Chapter 7

Good Morning Hogwarts

She'd had the dream again. Pomfrey had given her a potion to ward off nightmares, but it wasn't infallible. Joe and Mickey's arrival had sparked off fresh memories of what had happened, and though the night before had found her almost back to her old self, this morning was a different story. She sat cross-legged under a tree, staring at the ground. She didn't stir as she heard footsteps approach. She was concentrating. A green stem appeared out of the ground, grew and blossomed into a pink flower.

"That doesn't belong there." Giles said, beside her. She didn't react, a bad sign in of itself. Giles had been gone for weeks, with no word.

"No, it doesn't." she answered.

"That's the flora kua ulaya. Native of Paraguay if my botany serves."

Willow smiled. "Is there anything you don't know everything about?"

"Synchronized swimming. Complete mystery to me. " He completed his journey to her side, and sat. He had only just returned from his meeting with the council, which had gone on longer than anticipated. He had to see Dumbledore soon, but had spotted the red head on his way, and decided to see how she was doing. "Yes, Paraguay. Where's it come from?"

"Paraguay."

Giles looked at her. All of the staff had been, surprised, at the young woman's power. "You brought it through the earth."

"It's all connected. The root system, the molecules ... the energy ... everything's connected."

"You sound like Dumbledore." he smiled.

"He's taught me a lot." she answered. "They all have."

"Then why aren't you in your lesson?"

"Sorry."

"It's all right. It's think Minerva was just-"

"Afraid." She saw the look on Giles' face. He knew she was right. "Yeah. They all are. The teachers are ... they're the most amazing people I've ever met. But there's this, this look that they get. Like I'm gonna turn them all into bangers and mash, or something. Which I'm not even really sure what that is."

"They're cautious." Giles consoled her. "I trust you understand that."

"I don't have that much power, I don't think." But did she? She'd had it before. She might be able to get it again. And if she did...she didn't want to think about that. Because, despite everything, she'd liked the power.

"Everything is connected." Giles said. "You're connected to a great power, whether you feel it or not."

"Well, you should just take it from me." As she rose, the flower closed, and sank into the ground. Giles thought Sprout would be particularly interested in that.

"You know we can't." He followed her as she left the tree, heading for the lake. "This isn't a, a hobby or an addiction. It's inside you now, this magic. You're responsible for it."

"Will they always be afraid of me?"

"Maybe. Can you handle it?"

"I deserve a lot worse." She heard it again in her head, Warren begging. And the, Goddess help her, pleasure she'd felt as he did. "I killed people, Giles."

"I've not forgotten."

"When you brought me here, I thought it was to kill me. Or to lock me in some mystical dungeon for all eternity, or ... with the torture. Instead, you...and Dumbledore, and even Cranky Pants Snape...I'm learning about magic, all about energy and Gaia and root systems..."

"Do you want to be punished?" Giles asked her. He suspected he knew the answer.

"I wanna be Willow."

As he'd suspected. "You are. In the end, we all are who we are ... no matter how much we may appear to have changed."

Joe stood on the shore of the lake gazing off into space. He was grateful to Mickey for sharing this experience with him. If nothing else, talking to Willow had helped. But looking at everything here, he found himself wishing that there was someone else there as well.

Ever since they'd been children, it had been the three of them. Joe, Mickey, and Theresa. It was rather like Willow's trinity, her, Xander and Jesse. But then of course, Jesse had died. Many of Joe's friends had been there that night. Not all of them forgot, or rationalized what they had seen.

Jesse had been turned into a Vampire, and Xander had been forced to kill him. And also like Willow's trio, Joe's had lost one of it's number to Vampires. He'd known the minute he saw Theresa's body that it had not been an animal attack as the police had claimed. And when her body had disappeared, he'd feared the worst. But a tell tale layer of dust on the floor revealed the truth. She'd been staked. He didn't know who'd done it, but he'd been furious at first. It should have been him to do it. Until Mickey had pointed out that Joe likely would not have been able to do so. In fact he would, in all probability ask to join her.

Two trios of life-long friends, reduced to a duo. Granted, Willow and Xander had gotten other friends, and Joe and Mickey had as well. The difference was, Willow's had lost a boy. Joe's had lost a girl. Sometimes the notion snuck up on him, and he crushed it back down in shame. If it had been Mickey instead, he and Theresa could have been...

"Theresa?" Joe muttered, staring at the figure across the lake. The girl stared back at him, then darted off towards the forest. He took off after her. "Theresa!"

As Willow was heading for her room to get dressed, she heard running feet, and if she was not mistaken, a familiar voice say;

"Squee!" Around the corner came Mickey, wearing what looked like some kind of flight suit, and carrying a staff.

"Mornin Audrey!" he said, grinning widely. Having known Willow since Kindergarten, though not being very close friends, Mickey had called her everything from Wilson, Tree, Rosie, Red, even Frank. She scowled at him.

"Sorry." he said. "I know it's not as original as some of the names I've called you."

Willow completely forgot about getting dressed, and fell into step beside the younger of the Dynamic Duo as sometimes Joe and Mickey were called.

Joe was actually a year older than Mickey, and consequently Willow. He'd been spared having the mayor turn into a giant snake at his graduation, though he had been among the adults trying to protect fleeing students from Vampires.

"At least this one makes sense." she said. "And where are you going in such a hurry?"

"I'm gonna fly. Been way too long."

"Fly?" In all the months Willow had been there, she'd never tried that. It kind of wigged her out. But she started picking up on the excitement from Mickey. "You have a broom?"

"Bah." He showed her his staff. "This is my vehicle. She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts."

"I thought it had to be-"

"Depends on how you were taught." Mickey answered her unfinished question. "Brooms are mass produced. You make em aerodynamic and then put a flying charm on it. It's sort of like...well I don't know what it's like but see, I can go toe to toe with any Firebolt, or Nimbus on this. I found it in Colorado. It also served as my wand till I got a sleeker model." He drew a wand from a sheath. "Sequoyah, with Sasquatch hair." Willow's eyes widened. "Yeah, those really do exist by the way. Reclusive buggers, but real nonetheless."

"So your staff?"

"Oh yeah, well after I got an actual wand, I got a flying charm put on my staff instead. See, we're taught differently in America than here. Almost all the teachers are Native American, so whereas the magic here is kinda industrialized, in America it's, well, not. There it's the Wizard's personal connection with Nature that give him his power, and his connection with the objects in his possession that give them their power. In fact I'm pretty sure any American flyer on a stick they found in the woods, would whup the pants off of anyone on a `store bought` broom." There'd been unmistakable derision in his voice when he said store bought.

"Well," Hooch said, greeting them, and obviously having heard what he'd said. "The brooms we use for lessons aren't store bought, I make them myself." She didn't seem insulted by his comments, in fact, Hooch was pleased to meet a young man this enthused about flying. "Shall we see what you've got? Yank?"

Mickey grinned. "What about it Willy?" he asked Willow. "Care to learn how to fly?"

After a few false starts, like, the broom refusing to jump to her hand, and Mickey convincing her that the energy needed to fly a broom was nowhere near enough to make her a brunette; Willow was ready to fly.

"The energy is already in the broom. You just steer."

Now she was flying. Slowly, with Mickey by her side. It was incredible. She could understand why Mickey loved it so much. If only she had the guts to go faster, then...

"Mickey," she asked. "Dumbledore told you and Joe not to go into the woods right?"

"I think he mentioned it yeah. It being all dark and forbidden and home to as many, if not more nasties than Sunnydale. Why?"

"Because I'm pretty sure I just saw Joe go into the dark forbidden home of as many if not more nasties than Sunnydale.

As he'd followed the fleeing Theresa, Joe had wondered; "What was it Dumbledore said about the woods?"

Now as he stood helplessly, and hopelessly lost, and half expecting to find stick figures hanging from trees, he remembered. "Oh yeah. Don't go into it."

He looked around, and it wasn't getting any better. Theresa had disappeared, and almost, so had the sun. The trees were so thick that very little light managed to penetrate the canopy. Off in the distance he heard sounds, sounds that he fervently hoped would not come any closer. He could not see any indication of where he had come from, everything looked the same to him. He thought about climbing a tree to orient himself, but there were none that had branches close to the ground, besides, he had no idea what might be living in said trees. For all he knew Tolkien had gotten his ideas from this place.

He knew just enough wilderness survival to know that he should just stay put. If he tried to find his way out, he'd just get more lost, and it would be harder for anyone looking for him to find him. "That is if anyone is looking for me." he muttered. He slapped his neck, as he felt a stinging itch. Terrific. There were mosquitoes in this forest too.

It wasn't long before one of those sounds in the distance began to get closer, despite his fervent hoping. Whatever it was, it was big. And there were a lot of them. Heading directly for him. Soon, he could see what approached. His eyes widened. So Centaurs were real. Wow. And they had bows with arrows aimed at him. Crap.

"What are you doing in our forest human?" the lead Centaur snapped.

The hostility towards him was unmistakable. As was the inflection when he'd said "human". So they didn't like humans? No problem.

"Human?" he said, his eyes widening in surprise, and an amused smile crossed his face. "Ah my friends you mistake my form for substance!"

"What?"

With a sweeping bow, Joe continued. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Robin Goodfellow, or Puck as I am sometimes known. I am an envoy of my lord Auberon, King of the Seelie Court."

The Centaur looked skeptical, but at least the bows were not pointed right at him anymore. "The Seelie Court has no jurisdiction here."

"Naturally not." Joe sniffed. "Which I fear, is why I have lost my way." A disgusted look creased his brow. "Me, the Puck lost like a common Mortal! Peaseblossom will never let me hear the end of this." He looked at the centaurs who were beginning to look amused.

"Oh go on, laugh! I'd laugh if I were in your place. I've BEEN in your place and laughed at lost travelers. Granted most of the time 'twas I that made them lost. I implore you, mock me if it please you, but do not let my kin hear of this." With a sigh, he sank into a reclining position under one of the enormous trees. "Well there's no hope for it. I shall have to become a homing pigeon and speed my way back home, my task unfinished."

"Will not your lord be unpleased if you do not complete your task? Whatever it may be?"

"I was to make mischief amongst the humans at Hogwarts." he explained. "All the Wizarding schools actually." He remembered something about the Wizarding world that had displeased him. "A task I took to with great enthusiasm. None are more arrogant and deserving of the Puck's attentions than Wizards. Though we like them little, it galls my lord that the Elves exist in a state of slavery. I have traveled the world, vexing Wizard after Wizard. School after school. Hogwarts was near the end of my journey. And now..." he sighed dramatically.

But now the Centaurs were grinning openly. "Perhaps we can help."

Hagrid and Dumbledore had just finished preparations for their expedition into the forest, dissuading Giles, Willow and Mickey from coming to help, when Joe came strolling out of the tree line, as casual as could be. They both were surprised, but relieved.

"How'd you find yer way out?" Hagrid wanted to know.

"Oh the Centaurs helped me out."

"The Centaurs?" Dumbledore said, aghast. "Helped you? How did-"

"Acting!" Joe cried.

Tbc…