Sorry this wasn't really prompt in coming out... my beta really wasn't ready to release this. No new questions.
Also includes Japanese :)
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Chapter 8
Already There
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"Cho? Cho? Cho!"
Cho glanced up with a sleepy expression, which sharpened quickly as Faith's face came into focus. "Yes?"
Faith dropped her pencil. "What's the use of my tutoring you in stealth if you just sit there sleeping?"
"I'm sorry," Cho said, her voice echoing the darkness she'd felt for nearly a half week now. "I didn't realize..." She suddenly paused and looked around. "Where's Buffy?"
There was a sound of rushed footsteps in the hall as Buffy burst into the library, near tears. "Where's Angel and Spike?" she panted, sounding out of breath.
"They're downstairs with the rest of the afternooners," Faith replied, sitting on the table next to Cho. "I'll send Chang down with the rest in about five."
Buffy nodded and ran off again with a squeak from her still-new shoes.
Faith sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "You want to talk issues, Chang? Look at Buffy. Her sister shows up little more than a corpse. And now we find out that people tortured her. If all you're concerned about is your parents, you really, really don't deserve this life. That's a sacrifice we all made and kept at the door... you really don't see the rest of us sitting around crying over our mommies and daddies, do you?"
Cho was speechless at the harsh reality in Faith's voice. "You're right."
"And you're an imbecile," Faith said, hopping off the table and walking toward the exit. "I strongly recommend you get downstairs for stealth training. You don't want to piss off your Watcher too."
Cho watched as Faith left, the heavy doors slamming shut behind her. Once outside, Faith let out a long pent-up breath. "Way to go, idiot," she muttered, slapping her own forehead as she made her own way to the dark basement. The sounds of wrestling were heard far below, along with Angel's voice shouting instructions in Japanese.
"Atemi!" Angel shouted as there was a cry and a loud thud. Faith opened the door to see Vi on the floor, Chao-An on top of her, a stake to her heart.
"At least one of you has stealth!" Faith said to announce her arrival as she closed the door quietly behind her. Giles, Tara and Xander were with the other Watchers gathered in a tight circle around a small group of girls still sparring. Angel smiled in greeting before returning to his role.
"Fukai, Rona! Fukai!"
Faith wandered behind the group of Watchers to where Buffy and Spike were standing, deep in conversation. Faith's entrance also attracted Willow, who disengaged herself gently from the sparring Slayers and joined the small group. "What's the up?"
"Cordelia had a vision," Spike said, his voice tight. "Apparently she saw someone torturing the nibblet."
"This is news?" Faith asked, her tone skeptical. "Forgive me, Buff, but we've known that Dawn's been tortured for what... a day now?"
"Cordy said it was more than that though," Buffy said, her voice soft and reluctant. "She said that no matter what they did to her, Dawn stood her ground. And they used magic, specifically the 'Crucio' curse."
Willow gasped, bringing her hand to her mouth. "Just like that other couple who was tortured to insanity by the cruciatus curse?"
"She's not insane, I can tell you that bloody much," Spike countered. "Even if they did use the torturing spell on her... she resisted."
"Because she's not human," Buffy said in realization. "She was mystical energy just molded to look human."
"That's right," Faith said, catching on.
"But it's something they didn't know," Buffy said, a hint of pride in her voice. "My little Dawnie held out as long as that."
"As far as we can tell," spike interjected, "the American Ministry is the only magical group in the world that can claim responsibility for what happened to the Bit."
A loud cry sounded behind them as a Slayer arched gracefully over the shoulders of the Watchers and landed with a small crash onto a table full of small knives and other assorted weaponry.
"Just keep investigating them," Buffy advised, turning to help the younger girl to her feet.
"I had another plan," Spike said in a low voice, fully aware that they were attracting more attention now, especially from Angel, who was leading the spar. "I think we should make it known that Dawn has regained her memories in order to flush out whoever attacked her."
"But we don't know anything," Willow said in a frustrated tone, stomping down her boot. "We don't even know if Dawn was really in London. She disappeared for nine months."
"Someone has to know something!" Buffy said in frustration.
"Someone does," a voice said softly behind them. The room fell to an eerie silence as Cho Chang crossed the basement floor in workout attire, handing a cellular phone to Buffy. "It's Harry Potter."
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There was nothing but static on the other line as Harry said his goodbyes and hung up. Hermione stood next to him, hands on her hips as she was checking over their travel itinerary. "What did they say?"
"Not much," Harry sighed as he hung up the phone. "I didn't get a chance to tell them that we'll be there tomorrow morning either."
"Aren't they gonna be surprised," Ginny said, coming up behind them, looking adorable in her Muggle traveling attire. "I can't wait to see this California Dawn was always gushing about."
"Neither can I," Hermione said, a pleasant look on her face as she handed Ginny her tickets and boarding passes. "Where's Ron?"
"Hey, Ron! We need to get moving!" Harry shouted down the hall.
"Bloody hell," a voice moaned as a figure emerged into the hallway. Clothes in black dresswear and dark sunglasses, Ron looked every bit secret agent. It was his wild shock of red hair which gave him away. "Don't yell... my head..."
"If you didn't drink like a fish every night, it wouldn't happen now, would it?" Hermione asked tartly, handing Harry Ron's tickets and boarding passes. "We need to go. Remember the new airline rules... we have to be there two hours pre-flight."
Ron groaned as the four collected their luggage and prepared to leave the apartment. "Percy's meeting us at the airport?" Ginny asked Harry in a soft voice as Ron sleepily dragged his suitcase down the hall.
"Yeah," Harry whispered back as they entered the elevator.
The problem was, someone was already inside it.
"Draco?" Harry said, his voice full of unflattering disbelief.
Draco nodded behind his own dark sunglasses, tapping on the first level button and lifting his chin slightly. "Going down."
"What the hell are you doing here?" Harry asked, not disguising the anger in his voice as Hermione flagged down a taxi.
"I'm going to California with you," Draco said, walking over to his designer luggage and leaning against it. "I've basically been told I had to, anyway."
"Damn Ministry," Ron yawned behind them.
"Do you know something about Dawn?" Ginny asked him once their luggage was secured in the trunk of the taxi and the five squeezed inside.
Draco nodded. "And I have a feeling it'll take an entire plane flight to try and dissect it all."
"Which is good," Harry said bitterly as the taxi took off with a squeal of the tires. "Because we have a good twelve hours of flight ahead of us... into yesterday."
As he turned back, he saw that Draco didn't have the air of arrogance or smugness he usually carried so willingly.
This was definitely a change in his attitude.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked him quietly as they were unloading their luggage onto carts.
Draco didn't get a chance to respond as Percy Weasley came flying out of the airport terminal. "Oh thank goodness you're all here!" he said, not bothering to greet Draco as he rushed everyone else inside.
Draco sighed and pulled along his own cart, feeling even more alone than he had been when he'd been alone.
It wasn't until they were finally boarded and the plane had taxied down the runway did Draco finally speak again. Harry had settled comfortably in his seat next to Ginny, who was dozing peacefully.
Draco motioned across the aisle for Harry to come sit next to him.
And over the course of the next few seconds, Draco knew he was doing something he never thought he'd ever do.
"It's time I finally tell you about Dawn," Draco said slowly.
Harry's eyebrows arched. "Tell away."
"You know how much I loved her," Draco said, and seeing the anger in Harry's eyes, waved his own comment aside. "The truth is, my Father wouldn't tolerate a Muggle living under our roof."
"She isn't any normal Muggle," Harry said with gritted teeth.
Draco glanced down at his tightly folded hands. "You should have heard the things my Father called her... the threats he made... I never dreamed he'd have the guts to do anything about it... but he did. He took her away from me. He made it look like she was going to be with her family while she... while she..." His voice choked and he glanced out the window to the Atlantic rolling peacefully below them. "She was pregnant, Harry."
As he turned around, there was nothing but shock written on Harry's face. "Pregnant? You mean, you two..."
"I loved her," Draco said defiantly. "I still do. And I know she loved me. I just wanted her to remember her life at Hogwarts as a place where she was loved and adored before she returned to her Muggle world."
"I can't believe I'm hearing this," Harry said, his eyes wide.
"Hearing what?"
Hermione and Ron had arrived, Ron looking decisively less grumpy than earlier when he'd been dragged out of bed to get to the airport on time.
Draco repeated his story, leaving both Ron and Hermione in shock.
"And now I'm about to go tell her big sister and all of her friends that Dawn was pregnant when she disappeared," Draco finally concluded. Darkness was beginning to fill in as the plane ride edged deeper into the night.
Hermione took the seat in front of him. "Don't you feel this is a bit rash?"
"I was asked to do this," Draco said, his voice bitter. "My parents forbade me, but do you see me being a coward now? No... Dawn's... she means everything to me. I need to go to her. I can't abandon her when she needs us now, when she needs us the most."
"Do we know what happened to her baby?" Ron asked in a hushed voice, sipping from his glass of water.
Draco shook his head. "My Father refused to tell the Ministry anything relevant. I'm hoping that when Dawn regains her memories, she'll know."
"Draco," Hermione said gently, laying a hand on his arm. "Do you know what this means? You made a baby. You're a Father yourself."
Draco chuckled as the weight of her words came to him. "Yeah, I guess I am." His face suddenly sharpened and turned cold again. "And I refuse to let my Father come between us again!"
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"I refuse to let my Father come between us again."
"Cho..."
"I promise never, ever, to move out on you again."
"Cho?"
"I promise to love and serve and be your everything, because that is what I wanted to be."
"Cho..."
"I love you, Xander. I want to be your wife. I don't want this to be some mediocrity."
"Cho..."
"So I did it. I told my parents they were going to lose me unless they accepted the fact I'm marrying you."
"Cho?"
"They're coming to meet you Xander. They'll be here sometime next week."
"Oh God."
"Now will you please let me into your apartment? I'm freezing!"
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To be continued...
Chapter 9 -- Harry and the others arrive in California. Spike and Angel get a visit from the American Ministry of Magic.
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Japanese translations:
Atemi - punch or lash out.
Fukai - to hold in a tight hold.