A/N

sorry for a long absence. What can I say? You really don't want to wade through endless, boring babble. Let's keep it short. Illness, a spiritual awakening (say hello to your new Reiki Master), new training, and Real Life keep getting in the way of writing.

I will try not to make it as long next time! But I wanted to get Buffy to Fairy Land. Please be kind. :-)

No beta on this.

The Gryffindor Slytherin

As Buffy spoke to the Fae washerwoman, Rory remained oddly still, his arms crossed over his chest and a dark frown etched on his face. Tom tried to mirror him, but it was a struggle since every fibre of his being felt on edge. How he longed to dash across the rocky ground, draw his wand and strike out—at the very least with a stunner, though he wished for something far more... disabling. Yet acting on those impulses would be crazy. He held back, gnawing on his cheek, his brows furrowed in concentration and his gaze fixed on Buffy.
'I should be comfortably asleep in my warm bed, dreaming of dark hexes and my immortality, not standing on a cold hillside playing sidekick to an American,' he thought. And yet nothing surpassed his fascination with the crazy, fearless blonde girl. He doubted even Grindelwald enchanted his followers this strongly. Was it his mother's blood influencing him to behave this way? She'd forsaken everything to go off with a Muggle. He supposed he should be thankful Buffy had turned out to be a Witch. If only she had more Slytherin traits and was less... Gryffindorish!
He shifted his weight and shot the Pouka a dirty look. This was all HIS fault. Buffy would never have wanted to go off looking for stupid Fairy Land if that bloody fairy hadn't put it in her head that they had a demon trap. It probably wasn't even there! His lip curled in disdain. This whole thing could be a wild goose chase. If it turned out so, the Pouka would see what happened to those who mocked Tom Riddle! There would be books on the Fae somewhere - books containing ways to counter their magic. Then they'd see what it was like to gain a Dark Lord as an enemy!
Over by the river, Buffy looked over at Tom and Rory, before leaning closer to the Hag and whispering in her ear. What was she saying to her? The Hag listened and rocked back on her heels - surprised. Tom almost groaned out loud. Had Buffy caused offence? Salazar! She was hardly known for her diplomacy.

His mind churned over what to do if they were attacked. What kind did the Bean-Nighe excel in? If there was an attack would Buffy be able to get out of the way and draw her wand quickly enough? Any spell cast would mean the Ministry would be alerted and then there'd be awkward questions to answer when they go back. He didn't dare think 'if' they got back. Should he follow the Pouka's advice and suck the hag's teat to distract her? He shot another look at the Pouka and almost ground his teeth with frustration. That's 'IF' that hadn't been another of the Pouka's jokes.
As it happened, violence did not break out. After appearing startled by Buffy's words, the Washer lifted a pale arm and pointed a long, knobbly finger in the upstream direction. Directions? How trustworthy would they be? Could you even trust a fairy to tell the truth?

Buffy nodded and spoke shortly before heading back to Tom and Rory. Halfway over, she stopped to look over her shoulder and, gave the still-watching washerwoman a farewell wave. The fairy waved back, turned away and picking up her basket walked out into the lake and disappeared from sight. Rory snorted. A snort of surprise or amusement? Tom didn't bother to ask, his eyes glued on Buffy as she picked her way across the rocks.

Once closer, the blonde smiled at them broadly. "Well... she was, erm, kinda interesting." Almost as if taking off in the middle of the night and conversing with dangerous creatures was a completely normal thing for her to do.
"Interesssting?" Tom hissed. How dare she act so casually when his heart had been in his mouth! "You... you're lucky to have got away in one piece. Even Rory thinks so! Don't go off again without speaking to me first."
Buffy's smile froze and her eyes widened. "Huh?"
Tom bit his lip. He sounded like just like Mrs Cole or Martha! They were almost the exact same words they'd said to him when he'd left the orphanage without permission! He hadn't deserved them, but Buffy did! What Buffy had done was far more dangerous than dodging a few trams and avoiding angry Muggles.
And then, like the complete fool he'd become, he added, "I saw you gone and almost had a heart attack." He groaned inwardly. What the Hell!? He wanted to kick himself up and down the riverbank! He was supposed to be a young Dark Lord – maybe an amorous one, but not her bloody mother! What made him say that?
Yet when Buffy's face softened, his stomach flipped, he forgot about being annoyed with himself and gave her a small smile.
Looking a little pink and self-conscious, Buffy pushed a lock of stray hair behind her ear and smiled. "Umm... well thanks. Honestly, don't worry. I'm Alone-Girl, I can take care of myself."
"You don't need to, you have me," Tom blurted. He side-eyed the Pouka - to see if he was laughing - the dark fairy was just looking off into the distance, bored by the teens. "I mean, I'm not afraid of a fight."
"I want you staying fray-adjacent..." Buffy's voice trailed off - her face taking on that introverted expression he'd seen before. She was remembering something from her past. Her eyes quickly refocused and she flashed him an apologetic smile. "Scratch that. I know you can fight – with magic and without. I've seen it. It's just that... this is my thing and I'm totally fine if I get into trouble for it." She shrugged. "Anyhow, I'm totally fine and dandy. She was just someone I stopped to ask directions from. It's no big deal."
Before Tom could respond, Rory jumped in with, "An' I suppose she gave you the exact directions, maybe? Just. Like. That." His large dark eyes searched her face.
"Um, yeah, kinda so," Buffy hedged.
"If there were directions given then she'd have wanted something from you in return," stated Rory flatly. "What did she get from you?"
"Nothing. Wrestling was mentioned but we decided against." Buffy looked back towards the river, where she'd last seen the Bean-Nighe. It seemed the river had swallowed her up, either that or she'd vanished into thin air. "I guess, I did give her something."
"There's nae guessing about it. What kind of deal did yer strike?" the Pouka pressed. His accent had grown stronger again, a sign of his vexation.
Buffy wrinkled her nose, obviously deciding how much to reveal.
"Yer didn't involve me in this, did yer?"
Buffy tutted. "I was sorta thinking you were worried about me for a moment. Nope, you weren't mentioned. The deal was solely between me and her."
"Buffy?" Tom asked, worried now. "What did you do?"
Instead of answering, Buffy pushed between them, heading upstream. Rory and Tom hurried along after her - the fairy and the slayer avoiding the sharp, jutting rocks with an easy grace that Tom lacked.
"Honestly," Buffy continued, walking quickly, "it's no big deal. I didn't sell my soul into slavery or promise her my firstborn child or anything. It was all just laundry talk."
"Laundry?" repeated the Pouka, his brow creasing.
Buffy sniffed and gave Rory's leather jacket a pointed look. "Yeah," she said pertly. "It's that thing you do with dirty clothes to make them all clean and sweet smelling again." Rory's brows drew further together and she added, "You take dirty clothes, dip in water with laundry soap, scrub, rinse and repeat."
The Pouka onto a huge boulder that had been in his path and then off again, landing neatly alongside her. "You're a cheeky mare. I know all about washing of the clothes, but – "
"Simply noticed her bloodstain problem and offered tried and tested stain removal tips. I told her water alone is never enough. Better an overnight soak in cold water, then onto a hot wash with Oxy before a final wash with Tide. Gets your whites whiter than white and works like a Charm, every time. Even Mom never guessed what I'd been up to."
That got Tom asking, "What had you been up to?"
Buffy faltered and gave him a sheepish look. "I got into a lot of fights at my last school."
"You were bullied?" Tom asked. That didn't surprise him. He'd experienced it himself - Muggle schools (and orphanages) were full of bullies.
Buffy flashed him a smile that showed a lot of teeth and made his heart flutter with excitement. "Not for long," she replied.
Rory was less impressed. "And the Bean-Nighe was happy with that?"
Buffy nodded and waved a hand at the river. "Yeah, she told me to go upstream high enough so that the water goes underground and then we need to take a left until we reach a lone hawthorn tree. It has a single branch containing a lone crow. When I said it might have flown off by now, she seemed sure it would still be there. Maybe, it's tied on a branch or something?"
Rory waved off the question. "It'll be a guardian, those things are ten-a-penny and nothing thinking over."
"Oh, okay." Buffy nodded thoughtfully, filing the information away. "She said we'd find a well near the tree and that holds the entrance to Fairyland."
Rory shook his head. "Damn, they've changed the doorway again. T'was the space between the two rowan trees last time I came this way. It's a good thing you thought to ask." He stared at the moon, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he calculated how much time they had left. "Time's moving on. If we're to get you back before dawn I'll need to be a horse once more."
He moved so his legs had a wider gap between them, pointed at Buffy and chided, "An' don't keep kicking yer heels into me sides, Madam Clydesdale. Me poor ribs are already suffering, they'll be black and blue come morning."
…

The black horse leapt over a fallen tree trunk and halted beside the well's stone wall. Buffy and Tom slid off his back, and the horse shook himself, transforming into human form. The three stared first at the ancient moss-covered well and then around at the hillside.
"Why is there a well here?" Tom asked. There was no human habitation in sight.
"Once there was," Rory replied, his eyes looking towards a series of heather-covered mounds neither Tom nor Buffy had noticed until then. "Centuries ago there was a small village here - mayhap more like a croft or two. Strangers came to clear it. I was high up on the mountain when I heard the sounds of shouting and women screaming. Then came the wailing of bairns and more than one plume of smoke rose into the air. A few days later I came past and saw blood upon the rocks and the ruins of broken houses."
"And you didn't bother investigating any sooner?" Buffy asked anger in her voice.
The Phouka shrugged. "Men come and men go. Their struggles are not mine. Why should it be?"
"It would have been a kindness to offer help to them," she pressed, unwilling to back down.
There was a hardness around the Phouka's now glowing eyes, reminding them that he was far from human. "Men have not been kind to me or my kind. Have I not seen them tear up our mounds, churn virgin ground with ploughs of iron and fell our sacred trees? Remember that the next time you accuse me of unkindness."
Buffy's indignation dissolved and she turned away, stepping back to the well and staring down into its depths. Tom moved to be by her side. He ducked his head and whispered, "Little Gryffindor always looking for a fight," hoping it would make her smile.
Buffy's expression remained unchanged. "What about you, Tom? Would you have gone to help?"
"I... I don't know," he answered. Would he go to help Muggles? He doubted it, but she was watching him and he didn't want to see her be disappointed in him. "I suppose... I'd have at least gone to check what was happening there." Well, that much was true. "I rather suspect Rory is talking about the Clearings. It was a long time ago, Buffy and a more brutal time. It's too late to help them. What's done is done."
Buffy harrumphed, her eyes moved from his to the well's darkness between them.
"Have you changed your mind about me going with with you?" Just because he wouldn't run to help unknown Muggles, didn't mean that he wouldn't help her.
She shook her head. "No."

"At least let me come part of the way."

Buffy angled herself to face him, so that her back was to Rory. In a low voice, she whispered, "I need you to stay here to ensure Rory doesn't run off. I don't trust him to decide his part of the bargain is done and leave us stranded."
Tom nodded, not liking it. Bad enough that she'd face danger without him, but to be left entertaining a Pouka? That made him shudder. "You're right. He's untrustworthy. None of the Fae are."
Buffy gave a small nod and turned back to Rory. "Any chance of creating a light? I won't be able to see where I'm putting my feet down there. I could, but you know," she rolled her eyes, "stupid Ministry rules."
The Pouka's face sharpened. "An' what would be in it for me? Have you a way of persuading me to please you, fair shieldmaiden?"
Buffy cocked her head as if giving the request consideration. "Um, let me see now... I remember you were really keen on us getting married. You were so persuading after almost drowning me, I've been dreaming of a white wedding ever since."
Tom's gut clenched and then a fire lit inside him. What? The Pouka really had asked her to marry him? It made him hiss in frustration and warning – thankfully too low that neither of them heard for the Pouka's response was gratifying.
Rory gulped and he took a hasty step back. "Me? Marriage?! To you?! Oh, no. Not that you're a bad-looking lass," he quickly added, "but still..." He smoothed back his dark hair and straightened his jacket. " You see, I've my bachelor reputation to think of and all the girls it would disappoint." He shook his head. "I'm far too young to be thinking of getting a wife and, er, didn't I say I'd be happy to help you find the Babylonian Demon Trap instead of putting a band on yer finger?"
Buffy nodded. "That's right. You promised to help, so are you gonna help or are we going down the band of gold route?"
With a grin of relief, the Pouka broke a sprig of heather off a bush by his feet. Holding it to his face he blew upon it creating a strong white light that rose into the air and hovered just in front of his face. He reached out, taking it between finger and thumb before handing it to Buffy who cupped it like a small creature in her hand.
"There's no need to hold onto it, it'll stay with you wherever you go. Should you wish to hide it, just place it in your pocket or under your coat where it can't be seen. The light will last til the first ray of sunlight hits it."

"I appreciate it."

As Buffy went to turn away, the Pouka stopped her. "There's one other thing you'll need while you're in the lands of the Fae. They'll have taken the trap to the dungeons an' it might be disguised to hide it from human or," his mouth twitched, "witchy eyes."
He raised a hand over her head, looking for all the world like a priest about to bless her. Instead of a benediction, he recited, "By power of oak, of ash and thorn, may your sight be as clear as mine until the dawn." With two fingers he drew an unknown symbol in the air over her head.
Magic curled in the air before it around her. Buffy frowned, unhappy he hadn't warned her before casting a spell on her.
"T'is as much as I dare without there being magical consequences. Consequences neither you nor I would care for. Remember, on this night the Fairy Court sets of for their new home and the halls down below will be all but empty. Tread lightly, rise up and then seek the lower levels for your demon trap. There will be guards, yet it won't be as well guarded as the trinkets of gold and silver."
"How many guards?" Buffy asked moving so that she sat on the wall, her legs dangling into the darkness.

Tom blinked. Rory had made out that the Fairy Halls would be virtually empty, now there were guards? Buffy had a black-handled iron knife tucked away, would that be enough to keep her out of trouble?
The Pouka shrugged. "Not many. Most will have gone with the Court. And if you're lucky, those left behind will have drowned their sorrows by getting drunk. It's all down to you now."
Buffy smiled at the two males. "Hmm, wish me monsters." Before her feet found the first few rungs and she descended into the darkness.