"So, this is the necklace that you were found with?" Willow asks, picking up the discarded pendant that lay on Buffy's vanity.

Willow had been released from the hospital a week ago and was given the all cleared to return to her normal activities as long as she took it easy for the next few weeks. And for that, it was the call for the low-key celebration, with her spending the night, along with Xander. They had had had a Friday the 13th movie marathon with lots of pizza and ice cream, in behalf and thanks to Joyce Summers credit card that was left on her desk in her study – with it being Friday the 13th, it was only the right to do, of course.

Xander had just left. Joyce insisted on driving him home, with it being dark now, and Xander's run-down car is currently sitting dead in his driveway, till he made enough money doing yard work to replace the car battery and head gasket that frizzled out earlier that week. And with it being Friday the 13th, Buffy's mom had insisted even more so, to drive Xander home – even with Buffy reassuring her that Friday the 13th didn't mean anything for the supernatural here on the Hellmouth, and Xander showing her that he had his stake, cross, and holy water toy squirt gun with him. But Joyce, bless her heart, wasn't having any of it.

And who was Xander to turn down a quicker way to get home that also involved less chance of him becoming dinner?

Usually, Xander would have had just crashed in the living room with them; she and Willow share the pull-out queen sofa bed, and Xander either passing out on the sofa chair or the lounge-chaise in the corner of the room. But Xander's dad had gotten him an odd job at one of their elderly neighbors' homes the following morning, which needed Xander up and ready earlier in the morning, with an estimate of ending around noon. And as much as Xander liked crashing at Buffy's after movie night, with his girls – he was still about $620 in the negative to getting his car fixed – and that was after his dad had promised to cover all the labor fees... All Xander had to do, was pay for the actual parts, which he now had 40%-45% covered, with saved up money from previous odd jobs from the last few years.

Buffy was currently pulling out the trundle bed from underneath her bed in her room, unhooking and separating it from the main bed frame so that she could slide it further out into the center of her bedroom for Willow. "Yep, fitted perfectly for a one-year-old baby, definably not for a sixteen-year-old girl."

(AN: I know Buffy at the end of season two is seventeen, but I'm changing the timeline of season two a bit, with it ending right before Christmas/Winter break instead of it ending near the springtime, therefore her seventeenth birthday being only a couple of weeks away in this chapter. Also, instead of Buffy moving to Sunnydale during her sophomore year in mid-winter as the show originally had it, let's say she moved only two weeks into the start of the new school year, so late August or early September; before Labor Day weekend, during her 10th-grade year.)

"It's beautiful."

Buffy hummed, grabbing the spare pillows and blankets for her window flip-top bench, "Yea, it really is." She agreed. "Too bad, I can't get it to open to see what's inside it."

Willow frowned, "Strange that it seems to be immune to your slayer strength…" Buffy was still stumped as to how that was as well. She could practically pick up a full-size car on her own – so not being able to pry open a locket was a major kick to the ego, and it colored her confused. "Are you sure it's an actual locket that opens?"

"I'm pretty sure, but then again, who knows? Maybe it isn't, and just looks like it does since it's like…ya know, ancient and stuff?"

"Well, maybe I can look at some of Giles' books and see if I can find an unlocking spell for it? Maybe it's a special type of metal that holds a lot more strength than silver or gold?"

Buffy couldn't help but laugh at the redhead, "You just restored Angel's soul from who knows where, and yet you don't know any unlocking spells, Wills?"

"Hey!" Willow shot back playfully, "I took a speed course from Ms. Calendars notes' on how to get Angel back! I didn't really have a whole lot of the time to start with the basics… though knowing an unlocking spell could come in handy if I were ever to forget my keys or get locked out one day – which hasn't happened yet. But it could!"

"As much as I would like to know if there is something inside that…" Buffy sat dejectedly on her bed with a small bounce, staring at the necklace in Willow's hands, "There's also a part of me that doesn't want to know either…"

Willow fingered the pendant still in her hands, taking a seat next to Buffy on the bed, "Is there a part that's stronger than the other?"

"Not really sure?"

"Well here –" Willow moved her arms around the blonde. Bringing the necklace up to Buffy's neck, barely getting the two ends of the necklaces chain to touch before an electric shock hit the two of them at the same time – the lights in the room flickering on and off – causing Willow to yelp and drop the necklace into Buffy's lap. Buffy jumped at the odd sensation that ran through her body after the initial shock.

"What was that?"

"No idea?"

"Um, maybe most likely some weird static electricity from the two edges of the chain rubbing against one another or something like that…" Willow mumbled a little nervous – this was, after all, Sunnydale, and whenever weird things happened here, it usually meant more than just some 'weird static electricity.'

"Girls – " Both Buffy and Willow jumped at Joyce appearing in Buffy's doorway, neither of them having heard her come in through the garage door attached to the back den, where Joyce had set up her home office, for when she needed to bring work home with her on the weekends, "Did the lights flicker on and off up here too?"

"Ahhh, yea, why?"

"Huh, must be a power surge that went through the block? I just got in and saw the street lights had a glitch outside as well as in the house..."

"Huh, maybe we should look into that solar stuff that Willow keeps raving about with those backup battery packs in case the power ever goes out?"

"Oh, yea!" Willow nodded fidgetily – still wigged out from what just happened with the locket. "Solar and wind power are definitely the way of the future, for sure, and it's even supposed to cut your electric bill down by like seventy to ninety percent, depending on where you live and stuff! Some homes Ms. Summers, I read, even get paid each month from the electric companies!" Willow was gushing now in her excitement over her science talk, "I've even started a petition and fundraiser approved by the school board to raise money to get Sunnydale High to get solar panels placed on the roof of the school!

Joyce nodded in agreement, "I read an article about that a few months back, actually. It's something to think about over the next year or two if it's worth the investment for us and this house... Anyways, girls, I'm going to head to bed in a bit. I just wanted to let you two know I was back and that Xander got into his house with no issues."

"That's good!" Willow nodded.

Joyce nodded again but paused, looking at the two suspiciously for a few moments, "Whatever is going on here, I don't think I want to know…"

"Nah, we were just talking about the locket I was left with at the orphanage." Buffy shrugged off, trying to reassure her mom.

"Oh." Joyce didn't know what to say. The adoption was still a touch and go subject for her and Buffy.

Willow noticing the uncertainty in Ms. Summers's face, quickly spoke up, "So, no vampire or demon sightings then?"

Joyce wasn't sure if she should take the question seriously or to laugh at it – it all being so surreal to her still, "Thankfully no! But I can honestly say I am no longer second guessing paying a bit more for the house because of the addition of the attached garage that the previous owners had added on three years back... It makes me feel a lot better not having to walk from the car to the front porch at night, even with it being only a few steps and all…"

"Sense of peace knowing the garage is off-limits to uninvited vampires, that's for sure!" Willow agreed, nodding her head eagerly.

Buffy nodded in agreement as well, her eyebrows pulling together slightly as she ran her mom's words through her head. She had not really thought of it before and couldn't help but be thankful for the attached garage as well now. Shuddering at the thought of Angel when he was Angelus or some other vampire, like Spike or Drusilla getting to her mom when she was so close to safety... Only steps outside from their home, blissfully unaware, until only two weeks ago, of what went bump in the night… If they didn't have the attached garage to their house – well, Buffy didn't want to think of the what-ifs and whatnots to that.

"Anyways, I'm off to bed for the night girls – no –" Joyce shot a look at her daughter, "Wandering off from the house for the night, got it?"

Buffy grimaced. Her mom still wasn't completely over the fact that she had been sneaking out to slay for roughly the past two years and wasn't shy about letting Buffy know she wasn't over it. "I won't, mom, promise! Besides, Willow's here, and that'd be rude of me to go running out on her, with her being a guest and all…"

"Oh, I don't mind!"

Another grimace and a side glance at her best friend to zip it, "No, it'd be rude, Will. But regardless, I totally wasn't planning on heading out tonight, mom. Tonight was reserved strictly for Willow and Xander time, Giles approved – even ordered it! I think he wanted a break too since things have been quiet since two weeks when all the crazed died down!" Buffy smiled a little in thought, "Probably wanted the quiet time to organize his book collection and tea bags... ya know, typical British Liberian stuff that he normally is too busy to do because of Watcher stuff –"

"Oh –" Willow perked up, "Or maybe he's watching those old British TV shows that he and Xander got his satellite dish to pick up over Thanksgiving break!"

"Or reading some old boring history book about something or the other."

"Hmm... I do wonder what Giles likes to do for fun when we aren't around?"

"I wonder too, now that you mention it..."

"Do you think he's still hurting from Ms. Calendar? It's only been over two months?"

"I don't know. Whenever I try to bring it up to him, he quickly changes the subject. So, I would assume he's still trying to deal and just doesn't want to talk about it? They did get close real quick, once she found out about our big secret..., so I'd imagine he needs some more time..."

"It's so sad. Ms. Calendar was great for Giles – and him for her..."

"It is... I know Angel is really torn up about it and feels he's all to blame. He left a note for Giles – but Giles said he doesn't blame Angel, even if in the moment he did... I just hope it won't drown both him and Giles..."

"Girls?"

"Oh, sorry, mom, got sidetracked there! But I'm actually feeling way too lazy to do anything other than have a little bit of girl chat and maybe watch another movie or two before crashing for the night! Ya know, normal teenage stuff for once!"

Joyce nodded, "Good, normal – that is good! Not that I am asking you to stop being the slayer, since I know that you can't just stop – even though I do wish you could –... But, since you can't, I don't want all your teenage years to revolve around just that. A good balance is needed. And normal lazy teenage activities, I will fully encourage and endure!"

"Slayer slacking on the job can be my name for the night then!"

Joyce shook her head at her daughter, not being able to help the small chuckle that slipped out as she did, "Anyways..., night girls."

"Night!" They both called back as Joyce softly closed Buffy's bedroom door.

They waited a few moments, hearing Joyce's bedroom door close as well before turning back to one another, "So, in all realness, do you think that deserves to be on the Sunnydale wiggins scale?"

Willow hummed, "By Sunnydale standards, I rate it a solid three out of ten…"

"That's pretty low on Sunnydale's totem pole."

Willow nodded, standing up, picking up two different movies for Buffy to view, "Anyways – continuing on with horror or moving on to more happy fluffy themes for the next movie?"

"Hmm, tough choice."

On the other side of the Atlantic, a group of witches and wizards were scattered around a kitchen dining table, as well as the sitting room adjoined to that kitchen. It was nearing eight in the morning there in London, and they had had a long night – or early morning – whichever you would like to call it. Ever since the Ministry attack last spring with Voldemort being outed by the Ministry, now being declared as officially being back, his followers were not as shy as they had been the last fifteen years – attacks were increasing.

They weren't as large or orchestrated as they once were, but they were growing.

There had been an attack in a southern Scottish Wizarding town around four am this morning. A patronus had been sent to Kingsley, and Mad-Eye alerting them of the attack from a former Oder member who lived in the small Wizarding town. Within minutes around twenty former Oder members, including their small group, fought the sixteen Death Eaters that were present… Two Death Eaters were captured before the rest had disapparated. The captured taken to the Ministry for the Auror's special investigation team to handle for further questioning.

They were now relaxing… breakfast had been cooked and eaten in silence – the graveness starting to settle in – they were once again, back to where they were fifteen years ago as if Voldemort had never left in the first place.

It was quiet, except for the few teacups clicking around from those who were on to drinking their second or third cup of the morning – till the lights flickered, a rush of wind swapping through the old house, rattling the floorboards, and shaking the old walls as it did.

"What in the bloody hell was that?"

"Alert the Headmaster."

"What for?"

"Just alert the Headmaster – tell him it's urgent!"