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Upon returning from England, Willow went to the library. "Giles," she called out. "You here?"

"What happened to your hair?" Cordelia asked. "A slight accident with hair dye? What are you trying to do? Prove that you're colorblind? And you were doing so well with emerging from that fashion victim look you were trapped in."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Cordelia." She sat down despondently, resting her head on the cool desktop. "No accident, just a result of my foolish, American heedlessness."

"What?" Buffy asked, gently touching her white hair. Though unbelievable, it was really real. Willow's hair no longer shone like blood. Now, it was like a pure snowfall.

"Apparently, if I use too much magic, this is what happens. It's where I store my reserves," she replied, taking comfort from her friend's touch.

"I let you leave our sight for a few days and this is what happens. They turn you into a punk," Xander teased, entering the room. "For shame."

"Should we restrict your circle of acquaintances?" Oz asked.

Giving them a weak smile, she sat up. "Is Giles here? I'd only like to explain this once."

"Explain what, Miss. Rosenberg?" They knew that voice.

From their various positions in the room, they turned in startled surprise towards the door and stared at Kendra, the second Vampire Slayer. Beside her was a man they did not recognize. Tall, dark skinned, and splendidly built with a large aquiline nose and deep-set eyes, he bowed regally towards them. Willow rose and bowed with the others, even as Buffy asked the question on all of their minds.

"Kendra? What are you doing here? And who is this?"

"This is my watcher, Mr. Sam Zabuto." Kendra gestured to each of the group in turn and introduced them-by name and title. "Buffy Summers, the Vampire Slayer. Willow Rosenberg, Apprentice Witch. Cordelia Chase, the Fashion Maven. Xander Harris, the Best Friend. And Daniel Ozborne, the Werewolf."

"People call me Oz," he quietly contradicted.

"Quite an eclectic group of students you gather around yourself, Miss. Summers. Do you not find that it interferes with your slaying duties?"

"Nope, find that it suits me just fine," she replied, tensing.

Mr. Zabuto nodded, keeping his opinions to himself. "Where is your watcher, Mr. Giles?"

"Right here, Mr. Zabuto. I did not realize that the two of you would be making a stop here after you visited the Council," he said, entering the room. Glancing around, he stopped and stared in wide-eyed shock. "Willow, what have you done to yourself?"

"Magic," she softly replied, sitting down. "Let me give you all the low down."

Knowing this might take some time, they gathered around the table and sat down. Giles was about to secure the library doors when Amy came in. "Did I miss anything…nice hair, Willow."

Weakly smiling, she waited until the doors were locked and Giles had joined them. The last thing they needed was for anyone to interrupt them. Though still unsure of their place, Kendra and Mr. Zabuto sat with them. In the center of the table, Willow placed a thin, gray stick.

"This is my wand. Yes, I know it looks dead. It was made of dead things. Professor Snape says that's to best protect me here in the Land of the Dead. As for my hair, well that's a bit difficult. See, I'm an ambient mage, which means that I call magic to me, not learn it from books and spells like other wizards do. While I can use a wand to balance and focus my powers, they don't come solely from it. Somehow, I call the magic to me and it comes, storing itself in my hair instead of my blood alone. Well, at least the reserves store themselves there. The magic that I need to use instantly, flows through my blood and mingles with my natural powers. We haven't yet figured out where the source for them is, though Professor Flitwick-he teaches charms at Hogwarts and is a plant mage-tried to do so. Professor Snape is stymied as well, though he fears that my foundation is the Hellmouth itself. I worry that that might be the case myself since there seems to be no magical roots in my family.

"Though Mr. Ollivander, he's the wand maker and generally creepy individual, seems to think that I should be able to find out my magical heritage easily. He believes that it's important, he hinted about it while searching for my wand anyway. I think Headmaster Dumbledore-who is the principal of Hogwarts and really freaked me out-is going to do some research to find out what exactly is going on there. Hopefully, I won't prove to be related to anyone in that world, otherwise I may have to move there and go to school. Which would be really bad because there is this guy who sorta died but only he didn't and he's back. His name is Lord Voldemort. Well, that's what he wants everyone to call him anyway. He seems to think that there's a possibility that I'm Harry's mother, the one he killed some fifteen years ago. Honestly, do I really look old enough to be his mother?" she ended, looking around.

Mr. Zabuto stared at her, then stood up and leaned closer. "I do not believe you breathed more than once during that whole speech. Are you quite human?"

Staring up at the big, black man looming over her, she felt her life flash before her eyes. "Uh-huh."

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"That would be a little sample of Willow speak," Xander said, glaring at him. "And back off, you're scaring her."

He straightened and looked at Giles. "You allow these children such freedoms?"

"They are no more children than you or I, Mr. Zabuto. If anything, they are more adult than many in the Council claim to be. Already, they have saved the world three times. Do not be so unwise as to lightly discredit them," there was a slight warning to his voice. His posture clearly revealed that he was upset by the way the other watcher dismissed his kids.

"Alohamora!" Someone shouted and the door unlocked, Harry peaked around it and widely smiled in relief. "Oh, good. You are here, I was afraid I might have to search the cemeteries trying to find you, something that would tick Professor Snape and my godfather off. Professor Lupin wants to see you, Buffy. Something about helping him prepare a few lessons for his Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Said you had some updated information on vampires."

"Who are you?" Kendra demanded, but she restrained herself from rising to attack him. Though she was a slayer, this was not her call. As she and her watcher had decided, this was still Buffy's calling and she was there as aid. Besides, she remembered well her last time here.

"That's Harry Potter, my would be son," Willow wryly said. "He's also the Boy Who Lived with quite a prophecy in the future."

"Not another one of the butt ugly things," Buffy groaned.

"Yes, another one of those things that someone who died prophesied about ages ago," she snarked.

"Actually, Professor Trelawney's not dead. She may be loonier than a fruitcake but she's quite alive," the boy who lived muttered.

"Oh, a Dru wanna be," Xander quipped.

"Trelawney?" Mr. Zabuto asked. "Granddaughter of Cassandra Trelawney? While she is not quite the seer her grandmother was, she is not bad. It was Cassandra who in vision revealed to us the reason behind our visit to you."

"Which is?" Giles prodded.

"The end of the world," the other watcher flatly stated.

"Again?" the teen-agers chorused. "But we do this every few months."

"Look on the bright side, Buffy, it means evil has no creativity and will never be able to stun you with any plan of true brilliance," the witch shrugged. "I mean, seriously, they always try to conquer the world and they always fail. I wonder, do they sell their brains when they go evil, thus justifying the memory loss?"

"Willow," Giles warned. "While I appreciate humor, please keep the levity down."

"Sorry," she traced a pattern on the table.

Turning to Mr. Zabuto, Giles began to ask him questions. "What did this seer tell you?"

"Cassandra Trelawney informed us of this Lord Voldemort that Miss. Rosenberg mentioned in her long winded explanation. You may or may not be aware of this, but Mayor Wilkins has tapped into ancient powers. He has long sought immortality and is, in fact, his own grandfather. At some point in the near future, this Lord Voldemort will come and propose a union between them. Lord Voldemort desires the demon connection that Mayor Wilkins will bring to their alliance. Mayor Wilkins will benefit from the union by the simple fact that Lord Voldemort will bring forth the powers that will allow him to transcend the boundary of mortality to true immortality."

"Lovely," Xander muttered.

"I do not find it so," he stated, staring at the young man contemptuously.

"I suppose sarcasm is to hard a concept for you to understand," he retorted.

"Xander, please," Giles rubbed his forehead. "Any specifics?"

"None that I would be able to explain easily. What we knew for sure was that we should be here, offering you our added support in this coming trial."

"It's going to be that bad?"

"I would envision that it will be much worse than anything we have yet experienced. All that we have studied about what the Mayor intends to do reveals that opening the Hellmouth and human sacrifices will be the prevailing theme. But as it has only happened one in our history, sources are very slim on how to stop his ascension once it has started. What I do know is that he will need to have an eclipse to access the full extent of the powers available to him."

"Do you believe the mayor will join Voldemort?" Harry asked, resting his head on him hands. "I mean, even if he helps him get what he wants, he loses his ability to chose his path. He will become a slave to the Dark Lord. What kind of trade is that?"

"When Professor Lupin asked you to get Miss Summers, I do not believe that he intended you to stay and have a nice, long chat with them."

"Probably not, Professor Snape. But he never said I couldn't, either," Harry replied with a cheeky grin, knowing that he was not pushing things at the moment. There was interest in Snape's eyes after all.

"Cheeky brat," he muttered.

"And you are?"

"Professor Severus Snape, Mr. Zabuto," he coolly introduced himself, inclining his head fractionally.

Though shocked that the dark man knew who he was, he didn't let it show, turning instead to Giles. "Is this practice of non-watchers walking into your chosen area of working quite normal?"

"Quite," Giles answered. "Buffy, you may go with Harry now."

"What of her duty to patrol the streets?"

"Chill, I've got it covered. Oz?" Buffy asked the werewolf.

Shaking his head, he replied. "No possible risings that I was able to find."

"Thanks. Will, you ready to go?"

She rose, "I'll see you tomorrow, Xander. Cordy. Amy. Oz."

"Sure, Wills."

Cordelia got up, "are you sure you're okay?"

Definitely surprised by this unexpected concern, Willow couldn't speak for a moment. "I'm getting there."

"What?" she defended herself, stung by their looks. "I'm allowed to show concern for someone other than myself, aren't I?"

"Of course, you are, Cordy," Xander soothed. "We're just not used to it."

"It isn't your normal mode of being," Oz commented.

She huffed, leaving the room. Xander rolled his eyes, before following her.

Amy spoke up then, "Will, do you want to stay with me?"

"Nah, I'm fine in the mansion," she gasped. "Oh, that's right. You don't know about that."

"About what?"

"My staying in the mansion with them," she explained with a shrug. "Professor Snape, Harry Potter, this is Amy Madison. I told you about her, remember?"

Severus turned his intense study onto the dark haired witch, who trembled under it. There was something about this man that made her think he could see into her very soul. "Yes, you mentioned her in passing to Professor Lupin when he asked about the cheerleader trophy. Something about its moving eyes, I wasn't quite listening."

"They know about my mom?" Amy whispered, horrified.

"We know all about every witch who practices dark magics," he warned, letting them know he heard her. "I hope that you have ceased to practice such things. They never end well."

Confronted with the penetrating dark eyes, she could only nod. "Yes, sir. I learned my lesson after a disastrous Valentine's Day spell."

Stifling a groan at what that could possibly mean, he thinly smiled at her. At least the girl showed some common sense, even if it had been rather late to stop such foolish spells of love. Bothersome magic. "That is good to hear, Miss. Madison. Your family line is rather strong in what some naively refer to as white magic. Do not let them down."

"I won't," she fervently said.

"See that you don't. May we leave now?"

Buffy turned away from her quiet discussion with Giles and nodded at him. "Lead on, oh, mighty scowling one." With a flagrant wave of her hand and mocking bow, she was the first out the door.

Harry and Willow chuckled a little before following her.

Severus let the comment slide by. In his estimation, it was marginally better than what the students had been saying about him for years.

It was more creative, at least. All the Hogwarts students seemed capable of was throwing the same gossip and stories about him around. It often became…wearisome to be thought of as a vampire.

"Your slayer needs to work on her attitude. She shows no respect for you or her calling."

"Stuff it," Giles snapped. "My slayer is exactly as she needs to be. It's you and the Watcher's Council who are sadly out of touch with the reality of what we deal with today."

"And what is that?"

"A world were the demons are far better prepared than we are. They do not fear to use the new technologies that have been invented. This world we deal with is far more dangerous to the slayer and us. We need to change with the times if we ever hope to continue with our sacred duty."

Kendra kept silent, but she knew from experience that Mr. Giles was correct. The world was changing and they needed to change with it.

"You train your slayer the way you see fit," he stiffly said. "Leave my slayer to the tried and true methods that have always worked for us."

"They work only because the slayers haven't had to deal with a truly active Hellmouth on a nightly basis," he sighed, yielding because he had no desire to fight about this His battles with the Council wearied him enough as it was. "But I will say no more on the subject. You will do what you think is right. Amy, please, don't play with that. It looks dangerous."

Amy dropped the wand, flushing guiltily. "I was just looking."

"Well, try not to touch it. What I know of wands isn't excessive but what I do know is this-that the wand chooses the wizard, not the other way around. I don't know what it'll do to one it doesn't rightfully belong to," he warned. "It might not affect you at all-or it could cause you a world of harm merely by handling it improperly. I suppose I should put that in a safe place. Only I haven't the faintest clue of where one would put a wand."

Oz rose and pocketed it, knowing that there was no danger in him touching it. Professor Lupin had told him that much. "I'll take it. I should talk to Professor Snape about his potion anyway."

"Potion?"

"He makes Professor Lupin a potion that helps during the transformations. The professor wasn't able to explain it fully but it seems to put the wolf to sleep." Occasionally, near the full moon, Oz tended towards loquaciousness. It still had a tendency to surprise Giles.

"What has that to do with you?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Professor Lupin seemed rather surprised to find out that I changed three nights out of the month and have experienced no pain at all. I expect he thought that it would help me in some manner. He probably would've suggested that I talk to Professor Snape about it if he hadn't been so startled."

"Why would that surprise him? He is a werewolf, isn't he?"

"I believe that werewolves in the wizarding world are different in that they change only once during the cycle of the full moon," Mr. Zabuto offered.

"That was what he told me," Oz confirmed. "I should be on my way. We have a rehearsal tomorrow and I'd like to make sure that all my safety precautions are in place. That earthquake we had might've caused some damage to the cell and I'd rather know while I can fix it rather than after I've hurt someone irreparably. Or killed someone through honest ignorance."

"I'll go with you," Amy eagerly offered, wanting to get away from the two strangers. It wouldn't have been so bad if she knew more about them but as she didn't, she felt uncomfortable with them-especially after Snape's words. "There's a few things I'd like to find out from Willow."

Watching them go, Giles asked the visitors if they had a place to stay.

"The Watcher's Council has arranged for us to stay in a hotel," the watcher replied. "We shall be here in the morning before school begins. I should like to see where you train Miss. Summers to perform her duty in peak condition."

"You are already in our training area," he informed him.

"You are joking."

"I am not," he dryly said. "The council does not hold any place here, therefore, I work with what's available."

"Then I shall have to make due with this limited space," he dourly said. "Come along, Kendra, we shall return to our rooms after performing a sweep of the area. I wish to see how well you perform in this environment."

"Yes, Mr. Zabuto." Rising, she nodded her good-bye to Giles and followed her watcher out of the room.

777

"Miss. Summers, I feel that I must warn you about Professor Lupin," Severus began as they came into view of the mansion.

"I know that he's a werewolf. I could feel it," she interrupted.

"But he is not a werewolf like Oz," he pointed out. "As a wizard, his wolf senses are more advanced and in tune with the world about him. He will sense the threat in you. He will sense that you are a superior hunter, a superior warrior. In other words, the alpha in the world that the wolf part of him inhabits, so he will be subservient to you."

"What?" she asked in disbelief. "Willow, is he saying what I think he's saying?"

"He's saying what you think he's saying," she dutifully replied.

"I have to assert myself as the dominant warrior over him?" Buffy semi-asked.

"Not really assert," he hedged for a moment. "Professor Lupin is in charge. But some of the behaviors he shows will be the wolf's. He won't meet your eyes. I doubt he will confront you directly. Any questions he asks will be indirect and spoken in a way so as to not bring attention to himself."

"So what do I do?"

"Try not to make him feel threatened," he replied calmly. "That's about the only advice I can offer for now. The best person to ask would be Sirius Black. They have been friends for years and there is no other living soul who knows how to handle him when he's near the full moon."

"But he's just a wizard, right?"

End, Part Seven.