Warning: Bad poetry ahead!

It was two weeks later.

Severus Snape got to his knees and kissed the hem of the Dark Lord's robes.

"Rise," said Voldemort.

Severus rose and kept his face respectfully cast downwards. Lucius Malfoy, who was kneeling next to Severus, repeated the process. The Malfoy patriarch's façade of perfection and iciness was faltering since his escape from Azkaban. His eyes, which before had held no sign of conscience, were haunted and there were dark circles under them. Lucius had lost a good fifteen pounds while in Azkaban and now stood gaunt and rumpled with those crazy eyes. He was cracking, in the opinion of Severus, and people who cracked while serving the Dark Lord died.

Neither man was masked, as they were alone with Voldemort.

"What do you have to tell me?" asked Voldemort.

Severus spoke.

"My Lord," those words were always repugnant in his throat. "I have news of the Slayer."

Voldemort nodded, indicating that Severus should continue.

"A vampire has approached us," continued Severus. "His name is Spike but he has also gone by William the Bloody. He is barely 120-years-old but he has already killed two slayers."

"Continue," said Voldemort. Severus could tell that his interest was piqued.

Severus took a book from out of the pocket of his robe. He opened it and gave it to Voldemort.

"This is an account of their deaths and his exploits."

Voldemort took the book in his skeletal hand and skimmed the pages. Severus didn't start speaking again until Voldemort was looking up.

"He wants to meet you and make a deal. Apparently, the United States government was experimenting with demonology and created a microchip—a kind of muggle technology—that controls his behavior and renders him harmless. Spike was implanted with this chip. He has offered to kill the Slayer if you remove it."

"This is most interesting," said Voldemort quietly. "Kill the Slayer? That would be one less barrier to Harry Potter, one less wall protecting Hogwarts and that wretched muggle-lover Dumbledore. And this Spike is very impressive," he held the book up, "He has managed to wreak much havoc in a little over 100 years."

Voldemort tented his fingers and turned to Severus. "What say you, Severus? What do you think?" he peered at Severus.

"His record is impressive, my Lord. But, I must note," said Severus, being careful to sound neutral and keep his mind blank, "That he has had ample opportunity to kill the Slayer before he had the chip. He has always failed. I wonder about his ability to kill her. I have also heard that he has had affection for her, that they were in a relationship."

"He could kill her if he didn't have the chip," said Lucius, speaking for the first time. "Take the chip out first and see what he does to the muggles," he said with a laugh.

"Interesting," said Voldemort. "And if he betrays us we can just stake him. I daresay I like the way you're thinking, Lucius. It's nice to see you doing that again."

Lucius's eyes glinted like dull razorblades. Severus was silent.

"Very well," said Voldemort. "I will meet him one week from tonight. You will bring him to me," he said, rising.

"You honor us with this assignment," said Lucius hoarsely.

"You honor us," murmured Severus.

Both men bowed before Voldemort and he dismissed them with an imperious wave of his hand.

Severus and Lucius turned and left. They walked down the corridor, left the building, and walked to the area to where they could apparate.

"Good night," said Lucius.

Severus nodded and disapparated back to the gates of Hogwarts. Back to where he would tell Dumbledore how he tried to save Buffy but Voldemort just felt like taking a risk on the vampire. Then Dumbledore would figure out a plan and tell him what to do the next time Voldemort summoned him and when Voldemort summoned him he would tell Severus how to act at Hogwarts and the whole cycle was giving him a headache just thinking of it.

Speaking of headaches, there was Buffy up the path, silhouetted in the glow of the full moon. Buffy with a gun.

"We have to stop meeting this way," she said.

"I could live happily without us meeting at all," he glanced at the gun slung across her back. "Are you Buffy the Vampire Shooter now?"

"It's a tranquilizer gun, I always bring it during the full moon. In case there are werewolves, then I don't have to kill them."

Severus snorted.

"What? Werewolves are people twenty-eight days of the month."

"Barely," Severus said indignantly. It was like she had used radar and had purposely honed in on one of the subjects that irritated him the most.

"One of my friends back home is a werewolf," said Buffy. "He's more human than you act sometimes."

"You don't know what you're talking about," snarled Severus.

He hurried to get ahead of Buffy and was pleased when she didn't try to follow him. Severus was walking down the stairs to the dungeon when he heard that voice again.

"Wait."

Severus turned.

"This had better be compelling."

"Have you seen Spike around lately?" Buffy asked. "Because I haven't and I like to know what he's up to. I don't even know where he's staying."

There was an expression on her face that he had never seen before, was it fear? No, worry.

Severus shook his head 'no.'

"I haven't seen Spike, but Voldemort would like to meet him."

"Thank you," Buffy said.

He turned on his heel and left.

The next night Spike was smoking on the front steps of the Shrieking Shack. Buffy had just passed by on her patrol, and he was pretty sure that she was unaware of where he was living. He had kept a very low profile.

He reread the letter that he had just received.

"He will see you one week from yesterday. Meet me at the Three Broomsticks at 11:30 pm. S.S."

Spike laughed out loud. Soon he'd have that damn chip out of his head and he would be the creature he was before he came to Sunnydale and met that bitch of a slayer.

Was it his imagination or was there a response to his laughter?

Spike strained to hear. He thought he could hear a shuffling step and the rustle of fabric. He was still. Someone was definitely walking nearby, around the other side of the house. Spike slowly and quietly made his way around the corner. He was prepared to surprise whatever it was that was stalking him but he was surprised himself.

A woman was standing next to one of the lilac bushes that grew next to the house. She was holding a cluster of the flowers in her hand and was pulling the petals off one by one.

"The flowers, they're all wilting," she said softly.

"What are you doing here?"

She looked up and the waning moonlight glinted in her dangerous eyes.

"He loves me, he loves me not," she said and continued to pluck. "He loves me," she said and threw the petals in the air like confetti. Some landed in her hair but she paid no mind.

"The moon, it whispers to me, pssst, pssst, pssssst, it told me where you were."

Spike looked at her coldly.

"You left me for a fungus demon, Drusilla. You're not who I want to see."

"No, I'm not, not yet. But when the cold man plucks the chip out of your head, then you'll want to see me. Things are changing," she said. "Soon everything will be different."

He noticed that she had a purse dangling from her wrist. Drusilla opened it up and took out a pack of cards. She plucked one from the middle and handed it to Spike. He looked at the card. It had a picture of a heart hovering over a castle and emanating rays like a sun.

Drusilla started to wander off, singing softly under her breath.

"Wait, what does this mean? Drusilla!" he called.

She turned and smiled and did a little dance.

"Love is in the air," she said.

"Where are you staying? You know if the Slayer catches you that she'll kill you."

Drusilla walked away.

Dawn blamed what happened next on Professor Snape. If he hadn't set an assignment about the uses of aconite, then she never would have been in the Restricted Section of the library that night with Harry, Hermione and Ron. She wouldn't have been so bored that she decided to take a walk and stretch her legs. Dawn was walking down one of the aisles when one of the books fell off the shelf at her feet.

The book had fallen open to a page. Dawn looked down and read; "Ashwinder eggs are used in the most potent love spells, along with…" That's when Dawn had the idea. A love spell was what she needed! Not a major one, just one to make Harry notice that she was alive. Dawn looked at the book that had practically flung itself at her. Its cover was made of a greasy, red leather and it was called Fair and Foul: Love Spells in Theory and in Practice.

Dawn took the book to a secluded corner of the library and began to read. After about half an hour she found what she wanted.

"A Spell to Turn the Eye

Ingredients

-A heaping scoop of frozen ashwinder eggs, ground to a fine powder

-Two ginger roots, one carved in a likeness of you, the other carved in a likeness of the desired

-A small pinch of lovage

-One peacock feather

-Personal affects of yourself and the beloved. A photo will work but something off of the body is better

-Red string

-A rose quartz

Stoke a fire with the frozen powdered ashwinder eggs. Tie your beloved's personal affects onto their poppet with the red spring, and yours onto your poppet.

Toss the peacock feather into the fire and say—

"Make me the most beautiful in his/her eyes,

Blind him/her to me."

Start binding the two poppets together with the red string until you've wrapped one third off the poppets together.

Toss the rose quartz into the fire and say—

"Romantic love, his/her heartstrings ties,

Bind him/her to me."

Continue wrapping the poppets until another third is wrapped.

Toss the pinch of lovage into the fire and say—

"Confusion, half truths, not lies,

Bind him/her to me."

Finish wrapping the poppets together.

Toss the bound poppets into the fire and say—

"While so bound he/her won't be wise,

Bind him/her to me."

Allow the fire to burn out. It will leave behind a glittery, pink-tinted residue. Sprinkle this over your beloved while they sleep and when they wake you will be all they will see!"

Dawn returned to the table where Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting. Ginny had also joined them, and much to Dawn's annoyance, was sitting next to Harry. She had the book under her arm and hoped they couldn't read the title.

It didn't look like they were working on potions homework anymore. There was a map of the United Kingdom spread in front of them and there were several black "x's" in different spots.

Ron and Hermione were sitting next to each other, holding hands, and poring through a huge book.

"Turn the page, Ron. There it is," Hermione pointed to a column. "It says that the property switched hands in 1956, and again in 1989. It's an office—"

Hermione jumped when she saw Dawn standing there.

"Hey, Dawn. Hermione is helping us with muggle studies," said Ginny smoothly.

"Oh, ok, well I'm really tired, I'm going to go," said Dawn.

She hoped that she sounded calm, her heart was pounding. Dawn collected her things and left. When she was safely out of sight, she took out the book and a piece of paper. She opened the book to the page, said "Effingo," and pointed at the paper. The spell was copied onto the blank piece. Dawn left the book on one of the tables and left the library quickly. She had a plan, now all she had to do was carry it out.