Si Vis Amari, Ama (If you want to be loved, love)
Disclaimers:
Buffy, Willow and all of the other characters and places from the show are © to Joss Whedon, UPN and Mutant Enemy etal. Harry, Hermione and the other characters and places from Harry Potter are © to JK Rowling – I am just playing in their sandboxes. Everyone and everything else is mine. None of my characters are meant to resemble anyone living, dead or un-dead, if you see yourself you are looking way too hard.
Rating:
R, M, for adult audience etc. – for violence, and established relationships between women. If this offends you, don't read.
Spoilers and other ramblings:
Buffyverse – Everything up to the middle of season four – I diverge then.
Harryverse – Everything up to and including most of book 6 – I may be using parts of books 7 but certainly not all of it (especially the epilogue).
This is a sequel to Militat Omnis Amans (Every Lover is a Warrior), and while I think it can stand on its own, you will get a lot more out of the story if you have read Militat.
Story begins in October 2000. Harry will have turned 20, Hermione 21, Buffy 19(20) and Willow 18(19) – reasons for the bracketed ages will be apparent to those who have read Militat, but will become obvious to others in this story.
Ships:
Buffy/Willow, Harry/Hermione
Other:
The Latin and Gaelic are mine; I take the responsibility for any translations of them. In addition, the descriptions of the rituals, spells and other craft work come from my traditions, so please don't take offence if something described here does not match your traditions or what you think it should.
Please note that things perceived by characters other than by the five acknowledged senses have been enclosed in Italics.
Feedback:
Please. And thanks to all who have commented on previous efforts, I appreciate everything that was said. As before, all meaningful criticism, support and suggestions are welcome.
ChapterI – Aquila non captat muscas
(The eagle does not capture flies)
The city of Sunnydale California was wrapped in the blanket of darkness and smothered by a fall fog. There was hardly any wind and the temperature had not noticeably dropped from the unseasonably hot temperatures that had cooked everyone earlier in the day. It was the ebb of the night, just before three, and there was stillness throughout the city, not all of which could be explained by the hour, or by the weather.
Deep in the industrial section of the city the mists were, if possible, even heavier as they clung to the poorly lit streets and sidewalks. The streets and sidewalks were slick from the mist, and water ran from the facades of the old soot covered brick buildings that lined both sides of the streets to be collected in pools that had formed in the potholes of the streets and in the cracks in the sidewalks.
The shops and small manufacturing ventures, which dominated this area, were all closed for the day, with thick steel bars and shutters blocking their windows and doors. The lighting was sparse, and originated from old, sodium based, streetlights, thus turning the mist into a deathly pale orange. The area was worse than poorly maintained, the city fathers having decided that spending money on more 'public' areas was a better, and more voter happy, use of tax dollars.
There was a thick oily, almost metallic, odour, which clung to the fog and was a constant reminder of the work done in the area during the sunlit, safe, part of the day. This smell had been mixed with the organic odour of uncollected garbage and other refuse, which had accumulated along the edge of the street and was heaped in the various side alleys that criss-crossed the entire area. The old twisted streets and alleys turned the area into a maze that few were able to navigate, at any time of the day, with safety.
In the middle of a small side street appeared two figures, their bodies disturbing the fog as they purposefully walked down the street, causing the mist to swirl up and briefly follow them before it reformed on road. The figures paused every so often to carefully peer down each alley and cross street, as if searching for someone or something, before continuing their late night stroll.
"Damn, this is spooky," said a young and incredibly muscular woman, to her taller, copper-haired, companion.
The woman appeared to be barely into her twenties, and aside from her amazing physique her most visible feature was a shock of snow-white in her otherwise long dirty-blond hair.
"You said it lover," replied the other, also very fit, young woman, as she wrinkled her pert nose in disgust at the odours assaulting it, "this is totally not natural weather."
"And for once, it's not our fault." Buffy paused, yawned, and stretched her arms over her head, causing her shirt to rise up and expose the tip of a red sword which appeared to be tattooed on her belly.
"Yeah, but still it is a bit weird for southern California," Willow said, before adding, "How much longer love, it's late and we need to get home and see to the kids?"
"Not much," said the slayer checking her watch, "just a couple of streets to go, then we can head back."
"Good," said Willow.
"Hold on for a sec, will you Will," asked Buffy, her enhanced senses perceiving something in the surrounding area.
"Yes love," replied Willow, turning back to face her companion, "what is it Buff?"
"My demon triggers are tingling," replied the slayer, all attention now focused on the surrounding area as she attempted to discover, and define, the threat that she had perceived. "There be things out there; several things."
"What type of things", asked Willow, as she focused her inner eyes, thereby adding all of her considerable paranormal abilities to the task of seeking non-human essences.
"Don't know", replied Buffy, moving towards the edge of the sidewalk, "but better to have a building to one side of us, just in case."
"Better safe than sorry," agreed Willow, as she too moved to stand next to the building.
Both young women warily looked up and down the dimly lit street, looking for anyone, or anything, out of the ordinary. Neither woman was particularly worried, for they had faced armies of demons, but neither were they careless. They knew that one slip, one tiny mistake and that either one or both of them could be very dead.
Suddenly, both women turned and looked across the street at the entrance to a small, almost invisible, alley. Within moments three indistinct figures exited the passage and took up positions on either side of it, facing the young women. They paused, as if waiting for something, or someone, before beginning to leisurely cross the street. As they crossed they slowly moved apart, in an attempt to flank their intended prey.
"What do you think Red", asked the slayer, moving to her right and towards the closet of her opponents.
"Definitely not human", replied Willow, as she began to draw up from her reserves the energy she was about to employ in a spell, "do you want me to fry them, or what?"
"Not just yet", replied Buffy, "let's see what we're dealing with first. After all, they may not be evil."
"Ever the optimistic one, aren't you lover", replied Willow, changing her intended spell to one suggested by the slayer. The archmage concentrated for a moment, stretched out her hands and then whispered, almost to herself, "Soilshey ny greiney!"
As she finished the last word a basketball sized ball of blinding light appeared at her fingertips, dispelling the darkness from a huge area of the street.
Willow looked at the ball of deadly energy she had collected and then said, "Daunsagh!" The effect was immediate. The ball sprung from her fingers up into the air and began to move back and forth, almost rhythmically, between the two young women.
"Nifty spell lover," said Buffy, appraising the source of illumination.
"Thanks," said Willow, "at least now we know one thing about our 'friends' over there."
"And that is?"
"Well, they're not vamps. If they were, the light would have burned them to a crisp."
"Point," replied the slayer, turning her attention back to the three, now distinct figures, which had momentarily stopped their journey across the street. "Let's see what we do have then, shall we?"
Revealed by the bright ball of magic were three, definitely demon, beings. They were all the same type of creature, each sporting yellow skin, blue-green hair and jet black eyes. Their arms ended in claws, each with four pointed fingers. The sudden light had caused them to pause, shielding their eyes, halfway across the small street, no more than six meters from the young women.
"Well," drawled Buffy, "what do we have here then?"
"Looks like a trio of demon boys," replied Willow, "out on the town for a bit of relaxation."
The three demons were totally unprepared for these events. Until the street had been lit by the sudden ball of light they had planned to attack, and then feed on the two foolish humans who had wandered into their territory. The light, and the bantering tone of voice between the two women, had caused them to pause in the execution of their initial plan; however, it was only a pause, and they soon decided that the two humans were still easy prey, magic powers notwithstanding.
The nominal leader of the group stepped forward and called out, "foolish humans! You will die for being in our territory, and your bones will make soup for our young!"
"That solves the naughty or nice question," said Buffy as she sprung into action.
Buffy jumped at the demon on her right, balled her hand into a fist, before delivering a vicious backhand to his head just as she landed just in front of him. As the demon staggered under Buffy's blow she proceeded to sweep his legs out from under him, causing him demon to drop to the ground like a sack of potatoes.
Before the first demon had hit the ground Buffy had already turned towards the leader of the group.
"You're next, ugly," snarled Buffy as she leaped towards the startled demon.
The remaining two demons had been stunned by the speed and the ferocity of Buffy's attack; however, they recovered quickly and began to spar forcefully with the slayer. This strategy proved to be their undoing, since it left Willow with plenty of time to complete her next spell.
Concentrating for a moment Willow reached deep within the magical realm for the energy she needed. She paused, calmed herself and then yelled, "Gleiy loshtee!"
With the completion of her spell a bolt of flame sprung from the palms of her hands towards the nearest demon; as it hit him it burst into sticky entrails that clung to the demon as they then began to burn through his clothes, attacking his flesh. The demon dropped to the ground screaming, all thoughts of killing the humans gone, and began to roll around, trying to put out the flames; however, nothing the demon tried diminished the flames; they stuck to his body, as if they had been glued there.
The flaming demon provided enough of a distraction so that Buffy could finish off the third opponent. As he turned to look at his companion, who was attempting to stop the flames ravaging his body, Buffy delivered an upper-roundhouse kick to his head, snapping his neck, killing him before he hit the ground.
Buffy quickly turned back towards her first opponent, however, seeing how easily the two humans had dispatched his former companions the demon had already fled, to disappear back into the thick fog.
"Damn," said Buffy, "missed one."
"S'ok love," replied Willow, as she came up behind her lover and embraced her in an intense hug, "two out of three in less than five minutes is still pretty good, even for us."
"I know," replied Buffy, "but I hate leaving one behind. Especially one that will almost certainly blab to others that we are patrolling this part of town now."
"They would have figured it out eventually," said Willow, as she turned Buffy to face her, before reaching down and kissing her passionately.
After a few minutes they broke apart and Buffy whispered, "What was that for?"
"You know. After all our minds are one."
"I know, and thank-you. Shall we head home? Slaying makes me 'excited' too."
"Let's," said Willow, "but first let me take care of the trash."
Willow concentrated, and then focused on the two demon bodies. As she released her focus the bodies immediately decomposed into their component elements, which were rapidly dispersed by what little wind there was and absorbed by the mists.
"Damn, witch girl," said Buffy appreciatively, "that still impresses the hell out of me."
The two women turned back the way they had come, and hand in hand began their walk home.
Deep in the shadows stood another, non-human, figure that had watched the preceding events with intense interest.
"So," she thought to herself, "the stories are true. The slayer has a powerful companion. And, what's more, that companion is also her soul mate. Interesting."
The demon turned away from the slayer and the arch-mage and with a swirl that could have been a cape, or could have been something else, began to move quickly in the opposite direction.
Within the hour Buffy and Willow arrived back at the new home that they were sharing with their family in addition to a large number of their friends. They had both moved out of their dorm room during the previous winter; the strain of motherhood, on top of their duties as guardians over the hell-mouth, had caused the two of them to suspend their studies for the conceivable future. These concerns were overlaid on other, more serious issues which had yet to be fully addressed by the archmage or the slayer.
Buffy, Willow, their daughters and their four companions had found, purchased and moved into a massive red bricked three story house which had been built in an elongated u shape on an east-west orientation. The house was close to both the centre of town, and to the suburb in which both Buffy and Willow had lived, and where their parents were still living. It was in an exclusive part of town, and several of the neighbours had asked unanswered questions as to exactly where the resources to purchase, renovate and maintain the house had come from.
The house was old, having been built at the turn of the century; however, it had been maintained in excellent condition. It comprised of over twenty rooms, more than enough for workrooms, bedrooms and nurseries. Thanks to the efforts of all of the new inhabitants, and their families, it had been decorated and renovated to meet the diverse needs of its new occupants. Buffy, Willow and their spouses Bridie and Aiofe, along with their four children and their ward Samantha, currently occupied the eastern wing of the house the house. The senior mages Amana and Grael had taken up residence in the other wing of the house; which was also the location of the new workrooms and an enormous library. The central portion of the house housed the 'public' rooms, the living and dining rooms, the public study and a massive kitchen / family room / eating area where the extended family did most of their socializing. The house, with the constant craftwork and slayer business, was never completely quiet; however, it was set back far from the street, surrounded by a tall fence, backed by hedges and other old growth and so the neighbours, while curious about exactly what the new inhabitants were up to, were never disturbed, neither was their curiosity satisfied.
As they were walking up the old slate path to the house Buffy turned to Willow and said, "Looks like there are still a few bodies up and about."
"They better not all still be up, Sam has school in the morning."
"I trust that Amana has made sure she was in bed at the proper time," said Buffy, "but I don't think that anyone else was."
"Their loss," said Willow, "I'm for the bath and bed as soon as possible, this heat and our little expedition has coated me in sweat."
"Ditto love," replied Buffy, "I only hope the kids cooperate."
Within the hour the two women were sharing a long relaxing soak in their massive bathtub, having fed and resettled their daughters.
"This was such a good idea," sighed Willow as she slipped into the steaming water.
"What," asked Buffy, "having a bath?"
"No, silly," replied Willow, "I meant renovating the house to include a proper bath."
The bath was more small pool than a bathtub. It had been built in the old summer kitchen, which had been at the back of the house. The bath was a metre and a half deep with a surface area of over twelve square meters. It had been tiled and had a ledge half way underwater that went around the perimeter, perfect for casual lounging. The bath was permanently filled with near scalding water that was constantly being refreshed and circulated.
The old kitchen had been further transformed to take advantage of the steam generated by the bath. Oak and maple panelling and benches had been installed along the walls, and there were several large storage cupboards for towels and other bath necessities.
Both women were relaxing in the bath, their heads cushioned on towels, and their legs floating out over the water. The hot water, combined with the hour was causing them to be both very relaxed and very lethargic.
"You know love," said Buffy, "I've been thinking."
"Dangerous," replied Willow, "I keep telling you that."
"I know, but."
"But what?"
"It's not the same anymore."
"What's not the same?"
"Life, slaying, you know – my reason for being."
"What do you mean," asked a suddenly concerned Willow, as she swung her legs back underneath her, and sat down.
"Oh, relax sweetie," said the slayer, "I'm not planning anything stupid. It's just that given all we went through things here have been quiet and..."
"And," prompted her lover.
"And, well boring."
"How can you say that," asked Willow, "don't you remember everything that's happened since we returned?"
Willow was referring to the roller coaster of events that had happened since she and Buffy had returned from their travels. It had been an eventful nine months.
It had begun with the numerous, seemingly endless, explanations the evening that they returned to family and friends. They had all wanted to know how Buffy and Willow could in the space of what looked like minutes have entered a dimensional portal alone, and returned with seven others, two of whom were badly injured. Not to mention that two of the people who returned with them were their daughters.
Their parents had been, to put it mildly, livid. There had been repeated demands to know what had happened, and how the girls could have been pregnant without them knowing. Their explanation that while minutes had passed on Earth that they had been away for a year did nothing to answer the parental questions. They demanded to know the names of the fathers and who they were, and were stunned to find out that there had been no 'fathers'. That one fact alone, along with the fact that somehow the two babies were identical in every way, finally convinced both Willow and Buffy's parents that something strange had happened to their daughters. With the typical Sunnydale mindset, they had then proceeded to act as if nothing unusual had happened at all.
Once they had convinced their parents that something extraordinary had occurred things were a little easier. Arrangements had been made to find medical assistance for the two injured members of Willow's group, fortunately when you lived over a hell-mouth; weird medical emergencies were a very frequent occurrence and were always discreetly and competently dealt with.
Over the next few days and weeks the complete story had been gradually told to family and friends. How Buffy and Willow had been transported to a different world, a world beset by demons, yet very similar to Earth. How Willow had come into her powers, and how Buffy had become both a warrior mage and avatar of the Goddess. That Willow had become a natural, if reluctant, leader, and how when she had nearly died from a traitor's attack Buffy had been able to miraculously cure her. How by the two women linking so closely together during the healing process had caused a near schizoid reaction in both of them, that when healed had resulted in the two of them becoming nearly one, and had also resulted in the two of them becoming pregnant.
Finally, they had recounted the events surrounding the savage demon attack on the human population with the goal of seeking total world dominance. The desperate escape of Willow's small group of humans to the mountains and to a place of relative safety. The growing realization during that flight that Aiofe and Bridie had become more than just friends, and how Willow had been able to 'father' their daughters. Finally, they had recounted the events surrounding the final battle with the demons. How Buffy's identical twin had been found, and how Buffy, and the other slayers, had fought off a demon army while Willow finished a spell, which closed the demon's source of power, and saved humanity on that world.
The stunned reaction by their family and friends to the events that had happened was nothing compared to the reaction about the true nature of the watcher's counsel had had on them. Willow and Buffy had learned that the counsel was in fact a demon front. They retold the story that the demon master had said, about how the demon leadership, which spanned multiple dimensions and worlds, had designed the counsel as a method to relegate demons to superstition and mythology in human folklore. They told their comrades that the counsel was primarily designed as a method to marginalize the slayers on a targeted world thereby removing the single most effective weapons against the planned conquest of the world.
Buffy's watcher Giles had been stunned by the information that Willow and Buffy had presented. He protested, argued and tried to find flaws in the news, but was finally convinced by the totality of Willow's arguments. Giles had immediately retired, without any explanation, from the counsel, feeling betrayed by his former colleagues. There had been another, darker, reason for his retirement. Buffy had also learned that the counsel had most likely tampered with her DNA while she had been in the womb, giving her some of the abilities that she used in fighting demons. Why the demon front would have enhanced the slayers abilities to fight their own kind was not certain, and Willow had decided that it was not worth pursuing just yet. Giles had accepted the fact that it was possible that others on the counsel may have been involved with Buffy's pre-natal development, but that he had had nothing to do with anything like that. Buffy and the others believed him, but he had decided that his former life was a lie, and was attempting to have nothing to do with any of it ever again. He had taken his savings and had opened a small shop in the tourist section of town.
The months following their return had been chaotic. First, there was the job of finding the house and renovating it to meet their needs. Then they had to find a school for Samantha, and fabricate a history for her so that unwelcome questions would not be asked.
They also realized that the demons on the Earth were still in contact with their trans-world leadership, and whatever plans they had for the Earth were still in progress. Willow, continuing in her leadership role, had decided that instead of confronting the counsel immediately that they would try to keep a low profile, while recruiting other slayers, gathering more information on the counsel and its activities and building up their strength.
There had also been the joy in the birth of Aiofe and Bridie's daughters, now six months old, and the process of educating the newcomers to the technology and differences of this world over the one that they had grown up on. In all it had been non-stop work for everyone, which had only recently begun to ebb.
"I remember," Said Buffy, "and I know that things have been busy, and eventful, but..."
"But?"
"It's just that. Just that, I didn't think that being a parent and a spouse was so much work."
"Huh?"
"Oh," sighed Buffy, "before it was easy. Slay, school and love you. No real worries other than the next test or the next vamp. Now there are bills and school for Sam and four demanding little girls who are growing like weeds, on top of patrolling and keeping on top of the hell-mouth. Then there's the planning for the future, the recruiting and worrying what the counsel is up to."
"Poor baby," said Willow, as she snuggled up next to her lover. "Let's see if I can think of a way to take your mind of off of things for a while."
"I think that I'm beyond hope," said Buffy, as she ran her fingers along her lover's belly, leaving long wet trails as she did so, "but if anyone can help, it would be you."
"Mmmm, that's nice," said Willow, "don't stop."
"Hey, wasn't I the one that was supposed to be getting the attention?"
"Things change."
Both women then began to pay serious attention to their lovemaking. Willow began by leaving a trail of wet kisses, which started at the slayer's neck and moved down, along her collarbone, between her breasts and then followed the sword tattoo until she reached Buffy's navel.
Buffy ran her fingers along the underside of Willow's breasts then began to make small circles around the nipple, before she took each nipple and rolled them between her thumb and forefinger.
Willow blew softly into her lover's navel, causing the small droplets of water that had collect there to fly up and bead on Buffy's taut, flushed, stomach. She then began to lick, almost lap, at the skin just above Buffy's neatly trimmed pubic hair, which resulted in the slayer arching her back in pleasure, and Willow receiving a mouthful of hot bath water.
"This won't due," said Willow, almost to herself, "I don't like breathing water."
Willow reached under her lover, and lifted her up, and out of the water. She then carried her over and deposited her gently on one of the benches along the wall of the room.
"My big strong witch girl," said Buffy, "you going to keep me safe?"
"Always."
Willow grabbed a small hand-towel and then began to pat-dry Buffy. She started with the slayer's toes and moved slowly, deliberately, up her muscled legs. She stopped at each blemish and scar, first drying, and then bending down to softly kiss each one before continuing. When she reached Buffy's knees, she softly moved her lover's legs apart, and then began to kiss and lick her way up the inside of Buffy's thighs.
"Oooo," sighed Buffy, "you are so good, you're bad."
"I know," replied Willow, with an impish grin, "but I've only just begun."
Willow reached her goal, and began to tenderly lick and kiss each labium in turn. Buffy began to squirm in pleasure as her clitoris became swollen, looking for attention, and release. Willow, with her intimate knowledge of her lover, and their shared link, knew exactly when to move to Buffy's centre. Just as it seemed that the slayer would implode Willow struck. Thrusting three of her fingers deep into Buffy's body, Willow simultaneously sucked in, and began to stimulate with her tongue, Buffy's love button.
Buffy exploded, with pyrotechnic flashes of light cascading in her mind, then, due to their shared link, Willow joined her lover in orgasm, both women nearly passing out due to the constant feedback of pleasure from each other.
After fifteen minutes of endorphin induced near catatonia Willow looked up at her lover and said, "Wow! Got to love our gift, half the effort, twice the effect."
After a long, drawn out moment, Buffy replied, "yep."
"Come slay girl," said Willow as she stood up on wobbly legs, "time for bed. The dawn is just around the corner, and we have lots to do tomorrow, rather today."
"That's right," said Buffy also standing on shaky legs, "it is Samhain."
The two lovers walked, arm in arm, half supporting and half being supported, to their room, to try to get some sleep before the chaos of year-end hit them.
Deep in the magical realm, which both joined and separated each world, a presence stirred.
Comprised of pure energy, it still had a definite feminine aura. It had been known to interact directly on occasion with the various beings on the material worlds, and when doing so had a preference of adopting a female guise.
She travelled, covering huge expanses of space and time with a mere thought, until she arrived at a nexus she had been working on for millennia.
"It's time," she thought to herself, "I wish that I could give them more time, but the great foe has begun to gather its lackeys."
Thinking for a moment, she then cast her awareness towards a specific reality, one that she had looked with favour upon before. "Good," she thought, "they have settled, and strengthened."
"Now let's see what support I can give them," she thought, "until I'm able to work more openly in the material realm."
In a neat, cookie-cutter, house deep in a suburb to the east of Sunnydale was gathered a group of people who had mayhem on their minds.
The group of twenty or so were seated in the basement on various decrepit sofas and chairs and were talking softly amongst themselves. All conversation ceased when their leader entered the room.
The tall, over six foot, vampire looked at the various people she had recruited over the last few weeks and wondered if they would be able to handle the job that she had been given.
Thinking, "too late to worry about that now," she turned to the group and said, "It's time. We strike on Friday night, two days from today where they won't be expecting it."
Her words caused a stir, and a growing sense of anticipation amongst the group, seeing that she continued, "You all know the plan. You all know where to be and what to do. Leave, now, and make sure that you do not contact each other until it is time to strike."
She turned and began to leave the room, just as she reached the door, she turned around and added, "oh, one other thing."
Her recruits looked up expectantly, "keep away from the slayer bitch, the mage and their little group of helpers," she said, and then smiled coldly before continuing, "I can't have any of you being disposed of before Friday."
The morning of October 31st dawned bright and clear. There was a strong wind off of the mountains, which promised some relief from the heat that had dominated the area for the previous week.
The house rose early, both Buffy and Willow up shortly after dawn, despite their late night; however, they were the last of the house to awake. They were entwined in the middle of their huge, double king-sized, bed there were two warm spots beside them, indicating that their spouses had just recently left the bed.
"I'll be so happy when they can feed themselves," groused Willow, as she woke to the cries of her daughters, and stumbled to the adjoining bathroom, "maybe then I'll be able to get some sleep."
"Yeah," agreed Buffy, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she joined her lover in the bathroom, "only seven or eight more years."
"Morning love," said Willow, as she leaned over kiss Buffy, "guess Aiofe and Bridie are already up."
"Morning," replied Buffy, "I guess. They are usually the early birds."
Both women finished their business in the bathroom and returned to their bedroom, to start dressing for the day.
"At least we get to bed at a relatively decent hour," said Aiofe, as she entered the room carrying two squirming little girls, "what time did the two of you get to bed?"
"No kidding," agreed Bridie, also entering with two little girls, "did you get even three hours sleep?"
"Meow," agreed Willow's familiar, Shadow-Cat, who had taken that opportunity to come back into the room, to take up her accustomed spot on a large overstuffed chair that faced the room's fireplace.
"Late, and no," said Buffy as she accepted her daughter from Aiofe and sat on another armchair so that she could feed her, "Patrol took longer than we thought."
"Not to mention the three baddies," said Willow, settling Kendra on the breast, "but I think that we are all going to have to have a nap this afternoon."
"Huh," asked Buffy, "why's that?"
"To rest up for tonight," said Willow, "the ritual doesn't start until nearly 10 or so, and will last at least two hours. If we don't rest up we're certain to make a mistake during the ritual, given the amount of sleep that we've not been getting."
Turning to Aiofe, Willow then continued, "What's left to do?"
"Not much," said the younger woman, sitting on the bed to feed her daughter, "just the last of the decorating, and the final touches to the work room."
"Shouldn't take more than an hour or so," added Bridie.
Soon the four babies had finished eating, and with satisfied sighs had detached, two of them immediately went back to sleep, the older two were having none of that – they were looking for attention from their parents.
"Ah, the joy of the very young," said Buffy, watching as Aiofe stood up to return the two sleeping girls to the nursery, "eat, sleep, eat again."
"Not like these two," agreed Willow, as she began an intense game of peek-a-boo with the two little girls that had taken up residence in the middle of the bed, "they want to be entertained."
"And mommies, are the best entertainers," said Bridie, joining Willow in the game.
The rest of the morning was spent in the routine of domesticity. Adults and children were bathed; Buffy and Willow's foster daughter Samantha was sent off to school, meals were prepared, physical training was completed and chores were done.
Soon it was mid-afternoon, time to finish the preparations for the evenings work.
Buffy and Willow were in the formal dining room, used only when guests were over since the family ate all of their meals in the huge kitchen, finishing setting the table for that evening's party.
Buffy turned to Willow and asked, "What's the agenda for tonight lover?"
"First we take Sam and the babies for a quick trick-or-treat run," replied Willow, busy arranging the last of the flowers that were to be used as part of the table centrepiece.
"I must admit," said Buffy, "that I'm looking forward to that, since they are going to be very cute."
"Amana did a wonderful job," agreed Willow, "turning them into little ladybugs."
"And Grael and Xander converted the strollers into perfect leaves, for our bugs to sit on."
"And, with a massive tongue in cheek, Sam is just perfect as a little witch."
"She didn't have to go far to get her accessories," agreed Buffy, "so, after the candy run, then what?"
"By then, the rest of the group should be here, and we will have dinner," said Willow. "That will take us to nine or so, leaving enough time for the ritual baths and getting ready for the ceremony to begin at ten or so."
"Well then," said Buffy, "why don't we finish up here, then head out to get the last of what we need. What we can't find at the mall, Giles should have."
"Good idea lover," said Willow.
"Then, once we get back," continued the slayer, "we should have enough time to have a nap with the kids, before we need to get them, and ourselves dressed."
"I just love it when you are in plan mode", said Willow.
"Well", replied Buffy, "with you almost always in leader mode, sometimes I just have to be the dominant one."
"Promises, promises."
"I always deliver", replied Buffy, with a wicked mental grin as she gently ran her fingernails along Willow's arm.
"Let's go see if Amana needs anything else for dinner," said Willow, as she headed to the pantry, which joined the kitchen with the dining room, "before this degenerates into something that will not allow us to accomplish anything today."
"Party-pooper," replied her lover, a false pout on her face.
The house was still active much later that evening. Intricately carved jack-o-lanterns lined the walkways, the fence and were in every window. Other seasonal decorations festooned both the exterior and inside of the house, which had been a very popular stop earlier that evening, the neighbours using the festivities as a legitimate excuse for a closer look at the house and its new inhabitants. Amana and Grael, who had volunteered for door duty, had met and chatted with most of the neighbours, and had left more than favourable impressions in their minds.
Willow and her team were now gathered deep within the house. The doors and windows had all been shut tight, and the house had been magically sealed, offering greater protection than mere mechanical locks could. It was time to begin the serious work of the night.
Willow had converted part of the old basement into a massive circular work area. The old floor had been removed, the earth beneath had then been covered with an intricate mosaic of slate, oak, maple and other wood, most of it rare or unique. All man-made lighting had been removed from the area, along with all electrical wiring.
Notwithstanding the lack of 'modern' sources of illumination, the area was brightly lit by several lanterns that were adding their light to the four massive freestanding candelabras that were located at the cardinal positions.
As had been done in her previous workroom, one area had been converted to a study area for Willow, complete with her desk from home and a comfortable easy chair. Willow entered the room, and sat down with a soft sigh, worrying, as was her habit, about the work to be done.
Willow looked around at the thirty or so friends and family, who were busy with the final preparations for the evening, and reflected on other changes that had occurred over the last few months. Specifically she was thinking about the change in her working group, all frivolity was gone, and everyone who now worked with Willow was focused and dedicated to the tasks at hand. She had, not without some protests, also changed the structure and way in which she conducted rituals; the biggest of those changes was about to be tested for the first time, on this world.
Some of the people were friends from her earlier circle others were new to the group. In addition, all of her family, both adults and children were present. Willow looked at the diverse group thinking, "what a motley crew we make," as she reflected on the variety of ages, experiences and skills that the group composed. Willow felt a slight pressure on her thoughts, and she realized that her familiar Shadow-Cat was trying to communicate. She relaxed and looked through the cat's eyes, realizing that she had been shut out of the basement. Willow concentrated, and then with a thought caused the basement door to open, to allow the cat to enter; Willow then closed the door behind the cat, who moved to take her accustomed spot on the archmage's lap.
"Taking a deep breath she thought, ready to go lover?"
"You bet. Don't worry, you'll be fine."
"Always one thought ahead, aren't you?"
"That's why you love me."
"Not the only reason."
Willow turned to the group and said, "It's time."
Everyone immediately turned and joined their leader, some sitting on the floor, others standing in a loose semi-circle in front of her.
Willow waited until they were settled before continuing, "blessed be."
"Blessed be," replied all of her companions.
"We are gathered at this time and this place to celebrate the birth of the year," said Willow, beginning the ritual introduction to the evenings work.
She went on to explain to the group how this celebration marked the end of one year, and the beginning of the next and how they would be spending some of their time that evening helping the souls of those who had died in the previous year find their way to the Summerland, where they would rest before being reborn.
Willow then continued to outline what they would be doing, more to confirm in her own mind that she hadn't forgotten anything since her group had been practicing for this ritual for the last month. She indicated that since this was one of the lunar quarters, and therefore one that was dedicated to the Goddess, that they would be looking for support and assistance from her. Finally, she came to the major change for the ritual. Breaking with 'tradition' she was going to combine their work that night with an opportunity to search the magical realm for signs of demon tampering.
Willow stood and said, "Ok folks, places."
Everyone took their places within the circle that had been permanently inscribed on the floor of the work area. One of the biggest changes that Willow had introduced was in the way she organized her group. Drawing upon her experience on the other earth she relied less upon male / female balancing, instead she balanced the circle based on ability, experience and working familiarity. Her choice of a ritual partner reflected this, and had been one of the hardest things for her former circle to come to grip with; and it had lead to several of them leaving, crying sacrilege. Willow worked with one of her spouses, tonight she was working with Aiofe; Bridie and Buffy would partner to the east. Amana and Grael were in the west, Xander and Anya in the north with Giles and his partner Susan to the south. The sixteen other members of Willow's group took up their places between the cardinal points, they were the newer members and their primary job would be to provide energy and support to Willow and Aiofe.
Everyone was in their ritual robes, each tied with brightly coloured silk ropes. Some of the ropes were made up of one colour, others two, Willow having made the decision to test each member of her coven to see which element or elements they had an affinity for. However, Willow was the only one with a pure white rope, signifying her unprecedented abilities as an archmage.
Willow began the evening's work by casting the triple circle, the raising of the protective sphere, followed by the invocations to the Guardians. As she was calling them, the Guardians manifested themselves just outside of the circle.
"This is a first," thought Willow, "at least on this world."
"I hope this doesn't mean trouble," thought Aiofe, unknowingly echoing Willow's thoughts.
The rest of the circle, other than the ones who had been on the alternative earth with Willow, was stunned by the visible presence of the Goddess's earthly protectors. They had all been told that this had occurred to Willow before, but knowing and seeing often provoke different responses.
"It's ok everyone," said Willow reassuringly, "they are here to help, just like always. It's just that it looks like they are just a little bit more here tonight."
The next part of the ceremony went without any problems, or any additional surprises, as Willow and Aiofe prepared the circle for the major work of the evening.
After leading everyone through their meditation and breathing exercises, Willow turned to them and said, "Now is the time."
"Now is the time," replied the assembled witches.
"Now, we gather to pay respects, and to aid the departed.
"We gather to respect and aid.
"We ask for safe passage, and speedy return.
"We ask for safe passage and return.
Willow continued the litany, asking the Gods for their assistance in speeding the passage of all those who had died in the previous year through the void to the Summerland, where they would wait for re-birth. Once they had completed their litany, Aiofe went to the south edge of the circle while Willow took up her station at the north. They paused preparing themselves for the next part of the ritual.
Simultaneously the two high-priestesses concentrated and then using the power of their minds as a focus opened two gates in the protective circle. The other members of the circle then started a multi-part chant, which was designed to call forth the departed souls and help them on their passage.
As her companions began their song Willow looked deep into the magical void, seeking the Summerland. Finding it, she then created a magical corridor between it and the Earth, which would allow the safe passage of the departed.
Willow, her body taut with concentration, returned her awareness to the material world and kept a mental count. When she had reached one hundred slow breaths she looked across the circle at Aiofe and nodded. Both women then relaxed their concentration and allowed the gates to close.
Returning to the centre of the circle Willow then said, "It is done. Our task, our duty, has been completed.
"Now is the time to celebrate the birth of the year, to thank the Gods for the bounty of the last year, and to ask them to watch over us during the next."
At those words the guardians, who had remained visible outside of the circle, flared and began to pulsate.
'What the', thought Willow, "Buff, any ideas?"
"Nope love. Last time this happened was when I had my little 'conversation'."
"Ok folks," said Willow, "let's remain calm, and we will deal with whatever happens."
As it turned out, nothing untoward happened for the remainder of the ritual, and as they neared the end of their night's work, Willow let out a sigh, and said, "Well folks, I know we are all exhausted, and are looking forward to our beds, but we have just a little more work to do."
Willow then asked Buffy and Bridie to join them in the centre of the circle. Amana moved over to cover their spot in the east once they had left.
Willow embraced her lover and said, "keep an eye on me, ok?"
"Always."
Willow lay down on the floor, the other three witched circling her, and holding hands.
She said, "Ok folks. I'm going to search to see if our 'friends' have been busy. Aiofe and the others here are going to keep an eye on me, so that I can come back; I need the rest of you to keep the circle focused and intact until I get back."
Willow concentrated, and began a series of deep breathing exercises. Once she had excluded all outside sources of distraction she translated her awareness completely into the magical realm, trusting her spouses to be able to bring her home.
For nearly twenty minutes Willow searched the various pathways and nodes of the realm, which surrounded the Earth. She looked for obvious signs of tampering. Aside from the obvious activity around the various hell mouths, she saw nothing untoward. This both reassured and bothered her.
Thinking, "Maybe they aren't ready yet," she translated back to the material realm and slowly sat up, the exhaustion evident on her face. Willow turned to her spouses and mouthed, "Nothing," before slowly getting to her feet.
She turned to the circle and said, "I could see no sign of meddling; however, that does not mean we can be less vigilant. It just means that they may not be active in the magical realm, only the material."
"Now," continued Willow, "let's wrap up for the evening."
Willow and Aiofe then led the group in the closing prayers, and just before they finished their work Willow turned to each of the guardians, bowed low, and said, "thank you for your attendance. We take note, and are grateful." As she said the words each guardian disappeared.
"Well," said Giles, as he and Susan grabbed their coats, "is there ever going to be a non-event filled ritual?"
"Don't think so," said Willow, as she scooped up her daughter from the bassinet where she and the other three had spent the evening, "but it was mostly a light show tonight, no pyrotechnics."
"But," added Grael, "their visible presence here tonight does mean something; it's just that we don't know what yet."
"Great," said Willow, "just freaking great. What now?"
"Whatever it is," said Buffy, scooping up her lover in her arms, baby and all, "can wait until we get some sleep and some food; not necessarily in that order."
"No kidding," agreed Bridie, as she and Aiofe headed upstairs with a very sleepy Samantha, and three sleeping little girls.
"But," pleaded Willow, wiggling in Buffy's arms and finding the experience very enjoyable.
"No buts lover," replied Buffy, "this time our glorious leader is going to follow instructions and get some rest before we try to figure out what is going on. After all, its not like demons are overrunning the town now is it?"
"No, not tonight at least," said Willow, burrowing her head in Buffy's neck, "I just hate not knowing."
"No kidding," said Amana and Grael, as they followed the younger women upstairs.
Back in the workroom Giles looked around, to check that all of the flammables had been extinguished, before heading up the stairs. Just as he was half way up, he suddenly turned back and peered into the gloom. Seeing nothing he thought, "Must be one of the cats," as turned back and finished climbing the stairs.
Nearly 9,000km to the east a young man was sitting in his darkened living room draining the last drops from the second bottle he had consumed that evening as he watched the rays from the morning sun streak through his windows. With a small belch, resulting in a cloud of steam rising from his ears, he sat up thinking to himself that he needed to get some semblance of sleep and stumbled towards his bedroom. As he entered the room he lazily waved his hand to close the drapes which framed the windows across the room.
"Thanks to Merlin I remembered to book the day off," he whispered as he threw himself down on the bed, without turning it down, or removing his clothes.
As he lay there ghosts, whether real or imaginary, began to pass by his bed. The inebriated young wizard acknowledged each with a wave or a casual comment.
"Hi Mom, Dad," he whispered, "Sorry I can't be better company.
"Sirius, I know it wasn't my fault, but it doesn't change the fact that you are dead.
"Hi Cedric, hope you are doing better.
"Susan, long time – no see.
"Dumbledore, looks like the 'greater good' caused a lot of good people to die, now didn't it?"
Each of these ghost passed by without uttering a sound.
After a few minutes, darker shades began to pass by, each twisted in pain as if some agent was causing them eternal torment.
"Snape, are you enjoying your torments? Payback for all those years you abused me and others must be a bitch.
"Pettigrew, you are a despicable traitor. Still, you did provide some amusement there at the end."
Just before he passed into oblivion one final shade passed before him.
"Voldemort, I wish it was nice to see you, but that would be a lie, now wouldn't it?" The ghost gave a small nod in acknowledgement to that sentiment.
"Still, I did get to finish you off, wish it had made a difference to my nightmares though."
With that the ghost paused for a moment, and with great effort pushed by his torments to whisper, "don't think for a moment that your work is done."
With that revelation the young man passed out.
It was late morning on the Saturday following Samhain and Willow had still not been able to figure out just what had happened that night. She had discussed that night's events in detail with Amana, Grael and Giles, but none of her mentors had any additional insight into what was happening, or what might happen in the future.
Giles finished his eighth cup of tea, looked around at Willow and the five other people, which formed her so called 'war council' and said," It's going to be one of those things that we have to have patience for."
Seeing the look of protest growing in both Willow and Buffy's faces he continued, "I know, patience isn't either of your strong points, but, we just don't have enough data to go on, or to make any type of informed decisions."
"Mom," said Sam entering the room.
"Yes," said Buffy.
"I think you should see this."
"See what?
"The news on the TV thing."
A/N – Here we go folks, hope that you all enjoy. Please review if you have the time.