Cool Bean: Thank you for reading my whole story! Now, as for the content of your reviews...
1. As you will see, having read more of the story, many of your suggestions have already happened, if not in the way you thought. I won't make Henry leave, because that's already been done in other stories, and I need him here. I like Henry.
2. I can't believe I missed that. I have to fix it.
3. I'll tell you the same thing I tell everyone when they ask for Puckabrina: it's coming. Slowly. If I make it any faster, it'll be OOC.
4. Mr. Canis and Mr. Clay are the same person, via book six.
The wedding day arrived, and with it, the house grew utterly hectic. Sabrina dressed quickly in the same gown she'd worn for the back to school dance and sat down on the front porch to make sure the weather would be perfect.
Baba Yaga joined her a few minutes later as she sat there with her eyes closed, thinking warm, cheerful thoughts.
"That's enough of the happy." Baba Yaga said crankily. "Get rid of the humidity and the rain."
"I'm working on it." Sabrina said absently, working to keep herself calm and not mentioning that the sky was perfectly clear. "It'd be nice if the weather wasn't tied to my emotions."
"I can't do much about that now." Baba Yaga said. "Suppose we ought to have worked with that one a little more."
"Well, it's better." Sabrina said. "I mean, I can tell where the storms are, and there aren't any around here. Probably won't be unless I get angry or someone spells something. I don't know what to do to get rid of humidity. And I'm still not very good at controlling my emotions."
"I'd suggest thinking dry thoughts and avoiding Puck." Baba Yaga said.
"That should go so well, since our seating assignments are next to each other for the reception." Sabrina said wryly. The humidity got noticeably lighter.
"It worked!" Baba Yaga said. "Just keep concentrating on the weather and make sarcastic comments!"
"This is totally the most professional way of working magic in the world." Sabrina said. "And this is why I have to keep those shields up."
"You've gotten stronger." Baba Yaga said as the irritating humidity almost completely disappeared. "Without your mental shield, everything you felt would probably effect the weather, not just your strongest emotions."
"Wonderful." Sabrina said. "As if I didn't have enough crazy powers to worry about. I mean, seriously. Two or three superpowers is enough for one girl."
"Just wait until they start disappearing." Baba Yaga said. "Then you'll wish you had them back."
"With my luck, they'll go away as soon as I get used to them, and right when I need them, too." Sabrina said.
"All right, that's enough dehumidifying." Baba Yaga said. "It's getting a little too dry now. Put your shields back up before you start a fire."
"Yes, ma'am." Sabrina said, complying- mostly. She kept a bit of her mind aware of the weather around her, just to make sure nothing went wrong.
"Hey, Grimm." Puck said, walking onto the porch as Baba Yaga reentered the house. "Wassup?"
"Just working on the weather." Sabrina said, looking up at him. She snorted. "Nice suit."
"A little dry, isn't it?" Puck asked.
"And you just made it more dry." Sabrina said. "You and your suit."
"What does my suit have to do with it?" Puck asked.
"Mostly the fact that I made a sarcastic comment." Sabrina said. "May I point out that my mood is what affects the weather, unless I've got my shields up? Apparently sarcasm and dry air go together."
"So if I wanted it warmer-" Puck said, leaning in very close to Sabrina, who blushed.
The temperature rose, then fell abruptly as Sabrina pushed Puck away from her, a chilly look on her face.
"No." She snapped. "I'm not letting you mess with my moods today. It's their wedding, and I have enough trouble controlling my emotions as it is."
"Fine." Puck pouted playfully, then looked up. "Do I really affect your emotions that much?"
"When you get right up in my face with your garlic breath, yeah." Sabrina said. "Go brush your teeth."
Puck rolled his eyes and reentered the house.
"Way to avoid the question." Bella muttered.
Sabrina spun around and gasped. Bella had been sitting in front of the open living room window, painting her nails. As Sabrina blushed, the air grew warmer again.
"You saw that, huh?" She asked.
"Yeah." Bella grinned. "Why didn't you tell him you liked him?"
"Because I'm not you, and because he doesn't like me that way."
"He sure looked like it to me." Bella said, not looking at Sabrina. "In fact, if I didn't know better, I'd say he was going to kiss you."
"He wasn't." Sabrina said. "He was just messing around. It's Puck. Messing around is what he does."
"Still..." Bella said, putting the finishing touches on her left hand and holding it back to admire her work. "I wonder what would have happened if you hadn't pushed him away."
"Nothing, except the weather might have gone haywire." Sabrina responded.
"Girls, are you done?" Veronica asked through the window. "It's time to go."
"Right." Sabrina said. "Can I fly, or do you want me to take the car?"
"Car." Veronica said. "There's been some rumors of Scarlet Hand activity. I don't want you getting hurt."
"All right." Sabrina said, though sometimes she doubted the Scarlet Hand was going to do anything this summer. All the rumors had turned out to be just that, rumors.
"Guys!" Veronica called. "Everyone in the car!"
"Briar's already there, right?" Daphne asked, running out of the house in the general scramble to get to the minivan before all the seats were taken.
Veronica nodded as she, Henry, Sabrina, Puck, Daphne, Red, and Baba Yaga all ended up in the minivan. Bella looked on mournfully, climbing into the jalopy with Granny Relda and Uncle Jake. Sorry, Sabrina mouthed. Bella shrugged, and the two cars left for Friar Tuck's chapel.
When they arrived, they were immediately ushered inside by the photographer, an Asian boy Sabrina had seen in one or two of her classes.
"Everybody get together!" The photographer called.
"Do I have to?" Puck was complaining to Granny. "I'm technically not a member of your family."
"Jake?" Granny asked.
"Get in the picture, Puck." Jake said absently, looking at Briar, who, in her yellowish white dress, looked absolutely splendid and more beautiful than usual.
"She gives you a run for your money today." Daphne told Snow.
"Thanks so much." Snow muttered dryly.
"Sorry." Daphne apologized, embarrassed.
Snow laughed a little. "It's true. But try to learn some tact, Daphne."
"People!" The photographer called, "Get in the photo!"
The photo-taking lasted for a good hour, and then everyone was finally able to either sit down or go to the room where the final preparations for the wedding were in progress. Sabrina sat in the second row and watched Briar walk down the aisle, a bouquet of roses in her hand. She had a look on her face, as if she'd finally reached her greatest happiness, like nothing in the world could be better than that moment. And when she kissed Uncle Jake, the utter rapture on their faces made it hard for Sabrina to look at them. It felt like she was intruding on something so special and personal, she was stealing something. Even Puck looked respectful for once.
And suddenly it was over, and everyone was heading back to the house for the reception.
"That was nice." Daphne said with a smile. "Hey, are they going on a honeymoon?"
"I don't think so." Sabrina said. "It's not like they can really leave..."
"So they're just coming home?" Henry asked. "Don't they want a night to themselves?"
"They're in the attic." Veronica said. "That's about as private as you can get in this house."
"Is everything set up for the reception?" Red asked, changing the subject. "Decorations, weather, food...?"
"Yes, ask Sabrina, and yes." Veronica said.
Sabrina was checking the weather at that very moment and said absently, "It's a little too warm for some reason... Especially close to town."
"So fix it." Puck said nonchalantly.
"It's not that easy." Sabrina said icily, and the temperature dropped.
"Apparently it is." Puck grinned at her.
"Well, I made it cold here, but I don't know if it did anything outside the car." Sabrina pointed out as Henry pulled into the driveway.
"Not that it matters." Daphne said, getting out of the car. "If it's warm somewhere else, you can just fix it when you get there."
"Or here." Red said. "Since there is here now."
"Whatever." Sabrina said. "It's not too warm anyway, so it doesn't matter."
"Come on." Veronica said. "It's time to set out the food."
She led the way into the kitchen, and the others followed her, all of them exiting again a minute or two later, laden with food. They set it on the buffet table, then went to their seating assignments, which everyone had worked on for hours to keep enemies from sitting next to each other, because just because two people weren't in the Scarlet Hand, that didn't mean they didn't have some old feud, and it took a good deal of diplomacy to keep them from ending up anywhere near each other.
The guests began to arrive, and the reception quickly developed into a lively party, though there were a few issues with the weather, which kept fluctuating. This embarassed Sabrina, which just made the temperature go up even more. Puck enjoyed making Sabrina react, and Red quietly dubbed him the thermostat, much to Daphne's amusement.
The party was in full swing when it all went wrong.
Sabrina first noticed the impending tragedy when the heat she'd felt earlier crept closer and closer to the house. She tried to fix it, but the strangely solid clumps of warmth refused to change their temperature. Next, a speck appeared in the sky, far off, but getting closer and larger by the second.
By the time Sabrina realized what she was seeing, and, more importantly, could believe it, it was too late. The attack was upon them.
"Dragons!" Sabrina screeched, and dozens of others took up the cry.
One of the dragons landed, and off of his- her? Sabrina couldn't tell. Whichever. Off the dragon's back stepped a tall, thin fairy woman.
"Mab." Puck whispered in Sabrina's ear. "Queen of Fae."
Briar was staring at Mab in horror, and Mab, noticing her gaze, smiled cruelly at her.
"You didn't invite me to your wedding, dear." Mab said. "And you know how I hate not being invited to things!"
She raised her hands, and the dragons lifted off again, dropping their riders to the ground, some of whom had only been half off. They picked themselves off the ground and began to attack the guests.
They almost didn't have to, the dragons were wreaking so much havoc. They crushed plants, knocked over furniture, and, most of all, burnt things.
Daphne screamed in pain as the trees caught fire, and Sabrina's head whipped around. She cursed herself for leaving her sword in the house, and the temperature rose. That was no good. She concentrated on calming herself, trying to bring the temperature down.
"Worry about the weather later!" Puck shouted, holding a lawn chair and trying to fight off a Scarlet Hand member.
Sabrina was searching for something to fight with when she caught sight of the dragon heading for the house. She shot her hand out, a reflex reaction, and was shocked when she saw the barrier form around the building, appearing almost effortlessly.
"That's my girl!" Baba Yaga cackled, fighting from inside the chicken-house, which had appeared out of nowhere. Her voice suddenly magically amplified, she called, "Everyone inside the house!"
Sabrina manipulated the barrier almost instantaneously, ordering it to let the wedding guests inside. She turned back to the fight and concentrated on the earth beneath their feet. She yanked at it, and it complied, shaking, making all those who couldn't fly and some of those who could lose their footing instantaneously as everyone fought to get to the house.
Baba Yaga was shaken from her house in the commotion, and it reached the inside of the barrier before she did. Daphne was safely inside, as was most of the rest of the family. In fact, only Baba Yaga, Briar, and a few stragglers were left outside the safe zone.
"Not this time, girl!" Mab shouted from dragonback, steering the beast towards Briar. "I failed to kill you once, I won't do it again!"
Mab and her dragon were headed for Briar, and time seemed to slow down, all by itself, without Sabrina's assistance. If she'd been paying more attention, she would have seen Baba Yaga, the only one close enough to do anything, look at Daphne. She'd have Seen Daphne, tears already flowing down her face, give a nod of confirmation. And she'd have seen Baba Yaga smile grimly and nod back before turning to Briar and shoving.
She shoved Briar so hard she nearly flew several feet, and had time to scramble up and run into the safety of the barrier before Mab's attention turned away from Baba Yaga.
The dragon, to be honest, couldn't care less who it burned, so long as it was destroying something. So despite Mab's shouts of, "What are you doing, you fool? We want the princess! The princess, not that hag!" It continued on its path, and the fire that was already forming in its belly shot out, surrounding Baba Yaga in flames.
When the smoke cleared, everyone not in the Scarlet Hand was inside the barrier, and the dragons were flying off, the humans in the Scarlet Hand calling rude things at the others from the backs of their dragons.
Sabrina didn't wait until she was sure they were really gone to run out to where Baba Yaga had been, nor did Mr. Clay or Briar. The others followed after, and everyone not actively in the Scarlet Hand had effectively congregated in the Grimm's front yard to see the witch and find if she was dead.
"Girl." Baba Yaga croaked.
Sabrina looked at her, overjoyed that she was alive, despite everything, despite the fact that her flesh looked like an overcooked marshmallow, despite the disgusting scent of cooked meat that wafted off the old hag's body.
"We'll fix you." Mr. Clay whispered. "I'll get jake, he'll-"
"No." Baba Yaga said. "I'm dying. Nothing will save me now, not the strongest magic in the world. So listen close. There's a will in the house, under the left cushion of my couch. And Canis- or Clay, whatever you're going by these days- I love you, and I always..." She trailed off, and her eyes closed. She breathed out, and never breathed back in.
Sabrina and Mr. Clay stared down in horror, and Sabrina was utterly embarassed to find tears running down her cheeks.
"Hey." Puck whispered, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Shh, shh."
Sabrina let out a sob, and turned into Puck's chest, crying openly in the front yard of her house, surrounded by the burning wreckage of what had once been a forest, standing next to the body of a woman who she'd been more fond of than she'd realized. And as she cried, the rains came. The clouds drew in from all directions, coming from miles away, and the skies cried with Sabrina.
Mr. Clay stood simply staring at Baba Yaga's body.
"Old friend." Granny said, putting a tentative hand on his shoulder.
Mr. Clay shook it off angrily.
"I know what you're going through, you know." Granny said. "I've lost my love, too."
At that, Mr. Clay turned and cried into Relda's shoulder, mourning the only woman he'd ever loved.
Not everyone cried, of course. There were quite a few who were glad to see the old hag go, for she had never been fond of people, nor they of her. But the animals and the Grimms, they mourned for her, and if Baba Yaga was watching, she would have been utterly shocked that anyone cried for her at all.