in seconds later, a big black dog trailing in behind her. Minerva had a bit of a nervous look on her face, but Dumbledore was quick to wave it away.
“Thank you Minerva,” he stated politely. “Would you mind going to check on the preparations for today’s arrival? I need a moment alone with our . . .guest.”
Minerva only nodded, mouth setting into a thin line. She spared the dog one more look before letting herself out of the room. Dumbledore smiled at the creature before him, turning around to seat himself behind his desk. He wasn’t the slightest bit shocked to see the dog replaced with a tall man. In fact, he only smiled, pushing a bowl of treats across his desk and closer to the man.
“Lemon drop?” he offered pleasantly. The man known as Sirius Black only smiled, dropping down into a chair in a flourish. Dumbledore took a moment to gauge the man in front of him. His black hair wasn’t as stringy as before. In fact, he didn’t look nearly as bedraggled as before. He looked healthier, though there was still a wild streak in him that you could see from the glint in his eye.
“You look well,” Dumbledore started off.
“You didn’t call me here for pleasantries Professor,” Sirius responded with an amused tilt to his voice. “I know that things are getting-tense, shall we say? You have an assignment for me, don’t you?”
“Yes I do,” Dumbledore laughed, glad to be rid of formalities. “I’m sure you’ve noticed the preparations going on around the school?”
Sirius nodded and Dumbledore pressed on.
“Well, we’re having some visitors this year,” the Headmaster explained. “In fact, we’re having several visitors. The Slayers and Watchers are coming to Hogwarts.”
“The Slayers?” Sirius repeated, alarmed immediately. “What in the world . . . What’s going on out there Albus?”
“They are being hunted. One by one, they are being hunted down and killed. We can’t be certain for what reason, only to know that no good will come of it. Voldemort and his Death Eaters are the culprits for sure. And as a result, the Watchers and Wizards have been forced into working together-”
“Watchers and Wizards?” Sirius shook his head, giving a mirthless laugh. “There is no way this is going to end well. You do remember how much we hate Watchers, don’t you Albus?”
“We don’t hate Watchers Sirius,” Dumbledore corrected lightly. “We have not seen eye-to-eye with them in the past. But that is what it is: in the past. We are facing a very real threat here Sirius, and we need all the help we can get. Which leads me to your assignment.”
“What is it?” Sirius asked. “A Watcher in distress that needs my aid?”
“Not quite,” Dumbledore chuckled. “However, there is a young lady that does need your help. But for your own safety Sirius, don’t refer to her as a damsel in distress. I hear she takes those kinds of things very negatively.”
“Now you have my interest piqued,” Sirius grinned, leaning forward with an almost feral grin on his face. “Who is the lovely lady?”
Dumbledore bit back another chuckle before answering.
“Have you heard of Faith, the Vampire Slayer?”
*****
They had come a long way. Too long of a way for most of the girls with them. Willow guessed she couldn’t really blame them. They were tired and scared. Most of them had been on the run for a very long time and it was starting to show on their faces. They looked far too old for a bunch of teenaged girls. Willow felt for them. She knew how it felt to be older than you were.
It sucked the big one.
Anyway, it was coming to an end. For now it was coming to an end. They were heading down the final leg of their journey. Only safety and comfort waited for them at the end of the road, though no one was certain how long that would last. But whatever respite they could get they were willing to take. They were just desperate for their trials to end, even if it was only for a few days.
But did they have to take boats to get there?
Willow looked at the shoreline, seeing the rows upon rows of boats all swaying in the waves. She made a face. It wasn’t so much that she didn’t like boats; it was just that some of the girls didn’t like boats. And they were being very vocal about it.
“Why boats?” she heard one of the younger ones ask. “I can’t get on a boat. I get seasick very fast.”
“It’s too cold to be on boats.”
“It’s too dark-”
“I think I saw something in the water-”
“It looks haunted-”
“There aren’t any oars. How are we supposed to get across-”
“I don’t like boats-”
“Mr. Giles, isn’t there any other way-”
“I’m telling you that there is something in the water!”
“If they don’t stop whining, I’m gonna take their heads off,” came the dark muttering from behind Willow. The redhead grinned, turning around while careful to keep her grasp on Spike’s hand. The vampire lay at her feet, leaning against her legs as the Watchers and Slayers-in-Training fought it out over the boats. The argument had been underway for quite some time, and the vampire had sullenly sunk to the ground about five minutes into it. Willow felt like a parent as she held his hand while he sat on the ground and glowered in the direction of the squabbling Potentials.
“They’re just tired and scared,” the redhead murmured, catching the eye of the girl behind her. Ariana, an Irish Potential, smirked back at her. Willow liked Ariana. She was about Dawn’s age, but with a wit about her that was just delightful. And out of all the Potentials, she was the most bearable. She got along well with Dawn, and with Connor surprisingly. Probably because she told the boy off and told him to get over himself before beating the crap out of him with a staff during a training session. The boy was way stronger than her, but Ariana had had the element of surprise during that one session. It was safe to say that Connor had been put in his place, and if he started acting all sour again, Willow was planning on sticking him in training with Faith when she arrived. That would definitely teach the boy a thing or two.
“I’m tired and scared too,” Ariana retorted. “But I ain’t acting like some sorta crybaby. It’s disgraceful ta tha name of the Slayer.”
“Most of them are younger than you,” Dawn reminded the girl as she joined them. “Give them a break. They’re like twelve and have this psycho wizard guy on their trail. Cut them some slack.”
“I’ll cut them some slack when they get in tha damn boats,” the Irish Potential sneered. Her comments drew a chuckle from Spike, and Ariana turned her green eyes on him.
“Is he okay?” she asked of the vampire.
“I’ll be better once we get going!” Spike replied, shouting the last bit of his statement in the direction of the Watchers. The assembled scholars started at that, sending petrified looks among each other. Willow nearly snorted to herself. They were still afraid of Spike. How were they going to face down a powerfully dark wizard when they couldn’t even get past their fear of a neutered vampire?
“Thank God,” came the mutter from Fred that drew Willow out of her thoughts once more. The redhead followed the brunette’s gaze, nearly sighing in relief when she saw the Potentials being herded onto the boats, despite continuing spats. Willow exchanged a wry grin with the Texan before she tugged on Spike’s hand. The redhead stooped to help him stand, biting her lip to keep from laughing when Xander made Connor help her. The man in question took over her position at Spike’s side, hoisting him up with Connor’s help and loading him into the nearest boat.
“Why do you suppose that Connor listens to him?” Anya asked, coming to stand next to Fred. Willow shrugged, not really having an answer for that. Fred snorted and shook her head.
“He listens because he respects him,” Fred answered with a roll of her eyes. Dawn arched an eyebrow.
“He respects Xander?” the teenager repeated incredulously. Fred nodded, making her way to the boats as well.
“Why?” was Ariana’s question.
“Simple,” was the reply. “Connor finally found someone who dislikes his father as much as he does himself.”
*****
Draco shifted uncomfortably in his robes, a bit put out that he had to be put through all this fuss for a bunch of girls. Yes he understood that they were coming here for protection, but why did they all have to line up outside the school and wait for them like they had last year for the damn tournament?
He heard similar grumbles coming from all corners of his house. He shot a look across the way, seeing some of the other houses looked as put out as he felt. He guessed they all felt the same way. If Voldemort was back, why were they wasting their time on this? Shouldn’t they be preparing to find a way to survive themselves instead of babysitting a bunch of Muggles that knew nothing of their way of life?
The boy grumbled, looking back at the lake. This was such a waste of time.
He heard the first gasp come from the Hufflepuff line. There were murmurings starting and he squinted, trying to see through the fog coming off the lake. After a bit, he saw the reason for the whispers. The faintest shape of a boat, gliding across the lake. He saw human shapes on board, feeling the beginning of some anxiety brewing in his stomach.
He held his breath as he watched the first boat come to a stop. There were four people on board. A tall redheaded woman and two teenager girls. Both were brunettes, though one had darker hair than the other. But it wasn’t either of them that caught his eye.
It was the man on the boat that caused him to pause, to gape openly. He was sure his jaw fell open for a second before he was able to catch himself and recover. He tried not to let his shock show on his face, watching as the girls waited for a second boat to arrive and for two men to climb off and assist the blond man out of his boat. The blond man looked just about dead on his feet, weariness and pain etched over his features. Draco caught his eye and then turned away quickly.
It was him, the man from his dreams. The one who had been tortured repeatedly at the hands of the Death Eaters. Draco had lived through each of those torture sessions as if he was right there with the man. He had thought him to be made up, wanted desperately for him not to exist so Draco wouldn’t have to acknowledge the reality of what he had seen. But that was all out the window now. Because he was here now, and Draco couldn’t deny any of it anymore.
This was worse than he thought.
*****
To be continued...
Black as Midnight Main
Eena Angel's Fics
Other Authors