A/N Ep, it's not that Xander needs money, he doesn't, the Sanctum supplies everything he needs and he could sell everything in it if he'd wanted to. Which could include the magical items if he was being irresponsible. It's that the position of Sorcerer Supreme, which as the Guardian of the Sanctum he unofficially is, he has responsibilities that include supporting various charities. In the comics, this is only mentioned a few times and includes Dr. Strange selling jewels from the vault to help keep the charities going when he hasn't had time to do any fundraising. Xander needs a career in the real world because he needs more than just guarding the Sanctum and being a sorcerer pays nothing in his world, unlike in Dr. Strange's world. And he could possibly use Magic to find jewels and such, but most Magic traditions would view that as a misuse of Magic, for personal gain.

Syg, absolutely the end of all vampires deserves celebrating. Halloween, the one year anniversary, should be a huge blow out. 😊

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With the start of a new school year, eleven year old Dawn signed up for the girl's field hockey team, a decision that Buffy questioned. "Field hockey? Why field hockey? You could try basketball or track or cheerleading." Buffy suggested. "Cordelia's the current Cheer Captain and I was a cheerleader up until I was Called, both of us could teach you." She dug into her school bag pulling out books and homework.

"Which is exactly why I want to do something different." Dawn insisted. "I'm not you, I'm not sure what sport I'd really like to do, but I know I don't want to constantly be compared to you."

"I know the feeling." Amy told her, she and Willow had come home with Buffy because all three had a test in the same class and were planning to study for it together. "My mother constantly compared me to herself and in her opinion I never matched up."

"Yeah, but your Mom was insane." Dawn reminded her. "So you can't believe any of the crap she said, but also yeah, being constantly compared to someone else is definitely not my idea of fun."

"Okay, I get that." Buffy agreed. "But why field hockey?"

"Because I can be outside and enjoying the California sunshine."

"Track would let you do that too." Buffy persisted.

"That's individual though, yes technically you're part of a team but each person competes mostly on their own. I want to be part of a team, that much I know and field hockey meets two of my requirements, it's outside and it's a team sport."

"It's also a short season." Willow pointed out. "It only runs until the end of November, so if you decide you don't like it, you're only committed for a couple of months and then next spring you can try something else."

"Also a fact worth considering." Dawn agreed. "If I don't like it I could try swimming, which is like the track, part of a team while still being largely individual, but I like swimming, I don't like running, which leaves track out anyway." She plopped on the couch and picked up the remote for the tv. "You mind if I watch tv while you guys study?"

"Just keep it down," Buffy agreed, letting the subject of Dawn's sports career go. "we've got a test tomorrow."

Dawn's new activity started a couple of days later and she found she did enjoy it. Right up until she was accidentally smacked in the face with a wayward puck that glanced off the tip of an opponent's hockey stick and left her with a black and swollen eye and a headache that had her seeing double for a few minutes.

"Go to the nurse's office, Dawn." The coach ordered and sent a teammate along with her. Once safely seen there her teammate headed back to practice and the nurse had her lie down on a cot while she called Dawn's mother, who closed up the gallery and went to pick up her youngest. Only to find no Dawn when the nurse brought Joyce back to where she'd left Dawn.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Summers." The nurse was confused. "I was in the front office and I left her laying back here on the cot, I never left the office and the only other way out is through the window. I have no idea why she'd climb out."

"Unless she was hurt worse than you thought." Joyce suggested.

"Well, I was going to suggest you take her to the emergency room, I suspect a concussion and that can sometimes cause erratic behavior. That might explain why she'd climb out the window."

Except Joyce had spotted something that made her realize something else had happened to Dawn. 'Great, here we go again.' Joyce thought, resigned to the inevitable and went to call a meeting of the Scoobies and fill them in on the spot of blood she'd spotted on the floor by the cot. Dawn might have a bloody nose or a cut on her cheek from the puck, which meant she'd portaled somewhere. True, she didn't need blood to open a portal anymore, but her blood still had the capacity to open one anyway. 'Where's my little girl ended up now?' Joyce thought.

A good question because Dawn herself had no idea where'd she ended up, not yet anyway. She tried not to move her head too much because she had a headache as she took a look around and reached one conclusion. There was a big, decidedly spooky looking house in front of her. She sighed and knowing she needed help went to the front door and rang the bell and waited to see who would open the door.