CHAPTER EIGHT: HELPING
It took nearly two hours for the entire story of Voldemort's uprise and consequent downfall to be explained. Buffy sat, completely enwrapped in the story that was being told. She couldn't help but cry for her murdered aunt and uncle even though she'd never met either of them. The emotion that Sirius and Joyce were putting into the story made Buffy absolutely shocked and horrified by what had been done to those who weren't considered to be purebloods. When she heard about her poor younger cousin Harry, she couldn't help but want to give him all the help she could.
Sirius and Joyce made the decision to leave within the next five days, leaving Buffy enough time to sort out things with her friends and get Giles to contact the Council. Buffy's next problem was trying to explain to her closest friends and her Watcher where she was going and why she was going to leave.
"Wait…you're mom's actually a witch?" Xander continued to ask.
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Yes. And so am I. Or I will be as soon as I'm actually taught to do magic."
"And your dad is actually this wizard who was framed for murdering your mom's twin brother?" Willow asked.
Buffy nodded. "Yup. Dad's best friend married mom's best friend, so they were all really close. Then all this crap with evil wizard dude happened and it kinda split them all up. Uncle James and Aunt Lily were killed, and dad got framed for murdering a whole stack of other people."
"But…England?" Willow whimpered. "That's so far away."
Buffy sighed and nodded. "I know," she whispered sadly. "But…I know that mom really wants to go with Sirius…dad. And…I wanna go with them."
Willow nodded, completely understanding. She couldn't blame her best friend for wanting to leave with her family. Especially after the trauma that had split the family up in the first place.
"You'll keep in touch right?" Willow asked.
Buffy grinned, thankful that at least Willow understood that she was torn between leaving and staying.
"Every chance I get," Buffy promised.
Buffy looked at her other friends. Oz as always had a neutral expression on his face, but Willow, who knew him best, could tell that he wasn't happy about the Slayer's departure, but would ultimately support her. Cordelia was trying to not look affected by it, but they all knew that the formerly snobbish girl would miss Buffy just as much as the rest of them.
The Slayer's gaze landed on Xander, her other best friend next to Willow. Xander sighed sadly, not happy about losing one of the best people he'd ever known.
"D'ya need help packing?" he asked.
Buffy grinned and hugged Xander fiercely, thankful for his silent approval. Willow joined the two of them, and the three original Scoobies hugged tightly as Oz and Cordelia watched with small smiles at the obvious bond between the three of them.
Giles had been slightly harder to tell. Buffy knew that Giles had given up a considerable amount to come to Sunnydale to be her Watcher, and it felt as though she was forcing him to make another life-altering decision.
"England you say?" Giles asked.
Buffy nodded. "Mom and uh…Sirius, they're leaving in four days. And…I want to go with them. And I'm kind of hoping that you could convince the Council to get the new Slayer to come here and take over on the hellmouth."
Giles wasn't quite sure what to say to his Slayer. After he'd found out about Buffy's real father, he'd known immediately that Buffy would wish to stay with her reunited family.
"And I'm hoping that you'll…that you would maybe…come with me," Buffy said hesitantly.
Giles looked up, completely shocked by the request. Buffy was looking at him with a shy and hopeful expression on her face. Giles suddenly smiled, and chuckled softly, feeling relieved, even though he hadn't even been aware of the tension that had been in his body.
"I suppose it'd be difficult to be a Watcher without a Slayer," Giles said softly.
On impulse, Buffy flung her arms around her Watcher's waist, hugging him tightly. Giles was startled for a moment before he returned the hug with far less force, but the same amount of affection.
"We leave in three days."
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Four days later, and Buffy and her mother and Giles were packed and ready to go. Buffy had been 'helped' by the Scoobies, who had mostly hindered rather than been of any real use, but Buffy hadn't been complaining. They'd been spending as much time together as possible, as well as getting to know Sirius. Their questions about the magic world had been almost endless, and Willow especially had a particular thirst for knowledge in the magic department.
But, the days passed, and Sirius was itching to get back to England.
He'd received an owl from Dumbledore, telling him that his old family house had been charmed by the Headmaster himself with incredibly powerful magic. It had been made invisible to the naked eye, and only anyone who knew for a fact that a Slayer, not just Buffy, but a Slayer lived there in residence, then it couldn't be found.
Sirius couldn't have been more thrilled. Hopefully that would mean that no one would ever work out where he was staying if they never figured out the connection between he and Buffy. And while it saddened him to know that she wouldn't have his surname because he was still a wanted criminal, he knew that his daughter was slowly beginning to accept him. She had yet to be able to call him 'dad' comfortably, but Sirius was willing to wait.
Joyce had dug up Sirius's and her old wedding rings. Sirius's had been sent to her after he'd been sent to Azkaban Prison and Joyce had never had the heart to destroy it. She'd hidden it away with her own and never taken them out again. Now, both Sirius and Joyce were wearing their wedding bands, and had agreed to make it official when Sirius's name had been officially cleared by the Ministry of Magic.
Now that the four days had passed, Buffy, Joyce, Sirius and Giles were standing in the Summers living room, their belongings surrounding them as their friends looked on, torn between sadness and curiousity.
Buffy met her friend's eyes and gave them one final smile.
"Ready?" Sirius asked.
Buffy breathed in deeply and nodded, looking towards her father. She shouldered her duffle bag, grabbed her suitcase and left one hand free. Joyce did the same, as did Sirius. The animagus reached into his pocket and removed a handkerchief wrapped ring with the inscription 'Black' inside it. He held the handkerchief in his flat palm.
"On the count of three," Sirius instructed.
Buffy Joyce and Giles nodded, and Sirius counted to three. Within an instant the three Black's and the Watcher disappeared from the Summers living room, leaving their friends and the Summers' name behind them.
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Lisette…grrr. You made me actually rethink my whole darn story. I admit it, you were right…Buffy wouldn't have left without Giles. I'm just so not liking Giles right now (been watching S6 where he left and S7 and it's just left me horribly disillusioned.) But…I found some good fics where Giles was all nice and dadly and found some inspiration. Giles had now been slotted into this fic, but he's definitely not a major character. So…Lisette…you suck, and you have my thanks!
Toodles.
K.