Part 2- The Telling

Notes: Thanks for the reviews.

Harm Marie – Wow. Thanks.

Marcus Lazarus – Spike won't be featuring in this story.

Goldenshadows – No this isn't going to be a Bangel story. The Angel crew are only appearing briefly at the start of the story.

Allen Pitt – I need to have the references removed because each group (with the exception of the all-knowing Dumbledore) have extremely little knowledge of each other.

Thanks again to everyone who reviewed:D

As Phoebe jogged up the manor's driveway returning home from her long run she saw a large looking bird fly in through the attic window. Curious at the strange sight Phoebe hurried inside. She remembered last time she had seen an owl at the Halliwell manor. Unfortunately Phoebe didn't think it'd be another hot naked guy. Once indoors she went up the stairs two by two. One she reached the attic she could see that the owl held a letter in its mouth.

"Pip-" Phoebe's call for her sisters was interrupted when they entered the room shortly after she did. They had seen the owl outside the window and been just as curious as Phoebe.

"Another mystery owl?" Piper guessed curiously while Paige took a letter from its mouth before it flew out the window again. Piper shifted Wyatt on her hip as she spoke.

"Owls are delivering our mail now? And I thought we were heading towards using e-mail only" Paige commented examining the letter. "This is very strange. It's addressed to the Charmed ones and it has no postcode, just our address"

"Let me see" Paige handed Piper the letter. "It also has the united states written on it so it must be from overseas"

"Open it" Phoebe pleaded curious to know what's inside.

Piper placed Wyatt on the floor before she ripped open the envelope and grabbed the letter inside. She allowed the envelope fall to the floor, too curious to be bothered picking it up.

"Dear Mrs. Piper Halliwell, Ms. Phoebe Halliwell and Ms. Paige Halliwell,

My name is Albus Dumbledore. I am headmaster of Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry in Great Britain. It may alarm you that I know of your magical lives, however please do not be concerned with this. I assure you that I have no intention in harming you.

I regret to inform you that the Dark Lord, Voldemort has returned from his near death state. Although it is unlikely that you know the true nature of his terror, but you may remember about sixteen years ago when there were many mysterious murders committed in Great Britain. Those murders were not caused by a single human serial killer, but the wizard Voldemort and his followers.

Recently a new prophecy has been recorded which includes a mention of the Charmed ones, The Slayer and her friends and also Voldemort. Again I do not mean to alarm you, but in light of this new discovery it is best for you to travel to Los Angeles to a hotel named the Hyperion. There you will find the Slayer and her friends. I will be traveling there as soon as I can to explain the situation in much greater detail. I have informed the Slayer, Buffy Summers, to expect you.

Yours truly,

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry."

"Huh…" Piper was confused and upset at the same time. "Well I have one word….LEO!"

Soon the familiar blue and white illumination appeared next to Piper eventually forming into her husband. He had been attending to a charge while running from a demon so he was little worn out from the exercise.

"Read this" Piper handed the letter to the whitelighter.

Immediately after Leo finished the letter the sisters pounced with their questions.

"How does this Dumbledore know about us?"

"Why didn't you tell us about this school?"

"Are there other schools?"

"Who the hell is this Voldemort?"

"And what's a Slayer?"

"Is this Dumbledore trustworthy?"

"What's this about a prophecy?"

"What the hell is in L.A?"

"Slow down" Leo interrupted.

"Leo, have you heard of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore?" Phoebe asked curious to know more about who sent them the letter.

"Makes you grateful that our families thing was just P names" Piper smirked.

"I have heard him mentioned up there" Leo replied. "But I don't actually know who he is. Have you looked in the Book of Shadows?"

Realizing that was what they should have done first the girls quickly gathered around the book as Paige eagerly flipped through hopping to see any signs of Dumbledore, Voldemort, Hogwarts or the Slayer. There was absolutely nothing.

"Well that was pretty useless" Phoebe said looking to Leo again for answers.

"I'll go ask the Elders what they know" Leo told them.

"Don't take too long honey" Piper said to her husband as they shared a kiss goodbye.

"I'll try not to" He replied before orbing off.

Piper wasn't too happy with Leo disappearing off again. Especially when she didn't have her questions answered. Counseling had taught Piper to not make a fuss about it with Leo. It was something he had to do. That didn't mean she had to enjoy it.

Paige however wasn't thinking about Leo going off to the Elders for an unknown amount of time. She was still thinking about a letter. Paige had always been rather curious in her life. She wanted know more and she wasn't keen on waiting for Leo. Paige had a feeling that Phoebe and Piper were thinking the same thing by the looks on their faces.

"I think we should just go to L.A. I'll be the only way we can find out what this is all about" Paige asked hoping she was reading her sisters correctly.

"I agree. We have no idea how long Leo is going to be and even if the Elders will have any information. I'll start packing the car" Piper replied picking up Wyatt.

"Car? But we can just orb there" Phoebe pointed out.

"We don't know who these people are we're meant to be meeting. We don't really even know who Dumbledore is. I'd rather do things the normal way until we know everything. This hotel may have normal people staying at it; we don't want to be exposed. Besides for once none of us are snowed under with work or love lives. I think the trip will do us good" Piper explained as she placed the letter back in the envelope.

"Well I better clean the car then. I kinda split my drink the other day when I borrowed it" Phoebe admitted, quickly darting out of the room.

"Phoebe!" Piper exclaimed.

The owl that Dumbledore had sent to Buffy wasn't as fit as the other one. It didn't arrive at the Hyperion until after dusk, which meant all of the slayers were out patrolling with Angel, Gunn and Faith. Buffy and Dawn were happily playing cards when the owl flew straight through the window and onto the table they were playing on in the office.

"Hey!" Buffy screamed with surprise.

"Buffy it has a letter in its beak" Dawn realized quickly and pried the letter from the bird and handed it to Buffy. "Weird. It's addressed to you, but in the exact place we are"

"Buffy Summers, the office at the Hyperion hotel, Los Angeles, United States of America" Buffy read out loud. "Spooky"

"Did Dawnie cheat at cards Buff, 'cause I heard a yell" Willow entered the office with Xander in tow.

They had been talking a lot about loosing the ones they loved. Helping each other grieve. Though neither were particularly close to each others partners they always cared deeply for each other.

It didn't take long for the pair to notice the brown owl upon the table. It was recovering its breath before taking off a few seconds later.

"Is there a special reason for the owl?" Xander curiously asked.

Normally he would have thought of some kind of joke, but he really wasn't in the mood.

"It delivered this letter" Buffy showed her friends the envelope quickly before she ripped open the letter.

It was very similar to the Halliwells letter, but instead of telling Buffy to travel to LA, it explained that three women and a child would be arriving soon. Buffy's first reaction however was slightly different to the Halliwells.

"Oh Goody. Another big bad to fight. And here I was thinking that I'd get some time off" Buffy complained handing Dawn, who was the nearest person, the letter.

Buffy then exited the room to find Giles. Unfortunately she also ran into Andrew who wanted to know why Buffy was in such a hurry. 'Curiosity killed the cat' Buffy mumbled to herself after she told Andrew to head to the office to be filled in. She eventually found Giles with Wesley in what used to be Cordilera's room. Wesley had been telling Giles the story of his life since they last met. Buffy straightforwardly told them to come down to the office, as there was something she needed to discuss.

By the time Buffy returned Andrew was now reading the letter after the others had been through it. Buffy tapped her foot near her ex-foe forcing him to speed-read. Once he had finished Buffy promptly handed the letter to her watcher.

"Voldemort." Andrew said out loud as Buffy took the letter away from him. "Now that's a name that can strike fear in one's heart. Not like 'The First"

"Interesting" Giles muttered, passing the letter to Wesley.

"Interesting? That's all you can say? A week after we've just survived the biggest battle of our lives this letter turns up. Somehow this Bumle-bore dude knows that I'm the Slayer. Or a Slayer now anyway. But he knows it's me, not just the myth. It's nice to know that you're famous, but not when some guy sends you a random letter telling you that you're involved in yet another prophecy and you must help in fighting his big bad. Plus there are other people involved in this. Bumle-bore expects them to just rock up at this hotel probably knowing just as much as we do" Buffy vented.

"It's Dumbledore Buffy. I do no believe this wizard is some 'dude' either" Giles replied.

He looked to Wesley who had now finished examining the letter.

"Is the name familiar to you?" Giles asked his fellow ex-watcher.

"Yes. I think my father mentioned him once to me. Dumbledore had provided invaluable information to the council I believe." Wesley informed the group.

"Considering I don't exactly trust the council and they're kinda blown up, this is not helping" Buffy complained.

"I've heard a brief mention of Dumbledore before. Without Wesley I would have been left wondering why I have heard it. Dumbledore is a great wizard. I don't know much about him. However any mention I have heard has placed Dumbledore in a good light" Giles explained.

Willow was surprised at the fact that Giles knew so little. If Dumbledore was a great wizard shouldn't Giles and Wesley know more about him? Shouldn't Tara or Amy or the witches in the coven in England have heard of him? Then there was the question of Hogwarts. Surly Willow would know if there was a school of witchcraft and wizardry. She would have gone to one herself along with maybe Tara and Amy. Maybe it was just a British thing though. Willow had no idea.

"How come I wasn't invited to attend one of these wizard schools which we've never heard of before?" Willow asked.

"Oh! Oh! Me!" Dawn waved her hand as if she was in school again. Giles gave her a strange looked and waved his hand at her permitting her to answer. "I'm going to go with the one word answer of Hellmouth"

"That may be a possible explanation to this. I suggest that we wait for these people that Dumbledore says should be arriving here. They may know more than us. In the mean time I'm going to ring some of the remaining watchers and see if they have heard of Dumbledore" Giles replied.

"I hate waiting" Buffy whined knowing there wasn't much she could do at the moment.

Harry's birthday sadly was still not spent with his friends. It seemed to be the day after Harry's birthday was the day Dumbledore decided it was safe for Harry to leave the Dursley's. Harry had no idea why he couldn't spend his birthday with his friends, but it became a tradition for Harry to spend it alone.

Yet Harry still did receive a fair amount of presents. His favourite being from the twins, an invisible spider that only the owner can control. It was naturally inspired by Ron's fear. Harry spent most of the day watching TV as the Dursley's had gone out for the day. Vernon had permitted him to watch the TV whenever they were out. Of course Harry was only allowed to watch the smallest least expensive TV in the kitchen, but it was something entertaining at least.

"It's a pity we're going to L.A on business. I've never been there before and I hear they have some great shopping malls" Paige sighed as Piper drove out of the driveway.

In the backseat Phoebe hummed a lullaby to Wyatt to get him to sleep. He had never been a fan of the car, he loved orbing a little too much. Since Leo was with the Elders, Piper hadn't bothered to leave a note. He should know that Piper wouldn't wait for his return to get answers.

Harry arrived at 12 Grimmulad place with odd feelings. He had just flown back to the Black home on his firebolt once again. Since Harry was Sirius's godson he had inherited the house and allowed the Order to continue to use it. When Lupin had informed him of this, Harry did not care at all. He simply told his father's friend that the Order has permission to continue its use.

Harry was happy about the fact that Ron and Hermoine would also be there to keep him company (along with the rest of the Weasley family excluding Percy who although was now on speaking terms with his family, refused to join them). But returning to the last place Sirius had lived just brought back Harry's grief. Hermoine had actually suggested that Harry and Ron come to her place, as Voldemort wouldn't expect Harry to be spending the last month of summer at a muggle home. But the Order had concluded that it was much safer for Harry to return to Grimmulad place where they could keep close watch on him rather than having to tail him all around the muggle world.

The O.W.L results had managed to find their way to the house, much to Ron's disgust. Together the trio sat in Ron and Harry's room talking about their marks. Ron shared similar results with Harry while Hermonie's were predictably better than both of the boys.

With the O.W.L results out, Harry could breath a sigh of relief knowing that everyone's attention would be focused on their schooling rather than the workings of Harry's mind. The situation was fine for Harry, until Lupin passed on a message from Dumbledore. He told Harry that it would be best to tell Hermoine and Ron about the prophecy as soon as he was able to. Dumbledore explained to Harry that there was a need for Hermione and Ron to know. The reason, Dumbledore did not specify.

Harry trusted Dumbledore, he couldn't think of a valid reason for keeping the information from his friends anymore. It wouldn't harm them if they knew what the prophecy was about. The same afternoon he received his message Harry sat down with his friends in his and Ron's room. The twins had a massive sale happening at their store, which required Ginny to go with them. There was no Order meeting that afternoon which meant the house only contained the trio plus Mrs. Weasley who remained downstairs in the kitchen.

"Harry what is it?" Hermione asked as Harry closed the door.

He had simply told them that he wanted to talk to them in private. The pair had followed him from the kitchen to the bedroom not knowing what was going on. Harry had not been acting his normal self since his arrival at Grimmulad place, but they had assumed that was because of the loss of Sirius. The loss of the only real parent figure would naturally make Harry feel numb.

"Do you remember the prophecy in the Ministry that Malfory wanted?" Harry asked he sat down on his bed. Hermione and Ron were both sitting on Ron's bed.

"The one that was smashed?" Ron replied with another question.

"Yeah the one with Voldemort and me" Harry reminded them as Ron naturally flinched at the mention of the Dark Lord's name.

"You know what it said didn't you? Dumbledore told you didn't he?" Hermione asked further proving that she was the smartest witch Harry knew.

"Yes. After we came back from the ministry. It was Trelawney who er…prophesied it. Dumbledore had gone to see her for an interview and she told him about a prophecy about me and Voldemort." Harry began.

He paused for a moment knowing that both Ron and Hermione saw the divinations teacher as a complete fraud. It would certainly be hard for Hermione to accept the fact that Trelawney at least had some seer ability.

Slowly Harry recalled what Dumbledore had told him that night in his office. Harry intently left out the part about smashing Dumbledore's things. Though he fumbled a little through it, having to correct himself at various points. Hermione helped him with soothing looks, while Ron with curious ones. Once finished there was a short silence in the air until Ron spoke.

"So that's why Voldemort was after you're parents" Ron bluntly said as the revelation was the same as discovering he put his shoes on the wrong way.

"Yeah" Harry didn't want to say much. He wanted to hear Hermione and Ron's reactions.

However Hermione herself was still stunned by the new information. She knew the prophecy had to say something that involved Harry and Voldemort. After all it did have their names on it. Hermione was left wondering why Voldemort had sent his Death Eaters after the prophecy, why Harry had been lured there, for what Sirius had lost his life for. Now she knew. For the past month Hermione had been trying to think of what the prophecy may be, but she could have never guessed exactly what Harry had told her.

"So this means…you have to kill Voldemort or-or….he has to kill you?" Hermione quizzed.

"That's basically it. Me and Voldemort. Fight to the death. Should be real exciting stuff" Harry sarcastically said.

"Oh Harry!" Hermione cried, partly sympathetic, party irritated by his attitude.

"How come you didn't tell us this before? It's been over a month since that night at the ministry" Ron asked.

"I didn't want to. I didn't want to think about it. Then this afternoon Dumbledore sent me this letter, Lupin gave it to me, telling me to tell you too about the prophecy" Harry produced the letter from the drawer in his bedside table.

Hermione read through it at a fast pace. She was used to reading a large number of books in a short amount of time and remembering it all. She had proven that to Umbridge last year rather smugly. Ron took a little longer to read the letter. He preferred to discuss Qudditch matches than read books.

"Something has to be going on." Hermione stated.

"Something is always going on with you-know-how. I bet him and Wormtail sit in their big lounge chairs each night and Wormtail asks 'What are we going to do tonight my Dark Lord?' and you-know-who replies 'We're going to do what we always do Wormtail. We're going to try and take over the world!'" Ron joked.

"Ron" Hermione gave him a dirty look. "Harry doesn't need you're jokes right now."

"Yeah I do." Harry argued. "Anything funny is good at the moment. Where'd you hear that anyway?"

"I dunno. It was something Dean said once" Ron shrugged.

References:

'What are we going to do tonight my Dark Lord?' and you-know-who replies 'We're going to do what we always do Wormtail. We're going to try and take over the world!' – From every single episode of 'Pinky and the Brain'. I just thought it'd be funny if Voldemort and Wormtail actually did this. I needed something to end the scene so I chose this joke.

OT: I have a question for an Angel story I'm very slowly writing...Drusilla is still alive right? The last time we saw her (excluding flashbacks) was in BtVS's 'Crush' right? Dru hasn't shown up anywhere since then?