All Hollow’s

"Let’s go over this one more time. Start from the very beginning."

Buffy sighed tiredly. She was drained. She gripped Angel’s hand tightly as she spoke.

"It started after the Halloween dinner," she explained. "I took the boys down for some training, and things were fine. A bunch of the other kids came for a visit an hour before curfew, so I let them stay. What the hell, right…?"


…Hermione stared, her face red.

"Don’t tell me you’ve been dating for over a month and you haven’t seen him without a shirt on," Evelyn said.

Hermione’s face turned a deeper red, and Torianna snickered.

"Holy crap!" Evelyn cried. "You’re kidding?! You‘ve known the guy for five years!"

"It’s… we…"

"Aw," Torianna squealed. "They’re shy… that’s so cute."

Hermione gave a mean glare.

Ron was circling Harry, getting ready to try and trounce him. Both boys were snickering and talking as they circled each other, shirtless and shoeless.

Ginny and Cho were both eyeing Harry appreciatively. All three boys had been bulking up quite a bit since they’d started training. A week’s worth of hard work had done wonders.

Dudley sat in the corner, not speaking to anyone. He was feeling alright.

And Evelyn had a week’s worth of Potions homework to do.

Seamus, Dean and Neville were watching them, and jokingly placing bets on who would win. Occasionally one of the fighters would throw a comment their way. Draco just stood on the side-lines looking anxiously on, waiting for his turn…


"…And then?" Dumbledore asked gently.

"Eventually it was time to wrap it up, so ten minutes before curfew, I sent them all up to the dorms. But apparently, when they got there, there was a problem…"


"…Where the fuck is the fat lady?" Torianna asked, annoyed.

Hermione cleared her throat, obviously annoyed at Torianna’s cursing.

"Gum Drops," Dean said.

Nothing happened.

"I don’t like this," Ron said in a small voice. "Bloody hell, I really don’t like this."

Harry, as well as Hermione noticed he’d gotten very pale. Hermione took his hand and gave it a squeeze. He kept staring ahead.

"oy, you lot!" Draco called. "I can’t get into my bleeding dorm!!"

"Me, neither. There‘s no portrait," Cho said, walking up behind Malfoy. "What’s going on…?"


"…And that was when all the Death Eaters started filling the halls. It was crazy. I remember walking up from the dungeon, and just being bombarded with hexes."

"And what of the children?" Fudge asked.

"They thought up a plan…"


"…Alright. Malfoy, Torianna, Evelyn, Dean, Dudley and Seamus," Harry whispered, handing a piece of parchment with directions through the secret to Draco. "Get to the tunnel that goes to the Honeydukes basement. Stay there as long as you can. The rest of us will head to the Shrieking Shack and stay there."

"Don’t you watch movies, Harry?" Evelyn snapped. "Splitting up is a bad idea."

"There are too many of us to keep track of," Harry replied. "We’ve got to…"


"…We understand the story up to this point," MacGonagall told her softly. "It’s the rest we’re a bit fuzzy on."

Buffy sighed. "I don’t understand much of it, myself."

"Try," Sirius Black replied. "Please."

"Well," Buffy started up again. "There was a hoard of about thirty Death Eaters waiting for Harry’s group in the Shrieking Shack…"


…A wand had raised to Harry.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Harry could find the strength to move himself. A horrible fear filled his entire being.

Ginny had panicked. Big time. She grabbed Harry by the shirt, and yanked him just out of the way.

The curse hit what was walking into the Shrieking shack directly behind Harry.

Cho Chang’s lifeless body fell instantly.

Harry’s eyes filled with tears, and he stared out at the masked men before him.

It all happened so fast.

"CRUCIO!"

It headed straight for Hermione, but Ron pushed her so hard she landed on the floor. The curse connected with Ron, and he fell, but caught himself on his hands and knees. His eyes glowed a dim yellow, and his breathing became short as he, and the demon inside him tried to deal with the immense pain.

"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!"

Ginny fell to the floor with a thud.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Another death curse headed straight for Harry. Ron reached out a shaky hand and pulled him to the floor.

The curse hit the wall behind them, and it began to crumble. Stone and wood fell on Hermione, who screamed. Her screams were silenced with a piece of stone knocked her out cold.

And Neville Longbottom had had enough.

He stood, glaring at the Death Eaters before him. He wasn’t afraid. He was angry. Angry for himself. For his parents. For his friends were on the floor, in pain. He slowly took out his wand, and pointed it at the group before him.

"EXPELIRAMUS!"

He screamed it with a fury that almost frightened Harry.

Thirty wands flew to Neville’s feet, and the Death Eaters stood, shocked.

Harry got to his feet, helping Ron, who was shaky, but snarling. His eyes were quickly turning from their sickly yellow to their angry bright white.

He snarled.

Harry nodded in solemn agreement.

The two boys dove into the Death Eaters, swinging fists, kicking legs, throwing elbows around.

Harry was grabbed behind, and Ron picked up the stone that had hit Hermione on the head. He smashed it hard over the Death Eater’s head, and he let go of Harry.

One had gotten a hold of another wand, and pointed it at Ron. "CRUCIO!"

Ron dropped instantly.

And then Harry got mad.

When fifteen Death Eaters fell to the ground, unconscious, the rest began to flee.

Harry walked and slumped down next to Cho.

Ron was lying on the floor, unconscious, not far away from Hermione.

Ginny, free of the Petrificus, walked to stand next to Harry’s slumped form, and started crying.

Neville still stood in the doorway, staring intently at his wand…


"…Jesus," Faith muttered. "I knew the training was effective, but it’s only been a week."

"Sometimes a little goes a long way," Angel replied.

"What happened to the group in Honeydukes?" Remus asked.

Angel sighed. "They didn’t hear any Death Eaters upstairs, so they left the shop…"


…Draco had never smelled so much blood before. He tripped and stumbled over something. When he looked down, he learned that it was the body of a man in army dress.

The same man who’d come to see Professor Summers the other week.

There were about twenty commandos dressed just like him, their bodies strewn about the streets of Hogsmeade. Dead.

All dead.

And his father wondered why he didn’t want to be a Death Eater.

"Holy shit," Torianna muttered.

Dudley was scared. More scared than he’d ever been in his entire life. When he tripped over a body, he fell on his now not-so-large stomach. He screamed, got to his feet, and ran.

"Damn," Seamus snapped. "DUDL-" he was cut off by Torianna’s hand over his mouth.

"There could be more," Torianna told him. "Don’t yell."

"The little bitch is perceptive."

Draco looked up with a glare. "You."

Lucius Malfoy took off his mask and glared back. Behind him, ten more Death Eaters stood ready.

Draco took a stake from the back pocket of his pants.

"Draco, no," Evelyn whispered.

Draco got into a fighting stance and pounced his father…


"… I didn’t know they fought," Charlie said.

Angel sighed. "According to Dean they did."

"And?" Snape asked. "Then what…?"


…He had him pinned to the ground, the stake raised high, ready to strike. The other Death Eaters had been ordered to leave, and they did.

And then Evelyn snatched the stake out of his grasp.

Draco whirled around, his foot still to his father’s throat. "What the bloody hell are you doing?!"

"Keeping you from becoming a murderer, you jack-ass," she snapped. "Let him up."

Draco sent a swift, hard boot into his father’s face. The older man’s eyes rolled back and he passed out…


…Fudge snorted in disgust. "He would have killed him!"

Giles snorted. "You try getting beaten by your father, and then tell me you wouldn’t wish some kind of ill will on him."

Molly Weasley shook her head. "What happened to Dudley…?"


…He rammed into someone in a dark alleyway.

"S-sorry." Dudley tried to rush off, but the man he’d bumped into grabbed his arm.

"Hold on, there, Son. I’m not going to kill you…"

Dudley watched as the man’s normal eyes turned to an amber shade.

"I’m just going to kill you."

Dudley’s screams did not go unheard.

By the time Connor showed up, it was too late.

Spike stood, wiping the blood from his lips, and licking his hand. "Oh," he laughed. "Desert."

Connor put up a good fight, but in the end, was no match for William the Bloody…


…The look of guilt returned to Angel’s face, and Buffy gave his hand another squeeze.

"Where is the vampire now?" Arthur Weasley asked.

"Dungeon," Buffy replied. "We’ll deal with him a little later."

"It looks as if everyone managed well here, though," Fudge voiced. "However did you defeat all of them…?"


"…I knew I’d need all this eventually."

Angel spread nearly his entire arsenal on a table in the great hall.

"Chose your poison."

The teachers each picked a weapon to go along with their wands.

"Take prisoners," Dumbledore ordered, lifting a broadsword. "And please be careful. All of you."

Buffy shook her head gravely, hefting her crossbow. "Go, team…"


"…And the rest of the houses?" Fudge asked.

"All safe," Wood voiced up. "The Death Eaters couldn‘t get into the dorms no matter how hard they tried."

"How are the kids now?" Sirius asked.

"They’re in the Hospital wing," Tara replied. "Most of them are sleeping."

"That doesn’t answer the question," Sirius said.

Wesley sighed, walking into the Great Hall, suddenly. "It’s not going to be easy. Harry’s been muttering to himself since we found him. Saying something about killing the spare, and someone named Cedric?"

Dumbledore’s eyes saddened. "And the rest?"

"Asleep, mostly… Ginny’s awake. She’s… she feels very guilty about what happened to Cho," Wesley explained.

"She saved Harry’s life," Remus said softly. "It was one or the other. Did she see Cho walk in?"

"I don’t think so," Wesley replied. "Neville is… well, he’s… afraid."

"I would be, too if I just randomly started showing magical talent when I was pissed off," Buffy said.

"How’s Draco?" Tara asked.

Wesley shook his head. "He seems fine, actually. Awake. Alert. Generally just angry."

"Here’s what I don’t understand," Charlie spoke up. "How the hell did they get in? Didn’t we up security for Halloween?"

Dumbledore sighed. "I’ve been milling this over in my mind, and the only explanation I can come up with is that someone let them in."

Silence resonated around the table.


Draco almost felt jealous of Harry.

Hermione lay asleep in Ron’s arms as he dozed. On her other side, slept Harry, curled close to her. On the end, Ginny Weasley was passed out, with an arm around Harry.

Draco was almost jealous of the trust. The closeness. Not things Malfoys usually longed for, but then again, he was barely a Malfoy anymore.

He stared at the quartet curled closely in the hospital wing.

"Draco?"

Hermione slowly sat up and stare at him, blearily.

"Hey."

"Come here."

He walked to stand next to the bed.

"Sit."

When he did so, Ron jerked awake. He sat up. Draco noticed his eyes were a very dim yellow. "Hey, mate."

Draco nodded in return.

Hermione leaned forward and examined his face, brushing her fingers over the gash on his forehead. She gave him a worried look.

"I’m fine."

Ron rolled his eyes. "I’ll get some water and a cloth." He was about to rise, but Draco stopped him with a hand to his chest.

Ron flinched, and Draco, guiltily took his hand away. "Don’t get up. I got it." He fetched the supplies and Hermione took them from him. She dipped the cloth into the water and dabbed it on his cut. He didn’t flinch.

"You alright?" Draco asked.

Hermione sighed. "As well as can be expected."

They sat in silence, Hermione cleaning the dried blood from Draco’s cut.

Harry woke up suddenly and shot up, Ginny along with him.

"Harry?" Ron asked worriedly.

He gave wide-eyed stare to his best friend, who looked concerned.

"Fine," Harry replied. "I’m alright. Just… bad dream."

"Poor baby," Draco muttered to himself.

Harry glared. "You think I have it easy, don’t you?"

"Harry…" Ginny started.

"You have no idea what it’s like," Harry spat.

"And you think I’ve had it so bloody great?"

"Frankly, yes, you over-privileged little shit!" Harry cried. "Never had to suffer for anything, have you? Bet Daddy never locked you in a cupboard."

Draco got to his feet. "Fuck you, Potter! I haven’t had it easy, either!"

"Rich daddy, and socialite mummy, always giving you everything you’ve wanted!"

"That’s not true!" Draco cried. "Fuck off!"

While they argued, Ron put his hands to his head. "Noise," he whispered. "Too much bloody noise."

Evelyn and Torianna rushed in.

"What the hell is going on?" Torianna asked.

Harry and Draco pointed to each other and said "He started it!"

"Of, for shit’s sake," Evelyn grumbled. "Can’t the two of you leave each other alone for three damned seconds?!"

"Harry, what is wrong with you?!" Hermione cried. "Why are you acting like this? This isn’t like you!"

Harry shook his head. "People keep dieing because of me. My parents and Emily died, and Cedric died, and now Cho. And Dudley’s dead because of my life! Me! This is my fault! I hate them, but how the hell am I supposed to face Vernon and Petunia?! How?!" He fought back tears. "People keep dieing… And now Ron‘s all screwed up because he‘s a half-demons who gets my visions, and on top of that, he‘s going crazy from the bloody crutiatus curse!"

"I’m not crazy," Ron snapped. "You’re just too damned loud."

"…And Hermione got hit in the head with a ton of stones from a curse that was meant for me! My god, they’re just killing the spares!"

"Harry…" Hermione said softly, getting up.

"Kill the spare," Harry said in a daze.

"Harry, stop," Ron said. "Come on, mate. You’re scaring us."

He shook his head and let out a shaky breath. "Kill the… kill the spare."

Draco shook his head. "Oh, for fuck’s sake." He nearly smacked Harry, but was grabbed by Torianna.

"I don’t think so, Malfoy. You gotta get through me, first."

Draco seethed, but put his hand down.

"Well, if he won’t do it," Ron said, getting to his feet. "I bloody will." He smacked Harry across the face, making the boy who lived stumble a bit.

He looked at Ron with hurt, but much saner eyes. "What the hell was that for?"

"Your own good," Ron replied. "Please believe me when I say that. You need rest. Probably more than the rest of us. Can we please just speak more about this in the morning? Two days from now?"

Little by little, the group filtered out. Harry and Ginny took separate beds, while Ron and Hermione stayed in the same one. Torianna disappeared to find Seamus.

Evelyn took Draco‘s hand as they walked out. "Harry didn’t mean what he said back there, whatever it was that got you pissed off," she told him. "He’s just had a bad night."

Draco shook his head. "We’ve all had a bloody bad night. I don’t see anyone else taking it out on other people."

"Harry doesn’t blow up," Evelyn explained. "I’ve noticed that his pain is very private."

"So what brought this on?"

"Cho’s death. Dudley’s death. Both," Evelyn speculated. "It’s just too much, sometimes."

Draco sighed. "Yeah. I know the feeling."

"So why don’t you get along?"

For the life of him, Draco couldn’t come up with an answer. Not one reply came to mind.

Not one.

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