Chapter 13: Hush

The last rays of the afternoon sun pour into McGonagall's classroom, Buffy sat between Harry and Dawn as usual. Suddenly Buffy was sure she heard what sounded like humming coming from outside the classroom. "Do you hear that?" Buffy whispered. She got up and walked out of the classroom and into the hallway. She spotted a little girl a little way down the hall.

"Can't even shout," the girl said. "Can't even cry. The Gentlemen are coming by. Looking in windows, knocking on doors... They need to take seven and they might take yours..." Buffy noticed the girl was holding a small, perfectly square, carved wood box. "Can't call to mom. Can't say a word. You're going to die screaming but you won't be heard."

Buffy noticed that Harry and Dawn came up beside her with a worried expression on their faces. When Buffy looked back at the girl, she saw a hideous grinning white face.

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Buffy sat up in bed screaming as Joyce ran into the room. It took her a moment to realize it was the night after she, Harry, Dawn, Hermione and the Weasley's had gotten their supplies for Hogwarts. The group had decided to get rooms in the Leaky Cauldron before returning home the next day.

"Buffy?" Joyce said.

"I had a dream, mom," Buffy said. "I think it may have been another vision."

Joyce nodded. "First thing in the morning I will get Rupert here," she said knowing that when Buffy said vision it was the same thing that had given her visions of the year before when they had learned about Dawn.

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Giles, Buffy, Dawn, Harry and Joyce sat at a table in the Leaky Cauldron the next morning. "Can't even shout, can't even cry... the Gentlemen are coming by... It sounds vaguely familiar - you're sure you never heard before?"

"Very sure," Buffy said. "Dawn?"

"Not something mom or dad would have told us when we we're younger," Dawn said

"I don't recognize it either," Joyce added,

"All right... and the girl was holding a box. Nothing else?" Giles asked.

"A box," Buffy said.

"Well, it certainly could be one of your prophecy dreams. I'll check it out, let you know if I come up with anything," Giles said.

"We'll be here," Joyce said. 'Till we know that whatever it is, isn't targeting Diagon Alley, I felt it was better to wait."

"Good thinking, Joyce," Giles said. "Even though I would rather leave Buffy out of anything supernatural till she gets more training. She is still the only Slayer in England."

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Throughout the day Buffy, Harry and Dawn spent the day with the Weasley's as they wait for Giles. It was during their day they ran into a blonde-haired girl and her mother who were out getting the girl's school supplies.

"Hi," Willow said as she smiled at the blonde-haired girl

"Hello," said the girl's mother. "Do you know the way to Flourish and Blotts. Tara here is transferring from Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the United States."

"Of course," Willow said as she motioned toward the store in question. "Right over there."

"T-t-thank you," Tara stuttered.

Across London in Giles' apartment, he sat with books and notes in front of him as he pondered what Buffy had told him. "They need to take seven... Take seven what?"

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The next morning as Buffy woke up, she yawned and pulled herself up. She saw that Dawn was sleepily sitting on the side of her bed. "Good morning," she said but no sound came out of her mouth. She cleared her throat and tried again, but still nothing came out of her mouth.

"Hey," Dawn said or at least tried to say but like Buffy no sound came out.

"Dawn?" Buffy mouthed.

"I'm deaf!" Dawn mouthed hysterically. "I've gone deaf!"

Buffy shook her head and pointed to her throat to indicate she has the same problem. She opened the door and saw Joyce standing outside the door getting ready to knock. "Mom?" she mouthed.

"It seems your vision may have been warning you," Joyce mouthed as Buffy let her into the room.

Later that day they, along with Harry meet with Giles.

Giles holds up a sign that he has written, "WHO ARE THE GENTLEMEN?" He then held up another sign, this one of a drawing of a Gentleman, with the heading "THEY ARE FAIRY TALE MONSTERS." And then finally a third sign, "WHAT DO THEY WANT?"

Dawn's hand shot up and then pointed at her chest. Giles smiled at the youngest of the three children and nodded as he put up another sign that read, "HEARTS." He then went on to explain what was happening. That they came to a town, steal all the voices, so that no one could scream. Then they would kill seven people and take their hearts. He then holds up a sign that reads, "THEY HAVE AT LEAST TWO, ACCORDING TO THE DAILY PROPHET."

"How do you kill them?" Harry scribbled onto his parchment paper.

"Like a vampire?" Buffy scribbled the question down.

Giles shook his head and then held up a new sign. "BUT THE PRINCESS SCREAMED ONCE AND THEY ALL DIED. THEY CANNOT STAND THE HUMAN VOICE."

Joyce frowned and scribbled down, "That's not going to work without our voices."

"Maybe that's what the box is for," Dawn scribbled down. "Maybe that is where our voices are stored. Break the box and we can scream."

Giles nodded in agreement as he held up a sign. "BUFFY and I WILL PATROL TONIGHT."

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That night at the Leaky Cauldron; Tara was in her room looking over her new school books as she made notes on the spells that were in them. A second book lay open next to it. This one was not one of her school books, this one was a book her mother had given her. It was opened to a section on Spells of Speech and Silence. Tara picked up her books and walked out of her room. She made her way down the corridor towards her mom's room when she sensed something behind her. She turned and saw the Gentleman and their Footmen approaching her. Soundlessly, she screamed and scrambled away. She didn't care which room she chose so she started pounding on doors.

In Willow's room she heard Tara's pounding and hesitantly she approached the door. As she summoned her courage, she opened the door to find Tara there. She spotted the Gentleman and their Footmen in the hall and pulled Tara into the room and closing the door behind them. A Footmen slams into the door hard the other side, it's clearly going to give.

Tara remembered the books she had been looking at and then grabbed Willow's hand. Together they start telekinetically moving stuff in front of the door, anything and everything that could be moved between them and the Footmen.

Across London Buffy and Giles were patrolling. She spotted a Gentleman as she and Giles were suddenly jumped by two Footmen. She threw twisted the neck of her Footmen a hundred and eighty degrees and it fell to the ground dead. The other fled before Giles could kill it as he and Buffy gave chase.

Buffy and Giles chase the Footman into a clock tower. She tackled him. She kicked the Footman and then threw another. Giles show his crossbow at another killing it.

They spot two more Footmen joining Buffy's. The Footmen attack en masse - too close for weapons. Giles threw one while Buffy kicked hers. Giles gets his far enough away to shoot it with his crossbow killing it. Buffy spun and kicked her Footmen to the head, then drove the heel of her hand to the Footman's chest, sending him flying back into a beam and snapping it in two.

Buffy spotted one of the Footmen heading up stairs and she took after it as Giles followed. They climb up past a pendulum and into the clock tower. Buffy looked to her right and saw a a shrine of jars, five of them full. No sooner did she see them than she was jumped by four Footmen. Buffy kicked the Footmen away and motioned Giles toward the shrine. He nodded as she kept the Foormen busy. He made his way over to the shrine looking for the box.

Giles spots the box in the middle of the shrine. Giles grabbed his crossbow and swung the butt smashing the box. As Buffy finds her voice has returned, she lets out a scream from the top of her lungs. The Footmen fall to the ground in writhing agony. The Gentlemen put their hands to their ears, in as much agony, then go stiff, arms at their sides as their heads explode.

All across London everyone that saw a Footmen or Gentleman did the same as Buffy with the same results.

In Willow's room, Willow was staring at Tara. "How?" she asked wondering how Tara could do something without speaking and without a wand.