Note: I do not own or claim to own any content or character's borrowed from Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Angel or The Dresden Files. Both belong to their respective owners.

Set sometime after Season 7 with some elements from the Season 8 graphic novel (so spoilers if you are reading them). For the Dresden Files set sometime after Turn Coat.

Harry needed a beer. He needed several beers. The house how ever was empty. Being a Warden might pay but it didn't pay as well as Dresden would have liked. Same went for being a private detective. Course it didn't help that half of his business seemed to come from a fairy who had power over him and the other half seemed to come from women needing a knight.

Sure he made ends meet. He was paying his rent and most of his bills were covered but some months, months like this there was the odd time where beer was a luxury that could not be easily afforded. And it was always those months when he needed the beer most.

Earlier today Luccio showed up to deliver the file sitting on his desk. He had not seen the Captain since their affair had ended and he had found out that she had been under a compulsion when she began it in the first place. Things between them were still strained. And if that alone hadn't been enough the file on his desk certainly would have been.

He had thought things had come full circle when he had taken an apprentice. After the death of his father Dresden began to learn magic from his uncle. A very dark warlock. When Dresden's uncle had summoned a creature from beyond the veil Harry managed to fight it back and managed to kill his uncle in the process.

After he had been sparred and become McCoy's apprentice he spent much of his adult life being trailed by a Warden named Morgan who made his life living hell. It was Morgan's job to know when Harry might have been turning dark and Morgan's job to kill Harry should he break so much as one of the Laws of Magic again. Something Morgan took great delight in.

Now Harry's assignment was to tail one Willow Rosenberg. Self professed warlock in recovery. He was her Morgan.

Difficult in itself for someone who was a magical thug, not exactly gifted as his student was with veils.

Then there was the content of the file. Little was known about Willow Rosenberg. Most of the information they had was information that had been volunteered by her Council of Watchers. Most of it was likely heavily censored. Some of the more recent information was observations from her previous Wardens.

Her crimes on record were trying to end the world and murder. Based on the meeting they had a few days ago and her group's reaction to Willow's forced attendance Harry had the feeling the only reason the White Council had found out about those crimes because one watcher Rupert Giles had felt the need to contact a Council Member at a Coven in the U.K. to gain access to some magic to stop the girl when she went off the deep end.

After that she fell from the White Council's radar. The attempts to find her had been called off as Warden's got called into deal with the Vampire War. And more political attempts to get her had been tied up by red tape by her very powerful friends.

"Bob what can you tell me about Hellmouths? Angelus. The Watchers Council and Slayers." Harry tried to massage his headache away.

"To stay away." the skull from the book shelf warned.

And that headache just kept getting worse and worse. "I was passing a book store earlier. I saw that they had some new novels on sale. You're telling me that with everything you know that you can't get information on this."

"Harry. The best information I can give you is to stay away. They're dangerous stuff and you don't want to be messing around with any of them. Hellmouths are exactly that. They are places where the veil between the great beyond is weak. They are not place for vacations. They aren't places that should be visited. Messing around with a Hellmouth is stupid stuff even for you. That's before you add the rest of the list"

"Got no choice on this one and it's got Hellmouths, Slayers, vampires and a tall blue Outsider"

"The best information I can give you is to turn the case down and walk way Harry. Nothing they can offer you is worth it."

"It is an assignment."

"What in the world would the White Council want with a Hellmouth? And an Outsider? No forget I said that."

"Bob" Harry was quickly losing patience. He needed information and most likely the skull sitting on a shelf talking to him would have the answers.

The skulls sigh spoke volumes "Fine but when you get killed do not blame me for this. Hellmouths are parts of the world where the gate is weak. Traditionally they are guarded by a Slayer. One girl born in the world with the power to protect it from the forces of evil. The energies given off draw darker creatures and weaker ones are twisted by it."

"And the Watcher's Council? How are they involved in all of this?"

"Harry what are you dealing with? What is your assignment?"

Bob the skull was silent for a while after Harry had finished catching him up the recent events at the meeting and some of the file information. "They want you dead."

"Someone always does."

"Traditionally the Watcher Council trains slayers."

"Traditionally?"

"A few years ago something changed. There isn't much information on it that Spirits have. All I know is something got passed the gate. It was here for a period of time with out form, with out shape, just evil. Suddenly it was gone, the hellmouth in Sunnydale California was gone and there were more slayers than ever"

"Rosenberg." Dresden simply stated.

"Rosenberg"

"My assignment. Her file said that she was involved in a battle with the Slayer the end result was that Rosenberg magically activated every potential slayer in the world"

"She? What does she look like?"

"Red hair, pale about this tall" Dresden used his chest as a measuring point. "Why do you have something on her?"

"Breasts were they large? Did she have curves? Would you have said she was more elfin or more voluptuous?"

Harry grabbed an empty box and put the skull into it "I'm thinking a week in a box, no books, no going out"

"Harry! Give me something to work with, when was the last time I got to see a beautiful woman around here?"

"Useful information now or the lid goes on and I will forget about you. No more trips out. No more novels"
"I just. I don't have much more information to give you about the Watcher's Council. Just after the hellmouth was destroyed a new group took over. We can't get anything on them. Everyone knows there are there. The building leaves such an impression that it burns in the nevernever and you can see it in the spirit but you can't get anything from it. They have invested in serious wards."

"See if you can dig up something, anything. Now how about Angelus."

"Vampire but not like any you have dealt with before. Order of Auralis. They defected from any of the courts a long time ago. At his peak him and his childer cut through Europe leaving devastation and blood in their wake."

"How did he get connected with a witch connected with a slayer?"

"Now that's where this story gets juicy. Seems some how he killed a Gypsy princess and the clan cursed him with a soul. Guy is on a huge redemption kick."

"And the blue woman? The Outsider?"

"Well what did she look like?"

Harry started to close the lid on the box having enough of the antics.

"No! No! Not like that! A description so that I can try and place her! There are a few blue coloured Old Ones I need more information."

"I think the witch called her Illia"

The lights in the skulls eyes flicked out and then back on. "Illia. You are sure it wasn't something more like Illyria?"

"There was a lot of noise and chaos. It was something like that. Why is that bad?"

"Is that bad? Is that bad? Is that bad he asks me? Is an original demon and old one who was so powerful she still has worshippers today among the humans a bad thing to get tangled in? Yes! It's bad! It is very bad! It is going to make Mab look like a cake walk Harry.... Harry were are you going?

"That's it. I need a beer."

As soon as he got out his front door he saw his red headed assignment standing on the outside of his wards bickering. "But sir I could have got us closer, the wards here aren't that strong"

Harry bristled at the comment against his wards. His wards were plenty strong to keep all sorts of things out these days. Sure he lacked a hearth but they were good strong wards.

Rashid let his rich and warm laugh bubble over "It would have been very rude and unsettling. While you may be able to pass a hearth and retain much of your power it would have an effect on me. This was for my safety. If we had spooked young Harry he might have acted with out thinking and if some harm were to happen to think of what your friends would have done to me."

"Oh... right so we go up and what knock?"