Buffy held her feet to her chest, sitting by an armchair by a not-quite-roaring fire. Her keen slayer ears picked up every hushed word, every whispered phrase behind the door. Sirius, the man she had simply appeared before, seemed to have taken it upon himself to protect her. He had brought her to his house (she loathed to call it a home) and that's when the trouble started. They knew nothing about her, not a thing. She understood their caution, but at the same time, she was frustrated. She wanted them to trust her. That didn't seem likely any time soon.
"But Sirius who is she?" asked a woman: Buffy recognized the voice of Molly Weasley.
"She's Buffy Summers, a scared 17 year old, that's who she is," he replied in a low growl.
"But a muggle?" came another accusing voice. Mad-Eye Moody. "She doesn't know the first thing about us."
"Then she's obviously not working for You-Know-Who," Sirius defended. "She's got that going for her."
"I wouldn't be so sure," another man - Lupin - replied thoughtfully. "Perhaps she's fooling us."
"You didn't see the look in her eyes, when she saw magic - real magic," Sirius replied, just as thoughtfully. "She'd have to be a damned good actor to pull that off."
"What do you mean, real magic?" the voice of Tonks questioned, sounding intrigued.
"It's complicated," Sirius replied, sighing. "But one of her friends is a wicca."
Buffy caught the instant hush. It seemed that wicca wasn't as common as she thought. Willow had always been able to find friends, and there was the coven even, full of wiccans. She had thought that there were far more common than wizards, but that, it seemed was the wrong assumption.
"True wiccans are very rare," Arthur Weasley put in. "Are you sure?"
"Well obviously I'm not sure," Sirius replied. "But I believe her."
"Oh, where are her parents?" Molly cut in, changing the subject. Her motherly instincts seemed to have kicked in.
"I don't have any," Buffy said out loud, still sitting by the fire. The door swung open and a head popped out. "Yea, I heard," Buffy said, not turning to look. "I've got really good ears."
"Apparently," came the gruff reply of Mad-Eye Moody. "There are charms on the door."
Buffy shrugged and looked over, her eyes blank. "Look, if you want me to leave, just say it. I mean, we're in London right? Maybe there's a surviving watcher I can room with," she added in a low mutter, not expecting anyone to hear.
"A watcher?" Moody repeated, rasing his eyebrows. Buffy looked over sharply, and he said, "I have good ears too."
"Apparently," Buffy replied, suppressing a grin.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Order (as Buffy had learned they were called) had all reacted to the term 'watcher'. They knew very well what kind of person would know about watchers. Either she was a watcher herself, or she was something else. Someone else. Someone who they knew they shouldn't offend. If she knew about watchers, she more than likely was-
"The Slayer," Buffy confirmed, walking into the room. The hushed whispers stopped. "Yea, ok, you caught me. I didn't expect Moody to catch that last bit. Please, please, keep this on the down low, ok? Some big bad cursed me here, and he probably thinks I'm gone, so I don't want it all over that I'm here, k?"
"Why are you staying?" Kingsley questioned, looking oddly curious.
Buffy looked imploringly from one person to the next. "I know I should probably be clicking my heels and saying 'there's no place like home, there's no place like home' but I got a feeling. I already miss my friends, but I need to be here. And I know that my friends can manage without me. Please, just give me a chance, and I'll help you out, and you'll never have a vampire issue again, I promise."
Sirius grinned and muttered sidelong to Lupin, "Told you we could trust her."
Moody looked almost deflated as he looked around at the members of the Order, all of whom gave him a slight nod. "Well, Buffy Summers," he said, sounding exhausted already. "Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix."
Buffy raised her eyebrows. "It was that simple? Cool."
---
That night, Buffy was restless. She tried her hardest to sleep, but it was no use. She couldn't do it. Call it Slayer tendencies, but Buffy wanted to fight, and she wanted it now. Looking around her room, she sighed: not so much as a cross, and definitely no stake. She would have to do this the old school way, she decided. Creeping out of her room, she walked quietly down to the kitchen and opened a drawer. Not what she wanted. Opening another one, she grinned: found the knives. She took one out and crept into the sitting room she'd been in before. A few logs were piled close to the fireplace, which was now not on use. Picking one up, Buffy began the task of carving a stake.
An hour later, she was on the streets of London, careful to remember each turn she took, not wanting to get lost in the unfamiliar territory. The last thing she needed was to lose her way. Feeling a slight prickling at the base of her spine, she grinned. Things were getting started. Walking between two buildings, she took a deep breath. She could already feel the familiar adrenaline pumping through her veins. As the last of the street lamp's light faded away in the alley, Buffy stopped and turned around. There were two of them, both burly men. They hadn't vamped out yet, but she knew it was coming. She had this act down to a tee.
"Uh, hi guys," she said, sounding nervous. "I, uh, lost my way. Could you help me?"
They looked at each other and grinned. An easy meal: or so they thought. Buffy had to fight the urge to roll her eyes. After only a second, they both looked back at her. Their faces changed, contorted to the demon within. Ridges covered their brow, and fangs easily protruded from their lips. They were officially ready to fight.
"Oh, we'll help you," one said, lunging at her. Buffy whipped a steak out of her pants and grinned. He ploughed right into her, and she wasted no time in rolling him over and shoving a stake in his chest.
His friend was shocked. "What... what the hell was that?!" he spluttered.
"That," Buffy replied, advancing on him with a wicked grin, "was me kicking his vamp ass. But hey, don't feel bad about losing. Lots of vampires lose to the slayer."
His eyes widened. "The Slay-" But he didn't get any further before he exploded into dust. Buffy frowned, as her stake disintegrated in her hands. She had hoped to get a bit more a fight from the London Nightlife. Sighing, she brushed off her clothes and moved on.
As she exited the alleyway, she didn't notice the large black dog trailing behind her.
---
A few hours later, a slightly more bruised Buffy walked through the door to number 12 Grimmauld Place. She winced slightly as she sat down on a chair to tend to her battle wounds, but forgot about them in a second. A large dog walked in after her, looking at her curiously.
"Oh crap," Buffy muttered. "Uh, hey there boy," she said nervously. "You uh, you gotta go home now. Go, shoo. Please go home boy. Sirius'll kill me if he knew I let strange animals into the house."
Turned out that wasn't the issue. The dog changed slowly back into a human, and Buffy recognized Sirius before her. "Really, I doubt he'll kill you," he said, sounding rather amused. "He'd leave that to the vampires."
"How long were you following me?" Buffy asked, rubbing her eyes. She hadn't expected an audience.
"Since you left," he replied. "I wanted to make sure you were alright. Plus, you know, very few wizards have really seen a Slayer in action." He paused, looking at her. "Do you always go looking for them?"
Buffy just shrugged. "They don't come looking for me," she replied. "Well, some of them do, but those are just the idiots. Like roaches to an exterminator, right?"
Sirius didn't quite get the muggle reference but nodded anyways. "Right," he said, sounding unsure.
Buffy picked up after a moment. "Sorry," she said offhandedly. "Non-magic... uhhh... muffle?"
"Muggle," Sirius replied, amused. "The term is muggle."
"Right, muggle," Buffy repeated. "Look at me, magic-lingo Buffy."
Sirius sat down beside her, looking at the bruises on her arms. "I could heal those for you, if you'd like," he said.
Buffy shook her head. "Nah, s'ok," she replied. "They'll all be gone in the morning."
"Even that one?" Sirius asked, pointing to a nasty-looking cut down her left arm.
Buffy looked at it for a second. "Even that one," she agreed. She grinned, stifling a yawn. "That's my cue to go to sleep," she muttered.
Sirius nodded. "I should probably sleep a bit myself," he muttered. He put a hand on Buffy's shoulder, an almost fatherly affection coming over him. "Sleep well," he said.
"Will do," Buffy replied, standing up and walking towards her room. She thought for a moment to herself, about how long it had been since her father had told her to sleep well. And yet, here she was, in a strange house, with a man she'd known for all of a week, and he was acting like a father. She smiled to herself slightly, climbing into bed. It felt good.
---
Another week later, and Buffy was standing in the kitchen of number 12 Grimmauld Place, wishing desperately that she had a pen. Unfortunately, her prayers were not answered, and she was left to scribble out her message in a quill and ink. She thanked every god she knew of that she wasn't left-handed.
Dear Angel,
I'm sorry to just write to you like this, but I've been trying to find the others for two weeks, and I just don't know where they are. I figured maybe you would be able to get a hold of them, or something, let them know I'm ok. I don't know what happened on their end, but I ended up in England, with this (you won't believe it!) wizard. That's right, wizard. Bigger shock: I'm 17 again. Really gave me the wiggins. But I'm gonna stay here for a while. Is Dawn alright? Oh, please, please tell me where I can find some good weapons in London. Please.
Love always,
Buffy
Smiling sadly to herself, Buffy contemplated scratching out the last two lines, but sighed and left it. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about Angel, especially after their conversation the last time she saw him. She only wanted to get a message out to the others, to let them know that she was safe and (relatively) unharmed.
Tying a message to the waiting owl's leg, Buffy sent him off. She had been sceptical about owl-post when she had first experienced it, but it turned out it was a lot more reliable than normal mail. Things weren't lost in the mail, as was common with 'muggle post' and it took about the same time as snail-mail. She missed email though, knowing that she could have sent a message to Willow in a snap with it. As it was, she made do.
"Buffy?" Sirius called from the other room. The high-pitched shrieking she heard alerted her that he was having trouble with Kreacher again. Buffy glowered: no matter what the rest of them said, that house-elf was trouble, and Buffy knew trouble when she saw it. Wanting nothing more than the pummel the creature, Buffy sighed and walked into the other room.
"Yea?" she said, leaning on the door frame. Sirius was trying to wrestle a vase from Kreacher's bony little hands.
"A little help please?"
In under a second, Kreacher was hefted into the air, and the vase taken forcibly from his grip. He glared at Sirius, but couldn't meet Buffy's eye. She seemed to be the one human in the house that he was truly afraid of, after their first meeting. Buffy had come quite close to skewering him with a fire-poker. He decided not to press his luck with her, which was just as well for the blonde.
"Am I done?" she questioned, not putting Kreacher down.
Sirius nodded, smirked. "You're done," he replied. "Put him down."
Buffy complied and dropped the house-elf on the floor. He landed in a heap and took a moment before standing up and scampering off. Buffy glared after him.
"He's trouble," she muttered.
"He's just used to my mother," Sirius replied, rolling his eyes. "He's harmless, really."
"Funny," Buffy replied, looked seriously over at him. "That's what vampires say about me sometimes."
There was silence for a moment, Sirius looking straight back at Buffy. Finally, he sighed and shook his head. "Duly noted," he muttered, feeling a bit put out that a seventeen-year-old could stare him down.
Buffy grinned, loving his reaction. She turned to go, but stopped when Sirius called her back. She turned, raising her eyebrows.
"Moody's out back, he wants to see you. Says he's got a test."
"Should I be worried?" she asked, already walking towards the back.
"Maybe a little bit," Sirius replied, grinning.
Buffy laughed a bit to herself, walking through the house. When she reached the back, she paused, wondering why on earth Moody would want to test her. They had all taken turns shadowing the girl when she patrolled (much to Buffy's annoyance) and knew full well that she could take care of herself. What made him doubt that now? Deciding that there was no other way than to just go see, Buffy opened the door and walked outside.
Moody stood there, looking intently at a broom lying on the ground, seeming to be trying to make up his mind about something. Finally, he nodded to himself and looked up to Buffy's widened eyes.
"If you think I'm your cleaning lady, forget it," she said, already backing up.
Moody chuckled, a sound that sounded almost scary to Buffy's ears. "No no, this broom is not for sweeping," he said. "I would only like to test something. Come here child."
Buffy obeyed, curious now. Moody instructed her to stand beside the broom and hold her hand out, which she did. She raised her eyebrows.
"Ok, now what?"
"Say up," Moody grunted, staring intently at the broom.
Buffy shrugged, mostly to herself as Moody's eyes didn't stray from the broom. "Up!" she said forcefully. She almost jumped when the broom jumped up into her hand.
Moody looked up at her grinning. "Very interesting," he said. "You, my dear Slayer, are a witch."
Buffy took a moment to do a very accurate impression of a gold fish. When she finally regained control over her gaping mouth, the only word that she could come up with was "WHAT?!"
---
Oh, you knew it would happen eventually! I just couldn't resist. And since the only wandless magic (besides potions, which really isn't so much magic as magical) is the broom thing, I figured it was the way to go. Review please.