Author's notes: I do not own anything but the plot and any characters you might later see that you do not recognize.

Willow walked sleepily down the stairs in her blue nightshirt and meandered into the kitchen the next morning. She noticed that Harry was cooking breakfast while Rogue and Logan were both seated at the kitchen table eating. "I didn't think it was that early."

Harry shrugged, "You're the last one up actually, everyone else wanted to eat and get back to their projects before their lessons started again."

Willow nodded, "Alright in that case I guess I should get some food before talking with Lupin about the lesson plans."

Rogue nervously looked at Willow, "Any luck finding a spell?"

Willow smiled, "Not a spell so much as a charm bracelet that should dampen your powers if you wear it. At least it dampens accidental magic. The idea came from an old sect of magi that used them to prevent harm to students while they were growing up. I'm still working on a way to increase your control magically." Willow held out a silver charm bracelet. "Don't worry it's not charmed to lock on or anything and you can take it off whenever you want."

Rogue reached out hesitantly and took the bracelet. She looked it over before placing it on her wrist. "I don't feel much different a touch cold maybe. Wolverine can I try to test the bracelet?"

"Fine, just don't hold on that long it hurts."

Rogue pulled the glove off her right hand before she reached out hesitantly to touch Wolverine's face with a finger.

"I don't feel any different yet."

Rogue frowned brushing her hand over the stubble on his face, "It doesn't seem to be doing anything. I think the charm works."

Willow smiled, "Well that's hopeful, now we just have to see if you can call up your power when you try."

"Hey wait a damn minute I didn't sign up for her trying to drain me."

Willow patted her stomach, "It's not like I can volunteer."

"Fine go head and try it Rogue."

Rogue concentrated hard on Wolverine nothing seemed to happen. "I'm not sure I can even use my powers with this thing on."

"Maybe you just aren't concentrating hard enough."

Wolverine frowned, before jerking his head back out of reach of Rogue's fingers. "I felt something that time though just for a brief second."

"Well I guess that's a start. How come it worked when I concentrated hard?"

Willow smiled, "The charm was meant to stop accidental magic use not the purposeful application of a magic user's talent."

"So is she going to be stuck using that bracelet?"

Willow shrugged, "Maybe, maybe not, I'm not sure, there is a decent chance that with a great deal of practice she might be able to control her powers. There is also a chance that there is no off switch. If that is the case, we can try something else, if you wish. I just ask that you get used to using the bracelet before we try other options."

Harry walked over and placed a plate full of eggs in front of Willow, "You should eat something Willow."

"I'll eat if it will make you happy." She picked up the fork and took a few bites of her scrabbled eggs.

"So how does it feel to have a chance to touch someone?" Wolverine smiled at Rogue.

She smiled and hugged Wolverine, "It feels wonderful, I never thought I would have the chance to touch people again, at least not without causing them a great deal of pain."

Wolverine glanced at Willow over Rogue's shoulder, "So what's the price?"

Willow shrugged, "Well I'm sure we could think of something, such as a back rub or foot massage or just knowing that I made one of my slayers happy?"

Wolverine frowned, "You know most people would have asked for a lot more than that."

"I'm not most people, though if you really want to thank me, I have a way. Ask Faith to have a nice candle lit dinner with you. She hasn't had a date in months now. I think the stress is causing her to get a bit violent." She smiled at Wolverine.

"So you want me to go on a date with Faith? What about the fact that she is pregnant?"

"Harry, you don't mind if Faith goes on a date do you?"

Harry blushed, "Hey don't look at me I was just the sperm donor for the child."

"Faith wanted a child. Something to call her own so Harry helped her out."

"Do I have to dress up?"

Willow laughed, "I don't think Faith will care this time."

Wolverine frowned, "I can't get out of this, can I?"

Willow smiled before putting on her resolve face and looking at Wolverine, "See this is my resolve face, so no, you can't win."

Rogue laughed at Wolverine, "Oh please you were looking at her backside the whole tour last night."

He growled, "Don't you have someplace to be?"

She shrugged, "Practicing my powers."

Wolverine growled, "Fine, I'll go find her." He headed out the doors.

Harry laughed, "Does the resolve face ever fail?"

"Sometimes it fails but not all that often. We should probably talk to Lupin and the rest of the students about where to go next."

"Do you mind if I just trail along?"

"No that should be fine until we figure out how long you will be staying."

"I'm not sure but I want to at least stay long enough to figure out how to use the bracelet."

Harry turned off all of the burners and started cleaning up while Willow finished her eggs.

Dobby walked in, "Mister Harry Potter is not supposed to clean. I'm being nice letting him cook, you mustn't clean. That is my job."

Harry frowned, "Alright Dobby I'm just used to cleaning up after myself."

Dobby pointed away from the kitchen sink, "Alright, I'll finish up though." Dobby set to cleaning the pots and pans the Muggle way with a lot of soup and bubbles going everywhere.

Willow finished her breakfast before heading off to the classroom with Harry and Rogue in tow.

Lupin glanced over at Harry as he walked into the classroom with the girls. "Ah, Harry just the person I wanted to talk to. I was hoping to start discussing casting spells without saying the incantations."

Harry nodded, "In case we don't want to be as noticeable right?"

"Basically yes, though it's also an effort to have you work on learning to control your magic better. The more ways you learn to use it, the better you will do in a fight. Willow has brought it to my attention that our type of wizards and witches are really bad at sensing other people's magic."

Willow shrugged, "I'm not sure it's your fault but the only wizard I ran into that had any type of skill at sensing other people's power was Dumbledore. How do you think he knew where to look, when you were under your invisibility cloak?"

"I always wondered how he did that. So you're saying that if I practice hard enough I should be able to learn to sense other wizard's and witch's power?"

"More or less, at least I think you should be able too. I'm still trying to figure out what makes Dumbledore different than the other wizards."

Lupin chuckled, "I'm sure a number of wizards would like to know. I'm also curious about seeing if Rogue can use magic."

Rogue blinked and frowned, "What? Why would I be able to use magic?"

"Well you do have the ability to absorb mutant powers from people. I'm curious if you could absorb magic as well." Lupin fidgeted with some of the books on his desk.

"So you want me to try it?"

Harry smiled, "Just for a little bit, not enough to do any permanent damage."

Lupin looked down at his notes, "Right we just want to test out your abilities a bit to see where the limits lay."

Willow frowned and looked at Lupin before glancing at Rogue, "Well I guess it can't hurt to try taking a sample of Harry's power and seeing if you can use his wand."

Rogue glanced at Harry worriedly, "Are you sure it's safe?"

Willow shrugged, "It shouldn't be any different then borrowing a mutant's power, at least I don't think so. It might not be possible but it's worth a check."

"If you're alright with it, I guess I'll have to try." Rogue reached up and touched Harry on the head. She concentrated hard to try to absorb something. He staggered back as Rogue's hands started to glow with a green light. "Well that's something." She raised her hands to look at them closer, a bolt of green magic jumped from her hands and narrowly missed Lupin as he dove to the ground to avoid the blast.

"Well I think it's safe to say that she can absorb some magic at any rate."

Willow smiled at Rogue, "Just don't point your hands at anything until the glow wears off. How are you felling Harry?"

Harry shook his head a bit, "Not too bad a slight dizzy feeling but the woozy feeling is fading fast."

Willow watched the glow fade from Rogue's hands, "Appears like the magic is fading as well, is that normal?"

Rogue shrugged, "Pretty much, I just barely touched him I wouldn't expect to get his powers for that long. It's a bit of a rush though."

Willow smiled at Rogue, "Welcome to being a witch, if only for a little while. How about I leave you and Harry to practice with Lupin, I am sure the others will be getting here shortly. I've got some work to do with the portraits still. So don't mind me."

"Sounds good, besides all fun and no practice means I'll lose when I finally fight Voldemort."

Ginny and Hermione stepped in with Neville following behind. Willow smiled at the children and slipped out and down towards the computer lab. Willow thought to herself, 'I'm not sure what I would do if I knew there was a big bad that was looking for me rather than Buffy when I was that age. I mean Angelus scared the crap out of me. Killed my fish too, still have to send him a bill for that. Oh great, now you're rambling in your thoughts. I wonder why Lupin was being weird about Rogue and her powers. I should probably ask him before too much longer. First step get some background images from Lexie for the portraits. Second step make them portraits. Third make all of the portraits be able to travel between the different portraits. Maybe Giles has some notes on magical portraits; I think it would be fun to be able to step into a portrait to visit.' Willow looked up a little startled to find herself already at the computer room.

Lexie frowned at Willow, "You've been standing there for a while are you okay?"

She blinked and shook her head, "Yeah I was just going over my mental check list. I was wondering if you had some ideas for landscape pictures that we could turn into portraits. You think you can find some good pictures?"

Lexie smiled as she jumped for her seat bouncing up and down in the swivel chair a bit, as her fingers flew over the keyboard. With a few key strokes an array of images popped up on the computer screen. "How about using some of these images for backgrounds or picnic places?"

Willow looked up at the screen before laughing, "You've been working on this for a while haven't you?"

"Just since yesterday really. I wanted to get a jump on the image work, besides I needed something with which to test out the network connections on all of the computers."

"What would we do without you Lexie?"

"Still be running apples?"

"Just because you are from a future time period doesn't mean you get to harp on my old computers."

She shrugged, "I did a report on them for history class once."

Willow chuckled as she sat at one of the workstations and brought up the e-mail program. She fired off a quick e-mail to Giles.

"Dear Giles,

I just wanted to say hello, and ask if you have ever heard of any books that mentioned enchanting portraits such that you could walk into the landscape. I hope that we can walk out of the portraits after we walk into them. I hope everyone is well. Tell the gang I miss them." She pushed the send key. "I'm not sure I like being out of touch so much. However, the truth is we still need time to prepare. I want my Xander back as well as my Buffy. Hopefully we can have the children go out and save the day one last time before we fade away back to the quiet life for a while."

Lexie smiled, "I like that idea. Anything that keeps me out of pointless combat for a while is nice. I want to at least get taller than Buffy before I go out slaying."

Willow smiled, "I hate to break it too you but you are already taller than Buffy."

"Damn, well how about taller then Dawn?"

"You might have a bit of time before that one."

Dawn smiled as she walked into the computer lab holding a sheet of paper, "Well it's not my fault that my sister is short. I think I figured out a way to get at the death eaters vaults."

Willow raised her eyebrows, "Oh really, and what would that be?"

"Well I was sort of thinking that if we had someone that could say steal people's memories as well as their magic we could easily get into their vaults. We would need a sweet loveable witch to pull off the robbery. If we had one of her concealment spells and maybe a do not look too close spell, we could slip someone into Gringotts with a witch's key. Oh, wait we do have someone that can absorb magical powers, and we do have a sweet witch that can cast those types of spells. Please don't ground me or tell Buffy."

Willow frowned, "So you want to try to get Rogue to drain a death eater? Steal their key and empty out their vault?"

Dawn nodded, "Basically, I mean I was rereading the Harry Potter books and it has been really pissing me off that they have all of this gold but are such nasty people and use the gold for hurting people and hiding. What if they didn't have the gold?"

Lexie shrugged, "I learned morals running with smugglers and other criminals so don't look at me. I'm all for ripping the bad people off and getting something out of the deal as long as that's not why we are doing it."

Dawn bounced up and down on the balls of her feet a few times, "So can I start working on the exact methods to pull this off?"

Willow looked at the sheets full of plans. She chuckled as Dawn hid them behind her back, "Just talk to Faith and Lupin about it. They might have some suggestions on whom to go after. What are you thinking about doing with the gold?"

"Well I was thinking of using it to fund the school Giles set up. I mean it would be risky to use it in Harry's world. So we might as well use it some place else."

"Alright consider yourself to have a green light. Though I suggest talking to Wolverine about involving Rogue in this mission, he might even go for it. He seems like the type that doesn't mind a little rule breaking."

Dawn glanced at Lexie and her lab coat, "So decided to wear clothes?"

"I have tried not wearing them a few times, but birthday suits don't really come with pockets for the computer tools. Besides I'm still getting used to having Wolverine running around, and well the lab coat is nice and comfy."

Willow shrugged, "Dawn just doesn't want to admit that all of her clothes, other than the large pajamas, stopped fitting her a while ago."

Dawn glared at Willow, "How come you have clothes that fit still?"

Willow smiled, "Hermione and me used a stretching charm on them, as well as Faith's clothes."

Dawn frowned, "I guess that would have worked, not quite as much fun though."

Willow shook her head, "Just get off and finish your notes. I mean just finish the notes." She blushed and turned back to the computer looking at the portrait images Lexie had picked out.

Dawn smiled, "Sounds like a plan. It's a pity Hermione is in class that first idea could be fun."

Lexie rolled her eyes as Dawn left, "Some days I think you are all strange people, other days I know you are."

Willow giggled, "Well that's what we do, save the world laugh about it later."

Wolverine sighed and muttered to himself, "Just be brave, you must have asked some girls out at some point, just walk up to her and ask her out it can't be that bad."

Faith chuckled from a few feet behind Wolverine, "So who is the lucky girl?"

He jumped and spun around before grumbling, "Look I'm not any good at this you want to eat something together like?"

"I would like that. Maybe afterwards we could talk some back in my room." She smiled as she headed for the private dinning room humming a lewd song about a sailor on leave, thinking, "I'm going to get lucky tonight."

Fred hovered in the air near the table in Cordelia's room. She concentrated on moving a block on the table with her ghostly fingers. With a slight shudder, the piece slid a little on the table. "Well at least I'm getting better at moving things."

"At least you don't have major head splitting visions, count yourself lucky."

"Well do you think we are going to be able to save everyone?"

"Not likely but I would rather try than not try at all. Besides, I owe Angel and crew something. I think we can cripple Wolfram and Hart though. If we play our cards right Illyria and Willow will be able to do a large amount of damage to the armies they sent."

"I just want to be able to save Weasley and the rest; they helped me out of that demon dimension when I needed it. They were the best friends a girl from Texas could want."

"I don't much care for the powers' views on things, evil gets help of all different types but we can't help the good guys even once otherwise we get tossed out. It's sort of crappy when you think about it." Cordelia grabbed her head in pain as a vision lanced through her skull.

Images of dark alleys flew across Cordelia's vision as she watched a young blond lady raise a sword above her head and bring it down with a vicious strike on a kneeling man's neck. The whispered phrase "There can be only one," echoed in her hearing as the man's head fell from his shoulders. A white mist crept up from the fallen body as lightening lanced out of the body into the girl and the surrounding buildings. The girl looked up at the sky as she screamed out in pain.

Cordelia looked up at Fred from the ground, "I hate visions of dead people when we have a battle to concern ourselves with."

"Are you going to tell me what the vision was about?"

Cordelia shook her head, "I don't really think that is a good idea. I'm not sure there is much we can do about the vision anyways, besides I don't want to try to have Willow use a tracking spell on someone that looks like… well never mind. Somehow I don't feel like I have to worry about this vision for a while."

Fred frowned, "Angel said your visions used to be of problems that had to be dealt with in a few hours or days at most."

"Well I think that changed when I stopped working for the powers. I got some visions of Angel and me together last night. However, I don't really see that happening any time soon. There was another girl in the visions as well. I think it was Nina, Angel's current girl friend."

"It might have something to do with your visions shifting from what the powers want you to see to forecasting things that are important to you."

"I don't know but I'm off to go write my vision down in my journal of spiky pain and suffering."

Fred pushed a block over with her finger, "I'm going to keep practicing."

Harry sighed as he looked at his textbook, "At least Rogue is having better luck controlling my magic than I am."

Hermione patted him on the head, "Well sensing people takes time. Not every wizard can do it."

"Rogue can if she uses my power to do it."

Rogue shrugged, "Ah just can, and I'm not quite sure how to explain it. I'm sure you will find a way to sense other people. After all it was your power I was borrowing."

"So how do you like being a witch Rogue?"

"I sort of like it, it is rather fun to have a power that actually does something fun for a change."

Lupin looked up from his desk, "How would you like to have a witch's power all of the time?"

Rogue shook her head, "That's not how it works, I only just to use the power for a little while after I have touched someone else."

"What happens if you touch them for longer?"

"They go into a coma like my first boy friend."

"Harry, do you mind if she reads the books about your life?"

Harry shrugged, "I guess not, everyone else has."

"What do you mean books about your life?"

Lupin smiled, "It seems that in Dawn and Willow's world Harry is a character in a book. Remarkably accurate series of books though."

"What's this have to do with wanting magic permanently?"

"Cordelia, our seer, had a vision of a possible future where you had magic. You absorbed the magic permanently from one of the villains in my world. I wanted you to read the story to give you an idea of what the people we would be going after are like. That way you will have some background when you decide if you want the vision to come true."

"So you're saying in a possible world I absorb the magic from one of the villains, and get to keep it. What happens to them?"

"I'm not totally sure; I just know what Cordelia said. That you would have magic and more if you chose to help us. I suggest just reading the book for now."

Rogue frowned but nodded, "Ah can read it then."

Hermione smiled, "I've got a copy in my room I can lend you."

"That would be helpful I guess I can work on it while I'm not practicing with my powers or fighting."

Meanwhile Willow finished placing a number of the new landscape portraits around the house in various places. Willow turned to look at Lily's picture, "So can you step into the new landscape?"

Lily stepped out of her picture frame and into the picture of a Quidditch field complete with a broom and equipment shed. Lily looked around at the sky and the field and all of the open space. "James and Sirius are going to love this. James has been waiting sixteen years to play a game."

Sirius stepped onto the field looking around, "Where did you find a picture of the Chudley Cannon's practice field?"

Willow shrugged, "Is that where that is? I stole it out of one of Ron's magazines. I figured it would work as a big open place and there was an equipment shed with brooms in it. Why don't you take them for a test ride."

Lily smiled as James and Sirius ran and grabbed a broom out of the shed to jump into the air and start flying around. "You know it will take them hours to come down now, right?"

"Yeah but at least they will have some fun, I have to teach a class pretty soon trying to get a bunch of wizards and witches to learn how to sense other peoples magic, something most of your type of witch can't do. It's just a little frustrating sometimes when I don't know what is possible and what's not. I just want to have everyone trained so that when we go out demon hunting we don't get hurt. Now that I have a family, I'm not sure I want to go out hunting demons but it's what slayers do. I know this, they know this, but I don't have too like it. Having a family changes a girl's priorities a lot. It was easier in school when it was all sort of a joke."

"Well I'm sure you will do fine, you seem like you are an excellent teacher. I don't believe hunting demons was ever a joke, it's just that when you're young you aren't as worried about the risks."

"Thanks, I guess it was never a joke, it was just something we could help make a difference with. I wish my research was going better on how to enchant the portraits so we could step into them."

Lily frowned, "I'm not sure it is possible though I guess if anyone could find a way to do it, it would be you. Thanks again for turning us into portraits rather than leaving us in that photo album. Now if the magic just let us change what we were wearing when we took the photo."

Willow smiled, "I think you look quite nice this way. But I should get going."