"Xander," Buffy said, trying to hold onto her patience. "Angel is a friend, he didn't thrall or put spells on Giles!" She exclaimed after the results of the examination had been explained to her.
"I never said he did." Xander answered. "All I said is the Eye showed both Magic and thrall had been used to convince Giles that Angel is a friend. Without either the Magic or thrall, Giles wouldn't have been nearly as trusting of him."
"But Angel can be trusted, he's helped us, he saved my life!" She insisted.
"He was unwilling to go up against the Master to help you." Xander reminded her. "He told you that himself, didn't he?"
"And let's not forget," Giles pointed out. "Angel is the one who brought me the Pergamon Codex, with a prophecy about your death in it. How did he know where a lost book about Slayers was? Why did he never explain how he got it? It's entirely possible the Master set it all up, Angel may not even be aware that he was used, Buffy. The Master was the oldest, most powerful vampire in existence. He thralled you, he could have thralled Angel or had Angel thrall me. With all the vampires gone we can't prove who was responsible, but we know someone messed with my mind!"
"All we have is Xander's word for it!" Silence as that protest from Buffy sunk in.
"I verified the use of Magic with a Tirer la Couverture trance." Jenny said quietly. "There's no spell that I'm aware of that can detect thrall. Since when do you doubt Xander, someone else who has saved your life?"
"He's jealous of Angel!"
"Uh, no I'm not. Hating vampires because my best friend was murdered by them doesn't mean I'm jealous of Angel. I told you before, Buffy, I think it's disgusting that you wanted to get with a vampire."
"Angel isn't disgusting!"
"Vampires are dead bodies controlled by a demon." Giles reminded her. "And Angel was a vampire, just like any other, with the exception that he was cursed with a soul for his crimes."
"Which made him different, special!" Buffy insisted.
"It didn't change the fact that he was a vampire!" Giles exclaimed, fed up. "A dead body with a demon in it. The spell Xander as Dr. Strange cast would not have affected him otherwise. The soul modified the spell to make him human, rather than destroy him, but he was still affected because he was a vampire! A dead body with a demon in it. Why are you unable to understand that fact, Buffy? Has Magic or thrall been done on you as well?"
"Wait, thrall has been done her!" Xander exclaimed. "The Master thralled her just before he bit her. She told us that, remember when she finally told us how she died. He could have said or done anything and made her forget it while he had her thralled."
"But I trusted Angel before that." Buffy informed him. "I trusted him since he destroyed Darla to save me. And the Master's thrall only worked once, he tried it again on the rooftop just before I threw him through the skylight and it didn't work anymore."
"Which does not exclude another vampire thralling you. Darla for instance." Giles commented. "The Master believed in prophecy, used it to guide himself. The Anointed One, for instance, was him fulfilling a prophecy by Aurelius, the founder of their line. The Harvest could have been a test, to see you in action, to confirm you were the Slayer. And prophecy said you'd face him and die and your blood, your death released him."
"Angel said he wasn't trusted by other vampires, because of the soul." Xander reminded her. "They no doubt kept an eye on him. They may have noticed his interest in you and used it to their advantage."
"And you think some toy is going to show you if I've been thralled too?" Buffy grabbed the Eye. "It's just a toy, it doesn't work!" Xander plucked it out of her hand and activated it, she gasped as the third eye opened and the Eye of Agamotto scanned her.
"I'm not seeing any recent evidence of thrall." Xander told them. "But Ms. Calendar can do a Tirer la Couverture trance and confirm Magic has been used on you." He shut the Eye off. "Given you've made it clear you don't trust me. The Eye tells me, that you've been instructed to not destroy the vampire that is unique."
"Angel was unique." Jenny nodded. "As far as we know, the only vampire cursed with a soul. The curse may have been used on others, but we have no knowledge of that. Do you want me to do the Tirer la Couverture trance, Buffy, or are you willing to trust Xander?"
"I'm going to talk to Angel." Buffy shoved the Library door hard and hurried out, the statement neither affirming nor denying trust in Xander.
"Maybe he'll answer her questions." Xander suggested. "And tell her where he got the Pergamon Codex. The Magic may be affecting her willingness to trust me because I was so...vocal about not trusting Angel for a long time. It would put her at odds with the Magic."
"It's nice of you to give her the benefit of the doubt." Jenny said softly.
"Also, she's not entirely wrong." Xander admitted. "There was some jealousy, before I got over her. But more disgust, which helped me get over her."
Buffy ran all the way to Angel's apartment and banged on the door. When he didn't answer, she tested the knob and found it was unlocked and eased it open. A quick search found Angel wasn't home, repeated visits over the next couple of days found no Angel. She never knew he was currently at the police station waiting to see a judge, she just knew she couldn't find him.