Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon. Harry Potter and company to JK Rowling. I'm just flattering through poor, poor imitation. All fun, no profit.
AN: How many times have you read a fic where Buffy has to explain what being a Slayer is? Me too! Well, here's another.
A Bicycle in the Family Tree
Part 8
Buffy, Draco and Narcissa sat at one end of the long dining room table. None of them had wanted to remain in the trashed-out kitchen for this discussion. Unsurprisingly, Buffy didn't want this discussion to take place anywhere, or at any time. She was already regretting her earlier admission of being the Slayer. She had been caught in more compromising positions than this and had always managed to bluff her way out. Of course, Sunnydalians were more prone to sticking their heads in the sand than other people.
"Why do you think the Death Eaters attacked us?" she blurted out suddenly, her voice sounding incredibly loud in the quiet room. It was an obvious stall tactic, but also a genuine question. "I thought that they and Lucius were all chummy."
"I don't know why they came here," said Draco, "and right now I don't care. What I want to know is how you managed to defeat two of them while I barely took out one."
"Jealous?" snarked Buffy.
Draco glared at her and crossed his arms.
"No."
"Liar. You're upset because you were beaten by a girl."
"You didn't beat me, you beat them. If we were to fight, I would very obviously—"
"Enough!" said Narcissa. She looked at Buffy. "What is a Vampire Slayer?"
Buffy winced.
"Um… any chance that you misheard me?" she asked.
"Buffy…"
"Okay, okay. Let's see, how does this go again… into every generation a Slayer is born… one girl… that's me, with the strength and skills to smack-down all kinds of big, bad and scary creatures. Ringing any bells?"
Draco and Narcissa both stared at her blankly.
"So… no. I just figured since you guys are a part of the magic hotline, maybe you knew something about it."
"Obviously not," said Draco. "Care to unmuddle that little speech for us?"
"Well, you know about vampires and demons and stuff, right?"
At their nods of assent she continued.
"Okay, so, the Slayer was created to protect the weak and clueless from all this evil. It's actually a very long and dull story, and I mostly tuned Giles out whenever he got going about it."
"Giles?" questioned Narcissa
"Yeah. He's my Watcher. Every Slayer gets a Watcher to, well, watch over her and tell her what to slay."
"Why one?" asked Draco. "Assuming I believe this for now."
Buffy frowned at him.
"Why one what?"
"Why one girl? Why not create a whole army to combat the evil?"
Buffy laughed bitterly.
"You're asking the wrong girl. I know it doesn't make sense. To be perfectly honest with you, it sucks worse than a Luke Perry movie. That's why…"
Buffy trailed off.
"That's why you left," filled in Narcissa gently. Draco was slower to catch on.
"Well, if you're here now, who is protecting the people from all the demons?" he asked.
Buffy didn't answer.
"Oh," said Draco softly.
Buffy sighed.
"So do you believe me?"
"Of course," Narcissa was quick to reply.
"I don't know," said Draco at the same time. "What proof do you have that you're some kind of demon killer?"
"Slayer," corrected Buffy. "Let's see… I can sense most demons. I have accelerated healing, but I'd rather not demonstrate that. Super strength…"
She grinned at Draco.
"How about I throw you across the room?" suggested Buffy.
"I'd really rather you not," cut in Narcissa quickly. She turned to Draco. "If your sister says she has super powers, then she has super powers. Leave it alone."
Buffy snickered at the look on Draco's face while at the same time thinking about Narcissa's easy acceptance of her daughter's Slayer-ness. Compared to Joyce…
It doesn't compare, thought Buffy suddenly. Narcissa grew up in the wacky fun world of magic. Joyce got it all dumped on her in one night. Comparing the two…
"It just doesn't make sense," said Draco. "Where does this "power" come from? And how does it work?"
"This would be a lot easier if we were in Sunnydale," said Buffy. "Then we could just hit a couple of cemeteries and poof! Proof that I'm a Slay-gal extrordinaire."
"Well, we're not," said Draco rudely.
"Draco," warned Narcissa, and they were off again.
Buffy tuned them out. If she was in Sunnydale… thought Buffy. But she wasn't. She had run away to hide from her pain and from her calling. But even though she was hundreds of miles from the Hellmouth and her duties, at the first sign of trouble her Slayer senses had kicked in. And when Draco and Narcissa had wanted an explanation, she had told them point-blank that she was the Slayer, without even thinking about it.
I am the Slayer, thought Buffy.
She had left her friends sitting on top of an unguarded Hellmouth. She had left the people of Sunnydale at the mercy of the next big bad to come along. She had done all of this in an attempt to leave the Slayer behind, but that was impossible. She was the Slayer.
I am the Slayer. The Slayer is me.
It was time to go back, Buffy realized. It was time to face the consequences of her actions, and to accept her fate.
Slayer.
"Now apologize to your sister," she heard Narcissa say.
Sister. Family. She could go home to protect her friends and family in Sunnydale, but who would protect Draco and Narcissa?
"The Death Eaters," said Buffy.
Draco and Narcissa looked at her in confusion.
"We need to talk about he Death Eaters," she clarified. "Why they came here and whether or not they'll do it again."
"I don't know why they attacked us," said Draco. "But since they didn't appear to get what they want…"
"Then we can assume that they'll be back to try again."
He nodded.
"Okay," Buffy sat back and thought for a minute.
"Draco, you're going to Hogwart's soon, right? And that's like, the Disneyland of safety."
He blinked.
"Safest place on earth," explained Buffy with a sigh.
"So the story goes," replied Draco.
"So you'd be safe there. And Narcissa… we can't leave you here alone."
Both Draco and Narcissa frowned. The automatic and nearly identical expression made Buffy smile.
"Alone?"
"But…"
Before either of them had a chance to finish their thoughts, a snowy owl swooped into the room.
"You've got mail," said Buffy, having seen this phenomenon a couple of times before.
The owl dropped a letter in front of Narcissa and flew away. Narcissa picked it up and broke the seal.
"It's from Dumbledore," she said scanning the letter. "He heard about the attack and is offering me a place to stay."
"Absolutely not," said Buffy.
"What? Why?" inquired Draco. "You were just saying—"
"Exactly. I asked for something, and here it is. I don't believe in coincidences. This is obviously some badly thought out plan thrown together by the Death Eaters."
"Trust me," said Draco. "Dumbledore may be a barmy old coot, but he's the last person who'd be involved in a Death Eater plot."
Buffy looked at him.
"Honestly," he insisted.
"Well, I don't have any idea what 'barmy' means, but I trust you. If you say this Dumble dude is on the level, I'm going to believe you."
Buffy reached across the table and took the letter, reading over it quickly.
"Mugwump? What…? Oh, forget it. I don't care."
She put down the letter.
"Alright. Draco is going to Hogwarts. Narcissa can go to this safe-house thing," said Buffy.
"And where are you going?" asked Narcissa softly. The sheen of tears in her eyes suggested that she already knew the answer.
"I," said Buffy grimly, "am going back to Sunnydale."
AN again: So, um… to everyone wishing and hoping and praying that Buffy would be going to Hogwarts soon… sorry! And to those of you who wanted her to patch things up with the Sunnydale gang… you're welcome!
Many thanks for all the reviews and my warmest regards to: Anne, anon, Becks89, Botticelli's Venus, Darklight, Dreamer 22, Elizabeth V, jezowen, manticore-girl071134, Miss Kayl, Rosie W, ScruffyWes, ShawThang, Susan, Tiger Tiger 2, Turn Off the Lights, and Village-Mystic. You guys put the ram in the ram-a-lam-a-ding-ding.
Once again, insane amounts of thanks to ScruffyWes, the best darn sounding board/creative counselor I ever did see.
On that note, she and I have undertaken a new task, that of writing a joint story called "Crossing Over" under the pen name ScruffyGoddess. If you've ever sat back while reading crossover fiction and gone "What?" or "Not again!" I recommend that you give it a try. No fic is safe, including my own!
~Eris~
