Hogwarts at the Hellmouth

CHAPTER 1 - THE STRANGERS

It was a stormy evening in Sunnydale. Two months had passed since Tara had died and Willow had tried to destroy the world in her grief. Up until this night, the weather had been relatively calm, a typical Californian summer. Tonight, however, there was a vicious thunderstorm and as Buffy sat in her house with Xander, Anya and Willow she felt glad that she hadn´t ventured out to patrol. Not that the atmosphere inside the house was much warmer. Willow had been walking round in a daze for the last two months, and tonight she was sat by the fire, staring into the flames and rocking. Xander and Anya were finally being civil to each other, but no-one could forget that Xander had dumped Anya at the altar, and that Anya had once again become a vengeance demon. Buffy stood up. "Hey guys, I´m going to go check on Dawn."

Buffy´s sister Dawn was about to start high school - and not just any high school. Sunnydale High, the school from which Buffy and her friends had graduated, had lain in ruins for three years after a fight with the town´s then Mayor (who had Ascended into a demon) resulted in the building being blown up. Over the last few months, however, a new Sunnydale High had been built and Dawn was about to start there. Buffy knocked on her sister´s bedroom door. "Hey Dawnie. You okay?"

"Buffy, hi! Come in."

Buffy opened the door and saw Dawn sat on her bed in her pyjamas, gazing out of the window. "Not interrupting anything, am I?"

"What? Oh, no. I was just miles away."

"Just thought I´d come and see if you were alright."

"I´m fine. Just a bit nervous."

"Understandable. But hey, Giles´ll be there."

Rupert Giles, Buffy´s Watcher, had worked in Sunnydale High as librarian for the three years Buffy was in attendance. After the defeat of the Ascension, he eventually started working in the Magic Box but had moved back to England for a while, feeling that Buffy no longer needed him, and that he was stopping her from coping with the pressures of day to day life. However, he had come back to help them stop Willow, and after that he was offered a job as librarian at the new Sunnydale High. He had accepted, saying that if what he had read was true it would be "a very important year". Buffy had no idea what he meant, but she was sure she´d find out sooner or later. She smiled at her sister. "Anyway, you´d better get to bed Dawn. We want you up and at it in the morning, don´t we?"

"Okay. Night Buffy." Dawn climbed into bed. Buffy tucked her in, and then gently kissed her forehead. "Night Dawn."

She crept out and closed the door, then went back downstairs. Xander looked up as she walked back into the living room. "She okay?"

"Just a bit nervous. She´s in bed now."

"Well, I´d better be going. Work in the morning and all that."

"Okay, sure Xander. What about you Anya?"

"I´d better go to. Lots of vengeance to wreak." This was said not with enthusiasm, but with a sense of forced duty - which Buffy supposed it was. Anya teleported out as Xander moved to the door. He stopped just before it. "Hey Buffy?"

"Yeah?"

"You´ll look after Wil, won´t you?"

"Xander, I´ve been looking after her for the last two months. I think I know what I´m doing."

Xander moved back towards the living room. "I know. But she´s still so...distant."

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Buffy and Xander glanced at each other. "Who´d be coming out at this time, in this weather, to see me?" asked Buffy.

"Could be Giles," suggested Xander.

"If it was Giles, he´d have phoned first," replied Buffy.

"Spike?"

"Could be. He has been a bit absent lately."

"You think we should let him in?"

"Answer the door!"

Buffy and Xander turned, shocked, to look at Willow. Willow stared back at them determinedly. "Open the door. It´s important. I´ll call Giles."

She went to the phone in the kitchen. Buffy shrugged then opened the door. Standing outside, apparently oblivious to the storm, were two very strange looking people. The man was quite tall and very old looking, with long white hair and a long white beard. The woman looked quite strict; she had grey hair pulled back into a tight bun and wore spectacles. Both were dressed in robes. Buffy, trying not to gawp, asked "Can I help you?"

"Are you - now, let´s see, what was the name?" The man took out a piece of parchment and read it. "Ah yes. Are you Buffy Summers?"

"Um, yes. How- how did you know?"

The man winked. "I have my ways." As he said this, Willow returned from the kitchen. "Giles is on his way. He - oh my God! Albus Dumbledore himself!"

"Ah, you must be Willow. I understand you are aware of what is going on?"

"K-kind of. I´ve studied it in the past."

Willow looked down sadly at this, and Buffy was almost certain that this had been with Tara. She turned to her friend. "Look, Willow. Maybe you ought to go to bed."

"No! I - I can´t just leave in the presence of Mr. Dumbledore!"

"Okay, now very confused." Xander was eyeing the newcomers suspiciously. "Why aren´t you-?"

"Oh God! Of course! Please, come in!" Buffy suddenly roused from her amazement, and now her hostess manner was kicking in. "You must be soaked. Here, come and sit by the fire."

She led an amused Mr. Dumbledore into the living room. The woman followed, eyeing Xander suspiciously. "Professor Dumbledore, do you think it wise to discuss such matter in front of the Muggle?"

"Relax, Minerva. Mr. Giles told me, he´s one of Buffy´s friends. They help her. And besides, Buffy herself is technically a Muggle."

"Um, excuse me," Buffy interrupted, "But what´s a Muggle?"

"Muggle is the term wizards use to describe non-magic people," explained Willow. Buffy turned to her, impressed. "You´re still the one with all the answers, eh Wil?"

"Okay, still very confused here." Xander spoke up.

"Don´t worry; you´re not the only one." Before Buffy could continue, there was another knock at the door. Xander, who was nearest, opened it and Giles ran in, clutching some of his books. "Ah, Buffy. I see you´ve been introduced then?"

"Not formally, but Willow helpfully informed me that this gentleman is Mr. - no, sorry, Professor Albus Dumbledore. And this lady is Mrs Minerva..."

"McGonagall," supplied Giles. "Professor McGonagall. They have very important news for you."

"If everyone would like to sit down, I´ll begin."

Once everyone was sat, Professor Dumbledore began. "Now Buffy, I just need to check. You have a sister called Dawn, I believe?"

"Um, yeah. Do you need her? Cos she´s in bed, I want her to-"

"It´s okay. I´m awake." Dawn wandered into the room, looking a little sleepy. Buffy went up to her. "Dawn! You should be-"

"Leave her Buffy. She needs to hear this."

At Giles´ word, Buffy stopped protesting and led her sister to a seat. Dumbledore continued. "Now Dawn, I believe you are to start at Sunnydale High tomorrow, so I must warn you. Things will not exactly be...normal."

"Well, they never are in Sunnydale."

"So I´ve been led to believe. However, things will be even stranger than usual, for a while at least. You see, I am head of a school from England, called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A couple of months ago, a very powerful and dangerous foe named Voldemort was brought back to strength."

Buffy noticed McGonagall and Willow flinch at the name `Voldemort´. "That´s bad, right?"

"Bad? Buffy, it´s terrible! I´ve read about him, he tried to turn all witches and wizards bad, and those who wouldn´t follow him, he killed. If he hadn´t been stopped when he was-"

"Hold on, stopped? But you just said-"

"Shut up Xander." Buffy turned back to the strangers. "Okay so Voldemort, bad wizard, lost his power but got it back?"

"That is correct, Buffy. One of his more loyal followers carried out a ritual to return him to full strength. We fear the consequences will be terrible, especially since Harry Potter attends our school."
"Who?" asked Buffy.

"Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. Voldemort tried to kill him when he was just a year old, but it somehow backfired and that´s how he lost his power," explained Willow.

"We have reason to believe that he and his followers will try and hunt Harry down, and they are not exactly subtle."

Buffy nodded, slowly catching on. "So bring him somewhere where...Muggles are used to weird things happening all the time."

"Precisely." McGonagall spoke for the first time. "And also to the town of the Slayer."

"But...but if these are powerful wizards we´re dealing with, how am I supposed to fight them? I mean, I couldn´t even deal with-" she caught herself, "other magic users."

"She means me," Willow said bluntly.

"Willow, I-"

"No, it´s okay Buffy. I...I think I´m starting to deal."

"That´s great, Wil. But my point still stands."

"We´re not asking you to defeat Voldemort," Dumbledore said gently, "We just want you to keep an eye on the students."

"I don´t get it." Dawn looked at Dumbledore, confused. "What does all that have to do with me?"

"Hogwarts and Sunnydale High will be merging - with all students taking all lessons. Safety in numbers and all," Dumbledore replied.

Dawn looked a little frightened at this. "Will...will it be dangerous?"

"We will supervise all Muggle students very carefully," replied McGonagall. "And given the circumstances, I´m sure you´ll find what you learn very useful."

Giles looked at Buffy, who was looking very overwhelmed with all this new information. He spoke up. "Listen, I think it´s best we discuss this in the morning. Buffy, come and find me when you bring Dawn to school. Willow, Xander, you two come as well." He turned to the newcomers. "Albus, Minerva, are you alright for accommodation?"

"We´re fine Rupert, thank you for asking." With that, Dumbledore and McGonagall disapparated. Giles headed for the door. "Try and get some rest, all of you. We need you to be at full strength."

He left, Xander following. Dawn stood up. "I´m going back to bed. Guess I´m gonna need my energy if I´m gonna have twice as many subjects."

As she climbed the stairs, she heard Buffy say to Willow "Well, come on my trusty book of answers. Let´s get some sleep."

CHAPTER 2 - HOGWARTS AT THE HELLMOUTH

When Buffy, Willow and Dawn arrived at the new Sunnydale High, they could hardly believe their eyes. The building itself looked relatively normal, apart from the huge castle next to it. However, amongst the new Sunnydale students was a mix of the Hogwarts students, all dressed in black robes. Each had a badge stitched onto their robes - some had a lion, some an eagle, some a badger and some a snake. As the three girls approached the entrance, they saw three people with lion badges come up to them - a girl and two boys. The girl seemed to get very excited when she saw Buffy. "Are - are you Buffy Summers?"

"Um, yes I am."

"Wow! I´ve read all about you, but... I´m Hermione Granger, by the way." The girl held her hand out. Buffy shook it then turned to look at the two boys. One of them had red hair and rather tatty looking robes; the other had black hair and glasses, as well as a rather prominent, lightning shaped scar. Willow was staring at the latter in awe. "Harry Potter! The Boy Who Lived!"

The dark haired boy nodded, blushing slightly. The other boy turned to Dawn. "I´m Ron Weasley."

"Dawn Summers. I´m Buffy´s sister," replied Dawn, a little unnecessarily. Hermione turned to her. "So, you´re one of the Sunnydale first-years?"

"Yeah. Um, can I just ask, what do those lions mean?"

"That´s our House badge," replied Hermione. "The lion is the symbol for Gryffindor, home to the brave at heart."

Buffy turned to her sister. "Will you be okay here? We need to find Giles."

"Sure, I´ll be fine." Dawn turned back to the other three. "So, what do the other animals mean?"

"Well," began Hermione, "the eagle represents Ravenclaw, which is for really intellectual people. Hufflepuff, the badger, is for the hardworking. As for Slytherin..." She trailed off as three boys wearing snake badges swaggered past. The boy in the middle, seemingly the leader, was quite small with a pale, pointed face and white-blond hair. The boys either side of him both looked big, tough, but not very bright. As they passed, the leader was loudly saying "I can´t believe Dumbledore! He´s really lost it this time. Trying to encourage more Mudbloods, makes me sick!"

Dawn turned to Ron, Harry and Hermione, who were looking at the trio with hatred. "Who...who were they?"

"Draco Malfoy and his lackeys, Crabbe and Goyle." Ron´s voice dripped with hatred. "They´re Slytherins. It´s meant to be a house for the ambitious, but turns out more dark wizards than any of the others. All the bad wizards who went to Hogwarts were Slytherins."

"Malfoy´s had it in for us from the start," continued Harry. "Ever since I refused his offer of friendship."

"Oh, right. But...what´s a Mudblood? And why is he so against them?"

"Mudblood is an insult used to describe a witch or wizard who has Muggle - non-magical - parents. Like me," explained Hermione.

"So, Malfoy comes from a magical family?"

"Yeah. And his father also happens to be a Death Eater," said Harry.

"A what?"

"That´s the name for followers of You-Know-Who" Ron told her.

"Oh, you mean that Volder-something or other?"

"That´s the one," replied Harry.

Hermione watched as crowds of students from both schools flooded into the entrance. "We´d better follow, or we´ll be late!"

Meanwhile, Willow and Buffy had found Giles, who was sat in the library with Dumbledore and a man they hadn´t seen before. This man was tall and pale, with black, greasy hair, a long black cloak and an unpleasant look in his eyes. Giles made the introductions. "Severus, this is Buffy Summers and Willow Rosenberg. Girls, this is Severus Snape, one of the Hogwarts teachers."

"Nice to meet you," Buffy said politely.

Snape merely nodded. "Mr. Giles, didn´t you say there was one more? A boy?"

"Um, yes I did. Where´s Xander?"

"Haven´t seen him," replied Buffy, as Xander ran into the library.

"Sorry I´m late. Had to stop off at work first. I told them I might need some time off. Then I had to find the library through all these crowds and-" He stopped when he saw Snape. "Hi. I don´t know you, do I?"

"Xander, this is Severus Snape, Severus, this is Xander Harris." Giles replied wearily.

"Okay. So, um, what´s the what?" asked Xander.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Naturally, we are trying our best to protect our students, but some will need more than others." He turned to Buffy. "We were wondering if you could help us protect Harry Potter, as well as his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger."

"Well, I can try," replied Buffy. "Dawn seemed to be getting on pretty well with them, which should help."

"But I have to warn you now Mr. Dumbledore, sir that Dawn is to the undead population of Sunnydale what Ron and Hermione must be to anyone planning on hurting Harry. What if-"

"Miss Rosenberg, I´m sure Miss Summers is perfectly capable of doing her job. After all, she is the Slayer." Snape´s voice was cold and unpleasant.

Buffy suddenly noticed that Giles was engrossed in one of his books. "Okay Giles, what´s up?"

"What? Oh, sorry Buffy." Giles didn´t look up from the text he was reading. "Listen, um, would anyone like to hazard a guess at what this Friday is?"

"Big bad evil day?" offered Buffy.

Giles looked up. "Um, yes. Professor Dumbledore, Severus, any ideas?"

Neither Professor replied. Giles tried a different tactic. "Are there any students who are involved, or who have parents involved with Voldemort?"

Snape nodded. "Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. Their fathers are all Death Eaters."

"Then you might want to keep a very close eye on them this week," said Giles. Horrified understanding dawned on Snape´s face. He was about to speak when the library door opened, and Dawn walked in with Hermione. "Are we interrupting anything?" the former asked.

"As a matter of fact, you are," Snape replied harshly.

"Oh, sorry. It´s just that I told Hermione about all these books that Giles has, and-"

"Come and see me later," Giles gently interrupted her. As the two youngsters walked out, he said "Now, where were we?"

Snape looked at him and replied "The sacrificing ceremony."

Outside, Dawn and Hermione joined the boys. "Who was that?" Dawn was asking.

"That´s Professor Snape," replied Hermione. "He´s head of Slytherin, and incredibly mean to anyone who isn´t of his House."

"Malfoy, of course, is his star pupil. Apparently he can do no wrong," added Ron.

Just then, Professor McGonagall approached them. "Come along you four! The sorting ceremony is going to take longer this year because of all the extra students."

The four followed McGonagall into a large room. In this room were four long tables, one for each of the Houses, and a stool with an old looking hat on it. Hermione whispered to Dawn, "That´s the Sorting Hat. It´ll tell you which House you should be in."

"I reckon you´ll be with us," said Harry as the three Gryffindors sat at their table.

"I hope so," Dawn replied softly.

McGonagall announced "The younger Hogwarts students have already been sorted, since they are to be taught separately. However, we still have all the Sunnydale students to sort, as well as the odd newcomer to Hogwarts."

And so the ceremony began. Dawn watched in amazement as the hat was placed on each student´s head and announced the name of one of the four Houses. She was quite surprised, and worried, about the number of Slytherins being announced. Then it was her turn, and she was relieved to hear the hat call "GRYFFINDOR!" She joined her new friends at their table. "Told you!" said Harry with a wink.

"Look at Malfoy!" snorted Ron. "Doesn´t look too happy about all the Muggles in Slytherin, does he?"

"Looks like those Muggles are going to be outcast then," said Hermione. "Pretty much all of the Slytherins look up to Malfoy, even the older ones."

Back in the library, Buffy, Willow and Xander were all sat looking stunned. "G-Giles," stammered Buffy, "Can - can you please run that by us again?"

"Why, didn´t you understand it the first time?" Snape asked spitefully.

"I understood it," replied Buffy, "I just need to hear it again to believe it."

Giles nodded then reread the passage from the book he was holding. "The sacrificing ceremony was done once a year while Voldemort was in power. He asked his followers to sacrifice something or someone that was precious to them, in order to prove their loyalty to him."

"Then how come this Malfoy kid and the other two are still alive?" asked Xander.

"Voldemort prefers older sacrifices," Snape interjected.

Giles nodded, closing the book, and continued "The ceremony was not continued after Voldemort fell from power. However, since he is now back at full strength we must assume that the ritual will recommence."

Just then, three boys burst into the library, their leader looking furious. Snape went up to him. "Draco, is everything okay?"

"You would not BELIEVE the number of Muggles in Slytherin," snarled Malfoy.

"Sunnydale´s a dark kind of place," offered Willow. She was answered with a glare from Draco. "Who are you anyway?" he demanded.

"Willow Rosenberg. This is Xander Harris and Buffy Summers."

"Summers. Hey, wasn´t there a Summers at the sorting?" Draco asked his companions.

"Yeah, she ended up in Gryffindor with Potter," replied Crabbe.

"Thought so." Draco turned back to Willow. "Anyway, I´m Draco Malfoy, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle."

A hush fell over the room at this. Draco smirked. "Didn´t realise we were that important, did we boys?"

Snape ushered the trio further into the room. "Listen Draco, we have something important to tell you."

Meanwhile, Dawn, Harry, Hermione and Ron were stood outside a classroom. Ron looked at his timetable. "English? You have lessons in the language you speak?"

Dawn grinned. "It´s not quite like that, Ron. We read novels and plays and stuff, and look into how and why the author does what he or she does."

"Oh right." Ron looked confused.

"You´ll see now," Dawn assured him.

Just then, the teacher came and let them all into the classroom. "This is too weird," whispered Ron.

"What is?" asked Dawn.

"A whole year group being in the same class. We´re used to having lessons with just our House, or one other House."

"Yes but Ron, I hardly think we need to be watched as closely in English as we do in something like Potions," Hermione replied loftily.

"You´ll love Potions," Harry told Dawn sarcastically. "Just us and the Slytherins being taught by a head of Slytherin who´ll take points off Gryffindor if one of us dares to breathe in the wrong place."

"Speaking of Slytherins, where are Malfoy and his two followers?" asked Dawn.

"It wouldn´t surprise me if they´ve decided not to show up for Muggle lessons." As Ron said this, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle walked into the classroom. They looked a little subdued; Malfoy looked even paler than usual, if that was possible. Ron leant forward as the trio found places in front of the Gryffindors. "What´s the matter, Malfoy? Did a Muggle touch you or something?"

"Shut up Weasley!" Draco bit back. Crabbe and Goyle threw threatening glances at the Gryffindor. Ron was about to continue when the teacher told them to settle down and began the lesson.

CHAPTER 3 - THE HUNT FOR DRACO

That night, after a long and interesting school day, Dawn and her friends were sat in the Bronze. On the table next to them, Willow was sat laughing and joking with Buffy and Xander. Dawn turned to the others. "It´s good to see Willow enjoying herself again. After the whole thing with Tara, she´s been pretty down."

"I´ve been meaning to ask, what happened with that?" inquired Hermione.

"Well, Willow got addicted to using magic; she was using it to make Tara forget their arguments and everything. Tara ended up leaving her, but they eventually got back together. Then Tara got shot by accident and Willow went crazy. Went to the Magic Box, sucked up all the info on black magic and basically tried to destroy us all in her grief. She was about to try and end the world when Xander talked her down."

As Dawn said this, Buffy wandered over. "Okay you four, I think we´d better go."

"Aw, Buffy!"

"Come on Dawn! It´s a dangerous time of night."

The four youngsters groaned and got their stuff together. As the seven left, they saw Snape storming up to them. Ignoring the others, he demanded of Buffy "Where is he?"

"Where´s who?"

"Draco Malfoy."

"Haven´t seen him. Sorry." Buffy made to move off, but Snape cut her off. Xander stepped forward protectively. "All right, back off Mr. Snape," he snarled.

"As soon as she tells me where Draco is."

"Don´t Crabbe and Goyle know?" ventured Dawn.

"Do you think I´d be wasting my time with you lot if they did?" Snape rounded angrily on the three adults. "You three know how important it is that none of those boys goes missing. If anything happens to Draco..."

"Okay, okay! I´ll go look for him if it makes you feel better." Buffy turned to the others. "Wil, you take Dawn home. Xander, can you drop the other three off on your way home?" The rest of the group nodded, and walked off. Buffy turned back to Snape, and in a gentler voice said "I´m sure he´ll be fine. The ceremony isn´t for another four days, and I can handle pretty much anything else the Hellmouth throws at me."

"He´d better be alright!" was all Snape said in response. Buffy sighed then walked off.

Spike was sat in his crypt sulking. He had recently got his soul back and despised the way it made him sit and brood like Angel. He used to have a chip in his head that caused him pain when he tried to hurt a human. When Buffy had been brought back to life he discovered that the chip didn´t affect him when he hurt her. After this lead to an attempt to rape her, he disappeared to find a shaman who could restore him to the way he had been before the chip. Once he´d completed the tests, however, Spike was reunited with his soul. He had spent the last couple of months trying to deal with what he had done in the past, but now felt it was time to move on and make amends with Buffy.

He stood up and left his crypt. As he passed several graves, he heard shouting up ahead. Running over to see what the noise was about, he spotted a young blond boy in black robes shooting sparks at a trio of vampires who had surrounded him. Whatever he was trying to cast didn´t seem to be having much effect. Spike shook his head then charged at the group, vamping out as he did so. The boy stood stock still in amazement as the vampire lunged at one of his assailants and successfully grappled him. Spike looked up. "Don´t just stand there! Do something!"

Just then, Buffy came running up. "Draco, is that you?"

Spike glanced up at the sound of Buffy´s voice. The vampire he´d been fighting took full advantage of this lapse in concentration and threw Spike off him. The blond vampire landed on his back, but instantly leapt up and lunged again. The pair fought for several minutes, before Spike rammed his assailant into a protruding branch off a tree. He looked around for Buffy and saw her about to stake the other two vampires, who were now frozen to the spot. As the swirl of dust cleared, he saw her round on the young boy. "Draco, what are you doing here on your own?"

"I couldn´t sleep, so I came for a walk."

"In Sunnydale? When you know you´re in danger?"

"Hey Buffy, give the boy a break."

Buffy turned round, stunned. "Spike? Spike, is that you?"

The vampire stepped out of the shadows. "It is. I´m back - and this time I´m...Angel."

Buffy eyed him suspiciously. "What do you mean you´re Angel?"

"After that...that time, I went to a shaman to see if he could get rid of the chip, and instead he gave me my soul."

Buffy glanced at Draco, who was listening intensely, then turned back to Spike. "That´s great, really, but I should get Draco back. Professor Snape´s so worried."

"Oh, don´t stop on my account." Draco seemed intrigued by Spike.

"You could always come back to the crypt," suggested Spike. "He´ll be alright there."

"I don´t know..." Buffy sounded tempted. She glanced at Draco again. "He really should be back at his dormitories."

"I´ll be alright," Draco reassured her confidently. "Snape´s worrying over nothing. My father wouldn´t dream of sacrificing me."

"Alright then," Buffy conceded. "But only for a little while."

The trio walked back to Spike´s crypt. The Slayer and the vampire were deep in conversation while Draco listened in amazement. As they entered Spike´s home, Draco gazed round, drinking in the scene in front of him. Spike smiled at him, a little amused. "Like it do you?"

"It´s great! Crabbe and Goyle would love this!"

"Where are they anyway?" asked Buffy.

"Asleep. They haven´t got the sort of minds that´ll keep them awake all night thinking."

"Lucky them," Spike said quietly.

Just then, there was a sharp gust of wind outside. Draco looked at Buffy, a little afraid. "Okay, you were right. We really should get me back to Snape."

Buffy let out a little smile. "What´s the matter? Not afraid of a little wind are you?"

"This isn´t a little wind. Come on, we have to go!" Draco pulled at her arm, trying to get her to leave. Buffy harshly pulled away.

"Listen you jumped up, arrogant, good for nothing kid!" she snarled. "Snape might put up with your little games but I won´t!"

Draco looked stung, but still desperate to leave. Spike watched him and said "I think he´s serious Buffy. You should take him home."

But it was too late. The main door to the crypt slammed shut, and a figure appeared in front of it. He was dressed in a black robe with a hood that covered his face. "There you are Draco," he drawled. "You´ve got most of Slytherin looking for you."

"Are you with Slytherin?" Buffy asked. "Because I´d be glad to leave him in your hands if-"

"NO!" Draco sounded scared. The figure turned to look at him.

"Son, I´m shocked. You´re not afraid of me are you?"

"I know what you´re up to."

"But it´s for a good cause."

Buffy and Spike glanced at each other. The latter stepped forward. "Excuse me, but who are you?"

"Lucius Malfoy. Draco´s father."

"Oh." Spike looked confused, but didn´t dare question the figure further. Lucius turned back to his son. "Now, are you going to come quietly or am I going to have to use force?"

Draco let out a wry smile. "The son of Lucius Malfoy give in quietly? Were you really expecting that?"

Lucius sighed. "No I wasn´t. I was hoping for it, but I was certainly prepared for a fight." He stalked forward and backhanded Draco across the face, sending him slamming into the coffin at the edge of the room. Draco looked up, stunned. "F...father?"

"You were asking for it!" snarled Lucius. "You´ve been asking for it for a long time. Nothing but a disgrace, to the name Malfoy and to Slytherin."

"I am NOT a disgrace to Slytherin!" Draco staggered to his feet. His father looked him in the eye. "Oh really? So how come you´ve yet to win the House Cup for them? And what about your Quidditch team? I spent all that money on buying the best brooms for the team just so they´d let you play, and you´ve yet to prove that it was deserved."

"I´d have won it in third year if stupid Potter hadn´t had his stupid Firebolt!"

"Will you stop whinging about Harry Potter? I have told you many times, it is not wise to badmouth-"

Lucius was interrupted when Draco, pushed to the limit of his temper, lifted his wand and yelled "Petrificus Totallus!"

A flash of light shot from the end of his wand, but Lucius merely swatted the beam away and it deflected dangerously close to Spike. His eyes blazed with anger as he bore down on his son again. Draco winced as his father grabbed hold of his hair and pulled him towards him. In a quietly dangerous voice, Lucius snarled "NEVER raise your wand to me again my boy!"

He threw his son into a corner, bent down to grab hold of him again and-

WHAM! Without warning, Buffy had grabbed hold of the back of Lucius´ robes, swung him round and punched him. He landed in the middle of the room, and Buffy pulled back into fighting stance ready for retaliation. However, the older Malfoy merely stood up, dusted himself off and headed for the door. "I´ll be back for you Draco. I have four days to find you yet."

With that, he disapparated and the crypt door swung open again. Buffy went over to Draco, who was still cowering in the corner. "Are you okay?"

"Take me home." Draco´s voice was cold. "I need to see Severus."

Buffy offered her hand, but Draco pulled himself up and stalked over to the door. Buffy sighed then followed, waving to Spike as she left.

CHAPTER 4 - THEN THERE WAS ONE

The next morning, Buffy walked into the library to find Snape, Giles, McGonagall and Dumbledore all gathered. She glanced nervously at Willow then went further into the room. "Er, hi."

There was no response. After a few moments´ silence, Giles spoke. "While Mr. Snape was out looking for Draco last night, Vincent and Gregory´s fathers raided Slytherin House. They´ve both been taken."

Buffy glanced at the group then looked down. "I´m sorry. I - I did find him, but then I ran into-"

"Vampire called Spike, yes?" Snape´s voice was colder than ever. "You took Draco back to his crypt, despite what you know-"

"He said you were worrying over nothing!" interrupted Buffy.

"That is because Draco has never had any reason to think his father would hurt him, up until last night. He doesn´t always know what´s best for him; it was down to you to be firm with him."

"But Spike said he´d be alright in his crypt!"

"Spike didn´t know what you did. He wasn´t to know the danger Draco was in." Snape gave Buffy a stony look. "But that´s not the worst of it, is it? No, the worst part is, when Draco heard that wind and asked you to bring him back to me, not only did you ignore him, you actually argued with him over it. And then, when Lucius announced who he was, you didn´t step in. You let him beat and berate his son before you finally did anything!"

Buffy opened her mouth to retort when Draco walked in. The left side of his face was slightly bruised and there was none of his old swagger about him. Snape looked at him, concerned. "Is everything okay, Draco?"

The boy didn´t answer, but turned to glare at Buffy, obvious loathing in his eyes. "How dare you! How dare you let that damned Muggle know what happened?"

"If you mean my sister, she asked." Buffy sounded as if her temper was at its limit. Draco´s eyes narrowed. "Yeah, and now her, and the Mudblood, and Weasley and - and - POTTER!" Draco spat this last name out as if it were a bad taste in his mouth, "think it´s funny to keep reminding me of how my own father thinks nothing of me!"

Snape rounded on Buffy, infuriated. "So not only do you let him get hurt, but you allow your sister to go around teasing him about it as well. Not much of a Slayer, are you?"

Buffy snapped. "I saved him!" she yelled. "I could have stood back and let that little brat get knocked out or killed by his father, but I didn´t! I stepped in, and this is the thanks I get!"

"Would have been nice if you´d stepped in sooner!" Draco bit back. "Like before he´d even shown up!"

"If you hadn´t been so cocky and over-sure of yourself-"

"It´s okay Buffy." Giles stepped in, going over to Buffy and placing his hand on her shoulder. "Look, Buffy made a mistake but she is only human. It´s obvious that Draco is in part to blame for all this, but I´m sure both have learnt their lessons."

At the word `blame´, Snape had glared at Giles. He opened his mouth to object when Dumbledore stepped in. "Mr. Giles is right, Severus," he said gently. "Draco really shouldn´t have walked off."

"You think I don´t know that?" Draco´s voice was barely above a whisper. Tears glistened in his eyes as he said "If I hadn´t walked off, they wouldn´t have taken Crabbe and Goyle."

The rest of the room looked at him, a little stunned. Snape swooped over to him. "Draco, how many times have I told you? It´s not your fault they´re gone."

"But Severus-" Draco stopped as he suddenly realised what he had said. "I - I´d better get to class. I´ll speak to you later Professor Snape, sir." With that, he turned and practically ran out of the library. The others looked at Snape curiously. "I hardly think that´s a matter of importance, do you?" he snarled

"Of course not, Severus. It´s just that you very rarely hear Mr. Malfoy address anyone by their first name." Dumbledore sounded mildly amused. "I guess it shows that he does have a gentler side after all."

Snape glared at him. "If you will, the matter in hand. Obviously myself and the rest of Slytherin will be keeping a very close eye on him, but I don´t know if that´ll be enough."

"If only Anya were here," said Buffy wistfully. "She could get one of us to wish something and this could be done with."

"But Anya´s speciaty is vengeance for scorned women. I don´t see how -" Willow trailed off. "Actually, yes I do! In fact, I´d be surprised if she isn´t hearing a call of pain from Sunnydale right now."

"You have a friend who´s a vengeance demon? Very interesting," Dumbledore mused.

"With the state that boy´s in now, I´m surprised he isn´t swarming with them already." McGonagall spoke up.

"Ooh, Giles, can I speak to you for a minute. It´s kind of important."

"Okay Buffy," Giles led her to his office. "What is it?"

"Spike told me last night that he has his soul back."

"Interesting. Do you believe him?"

"I don´t know. I mean, by the looks of it he was helping Draco fight off some vampires - yes, Draco ran into some vampires, but he didn´t get hurt."

"I see. Do you think he´d be willing to help us?"

"Maybe. I mean, he seemed rather interested in Draco and his well-being, maybe he sees something of himself in the boy?"

"Would you mind asking him?" Giles asked gently.

"Not at all. I´ll go and see him later."

"Thank you Buffy. Now, I think you and Willow had better be off. And don´t worry about Severus. Dumbledore has explained to me that he is particularly protective of Malfoy, apparently he sees him almost as a son."

"I guess you can identify with that, huh Giles?"

"I, erm, in a way yes." Giles replied clumsily.

Buffy smiled, and walked over to the table where Willow was deep in conversation with Snape. "Hey Willow, you ready?"

"What? Oh, sure. But what about-" Willow indicated Snape.

"Okay." Buffy turned to Snape. "Professor Snape, I´ll have a word with Dawn. I´ll get her and the others to back off."

Snape did not respond. Buffy sighed then walked out of the library, Willow following.

That afternoon, Dawn went to her first Potions lesson. She sat in the back with Ron, Harry, and Hermione, dreading the lesson she was about to have. Malfoy was sat at the front, looking very lost without Crabbe and Goyle. Dawn turned to the others. "Where do you think they are, anyway?"

"Apparently there was a raid on Slytherin House last night," replied Ron.

Parvati Patil turned around from the row in front to speak to them. "Lavender and I heard Blaise Zabini say that they were looking for Malfoy as well, only he wasn´t there."

"Yeah, and we all know why that is!" snorted Ron. "Too busy playing with the undead!" The Gryffindors sniggered. Malfoy turned round and shot them a look of contempt before returning to face the front. Lavender giggled. "Doesn´t quite work as well when he´s on his own, does it?"

As she said this, Snape stormed in. It was obvious that he was in a terribly black mood, and the whole class knew what that meant. As he passed the back two rows, he snarled "I will not tolerate gossip in my classroom, Miss Brown. Ten points from Gryffindor!"

He stalked to the front of the class. The Sunnydale students all looked terrified, especially those who had been placed in Gryffindor. He began the class by saying "Right, you are all going to be making a universal antidote - a simple potion that will offset the effects of all but the most lethal of poisons. Now I want you Hogwarts students to each work with a Sunnydale student - and Mr. Longbottom, try not to let your clumsiness rub off on any of them."

Most of the Slytherins sniggered at this, but Malfoy looked like his mind was elsewhere. As the students started to pair off, he stalked to the back row where Dawn and Hermione were setting up. "Oh no you don´t! Miss Granger, go and work with Longbottom and his unfortunate partner. As for you Miss Summers, I think I´ll put you with Mr. Malfoy." As he walked past her, he muttered "You can apologise to him while you´re at it."

Dawn cautiously walked over to Malfoy´s bench and sat next to him. "Um, hi."

Malfoy didn´t reply. Remembering what Snape had said, and knowing there would be trouble if she didn´t, Dawn said "I´m sorry about, you know, telling the others about what happened last night. I didn´t realise it would be this bad."

"Should have thought of that before you opened your big mouth then, shouldn´t you?"

"Look, I don´t know exactly what´s going on with you; I don´t know why your friends have gone. All I know is what Buffy told me about last night."

"What, so she tells you all the fun stuff, but doesn´t tell you why my father is out to get me? How good of her!"

"I - I´d like to know what´s going on though. Buffy does have a tendency to keep things from me."

"Maybe you should try asking her then." Malfoy´s tone indicated that as far as he was concerned, their conversation was over. The pair worked in tense silence, Malfoy muttering the occasional insult at Dawn as she dropped things, or mixed up some of the ingredients. Dawn was relieved when Snape finally dismissed the class after taking a further fifteen points off Gryffindor at the expense of herself, Neville Longbottom and Seamus Finnigan. As the class left the dungeon, Dawn rushed to catch up with her friends. "Hey guys. How´d you go?"

"Okay actually," replied Harry. "The Muggle Slytherin I was working with didn´t seem all that bad."

"How were things with Malfoy?" Ron asked her.

"Awful!" Dawn proceeded to tell her friends about her conversation with the Slytherin. As she had got to telling them about his attitude while they were working, the group saw Buffy approach. "Dawn, there you are! Listen, I need to talk to you."

"If you want me to apologise to Malfoy, I already have. Snape made me work with him in Potions." Dawn sounded a little sulky at this. Buffy chose to ignore her sister´s tone. "Well that´s great, but I still need to speak to you. All four of you, if that´s okay?"

The group all nodded. Buffy led them to an empty Sunnydale classroom which had been left unlocked. She ushered the youngsters in before shutting the door behind them. "Now, I know there are a lot of rumours going around about why Crabbe and Goyle aren´t here today, so I´m giving you the facts so that you can accurately inform your classmates."

"What, you mean we can tell Parvati and she´ll have told the whole school within an hour?" scoffed Ron.

"This is serious, Ron." Buffy scolded him. "Crabbe and Goyle´s fathers raided Slytherin House last night, and took their sons in preparation for a ceremony called the Sacrificing Ceremony."

Hermione paled at this. "Not - not the Sacrificing ceremony for You-Know-Who? The one where he makes the Death Eaters prove their loyalty to him?"

"I´m afraid it is," Buffy replied soberly.

"Is that why Malfoy´s dad attacked him?" asked Harry.

"Yes it is. As you know, he got away this time, but the ceremony isn´t until Friday. Now, Snape´s got the Slytherins looking after him, but could you lot keep a discreet eye on him as well?"

"Why bother?" asked Ron. "It´s not like anyone will miss them when they´re gone."

"No," Hermione replied sarcastically. "No-one will miss them at all. Apart from everyone in Slytherin House, including Snape, but that´s only how many people?"

"She´s got a point," Harry admitted. "We may not like them, but there are people here who do. Besides, I don´t even want to think about what Snape would be like if Malfoy died."

"That´s good enough reason for me." Ron said quickly.

"What about Crabbe and Goyle?" ventured Dawn.

"Why would we worry about them?" scoffed Ron.

"Because I don´t like seeing Malfoy on his own. No-one deserves to have their best friends taken away from them like that."

Buffy smiled proudly at her sister. "That´s very considerate Dawn. We haven´t decided on what to do about Crabbe and Goyle yet; Snape´s too concerned with Malfoy´s welfare at the moment. Which reminds me; while we´re on the subject could you please give Malfoy space over this?" Buffy looked at the group, a serious expression on her face. "He´s somehow got it into his head that he´s to blame for Crabbe and Goyle being taken, and the last thing he needs is anyone telling him he´s right."

"Poor thing! Don´t worry Buffy, we´ll leave him alone." Dawn shot a meaningful look at Ron, who quickly nodded in agreement. Buffy smiled. "I guess I´ll leave you to it then."

After school, Dawn and her friends went outside to wait for Buffy. As they waited they saw a big group of Slytherins pass, Malfoy in the middle of them. Dawn was about to comment when she saw her sister. "Hi Buffy!"

"Hey Dawnie. Sorry I´m a bit late, I had to go and speak to Spike."

"What about?"

"I went to tell him about what´s going on with Malfoy, and he´s offered to keep watch at Slytherin House over the next couple of nights."

"Oh right. Hey, has he apologised for - you know?"

"Yes he has. It´s alright Dawn, you´re allowed to like him again!" Buffy teased. Hermione was listening to them, intrigued. "I thought Spike was a vampire?"

"He is," replied Dawn. "But he had this chip in his head that stopped him hurting humans, and now he has his soul back."

"But I thought Angelus was the only one with a soul."

"He was," Buffy said quickly, keen to get off the subject. "So hey, are you ready to go Dawn?"
"Sure. Is it alright for Harry, Hermione and Ron to come over for a bit?"

"I don´t see why not. Does Professor McGonagall know?"

"Yes, and she was fine with it," replied Ron, "especially after Hermione promised that we would help Dawn with her magical studies!"

"That´s okay then. I can bring you back when I come to show Spike where the Slytherins sleep. Anyway, we´d better get going." Buffy led the quartet from the school.

CHAPTER 5 - MALFOY GOES MISSING

When Buffy, Willow and Dawn arrived at school the next day, they saw a huge commotion. Groups of students were all gathered, whispering their version of some event that had obviously taken place last night. The Slytherins all looked furious and other pupils seemed to cower away from them as they passed. Dawn waved to her friends, who she had just seen. "Hey guys. What´s going on?"

"It´s Malfoy," replied Hermione. "He´s been taken."

"WHAT?!" Buffy sounded furious. "When?"

"I´m not sure. Everyone seems to have a different story of how it happened," Hermione answered.

"Have you seen Snape?" asked Willow, sounding quite concerned.

"Yes, and boy do I pity Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw," said Ron. "He seemed terribly upset when he passed."

"Look, we´d better go and find Giles. We´ll see you four later." Buffy turned and headed off to the library. Willow waved at the other four before following. They burst into the library to see Giles and Snape sat at the table. "Okay, how did this happen?" demanded Buffy.

"Spike´s explained everything," Giles said calmly. "Mr. Malfoy cast a spell that called daylight. Spike made a run for it and came to see me. He tried his best Buffy."

"I know. I´m sure you´re right Giles. I was just a bit, well, worried really."

"This isn´t your fault Miss Summers." Snape sounded both exhausted and a little emotional. "Spike was doing a wonderful job until Lucius cast daylight. If only we´d had just a few more minutes..."

Willow went to sit next to the teacher. "But he´ll be alright, won´t he? I mean, there is something we can do to get him back, to get the three of them back?"

Snape sighed. "Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do until Friday. We have little to no chance of finding them before then, and even if we could they´ll be under extremely heavy guard."

"What sort of heavy guard?" asked Buffy, obviously eager to be out doing something.

"The sort of heavy guard that would seriously overpower you." Snape´s voice was not unkind. "I certainly do not doubt your abilities as a Slayer, but against a large group of extremely powerful wizards you wouldn´t stand a chance."

"He´s right Buffy." Giles said gently.

Willow turned back to Snape. "So how will we find them on Friday?"

"I think I know where they´ll be," he replied. "And even if I´m wrong, I´ll be led to them."

"How do you mean?" Willow looked confused. Snape rolled up a sleeve to display a strange mark on his arm. "That´s the Dark Mark, symbol of Voldemort," he explained.

"You - you were a Death Eater?" Willow asked, stunned.

"Indeed I was, Miss Rosenberg. A reformed Death Eater now, I hasten to point out."

"So, you´ll be able to find Voldemort wherever he is?" Buffy spoke up. "What do we do until then?"

Snape looked up at her, and gravely replied "We sit and wait."

That lunchtime, Buffy and Willow met up with Dawn and the others. The four youngsters listened in amazement as Buffy told them about the talk in the library. Harry was the first to speak up. "So we can´t do anything about Malfoy and the others until Friday?"

"Apparently it would be too dangerous," replied Willow.

"Oh, because invading a Death Eater ritual isn´t?" asked Ron in disbelief.

"At least we´ll know where they are then," replied Buffy. "And they´ll be less likely to expect an attack."

"But even when we do find them, how are we supposed to fight all those Dark wizards?" asked Hermione, sounding mildly terrified.

"You won´t be doing any fighting," Buffy reassured her. "This is down to us adults to solve."

"Fine by me," said Ron. "I don´t fancy a run-in with Lucius Malfoy and You-Know-Who."

As he said this, a trio of Slytherin girls walked in. Other students were still flinching away from them as they stalked up to the group´s table. Millicent Bulstrode, the largest of the three, slammed both arms down onto the table and glared straight at Hermione. "Having a nice little celebration are we Mudblood?"

"Does this look like a celebration to you?" snapped Ron.

Millicent turned to look at him. "Still Weasley, you must be glad. No more Malfoy giving you grief."

"You seem to be doing a pretty good job of making up for it," remarked Dawn.

"Shut up Summers!" snarled Blaise Zabini. "And don´t even think about getting your sister involved."

"Bit late for that isn´t it?" asked Buffy.

"Don´t get smart with us, Slayer!" snapped Blaise. "You´ve caused Draco enough pain already."

"He hates himself for not being there when Crabbe and Goyle were taken," Pansy Parkinson joined in. "Even though we all kept telling him he couldn´t have done anything. Said he could have at least tried."

"And telling that Muggle all about it!" sneered Millicent. "Draco doesn´t need people like her and Potter knowing what his father thinks of him."

"It´s all lies anyway," said Pansy. "Draco´s a total asset to Slytherin. Snape adores him, we all do."

"I bet," muttered Dawn.

Blaise shot her a look of contempt, and turned to her two companions. "Come on girls, let´s go. We´ve got better things to do than talk to these losers all day." The trio stormed off. Hermione turned to Dawn, who looked furious. "They´re just upset," she soothed. "All three of them adore Malfoy, especially Pansy."

"But why do they need to have a go at us?" fumed Dawn.

"Because we´re Malfoy´s greatest antagonists," replied Harry. "We´re an easy target for the Slytherins´ anger."
That night, Dawn was sat in the Gryffindor common room with her three friends. In one corner Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas were playing an exciting game of wizard´s chess, while in another Parvati and Lavender were telling Ron´s sister Ginny all about their Potions lesson. Ron, Harry and Hermione were teaching Dawn about Exploding Snap when Spike walked in. "Hello Dawn."

"Spike!" Dawn looked up. "Did Buffy send you? Because I swear, I told her I was staying here."

"Relax. I came here of my own free will," Spike assured her.

"Oh, okay." Dawn turned to her friends. "Guys, this is Spike. Spike, this is Hermione, Harry and Ron."

"Nice to meet you," Spike said. "I´m glad you´ve got your friends little bit."

Dawn blushed a little at his pet name for her. Hermione turned to the vampire, awe-struck. "So, you´re a vampire, but you have a soul. What´s that like?"

"It´s hard. For a while at least. Once you get over the initial brooding, you can start moving on. Unless you´re Angel, in which case you keep on moping."

"You know Angelus?" asked Parvati, who had come over with Lavender and Ginny.

"Well, sure. I was sired by him, after all."

"Wow!" Hermione sounded impressed. "Angelus is an interesting character."

"Angel is a miserable character," Spike returned.

"But he has to be," Dawn pointed out. "You know as well as I do what happens if he gets truly happy."

"We don´t! What happens?" asked Lavender.

"He loses his soul," explained Dawn. "He becomes bad Angelus again. And that´s not pretty, believe me."

Ginny shyly spoke up. "I - I heard you fought Malfoy´s dad last night?"

"Yes, I did." Spike told her. "Although now I wish I hadn´t held back as much as I did."

"Held back? Why?" asked Ron.

"Well, my plan was to just stall him until the others could get his son somewhere safe. Unfortunately, I happened to show my true nature, and revealed my weakness in doing so."

"Lucius Malfoy´s a tough wizard," said Harry.

"Is it true what they´re saying about him deflecting one of Draco´s spells away with his arm?" asked Lavender.

"Yes it is," replied Spike. "Don´t ask me how, but he did."

Hermione opened her mouth to launch into an explanation. Ron gave her a look. "Don´t even think about it."

"Leave her alone Ron!" Dawn teased.

"No, trust me. Once she gets started, we´ll be here all night."

"Ron!" Ginny scolded her brother.

"Listen, I´d better leave you kids to it. But Dawn, come and see me if you have a chance. Bring this lot with you if you like, you know where I am," said Spike.

Dawn nodded. "I will come and visit you at some point. Bye Spike." As the vampire left, she turned to the others. "I wonder where Malfoy is now."

CHAPTER 6 - TORTURE AND TACTICS

Draco Malfoy was slowly waking up. In his groggy state he had forgotten where he was, and couldn´t figure out why he was aching all over. His eyes slowly flickered open and everything came rushing back. His father had managed to get to him and had taken him ready to be sacrificed on Friday. From somewhere next to him he heard Crabbe and Goyle stirring. He longed to call out to them, but didn´t dare to think that they´d forgive him. He had deserted them when they needed him most; after all of the loyalty they had shown him. He roused from his thoughts with a start when he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. "You alright Draco?" Crabbe asked gruffly. Draco spun round, pulling away slightly as he did so. "I´m sorry Crabbe," he whispered.

"What for?" asked Crabbe. "It´s not your fault."

"I left you! I let you get taken without even being there to protect you!"

"Draco, we don´t expect you to protect us. We protect you, remember?"

"Crabbe, please don´t." Draco could feel tears pricking at his eyes, and didn´t want to cry in front of his friend. "Where´s Goyle?"

"I´m here," said Goyle, from the other side of Draco. "Sorry, I know it´s a bit dark in here."

"How was school on Tuesday?" asked Crabbe.

"You want an honest answer? It was hell. I mean, the rest of the Slytherins tried their best, but they´re - they´re not you."

"What about the rest of the school?" asked Goyle.

"Well, Potter and his gang thought it was funny to keep reminding me of how my father thinks I´m worthless."

"What?!" gasped Crabbe and Goyle in unison.

"That´s right," Draco said sadly. "Apparently I´m a disgrace to the name Malfoy, and to Slytherin."

"You´re not a disgrace to anyone!" said Crabbe. "You´re the best Slytherin in the school."

"Even Snape likes you, and you know he doesn´t like anyone." Goyle joined in.

"Just because you haven´t been famous from birth is no reason to see you as a disgrace."

"My father´s argument was that because I haven´t won the House Cup or the Quidditch Cup for Slytherin, I´m a disgrace."

"We would have won the House Cup in first year if it hadn´t been for Potter´s silly heroics," Crabbe reminded him.

"And you almost won us the Quidditch Cup in third year," said Goyle.

"Believe me, I tried that argument. Strangely, it didn´t work." Draco sounded incredibly affected by this. Crabbe and Goyle were about to reassure him further when they heard footsteps approach. It sounded like the person was coming down some steps. They heard a familiar voice call "Lumos" and the room they were in was bathed in light. As his eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness, Draco realised that the three of them were in a big cage in some sort of cave. The footsteps came closer and he heard his father sneer "Well, well, well. Finally come round have you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You´ve been out cold for nearly twenty-four hours!" Lucius laughed. "Maybe it was a little harsh casting on you when I´d already knocked you out with my fist."

Draco lifted his hand to his face. He had felt the left side of his face stinging a little, but had just put it down to the attack on Monday night. He stood up, glaring at his father. "Bet you enjoyed it too. Been wanting to do it for a while now, haven´t you, only Mother wouldn´t let you."

"Shut up!" Lucius let out a flash of silver light from his wand, which caught his son right in the shoulder. Draco winced as the lightning bolt struck, and his father laughed. "Such a coward, aren´t you son? It makes me wonder if you´re a worthy sacrifice after all. Maybe I should have taken your mother instead."

"Yeah, well that´s next year sorted, but what then?" retorted Draco, sounding a lot braver than he felt. Crabbe and Goyle were watching him, looking impressed that he was standing up to his father. Lucius, however, was not amused. "I don´t think it´s any concern of yours what happens any further than tomorrow."

"Why not? It´ll give me something to do with my day other than sit here waiting to die." Draco´s habitual drawl crept into his voice as he said this. Lucius looked absolutely furious. "Don´t you take that insolent tone with me!" he snarled, before pointing his wand at his son and yelling "Crucio!"

Draco instantly sank to the ground as huge waves of unbearable pain swept through his body. He bit his lip hard, trying desperately not to scream. Crabbe and Goyle glanced at each other, clearly terrified. They had been taught about the Cruciatus curse last year, and knew it was one of the unforgivable curses. Normally that wouldn´t bother them, but seeing their best friend collapsed on the ground in agony caused by his own father was almost more than they could bear. Eventually, Draco had to give in to his urge and let out an incredible cry of pain. Lucius flicked his wand away and the pain slowly ebbed away. Draco looked up and whispered. "Sorry Father."

"That´s better." Lucius smiled triumphantly. "Don´t worry, this won´t affect the Ceremony tomorrow. I can keep you alive for as long as I need to."

Draco remained silent. Lucius knelt down in front of him. "At least I´ve come to see you. Those two won´t see their fathers until they´re about to die."

"I should be so lucky!" Draco bit out, steeling himself for more pain. Instead, Lucius merely stood up, an odd expression on his face. "Well, I guess you are a true Malfoy after all," he said. "Stubborn to the very last. Now I have things to do, so I´ll leave you." He turned and walked off. When he reached the stairs, he called "Nox!" and the cave was bathed in darkness again. As soon as his father´s footsteps had faded, Draco collapsed into tears. Crabbe and Goyle grouped round him, uncertain as to what to do as their best friend sobbed out his pain, guilt and frustration.

That lunchtime Buffy, Willow, Xander, Giles, Snape and Dumbledore all gathered in the library. Dumbledore turned to Snape. "So, where do you think the ceremony will take place?"

"I have a feeling it will be the ruins of the old Sunnydale High. Voldemort always chooses ruined buildings, that way no-one will notice any extra damage. Or any blood."

"Blood? There´s blood involved?" asked Xander, a little shocked.

Snape nodded. "The more painful and drawn out the sacrifice is the more loyalty it´s supposed to show. That´s why the Death Eaters prefer older sacrifices." He sounded quite emotional at this fact. Having seen Lucius Malfoy in action, Buffy fully understood why. She noticed that Willow was constantly glancing at her watch. "Okay Willow, what´s up?"

"What? Oh it´s nothing." As Willow said this, Anya walked into the library followed by an older woman. Snape walked up to them and took hold of the stranger´s hand. "Narcissa! What are you doing here?"

"I was just wondering that myself," said Giles, looking at Anya and Willow for an explanation. Anya led Narcissa to a seat before replying. "Well, I heard this huge cry of pain from Sunnydale, so I appear to find Mrs. Malfoy sat staring at this photo of a boy."

"Mrs. Malfoy? So you´re Draco´s mother?" said Buffy, suddenly understanding. Narcissa nodded. "When Anyanka appeared, I knew straight away who she was. So I told her all about how Lucius wants to sacrifice my darling son-" she stopped, trying to keep her emotions in check. Anya continued. "I thought I should find out if you lot knew anything about this, so I went to find Willow. She told me the whole story about this ceremony, so I said we´d come and help with a plan."

"This could prove very useful," said Snape. "But we must be careful what we wish for."

"Trust me, we know," said Buffy.

"Severus, I trust I can leave you in charge of this? I have work that needs doing." Dumbledore stood up. Snape nodded his assent, and the headmaster walked out. As he did so, Buffy asked "So, do we know what sort of time the ceremony will be held?"

"Probably about three in the morning," replied Snape. "It´s dark, and most of the Muggles are out of the way."

"So we meet here at about two?" offered Buffy, ignoring Xander´s groans.

"No, outside Slytherin House. I will sneak into the back of the group, disguised as a Death Eater. Willow, I´m afraid I must ask you to assist me in this."

Willow nodded. "Your sacrifice."

"So meanwhile, we sneak in a different way?" Buffy stopped and thought. "I´m guessing they´ll choose the old library, it´s easily the biggest part. We can sneak in through what used to be the stacks."

"Right. Narcissa, you then make your wish - try and keep it simple, something to disarm Lucius rather than something involving changes of time or place. Anyanka will then grant this wish and Buffy, we will have to move as fast as possible in the confusion to get the boys out."

"Should I bring Spike?" asked Buffy.

"Good idea," replied Snape. "We should be out of there by sunrise anyway. And the Death Eaters won´t cast sunlight for fear of being seen."

Giles turned to Xander. "Meanwhile, we´ll wait outside in my car. Once they get the boys back, we´ll take them to yours then I´ll head back here to meet the others."

"You got it, G-Man." Xander was trying to sound upbeat but everyone knew he was just as scared and worried as the rest of them. The group sat in quiet contemplation for a few moments then Snape spoke up. "Right, well I think we´ll leave it there. I´ll see you all later."

As they left the library, Buffy turned to Willow. "So that´s what you meant when you said that Anya would hear pain from Sunnydale."
Willow nodded. "It was a complete guess - I mean, she could have still been in England, and then we´d have had problems. I guess she followed her family."

Xander turned to her, concerned. "Are you sure you´re okay about being a fake sacrifice? I mean, what if he calls Snape forward first?"

"Anya´ll just have to grant the wish, and we´ll be fine," she replied, obviously determined to go through with this.

Back in the cave Draco was sat curled up in the cage, drained. Crabbe and Goyle were sat either side of him, making sure that he was alright. Their silence was broken when they heard someone call "Lumos!" At the sound of his father´s voice Draco staggered to his feet, trying to compose himself. Crabbe and Goyle followed suit. Lucius stopped in front of the cage. "Hello son. Thought I´d come and check on you."

"What, come to check I haven´t killed myself you mean? That would make you look good wouldn´t it, your sacrifice committing suicide?"

Draco instantly regretted this insolent comment as a bolt of lightning hit his body. He was still weakened from the Cruciatus curse that morning, and this last attack caused him to collapse to the ground, gasping for breath. Lucius knelt down to his son´s level and snarled "When I get you in that room tomorrow, I´ll hear you beg for mercy before I kill you."

"You´ll be there a long time then," Draco gasped. "I don´t do begging."

"Oh you will, my boy. You will." Lucius stood up. "You forget I´m the one who taught you."

"Not the only one." Draco staggered uneasily to his feet and looked his father in the eye. "And the more you hurt me, the angrier Severus is going to get."

Lucius laughed. "Severus Snape? I think I can handle him, boy! Besides, Lord Voldemort isn´t very happy with him as it is."

Just then, a loud voice boomed "Lucius! Leave the sacrifice to rest. The more refreshed he is later on, the longer you have to prove yourself to me."

Lucius started at this voice, called "Yes my Lord!" and stalked out, pausing only to call "Nox!" as he reached the steps. Crabbe quickly grabbed hold of Draco´s arm in order to stop the smaller boy collapsing. "Come on Draco. Come and sit down."

That morning, at about two o´clock, Buffy and the others were all gathered outside Slytherin House. When Snape emerged, he was dressed in the same black robes that Buffy had seen Lucius Malfoy wear. He glanced round the group. "Where´s Spike?"

"He´s going to meet us there," replied Buffy. "He said he´ll keep an eye on proceedings until we get there."

"Very well. Now Willow, I´m afraid I must restrain you in some way, since you are to be my sacrifice."

Willow stepped forward willingly. Snape conjured magical bonds stopping her from moving anywhere he didn´t want her to. "We´ll head off now; make sure you´re all there by three."

As he led Willow away, Buffy turned to Xander and Giles. "You two go and find somewhere to park the car. Find Spike and make sure he knows where you´ll be. He can let me know." She then turned to Anya and Mrs Malfoy. "We´ll walk. It´s not far and it´ll give the others a chance to sort everything out. Don´t worry Mrs Malfoy; we will save your son."

CHAPTER 7 - THE SACRIFICING CEREMONY

A blast of cold air woke Draco, and he realised he´d been knocked out again. As he came to, he noticed that he was now in a cage with the rest of the sacrifices. Once his focus had returned, he worked out that he was in the remains of a school library, and that the cage was a restored book cage. He suddenly felt Goyle´s heavy hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright Draco?"

"Not really. This could take hours."

"Maybe you ought to give in to him Draco," suggested Crabbe.

"What, and let him take the last bit of pride I have? If I´m going, I´m going with my head held high."

Crabbe and Goyle glanced at each other. They knew it was no good trying to convince Draco to change his mind; after all, he was not a Malfoy for nothing. Just then they saw another Death Eater walk in. Recognising Willow as the sacrifice, Draco allowed a sliver of hope to creep in. "It must be Snape!" he whispered to his two friends. As the figure drew nearer, Willow let out a slight wink. Snape opened the cage door, threw Willow in, closed the door and found a spot at the back of the circle of Death Eaters. Draco looked at the redhead expectantly. "What´s going on?"

"We´re gonna get you out of this, okay?" Willow was shocked at how drained and terrified Malfoy looked. They were interrupted by Voldemort walking in. The Death Eaters all bowed to him. Then he spoke. "My divinations show that we may have intruders a little later. Therefore, I suggest we start the ceremony early."

Willow gasped. "But - but they can´t!"

"You going to try and stop them?" Draco retorted.

Voldemort continued. "I see we have a new arrival, who will be tested soon enough. However, the first three slots have already been booked."

On hearing this, the blood drained from Draco´s face as he realised what was going to happen. "How could he!" he whispered tearfully.

"I believe, Mr. Crabbe, that you wish to go first."

"Yes my Lord."

"Very well. In your own time."

Mr. Crabbe walked up to the cage, grabbed hold of his son and dragged him into the open. The other Death Eaters crowded round, but there was a gap at the exact point where Draco was sitting. Voldemort conjured up magical shackles, and then the sacrifice began. Draco found himself transfixed in horror as Mr. Crabbe laid into his son, both magically and physically. For a whole quarter of an hour Vincent was beaten, and was only killed off when all of his bones were broken and most of the blood had already left his veins. It took all of Draco´s self-control not to vomit at the sight. Willow placed a comforting hand on his shoulder but he barely noticed. Goyle´s death was just as violent and brutal as Crabbe´s, and Draco felt torn apart at having to watch this, unable to help his best friends. Then it was his turn. As his father dragged him into the centre of the room, he tried to clear all thoughts and images of the last half hour from his head. He needed a clear mind if he was going to stay strong through this.

As Buffy, Anya and Mrs Malfoy ran up to the ruined school, they saw Spike reach the entrance from the inside. He looked horrified and Buffy instantly knew something was wrong. "They´ve already started haven´t they?"

Spike nodded. "They´ve only done two, but young Malfoy´s up now."

Mrs. Malfoy paled at this. "Draco! My darling son!"

"It´ll be okay. Just remember, once we´re in the room you can do what you like to Lucius," said Anya in an attempt to comfort her. The group ran round to what had been the stacks, the back entrance to the library. As they drew nearer, they could clearly hear Draco´s cries of anguished pain. His mother clearly wanted to rush in to him, but she managed to restrain herself. As they entered the library, however, Narcissa couldn´t help but gasp. Her son was stood surrounded by Death Eaters, already looking badly beaten. Lucius was circling him, throwing curses at him in between vicious punches and kicks and then backing away, just circling and hurling abuse. The group could see Draco trying to stay strong, but it was obviously a struggle. Then Buffy saw something that made her feel physically ill. She grabbed Spike´s arm and pointed. "Look. I think that may well be the remains of Crabbe and Goyle," she whispered.

Narcissa looked over. "I - oh god! That is the remains of Crabbe and Goyle!" She turned to Anya, and with obvious loathing in her voice said "I wish that Lucius Malfoy would turn into the evil rat that he is!"

"Done!" replied Anya, showing her demonic visage. She turned her gaze towards Lucius, and a green ray shot out from her amulet. As it hit, Lucius let out a roar of pain before shrinking down. Once he had become invisible to the group in the stacks, Buffy turned to Anya. "Get her out of here. Spike and I will get Draco and the others."

Anya and Narcissa ran back through the old stacks as Buffy and Spike charged into the group of Death Eaters. They were all crouched down looking for Lucius and shouting "He´s a rat! How did that happen?" Buffy saw Spike and Snape head for Draco so she went for the cage. She pulled it open and helped a shaken Willow climb out. She pulled her friend out of the way as the rest of the sacrifices made a run for it. Meanwhile, Spike had reached Snape and Draco, and was fending off anyone intent on stopping their escape. Once Snape had broken the magical bonds, Spike picked up the young boy and ran back towards the stacks. Snape then rounded on the Death Eaters, who were attempting to blast the escaping innocents. Once he´d frozen the ones who weren´t still hunting for Lucius, he ran out through the stacks where Buffy and Willow were waiting for him. "Come on," Buffy said. "They´re this way." The trio ran to the car, and arrived to see Xander and Giles joined by Anya and Draco. The boy was collapsed on the ground in tears, kneeling by a body. Anya had a disgusted look on her face. "Would you believe it, after all the bad luck that boy´s had, Voldemort killed his mother."
"What?! No! He can´t have!" Willow sounded a little distraught at this.

"I´m afraid he did," replied Giles softly. "Just as Spike reached us with Draco."

"He had to watch his mother die?" Buffy sounded truly disgusted at this. "Where is he now?"

Anya indicated another body which lay a short distance from them. "Spike got angry," she said simply.

Buffy looked at her, disbelievingly. "What? Are you telling me that Spike ate the big bad wizard?" She glanced round for him. "Where is he now?"

"He made a run for it with the other sacrifices." Xander replied.

Meanwhile, Willow had gone over to join Snape, who had Draco cradled in his arms. "Is - is he going to be okay?" she asked cautiously.

"I don´t know," Snape replied gruffly. "This is an awful lot for one fifteen-year old boy to take in."

Willow knelt down next to Draco, who was sobbing uncontrollably, and started to gently stroke the boy´s hair. Her hand lightly brushed over the bruising on his face and he flinched. She pulled her hand away. "S - Sorry."

"It´s okay," Snape reassured her. "He knows you didn´t mean to."

Giles came over to them. "I think it best we leave now. We need to get Draco somewhere safe."

"Excellent point, Mr. Giles." Snape stood up, carrying Draco with him. He gently sat the boy in the back seat of the car before getting in next to him. Willow got in the other side as Xander retook the front passenger seat. Buffy turned to them. "I´ll walk back. I want to go and see Spike, and I can do a little patrolling while I´m at it."

"Okay Buffy. Anya?" Giles turned to the vengeance demon.

"I have my own transport, remember?" Anya replied, before disappearing. Buffy smiled and walked off as Giles drove the others to safety.

Three and a half hours later, Buffy walked into the new Sunnydale High library to find Willow, Giles and Xander all sat round a table. She sat down opposite Giles, completing the circle. "Where´s Professor Snape?" she asked.

"He´s taken Draco to see Professor Dumbledore," replied Willow. She looked incredibly pale. Xander reached for her hand. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"

"Me? Xander, no! I just - I can´t forget Draco sitting there, forced to watch the brutal murder of his two best friends, knowing that he was next."

Just then, Snape walked in. Willow rushed over to him. "Where is he? Is he alright?"

"He´s talking to Dumbledore. Well, if the few words in between the crying count as talking."

"Well hey; at least he hasn´t gone off trying to destroy us all. You have to give him credit for that." Willow seemed perfectly comfortable saying this. "And he lost a lot more than I did."

Snape gave her a weak smile. "Willow, I´d be very grateful if you could let Draco talk to you. I´m not so good with this sort of thing, and I know he´ll respect your experience."

Xander stood up and moved protectively towards Willow. "Wil-"

"Xander, I´m okay with it. If Draco wants to talk to me then he can."

Buffy smiled at her friend. "You´re a real survivor Wil."

"Well after today, seeing how much Draco lost and all, it kind of put things in perspective, you know? I mean, I´ve still got my family, and I still have you guys."

Just then, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Dawn burst in. "Dumbledore´s just told us everything!" Ron said excitedly.

Snape gave the four a stony look. "Be very careful with Draco. He´s been through a lot, and needs to be allowed to deal with it."

"Don´t worry, we will," promised Dawn.

"Is it true that Spike ate Voldemort?" asked Harry.

"Yes it is," replied Giles. "I think he was angry enough with Lucius, and seeing Voldemort kill the boy´s mother in front of him was the last straw."

"I have to admit it was very impressive," Xander admitted. "I didn´t know Spike had it in him."

"He does if he cares about someone," said Dawn.

"I think we should go and see him after school," said Hermione.

"Sure. If that´s okay with you Buffy?" Dawn asked.

"That´s fine. Just make sure he walks you all back." Buffy turned to the others. "I don´t know about you, but I´m going back home to get some more sleep!"

CHAPTER 8 - EPILOGUE

After such an eventful first week, the rest of the term seemed to fly by. Over time, Draco Malfoy seemed to pick up a little, and gradually he reached something resembling his old self. Everyone knew that he would never be the same - he still looked lost without Crabbe and Goyle - but he was definitely starting to heal. Between them, Snape and Willow managed to get him to open up, and once he had told them about his father using the Cruciatus curse on him, things took a definite turn for the better. Overall there was a bigger sense of unity within the school and even the Slytherins were being nicer than usual. Before anyone knew it, the entire school was gathered in the Hogwarts Great Hall for the end of term. Dumbledore stood up and cleared his throat. "I´m afraid I have an announcement to make. Since everything has returned to something vaguely resembling normal the Hogwarts pupils will be returning to England. I know some very strong bonds have been made between pupils from both schools, and I encourage you to find ways to keep in touch."

After this final meal, Dawn, Hermione, Harry and Ron gathered outside to say their goodbyes. Dawn handed out pieces of paper to her three friends. "This is my address. You have to write to me sometime, okay?"

"Sure," said Hermione. "And you have to send us the odd owl now and again. Doesn´t she Buffy?"

Dawn turned round, confused, to see Buffy holding a cage with a small tawny owl inside. She ran and hugged her sister. "Thank you!"

"Blame Willow. She seemed to think you might need one." Buffy turned to the Hogwarts trio. "It was nice meeting you all."

"Look, we have to go. I´ll send you an owl when I get home." Hermione hugged Dawn. Dawn pulled away and hugged Harry and Ron as well. As they walked away, Dawn turned to Buffy. "Where are the others?"

"Over there." Buffy pointed to where Willow and Giles were talking to Snape and Malfoy. "Come on, let´s join them."

As they approached they heard Snape say "Well Mr. Giles, your Buffy pulled through in the end, didn´t she?"

"She certainly did. Hello Buffy, Dawn."

"Ah Buffy, hello. I didn´t realise you were there." Snape seemed a little flustered. Buffy smiled. "It´s alright. Nice to overhear the odd compliment now and again."

Dawn turned to Malfoy. "Hey. How are you?"

"Alright I suppose."

Dawn looked down awkwardly, not knowing what to say. Willow intervened. "Listen Draco, you take care of yourself okay?"

Draco nodded. "I´m lucky I´ve got Severus. Only thing that makes me glad I didn´t die."

"Just remember what I told you. Someone´s only truly gone when you totally forget them, and that doesn´t mean going through the odd day without thinking about them." Dawn knew that Willow´s words were as much for her own benefit as Malfoy´s. The Slytherin nodded. "I´ll remember." He glanced at his Housemates, who were all waiting for him. "I´d better go. Thank you Willow." He turned to leave when Dawn called "Wait!" He stopped and turned round. Dawn looked at him a little shyly. "Listen, I know we didn´t get on all that well, but if you need to, you can talk to me about anything."

Draco nodded, smiling a little. "You´re alright, Summers. For a Muggle and a Gryffindor, of course! I´ll send you an owl sometime." He winked at her before turning and walking over to the other Slytherins. Willow turned to Dawn. "That was really nice Dawnie."

Dawn shrugged. "I just know I´d appreciate it if it was me."

They turned back to where Snape was deep in conversation with Giles. "Well I´d best be off, but I´ll be in touch. It´s been an honour and a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," replied Giles. "I´ll look forward to hearing from you." He shook Snape´s hand, and then the Hogwarts teacher turned to Buffy. "It has been an honour to meet such a capable Slayer. I know you haven´t had an easy time of it - Draco´s a typical Malfoy, doesn´t like to be told what to do. You handled the situation very well." He shook her hand then turned to Dawn. "You have shown great promise over this term. I have spoken to Mr. Giles and he is willing to guide you further in your magical studies if you so wish, and if Buffy permits." Finally he turned to Willow. "You are a truly remarkable young woman, Miss Rosenberg. I owe a lot of Draco´s recovery to you."

"I´m just glad to help where I can," replied Willow, who was obviously flattered.

"Well it has meant a lot to me, and I´m sure it´s meant a lot to Draco." He took hold of her hand. "Take care of yourself. Keep on healing."

With a final nod at the group, Snape walked off. The others waved then turned to leave. Dawn looked at Buffy and Willow, cautiously excited. "Would you mind if I carried on studying magic?"

"Not at all Dawnie. I´m dealing with all that now." Willow smiled at her.

"Buffy?"

"I have no problem with it. As long as you´re sensible, which it seems you are." The Slayer turned to Giles. "So, was that the thing that made this year so important?"

"What? Oh no, that was something completely different. Luckily the important event is not something we have to worry about for a while."

Buffy stopped dead at her Watcher´s words. She gave him an incredulous look before turning to the others. "Don´t you just love Sunnydale?!"

THE END!!