Chapter 46: In Which We Prepare For America

Hermione sat on their bed while Snape tossed clothing into the suitcase next to her. She was pleased to see that he owned a selection of warm-weather Muggle clothing that would not cause anyone to look twice while visiting America.

"Do you own a pair of bathers?"

"Ancient ones. Will there be swimming?"

"The Council has a pool, and I'd like to spend some time at the ocean. Willow's been trying to get me to visit the West Coast since we met. If you've got any interest, we could go there as well."

"I'm not feeling a burning desire to see the West Coast, but I would like to see New York. We could do both. Really, we can go anywhere; we've got time. I'm already ahead on the Dragon Calming Draught, and you aren't due back to school until 1st September."

Hermione thought about it. "We can ask around when we get to the Council. Most of them have been all over; they'll probably have some good suggestions." A thought flitted through her mind. "The Florida Keys. The last time I was at the Council, Buffy and Spike had just gotten back from there. They had pictures. I've never seen water that color. Or that many fish for that matter…"

Snape paused in his packing. "Once we get to the US how do you propose we go from place to place? Are you that proficient at blind apparition?"

"Actually, I am pretty good at blind apparition; I'm also handy behind the wheel of a car. I can get us to somewhere around New York and then we can rent a car, or catch a cab, or bus, or train, something will come up. We can walk or hitchhike if need be. As long as we've got our little plastic friends from Visa, we're good to go."

Severus walked over to the little silver cards on Hermione's bureau. He picked them up and looked at the one with his name on it. "Why do we have these again?"

"The Yanks look at you oddly if you try to pay for everything with cash. Some things, like gas and hotel rooms are just easier to deal with if you've got a credit card. You can't rent a car without one. And, I'm just not comfortable carrying the amount of cash around that we'd need for this trip."

"What on earth could rob us?"

"Severus," she sounded like she was talking to a young child, and he bristled at that. "Almost anyone at the Council would be more than a match for either of us, some of them could take both of us, and Willow wouldn't even have to blink. We're good fighters, we made it home from the war alive, but they're professionals. And they're the good guys. The reason they're at the level they're at is because the bad guys keep them on their toes."

She noticed he grumbled as he put the credit cards back. She didn't quite catch his words, but she was sure they were something along the lines of 'How good can they be?' You'll see soon enough.

When he had put the cards back he began folding his clothing and laying it in a suitcase. "So tell me about your cadre of Wandless Witches. Why are they called the Watcher's Council? Kind of dumb name really."

Like Hogwarts is so much better. "Originally they were the Scoobies."

Vague memories of a cannabis drenched cartoon from his youth sprang to mind. "As in…"

"Yes."

"The Watcher's Council is sounding better by the moment."

"But as they grew, they needed an official cover. The Watcher's Council was always the overseeing body for the Slayer, so they took the name, and attached it to the school they started to keep people from asking why there was a big house with fifty girls in it just outside of Cleveland."

"What's the Slayer? That didn't show up in your book."

"Most of what goes on there didn't show up in my book. Magical education isn't the main reason for the Council to exist. It's really there because of some ancient and awful magic that enslaves girls into a destiny of demon fighting. The Slayer is the name of the girl who the magic chooses."

"Start at the beginning." Snape sat on the bed next to her, his packing forgotten.

"The beginning is a very long time ago. According to what they could find, man and demon used to both dwell on this planet. Man was able to wield magic to create a hybrid, a human with demon strength, healing, and fighting skill. This hybrid was called the Slayer. It's always a she, and always picked between the ages of thirteen and nineteen. The first Slayer was little more than a demon trapped in a human body, all fight and rage, and the men who made her were her Watchers. Their job was to make sure that she killed other demons, not other humans.

"Untold years have gone by, and the Slayers are almost entirely human now. The drive to fight, the healing and the strength are still there, but the human soul is now in charge. Each time a Slayer is killed a new one is called. Each time a Slayer was killed, her Watcher retired and a new one is sent to join the new Slayer. The Council was formed to keep Watchers trained and ready to go. The Council also made sure that some sort of big picture was kept in mind. According to Willow they had the finest, oldest library of occult texts ever assembled on Earth." Snape could hear the longing in Hermione's voice at the idea of that library.

"Then back in 1993 Buffy was called. She was a different sort of Slayer. She kept her friends. Her Watcher's cover was school librarian, so she stayed in school. She continued to live with her mother. She fell in love a few times. She kept her attachments, which is rare for a Slayer. Usually the secrecy that goes with being a Slayer makes ours look tame by comparison. But because she kept her attachments, she developed a team, like Ron and I for Harry. If you could imagine Dumbledore deciding that only he and Harry would fight off Lord Voldemort, you'd have an idea of how the Council usually ran things." She saw Snape wince at the idea. "Buffy didn't go for that.

"Buffy's team kept her alive, and brought her back when she died." Snape looked shocked. "Yes, it was a very bad idea, and yes, it is possible, but I don't think anyone besides Willow could, or would, pull it off. Willow's formidable. Imagine the kind of power Dumbledore put out, now multiply it by five, and now imagine it coming from a woman two years older than me. It's scary.

"Anyway, the last year they were in California, they finally hit something they couldn't beat back with just the core group. It went by The First. Willow tells me it's elemental evil, and I've got no reason to doubt her, other than I really don't like to believe that such a thing exists. The First's minions were killing off all of the potential Slayers. The idea being that if there were no remaining Chosen Ones when Buffy was killed, then the Slayer line would end, and that would be that. Evil wins, the demons take over, end of the world, yippee!

"The First took out a lot of the potential Slayers. The Council tracked down more of them, and they all ended up in California with Buffy and Willow. Then the original Council was destroyed; almost all of the members were killed. You remember that bombing in London back in 1997?" Snape shook his head no. "Me neither. I guess we were all busy with other things. The Watcher's Council was headquartered in London.

"After it was destroyed, and most of its resources with it, the Council in the form of Giles and a few other survivors went to California to join Buffy. It was there Willow found she could make all the potential Slayers into real Slayers. So she did. After a huge fight that destroyed an entire town, The First retreated, and there were fifty Slayers, all of whom needed a place to live, protection, and training. The next hot spot, called a Hellmouth, was in Cleveland, so they moved there and set up the new Watcher's Council. Officially it's a private school for exceptional girls and a very few boys. The brothers of the Slayers, and children of the Council who have some magical skills."

Snape just sat there. His mind had gone blank. Hermione gave him time to think. When Willow finally explained what exactly it was they did at the Watcher's Council Hermione had felt ill.

Finally he said, "These girls have no choice?"

"The magic picks them, and once it does every demon nearby starts hunting for them. They can join the Council, have a safe place to live, learn how to fight, and eventually become professionals, or they can be killed when the first demon, or vampire, or megalomaniac with dreams of Apocalypse finds them."

"How long do they fight?"

"Until they die. Buffy's in a sort of retirement at this point, but she's the first one to reach that point. She's one of the main teachers at the Council. Since moving to Cleveland, and revamping the training, they've gotten the average lifespan up to twenty years."

Snape did look ill at this point. "And we're just going to go visit for a bit, and drop off some students to help out? You're kidding right. We should be going to try and help them break this Slayer picking enchantment."

"You can try if you want. This magic has held for literally tens of thousands of years. I don't think it can be broken. What's more, Willow doesn't think it can be broken. So we work on making them better fighters, and on making sure more of them come home from each fight, and that they keep coming home longer. That's why I've been teaching wanded magic to those who can learn it. The kids we're taking over are going to set up a magical school and wand making shop. When Buffy was chosen the oldest Slayer ever was 22. Now they've gotten the average life span up to 20, and both Buffy and Faith are 26. Things are getting better."

"Not good enough if these girls are just being picked out of the ether to die."

"No, not good enough. But better than before. I think it will help when you see the Council and talk to them. Very few of the girls are upset about being chosen. Part of it is that they are very young; many of them don't know what they are giving up. But part of it is that they have a mission. They fight evil. Great, big, capital E, EVIL. And they do it well. Every day they know that there are people breathing who would not have been had they not gone out to do their jobs. Being the hero, when people go out of their way to make sure you get petted for it, can be a lot of fun."

"That's why it's always children. That's why Dumbledore got us young. God, if we had had the time to grow up. The time to think…" Snape shook his head, casting away the memories of the offer Dumbledore gave him at the age of fifteen and changed the topic.

"You've mentioned some names, but I still don't know who is who, besides Willow."

"Giles, Buffy, Xander, and Willow are the original four. Buffy was The Slayer, and is now A Slayer. She's the one who teaches some combat, and works on long range planning and strategy. Giles was her Watcher, and is now the man in charge of research and specialized training on how to identify Demons and what their weak spots are. Xander is Willow's best friend, and after the first Hellmouth, he moved to Cleveland with them, but retired from demon hunting. He runs a construction company and makes sure everyone gets over to his place for dinner on Sunday. He's the heart of the group, and probably the bravest man I've ever met. We talk about Harry, or any of us really, being brave, but we have no idea of what brave really looks like. Xander went into it with no magic, no special powers, just for the love of his friends, and he kept at it until he lost an eye and couldn't fight anymore. Willow, well I've told you a bit about Willow. Anyway, when Buffy moved to Sunnydale, she met Willow and Xander, and the three became close friends. Giles then took over Buffy's training, and ended up with three for the price of one. Seem familiar?" Snape nodded. "A few years into it, Willow discovered she could do magic, and she began to study.

"Time passed and they added a few more members. Oz, Willow's mate, was killed back in '96."

"Why didn't Willow bring Oz back?"

"She tried, it didn't work. Something about how Buffy died, she threw herself into a sucking vortex of doom that would have destroyed the world had it opened fully, allowed her to come back. Once again, strike you as somewhat familiar?"

"Hmmm… she doesn't have black hair and green eyes does she?"

"Blond hair and green-hazel eyes."

"Hmp."

"Anya and Spike make up the rest of the core team. Anya is married to Giles, and Spike is Buffy's man. Anya is another demon researcher, but these days her main focus is teaching mathematics and accounting. She might strike you as bit frank. That little thing that allows you to hear what you are about to say before you say it, she doesn't seem to have one of them. I understand she's better now than she used to be.

"Spike teaches combat, and literature, and history. He's… an interesting case. You'll meet him and see." Snape had the distinct impression that Hermione was leaving something out, but decided not to press it, when the time came he'd meet 'Spike.' Bloody awful name. What kind of git goes around calling himself Spike? Wait… Slayers… Demons… Maybe he specializes in Vampires. Possible…

"Let's see... what else? Both Giles and Spike are British. Giles is about your age and has similar taste in music. He should have gone to Hogwarts, but was trained by the Watcher's Council instead… At any given time there's about forty-five girls and a few boys at the school. Say fifty kids total. Unlike Hogwarts the Council teaches regular subjects as well. The Slayers all have night jobs, but they're also getting the training they need to keep a day one as well, should they want one. It won't be what you expect. It's much happier and more relaxed." She continued to think.

"Oh. This is important. Don't apparate onto or off of the property. You can't apparate at Hogwarts. You can do so at the Watcher's Council, but it's a trap. If you do it, you'll find yourself somewhere horrible. Apparently some wizard thought it would be a good idea to apparate his minions directly into the building to bypass the security. They made it into the building, and the group made sure that only bits of them ever went back to their leader. Since then Willow's rigged it so that if you apparate anywhere within 300 meters of the school, you'll be transported elsewhere."

"Are they attacked often?"

"Not as often as they used to. They've almost finished cleaning up Cleveland. Willow tells me they are planning on destroying the Hellmouth around Beltane this year. Then they'll close up shop and head to the next Hellmouth."

"Lovely."

She kissed him softly. "It's not as bad as you think. And if it is, I'll help you try to find a way to make it better. In the meantime, we've got packing to do."