A/N

Okay, you guys have held out long enough. Here's some insight into my pairings:

NO Spuffy. Sorry, I just don't want it in this fic. I'm a B/A writer at heart. Spike will be paired with Dru, that is all.

MANY people dislike me making it Buffy/Angel, but can you hold out a little longer please? I'm gonna do something very different with Angel/us. Wait and see!!! Even if you don't like it usually, hang around and you'll see it's twisty enough to be just a little more than mediocre (not to blow my own horn. I'm just proud of having this sick, twisted idea that you'll LOVE!) I promise –it WON'T be fluffy sop. No way.

So, basically, we're gonna have to dump Harry. He's turning mean slowly, has anyone noticed? And Angelus doesn't seem that bad actually…in a sadistic way, he's one of my faves. So, stick around, wait til my pairings get interesting.

#BEGIN#

&*&*&

Buffy groaned as she chipped another petrified slug shell from the inside of the cauldron she was scouring. Faith was kneeling beside her, tutting as she checked out the damage to her nails.

Darla was beside them, as was Angelus. Buffy stole a look at him and saw him throw a filthy look at the filthy desk he was supposed to be cleaning with a filthy toothbrush. He then glared at the Professor again.

"No way, batman. You're missing the point. I. Don't. Clean."

Snape glowered, and seemed to grow taller. "Listen, Mr- "

"Liam Nest," Darla offered, thinking fast. She couldn't remember Angelus's name from when he was human. When the pair of them had visited Europe last time he was Angelus, back when he was the Scourge of Europe, they had often stayed in expensive hotels and in palaces under the guise of 'Lord and Lady Aurelius'. Darla almost told Snape that Angelus's name was Liam Aurelius, but she remembered that they were supposed to be normal girlfriend and normal boyfriend. Thus, it would be a bit inappropriate if the school staff thought they were a married couple.

Darla suppressed a snort. Married? No way. For her to be married to her darling boy, God would have to approve the union. There was a snowball's chance in hell of that happening. They were married in the eyes of a certain Joseph Heinrich Nest, however, and he was of the Order of Aurelius. A sire's blessing, to a vampire, was just as powerful.

"Mr Nest," Snape growled, "-must learn his place. If he is to stay at Hogwarts, he must follow my rules. Miss Aurelius, as a student it was most inappropriate for you to undertake such…nocturnal…activities as you did last night. You missed your exam and swore to me, your Professor."

Darla threw her hands up. "I'm not arguing with my detention!" she cried. "Look! I'm cleaning cauldrons and everything." To prove her point, she picked up a toothbrush and began to scrub with a sarcastic smile on her face.

Snape huffed, glaring at Angelus. "Mr Nest," he ground out. "You stay in my part of the castle, you follow my rules. Scrub. NOW."

Angelus bared his teeth in a ferocious smile. Darla watched the uncertainty flicker in Professor Snape's eyes. It was like he felt compelled to take a step backwards, but decided against it. Instead, Snape glared at Angelus and puffed up, like those little fish do when they're threatened. Interesting – her boy unsettled him.

Angelus could smell the fear coming off this man too. Funny, Darla mused. He didn't look like he was scared; to someone who couldn't sense fear as well as a vampire, he looked angry. Snape covered his fear well, with hostility. "As you wish, Professor." Angelus said in a mocking voice.

Snape nodded curtly, stepping out of the room.

Buffy coughed to suppress a giggle. Faith caught her eye and started to turn pink, trying not to laugh. She failed, characteristically; Faith threw her head back to cackle like a real witch should. Angelus threw them both another filthy look. He did that look like a pro.

"I don't clean." He said again flatly, dropping the toothbrush.

Buffy shook her head, unable to resist tweaking him just a bit. "You do the dirty, you clean the cauldron," she said in a light, taunting voice. Then, her eyebrows lowered. "And Faith and I are stuck in here 'cuz of you."

Faith dropped her sponge with a –splat- and then glared menacingly. "Yeah. We were covering for you two, and now we have to clean as well! You owe us big," she concluded with relish.

Darla shrugged, scrubbing at a difficult patch of…well, she didn't know what. It was pretty ick, anyway, and smelled revolting. "Can't help it if you want to lie for me," she said sweetly.

Angelus stared into her eyes. "It was worth it," he said with a seductive smirk and a predatory gleam in his eye that a blind man would recognize. Darla had seen it a lot.

Buffy wrinkled her nose. "Eww," she muttered. "And here I was, thinking that scrubbing cauldrons was upsetting."

Angelus rolled his eyes, watching the girls clean for a while. Darla's gaze flickered over to him. He appeared to be counting to ten under his breath. "Come on!" he exclaimed suddenly, kicking out at cauldron in his impatience. Buffy looked confused, but Darla sighed, rolling her head on her shoulders.

"I know what you mean," she said in a low tone, taking a deep breath. Faith narrowed her eyes.

"Are you two talking dirty again? In code or something kinky like that?" she asked, ever the Queen of Blunt. "Cuz I'm feeling suspicious."

Darla closed her eyes. "No, Faith," she said patronizingly. Opening her eyes, she cast around for her now despised scourer and resumed the tedious talk of scrubbing cauldrons. "We're not talking dirty, we're in withdrawal," she laughed. Perhaps laughing and talking with friends had the power to get her mind off what she was cleaning for detention.

Nope. Still not working.

Faith snorted. "Thought you didn't need blood, Darlz. Something you and your vampy boytoy wanna tell the class?" she asked, looking wary. Darla watched Buffy sit up straighter at the mention of the words 'blood' and 'vampy' so close together. Buffy was a Slayer till the end.

Darla shook her head. "I don't need blood to survive, not since the spell and the injections I'm getting each week. It's just…when you do something for so long and then stop, it just feels wrong."

Angelus nodded. "Buff, do you remember when you went to LA last summer? You were staying with your dad and couldn't slay for a month; couldn't even take weapons."

Buffy shuddered. "Yeah. It was terrible! I never thought I'd miss evil so much," she said with conviction. "I felt restless, and bit my dad's head off whenever he tried to get me to do something with him. It felt weird to not slay, to be just me again."

Darla nodded wryly, smiling. "That's what we're feeling with staying here. I want to be drinking, partying, killing…while I don't technically need the blood anymore, and I don't have bloodlust…it just feels like there's something missing."

Buffy blinked, surprised. "As disturbing as this sounds, I understand."

Angelus chuckled. "Don't sound so excited, Buff."

Darla sighed after a while. "Is Snape gone?" she asked in a low voice. Buffy nodded, and the strawberry blonde waved her hand over the cauldrons. "Scourgify," she muttered. In an instant, the cauldrons were spotless, gleaming in the dim candlelight.

Angelus snorted. "That's what I want to do: Scourgify. THEN we could have some fun," he laughed, wrapping a strong arm around Darla's waist. She wrinkled her nose.

"That's about the lamest joke I've ever heard."

"You mean kill-happy fun?" Faith asked Angelus in an unimpressed tone, ignoring Darla's comment. Then, she shrugged. "Oh, well. Whatever turns you on," she said, offhanded.

Darla's eyes gleamed. "You have no idea."

Buffy got up, wiping her hands on a cloth and sitting atop a desk. She peered at Angelus quizzically. "One question, mister," she said. He straightened up waited for her. When she didn't say anything, he prompted her.

"Fire away."

"If you don't need blood, and there wasn't a Boggart yesterday…"

"Yeah? What about it?"

Buffy narrowed her eyes. "How come that little boy came running out from the forest with a hand to his bleeding throat? Something bit the kid."

"Oh. That," Angelus said, a wicked smile forming on his lips. Darla loved those lips.

"What did you do?" She asked, returning to the present. She raised an eyebrow, preparing to get angry. "How did you bite that boy? I thought you couldn't!"

Angelus raised his eyebrow right back at her. "I never said that I couldn't bite a kid."

Darla tapped him on the arm. "Have you actually tried since you took the potion from the Mayor – ah, Wilkins?" she asked in delicate voice. Angelus blinked.

"Hold that thought," he told Buffy distractedly, before turning to his little strawberry. "What was that, Darla?"

Darla tilted her head to the side. "Wilkins didn't tell you about the potion, did he?" she hummed. "No? didn't think so. Pull out your game face, honey."

Angelus blinked again. "Why do that..?"

Buffy leaned in closer, interested. "Hey! I remember, when we were sparring, you didn't vamp-out. What's with that?"

"I…erm…oh crap." He glowered to himself, seeming to be concentrating. When nothing happened, he stalked over to a chair and straddled it dejectedly, settling his head on his arms. "No way. That's just cruel."

Darla gave a sympathetic smile. "Poor baby. No one told you that the potion would stop you from showing your demon face?"

"No…" came the sullen reply.

Buffy shook her head, trying not to laugh. Darla caught her eye, and saw that she was intrigued by the way Angelus was acting. Perhaps Buffy had never seen this side, the more child-like side of her darling boy.  Buffy cleared her throat, returning to business. "Okay, but if it wasn't you - who bit the kid?"

"Spike."

Buffy gaped. "WHAT?" shrieked, and jumped to her feet. Faith jerked up alongside her, ready for a fight. "You mean that lying bleached bastard didn't take the potion! How'd he get in? I'm gonna kick his ass!" she shot to the door, but Angelus called her back as she rounded the corner.

"Wait! Relax Buff, we only took the potion just before we went through the wards around the school. That's why the Forbidden Forest is infested with darkness – it's beyond the wards. The kid was in the Forest with us before we took the potion. Spikey thought he'd have some fun. He's safe now."

Buffy was unconvinced. "It's not him I'm worried about."

"You know what I mean," Angelus ran a hand through his hair in a smooth gesture that wound Buffy up. "Women," he said at last, rolling his eyes.

"Not women, darling," Darla drawled, simultaneously winking and blowing a kiss reminiscent of a Moulin Rouge dancer. "Slayers."

Buffy, Faith, Darla and Angelus talked for hours, until Professor Snape returned.

"Ah. I see that you have finished your task, finally," he sneered, pulling out four wands. "Here you are."

Darla watched Buffy take them from him with distaste. Buffy's eyes flickered up at Darla, who smirked. Oh, yeah. Tough detention. She felt sorry for all the other students who had detentions from Snape – they weren't wandless witches. Ha ha.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Willow tapped her nails on the Summers' dining room table. "Come on, Dawnie, it's really okay."

 Dawn Summers flicked her long brown hair for the umpteenth time that hour. "I don't understand why I couldn't come. I'm not a kid," she whined. Willow caught her gaze and frowned. It wasn't a 'kid' thing; it was a safety thing. Willow could sense her agitation from her stiff stance and jerky movements.

"Dawn, I know you're feeling left out, but it's really for the best. Believe me," she requested. Still, Dawn looked unconvinced.

"But I could so deal. It's totally cool! I mean, when Buffy was my age- "

"-she was living in LA, being a good girl and totally unaware of anything like that. Think of your mom! She would kill us if she knew we had taken you out and you had seen things like that. Think of your future."

Dawn glared, sinking lower in her chair with her arms crossed tightly across her chest. She was wearing a pale pink t-shirt and some denim jeans, and fluffy pink slippers. "It's nothing I haven't seen before."

Willow looked shocked. "Dawn, we're babysitting. We're NOT going to take you to see an MA-rated movie, and that's that."

Xander came in from the kitchen. "On the plus side, Dawnster, if you stay here you can have all the chocolate ice cream you want and your mom pays for it. We can make popcorn, watch TV – it'll be way better than the movies."  He smiled goofily, starting to wheedle. "C'mon, you know you want a bowl."

Dawn huffed, brow lowered. Nevertheless, she grumbled something incoherent and stalked into the kitchen to join Xander in a bowl of Peter's Ice Cream, drowned in chocolate sauce. Willow smiled as Xander beamed at her.

"Xander, you're going to turn her into a TV-junkfood…uh…junkie."

"Your point?"

Cordelia slipped past them snickering, and joined Willow at the dining room table. She ran her manicured hand across the dark oak, eyes flicking to the kitchen.

"At her age, Buffy didn't know about vampires, either," Cordelia murmured. Willow sighed, watching Dawn as she giggled and wiped ice cream off Xander's face.

"Fifteen? I think she did, actually. Merrick, back in LA. It's so sad Joyce and Dawn don't know everything about Buffy. I'm glad we didn't tell them why Buffy is stuck at the School."

Cordelia nodded, taking a bite out of an apple. "I know. Still, it's just wrong. Joyce and Dawn don't know where Buffy is; they both think she ran away for home for no reason."

"It's gotta be tough." Willow bit her lip, watching Dawn and smiling when the youngest Summers grinned in her direction and pulled a face. Her previous sulk was forgotten as she joked with Xander.

"Look at her! She must be covering it well. I know for a fact how much she loves Buffy. It must be tearing her up inside knowing that her sister is missing."

"It's been a long time," Cordelia remarked, studying her apple. Willow sensed she was trying to come across casual; hiding her inner turmoil. The cheerleader looked up finally. "Willow, it's been three months. Three whole months, and still no Buffy. Joyce and Dawn…I don't know if the time makes it easier or harder for them to deal. I really don't know."

"I hope for them that the time makes it easier. Easier to, you know…just live with the pain of a loved one missing. Maybe they get used to it, as the time passes…" Willow shook her head, sighing deeply. There was a hole in her heart that could only be filled by a certain blonde Slayer.

"Or it could make it harder," Cordelia offered. Willow saw how unwilling Cordy seemed as she spoke. "I mean, each day passing makes it only more real. More real that your own kid left you; that your sister abandoned you. As the days go on, they're losing hope." Cordelia sat, studying her apple in a daze, musing what she had just said before her head jerked up, releasing her from her trance. "Oh God, I don't know," she said finally.

"I just wish we could tell Dawnie and Joyce where Buffy really is. Dawn seemed to take it okay when she found out Buffy was the Slayer. Joyce…she'd get over the whole 'magic' thing, just to know that Buffy's okay."

Willow's eyes widened and she swung around quickly, looking to see if Dawn had heard. No – Dawnie was still with Xander in the kitchen. "Shhh!" she scolded. "Dawn might hear you."

"I'm being careful," came the half-hearted reply. "Anyway…heard from Giles lately?"

Willow nodded, making sure she wasn't going to be overheard. "Yeah," she said conspiratorially. "Giles got a letter from Buffy two days ago." Cordelia looked offended.

"Why wasn't I told?" she asked snippily. A carefully sculpted eyebrow rose, making Willow squirm.

"He only told me this morning on the phone. He's disappeared for awhile, researching. Apparently- "

"Giles disappeared?" Willow swung around in alarm, her heart beating frantically. Dawn was right at her elbow, and she looked angry and sad and shocked, all at the same time.

"Dawnie! I- "

"What were you saying?" Dawn demanded, staring into Willow's eyes.

Willow blinked, opening and shutting her mouth quickly. Xander came over to rescue her. "Hey girls! Whatcha up to?"

Dawn put her hands on her hips, swinging to on side in a classic hostile-teen pose. "Willow said something about a letter…I heard Buffy's name. Now, she said that Giles disappeared."

Willow looked towards Xander desperately for help. If there was ever anyone for some quick thinking, it was her best friend.

Dawn caught the exchange and swung to face Xander. "Xand – what is it? What aren't you guys telling me?" her blue eyes seemed to grow wide, but he wasn't sucked in.

"Nuh-uh, Dawnster," he chuckled. "I've told you once; I've told you a thousand times. People with blue eyes CAN'T do the Puppy-dog Eyes look. It just doesn't work. You need brown eyes to do it effectively – hazel at the very least. With blue, the best you can do is the fake-cry." He scratched his head, smiling impishly. "Dangerous for brown eyes, but blue can pull it off."

Dawn suppressed a smile. "You're changing the subject," she half-complained, half-laughed; Willow saw with relief that she seemed calmer. "I'm not a kid, Xander! You can tell me."

Cordelia rolled her eyes, smoothly carrying on where Xander left off. "Giles didn't disappear, Dawn. He just took a couple of days off to do Giles-things. Boring things, involving books."

Dawn wasn't completely won over. "But you said something about Buffy, and a letter…"

Xander nodded. "…Yeah? what about it?"

Dawn narrowed her eyes, confused. "But a letter and Buffy…doesn't that mean, you know – my sister isn't dead in a ditch somewhere? This is one of those important things you should tell her worried family. Spill."

Cordelia exchanged a wary look with Willow. The redhead licked suddenly dry lips. "Okay, okay. We got a letter from Buffy, Dawn."

A frown began to form on Dawn's face. "And…you didn't tell my mom or me about it 'cuz of why, exactly?" she was shifting from foot to foot with anxiety; Willow saw the agitation in her jerky movements.

Willow swallowed. "Dawn, you need to listen to a couple of things…"

Xander's gaze darted from Willow to Dawn quickly. "Wills! Are you sure that…?"

Willow nodded slowly, taking a breath. "She already knows about Buffy being the Slayer, Xander. And the whole thing with her being the Key…"

Dawn looked between them, confused. "Yeah? What about it?"

Cordelia looked undecided. Willow knew what was going through her head – should we tell Dawn or not? "Dawnie, how much did Giles tell you about you being the Key?"

Dawn ran a hand through her hair distractedly. "Uh, he said that there are some people in a cult who believe that I open dimensions…I have this power in me."

"Your birth was foretold?"

"Or lack of it," Dawn confirmed, nodding at Cordelia. "They think that I was made out of Buffy." She shook her head in dismissal,  snorting. "Weird, huh? Those cult people sure are freaky."

Willow sighed. "You have no idea," she whispered. "Dawn, you didn't tell your mom, did you?"

Dawn shook her head violently. "No way! She'd never go with it. I never told her about the fight, either. It'd just upset her."

Willow put on her resolve face. "Well, we can tell you this as long as you DON'T tell your mom. It'd make her really upset, and the Watchers' Council swore us to secrecy. Since you're the Key, though, I think we can tell you."

Dawn's eyes grew wide. She sat down on the chair opposite Willow. "Go on," she urged. "I won't tell mom, I promise. Just tell me – is Buffy okay?"

"Yeah, she's doing fine. A little incarcerated maybe, but…"

"Incarcerated? Where is she? I thought she ran away because of mom's reaction to the whole Slayer/Destiny thing."

Willow winced. "Your mom gave her an ultimatum, but think, Dawnie. Your mom was just really scared for her daughter when Buffy told her she was the Slayer. She said that if Buffy left, she couldn't come back – but she didn't mean it. There's more to it than that."

Dawn look troubled. "There's, like, a whole side of my sister that I've missed out on," she said with her gaze downcast, trained on her fumbling fingers in her lap. "A whole chapter of her life I never knew about." She looked up at Willow, eyes shining. "Tell me, please? Why isn't my sister here? Where is she?"

Willow glanced at Xander and Cordelia. They had both taken a seat at the dining table. Joyce wouldn't be back for at least two hours, so they had time for a story.

 "I guess I should start at the beginning. Do you remember that friend of Buffy's – that Jamaican girl, Kendra?"

Dawn nodded.

"Well, she was a Slayer too."

"Was? As in, isn't anymore? And I thought Giles said that for a Slayer to be Called, one has to die first. You said Buffy's fine!"

"Yeah. See, that's the thing. There's this vampire called the Master…"

&*&*&

A/N Kudos to all those who reviewed

buffy13-buffyspike4eva – suspicious glance someone's been into my crazy pills…

RedsLover03 – I like the way you pair!

Justine Tiamat – yeah, I love my pairings……mwahahahaha……

Adia – you kick ass at reviewing, anyone ever told you that before? I name you queen (or king) of reviews.

Ashenem – yeah that's cool, I'll try some more spike/malfoy next chapter.

Freewheeler26 - big eyes aaaawww, but I like that pairing!

X-2love4ever – okay thanks for the offer

Lepetitmorte – grazias for the offer also

Finella and fdfs – muchos grazias

Extra thanks to Bloody Heaven, who was kind enough to endure my ramblings. I need to talk about plot, hun….if you're still up for it, feel free to drop me a line. If not, no worries. Sit back and enjoy the show!

Lots of love, the author. J