Chapter 54: Ambush in Elk Meadow

Buffy eased open the door to Luke's room and peered in at the dark-haired wizard. He was still in bed but his complexion was pinker so Buffy figured he was feeling better. The wounds on his neck had been healed thanks to Remus' skill with a wand but it had taken a while for Luke to recover from the blood loss. Buffy still wasn't sure what to think of the man but she was certainly worried about the First using Spike to attack him.

"Luke?" she called out softly.

His crystal blue eyes blinked open wearily and he gave her a half-hearted smile. "Alas, I fear the vampire killed me after all; for the sight of such an angel clearly indicates that I must be in heaven."

Buffy scowled at the mention of her one-time resting place and Luke's inability to go a moment without flirting. "Trust me, you are definitely not in heaven," she responded tersely.

"Are you sure?" he asked with a smile. "I cannot believe that the mortal world holds such beauty."

"Trust me, I would know," she snapped as she sat down in a chair opposite of him and crossed her arms. "Now, stop trying to be all Romeo and tell me if you're ready to be released."

He arched his brow. "My, my. You have a lovely bedside manner, Buffy. Ever thought of being a Healer?"

"No, I'm more interested in breaking bones than healing them. Want a demonstration?" she replied coolly.

Luke let out a stream of laughter. "No thank you, your pet vampire trying to kill me was enough for me."

"Then stop being so annoying and tell me what you want from us. Why introduce yourself to me in the club if you were all undercover man?"

If Buffy wasn't so sure that Luke was too cocky to do so, she could have sworn he blushed. "Ah, honestly? I was just supposed to observe to see what was going down but when I saw you sitting by yourself at the bar I couldn't stop myself."

"Oh," Buffy replied, feeling both flattered and uncomfortable. "But why observe? Why not be honest from the beginning and offer to help?"

Luke drew himself up and leaned against the wall. "Based on the reports about you, your group isn't the trusting sort. I knew if I just announced myself you would probably try to beat me up – and look how on the money I was," he said with a wry smile. "No, I thought I could help by staying behind the scenes."

"Yeah, James Bond you aren't," Buffy snorted.

"True, but I do look nice in a tux," he said with a brilliant smile.

Buffy rolled her eyes and pretended to yawn. "Suuuuure," she said in a bored voice as she internally laughed at Luke's indignant face.

"So here's the deal," she said as she changed the subject. "Apparently the First wants you dead which is bad for you but potentially good for us. Cuz, I'm not sure if you're the real deal but at least the First hates you, hence the whole 'enemy of my enemy is my friend' at the very least."

"Gee, thanks," Luke responded with dripping sarcasm.

"And I could use reinforcements so you and your magic stick – er, wand," she hastily amended, "could prove useful – if you're up to it."

Grabbing her hand tightly, he gave her a penetrating look. "Buffy, trust me when I say I want to work with you. I want my revenge. Besides," he said in a softer tone as he released her hand, "helping to defeat the First Evil will definitely help me get a promotion at work." He winked at her and Buffy had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. Luke Matthews was a cocky bastard but at least he was humorous.

"Good. But before we officially Scoobie-ize you, we want to verify your story with the Secretary. Luna's uncle just returned from his holiday trip and we need to visit him. Since he's in Portland we'll just kill two birds with one stone. How's that sound?"

"That'll work," he said thoughtfully. "When do you want to leave?"

"I want this done with. How's tomorrow? Bright and early Monday morning?"

"I'll have to send a message to my aunt, if that's alright. Or am I still your prisoner?"

Buffy leaned forward and gave him a hard look. "I'll release you. But I swear to god, if you do ianything/i to make me realize that trusting you was a bad idea I will wear your ribcage as a hat. Okay?"

Luke gulped silently and nodded. "You really are quite creative, aren't you? Do not fear, I completely understand what you mean. You can trust me Buffy, I swear."

With his wide blue eyes glowing at her in sincerity, Buffy was really hoping she could trust him. Because if not, she could have just made a big mistake. "Alright," she answered as she stood up and walked to the door. "Make yourself at home, Luke," she called as she turned around to give him one last look; to which he gave her a grateful smile.

Buffy walked down the stairs so she could inform everyone and get things prepared for tomorrow. She knew that Willow was busy dining with Sirius on the new patio (that she didn't learn about until Remus told her earlier, jeez is she always the last to know about things?) but figured she could let everyone else know. Luckily, it wasn't too hard to find people because she found Xander, Andrew, Vi, and Chloe battling it out in Mario Kart with Kennedy, Rona, and Molly watched them in the living room.

"Ah! Stop spitting those red turtle shells at me!" Andrew shrieked as his car was blown up.

"Mwahahaha!" Vi laughed evilly as pressed more buttons on her controller.

"Oh, yeah? Take that!" Xander shouted as everyone began wailing in misery.

"Nooo! Damn you I hate being tiny!" Andrew griped as his character shrank.

"This sucks! I'm in fourth place!" Chloe complained.

Trumpets began playing as Xander stood up and raised his arms. "Oh yeah! First place! First place! I am the Mario Kart champion of the world!" Everyone else scowled at his antics.

"Whatever, I take loser's place and then you'll get destroyed, Harris," Rona said snarkily.

"So glad to see you taking proper care of the potentials, Xander," Buffy commented from her post against the wall.

Xander gave her a guilty smile once he realized she was there. "Oops. Well, Chloe said she had never played before and Vi was bragging that she was the best, so of course we had to bust it out," he explained sheepishly.

"Uh-huh," Buffy sing-songed. Personally, she thought the potentials should really be spending every second training but last week she had an interesting talk with Sirius and Remus. They were discussing the Wizarding War that they fought in and how even though training was important, so was living life. Of course, it took a couple hours of arguing back and forth before it sunk in, but now Buffy was willing to let the girls blow off some steam – once in a while, anyways.

"Anyways, got an update on our wizard dude. Luna got word yesterday that her uncle is back in town so tomorrow we're going to Portland. Dawn will get her wand and Luke will introduce us to the Secretary."

"DID I HEAR YOU SAY I GET MY WAND?" came Dawn's screaming voice from the kitchen. Seconds later she was panting in the living room and giving Buffy an eager look.

"Yes, Dawn," Buffy replied patiently. "We're leaving tomorrow. Tell Luna to let her uncle know."

Dawn leapt up in the air and skipped back into the kitchen.

"So are we all going?" Molly asked. "I would love to see a Wizarding town!"

"Um, no," Buffy said with a wince as all the potential slayers began groaning. "Listen, you guys still have a price on your heads and I'm not leading all sixteen of us into the open. Just the witches and wizards get to go, plus me."

"So Kennedy and Luna get to go? That's not fair!" complained Chloe.

Buffy fought to roll her eyes. Who knew teenage girls could be so annoying?

"Yeah, I wanna go!" Andrew interjected.

Correction: Who knew teenage girls iand/i Andrew combined could be so annoying?

"They are witches and we're seeing Luna's uncle. Therefore, that makes sense that they go. The rest of you will stay behind with Giles, Andrew, Xander, and Anya."

"If Remus is going I'm going!" Anya called out from the kitchen.

"I'm not a freaking travel agent! Sheesh!" Buffy rolled her eyes.

"You sure the girls and us will be safe?" Xander asked. "Especially with Spike, once again, being crazy in the basement?"

"Spike is fine and he's not crazy," Buffy stated irritably. "Regardless he is chained up and guarded by wards that Remus designed. And the house is protected now by wards so we won't get attacked like before. It'll be fine and we'll only be gone for not even a whole day."

Or at least, that is what Buffy hoped. Here's hoping no one was going to prove her wrong.


By Monday morning all the wizards and witches of the house, plus Buffy, were looking forward to a trip to the Wizarding community of Portland. It had been decided that first the nine of them would visit Luna's uncle so Dawn could get her wand, then they would spend some time visiting the shops, and later visit the Secretary of the Department of Magical Affairs. While Luke had promised there were no standing orders from the Office of Secret Services to apprehend Sirius and Willow they were not taking any chances. To be safe the two had performed glamours on themselves. Now Willow had curly brown hair and a square face while Sirius had spiked brown hair and a crooked nose, among several other changes to their looks.

Luke held up a bright pink hula hoop. "Everyone ready? It's 9:58."

"Yup! I cannot wait for my wand," Dawn exclaimed as she touched grabbed the hoop.

"Dawn, you do realize that just because you have a wand does not mean that you can do whatever you want, right?" asked a cautious Remus as he took hold.

"Don't worry, Remus. I'll be good. And I promise I'll save all my pranks for Sirius," Dawn winked.

"Hey!" Sirius cried out as he and Willow grabbed onto the hoop. "Don't you dare even think about it."

"Now remember," Buffy said as Anya, Kennedy, and Luna placed the hands around the hoop. "Don't draw attention to yourself and keep in your pairs – Sirius and Willow, Remus and Anya, Dawn and Luna, and Luke, Kennedy, and me. There are too many of us and I don't want anyone getting lost or abducted."

"Yes, mom," Dawn chimed with a laugh. "I mean jeez, do you want us to hold our field trip buddy's hand, too?"

"Dawn, shut – ah!" Buffy let out a as the portkey activated.

Willow felt a tugging sensation around her navel and suddenly they were jerked through upwards. The space around them erupted into a rainbow of colors and as they traveled Willow thought she saw other images dimly flicker as they were passing them. The feeling of lightness was odd but not unpleasant, yet as soon as they landed roughly on the ground Willow felt sick to her stomach. And by the sounds of it, so did at least one other person.

"Willow, sweetheart, are you alright?" Sirius placed a hand on her shoulder. She shook her head, unable to speak for a moment as her head swam with dizziness.

"Oh my gaawd, this is how you guys travel?" Buffy asked in an ill voice. "This is the worst feeling I've ever had. besides the time I watched that movie about a witchy chef and that hottie from Boondock Saints," she added.

"Here, let me help you up," Luke offered congenially as he grabbed her elbow.

"I can get up on my own, you know," Buffy retorted harshly as she stood up unsteadily by herself – she always did hate people trying to take care of her.

"Everyone else okay?" Remus asked and was greeted by an assortment of 'yeses'.

Willow finally raised her head and stood up with Sirius' help. They were in a large grassy meadow that was surrounded by tall evergreen trees that seemed to go on forever. The weather was typical of what she had been told – the sky was overcast and a light sprinkle of rain fell on them. The air was chillier than southern California, only in the forties, and Willow was glad that Luke had advised them to wear jackets.

Suddenly Remus straightened his spine and sniffed the air. "Where are we?" he asked Luke with suspicious eyes.

"Don't worry; they're guardians to the entrance. Our location has always been here but when they decided to build the new Oregon Zoo inside Washington Park we had to get creative in hiding the entrance to Columbia Village," Luke explained.

"Columbia Village doesn't sound all that magical," Dawn commented with a crinkled nose. "Harry told me that their Wizarding village is called Hogsmeade."

"Yes, well sorry if we'd rather name our village after the life-saving waters of the Columbia River than a stupid farm animal," Luke snapped. "Bloody Brits," he muttered under his breath.

A howl sounded through the rain and Willow clutched Sirius' arm. "What was that?" she asked nervously.

"We are in Elk Meadow right now, which is located inside the zoo. On this side of the meadow exists the entrance to the Village, as well as where the wolves live. But don't worry, they are magically trained," Luke explained calmly.

"Great," Willow said with false cheer. The idea of bloodthirsty animals being out in the open really did not comfort her. She glanced over at Remus and noticed he also looked uneasy being around the wolves. Not surprisingly, she also saw Luna was gazing at everything with wide eyes and a dreamy smile.

"Follow me," Luke ordered as he began crossing the meadow. "You see, the village used to exist in the deep woods of this valley but as the Muggles began building the land decreased. Many years ago the former Secretary managed to get the Muggle government to convert this area of land into a park and we set up Muggle repellent charms around the area. When they crafted a park into the woods – quite frankly doing a good job of not terribly disturbing the ancient trees – we managed to get a special breed of wolves in this area. They help prevent Muggles from trespassing while allowing wizards to travel easily."

"How come the Muggles didn't build the zoo over your village?" Dawn inquired.

"Besides the Muggle-repellent charms we also managed to influence their architect. If you ever see a map of the zoo you'll notice that the zoo ends at Elk Meadow. Past there is the stretch of woods where the village is hidden. Muggles avoid it and if they fly over it they just see a stretch of trees," he informed her.

"Cool," Dawn murmured with a wide smile.

Suddenly four loud cracks sounded in the meadow and the air erupted with howling wolves. Sirius, Remus, Luke, Kennedy, and Luna yanked their wands out and Willow tried to see where the newcomers were – something didn't feel right.

Loud cries split the air. i"Petrificus Totalus!" "Stupefy!" "Petrificus Totalus!" "Petrificus Totalus!" /i

Willow felt her arms and legs lock together as she crashed to the ground, landing on her side. Nearby she saw Remus, Sirius, and Luna follow suit.

"Watch out!" Buffy cried as she pushed Kennedy out of the path of a spell.

"Dawn!" Luke cried out as he grabbed the younger girl and yanked her down; narrowly missing a stream of red light.

"We're here for Sirius Black!" yelled a cruel accented voice that erupted in a high-pitched cackle.

"By order of the Office of Special Services, I command you to surrender your wands at once!" Luke declared.

"Ha! Not likely, boy!" he woman cackled. She, like the other three, was dressed in black robes and wore silvery masks that glinted in the light of the spells. "iDefodio!/i!" she shouted as she aimed her wand at Luke.

i"Protego/i!" The spell bounced harmlessly off and he began blasting spells at the four intruders. Without a moment's hesitation Kennedy joined in the fight.

"You bitch! You're not taking anyone!" Buffy growled as she leapt into the fray.

"Dawn, stay back!" Luke ordered as he jumped and rolled forward to blast a spell at one of the robed men who grunted in pain.

Willow gritted her teeth and tried to move but the spell that was cast on her was strong – much stronger than the one Tonks had done to her at Hogwarts. i'Of course, you could break out if you just released your magic,/i' a dark voice whispered in her air. The worst part was, Willow knew that voice was right. She could single-handedly take out their enemies and fix everyone…

But she also knew that sort of arrogance is what caused her addiction in the first place. No, she would have to control herself and break free without releasing the darker side of her powers. No way did she was to recreate what happened at Hogwarts and slip again.

Hopefully Buffy, Luke, and Kennedy would be able to help them.


"Remus!" Anya cried out as she touched his shoulder. "Are you okay?" When he didn't reply she began to shake him. "Come on, get up, and kick some wizard ass!"

"Looks like the mangy half-breed isn't up to fighting, love," said an Scottish gruff voice behind her. "Now, I know I'm not supposed to kill anyone today but the boss did just mention people, Seein' as 'ow this beast ain't a man – well, don't think I'll be breaking the rules, will I?" he laughed darkly.

"Don't you idare/i touch him!" Anya spat angrily.

"Right. What's a Muggle broad like you going to do? Now get out ov' me way so I don't break the boss' rules and kill you too, alright?" he asked as he pointed his wand at her.

Anya eyed Remus' wand that lay off to the side, within her grasp. She grabbed it and jumped up to point it at the man. "Leave him alone," she growled like a protective mother bear backed into a corner.

The man began laughing. "'Oo are ye tryin' to kid? Yer not a witch! What are ye gunna do, poke me in my eye?"

Adrenaline coursed through her veins at the dangerous situation. When she was newly mortal she preferred to run away rather than confront evil. But somewhere along the way, thanks to Xander, she had changed. And now she liked Remus and enjoyed their many make-out sessions – no to mention that she was still sexually frustrated and she sure as hell wasn't going to let some masked man kill him before they even got to have sex! Something triggered in her brain and before she allowed herself to think about it she yelled. "iStupefy/i!"

A blast of red light erupted from Remus' wand and smacked the man in his gut before he fell backwards with a cry of surprise. She gazed at the wand in wonder. "What the hell?"


Buffy performed a front kick that dislodged the woman's wand and followed it with a quick jab to the throat that prevented the witch from incanting another spell. "What's with your masks? Is your face really that ugly that you need to hide it? I mean, I guess the mask is nicer than a paper bag," Buffy commented lightly as she hit the woman across the face.

The witch stumbled and fell to the ground. "You stupid Muggle! You think you're powerful but you do not stand a chance against our master!" Then she began fervently looking through the thick grass for the wand that Buffy had knocked out of her hand.

"Yeah, yeah, that's what they all say," Buffy said as she went to grab the woman. But a force of energy slammed into the back of her skull and suddenly everything went dark.


"Dawn!" Luke shouted as he grabbed her and pulled her back. "iStupefy!/i" he shouted at the masked man who had narrowly hit Dawn with a spell.

"Dawn, go drag the others to safety. You're going to get hurt out here with a wand," he ordered in a concerned voice.

"You're right! I need a wand!" Dawn shouted as she ducked and tumbled her way to Luna. "May I?" she asked the incapacitated girl as she yanked the wand out of her hand. She felt guilty about taking it but she had to be practical. Off to the side she saw a burly, heavyset masked man knock Anya unconscious with a curse. She said the first spell that came to mind.

"iAguamenti!/i" Like the other day, a geyser of water erupted from her wand and flattened the man against the grass

"One down," Dawn glanced around and saw Luke and Kennedy each dueling a masked person, "two to go? Wait, where's the other person?"

"Right here, little witch," said a smooth, oily voice. Dawn spun around and pointed her wand at him, although her hand trembled slightly. He was tall, far over six feet, and towered over the still forms of her friends. "So you're the Slayer's younger sister? Hmm, interesting."

"Get away from them," she ordered grittily as she noticed his wand slowly pointing at Willow, Sirius, Remus, Luna, and Anya one by one.

"You know, we are here for Black… But I think what will really make today a good day is a murder."

Dawn crept closer as she racked her mind for spells. Sure, she had some Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons but she wasn't an expert at all. She knew 'iprotego/i' was a shield spell and some minor hexes that could incapacitate him, but she wasn't sure if she could fire off a spell before he fired off one of his own – one that could kill someone she loved.

"Well, if you're into murder this really isn't the place for you. Trust me, you do not want to mess with us," Dawn responded with more confidence than she felt.

"Why? Because the slayer will be mad if I hurt you?" he snickered.

"Oh yeah," Dawn shook her head. "She'll kill you. Actually, she'll torture you first. She has friends who enjoy torturing for fun. Actually those friends also love me like a little sister and believe me – you so do not want to piss off the Scourge of Europe or William the Bloody!"

His head cocked to the side and she felt him examine her. "True, but then again it would be rather interesting to unhinge the Slayer by killing his sister." He let out a deep chuckle. "Now this is the sort of fun that I have been missing."

He raised his wand and Dawn quickly said, "iProtego/i!"

An uproar of laughter was let out at the sound of her spell. "Stupid girl. The killing curse can't be stopped by that."

"Killing?" Dawn asked in confusion; no one had told her about that curse.

"Avada Kedavra!"


A/N:

It's been 2 years since I've been in Portland but I still remember it fairly well. However, online maps helped as well. Here's a map of the zoo and you will see Elk Meadow in B-2 & C-2 .

*Unless you live in a cave, you know that Buffy died and went to heaven at the end of S5

*Luke asking Buffy if she ever thought about being a healer is a reference to ladyvisionary's 'Roads Travelled' series on this site. It just made me smile and I randomly thought of it :)

*"This is the worst feeling I've ever had. besides the time I watched that movie about a witchy chef and that hottie from Boondock Saints," she added. ha, a reference to a SMG movie that even she admits to not enjoying :)