DISCLAIMER I don't own Buffy, or Harry. They and their respective worlds belong to JossWhedon and Mutant enemy, and to JK Rowling. Don't sue. Please???

Hello there everyone and thanks for reviewing the last chappie.

Some messages for certain reviewers are at the end.

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Buffy flopped onto her bed, and was followed by Faith. The two slayers were really close friends now. Not having much of a chance to talk the day before, Buffy had insisted that the four girls, Faith, Darla, Dru and herself, have a chat this morning. The two vampiresses pulled over some beanbags and sat down in them next to the cream bed.

Buffy pulled her doona (A/N this means a comforter or a duvet, I'm australian) up to her knees. "So," she said conversationally. "I think us girls need a talk."

Faith looked at her slay-sister. "Yeah. From what I gathered from B, you two are supposed to be dust at the moment. And since when are you students?"

Darla smiled. "It's a long story," she said delicately, beaming triumphantly.

Buffy's eyes narrowed. "Let's start at the beginning," she said. "Are you vampires? And if so, how did you get in the school when I KNOW that there are wards to keep you out."

Drusilla smiled like a cat. "We are, and not. Like the winds - there but not." She mused to herself.

Buffy glared. "Need I remind the peanut gallery that it is her fault I am stuck here in the first place?"

While Darla laughed and Drusilla pouted, Faith leaned over to whisper discreetly in Buffy's ear, "Why don't you just stake her? Seems the right thing to do to a murderous vamp."

Dru glowered at Faith. "Bad girl. Being mean to Princess."

Buffy snorted. "And if I stake her, what then? Dumbledore would be doubly pissed that I killed another person, especially a student of his. Plus, there's no proof that she's a killer."

Darla nodded. "There's that. And although we were brought back as vampires, there would be a small issue as we were brought back…differently."

Buffy tilted her head to the side. "I think we can safely assume that the Master resurrected you. It had something to do with the portraits, as well." She frowned. "And what's with the portraits? When I talked to you, you were humans…but, Dru was crazy, and Angelus didn't drive her insane until after she left for Hogwarts, so how does that work?"

Darla fell silent for a time. She looked at Buffy carefully. "Have you bothered to read Hogwarts: a History?" she asked.

Buffy shook her head. "No, not completely. I do know that you two were students here, and that you were both witch/slayers as well."

Faith started at this. "Yo, B, I didn't know that. You two were slayers?" she said, disbelieving.

Dru and Darla exchanged a look, and nodded. Faith laughed, jumping up. "Woohoo! This rocks, man! Check us out - the Chosen Four!"

Buffy had to grin. "And we're the most powerful slayers ever, too. I mean, none of the other slayers were witches as well. It gives the four of us extra power."

"Not us," Dru said grouchily. "Or, not before anyway."

Buffy quirked an eyebrow. "Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"Once we became vampires, we lost most of our magicks. As soon as our souls were lost, our wands didn't work anymore." She whinged, pouting.

Buffy looked like she knew what they were on about. "That'd figure. I would have thought that when we were fighting you woulda used a wand every now and then. Must suck, huh. Losing your powers."

Darla nodded. "It was terrible. We did still have extra strength and speed, what with being slayers though. And - well, I'm sure you're aware of our other talents."

Buffy paused. She looked at Drusilla. "You mean how she can see the future?" she asked. "And hypnotise?"

Dru nodded, giggling suddenly. Darla smiled. "It is the thrall. All master vampires have it. Also…after we lost our wands, we discovered that we could do other magic."

Buffy frowned. "Like what?"

"We discovered that being witch/slayers gave us extra abilities, magically. Did you know how much metaphysical energy we have at our disposal?" She laughed, her eyes twinkling. "We found out that witch/slayers have the ability to use our magic without a wand. We could do Wiccan magic."

Buffy fell silent. Her eyes grew wide, and her heart skipped a beat. "You mean…Faith and I could do wandless magic as well?" she asked incredulously. Darla nodded.

Faith grinned. "Wow, that rocks. Now, back to the story. You were on about those wacked portraits."

Buffy whipped her head back. "Yeah, 'sup with that?"

Darla's eyes flashed. "There was an…event…back in 1887," she began slowly. "It's known as the Hogwarts Massacre."

Buffy felt chilled to her bones. "You…with the Scourge…" she stammered.

Darla shrugged, smiling. "Fun times. We all missed the school, came back for a visit and a good meal, if you catch my drift." She said with a laugh.

Buffy looked sceptical. "All? You mean Ange-" she swallowed, "Angelus and Spike went here to?"

No way. This was just getting too weird. Angel had been a wizard, and he never said anything? As if!

"Yes," Darla said confidently. "We all went here at one time or another. Spike and Angelus still don't have any magic, though. After they were turned, their wands didn't work and that was the end of that."

Drusilla made sweeping motions with her hands. "Our portraits were made before wizard paint or wizarding film was used, so they didn't move or speak. When we came to visit, we made them animated."

"So you see," Darla went on, "the portraits were of us as humans, but with out personalities and knowledge. And Dru's talents."

Buffy's head was spinning. "This is a lot to take in, you know," she mumbled.

Faith nodded, looking serious. "I know how to make it better though, blondie," she said, winking. Buffy looked dubious, but brightened when Faith produced a plate of cookies from under her bed. "I got some more from the kitchens, anticipating the need for chocolate."

Buffy rolled her eyes, taking a cookie. Darla took one, eyeing it carefully, while Drusilla just stared.

Darla sighed. "So, anyway, I guess if you're going to be technical, we are humans right now. There was this spell cast, and as long as Dru and I take a sip of potion everyday, we're human."

Buffy smiled. "Sounds good to me. As long as you're human, I promise not to go all slayergal on you." She turned to Drusilla.

"But this still doesn't mean that I'm not pissed at you, cuz I am. It's your fault I got thrown in here for rehab. I never killed Kendra, and no one believes me."

Drusilla looked pouty. "I had my fun," she groused, "And you have yours. But you do not like the school at all? So many little stars, dancing and shining in my eyes."

Buffy felt herself turn a little pink. "Well, okay, there are parts of Hogwarts that aren't totally bad."

Faith snorted and threw a pillow at her. "Yeah, cuz you're so hating having to spend time with Harry. All that making out must be torture, huh, being with such a hideous, cheap, stupid guy and all."

Buffy gaped. "Excuse me? That had better be sarcasm, or else I will hurt you for that." She glowered at Faith.

The darker haired girl rolled her eyes. "Duh. Sarcasm." And broke into laughter along with Darla. After a moment, Buffy joined in. even Dru seemed on the verge of understanding the humour, in her own twisted way.

Drusilla stared at Buffy. "You and the Boy Who Lived. He had such innocence, his face glows with the sun. Rises, sets. Rises, sets. He has set now, but when the sun rises again, he will be made pure once more. The Sun will rise! The Sun is dull now…but how she shines…"

Darla looked mildly impressed. "Fantastic. Another prediction," she said offhandedly.

"So, Buffy," the strawberry blonde said, turning to Buffy, "have you even tried to prove your innocence?"

Buffy froze. She swung to face Darla. "What do you mean?" she said slowly. "I…I think there was a trial held at the Watchers' Council…but I don't think I was there…"

Darla shook her head impatiently. "I mean, did you bother talking to old Dumbles? There are ways to tell if someone's telling the truth using magic."

Faith frowned. "Damn, shoulda thought of that…" she muttered, taking a big chomp out of a cookie.

Buffy shook her head, eyes wide. "I didn't know…what ways are there?"

Darla smiled. "Well, there's this little potion, you see. It's a Truth potion, called a Veritaserum."

Buffy felt a grin spread across her face. She was feeling warm and bubbly inside with excitement. "You mean, I could…I could prove I'm innocent? I could just go home now?" she babbled, then her face began to drop a bit. "But – but I couldn't leave Harry. I love him too much. And, where would I go? Sunnydale? I don't think that the American police department would put much faith in magic."

"Plus," Faith added, "Why would you go back when your old friends think you did it?"

Buffy looked miserable. "I'm happy here. And, what would they do to Dru? Stake her, throw her in that wiggy wizard prison? Harry said Zack-a-bam is a pretty rough place," she said grimly.

Drusilla bit her bottom lip. "Zack-a-bam?" she echoed incredulously, and Darla tried her best not to snort.

"It's called Azkaban, Buffy. Don't worry about us; we've been undead and kicking for a couple hundred years. A few wizards aren't going to stop us. Especially since now we have all our powers."

Buffy bit her lip. "But, although I would love to be proven innocent, I don't want to be sent home."

Faith put a comforting hand on her sister slayer's shoulder. "C'mon, B. Dumble's a nice guy. If you're a good girl then I'm sure he'd let you crash at his castle for as long as you want. He seems a pretty decent fossil, if you ask me. That, and because you're a witch, he'd be roped in to finish your education!"

Buffy's face lit up. "So – should I just go and ask for a Truth potion?"

Darla grinned. "The sooner, the better."

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Two hours later, Buffy stood outside the Headmaster's office with Harry, Faith, Malfoy, Darla and Drusilla. She was feeling very nervous.

What if he didn't let her take the potion? Why hadn't he given it to her before? Buffy stopped, frowning. Hey, what was up with that? If he were a decent, honest guy, wouldn't Dumbledore have gone to the trouble of giving her a Veritaserum in the first place, instead of just going on what Weatherby and Smith said?

Buffy started to feel hot under the collar. Weatherby and Smith. Aaargh, she hated them so much! Those smug bastards. They didn't just do their jobs, they enjoyed kicking the slayer when she was down. How low was that. And they didn't just take her on, they injected a poison into her body first, and then attacked her. Why didn't any one else see that?

In retrospect, it should have been easy to see that Buffy hadn't killed Kendra. True, Buffy didn't actually remember what happened awfully well, but when Kendra was found, her throat was slashed. Buffy didn't have any knives with her! Okay…a sword, maybe…but no, it wasn't that. It was lots of little slashes, not the work of her sword.

Buffy sighed, knocking on the stone gargoyle again. Didn't he ever answer the door?

The world just couldn't handle how powerful I am, Buffy thought. Well, not the world, but Weatherby and Smith definitely. And then rest of the Council. In the end, it all comes down to power.

The Watchers don't have as much power as I do, so they tried to take me down. They thought I was a threat, and…well, it won't be that way for much longer.

Frowning, she turned to the dark haired girl beside her. "Faith," she said hesitantly, "Why don't you take a Veritaserum as well?"

Faith looked startled, and whipped her head around to face the petite blonde quickly.

"Um…Buff, I-"

Buffy shook her head. "You could be proven innocent as well! You so should."

Faith studied her nails, her eyes failing to meet Buffy's. "I-uh, no. No thanks, B."

Buffy's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?" she asked, confused. "Wouldn't you like to be-"

"She can't, Buffy."

The blonde turned quickly to look at Drusilla, who was shaking her head. "Huh?"

Faith rolled her eyes. "I did it, okay? I killed a guy. It may have been a mistake, but I still killed a guy. I'm a murderer."

Buffy felt a chill at the offhand tone she was using. "Well, okay," she said slowly. "But if it wasn't your fault, then maybe-"

"And you did as well."

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Angelus stalked into the Mayor's office, flopping into the chair opposite Wilkins and swinging his feet up onto the desk. His boots fell with a thump, splattering mud and a fair bit of blood everywhere. He grinned disarmingly at the fuming Mayor, who was glaring daggers at him.

"So, Dick, guess what I've been up to?"

The Mayor of Sunnydale sat down, seething inwardly, and put on a pair of rubber gloves before starting to wipe down the mess. "Well, from the looks of you, it would appear you've been in a fight."

Angelus threw his head back and laughed, as if it were some huge personal joke. He put his feet back onto the floor and leaned forward, touching the lacerations across his cheek. Wilkins noted that one arm looked broken, and not to mention several ribs.

"And what a fight it was. This chick, I don't know what she was! Looked human, but had a whole lot of power. Strength, speed, stamina - that, and she just wouldn't bleed. Bashed her face in with a sledgehammer and she just rolled her pretty little eyes at me."

The Mayor raised his eyebrows. "Wow," he intoned, as Spike came in, looking bloody and bruised. He was carrying an unconscious man, who was dressed like he had just come out of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. "Well, what was she?"

Angelus frowned and shrugged. "Beats me. She wasn't a zombie or a vamp, definitely not a spirit or a demon. She looked human."

Spike grunted, pulling off his black leather duster gingerly to reveal a ripped shirt, and deep gouged across his chest. "Like twenty slayers rolled into one," he groaned, "except she didn't have slayer essence at all. Smelled wrong. That, or it was all the bloody Chanel she was wearing." He chuckled at his own joke.

Wilkins looked up as the Master entered the room. He nodded to the ancient vampire, and looked back at Angelus. "So, how did you defeat her?"

"Funny thing," he hummed. "King Arthur here," he gestured to the comatose man, "and about a thousand of his friends came to help. And there were monks. One of them had a big, round, golden thing, and it repelled her. We beat her down for a long time, but she just wouldn't die. In the end, she transformed into another person, a man. I drank the lucky bastard, and she didn't reappear."

The Master tapped a long, tapering talon on his chin. "And the thousand men?" he asked.

Spike shrugged. "All dead, apart from the one we saved for questioning," he said.

Wilkins sighed. "Well, let's just see, shall we?" he took a long piece of wood out of his desk and pointed it at the man. "Enervate."

The man stirred a little, his eyes opening a crack. He saw Spike first, and shot up. "What has happened? Where are my brethren?" he gasped, groping around for a weapon. He turned around and saw the Master. His eyes grew wide, and he crossed himself, muttering and shaking his head wildly.

The ancient vampire stepped forward, capturing the man's throat in between his claws. "What were you fighting?" He asked. The Master was not one to mince words.

The man was sweating visibly, and glared up at him. "Back, demon!" he spat. The Master lifted the man off his feet, by his throat. The man began to struggle for breath.

"Tell me," he said gently, golden eyes boring into the man's. He tried to free himself, but it was fruitless.

"The…the Beast," he muttered. "The Beast called Glorificus. What of it?"

Angelus kicked the man in the back. "She's dead, Arty. So, what was she after?"

The Master let go, and the man fell to the floor with a thump. He gasped for air through his damaged windpipe, and the Master vampire walked to the window, watching the moon without a word.

The man on the floor regained his breath. "You killed the Beast?" he asked incredulously.

Angelus sighed and pointed a very sharp sword to the man's throat. "I asked a question, crusade boy," he said tonelessly.

The man was shaking. "The Beast…It is after the Key. The Key opens dimensions, and if the Beast succeeds, then It will open all walls. The dimensions bleed into each other, and It could go home."

Angelus shrugged, and pushed the blade home into the man's throat. "Well, there you go," he said. "Still don't know what the wee beastie was, though."

"She is Glorificus," the Master said from the window. "I am very, very pleased that you succeeded killing her."

Spike frowned. "That's nice. And Glorificus is what?"

The Master turned. "She was a god."

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A/N hey there everyone!!!

I have had some really bad internet connection issues, so I'm sorry this is so late. I'm writing, okay!! Thanks loads to everyone who reviewed.

On ff.net:

Kyra2 and Reese, thank you so much!! Yay, luv ya guys! You're great reviewers.

Lil Badass, thanks a million! You rock. This is for you!!!

On tth:

Cutiepi: special thanks for your review, it really got me thinking more about how my plot worked. I tried to solve most issues you brought up in this chapter, so thanks! ….you think I write everyone OOC? Okay…sniff that's okay, I guess…sniff thanks….and as you asked? Not all evil!!