Author: Arina
Email: arinasel@h...
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I'm a poor uni student. All I own are my pens.
Category: BtVS/Harry Potter crossover
Pairing: Willow/Remus, Faith/? (suggestions?)
Spoilers: Season seven finale for Buffy; Goblet of Fire for HP, but
there may be references to things brought up in the Order of the
Phoenix. No major spoilers from book 5, though.
Summary: Willow, Faith and Giles discover that the Hellmouth
isn't
the only place for demons.
Feedback: Would love it. Please?


No Fear Of Mine

PART 1

*Tap tap*

Rupert Giles looked up from the book he was reading when he heard the
rap against the windowpane. Rising up off he armchair, he made his
way to the window and stared down at the thing tapping against the
glass. He sighed.

Giles slid the latch on the window and swung it open. The owl waiting
on the other side hopped onto the bookshelf next to the window and
stuck out its leg. There was an envelope attached.

The former watcher hesitated. He knew what that letter was going to
say and knew who it came from. After all, there were eight other
identical letters in his bedside drawer, having received one each
week for the past two months. They all said the same thing and all
came from the same person.

Now it wasn't that he didn't want to hear from that particular
person. He just didn't want to deal with what that person wanted.

It was just over a month ago that the First had been destroyed along
with the entire town of Sunnydale. Since then, the entire entourage
had packed up and were currently residing in L.A. with Angel. They
were in the midst of figuring out which of the newly activated
Slayers would be heading to Cleveland to deal with that Hellmouth.

The interesting thing about this whole situation was that the
disappearance of an entire town went relatively unnoticed by
neighbouring suburbs. Maybe it was because all the residents had
cleared out in a blind panic before its demise. It was even broadcast
on the news that a meteor struck the small town and decimated the
area. Only without the actual meteor having been there, of course.

Americans.

A disgruntled hoot brought Giles out of this reverie. He looked down
to see the owl ruffling its feathers irritably, its right leg still
stuck out to the side. It had been waiting in that position while
Giles was thinking.

"Oh. Sorry." He untied the letter from the bird's leg and looked
around for some water to offer. "I don't seem to have any water with
me. Uh. . . tea?"

The owl stared back at him as if to say "You've got to be kidding
me," and ruffled its feathers again, with a hint of indignation
gleaming in both golden eyes.

Shrugging to himself, Giles looked resignedly at the letter in his
hand. There was no point ignoring it; the owl was probably sent with
instructions to peck him if he didn't read it. And judging by how
annoyed the bird was, it would probably do a pretty good job of it.

He broke the seal and pulled the letter out. Yep, it was written with
the same elegant hand he had expected. Sure enough, this letter said
just about the same thing as the others.

Rupert,
I pray this letter finds you well. Times are dark and
troubled and I expect the first downfall to take place very soon.
This Sight of mine is both a gift and a curse, but I must not
complain. As I have mentioned before, I have Seen again. It is
imperative that you make your return to us with an army of strength.
We cannot afford to be complacent with our current state of peace.
Permission for your return has been granted, as I have previously
Foreseen.
I await your arrival.
Your Sister


Giles put the letter down and removed his glasses to clean the
lenses. His `return'. He snorted. There was a reason why he left and
a bloody good one at that. But clearly, his sister didn't `See' that.

He could always ignore the letter, as he had done with the other
eight. But chances were that there was already another letter on the
way.

The former watcher sighed again. "She's not going to give up, is
she?" he asked the owl.

The bird hooted back moodily.

That was obviously a no. Because even the owl knew that while Sybill
Trelawny was a little kooky, she sure was persistent.


PART 2


"I don't get it. What's a squib?"

Xander's question caused Giles to sigh. Again. He'd already launched
into this explanation twice that day and really wasn't in the mood
for a third round. But knowing how persistent the young man could be,
there was no way to avoid another explanation.

But maybe he should backtrack first.

After receiving a tenth letter (and a rather angry pecking from the
owl), Giles decided to accept his sisters' invitation to return to a
place he had left rather gladly. It was with extreme reluctance that
he gathered together Buffy, Faith, Willow, Xander and Angel to tell
them about his past.

Bloody hell.

"There are things about me that none of you know about," Giles
began. "And with the decision I have already made, I think it's time
I told you. Without interruptions," he added, shooting Xander a
pointed look. He took a deep breath.

"I come from a very different family. Some would even consider my
family to be special."

"Aren't you from a family of watchers or something?" Xander asked.

"Xander, what did I say about interruptions?" the former watcher said
exasperatedly. He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them
again. "But the answer is yes and no. Several of my ancestors were
watchers, but for the most part, they were also witches and wizards."

The look of confusion was identical on four of the five faces, Angel
being the exception. Giles had already told the vampire of his
situation earlier and was met with an understanding nod. "There is a
school for the study of witchcraft and wizardry called Hogwarts.
Every person in my family attended Hogwarts. My sister even teaches
there. I, however, never made it through."

"How come?" Willow asked timidly.

"Because I'm a squib," Giles replied with an edge of bitterness in
his tone. "And to answer the question you asked earlier, Xander, a
squib is someone who is born into a wizarding family, but does not
have the ability to perform any magic. In essence, I am one."

"But we've seen you work some major mojo with the magic before,"
Buffy pointed out. "How can you be a –uh –squid?"

"Squib," Giles corrected resignedly. "And the reason is because the
kind of magic that is used here is different to that of the wizarding
world. I never qualified as a wizard because I did not have the
potential to draw the power from within myself."

"Why didn't you tell us all this before? It might have been good to
know this school and these wizard guys when we were up against the
First. They could have helped us," the blonde slayer said.

"It's doubtful we would have received any help. The world of wizardry
isn't meant to be public to the world and there is a huge barrier
between muggles and wizards."

"And muggles are –?"

"Non-magic folk. Normal people, I suppose." Giles took off his
glasses and began to clean them. "The reason why I am telling you all
this now is that my sister has asked for my help. Our help. She
believes something is about to happen at Hogwarts and needs our help."

"Hold up here," Faith spoke up. "You said they wouldn't come to us if
we needed help. Why should we give a hoot about them?"

"Because I am a watcher," Giles replied, putting his glasses back
on. "Or I was one. The Watchers' Council is a branch off the Ministry
of Magic, designed to keep an eye out for events in the muggle world.
As an integral part of the unit, it is a watchers' duty to assist in
whatever way he or she can."

"Okay, don't these people at Hog-whatsit know that there's no more
Watchers' Council?" Buffy asked. "It all went ka-boom, remember?"

"There are some remaining watchers. Apparently, there were a number
of watchers on holiday when the explosion happened. It is their duty
to reconstruct the Watchers' Council."

"So why'd the pick you?" Faith posed. "If there's still some of these
dudes around, why get you to help out?

"Because I am in direct contact with the Slayer. . .s." Giles pulled
a letter out of his pocket. "Perhaps you should all read this first."

The letter was passed around the group of five. The former watcher
waited for the last person to finish reading the letter.

"Talk about a drama queen," Buffy commented. "What does she mean
by `I have Seen again'?"

"Sybill is a seer," Giles answered. "Or she claims to be one. She is
able to predict events of the future."

"Claims to be one?" Buffy repeated. "So she's what, a phony?"

"Not quite. Our great-great grandmother was one and it was believed
Sybill inherited the Second Sight."

"You don't sound too convinced about that," Willow said.

Giles half-shrugged. "Well, she's my sister," was all he replied.

There was a moment of silence. Then Faith spoke up. "I guess this
means you're taking some Slayers with you?"

"Only one. And another person will be accompanying us."

"And they are. . ." Xander prompted.

"Faith."

"What?!" Buffy exploded. "Faith gets to go and not me?"

"Buffy –"

"I just saved the world! Don't I get a little holiday time?"

"This isn't a holiday where we get to build sandcastles and eat cake,
Buffy –"

"He's right, Buff. Everyone knows there's no sun in England. It's all
gloom and shadows."

"Xander, please. This is a mission, Buffy."

"To another country!"

Faith was starting to look a little uncomfortable. "You know, Giles,
B's right. I kinda need some down time, like, alone, so maybe she
should –"

"No," Giles said firmly. "The way things are right now, Buffy needs
to stay here. She doesn't need this."

"I get to decide for me, and I think I do need this!" the blonde
slayer shot back. "Why is it that you choose now of all times to
decide that I don't need another burden?"

"Because he's right, Buffy." All eyes turned to Angel, who had been
silent the entire time. "Buffy, going to England is just going to add
a whole new list of problems and troubles for you to deal with. It's
time somebody else took the responsibility. At least here you have
other people around to help. Faith won't."

"You're taking his side?" Buffy looked hurt.

"I'm not taking a side, I'm just saying that –"

"Wait a sec," Xander interrupted. "Giles said someone else would be
going, too. Who?"

"Willow."

"Willow?!" This time it was Xander's outburst. "You're sending her to
a place filled with magic? Not that you can't handle it, Will," he
added hastily.

"I'm not too sure about this, Giles," Willow said softly. "Going back
to England and all. . .I don't think I should go."

"I'm sorry, Willow, but you are," Giles confirmed. "We need a witch
with us, and you are the only one."

Willow avoided the wounded look Buffy gave her and didn't say
anything. Giles sighed again and rubbed his temple. This whole
situation was giving him a headache. Maybe it was time to leave. He
stood up. "We'll be leaving on Monday, " he told the
group wearily.

He left. The tension was thick in the room and the silence was
uncomfortable. Nobody wanted to look at anyone else for the fear of
receiving either an angry, hurt or guilty look. In the end, it was
Xander who broke the silence.

"Anyone up for ice cream?"




PART 3

Willow pulled the zipper on her suitcase shut and placed it on the
floor. Stifling a sigh, she turned to look at the blonde pacing up
and down the room.

". . .and it's not like I'm not up to mission or something," Buffy
was saying, "because I so am. I kick ass all the time. See me with
those vamps last night? I totally destroyed them and I didn't even
sweat so why can't I be the one to go to England too?"

"Scotland," Willow corrected.

Buffy waved a hand dismissively. "Same thing. I just don't get why I
shouldn't get to go."

Willow gave her friend a sympathetic look and sat down on her bed. It
was Monday morning and in three hours she, Faith and Giles would be
boarding a plane to London. Three days had passed since Giles'
announcement and Buffy still wasn't happy with the decision. Willow
wasn't sure if the reason she was upset was because the Slayer was
missing out on what she thought would be a good time, or if it was
because Faith was chosen instead of her. A tiny part of her thought
it was the second reason.

"Giles says he doesn't want to put too much pressure on me," the
blonde went on. "He chooses now of all times to do that! No, not when
I went up against Glory or with the First, but *now*. When there's a
round trip to England involved!"

"Scotland," the redhead said again. Buffy didn't hear her.

"I've been stuck in Sunnydale for so long. I like tea. I like scones.
I'd get on well with England."

Willow didn't bother to correct her again. "Buff, I thought you said
you never wanted to go there? You know, the thought of there being
too many Giles's around?"

Buffy stopped pacing and sunk down on the bed next to Willow. "I know
I said that. And I don't really want to go to Giles-land and I lied
about the whole tea thing. It's just. . . I don't like that he thinks
I can't handle this."

"It's not that he thinks you can't handle it. I think it's more he
doesn't *want* you to. It's time you had a break, Buffy. Going to
England is only going to get you worked up and stressed."

"Scotland," Buffy corrected with a grin.

"Oh, shush you," Willow grinned back. "And if it makes you feel
better, we're going to be stuck with kids and Giles' weirdo
sister."

"At least we'll be sharing the same pain. These Slayer girls are
really getting wired. Did you see what happened yesterday? Rona bent
one of Angel's practice swords to see how strong she was and nearly
knocked out Xander's good eye. If Kennedy hadn't –"

The look crossing over Willow's face caused Buffy to close her
mouth. "Oh, Wills, I'm so sorry –"

"Don't be, it's fine." Willow gave her a tight-lipped smile. "Kennedy
said she wanted time and space to deal with being a slayer and all,
and that's cool. I'm fine, really."

Buffy didn't believe her, but decided not to press. "At least you'll
be overseas. That's enough time and space, isn't it?"

"Yeah." The smile on Willow's face was more real this time. "But
believe me, I'll miss you guys."

"You better. I'm stuck here with Xander and Dawn for company."

"There's Andrew," Willow pointed out.

Buffy shuddered. "Don't even mention him. Ever since he taught Gunn
how to play Dungeons and Dragons, I've just wanted to strangle him.
It's all Elminster this and Drizzt Do'Urden that. See how bad it is?
I even remember the names."

Willow giggled. "Does he know about Wesley's collection of Star Wars
figurines yet?"

"God, I hope not."

"Maybe I should tell him."

"Willow, don't you dare!"

"It'll be fun."

"No it won't! And if you do, you're never making it on that plane."
Buffy threatened.

"Andrew!" Willow called out in a sing-song voice. "There's something
I need to tell you."

"WILLOW!!"

* * * * * * * * *

Xander held the redhead for a long time until the poking in his arm
indicated her need to breathe. "Oh, sorry Wills," he apologised,
pulling back. "Call us when you get there, okay?"

"Uh, I don't think they have phones there, Xan."

"What?" Xander looked to Giles for confirmation. "No phones? What
kind of warped-out magic school is this? No phones." He grabbed
Willow firmly by the arm and held on. "Willow's not going anywhere if
we can't contact her."

"There are owls there, Xander," Giles informed him patiently.

"So? There are owls here, too. They're not that nice."

"He means that they use the owls to send letters and all," Faith
spoke up.

All eyes turned to her, wide with surprise that she knew this piece
of information. She shrugged. "What? I listen."

Willow pried her arm free from Xander's grip. "I'll be fine, Xander.
I'll –uh –owl you when I get there."

He reluctantly stood to the side while she said her goodbyes to Buffy
and Dawn. When she was finished, she stepped back to stand next to
Faith. Giles stepped forward and looked at Buffy. "You're not still
upset, are you?"

Buffy shrugged one shoulder. "I'm over it, I guess. But I expect a
big present when you guys get back."

The former watcher smiled ruefully and the blonde gave him a hug.
Willow then realised Faith hadn't said goodbye to anyone yet. The
witch knew that with exception to Robin Wood who had left several
weeks earlier, Faith wasn't too close to anyone. But that still
didn't mean she shouldn't say goodbye. She nudged the brunette. "You
going to –"

"I don't do hugs," Faith said flatly.

Willow hid a smile at the adamant tone the brunette used. Keeping her
silence, she waited until all the farewells were said. Finally, the
voice over the loudspeaker announced for those on the flight to
London to board the plane. With a final wave goodbye the Slayer, the
witch and the former watcher handed in their boarding passes and
headed down the aisle to the plane.

There was a notable bounce in Faith's step as they were shown to
their seats. Her eyes scanned the interior of the plane, as though
trying to take in everything around her. The brunette fumbled with
the seatbelt for a moment before Willow reached over to click the
latch in place. She was grinning.

"Okay, so I've never been on a plane before," Faith said
defensively. "Shut up."

Willow just kept grinning.

* * * * * * * * *

"Hey, Giles. Are you awake?"

Giles yawned and peered sleepily at the young woman next to him. "I
am now."

"Oh. Sorry." Willow shifted slightly to face the older man, trying
not to wake the sleeping slayer next to her. She was stuck in the
middle seat. Giles secured the aisle and Faith got hold of he window
seat. Unfortunately, Faith also managed to get hold of the variety of
alcohol available on the plane and subsequently passed out.

"I was just wondering something," the redhead began. "Just how did
you manage to get a passport for Faith? I didn't think escaped
criminals were able to get that stuff."

"Angel set me up with an associate of his," Giles explained.

"Oh." Willow looked down. "Well, that was all I wanted to know. You
can go back to sleep now."

Giles kept watching her. "Willow, I know you far too well to believe
that's all you wanted to ask me."

Willow remained silent and looked away.

"You want to know why I never told you about this school before,
don't you?" he asked.

The redhead half-shrugged and didn't meet his eyes. "I might."

"Willow, look at me." He waited until she looked at him before he
continued. "What would you have done had I told you years ago that
there was a school such as this? Would you really have left Buffy and
Xander in the hopes of gaining the use of a wand?"

"I –I don't know," Willow answered softly. "I just thought –maybe if
I went to this school or something, I wouldn't have done what I did.
You know, go evil and everything."

"Willow, Sunnydale was hell. But hell is what made you who you are
today. It has made you stronger. I do understand," he added
gently, "but believe me, Hogwarts is not as great as you may think it
is."

The witch gave him a little smile. "You really don't like the place
we're going to, do you? I mean, you get all cranky when you talk
about it."

"I'm not happy about going back," Giles admitted. "And there is a
fair bit of bitterness on my part. There are only a handful of people
I would not mind seeing again, but overall, my memories of the
wizarding world are not all that nice."

"I still don't understand what we're going to have to do there."

"My sister told me we would be informed when we get there. No doubt
she has `Seen' this."

Willow stifled a giggle. The way Giles talked about his sister was
just so. . .sibling-like. A little petty and immature. Next to her,
Faith shifted in her seat and mumbled something that sounded a lot
like, "Just one more glass."

The sudden movement by the Slayer brought a smile to Willow's face
and caused for an evil thought to enter her mind. She reached under
her seat and pulled out a blanket. Then she took a colouring book and
a crayon out of the back pocket on the seat in front of her. Giles
watched with curiosity as Willow draped the blanket over the sleeping
brunette, placing the crayon and the colouring book in her hands and
resting them on her stomach. Then she pulled a camera out from her
bag and snapped a photo.

Giles craned his neck to see what Willow was doing. When he saw what
she had done, he smiled. Willow had just taken a photo of Faith,
sound asleep, innocently clutching a pink crayon and a colouring book
in her hands.

The witch stowed her camera away and looked at Giles. He raised an
inquisitive eyebrow.

"What?" Willow shrugged. "Like you wouldn't have done
the same."

Giles chuckled to himself and tried to get back to sleep. Moments
later, he was re-awoken by the stirring of the Slayer. Faith was
waking up.

"Hey. When did they give out crayons?"

End part 3


PART 4

"Hold up, Giles. What's with the running?"

Willow and Faith struggled to keep up with Giles. The older man was
all but running down to the designated platform.

"Man, I'm surprised Giles knows how to run," Faith panted as they
raced after him. "I hope he doesn't break a hip or anything, `cause
I sure ain't carrying him."

Willow would have laughed if she wasn't concentrating so hard on
keeping up with the former watcher without getting winded. Plus,
holding onto her bag at the same time was no mean feat. She was
really starting to regret bringing along all those reading books.
Why, oh why, did Tolstoy have to write such long novels?

They finally caught up with Giles, who now slowed down to a brisk
stride. Willow snuck a look at his face. He did not look happy. She
was so caught up with watching his increasingly tensing features
that the redhead was completely unaware that the older man was
leading them towards a wall.

This didn't go unnoticed by Faith. "Dude, what are you doing?"

Giles didn't answer. He just kept walking.

"We're walking towards a wall." Faith stated, staring at him. Oddly
enough, she still followed him. "A strong brick wall. I know you're
not psyched about going back to Hog school, but there are other ways
to deal with it. You know, do that English thing and go have a cup
of –"

**WHOOSH**

" –tea," Faith finished bewildered. She looked around. "Fuck me, we
just walked through a wall."

Willow just blinked.

"What's with the kid in the dress?" the Slayer went on, indicating
to a teenage boy rushing by. He seemed to be having trouble holding
onto his cat. "Is this some kind of trend?"

Giles didn't reply. In fact, Giles didn't even look as though he was
paying attention. He was now even more tense than before, pursing
his lips so tightly. That there was now just a white line where his
mouth was. His grip on his carry bag was so tight that his knuckles
were white.

Oh, he so didn't want to be here.

"Giles?" Willow said softly. "Should we get on the train? These kids
are giving us funny looks."

That was a bit of an understatement. The hundred or so kids on the
platform weren't just looking at the trio strangely, they were
pointing and whispering as well. Willow could tell Faith was getting
agitated at the stares. Of all the looks they were receiving, not
one was appreciative or even remotely nice.

Giles kept his eyes focussed off to the distance as though looking
for something. Then they noticed a huge, hairy man approaching them.
He had to be at least ten feet tall.

"Rupert!" he boomed cheerfully, making his was through the crowd on
the platform. He didn't pay any attention to the younger kids
staring up at him in awe. "Good ter see yeh agin!"

He reached Giles and pulled him into an enormous hug, pounding him
affectionately on the back. Willow heard an "oomph!" coming out of
the former watcher with each pat.

"How are you, Hagrid?" Giles asked when he pulled away. His face was
a little pink from being held in the other mans grip.

"Fine, fine. Good as can be, I s'pose." The huge man turned his
attention to Faith and Willow. "An' this must be the army Professor
Trelawny was on abou'. The name's Rubeus Hagrid, but call me
Hagrid." He stuck out one beefy hand.

"Faith and Willow." The Slayer replied, accepting his hand. Willow
shook hands with the man after Faith, and even though she could tell
he was trying to be gentle with her, her fingers were a little numb
for a few seconds after she withdrew her hand.

Hagrid beamed at them. "Pleasure ter meet friends of ol'
Rupert `ere. But if yeh don' mind me sayin' so, yer awful small
girls ter be an army."

"You'd be surprised." Willow smiled at him.

Hagrid's eyes brightened at the smile the redhead offered him and
was about to respond when Giles cut him off. "Hagrid, perhaps we
should board the train before continuing this conversation."

"Oh! Right yeh are!" Hagrid clapped a hand on Giles shoulder. The
former watcher nearly buckled under the weight of his hand. "Right
this way, jus' follow me."

He led the three to the front of the train, all the while still
talking. "I don't normally come ter the station," he explained
cheerfully," usually I wait on th' other side ter greet the kids.
But today Dumbledore asked me specially ter meet yer here on the
platform."

They entered the carriage and sat in a car booth, with Faith and
Willow seated across from Hagrid and Giles. The burly man was so
large that Giles was squashed up next to the window.

Faith peered out onto the platform. "Those kids are still looking at
us funny."

"Ahh, some of the kids just ain't used ter seeing muggles," Hagrid
replied. "'Specially lovely ones as yerselves."

The Slayer grinned at Willow. "Oh, I like this guy."

Willow smiled. "So what do you do at Hogwarts, Hagrid?"

"Me? I'm the keeper of keys and grounds. Gamekeeper, I s'pose yeh
could call it. I also teach the Care of Magical Creatures," he added
proudly.

Giles looked up with surprise. "Do you really? That's wonderful,
Hagrid! When did you get that position?"

"Abou' a year ago," he answered, a big grin on his
face. "Dumbledore's a brilliant man the let me do this. He's been
lookin' forward ter seein' yeh agin, y'know."

"Ahh, yes." A pleased look passed over Giles' features. "I wouldn't
mind seeing him again myself. It's been quite a long time."

Hagrid beamed at the two girls sitting across him. "Ruper' and I
used ter be good mates when we were younger. I was watchin' the
grounds at that time and he was a student. This rascal here used ter
get into all sorts o' trouble. Caused riots, he did."

"Giles, didn't you say you never went to Hogwarts because you
couldn't do magic?" Willow asked.

"I couldn't do magic, but I did attend Hogwarts for some time," the
former watcher answered. There was a hint of bitterness in his
tone. "The status and reputation of my family made it so they tried
all they could to de-squib me. It never worked, of course. "

Hagrid waved a huge hand dismissively, narrowly missing Giles' head
by inches. "That didn' matter none, now did it? We still had our
fun. Now, let me tell yeh girls abou' the time Ruper' put a rat that
some kid forgot he Vanished into this girls bag. . ."

Faith leaned forward eagerly to hear the story and the train lurched
into motion. As the gamekeeper told the story, his voice grew
louder, bouncing off the walls. His hand movements became more
animated with his large arms waving wildly about with descriptive
force. Poor Giles was nearly getting battered.

". . . and then the whole class got detention, b'cause none of th'
teachers could figure out who did it. An' Rupert here got off,
because they all knew he couldn' of gone and Vanished the rat!
Cheeky fella, now ain' he!" Hagrid let out a rumbling
chuckle. "Rupert, ol' boy, what are yeh doin' there?"

Giles was squashed up next to the window, the glasses perched at an
angle on his nose due to the fact that his cheek was pressed firmly
against the window. Throughout Hagrid's story, he had been pushed
further and further to the side. If he had been sitting next to the
aisle, it was certain he would have been unintentionally pushed off
the seat by Hagrid's size and excitement. "Nothing. I'm fine," Giles
managed to get out.

"Don' be silly. Yeh need ter sit properly otherwise ye'll do yerself
an injury." With an easy tug, Hagrid sat the other man in an upright
position, patting him on the shoulder. Giles tried not to grunt at
the impact.

"Hagrid, do you know what we're going to be doing at Hogwarts?"
Willow asked.

"As a matter o' fact, I do. But I best not be sayin' nothin', on
strict orders from Dumbledore `imself. All yeh need ter know is that
ye'll be told what ter do once yeh get there." Hagrid seemed
satisfied with the answer, and it was clear to the redhead that he
wasn't about to say any more.

"And how is my sister doing?" Giles asked. It sounded like he was
almost reluctant to find out the answer.

"Professor Trelawny bin in a bit of a state lately, always askin' if
yeh've arrived yet and all that sort. I `spect she'll be a bit
better now she knows yeh here."

"Somehow I doubt that," Giles said dryly. "She's still predicting, I
assume?"

"Too right. Jus' yesterday she told me twice that th' shadows `round
my head meant I was goin' ter meet a nasty end soon. Now I told her
it was probably jus' me hair she was seein', but she didn't believe
me."

"Man, I can't wait to met your sister, Giles," Faith said. "She
sounds like such a freak."

"Yes, well. . .yes."

At that moment, a woman pushing a cart stopped at the door. "Like
anything off the cart, dears?"

Faith and Willow declined, but Giles pulled out a silver coin and
bought a box of something. "It's been years since I've had one of
these."

"Bertie Botts has really bin boomin'," Hagrid told him. "Added five
new flavours over th' past year, with three more on the way, I hear."

"Really?" Giles' face lit up with interest. He held out the box to
Faith and Willow. "Would you like some?"

Faith eyes the box suspiciously. "What is it?"

"Lollies."

The Slayer nudged Willow in the ribs. "Old man's offering us
lollies. Something's not right here."

"Well, if you're too scared to try new types of food. . ." Giles
began to pull back his hand but Faith stopped him, eyes flashing
indignantly.

"I am not too –man, just give me that." She reached into the box and
grabbed a handful of the beans. "I'll show you too scared." She
raised the fistful of lollies to her mouth.

Giles' eyes widened. "No, wait –"

But it was too late. Faith had already shoved all the beans into her
mouth and was now chewing furiously, a slight scowl on her face. It
was when she suddenly stopped chewing that Giles knew the mixture of
odd flavours finally hit her. He waited for a reaction.

There were tears in her eyes. Faith didn't want to lose face by
spitting the foul lollies out of her mouth, so she did what any
other proud slayer would do.

She swallowed.

Willow was looking at her with concern, having no idea of what the
brunette had just eaten. The looks on the faces of Giles and Hagrid
were a mixture fascination and awe.

"Faith, are you okay?" Willow asked.

The brunette didn't answer. She did, however, blink furiously.

"Faith?"

"Five by five," Faith finally croaked out. She glared at Giles. "You
trying to kill me or something?"

Giles was trying his best not to laugh. "You didn't have to eat
them."

Faith just kept glaring.

"Is all the food here going to be like that? Because if it is, I'm
going home."

End 4













































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