Rupert Giles knocked on the open door of Jenny Calendar's classroom and she glanced up and smiled at him.
"Rupert? Something I can do for you?"
"Perhaps there is, I need to discuss something with someone who knows the people involved and the particulars and you are that person. But if you feel I am infringing on our attempts at a personal relationship by bringing my Watcher concerns to you, I will refrain from speaking of it."
"Watcher concerns? Do you mean the vampires being gone?"
"It started with that, but what I need to discuss is some issues Willow brought to my attention. Ones that now that I'm aware of them, I find myself very troubled by them and by my lack of previous concern or notice regarding them."
"That sounds serious." Jenny frowned. "Take a seat in one of the desks, regardless of our personal relationship, I'm willing to help you sort through your Watcher concerns. One shouldn't impact the other."
After doing so, Giles brought up his first concern. "Buffy's relationship with Angel is concerning me."
"Only now?" Jenny asked, surprised. "Given how unnatural that relationship is, I'm surprised you weren't concerned before."
"That's just it, I never equated it with unnatural and I don't, in hindsight, know why. Because I should have, the Watchers Council's own policies are being violated by us working with Angel."
"Not that you've done much working with him." Jenny commented.
"What do you mean?" Giles asked, startled. "He alerted us to the Harvest -."
"But he didn't help deal with it. That's all he did, Rupert, alert you that the Master was trying a ritual called the Harvest. He gave no details, not about the Master or his own connection to him or about the Harvest. And he did nothing to help with the actual attack, what was he doing while a Slayer, two teenagers and a Watcher were stopping that massacre?"
Even more startled, Giles blinked as he considered the question. "I don't know, it never occured to me to ask him."
"But it should have." Jenny pointed out. "An unknown informant brings you information and you knew nothing about him. But more concerning, it never occured to you to even be curious about him. For all you know, he could have been setting your Slayer up to be killed."
Giles inhaled sharply as he realized that was true. That it hadn't happened was a bloody miracle.
"Which reminds me of the Pergamon Codex." Jenny continued, looking intently at him. "A lost, believed destroyed book concerning the Slayer and Angel just happened to know where it was. In a strange coincidence, the Master, a vampire connected to Angel, is a very big believer in prophecy. The Anointed One, for instance, was a prophecy by Aurelius, the founder of the line the Master and Angel were part of. But you never questioned how Angel knew where it was or how he could get it. And it had a prophecy about the Slayer dying."
"And Buffy's blood and consequently her life, her death, allowed the Master to escape." Giles sighed. "The Master needed Buffy there so he could rise and the Pergamon Codex got her there. I should've considered it to be more than a very conconvient coincidence, but it never even occured to me to question any of it. His involvement, the prophecy, the Master, their connection. Why didn't I?"
"Very good questions." Jenny leaned forward. "Rupert, what did Willow say that started you questioning?"
"I told her I'm very observant and don't miss much and she asked how I missed the fact that their relationship is illegal in the United States. Not just because he was a vampire up until yesterday, but because he's significantly older than her and she's below the age of consent in America."
"The age of consent varies from state to state but in California it's 18." Jenny nodded. "And she's a few months shy of 17."
"Which I knew and yet never equated with Buffy." Giles shook his head. "Both the law of this country and the Watchers Council's own policies are being violated by that relationship and I know both the law and the policies and yet I never equated them with Buffy. Someone I'm supposed to be guiding. Why did I not realize I was allowing Buffy to do things I know are wrong?"
"You're wondering if someone made it so you didn't equate Buffy with those facts?" Jenny realized. "A spell or, given vampires are involved, thrall. Both Angel and the Master had an interest in her. The Master needed her to free him, Angel wants her for himself. Either one could have done something and made you forget it."
"It may not have been those directly, it might have more to do with Angel. The Master could have used him to get the Codex to me and than manipulated the situation to get Buffy to him. The relationship between them might be something I overlooked because I was instructed to overlook Angel."
"And because he wanted to be around Buffy and she wanted him around, you overlook him and it follows that you overlook anything connected to him, such as Buffy and their relationship."
"Is there any way to know if I've been thralled?"
"I don't know, but it's possible Xander does. He told me he remembers some of the Magic his character knew. It might help us figure out if someone's been messing with your mind."
"And whether it was Angel or the Master?"
"Depends on how specific his method is, I suppose."