DISCLAIMER: The characters aren't mine. I'm borrowing them from the esteemed Joss Whedon and J.K. Rawling. I'm not making any money off this; in fact, if I didn't do this, I could probably get better grades and make more money someday.
SPOILERS/BACKGROUND: Everything from BtVS Season 1 to Season 6, AtS Seasons 1 to 3, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
THANKS TO ALL REVIEWERS, especially first-timers! Always good to see new perspectives on things!
BashfulC: I haven't decided, and I may leave it open since I don't think Peeves is going to play a huge part in all this.
Kandice: Well, the cheerleaders might be a little over the top (not that I have anything against skimpy cheerleader outfits, of course), but thanks! Yours was one of the more … enthusiastic … reviews that I believe I've gotten.
ShadowElfBard, Phoenix Lumen, charmedfanatic3000, DragonStar, and all you others who have been following this for a long time now: thanks for your continued support, it makes pressing on with this a lot easier.
This chappie should be pretty short, but I think it needs to be here.
Reviews always welcome!
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CHAPTER 9:
Willow didn't feel like climbing all the way back up all the stairs to Slytherin Tower; she guessed that living her was going to keep her in shape, if nothing else, but that didn't mean she had to act like a marathoner. The library was much closer, and there was plenty of room to find a place to read and talk without being overheard. Almost no one was using the library this early on a summer morning.
They found a small booth in the far corner and spread their letters out on the table. They had quite a few to go through.
"No secrets?" Buffy said, just as she was about to open her first letter.
"No secrets," Willow confirmed. For some reason, they had both been put in the most suspicious House in Hogwarts, but she was not about to go down that path if she could at all help it. She tore open her first letter and began to read softly.
"Dear Willow,
I hope you're adjusting to Hogwarts well. I've explained to everyone else here what's happening. Most of what's happening, anyway. They know you're in England. Everyone sends their love and support. If you want to send anyone anything, just address an owl to me and I'll be sure they get it.
Your parents asked me to say hello. Well, actually, they didn't, but I talked to them and I feel that they should say hello, so I'm saying hello for them. They did seem quite concerned about where you are, however; they stopped by for more than an hour to give me the third degree yesterday. I told them you were studying abroad at Cambridge. I don't know what I should be surprised at more, that you didn't tell them where you were going, or that they didn't bother to ask until a few days after you left.
I'm making an odd clucking sound with my tongue, in case you were wondering.
--Giles
P.S. What House did you get in?"
"I wonder how he'd feel about the fact that I'm in Slytherin," Willow sighed after she finished. She had actually been surprised by her parents' interest in where she was heading before she had left, too; the only time her mother had shown such interest in her life before that was when she had nearly burned Willow at the stake.
"Hey we're both there," Buffy answered. "Here's mine from the old Watcher—this is going to sound deja vu:"
"Dear Buffy,
I hope you're adjusting to Hogwarts well. I've let everyone else know what's happening, or at least that you're both in England. Everyone wishes you the best of luck. We miss you here but we're really proud of you for going with her. She needs you. Everyone sends their love and support. If you want to send anyone anything, just address an owl to me and I'll be sure they get it.
--Giles
P.S. Did you get into Gryffindor? That was my old House. Class of '72. I think you'd fit really well there.
P.P.S. Try to stay out of trouble."
"Hey!" Buffy said as she finished reading the last part. "How come I'm the one getting the warning about staying out of trouble?"
"Hmmm," Willow answered with a knowing grin. Buffy gave her a hurt look, though she was having trouble hiding the smile at the corners of her mouth.
Willow picked up the next letter on her stack. It was from Xander. She pulled it open and began to read:
"Hey Will,
Kinda harsh, not saying goodbye, but it sounds like whoever these British people were didn't give you much of a choice. It's really lonely around here without you two, even though your home sweet Hellmouth has been quiet the past couple weeks. Good luck, whatever they're having you do … get well soon. And Giles told us they don't have phones where you are, but keep in touch.
Xander
P.S. Friends don't let friends forget to send them souvenirs!"
Buffy laughed, tore her next envelope open, and began to read.
"To the Buffster in Britain,
Missing you already, but I understand why you left. We all would have if we'd had a chance. By the way, Faith seems to have mellowed out a lot since two years ago … but still kinda scary … anyway, she's taking over the Hellmouth-watching and everything's been quiet here. Hope the two of you don't have to stay away too long. Take care of her.
Xander
P.S. Don't forget to come back with a Giles accent!"
Willow smiled. She had never dreamed reading letters could be so therapeutic, but she was feeling better already. Peeves' prank and all the unwanted attention and politics at the Slytherin table were already receding far into the back of her mind. She picked up her next one and began to read.
"Willow,
Hey. Heard you're in England. Far away from here. Learning not to destroy things. I think that's a good idea. Focus on shops and planets. Come home soon. We miss you.
Anya."
Willow squirmed, but Buffy laughed uproariously. "That's so Anya," she said, tearing open her next letter.
"Hey B.,
Whoever your British friends are, they sprung me and now I'm helping keep the lid on things here, so I owe them one. Heard you're helping Red out with a rough time. I know how that goes. Way to not let her go off alone. Just be yourself and always be there for her. If I can come back, so can she.
Faith
P.S. Angel sucks at writing, but he says hi."
Willow smiled, and was more than a little surprised. "Never thought I'd hear something like that from Faith," she admitted. "That was almost … well, that was really good, actually."
"Yeah, now I'm starting to really wonder what's going on back home," Buffy answered. "But it sounds like she's really stepping up."
"There's hope for me yet," Willow said expansively, tearing open her next letter. Buffy looked like she was about to protest that there was never any doubt of that, but Willow had already begun to read.
"Hey Willow,
Giles says you've gone to England to work out whatever it was that you're dealing with. Good luck. We're all pulling for you.
Dawn"
Willow grimaced. The memory of what she had done with Dawn, both at Rack's den and in the car afterward, flashed back through her mind for a moment, and she clenched back a tear. She had almost forgotten that she had more than just nearly ending the world to answer for. Buffy gave her hand a squeeze and opened her last latter, also from her sister.
"Hey Buffy,
Wish you were still here, though I get why you left. It's kind of lonely here without you, though Spike keeps me company. (I'm sure you're thrilled about that! Oh, and souvenirs from faraway siblings always help deal with loneliness …) Keep an eye open and come home soon. We all miss you here.
Dawnie"
Willow smiled and sat back in her bench. She didn't say anything for a while, and Buffy didn't seem to mind. The booth was comfortable, and Buffy just laid out along her bench until Willow felt like saying anything else. Eventually, partly just to break the silence, and partly because she couldn't think of anything deeper to say, she said simply, "I miss them."
Buffy sat up again. "Me, too," she admitted.
"I know I've said this before like a hundred times, but … thanks for coming with me. I'm really glad you're here, not just your letters."
Buffy got up and moved over to sit beside Willow, and put her arm around her. "I'm glad, too," she said. "Especially 'cause I'd hate writing letters. Ick. Can't believe these people have never heard of phones."
Willow laughed. "I don't know, I think it has a certain charm," she said. "And you ought to be writing them anyway—they're going to want to hear from you, too."
Buffy wrinkled her nose. "You think I could get a cell phone here?"
"International long distance and bad reception?"
"Probably no reception out here. Wherever we are," Buffy sighed, casting a glance out the window. "I don't think I've written a letter since … well, since I ran away from home, and probably not for years before that."
"Well, it's a summer for new things," Willow said matter-of-factly.
"Trying new things is the new Chinese food place, not sending letters from England by birdmail."
"Stranger things have happened. To both of us."
"Touché."
"Anyway," Willow said, rising to her feet, "I'm going to go back and study for a while. You up for it?"
Buffy blew out an exasperated breath. "Might as well. Gotta start sometime … what the hell were these people thinking anyway? We've got like three months to catch up with people who've been doing this for five years!"
"We don't need to learn everything they ever learned," Willow reminded her. "Just enough to be able to fake it."
"Hey, just like high school!" Buffy joked as they gathered their things and headed for the door.
"You think you're joking," Willow said. "Think of how much kids in the real—er, regular—world forget every summer between grades. And most people don't learn a whole lot of new skills after they leave school, just whatever they need for their job. I don't think it's really that different here."
"Maybe," Buffy said. Willow couldn't tell whether her friend really believed her or not, but she had a feeling that Buffy would pick up everything she needed pretty quickly. Magic flowed in the heart and soul of the Slayer; Willow had felt it during the time when her powers were at their peak, the essence of the Slayer burning like a desert sun in the spirit world. She still had a human mind and thoughts, so all the technical subjects would probably elude her, but Willow had noticed Snape avoiding most of the subjects that would be the most purely mental when he had scheduled Buffy's classes—except, of course, for his own Potions course. At least, that was Willow's best guess.
"And you'd better study hard," Willow chided, "unless you want to get sent back to take classes with the ten-year-olds."
Buffy looked horrorstruck. "All right, I'll study, I'll study," she promised fervently as the two friends left the room.
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COMING SOON: Chapter 10, "Dinner." Buffy and Willow get started on their training, as well as have to prepare for Harry's departure, since he he needs to spend the summers at home.
SNEAK PREVIEW:
"Oh my gosh, that's cruel. He's cruel. He's evil. It is just like the last time you told me to seize the moment."
"Except for the fangs and graveyard."
"Well, yeah, but still, all with the cruelness and the evil."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: The time is now 1:38 a.m., and M*ch*g*n is still evil. Grrrr.