"Mr. Giles, please come in, come in!" Joyce waved Giles in – not noticing his gaping mouth – too occupied with the unexpected guests in her home.
"Ah, Headmaster Dumbledore…?"
"I apologize, Rupert. After we received the news – I'm afraid some of us were a little too anxious to wait any longer."
"Oh?" Joyce paused even more, caught off guard now. "You all know one another?"
"Ah yes, in fact –" Giles paused, eyebrows pinching together; he was feeling a headache coming on now, "That was one of the main topics of discussion I had planned for this evening."
"Oh?"
Clearing his throat with a polite hum, Dumbledore lifted his hand, gesturing to all in the entryway, "Wouldn't it be wise to make introductions first, don't you think, Rupert?
Giles stuttered, his cheeks changing in color, feeling like a schoolboy again, "Quite right, so sorry, Headmaster."
Buffy was holding her breath the whole time the introductions were made.
When the black-haired man stepped forward, reaching out to shake her mother's hand, Buffy felt woozy.
"Sirius Black," His voice was rich and smooth, matching his profile perfectly. "And might I add, what a lovely home you and your daughter have here in Sunnydale."
"Thank you, that is very kind of you, Mr. Black." Joyce paused, feeling left out of the loop about what was happening but continued being polite. "But I can't take too much credit, however. We moved in a little over a year ago, and most of the furniture and décor came with the home during the final closing. Only our bedroom furniture and the living room furniture are what Buffy and I chose for our fresh start here in Sunnydale."
"Still," Sirius nodded to Joyce, taking another glance at the areas of the home that were within his view. To him, it was the perfect American home – charming both outside and inside. Oozing with care and comfort, not overly large but not cramped either. Far different than his childhood home. It felt stable. A proper home for a child to grow in.
Joyce smiled in response, turning towards the blonde standing by the front door, "Buffy…?"
"Yes, mom?" Buffy stepped forward, coming closer to her – fully aware she was only steps from her biological father.
"Why do I feel that whatever – "Joyce waved to the four strangers – "is going on, is something you are in on? And that whatever it is, is something that I will not be overly pleased with?"
"Ummm…." Buffy grimaced, not knowing what to say.
"I'm afraid your daughter is just as taken aback as you are, Ms. Summers." The father Christmas Dumbledore's of the two Dumbeldore's said – covering for Buffy. "You see, Mr. Giles here is a former student of mine. I was his Headmaster at the boarding school he attended while in his youth in northern Scotland," Joyce squinted, unsure what that had to do with them being here, in her home. "It is also the same school your daughter's biological parents attended."
Joyce gasped – hand flying up to cover her mouth.
Giles' shoulders slumped forward, pinching his eyes closed in dread.
Buffy froze, forgetting how to breathe.
It remained quiet for just under a minute. The only noise being heard where the few random cars driving past the house, clearly going over the speed limit of 25mph, with the woosh coming from them as they passed.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Joyce –" Giles stepped forward, holding the vanilla envelope up in his hands for all to see, "– I had just gotten the results faxed to my office in the library from the Sunnydale hospital this afternoon. It is why I had phoned to meet with you and Buffy tonight.…." He felt sick delivering the news to her this way. "They had been notified by a hospital in London, St Mungo's, of a D.N.A. hit."
Nerves shot up Joyce's spine.
Her hand blindly searched for Buffy's wrist, gripping it tightly to ensure her daughter was still by her side.
"And what did this D.N.A. match conclude?"
"That Buffy's biological father and great-grandfather are still alive…."
Joyce glanced at the black-haired man and felt ice wrap around her heart. Fear coated every vein in her body.
His eyes and his face were too like her daughter to not be her father. The eyes were nearly identical in shape and color.
Sirius stepped forward, seeing the fear travel across the woman who had cared for and loved his daughter as her own all the years when he couldn't…. he wanted to calm her fears and let her know that she had nothing to worry about. "Please don't be alarmed." His hands raised calmly before him as if dealing with a spooked animal ready to strike at any moment. "I – I only want to get to know her and be a part of her life as much as she and you will allow me to be."
"I…." Joyce huffed, stepping a few steps back till her legs hit the large sofa chair, dragging Buffy back with her – Buffy allowing it – taking the seat on the chair's large armrest next to her mom. "How….? Why now?"
It had been two hours since they laid the bomb on her mom.
There had been a few times Joyce had raised her voice but quickly apologized after, letting them know she wasn't angry at them but with the situation that this was now putting her and, more importantly, Buffy in.
Buffy had been sent to the kitchen by her mother – under the protest of Sirius – but her mom wasn't having it, saying that certain matters needed to be discussed with the adults first, and then Buffy could come into the discussion and decide what she wanted to do. That was just after the bomb of magic and the Wizarding World was accidentally dropped in by Sirius.
Thankfully, Joyce handled that better than she did when first learning of Buffy being the Slayer. It was still cringe to watch her mother take in the info of a new world filled with magic, but much easier to digest when you know that vampires and demons already exist, as well as your daughter being the chosen one to fight them. Buffy did her part of acting surprised when the Wizarding World was mentioned; she didn't want her mom to be more upset that she had learned of this 'world' a few weeks prior, along with her friends. Especially since Buffy had promised once the Slayer secret was out in the open that she wouldn't keep major things from her mom in the future.
Xander and Willow had arrived shortly after Buffy's banishment to the kitchen – she had forgotten to call them to annex their plans.
However, Joyce was reviled seeing her daughter's two best friends on the other side of her front door when she opened it for the third time that night. Relief was evident when she saw the two teens standing there with sodas and chips in their hands, ready to have a fun and innocent night with her daughter. Joyce quickly ushered them in and directed them to the kitchen, knowing Buffy was most likely getting antsy alone.
"Wow!" Willow huffed, nibbling on a chip from a big party bowl Buffy had opened and put them in when they arrived, "Talk about dropping by unannounced!"
Buffy sat across from them on the bar stool at the kitchen island, nodding in agreement.
Xander hummed, "But ya know, maybe it's a good thing?" Both girls turned to look at him with unamused looks, "Because ya know….," He paused, fidgeting under their unwavering stares, "Ripping off a band-aid kind of thing….?"
"Maybe…" Buffy groaned, laying her head down on the cold kitchen counter.
A few seconds passed before the talking in the dining room quieted, and they could hear footsteps coming towards them, entering the kitchen from the den's doorway behind the staircase.
"Buffy?" Joyce softly called, looking slightly more relaxed than she had when she first sent her daughter to the kitchen.
Buffy stood, almost tripping over her feet in the process. Her Slayer grace was clearly lacking, anxiety filling her up, "Yea, mom?"
"Would you like to come into the discussion now?" She asked, reaching out to her daughter, "Willow and Xander can come too?"
"Really?"
"Really," Joyce nodded, "A bit of extra support can't hurt." She looked at three, "Besides, I'm sure whatever is said in there will be told to these two, word for word, as soon as you get the chance," a smile tugged at her lips, watching the teens in front of her. The three of them were as thick as thieves and had little to no secrets between them. Joyce ushered her hands in an 'up' motion, waving them towards the den pocket door, which had been slid open by her just moments before. "In fact," Joyce hummed, wrapping her arm around Buffy's shoulders and pulling her in for a side hug, "It could make things easier for you to have them by your side, honey."
Willow gulped loudly, standing beside the two Summers' women while Xander eagerly yanked the potato chip bowl to him, nestling it to his chest like a newborn baby.
"Really, Xander?" Willow slapped the boy's shoulder.
Xander shrugged, stepping back from the redhead, defending himself, "What? It's comfort food!"
Buffy was staring at the open door before her, not moving. Joyce knew what she was doing and gave her daughter a small nudge, silently encouraging her to get a move on. Willow and Xander followed the duo, shuffling behind slowly, glancing at one another anxiously, nervous at how this impromptu conversation would affect their friend and their lives.
Entering the den, they took in the scene before them, having a full view of the dining room table in front of them where all the adults were sitting.
Giles was sitting at one end of the table, the seat beside him pulled out, where Buffy assumed her mom had been sitting just moments before. Sirius and Remus on the other side, sitting directly across from her Watcher. Lastly, the two Dumbledore's sat between the group, one next to Sirius and the other at the far end, at the head of the table; both older men looked cool, calm, and collected as if they couldn't feel any of the tension that was bouncing off the walls in the room.
Giles stood when they entered the room, moving over to Joyce's previously occupied seat, so mother and daughter could sit next to one another. Willow sat on the other side of Buffy, gripping her best friend's hand underneath the table. Xander sat beside Willow at the last open chair, it being the opposite head of the table chair from one of the Dumbledores.
"Eh, gentlemen?" Joyce nodded to the men, clearing her throat with a small hum, "These are Buffy's closest friends, Willow Rosenburg and Xander Harris." She nodded to each teen as she introduced them, "I thought it would be easier on Buffy to have her two best friends at her side for this meeting."
Father Christmas Dumbledore agreed, "And who are we to deny the comfort that friendship can bring to one's soul?"
Joyce nodded, thinking to herself, not for the first time that evening, how odd this man was.
Buffy gulped down her nerves, setting her eyes on her father, who, to no surprise, was already looking back at her. Buffy took the lead, raising a single eyebrow, "So, I'm just going to state the obvi here since there's no denying our similarities... you're my father, yea?"
Sirius felt his heart stutter, nodding his head slowly as his eyes continued to pierce into hers unblinkingly, "Yes, eh – Sirius Black." He paused, head tilting, taking in her facial features before him. There was so much of him in her, minus the blonde hair. "And you must be Buffy."
"Yep…" She nodded, lips pressed tightly, "That would be me, the renowned Buffy Summers – formerly Lyra Black, to all of you, at least..."
"Your mother told us that she had first fostered you from an adoption agency in Los Angeles before officially adopting you a few years later?"
Buffy nodded, feeling a little off balance. Even though the news of her being adopted was given to her months prior, and she had come to terms with it for the most part…, it still was surreal to her at times. "Ahhh yea, guess I was just left there in the middle of the night, or something whack like that. My mom said the clothes I arrived in looked like I survived some sort of explosion or something. The onesie was all crispy and dirty, like burnt food! The Social Worker who worked with my parents gave them a small box of the things I arrived with."
Those who had not known this information prior stiffened in their seats, now having confirmation that she was indeed still in the house that night and in the crib with Harry when the attack had occurred.
"Do you still have those items?"
"Um yea, they're up in my room…" Buffy turned to her mom. "Should I go get them?"
"Yes, Buffy, I think that may be helpful."
Buffy nodded, standing from her chair, glancing at her father before power walking out of the room and running up the stairs to her room. It was uncomfortably quiet in the dining room with the blonde gone – minus the loud crunching from Xander with the bowl of chips.
"So," Remus hummed, hoping to make polite conversation to end the dreadful silence in the room, "You two are close to Buffy then?" Remus asked Willow and Xander, smiling at the two teens. The redhead was currently scowling and rolling her eyes at the boy as he shoved another mouthful into his mouth.
"Oh!" Willow jumped in her seat, turning to the man with the light facial scars, "Me? I – um, I mean we – us?" She rushed out, pointing between her Xander, her hand fidgeting some. Remus smiled kindly, hoping to ease her nerves while nodding his head. Willow nodded eagerly in return, unable to find her voice.
Xander gulped down the chips, taking in a large gasp of air, puffing his chest out proudly. "Yea, Wills and I go way back with the Buffs! Like WAY back!"
"Didn't Buffy and her mother move here only a year ago?"
"Well, yea," Xander's shoulders dropped some, "But I mean, we've been there since the very first day!"
Willow stood straighter in her chair now, "And it's been over a year and a half since they moved here!"
"Yea, that's right!" Xander proudly nodded, taking a single chip from the bowl and tossing it in his mouth, staring down Remus.
"And that doesn't make our friendship any less great than someone who has been friends for decades!"
"Now, now, Willow, I do not think there was any harm meant by that!" Giles chimed in.
"Oh."
"No, I certainly did not mean to offend either of you." Remus nodded in agreement to Giles' comment, "I just find it admirable to achieve such a strong bond that you three seemed to have with one another in such a short time."
"Well, Xander and I have known each other since we were five." Willow paused, "But things were just natural and easy with Buffy when she arrived at Sunnydale High at the start of sophomore year."
Xander nodded, "Yea, it's like she was missing amigo to our 'Three Amigo's'… We had Jesse, but he always came and went – trying to get in with the popular crowd more than with us…. And then, ya know, Buffy came, and then he went again – but this time for good."
"Did he move?" Sirius asked, speaking up for the first time since Buffy had left the room.
"No, he uh – he um…. Well, you see – "
"He got turned into a vampire when they tried to set the Master free during the Harvest!" Willow burst out. "They had taken both Jesse and me at first, but Buffy got to us in time and saved us, but then Jesse went a different direction when we were running away and got caught when Buffy was still fighting and then got turned!"
"Seriously, Will?" Willow turned to Xander with a deer-in-headlights look.
"So, this Jesse friend of yours, he's…?"
"Dusted," Buffy answered, walking back into the room.
"Dusted?"
Xander nodded, "Yep, stake through the heart, and boom, dust!"
"Anyways…" Buffy returned to her chair, the old dusty box in her hands. "Here it is." She set it down in the center of the table, pushing it towards her father.
Sirius slowly reached for it, pulling it closer to him and removing the lid from the top, taking the box's contents in. Everything he recolonized as items he had gotten Lyra when she was a baby – everything except for one item,
"What in the name of Merlin…."
He picked up the old rune necklace, running his fingers over the runes.
He had seen the necklace before, but it was ages ago, back when he was a child, before his Hogwarts years. It was an ancient Black Family heirloom. How it ended up with Buffy when she was transported to L.A. was beyond him…. but once he turned the locket, it opened and inside were the initials R.A.B. and in tiny, barely readable handwriting 'what's lost is to be returned, upon locking the lock, and the correct timing of time.'
"Wait!" Buffy huffed, arms crossing over her chest. "How did you get that opened? I couldn't even get it to budge, and I have slayer strength!"
Sirius only glanced briefly at his daughter before looking towards the other wizards in the room, uttering just a single word to them.
"Regulus."
Sorry for the slow update, I've been very busy with my new life in NYC, with the new job, social life, and dating... I promise, I'm trying to find as much time as I can with getting chapters done! Just hang in there with me!