Author's Note: I have no claim over Buffy and Co., nor over Harry and crew. They belong to Joss Whedon and JK Rowling, respectively. Please read and review!

After that night in the tower, even the students couldn't miss the change, especially in Snape. He was calmer and not as quick to anger. That's not to say the old Snape was gone for good. Neville was still scared to death and he still picked on Harry, ("I suppose it was too much to hope for"). They all saw how he looked at her but none of them really understood it. One afternoon Draco Malfoy stopped by during Snape's prep time

"Yes, Draco?"

"Sir, Filch asked me to tell you that your cupboard supplies have arrived."

"Thank you Draco." But the boy didn't leave right away. "Is there something else?"

"Sir, some of the Slytherins are starting to talk about you and Buffy. You-know-who always said muggles and muggle-borns were the worst kind to associate with and I know my father would hate to see you tarnish your reputation by hanging around with her."

"Mr. Malfoy, just because you are in my house does not give you the right to speak to me about my personal matters. But your father needn't worry. There is nothing remotely unprofessional between Ms. Summers and myself. And you are to speak of this nonsense to no one, do you understand me?" Draco nodded and left the room, but Snape was troubled. If the students had started to notice, it wouldn't be long before the Dark Lord did too. He'd have to talk to Buffy.

Meanwhile, Buffy was sitting in the Gryffindor common room reading "100 Basic Poisons and Their Antidotes," which Snape had lent her.

"You and Snape have become very friendly lately. I hope you're not fraternizing with the enemy," Harry said. Buffy just rolled her eyes.

"He's hardly the enemy Harry, and we're not 'fraternizing.' Snape and I have just come to a professional arrangement that's all. We work together, after all, so there's no sense in butting heads all the time," she said.

Later that evening, Snape joined Buffy in her dungeon for a work out. He'd been helping her train for a couple of weeks and he seemed to enjoy it, as far as she could tell, but tonight he looked distracted.

"Buffy, before we get started, we need to talk. I'm sure Dumbledore has explained to you the Dark Lord's intentions, but there's something you should know. When the Dark Lord was in power, he had a loyal group of supporters called Death Eaters. Some he recruited, others he enspelled with unforgivable curses. No one knew who was a death eater and who wasn't. The only way to identify the members was by a tattoo. For reasons I don't wish to get into, I joined them." Snape rolled up his sleeve to reveal a tattoo on his left forearm. It was a skull with a snake emerging from its mouth.

"I came to realize the error of my ways and have since become a spy for Dumbledore. My position requires the appearance of unwavering support for the Dark Lord. Your position here as Potter's bodyguard makes you the Dark Lord's enemy, which, in turn, makes you my enemy." The last words seem to stick in his throat. "It's a necessary fiction to fool him into thinking that I am still loyal to his cause, though my dislike for Potter is real enough." Suddenly his shoes had become very interesting.

"I understand the need for secrecy. During my time on the hellmouth I had plenty of experience looking at the big picture. The mission is what's important, not you or me. I'll be careful to leave you alone," she said. Snape took her hand.

"I don't want you to leave me alone, even though I know that would probably be wiser. I just think we need to use more discretion in our interactions. The students are starting to talk and we can't give them any reason to think our conduct is anything but professional. But if you'd rather have nothing to do with me I'll understand. Most people wouldn't be caught dead in the company of a death eater, even a reformed one." To his surprise, Buffy laughed.

"One of the other things I leaned on the hellmouth is that peoples' past is not necessarily who they are now. When my watcher was young, he and his reckless friends raised a demon, Eyghon, for power and glory, and they marked themselves with tattoos, similar to yours actually. Of course, it came back to haunt him later but by then he was wiser and not as reckless and was able to help us banish the demon. Not before his less-than-reformed pal tattooed the mark on me so it would go after me instead, but that's another story. Anyway, everyone deserves a chance at redemption. Everyone falls from grace at some point, but how will they ever change if you don't give them a second chance?" To reinforce her point, Buffy kissed him lightly on the mouth. "Now I thought I'd work on my throwing knives tonight. Want to be my target?"

A couple of weeks before Christmas, Buffy approached Dumbledore.

"Sir, could I ask you a favor?"

"By all means, Buffy."

"Would it be alright if I invited my sister Dawn here for Christmas? She's not a witch, but she's not really a muggle either and she's lived on the hellmouth so she knows all about magic. And most of the students would be gone so she wouldn't be disturbing anyone. She's the only real family I have left, and it would be nice to spend Christmas with her. Harry's staying here, so I can't go back to California."

"I'd be delighted if she would join us. The students don't know about her real nature so she'll have to curb her muggle tendencies to avoid any awkward questions, though."

"Are you kidding? It'll be nothing but 'charms this' and 'potions that.' I'll never get her to shut up. Thank you so much!" she squealed. She didn't waste any time rushing to the common room to write her sister.

"Dawnie,

Guess what? I asked Dumbledore (the headmaster) if you could come out for Christmas and he said yes! I hope you can convince dad to let you come. It's not like he knows why I'm really here, or even where 'here' is. But Harry and his friends are going to be here too, so you'll get to meet them. You just won't believe this place. And we can go shopping in the village. You won't find some of this stuff in Bloomindales, I can tell you that.

Anyway, I hope you can make it. I'll make sure this owl sticks around for a while so you can send your response back ASAP!

Hope you're doing well

Lots of love, Buffy"

Buffy took the letter to the owlery where she picked a big tufted owl that looked like it would be up to a long journey.

"Can you stick around until she write back?" she asked the bird. It hooted once, which she took to mean it understood. Then it took off through the window. It seemed two weeks had never gone by so slowly in her life. She knew that it would take a while to get to California in the first place, then it had to wait for Dawn's reply, and then it had to fly all the way back. None of this logic helped her impatience though. She felt like a little kid waiting for the prize promised by collected box tops. Finally her answer came.

"Buffy,

I CAN COME! It took some fast talking, but Dad finally said yes! I told him that you couldn't leave cause you were too busy with school, but you found some cheap round-trip tickets so I could visit you instead. I think he has a business trip anyway so he probably won't even be home. Once I explained everything I think he was relieved that I had somewhere to go for the Holidays. I can't wait to see you! Do you think I can learn any magic while I'm there? Is Harry cute? All the boys here suck.

See you soon!

Love, Dawn"