CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE: THE LETTER
Four weeks later and things were practically back to normal. Ron and Draco still tried to best each other at chess every evening, Harry and Buffy secluded themselves away in their room, and Hermione began studying like a woman possessed, even though exams weren't for another six months. Everything was basically perfect.
Of course, as always, as soon as one area of life is perfect, another takes a drastic dive. Buffy could feel it in the pit of her stomach. She knew that something was about to change. Something drastic. She just didn't know what. She was having trouble sitting still, a restlessness taking over her body and making her fidget with far too much energy. Her morning runs had become longer, and she'd re-built some of her speed that she'd lost earlier in the term.
The group sat at the dinner table, Draco still sitting with the Gryffindors even though he was sleeping back in the Slytherin area of Hogwarts. Ron was shovelling food into his mouth as though he'd never seen a proper meal before. Hermione and Buffy were comparing their assignment topics for their Transfiguration class, and Harry was adding his own advice whenever he felt the need.
The sudden arrival of hundreds of owls in the Great Hall captured everyone's attention. Ron unwrapped the parcel from his parents, grinning widely when he saw the cake his mother had made, for no other reason than that she could. Ginny received something very similar. Hermione got her weekly letter from her parents, and Buffy grabbed the letter from Sara that had become habit over the last three months.
Buffy glanced around the room and saw Tara's face light up when she received a letter that was written on a very familiar stationary set with kittens decorating the envelope. Buffy knew without a doubt that it was from Willow.
When she'd asked the redhead about her correspondence with Tara, Willow had blushed but had stumbled through her answer of them just being pen pals who swapped spells and stories about their different experiences. Buffy didn't know for sure, but she suspected that there was more there than met the eye. The blush was nothing unusual, but Buffy could remember her first meeting with Willow.
I can usually make a few vowel sounds and then I have to go away.
And whilst Willow's confidence had sky-rocketed since that day over three years ago, Buffy could read her best friend like the back of her hand. She'd been fairly certain that Willow was completely straight, but there was something about the nervousness that reminded Buffy of when Willow had first met Oz.
Buffy could only hope that neither of her two friends got hurt by it. Or, she could have been reading things horribly wrong, but she'd always been fairly good at reading people.
She watched Tara read through the note, and Buffy straightened when she saw Tara tense.
Tara looked up and her eyes met Buffy's. Tara stood and began making her way to the Gryffindor table. Buffy knew that this wasn't a good thing, and got up to meet her halfway.
"What's wrong?" Buffy demanded.
"It's…it's…"
"Did something happen to Will? Or to Xander?" Buffy asked.
"N-no. It, uh…" Tara could barely speak. Instead, she handed over Willow's letter.
Dear Tara,
Sorry for the shortness of this note. I'm currently at the hospital with Faith. She was hurt really badly three days ago, which is why it's taken so long for me to answer your letter. Your owl found me at the hospital somehow. Can you please tell Buffy about what's happened.
Yours, Willow.
Buffy felt her heart plummet. It wasn't as though she and Faith were particularly close. In fact, they'd said barely ten words to each other. But there was something in Faith that Buffy recognised within herself. And while Buffy may not have been the real Slayer, she had taken on that burden for two and a half years. She'd read the loneliness in Faith's eyes and seen through the tough-girl act immediately.
"Oh god," Buffy whispered.
"Are y-you and Faith close?" Tara asked.
Buffy shook her head. "No. But she and Willow are."
"I k-know," Tara replied.
Tara had heard a lot about Faith, the Vampire Slayer. She'd been awed that Willow knew an actual Slayer. It was fairly impressive in Tara's mind.
"I should go there…see how Will's holding up," Buffy said.
Tara hesitated for a moment before deciding to jump in with both feet.
"Will you take me with you?"
Buffy looked at the shy girl in surprise, not only because she'd been bold enough to ask, but because she'd managed to do so without a stutter.
She thought about her answer carefully for a moment. She had no idea how close Willow and Tara really were, but she knew that refusing Tara's request would probably not earn her any points in either the blonde's or the redhead's books.
"Yeah. Of course. Let me just go tell Harry and the others," Buffy said.
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The two blonde girls apparated to the car park of the hospital in London. Tara looked around in shock, having never actually apparated anywhere before in her life. It was certainly unlike anything she'd ever experienced before.
"That was…y'know, kind of neat," Tara said.
Buffy smiled and steered Tara towards the entrance. The taller blonde girl looked around uncomfortably. She'd been raised in a world of magic by her mother until she was fourteen. When her mother had died, she'd been taken to a muggle hospital, and she hadn't been back to one since. The familiar sights and smells of it all was bringing back painful memories for her.
"Hey, you okay?" Buffy asked, noticing Tara's discomfort.
"I don't like h-hospitals," Tara admitted.
"Me neither," Buffy replied.
The two girls made their way to Faith's room after asking the receptionist where to find the injured girl. Buffy hesitated before entering. Her gaze swept over the bed-ridden Slayer and then to the redhead who was seated in a hard plastic chair keeping watch over her friend.
"Wills?"
Willow looked up, a smile lighting her face as she took in the familiar face of her best friend. When she noticed Tara as well, her smile became even brighter. She embraced Buffy tightly, and stepped back.
Willow and Tara looked at each other hesitantly for a moment. Willow breathed in deeply before stepping forward and hugging the younger girl. Buffy smiled softly, knowing she hadn't been wrong in her earlier speculation about the two girls. And as long as they were happy, then so was she. Besides, she was definitely an expert on unconventional relationships.
Buffy stepped closer to Faith and stared at the girl. It was strange looking down at someone who she'd only ever seen as vibrant and full of life. Faith had always seemed unable to sit still, and seeing her unconscious was a shock, even though she and Faith weren't terribly close.
"How is she?" Buffy asked.
"The doctor's say that she should be okay," Willow replied softly. "It was touch and go there for a while, but…she's definitely a fighter."
Buffy nodded slowly. "She's a Slayer."
"I wasn't expecting to see you here," Willow said. "Either of you."
"Well, I figured you probably needed a friend," Buffy explained.
Willow nodded thankfully. It had been depressing just watching Faith sleep for the last few days. She understood that it was Faith's body's way of healing and that it was necessary for Faith to recuperate after such an injury.
"How are you h-holding up?" Tara asked quietly.
Willow shrugged and shook her head, sighing softly. She'd never liked hospitals. The Scoobies seemed to spend too much time there, and it hadn't ever been fun for any of them.
"Tired," Willow admitted.
Buffy turned to look at her best friend in concern. "When was the last time you ate anything?"
Willow paused for a moment, trying to remember. She shrugged helplessly. Buffy rolled her eyes and pulled out a blank piece of paper as well as her wand. She transfigured the paper into British Pounds and handed the money to Tara, who took it with wide eyes.
"It that legal?" she questioned.
Buffy just shrugged. "Probably not. Can you make sure she eats something?" she asked.
Tara nodded and nervously took Willow by the hand. Buffy smiled at the faint blush that rose on Willow's cheeks. The door closed behind them and Buffy moved to sit in the seat Willow had vacated.
Not even three minutes after Willow and Tara had left, the door opened. Buffy looked up, slightly startled. She'd expected to see a doctor or a nurse, not the man in the tweed suit with dark brown hair and thin wire-framed glasses.
"Oh, uh…terribly sorry," he stuttered. "Didn't mean to disturb."
"S'okay. Who're you?" she asked, although she had a fair idea of who this man was.
"A friend," he replied.
"Her Watcher?" Buffy asked.
The man began spluttering. He removed his glasses and began polishing them furiously. Buffy grinned. She'd seen Giles do that so many times whenever he was angry, frustrated or just plain lost for words.
"She…she told you?" he asked.
Buffy shook her head, not wanting to get the Slayer in trouble. She'd had it drilled into her by both Merrick and Giles that she needed to keep the Slayer thing a secret.
"Not as such. My name's Buffy Summers," she said, standing and holding her hand out to him.
He hesitated for a moment, trying to gauge what sort of a threat this girl could be. His eyes wept over her petite form, and he finally conceded to shaking her hand.
"Wesley Wyndham-Pryce," he replied. He paused momentarily and looked at her again. "Buffy Summers, did you say?"
Buffy nodded.
"Good lord," he whispered.
Buffy felt for her wand and felt safer when her fingers curled around the cool handle of it.
"You're…well…You-Know-Who's daughter, aren't you?" he asked.
"Yup. That'd be me," she replied flippantly.
"What do you want with Faith?" Wesley asked, suddenly feeling incredibly frightened of the small girl who looked tensed and ready for battle.
"You've met Willow Rosenburg right?" Buffy asked. Wesley nodded. "Will's my best friend from back home."
"Sunnydale?" Wesley asked.
Buffy nodded. "Born and bred. You know, I thought most Watchers were muggles."
"Most are," Wesley replied. "I'm actually half and half. My father's a muggle, a Watcher, but my mother was a witch."
"Was?"
"She was killed by Death-Eaters," Wesley said.
Buffy couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt at his statement. It was the first time she'd felt that way. Whenever she thought of Harry's parents she always felt horribly guilty for her father's actions. It pained her to think about how many people her father and his followers had killed over the years. It was frightening, and far too many to count.
"I'm sorry," Buffy whispered.
"Not your fault," Wesley replied kindly. He could tell that the girl was genuinely upset by it, and in that moment of seeing her sadness, he knew that she was not there to harm his Slayer.
There was a moment of silence where neither of them really knew what to say to each other. Wesley cleared his throat and finally thought of a topic.
"You're at Hogwarts then?" he asked.
Buffy nodded. "Yup. Sixth Year."
"Slytherin?" he asked.
Buffy wrinkled her nose. "God no. Gryffindor."
"Really? I was in Gryffindor," he said.
"Cool. Did'ya play Quidditch?" she asked.
"Good lord, no," he replied. "I'm terrified of heights. You?"
"I'm on the team," she replied. "I'm one of the Chasers."
"One of my good friends was a Chaser. Arthur Weasley," Wesley said nostalgically.
"Mr Weasley? He's my friend's dad," Buffy said.
"Ronald or Virginia?" Wesley asked curiously. He'd kept tabs on his old friend, but hadn't seen him since he'd started at the Watcher's Academy.
"Virginia? Is that what Ginny's short for. I always wondered. Oh, and both of them I guess," Buffy replied. "Ron's the Keeper, and Ginny's one of the other Chasers. My boyfriend, Harry, he's the Seeker."
Wesley's eyes went wide. "Harry? As in Potter?"
Buffy nodded. "Yup. He's a sweetie."
Wesley laughed a little. "It sounds as though you're all very close," Wesley commented.
"We are," Buffy replied, smiling softly.
"I rather miss my Hogwarts days," Wesley admitted. "It was nice…being surrounded by so many friends."
Buffy went to reply, but a soft moan coming from Faith interrupted her. She raced to Faith's side and watched as Faith's eyes fluttered open.
The Slayer groaned as she took in her surroundings. Buffy could sympathise. Waking up in hospital was never fun. Faith shot a puzzled look between her Watcher and Buffy.
"Wes? B? What're you guys doing here?" Faith asked groggily.
"Willow called," Wesley explained. "I've only just been able to get away from the Council today."
Faith nodded, not really concentrating on Wesley's answer. She shifted slightly and groaned with discomfort.
"Remind me not to let myself get ambushed by a dozen vamps," Faith whispered, closing her eyes.
Wesley chuckled a little. "I rather think you've learnt your lesson. The doctor's say you should be out of here by tomorrow."
"Thank god for that," Faith replied.
The door opened again, and Willow and Tara entered, holding three cups of coffee. Willow's face fell as she saw that they were now two cups short. She pouted for a moment before going to retrieve another coffee and a cup of tea for Wesley.
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"Thank you for coming," Willow said, hugging Buffy fiercely.
"S'okay Wills," Buffy replied. "Just say the word and I'm here."
Willow smiled and moved to hug Tara. They embraced for longer than Willow and Buffy had and the short blonde girl fought to hide a smirk. Faith too was looking at the blonde and the redhead speculatively. Buffy and Faith shared a glance that spoke volumes and grinned at each other.
"Promise you won't die, alright?" Buffy asked the brunette girl.
"Scout's honour, B," Faith replied.
Buffy wrinkled her nose. "I doubt you were ever a scout of any sort."
Faith just grinned. "I've slept with scouts, does that count?"
Buffy laughed and shook her head. "Will you still be in London for Christmas?"
Faith nodded. "Yeah. Red invited me to stay even though neither of us really do the Christmas thing."
"Cool. I'd really like to get to know you better, I think," Buffy admitted.
Faith smiled genuinely. She actually really liked Buffy and was fascinated by the confidence she seemed to hold herself with. Faith had never been unconfident or anything like that, but there was a different between being cocky and being confident. Faith had the cockiness down pat, but she knew she wasn't particularly confident, unless it came to her slaying.
"Sounds good, B."
Buffy just rolled her eyes. "Don't call me that."
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So…one more chapter to go. Many thanks to everyone for your reviews and emails and all that fun stuff. Happy New Year! Oh, and if anyone knows who won World Idol, could you pliz tell me. Ta!
Toodles.
DKG.