Ahh, finally. It took way too long for me to get this chapter out. Consider it a Thanksgiving miracle.


Posthaste

Harry woke up on the Summers' couch in a good mood. He had finally begun to come to an understanding with Buffy. The faintest strains of sunlight filtered through the curtains and Harry got up and stretched. Thankfully his body hadn't rebelled against the cramped position he had spent the night in. After a minute, Harry realized that nobody else was up yet. The house was quiet except for the ticking of a clock somewhere. He headed towards the kitchen and poured himself a bowl of cereal with some trepidation. Nobody ever feels totally comfortable as a guest in somebody else's house. You're always tip-toeing around hoping not to break any taboos or family rules.

Harry finally sat down and sighed, taking out his writing materials and spreading them across the table. He was no longer an unwanted guest, but a friend. That's why he felt guiltier than he would have liked when he began writing to Hermione.

Dear Hermione,

How's your post in Africa going? Making any headway with those shamans? Sunndyale is odd. I know that you were jealous about me getting assigned to the Hellmouth, but trust me there's something strange going on. I was supposedly briefed on all important information involving Sunnydale but the Ministry was definitely withholding some crucial stuff. But I can't figure out why.

So I need to ask, have you ever heard of someone called the Slayer? Because I've met one. Buffy Summers. Actually, she invited me to stay at her place and I accepted. Don't get mad, she's great and she knows way more about Sunnydale than I do. She's like some sort of extreme evil fighter with a destiny.

Anyway, I'm sure that you're itching for something to research. I know I could use a second opinion.

-Harry

PS. I MISS YOU!

PPS. I think that the locations of our postings are some sort of sign. Somebody up there wants us to get a tan!

PPPS. Pretend I didn't just say that.

Harry didn't receive a reply letter for a couple days. In that time, he began to get a feel of life in Sunnydale, and life in the Scooby Gang in particular. The first thing he learned was that there was always something happening. Mysteries and strange going-ons in Sunnydale were like school life at Hogwarts put into hyper-drive.

The Scoobies met every afternoon in a shop called the Magic Box to discuss new threats. Harry had mornings to himself. He spent the early hours helping Buffy make breakfast and take out the trash and midmorning writing Ministry reports on his progress. He wrote of vampire activity, otherworldly presences, Willy's, a demon bar, and everything else he could find. He never mentioned the Slayer though, and her group of friends. He still wasn't sure that he could trust the Ministry when it came to this issue.

The Ministry issue wasn't the only thing that was making Harry uneasy though during those couple days. He barely admitted it to himself, but Willow made him uncomfortable. He couldn't quite put a finger on it. She was nice to him and always made sure that he was included, against Xander's protests. She was extremely interested in the magical community and constantly questioned Harry about Hogwarts and the type of magic he had learned. She was especially interested by the idea of wand magic and constantly compared it to her own earth magic, analyzing the pros and cons of each one.

Harry might have felt the undercurrent all along without really noticing. But after a particular incident, he couldn't help but feel nervous around Willow. One night while preparing a group dinner, Anya had gotten too enthusiastic with a knife as she chopped vegetables, leaving Willow's hand a bloody mess. Reacting to the sudden pain, Willow's temper had flared and she told Anya in a low, dangerous voice "watch. Where. You. Put. That. KNIFE."

Harry would have thought nothing of it if he hadn't seen Willow's eyes. They had flashed a darker, almost black color for a split second. He was suddenly hit with a bright, almost blinding sensation. Pure power, as he had never felt before.

And after that, Harry could never look at sweet, shy Willow the same way again. He had felt, only for a second, a true, violent, beautiful and terrifying power that he had never seen the likes of before. Not in Dumbledore, maybe not even in Voldemort.

For the rest of the evening, Harry couldn't help but steal sidelong glances at the seemingly placid redhead. She seemed fine, happy even as she chatted with Buffy or ruffled Dawn's hair. But now Harry could see underneath the edges, the turmoil inside her. He wondered how she was able to control it. Harry felt his throat tighten. He wondered how anyone would be able to control it if she couldn't.


Dear Harry,

I've been forced to send this letter by regular old owl mail so I'm sure that you will get it several days late. Thankfully I'll soon be able to send you letters instantaneously through the system that the Shamans are setting up. Back to business.

Sometimes I don't know what to do with you. I can't believe this! Taking up with some stranger on the Hellmouth. The Hellmouth of all places! I ask you Harry, when are you going to start using your head? I'm glad at least that you wrote for my opinion.

The Slayer is an extremely dangerous magical creature. She is gifted with superhuman strength, heightened senses and an instinct to kill. She is always a muggle, one girl in all the world chosen to fight the forces of evil. (Of course she isn't as alone as she thinks. I mean, there have been aurors and other members of the wizarding community fighting evil for centuries.)

Harry, promise me that you'll get out of that house as quickly as possible. I've discovered through my research that the Watchers Council (and by extension, the Slayer) have a longstanding feud with the wizarding world. Slayers are never witches. In fact, they are taught to hate magic and those who practice it from a very early age, when they are only potentials.

Slayers have been known to not differentiate between demons and sorcerers. The Watchers' policies on killing humans do not seem to extend to wizards. It seems that the simmering hatred between the Council (which is based in Britain) and the Ministry of Magic exploded in 1453, when the Slayer Catherine Shepard massacred a coven of witches. The Watchers Council later raided and executed a number of wizarding families. Ever since then, the rift between the world of the Slayer and us wizards has grown. At present, a sort of cease fire agreement has been reached. Still, I cannot impress upon you enough the danger of your situation. Promise me Harry that you will not do anything rash.

Love,

Hermione

PS. I miss you too!

PPS. How can you think about tans at a time like this?

PPPS. Gladly.

Harry didn't panic as he read the letter. How many times had Hermione tried to "impress upon" him the danger of every situation they had ever faced. The letter might have scared him once upon a time, but after getting to know Buffy, he couldn't believe that these "slayer guidelines" applied to her. Anyway, he knew that Buffy didn't work for the Council anymore. She hung out in a magic shop everyday, for God's sake. Plus, her best friend was a witch. He remembered suddenly Willow's staggering power. Buffy didn't seem to notice her friend's volatile power, but if she did, Harry believed that she'd be much more concerned with helping her than killing her. Harry knew that Buffy wasn't the problem. There was somebody in the Ministry or somewhere else that was trying to set him up for a fall. But what kind of fall and more importantly why?

Harry smiled. It had been a long time since Hermione had been able to properly scold or warn him. Of course she was always scolding Ron and him over minor things, but this was real. It felt almost like old times.

He quickly pulled out some parchment and a quill from his bag, preparing to send a note of explanation to Hermione. As he bent over the page, he leapt back in surprise. A knut-sized swirl of purple light had appeared suspended in the air directly in front of him. A portal he realized, scrambling backwards. The portal slowly widened, crackling with energy and emitting the sound of a high wind. With a squawk, a ball of feathers shot out of the swirling mass directly into Harry. Harry observed it with interest, quickly realizing that it was a rather shell-shocked and ruffled owl with a letter attached to its leg. Oh, Harry thought, Hermione's comments finally dawning on him. This was the system that the Shamans were setting up. Harry undid the letter, grinning as he realized that the ink wasn't even dry yet. Hermione must have found out some more information during the two day period it had taken Harry to get her last letter.

Dear Harry,

I checked all the records again and again. This Buffy Summers was a troubling case. All previous slayers have had very detailed Watchers diaries and other firsthand accounts. I spent hours scouring books in the district library (which I was assured is quite comprehensive) and I barely had five pages of records to show for it. Her Watcher diaries weren't even on record. It's almost as if she didn't exist.

At first I thought that maybe the girl you met wasn't really the slayer or that Buffy Summers was an alias. But after muttering something to the head shaman about the elusive Buffy Summers, I finally made some progress. When I said that name, a hush went across the room before the shamans broke out in cheers. People started yelling "God praise!" and "the chosen!" Imagine! I spent all that time on work and research when all I needed to do was ask one of my coworkers.

The head Shaman explained to me that Buffy is one of the most revered and longest living slayers in history. She has averted nearly a dozen apocalypses and apparently once saved the lives of the visiting shamans. They also explained the aspect of Buffy Summers that I found most troubling. Why is she not on record? It seems that Buffy was never brought up and trained as other potentials are. She slipped through the cracks and was not found until she was called. The Shaman also told some ridiculous story about her death being prophesied in the Codex. According to him, she actually did die a couple years back while fighting a master vampire and angels themselves came down to bring her back to life. And another slayer is in existence! Hmmph. Utter rubbish in my opinion. After hearing this from the Shaman, I asked around. This Buffy has been immortalized. She's a cult figure, a god even to them! I can't believe half of what I'm told; none of them actually know her. They've simply built up legends around her. Let's just say that I'd trust whatever Rita Skeeter wrote about you more than most of the tales of Buffy Summers that I've been hearing. A rather disheveled Cor'Tahk demon fed me another crackpot story. According to him, the Slayer is nothing more than a robot. Another source told me that she had been in a relationship with Angelus, master vampire and Scourge of Europe!

One thing is for sure. Buffy Summers did indeed break with the Watchers Council at one point in time. The lack of official records may be simple embarrassment on the Council's part. It would not do well for them to spread the fact that one of the most successful slayers in history had disowned the Council. No diaries are on record because Buffy's watcher was entirely loyal to his slayer, not the Council. Along with a rebellious streak, the current Slayer doesn't seem to share the watchers' ideology. Some accounts imply that several of her supporters were powerful witches. And saving a group of shamans isn't something that most magic-haters would do.

I'm not so sure what to tell you, Harry. The more I learn of the current Slayer, the more confusing the situation gets. I can't figure out what the motive of the Ministry is though. Were they trying to set you up for disaster or were they actually incompetent enough not to know that an active slayer was guarding the Hellmouth? Whichever one it is, I wonder whether they actually took Buffy Summers into account. She is not a tool of the Council but a free agent. And you seem to have recruited each other in the fight against evil. The question I ask now is was this planned?

Love,

Hermione

Harry couldn't help but laugh after reading Hermione's letter. She had hit the books and no doubt beat up a lot of demons to find this information out, most of which she believed was false anyway. Harry had simply sat back and listened. Hermione always had to do things the hard way.

He wouldn't have believed half the stories himself had he not heard some of them from Buffy's own lips. There had been a robot, a vampire boyfriend and another slayer. Boy would Hermione be excited (or perhaps annoyed) to hear this! He finally set to scribbling a reply to his best friend.

Still, something ominous hung in the air. There was something wrong about this whole situation, something too simple or maybe too convoluted to be understood. Harry couldn't tell anymore. Something's rotten in the town of Sunnydale.


Hooray for exposition chapters that set up possible conspiracies! Review please!