Disclaimers, etc, see part one.
Authors' Notes: Thanks for the great reviews. Chapter updates are going to be a bit sporadic, but we'll try for every two weeks, and at least once a month. It depends a lot on Real Life.
Re 'ships: This is not a particularly 'shippy story. The 'ships we have won't play a big part but they are:
Ron/ Hermione, George/ Buffy, Fred/ Angelina, and, of course, Jenny/ Giles, plus possible others. (Remus/ Tonks)
We will be looking at Harry and Buffy's friendship, but it's nothing more than that.
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"Buffy, Jenny and I have something we want to discuss with you."
Buffy looked up from the axe she was sharpening with a whet blade and stared passively at Giles and Jenny. She took in their jubilant, yet nervous faces, their clasped hands, and the ring on Jenny's left hand.
"Congratulations, both of you." Buffy paused briefly before continuing in the same calm tone. "I hope you will be very happy."
Buffy bent her head and continued sharpening.
"Er, what? How did you know?" asked Giles looking around, confused, until his gaze landed on the ring Jenny was waving in front of him. "Oh, right. Well, you're the first to be in on our nuptial plans, but that wasn't all we wanted to talk to you about, Buffy.
"Jenny and I would like to become your legal guardians. With the situation as it is with your father — ouch" Giles stopped talking as Jenny elbowed him in the ribs.
"What Rupert was trying to say was, the two of us would be honoured if you would allow us to take care of you for the next few years. We know you can manage in any set of circumstances, but we want you to have the best possible opportunities."
Buffy looked up again, staring directly at Giles. "There's something else, isn't there?"
Giles looked at Jenny before gathering his courage. "Yes, there is. We thought that, because so much had happened here in Sunnydale, for all of us, that we would … move."
"What about the Hellmouth? And the house and furniture? What is going to happen to everything?"
"We thought we would let the house, and put the money in a savings account for you. The furniture could go into storage, except for a few items if you wanted to take them with you. As for the Hellmouth, your death in May Called another Slayer. You're not the only Vampire Slayer anymore. The Council considers Kendra the active Slayer. It is likely she will be relocated here.
"I did offer her the use of most of our weapons," he added, apologetically, "as she has yet to acquire many of her own. And we won't be able to take them with us."
Buffy went back to sharpening her axe. "Fine," she nodded. "When do we leave?"
"Don't you want to know where we are going, Buffy?"
"It doesn't matter; one place is as good as any other."
They were suddenly interrupted by a tapping sound at the window. Giles and Jenny jolted when they saw a barn owl tapping at the window. There was a scroll tied to its leg.
"Rupert, is that what I think it is?" asked Jenny, eyeing the bird warily.
"If you think it is an owl carrying mail, then yes. I wonder who it's from. I haven't had mail from anyone in so long," replied Giles as he hurried over to the window, opening the sash so the bird could get in.
The owl flew through the open window to the table and stuck its leg out so Giles could remove the letter. Then it flew over to Buffy, perching on the shoulder of her black leather jacket. She let it sip from her glass of orange juice, stroking its feathers. Meanwhile, Jenny and Giles were reading their mail. Slightly bemused, they turned to face Buffy, still busy with the owl.
"It looks like our plans are going to have to change slightly. Buffy, you have been invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," said Giles. "I went there myself; Ravenclaw. It is a boarding school. But we'll be living just a couple of miles away, in the village."
"I don't mind," Buffy replied without looking up from the owl who was twittering in her ear, "but shouldn't you go and answer it?"
"Oh, of course" Giles said. He left the room muttering about where his quills were. As he closed the door behind him, Buffy looked up to Jenny, a hard look on her face. Jenny realised that this was the first time they had ever been alone together.
"You sent him to die in my place," Buffy said.
"How can you know that?" asked Jenny, anguish on her face.
"Giles may be able to lie to me but the only way Angel could keep something from me is to avoid me, he couldn't do that when rescuing me. Besides, he didn't want me to blame myself."
"He did choose, you know; we didn't force him to do it."
"I know, and I haven't killed you for it. I just wanted you to know that I know. You make Giles happy and I could love you for that. But you sent someone I love to die. I don't hate you, and one day I may forgive you, but I won't forget it."
Giles returned before Jenny could say anything in response. Buffy's face was blank as she looked up at him, the quiet rage carefully hidden -- and Jenny had thought that Buffy couldn't hide her feelings. Giles didn't notice. He was holding a scroll of parchment and an old quill, beaming as he entered the room.
"I actually found my old quill in the library; I must have been using it as a bookmark last time I got my old school books out."
At his entry, the owl flew over to him holding out his leg to Giles, Giles deftly fastened the note to his leg, and the bird launched itself out the window.
"Well, ah, that's done, now," Giles said distractedly. "Would anyone like some tea before we call Willow and Xander and tell them of our news?"
… … …
Los Angeles Airport was always crowded. It might have been 3am but it was still a crowded, bustling mass of people trying to catch flights, recover luggage, and buy more duty free products than they were entitled to. In the middle of a departure lounge one redhead was desperately clinging to an almost unresponsive blonde. Suddenly the redhead let go and the blonde offered a handkerchief from a pocket of her overlarge leather jacket.
"I'll always be there for you, Willow, just not on the same continent."
"Well, at least until Christmas, then you will have to put up with me."
"Um, Willow, I seem to be missing something here. I thought you knew I was going to England for good."
Willow giggled nervously; glad to hear a remnant of the old Buffy present. "Yeah, well my parents felt that I should stop wasting my time and should get decent education for once. They decided it was time I took up Oxford on their offer. I can start at Hilary term."
"Willow, you're only fifteen."
"I know. That's why my parents have decided I should board with Giles during the breaks. I may be responsible enough to go to one of the most respected universities in the world, but I still have to be looked after some of the time."
There was a pause before Buffy replied.
"Oh, well, I'll see you at Christmas then. We better go now, our flight is boarding, and Giles will probably need some help getting our luggage into overhead. We may have left the weapons and most of the books for the new Slayer and her Watcher, but Giles had a few "Special Texts" he couldn't do without."
She was making an effort to be less pensive and withdrawn and Willow gave a small grin in understanding of Giles's behaviour. But then she frowned.
"Xander didn't really mean what he said, you know, before. He was just upset and didn't know how to show it. He would really like it if the two of you could make up."
"Willow, he said I was better of with the love of my life dead from excruciating injuries. He bled out as I held him. Xander had obviously thought about it. You can't say things like that without meaning it. I can't forget what happened and I can't forget what he said. Besides he'll be busy with the new Slayer for a while, apparently he plans to get involved in training."
Willow held back as she watched her friend walk towards the plane entrance, not caring that she was leaving everything familiar behind her.
… … …
After a 22 hour plane trip, and a frantic struggle with an irate taxi driver over the shortest way to get to their location, Jennifer Giles looked at the cosy main room of Leaky Cauldron the way an insomniac looks at six shots of extra strong espresso. All she wanted to do was settle into her room and sleep until her internal clock was back in sync. Her husband on the other hand was all but bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. Jenny decided to accept the inevitable.
"Rupert, I feel like having a small nap. I was wondering if you and Buffy would see to the supplies we're going to need."
Giles's eyes lit up like a hopeful puppy's. "Really? I mean, I would be happy to stay with you."
Jenny gave a wry smile. "We both know that the only thing you want to do at the moment is search for replacements to all the books you left behind. This way you'll get some of our mundane chores done as well." Jenny pause, turning to face Buffy. "You could rest with me if you would rather. You don't have to trawl through old magic book shops with Giles if you're too tired."
Buffy answered Jenny without halting her probing and cautious scan of the bar. "It's fine. I need to get some weapons anyway. All I have is my stake. I feel vulnerable without a sharply edged weapon on hand."
Jenny smiled in understanding. "I'll see you in our rooms in around six o'clock? We can go and have a meal together afterwards." Jenny said before setting off up the stairs, the lure of a soft bed drawing her on.
After she had vanished from sight, Giles turned to Buffy. "We can get everything we might need in or near Diagon Alley, but I'll need to get money out of the Wizarding Bank first."
Buffy nodded absently. Giles lead her, silently, outside, through the archway, up the steps into Gringotts. Buffy was, by then, not surprised by the fact that there were goblins in charge of the money. Or the fact that, once Giles had finished talking to the bank teller, they had little train carts to ride in.
The cart they were riding came to a jarring stop outside a vault number 387. The goblin who had driven it easily hopped out, the nauseating trip having had no effect on him. Buffy hopped out after him, as unaffected as the goblin. Giles on the other hand had turned a pasty shade of green, and was currently taking slow shallow breaths, trying to raise the courage to move.
"Mister Giles, I was under the impression you wanted to remove some funds from your vault." Their goblin was not in a patient mood.
Giles gathered himself. "I'm fine. I'll be there in just a minute." Giles slowly rose from the cart, easing himself out gingerly. "Has everything been done about the new vault?"
The goblin looked affronted. "Of course. Gringotts has the highest efficiency rate of any bank in the world, Wizarding or no."
Buffy looked from Giles to the goblin and back again, a question sparking a slight fire in her eyes, held back while the vault was being opened. "What new vault? I thought you already had this one Giles," Buffy asked as they entered the vault.
Giles looked over his shoulder at Buffy while bemusedly scooping coins into a pouch. "I thought I told you. The new vault is for you. It will have your allowance and the money from the renting of the house in Sunnydale. This way you won't have to come to Jenny or me if you need to buy something." Giles looked at her expectantly, waiting for some Buffy-like comment about how many shoes she could buy.
"Oh. Good. That will make weapon buying a little easier." Buffy paused, looking around the vault. "Have you got what you need yet Giles?"
"Oh, what?" Giles shook himself out of his reminiscing. "Oh, yes, I suppose we should be on our way now."
When they were all settled on the cart Giles turned pleadingly to the goblin. "Do you think we could go a little slower on the way back? I don't think I could cope if we went at the same speed as before."
The goblin, grinning replied, "One speed only," and was about to fire the cart up when Buffy gripped him by the ears, lifting him into the air.
"We both know there is more than one speed on this piece of junk. Now unless you want to find out what it is like to be used as a braking device I suggest you take us up on the slow speed."
Buffy gently replaced the goblin in his seat, eyeing him sharply. Without a word the goblin fired up the cart, at a speed that while slow by nobody's account, was still nowhere near as fast as their earlier descent.