Chapter 4

"Bring them back!" Angel repeated once more, refusing to accept that Buffy was gone forever.

Tonks was genuinely afraid. Although she had been reassured the vampire had a soul…well…he sure didn't act like it! "I'm sorry," she said, for what seemed the thousandth time. "But I can't. If you'd calm down for a second, I'll explain everything. Here, why don't you sit down…before you fall down!"

To Angels shock, a chair appeared behind him. He stared at the girl in surprise. "How did you do that!" he exclaimed.

"I told you Angel…I'll explain everything, if you'll just give me a minute. Here…You might need a drink for this as well. We're gonna be here a while!"

In Angel's hand appeared a glass of blood. Questions flooded his mind, but he held them back and did as she asked.

"Ok, here goes," she started. "I'm a witch. Not just any witch either. I'm a member of the order of the Phoenix, a secret order in a secret world of witches and wizards, that you guys and the rest of the world don't know about".

Angel listened as she told him the history of her world…as briefly as she could, and about the order, and most importantly about voldemorte and Harry Potter.

Angel drank from the glass and listened gravely as she spoke, dread filling him with every word. "And you dragged Buffy and her friends into the middle of this war against her will because?" he asked her angrily.

Tonks flinched at his harsh tone. "I know, I deserve that. Actually…Dumbledore deserves that! As I said before this was his idea. The way he figured it, was that in order to change the way things are at the moment, we had to change the past. Harry needs people who he trusts Angel. People who love and care for him, no matter what. And although he has plenty of people who can act as family…well…no one can actually fill the void left behind by James and Lily potter".

"But that's the way life is," Angel told her. "Its hard and painful, but we have to accept it. If I thought it could be that simple, do you think I wouldn't go back in time and stop all the horrible things I've done? Stop myself from becoming a vampire? Besides…time travel is a myth and nothing more. And dangerous".

Tonks smiled sadly. "Desperate times cause desperate measures. And we've found a way to make it possible Angel. In our world, there is something called a time turner. We adjusted it's powers and disguised it in the form of a necklace, knowing the slayer would be the only one strong enough to change the past. Her friends….that was an accident".

"But why all the secrecy?" Angel asked. "Why not just tell us? Because if buffy doesn't know any of this, how do you know that things will be any different?"

"We didn't want Voldemort to find out about our plan. Dumbledore sent her to hog warts, where his past self will help her. The slayer has dreams about the future, doesn't she? Well, if given the right training, the dreams will become visions and tell her what's to come. In the meantime, Dumbledore is working on a way to contact himself in the past though dreams. It's very risky and I'm not sure it can even be done…"

"You have to warn Buffy to," said Angel. "I'm sorry, but your relying to much on coincidence. Not only have you sent her to another country, but to another time. She'll be confused and scared, even if she is the slayer. And you say the time turner will activate once her tasks complete and send her home, but that could be years away. She might not ever find out what she's meant to do or get home! You have to take me to England and soon. Magic, I don't care how powerful or how it affects me or anyone, I have to try to explain to her!"

Tonks sighed. "Fine," she muttered. "You know, I told Dumbledore not to trust me with this. I told him I'd screw it up somehow".

Angel shook his head. "No. I think he screwed it up. You guys should have come to us with your plan first, not dragged us into the middle of it against our will. We would have said no…but in a nice way!"

"Let me show you something," said Tonks, and she pulled out a mirror from a bag on the floor. She held it up to him.

Angel saw Harry, loosing his parents, living with the dursleys, trying to adjust to life as a wizard, fighting voldemort, loosing Sirius…. Angel felt everything Harry felt in those moments, it was like he was actually there.

"You see why his so special?" asked Tonks. "You see why we need Buffy to help us? We know she would never have agreed to this, that's why we did things this way. Dumbledore isn't a cruel man, just desperate. Now do you understand Angel? Harry needs a proper life. And if he still has to face this evil, he should do so with his true family guiding him. You know it's the right thing to do".

"Yes, I understand," said Angel quietly. "But I don't have to be happy about it. And one things for sure tonks, if you still need my help after we reach Buffy? You won't be getting any".

She nodded. "How soon do you want to leave?" she nodded to the mirror. "It's also known as a Portkey. It can get us to England within seconds".

"I just need to tell the rest of Buffy's friends," Angel answered. "Meet me just outside Sunnydale high school, but don't let yourself be seen ok?"

Tonks watched as Angel left. I'm in so much trouble, she thought.

Faith was walking back to the high school after a boring evening of patrol, when she first saw Angel. She frowned, tightening her grip on her stake. Well, this is interesting. The last she'd heard, Buffy's un dead lover had been sent to a hell dimension, suffering eternal torment for the evil he'd done. And somehow, she knew this was Angel. Maybe it had something to do with her slayer powers, but she could sense it.

Angel turned when he heard her walking up behind him, and he knew immediately who it must be. Buffy had told him all about the third slayer Faith, while she'd been looking after him. Faith was dressed the way Buffy said she usually was, black jeans, black top, dark makeup. He didn't even flinch when she raised the wooden stake and aimed it at his heart.

"So, I'm walking along, and everything seems perfectly normal," she started. "Then suddenly, I run into someone that's supposed to be out of our lives for good. Want to tell me what you're doing here…Angel? Is Buffy around? I'd like to hear what she has to say too".

"There's no time to explain how I'm back, I don't even know that answer. But I still have my soul, Willows spell worked at the last minute. You can believe that or not I don't care. But something's happened and you have to listen to me".

Something about the way he said it made Faith believe him. She still didn't trust him, but she knew that didn't matter after he told her that Buffy was missing.

Angel told her everything. Her eyes widened in shock…and almost nothing shocked her. "So, they're all just gone? And there's nothing we can do?"

"Oh, there's got to be something," he said darkly. Then his tone softened, which alarmed her. "Faith…I'm leaving. I'm going to England. I have to try to get Buffy back. And that means…"

"I know what it means. And you can talk on! I don't do the responsibility thing remember? And you know what? B's the glue holding this group together, as much as I hate to admit it, so…I'll go see the old guy and…"

"No Faith, I have to go. Why did you come here? To Sunnydale? Not just to meet Buffy and swap war stories. You came to find a family and to prove yourself. And you're a slayer. And they trust you". He paused then. "But you can walk away if you want I guess. You can leave them and the hell mouth defenceless. Then I'd have to stay wouldn't I? But I Couldn't protect all of them, because your ten times stronger then I could ever hope to be".

"Guilt trip noted Angel," she muttered, turning to stare at the school door.

"I'll come back Faith, I promise. I'll come back to help you".

When she turned back, he'd disappeared. "You'd better keep your promises," she whispered "Because if you don't? You'll regret it for the rest of your un dead life. And that's my promise!"

With that, she turned to go and tell Giles, Oz and Cordelia what had happened. She smiled grimly, wondering how they'd react not only to the news that Buffy was gone, but that Angel was back in the world…and she had let him go without knowing for sure it wasn't a trick, that he wasn't really Angelus and this was a new sick game he was playing. One thing was certain, it wasn't going to be pretty. And she wasn't looking forward to it…..

TBC

Don't forget to review, tell me if you like it. If not, that's fine as well. Next chapter it's the scooby gang vs the marauders.