Disclaimer: Who do I look like? J.K. Rowling?

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Rating: I just want to mention that with Spike's introduction into the story the PG-13 stuff is really going to come into play. Part of Spike's character is his badass nature, and I'd be an infidel were I too ignore that. So, if you can't handle a bit of cussing, British or otherwise, I ask you to avert your eyes. Thanks!

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Hagrid's Hut

5:09 pm

(Willow)

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"I just, I just can't believe it, Hagrid! How can he be so… so…. Argh! See? See what that poop head is doing to me?! I can't even talk right!!!"

My half-giant of a friend gives a small but troubled smile. "Aww, come now, Willow. I know he's… uh… he's a 'poop head', but yer lettin' him get ter ya. He's not all that bad."

I stop pacing and glare at him. "Yes. He. Is."

"Oh. Erm… alrighty, then. If you've got yer mind made up about it."

"I do. Today proves it. We—no, scratch that, he was lecturing on a spell used to befuddle a weak-minded opponent. It was really neat because the original scripture of the spell was written in ancient Babylonian, which proves the theory that magick users have been around since the times of Hammurabi, and— " I shake my head, trying to refocus. "Never mind. The point is that he was lecturing on a spell to confuse stupid people. And do you know what he did then?"

"No," Hagrid says slowly, that worried look still on his face.

"He tried to use ME as an example! Me! He was obviously trying to say something, and I'm sure you can guess what. "

"Um…."

"He was trying to say that I'm stupid! That thickheaded, dung beetle-y guy was trying to call me an idiot!"

I stop then, my breathing labored and my fists clenched with rage. Hagrid is too stunned (or frightened) to speak, ands so he uncomfortably shifts in his chair, acting as though he's suddenly interested in his scuffed brown boots.

"Of course" I continue, slowly calming down, "he didn't actually perform the spell on me, 'cause he knew as well as I did that it wouldn't work. He ended up performing it on some kid named Goyle. Doesn't matter, though, because he succeeding in his objective anyways."

"His objective?" Hagrid asks.

I look at him disbelievingly. "The objective was making me look like a nincompoop." I heave a sigh. "And it worked. I heard the snickers. It was like high school all over again, except, you know, the mayor wasn't trying to turn into a giant snake and kill us all."

After an uncomfortable silence, Hagrid stands up. "Yer know, I'd almost forgotten ter tell ya. I found a griffon cub this morning."

"A what?" I look at him in surprise, ignoring the fact that this was an attempt at changing the subject. "Did you say that you found a griffon? An honest to goodness 'head of an eagle, body of a lion' griffon?"

"Er, I don't think that it's exactly what yer talkin' about, but yeah. 'Cept this little feller only has the wings of an eagle. The rest of him's like a pussy cat."

"A carnivorous, pointy-toothed pussy cat?" I ask with amusement, an eyebrow rose.

Hagrid blushes. "Well… yeah."

"How'd you find him?"

"I was taking Fang out for a run and he found it. Hiding under the nook of a branch he was, and shakin' like a leaf. We found the body of its mum a few yards off."

My hand went to my mouth. "Its mom? You mean she's—'

" 'Fraid so. The old girl must have gotten into a nasty scrape and came out on the wrong end."

"The poor thing," I murmur, genuinely saddened.

Hagrid nods his head in solemn agreement. "Yeah, but that's the wild fer ya. So, do ya want ter see the little feller?"

You can probably guess my answer, which is, of course, affirmative. Yep, curiosity has me in its cat-like paws once again.

"So where is he?"

"I put him out back. Last time I checked he was curled up on one of me pumpkins. They're so cute when they're little."

I follow him into the garden, smiling as Fang comes trotting up along side of us, probably hoping that he's going to get a treat of some sort.

The first things I'm reminded of when I see him is Simba from the Lion King (I loved that movie—I cried my eyes out when Mufasa died). He's about the same size, and has the same gold-brown tint to his fur. The wings nestled around him are of a muddy white and a few of the feathers are sticking out, giving them a mottled, messy look. Hagrid is gazing down at the sleeping form with something that can only be described as fatherly affection and I realize quite quickly that he has a very large soft spot for animals.

"Do ya want ter pet 'im?"

"Can I?" I ask in surprise and hope.

He chuckles. "O' 'course ya can." Tenderly he picks up the griffon, holding him as one might cradle an infant.

I reach my hand out slowly in trepidation and gingerly stroke the cub's soft underside. At my ministrations the griffon gives an absolutely adorable yawn and opens his eyes blearily. His curious brown meet my surprised green and we stare at each other in shared interest before he stats to fidget in Hagrid's arms. Hagrid lets him down and the cub creeps over to my leg and sniffs it hesitantly.

I giggle when his whiskers brush my skin and he responds by giving a little jump and backing up a step. I smile and crouch down, holding out my hand in what I hope is a non-threatening manner. He seems to decide that I'm not a danger and cautiously allows me to pet him, his eyes even closing in bliss when I scratch behind his ear.

"He's adorable," I say in disbelief.

"He is. It's too bad I have ter turn him out inter the forest."

"You what?!" I stand in shock. "You, you can't do that—he won't survive on his own!"

Hagrid sits down dejectedly on a monster of a pumpkin and his eyes well up. "I know, but ever since of an 'incident' I had last year, the Ministry's made it so that I'm not allowed to have any 'potentially dangerous' creatures in me hut or on me grounds."

"But he's not dangerous," I protest, looking down at the little ball of fuzz and feathers as he paws at Fang's tail.

"Not according ter them. They have this stupid list all drawn up of interestin' creatures I'm not allowed ter keep, and griffons are number six."

"So you're just going to abandon him?"

"I don't want ter, but there's nothin' else I can do."

"I'll take him!" The words are out of my mouth before I can even register that I've volunteered. It would seem that my heart likes to act independently of my brain.

Hagrid sniffles and looks at me with hope in his watery eyes. "Yer…yer will?"

Looking at this very large definitely grown man cry nearly settles it for me. I mean, really. I did volunteer, didn't I? I can't exactly back out of it now. Besides—it's a matter of life or death for the little cub, and I have been pretty lonely.

"Yes," I reaffirm, both for him and myself. "Yes, I'll take care of him."

Hagrid gives an exclamation of joy and enwraps my tiny body in a giant of a bear hug. Unable to think of anything else, I pat his shoulder tepidly.

After I've been released from his embrace he bends down and picks up the griffon, placing him in my arms tenderly. While I look down at the cub's furry face Hagrid goes disappears into his hut and then comes out again, holding a leather-bound book. He holds it up in front of him and I recognize the title as 'Hippogriffs and Griffons, the Practical Breeder's Guide'. The author is some witch name Ermena Graff.

" I bought this when I was still taking care o' Buckbeak. It's got some useful information in it on care and such."

Before I can ask who "Buckbeak" is he nearly thrusts the book into my already occupied hands. The little cub growls briefly at the tome's intrusion but after a slight adjustment he gets comfortable again.

"What are yer goin' ter name him?" Hagrid asks eagerly.

"Name him? Uh…" I look down at the contented griffon in my arms once again, and when his sparkling brown eyes meet mine, showing nothing but innocence and kindness, I realize there's only one thing I can name him.

"Terrance," I say with a smile. "His name will be Terrance."

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10:48 pm

London, Indeterminate Location

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"Got to be a knacker around here somewhere…" Spike growled, his stomach unhappily repeating the sound. He'd spent more than four hours in the storage area of a plane and had been forced to hide for two hours waiting for the bloody sun to go down. Add that to another few hours wandering around the city searching for food and it all made for a very annoyed and hungry vamp.

"Bloody hell," he seethed in growing frustration. "What happened to all the butcheries? One on every corner, if I remember right. Probably tore them down for parking lots or some other nonsense. Ah, here we go. About bloody time."

He quickly strode over to the "Jolly Meats" and went round to the back, checking quickly to see if there were any unwanted viewers before he tore open the door to the rear entrance. Normally he wouldn't even bother looking around first, but having the friggin' chip in his head had made him more cautious, reluctantly acknowledging that he wasn't much use in a fight against a human.

He rummaged through the meat locker, lapping up what he could from the raw meats and feeling ashamed and idiotic all the while.

Slutty didn't pay enough for this cock-up job, he fumed silently as he sucked cold blood out of a steer's thigh.

He hadn't nearly had his fill by the time he'd left, but he just hadn't been able to stand a moment more of acting like a sodding kitten. So what if he was a little hungry the rest of the night? There were more important things that a man had to keep—pride being top of the list. He was a Master vampire, damn it all! He may have been chipped but he was not about to turn into an 'effin poof.

Trying to ignore the remaining pangs of unfulfilled blood lust, Spike absently shook out a ciggie and lit up, drawing the smoke in deeply before releasing it in a slow, deliberate manner through his nostrils.

Walking along the London streets he briefly wondered why the chit had even bothered to come here. Far as he was concerned, London hadn't had anything to offer since the 1500's, back when filth was a fact of life and the smell of blood was aloft in the air. The city had dulled down to a knob since then, and had traded in its brothels and pubs for teatime and tweed. Granted, there were still a few seedy bars around with just enough action to keep a bloke interested, but they were few and far between.

Spike was shaking his head at the shame of it, when he spotted an unusually pale chap darting under one of the lampposts.

Well now there's a right idea, Spike thought with a smirk.

Moving quickly he tailed the fledgling down side-alleys and back-ways, waiting for an opportunity. The obviously inexperienced minion moved like a bulldozer, and made just as much noise, so there was no trouble at all keeping him in sight. Finally his quarry turned into a park, probably heading back to its lair. Spike didn't give him the chance, though. His arm shot out like a bullet and firmly gripped the collar of the fledgling's shirt. The surprised vampire writhed and fought to get out of Spike's clenched fist, but to no avail. The minion turned as best he could and stared up at him with wide, frightened eyes.

"W-what do you want, governor?"

Spike smiled thinly. "Just to talk, mate. To 'shoot the breeze' a bit, if you will." He released his hold to show he meant no harm.

The fledgling visibly relaxed, relieved that he was out of danger. "Cor blimey, but you scared me. There aren't many of our kind around these parts, after all."

Spike couldn't help rolling his eyes. Terrific. A cockney vampire that gets spooked by his own kind. Despite his disgust, he managed to give what he hoped was a friendly, non-threatening grin.

"Got a question for you, newbie. I've been tracking down a little witch. Wondering where I might be able to find her."

The vamp scratched his head. "That's a bit of a toughie. Hmm… I'd say your best bet is Diagon Alley, or someplace around there. I haven't been there me-self but I've heard that most of the Wizarding World does business in that area."

Wizarding world? They were still up and running in privacy? Well that was a bit of new news. Angelus had taken him hunting there once (probably to try and get him killed) but that was about the extent of contact that Spike had had with the area. Could Red know about the place? It was a possibility, and one worth checking up on.

The fledgling looked at him uncertainly. "So… are we done here? Can I go?"

Spike nodded. "Sure. Go on."

"Newbie" smiled, started to walk away.

"Oh, wait a tick."

The minion turned back around. "Yeah? What is—"

The rest of his question never got out, because by then Spike was already on him, with his fangs buried in the boy's neck. He held down the squirming and clawing fledgling easily, and by and by the struggles lessened until there was no resistance at all. Spike stood up and absently wiped his mouth, the yellow eyes of his game face staring with cold amusement at the barely un-dead husk.

"Thanks, mate," Spike laughed, relishing the feel of power. "You've helped a lot."

After staking him, he set off down the street again, a bounce in his step that wasn't there before. Nothing like a full belly and the thrill of the kill to make a bloke feel alive… sort of. True, second-hand blood was never all that tasty, but that wasn't the point. The point was that it had been HUMAN blood. Honest-to-goodness blood from a honest-to-goodness human. He hadn't been able to drink any for over a year and it made him feel abso-bloody-lutely euphoric.

He stretched briefly, pure satisfaction on his predatory face.

This little trip might prove fun after all.

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Review Returns:

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Cow As White As Milk: "Rolling on floor laughing my ass off"? Who comes up with this stuff?!?! Lol, anywho, thanks for the ROFLMAO, and for the review as well.

AllyCatHerm19: Thanks for the compliments, and yes, this will be a Spike/Willow… eventually.

Naitch03: Mwahaha, thank you. I do so love to write Snape—he's almost as fun as Spike. I'm glad that you're enjoying my story and thank you very much for the compliments!

Spearsister: Yep, possibilities indeed... ((gazes at Spike's chiseled cheekbones and licks lips))

Ligthdemondarkangel: Don't apologize! Looking back on it now I do think I was a little off character with Buffy. Criticism is healthy for a growing writer—I'm glad you gave me some! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Samson: Yeah, why don't people pay more attention to Hufflepuff? They're a House, too! Thank you very much for the Snape-related compliments as I've been trying very hard to keep him in character. Thanks again!

Sigma1: Sorry this chapter couldn't have any Snape bashing (at least, not in person0 but I plan on having it next chapter. Thanks for being a faithful reviewer!

Azulkan2: Spike eat Severus? Heh, that would be funny… thanks for the review, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

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Hey, everybody! I hope that you still like my story. Um, I guess this is just a warning that with school steadily approaching, updates might be a bit long in coming. But, not to worry, I'm going to keep writing. This story will not be abandoned. Thanks for all of the interest you've been showing, and I hope to talk to you soon!

Tootles!