Chapter 19
Those Were The Days
- - - - -
Buffy awoke the next morning, feeling like she didn't want to move. It was so warm and comfortable in bed and her eyes felt tired from all of the studying she'd done the night before. Hermione had been going at her to actually practice the cheering and hiccuping charms. Buffy felt slightly guilty by the fact she'd accidently mispronounced the correct word and Ginny had been hobbling around twittering for five minutes before she could correctly pronounce the counter-charm.
"Do I have to get up?" she muttered, rolling onto her back.
No one answered. She sat up and looked around. Both Hermione and Ginny had left. "I guess it's later than I thought," she said to herself as she stood up, pulling on her bathrobe. Walking downstairs, she was surprised to find the Kitchen empty.
Where was everyone?
Mrs. Weasley suddenly walked inside, holding a large basket full of freshly laundered robes. "Oh, Buffy, dear!" she said cheerfully, setting the basket aside. "Good morning!"
"Is it really morning?" she asked, looking around the empty, silent kitchen in disbelief. "Where did everyone go?"
"The others are all out back," she said, gesturing outside. "It's another gorgeous day out there. Perhaps you'd like to enjoy it before you return to Hogwarts tomorrow."
Tomorrow, Buffy thought. Tomorrow her life was going to change even more. She was going to go to school again. She laughed at the thought of it.
She had spent a good part of the night before picking out classes to take. An owl had been sent from the school with a list of classes. She had sent the owl back a few hours later, feeling as though she'd managed to pick something good. She'd decided to take Defense Against the Dark Arts first of all, since it sounded more than interesting. Care of Magical Creatures also sounded like a good class to take. Divination, Harry told her, was nothing more than a contradictory joke, especially now that two Professors were teaching the class. Hermione was very adamant about both Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. They were all convincing her that Potions was a horrible class taught by a Professor who hated their Gryffindor house.
Professor Dumbledore had granted her special permission to take a lower-level Potions class, along with a lower-level Transfiguration class. For this, Buffy was grateful, especially after the Charms disaster the night before. She wasn't sure she was ready to transfigure a matchstick into a needle, let alone a badger into a bullhorn. She'd settled on taking the class with the first years, since she knew as much magic as they did.
In all, she had six courses. She had decided to take Hermione's advice and picked one of her complex courses, although they wouldn't be in the same class. Buffy realized that she could ask to take the class with the bright sixth year and included the postscript in her letter back to the school. She'd been curious about Muggle Studies, but after watching Willow walk her own way through runes and symbols from ancient times, Buffy wanted to try her hand at Ancient Runes.
She had two regular classes with the seventh-years, then. She decided on Ancient Runes with Hermione, who was in fact a sixth-year. She had Potions and Transfiguration with the first years. She was excited about both Defense Against the Dark Arts and Care of Magical Creatures. Charms was a different deal, since she'd agreed to take it as a lower-level class as well, with the third years.
Oh, well. If she had trouble with Ancient Runes or any of her other classes, she knew she could always ask Giles.
The rest of her last day was spent playing on her new broomstick and reading through her newest textbooks. She decided to take another trip to Diagon Alley to finish purchasing her textbooks and returned less than an hour later, looking surprisingly refreshed and happy.
Before dinner, Buffy returned to her bedroom and pulled out her new owl. "What should I name you?" she asked, as the owl stared at her with unblinking ice blue eyes. "You have to give me a little help here." She reached out to pet the owl and it snapped its beak, testing her. "Oh, wise little girl..."
"You should call her Raven," Hermione commented from on top of her bed, where she was immersed in the latest text assigned to their Defense Against the Dark Arts class.
"Too common," Buffy muttered, finally able to touch the owl on top of her head and running her fingers along the smooth, dark feathers. "I need something to set her apart. I could always call her Hermy."
"Don't you dare," Hermione warned. "Unless you want me to start haggling you for yet another few hours over your studies."
"Okay," Buffy said, her voice full of cheerfulness. "Okay, little owl. We could always call you something really dumb, like Blackie, but that wouldn't make much sense now, would it?"
The owl hooted, as though it could tell that she was having problems naming it, and it felt like mocking her.
"Onyx," she finally said, stepping back to glance at the moody owl. "You look like an Onyx."
"She has the temperment of a black stone," Hermione said behind her.
"Yeah, she really does," Buffy replied, holding out her arm. After making a shrill whistling sound, Onyx flew obediently onto her arm. "I suppose you're far too young to send out a little letter for me..."
"Reverse psychology does not work on owls," Hermione replied, rolling her eyes behind her book.
"Are you running a color commentary on my owl?" Buffy asked, smirking as she turned to look at the girl. "Hey, Onyx... why don't you go sit and bug Hermione for awhile?"
Hermione gasped as the small black owl landed on top of her head before fluttering down to her knees, staring at her with those cold, unblinking eyes. "Thanks for that."
"Anytime," Buffy said, returning to her own bed with a small bit of parchment.
"You bought colored parchment?" Hermione asked, setting her book aside finally. She didn't dare move because the owl was still looking at her with a look that said it would bite her if she tried anything.
"It's red," Buffy said indignantly. "I like it. Well, it's pale red. And it'll look nice since I'm writing with a bleeding feather."
Onyx hooted, as though trying to be sarcastic.
"Thanks, pet," Buffy said, grinning at her owl. Reaching back into her trunk, she pulled out a bag of owl treats and tossed it to Hermione. "Maybe she'll like you if you feed her."
Onyx turned back to glare at Hermione, who stared at it before gently ripping off the corner of the package. "Sure she would," she muttered, holding out a small handful of the treats. Onyx hopped up her lap and began nipping the bits one and a time. "Have you sent her out to hunt yet?"
"We have to do that?" she asked blankly.
"Oh, no," Hermione moaned, shaking her head. "You have to feed her. She goes out and hunts down her dinner. You can't just give her all of these treats! No wonder she's peckish!"
"I-I didn't know," Buffy admitted, although her voice held her pride. "Someone should explain the proper care for... oh, thanks." Hermione had just picked up a book off of the floor and had given it to her. It was a Care of Magical Creatures book, with pages describing how to take care of owls carefully marked. "Thank you."
"Now read," Hermione said with a quiet smile, standing up. Onyx hopped up her arm before settling on her shoulder. "Okay, Onyx, how about we let you outside--"
"No!" Buffy cried, forcing her attention back to the letter. "Five minutes, hold on."
"You must really like him," Hermione said, setting Onyx down on top of her cage and moving to sit on the other end of Buffy's bed. "I've never seen you this torn about a letter."
"I'm just perfecting my style is all," Buffy said, idly scratching her quill on the surface. "Besides, I'm not sure when I'll see him again. It'd be fun to have a penpal that can actually understand what I'm writing."
"You mean all of your sarcastic Muggle-speak?" Hermione asked lightly. The older girl glared at her over her letter before grinning sheepishly.
"Maybe."
"Did you see your new friend this afternoon?" Hermione asked, changing the subject as Buffy set the quill aside and reread her letter.
"No," Buffy said quietly, "but I managed to purchase something else." She nodded toward her trunk. Lying on top was a Puddlemere United poster, with all of the reserve players on the field, waving and thrusting their broomsticks in the air. "Now I have two reasons to smile when I look at my bed every night."
Hermione snickered as Buffy finally rolled up her letter and reached for a small leather pouch she'd bought. Rising, she collected her owl and managed to attach the pouch to Onyx, although the owl seemed determined to not let her. "I need you to take this to Oliver Wood for me," she said, snapping the pouch shut. "And, of course, have dinner. Eat as many little frogs and spawn as you can."
Hermione wrinkled her nose slightly as Buffy gently tossed Onyx out the window. The black owl disappeared into the distance.
"That went smoothly," Buffy said, trying to ignore the ink stains on her hands.
Ginny walked into the room, suddenly looking very upset. "Don't go downstairs," she warned the girls while Buffy wiped her hands on a towel.
"What's wrong?" Hermione asked, moving to comfort the upset girl.
"Mum and Percy," Ginny sniffled, settling on her bed. "What else?"
Sure enough, their voices were drifting upstairs loudly.
"Sometimes I wish that Mum and Dad would just throw him out," Ginny said fearfully. "Except for the month you've been here, Buffy, it's been unbearable. I think half of the reasons he swallows his arguments is because you're around. And he likes you."
Buffy felt slightly put out by this, but decided to ignore it. She was going to have to talk with Percy again. Fifteen minutes later, Mrs. Weasley called upstairs. The three girls tiptoed out onto the landing, where Fred, George, Ron and Harry were standing, looking disgusted.
"We're eating out in the garden tonight," Mrs. Weasley said. "Could you lot set the table?"
Harry nodded and moved toward the cabinets, the others following him. Buffy paused on her way over and spied Percy walking up the hill she had frequented since she'd arrived. "I'll be right back," she told Harry before disappearing outside.
"Percy!" she called out, following him up the hill. He turned around to stare down at her before stopping. "What is up with the Joan Collins attitude?" she demanded.
"You don't understand," he said, looking away from her.
She gasped in indignation. "Percy Ignatius Weasley! You can't shut me out of this!"
He sighed heavily before dropping onto the grass. "What's the use anyway? You'll just irritate me to death. I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't."
"I never meant to irritate you, Perce," she said gently as she sat down next to him. "All I can say is, even your little sister thinks you need to get out of The Burrow. What were you arguing about anyway?"
"Does it matter?" he asked angrily, removing his glasses to clean them.
"You know I won't leave you alone until you tell me," she said in a teasing voice.
He replaced his glasses and glared at her. She refused to back down, her gaze just as sharp and intent. He finally looked away and sighed. "We were once again arguing about finances," he mumbled.
"You have got to lay off your parents about that," she said with a sigh, dropping down next to him. "I know you blame your father because your family hasn't had a lot of money. Things in this world aren't always about money. I mean, look at you. You're not in this for the money. You want the power."
"You already have the power," he retorted. "You're a Potter, Elizabeth, whether you like it or not. Not to mention your physical strengths. Some of us have to actually work to prove ourselves."
"You're talking to me about proving yourself?" she asked, shaking her head in disbelief. "Percy, I don't even know magic! Look where I am!"
"But you'll learn!" he snapped. "You'll be just like your Mum and Dad. All I wanted to do was prove the name Weasley was more than just a Muggle-loving name. I want to make people proud of my family, like wearing a badge!"
"It's not about the red badge of courage, Perce," she said quietly, "it's about integrity. How can you have any if all you do is bash them? They're your parents, your flesh and blood. I would give anything to have my parents back..." She paused and looked away, the emotion clogging her throat. There weren't tears. Just a dense feeling that she'd lost something she'd never get back. "It doesn't matter anyway, right? I don't think you'll admit it if you were wrong."
"I think you know me too well," he said and his sharp gaze softened. "I'm sorry, Elizabeth... I shouldn't just dump everything on you. You're still a guest in my family's home, and--"
"I want you to talk to me, Percy," she said, a teasing smile reappearing on her face. "When you're around, I feel like I have my Watcher back."
He laughed, the sound warming her. "Did you tell your new friend you're leaving tomorrow?" he asked.
"He knows," Buffy said heavily. "I'm hoping he'll be nice and show up at the station tomorrow. I'm not holding my breath though. I've known him, what, four weeks and already..." She stopped and bit her lip. "He's quite the guy."
"I can't believe I'm talking to a girl I still consider a stranger about someone I've known since I was eleven," Percy replied, wrinkling his nose slightly. "You really are odd."
He jumped up after he said this and raced back towards the house, where Mrs. Weasley was using her wand to direct platters of food on the table. Buffy raced after him, easily overtaking him. She gave up the sudden urge to jump on his back and instead pushed him aside as she ran past.
Things looked much better when they were lighter, she decided.
- - - - -
Dinner was a fantastic affair for all that night. There were six courses, all of them more delicious than the previous. As Buffy worked her way through fresh strawberries and cream, she wasn't surprised to see that Fred and George had set off more fireworks. She grinned as silver stars and scarlet streamers filled the air, soft puffs of smoke descending on all of them.
Buffy sighed as she bent over the table, recalling the last time she'd seen fireworks in Sunnydale. It had been the Fourth of July, she recalled with a pang. It had been after she'd run away from Sunnydale.
It was before she had called herself Anne. It was even before she'd moved to that dreadful city. She'd been traveling the coast and had finally stopped in a small town north of the one she'd settled in. It was on the beach and she'd found it peaceful, to sit on the sandy shores and stare out over the crystal Pacific. She hadn't done much except think and call up painful memories, but it'd been worth her while.
For the first time in her life, nothing had made any sense.
She was the Slayer, for crying out loud. She was the bloody chosen one. And all of a sudden she just wanted to be a normal girl. she hadn't known it was the Fourth of July, so when a group of rowdy college students suddenly set off multiple packs of the sparkling lights, Buffy watched as they exploded over the ocean.
As the last colors faded into the smoky abyss, Buffy had grinned. She was truly appreciating something she never thought she could have without the normal life.
Sitting at the Weasleys' table, she found herself appreciating something she didn't think she would. She'd seen the fireworks before, certainly, but not in this new light. There was something almost different about these lights as they spiraled over her head and around her. It was almost as if something was clicking into place for her.
She bit her lip again and glanced across the table at Harry, Ron and Hermione, all of who were going through the large box Fred had handed them, and were taking out small canisters of the explosives and handing them over to George, who lit them. Harry looked like he was having the time of his life.
He'd had a difficult life, everyone had been telling her this. There was no way in hell she was going to do the same. The Minister of Magic had made his life Hell. After being there and back over the ordeal with Angel, there was no way she was going to force him to make the same choices she had made... and they had nearly broken her. Without her friends around, she would have been broken.
Ron and Hermione looked extremely loyal to her little brother, she noted with a small smile. They had been together through everything, Harry had assured her. Dragons and centaurs and skrewts and Umbridge... and never once had they ever proven themselves to be of any danger to him.
Buffy realized that if she upheld her power, she would be a threat to Harry's life as well as to her very own. The Council would frown upon her once again and their lives would be in the hands of very stingy men in tweed. She refused to let that happen.
She recalled the event which had led her to England in the first place. Giles had given her a drug which had weakened her Slaying skills. They had made her a normal teenager, if only for a little while. Now that she had her full strength back after six months, she was beginning to wonder if the drug could be used again, after all. If she were to show signs of strength, Harry's life would be forfeit. She was going to have to step down from being the Slayer again.
It was in her blood. She couldn't deny that. But she wasn't going to make others pay for that. Not again.
Buffy excused herself from the table and told the Weasley elders she was going to take a small walk. She noticed that Harry was giving her a very concerned look and she gently told him she was fine. She really needed the fresh air.
She made her way down into the village and glanced around. There was one public telephone on the corner. Since Buffy was only going to be here for one more night, she could risk the call.
She quickly pulled out a calling card from her back pocket and dialed the number before trying Giles' number in California. It rang four times before a sleepy voice picked it up.
"Xander?" she asked in confusion, hearing her friend's voice on the other line. "Where's Giles?"
In California, Xander sat up straight, all signs of sleep gone from his eyes. Cordelia sat across from him, concern flashing in her dark eyes. 'Don't tell her,' she mouthed clearly, pointing to him and then to the receiver he cradled.
"Xander?" she asked again, her voice sounding even more concerned. "Are you still there?"
"I'm here, Buff," he said, his eyes gazing at Cordelia's. 'What do I say to her?' he mouthed back.
Cordelia stood up and extended her hand. Xander gratefully handed her the phone, almost expecting her to be kind to the former Slayer. But instead, she sighed, put on her most aggravated expression, and began snapping into the telephone. "Buffy, right? This is Cordelia. You might remember me as one of the little people you left behind--"
"Cordy? Where's Xander?"
"Chill out, okay? Xander and I just spent the entire night patrolling with your chosen other. We're still trying to catch up on sleep while Giles is away--"
Xander smacked his head and rolled his eyes, knowing what was to come.
"Giles went where? He's gone? Where is he? I really, really need to talk to him, Cordy! This is important!" The protests were rolling so quickly off of Buffy's tongue that even Cordelia looked alarmed.
"Look, talk to Xan, okay?" she asked, and without waiting for a reply shoved the telephone back toward Xander. "Keep her calm or something," she said under her breath. "She sounds upset."
"Buffy?" Xander asked lightly, reluctantly taking the phone as Cordelia hightailed it out of the apartment. "Are you still with us?"
"Is Giles okay?" Buffy asked. Her tone of voice had changed from panic to overbearing concern. Xander fought his own urge to roll his eyes and nodded, then realized she couldn't see him.
"He's fine, Buffy. He went to the store. You know what that is, right?"
"I do," Buffy said, with a sigh of relief. "I just wanted to talk to him about... do you remember that drug that made me so helpless against that one vampire? The day before I found out who I really was?"
"Yeah?" Xander said slowly, remembering exactly what she was talking about. "Those were the glory days, remember, Buff?"
"Things change," she said, and for a moment Xander heard the sadness in her voice. "I'm really, really sorry to ask you this, Xander... I know it's been hard back there..."
"We miss you, Buffy," Xander said honestly. "We really wish you were back home with us."
"I miss you guys too," Buffy said with a small sigh on the other end of the line. "But I really can't cheat my own fates out now, can I? I'm needed here."
"That drug you mentioned," Xander replied slowly, remembering what Giles had told him the night he'd left, "I think Giles was talking about that, too. He mentioned that you might need to go into hiding for a little while. He thought it might make you inconspicuous enough. Not to mention drain your Slaying powers."
"I guess we both really are English," she said with a sharp laugh, "because I was thinking the same thing. But the problem is, I don't want the drug. I just want to know exactly what was in it. I might have to concoct a little something."
Xander didn't even want to bring up the subject of Faith, so when Buffy asked her next question, he found he wasn't even paying attention.
"Xander?"
Her voice sounded irritated now. He grit his teeth together and replied, in the nicest voice he possibly could, "Yeah, she's fine. Slaying's going good. There's apparently another group of demon hunters in town. They're calling themselves The Initiative. And yeah, Faith's doing some recon work there."
Buffy sounded relieved. "And how's my... Joyce?" she asked delicately.
"Some days are good, some are a little bit harder," Xander replied honestly. "She misses you. She can't wait to see you again."
"I miss her," Buffy said softly. "Even though she's not my... you know... I still can't help but think if only things could be different..."
"But they aren't," Xander replied, "are they?"
"I have responsibilities here, Xan," she replied. "I have family now. I have friends, or at least I think I do. And I'm beginning to find out there's a whole new Buffy." She closed her eyes and felt her heart start to ache, because she knew that what she was going to ask for next was going to break both Xander's heart and her own. "I think it'd be best if there was no further contact between us."
"What?" Xander gasped through all of the static on the other end of the line. "Buffy, you can't be serious!"
"I am," she said strongly. "I can't risk your lives, too. If the Council ever figured out I had been in contact with you, there's no telling what that would mean for you guys or Faith. She's the Slayer now. Just give my message to Giles. And give my love to the rest of the gang... I won't stop believing in you guys, Xander. There's good in this world. There has to be. And we're both fighting for it because in the end... there has to be something left. I'm fighting for a chance to have a family I never knew existed. And you're fighting to save the world."
"It's the same battle, Buff," Xander replied quietly, "just two different flanks."
"The Council has given me my destiny," Buffy replied, realizing that her time was almost up. "I really hope they don't have to determine yours. I want you to stay as far away from this Council as you can. If they ever knew..."
"They'll never know," Xander promised her. "Just watch your back, okay? I don't like the thought of you facing that new world alone."
"I'll never be alone," Buffy said proudly. "My little brother will always be there to protect me."
"One day, when all of this is over," Xander began, "you're going to have to tell us what he's like. You'll have to show us pictures, or something. We'll be okay here. Really, we will be. Faith's taking good care of us. Cordy might not like these nightly patrols, but she sticks them out. She's still convinced she'll be moving to Los Angeles soon enough. I hope you don't mind that your mother gave up your old room to her. She's still homeless and bummed about it. Wil's the same as ever. She and Oz haven't been separated from the hip long enough. Giles and your mother... Joyce... they won't stop looking for a way to bring you home to us. You belong here, Buffy. With people who love you."
"I know," Buffy said after a long, awkward pause. "But I belong here, too. This is where my parents came from. My parents died because one man became too powerful. I don't know what's going to happen or even if I'll live for long. But I know that I will see you again someday, Alexander Harris. I promise I'll be back, one way or another." She didn't have much faith in those words and could tell by his pause that he really didn't either. She'd be coming back as a person or in a box to be buried.
"We love you, Buffy," Xander said quietly as he realized they had been on the phone for nearly fifteen minutes. Cordelia suddenly burst back into the apartment, followed by Faith, who was holding an ice pack to an ugly welt on her arm. "We really do."
"You guys are so mushy," Buffy's tiny voice came through the receiver. "But I do love you guys. Don't forget me, okay?"
As Xander said goodbye, his eyes locked onto Faith's. She set down the ice pack and held the dead receiver to her ear for a moment before hanging it up. "Did you tell her what Giles and Wil were plannin'?" she asked quickly, grabbing her ice pack again.
Xander shook his head no. "I wanted to, but I figure that if they surprise her tomorrow, they'll surprise her. I just want her to know that we haven't abandoned her."
"That's good," she replied, giving them both another hard look. "Did you tell her about Joyce?"
"No," Cordelia said quickly, sitting down behind Xander. "I couldn't... I wanted to. But I couldn't. How do you think she'd react if she knew her Mother... or the woman she always thought was her mother..."
"And me?" Faith asked, turning back to Xander. He shook his head again.
"Well, we got all of our bases cleared," Faith said, setting the ice pack down again and stretching out her slender arm. "That feels better. That bitch last night, though... what a whip she had on that mace. I never thought I'd even feel my fingers again."
Xander and Cordelia exchanged a long look as they stood up, stretching. They knew they had Slayer duties again that night, even on little sleep. They'd just spent six long, boring hours in deep research mode while Giles and Willow made their journey. While Faith had rested after a brutal fight the evening before, in all honesty she had wanted to spend time with Joyce, who's mental breakdown was starting to fade slightly. Cordelia had been wonderful for her, Faith realized.
Joyce had nearly collapsed mentally when Buffy had been ripped away. Although she knew that Buffy wasn't her own daughter, she'd always believed her to be. Knowing that her daughter was never coming home again was almost a crushing blow to a strong woman. Having two younger girls around kept her sane, but there were times when Faith would find Joyce in her bedroom, staring longingly at baby pictures of a little blonde-haired girl with large hazel eyes.
Joyce had been to see Doctor Levine twice already. She'd spent three hours in his office the previous Wednesday, talking about all of the good times she'd had with her daughter and the regrets she had about the level of discipline she'd pulled after Buffy's dark spell the year before. She even talked about the picture books she'd been keeping and going through. She wanted to send a lot of pictures over to her adoptive daughter to let her know that she still cared. Doctor Levine had pulled Faith aside and had told her that she had to keep Joyce calm, no matter what. If something were to upset her further, like the fact that Buffy had no intentions of coming home at the moment, she would get worse.
Joyce had taken Faith to her bedroom and had shown her all of the old albums, letting the younger girl select pictures to send over to Europe.
There was one other picture Faith had seen twice now. It was of a dark-haired man and a red-haired woman holding a blonde-haired baby girl. The girl had hazel eyes just like the man while the woman's eyes were a deep, stunning green. It was a picture sent along with the adoption papers. Apparently Joyce had forgotten the image existed.
Buffy had said her parents were dead. Faith looked at the image for a long time, willing to believe it was true. They really looked like lovely people. It was a shame that Buffy would never get to know them.
She thought back on her own mother and began to wonder how her life would have changed if she had known her birth father. So much time had passed since her mother's death. Faith knew she could return to Boston and go back to the house, but the idea was almost as appealing to her as opening the Hellmouth and jumping inside of it. Rolling her eyes, she took the seat that Cordelia had abandoned and absentmindedly rubbed her arm.
There was something stronger going on here. There was something in store for both Slayers, whether they liked it or not. Buffy may be pulling away from this world, but Faith wasn't willing to let her go just yet. Some things needed to be explained. The dreams, for one. And the prophecy... Faith couldn't help but wonder if she was a Black.
She pushed the thoughts from her mind and lifted a heavy, old book from the table, idly flipping through the many pages. There would be time enough for questions later.
As Buffy walked back towards The Burrow, she spied a shadow moving ahead of her. "I know you're there!" she called out, running to catch up.
It was a Weasley, she realized, stopping dead. "Oh," she said under her breath, realizing it probably wasn't the smartest thing to do. She caught sight of the red hair in the darkness and found herself looking down. "Weasley!" she called out.
The figure stopped moving. "You caught me." He turned around and she could see Fred standing there, wearing his stamped jumper.
"Why were you following me?" she asked him as they both moved back through the village and towards The Burrow.
"Someone has to watch your back," he said easily. "You're still in danger here."
"And can you take on a group of morons in tweed?" she asked him, pausing to look up at him. "I didn't think so."
He reached out and took her arm. "I'm not about to let anything happen to you."
"I can hold my own," she said quietly, placing her hand on top of his. "Really, I can."
"Mum and Dad are really worried," he said, still not releasing her. "They keep saying that people are after you and Harry."
Buffy nodded, realizing that Fred and George still didn't know the real truth about her. "They are," she admitted. "But they'll pose no danger to you or your family, if that's what you are worried about."
"I'm worried about you."
"Fred, I can take care of myself."
They were walking again. The few lights from Ottery St. Catchpole were disappearing behind them.
"I know what you told George," he finally said as they climbed the hill. The Burrow was just coming into view.
"He told you?" she asked in surprise. "What did he say?"
"He said that you liked someone else," Fred replied. "I know Harry doesn't know, because--"
"Oh, Fred! Lay off my brother! Of course he doesn't know who my little crush is. I can't tell him anything. Besides, it's really none of my business for me to know about his love life. Or for him to know anything of mine."
"I have to say, Teeny... you've got us all curious."
"If you want to know, you're going to have to ask Percy. And I bet he's not going to tell you anything."
"Why did you have to tell him for?" Fred asked, irrate. "He's no fun."
"Because Percy and I are a lot more alike than you think."
"You can't be," Fred protested. "You're fun. He isn't. Do the math."
"I didn't like math much," she said, wrinkling her nose. "I found it to be tedious and quite dull."
"You sound like you're British."
"So I do. You might as well get used to it. British lingo, American accent... it sounds nice."
"Why does Percy know?"
She sighed and stopped, stretching her arms in front of her and easing onto the grass in front of The Burrow. "He knows who the guy is. That's all."
"He likes you, you know," Fred said, watching her face. "He thinks you're a good person to have around."
"I'm the one who hasn't been insulting him this past month," Buffy replied quietly. "How do you think he'd feel if I did?"
"He'd probably turn you over to Fudge," Fred replied moodily.
"Fred," she said, the hard look in her eyes softening as she put her hand on his knee. "Lay off him. Please? He doesn't deserve all of that anger. He's got a lot to work through as it is, trying to make things up with your parents. Having brothers and a sister after him day after day isn't easy either."
"I bet Percy's really glad he has a friend like you," Fred said, sounding confused.
"Just as I am quite lucky to have a friend like you," Buffy replied. Fred looked at her and saw that she was smiling. "And here I thought you were the one that liked me."
"I do like you," Fred said, placing his hand on top of hers. "But I won't try anything. I know you like someone else, and when you're ready to tell us... you will."
She leaned over and hugged him. He held her back for a few moments longer than necessary, she thought. Then he helped her stand up. "Thank you," she said.
"You're welcome."
- - - - -
Buffy's face had no hint of sadness on it as she finished packing her trunk that night. Hermione and Ginny were already getting ready for bed, eagerly talking about the day that lay ahead of them.
"I wonder how we'll be getting back to the station," Hermione mused as she packed away the few textbooks she'd dug up for a bit of light reading.
"We'll probably take the Knight Bus," Ginny said, wincing as she wrapped her own broomstick up. "Could you imagine?"
"The Knight Bus?" Buffy asked curiously, settling cross-legged on her bed and pawing through her bags of purchases for bags of owl treats she hadn't yet packed.
"It's a triple-decker bus in this putrid shade of purple," Hermione said, shuddering. "It's the most awful thing."
"It's three stories," Ginny said, acknowledging the look of confusion on the older girl's face. "It does things normal Muggle transportation can't. Like... squeeze itself between two double-decker Muggle buses."
"Or stop suddenly in the face of danger."
"Or jump ahead of a full hours' traffic."
"Wow," Buffy said, not realizing how much she'd abused that word the entire month she'd been staying at The Burrow. "That's some kind of bus."
"And we'll probably be riding it to London tomorrow," Ginny said, wrinkling her nose. "Unless, of course, we can get a few Muggle taxi cabs. I highly doubt Fudge'll give Dad anything to use."
"He might," Hermione said slowly, "now that he knows there's a second Potter."
They both turned to Buffy. She felt uncomfortable under their sharp eyes and shrugged. "I'm nothing special, really."
"Are you serious?" Hermione gasped. "You're a Slayer! And you're a Potter. That's like two for the price of one."
"I really hope Oliver knows what he's getting into," Ginny said with a slight smirk.
Buffy gasped, looking at the youngest Weasley with mock indignation. "Why you..."
Hermione burst into laughter. "Oh, come off of it, Buffy! All we have to do is look at you. You've fallen."
"And if I have?" she sputtered, still feeling defensive. This only caused Hermione and Ginny to laugh even harder. She found it even harder to resist her strong angry look and dissolved into her own giggles. "I most likely have... but will you hold it against me?"
"I won't," Hermione replied, her hands on her sides, "but I'm pretty sure Ron's brothers will."
"Sans Percy," Ginny reminded her with a slight frown. "I can't believe you two get on so well in the first place."
"I think we have a bit in common," Buffy said seriously, adding the owls treats to the top bit of her trunk and then sitting on the box to reseal it. "There are some scars that cannot be erased and sadly running away from home is one of them."
"You ran away from home?" Hermione asked, her eyes wide.
Buffy told them then about Angel. She left out most of the details. Like the fact he was a Vampire with a soul. And the simple truth that she had killed him. "There was a friend of mine that I loved more than anything," she explained. "When he died... I felt like I couldn't breathe. My Mother... Joyce... had just found out I was a Slayer. She told me that if I walked out of the house to save my friend, I wasn't welcome back. I left. My friends had been injured in a fight. I was truly alone. And yet, when he died, I had one last chance to tell him I loved him. I kissed him. And then he died." She took a deep breath. "I felt like I had to go, you know? So I ran. I went as far as I could until I didn't know where I was. I fell in line with bad times. But I came home. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do and I did it. I think Percy's been there. We both know how it feels to hurt the ones we love." She swallowed hard. "And it stings a bit," she added sheepishly.
They were both staring at her again. "No wonder he likes you," Ginny said, a bit of sadness in her voice. "You're probably the only person to tell him he wasn't being a prat."
Buffy gave Ginny a grateful smile. "He is a prat," she said, trying to hold a straight face, "but that doesn't mean he's not a good man, Ginny. He has a good heart. He just has to pretend to use it on occasion."
Hermione coughed as she started laughing. "Could you imagine Percy falling in love?"
Ginny shook her head, looking revolted. Buffy just leaned against her pillow, closing her eyes. The thought was somewhat ridiculous, but a few weeks ago, he'd given her that significant look. Percy was already in love. He knew what it was like to be hurt. Buffy knew that Percy was a good guy and a good friend, but she had no interest in him romantically. She couldn't. Even with the Weasley twins running amok, there was still Oliver, and everytime she thought of him, her heart would flutter just a little bit more.
The lights went off. She could see Ginny's outline slide back into bed.
"Are you scared, Potter?" Hermione asked lightly as she drew the blankets up to her chin.
"Probably not as bad as I could be," Buffy replied quietly. "I'm just anticipating all of the questions. You know, the 'is she really his sister?' and 'is she evil?'."
"The answers are definitely yes," Ginny giggled, which caused her to be hit by a flying pillow from the other side of the tiny room. "Really, Buffy!" She tossed the pillow back.
"They'll ask questions, but they'll want to know," Hermione replied seriously. "Just tell them the truth. Just don't mention any of the Slayer stuff unless you want to be found."
"Not going to happen," Buffy said in a military accent. "I can't tell anyone I am that... even if my life depended on it."
The three of them lay in silence once again, listening to the sounds of the poltergeist far above their heads, banging against the pipes. Buffy heard the other two drift off to sleep, but kept her eyes on the ceiling.
Tomorrow she was going to begin her new life as a student, the student Elizabeth Potter. She was the real-life sister of Harry Potter. She was a seventh year. She wasn't very skilled yet, but she had to have talent. She couldn't imagine why she shouldn't.
She had no idea what was coming or even where to begin. She thought about dreaming of Hogwarts and realized she didn't even know how it looked. Tomorrow, everything was going to be spelled out for her.
If only she knew what to expect.
- - - - -
Chapter 20... The Hogwart's Express
Chapter 21... Finally... a Harry-verse chapter.
Author's Note / To the Reviewers:
I've done it. This is the longest fic I have ever written. I'm not even half done yet.
So, there you be, Buffyromance fans... she's let them down as gently as she possibly can. More Oliver stuff next chapter. I'll keep bringing him back, too, because I like the two of them together. As for getting her with someone else, nope. Not now. I like this pairing. I'm being firm. Grrr.
Anonymous -- the best thing I can tell you about Buffy being Elizabeth is because they sound like they belong together. I decided to do some research and, low and behold, Buffy is actually short for Beverly. It's Old English and means "meadow of beavers". So Buffy can technically be short for any such name. It just sounds like it belongs to Elizabeth.
RedsLover -- You'll have to wait until Chapter 22, unfortunately, to see what's both inside the box and why she has her own vault. I can tell you about the vault though. It belonged to her mother before they decided on a joint account once her parents got married.
StarBella - the wand contained the hair from a Slayer or Guardian and the blood of the ensouled vampire, who would happen to be Angel. And she will find this out. And I have to say your last few reviews rocked :)
As for putting Buffy in a house, well... you may be disappointed. I did what I did for a reason and you'll understand why soon enough. I didn't put her in Slytherin, but I'll put someone else there soon enough. I promise. :) I wish I would have read all of these wonderful suggestions before I'd started the chapters.
And I'm sorry for leaving you hanging with the "little black box". Oi. Chapter 22 is my "past history is history past" chapter, so it'll all be explained there. Promise.
Ooh, it's so tempting to bash Malfoy in this story... ah, hell. I'll just do it because it's more fun. As for Snape, well... you'll just have to see.
The DADA Professor will remain hidden. We meet him in Chapter 21 and Buffy finds out who he is in Chapter 23. As for Harry finding out about Oliver, he will. It's one of those really funny scenes you can picture in your head... the thing is to convert it to words. :)
I'm getting myself confused. I already know what's going to happen when because it's already written and I keep forgetting it isn't posted, so I have to keep all the secrets mum. Sorry. :)
Next update: Say it with me... Wednesday :) I'll be doing a triple update then with my other two active stories. So if you want annoying fluff or depressing darkness, you'll get your fill then. I also know how I want to end this fic... the only problem is, I have to get there first.
Lastly, 300 reviews? You guys deserve all your favorite sweets for being such lovely people. Thank you! And for those of you who read but don't review, I love you, too! Take ten points. :) (-- 6th smile in note)