Hello everyone! I barely got this one done for you. I'm afraid that the next chapter won't be up until Apr. 25. I'm just too busy to be able to post next weekend, I'm sorry. Plus, the story is getting more complicated and I have to spend more time writing each chapter to make sure that they make sense.
Review Responses:
ladyofthedragons1, thank you for your review!
John, not all of them are going to ME, just six of them. They are going to help Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli find Merry and Pippin who were kidnapped (or hobbitnapped, whichever you prefer). The rest are staying behind to find Frodo, Sam, and the Ring. It was a way to split everyone up and have action on both worlds.
harmoni, there are a few out there where the HP group go to ME, but they are rare (of course, I don't read a lot of HP fics either).
SPASH Panther, I'm trying to do something different than them just joining the fellowship, which has been repeatedly done. I know I'm sort of doing that too, but I hope to change things enough to where it is a different story.
vampy the chosen one, thank you for saying that you would wait patiently for the next chapter. You have no idea how much it drives me crazy when the review I get only demands for an update. And I'm glad you like Dawn, too. She has rather grown on me.
Pandoras Box, yeah, Hermione does kind of take care of them. She's almost like their mother at times I think. And Remus will be around for quite some time now. I'll probably put Sirius in here a little bit more too, just not sure yet.
My reviewers just kick ass!
LOTR Notes:
Sam mentions lembas in this chapter. It's just a type of bread that sustains you. Legolas mentions that one bite can fill a grown man's stomach. It's considered a real honor if it is made for you cause only certain elves are allowed to make it.
A/N: Please remember that Connor never existed in the Angel verse and they are still at the Hyperion.
Thanks to my beta, PuNKyCoWGiRL!
Chapter Twelve
A Little Faith
Sam slowly opened his eyes as he woke up. He knew that something was seriously wrong because he didn't recognize any of the trees that he saw, plus the air smelled rather strange.
Suddenly remembering the fight with Gollum and the strange men appearing out of the light, he sat up and looked around for Frodo. Just off to his right, Frodo lay unmoving on the ground. Fearing the worst, Sam ran over to him.
"Frodo! Mr. Frodo! Please wake up!" Sam cried as he shook his friend. "Oh please don't be dead, Mr. Frodo. Wake up!" He nearly cried in relief when he saw the other hobbit's eyes flutter open.
As Sam helped Frodo sit up, Frodo winced and he gingerly reached back to examine the bump on the back of his head. "What happened?"
"I'm not sure," Sam answered his worry evident in his voice. "But I think something very bad has happened."
Frodo looked around and noticed that they were no where near the lake. "Was it me, or did that light look like one of Dawn's portals?"
"It did seem to look familiar," Sam said.
The other hobbit took a deep breath and calmly surveyed their surroundings. "I don't think we are in Middle Earth anymore, Sam," he said softly.
"What do you mean?"
"I think that somehow or another we have fallen through a portal to somewhere else."
"Then what are we going to do, Mr. Frodo?" Sam asked, his face full of fear.
"How much food do we have left?"
Sam furrowed his brow as he did some figuring. "We have enough lembas to last us for several weeks as long as we are careful with our rations."
"Then I think we should stay here in this spot."
"Stay here?" Sam cried. "Why?"
"Aragorn and Legolas surely saw the portal. I bet they are working on a way to get us back right now. If we move from this place, they may not be able to find us. I think we will be safer if we remain here."
Sam just glumly nodded his head, knowing that he would do whatever Frodo asked. He only hoped that the others would figure out a way to find them.
********
Faith bobbed her head to the music that was blaring through her headphones as she absently flipped through a magazine. She was sitting at the front desk in the Hyperion lobby on the off chance that somebody would come in or call them in need of their help.
Angel had asked Wesley to pull some strings the year before to get Faith released from prison so she could put her slayer abilities to good us, not to mention they needed the extra set of hands. After they had helped Buffy out in England, the demons had flocked to the city and they were swamped with work. But things had calmed down over the past month and a half so business was slow. Even Wolfram and Hart was keeping off their radar.
Therefore, Faith had to find other activities to spend her extra energy on. She spent a lot of time sparring with Angel and the other members of the team, and it seemed to help.
Right now, though, she wasn't sure why she was reading the magazine. It was one that Cordy had left lying around and Faith had never been interested in high fashion.
"Faith!" Wesley said, intruding his hand into her line of vision.
"What?" She asked as she removed her headphones.
"Did you not notice the red bird knocking at the door?"
"Red bird?" She asked. Sure enough, as she looked over she saw a beautiful red bird hovering on the other side of the door. As she peered closer, it appeared that the bird was carrying some letters. "Oh, must be a letter from B. Didn't she mention that birds were some sort of mailing service?"
"Yes, she did. Why don't you let him in?"
Faith went over and opened the door. She was faintly surprised when the bird handed her one of the letters. "Thanks," she said absently and the bird flew over to Wesley with the other.
"Most unusual," he murmured. "I would have thought that she would have written Angel."
She didn't hear him, however, as she was already reading hers.
Hey Faith,
I hope things are fine back in L.A., cause I need a huge favor. Moldy Wart is trying to extend his reach. Do you remember that ring thingie we told you guys about when we came back from Middle Earth? It seems that our big bad wants it for himself. He somehow managed to open a portal and tried to bring it here.
Anyway, there's a lot of mumbo jumbo involved, and I don't really have time to explain it, but the ring is somewhere on Earth, we just don't know where. Some of our friends are in danger back on Middle Earth, so Draco, Dawn, Spike, Ginny, Harry, and I are going there to help. As a matter of fact, but the time you read this, we'll probably already be there.
I need you to come to Hogwarts, Faith, and take over teaching my classes. I've also sent a letter to Wesley asking him to help you. And while you're there, if you could help the others in protecting the students, I would really be in your debt.
The fireplace at the Hyperion has been hooked up to the floo network. You can send your answer about whether or not you want to do this back to Dumbledore by using Fawkes (the bird who brought you this letter). To get to Dumbledore's office just throw the powder into the fireplace, say Dumbledore's office, then step into the green flames. It's not the cleanest way to travel, but it is the easiest.
Thanks,
Buffy
The dark haired slayer looked over at her watcher. "Are you going?"
"That depends entirely upon you," he answered.
Her face softened as she quietly asked. "Those kids need me, don't they?"
"I believe that they do. Her letter to me said that you were the only one she could turn to. She's placing the safety of her friends and students into your hands. But the decision is still yours."
Faith felt as if a huge weight was being lifted off of her shoulders. It was finally her chance to prove, once and for all, that she had changed, that she could be someone who could be trusted. A grin appeared on her face. "Let's go to England, Wes."
***********
Faith coughed as she dusted the soot off of her clothing. "B was right, that's not a nice way to travel." She felt a grim satisfaction, however, when Wesley stepped out of the fireplace. His normally neat appearance was destroyed by the large amount of soot covering him. "Damn Wes, I think you got the worst of it."
"Very funny, Faith," he said, looking around for a clean place on his shirt to wipe his glasses off with.
Neither of them had noticed the old wizard sitting at his desk until he began chuckling.
"Headmaster Dumbledore," Wesley said, politely inclining his head.
"Please, we're colleagues now, Mr. Wyndam-Pryce. Call me Albus."
"Only if you extend the same courtesy," Wesley said.
"Crap. I forgot I'm in the land of watcher-speak," Faith grumbled good-naturedly. "I don't know how B has put up with it all this time."
"Must have tried her non-existent patience," Wesley said with a small smile.
Faith just nodded her head as she looked at all the things in the office. The last time they had been to Hogwarts, they had never come in here, so she looked around in wonder. "Cool place you got here, Al."
Dumbledore chuckled. "Thank you, Faith."
She jumped slightly as she looked out the window. "What time is it?"
"Ten o'clock," Dumbledore answered.
"Oh yeah, that whole time zone thing. Forgot, sorry." She paused before asking. "We aren't disturbing you or anything/"
"No, my dear. I was just waiting for you so I could show you to your quarters," he said with a smile.
"That's cool," she said with an answering smile. "You wanna go now?"
Albus regarded her with a twinkle in his eye. "Faith, I do believe that you are going to shake things up around here."
She nonchalantly shrugged. "It's what I do. Let's go see this room of mine."
He stood and gestured to the door and the three of them left his office. As they walked thorough the corridors, Albus said, "I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of placing you in the same rooms as last time."
"That's five by five. I remember where they are. Was Buffy still teaching in the same room?"
"Yes. I believe she left a note letting you know about her classes. She was also teaching extra sessions in the evening. While it would be nice if the two of you would continue to do so, it is not necessary."
Wesley spoke up. "I believe it would be a good idea to continue them. Especially since we don't know what may happen. Buffy's information on the situation was sketchy at best."
"When did B ever pay attention to details. Granted, she pays more attention than me. All you have to do with me is tell me which demon to kill."
"I'm sure her friends will fill you in with the details," Dumbledore assured them.
Faith stopped and the two men turned to look at her. "Wait a minute. Do I need to wear a robe like you guys? Cause I gotta tell ya, they're not really my style. Not to mention they'll get in the way when I teach."
"They won't be necessary," the old wizard said as they started walking again. "Buffy and Spike wore their muggle clothes most of the time. I only ask that you dress appropriately around the children and that you have a set of dress robes for formal occasions. That also applies to you, Wesley. Unless, of course, you wish to wear them."
A wry smile appeared on Wesley's face. "Ah, no. I believe I'll pass."
Albus stopped in front of the portrait guarding the scooby common room. "I'll introduce you to the students tomorrow morning during breakfast. I'm sure many of them remember you, but it's to help the ones of a more forgetful nature and the first years."
"Not a prob," Faith said as Wesley stepped through the portrait door. She started to go in, then stopped and turned around. "Did Buffy and Spike ever patrol the dark forest?"
"Almost nightly. I believe they also took Dawn and Draco with them on Friday nights," Albus answered.
"Ok," Faith said thoughtfully, a plan forming in her head. "Thanks, Al. I'll see you in the morning." Then she stepped through the door.
********
The next morning, Faith stood in front of her mirror suddenly unsure about her decision. Yesterday it had seemed to be such an easy one to make - her sister slayer needed her, and there was no way Faith could've refused her. Now that she was here at Hogwarts though, and about to face the scooby gang at some point that day, she wasn't so sure she had made the right one.
She had hurt and betrayed them all at some point in time. Their possible reactions to her presence scared her a little. Granted, there hadn't been a problem when she had come with Angel's group the previous year, but they had been in the middle of a huge battle and never had the time to really clean the air.
Faith didn't expect them to forgive her for what she had done. Hell, she hadn't expected Buffy to forgive her. But she was eager to show them that she had changed.
A knock at her door interrupted her thoughts. "Who is it?"
"It's Wesley."
"Come on in."
"Are you ready to go to breakfast?" He asked.
"Ready as I'll ever be."
He smiled and said, "I have something for you."
"A prezzie for me?"
"Of sorts," he said. He brought his hands out from behind him to reveal a simple black robe. "It's even in your favorite color."
"You really didn't need to buy me one. It's not like I plan on wearing it that often."
"True, but you should at least wear it for meals. I know that Dumbledore was going to introduce us this morning and you are dressed a bit informally for that," Wesley explained, indicating the jogging pants and tank top she wore.
"I'm decent! I'm not showing that much skin," she protested.
"I know, Faith. But these students are used to seeing their professors in a more formal dress. You want to make a good impression don't you?"
"Ok, ok. You've convinced me. I'll wear the robes!" She grinned evilly at him as she pulled it on. She had just noticed that he was wearing a similar one. "You don't look bad in robes, Wes. You're damn near a hottie."
"Thanks," he said with a roll of his eyes. Then they headed to the Great Hall.
**********
The day passed fairly quickly and Faith wondered how Buffy was able to remember everyone's name. She swore that after a while they all blurred together. Thankfully she had Wesley there to help keep them straight.
After their last class, Faith just plopped back onto the mats and looked up at Wesley. "Damn that was exhausting. Who knew that teaching a bunch of rugrats could wear you out?"
"They are a bit of a handful," Wesley agreed as he wearily ran his fingers through his hair.
"B was doing a good job with them, though. I could tell. They were lucky to have her for a teacher."
"They're lucky to have you, also."
"Have you talked to the others yet?" She asked, slightly embarrassed by the compliment.
"No, not yet. I assumed we would have a chance to speak with them before dinner."
"Sounds good," Faith said as she sat up and stretched.
********
"What if they still hate me?" Faith asked as they stood outside the door to the scooby common room.
"I'm sure they don't hate you. They didn't seem to when we were here the last time."
"But I kept in the background so we could concentrate on the demon and not the past. But now..."
"You won't know until you go in there," Wesley gently said.
Faith took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. "Moldy Wart," and the portrait swung open to reveal the scooby gang and several students researching. They all looked up as she and Wesley entered.
"Hey Faith," Willow said with a wave.
The dark haired slayer waved back. "Can I say something?"
"What is it, Faith?" Giles asked.
"I just wanted to apologize for all the things I said and did a couple of years ago. I've been working hard to redeem myself and..."
"We understand," Xander said, surprising most of the people in the room. He wasn't exactly known for his ability to easily forgive people.
"You do?"
"Hey, I tried to end the world," Willow said. "We know that sometimes we all make mistakes. At least you've learned from yours."
Faith's jaw dropped. "You don't hate me?"
"We never hated..." Willow began.
"Yes we did," Xander corrected.
"Ok, maybe in the beginning, but we've changed, too," Willow said.
Wesley leaned over and whispered, "Didn't I tell you that things would be fine?"
Faith just mutely nodded her head.
He smiled and looked at the others. "Do you think you could fill us in on what happened? Buffy's explanation was rather vague."