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Harry had been in a fowl mood since last night when he received a letter from his wife Ginny. The letter had basically been even more ultimatums because she didn't want Harry involved with beings less than her. This emotionally boiled Harry's blood. He wondered if Ginny knew what this was doing to him. Did she really think ultimatums would bring him back? It was the last straw. He decided he wouldn't deny Ginny any other happiness but he was never going back. In the end, if she wanted a divorce he would give it to her. He had found that living on his own, while a bit lonely, was actually a new and good experience. Just talking to new people whether they were magical or muggle was fun and interesting, This whole event was triggered by a reporter who spotted Harry in a muggle restaurant having a conversation with road workers on their lunch break. While the news article was favorable; Ginny was appalled and embarrassed that her husband would associate with such grubby looking people.
He thought that if there was going to be a separation in the near future; he would make assurances that he could live a comfortable life as divorce was unheard of in the magical world. He had made his way to Gringotts bank and began the paper work so that he could take some money for himself. After figuring out what cash he had in the bank he split the saving in half. Quite generously considering she did so little in life. She had basically been living the life of a queen as the Potters had money power and prestige. The Potters were living off the product endorsements. Other witches and wizard treated the wife of Harry Potter like royalty. She had five house elves. Three to do all the house work and two to attend to her needs. Harry had his personal elf and he didn't even want it. Teepee was just a sore reminder of Dobby. Beside, if he wanted an elf he still owned Kreature. All he had to do was call him and he would come to him all the way from Hogwarts. But Ginny had insisted on keeping up appearances and wouldn't let Kreature any where near the house.
So now he'd transferred his funds to a Swiss bank because Swiss banks were so secure and magical as well. However, they were run by wizards instead of goblins and allowed for both muggle and wizarding money to circulate through the institution. To say the goblins were miffed was an understatement; the profit they were losing on the money transferred was quit substantial but they could say nothing about it. The bank was close to closing for the day as he left. He made his way to the leaky caldron and went up to his room. He thought of how mad Ginny was going to be when she realized what he had done. "Oh well, it was her own damn fault." He thought.
/Scene break/
Down stairs in the Leaky Caldron Willow and Hermione arrived to pick up Luna Lovegood.
"Whew!" Hermione said as she swayed a bit.
"Are you alright?" Willow asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just that continental side-long apparition takes a lot out of you."
"Why didn't you just make a port key?"
"Well, actually, all the portkeys I've made for Guardian Council have been illegal. Portkeys are regulated by the ministry and you have to apply for them. If I were caught, I'd have to pay a hefty fine. If they knew I'd been giving them to non magicals I could be put in Azkaban prison. I can't afford to make any more at the moment because I may become a blip on the ministries radar."
"All right then, I'll drive home." Willow announced.
"I won't argue."
Luna was obviously running late. So, they decided to take a private booth and get some drinks of an alcoholic variety.
"Do you trust me?" Hermione asked Willow.
"Of course," Willow stated because Hermione hadn't really done anything to betray that trust. Except taking her to a porn shop. And of course, the Knight Bus thing was scary. And while the roller coaster in the bank had been fun; it occurred to her Hermione never warned her about it. "Wait a minute, why did I trust her again?" She thought.
Tom then came over to take their order.
"Give us a bottle of Felecia's finest fairy wine and two, no, make that three glasses. We're waiting on a friend."
"Coming right up." Tom said
"Fairy wine?" Willow asked.
"It's my favorite. Felecia Faraday's vineyard is taken care of by fruit Fairy's. They fly all around the vineyard. They won't pick entire bunches. They pick each grape one at a time once they reach their peak of perfection."
"Sounds like a long hard process,"
"It's all done magically and just as fast as an automated system could do. I took a tour once. The fairies really enjoyed their work. They get overly excited when they find the ripe grapes."
Just then, Tom came back with their order and opened the bottle. Hermione poured for both of them. Willow took a sip. She found it really tasty.
"This is really good." Willow couldn't help but comment.
"Just be careful, Wizarding drinks have a lot more alcohol than the non magical variety." Hermione warned.
"I'll keep that in mind. I can tell you a lot about demons but I've never seen real fairies. What other creatures do you know about?"
"Umm, well let's see. Hippogriffs…"
"You mean those things that are part eagle, and part lion? They're real?"
"No, that's actually a Griffin. A Hippogriff looks part horse and eagle.
I've rode one. His name was Buckbeak. But Griffin are real as well."
Willow looked at her wide eyed and slack jawed before asking., "What else?"
"Unicorns."
"No way! Really?"
"Yep. And since, we're on the subject of magical creatures; I should warn you that it's considered offensive to think let alone ask to ride on a centaurs back."
"You're making that up! Right? I mean I wouldn't know if you were pulling my leg or not. So, you're not having fun at my expense are you?"
"Certainly not, you bought the book called 'Magical creatures and where to find them' I suggest you look them up. I also have another book called the monster book of monsters that I can lone you, you might be interested in."
"What kind of monsters?"
"There's the Acromantula, they're very dangerous."
"What are they?"
"Giant spiders the size of automobiles."
"I never want to meet one of them. I hate spiders. They give me the creeps."
Hermione smiled but said nothing about it as she went on. "There are Demont…"
Hermione's train of thought was interrupted when a few people walked into the bar. Hermione looked livid.
"What's the matter?" Willow asked.
"Don't look now but my ex-boyfriend just walked in."
"Is there going to be a problem?"
"Only when he finds out he's my ex-boyfriend."
Ron spotted her and tried to duck behind his friends but, it was far too late for that maneuver.
"I don't believe it. He's actually tiring to hide from me." She told Willow then stepped out of the booth to face Ron. "Ronald Bilius Weasley. Just what do you think you're doing?"
The whole bar went quiet.
"Ah… Just… trying to… sneak up and surprise you. Umm… surprise, I'm back."
"You've been gone since January."
"I wrote you letters. You never replied." He said.
"I wasn't going to read what was undoubtedly a frivolous work of fiction. I've been in touch with the world Quidditch association Ron. They told me that you don't get to be in on any of the strategy meetings. That your test scores in both strategy and in quidditch as a whole were far to low and that the possession you have is more of a mascot. This allows you, as one of the golden trio, to get season passes to all the games, while raking in on product endorsements."
"Well, it's all I need, really. I mean yes I would have liked to have a place on the team but they made me see that the best place I could be was where I am now."
"So then, why did you lie to me?" She asked knowing full well why.
"Because, I didn't what you to think any less of me." He lied looking at his feet for effect.
"Any less of you?" Hermione said appalled. "So then where have you been since January if you haven't been to meetings."
Ron fidgeted. He really didn't have a believable answer. He had to think of something quick. Perhaps something that would appeal to her personal favorite past time. "I've been doing research… Yeah… I've been researching certain endorsements I've been looking to…endorse."
"Would that be Madam Sexton's house of wholesome women in Amsterdam or Jenny's sack shack in Holland?"
Ron felt like he was hit in the face with a sandbag. He had been extremely careful not to be seen in any of the local brothel instead he tried brothels on the big continent so he wouldn't get caught by the press or worse, Hermione. Somehow, she had found out. He had to fix this quickly.
"I don't know what you heard or who…"
"Save it Ronald! Your entire family knows it and I took it upon myself to track you down. I followed you right to their door. I know what you've been doing. And any idea you had pertaining to us is over."
"But they didn't mean anything to me; they weren't you. You can't just give up on us."
"You weren't faithful to me Ron. There isn't an 'us' anymore. That was gone when you shared a bed with the first woman you paid to have sex with."
By this time, Ron was fuming not just because he knew he had lost Hermione but because she was airing their dirty laundry in public. She was going to pay for that. He would have to try and make her look so bad that she drove him to this.
"Well…what did you expect Hermione. You're more than a bit of a cold fish, aren't you? You never let me do more than kiss you and cop a feel every now a then."
"Well excuse me Ron, but I had thought that you would have expected more from your bride. I thought that on our wedding night you would have liked to take your new wife's virginity."
"Your va… Wha? You mean… No. You couldn't be."
"Of course, I am you idiot. You know for a fact that I have never been with anyone else. I was just waiting for you, but that's not something I want anymore. I should never have taken you back the first time you betray me."
"Lavender Brown means nothing to me." He said.
"I knew it." She said triumphantly. "I thought you might have known how much you hurt me back then. But you played it off like you didn't know I liked you or that I thought we weren't a couple back then. I tricked you and you walked right into it."
"Well, the other time doesn't count. I was under the cures of the locket when I left."
"The locket would only read your mind searching for your insecurities. So, it could whisperer them back to you. Harry and I wore that thing for two whole days before you got it and three hours later you..."
"Shut it Hermione!" Ron shouted trying to keep the details of his most dishonorable moment from being shouted across the bar.
"You ran, Ronald! Of the golden trio, you're the boy who ran."
"I said shut it!" He said, his voice a mixture of panic and rage.
"You ran because we had to live in the wilderness with very little in the way of comfort and food. Two things Ronald Bilius Weasley can never do without."
"Hermione, I'm warning you." He said in a low growl.
"We were all cold and hungry and you couldn't live a moment longer without your mothers home cooked meals and sleeping in your own warm comfy bed. So, you ran from us, from the quest. All your life you wanted people to look up to you as a hero but when you were given the chance you failed…miserably."
"But I came back,"
"Yes, you came back six weeks later."
"I tried to come back the moment I apparated away. I couldn't find you."
"It's more likely you wanted to come back because you knew if you went to the burrow alone your family would have been ashamed of you. Then you probably remembered that they were being watched, so going back would have been suicide."
"I came back to you as soon as I could."
"And I lowered my self-respect to take you back, a second time, damn you!
I won't do it again; not for a glory seeking cowardly mama's boy."
"You bitch!" Ron shouted as he pulled his wand. The spell that came to mind was very dark. Had Ron been in his right mind he would have known that once cast, there would be no turning back. He would be on the run as a dark wizard. Luckily, he never got to cast the spell as a familiar voice yelled "Expelliarmus!"
Ron was knocked to the floor and his wand went flying. He turned to see Harry there at the staircase his wand pointing at him.
"Harry? Stay out of this Potter!" Ron warned.
"I told you a long time ago Ron that if you ever hurt my sister I would fillet you alive. You're just lucky I never researched the spell. I'm warning you now that you won't be that lucky next time because right after you leave with your tail tucked between you legs I plan on looking it up."
Willow may have been uncomfortable before but after hearing this proclamation she was more so. It brought back so many bad memories of what she had done. She hoped filleting wasn't a common practice in the wizarding world. She drank down her glass of wine in one shot. She wished it was something stronger.
"She's my girlfriend, so, she's my problem." Ron warned again.
"I used to be your girlfriend! I'll never be your girlfriend ever again! So bugger off!" Hermione yelled with uncontrolled vehement in her voice.
Ron had a defeated look on his face. He nodded. He slowly got up off the floor and walked calmly over to his wand and picked it up. He headed for the door. But it was a ruse; he wasn't going to leave peacefully. Hermione made him look bad in front of a lot of people. He was going to teach her and Harry a lesson they'd never forget. The next moment, he spun as fast as he could ready to cast a few curses when a petrifying curse hit him in mid spin causing him to keep turning from his own momentum. A turn and a half later he was falling into some stacked chairs. The force of the fall was very hard. Being frozen with his arm extended allowed it to get tangled in the chairs breaking the arm in two places and snapping his wand. The last two fingers of his other hand were jammed hard into the floor before bending backwards and fracturing.
Harry and Hermione looked to who cast the spell. There standing by the fireplace stood Luna with her luggage which consisted of an over night bag and her old school trunk.
"Hello everyone," She said in her dreamy voice as she stuck her wand behind her ear.
"Hello Luna, it's good to see you." Harry said enveloping Luna in a hug.
"Hello Harry," She said canceling the petrifying spell.
Noticing the luggage Harry wondered where she was going. "Are you going on safari to look for one of the quibblers notorious beast?"
Willow watched as Tom the bartender roughly pulled Ron up. Ron moaned as he held his arms to his chest.
"Actually, Hermione's new friend Willow offered to put me up at her place for a while because it gets ever so lonely at the rookery without father there." Luna replied.
"Oh, well that's… perfect." He said smiling, "There are plenty of people there. I'm sure they'll make you feel right at home."
Tom guided Ron into the fireplace. Willow thought that was an odd thing for him to do. He then took some kind of powder from a bucket that was set off to the side and threw it at Ron's feet while at the same time yelled Saint Mongos. Ron was enveloped in a green flame and disappeared.
"Willow seems nice. So, if the rest of the people are anything like her it should be quit enjoyable." Luna stated
"Umm. Harry, Luna, Is it alright that the barkeep threw Ron into the fireplace and burned him up?" Willow asked.
"Relax Willow," Harry said with a little laugh. "It's just another form of travel called the floo network."
"Oh! I think you might have mentioned it once." Willow said in realization.
"Did you happen to see which way Hermione went?" Harry asked
"She went to the ladies room to splash some cold water on her face." Willow replied.
"That's understandable," Luna said.
"So will you be ready to leave?" Willow asked
"Actually, I was hoping that Harry and Hermione would give me an exclusive on what just happened here. It would be ever so embarrassing if the only other wizarding newspaper in London were to get the scoop on this story. Their top reporter has just run out the door no doubt heading for the Daily Profit. Would you be able to help me with that Harry?"
"You know what Luna, I'd be happy to." Harry said.
"As would I," Hermione added coming from the direction of the restrooms.
"I'll need to go back to the rookery to change the front page. It should only take an hour."
"Can I come?" Willow asked. "I'd love to see how a wizarding newspaper is put together. I worked on my high school news paper for a week before I decided I was better suited for the computer club. But while I was there; I found the actual process of putting a paper together fascinating."
"Sure, I'd like to share it with my friends. I think it'll be fun." Luna replied.
"I'd never realized how much work goes into making a newspaper. I'd like to see it as well." Hermione agreed.
"Well, that makes three of us." Harry interjected.
So, Willow was shown how to use the floo network. However, when she got to the rookery she practically fell out of the fireplace and into Hermione's arms.
"Wow, that's a wild ride."
"Yes, it does take a few times to get use to. I'm sure you'll get the hang of it in time." Hermione encouraged.
They were in the kitchen Luna was putting the kettle on to boil. Harry finally came through the floo. Luna asked them to have a seat at the table and got the serving set out.
"While we wait for the water to boil; I thought we could start the interview if that's alright?"
"That's fine Luna." Harry and Hermione agreed.
"While you're doing that do you mind if I make a call?" Willow said pulling out her cell phone. "I need to tell my friends we're running late."
"I'm sorry Willow that won't work; there's too much magic here." Hermione said.
Just then the cell phone played its ring tone. This shocked Harry and Hermione. Willow shrugged before saying.
"It's a Council phone, it'll work anyplace." She replied and said 'Hello' before walking to the next room for her privacy and theirs.
"Hi Dawn, I'm sorry I'm running late. There was an argument between Hermione and her ex that got out of hand. Then the newspapers were all over it. So, we came to Luna's house so Hermione could give Luna an interview to be printed in tomorrow's paper. Luna said we should only be an hour."
"Well, can you tell me what she likes so I have an Idea of what room to put her in?" Dawn inquired.
"I just met her Dawn and right now she's busy."
"But you're in her house right? Maybe, you can look around and get an idea."
"I'm not snooping on my friends Dawn!"
"I'm not asking you to. I'm just asking you to look at your surroundings and tell me what room she might like. Or better yet just ask her what direction her bedroom window faces and I'll stick her in the appropriate room."
It was then Willow noticed the open door of what was obviously Luna's bed room. Willow saw the beautiful mural of Luna's friends painted on the ceiling. She instantly knew they were her friend because Harry and Hermione's faces were among them.
"Dawn her room looks like it gets morning light so put her in one of the rooms with an eastern exposure."
"Great, she can have the room next to mine. I'll see you when you get here."
"Alright, bye." She said hanging up. She then rejoined the others who hadn't gotten too far into their story. The water was poured for tea. She sat listening to the tail of how a cursed object tried to split a friendship of three friends. Unfortunately, it seemed to succeed where Ron was concerned. But to be truthful, he seemed to be a bit of an idiot to have cheated on such a fine woman as Hermione. To hear about how much of a glory seeking nitwit he was made Willow wonder what it was that she saw in him in the first place. She was defiantly too good for him.
/Scene break/
The four friends appeared at G.C Cleveland's teleportation receiving room.
"Oooh, this is a pretty room." Luna said.
"Thank, I designed it and a friend helped decorate it. This is the designated apparition room or the teleportation receiving room. If you use a port key, we insist that it is keyed to this room. The wards may rip you apart if you try to materialize anywhere else in the building."
Willow told Luna that the security here is the same as it is in England. Badges would have to be carried at all times. They continued up to Giles office. As they entered the office Willow saw that all the scoobies were there looking through books; something they all did these days. They desperately tried to find the piece of land that wouldn't be sinking into the ocean.
"Good you're all here; I'd like you all to meet my new friend Luna. She's the one who will be staying at the Guardian Council in England."
Willow introduced them to Luna by name. Pleasantries were exchanged after which Willow made an announcement.
"Umm guys, there's something I think you should be made aware of. You see Hermione brought me into the magical world today and it was the most wonderful place I've ever seen. Magic was used everywhere for everything. Brooms were sweeping sidewalks by themselves; heavy things were floated down the street. I saw a man transform his cloths into robes. People would shrink merchandise. Oh and I bought you something you have to try. It's the coolest wizard soft drink called Butter-beer." Hermione reached into her beaded bag, pulling out the merchandise Willow bought. Butter-beer was passed around. Giles looked at it in dismay.
"Willow, I wish you would have consulted one of us before going. Being around so much magic may have…" Giles began but was aggressively stopped from going any further by an unexpected source.
"Shut it right there Mister!" Buffy exclaimed. "You do this to Willow every time she brings someone new home and I'm not letting you trash her rep in front of her new friend without telling them that you've made your own mistakes in the past. So if, you wish to continue ragging on her like that be prepared for the rest of us to air your dirty laundry as well."
Giles was gob-smacked. He never expected any of his children to stand up to him, especially Buffy. Although, maybe, he should have. Had he been doing this to Willow so much that the others have taken notice? Surely, he hadn't done it to everyone Willow had met, did he? He only told her magical friends. And to be threatened to have his mistakes exposed was a serious issue indeed, his reputation was on the line.
"But don't you think…" Giles began before being cut off by Xander.
"No, we really don't. If you ever bothered to listen to her you would have heard her say the goddess effect negates the draw to dark magic's pull. Plus, the current situation is causing her to be unable to tap into enough magic to ever do it again. So, no more trash talking my B.F.F."
Giles looked bewildered for a moment. Then, he looked at Willow. Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears. He still believed he was doing the right thing by warning anyone with a magical background about Willows addiction in case something bad should happen once again. But with the threat of having his own mistakes exposed; he would come to warn them in private in the future.
"Very well, I am sorry for my outburst." He said. But the scoobies knew he didn't mean it because he would have come around the desk and hugged his adopted daughter. Then, apologized to her and only her. This was something he rarely did with Willow these days. They all noticed it.
"So tell us more Willow; what else did you find in the magical world?" Dawn asked as they all opened their bottles with the exception of Giles.
"Well, anyway, butter-beer was the first thing I got to try. We then went into the shopping district where I found a pet shop. They had a lot of cute fluffy animals but it seems that when one of them starts talking to you, you get to take it home free of charge. It means that they're bonded to you as your familiar. If you hadn't noticed her; I'd like to introduce you to my new friend Pyewacket."
Willow went over to the book shelf where her Siamese cat lay in a compact possession sleeping quietly. Upon hearing her name, she was instantly awake and jumped into Willow's arms.
"Whoa, where did she come from? Dawn asked.
"Had she been there all the while?" Buffy asked.
"She's been there since the softball meeting." Willow responded.
"I saw her but I just thought it was a stuffed toy. She's cute." Xander said reaching out and petting Pyewacket who purred from the attention.
"Did you say it spoke to you?" Buffy asked.
"Yes, apparently she may never do it again but by doing it once means we're some kind of human/feline soul mates." Willow said with a smile.
"That's so cool," Dawn replied.
"Then we went to a book store. I got all kinds of magic books, as well as some history books and one about magical creatures. That's one I want to familiarize myself with later. There seems to be all kinds of creatures we never knew existed."
"Like what?" Dawn asked.
"Unicorns and centaurs apparently." Willow replied.
"Oh, I want to see a unicorn. Please?" Dawn begged like a child.
"Normally, I'd say no because they are protected from muggle eyes, but with the up coming softball tournament who knows you might just get the chance." Hermione replied.
"What's this about a softball tournament?" Harry asked.
"It's one of the codes we've been using for the end of the world so the other girls don't get wind of it." Willow announced.
"Willow!" Giles shouted.
Willow jumped wondering what she had done. Was there a mini slayer in the room she didn't know about? Did she just let the cat out of the bag? Then she realized that Giles was nodding to Luna.
"Oh, It's alright Luna already knows she came to us while shopping to ask if she can help. Apparently, she's extremely perceptive. She knows things without knowing how she knows them."
"Extraordinary!" Giles exclaimed. "Does the information come to you in visions?"
"Umm, No sir," Luna began. "As Willow said I don't know how I know the thing I know. One moment I'm thinking about something like nargles and the next I know something new."
Just then Dawn became hysterical, "Oh my gosh! Where! Who has them! Where are they! Get them away from me! I don't want to go through that again! I just can't!" She exclaimed.
"What is it? What's the problem?" Harry asked excitedly.
"Dawn, Dawn, its okay there are no nargles here; Luna was just explaining her perceptions. Calm down. Everything's alright." Buffy tried to calm her sister.
"Sorry about that, we had a nargles infestation around here about two years ago. Dawn was affected badly. Dawn gets very nervous when they're mentioned." Willow explained.
"I'm so sorry; I didn't mean to scare you. My mother warned me that the previously affected will always feel threatened by a possible future infestation. There aren't any nargles here that I know of." Luna calmly said.
"Dawn took a deep breath and calmed down. No, it's alright I…I was just caught off guard. I over reacted. It's just that, that was a terrible couple of months for me."
Willow turned back to Harry and Hermione to see that they each had a Gob-smacked expression on their face.
"What's wrong?" she asked
"But… but nargles don't really exist… Do they?" Hermione asked.
"I beg to differ. Those little demon pests nearly drove my sister and seven of my slayers sisters insane." Buffy argued.
"Wait a minute, you mean that nargles are demons?" Harry asked.
"Yes, they are a demonic form of lice preferring to live in hard wood trees with poisonous berries like holly and mistletoe. They are telepathic but only at a short distance. They first infest your hair and the resulting communication between them gets into your mind. The voices come in whispers and startling unexpected shouts with an underlying sound of insects buzzing. Later you find that the screams you hear are your own." Giles educated.
"It took me a month to come up with a potion that got rid of them. They were gone for a month then the eggs we didn't realize they left behind hatched and the potion had to be re-applied. It was a living hell for those involved." Willow said.
"I'm sorry. We never thought that they really existed. Luna, I'm sorry I ever doubted you." Hermione apologized.
"That's okay, some people don't believe in thestrels until they can see them for themselves and when they can they wish they'd never had the experience that led them to see them in the first place."
"Yeah, I think we all feel that way upon seeing them." Harry confirmed.
"What's the story with these thestreals?" Dawn asked.
"They're a winged skeleton horse that can only be seen if you witness death." Harry explained.
"Then, I'm guessing that there's no one in this room that wouldn't be able to see them." Xander surmised.
"The room became uncomfortable silent before Dawn spoke."
"So what else happened on you shopping trip Willow?"
"Oh, I went into the section that apparently sold dark items to see if there was anything that might be of use to us."
"You went into Knockturn alley?" Harry asked.
"Everything went fine Harry, don't worry." Hermione said calming him.
"Yes and I was able to get these at a descent price. The guy didn't even know what they were." Willow said opening a box with six glass orbs.
"Good lord! Are they genuine?" Giles asked.
"Yes, I can feel the magical signature." Willow confirmed.
"Willow, what are they?" Hermione asked.
"They're called orbs of Thesulah. They are used for ensouling."
It was then that Harry's gob-smacked face lost all color he backed away and sat down on the closest chair.
"Harry what's wrong?" Willow asked.
"When you say ensouling, what do you mean by that, exactly?" he asked.
"Well, we used it to re-ensoul a Vampire. Making him more of a good guy and less of a homicidal maniac."
"Does it have to be a vampire or could it be used on someone with a fractured soul?"
"You mean if a soul is broken or that part of it is somehow ripped apart and left behind somewhere?"
"The second one," Harry confirmed.
"I suppose it could work like that."
Harry had his head in his hands he couldn't believe it. Had he known about this years ago he could have saved himself the trouble of running around the countryside looking for pieces of Voldemort's soul. Without realizing it he began to chuckle.
Giles walked over to him with knowingness in his eyes; He put a hand on Harry's shoulder before stating.
"Your speaking of a horcruxes aren't you? That's what the dark wizard Voldemort had, wasn't it? He was immortal until you found his horcruxe and destroyed it. It's why he was so hard to defeat. Am I right?"
Harry met Giles eye and asked. "How do you know about horcruxes?"
"They are also known outside your world Harry. The Watcher Council knew of them long ago. There had been a few warlocks that were thought to have one. And the vampire Dracula is also speculated to have one."
"Is that why I could kick his scrawny Transylvanian ass but couldn't kill him, he cheated?" Buffy wondered.
"Surprise, surprise, the bad guys cheat." Xander said sarcastically.
"You mean thee Dracula, the one from the movies?" Harry asked
"Oh Harry, of course Dracula is real. He was also known as Vlad the impaler. I've read about him. Hermione stated. But what was he like in person?"
"The legend is mostly hype. Granted the guy had some magic but take that away and all you got is another self promoting vamp."
Again the room got uncomfortably quiet when again Dawn said.
"So, what else happened on you shopping trip Willow?"
Willow looked at Hermione and Hermione looked back with a smile.
"Well, we were having Ice cream when we met Luna. She told us to go see the local wand maker before we leave the alley. He basically told me that because I did some powerful spells in the past I had grown a magical core and am now capable of wand magic. So I got a wand."
The people in the room were stunned. It was a moment before Harry broke the silence and congratulated her. It was Giles who got upset.
"You make it sound like a good thing. This is the worst thing that could possibly happen. Willow doesn't need to have any more magic let alone a magical core. Should she have another meltdown there may be nobody that could match her."
Then the others seemed to snap out of they're trance.
"Dawn do you have your address book?" Buffy asked.
"Right here," Dawn replied.
"Find the number for Buckingham palace. I think the queen should be informed that the head Watcher of the Guardian Council had summoned a demon in his youth to rebel against his father. The demon in question had been on a killing spree for years before I killed it.
Harry and Hermione were shocked at hearing this, Luna looks impassive.
Giles stopped his rant at once, he looked over at Buffy. "I can't believe you just said that in mixed company." He said with anger in his voice.
"Why not, it's not like you keeping your mouth shut about things others have no business knowing. No offense." she said the last part to Harry, Hermione, and Luna.
"None taken," They said in unison.
"You wouldn't call the queen. It would destabilize the Guardian Council's position on a global scale."
"Only until we force you into retirement or we could send you to work in the kitchens if you wanted to remain useful. The point is we won't let you bully Willow anymore. We're sick of it! If you keep doing it you may find yourself in a home for the senile." Buffy said in a deadly serious manner.
And with the rest of the scoobies standing right behind her he knew this could be potentially problematic for him. Couldn't they see the danger? After all these years, Buffy still maintained her devil may care attitude to the most dangerous of beings. Angel, Spike, and now Willow. He wasn't even that sure of Andrew and his techno gadgetry.
They only had Willow to check over his work to tell them it wasn't something that could be used in an evil manner. Yes, Willow was a sweet girl once upon a time but now she's had a taste of the darkness. That kind of magic was most alluring. Willow would have the others believing that the spell that she did to activate all the potential Slayers was so pure that it was a shield against the dark magic. If purity could do that then, Willow would never have turned dark in the first place and regrettably he was the one who started her on this path. He needed to find a way to get through to the rest of them but until he could talk to them individually he would just have to solicit help from behind the scenes.
"So help me Giles, if even one person comes up to us and tells us that you told them about Darth Willow we will retire you and you'll find yourself on the outside looking in." Buffy promised.
The heated quiet lasted almost a minuet before Dawn decided to use the phrase that had been working so well during the course of this meeting.
"So, what else happened on you shopping trip Willow?" She asked.
Willow was shaken out of her own thoughts. She decided it was best to continue her story to relive the tension in the room.
"Well, Ollivander (that's the wand maker) said that I was a first witch or family witch and that while my core is different than Hermione's Luna's or Harry's it works the same way. And the first family thing is because any child I have will have a magical core. The chilled will be able to use wands when they're eleven years old. Not only that, but because I'm a first witch the wizard bank automatically gives me a family vault and five hundred galleons."
"What's a galleon?" Dawn asked.
"Oh sorry, it's wizard money; It comes in Knuts, sickels, and galleons."
"They have there own money. God lord, the wizarding community is bigger than I thought." Giles said bewildered.
"So, five hundred galleons. Is that a lot?" Dawn asked.
"A galleon is equal to ten American dollars." Hermione stated.
"So they gave you five thousand dollars for being a witch?" Dawn asked in bewilderment.
"Actually, it's to eventually start a family and since Hermione signed as a witness I got five hundred more."
"You're going to start a family?" Dawn asked.
"Eventually, if I survive the cleansing; I'm not sure with who but I'm sure that person will be special."
None of the scoobies pointed out the obvious in mixed company. The father would have to be special to give Willow a baby without wanting more from her, unless she was planning on changing her preference in partners but no one could see that happening.
"And finally I want to mention that I'm planning on moving to the England branch to be closer to those who can teach me how to use a wand. So, I can help with research and stuff over there. Of course, I'll still be coming back and fourth for meeting and stuff but at this point I think I can get more done there." Willow announced.
"It makes sense. Do you want some of the Sunnydale slayers to come with you? Since, they'll be the only ones able to help with the softball research." Buffy asked.
"Well, Vi and I work together the best. She knows my system and how to work through the research materials. She mentioned she wouldn't mind living in England."
"Alright, we should be able to send her by the end of the week. How long will it take you to move your stuff there?"
"Well, if Hermione will lone me the use of her bag I can have most of my stuff out of here in a few hours. We can leave with Giles and Dawn."
"Perhaps, it would be best to stay here and work. Dawn and I can send you the materials you'll need." Giles suggested in hopes to keep Willow from this magical world.
"Or I can move right in to the wizarding world where I can immerse myself in everything magical." Willow said sounding excited knowing it would unsettle Giles even more, and knowing exactly what he was trying to do.
"You know America has wizarding communities as well." Luna said helpfully, "Being a bigger land mass, its reasonable to assume that, the wizarding community would be larger."
Hermione decided to relieve some of Giles worries. "Mr. Giles, I think you should be aware that a magical core is rather small and can be used up in no time if you don't use a wand. Wands act as an amplifier so not to tax the core, making magic less addictive. As Willow gets use to using wand magic she will rely on wand-less magic less and less.
"But couldn't a wand channel and amplify the earth magic Willow throws around without regard for the consequences."
"I do have regard for consequences and you know it. The three fold rule still applies, even to me." Willow said hotly.
"Tree fold rule?" Hermione asked.
"Any magical thing I do good or bad comes back to me threefold. Luckily I did enough good to negate what I did back then but I still feel I need to do more good every day in atonement."
"Neither of those will be a problem," Luna announced. "Wands are incapable of channeling earth magic and the three fold rule doesn't apply to wands. So, wands become a really good thing."
"She's right about that, They really are a good thing." Hermione confirmed.
"Very well then, I would very much rather see Willow give up magic all together …"Giles began but was interrupted by Willow.
"Until the next big bad comes along you need a mega witch to help smack it down." She said sarcastically.
"But I see that I'm outnumbered," Giles continued ignoring Willows statement. "Perhaps, learning to use a wand will be beneficial to us all."
Again there was silence, Dawn knew the story was over. She didn't push it any further. It was Luna who spoke next reaching into her satchel.
"I'd like to give you each a free copy of the Newspaper I run. It's called the quibbler. She said handing them out. Willow, Hermione, and Harry help put this addition out. It will be hitting the stands tomorrow morning in England."
"Oh my gosh, the pictures are moving!" Dawn exclaimed.
"Yeah, wizarding photos do that. Isn't it neat? The whole developing process was cool." Willow announced excitedly.
"It says here, you're planning on sending reporters on an expedition to Norway to get pictures of a Crumple-Horned Snorkack. Heck, we can take you right to them. There are three of them living down the road from us." Xander commented, without looking up from his paper.
Lunas large eyes got larger and said, "Can we go see them right now?"
Xander lifted his head from the paper to look at her but noticed the look on her two friends.
"Umm… Harry, Hermione is everything okay?"
"Crumple-Horned Snorkack's are real as well?"
"Um… well, yeah. You guys don't see many demons in your neck of the woods do ya?" Xander asked.
"You just answered my next question about if they were demons or not but to answer your question we mainly see werewolves and a stray vampire or two. While I've seen werewolves; I have never seen a vampire in the wizarding community. As a matter of fact, the first time I had ever seen one was at the night life bar Willow took us to. But it seems you've got Luna all excited to go see these Snorkacks. She's been talking about them since the first day I met her. She just may explode if you don't take her to them soon." Harry said.
"Well we really don't condone the taking of pictures when it comes to demons." Xander replied.
"It was my fathers dream to get a picture of one in the paper. Unfortunately, he died before he could see it. If I could get one in the paper now, I can tell him that I made his dream come true when I eventually see him again," Luna announced.
"Actually, a couple of pictures in the paper probably wouldn't do much damage to our over all secrecy. We may however be able to use the photos in some sort of Watcher's demon compendium." Giles replied.
"Well I guess, I'll have to round up some slayers for protection. I hope you brought your camera." Xander announced.
"Yes, I have one here." Luna replied happily.
"I'll go with you as well." Harry said. "I was top of my class in defense spells."
With that the trio left the office in search of slayer to head up their quest, a short time later, Tru Davies quickly knocked on the door and walked into the room.
"There's a problem. My brother isn't listening to anything you said. He still thinks it's all a big hoaxes and plans to prove it by telling everyone he can about the end of the world. If he does that he'll get his self killed and expose you people. I don't know what to do so I came back here to warn you."
"We may have a solution for it. If it's alright by you Hermione."
"Yes, its fine but we'll have to take him back to Boston. Otherwise, he'll wonder how and why he's here."
"I'll have to go with you then," Willow said. "You've never been there and my magic isn't dependant on knowing the area to get us there. All I need are a few landmarks."
"What do you plan on doing?" Tru asked.
"We know a spell that will erase his memory,"
"Erase?" She asked horrified.
"Only the parts that we don't want him to remember."
"Then, we'll only have to go through this all over again later…or aren't you planning on saving him because of all this!" Tru asked worriedly.
"No, we'll take him, Elisa said that at least half of the Powers want his scrawny little butt saved. So, we'll save it. But, I sure don't want to go through retelling him about everything 'again' and listen to him deny it all 'again'." Buffy complained.
"That won't be a problem. The spell we use works one of three ways depending on wand movement. The first takes memories and buries them deep in your mind and covers them with so much trivial thoughts and memories that it seem like a distant memory. The second buries them under memories of embarrassing moments of your life and traumatic and horrifying experiences so that you wouldn't want to remember them. The last is to turn the memory down like a volume knob till it just disappears and fade away. Those kinds can never be retrieved. As Aurors we only use the first two, during the war we mostly used the last one."
"You said something about getting there by magic? Would you be able to take me as well? I think it would work better if Harrison thought I was there all the while and was just leaving on something job related. Davies will think of something. I'd like to go back to ask Davies about becoming a watcher. Maybe, bring him back here so you can explain the umm… softball tournament." Tru said hoping she used the code correctly.
"That sounds like a good Idea; I think you and your companions will make good additions to our ranks miss Davies." Giles stated.
The group left the office to head for Harrison's hotel when Hermione stopped to ask.
"Do you think we should take Faith? This may be the only time she will get to meet her father." Hermione suggested.
"Believe me, she'll be better off never knowing him. The bastard is as slimy as they get." Tru claimed.
"If Faith wants to meet him we'll take her later; I think we should deal with this problem first." Willow commented.
"It's probably for the best then, let's go."
It took them twenty minutes to get to the run down motel Harrison insisted on staying at. A choice Tru didn't understand. After she knocked on the door it took a minute for Harrison to open it. He was less then thrilled to see his sister's two companions. They were less than thrilled to see the shape he was in.
"Alright what's with these two? Oh wait a minute; weren't you too the supposed witches? What are they here for? Are they going to cast a spell on me?" He slurred as he mocked.
"Harrison, have you been drinking?"
"Just a bottle of scotch, I bought at the corner liquor store."
"But why?"
"Are you kidding? The world is going to end, Tru. There are monsters that want to bite our heads off. Dad cheated on mom. I got another sister I didn't know I had. I had a conversation with my dead mother. Pick one."
"But you told me you didn't believe in any of it,"
"And I don't. I won't."
"It looks like some of his perceptions were affected after all." Hermione stated.
"It's only been an hour since I left him. He drunk the whole bottle by the time I was on my way back to you guys." Tru announced.
"Let's find out what his intentions are; maybe, we won't have to do anything." Willow said hopefully.
"Actually, I think we will. It's obvious that he's on a path of self destruction. He can't handle the truth. I don't think we have a choice." Hermione replied.
"Harrison… hey Harrison what are you going to do about it." Tru asked.
"What part?"
"Any of it."
"I'm going to keep myself stocked up on cheap booze. Maybe some cheap women to pass the time on weekends I'll shout from the roof tops that the sky is falling. The government won't give a damn. Who listens to a drunk anyway? And the rest of the lousy human stinking race can't say; I didn't warn them."
"Delightful," Hermione stated with an air of disgust.
"This is starting to bring back some really bad memories Harrison. This is too much like Meredith. You talking about heading down the same path she did because you're frightened."
"Your damn right, I'm frightened, but I'm nothing like Meredith. She did what she did to get high. I'm going to party night and day until the earth opens up and swallows us whole. I'll enjoy every minute of it... Well, until that last part."
"Well, if you're going to do it then let's do it in Boston." Tru suggested.
"So then, we're going back? But I thought you wanted to be saved with everybody else. What about keeping the gift alive?" Harrison asked.
"Mom said magic finds a way; let it find a new family to jump into."
"Good ole mom, trying her best even in death."
"Harrison, please stop talking and start packing. We'll be outside." Tru commanded not wanting him to say anything further about her mother that she would be upset with.
Outside Hermione and Willow asked if what Tru said about not being saved was true.
"No, of course not. My mother said she was proud of me. I'm not going to throw it back in her face. But you'll still save him right? I mean just because he's scared doesn't mean he's a bad guy. I really don't think he would have made good on his threat of telling people."
"Of course we'll save him; if there's anyone who understands fear it's us." Willow stated.
"Actually, I just did an interview tonight on that very subject and I'm sorry Tru but sometime fear makes you do the worst things possible because most negative emotions have their roots in fear. Like the anger we saw earlier."
The group was silent for a minute before Tru decided to check on Harrison's progress. When she opened the door; they found him passed out on the bed. There was no sign that he even tried to pack.
"And sometimes fear can lead you to do something that would prevent yourself from doing the wrong thing like drinking yourself unconscious." Willow said countering Hermione's theory with a smile.
Forty-five minutes later after they packed Harrison's bags Willow had teleported everyone to Boston. Tru realized that they were only a few blocks from Harrison's apartment. They took a cab there having to pour Harrison into it. The three girls carried him into the building but once they were inside and away from preying eyes Hermione took out her wand and levitated him up to his apartment. Once they got him into his room She then started casting the spell that would hide his memories then another to sober him up and then another to keep him asleep a little longer.
"Well that's that. He'll sleep for another hour barring distractions before waking up on his own. He won't remember a thing. What do we do now?"
"Let's go see Davis and ask him about being a watcher."
So they left Harrison to sleep it off and caught a cab to the morgue. They went down stairs to where Tru worked when she they entered his office Tru was surprised to find a woman at his desk.
"Excuse me, who are you?"
The woman turned to face her and said. "You must be Tru Davies I'm Maura Isles. I've been sent to fill in for Davis. We tried to get a hold of you the past few days leaving messages on your home phone because we couldn't find a cell number. I'm sorry to have to tell you this but there has been an accident. I'm afraid Davis didn't make it. "
Tru felt like she was pulled backwards through a tunnel. The air leaving her lungs as if she were kicked in the stomach. Her heart dropping to the floor with a whole in it. Somehow she stayed conscious and could barley comprehend the rest of what Dr. Isles was saying.
"There was a car accident. A seventy year old woman who had her license pulled years ago when they found she was in the early stages of senility. Somehow she got her daughters keys, and took her car for a mad drive through the city. Davis couldn't get out of the way fast enough. He wasn't the only victim. But he was the only one who died. I'm sorry."
As Hermione helped Tru to sit in a chair Willow dug through Tru's purse and pulled out her cell. Looking through the phone numbers she came across her brother's number and used the morgues phone to call him.
"Hello." He answered groggily.
"Mr. Davies?" Willow asked.
"Speaking."
"This is the city morgue; your sister has just received some bad news and could use your support."
"What happened?"
"It would seem her supervisor has died in a car accident a few days ago."
Davis? Oh god I'll be right down." He said hanging up without saying goodbye. Given the circumstances who would?
It didn't take long for Harrison to get there. Tru had been a mess. She cried loudly all the while she waited for her brother. Willow and Hermione stood to the side and Hermione put a notice me not charm on the both of them. The less Harrison saw of them the better. When Harrison said he would take her home she calmed a bit. She agreed and went to get her coat. Willow and Hermione followed. Once in the cloak room Hermione dropped the notice me not charm.
"So, what are you going to do now?" Willow asked.
"I'll need to stay here for a few weeks to help put his affairs in order, take over here at the morgue until the city finds someone to fill the position permanently." She said in a shaky voice. "Plus, I think I'll need to figure out a lie to tell my brother about why he lost a few days."
"Oh, I didn't think of that one." Willow said.
"I did. I've been trained for it. Tell him you were taking care of him because he was sick and delirious and he wouldn't let you take him to a hospital."
"Yeah, that should work thanks. I'll try to keep in touch to find out what's going on and to tell you when I'll be coming back."
"There's no rush you know you have until December 2012 to be there. If you want to stay here that's fine just get there then."
"Yeah… yeah, I'll let you know."
"Yes and before you go; we'd like to give you our condolences, we're really sorry for your loss. If there is anything we can do let us know. By the way, here's my card and the one for the Council. They have our phone numbers and e-mail."
"Great and thanks. Here is mine." She said pulling out her card from her purse. "Tell my sister I'll be expecting a call from her because I don't have her information. I got to get going I'll talk to you soon. So long and thanks for everything."
With that Willow teleported herself and Hermione back to Cleveland and Tru and her brother walked home.
AN: Sorry for the long wait. Both my editor and I have been very busy I cant say if it will let up any time soon but I'll write and put up chapters when I can.
I like reviews.
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