To Know Who I Am

Acknowledgements: A thousand thanks to my amazing beta ubiquirk and my new Brit-picker saracen_77 who have both helped to make this much better than it was when it started. saracen_77 also helped me tidy up a few Americanisms in the earlier chapters. Any remaining errors are entirely my fault.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize and I'm not making any money from this. If you think otherwise, there's this nice room in St. Mungo's for you.

Chapter 7

She was outside again, but this time there was no snow. It had to be a new moon, to go by the poor light, because the sky was clear. Or perhaps the moon simply hadn’t risen yet.

She heard noises from the edge of the Forbidden Forest and went to explore. Before she had taken a dozen steps, she heard noises behind her. She turned and found herself surrounded by vampires. Vampires and … what had they called these others? Turok-Han. The vampires that vampires are afraid of.

“Accio Stakes,” she yelled. “Accio Lots of Stakes!”

As a pile of wooden ammunition formed at her feet, she continued to measure the shrinking circle of vampires. She prepared a spell to launch a circle of stakes outward, but just as she was about to speak, she found herself in a … bookstore? Dawn was standing in front of her, looking very young and screaming at the top of her lungs as a gargantuan cobra with … arms? … glared and hissed menacingly at her but did not strike. Something grabbed her shoulder and shook her. She grabbed back.

“Ow! Celia, wake up!” Severus was yelling.

Oh, shit. She released his hand quickly, praying she hadn’t broken it. “Severus? What …” She looked at his hand and winced as he flexed his fingers and rotated his wrist gingerly. Not broken, but it would be sore for awhile, even with a spelled bruise salve.

“I believe you were having a nightmare,” he said testily. “Do magic in your sleep often?”

That was when she noticed the stakes. Everywhere. At least one of which had clearly hit him a glancing blow near the temple. She winced again before Banishing them all back to the chest in her closet.

“No, not for years,” she said in a small voice. “Accio Arnica Salve.” The bathroom door opened and a jar the size of her hand floated through the air toward her. She caught it deftly, opened it, and gently applied some to his hand and forehead. “Sorry.” As she continued to massage the salve into his wrist and hand, she noticed they were covered by a thick quilt that she had never seen before. He must have conjured it after I fell asleep. Good thing, too. She closed and Banished the jar, wiping her fingers discreetly on the duvet beneath them.

“You disposed of that vampire so quickly, I’d have hardly expected it to give you nightmares,” he muttered.

She looked over his shoulder at the clock. Seven-fifteen. “I wasn’t even asleep long enough for that to be a normal dream,” she grumbled. “It’d be nice if Slayer dreams followed those rules.”

He looked abruptly interested.

That gave her an idea.

“I’m not sure what it means,” she said. “But have a look. A second set of eyes can be helpful interpreting these things.”

He hesitated a moment, then nodded. As he looked into her eyes, she focused on the dream memory, pushing it to the front of her mind while keeping the rest of her thoughts Occluded. She could feel him instantly inside her mind with her and willed herself not to let anything else leak through or to let any interpretation of her own contaminate the relatively fresh memory. She watched the vampire attack as if she were at the movies. She bit her lip to avoid speaking the spell along with her dream-self. The scene melted into the shop again – The Magic Box, she realized this time – and the huge snake. As the dream memory ended, she felt him pull back, a polite guest not wanting to outstay his welcome.

“I see why you called for all the stakes,” he said. “What were those? They weren’t all vampires.”

“No, some of them are an older species, called Turok-Han. They’re worse. I’ve never seen one in person.”

“And that last bit?”

“I have absolutely no idea. I know the girl, but she’s much older now.”

“Another Slayer-witch?”

“No, just another Slayer’s sister.” Well, more than that, but that’s a longish story for some other time. Or possibly never. “So, any thoughts about any of that?” she asked.

“No, not really,” he replied. “Except if that really is a prescient dream, it would seem to suggest that last night was not an isolated incident.”

She nodded wearily. That was about what she’d come up with. “How are your bruises?”

“Your salve is quite effective. I’m sure they will be all but gone presently.” High praise, she thought. She wondered briefly if she ought to have treated the mark she’d left on his shoulder, too. Not unless he asks. I kind of like it. She reached out and gently ran her fingers across her love bite and his adjacent scar.

They both seemed to realize at the same time that they were still naked. Celia chuckled, “Good morning, by the way. And thank you.”

There was that near-smile again. She thought she could get very used to that.

“Yes, good morning. You’re welcome, of course, but it is a bit unusual to have someone thank me for poking around in their mind.”

“I did ask,” she pointed out. She leaned over and kissed him and said, “Besides, that isn’t all I was thanking you for.” Leaning back, she enjoyed the slightly uncomfortable expression on his face as he assimilated the compliment. A moment later, she let him off the hook.

“Try to rest a little more if you can,” she said. “I’m going to get dressed and make a Floo-call that I should probably have made earlier if I hadn’t been so … distracted.” Pressing a quick kiss to his forehead, she pushed herself up and out of the bed and hurried into the small bathroom for a quick shower.

~ ~ ~

Flinging a bit of Floo powder into the fire, she said, “Rupert Giles, Watchers’ Hamburg Headquarters.” She stepped back, brushed off her hands, and started to work at braiding her spell-dried hair.

“Celia,” a voice called from the emerald flames, “is that you?”

“Who else would it be, Giles?” she replied, fussing with a tangle. “I’m multitasking here, so if you need a visual, you’ll have to be the one with your head in the fireplace.”

As she watched, the face of the Chief Watcher appeared in the flames.

“Sorry to bother you at this hour, Giles.”

“It’s not the crack of dawn here, you know.”

“Good point. Anyway, I’m reporting in on two things. First, I dusted a vamp last night.”

“A vampire? Well, good for you.” He appeared unimpressed.

“Hi there. You awake? I’m at Hogwarts, Giles. There shouldn’t have been a vampire here at all.”

“You mean it was on the grounds? Not in Hogsmeade?” His suddenly looked much more concerned. “I trust you didn’t wait until now to let Minerva know.”

She dropped her braid and scowled at him. “Of course not. It was Defcon One here until just before sunrise. Everybody’s going to be seriously sleep deprived today. Well, staff-wise, anyway. It’s been a long night all around, and she’s called a meeting in,” she glanced at the clock, “twenty-five minutes. So far it was just the one, and he’s dust, but obviously we’ve got to figure out how it got here and why and whether there are likely to be more.” She finished off the braid and began her habitual checks of her wand-sheath, stakes, and the dagger in her ankle sheath.

“Are the students and staff all accounted for?”

She snapped the dagger back into place and glared into the fire. “I may be functioning on less than an hour’s sleep, Giles, but I’d’ve headlined with it if anyone had been hurt or killed.”

“Right, right,” he said in a pacifying tone. “Any theories so far?”

She scoffed. “The only one I’ve got that fits the facts makes Andrew’s theories sound sane.”

“And that would be?”

“Someone invited it onto the grounds and then put it under the Imperius.”

Silence, then, “You’re right; that is ridiculous. Why would anyone do that?”

“I don’t know, Giles, but the attack was idiotic. We were several yards away from the Forbidden Forest, and it came at us across the snow instead of luring us in. Even with just wand-light, it was incredibly easy to sight on it, and there was more than enough time to respond. If the vamp was stupid enough to do that, it should have been too stupid to trick someone into inviting it in. If it was smart enough to cop an invite, it should have been too smart for an attack like that. Ergo, someone was controlling it and had it attack two adults, here, where even if one of us hadn’t been a Slayer, it would have still been suicide, which is also stupid. So, really, the only solid theory I’ve got is that whoever was involved in it all was deeply stupid or possibly nuts.”

“Until and unless you find more information, I have to admit I’m inclined to agree,” Giles said. “And the second matter?”

Sigh. “I had a nightmare.”

“And?”

“I’d barely been asleep forty-five minutes, not long enough for a normal dream. Plus it felt important.”

Silence.

“Have you any idea what it was warning of?” he asked at last.

“Vampires. And Turok-Hans. Lots of them, here at Hogwarts. I … wish there were some way to show it to you.” Not quite badly enough to suggest you grab a Pensieve and step through, of course.

“I know you feel it’s important to have a second observer, Celia, but really, just describing it should be enough.”

“There was a second, separate part, though, that I think you might recognize. It was at The Magic Box. Dawn was there and some giant snake-thing. She was screaming her lungs out obviously. But the snake wasn’t attacking. Did that actually happen?”

Giles’ eyes widened. “Yes, in fact. That was, Good Lord, that was near the beginning of her life. Her human life, I mean. When Glory was looking for her.”

“Oh,” she said. “What could that possibly have to do with anything? Glorificus is long gone.”

“I don’t know. But that snake had been Transmogrified from a normal cobra and sent to find the Key. That might suggest someone is looking for something. Or someone.”

“Duh, I am,” she pointed out. “Someone else, though? Looking for whom? Me? The new Slayer? Neither of us specifically but just picking up on our energy? Or some other fun option?”

“You said ‘we’ when you described the attack. Who else was with you?”

Just then, Severus entered the room. Giles looked over her shoulder.

“Snape? Severus Snape? Good Lord, Celia, you’re worse than … first it’s Buffy with vampires, and now you with Death Eaters?”

She could practically feel sparks shooting out of her eyes. “Giles, you bloody hypocrite! First, I’d think it would be incredibly obvious, from all the research I’ve been doing and the motivation behind it, why I would ask the foremost Legilimens in Britain – by your description, I might add – to have a look at one of these dreams before it has time to fade.”

“Well, I suppose I can see that, but …”

“Second, how dare you assume that he was already in my quarters when I asked?”

“Well, it is practically dawn there right now, and …”

“Finally, and most importantly, you, of all people, telling me, of all people, that you think someone can’t redeem their past? That’s so loaded with irony there should be magnets flying into this Floo from ten miles around, Ripper!”

The image of Giles in the fire removed its glasses, and she could tell he was polishing them out of her view. He replaced his glasses but did not meet her gaze.

“Giles,” she said warningly.

“You may have a point,” he admitted.

She rolled her eyes. “You know I bloody well have a point.” She let out a gusty sigh and let his issues go for now. Time enough for that later.

“I don’t know if anything’s happened in Hogsmeade. If it has, we’ll hear about it at this meeting. Obviously my priority is, and will continue to be, the school and the students, especially the Potential. It might not be the worst idea to send up another Slayer-witch to patrol Hogsmeade. I don’t know how often I’ll be able to, now.”

She turned to Severus to see what he thought of this idea, but he merely shrugged, his expression unreadable.

“I’m not sure any are available,” Giles sighed. “Besides, adding another Slayer so close by might just attract more.”

“That’s … ugh, no, you’re right.” She glanced at the clock. They would have to leave soon. “Any other thoughts about that dream?”

“No, that particular case involved creating something to seek out the Key, but there are any number of possible uses for a Transmogrified animal. It also doesn’t have to be a snake, though that was the Temple of Sobek’s usual preference.” Giles paused. “Perhaps someone is going to use a similar Transmogrification. Or you could ask the Slytherin standing behind you for other possible meanings that would have little or nothing to do with the actual scene in your dream.”

Celia closed her eyes, shook her head and muttered, “Goddess help me before I reach through this Floo and ... ” She opened her eyes again and said, “Or I could try asking the faculty member who speaks Parseltongue what it was saying, which is actually probably what I’m going to do, although that’ll mean a Pensieve.” She groaned. “Get over your assumptions, Ripper.”

“Would you stop calling me that?”

“Stop giving me reason to, and I will.”

“Fine, fine,” he said. “One other thing. You might consider proposing an added layer of protection on the boundaries of the grounds.”

“The Slayer spell?” she asked. “I don’t know, Giles. There’s a whole bloody list of reasons I can think of for why that might not work, right off the top of my head, and I mean that kind of literally.”

“Try me.”

“First of all, there are a thousand years of layered wards guarding this place. Adding a foreign spell on top of them might not work well. It’s a totally different flavor of magic.”

“You could push the boundary out a bit,” he suggested.

“That … that could address one of the other problems.”

“Which is?”

“Some of those spells were cast by Salazar Slytherin.” She caught herself before she glanced at Severus to see his reaction. “They might not play nicely with a spell that requires the use of my blood. Any Slayer’s blood, really, except Shemekiah, since she’s the only pureblooded Slayer-witch. But putting it a bit outside the boundaries could get around that.”

“It could. What other problems do you see?”

“Well, the way they look at things here, they’ll consider it Dark, never mind that the blood would be voluntarily given, so Minerva may not go for it. Also, the idea that the only person it could be keyed to is me may not go over very well, seeing as I’m the new girl in town.”

“That is, however, the whole point, that only the Slayer whose blood was used can invite a vampire across the barrier.”

That’s … oh, that could work.

“What is it?” Giles asked.

“That actually might help me pitch this,” she said. “Not so much as protection, though it would be that, but as a trap.”

“What?”

“Think, Giles, if we let it be known – unofficially so that it’s more believable – that now I’m the only one who can invite a vampire onto the grounds, then if there’s someone who actually wants to bring more in, they’ll have to try to get me to do it. And the best way to manage that …”

“Would be the Imperius Curse.”

“Exactly.” She could feel an almost feral grin form on her face.

“That could be worth a try,” he agreed.

Celia looked at the clock above the fireplace. “The meeting’s in fifteen minutes, Giles. I have to get going. I’ll let you know what’s what later.”

She ended the call, stood, and turned to face Severus.

“What was all that about?” he asked, his expression shuttered.

She sighed. “Ummm, let’s see. Rupert Giles is almost all that’s left of the original Watcher’s Council that oversees the Slayers. He’s rebuilding the Council and has trained several new Watchers. Because he’s far more experienced both in watching Slayers and in magic, the Slayer-witches report directly to him instead of any of the newer ones, though we work with them, sometimes, too.”

“That wasn’t exactly what I meant,” Severus replied. “I never heard him make the accusation over which you became so … impassioned.”

Celia looked at him incredulously. “He called you a Death Eater. I thought that was plain enough.”

“Well, I was,” he pointed out, his expression and voice very flat.

“Was being the operative word.” I stuck up for you, and this is a problem why?

“And the rest of it? Point number two, I believe it was.”

“Oh. That. That was … he mentioned another Slayer with a colorful history of having affairs with vampires.”

“I notice you didn’t deny it.”

“I’m sure he noticed that, too,” she sighed. “But it’s none of his business, and it’s certainly possible I could have Floo-called you, and you could have Flooed over here. Barely requires any time at all.”

“Are you ashamed?” he asked coldly.

“What? No!” She stepped closer to him, raising a hand to his cheek. Dear Goddess, where’d he get that idea? “It’s just … private. I’d have thought you’d want to be discreet.”

His expression softened slightly. She wondered how to express what she felt. This was so new and felt so fragile, yet the magic that had flowed between them felt so strong. She didn’t think she was in love with him, but she had a feeling she was heading in that direction and possibly had been for some time. What should she say?

“Severus, I’m not sure exactly what’s wrong, but we need to get to this meeting. Can we please talk about it later?”

He nodded curtly. “May I use your Floo, then?”

“Of course.” She stepped aside so that he could pass by her and watched as he cast in the Floo powder, spoke, and stepped into the emerald flames. As the fire returned to a more normal color, she wondered aloud, “What the hell was that all about?”

~ ~ ~

When he arrived in his quarters, Severus quickly changed his clothes and cast several Cleansing Charms on himself. He had lost too much time already to wash and brush up more traditionally. Stopping by his storeroom, he grabbed a large bottle of Invigoration Draught, which he quickly decanted into single dose phials and pocketed. The simple, familiar activity soothed the anger he still felt simmering just below the surface of his thoughts, helping him focus on the upcoming meeting rather than the more troubling situation he had just left.

Only Minerva and Poppy were already in the staff room when he arrived. The central table was set with teacups at each chair, and he placed the phials next to them. Minerva nodded approvingly as she poured hers into her tea. Soon the others began to trickle in.

When Celia arrived, he noticed she went a step beyond her usual coffee and mumbled, “Espresso,” over the cup before adding the potion to it. He shifted his gaze away from her uneasily to notice who was arriving next.

Potter. Did he not bother to sleep at all once Hagrid relieved him?

Severus noticed that Minerva waited until he ordered his beverage and began to sip at it, then started the meeting, interrupting only a very little buzzing of conversation.

“Good morning, everyone,” she began. “As Hagrid and Mr. Filch are continuing patrols until breakfast, we are all here and can begin.” She paused briefly. “As you all know, two of our faculty members were attacked by a vampire on the grounds last night. So far, that appears to be an isolated incident, but there are obviously concerns that it may not be. Severus, Celia, would you please each tell what happened? And save any interpretations for after, please. I would like to hear some fresh ideas before revisiting the theories we have already discussed.”

Severus noted that the only material difference between his account and Celia’s was that she’d had a better look at the vampire’s face. As the strange looks around the table increasingly focused on her, he wondered how long it would take the rest to put at least part of it together. Sadly, Potter was the first one to speak up.

“Wait, why were you the one who took it out? And what are you doing carrying stakes around with you? Why not just use magic?”

He saw her dart a look at the Headmistress, who shrugged as if to indicate there was no point in dissembling now.

“To answer your last question first, Harry, it’s not exactly news that in a pinch I don’t tend to reach for my wand first,” she said. “As far as your first two questions, I’m a Vampire Slayer. So, yes, I’ve always got a stake or two handy and have a bad habit of dusting first and asking questions later.”

Potter sat back into his chair, looking stunned. “Oh,” was all he managed to say, before taking another sip of tea. His phial of Invigoration Draught was still entirely full, the fool.

Looking around the table, Severus saw a few similarly stunned expressions, others appearing to assimilate the information a bit better, and a look of triumph on Sybill Trelawney’s face.

“I knew that your arrival foretold dire times ahead,” the woman proclaimed. “My dear, I am so sorry to have to report that I have seen that you will die a young and violent death.”

“A very safe prediction for any Slayer, Sybill,” Celia said dryly. “Thanks for bringing it up.”

She treats the matter quite lightly. He set his jaw and glared at the Seer, very deliberately not looking at Celia.

“Please,” Minerva interrupted, “I would like to hear anyone’s thoughts on the behavior of the vampire, first.”

“Well, it is a bit odd,” Potter said. “First off, who invited it?”

Celia shrugged as Minerva said, “We don’t know, yet. Believe me, that question is a very high priority.”

“Second, why did it attack like that? You say you were near the Forbidden Forest?”

“Just a few yards away, yes,” Celia said.

“Then why wouldn’t it try to lure one of you in, so it could attack, then get the other when they came to investigate?”

Neither Severus nor Celia replied. Instead, both looked to Minerva, who asked, “Do you have any ideas about that? Or does anyone?”

Aurora Sinistra spoke up. “The moon would have set several hours earlier, perhaps it appeared dark enough to attack openly?”

“We had our wands lit,” Severus replied. “The snow was reflecting the light quite efficiently, so the area around us, at least, was not particularly dark.”

“That might have just made you better targets,” Septima Vector pointed out.

“Indeed,” he acknowledged.

“We’ve accounted for all the students, faculty, and staff,” Harry continued, “so why didn’t it attack the person who invited it?” He looked back and forth between Celia and Severus. Celia spread her hands to indicate he should continue, but it was Filius Flitwick who spoke next.

“What I wonder is why you were there in the first place, Celia?”

“Severus had asked me to assist him, as I said, in patrolling the Quidditch Pitch in search of out-of-bounds students,” she replied.

“Are you quite sure that is the real reason?” the diminutive wizard asked with a suspicious glance to Severus’ end of the table.

After all these years, Filius. What must I do to regain your trust?

It was foolish to be so bothered by it. That anyone had decided to trust him again after it all was almost incomprehensible. Of course, Filius was the only person in the room he had ever attacked directly, if only to Stun him.

“I’m positive that he wasn’t setting me up to be attacked by a vampire, if that is what you’re asking,” she replied.

Severus scowled at that. It was true, of course, and there was no reason for her not to say so. Still, something about it bothered him, though he could not say why. He focused his scowl on his fellow Head of House instead.

Filius did not appear convinced but said no more.

“Right,” Potter said, “so someone invites a vampire onto the grounds, probably someone who was alone, and it doesn’t attack them. Instead, it goes and attacks a wizard and a witch who already have their wands out, never mind that one happens to be a Slayer and the other happens to be an ex…cellent duelist. That about sum it up?”

Severus nodded with a shadow of a smirk at the slip.

“Well, that’s just completely mental,” Potter continued. “I mean, okay, the person who invited it might have been covered in garlic and crosses, but that’d just keep it off them, not drive it insane.”

“Even insane vampires aren’t necessarily stupid,” Celia pointed out.

“And all right, maybe it was wandering around for awhile, looking for a midnight snack, but why would it even be looking over that way and not closer to the castle? You said you didn’t hear it until just before it attacked, right?”

“That’s right.”

“So it sounds like it was waiting for you.”

“Not me,” Celia pointed out. “Nobody knew I’d be there. If I hadn’t had to escort those two Gryffindors upstairs, I wouldn’t have run into Severus at all, much less been on that path. I mean, I’d have been patrolling, but this wasn’t a night I’d have been focusing on the Forbidden Forest.”

“Fine, so it sounds like it was waiting for him. That’s still suicidally stupid, even if someone was controlling it.” Potter paused. “Unless the vampire was the one that was supposed to end up dead.”

“My thoughts, exactly,” Celia admitted. “Except for the part where that doesn’t make any sense, either.”

“Has anyone managed to develop any other theories?” Minerva asked. When no one answered, she continued. “Well, then. As this one does not lead us anywhere particularly useful, may I suggest we focus on who extended the invitation to this vampire and whether they are likely to do so again?”

“Have Mr. Helling and Miss Lowsley been questioned yet?” Severus asked.

“Yes,” Potter replied. “They started off being evasive, but when I told them about the vampire, they were terrified. I don’t believe they had anything to do with it.”

Celia nodded. “I didn’t much think they had. And Hagrid brought up a very good point last night, er, earlier this morning that is. It didn’t have to be a resident of the castle, just someone who lives on the grounds, which opens it up to anyone and anything in the Forbidden Forest capable of communicating with a vampire.”

“You mean the centaurs or the Acromantulas could have …” Potter’s voice trailed off.

“They could have issued the invitation,” Minerva pointed out. “And they very well might have. An Acromantula, in particular, could have extended the invitation, intending to eat the vampire, not realizing what it was. Or perhaps it might not care. However, it could not have then controlled the vampire, which I agree, it sounds as though someone was doing.”

“As far as the centaurs,” Severus said, “I have given that matter some thought. While they have no love for us here in the castle, they also do not bother us so long as we do not bother them.” He nodded to Firenze. “And they would hardly invite a vampire into their own territory. They are far too protective of their foals.”

“Couldn’t a foal have been tricked into it?” Celia asked. “It doesn’t have to be a sincere invitation. It would be enough if the vampire convinced one to say something like, ‘Oh, yeah, come on over here and say that.’”

“No centaur foal would fall for such a trick,” said Firenze. “They are also never without an adult. If one had been so foolish, the vampire would have been shot with a dozen arrows within seconds.”

Celia nodded. “Then that brings us back to humans, and unless we spike breakfast with Veritaserum, it’ll take awhile to narrow that down.”

“Tempting thought,” said Severus, “but unfortunately quite illegal.”

“That was not intended as a serious suggestion,” Celia replied with a wry half-smile.

He smirked, first at her use of his own words and then at her attempt to look away casually. Then he caught himself and tamped down his incipient amusement. He could not be … amused by her. Not after this morning.

“The question, then,” said Minerva, “is what we do toward the students’ safety in the meantime. I would like to be able to reassure the Ministry that we have the situation well in hand.”

Celia’s eyes widened. She clearly hadn’t thought about the fact that, of course, this would have to be reported to the Ministry of Magic.

Severus could sympathize. He never looked forward to involving the Ministry in anything. He firmly ignored the emotion, however, and focused on Minerva’s question.

“I believe we could re-institute precautions we have used in the past when the security of Hogwarts was compromised,” Severus said. “No students out of doors after dark, for one thing, and when they are not in their dormitories, they must be escorted by a staff member. Added patrols, of course, though Filius’ map should make that somewhat simpler.”

“There is also something I can do,” Celia said. “It would be an added protection for the grounds and actually might help smoke out whoever is behind this.”

“And what would that be?” Minerva asked.

“There’s a spell that can be used to protect the boundaries of a place from vampires, probably similar to what was already cast here, but it’s more focused. The spell is bound to one Slayer, and then she’s the only one who could invite a vampire across its line.”

Filius looked at her with interest. “That is not a charm that I’m familiar with,” he said.

“My teacher devised it a few years ago,” she said. “It’s not exactly a charm, either. It’s a sort of hybrid spell that utilizes both incantations and a potion.”

“What sort of potion?” Severus asked.

In answer, Celia pointed her wand at the table before him, and a scroll of parchment appeared there. She turned to Minerva and sent one to her as well. As he read, he heard her repeat the possible problems with the spell that she had raised earlier. Before she could say anything about the spell itself, however, the Headmistress interrupted her.

“Celia, this looks like Dark magic, to me.”

Severus said nothing, wanting to see how she handled this.

“Minerva,” she replied, “I realize some of the ingredients are sketchy and would probably have to come from the apothecary at Knockturn Alley. But none of them are outright Dark.”

“I should think the use of blood would be enough of a deterrent.”

“I would, obviously, be giving it voluntarily,” Celia argued. “Where I come from, that makes the spell pale gray, at worst. Off-white is more like it, or even a light cream. Not so much Dark.”

It crossed his mind that she should be far more wary of how their colleagues would perceive her rather flexible attitude to the Dark Arts than what her Watcher had thought about his presence in her quarters. He deliberately ignored the vast differences between the two situations.

A brief silence followed this until Potter spoke up to ask, “How would this help find who was behind this?”

“That would require people finding out that I’m the only one who could invite a vampire in. Then, if they want to do it again badly enough, they’d have to try to make me do it.”

“And how does that help?” he pressed.

“The most obvious way to try that would be to use the Imperius Curse, and since whoever it is has shown all the subtlety of a bull in a china shop, or … or a hippogriff in a room full of crystal balls … I’m pretty sure they’d go straight to it. Since Slayers are immune to it but can sense it, I’d be able to catch them as soon as they tried it.”

“Why are you immune?” he asked. “And hang on, Slayers and Slayer-witches? Plural? There’s more than one of you? And what are you doing here, anyway?”

Severus saw Celia and Minerva exchange another glance. The Headmistress shrugged.

“No one’s sure why we’re immune. It could be some esoteric magical reason, or maybe we’re just too stubborn to take orders. I kind of like that one.” This drew a few chuckles. “As far as the rest, the nutshell history lesson is that on May 20, 1998,” Severus looked at her sharply and both saw and sensed the heightened attention of the rest of his colleagues, “another epic battle took place, this one in Sunnydale, California. While everyone here was fighting Voldemort and his Death Eaters, an elemental force calling itself the First Evil was trying to gain a foothold in this dimension by way of the Sunnydale Hellmouth. As part of that war effort, a massive spell was cast to activate every Potential Slayer at once. There are now a couple of hundred Slayers.”

Severus rubbed absently at his forearm as he listened to this slightly less abridged description. He also noted with some annoyance that she had left the specific timing of this “Slayer activation” out of her earlier “nutshell version” to him.

“The same day?” Potter asked.

“Yes. We don’t know why. There are a few theories, none of them relevant.”

It might not be relevant to this situation, but surely she cannot believe such a thing to be a coincidence.

“And some of you were already witches?”

“Twelve other witches besides me were activated as Slayers, yes.” She paused and debated with herself a moment. “So I’m not unique in that."

"But you said your foster-parents never knew you were a witch."

Another glance was exchanged with Minerva, who gestured for Celia to continue. Celia looked rather uncomfortable for someone who claimed to want to share this information.

Not quite as eager to tell everything after all, then.

He felt vaguely mollified that at least their … encounter was not the only thing she appeared to wish to keep “private.”

"I knew that was going to come back to bite me,” she sighed. “No, they didn't. They died in a car accident that March, and my magical powers became active at the same time as my Slayer powers."

No wonder she does not turn to her magic immediately. Though if she received both sets of powers together … something still does not make sense.

Potter clearly took a moment to digest this, then asked, “And why are you here?”

“Girls born as Potential Slayers still become activated all the time, usually when they first hit puberty. We have reason to believe there is a Potential Slayer here at Hogwarts, so I was sent here to keep an eye out for her and take on her Slayer training when she’s identified.”

Potter fell blessedly silent at last.

“Excuse me, but if you only became aware of your magical powers seven years ago, how is it that you are now a teacher?” asked Filius.

Celia took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“Most of my schooling was Muggle,” she admitted. “My magical education was … compressed. As you can imagine, I’m sure, a seventeen year old who suddenly has magical powers is a bit of a risk to everyone around her. With new Slayer powers as well, I was even worse.” She winced at some clearly unpleasant memory. “It was … bad. Finally, the witch who found me, my teacher, tried a radical experiment that boils down to a massive data dump of her magical knowledge.”

Only years of discipline kept Severus from reacting visibly to this. That she stole a quick glance at him confirmed his suspicions.

There is only one way that one could possibly do such a thing, and very few witches or wizards who could manage it.

“Mind-magics are her specialty,” she continued, “so part of that knowledge included ways to accelerate learning. That made it easier to continue my magical education independently while I went to college.”

Yes, as would actually remembering every spell this teacher of yours ever cast. A teacher who apparently spent at least some time on a Hellmouth.

“Trust me when I say it won’t catch on. The data-dump part, anyway. The side effects are … well, I know I’d never try it on someone without a damned good reason.”

He quelled an urge to shudder.

Minerva intervened, “The Ministry decided to accept Celia’s Muggle credentials on the condition that she take the N.E.W.T.s last summer and be evaluated by a Master Herbologist, so she does, indeed, have the appropriate credentials.”

And that would be a far more sensible reason to hold a collection of seven years’ worth of textbooks. Another obfuscation.

Minerva gave the others a moment to digest this before continuing.

“I am sure that many of you have other questions related to Celia’s mission here, but may I remind you that the matter of prime importance is the current situation?” As everyone nodded, she continued, “I believe that we should institute the protective measures Severus has proposed, and I will announce this at breakfast. I will also forward that information to the Ministry. Celia, I give you permission to cast this protective spell, but as some of these ingredients appear quite volatile …” She glanced questioningly at Severus, who nodded.

Volatile, Minerva, would be a supreme understatement.

“I request that you do the Potions work in a proper laboratory here in the castle, not in your kitchen.”

Even as he acknowledged the sense of this, Severus found himself wrestling with the notion of allowing the woman into his own laboratory. It was foolish, really, but it seemed a far greater intimacy than what they had shared such a short while ago. And after that conversation with her Watcher … well, there was nothing for it. Minerva was right.

“I have not yet decided whether we will ‘leak’ information about the spell to the students,” the Headmistress was saying. “How soon can you have it completed?”

“As long as I can obtain all the necessary ingredients, I should be able to have it prepared and cast by sundown tonight.”

“Very well. I will not make my decision as to whether we make the students aware of it until tomorrow, at the earliest. Also, I would like to ask you all to keep Celia’s identity as a Slayer, and more importantly her mission here, known only to the faculty.”

“But why?” asked Aurora. “Wouldn’t the students find it reassuring?”

“Other than this spell,” Celia pointed out, “I’m really no more protection than any other member of the faculty. The concern, though, is for the Potential. I doubt we want them all wondering whether they’re the one. Even once she’s identified, the fewer who know, the better for her.”

“Why?” asked Potter.

Celia looked at him oddly. “You’re the last person I would have expected to ask that,” she said. “Granted, I missed the high school part, but even in college, it can be a nightmare trying to go through school and be kind of normal, knowing you have some sort of mystical destiny hanging over your head. Having everybody else know? From what I hear, that makes it a whole lot worse.”

He had the grace to look abashed at this.

On that note, Minerva McGonagall adjourned the meeting so they could join the students in the Great Hall for breakfast. As the rest of the staff left, Celia remained behind.

“How extensive was her knowledge of the Dark Arts?” Severus asked once the door had closed.

“Very,” Celia replied warily. “Kind of went with the Sunnydale territory.”

“Theoretical?” he asked blandly.

“Mostly,” she said. Now she appeared distinctly uncomfortable.

Interesting.

“Severus …”

“We have much to do,” he interrupted. “We should join the others in the Great Hall.”

She nodded, her lips pressed into a tight line.

As they left the staff room, he very deliberately stayed directly beside her as they headed to breakfast. He was uncertain precisely why it was so important that she not be allowed to distance herself from him. He only knew that it was.

~ ~ ~

Celia took her seat between Severus and Hagrid in the Great Hall and was grateful that it was necessary to start out in silence while Minerva made her announcement. Word had already traveled through the student body, it seemed, because there were very few surprised faces at the news that a vampire had been on the campus the previous night. Most, unfortunately, were already looking pretty terrified. She scanned them all carefully, trying to see if any looked guilty or unusually intrigued. It was hard to judge from this distance, so she didn’t think the fact she hadn’t found anything told her much at all.

Once Minerva had finished describing the new security measures, and the students had groaned in all the appropriate places, breakfast was served, and Hagrid broke the silence at their end of the table.

“How was tha’ meetin’, then?” he asked while making his usual odd-looking sandwich of bacon and fried potatoes.

“You’ve just heard most of the key points that would have been news to you,” she replied. “The rest … still wouldn’t have been news to you. Just everyone else.”

“I see,” he said. “Well, tha’ mus’ be a relief for yeh.”

“To a point,” she agreed, starting in on her own eggs and toast. She tried to catch Severus’ eye or to think of something worth saying to start a conversation but came up empty. This obviously wasn’t the place to talk, or the time for that matter, but did that have to mean the silent treatment? He was really taking the awkward morning-after breakfast to new levels. When he pulled out a bit of parchment and began scribbling on it, she gave up.

After several minutes, Hagrid spoke again.

“Uh, Celia, why do the other teachers keep lookin’ down this en’ o’ the table?”

She closed her eyes, sighed, and reopened them. “They’re probably waiting for me to start rubbing my hands together, cackling, ‘I’ll get you, my little pretty, and your little dog, too,’ or something.”

“Wha’?”

She turned to take in his flummoxed expression and replied, “Wicked witch of the West?” No comprehension showed. “Wizard of Oz? Ruby slippers, yellow brick road, Emerald City?” Still nothing. She sighed again. “Never mind. The point is, Minerva had me reveal a bit more than I would’ve chosen to, and now some of them are probably more worried about having me around than about the chance of more bloody vampires showing up.”

“Oh, I see,” he said. “Why d’ye suppose she di’ tha’?”

“Your guess is probably better than mine.” She slugged down the last of her coffee and pushed back her chair. “Now, if you’ll both excuse me, I have some shopping to do.”

“Shoppin’?”

“I’m sure Minerva will fill you in,” she said, as she rose and made to leave. She was surprised when Severus turned to stop her, holding out the parchment she had given him earlier.

“Here is your list of ingredients,” he said. “I have crossed out those items which we already have here.”

She thanked him and allowed her fingers to brush against his as she accepted the parchment and smiled tentatively. She thought she saw an answering twitch of his lips but wasn’t sure. Tucking the small scroll into a pocket in her cloak, she nodded, turned, and left.

~ ~ ~

Once the students had finished their breakfasts, Snape accompanied the Slytherins back to their common room. Once inside, they began to disperse until he strode into the center of the room and called for their attention. The ones who had been halfway up the stairs to their dormitories returned nearly as quickly as they had gone.

“I trust,” he began, “that you will all follow the precautions set out by the Headmistress this morning.”

As he looked about the room, he saw a mixture of fearful and thoughtful expressions. That boded reasonably well.

“If I learn of any Slytherins wandering about outside Slytherin House unaccompanied by a staff member, they will spend the rest of the term serving detention.” He paused to glare at a pair of fifth-year troublemakers. They looked suitably frightened, though whether the source of their fear was the threat of more vampires or the threat of detention, he could not say. “And if I learn that the unspeakably stupid person who invited that demon onto the grounds was a Slytherin, that person will wish they had never been born.”

Three students wore vaguely guilty expressions. He quickly used Legilimency on each. Two had apparently been snogging in a niche off the fourth-floor corridor after the ball. He would have to pay extra attention to that location during future patrols. The third was one of Slytherin’s Beaters, and she had been planning to sneak out to the Quidditch Pitch for a bit of extra practice.

“May I remind you all,” he added, “this ban extends to the grounds outside the castle. Daylight should not be considered adequate protection.”

That drew several startled looks.

“We do not know why the vampire was here. There may be a student involved, but there may also be an outside wizard or witch or even some other type of demon behind it, and sunlight would be no threat to most of them. You will only go out onto the grounds for scheduled classes or Quidditch practices or games and only with staff supervision. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, sir,” the students answered, more or less in unison.

He nodded curtly and turned to walk back to the blank stone wall that served as the entrance to Slytherin House. Just as he reached it, someone ran up to him.

“Professor Snape,” Lightfeather said, “may I ask you a question?”

“You already have,” he replied sharply. The boy was clearly beginning to consider himself some sort of favorite. That was unacceptable.

“Um, I suppose I did,” the boy stammered. “But I just thought I should ask how I should report for my …”

Pity he would need to use his wand to employ the Muffliato spell. He wondered briefly if the sort of wandless magic Celia clearly favored was inborn or could be learned. He stifled the thought almost as quickly as it arose.

“I believe, Mr. Lightfeather, that project shall be suspended until this situation is resolved.”

The boy appeared disappointed and for a moment looked as though he were going to argue.

“I will inform Professor Potter as well,” he added sternly.

“Thank you, sir,” the boy replied, looking somewhat relieved. He turned and ran back to his friends, who had begun a game of Exploding Snap.

After he exited the common room, Snape found the Bloody Baron waiting for him.

“You will inform me immediately of any students who leave Slytherin House unescorted and of any unusual activity in this corridor.”

The ghost nodded silently.

Satisfied, Severus walked back to his private laboratory, where he cleared away a single workspace and set out the ingredients that Celia would need for her strange spell. The idea of her working in here still bothered him, but it was the best option. The classroom would not suit for something as volatile as this, nor would the kitchen in her cottage.

He firmly refused to let his mind stray to her cottage at all.

Shrugging off his discomfort, Severus decided to speak with Minerva about the concerns Celia had raised about her spell’s possible interaction with the enchantments already in place on the boundaries of the grounds. As she had not raised them, it appeared she intended simply to follow her Watcher’s suggestion. However, the Forbidden Forest also fell within those boundaries, something she did not appear to have considered. Patrolling it thoroughly was a nearly impossible task. He had some ideas, however, that might simplify matters.

Just before leaving, he altered the protective charms on the room to allow Celia to enter and added another to alert him when she did. As he left and walked up the stairs, he rubbed his shoulder, trying to dispel the odd tingling sensation that had been there all morning.

---

A/N: Yes, I’ve played with the Buffy timeline a bit. To get “Chosen” and the (hypothetical) end of Deathly Hallows to happen at the same time, I had to shift the Buffy timeline back five years. I kept the “Chosen” air date of May 20, though. And as more than twenty chapters of this were written before the first comic came out, this story is definitely not compliant to them (starting with how many Slayers Willow activated), though the occasional reference might sneak in during revisions.