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Chapter Seven
Demons and Witches Not even Snape’s potions class could dispel Harry’s good mood. The terrified look on Malfoy’s face when Spike had morphed into his demon was priceless. It had gone on his very short list of favorite Malfoy moments, along with the time when the fake Alastor Moody had turned him into a ferret their fourth year. He was currently eating lunch with his friends when he noticed that Malfoy was looking at Dawn again. He had seen Malfoy doing that a lot the past week, but didn’t mention anything to Dawn cause he didn’t want to scare her. That, and he couldn’t figure out why he was doing it. Sure, she was gorgeous, but since she wasn’t a pureblood, he couldn’t understand why Malfoy wanted to watch her. Suddenly, fear gripped his heart. What if Malfoy knew she was the key? He needed to talk to Ron soon. If Malfoy did know, then she could be in a lot of trouble. But then again, it’s not like she was never in danger before. She had had a hellgod after her before and was still here. Still, he would tell Ron so they could keep an eye on Malfoy. He just didn’t want anything to happen to her. Harry was pulled from his thoughts about Dawn by the sound of Ginny’s voice. He turned to her and once again felt his heart flutter. The more he was around her, the more he was enraptured by her. Harry inwardly sighed as he listened to her talk about her DADA class with Spike. He feared that he had been shoved to the back of her mind and that the vampire had replaced him as her new crush. He knew that nothing could happen between Ginny and Spike, but it still hurt him a little that she no longer looked at him like he was her world. “Harry!” “What?!” “I said, it’s time to go to Demonology, weren’t you listening?” Ginny asked. “Huh, Gin? Oh, sorry, I was just thinking.” “Must have been something serious; there was a frown on your face.” Dawn said, concern entering her voice. “Oh, no. It’s just...I was...It was nothing.” He shot Ron a look and he nodded. Dawn gave him a look that showed she didn’t believe him, but let it drop. “Well, we’d better get movin’. Giles hates it when people are late.” Hermione watched the three of them as they left. She didn’t notice Ron as he put a hand on her leg. “’Mione? Hermione?” Startled, she looked up at him. It was then that she noticed where his hand was, she blushed slightly. “What?” “Now you’re the one with the frown, what’s wrong?” “I was just thinking.” “What else is new? What were you thinking about?” Hermione got lost in her thoughts again. Poor Ginny, maybe she was right about Harry and Dawn. “’Mione!” “It’s nothing really, it’s just...I don’t really want to talk about it.” “Fine, don’t tell me.” With that, he grabbed his books and stomped away. Hermione sighed. First day of school and they were already arguing. She couldn’t tell him what she was thinking about Ginny and Harry cause she was feeling the same way about Ron and herself. Stupid boys, don’t know what’s standing in front of them. She sighed again as she picked up her books and ran to catch up with Ron. ********** Anya sat in the classroom with Giles nervously awaiting the arrival of the students. Since their class was an elective they didn’t have a full teaching load like other members of the faculty. This was to be their first class of the day. Anya was scared to let these kids know that she was a demon. Although, like Spike, not much of what she did anymore was considered demon worthy. She hoped that these kids wouldn’t treat her differently like the scooby gang had. She remembered how guarded they were around her, watching every word that came out of their mouths. It had taken months for them to readjust to her being a demon. What had helped was the day Dawn came home upset about her current boyfriend. Although, ex-boyfriend would have been a better description. Dawn had finally finished this long tirade about his unfaithfulness with, “I wish his fingers would shrivel and fall off.” There was a collective gasp and they all looked at Anya. “What?” “Aren’t you going to grant her wish?” Buffy had asked. “No, I don’t do that anymore.” “But, you’re still a demon, right?” “Yeah.” “So, why not?” “Because Xander, the only reason I became a vengeance demon again was to punish you. Now, it’s true I granted a few wishes at first, but it was no longer any fun. The only reason I’ve continued to be a demon is so I can transport anywhere, makes traveling easier.” After that incident the tension had eased up and she was part of the group again. Anya looked up as the students began to pile into the room. She smiled as Dawn, Harry, and Ginny walked in. She relaxed a little. Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad, at least she had some students on her side in the class. Giles quickly called role then got down to business in his no nonsense way. “As you already know, I’m Professor Giles and this is Professor Emerson. In this class you will learn about demons and how to classify them. But before I begin, I would like to learn what you already know. So, first question, what is a demon?” Dawn and Harry sat quietly so they could hear the students responses. They had a feeling about what Giles was leading up to, much like in Buffy’s class. This time they decided not to get involved in the discussion. “Something that’s not human!” A sixth year Hufflepuff named Susan Bones declared. Giles nodded absently. “They don’t have souls or feelings!” Colin Creevey, a fifth year Gryffindor, said. “They are evil and cause death and destruction!” Kevin Entwistle, a sixth year Ravenclaw added. Giles held up his hands to stop them. “What if I told you that you were only partially correct?” Cries of “No, that’s impossible!” Rose up from the students. Giles raised his hands again. “In this class you will learn that not all is as it seems. While it is true that most demons don’t look anything at all like humans, there are some that go about in human disguises, like vampires.” All the sixth year Gryffindors in the class nodded their heads in agreement and Giles chuckled slightly before he continued. Harry looked around and noticed that Giles had everyone's full attention. “And yes, most demons don’t have souls or feelings, but there are exceptions to that definition also. I happen to know five demons personally who are unusual in this manner.” A hushed murmur rippled through he room. Anya began to get fidgety, she knew her moment was coming. “Then, there are, of course, demons who set out to destroy the planet and all those upon it, and then...” “There are some who are productive members of society!” Anya called out cheerfully. This time giggles were heard from the class. “Ahh, thank you, Anya. That was, informative.” Anya just smiled brightly from her seat. “Now, how many of you have seen a demon?” All the sixth year Gryffindors raised their hands, along with one or two others. “Gryffindors, will you please lower your hands, no mention of that til next week. Who’s left?” He spotted a young Ravenclaw in the back named Stewart Ackerley. “Mr. Ackerley, would you like to share what you’ve seen?” The young boy’s eyes widened and he shook his head no. “Very well, anyone else?” Dawn raised her hand. Giles took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, this should be good. “Yes, Dawn. “Actually, I’ve seen several different kinds, like vampires, several vengeance demons. And, ohh that thing that moved around in the walls during Buffy’s birthday party. Then there were these dirt demonlike things...” “Ok Dawn, thank you. Let’s go back to the matter that demons aren’t humans. Remember how I told you that some went in human disguises?” The class nodded. “What would you say, if I told you that there was a demon in this room, right now?” The class sat looking at him in shocked silence. Dawn tried not to laugh when she looked over at Anya, who was trying very hard not to say anything yet. But apparently she lost the fight when she jumped up. “It’s me! I’m a demon!” “You can’t be a demon, you’re too pretty!” A boy called out. “Wanna make a bet?” With that she let her demon face show. Surprisingly enough, the students just sat there in amazement. “Well, that’s never happened before.” She put her human face back. “So what kind of demon are you?” Colin asked. “I’m a vengeance demon, I used to grant wishes for scorned women.” “But you don’t anymore.” “It’s a way long story why I stopped, but it used to be a lot of fun. One time, in Russia, this woman wished...” “Thank you, Anya.” Giles said, cutting her off before she could go into a colorful and inappropriate story. “As you can see,” Giles continued. “Not all demons are out to destroy the world. In this class you will learn to tell the difference between who’s good, and who’s evil.” ********** Hermione caught up with Ron and grabbed his arm, turning him around. “Hey, would you stop for a second and let me explain!” Ron turned to her with hurt in his eyes. “Fine, talk.” “I couldn’t tell you because it was personal, girl stuff that Ginny had told me.” “Oh. I just thought...Oh, never mind.” “You thought what?” “Well, you’re one of my best friends, ‘Mione. I thought we could talk about anything, and when you wouldn’t answer my question, I got upset. I’m sorry, I’m so stupid sometimes.” “Ron Weasley, you are not stupid! You just didn’t give me time to explain anything.” “Sorry. Hey, we’d better hurry or we’ll be late!” They rushed off to class and were the last two to enter the room. They quickly found some seats and class began. “Who can tell me the differences between wiccan magic and wand magic?” Willow asked brightly. She was excited to be teaching again. She had loved the time when she had taken over computer class in high school after Miss Calendar had died. Willow wasn’t surprised to see Hermione’s hand in the air. From what she had heard the bushy-haired girl was very intelligent and was diligent with all her schoolwork, much like she had been at that age. “Miss Granger.” “The difference is mainly where the magic comes from. Our magic is in our blood; we just use our wands to focus it, that’s why we take such care in buying a wand. Since it is essentially an extension of ourselves it has to match us perfectly. Wiccans pull their magic from an outside source, be it gods, the earth, or even elemental magic. Wiccan magic corrupts more easily than wand magic because of this.” Willow was impressed. “Someone has done their homework already I see. Fifteen points for Gryffindor. Miss Granger is right, wiccan magic can corrupt quite easily, that’s why there are rules to help the wielder. One being that you are to never use it for personal gain. That alone can cause many problems with the dark arts.” “However, we will only be teaching the white magic.” Tara began. “Mostly defensive spells, like barriers. Since these can be performed without wands you can use them to protect yourself if you ever loose your wand.” “Are there any questions before we begin?” Willow asked. A girl in the back of the room raised her hand. “Yes, Miss Brocklehurst.” “Is it true that a wiccan tried to end the world a year ago?” Willow’s face drained of color, she hadn’t expected that one. She felt Tara’s hand on her arm and looked into her worried face. ~You don’t have to tell her everything.~ ~Yes, Tara, I do. They deserve to know who’s teaching them.~ ~I’ll be right here.~ Willow smiled gratefully at her, then turned back to the student. “Yes, it is true, and I’m the one who tried to do it.” There were some gasps and most of the students looked surprised. How could a beautiful young woman have so much hate inside of her to try and do that? “Why?” She heard someone ask. “It’s quite a long story. I had begun to dabble in the dark arts several years ago to help Buffy fight a hellgod.” There were more whispers about that statement. “I became too confident in my abilities, cocky even. I started using my magic for little things, not for battle, and it began to corrupt me. But I was able to stop myself. “Then, Tara got shot, and I thought she was dead. And something inside of me snapped. I pulled in all the dark energies that I could, and livin’ on a hellmouth provided me with a lot of energy. I went after the one who had hurt Tara. I killed him, but didn’t stop there. The power had overtaken me. I decided the only way to stop the pain and anger was to end the world. “Luckily, I had a friend who stopped me.” She smiled wistfully as she remembered Xander talking her down. She heard sniffles and saw that the girls had tears in their eyes. The next thing she knew, Hermione had come up and enveloped her in a huge hug. Then suddenly, all the girls came up for a group hug. Ron looked around, and for the first time, realized that he was the only boy in the class. Bloody hell! Previous Chapter The Slayer... Menu Next Chapter |
