Denying what's inside

" Ron, ron…," Hermione whispered urgently, poking the redheaded teenager's arm that was thrown over his pillow that was half hiding his face. " Oh for the love of God! Ronald Weasely you get up this instant!" Ron groaned and rolled over, his eyes squenched shut and his hair sticking every which way but down. Hermione ground her fists into her hips as she glared at his sleeping form, and then across the way at Harry's bed. Maybe she would have more luck with Harry. Striding purposely across the room, sidestepping broomsticks and dirty laundry, Hermione reached Harry's bed.

" No…'nother minute, Mum…," Ron mumbled in his sleep. Hermione rolled her eyes and then leaned forward to shake at Harry's arm gently. She then narrowed her eyes as she noticed the white bandage over his forehead, wondering when he would have acquired that and why.

" Harry, wake up!" she said quickly. Harry awoke with a start, his eyes opening and fixing on Hermione in confusion as he reached for his glasses.

" Hermione, what on earth-.." he began in a hoarse whisper until she glared at him.

" Shh! Don't wake the others," she told him as she walked back over to where Ron was still sleeping and pointed her wand at his sleeping form. Harry put his glasses on and shuffled out of bed, a bit put off by Hermione's being in their room. He crossed his arms over his rumpled tee shirt and suddenly was very thankful that he decided to sleep in a pair of pajamas that Sirius had bought him while he stayed at Grimmauld Place last year. They weren't eleven anymore, and traipsing about in each other's dormitories illegally, and in the middle of the night wasn't as simple as it may have once been. Regardless of whether or not Harry thought of Hermione in any other way besides as one of his best friends, and a rather bossy young woman that he had learned never to cross, she was in fact a teenage girl. "Nocto Eliminae!"

" What in the bloody blazes?!" Ron remarked with annoyance as he fell to the floor with a thud, his bed suddenly two feet over to his right. He rubbed at the side of his head, his face pink from sleep, and then looked up with anger and distaste at the brown wand being pointed in his direction. " Mione!"

" You should learn to sleep a bit lighter, Ron," she admonished, pulling Harry out of the dormitory in a rushed whisper. " Let's go, Ron. Unless you want me to point out to everyone in this school your interesting…um…sleepwear." Ron glanced down to his roaring lion boxers as Hermione strode out of the room, an unamused Harry being tugged along. Once in the common room, Hermione stopped and looked almost worried for a second. Ron took this as his opportunity to find out just why she found it necessary to be in their room.

" I know that we've been a bad influence on you, Hermione," Ron began sulkily, crossing his arms and feeling awkward standing beside a fairly dressed Harry wearing what he was. " But sneaking into our rooms? This better be good."

" You're just sore that I woke you from whatever dream you were having," Hermione relented airily, turning her attentions back to Harry. But again, Ron was having none of it.

" Okay, so you completely ignore us all night because you're suddenly the next Watcher's council hopeful, and then you expect us to wake up and listen to whatever you just have to tell us?" Ron mentioned sarcastically with a bit wave of his hands. " Well we aren't having it. Are we, Harry?" Harry sunk lower in his seat and thought over for a moment about how he could get out of this unharmed.

" You're not….what…you're being a royal prat because I was doing my assignment all night?" she argued hotly. Harry rolled his eyes and rested his head back on the couch. Here we bloody well go again, he thought miserably. He just hoped they finished up whatever tiff they wanted to have at this hour of the night in enough time to find out what Hermione actually did want to tell them. But it was becoming apparently obvious that Hermione and Ron were volatile and were best left to their own devices. " All of this because I refused to help you?"

" Help me? You think I needed your help?" he asked with a chuckle. "I'm merely stating a fact that-…"

" Enough!" Harry interrupted, tossing his hands up in the air. "Hermione, what did you come and get us about?" Hermione stiffened and turned away from Ron altogether, her eyes sad and a little worried as she again looked at Harry.

" I was in the lavatory, when Bella Lightfoot came rushing in saying that something horrible had happened," Hermione began breathlessly.

" What, she forget to set her beauty charm?" Ron mentioned with a half smile. Harry just shook his head in disagreement and looked to Hermione to continue.

" No, Ron," Hermione tossed back hotly. "Evidently, there's been an accident in London. A bizarre accident that has claimed the lives of many muggles. Many muggles who have children that attend this school." Harry's stomach dropped again and he felt a chill rush through him as Hermione went on with details about the suspicions and what the Ministry was supposedly doing to combat it. All of her words mumbled through her head as he felt more and more removed from his body, until he heard the following statement. " Not just the Daily Prophet….but also the Quibbler."

" The Quibbler…but isn't that…" Ron started with wide eyes. Harry cleared his throat, feeling scratchy and dry all at once.

" The newspaper that Luna's father works for," Harry finished. Ron and Harry both looked at him with identical looks of fear, worry, and confusion. Hermione then tipped her head to the side and stepped forward, raising her hand to brush the bangs of Harry's hair from his forehead. Harry backed up out of concern, his eyes avoiding Hermione's as she set warm but steady brown ones on him.

" Its beginning again, isn't it?" Hermione asked with the grace and maturity of an adult. Ron looked over and his eyes grew bigger as Harry pulled back the bandage to reveal the dark, reopened scar on his forehead.

" Bloody hell," Ron gasped. " I guess that means we better start figuring out our next move."

" Next move? What next move?" Ginny Weasely asked as she slipped down the stairs and stood in a plain green nightgown, a book tucked under her arm. Ron stared over to his sister.

" Nothing. Go back to bed, Virginia," he told her in a grumpy voice that she turned her nose up at.

" You can't tell me what to do, Ronald," she mentioned back, stepping further into the room. " What next move? Has something happened?"

" Our next move on Voldemort," Hermione finally stated, being as Harry and Ron were suddenly without voices. "He's struck again."

" So what are we going to do about it?" Ginny asked, sitting down in a chair across from them. Hermione then walked over to a table and began stacking various books together and walking them across to the small table that existed between the couch and the two adjacent arm chairs.

" Research?!" Ron groaned. " You're kidding me right?"

" Professor Black said that the first thing that she and her friends did when a new threat came into power, was research everything that they possibly could. Strengths, weaknesses, charts, diagrams, pictures, histories, anything and everything on the subject until they knew all they had to know," Hermione explained coolly, not looking at anyone.

" But that could take hours, days even. Voldemort is the number one subject in those histories. We might as well just throw the books at him," Ron complained, running a finger across the dusty surface of the book with a sour expression. " We've never done it this way before." Something happened that Harry could only count on one hand in his entire time at Hogwarts. Hermione actually looked deflated, as she just frowned and muttered something about having to find another book upstairs. She took off in a dead run, Ginny glaring at Ron before going after her. " I was only stating a fact."

" Muggles, Ron. He attacked muggle families," Harry said in a low forceful whisper. Ron's mouth dropped and his face went red as he realized the implications. He stared worriedly up the stairs of the girls dormitory, his mouth a firm line.

" You don't think-….I mean…Harry, seriously," Ron sputtered.

" Hermione stands to lose much more than you or I, Ron," Harry commented. "And her parents were in London. She's probably waiting to hear from them." Then Ron stood up, his fists at his sides as he took a deep breath before heading towards the stairs. They, Ron and himself had never been in the girl's dormitories, for lack of want or need in their years so far at Hogwart's. Plus there were rumors of counter charms on the doors that the girls themselves thought up to keep the boys away in recent years. Rumors that Harry and Ron took to be gospel as with women like Hermione and Ginny in the dorm, hexes were bound to be extremely hazardous.

" Then…I guess there's only one thing I can do," Ron said with resignation in his voice before taking steps one by one, disappearing behind the wall. Harry just stood up and paced the room, his hand occasionally touching his bandage which only ached dully now. He thought about going to see Luna. He thought about trying to get Dumbledore to talk to him. He thought about standing out in the middle of the fields unarmed until Voldemort was forced to come at him. Most of all, he thought of how none of this would be happening if he could only beat Voldemort completely once and for all instead of being so weak.

…………….

" You wanted to see me?" Luna Lovegood asked as she came into the Ravenclaw common room to find Professors McGonagall, Dumbledore, Black and Livingston standing there with looks that just screamed bad news all over their faces. Her hair was plaited back in tiny ropes that reached to the middle of her back, and she wore bright orange pajamas that Spike at once thought of Red once owning, complete with little purple polkadots all over them. For being a sixteen year old girl, Luna did not appear to be all that bothered by fitting in or looking the part of the typical teenage girl, Spike thought absently as her ethereal eyes descended upon each of them.

"Ms. Lovegood, there's been an accident," Minerva began sadly, her face drawn and full of concern. Luna just stared at her blankly, as if unmoved by the news.

" It would appear that Lord Voldemort has attacked again," Dumbledore interrupted, taking the news from a slightly different road. Luna nodded slightly, her hands pressed neatly into her lap as she sat with them.

" Harry's scar, right. It's a link between the dark lord and him just like the Shlar demon and its prey, except I don't believe you know who plans on sucking Harry's brains out through his ears or make a dress out of his hair," Luna commented softly.

" You're right, Luna. Shlar's do have such a link with their prey," Willow said, her voice a little rough from the emotion of the past two hours between Harry, the dream, and now this. " We had to deal with one of those once. Remember Spike, that funky gray guy with the purple teeth and really bad hygiene?" Spike nodded from his position sitting on the arm of the chair, his arms crossed and eyes steadily regarding Luna.

" My father's dead, isn't he?" Luna asked quite honestly, dumbfounding everyone in the room but Spike who met her eyes and nodded in affirmation.

" Fraid so, pet," he answered gently. She nodded and stared at her feet for some time before bringing her face back up again to regard her audience.

" We have contacted your paternal grandparents, and they have agreed to pick you up from the train station tomorrow morning," Dumbledore stated in his usual raspy beauty. " We are truly sorry for your loss, my child. And I assure you that we are doing everything in our power to right this terrible wrong."

" I don't want to go," Luna said in an affected voice. " I need to stay here. At Hogwart's. So thank you, but if its alright with all of you, I'd like to stay and continue my studies."

" Surely you will return for your father's funeral and to be with your family," McGonagall asked, unsure how to take the girl's reaction. " We cannot expect you to sit in class with this terrible tragedy. We take care of our students, Miss Lovegood. That includes your well being, emotional and otherwise."

" Which is why I can't leave," Luna again stated, stronger this time. " You understand, right Professor Livingston, why I need to stay here." Her eyes shot to his and he saw so much that he could relate to. There was a degree of fear, but not overridden by the determination and desperation of needing to stay on path, and the tiniest shred of hope there as well. She knew what needed to be done, and he would be damned if he didn't understand what it meant to being dedicated to something. She had just lost the rest of her family, and being an outsider, the only other family she had was at Hogwart's. Besides, he was taking a guess, but he was thinking that perhaps these grandparents weren't all that close with her father to begin with. Otherwise, they'd be there right now.

" Albus, I'll look out for her," Spike whispered to Dumbledore as McGonagall tried to reason with the girl. He knew that Minerva was just frightened for the well being of the children, and by sending Luna back into the muggle world perhaps she thought the girl would be safer. Maybe. But Spike wasn't willing to bet any of those children's lives on it. He just hoped that they could do something before Voldemort did something else to destroy the students of Hogwart's. Many of the children came from muggle lineage, and his soul really couldn't handle much more of this kind of news delivery.

"I shall speak with your grandparents, and if it is agreed that it is in your best interests, then I see no problem in your stay with us," Dumbledore responded slowly, his voice ominous and revealing as to his upset over the recent events. " In the meanwhile, is there anything that we can do for you? Perhaps get you some tea, or a friend to come and sit with you for a while?"

" I could sit with her for a while," a voice replied from the stairway to the boys dormitory. Everyone turned to find Connor standing there, an impassive look on his features as he came down. Willow immediately looked to Spike who was just as incredulous over seeing the boy. " Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear about what happened. Sorry Luna."

" Its okay," she answered, her eyes meeting his before looking to everyone in the room. " I'll be fine. Thank you for being so nice." When everyone else made an effort to get up and move, Connor as well as he ran back upstairs to grab something, Spike continued to stand there, arms crossed, just watching the strange girl.

" Spike?" Willow asked, tugging lightly on his arm as Luna stared off into the fireplace, her lip just barely trembling. He shook his head and walked over to her, kneeling a bit by her chair. Willow watched the scene unfold, Dumbledore glancing from Willow and then to Spike and Luna. He held a nostalgic smile that went unnoticed by McGonagall as they left the room.

" You need to talk, you know where to find me, right?" Spike asked her gently. " I may not be all fuzzy wuzzy like Red is, or a teenage boy like Potter or that Connor whelp, but I can be a so-so listener. All you need to do is knock on my door."

" Do you believe in dreams having messages, Professor Livingston?" Luna asked him sadly. Spike wanted to laugh outright thinking of his time spent with the babbling Dru, but settled for a tired chuckle.

" In those stories you read about Angel and I…ever stumble across Drusilla? Well I was the first person she told about every bloody dream and vision she had. So I guess…if I would have to give an answer….it'd be, sure. I've learned enough to realize that anything's possible." Spike muttered, leaning back on his heels.

"My mother warned me that this would happen," she said in a low whisper. Spike's eyes widened and he watched as the girl's face became animated again. " She came to me in a dream. Told me to stay here, at Hogwart's….and that a vampire would take care of me." She smiled a tiny smile that nowhere near reached her eyes but at least made Spike sigh in some relief. " You're the only vampire I know."

" I don't know if the dream meant anything, luv," Spike began roughly, clearly affected by what she had just divulged to him. " But I do know that as long as I'm here at Hogwart's, nothing will happen to you or any of my other students. I swear it." She sighed and seemed relieved at what he was telling her and let a couple of tears fall down her cheek. Connor arrived again, this time holding a few thick books and magazines, titles that Spike smirked at. The boy really was the poofter's son by and by, bringing a book of Irish folklore and legend, as well as some contemporary muggle magazines, and smiling sympathetically at Luna.

" Wow….is that a first edition McClanahan?" Luna asked Connor over Spike's shoulder. Spike stood up and watched as Connor flopped down on the couch beside Luna, handing her the book.

" Not first edition. But close. I tracked this baby down all the way to LA….this dirty little bookshop in the middle of the valley, swore the guy was going to eat me alive or something for it," Connor explained in a smooth voice that made Spike think automatically of Darla. But somehow Luna seemed oddly at ease with this boy that he was sure she had only met a day or so ago, and for now, that was all that mattered to Spike. Oh hang the bloody soul, he thought with a cringe! Meanwhile, Willow was standing in the doorway, her arms crossed, a puzzled look on her face. A hand fell lightly on her shoulder, and Willow for all of her wonky magic at the present moment, didn't need to have eyes in the back of her head to know who it was. She smiled and closed her eyes and tried to ignore the tears that were pulling at the backs of her eyes.

" Twenty students in the past forty minutes. It couldn't have been easy for you," he said in a worried tone.

" Its not that. I mean, my heart breaks for these kids….this one seventh year, a big buff quidditch player just fell apart in the middle of his common room when we told him. It's wrong, and it doesn't make sense, and I'm so damned angry that this monster….my own relative…could be causing such destruction. Harry's parents are gone. My father is gone. Neville's parents are in St. whatever the hell it is….dozens of other kids are orphans, while others are gonna have to wait and hear word from St. Mungos? Even poor, sweet Luna….lost her only other parent. I just don't get it…"

" Darkness can destroy the very fibers of any weak heart or soul," Lupin stated as he lead her out into the hallway, his hand gently taking hers. She snorted and wiped the tears from her eyes and she shook her head in disdain. He watched her as she paced the hallway a bit, her fists clenching and unclenching at her sides in indecision, a heartbreaking smile on his lips. " I'm sure you're just as tired as Harry is about hearing how much you are like your mother. Or your father for that matter." She stopped and cocked her head to the side, her eyes setting on him carefully.

" Has anyone…..I mean….I'm sure Dumbledore would have mentioned….not that its public knowledge or anything. Goddess! I hope its not, because that would be very bad, I mean monumentally triple whammy bad if if the kids here found out, or their parents did…." She rambled. Lupin sighed heavily and stared at her until she stopped and slumped her shoulders.

"You're referring to what happened a few years ago….I believe Spike refers to it as Darth Willow?" Lupin asked, as Willow let a small smile reach her lips at the familiar nickname. " Yes, I know but only because I called in a rather large favor with Albus, to find out all I could about your life. Why you may ask? Because I would have been your godfather, and Lily your godmother and you are the daughter of my best friend."

"It um….doesn't worry you?" she asked him with a careful sideways glance.

" No. It does not," he answered automatically. " Willow, Dumbledore wouldn't have picked you for this important job, or trusted you with the dearest to his heart…his students and this school if he was worried you'd follow down that beaten path. No, am I not to believe the reports that you are in fact thriving here, growing more skilled and precise in your magic? What has you so fearful?"

"It sounds crazy, I know. Its not like I'm Cordy and get these wacked out and really, really, painful visions like her or anything. Although it was pretty painful…I mean getting to see your dead parent's relationship unfolding before your eyes…and then have your dad giving you cryptic advice about your big bad uncle-guys….yeah, that kind of hurts if I do say so myself. I mean, where does he get off? Giving me advice? He go and gets himself killed without ever trying to find me first! What kind of dad is that? Let me figure all of this stuff out on my own, pretty much….all those years when I felt like I didn't belong, that I was the outsider, even when I was with the scoobies…I wasn't the strong leader like Buffy who could eviscerate anything in her fist, or funny heartful one like Xander….or even the former demon with loads of experience like Anya. I was just plain old Willow who got addicted to black magic. Hardly a strength. But if he would have told me all of this, about my history…maybe things wouldn't have gone like they did….I would have understood. Instead of now figuring out why I went darth willow. Its in my blood-…"

" Willow, breathe," Lupin told her firmly, interrupting her Willow-babble which was nearing mental breakdown. She blinked and took a deep breath before looking at him again. " Now slowly, from the beginning, tell me what happened."

" I had a nightmare."

" What did you see?" he inquired carefully and in a gentle tone.

" A wolf…but not regular wolf, but like Oz…my ex boyfriend. And-and a deer…..in a forest. And just when I was about to reach out to both of them I was then standing in front of the great hall, watching my mom and Lily when they were like eleven. Then it was you, mom, Lily, James and my dad…at this tavern on a rainy day playing chess and bickering. And then it got dark…and I saw my parents fighting and my mother crying….and he held her. Then everyone mourning her and talking about me. I wanted to wake up, but then I was standing on a cliff with my dad…..and he was telling me that I have to accept my destiny and be who I'm supposed to be. To use my fears and pain," Willow explained brokenly while Lupin listened without a single word until he was sure she was finished. When she looked over to him after stating the last of the words, she found a very pensive Lupin regarding her sadly.

" He loved you so much, Willow," Lupin answered after a beat. "It took all of us to keep him from jumping on that motorbike of his and tracking you from here to eternity, a choice that I wish now we would have allowed him to make. But we were so sure you would be a target, and after losing Aurora the way we did….we couldn't risk you as well. Now I understand that you've had your own share of heartbreak and tragedy."

" Am I supposed to embrace this darkness that I know lurks in my blood?" she asked him tearfully. "I'm so confused. I don't know what he means by accepting my destiny, Remus. Or what he wants me to do…..but I feel a major shift in the magic world. Something big is brewing, and earlier with that thing with Harry's scar bleeding…and now the attacks…and my dream. I'm scared. I don't know if I can do this."

" Tell me something," he asked her with warm eyes. "What was your first instinct when you saw Harry tonight with his bleeding scar? From the first, what did you feel?"

"I wanted to make it better," she answered with confusion. " And I wanted to find whatever it was that did this, and stop him before he could hurt anyone else." Lupin smiled.

" You knew exactly what that boy needed, Willow. He needed to be comforted, protected, and someone to reassure him that he wasn't in fact, alone. Granted, we've always tried our best to protect him, its much different to a sixteen year old boy to have a woman's guidance and comfort. A mother's touch," Lupin explained. " Same goes for all of the children that you've gone to see tonight. Each one of them, you brought a sliver of hope and peace into their troubled hearts. You love them and you've only been their professor for a few days."

" It's felt like a few years. Like I've always been here," she answered with a small smile.

" Exactly!" Lupin remarked. "Exactly. Willow, you have so much to offer them in terms of your knowledge, experience, and your very heart. You understand the darkest recesses of the dark arts, because you've been there. Not many can say that."

" If they knew…Remus," she sighed, shaking her head sadly. " I'd be drove out of here by every single parent, guardian and governor. No one wants their children taught by someone as dangerous and broken as I've been."

" So you would leave them?" Lupin asked with a raised eyebrow. " You would leave Hogwart's, go back to the States, live out an existence that you hate just to avoid that painful memory? Leave all your students, friends, and children behind to deal with someone that you could help defeat? When so much has been lost?"

" You're leaving?!" Harry demanded, making his position known from one of the intersecting hallways. Willow spun around to look into the eyes of the angry boy, feeling wilted in his presence. " Now?" He just glared at her before taking off out of the building. Without thinking, Willow followed after him, Lupin in toe. This was not a good thing.

…………………….

" Linda, could you please just let me in to see her," Ron ground out, standing in front of the door to the room where Hermione and the other Gryffindor girls slept.

" No," the girl responded, slamming the door in her face and locking it. Ron banged his head on the door and turned around to stalk back down the stairs. He had been standing there for the past forty minutes trying to get in to see Hermione, who was obviously upset about her parents and what had just happened. How dare these girls keep him from being with one of his best friends in her time of need! Didn't they understand that Hermione never opened up to anyone except for himself and Harry? If they didn't let him in…he'd…he'd….that was it! With new found resolve, Ron stalked back over to the door and pointed his wand at the door.

"Alohamora!" he said boldly as the lock unclicked and the door was easily opened. Several girls screeched and squealed, but Ron could not be bothered with it. He glared at the girl who's name was Linda who's bed was closest to the door, and spoke.

" Where's Hermione?" he asked simply. She sighed overdramatically and pointed to the farthest corner of the room, where a small window, not unlike the one that he always saw Harry sit in, with a small girl huddled on the sill. Closer inspection and he realized it was Hermione. Her thick hair hid her face and parts of her arms as she pulled her knees to her chest, her shoulders shaking just enough to make Ron feel like the biggest git ever. He really hated having to admit that he was wrong, or stupid, especially to Hermione. Hell he had never even really apologized for the time that he blamed her for Scabbers being gone. He and Hermione weren't the sappy, affectionate, and outwardly caring kind of best friends that Hermione and Harry always seemed to be in the past couple years. No, he and Hermione bickered. She harped on him, and he harassed her about anyting and everything. It was a love-hate relationship. And he wasn't even about to think about what happened at the ball and that idiot Krum. But the long and short of it was, Hermione was their Hermione. " Hermione?" He put his hand on her shoulder.

" Oh Ron!" she cried and looped her arms around his neck. As always, he was surprised by her outburst of emotion and awkwardly held her, her tears making his neck and collar wet. " I can't lose my family. I just can't."

" They're probably fine," he told her firmly. " Probably back in your town as we speak, and will send you word first thing in the morning. Don't get so bloody torn up about it."

" But…Ron…what if they're not. What if he got to them too?" she asked him, pulling back and staring at him with reddened eyes. Ron sighed and struggled with the right words to say. How does one really communicate to their friends that you'd do absolutely anything for them, and were there for them no matter what without appearing like a weirdo, he wondered? But just seeing her tears and her red blotchy face, and due to the close proximity of where she was to him, he melted into a puddle of goo.

" Then its quite simple really," he mentioned with a shrug. " We'll take care of you. Harry and I…I mean, Harry's practically a full Weasely in mum's eyes…..same with you. And I'm sure Dumbledore will figure out a way to let him stay with us full time. So if anything happens….you'll stay with us."

" Oh Ron! Do you really mean that?" she asked tearfully.

" Now, Hermione, how often do I say stuff I don't mean?" he asked her with a raised eyebrow. She narrowed her eyes and he grinned, knowing she was coming around. " As long as you don't expect to make me read and study on breaks. First book I see and I'm sending you to the Dursely's." She laughed and hugged him once more, but this time he was prepared and let his arms wrap around her.

…………

" Harry I…" Willow began awkwardly, shooting glances to Lupin. They were outside now, just outside of the Whomping Willow. Harry had turned around to look at Willow, upset and confusion on his face, most of all hurt in his eyes as he regarded her. But her eyes caught on something behind Harry, which made her heart sink and stomach drop painfully. " Harry watch out!"

"Aero Divinae!" she yelled into the sky, a bright gold fireball forming n her hand after she had pushed Harry out of the way. Lurking in the branches above the tree was what only could be described as a trio of deatheaters, looming too close to Harry for Willow's liking. Harry got up off of the ground, already with wand in hand as Lupin hurried over to him. He watched as Willow hurled the fireball at the one, knocking him backwards and into the distance.

" Expecto Patronum!" Harry called loudly, aiming his wand at the deatheater above Willow, while Lupin tended to the third of them. However, Harry had underestimated the closeness of his intended target and was knocked forcefully backwards into the tree, falling down unconscious. Willow looked over and her eyes grew dark, her hair slowly fading into black as veins descended upon her pale skin. The air changed around her, the window swirling quickly above and around them, confusing the attackers enough to stop them mid swipe. She began to mutter phrases in some forgotten language, her lips moving and eyes so black that Lupin was sure that ink dwelled there.

" I don't know who the hell you three think you are, but guess what, its play time!" she informed, hurling magic at them right and left. " I don't like strangers on my property!" Lupin tried to use his wand, but found that the magic that surrounded Willow served as a kind of forcefield around them, which he was sure she had large part to do with. In the distance, a crowd of people began rushing towards them, wands raised and calling out to Willow and Harry. Spike was at the forefront, his vampire speed still not quick enough to reach the new darkened Willow and the electricity that seemed to be shooting from her hands.

"Who do you think you are, little girl?" one of them ground out hatefully, evil glint in his eyes and face shielded in a shroud. Willow rolled her eyes and tossed another bolt at him, which he easily sidestepped with skill before scooping by, dangerously close to her.

" Little girl?" she asked sardonically, raising her hands above her head as the winds increased and blew Lupin and Harry backwards as well as all of the onlookers to their feet. " I'd be really interested to find a little girl as powerful as I am right now, mister!"

"Is that so?" he challenged as the other two ducked out of sight, perhaps out of fear or of injury. He flew to a standstill right across from her. She looked up at him with a devil-may-care grin on her face.

" There are some things that new fangled magic cannot even begin to protect against, Ms. Rosenburg," he told her before aiming his wand at her menacingly. She cocked her head to the side in silent challenge, and there was a moment of surprise before he uttered his words. " Spiritodestructo!" Willow was raised into the air, her hands clutching at her throat as she reached the same level as he. He brought her right into his hands, his long fingers slipping around her throat easily. Her black eyes blinked as she felt her energy drain painfully and her hair began to fade out to silver that met her clammy skin.

" Ah!" she grunted as her legs dangled.

" Red!" Spike's voice called in the background, his fists banging against the forcefield as McGonagall and Dumbledore tried to weaken it with their combined magic. The walls in fact, were fading fast with her energy and he was almost through to rescue his Red.

" Silly girl. Give up," he told her with laughter. "There is nothing you can do to protect them. Might as well just submit to the Dark Lord, and perhaps he'll be more understanding."

" Never."

" Then prepare to die," he stated simply as he let her levitate in front of him, his wand aimed at her throat. " Excr-…" His curse was broken when he felt a sword slice through his leg and send him backwards, as Willow hurtled to the ground, falling with a sickening crack onto the gnarled roots of the Whomping Willow. He glared at his attacker, finding a truly determined blond woman, wielding a rather large ax that he was sure weighed more than she. " Who the bloody hell are you? A fairie?"

" Nope. I happen to like the term Slayer," she proudly muttered, swinging the ax again to intimidate him, as she stalked towards him. But with a loud pop and a fizz of energy he disappeared, as well as the others. She dusted off her hands and tossed the axe down on the ground, her eyes scanning the group of people that were running towards Willow. An older man with dull hair and sad eyes held back a teenage boy who looked about ready to tear someone apart with his wand, the two of them instead walking together over to where Willow was now laying. She saw Spike, taking long strides and sliding on his knees beside Willow, his face full of concern and worry, bits of anger showing through. An elderly man and woman were giving orders to other adults, who rushed off in the direction of where one of the deatheaters had been, but inched closer to where Willow was. Willow really had found a family in her short days here. Meanwhile Angel had rushed to Willow's side, his hand scooping under her head and cradling it carefully. Within seconds he was flanked by Harry and Lupin, as well as a glaring Spike.

" Is she okay? She has to be right?" Harry muttered fearfully, taking in the sight of the pale young woman. Her hair was now the color of her pale peach skin and her face was devoid of any color or definition, small tattoo like markings just barely visible under her skin. " Willow…"

" We need to get her to the hospital wing, now," Angel grunted, scooping his hands under her legs and cradling her to his chest, protectively. Harry noticed that the strange man looked on Willow like he had seen Mr. Weasely right after they had rescued Ginny from the Chamber of Secrets. It was the way he figured fathers looked at their daughters. But he really was too tired to think of that at the moment as they all rushed towards the school, angry worried voices bouncing off of the grounds. He was too confused to think.

…………..

" This is all my fault," Harry said with crossed arms as he leaned against the wall just outside of the hospital wing of Hogwarts. Spike, who was standing sourly a few feet from him just looked up and sighed heavily, his cheeks hollow and lips pursed. "I had to just go run off like a complete idiot. If I hadn't…she'd have never went out there."

"Don't be daft, boy," Spike commented wearily as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Harry looked at him unwaveringly, daring him to challenge the blame, which Spike was all too willing to rise to. "You know as well as I that those deatheaters would have found a way to get to you whether you were outside or not. Something's brewing, because there used to be a time when this place was protected, and deatheaters couldn't step foot or broom on these grounds."

" Still my fault," Harry countered, staring further into the room where Madam Pomfrey and the other nurses and mediwitches were working on Willow behind a curtain. " None of this would have happened if I weren't here. Voldemort wants me dead, Professor. And now Willow's getting hurt, as well as Luna's father…and god knows who else."

" Voldemort wants more than you six feet under. He wants total domination in the magic world. Until the world is rid of white, pure, and good magic, he cannot do that. You stand for everything he isn't. And don't worry 'bout Red, she's going to fight with everything she's got for you, and your friends. For this school," Spike explained in a kind tone that overhearers like Buffy were overly surprised to hear.

"Professor…about what happened," Harry began in a confused tone. " With her hair turning colors and her eyes going black…it happened before that day in your common room, and it happened out there. What is that?" Spike sighed and debated about whether or not it was his place to tell the boy. He could see the concern for her in his eyes, but it lacked fear or loathing that he had so often seen in the scoobies after she had went over that particular cliff when the white witch, Tara died.

" Its not my story to tell, Potter," Spike told him with a heavy voice. Harry frowned and glared forward again. " But I can tell you that she's been through a kind of hell that not many people have reached, and few ever understand. But I think you do understand her, given the crosses that you've had to bear."

"Hermione," Harry said suddenly, turning back to Spike. " Were her parents…I mean, they weren't a part of those that were you know, killed tonight were they?" Spike frowned and suddenly wished he had a cigarette laced between his long fingers.

" They were accounted for," he breathed. " They're not dead. But right now, its hard to say what will happen. Voldemort has the ability to suck the life right out of someone, get into their mind and twist it so much that you have no mentality at all anymore. The Granger's are at St. Mungo's, and I'm not sure if they'll ever be themselves again." Harry closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall. Spike truly felt sorry for the boy, and stepped forward to place a gentle hand on his shoulder in silent comfort.

" I will destroy him," Harry choked out with fists at his sides. " Even if it kills me."

" Boy, haven't I heard that one before," Buffy replied with a wry smile as she made herself known. Harry opened his eyes at the exact moment that Spike's mouth dropped. She was just as beautiful as ever, her skin much paler than he was used to, but he attributed that to being out of the California sun, her hair just as soft and bright. Her eyes, however were signs of how long her journey had been, her clothes of the fight she had just had with the leading deatheater that she chased far into the forbidden forest, and her presence of the experiences she carried within her. " You must be Harry Potter."

" You must be the Vampire Slayer, Buffy, right?" Harry asked as she stuck out her hand. He slowly took it and shook, sensing just how strong she was from the grip she had. She smiled gracefully at him. "I just researched and wrote a paper on you." Buffy's eyes widened and she looked to Spike.

" What are you guys teaching these kids?" she asked with a tiny smile. But her eyes held his until he was the one to look away. " Well, as long as you got all the good stuff, and not the ichy nasty weird stuff, then I guess I'm kinda flattered that you researched me. And I guess I should confess too, that I kinda did my own consultation with the research world about you before I came here. The Boy Who Lived."

" You have no idea how tiring that is," he sighed. Spike had gone back to staring at the curtain, and picking up bits of the conversation with his vampire hearing.

"Almost as tiring as being thought of as the one 'chosen' girl," Buffy mentioned with a shrug. He nodded in mild understanding. "I saw you out there trying to defend yourself and Willow. You've got some real magicy skills with that wand." Her tone was light and admiring. He blushed lightly and then looked at the curtain. Spike cleared his throat and got Buffy's attention, ducking his head towards the outer hallways. She nodded and then followed after him.

" So you're been alive this long and couldn't at least call me?" she asked him. " I mean, when I suddenly came back from the dead I at least had the decency to contact Angel. You couldn't even allow me that choice."

" I didn't think it would matter," he shrugged, choosing to be flippant. If any a time there was to put aside his past feelings for Buffy, it was now when Red was in poor spirit and condition. He almost laughed at how he felt no reaction to being in the same area with her anymore. He loved her, that he was sure of just as much as he ever could, but it had faded in his time spend doing good with Angel and his merry men. Right now, Red was his concern, not debating the issue of his new life that didn't include Buffy.

" You didn't think…how could you ever think it wouldn't matter?" she asked in a gentle voice as her eyes fixed on him. " I thought we talked about this-…"

" Look, Buffy….let's face facts here, you're no more in love with me now than you were a year or so ago, no more than I'm in love with you," he told her bluntly, his exhaustion showing through. She seemed stunned and then she nodded her head as she let the words seep through her.

" You really care about her, don't you?" Buffy asked softly, seeing the way his eyes kept darting towards the room where Willow was. His eyes darkened and he didn't answer her straightaway.

" She's the only one besides the great Poof that understands me, the real me beneath everything barebones and real. The dark side as well as the light. For that, she has my eternal loyalty and friendship," he said honestly, his shoulders shrugging in answer. She bit her lip and thought about all Angel had told her on the trip over there.

" Just friendship?" Buffy asked in a near whisper. He turned around and glared at her, not sure how to answer that when he was thankfully saved by Harry.

" We can see her," Harry said in a hushed and rushed voice. Spike didn't waste any time and took off behind the boy, leaving Buffy to stand there and contemplate the mystery that was Hogwarts and how it brought together her best friend and ex boyfriend.