Buffy knew immediately that she was in a Slayer dream. After so many years, she could easily recognize the difference in texture between those and her regular dreams.
She occupied a primo table at the Bronze in this one. The band, which looked suspiciously like Dingoes, sounded good, playing to a packed dance floor. She realized it was the old Bronze, pre-Olaf, and reveled for a second in the familiarity.
"Seems like a neat club," the dark-haired woman across the table said as she sipped her coffee. "Good coffee, too." Her jade green eyes bored in on Buffy, and her voice carried a soft Irish lilt.
"Do I know you?"
"No. Not yet. You will eventually. You know a friend of mine, Dave Grey."
"Willow's Grey?"
"Used to be my Grey, but yeah, that's the one."
"Who are you?"
"My name's Jess. Grey and I used to go together."
"Willow told me about you! You're the evil witch!" Buffy moved to a defensive stance before she remembered it was a dream. Jess waved her to her seat.
"I'd really rather not fight. Short on time, you see. It won't solve anything either, since I'm not her."
"Huh?"
"I made a mistake fighting an evil wizard. I drew on too much magic power and it … the term Grey used is 'hijacked my soul.' Except it's a little more complex than that, which is why I'm here."
"Sounds not of the good." Buffy sat back down.
"No, it's not. So I get locked away inside, while all the bad parts of me are running the show." The girl took another sip of coffee.
"So why are you here talking to me? How are you here talking to me?"
"Second question first. You," she pointed at Buffy, "are the Slayer. Slayer dreams are much easier to access. You live on a Hellmouth, again lowering the level of difficulty. The other night, Grey upset the balance a bit, gave me a little more leverage. Also, she's really powerful. I can grab a bit of it and sneak out without being noticed."
Buffy nodded, only partially understanding the explanation.
"As for the why," Jess continued, "I need to get Grey a message, and you, hon, are the best I could do. Ready? You need to remember every word."
Focusing, Buffy nodded again.
"Call Grey David. I'm the only one allowed to. Tell him I want apple cinnamon this year." Buffy looked at her oddly. "What, you never use codes? Just tell him that. He'll know it's from me. Now, here's the message: Tell him that the Spring Rain won't be enough, that You-Know-Who did more than talk. What was done has to be undone on the inside. Did you get that?"
"David. Apple Cinnamon. You-Know-Who did more than talk. Spring Rain isn't enough. Undone from the inside."
Jess frowned at her, but accepted the brief repeat.
"That's it. And tell Willow …" The dark-haired girl choked up, surprising the Slayer. A tear sneaked out before she could stop it. "Tell Willow to take care of him."
"I will. "
"You need to go now." She came around and hugged Buffy, more tears in her eyes. "You'll remember all of this when you see him in person. And Buffy? Thanks."
"You're welcome," the Slayer replied drowsily.
"For what?" Dawn asked. Buffy sat up, once again returned to her bed. Daylight streamed through the windows. "I need you to drive me to school in ten, 'kay?"
Exams crept up on Harry and company with terrifying speed. All research into Jess' condition went on hold, preempted by abundant school work. Harry had mostly done well, even in Potions, and so wasn't too concerned. Hermione, of course, donned her drill sergeant persona with him, and especially with Ron. Their budding relationship gave her all sorts of new leverage to force him to study, though he seemed to feel that the rewards were greater this time around and actually griped less.
At breakfast on the first morning of midterms, an elderly barn owl dropped a note for Harry.
Harry,
I'm on my way. I know you're involved with the troubles at school, but try to stay safe as much as you can. Should see you around Christmas, if I can manage it. If any more trouble comes, owl Remus.
Snuffles
"Look at this," he said, handing it to Ron and Hermione.
"That'll be good, then," Ron said, "having Sirius around. I wonder if he'll stay in the castle this time."
"I doubt it," Hermione said, giving Ron her don't-be-so-stupid look. "It's still mostly secret. He'll want to meet with us alone."
"D'you s'pose we should tell Grey?" Ron asked.
"I don't think so. He was an auror, remember? He probably doesn't feel too warmly towards Sirius."
"He'll believe us," Hermione countered. "I think it would be a mistake to keep this from him." Harry needed to think about it, so he suggested they discuss it later. Despite Hermione's evil eye, they agreed.
"I'm nervous about Professor Giles' final," Hermione said, skimming through her Dark Arts notes as they continued to talk.
"Why? Of all people, you'll do well. You're his favorite student."
"That doesn't mean anything, Ron. He's very fair."
"I think you're worrying too much, Hermione," Harry said. "He can't get his research assistant failed out of school, even if you didn't know everything already."
She harrumphed and went back to her notebook.
"Is it hard?" From the hallway, they were watching the fifth-years take their Dark Arts final.
"Yup," Willow said with a bit of glee. Grey noticed early on that she shared Hermione's enthusiasm for schoolwork. "He asked them to write an essay on the nature of evil. I think he's grading more on the how than the what of their essays, though. That's way easier."
"You aren't grading them?" Giles leaned heavily on Willow to lighten his workload.
"No, he said," she put on her faux-English accent, "Willow, I could not very well accept a paycheck for teaching this class and not grade the final exam." Grey nodded.
"Tara decide whether she'll help Snape next semester?"
"She's doing the waffle. She loves potions and hates Snape."
"Understandable."
"I think she will, though."
"When are Buffy, Xander and Dawn coming for the holidays?"
"On the 22nd, so what …" She paused, counting. "Six days. They'll stay until the 27th."
"You haven't told me what you wanted yet."
"Thought you said you were Jewish," she said, confused.
"I am. Chanukah, remember?"
"Oh yeah. Duh. Sorry, been doing the Wiccan thing for awhile." She had actually already ordered Grey's gift through Xander, but didn't want Grey to feel pressured to buy anything for her. "I don't know. Haven't thought about it."
"I'll surprise you, then." He grinned mischievously and walked away.