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Chapter Thirty-Eight
Arrivals “What seems to be the problem, Mr. Malfoy?” Albus asked as he took in the frightened young man in front of him. “Something terrible has happened and I don’t know how it happened,” Draco said miserably. “What happened?” The headmaster asked curiously. “This,” and Draco rolled up his sleeve to reveal the tattoo. “This is quite serious. Tell me what you remember.” The blond sat in one of the big chairs and told him everything he remembered. “And now Dawn hates me and Buffy and Spike are going to kill me. I didn’t want this mark! Now I have it and I don’t know what I’m going to do!” “Calm down, Mr. Malfoy,” Albus said sternly. “We can’t fix this if you panic.” Draco nodded and took in a few shaky breaths. “How are we going to fix this?” “First, I wish to examine your arm.” He walked over to Draco and gently probed the boy’s arm. He whispered a few spells over it and then nodded. “It’s as I suspected.” “What is?” “That is not the death mark,” Albus answered as he returned to his seat. “It is a very clever illusion.” “An illusion! This means you can undo it, right?” Draco asked hopefully. “I’m afraid not.” “What?!” “Whoever created this was most clever. They wound a very specific charm. Only the person who cast it or a very specific spell can break it. Very few people could even detect that it is an illusion.” “Then what am I suppose to do?” The door to Dumbledore’s office banged open to reveal an extremely pissed Spike and Buffy. “You little shit!” Spike raged as he vamped out. “I should have known not to trust my kin. You betrayed me, but worse you hurt my Nibblet!” “Spike!” Buffy called. He ignored her and hauled his nephew out of the chair and threw him against the wall. “I should drain you now to rid the world of your pathetic life but I’m afraid the taste of traitor wouldn’t sit well in my stomach.” “William.” “Stay out of this Albus. He destroyed my girl and now I’m going to return the favor.” “Spike!” “What Buffy?” “Look at him.” The vampire peered at the boy cringing in front of him. He smelled the fear and sorrow emanating from him and some of the tension released from Spike’s body. But what really got him were Draco’s eyes. They were filled with so much pain; and tears flowed freely down the boy’s face. “What’s going on?” Spike asked, some of the harshness gone from his voice. “I’m afraid someone is trying to cause problems by framing young Mr. Malfoy.” Spike roughly grabbed Draco’s arm and turned it to reveal the mark. He studied it for a moment before asking, “This isn’t real?” “No, it’s not,” Albus said. Anger fled Spike and he pulled Draco into a hug. “I’m sorry I doubted you,” he whispered. “It’s ok. I doubted myself.” When Spike had let go, Draco quickly found himself in the arms of the slayer. It was then he understood that he wasn’t merely a member of their group, but their family. “Air,” he said. “Sorry,” Buffy said as she loosened her hold. “I forget sometimes.” She turned to Dumbledore, “How do we fix this?” Draco was relieved to hear her say we. I meant that he wouldn’t be alone in trying to find a way to remedy the problem. Albus quickly explained the nature of the spell. “I believe we can use this to our advantage.” “How?” Buffy asked. “He wants to use me as a spy,” Draco said softly, figuring it out. “No! It’s too dangerous,” Buffy said firmly. Draco saw where this was going. Whistler’s words about being someone to be counted echoed in his heart. This was one of those important choices to make and he’d be damned if he let them make the wrong one for him. His voice cut through the arguing when he said, “I’ll do it.” “Draco, you can’t.” He turned solemn gray eyes to the slayer. “I have to. If I can find out one piece of information to help save you or Dawn it’ll be worth whatever price I have to pay.” S he could see that Malfoy stubborn streak coming out and she knew it was useless to argue. She nodded her head in acquiescence. “No one besides those of us present can know about this,” Albus said. “Not even Dawn?” Draco asked with stricken eyes. “Not even Dawn,” he answered softly. “You probably shouldn’t attend the extra training either,” Buffy said sadly. “But we need to figure out a way to talk to you without everyone knowing.” “We can meet in my little room,” Draco said after a moment. “Spike knows where it is.” “Very well,” Dumbledore said. “If you ever fear your life is in danger, Draco, let us know immediately. Your life is more important than any information you might gather.” Draco nodded his head and stood to leave. “I’ll remember. I’d better go before my housemates become suspicious.” As he headed to the dungeons his thoughts became as gloomy as his surroundings. It seemed he wouldn’t be standing by Dawn’s side like he said he would. She would probably never speak to him again. But as long as he was still helping, even without her knowing, he would have to be content. ********* Buffy and Spike stood on the platform at the train station in Hogsmeade waiting for their friends from L.A. to arrive. The sun had set on a very long day and they doubted that they would get to bed early that night since they needed to fill Angel in on everything. “Here it comes,” Spike said pointing to a light in the distance. “It’s about time; I’m freezing out here.” The train rolled to a stop and before long some familiar faces stepped out. A tall, dark haired man was the first one off. A big smile broke out on Buffy’s face and she rushed up to hug him. “Angel. I’m glad you guys could make it.” “It’s not like we had anything better to do since most of the demons had left town.” He looked up to see the blond vampire. “Spike.” “Peaches.” “Where’s Dawn?” A grimace appeared on the Spike’s face. “She’s spending some time with her friends. I’ll explain when we get inside.” “Wow Buffy, look at you.” Cordelia was saying. “Wizard life seems to suit you. That’s a beautiful cloak.” “Thanks. Spike got it for me for Christmas,” she said as she did a little twirl. She gave a quick hug to the others who had stepped off, Wesley, Fred, and Gunn. She stopped short when she reached the last figure. “Hey, B,” the woman said nervously. “Faith,” Buffy said, slightly startled. “I hope you don’t mind, Buffy,” Angel said, coming up behind her. “But we figured we would need her help.” Buffy nodded her head in agreement. “How are you, Faith?” “Five by five, you?” “I’m five by five,” Buffy said with a small smile and surprised the dark haired slayer by enveloping her in a hug. “I really don’t deserve this, B,” Faith said in a choked voice. “Yes you do. I’ve learned that people can change. Besides, we’ve all tried to kill each other at some point in time.” Buffy pulled away and said, “Let’s get you guys inside so I can warm up.” Buffy giggled lightly when they took in the castle. She remembered her reaction when she had first seen it. “No wonder the wizard life suits you,” Cordelia said in awe. “You’re living in a freakin’ castle.” “I know, isn’t it cool. But you haven’t seen anything yet.” When they got inside, Gunn jumped in surprise. “That guy in that picture moved!” “They all do. The castle is complete with ghosts, moving and talking pictures, staircases that change, house rivalries, house elves, and a slimy potions teacher,” Buffy said cheerfully as she led them to their rooms. Angel Investigations’ rooms connected to the scoobies common room. After they got settled into their rooms, Buffy quickly told them about the demon they were to face. “And Dawn is the only one who can stop it?” Wesley asked. “So they keep telling her,” Spike said wearily. “Then where is she?” Gunn asked. “I would have thought she’d be here to help plan.” The scoobies looked at each other hesitantly. Buffy finally said, “She’s a little indisposed at the moment.” “Catatonic is more like it,” Xander muttered. “What happened?” Angel asked. They quickly mapped out Draco becoming Spike’s ward since he was a Malfoy, his change to the good, his relationship with Dawn, and his betrayal. They didn’t mention that he was being framed since the scoobies didn’t even know. Angel vamped out and jumped to his feet. “Where’s the little punk? I’ll rip him from limb to limb.” “Peaches! Sit down! You can’t touch him; he’s just a kid.” “I’m with deadboy. He hurt Dawn, not to mention he’s a death eater.” Buffy and Spike shared a look but she shook her head. “He’s still a student so we can’t touch him,” Buffy said firmly. “How is Dawn suppose to stop it,” Wesley asked in effort to change topics. “We don’t know,” Giles said as he removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. “All we know is that Buffy and Draco are suppose to help her.” “So what you’re saying is the only one who can save us is Dawn. But she’s spazzed out cause her boyfriend betrayed her. And the only way she can win is if he turns back from the dark side,” Fred said in a rush. “We’re doomed,” Giles said. “Totally,” Willow agreed. ********* That night during dinner Draco did his best to hide his misery so he could play his part of Dumbledore’s plan. He only half listened to the introductions of the guests at Hogwarts. From the way they glared at him he figured they had been told about his apparent betrayal. He sighed; it was going to be a long week and a half. He noticed Dawn wasn’t sitting at the Gryffindor table and it pained him to know that he was the reason for her absence. His housemates saw none of this and they talked to him as if they hadn’t been ignoring him the entire school year. The next morning during Muggle Defense Dawn was still absent. Anytime Draco looked over at Harry and Ron they would shoot him a glare. If looks could kill, Draco was sure there would be nothing left of him. He was left without a partner for sparring. The dark haired slayer spoke up, “I’ll spar with him, B.” Buffy looked at Faith and said, “No. You can help Spike with the others.” Draco paired up with Buffy. While she made it look like she was hard on him to help everyone believe that she was mad, it wasn’t anything harder than what they had done in the extra training. Dawn didn’t return to class until Wednesday and Draco’s heart broke when he saw what was left of his angel. Her hair looked like it hadn’t been washed and hung limply around her face. Her eyes were hollow and had lost their fiery spark. It looked like she hadn’t slept. He wished he could rush over to her and assure her that everything was fine, but he couldn’t. The week and a half passed at an unbearably slow pace. While it was true that his housemates were talking to him again they didn’t talk about anything important. Pansy was the one who spent the most time with him and he was beginning to suspect that she was the one who cast the spell. She had always been good at charms, he just hadn’t realized that she had gotten that good. The only thing he seemed to learn from his housemates was who had taken the mark and who hadn’t. He told Spike this during one of their meetings in his secret room. Spike just nodded and said, “You’re doing fine. It’s just for a little longer.” But Draco was worried that a little bit longer was going to kill him. It hurt to be separated from Dawn this way and it hurt even worse to see her move lifelessly about the castle. He never felt so alone and worthless. March the fifth finally arrived and Draco sat nervously at his table in the Great Hall during dinner. He knew that Dawn was the one who was suppose to save them, but at the moment she didn’t look like she could hurt a fly let alone an unstoppable demon. Pansy left the table early and a few minutes later a commotion broke out at the Gryffindor table. At the Gryffindor table, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny kept exchanging anxious glances as Dawn picked at the food on her plate. While they had at least been able to get her up and moving, she didn’t seem to be getting any better. Ron turned to Hermione at one point and said, “I didn’t realize she liked the git that much. Makes me wish he hadn’t changed sides. Maybe there had been a chance for him to be not such a bad guy if she cared for him that much.” Suddenly Harry pressed his palm to his forehead and gasped in pain. Hermione and Ron looked at each other and she said, “They’re here.” And the four Gryffindors jumped to their feet. Previous Chapter The Slayer... Menu Next Chapter |
