It was Halloween and Buffy was waiting at the gates for Giles to arrive. She didn't have to wait long before one of the horseless carriage stopped in front of her. He got out with a medium suitcase, and smiled at Buffy, when he saw her. But Buffy didn't greet him with the same affection. On the contrary she was looking grim at him.
Giles saw it. "Is there something wrong, Buffy?"
"Yes." Her voice was controlled and she stretched her arm out to take his suitcase. "But we'll discuss it in my quarters."
She turned her back to Giles and walked through the gates with Giles' suitcase, expecting him to follow her, which of course he did with a confused and worried expression on his face. To the students they met on their way, Buffy was very short with them and those who recognized her mood were smart enough to avoid her.
At the portal to her quarters Buffy told the painting her password and entered. She dropped the suitcase beside the trunks. She turned and saw Giles still standing close to the door. She pointed to one of the chairs for Giles to sit down.
Giles sat down and was feeling uncomfortable. It was as if he was sent to the Headmaster's office waiting to be disciplined, and he had no idea what he did wrong.
Buffy saw the confusion in Giles face and smirked a little. "You probably asking yourself what's going on?"
"Yes. Please tell me what's wrong."
Buffy took one of the Diaries and opened it at the same page, when she had translated it with Dawn and gave it to Giles. He took the Diary and started to read the passage. Before he finished Buffy spoke.
"Why didn't you tell me that Dawn might be a Potential?"
Giles looked shocked and looked down at the passage, finished reading it and looked back up to Buffy. She looked back down on him with a calmness that didn't settle well with him. He would rather see her fuming. He took off his classes and stared to clean them, and sighed.
"At first I didn't tell you, because when we found you, you already were the Slayer and it was highly unlikely that Dawn would also be called. Plus at the beginning you would have ripped my head off, if I just mentioned to you that your sister might be involved in the supernatural." Giles smiled weakly at her. But still her expression didn't change.
She still looked calm. "What about when we found out she was the Key and was made out of my blood."
Giles sighed again. "Her being the Key might have exclude her for being in the line of the Slayers. But being made out of your blood ... how would you put it, she would be back in the game."
"Why didn't you tell me this, when we found out that she was the Key?" Her tone was emotionless.
"We had more important problems, plus Faith being safe in jail. I hoped she would be too old before Faith was released." Giles sighed again. "And after everything else, I simply forgot or suppressed it."
Giles looked up at Buffy with guilt in his eyes. Buffy still looked expressionless at Giles, but her eyes were glimmering from unshed tears and her shoulder started to tremble a little. Giles saw it and stood quickly up and embraced his Slayer, who was trembling violently now and crying on his chest. Giles tried to shush her to relax.
"Do you think they are that cruel that they would call my sister when Faith dies?"
"We better make sure Faith survives long enough so that Dawn is too old to be called."
After hearing that Buffy was laughing.
"What is so funny?" Giles asked.
Buffy was gently pushing herself out of Giles embrace. "I said the same thing to Dawn, when we found out about it."
Giles chuckled. "That could be considered funny. Oh my Goodness, I'm starting to think like a stereotypical southern Californian teenage girl."
The last part he said to lighten the mood. Buffy punched him playfully on the upper arm. Her face brightened a little bit up and she dried her eyes. Her expression changed back to being serious.
"What are the chances that she'll be called?"
Giles cleaned his glasses before spoke again. "If we don't include her being the Key and we take in account that there is at the moment no clear succession in the other Potentials."
"Giles, please come to the point. What. Are. The. Chances?"
"80%. I maybe would even go up to 90%."
"Oh." Buffy was afraid that this would be the answer. "It seems I have to write Faith a letter to tell her, that she isn't allowed to die for awhile."
"You know Faith and following orders. She as bad as you are."
Giles gave Buffy a wary smile, which she returned with a warm smile.
Later on that day Buffy walked by a broom closet. When she heard voices coming from them. Her first thoughts were; that somebody was getting some smooches. She concentrated on the voices. She recognized one voice. She opened the door and saw a woman with glasses and a magic quill, who was interviewing Harry. Buffy received one look from Harry and saw how awkward and miserable he felt.
"Harry dear. I think I heard Ron looking for you. Why don't you go find him?"
Buffy didn't have to tell him twice. He stood up thankfully for a reason to leave and slipped by her thanking her silently. She turned to the woman.
"Why are you harassing one the students?"
She had to keep her tone non-intimidating. Buffy knew who she was and that she had to be careful with this woman. She knew she could intimidate her easily, but afterwards the fear would turn into anger or worse and might bite her in the ass.
"I wasn't harassing him. I was interviewing him."
She sounded very professional, her magical quill was writing on its own.
'In front of me stands the DADA Professor, who has rattled the Ministry of Magic and the distinguished Mr. Lucius Malfoy. How somebody could have been intimidated by such a frail and petite woman is beyond me.'
Buffy smiled at the words before turning back to the woman. "You need permission from the Headmaster, the parents or their legal guardian, if you want to interview one of the students. Maybe I should escort you to the Headmaster's office. We don't want you to get lost again."
Buffy made it clear that she wasn't going to let her roam free and the woman understood. She didn't use any intimidation, just simple determination in her tone. She took her quill and parchment, and followed Buffy. On the way she tried to pick a conversation with Buffy.
She stuck her hand out. "I'm Ri...."
"I know who you are Ms. Skeeter. I have read a few of your articles. And I'm sure you know who I am." Buffy cut in and looked forward, avoiding eye contact.
Ms. Skeeter was taken back by the bluntness of Buffy. She thought if she couldn't get an interview with the famous Harry Potter, she might get one with the mysterious Buffy Summers.
"I have heard that you have a lot of experience in the Dark Arts." Buffy nodded slightly. "I also heard that you are specialised in vampires. Do you follow the Guidelines for Treatment of Non-Wizard Part-humans?"
Buffy almost laughed. "The Guidelines ... are flawed. They ignore the danger of some evil species and exaggerate the danger of some relative harmless ones. Only because one looks more human than the other."
Rita's quill was writing again. 'She thinks she is above the Law. This woman is clearly a danger for society and the students of Hogwart's.'
Buffy saw the writing. "My 'Guidelines' for the treatment of Non-Wizard 'humanoids' is determined by my experience and good research, to know the facts and not going by gossip." Buffy grinned at the woman mischievous. "Can you believe that there are people who believe everything what is written down and on the other hand there are people who write these nonsense down."?
Ms. Skeeter was about to huff and puff with anger at this irritating woman. Buffy saw it. "Are there any other questions you want to ask?"
Rita was so taken back by the question that she couldn't think one up at the moment. They walked in silence until they came at the Gargoyle to Dumbledore's office.
"Do you think you have the right to decided what is wrong and what is right?" Rita had finally asked her question.
Buffy didn't answer her question. "I have a feeling you aren't going to write me a favourable article."
Rita looked at her innocently.
"You want me to give you a quote?" Buffy grinned.
"Yes please." Rita was looking eager to have something to write.
"Voldemort is alive and gaining power."
She was shocked that Buffy used Voldemort real name instead of You-Know-Who or He-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named.
The quill was writing again. 'She is more dangerous than I even though. She dares to speak out the real name of He-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named. Only Death Eaters and crazy Wizards dare to utter his name. Which one is she?'
Buffy read her writing again. "I'm not a Death Eater." She didn't deny the crazy part. For that might be true on some level. She grinned at that thought. "You are more worthy of that title. For you have done a lot more damage with your writing, then any other Death Eaters. You are a sensation seeking slimy little cockroach."
The portal behind the Gargoyle opened. Buffy smile and waved with her arm to let her enter. "It seems that Albus already expecting you."
Rita entered backwards without leaving her eyes from Buffy and she almost stumbled down. The portal closed behind her and Buffy smiled inwardly, but was worried about the backlash. But at the moment she couldn't do anything about it.
Buffy taught a few classes before she walked outside to catch some fresh air. She walked toward Hagrid's cabin. She sat on the bench at the back of his cabin. There she enjoyed the gentle breeze and she closed her eyes while letting the autumn sun warm her.
"Hagrid, you better not block the sun." There was a playful warning in her voice.
"Ai wouldn't think 'bout it, Buffy." Hagrid made sure not to block the sun now that Buffy had warned him. "Wotcha doing 'ere?"
"Resting and enjoying some peace from a stressful morning."
"Wot 'appened?" Hagrid looked worried.
"Had a disagreement with my Watcher and then had a 'pleasant' talk with that nosy Skeeter reporter, who was harassing Harry." Buffy explained still leaning back with closed eyes soaking up the sun's rays.
"Harry? 'is 'e alright?"
"Yeah I think so, I gave him an excuse to leave. I don't think Albus will let that woman go near him again." Buffy grinned. "Then she tried to interrogate me. She asked me stupid question about Vampires and that stupid Guidelines for Treatment of Non-Wizard Part-Human." Buffy looked up from her sunbathing. "I still can't believe what they wrote about Vampires. And the way they portrait Werewolves as if they are the pure evil."
Hagrid looked uncomfortable. "And how about Giants?"
"Didn't come that far. I was planning to throw it into the fireplace, but it was school property. I don't think Albus would like it if I was starting burning books, just because I don't like them."
Buffy gave her him a sly smile and a memory flash from her past about book burning came back, but she squashed it before it could immerge completely.
"The closest experience I have with Giants is you. But you are a little small for a Giant. I heard they are normally 20 feet tall."
Hagrid looked away and looked ashamed down, he didn't want to look her into her eyes. Buffy saw it and didn't understand it. Her first thought was that she said something to hurt him.
"Are you okay, big fella."
It surprised Buffy sometimes how gentle and sometimes fragile this giant of a man could be. A smile cracked her face, when she compared him to herself by comparing size. Where he was gentle and fragile, she could be tough and strong. Her smile disappeared when she saw his face. She couldn't really tell, but it looked like a mixture of hurt, distress and shame.
"What's wrong?"
While she was asking this to him, something was picking up on her senses. It felt familiar, but she couldn't place it at the moment. It wasn't evil, but something felt off. She was distracted by Hagrid voice.
"Could I tell ya somethin' in confidents?"
"I'm Secret Girl." Buffy put her hands on her hips. "I think I can keep one more secret."
Buffy saw that it was hard for him to tell. She didn't want to push him, so she waited until he was ready to tell her, what was on his chest.
"I'm a Half Giant. From my Mother's side."
"And?" Buffy didn't see the problem here.
"You know that the Giants were on You-Know-Who's side."
Buffy shrugged her shoulders. "We can file that under bad decision making. Listen Hagrid, I don't judge people for what they are. That would be hypocritical of me. Okay, maybe at first glance and in the heat of the battle, but that is because my life depends on it. I wouldn't thrust a demon, especially if he is a vampire. But if I find out he is a nice demon I'll treat him like any other human being until he steps out of line." Hagrid heard the gravity in the last part.
Buffy made a pause to let him absorb it. "But you are the most gentle creature in the world. Look how you interact with the students or how you don't see the monster in monsters."
Buffy saw a ladybug land on Hagrid coat and she automatic swept it away. She looked up into Hagrid eyes and saw a little of his jovial in his eyes.
"Are you okay now?" Hagrid nodded. "Good. You are what is known in the Muggle world as a Friendly Giant."
This brightened Hagrid so much up, that he had a big grin on his face.
End Chapter 18.
TBC...
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