Part 4
Willow risked one last glance over her shoulder, after handing the clerk her boarding pass, to see Buffy, Giles, Xander, Oz, and her parents still watching her. She was very glad she was able to reach closure with Oz before she left for London. She still felt very guilty about her part in his pain but they talked it through and were tentative friends again. Willow had been pleasantly surprised when he had showed up at the airport to say good-bye. She bit her lip to keep from crying and waved to her goodbyes for the last time before the wall blocked her view.
It wasn't until after the plane took off and she watched Los Angeles get smaller and smaller that the last two weeks finally caught up with her. She was leaving Sunnydale. ALONE. What if she didn't make any new friends? What if they all made fun of her and her magick? She was just learning and this was a whole school full of witches and wizards. Would they place her in the remedial classes?
Willow felt her heart begin to pound. Oh god, what had she been thinking? She opened the well-worn letter from Hogwarts checking to make sure it really said her name and it wasn't some mistake.
~~~~
Hermione nervously fiddled with her cardboard sign that said Hogwarts. Meeting the American exchange students wasn't what was causing her to dart her eyes around the airport. It was the dark mark that had appeared in the skies over London last night. Was the battle intensifying where the Death Eaters were no longer being subtle in the Muggle World?
Since she had been coming to London to pick up the students, Hermione had stayed the night with her parents. It had been a special treat to see them without having to wait until the holidays and they'd had a great time visiting. Their quiet conversation had been interrupted by a bang and an eerie glow. She had frantically run inside before the skull even faded, to see what the BBC was reporting but there had been no reports in the media last night or this morning before she'd left for Heathrow. Had it been a coincidence that the first group of students arriving today had coincided with the dark mark's appearance?
She nervously twirled a strand of her hair as she thought of her parents. As one of Harry's closest friends and a Muggle born she had long ago resigned herself that she would be a target but it wasn't until the string of deaths last year that she had even considered that her parents would be a target.
The BBC news had reported that the gruesome murders last year was the work of a serial killer as the victims had been similar in looks and ages but the Order and Dumbledore's Army knew different. They knew the deaths were due to Voldemort and his followers.
The crackling voice over the speakers announcing a plane from New York drew Hermione out of her thoughts. She straightened her shirt and moved a little to the left so the sign was visible from Customs.
Hermione glanced around and noticed a couple of teenagers looking lost and began to raise her hand in greeting until she heard a squeal of excitement behind her. The two teenagers' squealed in response and ran to greet their friends.
A young boy with brown hair walked shyly up to Hermione, "Excuse me, but I think you might be looking for me." He held out his letter from Dumbledore.
She had to ruthlessly tamp down on her instinct to grab him in a fierce hug but she didn't want to scare the young boy who looked like the slightest sound or movement would cause him to bolt. He reminded her so much of Neville in their first year.
"Welcome to London, Jeremy."
Jeremy's eyes grew round and goofy smile spread across his features. He was really here in LONDON and a beautiful girl was there to greet him and she had the coolest accent.
"So it's true. There is a school for Witches and Wizards." his voice barely above a whisper.
Hermione tried to hide her grin, she remembered her excitement of learning that the odd things she had been able to do as a young girl was because her great grandmother had been a witch. She couldn't imagine what it must be like for these students that didn't have a history of magic in their family. Her parents had explained about Hogwarts when Hermione's owl had arrived with her invitation and her father had promptly gone up to the attic and brought down "Hogwarts: A History" that had been in his family for years.
A flash of red caught her eye and Hermione turned to see what it was. A red haired girl about Hermione's age nervously bit her lip as she looked around the airport. She tentatively raised her hand in greeting wondering if this was the American she was originally supposed to meet.
~~~
Willow sighed with relief when a brown haired girl about her age raised her hand in greeting. When she saw the sign that said 'Hogwarts' she waved in return.
Lifting her bag over her shoulder, Willow quickly made her way over to the girl with the sign.
"Hi, I think you might be looking for me?" Willow held out her well-creased letter.
Hermione smiled in greeting, "Welcome to London, Willow. This is Jeremy, who's also an exchange student. We're just waiting for two more and then we'll be off."
Willow smiled as she held out her hand to the shy young boy who looked to be about twelve. "Hi, I think I saw you on the plane."
Jeremy's face turned a bright pink as he awkwardly shook Willow's hand, "Y-yep. I was two rows behind you."
Before Willow could try to encourage Jeremy into a conversation the last two exchange students joined them.
"William and Janet, these are your fellow exchange students Willow and Jeremy." Hermione shepherded her group out through the doors and to a waiting taxi.
When the luggage was stored in the boot and everyone was settled, Hermione leaned forward and gave the driver an address. "We'll be staying in an inn tonight and then going on to buy your supplies in the morning. First, I'll take you to a bank where you can exchange your money."
"Oh, I already exchanged dollars into pounds before I left Boston."
Hermione smiled at Janet, "Not that kind of currency."
"What you mean Eurodollars?"
"This is a SPECIAL bank for our unique needs."
Jeremy furrowed his forehead, he had no idea what they were talking about. He saw the comprehension on everyone else's but he didn't want to ask what they meant and look stupid.
Willow noticed Jeremy's confusion and leaned over to whisper in his ear, "I think she means because we're magical."
~~~
The cab stopped in front of a shabby looking inn with a tilting sign that said, 'The Leaky Cauldron'.
"Oooh a book store." Willow smiled as she saw a large bookstore next to the inn. "Will it be alright to do some shopping?"
Hermione grinned at her enthusiasm for books, "I expect we can make time."
William just shook his head at the two geeks he was stuck with. As he looked out the window to his left he saw a record store.
"Guess that means I've got time to shop in the record store then."
"You can, but the school doesn't have electricity."
The driver's hand halted mid-reach for the fare, "No electricity? What kind of school has no electricity?"
"It's a back to basics school in Scotland. We have to carry water from the lake, heating is by fire and the only light is by candlelight."
Hermione winked at Janet who wore a look of horror. Willow's expression wasn't that much better. No electricity? How was she supposed to email her friends about what was happening? She had a feeling that her laptop was going to be completely useless at Hogwarts.
