A/N: And yet another update! Since I'm in a hurry, this is going to be a really short author's note and I won't be able to personally reply to all the reviews, even though I want to soooooooo badly. First things first, I'VE HIT THE TWO HUNDRED MARK!Special thanks to Raclswt for being the 200th reviewer. Also thanks to all the other reviewers; Nikki101, emerald sorceress, Aeslynn (me too! That's where I got the inspiration for her bad day), Raclswt, RedsLover03, Damia-Queen of the Gypsi's, Wildly Obsessed (actually Willow and Xander kinda stumbled onto the fact that she's the slayer. Who knows? I might do that with the Marauders), Fia Fialena, elsawriter, Dreamer Child (Arrrrrrrrghhhhhhh! You're back, I loved, loved getting your review and I just know you're going to kill me for this chapter and I have so much more to say to you but my mom is giving me The Look so I can't), InvisibleA, Just Me (all reviews are always welcome!), vixen519, greatbigbuffyfan, annnnd Dirrtyrubberduck (you know I was gonna update tomorrow instead of today but then I got your review and it made me feel so good I changed my mind. So thanks!)Kudos to all of you who guessed what was in the cupboard (it was pretty obvious and very unoriginal but hey!). And thanks to all the ppl who called me crazy, evil, cruel and whatever else. You guys inspired this chapter's ending. Hope you all enjoy it. Don't forget to review!

Angelus

Five minutes after Buffy had left the Trophy Room, Giles was still staring dumbfounded at the door, her parting words hanging heavy in the air. It took another full minute to get his feet moving and even longer to get his brain working. All he could think was she knows, she knows. She knew his biggest secret. Somehow Giles made it to the Slytherin House in a daze. He walked in and went straight to his room without saying anything. Ethan, who had been sitting down at one of the couches, got up and followed him.

"What's going on, mate?" he asked, coming thru the doorway to find Giles flopped on his bed.

"She knows," Giles said weakly.

Ethan blinked. "Come again?" he said.

"She knows," Giles said.

"Who knows? And knows what?" Ethan asked confusedly.

"Bu- Summers, she knows about the Mark of Eyghon." Giles answered.

All the color drained from Ethan's face. "What?" he croaked.

Giles shrugged helplessly. "I don't know how she found out, I don't when she found out, but she knows." He concluded.

Ethan shut the door and locked it. As an extra measure he put a silencing spell on the room, so no one could hear them. "Bloody hell," He swore. "Start from the beginning." He said sitting down on his own bed across from Giles.

"We had detention together. We talked; I got her to confirm that she was the Slayer"

Ethan waved that bit of information aside. "We already knew that." He interrupted. "But how did the subject of Eyghon come up?"

"Well, I said something about telling people. I guess she took it as a threat and said I wouldn't dare because if I did she'd tell people about Eyghon. Not in those exact words, but something to that effect." Giles said.

Ethan visibly relaxed. "So we're okay as long as we keep our mouths sealed about her slayer gig?" he asked just to make sure.

"Looks that way," Giles agreed.

"That's fair," Ethan said with a nod.

"So you're okay with not telling people about her being the slayer?" Giles said feeling relieved for some reason.

Ethan frowned at the question. "Of course. I wasn't even planning to tell in the first place, just wanted to scare her a little." He said. "Besides, who'd believe me? The petite Buffy Summers being the all powerful Slayer? I wouldn't have believed it, if I hadn't seen it for myself."

"Same here." Giles said.

Suddenly there was a knock on their door. Giles got up to open it and found himself face to face with Snape.

"What do you want, Snivellus?" Giles said disdainfully.

"Belltrix wants to see you." He said curtly.

"So? Tell her to get off her lazy ass and get up here." Giles answered.

"Watch your mouth. You don't know who you're talking to." Snape said.

"Right, I've known Belltrix since we were what-eleven? And although she's always been a spoiled brat, this is just ridiculous. If you think just because you've all become Deatheaters, everyone's going to be at your beck and call and kiss up to your asses; I've got news for you. It's not going to happen, at least not on my part. If Belltrix wants something, she can get up and ask me herself like a normal person. And you are more than welcome to tell her I said so. Now get the hell out of here, you're smell is clouding my breathing air."

"You should've never been a Slytherin." Snape said menacingly.

"I feel the same way." Giles said evenly and closed the door.

"What do you think she wanted?" Ethan asked.

"Probably the usual, show me a new trick she's learned and then try and convince me to become a Deatheater." Giles said heavily.

"How come they never ask me?" Ethan said, insulted.

"Beats me," Giles said. "But if they asked would you accept?" he asked looking at Ethan.

"Nah," he answered after thinking about it. "I'm all for causing chaos and having people fear me but killing and torturing? That's not me."

Giles nodded, satisfied with the answer but his satisfaction was short lived.

"But (there's always a but, Giles thought) there's a war coming, I can feel it. And in the end, we'll all be forced to choose sides. My only concern is to be on the winning side. If that's You-know-who's side, so be it." He finished with a shrug. "What about you? What side would you pick?"

"None," Giles said flatly.

"What do you mean?"

"If it ever comes to that, I'll leave. I'd never join Voldemort, never. But on the other hand I can't stand the Ministry or Dumbledore and I see no reason to help them against him. I'll go join the muggle world or something."

The door opened. "Not bad," Belltrix said causally strolling in and sitting down next to Giles. "You know what they say though, you can run but you can't hide. No matter where you go, Ripper, the war will catch up with you and you will have to decide. When the time comes, just make sure you pick right."

"How'd you get in here and how'd you hear us through the door?" Ethan demanded. "I put a silencing spell on it."

"Well, despite the fact that your silencing spells could obviously use a little work, it's amazing what you can do with a little dark magic." She said, closing her hand for a second. She opened it palm facing upward. In the middle of it, hovering an inch above, was a small ball of light. She closed her hand and it was gone. "For example wandless magic," she said a bit breathlessly, that small display having taken most of her energy.

"Big deal," Giles said dismissively even though he knew it was. "As long as I have my wand, I doubt I'll have a reason to use wandless magic."

"You never know," Belltrix said. "Join us, let him show you, let him teach you." She added softly.

"You already know my answer Bell," Giles replied. "Is that all what you wanted to see me for?"

"Actually no, I want to have some fun. It's been a long time since we've done something together and there's a certain blonde mudblood who I need to get my revenge on. You interested?" Belltrix asked.

Had it been anyone else Giles would've jumped at the chance to cause some trouble but this time something held him back. He was careful to keep his face neutral. "What exactly do you want to do to her?" he asked. "Other than kill her." He added dryly.

"You know me too well," Belltrix said with an evil glint. "Well, can't do that for the obvious reasons. Same goes for physical harm. So I'll settle for scaring her shitless and getting in some quality humiliation without making a mark. Get her to think twice before messing with me again."

"And you plan to do that how?" Ethan asked skeptically.

"The best choice would be to sic a dementor on her but there's no way I can get one near Hogwarts unnoticeably." Belltrix answered with a shrug. "However a boggart can also get the job done and there are more than plenty in Hogwarts. In fact I overheard Flitwick telling Dumbledore this morning that there was one in his classroom."

"And you want to lock Summers in there with it?" Giles asked.

"That's the gist of it."

"For how long?" Ethan asked.

"Hopefully a long time," Belltrix said. "I know for a fact that Professor Flitwick isn't planning to use that classroom tomorrow and Friday is the day before the holidays so classes are cancelled. If she gets lucky, somebody will go in there over the weekend for some reason or another and they'll find her."

"I don't know," Giles said doubtfully. "Four days is a long time to go without water or food."

"Yeah, I might get lucky and she'll die from thirst." Belltrix said rolling her eyes.

"Somehow I doubt that," Giles replied, remembering her slayer powers.

"I know, but it'll be worth it anyway. So are you in?" when he hesitated, Belltrix snorted. "Oh come on Ripper, don't tell me you've gone soft on the mudblood like Ethan here. I thought you said you didn't like her."

"I don't." Giles said quickly.

"Prove it," Belltrix challenged.

Giles knew she was baiting him but he didn't care. He had no feelings what so ever for the blonde Gryffindor and if he had to prove it, so be it. "Alright, let me grab me cloak." He said finally.

"Okay. You and Ethan meet us in the Charms corridor in five minutes." She said getting off the bed.

"Us?" Giles said with a frown. "Who's us?"

"The usual crew." Belltrix answered

"By the way, how are you guys planning to get Summers down there?" Ethan asked.

"I conned some first year Gryffindor into telling her that Flitwick wants to meet up with her," she said with a wink as she left.

"So what do you think a slayer's boggart could be?" Ethan asked Giles. "Do you even think that slayers have boggarts?" he added thoughtfully.

"They're people aren't they?" Giles snapped.

"What's eating you?" Ethan asked, taken back by his sharp response.

Guilt,he thought but quickly dismissed the idea. After all, he had nothing to be guilty for, it was just a little prank. "Nothing, let's go." He said pulling on his cloak.

They went out the Common Room and up the stairs that led them to the third floor and the Charms corridor. They got there just as Belltrix slammed the door shut and called out, "Hope you like the dark, mudblood. You'll be in there for a long, long time."

There was nothing from the other side for a minute. Then, "As far as revenge plans go, I gotta say Belltrix this one is pretty lame." Buffy called back.

"Oh really?" Belltrix smirked. "Why don't you go open the cupboard under the window, there's a present in there for you."

"Do you think she'll do it?" Regulus asked anxiously.

"Curiosity killed the cat," Giles quoted. "She'll open it." However, instead of feeling triumphant like the others, he felt like he had betrayed her or something. That's stupid, we're not even friends, he told himself. But she wanted to be, a small voice in his head reminded him. Giles shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"Are you sure that she won't find a way to get out from inside?" Ethan asked.

"Positive. I charmed the door so that it can only be opened from the outside." Rodolphus answered confidently.

"Well, looks like we're all done here," Belltrix said cheerfully. "Let's go celebrate."

XxXxXxXxXxX

Thanks to her slayer hearing, Buffy was able to hear the whole conversation. That low-down good for nothing creep, she fumed. I can't believe he'd turn on me after we had a decent conversation!

"He's an idiot," she decided. "And apparently so am I. I can't believe I let myself get tricked by Belltrix. Next time, I won't get fooled into buying a kid's story just 'cause he looks innocent and has an angelic face and big brown eyes. No sir, looks can be deceiving. Very deceiving."

Buffy was aware of the fact that to the casual observer she'd look like some crazy person but talking to herself was the only way to keep from going crazy. As far as she could remember, Buffy had a thing about being alone in closed spaces. It ranked second in her Places I Hate list, right after hospitals and before Principal Snyder's office.

"Now, what to do until somebody comes to my rescue?" she wondered out loud. Her eyes immediately darted to the cupboard.

You could always check the cupboard, a voice whispered in her head. Remarkably it sounded a lot like Faith. No! Another voice said, this time in Kendra's admonishing tone. It's not safe you know that.

"Oh great," Buffy said rolling her eyes, "Now I'm hearing dead people inside my head. I have got to be losing it."

C'mon, the Faith-like voice coaxed, you know you wanna and besides you're not getting any tingling feelings so it has to be safe. And if it isn't, you can always kick its ass. Whatever it is. You're the slayer!

"Alright, alright, I'll do it." Buffy said loudly.

She walked towards the cupboard and before she can loose her nerve she yanked it open.

"Hello lover," Angelus said with a smile that was closer to a leer, unfolding his large body from the confinement of the tiny cupboard. "You miss me?"

Buffy heard a low terrified moan and only vaguely recognized it to come from her own throat. For the second time that day her heart nearly stopped beating. "No, no." she said, shaking her head and slowly backing up against the wall. "It can't be."

"What? You aren't glad to see me? Who were you expecting? Pansy-boy Angel?" Angelus said mockingly.

"You aren't real. You don't exist, you can't exist." Buffy chanted as she closed her eyes. She opened them wide when she felt his cool caress and saw him touching her face.

"Oh but I am." He replied with a lazy smile. "And as I recall, we have some unfinished business. You see I didn't exactly get to do what I wanted to last time we saw each other. If I had you wouldn't be here right now, would you?"

It finally dawned on Buffy that the Angelus standing in front of her was very real. She didn't know how or why and didn't have the time to contemplate it. She had to get out and get to Dumbledore; he'd know how to stop him. Buffy quickly scanned the room for an escape route. The door was obviously out. Her gaze landed on the narrow window with the metal bars on the wall above Professor Flitwick's cluttered desk. In a sudden movement, she brought her hand upward and slammed the heel of it into Angelus's chin with force that would've shattered any ordinary person's jaw. Like she had expected, it caught him by surprise and he howled in pain. Buffy saw her chance and ran towards the desk. By standing on top of it, she was able to reach the window. Putting all her strength into it, she pulled the bars of the window apart. She was pulling herself up when Angelus recovered, grabbed her around her middle and threw her to the floor.

"You almost made it, Buff." He said.

"It's not over yet." She replied her words of long ago coming back to her.

"Yes it is because this time I'm going to kill you." Angelus said callously. "Don't worry, no one will miss you."

That hit a nerve. "You can definitely try." Buffy said regaining her composure. "But don't think I'll make it easy for you."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." He answered and magically two swords appeared in his hand. He threw one at Buffy and she caught it.

Since when can Angelus do magic? She had a chance to wonder fleetingly before he thrust at her. She ducked at the last minute.

"C'mon Buffy put some heart into it. That way when I kill you, I can honestly tell your friends you put up a good fight." Angelus taunted.

"Stay the hell away from my friends." Buffy said, circling him.

"Why should I when I'm planning to kill them too?" he replied with a cold smile.

"I mean it Angelus." She warned.

"Why should you? They're not going to be your friends for long, anyway. Not when they find out who -or should I say- what you are." He said with a smirk.

Buffy gritted her teeth and thrust at him with her sword. "Shut up."

Angelus parried and swung around with a thrust of his own. "My, aren't we touchy? What's wrong Buffy? That remark hit a little too close to home for your comfort?"

Buffy tried to keep his words from getting to her. Snap out of it, he's just trying to distract you, she reminded herself as she also parried. "I kicked your ass before and I'll do it again." She said more to build up her courage than to intimidate him.

"I love it when you talk dirty," Angelus smirked.

"You're sick." Buffy said.

"Like that's something new," Angelus retorted.

Buffy gave up talking and concentrated on dodging Angelus's sword. He was a much better fencer than she was and he was quickly gaining the upper hand but she refused to give up. They clashed blades several times and Buffy ducked a wide arcing swing from him. They faced off again and traded one thrust and parry after another. Angelus tried another arcing swing from above, but she easily ducked and sidestepped out of the way.

"Is that the best you got, Liam?" she panted, openly taunting him. She knew the use of his birth name would get to him. He growled and took a wild swing at her which she easily blocked.

They faced off again in front of the desk and traded a few more blows. Angelus tried a swing from above for the third time, and again Buffy ducked it and escaped to the side, this time jumping up onto the table (breaking a vase in the process) before swinging at him again. He parried, and swung at her legs. She jumped up and over his blade and landed on the floor. He tried for her legs again, but she blocked his attempt with her blade.

Buffy was starting to get seriously fatigued and her sword arm was feeling very heavy.

"I could go on all night," Angelus said.

"Same here," Buffy lied.

At that moment Buffy became dimly aware of someone standing in the open doorway. She turned and saw that it was Sirius. Standing behind him was the rest of her friends except for Remus and Peter. Must be a full moon tonight, she thought

Taking advantage of her momentary distraction Angelus tried a wide swing again, and this time he managed to cut her on the arm.

Buffy cried in pain and thought she heard Sirius yell, she couldn't tell for sure, she was so immersed in the fight. He tried to take advantage of her distraction again and came at her with his sword held high, intending to swing from above, but she dropped to the floor and rolled out of the way, so he only managed to smash a bowl on a table behind her. Seeing her chance, Buffy kicked his legs out from under him and scrambled back up.

Angelus turned to face her still on his knees and swung three times in rapid succession, all of which she parried. He swung a fourth time, and this time Buffy knocked his sword into the table with her parry and pined it there. He backhand punched her in the face, causing her to stagger backward. He pulled the sword from the table and swung it hard at her. She blocked it with hers, and kicked him in the gut, making him double over. She jumped over him into the clear, and raised her sword to continue the fight.

"That was sneaky," Angelus growled.

"And punching me wasn't?" Buffy retorted.

He lunged at her with the sword and once again she parried, then he kicked her in her sword arm, taking her by surprise and sending her sword flying.

XxXxXxXxXxX

"Something's wrong," Sirius said suddenly.

James looked up at him in surprise. It had been about thirty minutes since Buffy had gone to meet with Professor Flitwick and the gang had dispersed quickly after. The girls had gone up to their room and so had the boys excluding Remus who had gone to the Hospital Wing since that night was a full moon. They had been sitting in their dorm room quietly when Sirius had made his announcement.

"Huh-wha?" Peter said who had actually been dozing.

"Something's wrong with Buffy, I can feel it." Sirius said getting up and pacing the narrow space of the room.

"What?" James asked, confused. "How can something be wrong? She's with Professor Flitwick."

Sirius shrugged helplessly and ran his fingers thru his hair. "I don't know. I just know that something isn't right." He said.

"Are you sure you're not just being paranoid, Padfoot?" James asked skeptically.

Sirius sent him a withering look.

"Just checking," James explained.

"I just keep getting this feeling that she's in some kind of trouble." Sirius said.

Suddenly the door crashed open and Andy came rushing in to the room with a piece of parchment in her hand.

"Somebody just owled this to us, listen," she said getting ready to read the parchment. "Buffy's in trouble. Hurry."

"Let me see that," Sirius said snatching the paper from her.

"It's not signed and it was delivered by a school owl, so there's no way you can find out who sent it." Andy said. "Or if it's a hoax."

Sirius reread the paper and sent James a pointed look.

"Don't say it." James said.

"It's not a hoax." Sirius said shortly already pounding down the stairs.

Andy and James looked at each other before following. Peter, meanwhile had gone back to sleep.

"Where are Lily and Jaq?" it occurred to James to ask when they got to the third floor.

"They're already there." Andy said pointing down the Charms Corridor to where the two girls stood.

"What's going on?" Sirius asked.

"We weren't sure whether we should go in or not. Although we can't tell you exactly what's going on in there, we definitely heard people talking in there, and everything sounded normal." Lily said.

There was a loud crash from the other side of the door.

"That didn't sound normal." James said.

"Move," Sirius said, he quickly knocked on the door, when there was no answer he took out his wand, pointed it at the door and said, "Alohomora,"

The door swung open. The sight that was revealed to them stopped them dead in their tracks. For a full minute, none of them could do anything but stare jaw-slacked.

Buffy was standing on top of Professor Flitwick's desk with a sword in her hand sparring with a man dressed from head to toe in black who also wielded a sword. Sirius snapped out of his stupor when he saw the man cut Buffy on the arm causing her to cry in pain.

"No!" he yelled and made a movement to go inside and would've if Lily and James hadn't held him back.

"Sirius, don't. You'll only end up distracting her or getting hurt." Lily said reasonably.

"What do you want me to do?" Sirius responded angrily. "Stand here and do nothing?"

"That' exactly what you'll do." James said with quiet authority. "Like Lily said, you'll only get in the way. Jaq, you go get Dumbledore. I'm sure Buffy can handle herself until then seeing how she has the upper hand."

Jaq nodded before turning around and hurrying down the corridor.

"I wonder where she learned to fight like that," Andy mused as Buffy blocked a thrust, knocked her opponent's sword into the table and pined it there. They watched as he backhand punched her in the face.

Sirius sprang forward only to be intercepted by James. "Dammit Prongs, let go of me!" He roared, frustrated.

"Not a chance," James said grimly as he struggled to hold on to him. "Andy, Lily, a little help would be nice."

Andy immediately went to his aid. "Sirius if you don't stop this now, I'm going use the total body bind charm on you." She threatened.

"You wouldn't dare," he said, stilling.

"Don't make me have to." She said.

"Okay, okay." Sirius said giving in. "You can let go of me now."

James let go. "You know, you could've helped instead of just staring into space, Lily." He said turning to look at her. "Lily?"

"I was wondering, what are the odds of the stranger getting into Hogwarts without anybody noticing?" Lily said slowly.

"Slim to none. Why?" James replied.

"How do you think he got in then?" Lily said nodding towards the man who was fighting with Buffy.

James shrugged. "No clue," he said and Sirius and Andy nodded in agreement.

"How do you think he got in?" Andy asked.

"I don't." Lily said.

"What?" Sirius asked.

"I don't think he got in here. In fact, I don't even think he's real." Lily said.

"He looks pretty real to me." Andy said pointing to the man who was at the moment doubled over from the kick Buffy had given him.

"That was sneaky," the man growled.

"He sounds real too," James remarked.

"And punching me wasn't?" they heard Buffy retort.

"True," Lily conceded. "But think, what can take any shape they want and can be found in Hogwarts?"

They stared at her blankly.

"Or more specifically in the cupboards of Hogwarts, like that open one," Lily said pointing to the cupboard in the room.

"A boggart?" Andy guessed.

"You got it," Lily said nodding. "It seems that man is quite literally Buffy's worst nightmare."

"Funny, he doesn't look scary to me." Andy mused. "Matter of fact, he's kind of cute and he has a world class grade A butt."

"Trust you to say something like that at a time like this." Lily said dryly.

"C'mon you were thinking it," Andy said playfully.

"I was not." Lily huffed.

Andy looked at her pointedly.

"Okay fine, the thought did cross my mind." Lily confessed.

"What!" James said outraged.

"I can't believe you two. That man is trying to kill Buffy and all you can think about is how he looks?" Sirius said furiously.

"Sirius, calm down, deep breaths, okay?" Andy said, demonstrating. "Now that we know that he's just a boggart, I think we should just stay out of it. This is her fight after all."

"I'm with you." Lily said.

"No. Now that we know it's a boggart, we really should interfere and get rid of it." Sirius argued.

"C'mon Padfoot have a little faith in your girlfriend," James said reprovingly. "If she can fence like that, don't you think she can handle a boggart?"

"Not if she doesn't know what the hell a boggart is!" Sirius nearly shouted.

That shut them up.

"She doesn't know what a boggart is?" Lily repeated.

"Think Andy, if you were facing your worst nightmare but you knew you could get rid of it whenever you wanted, what would you do? Fight it or get rid of it?" Sirius said rhetorically.

James, Andy, and Lily all turned to look at Buffy as realization dawned on them.

"Uh oh," Andy gulped.

XxXxXxXxXxX

Under ordinary circumstances, Buffy would've been able to hear every word of their conversation loud and clear but since she had put all her concentration into the fight she had no idea what they were talking about and unless they were discussing how to get her out of this situation she truly didn't care. She slowly backed towards the wall. Without her sword she was a goner and they both knew it.

"Is that all you got, babe?" Angelus said walking forebodingly towards her. "I gotta say I'm surprised. I would've thought you would do better than that."

Buffy closed her eyes, physically and emotionally drained. "Go to hell, Angelus." She said but there was no real menace behind her words. To tell the truth, she was too tired to muster any.

Angelus continued to walk slowly and deliberately towards her. "It'll be easier this way. Face it Buffy, nobody's going to accept you for who you are. No weapons, no friends, no hope, take that all away and what's left?"

Buffy knew she should reply, should say something but she was way past caring. Fleetingly she thought would it be so bad to give up? To finally stop fighting?

When nothing happened she opened her eyes and saw that Sirius had stepped into the room. As he stepped in front of Angelus the strangest thing happened. Right before her Angelus disappeared and was replaced by a screaming woman that Buffy guessed to be Sirius's mother from all the vile things she shouted.

"Riddikulus," he shouted and with a bang she turned into Snape in a pink tutu.

Despite the state of things, they all burst into laughter and Buffy even managed a smile. Before their very eyes the Angelus/ Mrs. Black /Snape thingy exploded into a million pieces.

"Snape in a pink tutu," James said wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes. "Works every time."

Meanwhile Sirius had gone over to where Buffy had sunk onto the ground. "Are you okay?" he asked tenderly brushing her hair off her face.

Buffy looked at him blearily. "Is he gone?" she asked hoarsely.

"Yeah," Sirius nodded pulling her closer to him. "He's gone."

"Good," Buffy said with a ghost of a smile, closing her eyes and finally allowing the exhaustion she had been feeling to overcome her.

"Buffy?" Sirius said when he felt her go limp. "Buffy!"

It was then that Jaq came into the room followed by Professor Dumbledore.

"Sorry it took so long, I had a hard time- what happened?" Jaq asked wide-eyed taking in the damaged room.

"Boggart," James said absently standing over Buffy.

"Oh my god, what happened to Buffy?" Jaq said seeing her for the first time.

"I think she fainted," Lily said.

"I agree." Professor Dumbledore spoke up. "Mr. Black, please take her to the Hospital Wing."

Sirius nodded as he picked up Buffy and left the room.

"The rest of you, it's getting late and it would be best if you went back to your dorms. Except for Mr. Potter and Ms. Evans, I need you one of you to patrol the halls tonight."

"James, can you do it? I'm feeling a bit under the weather right now," Lily said quickly.

"Sure Lils," James said giving her a searching glance. "I'll get right on it, Professor." He added.

"Thank you, Mr. Potter," Professor Dumbledore said. "If you come with me, I'll fill you in on what needs to be done. Don't take long," he said to the girls as he and James walked out the room.

"Okay Lily, what's going on?" Andy demanded. "I know for a fact that there is nothing wrong with."

"I never said there was," Lily replied.

"Then what was the whole 'under the weather' deal?" Andy said. "It's not like you to shirk on your Head Girl duties."

"It's important. We don't have much time, we need to get to the library before Madame Pince closes it," Lily said grabbing her hand and dragging her out the room.

"At this hour?" Jaq asked equally bewildered. "What for?"

"I'll tell you when we get there." Lily said impatiently.

"I'm not moving until you tell me why." Jaq said stubbornly.

Lily sighed. "Research," she said.

"On what?" Andy asked.

"Buffy called the man Angelus," Lily said slowly. "I'm positive I've heard that name before somewhere and I'm not going to sleep until I find out where."

"We could always ask Buffy," Jaq suggested.

"Good luck getting it out of her." Lily snorted. "I'm positive she won't tell us anything. It's not like it would be the first time, though."

"True, but she's entitled to keep her secrets, though." Andy said. "It's not like each of us don't have our own secrets."

"I know that, but Buffy's in some kind of trouble and I want help her but how can I if I don't know what's going on? And I have a feeling Angelus is the key to finding out." Lily said. "Now come on,"

They were practically in front of the library doors when Andy came to a dead halt. "I just thought of something," she said wide-eyed. "That man's name was Angelus right? And Buffy let it slip that her ex-boyfriend's name was Angel, remember? Angel, Angelus. Coincidence? I don't think so."

"That's interesting; Angelus is Latin for the one with the angelic face." Lily said. "You think they're the same person?"

"It's a thought," Andy said with a shrug.

"It doesn't fit though," Jaq said. "What Buffy told us about Angel and how she reacted to that other man, I mean." She clarified. "And besides he looked a little too old to be in a relationship with a teenager."

"I'd say he's in his late twenties," Andy said. "Twenty-seven, twenty-eight tops."

"Well, it's something to keep in mind." she said opening the library door.

"Lily?" Madame Pince said coming to the door. "What are you doing here?"

"Madame Pince, I'm so glad we caught you. I need to get some books. I know it's after hours but it's really, really important and we'll only be a few minutes. Alright? Thank you." Lily said rushing in.

Madame Pince shook her head in amusement and exasperation; it wasn't the first time Lily had pulled something like this. "Alright, I was on my way out so just make sure you close up when you're done." She called.

"I will," Lily said with a bright smile.

"Teacher's pet," Jaq said when Madame Pince left and Andy snickered.

"Oh shut it you two." Lily said.

"Okay, okay, were do we start?" Andy said.

"Honestly?" Lily said with a shrug. "I have no idea,"

"You're joking," Jaq said. "Lily, this place is huge, there has to be over a million books in here. We need to start somewhere."

"I know, let me think. If only I could remember where I heard his name," she said closing her eyes. "Okay, assuming he's not a muggle-"

"There's a chance he might be?" Andy cried.

"I could've heard his name in Muggle Studies," Lily pointed out. "But assuming he's not, look in the Which Wizard Directory. Also consider looking for Angel." She told Andy.

"Jaq, try to look him up in Wizarding through the Ages, we might get lucky and he'll be in there. And just incase he is a muggle, I'm going to check out The Muggle World; People atlas, are we all clear?" Lily said. When they nodded, she added, "Yell if you find anything."

It was an hour before any of them found anything. They were about ready to give up when Jaq came across a book that mentioned Angelus. "I found something," she called. "Wait, no I didn't. Actually yes I did. Okay, I'm confused."

Andy and Lily both came over. "What's going on?" Lily asked.

"Here, read this." Jaq said holding the book out to her and pointing to the section she had been skimming.

"Oh my god, this is it!" Lily said excitedly when she saw the name Angelus.

"That's what I thought too until I looked at the designated footnote at the bottom of the page." Jaq said. "It clearly states here that this Angelus lived in Europe in the late seventeen hundreds, so it can't be our man."

"You're right," Andy said disappointedly. "We almost had him." She added with a sigh. "Let's go Lily; I don't think we're going to find anything else. Maybe you were mistaken and Angelus is nothing more than some fictional demon from a book she read that gave her nightmares."

"Andy, that's it!" Lily cried. "You are a genius; I can't believe I didn't think about it before. Now I remember where I heard his name. Let's go." She grabbed both Andy and Jaq.

"No way, uh uh," Andy said when she saw where she was leading them. "Are you out of your bloody mind? We can't go in there!"

Lily had led them to the Restricted Section of the library. "C'mon you two," Lily pleaded. "We're so close."

"Lily, you of all people know we should not be in there." Jaq said.

"We're seventh years. We're allowed to be in there," Lily argued.

"Only if Madame Pince is with us and even then there are some parts we can't go to," Andy reminded.

Lily refused to budge. "Since when did you two become chickens?" she asked.

"This is not about being a chicken. This is about staying alive." Jaq said.

"Fine," Lily said. "I'll go in there by myself." She stressed the last part before ducking under the rope and disappearing between the bookshelves.

"I hate it when she does this to us." Andy said to Jaq. "Lily wait!" she called before also ducking under the rope. Jaq quickly followed her.

"Lily?" Jaq called.

"Over here," she answered.

They followed her voice to the section entitled Demons; Eighteenth Century – Present Day. "You know, I was just kidding about the whole demon thing." Andy said, looking around nervously at the bookshelves. Some of the books had some pretty creepy pictures.

"I'm not," Lily replied also surveying the bookshelves but for different reasons.

"What? You really think Angelus is a demon?" Jaq asked.

"No, I'm sure he is." Lily said, reaching for a book on the top shelf. "Relax," she said when both Andy and Jaq jumped. "I've been to this part before, nothing's going to happen."

Lily pulled out the book. "Here we are," she said blowing the dust off the cover. "Angelus; Scourge of Europe, unabridged version," Andy said, reading the title out loud. "1753 – Present day."

"I don't get," Jaq said. "How can he be alive in the seventeen hundreds and also be alive now?"

"Easy," Lily said with a smile. "He's a vampire."

XxXxXxXxXxX

What happened? That was Buffy's first coherent thought. She slowly opened her eyes and saw that she was once again in the hospital wing and Professor Dumbledore was sitting next to her bed.

"Professor?" she asked trying to sit up. "What are you doing here? What am I doing here?"

"Take it easy, Buffy," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder and gently pushing her back down. "You fainted a while back-"

"I fainted? I do not faint." Buffy said indignantly. "Only weak-hearted people faint."

"Not true. When was the last time you had a complete meal?" Dumbledore questioned.

"Last night at dinner," Buffy answered.

"Aha. Coupled with what you went thru today, it's no surprise you fainted."

"What I went thru?" Buffy frowned. "Angelus!" she said bolting upright as she remembered what had happened earlier. "Professor, I-"

"Calm down, Buffy. Everything's been taken care of," he said placidly.

"You don't understand! I saw Angelus and we fought but then he turned into Sirius's mom and then he turned into Snape in a pink tu- wait," she paused and went over what she had just said in her mind. "That wasn't Angelus, was it?"

"No, it was a boggart." Professor Dumbledore said.

"Riiiiight," Buffy said, nodding. "And that would be?"

"A magical creature that takes the shape of whatever we fear most," he answered. "It can only be defeated by laughter."

"Well, that explains Snape in the pink tutu." Buffy said thoughtfully.

Professor Dumbledore chuckled. "I suppose," he agreed.

"Who brought me here?" Buffy asked suddenly.

"Mr. Black." He answered.

"No," Buffy groaned burying her face in her hands. "I was hoping that I had just dreamed that part. I guess he witnessed the whole thing, huh?"

"As did Mr. Potter and the other girls," Professor Dumbledore informed her.

"My life is over," Buffy said. "O-v-e-r. How can I ever face them? They're gonna want explanations and how am in the world am I supposed to tell them about Angelus?"

"Tell them the truth." Professor Dumbledore suggested.

"What? My ex-boyfriend is a vampire?" Buffy said. "God, it sounds like the title of a cheesy horror film." She added with a shudder. "And besides, there is no way I can tell them about him without telling them about the slayer gig."

"I thought you were going to tell them, anyway."

"I thought so too but then I rethought it and I realized that it was bad idea resulting all kinds of bad things and decided that I'm only going to tell them if I absolutely, positively have to." Buffy said. "I would say the same goes for the Angelus issue but I'm already in the situation where I have no choice but to tell them and I have no idea what to tell them."

Professor Dumbledore shook his head. He was very tempted to tell her that it wouldn't work but held himself back, this was one lesson she was going to have to learn by herself, no matter how painful it would be.

"You know maybe I should go find Angel now and tell him to stay the hell away from Sunnydale in the future. That way we won't have to meet and fall in love, and I won't have to send him to hell and all the other bad stuff that happened won't happen." Buffy said half jokingly.

"No," Professor Dumbledore said sharply. "While you are here, you must never meddle with the future or try to stop anything that has already happened in the future from happening, do you understand? If you do, you can end up changing everything."

"What if that change was for the better?" Buffy said.

"What if it wasn't?" he countered. "Think about it like this, Buffy. If you had never met Angel, you would've never known about the Master or the prophecy concerning you two. If you hadn't known about the prophecy, things might've happened a little differently. For example, you might've thought that the Master was not a serious threat, therefore going alone to deal with him which would've resulted in your permanent death. The Master would've risen and the Old ones would've emerged. Between them, the world would've been enveloped in chaos and terror and life as we know it would've completely disappeared."

"I never thought about it like that," Buffy said.

"And besides, no matter how much bad happened when you were with Angel, do you really want to get rid of the good too?" Professor Dumbledore asked gently.

"No, I wouldn't give up what I had with Angel for the world," Buffy said. "But how am I supposed to explain that to Sirius? He'll never understand."

Professor Dumbledore shook his head. Young love, he thought with a hidden smile. "I'm afraid you underestimate him, Buffy." He said. "Give him a chance and talk to him."

"But I'm not good at that talking stuff." Buffy panicked. "I tend to babble and a babbling Buffy is not a good Buffy cause once I start talking I can't stop and I say all sorts of things and then it gets really ugly."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out, Buffy." He said, standing up. "Now, if you'll excuse me I have a meeting I must attend."

"Okay, but I have one question." Buffy said. When he nodded, she continued, "Can you jinx yourself?" she asked seriously.

"Excuse me?" Professor Dumbledore asked. Clearly he hadn't been expecting this question.

"This morning, when Professor Binns sent me to your office," she explained. "Remember how I said my life couldn't get any worse? I think I jinxed myself."

"Who knows?" he said with a smile. "Stranger things have happened though, so it is possible." He added, opening the door to exit the room. At that moment, Madame Pomfrey came thru the door wheeling a cart that had a food tray on it.

"When can I leave?" Buffy asked the minute the nurse entered the room.

"As soon as you finish every single bite of food on this tray," She answered. "We wouldn't want you to faint again!"

Buffy started to tell her she wasn't hungry but she realized that she was. "For once, I'm not going to argue with you." She said reaching for the food tray.

Madame Pomfrey left to attend to her other patients and by the time she came back, Buffy had finished all of her food.

"Now, how are you feeling?" Madame Pomfrey asked.

"Just fine," Buffy said. "Can I go now?"

"Wouldn't you feel better if you spent the night here?" Madame Pomfrey asked taking her temperature.

"Uh no," Buffy said.

"Very well then," the nurse said with a sigh. "Just remember to take things slowly."

"I will," Buffy assured her getting up.

"And come see me tomorrow morning!" Madame Pomfrey called as Buffy exited the room.

"I'll try." Buffy said, closing the door behind her. The halls were completely deserted. Must be pretty late, she thought.

"Buffy!"

"Shit," Buffy swore under her breath when she heard Sirius call her name. What was he doing here? She wondered. Buffy was not ready to approach Sirius after what had happened mainly because she hadn't figured out she would say when he asked about Angelus and she was sure he was going to ask. "Sirius, what are you doing here?" she asked, plastering a smile on her face.

"I couldn't sleep. I was worried about you so I decided to come down here and wait for you to wake up." He said with a boyish grin giving her a hug.

"Sirius, you shouldn't have, you could've gotten in trouble." Buffy said, feeling her heart melt. Can I feel any more like a con?

"You're worth it. How are you feeling?" he asked, cupping her face in his hands to get a good look at her.

Buffy wasn't quite able to look him in the eye. "I'm okay." She said.

"Buffy, what's wrong?" Sirius asked when she pulled away from him.

"Nothing, I'm just little tired." She lied.

"Are you sure?" he asked looking at her closely.

"Of course I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" she asked.

"Considering the fact that you just faced your first boggart, you shouldn't be." Sirius said truthfully.

"Well, I am." Buffy said.

"Admitting you're afraid isn't a sign of weakness, it's the opposite." He replied. "You wanna talk about it?"

"How about we talk tomorrow?" Buffy said.

"What's wrong with now?" Sirius said with a spark of temper.

"I'm really tired." Buffy said quickly.

"No, you're trying to avoid the subject at all costs." He said. "What I don't get is why? Why won't you talk to me? Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you." Buffy said exasperatedly.

"Then why won't you talk to me?" he said grabbing her arms. "And by the way, this isn't the first time."

"What are you talking about?" Buffy asked nervously. Could it be-

"I mean that this isn't the first time you avoid talking to me about something that's obviously bothering you. I want to be there for you, I want to help you, but how can I if you won't talk to me?" Sirius said.

You are perfection Buffy thought, and I'm in big trouble. "Sirius, I'm not trying to hurt you, I'm not. It's just not easy for me to talk about some things." She said.

"Why? What are you hiding?" he asked.

"I'm not hiding anything." Buffy said defensively.

"Then tell me about Angelus." He demanded. "Well?" he said when she didn't say anything.

"I can't, I just can't." Buffy said turning away from him.

Sirius finally let go of her arms. "So that's how it is, huh?" he said. "Apparently I'm only you're boyfriend in name. You know Buffy, if you don't think enough of me to include me in your life then maybe we shouldn't be together." With that said he walked away from her without once looking back.

XxXxXxXxXxX

A/N: Well, it has finally happened. Buffy has fought with Sirius. I'm so sure that you guys all wanna murder me right now. (For the fight and the ending,) Speaking of the ending, it was a bit rushed, since my mom, brother, sister (who all want the computer) are breathing down my neck. So if it's strewn with mistakes and doesn't flow, I apologize. Before I go, I have one last thing to say. REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!