Chapter 1 (Three months after Willow performed the soul restoration spell.)

"Hola, chicas," greeted Xander cheerfully as he joined Willow and Buffy in the hallway.

"Hi Xand," Buffy said brightly. Willow, however, remained quiet, staring blankly into her locker with a sad expression on her face.

"If it'll make you feel better we can kick his ass for you. Well, Buffy can while I cheer gleefully on the sidelines," offered Xander, only half joking.

It had only been a few weeks since Oz decided that he wasn't quite ready for a relationship and left Willow in the cold while he continued to date other girls. It hurt her badly to find out that she wasn't enough for him. Once again she found herself thinking that she wasn't quite interesting or pretty enough to keep a guy's attention. It was Xander all over again and the rejection left a painful ache in her heart. But she was determined to hide the pain, the doubt and the tears from her friends. She had to be strong for Buffy's sake. It wasn't long ago that Buffy lost the love of her life. She needed Willow to be strong and not all weepy because Oz dumped her.

"I'm okay. See, this is me being happy," said Willow cheerfully with a forced smile.

Buffy placed a comforting hand on Willow's shoulder and squeezed gently. "Why don't we meet up at my house tonight for an all-night ice cream slash movie fest? No guys allowed," she offered.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'm okay. Really."

"Are you absolutely sure?" Buffy asked. She wasn't at all convinced.
Willow nodded confidently. "Yeah. Besides, I want to try a few spells later on tonight."

"That's our Wills, our very own Sabrina," Xander said jokingly.

Giles entered the library early Monday morning to find a strange man dressed in black roaming around. Giles could only see the profile of his face because he was facing away from him as he studied the books on the shelves. He wore a long black robe and his black hair lay loosely about his shoulders. His nose was large but distinguished. "Excuse me, sir. May I help you? The library is restricted to students and faculty only."

The man did not answer him at first as he continued to study the ancient books. After a moment he looked up at Giles with a questioning eye and turned back to the books. He began to read the titles out loud. "Demons and Vampires of the 16th century. Avery's Guide to Black Magic and other Demonic Occults…" droned the stranger in a thick English accent. Giles was beginning to despise him. He turned slowly to face Giles completely.

"Quite an interesting collection of books for a high school library," the stranger finished .

"W-well, it's a little hobby of mine," stuttered Giles.

"Really. Do the students have access to these books?" The man questioned calmly.

"I don't see how that is any of your business," Giles snapped irritably.

"Oh, I think I'll be the judge of that, Watcher," sneered the stranger.

"Who the bloody hell are you!" Giles questioned through gritted teeth.

"That is none of your concern, Mr. Giles," smirked the man.

"What do you want? If this is about Buffy…."

The stranger waved his hand in the air in a dismissive gesture. "Pffth. I have no interest in the Council, your precious Slayer or any other muggle things. If I need anything from you, I will find you."

And before Giles could question the man any further he vanished into thin air, leaving a stunned librarian behind.

By the time Buffy, Xander, Willow and Cordelia reached the library Giles was in full watcher mode. Books, scrolls and papers were scattered across the table.

"What's up, G-Man," greeted Xander, his arm slung casually over Cordelia's shoulder.

"Well, I experienced an encounter of sorts today," answered Giles.

"Judging by all the books, my guess is it's of the slayage variety," Buffy commented.

"To be honest, I'm not quite sure. But it was very disturbing and warrants looking into."

"What happened, Giles?" Willow asked in concern.

"I was confronted by a sinister looking fellow wearing long black robes."

"Get out! He was actually wearing black robes? That is i so /i obvious. He might as well wear a name tag saying, "Hello, evil guy here" ," snorted Cordelia while she continued to file her fingernails.

"Yes, if I may continue," admonished Giles. "What was disturbing was the fact that he knew about the Watcher's Council and the Slayer. But, before I was able to question him further, he vanished into thin air."

"So, are we looking for some sort of demon?"

"No. I believe he was a wizard," answered Giles.

"You mean like Ethan Rayne?" Xander asked .

Giles removed his glasses and began to clean them with a small grey cloth. He stared at them thoughtfully before he placed them back on his face. "No, actually Ethan is a warlock. Wizards are something completely different than those who practice Wicca. To be more precise, they're magical beings with their own secret society. They're isolationists and they usually avoid the human world. Wizards and witches are naturally born with innate powers that allow them to practice magic. Those that practice Wicca derive their powers from the earth and other external mystical forces, such as the Hellmouth. It is quite odd to find one here, though. Their form of magic tends to clash with the mystical energies that surround the Hellmouth. They try to stay clear of it."

"Oh, wow! That is so cool! I bet they wear pointy hats and ride broomsticks and everything!" Willow cried in excitement.

"God, you're such a spaz. I don't even know why I hang around here. I'm going to cheerleading practice," declared Cordelia snobbishly before she walked out the door.

Willow's face fell. She couldn't help it if she got all excited every time someone mentioned magic. Willow had been practicing spells all summer and she was beginning to get good at it. It was the only thing that kept her spirits up after Oz had left her. There was just something about it that called to her. She'd felt it when she had preformed the soul restoration spell three months ago. It awakened something deep inside her that she didn't even know existed. The experience was exhilarating and she couldn't shake the feeling ever since. It just felt right- as if it was something she was meant to do.

Someone was following her, she was sure of it. You would think by now she would have known better than to walk alone after dark. Willow clung to her book bag tightly and increased her pace, hoping that she would make it home safely. She glanced over her shoulder and saw a dark figure following closely behind her. Willow panicked and started running. The stranger cursed softly and began to run after her. Willow ran blindly down the street, trying frantically to think of any spells that may help her, but she couldn't think of any thing at the moment; she was too scared.

In a moment of desperation she decided to take a short cut through the cemetery. The cemeteries were dangerous at night but it was a risk she was willing to take. She would rather face a possible threat than a real one any day. Somehow Willow managed to lose the stranger among the maze of tombs and headstones. She slumped down behind a large headstone and took a moment to catch her breath. After her breathing had calmed, Willow carefully looked over the tombstone. There was no sign of the stranger. Willow was safe. She quietly got up from the ground and headed towards home.

She didn't even get five feet before she ran into a vampire. Willow screamed and turned to run away, but the vampire was just too fast. In an instant he had her in his grasp. Willow struggled frantically, but it was no use. He was just too strong. Her pleas for help turned into screams of terror as she felt a sharp, piercing pain on her neck. Her screams trailed off into whimpers as the vampire slowly sucked the life out of her.

"Illumination!"

Suddenly there was a flash of light and the vice-like grip that kept her restrained disappeared. Willow was free but she no longer had the strength to remain standing and she fell to the cold hard ground. The last thing she saw before she succumbed to unconsciousness was black robes and piercing black eyes.