Part 2
"What….what…what did you just say?" Willow managed to stammer
out as she
looked over at Amy.
"I said I'm Hagrid an I'm ere to take ya ta Hogwarts," the giant
repeated.
"Get yet stuff together an come wit me."
It's real," Amy whispered at the mention of Hogwarts. "It's
really real."
"Come on. We aven't got all night," Hagrid stated, his
patience with
Willow and Amy growing thin. He hadn't been planning on doing
anything much
over the summer other than tending to the grounds of Hogwarts School
of
Witchcraft and Wizardry, but the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, had
other
plans for him. He had ordered Hagrid to pick up two witches that
had
originally turned down Hogwarts' invitations to join their student
class,
but were now practicing magick on their own, which went against all
of the
rules. Not even Hogwarts' students were allowed to practice magick
when
school was not in session. It had been decided by the Ministry
of Magick
that, whether the girls wanted to go or not, they would be taken to
Hogwarts
as soon as possible. Also, because of their ages, they would
have two years
worth of studies crammed into the summer break so that they would then
be
with the third year students. Hagrid watched as Amy and Willow
both shook
their heads and backed away from him.
"Ummmm, that's okay, really," Willow said. "Thanks but
no thanks. I would
rather stay here in Sunnydale if that's all right."
"Yup," Amy agreed as she felt her back hit that wall. "I
mean, it an ho-nor
and all, but I actually like it here, even if the kids are a bunch
of
jerks."
Hagrid growled under his breath as he realized that he would
not be able to
get the girls to go with him as easily as he had hoped. He didn't
understand their reluctance to attend the school. Most people
considered it
an honor to go to Hogwarts. Even Muggle parents are proud when
they
discover that their child may be a powerful witch or wizard, so why
are
these two girls, who both practice magick already despite having no
formal
training, so reluctant to leave their home. Hagrid had loved
the school so
much that, even after he had gotten expelled and ordered to never practice
magick again, he still worked there as a groundskeeper and general
errand
boy. He was extremely loyal to the school and especially the
Headmaster.
He heard the door creak as Willow slowly tried to open it and, quicker
than
his size indicated he could move, he was at her side, his hand slammed
against the door, blocking off their only escape route.
"I'm sorry, but ya ave no choice," he told them. "Ya ave
ta come wit me.
Now."
"Why?"
"Because I was ordered ta take ya back to the school," he informed
them,
"by the Ministry of Magick and Professor Dumbledore
"Ministry of Magick?" Willow said.
"Professor Dunbledore?" Was Amy's question. "Who,
or what, are they?"
"Ya never heard of the Ministry of Magick? They are the
witches and
wizards that are in charge of all those who practice magick," Hagrid
explained. "They also 'elp decide who goes to Hogwarts.
And Professor
Dumbledore is the Headmaster of Hogwarts an the most powerful wizard
of all
those alive. A finer man you'll ne'er meet."
"Well, since I'm not going to Hogwarts, I guess I'll never met
him," Amy
stated defiantly.
"Why us?" Willow asked.
"They said it was because ya been practicing magick e'en though
you turned
down your invitation ta Hogwarts," the towering man explained to the
confused girls. "Its against the rules for anyone, including
witches born
to Muggles, to practice magick witout the proper lessons."
"Muggles?"
"Don'cha know anything?" Hagrid sighed. "Why he 'ad
ta send me, I don'
know." Hagrid looked at the two girls. "Muggles are non-magickal
people."
"But my mother practiced witchcraft and I've never heard of Hogwarts
until
the other day when we found it mentioned in a book," Amy replied.
"So, if
she wasn't a Muggle, how come I never heard of any of this?"
"Your mother went to Hogwarts all right, when she was younger,"
Hagrid
informed the brunette. "I remember 'er. She 'ad talent.
Could 'ave been
one of the great ones. Shame she 'ad to us it the wrong way.
She's where
ya got yet power from."
"You said we turned down our first invitations to go to Hogwarts,"
Willow
said as she remembered the giant's words from a minute before.
"But I never
got an invitation and I'm pretty sure that I would remember something
like
that."
"Same here. I never got one either," Amy added. Hagrid
looked back and
forth between the girls.
"Well, it was sent as far as I know," he told them. "I
don't know why ya
didn't get it. That don' concern me. Now git your things
an let's go."
The two teenagers looked at each other as they realized that they had
no
other choice other than to comply with Hagrid's demands. Their
earlier
speculation of whether or not Hogwarts was real now moot. They
were going
to see the object of their conversation for themselves whether they
wanted
to or not. Their only hope was that they would be able to get
word to Angel
and Xander and that their boyfriends would be able to rescue them from
wherever they were going.
"How much can we bring?" Willow inquired.
"I 'ave room for one trunk each," came the answer. "Take
what ya can fit
into it. We'll git your school supplied tomorrow."
"My things aren't here," Amy said. "They're at my house."
Hagrid looked
as if he was about to tell Amy that she wouldn't be able to bring anything
when Willow spoke up for her friend.
"That's okay, Amy. You and I are the same size and have
most of the same
taste, so you can take what you need from my stuff and then we can
just
share."
"Thanks." With that settled, Willow and Amy went about
packing up the two
trunks that Hagrid had provided, surprised to find that they were quite
a
bit roomier then they looked. They filled one trunk with the
clothes they
wanted to bring, almost fitting Willow's entire wardrobe. The
other trunk
held various books on magick and demons and some of their magickal
supplies
that they felt they might need. That last thing to go into the
trunk was
Willow's laptop and some of her computer supplies. She had been
teaching
Angel how to use a computer, having finally convinced the two hundred
and
forty-year-old vampire to buy one, and she hoped that she would be
able to
find a way to get an email to him telling him where she was.
Finally they
closed the two trunks, which were promptly picked up by Hagrid.
They
followed him down stairs and out the front door to a beaten up old
car. He
flung the two trunks into the back of the car and signaled for the
girls to
get in. Once all three were seated, he pulled a pink umbrella
out from
under his coat and tapped the steering wheel of the car. The
two girls
gasped when they felt the car rise in the air. They turned back
to look at
Willow's house, which was growing smaller and smaller, as the car flew
them
away from Sunnydale and everyone that they cared about. The only
indication
of what had happened being a note that Willow had managed to write
while Amy
distracted Hagrid, and that they had left on top of the book that had
the
initial mention of Hogwarts. Willow hoped that when Angel found
the book
and the note, that Giles might be able to tell him more. The
note read:
Angel, Amy and I have been taken to Hogwart's School of Witchcraft
and
Wizardry. You can find some information in this book. We
got it from Giles
so ask him if he knows anything about it. Please come get us.
I love you,
my mate.
Willow
P.S. Same goes for Amy to Xander.