I would like to take the courtesy to thank Char for assisting me with this chapter. This one took a great deal of time because we wanted to get the emotion just right.

Updated Disclaimer: We will not discredit, but we bring people back from the dead. Sort of.

- - - - -

Chapter 5
Surprise

 - - - - -

The room was still silent after two minutes. Willow and Buffy continued to stare at Tara, who stared at them from across the table.

Willow took two steps forward, but her voice failed her. Buffy opened her mouth to speak and spoke the first word that popped into her head. "How?"

"Excuse me," said Molly, glancing from one to the next. "Do you know each other?"

"We did," Tara confirmed. "Now might not be the best time to discuss this."

"I think it is," said Buffy, taking Willow's hand. Willow seemed paralyzed to her spot, her eyes were wide with shock. "How can you be standing there? Willow watched you die."

"I wasn't dead," Tara said simply.

"I think we missed something here," the woman called Nymphadora said kindly as she rose to her feet. "Perhaps we should give them some privacy."

"No!" Tara said, turning to her. "Stay. You need to know what happened too, because you know nothing of why I'm here now. And why." She turned back to Buffy. "Buffy, please understand I didn't do any of this to hurt you. I didn't die when Warren shot me."

"I tried to bring you back," Willow said suddenly, looking up. Her eyes were sparkling with tears. "I fought in darkness to bring you back to me."

"I felt you," Tara replied, bowing her head. "I-I just couldn't come back. There were too m-m-many memories. I needed to go where I was needed."

"Was it me?" Willow asked. "Was it because of what I did?"

"No, it wasn't," Tara insisted. "But it was the reason why I left Sunnydale behind."

Willow glanced down, choking back a sob. Buffy turned her enraged eyes to Tara. "So you just stood there and watched as she suffered, is that it?"

"What did you do when the one you loved more than life died?" Tara asked flatly. "You ran away. S-So did I."

"You didn't have the right," Buffy replied in a sharp voice. "I killed Angel. Warren shot you, Tara. Willow thought you died in her arms."

"I asked them to bring you back," Willow replied in a tiny voice. "I wanted... we had just..." Before Buffy could hold her up, Willow collapsed to the floor.

Molly quickly ducked under Tara and bent over Willow, trying to help her sit up. But Willow looked short of dying, with her bleak eyes turning back to Tara. "How could you do this to me?" Willow sobbed, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. "I would have destroyed everything just to get rid of the pain."

"You almost did," Buffy replied.

Tara bent down and with a trembling hand touched Willow's face. "Willow, I know I h-h-hurt you, but I just wanted you to be ha-happy. You have no idea how I felt coming back here, trying to s-s-start my life again, knowing I wouldn't have y-you with m-m-me." Tara was openly crying now as both she and Willow got to their feet. "I didn't want to leave you. B-But I had to."

Willow put her hand over Tara's. "I understand," she said, smiling through her tears. "But that doesn't explain why you're involved with all of this."

Molly decided to finally intervene. "Tara's mother was several classes above me at Hogwarts. Tara also attended the school."

"You?" Buffy said, stunned. "You went to Hogwarts? Why come to California?"

"A-After my m-m-mother was k-k-killed," Tara choked out, "I had to get away. So I went to one of the most powerful places I c-c-could."

"And once we all thought you were dead, you returned here."

"My mother and the Blacks' were friends back in the time," Tara explained, wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her robe. "It just seemed like a second home to m-me."

The rest of the Order was still in their seats. Taking a deep breath, Buffy forced a smile before taking a chair and helping Willow into it. She then pulled out a chair for herself.

"So, are we having a meeting or not?"

- - - - -

Harry and Ron were playing wizards chess when suddenly their bedroom door burst open and Hermione swept in, followed by Ginny. They both had a strange look on their face.

"What is it?" Harry asked, over the sounds of Ron cheering on his castle as it was knocking into Harry's bishop.

"That girl from this afternoon is downstairs with Mum and the rest of the Order," Ginny replied.

"So you saw her too," said Ron, his attention drawn momentarily away from his chess game. "What happened?"

"We went downstairs in case we would catch something they hadn't told us," Ginny explained, but then, ignoring the sharp look from Hermione, continued, "at least I was eavesdropping. Hermione came to tell me off. And we heard the sound of crying."

"Oh, Mum!" Ron said, a pained look crossing his face.

"It wasn't your Mum," Hermione assured him. "It was Tara. And some woman named Willow."

"Willow!" Harry exclaimed. "That blonde-haired woman... she mentioned a Willow this afternoon."

"It has to be more than a coincidence," Hermione muttered, glancing out the open door. "Do you reckon they'd mind if we went into the entrance hall?"

Ron and Harry abandoned their chess game (the pieces were still calling out 'my feet are tired, can't we rest?' to their backs) and approached the top of the stairs, to where they could see the dining room doors still firmly closed.

"Why can't we hear what's going on?" Ron asked in frustration. "And why can't Fred and George be here with those extendable ears?"

"Watch and learn, big brother," said Ginny triumphantly, removing a long, flesh-colored string and flinging it down the banister so it came to rest directly in front of the door before slowly creeping forward. The others edged in to listen.

- - - - -

"Now that business has been settled," Lupin said after the women had helped themselves to a bottle of butterbeer. They both looked apprehensive, but clunked the bottles all the same before taking a draught. "Would you care to tell us a bit about you?"

"Yes," Bill said with a grin. "We realize you're both women and from the states, but it would help us out if we knew you were more than just hormones and emotions."

"Bill!" Molly hissed.

"Well, we would!" Bill insisted.

Buffy and Willow exchanged a glance before Buffy turned to the group. "I'm the Slayer. I was... the original Slayer. The Slayers are a line of women who try to rid the world of vampires, demons and the forces of darkness. I was asked to come to Hogwart's to teach, but our mission is somewhat personal, I'm afraid."

Willow set down her bottle and leaned forward to continue. "The Ministry of Magic tells us that our missing England Slayer is currently a Hogwart's student. My mission in this quest is to find out who she is."

"And my job is to teach the students about what is coming," Buffy said softly. "You just told me about the Dementors and I agree they do sound frightening. I suppose I'll have to see if I can hold my own if I ever came to face one. But it sounds nothing like what else I heard was gathering in the dark forests around the great school."

"Vampires?" Molly asked, her eyes suddenly wide and fearful.

"Not just your garden variety vampires, but these are the ubervamps. It takes only Slayer strength to kill them. I don't mean fancy wand waving, I mean pure power."

"She's right," Willow spoke up.

"And the Bringers," Buffy concluded. "They're the ones that harvest the evil. They are the ones calling forth the ubervampires. They have no eyes, but they pack a powerful spell all their own." She dropped her voice. "We took out an entire city just to rid it of the Bringers and the Ubers. Now they're gathering and we believe they may have formed an alliance with Voldemort."

At her mentioning his name, half of the people around the table either winced or jumped slightly in their seats.

"We have four bodies working inside the Ministry of Magic to conclude where this new threat will gather. With the Dementors, Voldemort now has some very powerful allies."

"And now, so do we," Moody growled, eyeing the Slayer.

"This wasn't her choice," Willow said firmly. "This is her destiny."

The room fell silent again. Buffy finally rose. "I think we've taken enough of your time."

"How are your magic skills coming?" Molly finally asked them as Willow and Buffy gathered their things.

"I'm still having problems with a few things, but I will have them figured out by the time I arrive at Hogwart's on Saturday," Buffy replied. "Willow's been very helpful with the spells."

Tara rose to her feet with them too. As they moved toward the door, Tara pulled Buffy aside. "I want to come with you, to Hogwarts."

"Are you serious?" Buffy asked gently. "I know that things between you and Wil are strained enough now that you're not dead."

Tara looked down, her shoulder lifting into a half shrug. "It's the least I-I can do. And I know m-m-my way around the school, having gone there myself."

"The Ministry will be taking us from the Hogs Head Inn Saturday morning at sunrise," Buffy said. "If you'd like to come, meet us there. And pack your things. We didn't have much time to take anything with us before we destroyed Sunnydale."

Tara smiled, her first smile that Buffy had seen. "Th-Thank you," she stammered, before disappearing back into the dining room.

Buffy and Willow said their goodbyes before stepping outside.

"That was weird," Willow finally said as they walked down the steps, neither one of them noticing that the house was disappearing behind them, or that Fortescue and Kingsley had just walked out of what appeared to be thin air. "I... I just can't believe..."

"I know," said Buffy softly, taking Willow's hand. "As soon as we get back to the Inn, we should send an owl to Xander."

"We can do more than that, Buffy," Willow replied. "We can use the Floo Network."

"The what?"

"You'll see," Willow assured her as they got back into the car from the Ministry.

- - - - -

Faith and the others were leaving the Hogs Head Inn when Buffy and Willow returned. Another long line of black cars was waiting across the busy London avenue that night as Faith and Buffy finally turned to one another.

"Kick some ass," Buffy told her.

"I will," said Faith, her old air of confidence returning. "You too."

"Oh, we will," Buffy replied, stepping forward to hug her.

"I don't hug," Faith said abruptly, jumping a step back. "But in the light of the moment, I suppose one is okay."

Buffy walked forward and hugged Faith tightly. "Watch after our girls, Faith. They're in your hands now."

"We'll be okay, really," said Faith, giving Buffy what she hoped was a reassuring smile. They both turned slightly to see Willow and Kennedy approaching, hand-in-hand, after taking a moment for a private goodbye.

"Be safe!" Willow shouted as Kennedy joined the Slayers now filing one by one out of the Inn.

Buffy took a step back as Faith lifted her wand and turned, looking at the small army now assembling behind her. "Slayers! We're about to head into a field of battle. For the past few weeks, you have been taught magic. You have been given the gift of a wand and the foresight in order to use magic. You have the books. You have the power. And now it's time we use it." She pointed toward the line of cars that had now stopped. "Let's do this."

Buffy and Willow watched wistfully as Faith and the other Slayers boarded and the cars drove off into the twilight.

"I bet you wish you were with them," Willow whispered into Buffy's shoulder.

"No," Buffy replied, turning back to the Inn. "I think I'd rather be here instead."

"Really?"

"Yes," Buffy said firmly. "Now let's find Dawn. We need to tell her Tara's still alive if Tara is coming with us to Hogwart's."

Clank.

Willow had dropped her purse, a strange look coming across her face. "Tara's coming with us?"

"Yeah," said Buffy softly. "She can help us out a lot. She's been there before, she knows what's going on and everything."

"I just thought... I... I need to stop thinking about this," Willow replied faintly, collapsing onto Buffy's bed just as Dawn swept into the room, a small package in her hands.

"Hey Dawnie," said Buffy, hugging her sister and taking the package. "Who's this from?"

"Angel," Dawn replied. "He sent it regular postal mail because he doesn't really know how things work over here yet..." her voice trailed off when she noticed the look on Willow's face. "Buffy? What's with Willow?"

"It's Tara," Buffy finally confessed. "She's alive."

"Tara? How?" Dawn gasped, turning slowly toward Willow and stumbling forward.

"She never died," Willow echoed Tara's words faintly as she glanced up at Buffy. "We should tell Xander, and Giles, and the others because... they knew her and they would want to know..."

"We will, in the morning before we leave for the Ministry," Buffy replied, turning to Dawn. "Dawn, will you please see that Willow gets back to her room okay? I want to open this privately."

Dawn nodded and hugged her sister again. She then took Willow by the arm and gently guided her out.

Buffy closed the door behind them and sat down on her bed, the package in her hands. After gently ripping the paper off, she found an international cellphone inside, with a card. Opening the card, Buffy read: "Call me if you need me."

She smiled.

- - - - -

To be continued...

Next chapter -- the gang goes to Hogwart's.