CHAPTER FOUR: REVELATION

"You loved him," Willow whispered softly.

Buffy nodded, wiping an errant tear from her eyes.

It was good to finally tell her two best friends and her Watcher the truth about an extremely painful part of her life, and she was glad that they now knew why she'd been so reluctant to begin dating anyone, especially Angel, the vampire with a soul. She didn't think she could bear having to watch another loved one crumble into dust, with her name the last thing that they ever said.

"I did," Buffy said softly, her heart aching as she thought of her lost boyfriend.

Logically she knew that things might not have worked out between them, though everything had been beautiful for them, anything could have happened. They'd never had the chance to find out though, and that was what had hurt the most.

"I found her the next morning," Dumbledore said, picking up the explanation of exactly what had happened. "She was still seated beneath the tree, just staring at Sebastian's ashes. She was no longer crying, and she didn't even hear my approach. She spent the next week in the hospital wing, refusing to speak to anyone until Sebastian's mother came to visit her."

"She told me that I was dishonouring his memory by just sitting there crying for him," Buffy said quietly. "Papa D told her how Seb'd come to be in the Forest in the first place, and…instead of blaming me like she should have, she just hugged me and told me that it wasn't my fault. I'd been doing my part to try and keep the school safe."

"It wasn't your fault, Phoenix," Dumbledore said gently, touching his granddaughter's chin and forcing her to look up at him. "We've been over this many times before. I understand the guilt you feel, but it was not your fault that Sebastian followed you that night. It's terrible and tragic, and there is no shame in mourning your lost friend, but your guilt is misplaced."

"Fudge didn't think so," Buffy replied darkly, wiping away her tears, annoyed at herself for showing her weakness so clearly.

"Fudge?" Xander repeated, remembering that it had been Seb's last name. The name he had scoffed at earlier.

"The Minister of Magic," Dumbledore explained. "Sebastian's grandfather. Sebastian's father had died three years beforehand, so Sebastian was the last remaining Fudge male to carry on the name."

Xander desperately wanted to make a joke, but he restrained himself, knowing that it would be completely inappropriate, and a very sore subject for the Slayer. He slumped in his seat, but straightened when he saw the thankful and slightly proud look shot in his direction by Giles.

"Cornelius Fudge discovered how Sebastian had died, and he believed that it was Buffy's fault. He…humiliated her in front of a tribunal of witches and wizards, declared her to be a dangerous magical creature and had her banished from the wizarding world. Fudge forced her to sign a contract that stated she was not to return to the wizarding world under any circumstance or for any reason," Dumbledore explained. "They ever so subtly made threats against Alice, Frank and Neville, and my little Phoenix was helpless to defend herself. They blackmailed Buffy into signing the contract, and made veiled threats about what would happen to her mother and step-family if she were to break her oath."

The group were silent at that, mulling over everything they'd been told. Willow suddenly gasped and looked horrified at the thought that had just occurred to her.

"But…that means you aren't even allowed to see your mom," Willow said.

Buffy nodded and wiped another set of tears from her eyes. "When I heard that I was being exiled, I begged the Wizengamot for one last visit with my mother. They let me have ten minutes with her. I haven't seen her since."

Giles felt his heart go out to the young Slayer, unable to truly understand exactly what the girl had gone through. He thought it'd been tough on her to be expelled from Hemery High in LA, but it was nowhere near as painful as being exiled from everything you ever knew.

"Papa D managed to find Aunt Joyce and he convinced her to adopt me and let me live with she and Jim in LA. She doesn't know about Hogwarts or me being a witch or any of that. The Council managed to find me because I wasn't protected by the wards of Hogwarts or the house in Yorkshire anymore, and I was sent a Watcher. I played dumb and told him that I had no idea what a Slayer was. If I'd known, he would've asked where I got my information from, and seeing as it's strictly forbidden to divulge any information about the wizarding world to anyone, I wasn't keen to just tell Merrick my life story," Buffy explained.

"Which explains how you ended up in LA, and we know what brought you to Sunnydale…what you still haven't answered is what exactly happened to you tonight," Giles pointed out.

Buffy sighed and rubbed her eyes tiredly before breathing in deeply and beginning another tale.