A/N: Hey guys. I want to thank everyone reviewed the last chapter. They mean a lot to me. Thank you to everybody else who is reading, following, and favorites. I'm glad you are taking a chance on my story.
So there has been some confusion on how many years Ginny has left. In the Deathly Hallow Ginny was in her sixth year, however, Hogwarts was under the control of Snape and the death eaters. Plus the final battle took place two months before the end of the school year.
So my backstory is this: After McGonagall became head Mistress, she decided to force all of the students to redo the previous year since half the student body was missing, either because of being kidnaped, muggle born and on the run for their lives, or hiding out in the room of requirements. Not to mention the warped teaching from their death Eater teachers.
I hope that cleared it up a bit. It will be explained fully in a few chapters.
Thanks again for reading.
-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-
Chapter 4: Sunnydale
"We better get inside," Joyce said. Her eyes were shifting from side to side, looking for any monsters that may be lurking around. While she was slowly coming to terms with Buffy's destiny, she still hated to see her baby fighting one of those things. She still wished she didn't have to worry about the day Giles showed up at her door to tell her that they lost her. On most days, she was positive the fear of losing Buffy, Dawn, and now Faith would consume every aspect of her life.
"Sure Mom," Buffy said, knowing her mother's fears. "I'm starving. Can we order some food?"
Joyce unlocked the front door. "Sure honey," she said as she walked into the house. "What do you want?"
"Mmmm, how about… Pizza," Buffy said as they filed into the living room. "We haven't had pizza in forever."
"We had pizza last week," Joyce said.
"I know. I said it was forever ago," Buffy said dramatically as she rolled her eyes. She flopped down on the couch and looked up at her mother expectantly.
"Pizza sounds heavenly," Willow said, as she sat down on the couch next to Buffy. "Giles wouldn't allow me to have pizza after the first week we were in Las Vegas."
Buffy's eyes widened comically as she exclaimed, "Giles. That's just mean!"
"No, my dear. What was mean was eating pizza every night for a week," Giles said rubbing his stomach. He could still remember how badly his stomach churned every night.
Willow shrugged her shoulders and smiled sheepishly. "It was really good pizza."
"What's pizza?"
Four heads turned toward the entrance way in utter shock. Even Giles, with his uptight British ways, knew what pizza was. Ginny stood by the door feeling awkward as they stared at her.
"Pizza it is," Joyce said. "Come sit down sweetie."
Ginny looked shyly at the group. Willow patted her hand on the couch next to her. Ginny smiled softly as she made her way across the room. "What is pizza exactly?"
"You've really never had pizza before?" Willow asked.
"Nope. I grew up cut off from the Muggle world. I've been into Muggle London before with my parent, but we weren't there long enough for us to explore. And I've traveled down to the little village a few miles from my home a few times. Mostly I stayed at home or school."
"What other foods have you never tried?" Buffy asked.
"I don't know," Ginny said. "The muggle world is still a mystery to me."
"Oooh, you know what this means right?" Buffy asked.
The group looked at her annoyingly waiting for her to answer. "Duh. Sleepover," she said as though it had been the most obvious thing in the world. "Not tonight, though, because I need time to prepare."
Ginny looked at Buffy in confusion. Why would she need to prepare for a sleepover? She was in the muggle world for less than a day, and she already wanted to go running home. What if she was stuck in this confusing place forever? Would she be able to adjust and acclimate into this strange society? She didn't really have much of a choice. She didn't know all of the Wizarding laws, but she knew that she couldn't leave Willow to go running home.
She had already decided that they would go where Willow wanted to go. It seemed like it was only fair that she be the one to sacrifice everything to be with Willow since she knew what she was getting herself into. Willow was a victim of unfamiliar laws, from a world that she didn't belong to. She had a feeling that Willow would thrive in the Wizarding world, but she wasn't going to push it. She wasn't going to pull her wife away from her friends and family.
Willow gently shook her wife. They had been trying to get the girl's attention for a couple of minutes. Ginny looked at her with a questioning glance. "Hi," Willow said. "Welcome back." She smiled widely at the other redhead.
"Sorry. Guess I got lost in my head. What's up?"
"We were just wondering if you wanted your pizza plain or with meats and veggies," Willow said. She was smiling fondly at Ginny. She found it adorable that Ginny didn't know what pizza was.
"Surprise me," Ginny said upbeat.
"A little bit of everything then," Joyce said. She moved to the phone and pulled out the menu. "Honey. How many pizzas should I get for Faith?"
"Um… I think we are patrolling tonight so order her two. That way she has some for after the patrol," Buffy said.
Okay dear," Joyce said.
"Faith is the one you shagged, right Willow?" Ginny asked.
"Yup," Willow said, pronouncing the P with a pop. "She lives here." She nodded her head in. Giles' direction. The older man already had his glasses off and was pulling out his handkerchief as they spoke. Willow bumped Ginny and discreetly pointed toward Giles.
Buffy realized what Willow was doing, and played along. "It's too bad you got married Will. Faith has been talking about having a threesome with you and her new girl. Now that won't happen. Unless of course your new wife wants to have a foursome."
A loud snap rang out through the room. Giles rubbed his lenses so hard he broke the glass. "Bullocks," He said as he examined them. He sighed heavily and returned the broken glasses to his face. He would just have to deal with the cracks in then lens until he could get them repaired.
"Girls stop teasing Giles. He's running out of glasses to wear," Joyce playfully scolded.
"But it's so much fun," Buffy whined.
"I can fix them," said Ginny suddenly. She pulled out her wand and pointed it at the broken lens. She spoke the incantation, 'Reparo', and the lens in Giles' glasses fused back together in front of their eyes.
"Woo," Buffy said in awe. She jumped up and pulled the now repaired glasses off Giles' face to inspect them. "I think I'm going to like having you around. That was way cool."
"I do not know what you muggles do without magic," Ginny said.
"We spend a lot of money to have somebody repair our broken things," Joyce said.
"You have to pay somebody to fix something that can easily be taken care of with a spell. A first year spell at that."
"Pretty much," Joyce said.
"That's rubbish," Ginny commented.
"That's our life," Joyce replied. "I'm going to head for the pizza and then go pick up Dawn and Faith. Can you call Faith and let her know I'm on my way."
"Sure Mom, but go get them first, that way Faith can pay," Buffy said.
"I'm not letting her pay this time," Joyce stated.
"She is going to sulk around here then, and be all Ms. Moody McGrumperson. She likes to feel like she is contributing now that she has a job. Besides, when you don't let her pay she just hides the money around the house."
Joyce looked at Buffy in surprise. "She does not."
"Yup," Buffy said popping the P. She stood up and moved to her mother's bookshelf. She opened the glass door and pulled out three books. All of Joyce's favorites. She took them over to the desk and opened them one by one. Inside each book, there was a twenty dollar bill that Faith had placed there. "These are just from last week. There is also a hundred dollars hidden in the cookie jar. Seventy in your pillow case, twenty-five in the front pocket of your purse, and thirty hidden in the glove compartment of the jeep. There is more, but these are the only ones I know about. Mostly because I saw her put them there, and a few that I stumbled across."
"That girl. What am I going to do with her?" Joyce commented.
"Accept that you aren't going to win this battle, or you'll spend the rest of your life finding random money," Buffy said.
Joyce just shook her head. She closed the books with the money still inside and grabbed her purse. "I'm going to go get the girls and then we will pick up the pizza."
"Good call Mom," Buffy said.
"I think I will come with you," Giles said, as he stood up. He missed Joyce terrible during his trip. Two months was entirely too long to be away from his beloved.
Ginny watched Buffy curiously as the blonde called Faith from the house phone. She knew what the telephone was and how it worked, but she couldn't control the curiosity surging through her veins at the sight of it being used. It was amazing! She wondered if this was how her father felt all the time, and if that was why he couldn't control his tinkering with muggle devices.
She stood up and started moving around the room taking in everything that she saw. She found the house homey in a muggle sort of way. There were lights everywhere, instead of lanterns; pictures that didn't move; weird writing devices, and a weird box made of plastic and glass sitting on a stand. She inspected the box more closely. Out of curiosity, she pushed a small button that said 'power', and then jumped back in surprise when the screen lit up, and colorful moving pictures appeared.
Willow watched her wife in amusement as Charmed appeared on the screen. Ginny's face lit up in surprise and then furrowed in confusion. She turned to Willow and asked, "What is this?"
"It's a television," Willow said, and then explained in depth how it worked. Ginny listen avidly, trying to understand everything that Willow was telling her. She grasped what her wife was saying, right up until Piper blew up a watermelon on the screen. Which led Willow to explain that Piper wasn't actually doing magic. That it was just fake, and they showed the magic via computer manipulation.
Ginny was fascinated by this technology, and once she grasped the concept of the show, she watched the screen avidly. It may not have been real magic, but it was still magical to her. She sat in front of the TV on the floor watching, while Buffy and Willow went into the kitchen to talk.
"So other than getting married, how was your summer?" Buffy asked.
"It's was great," Willow gushed. "The Coven Giles took me to was amazing. They have a few acres of land, just south of Las Vegas. When you get to the compound it looks just like the rest of the desert, sandy and dry, but when you cross over the threshold, it's like stepping into a new world. There was green grass growing everywhere, flowers blooming, and crops. All growing because of the magic that the Coven casts. It flows through everything Buffy. Like a river of magical energy, and all I have to do is concentrate and allow the magic to flow through me."
"So when you threatened to float my ass across the room, you weren't bluffing?"
Willow smirked, and a few seconds later, Buffy was gracefully lifted off her stool and was floated across the room. Buffy was looking at Willow in shock, as she was floated back to her stool.
"Wow," Buffy said in shock.
"The Coven taught me so much. I'm kind of sad that I had to leave them. I was having such a good time with them," Willow gushed. "Giles says that he will take me to the Coven in England next summer. They were the ones who helped him after he got messed up with Eyghon."
"So you had a great summer, got a promised trip to England, and got married, while I was stuck in Sunnydale without my best friends, and with my sisters, both of whom have been driving me crazy."
Willow's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Sisters? Buffy, you only have one sister."
"Not anymore. Apparently, my mother filed paperwork after Faith's accident to adopt her. It went through a few weeks after you left with Giles, so Faith is official a Summers, and my little sister."
"Faith Summers," Willow said, letting the name roll off her tongue. "Sounds odd."
"Having her around in an official sisterly capacity is odd, especially after what she did, but she is trying really hard to make up for betraying us."
"How is she doing with what happened. The last time we talked she seemed upset about something."
"She's been okay. Most of the time she's the same old Faith. Brass, crude, and oozing sex appeal, but there are times that she let the façade slip, and I can see how much pain she's in. Killing Finch really messed with her head."
"The Mayor messed with it more," Willow said.
"The sick part of that is she really believed that he cared for her," Buffy said.
"He got in her head and gave her the one thing that she wanted. Somebody to love her. He played her."
"He broke her," Buffy said. "I'm glad you realized what was going on before it was too late for her. It would suck not having her annoying ass in our lives."
"You sound like a big sister," Willow smiled.
"She's just as annoying as Dawn. The two of them have been ganging up on me all summer," Buffy groaned and then smiled. "It's kind of been great. Things have been so calm here, that we've been able to pretend that we are just a normal family. Faith even has a girlfriend. That's where they are now. Tara has been really good for her. Wait until you see Faith when Tara is around. She's not so tortured."
"I can't wait to meet this woman."
"Tara's great. She's really shy, but she's sweet."
"So how are doing with Angel gone?"
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Ginny was in the living room watching the TV, unaware that her wife had left the room. Since entering the muggle world, Ginny had repeatedly asked herself how muggles survived without magic in their lives. As she became more enthralled by the story playing on the television, she found herself wondering why her people hadn't invented a version of this. It was amazing to her.
She snorted to herself when she realized that she was acting like a first year muggle-born who was seeing the moving pictures for the first time. She suddenly had a new appreciation for her muggle-born friends. Everything she had seen so far was new and exciting. She was eager to see more.
The TV show she was watching ended, much to her disappointment. Her disappointment was short lived when another episode of Charmed began playing. She found it hard to believe that the magic being portrayed on the screen was fake. It seemed so real, and she should know. She was a witch after all.
Ginny was so enthralled in the show that she didn't react fast enough to the loud bang from behind. Before she knew it, she was being lifted into the air by a powerful being and slammed back into the floor. She looked up into the hard eyes of a beautiful brunette straddling her.
The first thought that came to her mind was, 'Not again.' She really getting tired of being attacked by her new wife's friends. "I'm not evil," she told the mysterious woman.
"That's what they all say, right before I slay their evil ass," Faith said cockily.
Ginny opened her mouth to say something but was halted by Willow and Buffy running into the room.
Willow's eyes widened at the sight that met them. In the center of the living room, Ginny lying on her back, with Faith straddling her hips grasping the redhead's hands above her head. The TV she had been watching was now lying on the floor next to them with a broken screen. Ginny looked like she was angry and annoyed all at once.
"Not again," Willow said irritated, and then yelled, "Faith. Get off of her."
Faith turned to look at Willow but didn't budge.
Willow glared at Faith. "Get off my wife. She is not a demon. What you are sensing is her magic, because she is a wand witch."
Faith looked down at Ginny skeptically, and then back to Willow. "That don't make her a good witch, Red. I'm sensing some badness."
"Get off of Ginny or I will float your ass off of her," Willow warned.
Unlike Buffy, Faith didn't heed the warning and remained on Ginny. Buffy snorted at the challenging look on Faith's face and moved to the couch to watch the scene play out. Giles, Joyce, and Dawn came barreling through the door just as Faith began floating off of her captive. The shock from being magically lifted off her feet was written all over her face. Willow gracefully floated Faith several feet off the ground, and gently move her to sit on the couch next to Buffy.
"Very nice form, Willow," Giles praised.
At the same time, Ginny climbed off the floor and darted to Willow's side. "Your friends are all nutters," She said sounding accosted.
"You have no idea," Willow said. "Are you okay?"
"I'll be okay when your friends stop attacking me!" Ginny exclaimed.
"That sounds like a really great idea," Willow said, and then gave the slayers a death glare. "Stop attacking my wife."
"Shit. Mrs. S wasn't messin' with us," Faith said, wide-eyed in shock.
"So Mrs. Summers tells you that I'm married, and you think it's a good idea to attack her," Willow growled.
"No, but I did think that attacking the evil person in my home was a good idea," Faith said cheekily.
"I'm not evil, but I will curse the next person who thinks that," Ginny said.
"Alright, that's enough girls," Joyce said and directed Giles to set down the six pizza's he was still holding. "Faith kindly put the TV back on its stand."
Faith looked at the fallen TV, and then sheepishly looked back at Joyce. "It's broken, Mrs. S."
"I am aware of that. Kindly do as I asked," Joyce said calmly. Faith got off the couch and easily lifted the heavy TV off the floor.
"I'll fix it for you," Ginny offered, and pulled her wand out. She whispered the spell, and the TV repaired itself.
"Holy shit!" Faith exclaimed as she jumped back from the TV, and then moved towards it slowly to inspect the repaired device. She pushed the power button and stare in amazement as the screen flicked on. She turned around and excitedly said, "That is cool as shit. What else can you do with that pointy stick?"
"Loads," Ginny said. "If you promise to stop attacking me, then I'll give you a show."
"Done," Faith said eagerly.
"Really?" Buffy asked sarcastically. "All it takes for you like her is a promised magic show?"
Faith shrugged her shoulders. "It beats getting my ass fried from their magic."
"Good point."
"I want to see the magic too," Dawn said eagerly.
"After dinner," Joyce said, and then ushered the girls into the dining room.
Giles placed two of the boxes of pizza in front of Faith and then passed around plates with the appropriate slices to each of the Summers women. He then looked at Ginny questioningly. "Which would you like to try dear? We've got plain cheese, pepperoni, and triple meat, and all veggies."
Ginny stared at the other occupants plates unsure of which to try. She looked to Willow, silently questioning which one Willow suggested she try.
With a mouth full of her own pizza, Faith said, "Give her one of each G. I'll eat whatever she doesn't like."
Giles dished out a slice of each and handed the plate to Ginny. Willow showed her how to hold the slice properly, and watched intently as she took the first bite of the plain slice. Ginny's eyes widened as she took her first bite, and then eagerly took a second. "That's amazing! That even better than the ham and potato pie the house elves make."
"Ham and potato pie?" Faith asked, looking at Ginny weirdly. "That's odd."
Buffy snorted. "Says the woman eating an extra cheese, buffalo chicken, pepperoni, red onion, broccoli, and pineapple pizza.
Faith shrugged her shoulders and gave Buffy a dimpled grin. She took a huge bite of her pizza and happily chomped away.
"Muggle food is bloody brilliant," Ginny said in between bites. She watched as Faith picked up the glass filled with yellowish liquid in front of her, and down it in one go. Curious about the contents, she picked up her own glass and took a tentative sip. She grimaced as the fizziness hit her tongue, but then smiles at the sweet taste. "What is that?"
"It's a soda called Mountain Dew," Willow responded. "Do you like it?"
"Yes," Ginny said, and then took another gulp.
After dinner was over, they moved into the living room. Dawn, who had been curiously eyeing Ginny since she got home, fired off several questions in rapid secession. Thankfully she was used to Hermione's tendency to ask a million questions. She answered the girl's questions and even asked a few of her own. Dawn reminded her of a younger version of Hermione. Curious about everything.
She gave them a small show of her magic. Simple spells like Wingardium Leviosa, Accio, and Aguamenti. Everybody was greatly amused by the show, which amused her. The first lesson she was learning from being in the muggle world, was to never take her magic for granted. She had always found that not being able to use her magic outside of school an annoyance. Now that she was around people who didn't use magic for everyday tasks, she could see the lesson behind the restrictions.
She marveled at the luck of finding a woman who is magical. She surely wouldn't be doing magic in front of them. In fact, she would have to live as a muggle if Willow hadn't known about magic. It would make life much harder for them. She wondered what kinds of things Willow could do with her magic. Could she do the same spells without a wand that wizards could with wands? Are there spells that Willow could do that wizards couldn't?
Giles, Willow, and Ginny left just after Faith and Buffy left to patrol. Ginny had to hide her amusement as Giles fumbled through a good night when they entered his home. He was clearly uncomfortable about the fact that they were going to be sleeping in the same bed.
They walked into Willow's bedroom quietly, and awkwardly dressed for bed. Ginny discreetly looked around the room and frowned at the lack of personality in it. There were no posters on the walls, no trinkets sitting on the desk, a plain gray duvet on the bed. There was nothing that screamed Willow in the room.
Willow saw Ginny looking around the room with a frown. She looked around and realized how bland the room was. "I don't live here," she told Ginny, who looked at her questioningly. "Giles is just my guardian for the summer. I usually live at my parent's house."
"Why is he your guardian for the summer?" she asked.
Willow sat on the full sized bed and tapped the empty space next to her. Ginny climbed on the bed and sat cross-legged facing the redhead.
"Giles took me to a coven in the dessert to help me learn control over my magic. He was afraid that I would lose myself in the magic as I grew more powerful. Since he was taking me out of the state for the whole summer, I had to get permission from my parents."
"How does your magic work?" Ginny asked curiously.
"My magic comes from the Earth. I can pull the magic from the earth and channel it through me. Then I can use it to perform spells."
"So it's sort of like you're the wand to the earth's magic," Ginny summed up.
"Yeah. I guess you can out it that way," Willow stated. "What is your world like?"
Ginny smiled softly. "It's... My world. I don't really know how to explain it. I find your world so strange, but amazing at the same time. I suppose that you will find my world the same."
Willow smiled and then looked at Ginny shyly. "Do you think that we can make this work?"
"I hope so, or the next three years are going to be miserable," Ginny said. "My parents have been married forever. They love each other greatly. I always dreamed that I would find somebody to love as dearly as they love each other."
"Maybe you have," Willow said softly.
"Maybe," Ginny agreed. "I suppose if there is no way for us to annul the marriage, we will have to make the best of it."
"I'm good at doing that," Willow stated happily. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand behind Ginny and gasped at the time. It was already after one. "We should get some sleep."
Ginny agreed, and together they laid down and covered up. They laid there in an awkward silence, unsure of what to say, and too afraid to move. After a few minutes, Willow couldn't take the tension that was filling the room anymore. She giggled awkwardly, and the rolled to face Ginny.
"This is weird," she stated.
Ginny rolled to face Willow, and the propped herself up on one arm. "You mean sharing a bed with somebody you just met, or because that somebody is your wife, and we should be more comfortable laying next to each other?"
"Both," Willow said.
Ginny smiled at Willow and then leans down to place a tender kiss on Willow's lips. She didn't say anything when she pulled away. There was already a heavy awkwardness between them, and talking about it would only increase it. Instead, she smiled at Willow again and then laid back down. This time, she moved closer to the center of the bed, and laid half on her stomach, half on her side. She then reached across the bed and laid her hand on Willow's forearm.
Willow took the hint. She adjusted herself into a comfortable position and then reached her arm up to rest her hand on Ginny's arm. They stared into each other's eyes until they drifted off to sleep. Dreams of the days events heavy on their minds.