Warning: Minor Council bashing... slightly...
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Chapter 8
When I Dream Awake
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Harry had just finished tidying his room when Hedwig returned with a reply from Ron. Harry eagerly let Hedwig into his room and removed the letter tied to her leg. It wasn't very long and it held a bit of a warning.
Harry -
Dad just told us that Dumbledore came to the Order and said that you had a visitor. He said he'd met her but didn't tell us who she was. Did you know that the Order changed headquarters? Hermione arrived yesterday. We can't wait to see you. I'm trying to talk Mum into inviting your visitor to The Burrow too.
Ron
Harry grinned as he pulled out a bit of parchment and dipped his quill in ink. He wrote back that he would love for Ron and Hermione, not to mention the Weasleys, to meet his sister. He didn't bother mentioning that she was actually his sister. He didn't want to. He'd tell it to their faces once they'd had the chance to meet her face to face.
He moved to Hedwig's cage and attached his letter to her leg. "Can you take this back to Ron's?" he asked softly. Hedwig glanced at him a moment before disappearing again into the starlit night.
He closed his window and moved to sit on his bed. It was still too early for him to sleep yet, so his thoughts began to drift. They fell onto his sister and he grinned, imagining the faces of his two best friends when he told them that he had a sister.
His thoughts then fell onto his birthday and he turned, a heaviness pursuing him as he stared at his calendar. Three days. He would be sixteen in only three days. He remembered last year and his memories came back. Sirius had still been alive.
Bitterly, he stood up and walked back to the window and stared out into the night. It was hard enough to accept the fact that his godfather was truly gone. When he told his sister earlier that day about Sirius, it had taken everything he had to restrain his self control. In time, she would find out who Sirius really was. She would learn about their father and his group of friends. She was going to learn everything because in living these memories again, Harry would truly have these people back.
He smiled again, the gesture cracking the deep scowl. It was nice to know that there was someone back in his life. It was nice to know that there was someone who didn't know about this deeply complicated world. And she was his sister, a birth relative.
He smiled softly as he returned to his bed and laid down on it, snapping off the lights. Tomorrow, he would begin to explain everything. He would tell her about his parents... their parents. He was going to tell her about the Marauders. He was going to tell her about Hogwarts. And he was going to tell her about Voldemort. The curse... she had to know about the curse.
But the prophecy was different, he realized. He hadn't even told Ron and Hermione yet. How was he even going to explain that to his sister?
His heart was heavy as he drifted off to sleep. In the morning, the time for explanations would begin.
- - - - -
It was after sunset when Buffy finally hung up the telephone. She laughed a bit as the conversation with her Mother and Giles came rushing back to her. Joyce had been completely shocked that her daughter was from a family of Wizards. In fact, Joyce had almost fainted, according to Giles, and that was why she hadn't answered her adopted daughter the first time around.
Her first goal was to find somewhere else to live, somewhere that wasn't in an area controlled by the Council. She and Giles had discussed it. He had a few contacts in England left and would be contacting them immediately.
Buffy flipped through the rest of her care package with a grin. She suppressed a giggle when she read over Willow's letter. She'd gotten her first schedule and room assignment at the University of California-Sunnydale.
Before she realized it, she had drifted off to sleep.
Faith was walking by her side. They appeared to be in a cemetary, but it was unlike any cemetary she'd ever seen. Faith was holding a stake and the two were in deep conversation.
"I was thinking," Faith was saying as they walked among the headstones, "that maybe it would be a good idea for you to start training again."
"I would like that," Buffy said, her voice distorted and sad as she paused, "but I don't think the Council would approve."
"Who says they have to?" Faith asked, clearly shaken by Buffy's reluctance. "This world was built for the both of us, B. You know the drill, we two have the power to take out anything."
"It's different now," Buffy said, glancing at the ground.
"Why?" Faith asked. "Why does it have to be different? Just because of your little brother..."
"It is Harry," Buffy explained, her voice sad again. "I just can't shake that feeling, you know? He's lived through so much... I can't leave him now."
"Then don't," Faith retorted. "Look, B. You are first and foremost a Slayer. And then you decide you want to a be a sister, great. But this isn't about the power, Buff. It's destiny. We have the same destiny. Not even this Council can take it away." She turned and started jogging through the graveyard.
Buffy started and ran to catch up her before falling into step beside her. "There's more," she said to Faith, who turned to look at her sharply. "He's in danger."
"From what, boredom?" Faith asked roughly.
"There's something about him," Buffy replied, turning to look at a particular gravestone. When she saw the name on it, she stopped suddenly. Faith knocked into her and they both fell onto the cold ground. The ground was suddenly frozen as they both stood up, their breath coming out in shades of blue.
"What is it, B?" Instead of sounding right next to her, the voice was coming from all around her.
"Sirius... Black..." Buffy replied quickly, turning to look at Faith, who was staring at the stone, her own eyes wide.
"Is this a sign?" Faith said curiously. "Is this a sign? Am I wide awake here, dreaming?"
"I was wondering the same thing," Buffy said. Bending down, she touched the ground. Soft bits of ice clung to the dirt as she began to push it away.
"What are you doing?" Faith asked. Her voice was coming from a distance again.
"I have to see," Buffy replied, the dirt now magically parting, revealing a small golden urn. "I have to see if he's there."
"He's not there," Faith said, her voice little more than a whisper in the wind. "Because he's here."
Buffy dropped the urn and turned to look at Faith. She was staring at her, but there was a figure behind her. He appeared to be walking around the back of them.
"It isn't about power anymore," Faith said, dawning realization sounding in her voice, "it's about the blood, isn't it?"
"What blood?" Buffy asked, standing up to look at Faith.
"The blood in you comes from them," Faith replied, her eyes locking onto Buffy's. "I never knew the importance of blood until I saw it wash away."
"Wash... away? Faith, I don't understand!" Buffy said. She was shouting now and the distance between them was growing.
"You have to bring it back before it fades," Faith said cryptically. She was suddenly standing behind the Black headstone. Her hand was cut and rivers of blood were dripping onto the grave. "So much death... so much darkness... it'll wash away."
Buffy shook her head as though to clear it. "I don't understand, Faith. What do you want me to do?"
"You have to save Harry," Faith said, gazing at her again with eyes full of a deep sadness. "You have to save Harry from the darkness. His fate has been decided, but you can bring him back."
"Bring... who am I supposed to bring back?" Buffy asked. The distance between her and Faith was widening now. The cloaked figure was moving closer to Faith. "Faith, answer me!"
The figure was now standing directly behind her. As its hand closed around Faith's upper arm, she glanced once more at the other Slayer. "It is before the fall of the world that this fate is decided. Your destiny has altered. You are no longer one of us. You are one of them. You must bring him back before the veil..."
The scene changed, as though the figure and Faith were nothing more than bits of mist. She was standing in front of a veil again, staring inside of it. As the memory of Faith cleared, she heard footsteps behind her. And there she was, again. Faith.
"Faith, what am I supposed to do?" she asked softly.
"Is this where he fell?" Faith asked ironically as she joined Buffy, staring at the abyss. "Body trapped, soul lost... so sad and so alone..."
"Great," Buffy said, rolling her eyes. "Riddles."
"That name," Faith echoed, cocking her head slightly, the reddish light from the veiled abyss reflecting in her dark eyes, "that horrible name has caused much pain for your blood." She paused. "He will fall if this darkness continues. If he loses but another..."
"Harry lost Sirius last month," Buffy realized, turning back to the abyss. "But he's dead. And he's never coming back..."
There were more footfalls behind them and she turned, realizing the hooded figure has reappeared. "I'm not as dead as I seem," a grim masculine voice replied, taking off the hood. "Behind the veil, no one can feel you live..."
Before Buffy could act, she was falling again, through the veil, into the abyss, feeling the cold and the dark and the death closing in... she closed her eyes...
Buffy opened her eyes, feeling her heart pounding very fast. "Wow," she whispered.
Across the ocean in California, Faith sat up very fast, the dream still melting from her memory. "Oh, God," she whispered.
The dream had seemed to real. There was a man and a cryptic message to save him. Sirius Black, Faith thought, wondering who he was. Harry had lost him and Buffy had said that Harry was the name of her brother. Sirius was obviously someone of very large importance.
Tomorrow, she would go to Giles and ask him if he knew anything about anyone named Sirius Black.
- - - - -
Sunrise came early for Buffy, who sat near the window, staring out as the sun finally peaked the horizon. After her nightmare, or dream, or whatever it was, she'd been unable to fall back asleep. But now she was exhausted, almost willing to close her eyes and sink further into this chair it was so comfortable.
A few hours later, she woke up to a ringing telephone. She answered it sleepily, pleased to hear Giles talking on the other line.
He'd found her a secondary place to live. He was one of the oldest contacts Giles had and he had a flat on top of a small store. Buffy was happy to hear that it was closer to Surrey than she was now. After she hung up with Giles, she made arrangements with his contact to visit the place and to pay the security deposit. After she'd finished that call, she turned and stared at the small room.
She gathered all of her belongings with a grim sense that she wouldn't be coming back. Feeling like she could use a bit of coffee, she moved to the door to walk out only to find three sturdy figures standing on the other side, one with his hand raised to knock.
It was Quentin Travers.
Wordlessly, she held the door open. As much as she wanted to just scream and shout in their faces, she didn't have the energy, not now.
Quentin allowed his other associates to enter the room before he swept in pompously. "Miss Summers," he said, greeting her.
"I have a new name now," she said coldly, sitting back down on her bed, "or haven't you heard?"
"Miss Potter, then," said the woman standing behind Quentin. She glanced around the small room with a bit of disgust in her face. "Surely you would have kept the suite we'd provided if you knew that you were still on our payroll."
"I sure as hell wouldn't," Buffy snapped, crossing her arms. "What are you doing here?"
"We heard you spent the day before yesterday in Little Whinging," Quentin said, not looking at her. "You were visiting the Dursley family at number four, Privet Drive. This much we could ascertain came from your driver before we summarily dismissed him."
"He didn't talk so you had him fired," Buffy said matter-of-factly. "What did you force him to do? Did you torture him?"
"Since you are no longer with the Council," Quentin said, his voice quite cool, "you have no reason to even suspect our intentions were anything other than to ensure your best interest was kept safe."
"In other words, you want me to stay under your thumb," Buffy said sharply. "I get it now."
"I appreciate that," Quentin said, his own eyes scanning the room. "I would have preferred you kept our other room for your use but I understand that you wanted to show yourself to be more difficult."
"You think?" Buffy asked, not really caring any more with what they could threaten her with. "Why would I be difficult for you? You're the ones that forced my hand!"
"We did not ask you to leave our Council," the woman said tartly. "Nor did we ask you to be so cantankerous in your ways."
"I'm not British like you," Buffy replied calmly, "so I have no idea what that word even means."
The woman blushed slightly and turned away. "You were an original citizen of this country and apparently your own curiosity has served us both well. You have led us to your remaining family and now we are piecing together your existence."
Buffy could feel herself beginning to snap. "My life is my life, not yours, too. I suggest you stay out of my life before I decide I need to get testy."
"You cannot hurt us," Quentin replied sharply. "We are still human beings and no Slayer has ever--"
"I'm no longer a Slayer though, am I?" Buffy retorted. "You took that away from me. You ripped me from my family and dumped me in this gorgeous expensive hotel so that you can control what I do and what I think. Well, guess what. I'm not under your control anymore. I'm not one of your little puppets. And since when do you consider yourselves human beings? As far as I can see, you're all bastards."
"You are still a Slayer no matter how much you try to deny it," the other man replied quietly. "It's still in your blood."
"And what about the other stuff?" Buffy asked, standing up. Her voice was starting to rise again. "My destiny, blah blah, your orders, blah blah?"
"Your destiny is only altered because we said it was so," Quentin replied, his light-eyed gaze staring into hers. "You can have your life back. All you have to do is agree to return to the Council."
"Nope," Buffy said, shaking her head vehemently. "No more hoops, no more jumps. I'm not your tool anymore, Faith is. You've already destroyed that part of my life so why don't you stay out of it? I have a right to know where I came from. This is obviously what you wanted, wasn't it?"
"We never expected you to take that package," the woman said, her voice sorrowful. "We thought you would have had the sense to back off..."
"Apparently I didn't," Buffy replied angrily. "And now look at me. I'm unemployed and living under your wonderful mercy. Great. So I'm still a prisoner, just in another country."
"There's more, though, isn't there?" the woman asked, moving to Buffy's side, her eyes full of concern as she gazed into the eyes of the former Slayer. "Your family has become important to you. Whatever you found, whoever is still alive... they factor greatly into this decision to cast us from your lives..."
"I'm a Potter," Buffy said proudly, looking her in the eye. "Of course it matters to me."
"We know very little about your family, but we are beginning to understand more about them," the woman replied, glancing at Quentin. "He's being very thorough in his investigation."
Buffy's eyes flickered over to Quentin. "You'll never find out everything. Even if you knew what you were dealing with, you'd have no idea."
"We're a bit more intelligent than you give us credit for," Quentin said coldly. "We know a great deal more than you think we do."
"Tell me what you know then," Buffy snapped. "Instead of taunting me with all of these details, you might as well ruin the surprise. It's what you're good at, isn't it?"
"Very well," Quentin said, glancing at both the man and the woman. They both nodded and left the room. "We know that you have a brother, Miss Summers, er... Potter. His name is Harry, if I'm not mistaken. Your parents were murdered in their home nearly fifteen years ago by an unknown assailant. From what my sources have told me and I can assure you they have told me quite a bit, a very powerful force destroyed that family, but that force was detained when it tried to kill your brother.
"Since then, your brother has been attending a school. St Brutus', if I'm not mistaken. But is he really? We've been in close contact and while they have said your brother is a regular attendee, we have never seen him. So we believe he goes elsewhere in his educational pursuits. We also know of a man by the name of Sirius Black. He was wanted here about three years ago after he escaped from a prison. He was reunited with your brother and went into hiding, much to the chagrin of the Council, I can assure you.
"Sirius was a known murderer. He killed an entire street full of human beings before he was apprehended. He was cleared of all charges two weeks ago. We assume this means that he is dead and sure enough my sources have confirmed his death. He, too, was murdered. So you see, Miss Potter... anyone who was ever connected to Harry Potter has died. We do not know what is so special with this boy, but as you can see, there is a certain amount of risk in aligning yourself with him and his kind."
"What kind are you talking about?" Buffy asked, her voice hushed. Her entire mind was swarming with questions, but she knew that Quentin was the last person to ask. She had to wait until she saw Harry again.
"The incurably violent types," Quentin said unblinkingly. "Now I know where it is you've come from."
Angrily, Buffy jumped to her feet. "Don't you dare speak about Harry like that," she said angrily, seizing the older man by the shoulders. "You have no idea what's been going on here! You don't even know him!"
"And I suppose you do?" he asked coolly.
"I have let you take a lot away from me," she said, drawing her face close to his, "but you will never take Harry away from me, ever! That boy has lived through enough. He's my brother now. And I am going to protect him from the likes of you." She sat up, shoving Quentin's chair back against the wall. "All of this, the room, the food, everything? It doesn't matter. It's just another gift from a Council unworthy of such power. You may be excellent politicians, Quentin, but you are very poor fighters."
He glared at her once more. "I'd like to see if you can get away from it all, Buffy. This life is very tempting to you. To be separated from your world in California and your brother's here... to be on the outside, looking in... it must be very, very tempting..."
"The only thing tempting me right now is to drive this soft butterknife right through your skull," she said through clenched teeth.
He glared at her. "Perhaps we were wrong to hide your true identity. There may have been another institution like St. Brutus' for incurably criminal females. It's of my greater interest to see that you would be detained should another threat like this persist."
Her fists clenched at her sides. "You won't do that," she said, her voice barely a hoarse whisper. "You need me. Admit it, Quentin. How is Faith doing in sunnydale? Is she following that moron Wesley around like a scared little puppy dog? No. Faith knows what she has to do and even an idiot like Wesley can't stop her. The other Slayer is slipping beyond your control and there is nothing you can do to stop her, even if it means begging me to let you back in."
If looks could kill, Buffy would be lying dead on the floor in front of him. "Your business is now with your so-called family in England," he said icily. "You will leave the business in Sunnydale to us."
"I didn't listen to you much before," Buffy said with a casual shrug, "what makes you think I'll pay attention now?"
"There are far more devastating things the Council can do to make certain that you would never disturb us again," Quentin said in a heavy voice, rising from his chair and pacing slightly. "We could have you committed and that way you would never see your adoptive Mother, Mister Giles or your brother Harry ever again. We could also have you killed, but that will be a last-case scenario. Only if you keep working against us, Miss Summers, will we resort to tighter action. We're the ones paying the bills around here. You no longer have any control."
Buffy thought of the large check her Mother and Giles had sent and smirked. Quentin obviously had no idea that it even existed. His own pompous smirk outshone hers. He seriously believed he had scared her.
The bastard.
"Not if I take care of you first," Buffy said in a voice of deathly calm. She leaned down and lifted a knife, a remainder of the delicious lunch with Harry the day before. She walked over to where he was standing, twirling the knife unconcernedly in her hand. "You know that if I kill you now, your orders would go unnoticed. You carry a lot of power, Quentin. If you died here, it would be like their head was snapped off. Chaos would ensure. And I would laugh. Hard."
He stared at the knife and for the first time, there was a flicker of anxiety in his eyes. "You know you cannot," he said quietly. "If you did, you'd be a murderer."
"My brother's godfather was one, right?" Buffy asked, and in the blink of an eye, she had him pinned to her door, the knife pressed into his neck. "I guess it must run in the family."
He struggled against her, but realized it was futile. She released him after a moment. He sputtered indignantly and glared at her. "This isn't over, Miss Summers. We will destroy you if you keep this up."
"Bring it on," she said, her voice still dangerously soft.
He left, slamming the door hard behind him.
Buffy sat down again, trying to catch her breath and wonder what had just happened. How Quentin had found out about Sirius was amazing. But she was very, very glad he didn't know that Harry was a Wizard. Or that they'd both come from a family of Wizards.
After sitting still for ten minutes, as though fearing that Quentin and the others would return, she stood up and began packing all of her things into her three bags. Once that had been done, she lifted the check, swaying slightly as she stared at the amount. Joyce must have given him money to send her. It was the only way it could possibly be that much money.
Something else occurred to her as she dialed the number of a different cab company. He didn't know that Giles had sent her a box. A smile flickered across her face. All hope was not lost yet.
Fifteen minutes later, Buffy was climbing into the backseat of the taxi. Her eyes scanned the cars around the complex, wondering if the Council was watching her.
Let them come, she thought angrily. Let them intervene in her rage. They were nothing to her anymore. They were no longer her guides. They were nuisances. And after what they'd done to her, they deserved all that was coming to them. And she would make sure that she'd give them hell for it.
As the car took her to her new living space, her mind began to wander back onto the dream she'd had the night before. She half-wondered what it meant. It was definitely another dream about Sirius, but Faith had been there, too. Was this another prophetic dream that Slayers shared?
At the same moment in Sunnydale, Faith was wondering the exact same thing. She'd stopped at Giles to talk about her dream only to discover he wasn't there. She'd let herself inside and wandered around before falling into a chair, her thoughts returning to that dream.
It was strange, wasn't it, she thought to herself. She was dreaming about a dead guy.
She hoped Giles would show up soon... but she wasn't going to hold herself to that. Giles had been disappearing a lot lately, mostly to prepare Faith for what was to come. She was very curious now about what was coming next.
- - - - -
Once Buffy had gone to the bank, she visited the new flat. It was above an old antiques shop, across the street and less than a block from an inn known as The Leaky Cauldron. It wasn't nearly as nice as her hotel room, but it was nice enough to house two people and it had a fireplace. She moved to pay her rent when he held up his hands and said it had already been taken care of.
Buffy demanded to know who had paid for it. All he told her was that it was a gift. After asking him a few more questions, he broke down and said that it had been paid for by Joyce Summers. The lease on it was less than a month. Obviously Joyce knew that her daughter intended on disappearing from London.
"Wow," Buffy whispered, touched. Her mother had really come through for her in Buffy's quest to get out of reach of the Council. She knew that by living across London in this old flat that they would have a problem trying to find her. And since only a few of the Watchers knew her by her real name, it would be easy enough to keep using it for now until she found a different alias.
He left and Buffy toured her new living space. It was nice enough, she realized. It had three rooms total, including a large bathroom. A bedroom was kept in the corner. The rest was a large space covered with wood-panel flooring. A small kitchen was tucked in the opposite corner. The room was pleasantly cool due to the air conditioning unit which buzzed above her.
She quickly sat down and wrote the address on the card. She then filled out the telephone number of the cab company she had decided to use. Hopefully the Council wouldn't realize she'd chosen another one.
After she had finished copying that down, she walked over to the box of the items Giles had sent her. The dusty photo album was still inside. She lifted it up and tucked the address and the telephone number inside. She intended to give it to her brother. He deserved to know that his sister had an adoptive mother and father an ocean and continent away.
She left the shop and returned to the taxi, which was waiting patiently for her. There was an older man who spoke little English inside. She showed him the address in Surrey and he nodded, the car darting off.
In Little Whinging, Harry was sitting at the dining room table, listening to his Aunt and Uncle explain to him the circumstances that had changed. As long as his sister was there, he was free to live with her. But she didn't have his best interests at heart, his Uncle Vernon informed him.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked angrily. "I think she my best interests at heart!"
"I think what your Uncle was trying to tell you," Aunt Petunia began to explain, "is that she comes from the same blood your parents come from. They were nothing more than a bunch of weirdoes."
"They were not," Harry said hotly. "They were much better than you can ever hope to be!" He jumped up and angrily walked out of the Kitchen, despite protests from his Aunt and Uncle. He could feel the anger welling inside of him, and leaned defensively against the cupboard under the stairs, where some of his magical gear was still stowed during summer holidays.
"You will not walk away from here!" Uncle Vernon thundered as he followed Harry out. "You do not walk out on your Aunt. We rose you from when you were just a little innocent... we didn't realize you'd grow up like your freak--"
"That's enough!" Harry shouted, turning to stand up to his Uncle Vernon. "Don't you ever talk about my mother like that! Or my Father! Or Elizabeth!" He was shouting, and he didn't even care. How could they be acting like this now? How could they?
Uncle Vernon was sneering now, his eyes disappearing into his plump little cheeks. "How dare you speak to me like that, boy? How dare you...?"
"The Order is going to know how badly you've treated me this summer," Harry vowed, taking another step backwards.
"They will not know that you've been mistreated! It will be your word against ours."
"I think they'd believe me over a pair of daft Muggles," Harry spat out, realizing he had very little patience left for his Aunt and Uncle.
Uncle Vernon lifted his arm. "We will see about that--"
His arm was caught before it made contact with Harry's face. Harry's eyes widened as he saw who was holding his Uncle back.
It was Elizabeth.
She stood there, her face full of rage as she easily held Vernon's arm back. "Hello, Harry," she said pleasantly before turning darkening eyes to her Uncle. "And Uncle Vernon... I thought we talked about this! I thought I told you that if you hurt one hair on his head I would make you pay!"
With a single motion, Uncle Vernon was thrown backwards against the wall.
"Get your things, Harry," Buffy said, crossing her arms and stepping in front of her brother, so that she was standing where Uncle Vernon could strike. "We're leaving."
"You will not walk out of this house, boy," Vernon snarled, watching as his nephew ran upstairs. His eyes dropped back down to his niece and widened. "And who do you think you are coming into my house?"
"My Aunt was kind enough to let me in," she said coldly. Even though she wasn't very tall or big, she was certainly intimidating. Her eyes would have stopped a shark attack cold. "I thought I told you not to touch him."
Aunt Petunia quickly ran from the dining room. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw her niece standing there. Buffy didn't bother to look at her though. "Vernon?" she asked, her voice shaking very slightly. "What did you do? What did you do?"
"He attacked Harry," Buffy said coldly, her eyes not leaving her Uncle's face. "Didn't you?"
"So what if I did?" Uncle Vernon thundered. "He's just a freak kid, just like you! You both come from the same bad blood, you know that? Do you know that? Your mother was just a pregnant freak sitting at the Evans', whinin' and moping about this and that, acting like she didn't care the reputation of her family was down the toilet. Did she care? Do you even care? Is it any business of yours?"
He didn't notice Buffy's expression darken even more. Her eyes looked like molten lava as she took a step toward him. "Never, ever insult my family again," she said, her voice colder than ice. Both her Aunt and Uncle looked startled at her reaction. Harry may have backed away or else have tried to run, but his sister was different.
They had no idea how far they'd pushed her.
- - - - -
Chapter 9... the Dursley's are about to get what's coming to them; the Council realizes Buffy has disappeared; Harry has his sixteenth birthday.
Chapter 10... Buffy's dream comes true.
Author's Note:
See? This chapter was a bit longer! I told you it would be! Wow... the first eight chapters have taken place in like a period of five days. Hopefully things'll speed up a bit!
I've finally made up my mind on what I want to do with Sirius Black. It won't happen until Chapter 10. So it'll be a surprise, unless you're my beta or one of my trusted confidants. In Chapter 11, Buffy will finally reveal her Slayer powers.
Reviewers:
Ahem. The whole deal about having all this power blah blah blah was Dumbledore sensing that she is a Slayer. He can tell because of his power or whatever.
I update fast because I'm technically several chapters ahead. I can tell you guys don't want to jump ahead to Chapter 11 right away. I could post the spot where I actually have these chapters posted for my beta, but I won't. I started Chapter 12 tonight after posting Chapters 10 and 11 for my beta reader. I already got Chapter 9 back... but you won't see it till the weekend or even later. Why am I writing so fast? The best part about living at home with only a full-time night shift is that it's a lot of time to spend writing. And during the day, I get to watch a fourteen-month-old who just happens to be my beta's daughter. She's a lot of my inspiration. No, I just move at the end of summer, so I'm trying to finish all of my loose end stories. This bunny just happened to run rabid.
A pairing with Oliver? I swoon at that suggestion. I just don't know how they'd meet, unless it was accidental. Oh, well. Both of my beta readers are happy with the one person I have picked and have started to play around with. I don't think you can figure out who it is yet, but you will. I'm actually quite excited about the direction this fic is heading. The only problem is... it's going to be a long one. It's seven chapters (eight with this one) and over 30,000 words?
Lastly, the Dawnster. I won't pretend I love her. I liked her a lot in Season 7 when she started to grow into the role. She didn't even show up until Season 5... and this story takes place post Season 3. If I ever wrote another year of this fic, I'm sure she'd be included somewhere in my own twisted version. Oh, and Oz and Willow are still a couple. Although I love Tara, it's too early to bring her into this story.
Next chapter will be posted Friday. Enjoy! And thank you for all of the reviews and suggestions!