A/N
Beta Reader wanted!!
Does anyone want to be my beta? puppydog eyes I get a lot of questions from readers - what makes sense to me doesn't to others…I don't have a beta for any of my stories…..I did for, like, a month in 2002 but she abandoned me. Is anyone really interested in being my beta for my two stories, help me write and edit? Make decisions, get the story together? Blushespush me along, write faster? Actually, it'd be best if you've read both stories and been with them for a while (both found on ff.net), but most of the work would be with Princess of Sin. If interested, please write in a review, because my email will reject all addresses if you send directly to me. Thanks loads!
RoseRiddle
&*&*&
Professor Richard Wilkins, Mayor of Sunnydale, beamed. He often did. Beaming was a much more effective trademark that scowling, he had decided, after seeing countless Big Bads go for the 'I'm so evil and immoral' smirk. Unless pulled off perfectly, like Angelus and Spike managed to, it was just unoriginal. He cleared his throat. "Headmaster, I found the Boggart while out in the forest. It's gone now."
The Headmaster got to his feet, looking slightly surprised. "Boggart? I…" he trailed off, his brow knitting. Realisation dawning at last, he made an 'ooh' shape with his mouth beneath the long, white beard. "The Boggart! Of course. Excellent. And who might your new guests be, Richard?" the Headmaster's eyes widened slightly. Severus Snape struggled to his feet, confused.
"Miss Aurelius! Kindly extricate yourself from that stranger and explain yourself!"
Darla pulled away from Angelus slowly, nipping his bottom lip and smirking at his erratic, unnecessary breathing. Love, lust…it was all the same to them.
"Professors, this is my darling Liam, and he- " she gestured vaguely at Spike, who was staring transfixed at the dark vampiress, "-is William, Drusilla's boyfriend. They both came to visit for a surprise."
The rest of the school had been unfrozen, and the younger students giggled as many of the girls in the higher grades sighed dreamily at the hot newcomers, some others glaring furiously at Darla in particular. How'd she hook a sex-god like that? Damn, she got everything!
Buffy was staring open-mouthed, really, immeasurably glad that she'd put the swords back where they belonged before the rest of the hall was unfrozen. Everyone except Angelus, Spike, Dru, Darla, Harry, Malfoy, Faith and herself seemed totally unaware of the fight and conversation that had just gone down. Oh, and Wilkins of course. He was the one who had memory-charmed the Hall. Dumbledore and everyone else carried on right where they left off, without the recollection of a fight!
This also meant that they were unaware of the whole vampire-ness of the strangers. To the teachers and students, they were just a pair of sweet (possibly rather sexually frustrated) guys who wanted to see their girlfriends. Cute.
Buffy looked over at the one person she wished had been memory charmed most of all. Harry looked back at her, his face unreadable.
"Harry, I, uh…" She tried to speak, but couldn't find anything to say.
He shrugged. "The boggart's gone now. I'm off." With that curt statement, he turned on his heel and swept out of the Great Hall, his robes swirling behind him. Buffy felt her face flush as Angelus and Darla looked at her. She smiled weakly at them.
"Huh. So, that was the new guy." Angelus said, nodding to himself. He looked on the verge of saying something else, but Darla's mouth got in the way before he could say it.
Buffy felt like saying something on behalf of her absent boyfriend, but thought against it. Hell, if he isn't here I'm not gonna talk well of him.
"Yeah, that's him." Faith and Dru were edging closer. Buffy rolled her eyes. "Faith, meet Angelus. You know, the thing attached to Darla."
Darla pulled away. "Hey!" she protested, looking distinctly bruised and…nipped?…around the mouth area. She opened her mouth to protest, but saw that the whole school was hanging onto their every word, some of the professors going purple in a way that was DEFINITELY not from too much kissing. Or, not on their part, at least. It is intolerable to have students acting in such an inappropriate disrespectful manner, especially in the Great Hall with a stranger…Yada, yada, yada. Darla snorted silently. Snape was such a bore.
Professor Dumbledore was looking very baffled. Didn't Darla Aurelius just say the mysterious dark-haired youth's name was Liam? Despite this, Buffy introduced him as 'Angelus'. The name had quite a history. And since when did Buffy Summers know Darla's boyfriend? And how in the world did they get into the school in the first place?
Hogwarts is unplottable, so they couldn't have used a map…obviously, they weren't muggles, since they found the place on their own…unless someone else led them, they must at least have some magical talent, and know about the school, not to mention its location.
Darla was eyeing the Headmaster, who was looking more and more perplexed by the moment. It was a happy perplexed, though. Albus Dumbeldore was never one to back down from a good riddle. So to speak. Tom Riddles proved a problem, but normal riddles were no issue. The old man saw them as an academic challenge, just asking to be solved. Darla felt a smile tugging at her mouth. The man liked to be confused, and she wasn't about to burst his bubble and enlighten him. She cleared her throat.
"Erm…I'd love to continue this discussion, and by discussion I mean pashing, but perhaps we can change venue? To our dorm, maybe, where I don't feel like a zoo?"
Angelus gave Darla a squeeze. "I like that plan," his voice a low, seductive rumble in her ear. "And might I mention? –I love it when you go all Catholic schoolgirl." She smirked and leant in to his warm embrace.
How long had it been since she was last in his arms? And how much long when his embrace was warm? Darla felt tingly inside. Last time had been when she turned him. That was centuries ago…She felt butterflies in her stomach. She wasn't completely human, but God, this was close enough!
Her heart was beating erratically, even if it didn't have to for her to live. That was the trick to the spell: it looked and felt like she was human, even if she wasn't. They all ate normal food, and went in the sun, and were warm and breathed regularly and had beating hearts. Take all that away though, and they wouldn't just die like a vampire in the sun or a human without a pulse. The trick was that it was just that: an illusion.
She smiled at Angelus, leading him away towards the Slytherin rooms, the other (minus Harry) in tow. Angelus spared a wink for Wilkins before turning to Dumbledore quickly. "Thanks for letting us stay," he said before stalking away. The Headmaster blinked. Since when did he authorize that? Huh, and all this time he thought he had beaten senility…
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Faith and Buffy sat on the armchairs in the Slytherin common room.
"So," Buffy said. She started to say something else, but shrugged and went back to sharpening her stake.
Faith sat next to her, polishing a long dagger. She was grinning like a Cheshire cat.
Buffy continued. "I guess Angelus and Darla are happy…and Spike and Dru…have I mentioned that I'm not comfortable with Angel – Angelus, whatever – being happy? Ever? Cuz, you know, last time he got happy it didn't work out well."
Faith threw back her head and laughed heartily. "Hate to break it to ya, B, but Angelus and Darlz haven't done the horizontal tango for ages. My guess is he's going through a helluva lot of happy right now."
Buffy squirmed. "Yeah, thanks for the image, Faith," she mumbled. Faith snorted.
"Face it, B. They're banging like rusty dunny doors." Buffy turned to look at her questioningly.
"Where did that come from? Not even Xander would come up with something like that."
Faith looked surprised at herself. "Yeah, I don't know why I said that either. An ex boyfriend I had was Australian; he used to use Aussie slang like that. Sounds weird to me too." She beamed unrepentantly. "Aussie guys rock. So fit. And those accents!"
Buffy felt a smile creep across her face. "Yeah, I get that," she said, trying not to think about her ex in the next room. "Gotta admit, though, Irish accents do something for me too."
Faith nodded in agreement, chewing on some gum. She noted silently that Buffy didn't mention English accents. She leaned back against the dark green leather and put her feet up on the table, grimacing when her short pleated skirt threatened to fall up.
"This whole outfit really does nothing for me." Faith grumbled absently. There was a period of silence where the two did some more weapons maintenance. After a few moments, Faith felt like she was going to explode.
"Are you going to tell me or what?" Faith said finally, narrowing her dark lined eyes to glare at the blonde.
"And I would be telling you what, exactly?" Buffy asked, although she thought she knew already.
"What it felt like to have Angelus – Angel – back here, talking to you. Seems to me that there was a whole lotta belly-rumblin' tension there."
Bufy felt the knot in her stomach loosen a little as she began to talk about how she felt. "It was tough," she started hesitantly. "I mean, we have a lot of unresolved issues. I keep telling myself that it isn't my Angel, just the demon that owns his ass."
She stopped a bit, frowning. "It's confusing! I mean, I'm not sure what I should do. This is Angelus, Scourge of Europe, mortal enemy Number One. I should stake him, right?"
She looked to Faith for guidance, and she shrugged. "Yeah, s'pose you should," she agreed. "But there's more to it than that."
Buffy rolled her eyes, running a finger along her dagger. "That's just it. If he were Angelus, plain and simple, I'd have to kill him. But he's alive – well, sorta. And he makes Darla happy, and she's my friend. Can he even drink anyone?"
Faith gave a crooked smirk. "You can bet Mr Pointy that he's drinking Darla right now," she said plainly.
Buffy snorted, blushing a bit. "I mean feed on someone else, dumbass. If he goes all vampy, I'll stake his oh-so-shapely ass."
Faith looked at her sharply. "You still see him like that?" She asked. "You're still attracted to him?"
Buffy coloured. "I, uh…" she broke off. Remembering Willow, she tried out her best resolve face. "He's evil. No interest in him anymore. Faith, I have Harry, don't I? Why would I want psycho-killing-guy?"
Faith shrugged, and went back to her work.
Harry was a nice guy. He and Buffy had a good relationship, but he was kind of…missing. He was an apple short of the picnic.
Faith had been around. There was no other way to put it. She had her fair share of relationships and, contrary to popular belief, some had actually lasted a while. She knew a good relationship when she saw one, and had a lot of intuition. It stemmed from a more than a healthy amount of experience.
After awhile she looked back up at her sister slayer. "Something's not right, is it?" She ventured. "With Harry, I mean."
Buffy gave a start. "Why would you say that?" she asked carefully.
Faith rolled her eyes and swung around to face the blonde. She took the dagger out of her hands and looked her in the eye. "Buffy, I'm your best friend. Here, anyway. We're sisters. You can't weasel out of the question; I can see right through you. Something's off, I can tell."
Buffy's shoulders slumped. "You're right," she said reluctantly. "I thought we were good, Harry and me. But now, with An- " she stopped herself, took a breath and continued. "Angelus coming back, there are all these feelings that are flooding back. I don't know what to think or feel. Of course, I'd never do anything. Angelus and me? I don't think so," she said wryly, with a hint of regret. "Also, Darlz would kick my ass." She added as an afterthought.
Faith nodded in understanding, ignoring the comment about Darla. "I get what you mean."
She sat back. "Hey – B?"
"Yeah?"
"If, just now, it wasn't Angelus who walked through the door…what if it had been Angel? What would you have done, even with Harry there?"
Buffy was silent, her eyes downcast. Faith felt her heart pounding in her chest. Buffy didn't speak, but her silence spoke volumes.
The answer was obvious.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Joyce Summers juggled the groceries and boxes from the gallery in her arms while trying to fish her keys out of her jacket pocket. She hummed an odd tune she heard on the radio that morning as she opened the door and bustled inside to the kitchen, where she dumped her paper bags on the counter. She was just about to make a cup of tea when she was pushed off her feet by a lanky, dark-haired youth.
"Ooh, chocolate!" he exclaimed, rifling through the bags and only finding vegetables and shampoo. He turned his sad face towards her, making puppy-dog eyes. "What, no sugary goodness?"
Joyce smiled wryly. "No, Xander. None today. Really, I don't know how you stay so lean. You teenagers can eat anything!"
Alexander LaVelle Harris shrugged, smiling. "Gift of the hormones," he quipped before being bowled over by Cordelia.
"Not for me. I have to work to be beautiful. It's a responsibility I have to the public of Sunnydale High." Cordy said loftily, sweeping in regally to stand alongside Joyce.
"Anyway, Mrs Summers, I just came to pick up a few weapons from Buffy's room." She smiled briefly before starting to head up the stairs of the Summers home. Despite the absence of the blondest Summers, the house on Revello Drive was still slayer central.
Joyce blinked at the mention of Buffy. She missed her daughter a lot. When Buffy had run away from home, it had shattered her. Had she reacted too harshly? If any other mother had a bombshell of the 'slayer' dropped on her, not to mention been enlightened about the whole other world that existed after dark, would she have reacted differently? Joyce prayed she was right. She had given Buffy an ultimatum, and Buffy left.
Xander felt the tension in the air, and felt it his duty to remedy it. "Yeah, so. We're done now. I'll see you tomorrow, Joyce." He smiled warmly, wished her goodnight, and ushered Cordelia out the door. Joyce stayed where she was, wishing her daughter would come home.
Xander sighed heavily, taking the chest of weapons from Cordelia. He walked along in companionable silence for a while, until Cordy reluctantly turned to him. "I feel so bad whenever we mention Buffy to her. She should know, Xander."
Xander groaned. "I know what you mean. But what are we supposed to tell her? 'Hey, Joyce, your firstborn's a convicted killer and is locked up in a magical school in England. The dude who killed her is back and kicking as well, thought you'd like to know. By the way, isn't the weather nice?' Wouldn't go down well."
Cordy quirked her mouth to the side. "Yeah, I get that. It's just tough, that's all. Every day, she's just thinking that her kid doesn't love her and is lying dead in a ditch somewhere. Truth is, we can't tell her where Buffy is…what she's accused of…" She shook her head. "The only one of us with a parent who does care, and she thinks her daughter hates her."
Xander shuffled along the sidewalk. "Sometimes, I used to wish I had Joyce for a mom…."
Cordelia nodded. "I know what you mean."
They had reached Cordelia's house. The cheerleader leaned over and gave her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek, before pulled her jumper down over her bruised forearms from that night's battle and stepping inside.
"I'll see you tomorrow first period, Xander," she said.
Xander grinned goofily at her. "Ok. Oh, and don't forget – we're babysitting Dawn tomorrow night!"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Darla groaned, opening her eyes a crack. The sun was beating down on her face. It didn't burn, but it was bright anyway. Darla yawned loudly, rolling over and landing on something fleshy and warm and…Angelus.
She grinned widely, looking up at him. If a girl's best light was candlelight and the moon, Darla had to admit that sunlight did wonders for her boy. He was smiling, leaning on his hand, propped up on the pillow by his elbow.
"Morning, lover," he whispered softly, kissing her jugular vein. Darla laughed, cupping his cheek to kiss him passionately. "Did you sleep well?"
Darla smirked at him. "Barely a wink, and it's all your fault," she said flirtingly, and leaned back against the pillows. She pushed forward and put her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his warm arms around her, and she breathed in his scent.
"I have class," she muttered absently, "but I think I'd learn more staying right here, don't you?"
Angelus chuckled; Darla felt the deep rumble within his chest. "I couldn't agree with you more, Princess."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Buffy paled. "Really, sir, she said she was feeling sick this morning. Spewing everywhere."
Faith nodded vigorously. "Yeah. It was uber nasty. She was really in a bad way, and that's why Darlz couldn't make it to your Potions exam."
Severus Snape glowered at them. "I don't particularly care what you have to say. Miss Aurelius is absent and did not show for the exam. She is in MY house and if she is sick she should be in the Hospital Wing with a note from Madame Pomfrey."
He made his way towards the door.
For the love of Merlin, he thought furiously, did they really think he was that stupid? The bloody girl's boyfriend had arrived yesterday, and not only was he missing during the night but she didn't arrive to class the next morning. It didn't take a genius to figure out what they did last night. Miss Edith was probably guilty of the same offence, but at the very least Drusilla had turned up to her exam. Even if her gentleman friend had tailed along.
He was enraged that Summers and Morgan had the cheek to lie bare-faced to him. He was a Professor, for God's sake! He ignored their protests.
"Really, sir, it smells pukey. You don't want to go in."
"Yeah. And she's probably in the shower – or just out of it – she may not be decent…"
"She's too sick, you may catch it too -"
He pushed open the empty portrait and swooped over to Darla's bed. He ripped back the curtains with relish.
Buffy shut her eyes from the doorway, but still heard Darla's response to the intrusion.
"Shit."
&*&*&
A/N
Bit shorter, but a lot's happening. Both in story and real life – exam block. IMPORTANT: yes, I just put in DAWNIE!! Guess what people? I'm changing her age. Not sure when….I need to think about that.
Many thanks to Reese, Catriona, buffyx, Draco-FutureBF, blondi gurl (tried to answer your question), x2love4ever.
Ashenem- aaaaaw but I wanna! It's not set in stone, but something's planned with angel….
Hey, seriously, I need a good beta who knows about both stories to help me with getting the stories up. I have the plots, I need opinions before I write and after to check. Anyone??
THANKS!