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Chapter Four
An Angel The next month and a half flew by quickly. Dawn spent most of her time cramming five years of magic schooling into her brain so that she could attend classes with those her age. To the amazement of her teachers, mostly Snape, she caught on very quickly and was extremely talented in potions. With Harry’s help she finally reached sixth year status, her sorting, however, would have to wait until the first day of school. Dawn and Harry became closer with all the time spent in the library together. Harry learned all about Dawn’s status as the key and what it was like to live on the hellmouth. He told Dawn about how he hated to be treated like a celebrity for something he had no control over. Harry talked all about his adventures with his best friends Ron and Hermione, and explained his unusual talent of being a parselmouth, which enabled him to speak to snakes. He even talked about their run-ins with his rival at the school, Draco Malfoy. Dawn’s eyes widened then narrowed as he told her of all the trouble he had caused over the years and that he would probably turn into a death eater like his father, Lucius. He found it oddly comforting to be able to confide in Dawn. He loved Ron and Hermione of course, but here was someone who had similar experiences. She knew what it was like to be wanted for evil purposes, and to even be hunted by evil. With her there was a kinship, and he loved her for it. Dawn also looked at Harry in a similar manner. Despite all the worries and pressures placed upon him he always had a smile and a kind word ready for her or anyone else. He never judged her on what her past or capabilities could be, but on her personality and desire to have a good time no matter what. The others had spent their time preparing for their own classes. Spike’s new wand worked perfectly, apparently Mr. Ollivander was right about the blood. Spike shook his head ruefully, it was always about the blood. The only thing that felt more right than holding his wand, was holding Buffy. Despite Albus’ assurances, Spike was a bit worried about teaching DADA. He hadn’t used a wand since shortly after he had been turned. Angelus didn’t think it was appropriate that his wand carried the blood of the kind who hunted them. So he had packed it away and didn’t give it much thought, after all, he had a new life to lead, one that didn’t necessarily need magic. Until now. Buffy searched the entire castle until she found a room big enough to suit her purposes. She enlisted McGonagall’s help in transfiguring the tables and chairs in the room into mats and a couple of punching bags. She also displayed some of her weapons on the wall and had Flitwick place a charm on them so that only she or members of the scooby gang could remove them. The rest of the scooby gang were spending their time in a similar manner. Xander got to know Hagrid and Laura Thompson, who taught the muggle studies class. Willow, Tara, and Giles were making their syllabi, while Anya went searching for the best books for their courses. Meal times were always interesting Harry learned. The group from Sunnydale laughed and told stories. They had such a strong sense of camaraderie that he could see how they could always come out on top. Anya amused him the most at these times, though. The things that would come out of her mouth, she was the most blunt person Harry had ever met. Professor McGonagall spent most of her meal times with a very red and shocked expression on her face. Buffy had insisted that Harry start early on her class and had him training with Dawn, who was wickedly strong for someone as thin as she was. In the beginning he didn’t understand why Dumbledore had created the class, but then Buffy explained. “What happens when you loose your wand?” “Umm, we usually have to hide.” “Yes, but wouldn’t you like to get your wand back?” “Well, yeah, but how can we without magic?” “That’s where my class comes in. If you know how to defend yourself and attack without your wand, you can dodge whatever they throw at you. But, if you can, get close enough to attack. You can disarm them and get your wand back. Now watch.” Buffy pretended to be a witch and carried her own wand. Spike yelled, “Expelliarmus” and she flew backwards and lost her “wand”. She quickly got back on her feet and before Spike could get in another spell, she attacked. Harry was amazed at their movements, he didn’t know that people could move so fast. After a series of kicks and punches she had disarmed him. They both stopped and turned back to Harry. “See, always remember that you have a more important weapon than just your wand. That is you.” With that, Harry threw himself into his training. ********** Draco sat slumped down in his seat as he looked out the window at the scenery as it passed by. Blaise Zabini sat across from him in their compartment on the Hogwart’s Express. Neither said a word, they were both lost in their thoughts. He dreaded going back to school, he hated that place, but it was better than home. His father was very displeased that he refused to take the dark mark until after he graduated. His father’s response was rather severe, he spent most of the summer covered with cuts and bruises, last night had been the worst though. Since Draco was a prefect he had to return to school a week early, a new rule instituted after Voldemort’s return. His father showed his disapproval of having one less week to convince his son that he placed the Cruciatus Curse on him. When he released him, he gave Draco a final warning. “Decide by Christmas boy, or don’t come home again.” Draco’s body still ached, and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He realized he had stalled his father long enough, he was going to have to make a decision. His head swam with thoughts and feelings. He knew that everyone expected him to become a death eater. Hell, he even expected it of himself. But after last year’s incident at Hogwarts, he was suddenly plagued with doubts. The death eaters that had attacked, cursed and killed indiscriminately. Draco had nearly been hit with the killing curse, but it had hit Crabbe instead. He had watched a fellow Slytherin, another who was destined to become a death eater, be killed by a member of a group of which he was to join. He remembered that barely half of who had attacked had been able to escape. He saw that Voldemort was on the loosing side. What kind of life would that be? Hiding who you truly are, disguising your loyalties. Draco wanted a better life than that. He didn’t want to be constantly looking over his shoulder to see if someone was watching him, waiting to catch him in the act of performing dark magic. And after last night’s experience, he really didn’t want to make anyone feel the way he had. But could he really go against his father’s wishes? He knew that he was spoiled, that everything was handed to him on a silver platter. Hell, he didn’t even have to pick his friends, his father and mother had chosen them when he was born. Others only wanted him because they wanted a piece of the Malfoy fortune. For once, he wanted a friend that he had found, to earn the respect from others. He doubted that would happen at Hogwarts though. The name Malfoy was what earned him respect in the Slytherin House, but caused the others to instantly hate him. No one tried to learn who he really was because they thought they already knew. So what was the point in trying to make them see anything different? The train pulled to a stop and Draco inwardly sighed. He quickly put on his air of indifference and his trademark sneer. He shoved the protests his body was making to the back of his mind. Bloody hell, he thought, another year. ******* In another compartment on the train, there were three Gryffindors excited about coming back to school. Hermione Granger was a sixth year prefect, while Ginny Weasley was going to be a fifth year prefect. Her brother Ron had come with them cause he couldn’t wait any longer to see his friend Harry. In stark contrast to Draco’s quiet compartment, theirs was quite animated. “Have you heard about the new professors, ‘Mione?” Ron asked around a mouthful of chocolate. She frowned at him, but replied. “Harry said they were all very nice and were extremely knowledgeable. But apparently most of them are muggles.” “Really?” Ginny asked. “Plus, they’re mostly Americans. Only the DADA and one of the demonology professors are British.” “Harry wrote me that he’s learning how to fight from the slayer.” Ron told them excitedly. Ginny looked confused. “What’s a slayer?” “Into every generation a slayer is born. One girl in all the world, a chosen one. One born with the strength and skill to fight the vampires, to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers. I did some research when Harry told me. They are usually called when they are around our age, but they very rarely make it to their eighteenth birthday. They usually die in some sort of battle.” “I wonder if she will be our age.” Ron said with a dreamy look on his face. Hermione frowned. “I doubt it, Ron. She has to be older, otherwise Dumbledore wouldn’t have hired her. She must be good if she’s old enough to teach.” “Well, we’re about to find out. We’re here.” Ginny announced. As they got off the train they looked around for Harry, but didn’t see him. So they picked a carriage to ride in to the castle. ******** Draco enjoyed a few moments of peace in his room before the prefects meeting. He was going to have to make some plans before Christmas. He knew that whatever he chose, it would not have a happy ending for him. He stood and looked at himself in the mirror. He had changed a lot since he first came here. He was nearly six foot now and he had lost all of his baby fat, which revealed the chiseled features underneath. He sighed and left his room heading to the meeting. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he wasn’t watching where he was going and ran into someone as tall as he was. He pulled himself out of his thoughts to see who was obstructing his path. It was Ron Weasley, funny, he didn’t recall him being on the prefect list. Then he remembered that the sister was on it. Draco sneered. “What’s the matter Weasel, parents couldn’t afford two separate trips to King’s Cross Station that they had to send you off with your little sister?” “You know, a jealous, critical nature is a manifestation of a poor self-image.” Draco turned to the source of the unfamiliar female voice with a retort on the tip of his tongue, then stopped. Before him stood an angel. A tall, long legged, shining brown hair angel. She was luminous in the candlelight. And Merlin, she was smirking at him. He stood there staring at her until he heard laughter. “Good job, Dawn. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Malfoy speechless.” Harry crowed. “Shut up, Potter.” Draco sneered and headed to the opposite side of the room to sit down. He was fuming. He had let old scarhead get the better of him, stupid girl. He looked back over at her, Merlin she was beautiful. But she was already friends with Potter, the stupid git. Shaking himself out of these thoughts he turned his attention to Dumbledore, who was preparing to start the meeting. ******** Later that evening, Dawn sat in the Gryffindor common room with Ron, Ginny, Harry, and Hermione. She felt like she already knew the other three, because of all the stories Harry had told her. Ron had his lanky form stretched out on a couch with his head next to Hermione. Dawn noticed the looks the bushy-haired girl kept giving him and was having trouble hiding a small, knowing smile. Harry was sitting sideways in a big oversized armchair with his legs dangling over the side, while Dawn and Ginny were lying on the floor with some pillows. “Did you guys notice anything odd about Malfoy during the meeting?” Harry asked. “What do you mean?” “Well, for one ‘Mione, he seemed kind of distracted. Almost as if his mind was somewhere else.” Dawn kept quiet, she knew what the source of his distraction was. It was her. She kept feeling these eyes on her, and when she would look up to see who it was, it was always him. His body set off vibes of cold indifference which caused her to inwardly shudder. But his eyes told her something else entirely. Something was swirling in those gray pools, and it looked like confusion. “I said, what did you think, Dawn?” Harry repeated himself for the third time. She felt her face flush slightly and stammered, “I don’t know. You guys know him better than I do.” “Yeah, well something was bothering him.” Harry said thoughtfully. They sat there in silence until Hermione made mention of another observation. “He didn’t complain about the new professors being muggles!” Harry and Ron’s mouths gaped open as they realized this. “Why would he?” Dawn asked, looking confused. “Because he thinks the only people who are worth a damn are pureblood wizarding families.” “Harry.” Ginny chided. “What? It’s true.” “I know that, but do you have to use language? It’s not polite.” She said, nodding towards Dawn. “Relax Ginny.” Dawn said with a giggle. “I’ve heard much worse from my sister and Spike.” “Spike.” Ginny said dreamily. Ron and Harry gave her odd looks. “What? He’s gorgeous. He’s got the bad boy look going for him, and boy does it work.” Gin! He’s a vampire!” “So what, Ron? Doesn’t mean I can’t admire him.” Ginny said with a huff. “Admire all you want, just don’t touch. My sister is very protective of him. If you don’t believe me, just ask Snape.” Harry snickered. “But your sister is the slayer, why hasn’t she killed him yet?” Hermione asked. “Oh, it’s a very long story.” “We don’t mind.” Dawn looked at Harry and he nodded to let her know that she could trust these three with everything. She just hoped that it wouldn’t change their opinion of her. She took a deep breath, then slowly let it out. “I suppose I should start at the very beginning so you can fully understand everything. Buffy was called as the slayer when she was fifteen...” “Wow! She must be good if she’s still alive.” Ron exclaimed, remembering what Hermione had told them on the train. “Her first watcher...” “Watcher? What’s a watcher?” Ron asked. Dawn sighed, this was going to be a long night. She went back a step and explained the watcher/slayer relationship. She told them everything, all about Angel, the master, the hellmouth, Angelus, Spike and Druscilla, Acathla, Riley, the Initiative, Glory, the Key, and even about the dork trio. The rising sun found the five heading to bed. It had taken all night for her to explain everything and answer their numerous questions. What surprised Dawn the most, was that Hermione offered to do some research to find out more about the key and it’s powers. Dawn smiled, this year was looking like it would be a good one. Previous Chapter The Slayer... Menu Next Chapter |
