"How big is it?" Joyce asked, staring up at a huge circular skylight as she absently handed Xander the plate of brownies.
"Mm, brownies." He murmured, lifting up the plastic wrap and sniffing at the fresh made chocolate. "The Sanctum varies in size and shape." He answered. "It can change its appearance, move walls, grow or shrink. The skylight is the symbol of the Vishanti, a group of celestial gods. Are these for me?" He asked hopefully.
"Yes, to thank you for saving Buffy's life when she died."
"I don't intend to stand by and let any of my friends die, ever." Xander said seriously. "It's bad enough I couldn't save Jesse, loosing anyone else..." He sighed.
"I understand." Joyce said sympathetically and changed the subject. "So what have you been doing?"
"Going through the inventory, I need to know what's here, some of it's dangerous and way beyond what I can currently handle and I need to make sure it's all secured. Plus, I've been practicing Magic. Some spells stuck with me after Halloween, like levitating, invisibility and concealment spells and teleporting. I've been practicing them." He lifted one of the brownies off the plate. "The smell is driving me nuts, they smell so good." He took a bite of the rich, chocolatey brownie and savored it. "Ohh, mmm."
"Why is this house here?" Joyce asked. "Why not in town? Couldn't it be made to look like a house in town instead of an abandoned house?"
"Yes, it could." Xander nodded. "It can be moved and anchored other places, at least theoretically. But it's best to anchor it in specific places so it and the protections can draw power from the environment."
"How can it draw power from the environment? This is a Magic thing, right?"
"Yep," he nodded. "in this case it's drawing off the belief in ley lines, areas of connection and convergence of energies. No scientific evidence but belief is a powerful energy on its own."
"And you don't mind living here on your own?"
"No, I'm never bored." He grinned. "There's something new to discover every day. And I think the house enjoys challenging me, it keeps changing the walls around and when I figure something out, it smells happy."
"How can a place smell happy?" Joyce was confused. "Or be able to challenge you?"
"It's not alive, the way a human is, but Magic is like computer programs and there's so much Magic here that the house has the ability to...learn might be the closest explanation. It's learning about me, I guess and how it can best take care of me. I'm tied to it and my job is to take care of it and the Magic housed here. In return it takes care of me and anyone I allow to be here. Which includes you, by the way."
"Me?" Joyce asked, startled.
"I invited you in, I showed the Sanctum you can be trusted. As long as you're inside these walls, you're under it's protection too." He grinned at her. "Maybe it'll make brownie smells now, since you fed me. Just don't go into the medical bay, I'm not sure yet but it's entirely possible it's got ghosts. The one in the comics did."
"Ghosts." Joyce wondered if Xander was joking and carefully decided not to ask, she was already on overload.
"I'm glad you stopped by, Mrs. S and not just because of the brownies, welcome though they are. I need to talk to you about something important and very private." Xander went serious in the blink of an eye. "Only Ms. Calendar knows about this and that's because she's teaching me Magic."
"Is it dangerous? Should we tell Buffy?" Joyce asked worriedly.
"Whether we tell Buffy or anyone else is up to you. The other night when I scanned Dawn, the Eye showed me something."
"Is she sick?" Joyce tried not to panic.
"No, in fact she's very healthy and doesn't appear to be in any danger. It's very important you remember that, okay? Dawnie is not in danger."
"Okay." Joyce worked to calm down. "Than what did your Magic Eye show you?" She asked seriously, well passed any disbelief at this point.
"A green energy inside her. It's not hurting her, it's not hurting anyone." Xander assured her. "But the Eye couldn't identify it either, likely because anything equivalent to it hasn't been conceived in the comics. Which isn't to say something similar hasn't been thought up. The books in the Sanctum's Library cover centuries worth of accumulated magical knowledge and Ms. Calendar and I are studying them, looking for anything that could help explain it or how it got in Dawnie."
"But it's not hurting her?" Joyce clarified.
"No, I doubt she's in anyway aware it's there. But it's mystical in nature, like the Magic that turned Buffy into a Slayer."
"Is it going to turn Dawn into something too? Like, superpowers?" Great, something Joyce dreaded as a possibility.
"It's possible. But, I honestly don't know, which is why I need to periodically scan Dawn with the Eye so I can make sure it continues to not hurt her or anyone else and so I can hopefully get a heads up if it begins to change or to change her."
"She'd loved it if she got superpowers herself and I'm terrified of the possibility." Joyce took a seat on a nearby chair in the foyer, not realizing the house had moved it near her. "Can it be removed from her?"
"I wouldn't even be willing to try unless her life was in danger, not until I know more about it." Xander shook his head. "And until I feel strong enough magically to try something like that. I won't risk hurting her myself."