by Lisette: Lisette_an@hotmail.com

Legalese: The television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all related characters and material belong to Joss Whedon and UPN.  All things Harry Potter belong to JK Rowling.  I claim ownership solely of the story idea - no profit will be made by this.

Author's Note: I'd now like to welcome you all to the last chapter before the grand battle that will span three chapters.  That's right, three chapters of story and an epilogue are all that remain to this monster of a fic... and what's with me and monster fics?  Somehow this one, while being a few chapters shorter than Twist of Fate, has managed to dwarf it in actual word count.  Maybe I'm just getting wordy in my old age! ;p In any case, to say that I was blown away by the staggering amount of reviews that have hit my mailbox in the past some odd hours would be downplaying things a bit.  So instead, I'll just send out my usual round of thanks and prove once more how quickly you guys can get me to update.  At this rate, we may have this thing up in its entirety by the time Monday rolls around! ;p So, once more a HUGE thank you heads out to Kiwi, rakshagirl, Mija, Jo (and your Snoopy dance attempts were appreciated! ;p), X-Lander, Claddagh, manticore-gurl, WhiteWolf 3, Mad Minute, Rob, Harry, Gaeriel Mallory, jezowen, Catlimere, Sigma, and wordpainter.  And while it seemed that more than a few of you would have liked to see Jarod and Miss Parker enter the final battle with the rest of the Scoobies... sorry, but they did get the cameo, didn't they? ;p Anyway, ENJOY!

Angel: In the Pretender series, Miss Parker's first name was never revealed.  Her mother's name was Catherine Parker, but everyone in the series, including her brother, referred to her only as Miss Parker - except for her father who called her, ironically, Angel.

"I'm beyond tired.  I'm beyond scared.  I'm standing on the mouth of Hell and it is going to swallow me whole – and it'll choke on me.  We're not ready.  They're not ready.  They think we're gonna wait for the end to come, like we always do.  I'm done waiting.  They want an apocalypse?  Ooh, we'll give them one.  Anyone else wants to run – do it now, 'cause we just became an army.  We just declared war.  From now on we won't just face our worst fears, we will seek them out...  There is only one thing on this Earth more powerful than Evil, and that's us."
-Buffy Summers-

    Sighing softly, Professor Minerva McGonagall allowed her dark eyes to roam over the crowded Great Hall - a hall that was nearly deafening with the voices of panicked and frightened witches and wizards.  It was late.  Far, far too late to be having such a meeting as the smallest of the children seemed to be falling asleep on their feet even as their parents argued in loud voices, begging for Dumbledore to take back his words.  The end was coming for them all, inevitably, and there wasn't even enough time to allow the residents of Hogwarts to have one last, worry-free night of sleep before being given such grave news.  No, they had no choice.  Snape had been right in his dreadful conclusion and everyone knew it.  Voldemort was coming and they weren't ready.  They didn't have a plan and they didn't truly have a hope.  They had a Great Hall filled with capable and strong wizards and witches and the families that they cherished so much - and all of these people who would inevitably fight for their lives and the lives of their children would fall because they were nothing compared to Voldemort's might.  Even had they the slayer, luck would not be with them in a battle.  Hogwarts would fall, and with it, the rest of the wizarding world.  And with that, the world.

    "But please Master Dumbledore, sir, there must be another way," one witch cried out, her shrill voice carrying above all of the others as the parents clung to their children.  Send their youngest away, he had said, and fight the lost fight of their lives was went unspoken.  Hope their children reached safety and die in a martyr's cause.  Even now, the eyes of many ticked to young Harry Potter as he stood behind the teachers, his godfather's hand resting on the youth's shoulder as his friends closed rank around him.  But Minerva knew, just as the others, that no hope could come from the small child.  And even as desperate eyes looked to Harry, the eyes of others scoured the room, desperately in search of the small blond girl that had proven herself to be a force to be reckoned with.  Word had spread like wildfire of her defeat of a squadron of Death Eaters, of the dark magical creatures that she had slayed in the Forbidden Forest.  The small child, such a physical opposite of Harry, had come to represent the other hope for their world.  A hope that was noticeably absent from their gathering this night.  Even though Dumbledore himself had spoken of her departure, those gathered continued to search for her, as though not quite believing that the small girl and her watcher had abandoned them to their fate.  As if the child had a choice in the matter.

    "I'm sorry, Madam Crookshane," the aged headmaster responded quickly, his stern expression doing little to betray the late hour.  "Lord Voldemort has given us little-"

    "But the Slayer!" someone else called out, their words causing many a shoulder to stiffen at the reminder of the one who was missing.

    "Had to stop and pick up some friends on the way - sorry I'm late!"

    Gasping, Minerva found herself turning along with every single witch and wizard in the room as they parted, making way for the small blond and an entourage of young people that stepped brazenly into the Great Hall.  Confused, she watched as they made their way towards the head of the room, an occasional black bag slung over a few shoulders while the slayer grinned cheekily up at them, her tanned skin nearly glowing in the torchlight and looking nothing like the girl that had left their halls only a few short hours before.

    "Miss Summers," Dumbledore greeted, his blue eyes twinkling and his mustache twitching in a manner that suggested that he was fighting to restrain himself from chuckling - an absurd thought that instantly made the deputy headmistress suspect that the headmaster had been expecting the girl's arrival the entire time.  "While I had hoped to be seeing you again this night, I wasn't quite expecting so many... interesting, companions," he continued, his gaze sweeping over the group.

    "Well, I've never backed down from a fight before," Buffy returned, almost flippantly as she tilted her head to the side, "and Moldy Wart was hardly going to be the first."  Shrugging slightly, Buffy flashed a quirky grin at the group before turning and gesturing to her friends who were eyeing the amassed witches and wizards with open curiosity.  "Plus, my friends have never let me face down a fight alone, either," she added with a proud grin at her friends.  "From the Hellmouth I bring you Faith, fellow slayer and member of the closely guarded membership of the Chosen Three," she chirped, watching as Faith nodded distractedly at her grand introduction, the slayer's brown eyes sweeping over the people that surrounded them, her smile turning coy as she caught sight of Bill Weasley.  Rolling her eyes, Buffy quickly turned back to her friends.  "Also from the Hellmouth is Xander, a muggle that's been fighting the good fight for the last four years," she said, nodding towards Xander who waved eagerly at the group of wizards and witches, "Willow and Tara, a wicked cool Wiccan team," she continued, both the slender redhead and the taller girl blushing at their combined intro, "and Oz, a werewolf," she finished, watching as more than a few people drew back form the green-haired teen even as he looked around him, utterly unfazed by the floating candles nor the bewitched ceiling high above.

    At this point, Buffy took time out from her introductions to smirk at both Sirius and Remus, the latter of which was busy inspecting the teen with an open curiosity.  "Told you I was talking from experience," she stated, grinning once more before turning to the final four.  "You all already know Giles, and on loan from LA is Angel, a vampire with a soul, Cordelia, another muggle, but this one receives visions from the Powers That Be, and Wesley, an ex-watcher and current demon hunter," she finished proudly, her eyes shining.  And then, as a thick silence fell over the room as more than a few bewildered, and quite a few frightened gazes, were thrown at her bizarre group of friends, Buffy slowly shrugged and turned back to the head witches and wizards that had quickly become a part of her life at Hogwarts.

    "The really old but powerful wizard dude is Professor Dumbledore," she stated, jerking her thumb towards the headmaster as she nodded at her friends.  "He's in charge," she added before turning and quickly going down the line.  "I don't know who the old lady smelling of cats is, nor the slender old guy, or the guy... with the really weird eye and messed up nose," she continued, grimacing as her eyes fell upon Mad-Eye Moody, "but the glowering guy dressed in black is Professor Snape, an ex-bad guy who made the icky potions, and the strict looking lady is Professor McGonagall - another in-charge type," Buffy explained in a quick aside to her friends.  "And on the other side we have Hagrid, a half-giant-"

    "Holy cow!  Talk about milk doing a body good," Xander murmured from behind her, stilling Buffy's introductions long enough to earn a small smile from the blonde.

    "-Professor Lupin, a werewolf, Sirius Black, Harry's godfather, the Weasley family and... and this is Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter," she finished, her voice falling silent and her smile faltering as she found Harry's face amongst the others for the first time.  Instantly Buffy felt as though the rest of the world was slipping away as Harry slowly pushed past the others until he was standing before her, his beautiful green eyes never leaving her own.

    "You came back," he whispered, one hand hesitantly reaching forward to rest gently against her cheek.

    "I couldn't stay away," she returned, her voice soft as she mirrored his movement, her hand lifting opposite of his and gently brushing a lock of the deepest black from his forehead before settling down to rest against his own cheek.  "I promised you that you wouldn't have to do this alone," she added as she almost became lost in his eyes.

    "Oh, just kiss and get it over with already!" Faith quickly called out, her voice loud and echoing over the Great Hall and effectively ruining the moment even as Buffy and Harry simultaneously became aware of the eyes of every single witch and wizard in the room - all resting on them.

    Flushing, Buffy quickly drew away even as Harry forced back a cough, his face just as scarlet as her own.  Luckily for them both, Dumbledore chose that moment to grow a heart and take pity on them both as he quickly clapped his hands together.  "It seems as though our luck is changing," he called out, his eyes twinkling merrily.  "Please remain here while we adjourn to the other room for a few minutes," he added before urging the Order as well as the newcomers to retreat back into a large room that sat just behind them.  It seemed that their luck was changing indeed and that they had much to discuss - very much to discuss.

    "Tom Riddle was never a patient man which makes me believe that Voldemort is not patient," Dumbledore stated, his voice grave as his blue eyes traversed the crowded room, filled with so many friends and strangers.  In the very center he stood tall with McGonagall and Severus flanking him, the rest of his wizarding folk spread around him while the slayer and her watcher stood opposite of him, the dark-haired slayer and the vampire flanking them while the rest of her friends spread out behind her.  They were a war party and they had a war to prepare for.  "The attack is coming and it will be strong," he murmured, his mind unwillingly returning to all of the witches and wizards who awaited them in the other room.  The brave people whose fates rested in their hands.  Sighing, he slowly shook his thoughts away.  There was far more at stake in the upcoming battle than their relatively insignificant lives, for the fate of the entire wizarding community, perhaps the world, rest upon their shoulders.  "What is the status of his creatures in the Forbidden Forest?" he asked, his piercing blue eyes landing on the small slayer.

    "I can't say for certain," Buffy returned as she threw a quick look at her watcher, waiting for his nod before continuing.  After all, thanks to Giles persistence, she had only spent two patrols alone in the Forests, and the first one had ended up with her nearly being disemboweled while the second caused a feud between them that had lasted for a good month.  In the end, her watcher knew as much of the forest as she - but as his look so pointedly told her, this was a battle that they were preparing for, and in such cases, it fell upon her to organize their forces.  To lead them.  "For the last three months I've been patrolling the forest and I've never come away from a night without slaying at least something big and nasty," she stated, forcing her mind back to the headmaster's question as she shrugged slightly.  "There's still some nasties out there, but if I had to wager a guess, I'd say that I've brought down his forces of an average of five nasties a night," she admitted with a small frown, pausing long enough to shoot Harry a small grin.  After all, what went unspoken was that there were a few nights when far more had been brought down - especially one night when Harry had helped her to take down a squadron of Death Eaters on top of her usual nightly slay quotient.  "And not being so hot with the math-"

    "Four hundred and fifty," both Hermione and Willow volunteered at the same time, an act that caused most everyone in the room to spare a brief glance at the two girls before turning back to the slayer.

    "Around four hundred and fifty it is," Buffy laughed, throwing her friends a quick smile before turning back to the headmaster.  "But I can't say for sure how many are left, nor the kinds," she added as Angel shifted slightly beside her, a small frown playing at his lips.

    "What kind of demons can we expect?" he asked as he glanced around Buffy to the other slayer, nodding at her slowly before shifting his attention back to Buffy.

    "The only real demons that I've seen have been fledgling vampires.  Otherwise it's a variety of nasty magical creatures that may still be able to pull their mojo on you," she stated, wrinkling her nose slightly.

    "And I'm afraid that won't be the only weapon of his attack," Dumbledore added, his expression turning grim.  "Voldemort will bring with him an army of Death Eaters, those that have evaded capture as well as those that he has liberated from Azkaban."

    "Which means that some of them are going to be cracked," Ron quickly volunteered to the newcomers even as he seemed to realize that he had just interrupted Dumbledore himself.  As his face burned a bright scarlet, he shrugged apologetically at the headmaster who merely smiled in return, even as his mother landed a fierce glare on him.

    "That also means that Voldemort will have the dementors with him," Sirius added, sighing softly as Remus dropped a comforting hand on his shoulder.  After twelve years in Azkaban, dementors should have been a familiar figure for him, but in the end, they only became familiar in his nightmares.  The dementors had almost given him the kiss a few years back, and each night in his dreams it seemed that they still persisted on visiting him, vying to steal his hard-earned happiness away.  "With so many dementors, I fear that far too many of our forces will have to be diverted to keep them busy - too many of our best wizards and witches," he added, frowning further.  "After all, there are very few that can perform a patronus charm strong enough to drive away one of these creatures."

    "And what about the smallest of children?" McGonagall asked, her eyes sweeping around the room.  "While most of the students can help in this fight, there are many more that are far too young to be of service.  Their parents shall be distracted by this and we lose advantage with that distraction.  What can we do to keep them safe?" she persisted.

    "Once the attack begins I want Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom to meet with the youngest of the children before the fireplace in the Great Hall," Dumbledore broke in, his eyes skipping to Arthur and Molly Weasley, awaiting their nod before continuing.  "Once Voldemort takes down the barriers they must floo with the children to Arthur's office in the ministry.  From there they can then begin contacting as many of the Order as possible, alerting them of the attack and sending aid to us.  The ministry aurors are not to be trusted," he stated, his voice firm before turning his eyes to the young slayer.  To some, such a move would seem odd as the mighty headmaster deferred the lead to the young girl - a mere child.  But when it came to her own people, Buffy was the commander of their army and as such, they would follow her orders or die trying.

    "Professor, I need four portkeys that will bring the user to each of the four Hogwarts towers," she stated, watching as Dumbledore looked briefly to McGonagall before nodding in agreement.  "Good, when the defenses fall I need Xander, Oz, Wesley and Cordelia to take the portkeys to the towers and use the rifles and other goodies to begin taking out as many Death Eaters as you can hit  I get the feeling that Moldy Wart isn't going to come knocking on our front doors, but from all sides," she stated, waiting for Dumbledore's nod of the affirmative even as some of the old, crotchety people she still didn't know started at her name for the most-feared Dark Lord of their times - perhaps ever.  "Jarod made the drugs pretty potent so one hit will put that person out of commission for a minimum of twelve hours," she stated, unable to resist a small glance at Remus and Sirius, wondering if they remembered their own encounter with the muggle sleeping potion.  And by the small glares that each sent in her direction, she was quickly given her answer.  Shaking her head, Buffy quickly turned back to the others.  "Faith, Angel and I will be outside with everyone else," she continued, her eyes skipping over to the others.  "Faith, you and I won't be affected by all of the magic that's going to be flying around, and Angel, since you're already dead we don't have to worry about you getting taken out by a killing curse.  Focus on the dark creatures but help out wherever you're needed," she stated, her eyes meeting each in turn before turning back to Dumbledore.

    But before the headmaster could continue, Willow quickly lifted one hand in the air that was so reminiscent of Hermione Granger that everyone instantly threw yet another startled glance between the two.  "What about me and Tara?" the redhead asked timidly, her eyes darting back and forth between Buffy and the headmaster.

    At this question, Buffy quickly nodded at Dumbledore who once more took control of the meeting.  "Miss Hamsley had been keeping me appraised of her work with you and Miss MacClay," the headmaster returned, watching as the group from Sunnydale straightened at the mention of the fallen watcher.  "She spoke a great deal about the power that you both were able to draw upon and control - a power that seems to be magnified when you work together," he continued, smiling softly at the two girls.  "And while your magic is very different then our own, I believe that you both are the answer to our dementor problem," he stated as he caught Remus' eyes.  "I believe that you should be capable of combining your skills to draw upon the magic that is in the school itself in order to a form a patronus shield to keep the dementors at bay."

    While obviously confused as to what a patronus shield or a dementor was, Tara smiled nonetheless and quickly nodded her head.  "The m-m-magic is strong here," she stuttered, blushing as she unwillingly brought the attention to herself.  "I-i-it's like the Hellmouth, b-but different.  It could work."

    "Very good then, very good," Dumbledore murmured, eyeing the two girls before nodding quickly to Professor Lupin.  "Remus, if you could begin working with them on developing a patronus at once," he stated, waving the professor away even as he turned back to the rest of those gathered.

    "And me?" Giles asked, voicing his own question as his eyes met with the headmaster's.  To be honest, he had been so focused on everything that they needed to accomplish that he hadn't even realized that they had forgotten to outfit him with a gun while at the Centre.  Or maybe it was the fact that he was in the Centre, the place where Buffy had been hidden away from him and tortured for so long that had him so prone to distraction.  Shaking his thoughts away, Giles forced himself to focus, his eyes meeting with Dumbledore's.

    "I thought that you would be most useful to us on the grounds," Dumbledore returned, shrugging his aged shoulders as he smiled at the surprised man.  "After all, as memory serves me well, such a place would almost be expected of the brightest student in his Ravenclaw class," he added as he withdrew a long, narrow box from his robes. 

    Paling noticeably, Giles merely stared at the box for a moment before accepting the proffered gift with trembling hands.  He may not have seen a box of this type in over thirty years, but Giles would recognize it anywhere.  After all, just because his wand had been broken before his eyes, that didn't dispel the magic that he harbored within himself.  Instead, his magic had been forced to lie within, dormant but never growing dusty with disuse.  As Giles lifted the lid from the box, his eyes fell upon a long, thin shaft of wood - a wood that glimmered in the torch light.  Sighing, he gently reached into the box, and as his fingers wrapped around the smooth column of wood, a soft glow seemed to envelop them both before slowly dying away.  And in that moment, it felt as though he had never been separated from his wand nor from the magical education that he had greedily drunk in for seven years.  It was a little bit like riding a bike for Giles was certain that he had forgotten nothing.

    "Ollivander sent that with his best wishes," the headmaster continued, smiling softly as the man's small slayer practically beamed at him.  But as quickly as it had come, the aged wizard's joy was already disappearing under the knowledge of what they were about to face.  "As we have learned and as we have already stated, we cannot be sure of the loyalties of the Ministry - we cannot even be sure of which officials are working under their own will or not," he added, his expression grim.  "We are about to make a final stand against Lord Voldemort and we will be doing so without Ministry or Auror support.  And if the castle falls, all of the wizarding world will be lost," he stated, a hush falling over the room at his proclamation.  "Miss Weasley will be sending for the rest of the Order who is not already gathered here, and even though the barriers will be down, they will still be forced to apparate to a point beyond the school grounds.  It is a delay that cannot be helped, and until reinforcements arrive, we are the sole front that will stand against the darkness.  Everyone will fight," he murmured, his eyes drawing around the room and landing on each individual in turn.  "Including the students," he added as his eyes drifted past Hermione and Ron before finally landing on Harry Potter.  "And Voldemort must be taken out at all costs," he stated, his voice heavy as he and Harry locked eyes a moment before the boy finally nodded.  He understood.

    Unfortunately, in that moment Harry and Dumbledore weren't the only ones to understand, for even as Dumbledore drew the meeting to a close and the others began to drift back towards the other room, Sirius remained rooted to his spot on the floor.  He had caught the silent message that the old wizard had passed to his godson - he had caught the message and he finally understood.  As a feeling of deep cold seemed to creep over his body, Sirius watched through hooded eyes as his godson moved to the young slayer's side, twin smiles exchanged as the girl reintroduced him to her friends.  And even as they all shared smiles and the sounds of their laughter reached him, Sirius couldn't get past his sudden knowledge.

    "Sirius?"

    Ignoring Remus' questioning hand, Sirius closed the distance between he and his godson, his large hand landing on the teen's shoulder as he quietly drew him away from his friends.  "Harry, I need to talk to you," he murmured, pulling him into a far corner until they stood alone, his back hunched and away from the prying eyes of the others until he felt as though he was truly alone in this room with his beloved godson.  With James and Lily's only son - the boy that he had sworn to take care of and protect.  A promise that he had been unable to fulfill for far too long.

    "What's wrong?" Harry asked, reading his godfather far too easily as his green eyes peered into Sirius' blue.

    "I..." Sirius murmured, his heart clenching within his chest as his eyes truly took in the boy that stood before him.  More like the man.  "God, where has the time gone?" he asked, not even realizing that he had voiced his question aloud.  It was so obvious now that it almost hurt to see how Harry was no longer the boy that he had been when they had first met all of those years ago.  While still a few inches shorter than Sirius, he no longer had to look so far down to meet his godson's eyes, and when did his shoulders get so broad?  When did the baby fat leave his face so that the hard, square lines of his jaw were so prominent?  When did he get so old?

    "Sirius?" Harry persisted, a small frown pulling at his lips.

    "I... I want you to stay close when the fighting starts," he finally murmured, his voice rough as his hands lifted to grip his godson's shoulders in a grip so tight that it must have been painful.  "You need to stay by my side and... and I won't let you get hurt.  Nothing will hurt you," he stated, his voice beginning to shake as his eyes bore into Harry's green.  "I won't let him touch you," he stated, his voice coming out more as a growl.

    And for a moment, Harry could only stand in silence as Sirius practically began to shake before him.  He recognized his godfather's words for what they were - a plea for Harry to assure him that it wouldn't come down to what they always knew it would.  "Sirius, I have to-"

    "You're just a child!" Sirius quickly interrupted, a fierce scowl twisting his handsome features.  "You're just a child and no one expects you to be anything else," he quickly stated before he crushed his godson against him, holding him as though he was afraid that he would disappear at any moment.  "I don't want you to try and be anything but Harry.  Promise me that you'll just be Harry."

    Sighing, Harry allowed himself the small comfort of Sirius' embrace as he struggled with the words he wanted to say.  He wanted to argue with his godfather - he wanted to make him understand.  But Harry knew it was pointless for no matter what he said, he would never understand, for understanding meant accepting the fact that he was just being Harry.  This was who he was, who he was born to be, and who he was meant to be.  When he did what he had to do, he wasn't being anything but Harry Potter.  He wasn't being anything but Harry because Harry was all that was needed.  He wasn't capable of being anything else and he had to hope that in the end, Harry would be enough... even though he refused to acknowledge the part of him that whispered that not even Harry was going to be enough to bring Voldemort down in the coming battle.  After all, even if Voldemort had given Harry a part of himself - a part of his magic sixteen years ago.... the fact remained that a part of Voldemort's power was still insignificant when compared to the whole of the power that he'd be facing.

    Sighing once more, Harry slowly allowed himself the small comfort of his godfather's embrace, wrapping his long arms around him and returning his hug.  "I promise," he whispered, knowing that this was one promise that he could keep.  "I promise to only be Harry," he returned as he quietly said his goodbye.

To be continued...