A/N: Ok, over Christmas break, I had stayed up all night after going to the best hockey game I have ever been to. I got almost all of chapter five and the beginnings of chapter six, and a couple of chapters on other stories I was working on. I managed to stay up until like noon, but then it got cold, since I was working on my laptop, I laid down. Next thing I know, my mom's yelling at me to turn it off, and I did. When I woke up I remembered I DIDN'T SAVE ANYTHING! I was so mad at myself. So, I'm rewriting this from memory. Which means I really don't remember that much. Wah!
Chapter Five: Making New Acquaintances . . .
Jillian made her way to the exit. She double-checked that her sisters were behind her. Her heart pounded. Why was she so nervous? She shouldn't be, but she wanted to make a good impression.
"Where are we supposed to meet him?" Kathleen asked
"Well, I'm guessing he'll have seen our pictures, and they kinda want to keep our presence on the d-l. So, it's not like he'll be waving a sign that says JANE SISTERS." The chuckle almost escaped her lips. Until she caught a glimpse of the people waiting. "No, he'll be the HUGE guy waving the sign that says JANE SISTERS."
"Oh, wow, that's not incognito. I thought he was gonna be incognito." Kathleen muttered.
"Kat. Shut it. C'mon. Let's get this over with."
Jillian made her way across the airport to the huge man with the sign. Her scarf was wrapped around her throat and she tugged on the crest to give her strength.
"Mr. Hagrid?" She asked softly.
"Yes. I'm Hagrid. You must be the Jane sisters."
"Yes. I'm Jillian; this is Ann Marie, Kathleen, Holly, Dorothy, Whitney and Britany. So, should we be going?"
"Aye, tha' we should. Molly'll be expectin' ya girls
"It's very generous of Mrs. Weasley to open her home to us. Especially on such short notice."
"Aye, Molly is a generous woman. Sh' said tha' she knew your mum."
"Yeah. I guess Mom helped out on a project twenty five years ago. They haven't talked in a while though."
"Thing's ha'n't been good 'round here of late."
"So we gathered." Jillian muttered.
"We should make our way to the Weasley's home?" Ann Marie interjected.
"Aye, we shoul' do tha'."
Jillian searched for a cab or a bus or anything. Hagrid merely guffawed as he pulled a soup can from one of his many pockets. Her eyes narrowed. She had a great dislike for portkeys. He smiled broadly at the seven girls. And then the realization hit him.
"We need to find someplace quiet and off the beaten track, Whit." She bent next the eleven-year-old. "What do you see?"
"Give me a sec, I gotta warm up, ya know." The strawberry-blond squared her young shoulders and blinked a few times. In her mind, a double image placed itself over a map of London. "Got it. Six blocks down on the left, there is an alley. No one goes there. Should be the perfect spot, Jillian." Whitney pointed the way.
"You heard her, girls." She turned to Hagrid and cocked her head. "Whitney has this knack of finding things you need. This way."
Hagrid didn't know if he should believe the young girls, but he followed reluctantly. The portkey was going to go off in a few moments, whether or not they found a secure location. Sure enough, the little mite was right. He held the can before them and counted the seconds down in his head.
Jillian rolled her eyes as she made sure each of her sisters had a hand on the soup can. She felt the sharp tug that she always associated with having your navel pierced from the inside. When she opened her eyes, they were on a long dirt road. Off in the distance, she could see a farmhouse. Wearily, the seven sisters shifted their bags on their shoulders and made their way to the house.
It was gonna be a long year.
* * * * *
Molly Weasley sighed as she leaned over the toilet. Ginny and Ron had gone with Arthur to check on Hermione and fetch Harry. She wiped her mouth and gazed out the window. This was the absolute worst time for her to be sick. And the girls were arriving today.
In her heart, though, Molly knew she wasn't sick. She knew the real reason why she had been sick this afternoon, and for the past week as well. But it was the absolutely worst time for her to be this way. There was a war, waiting to come to a head. She and her family were on the list of those targeted to be taken down. Lucius Malfoy had been the one to see to that. She all but growled at the mere thought of that snake. She truly despised Lucius. She urged herself to calm down.
Molly was worried. As soon Harry was brought to the Burrow, they would all be heading to 12 Grimmauld Place. She worried about having the seven Jane girls with them. She smiled at the fond memories of the summer she spent in Moira Jane's company. Moira was a strawberry blond, with vibrant green eyes and an infectious smile. She knew Ginny was excited to get to make new girlfriends. Ron seemed just a tad bit upset that he would be literally surrounded by girls for the remainder of the summer holidays. She sighed softly.
Molly could see them off in the distance. She nearly laughed at the sight of Hagrid leading a troupe of young girls down the road to the Burrow. She ran a hand through her hair and waited patiently for her new charges.
* * * * *
Buffy was freaking out. She had been since the postcard arrived in the mail today. It read "I'll be there in a day or so - Rina."
Nearly everyone was in the dark about the sitch. Only Giles, Dawn and Buffy herself knew that Marina was coming to stay with them. She was pacing in her office. She didn't know why she was pacing, it never seemed to help. She paused when she heard the soft knocking at the office door.
"Buffy?"
"Come in, Dawnie."
The teen slipped in quietly. Dawn looked anxious. It was funny, really. Dawnie got along so well with their cousins. Buffy could remember Dawn playing with Marina when they were little. Dawn smiled, obviously 'remembering' that as well.
"Buffy. . . "
"I know Dawn. I'm nervous, too. It's just so weird that Marina would pop up like this. And I don't know how long we can keep this from her. I'm so afraid that we won't be able to hide all of this from her, and that it'll end up putting her in danger."
"Just cuz she didn't grow up on a Hellmouth and had to worry about vampires?" Dawn asked, sitting on the arm of the overstuffed chair.
Buffy paused, crossing her arms as she watched her younger sister. She held her gaze before rolling her eyes.
"Or had to face nifty apocalypses." She sighed, "God! This is so not . . . Nice! I mean whe were sent here to kick ass."
"Which we do nightly here at the house of Slayers R Us." A male voice popped in, making Dawn jump a little.
"Xander, bell on a collar. Invest in one. And Buffy, reaching much? All you could come up with was 'not nice'?" Dawn said, sinking back into the chair. Xander leaned back onto Buffy's desk.
"Would, but I just don't think I'd be able to find one to match my nifty eye-patch." He paused to take a breath, then turned to Buffy. "So who's ass are we upset about not kicking?"
"I was not reaching." Buffy said to Dawn.
"Was too."
"Was not."
"Hello, question asked, and yet there's no response."
Dawn turned to Xander, opened her mouth then shut it again. Buffy looked down at her feet.
"So, what's the sitch? And is chocolate ensuing afterwards?"
"No, cousin ensuing."
"Nummy goodness? Never had one of those."
"There will be no having of my cousin." Buffy all by screeched.
"Whoa. I thought we were having a fun conversation about chocolate, not an actual person."
"Breathe, Xand." Dawn said, rolling her eyes.
"I am breathing. As long as Buffy keeps her slayer strength to herself and not wrapped around my throat."
"Xand."
"So, this cousin's coming to stay here, with us at the new Slayer headquarters?"
"Yep."
"And it -"
"She."
"Excuse me, She knows nothing about you being a slayer?"
"Correct in one."
"This should be very interesting."
"You're telling us.
* * * * *
Marina sighed deeply as she spotted the house. Any minute now she'd be in slayer headquarters.
A/N: Ok, what do you think? Huh?
