Title: Treasures Abound
Sequel to "Treasure Hunting"
Author: Jinni (druscilla@cox.net)
Pairing: W/Bill Weasley
Genre: BtVS/HP Crossover
Disclaimer: All things BtVS belong to Joss Whedon and/or whomever else is currently claiming ownership of them. Harry Potter and company belong to JK Rowling. I am none of these people and do not claim to own anything other than my sad little plot.
Distribution: Anyone who has "Treasure Hunting". WLF, NHA, BMP, WLS, Aislin, Serena.
Author's Notes: Takes place about three months after the events of "Treasure Hunting".
Feedback: PLEASE?
~*~Part One~*~
The dungeons were cold, but Severus Snape didn't feel it. Maybe it was due to years of working in them, living in them, doing everything God could have possibly allowed - all within the dark, chilled confines of the dungeon. That was a suitable theory. But it wasn't the right one.
He didn't feel the cold because he was past feeling.
His body still ached from hours of undergoing the Cruciatus, the pain filling his limbs until he was no longer able to stand and could scarcely think. This wasn't punishment for any supposed crime he had committed against the Dark Lord. No, this was just his special form of greeting his favorites and keeping them in line.
At least Lucius had to go through the same thing, his brain sneered.
Apparating back to the edge of Hogsmeade, Severus had sat for hours alone and wretched, willing the energy back into his body so that he could, finally, stumble along the pathway back to the school, past the gates, and into the halls. It was easier then, to take the shortcuts that led, eventually, down to the dungeons and into his classroom. There he had discovered that he just didn't have the strength to move any further.
So now he was sitting, and thinking, but he couldn't feel the coldness. He couldn't feel the chill that was so intense that it, at times, began to congeal some of the more temperamental ingredients in his stores. His head ached but not nearly so much as every single muscle in his body. He only wanted to lie down and rest, but there was no energy for that.
And, besides, his overworked brain wouldn't allow it.
Not when he had bigger matters to figure out, plans that needed working before such time as he sought the Headmaster out to give him the details of this last 'Revel'. He had to come up with a way to keep her safe.
Her.
His Assistant.
The brightest Potions Assistant he could have ever hoped to find, even if he didn't come right out and say so to her face. But her intelligence hadn't escaped the sharp eyes of the students. Most specifically, the Slytherin students. Damn his House! Why did they have to play on the wrong side and tattle about school comings and goings to their precious Death Eater parents. Was it Malfoy? Or Goyle? Avery? Crabbe? Perhaps Parkinson? The list went on and on. Even now, after knowing these students for years, he had no clue where their true loyalties lie. It could be any one of them that was running back to their parents with every shred of information they found. It could be all of them or just one. He had no way of knowing.
Until they turned seventeen. Just a few more years and he'd see who was loyal and who was not, when they were led before the Dark Lord to receive the Mark that would brand them for the rest of their lives.
But that was a topic for another day. He couldn't afford to think too long or too hard on what the future may hold for his students, especially when the future of Miss Willow Rosenberg was hanging in such desperate balance. She was out right now, off on a weekend retreat with her boyfriend, Bill Weasley. He didn't know where they were nor did Dumbledore. And perhaps that was best. If they didn't know then it was doubtful that anyone that could harm her knew either. Let the ever soppy romantic couple have their time away. When the weekend ended things had to change.
The Dark Lord had made it quite clear that he wanted the new Potions Assistant either taken care of permanently or lured over to their side. Neither was a feasible plan of action of Severus, but he couldn't say that to his 'Lord', his 'Master', for fear that the Cruciatus curse would turn into the Killing curse. At least this way he could attempt to think of a plan to save her, all the while acting the part of the obedient servant. She was too much of a liability to the Dark Lord as it stood. Either she would turn to the Dark or she would be destroyed, if not by him, then by another of the inner circle or whatever up and coming youngster was out to make a name for himself.
He allowed his head to drop into his hands, unable to stave off the shaking aftereffects of the Cruciatus any longer. His body felt like it was cramping up and he toppled to the floor, his head impacting much harder than would be healthy with the stone of the floor. Slowly blackness overcame his thoughts, chasing off the plaguing worries with the sweet arms of unconsciousness.
~*~
Willow woke in a cold sweat, sitting up so suddenly in the bed she was sharing with Bill that his arm was flung rather ungraciously back to his body, fwapping him in the chest and eliciting a startled cry from his mouth. She turned, an apology on her lips.
"Was it another nightmare?"
She shut her mouth, nodding at him. Her nightmares had gotten more frequent in the past week, waking her once or twice a night - sometimes screaming, sometimes crying, and other times, like now, just gasping for a breath.
"Same as before?" Bill pushed her gently.
"Yeah. Same as before. Nameless black evil thingy. Shadows. Chasing me. The mouth of Hell opening. The usual." She flopped back onto her pillow, squinching her eyes shut.
"Maybe you should tell Dumbledore about this." Bill murmured, tracing loving patters of delicate, feathery touches on the bare skin of her arm. In the moonlight pouring through the window she looked so ethereal, much like a porcelain angel. "Its been happening more and more often, sweetie."
Willow nodded, her eyes still shut, as though by keeping them closed she could face the very real possibility that her dreams were a warning of some kind.
But of what?
"I'll tell him when we get back Sunday night." She finally conceded, allowing Bill to pull her into his arms. His long red hair was loose, spilling out over the pillow like hers often did. She smiled in the darkness at him, hilarity finding its way to the fore of her damaged emotions.
"We look like we're related."
Bill snorted.
"Guess we've damned our children to the curse of the Weasley red hair."
Willow smiled, filled with happiness at the term 'our children'. It seemed like a forgone conclusion to him that they would marry and, one day, have kids. Little witches and wizards that would carry the Weasley name into the next generation at Hogwarts. But Bill hadn't mentioned marriage yet, and it gave her the opportune time to tease him.
"We have to get married first, Bill. Unless we plan on having those children out of wedlock? Hmm? Your mother would have our hides."
Bill stilled and Willow wondered if she had said the wrong thing. She felt him move, his right arm hanging down off the side of the bed and fumbling around. And then he was holding something up in front of her. A little box.
Willow felt her breath catch in her throat, her eyes going frantically between him and the box. Him and the box, as she waited for him to speak.
"I was going to do this last night." He murmured, sitting up. He looked down at her, his hair falling like a silken curtain about his face. "But some little vixen distracted me the second we got in the room."
She blushed, the nervousness in her stomach being pushed aside for one moment by pure lust at the reminder of the night before. Were her underwear still there, by the door?
Before she could go into a more detailed remembrance of the night before or where her clothing had ended up, Bill was speaking again.
"I know its only been three months, but its been a bloody wonderful three months." He continued, his eyes focused on hers. "And, I was wondering..."
He flipped the box open with his thumb, exposing the tasteful ring within it. A single diamond sat in the center, cut in the shape of a heart, with small rubies encrusting the band. She reached for it, her hand trembling.
"Is that a yes?" Bill asked, hopeful, watching her progress.
"Yes!" She cried out, joyous. "Yes! Yes! Yes!"
He grinned, pulling the ring out for her and slipping it gently on her finger. He felt her lips crash into his while he was still just admiring the way the ring sparkled on her finger. Abandoning himself to the pleasurous thanks she was willing to lavish on his, Bill set about pleasing his new fiance with all the skill he posessed.
Upon arriving back at the school, her weekend with Bill at an end, Willow discovered that not all was right with the world.
"He’s in the infirmary, still." Minerva told her, gently, when asked at long last where Severus was. She had looked high and low for him upon returning to the school, but had been unable to locate him in the dungeons, and no one had answered her knock at the door to his private rooms. It was finally at dinner that she had been forced to ask.
"Infirmary?" Willow gasped, her eyes widening with shock. "What happened? Why didn’t anyone call me?"
The Transfiguration Professor hid a smile at the younger woman’s worried, harried look. It was a well-known fact amongst the staff that Professor Rosenberg doted on Professor Snape like a daughter would to a father. She had even managed to convince him that cleaning charms just didn’t do his hair justice, forcing a bottle of organic shampoo on him.
"He was Called while you were gone, Willow." Minerva told her quietly, the look in her eyes making it clear that she didn’t mean Severus had been the victim of a nasty phone call, even if there were such things in Hogwarts.
"Oh dear Goddess." Willow whispered, shutting her eyes briefly to stave off the tears that threatened to pour from them. She forced a ragged sigh from her lips, wiping the tears that had formed away with the back of her hand. "Is he going to be alright?"
"As well as he normally is, yes." Minerva nodded. "Though I do not know how many more trips like this he can make before he suffers more serious permanent damage."
Willow nodded, blinking blearily at her food. How many times in the last weeks had she tried to convince him that no amount of spying was worth the pain he was going through? She could still remember, in vivid detail, the manner in which she had first found him after a Calling. He had been on the pathway leading up to the school, on his knees. His face had been contorted in such pain that it seemed almost unreal, like a mask. His body had spasmed with pain even while she was trying to get him to his feet so that she could get him in the castle. In the end, it had taken a spell to get him inside, hovering him gently above the ground as she cried and guided him into Hogwarts.
And now he had been Called again.
She shuddered in revulsion.
"If I ever get my hands on this Dark Lord of yours." She whispered angrily. "He will rue the day he ever decided to try to become king of the Evil doing."
Minerva didn’t have to look into Willow’s angry emerald eyes to know that the younger witch was speaking nothing but the truth. She felt the same way, after all. As did Sprout, and Dumbledore, and all of the other Professors in the school. She would gladly lay down her morals for one moment, just long enough to cast the Killing Curse, if only she could get close enough to the bastard to do so.
"We will avenge everything he has ever done to Severus, and everyone else, one day, my child." She murmured reassuringly. "For now, we must have patience."
"Never one of my strong suites." Willow muttered. She drew her napkin from her lap and laid it on the table. "I’m going to go see him. Make sure he doesn’t need anything."
And share some good news, her brain reminded her. She had wanted him to know first, out of all of the Professors, since he was most like a father to her. She knew that Minerva might be a little hurt that she didn’t mention the engagement to her during dinner, but that was okay. Minerva would get over the slight insult. It was Severus that Willow was worried about.
She left the Great Hall, moving swiftly through the empty school hallways. Only another month or so and then it would be the winter holidays.
Yule.
The time when she and Bill had decided to have their ceremony. Just her, him and some of their closest friends and family. And, of course, all of their coworkers; though Bill had assured her that none of the Gringotts goblins were likely to show up, invited or no.
‘A very good thing.’ She snickered silently, still racing through the halls of Hogwarts. Those goblins gave her the serious wiggins. They were just so sneaky, suspicious, creepy looking! Like something Buffy would have slain on the Hellmouth.
Buffy.
‘Damnit!’ She berated herself for even bringing up her friend. Only two letters had arrived since she left Sunnydale. One from Buffy. One from Xander. She had sent owls, regular letters, and had even hotwired her laptop to work off of pure magic so that she could send emails. But she had received only those two, tiny responses. It hurt, like an ache in her chest where her heart was supposed to be beating. Xander was her best friend since elementary school, and now he was too busy caught up in his own life to even write to her?
The red haired witch sighed, pushing open the door of the infirmary and walking in. For once the beds at the front, usually filled with students, were empty.
"He’s in the back." Poppy’s voice called out quietly from her office. Willow smiled. There wasn’t a thing that went on in this infirmary that Madam Pomfrey wasn’t aware of.
The walk from the front of the infirmary to the back wasn’t normally a long one. In fact, by all accounts it should only take a few, long strides. But Willow wasn’t in a hurry. She was terrified to see what had happened to her mentor –now-. He was always so strong in class, so firm when teaching. To see him break down and succumb to pain or sickness was almost too much. It definitely would shock the students if they ever were to see.
Which most definitely couldn’t be allowed.
If he wasn’t better by the next morning she would just have to make up some sort of cover story and teach the day’s classes herself. There was no way she would allow the students to know of their Potion Master’s weaknesses or pains. Those were his own private moments, to be shared only with those he trusted.
And he certainly couldn’t trust a good portion of the students enrolled at the school. Not just Slytherins, either. Willow had reason to believe that there could possibly be some Gryffindors and maybe even some Ravenclaws that were playing for the wrong side. No Hufflepuffs, though. They were too likely to gossip amongst themselves and be found out if they were hiding anything nefarious.
By the time Willow had managed to give her own little mental dissertation on why Hufflepuffs could never be Dark Witches and Wizards, she had reached the curtain separating the back of the infirmary from the prying eyes of whomever walked in the front door. She drew aside the curtain, slipping inside with hardly a whisper of cloth. There was only a single candle burning on the nightstand, magic keeping the wax from dripping to the wood. It scarcely gave off enough light for her to see by, though she knew the reason it was kept burning so low. He would likely have an awful headache still, the type that no amount of pain relief potion could subdue. It would fade, usually within the first two days of his return from visiting with the Dark Lord. But, in the meantime he would not be able to bear any but the softest light, and even that would prove to be painful at times.
"Severus?" She whispered hesitantly. "Are you awake."
The silence stretched out before her and she began to feel that yes, perhaps he was asleep.
"Miss Rosenberg?"
She could scarcely hear his whisper; so faint it was above the sound of her own breathing. Kneeling next to his bedside, she took one of his hands in her own, wincing at the cold, clamminess of it.
"Does it hurt much?"
A dry chuckled escaped from the Potion Master’s lips, though it was followed rapidly by a grimace of pain. His eyes were still closed or she would have unfortunately seen them cloud over with genuine anguish.
"Only as much as it normally does."
"Ah." She murmured, neither in comfort that would be meaningless amidst so much pain nor with flippancy. It was merely a muttered syllable of acceptance. All they could do now was wait, to make him as comfortable as possible until such time as they aftereffects of the Cruciatus left him entirely.
"Did you learn anything important?" She ventured after a few moments.
"Very much so." He replied evenly. "Though I cannot divulge that nature of that to you as of yet. Dumbledore has not even had a chance to take my report. He has been too busy, I believe."
"Or maybe they are just allowing you to recover before interrogating you?" Willow quipped, smiling gently at him, despite the fact that he could not see the gesture.
"Perhaps." A soft tilt of his head sufficed as a nod of acceptance.
Willow ran her thumb over the back of her Master’s hand, taking a deep breath.
"I looked for you when I first came back, because I had some news I wanted to share with you first. Before anyone else, that is." And now it was that her breath caught in her throat. This man was her mentor, she thought of him so much like a father.
"Bill asked me to marry him. And I have said yes. I’ll still stay your Assistant, of course." She rushed to add.
She held her breath, waiting for his response and needing his approval just as she would have needed her own biological father’s had he been in any way close to her.
"I am pleased for you." He said at last, a faint twitch at the corner of his mouth indicating his own sad version of a smile. It wasn’t much, but it was what Willow expected from him. This was his own taciturn approval of her plans. "You will be running off now to tell Minerva and Albus?"
It was a dismissal as sure as she’d ever heard one. He was tired, needed his rest.
"Of course." She murmured, releasing his hand at last, letting it fall gently back to the bed. He looked so pale in the candlelight. So much so that she was already thinking up what to tell the students in the morning. She was more than capable of teaching the class, and anything that arose out of her own range of skill could easily be fobbed off to another day. "I’ll be back before bed. Send someone for me if you need anything special brewed."
Severus listened to the sound of her retreating footsteps on the floor, then the door swinging open and closed. He exhaled a sigh of remorse. She was getting married and he was genuinely happy for her. Marriage was a wonderful thing for those that had the stomach for it, unlike himself. The love she felt for Bill Weasley was second to none, as well. They were a good match, for sure.
But her love gave Voldemort one more way to hurt her if he wished.
And that was not a good thing at all.
~*~When It Rains ... ~*~
When it rains, it pours.
Willow shook her head, disgusted with the very realism of that often said statement. It had nothing to do with the weather, of course, the sun was shining brightly outside of her bedroom window. This current downpour in her life had to do with Evil.
The Voldemort type of Evil.
Not even two days after returning from her mini-vacation with Bill, Willow was still trying to deal with the aftermath of the engagement, including the numerous Weasleys who insisted on dropping by, often unannounced, to offer their congratulations. It was in the middle of the a visit by Ginny that Willow found herself summoned to Professor Dumbledore's office.
~*~
"Lemon drop?"
Willow shook her head, murmuring a polite thanks to the Headmaster. There was something incredibly off with him, the twinkle was gone from his eyes, replaced by something much more disturbing.
"I'll get right to the point, then." He sighed, settling into his own chair. "You are aware that Severus was Called this past weekend, correct?"
She nodded carefully.
"Voldemort imparted some very interesting information to him at that time. You are being considered for membership amongst their ranks, my dear. Your talent in Potions has reached the ears of the Dark Lord himself and he now wishes for you to be on their side. Severus, as something of a role model for you, has been charged with the task of either bringing you over or eliminating you entirely."
Willow gasped, her face registering pure shock.
"But --"
"Don't worry." Dumbledore smiled easily, holding up a hand to delay any questions she may have. "Severus will not be doing anything such thing, of course."
"Of course." The red haired witch whispered, mostly to herself. She never doubted for one second that her mentor would betray her or put her into harm's way. Voldemort, the Dark Lord, wanted -her-. For Goddess' knew what! She sighed, resting her head in her hands and shutting her eyes. This was too much like a bad dream for her tastes.
Bad dream.
Nightmares.
"Goddess!" She cried, smacking her palm into her forehead. "I completely forgot to tell you, and I promised Bill I would. But everything makes so much sense now. Except for the part about the Hellmouth and all but --"
"Willow? From the beginning, if you would?"
She nodded, blushing.
"I've been having nightmares more and more regularly lately. Some dark guy in a forest. Red eyes. He's Evil and Bad and all sorts of other words. And he seems to want me to do . . . something. But - then it shows the Hellmouth, Sunnydale. And I don't know what Voldemort would want with the Hellmouth. Its sorta far away."
Dumbledore sighed. This was getting worse and worse by the moment, it seemed.
"The question should not be what *would* he want from the Hellmouth, my dear. But what *wouldn't* he want? With the power of the Hellmouth at his beck and call the Dark Lord would very quickly be able to rise back to power."
"And that's definitely a bad thing. . ." The young witch muttered. "What are we going to do?"
"I will admit that this possibility never crossed my mind." The old wizard sighed tiredly. "I will need to think on it for some time, if you do not mind."
Willow nodded, taking the dismissal. She practically ran into the halls, anxious to seek the relative safety of her rooms.
But in her room she found no safety, no reprieve from the tragedy she felt was spiraling towards her at an ever-increasing pace. She stopped, staring in surprise at the dark brown owl sitting on the back of one of her chairs. It blinked at her, holding out one leg with an impatient clack of its beak.
The parchement came away and she offered the owl a bit of treat, which it ate quickly, still sitting and staring at her.
"You're supposed to take back a reply, hmm?"
Unrolling the paper, Willow got yet another shock.
~Willow,
I regret that we last parted on less than favorable circumstances and I do sincerely apologize for my oversight in informing you of the Wizarding world. I would not be bothering you at this time if it were not of the utmost importance.
The Hellmouth is going to reopen. The signs and portents have been looming for over a month. Buffy has worn herself ragged from trying to deal with it all and Xander is nearly incapacitated from exhaustion. There is nothing we can do at this point to stop this from happening, however we would be deeply indebted to you if you would consider coming home to aide us in closing it once again.
By my calculations the opening should take place within two weeks' time. Please respond back if you will be able to assist.
Giles~
~*~
Willow clutched the paper to her chest, once again leaving her rooms to seek out the Headmaster. She tossed the letter on his desk, her eyes round with fear and shock.
"Good evening to you, as well, Miss Rosenberg."
The witch jumped, whirling around to face the man seated towards the back of the office, his face still drawn and pale from his injuries.
"Severus! I didn't even see you sitting there." She put a hand to her heart. "Sorry for interrupting the two of you. That just came." She gestured towards the letter. "I'm needed back in Sunnydale."
"You dream of Voldemort and the Hellmouth and now you are being called back to that same Hellmouth, this is far more than just idle coincidence, I fear." Dumbledore sighed, passing the letter to Severus.
"This cannot be good." The Potions Master agreed. "Albus was just telling me about your dreams. If Voldemort succeeds in bending the Hellmouth to his will we will have a problem on our hands much too large to even begin to think of dealing with."
"All the more reason for me to go home." Willow nodded. "I can close it. They need me to."
"And how do they know you can close it?"
Willow blinked in surprise at the Headmaster, a wry grin crossing her lips after a moment.
"Because I'm the one that closed it the first time, silly."
"Of course." The sarcasm in Severus' voice was thick in the already tense atmosphere of the room. "Why did you never think to tell any of us about your more extracurricular activities?"
The red head shrugged, her expression giving away her confusion.
"I did it when I was sixteen, Severus. I didn't think you guys cared to know about my high school years."
"Sixteen, she says." Severus sneered. "She closed a bloody Hellmouth when she was SIXTEEN - and we're wondering why Voldemort wants her? I think he knows more than we do about you, Miss Rosenberg. I don't think his interest lies in your Potions merit alone."
"No need to get pissy about it." Willow grumbled, turning a glare onto the older man.
"Is there anything else of that caliber that you have done, whether during your younger years or not?" Albus inquiried politely, defusing the situation brewing between his Potions Master and Potions Assistant.
"I restored a soul to a vampire..." She began to tick off on her fingers. "Helped destroy a Hell Goddess. . . Helped avert an Ascension. . . Numerous dark rituals to banish demons. . . Um . . ." She paused, eyes unfocusing in concentration. "That's about it for the big stuff. There were other things, too - little things - but those mostly went wrong."
"Dark rituals?"
"Ascension?"
"Hell Goddess?"
"Ensouled a vampire?"
The two wizards sighed in unison, each shaking their heads for different reasons that all led back to the same place.
Willow Rosenberg was a force to be reckoned with.
~*~
~Bill,
Must dash back home for a couple weeks. Will owl you more when I get there. Must hurry. Give my love to your family. I'll miss you.
Love,
Willow~
~*~
"Are you about ready -yet-?" Severus snapped, watching as his Assistant tossed the last of her things into her bag and shrunk aforementioned bag down.
"Yes. Yes." She sighed in frustration, checking to make sure the fireplace was out and cold. "I guess we should go now."
"Really? Any other startling jumps of insight tonight?" The Potions Master sneered, discreetly patting his pocket to make sure that his own bag was stored away safely. After many long hours of deliberation, it had been decided that it was best for him to accompany Willow back to Sunnydale and assist her with the task. The very real possibility of Voldemort showing up before things were said and done weighed heavily on his soul, and he couldn't very well let her go off to face the danger alone.
This, of course, meant the end of his spying - which he was happy to say he wasn't sad to see go.
Willow glared at her mentor.
"No, that's all from me for now, Snarly-Man. Let's get this show on the road."
Severus shook his head, following her out of her rooms and into the halls. They would be in Sunnydale within a few hours, thanks to a series portkeys and then some clever apparition. The sun would just be setting in California by the time they finally appeared in front of this 'Mister Giles's' house.
He fought back the urge to reprimand her for the skip in her step; squashed the nearly overwhelming need to remind her that this was not a pleasure jaunt.
But it was her first trip home in months. And she seemed happy, despite the weight of everything that was on her shoulders. Let her be happy now, while she still could.
Because everything could very well fall apart before they knew it.
~*~Part Four~*~
Bill glared down at the letter in his hand, and then at the owl that had delivered it. The owl was just a common Hogwarts school owl, patiently waiting for a bit of treat and water. He sighed. No sense being evil to the owl just because he didn’t like what the letter had said. He tossed it a piece of cracker and summoned a dish of water, which the owl hooted a thanks for.
And then it was back to the letter.
Willow had left for Sunnydale. And she hadn’t said why.
Had he done something wrong?
He sighed, dropping the letter to his desk and reaching for some Floo powder. He threw it into the fire of his fireplace, calling out for Professor Dumbledore. The elderly wizard’s head appeared in the fireplace, bobbing along with the flickering flames.
"Mister Weasley! To what do I owe the honor of this call?"
"I just received an owl from Willow saying she was going home for a couple weeks. She didn’t say why. I don’t suppose she mentioned anything to you."
Dumbledore nodded, the head in the flames bobbing madly.
"She didn’t have much time before she had to leave, I’m afraid. I do apologize for the shortness of her post. It appears that the Dark Lord is going to be trying to use the Hellmouth to regain his former powers."
"The Hellmouth?" Bill questioned, confused. "The Hellmouth has been closed since Willow was sixteen."
Dumbledore frowned.
"Yes, and while we knew that the Hellmouth had been closed, believe me when I say it came as a shock to learn that my Assistant Potions Mistress had done it at such a tender age."
Bill turned away from the fire for a moment to hide the smile on his face. So Willow had managed to sneak something past the old goat. Good for her! Dumbledore was too complacent in his ability to know everything. It was about time someone threw him for a loop, in his opinion.
"Back to the Hellmouth being closed and the Dark Lord, Headmaster . . ." He reminded the other wizard gently, turning back to the fire.
"Right, right." Dumbledore nodded, his image dancing about in the flames. "It seems that the Hellmouth has chosen this time to begin to reopen, thus the reason your fiancé is currently on the way there. She will close it again, thus making it impossible for the Dark Lord to carry through with his plans."
"You sent here there by herself! Who will protect her while she does this spell?" Bill exclaimed, taking a step towards the fire as though to thoroughly throttle the Headmaster before realizing there was nothing he could do from this distance.
"I did not send her alone, Mister Weasley. Please calm yourself. Severus went with her, of course."
Bill stopped his nervous pacing, eyes growing wide with shock.
"You sent Professor Snape? If You-Know-Who is there it will destroy his cover. . ."
"Yes." Dumbledore nodded. "It very well may. But that is a risk we must take. Severus couldn’t be our spy for the rest of his life, anyway. And it is about time that he takes his much deserved rest from that entire business."
Though agitated, Bill had to admit that letting Severus out of his role as spy would be one of the best things Dumbledore ever did for the glowering Potions Master. The curse breaker had been forced to comfort Willow on more that one night after she was done tending to Severus Snape after a Revel or meeting. The Cruciatus curse was a nasty thing, and could very well kill the now aging wizard if he didn’t stop putting himself in a position to have it cast on him so often.
"I’m going to help."
Dumbledore’s kindly smile grated on Bill’s nerves as the Headmaster gently answerd:
"But of course you are."
~*~
Willow stood nervously in front of Giles’ house, hands in her pockets. Southern California weather was usually so nice and warm, even during this time of the year. But not at that moment. A cold breeze was whipping about, though there were no clouds in the sky. Certainly nothing to give even the slightest reason for why the weather would be so nasty.
"Lovely town."
"Oh, quit the sneering, Severus." Willow glared, gesturing for him to follow her up the walk. "Save it for the people we’re here to help."
"I thought these were your friends?" The Potions Master inquired in a voice that his students would probably never hear; one of compassion and polite inquisitiveness.
"Some friends." The red head snorted. "Giles didn’t even bother telling me about the wizarding world. Buffy and Xander haven’t written back in forever. Now that they need something, though, they’re all ready to make with the waving of the white flag and call me in to do some mojo consulting."
Ah. So now it made sense. Her friends weren’t really friends at all, just acquaintances that used her for their own means and then ignored her the rest of the time. That was the impression that he gathered from her statements, at least.
They were at the door now, and she raised her hand to knock. The sound was unnervingly loud in the otherwise quiet courtyard that serviced the apartment complex; echoing for a brief moment. As the last shred of noise faded away the door swung open.
Severus stared in shock at the man that was standing there, greeting Willow. He saw his Assistant turn, gesture for him to come forward. And that’s when the man that she had been speaking with recognized him as well.
"Severus? Severus Snape?"
"Hello, Rupert. Long time no see. Last I heard you were. . .dead?"
Giles frowned, looking from Willow to Severus and then back again.
"A lot has happened since you last saw me, Sev." Giles murmured, his eyes dark and furious. "But somehow I find it hard to believe that you would have turned your colors so fully. And I will not allow you to harm Willow in any way."
Severus raised one regal eyebrow at his former friend and Housemate.
"My Assistant has little to fear from me, *old friend*." He spat viciously. "You have been gone quite a while, Ripper. Perhaps you shouldn’t assume things before at least attempting to hear my side of the story? And you. . . supposedly dead. With the Dark Lord wondering where his star Death Eater could possibly have disappeared to."
"Death Eater?" Willow whispered, her eyes darting to Giles and then back to Severus, confused both by the fact that they knew each other and by the conversation they were having. "Giles. . . you were a Death Eater?"
Giles sighed, casting a petrifying glare towards Severus.
"I have told you before that my past wasn’t that nice of a thing, Willow."
"Yeah. But a Death Eater, Giles? They are the worst of the worst. The lowest of the low. . . Oh, sorry Severus." Willow blushed, embarrassed at her outpouring of hateful sentiment.
The Potions Master spared her a small smile.
"You are right, Willow. Death Eaters are the worst of the worst."
"Not all of them." She smiled tenderly, rubbing his arm. "Some of them turn out to be quite good and cuddly."
"Cuddly." Severus sighed in long-suffering torment. "The child refers to me as cuddly, whatever would the students think of –that-?"
Giles snickered.
"I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone refer to Sev as cuddly and get away with it, Willow."
The red head shrugged.
"Just goes to show that you don’t know everything about me. . . or him."
The words hung on the air, thick and menacing. No, she hadn’t forgiven him for not telling her about the wizarding world. And she had relatively little thought to ever doing so, for that matter. Her eyes met his, blazing green to sad brown, and finally he spoke again.
"Yes, that may be true. Shall we go inside? And talk?"
Willow nodded once, stepping inside the cozy apartment that she had spent countless hours in, researching and strategizing. It looked the same as ever, worn furnishings that were comfortable as anything to relax on. The kitchen looked clean, something unusual for Giles. He must have cleaned that day in preparation for their arrival.
"Was there any luggage?"
Willow raised an eyebrow at Giles, surprised at such an uninformed question from a normally intelligent man. She fished in her pocket, pulling out a rather miniature version of her trunk, which she showed him.
"Shrunk."
"Ah."
"Rupert. . . If I may. . . what happened to you? One day you were mercilessly torturing and plundering with the rest of us and the next you were. . . gone."
"Long story, that." Giles sighed. "And I suppose I do owe it to you. . . just as you owe me the story of how you came to be in the employment of Hogwarts and looking out for Willow?"
Severus inclined his head in agreement.
"Have a seat, then." The former librarian gestured. "Might as well start from the beginning. You see . . ."
The door of the apartment swung open before he could go any further, Buffy and Xander trudging in. Willow held her breath, waiting to see how they would both react to seeing her there, sitting with Giles as though she had never left. The moment gave her a chance to look over her friends and notice that they were, as Giles had written, worn out. Dark circles beneath both of their eyes gave indication to how little sleep they were running on. Buffy had a large cut on her forehead that was stitched up, no doubt by Giles’ expert fingers. A quick spell could help with the healing, of course; but Willow was loathe to expend energy on someone that couldn’t even bother to return her emails and letters.
Buffy turned, just as Willow was completing her silent evaluation; blue eyes widening with shock and then. . . happiness?
"Willow – " The blonde muttered, taking a step forward.
And falling flat on her face, unconscious.
~*~Part Five~*~
Willow was worried. Normally Slayers didn’t pass out. And, if they did, they bounced back pretty quick. As of the last time she looked at her watch, Buffy had been unconscious for nearly an hour.
Or maybe she was just sleeping.
It was hard to tell, the two states being remarkably similar.
She sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at the blonde that she had been friends with for years. Where had they gone wrong? What had she done to earn their disfavor? Xander was downstairs, speaking with Giles and Severus about patrol. He had said his hellos, but little else; and she got the distinct impression that he was very upset with her, though she didn’t know why that could be. She hadn’t been around for anyone to get mad at her. She had been in England, working on being a proper witch and falling quite head over heels in love with the man of her dreams.
"What happened to the three of us?" The red head whispered sadly, brushing a strand of hair back from Buffy’s face. The cut on the blonde’s forehead looked painful and nasty. Giles had done a good job of stitching it up, but beyond that it looked to be getting infected.
She placed a hand over the wound, drawing her wand from her pants’ pocket.
"Medicor." She murmured, allowing the power within her to flow out and down into the wound. This was the type of simple magic she had learned from Molly Weasley, to cure minor ails; and she was thankful for it at that moment. Despite her earlier misgivings about expending energy to heal someone that hadn’t bothered to keep in contact with her, the red head knew she was doing the right thing.
As much as the pain of her friends’ betrayal still hurt.
"Willow. . ."
The red head jerked her hand back, pleased to note that the wound was more than half-healed and looked free of infection. Buffy would suffer no ill effects from it, aside from a minor scar in that area. There was nothing that could be done about that, and it would be a waste of magical energy to try.
"You’re here. . ." The blonde murmured, blue eyes barely parted to look at the one she once called friend. "You came. . . to help?"
"Yes." Willow replied, simply. "You had to know I would."
The Slayer shrugged, a soft rise and fall of her shoulders.
"You left. . . we didn’t know if you’d come back. Ever."
Willow frowned.
"How can you say that? Its not like I abandoned you. The two of you had stopped being there for me long before I left, Buffy. I felt used and had a wonderful opportunity to go and learn magic. Real magic. Not just dabbling. And, I met someone in the middle of all of that. . . and now that’s my home. He is my home."
"We didn’t abandon. . ." Buffy opened her tired eyes to look into Willow’s face. "Oh, God. . . We never meant. . ."
Now it was Willow’s turn to shrug.
"Maybe you didn’t mean to. And I doubt he did either. But the two of you got so caught up in your lives that you left me on the outside, looking in. And it’s lonely out there, believe me. I had to go find someplace of my own in the world."
"And did you?"
Willow nodded.
"His name is Bill. He’s a wizard." She held up her hand for the other woman to see. "We’re getting married this winter."
"Married?" Buffy sat up suddenly, wincing with pain. "You’re getting married?!?"
"Shhh!" Willow hushed, looking towards the bedroom door. The apartment was small and she hadn’t told Giles yet, or Xander. The last thing she wanted was for them to hear it this way.
Buffy blushed and lay back down, her eyes locking with Willow’s.
"Thank you for coming to help. . . we need it badly. . . "
"Are things that bad? And. . . why didn’t you write to me, Buffy? Were you that mad that I left?"
"I. . . we. . . " She sighed, nodding. "Yes. You left and we needed you. It has been so hard without you, Wills. So very hard. . . Things have gotten ugly very quick. I’ve been making with the Slaying, but the baddies just keep coming back. . . bigger and badder. I can’t even remember how many close calls we’ve had in the past week alone."
"Oh, Goddess." Willow whispered. "I didn’t mean to leave you to face it by yourselves. . . You have to know that. . . I needed to make my own place in life. . . And I couldn’t do that here."
Buffy smiled and laid a hand on Willow’s arm.
"I know that now. But you’ll still have to convince Xander. . .He took it hard, Wills. You and he have been together since. . ."
Willow cracked then, crying; the tears streaming down her face freely.
"I’m sorry, Buffy. I’m sorry for hurting you, hurting him. But I do not regret leaving. I’ve learned so much. I’m an assistant Professor now, you know. I teach potions with Severus – he’s the man that was sitting with us when you came in."
Buffy’s forehead wrinkled in the effort to remember. Everything had been so hazy, filled with the pain of her injuries and the exhaustion that had finally overwhelmed her.
"He. . . isn’t your fiancé, is he?" She questioned warily.
"Oh – no, no!" Willow laughed, wiping away her tears. "He’s my mentor. Like a father to me, really. No – Bill is only about ten years older than me. He has red hair, a little lighter than mine. Green eyes. Very handsome."
Buffy smiled.
"Good – that guy downstairs looks sorta creepy in a lurk in the shadows type of way."
Willow grinned.
"He’d take that as a compliment, actually."
The steps pounded as someone ran upstairs, and Willow braced herself for who she knew it to be.
"Willow." Xander poked his head in the door, taking in the sight of the two women smiling with no expression on his face. He turned his chocolate covered eyes to the red head that had called him her best friend for most of their lives; and there was no warmth in them, no love. Where once friendship had stood Willow now found herself looking into an emotionless pit, making up with coldness what it lacked in compassion.
"Someone’s downstairs for you. Says he’s your fiancé?" He raised his eyebrows in mocking question before turning to leave.
"Well, fuck." Willow exhaled in a violent rush of air. "That couldn’t have gone any worse if I had tried."
Buffy smirked and sat up slowly. She placed a gentling hand on the red head’s shoulder.
"Look on the bright side – your honey’s here."
Willow snorted, a wry smile on her lips.
If only it was that easy.
~*~ Part Six~*~
Willow reluctantly left the bedroom, Buffy following close behind. The two made their way slowly down the few stairs that led to the first floor of Giles’ small apartment. She was happy that Bill was here, of course, just a little sad that Xander had to find out that way.
Especially since he already seemed to have a chip on his shoulder about her leaving in the first place.
She couldn’t help the smile that lit upon her face the moment she cleared the stairwell and saw her fiancé, standing nervously near Severus, with Xander and Giles looking utterly hostile.
"Hey." She murmured, opening her arms.
"Hey yourself." He smiled, entering happily into her embrace, his lips dancing over her cheek in a chaste kiss.
"What are you doing here? Did something go wrong back home? Is your family okay?" Her forehead was creased in confusion over his presence, and she chose to focus on that instead of the glaringly angry men that were waiting on her explanation.
"Everything is fine." He smiled at her. "But did you really expect to send me an owl saying that you were leaving to go home and have me *not* follow right after you?"
Willow shrugged.
"I guess I did."
"You underestimate the stubborn power of a Weasley yet again, I see, Miss Rosenberg."
Willow peered over Bill’s shoulder to stick her tongue out at the Potions Master; which he returned with a glare that clearly stated he did not think highly of her gesture.
"Gonna introduce me?"
The red haired witch turned to Buffy with a smile.
"Sure. Buffy, this is my fiancé Bill. Bill, this is Buffy."
She didn’t get to see the results of their greeting, as Xander chose that moment to interrupt.
"So. . .Wills. . . were you planning on even inviting us to the wedding?"
Willow stiffened, her eyes glimmering with anger as she turned to the man she had once been proud to call her best friend.
"Gee, Xan. . . I really don’t know. Do you think you deserved to come? Hmm? I wrote to you. I wrote to *both* of you. Hell, I even emailed every time I got a chance. But did you respond? No. "
"And why should I have?" The dark haired young man retorted, standing up. "You left us here. By ourselves. What did you think – we were just going to sit around waiting for you to come home again? You didn’t even say goodbye. Just left notes for us to find. Some friend you were."
"Xander. . ." Buffy’s voice was hesitant, as if she didn’t really want to get in the middle of things, not now that she had made her own peace with the red head. But she could see that Willow was about to snap, and Bill was looking like he wanted to murder Xander, and that creepy black haired guy definitely looked pissed. "Shouldn’t we sit down and, you know, talk?"
"What’s there to talk about?" Willow interjected before Xander could open his mouth again. "Xander seems to think that he’s blameless in all of this? So be it. Let’s just forget the fact that I hadn’t seen him for *two weeks*, not even a phone call; right before I decided to leave. You two were running around, having your own lives, and damnit, I was cool with that. But, whatever. I go out and try to make something of myself, try to get the education Giles over there never informed me I should have had – and you, Xander, my best friend, want to act like I fucking abandoned you. Well, you know what? I didn’t need to because you had abandoned me a *long* time before!"
She swept out of the apartment, leaving behind a silent room in her wake.
Severus stood, throwing the dark haired muggle a glare that could have frozen lava.
"You are an idiot. That young woman is one of the best apprentices I have ever had the chance of tutoring. She has made quite a name for herself in our world, and yet you treat her like this when she comes back to *help*?" He snorted, fingering his wand meaningfully. "You are lucky that I have no desire to spend the rest of my life in Azkaban, or I would most certainly hex you in a host of painful ways."
And with that Severus Snape also took his leave of the apartment.
Bill frowned and met Xander’s eyes meaningfully.
"What he said." He jerked his head towards the door, indicating the irate Potions Master that had just left. Turning to Buffy he murmured, "It was nice meeting you."
And then he, too, left.
Buffy sighed tiredly; giving Xander a glare that rivaled the one the dark haired man had given him.
"Just had to open your mouth, didn’t you? She came here to *help* us. Not to fight."
"We don’t need her help," Xander protested weakly under the glare of the Slayer.
"We don’t?" Buffy’s eyebrows rose in amazement. "Are you living in the same reality as the rest of us, Xan? The Hellmouth is about to open –again-. And Willow is the only one that I personally know that has experience with the whole closing it deal. Not to mention the fact that I can barely walk, much less patrol. You’re injured. We’re on our last legs here, Xan. Did you plan on just laying back and letting the Hellmouth open? Letting all things bad and evil take over the world?"
Xander rolled his eyes and picked up his jacket.
"You know what, Buff, I’m going home to sleep. We can talk in the morning. Or, whenever. I don’t care anymore."
He pushed past the blonde, leaving her with her mouth open in shock.
"What is going on, Giles? I feel like everything is getting all topsy-turvy on me. Xander isn’t acting like, well, himself."
Giles nodded. He had noticed the same thing, too. Despite the animosity he felt towards Willow, the young man should still have been happy to see her, if only a touch.
But he was not.
In fact, he was downright hostile about it.
There was one logical explanation for it, one he was going to cling to for the moment and pray that everything worked out for the best.
"He’s just tired, Buffy. We all are. I’m sure he will straighten out in a day or two."
But, even as he spoke those words, he had a feeling he was wrong.
~*~ Part Eight~*~
Severus rubbed at his arm discreetly through the thin black cloth of his Muggle-style shirt. The pain was growing, more and more by the hour. Not the mind-shattering pain of a Call. Far from that, and this disturbed him even more. This was the pain that came when the Dark Lord was near and displeased. Voldemort was coming for him. For Willow. For the Hellmouth. All of the above? And did it matter? He had to have guessed by now that Severus was, in fact, a traitor. The same traitor that had been hindering his victories for years.
So he was coming.
The Professor sighed, looking out over the room, at his Assistant who was, even now, reading through books and relearning the spell she had used so many years ago to close the Hellmouth for the first time. There were circles under her eyes and her face was pale and drawn. Even with her fiancé here to keep her company she was still faltering under the strain.
A dreamless sleep potion was definitely her prescription for tonight. Perhaps one for himself, as well. Or something stronger, something that would dumb the pain enough that he could even think of sleeping.
"Severus?"
The Potions Master looked up into the face of Rupert Giles, the one that he had called friend for such a brief time, back in the days when he was happy to be nothing more than a Death Eater, a pawn in a war that was at its very core nothing but a type of ethnic cleansing. He had hated Rupert for leaving. Hated him for disappearing without a trace after one of their bloodier nights. He had hated him because he hadn’t had the courage to do the same thing – to just disappear and not participate anymore. It had been better to assume that his friend was dead, that he had slipped up and gotten caught by a overzealous Auror, rather than to believe that he had abandoned him to the horrors alone.
"He’s here. . . isn’t he?"
Severus nodded.
"The Mark has been burning since I woke. He is here or very close to here. The Hellmouth’s powers can heal him. He wouldn’t miss this for the world."
Rupert sighed and glanced over at Willow.
"She will need for us all to protect her from Him, Sev. She is nothing more than a child still, despite her years and experience. Even she is not prepared for the horror that is the Dark Lord."
Those were words that Severus did not need to hear spoken. He already knew them, just as he knew what Voldemort would do should he ever get his hands on Willow. The girl would be tortured, her body plundered, her magics drained away like water through a sieve. He would not, no – could not, let that happen to her.
"I have something that blocks the pain," Giles offered gently, eyeing the spot on Severus’ arm that was thankfully hidden by the sleeves of his shirt.
"Something. . . to block the pain?" The Potions Master looked up in surprise. "How? I haven’t been able to find anything . . . I’ve spent years. . ."
Giles shrugged and gave his former friend a tightlipped smile.
"I always was better in Potions than you – remember?"
Severus glared at the other man, rising wearily from his chair.
"Show me this miracle potion of yours. . . and then you can explain exactly how you made it. . ."
~*~
Willow squinted at the book before her, the tiny handwriting blurring together under her tired eyes. She sighed and rubbed at her eyes, wishing for the millionth time that this just wasn’t happening, that she was back at Hogwarts, or visiting with her future in-laws, happily preparing for her upcoming wedding.
A soft tickle of air blew over her earlobe and she brushed at one of the hairs it dislocated, the wispy strand tickling the side of her neck. She bent forward, looking down at the writing again, trying to remember what she had done so many years ago to make everything go off with only minor problems.
The gust of warm air came again and she turned, her shocked eyes widening when they met those of her fiancé. He had an impudent grin on his face, the kind that made her both want to slap him and kiss him all at the same time.
"Yes?" she smirked, raising an eyebrow at him.
"I miss my Willow." His tone was so plaintive that it drew a laugh from the red haired witch.
"And she misses you, too, sweetie. But I really have to get this done before the Hellmouth starts to open. Don’t want me standing there without a single clue what I need to be doing? Believe me when I say that would not be of the good."
Bill nodded and took the chair next to her, staring into her face with his worried blue eyes.
"I feel so helpless. You’ll be doing all this work and we’ll just be standing there, watching."
Willow giggled and shook her head.
"I think you missed some stuff when Giles was explaining the opening of a Hellmouth. Basically it will happen at night, which means that all the demons and baddies in town and surrounding areas are free to attend. And they will. Vampires will pour from the woodwork to get close to the Hellmouth. It’s a high for them and a chance of increased power. You can go from fledge to master in a matter of moments if you get lucky. Not a good thing, believe me. Demons will come for the show, the Hellmouth can’t make them stronger as far as I know, but it certainly bolsters this spirits. Basically it will be a free for all and none of them will want me to close it. This is their idea of heaven – Hell on earth. You guys have to watch my back and keep them away from me while I’m doing the spell. And, afterwards, you’ll be the cleanup squad. I’ll be too wiped to help."
Her fiancé sighed and looked worried.
"Isn’t there anyone else. . .?"
Willow shrugged. "Who knows? Probably. But I don’t know anyone. And you don’t. And Giles doesn’t. Not even Dumbledore. Its high level wandless magic. Which means you get me."
"I don’t have to be happy about it," Bill muttered, frowning. "This is dangerous. If anything happens to you. . . I just don’t know what I’ll do. You’re the most special thing in the world to me."
The witch smiled and laid a gentle hand on her fiance’s cheek.
"Don’t worry. Everything will be okay. We’re old pros about this type of thing. You just sit back, watch out for me, and enjoy the fireworks."
Bill grinned, but it was devoid of humor. He let her turn back to her work, knowing that there was no way he could talk her out of this. Powerless in the actual closing he was, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t play his part.
Nothing would lay a hand on Willow if he had anything to say about it.
Nothing.
~*~
The next day was the first chance Severus had to observe the obnoxious boy known as Xander. The small living room of Rupert’s apartment was crammed with people, each one researching the opening – looking for any little tricks that could possibly be thrown their way, things that hadn’t happened the last time.
It was during this chaos that he allowed himself to watch Xander.
On the outside, to one that wasn’t trained in the Dark Arts, he looked like any other young man his age, if not a little on the childish and goofy side. He avoided Willow like she was the plague itself, but joked willingly with Buffy and her Watcher.
But it was the look in his eyes that worried Severus. Trapped within those chocolate orbs was a fear that he knew all too well. It was the taint of someone that was on the inside looking out, trying to control themselves and loosing terribly. Someone definitely had this Muggle under their will.
It wasn’t Imperious. Not even the best could be able to keep up that curse for as long as Xander had been under this one; the caster would soon get too drained to continue. It just wasn’t possible.
Which meant it was a potion. Something that the boy was either being forced to drink or eat, or perhaps was doing unconsciously. All he needed to do was figure out which was being used and then Severus would be able to counteract it.
So he continued to watch and wait.
Something would tip him off sooner or later – though he rather hoped it was sooner.
~*~ Part Nine~*~
The cabin outside of town was abominable, Lucius Malfoy decided after only one night under its roof. A house elf would have a fit and die of shock if it were to ever see the pathetic state of the dirty floors and walls, the tiling that could use a good scouring. There were bugs that he was terribly afraid even an Avada couldn’t harm. It was, in one word, awful.
But it was the only place they could stay and not attract attention.
The blonde haired man glanced towards the door that led to the only bedroom in the accursed cabin, holding back a sneer. His Lord was in there, resting. The journey had been tiring, at points causing Lucius to worry that Voldemort would not make it at all.
Well, he had hoped, at least. The iron boot of his ‘Master’ was growing more wearisome as the months passed by. Potter this and Potter that. Mudbloods this and Mudbloods that. Lucius hated the Mudbloods as much as the next Death Eater, but it got pretty old talking about them all the time. And killing them all? He scoffed at that idea. Keep them as servants or whores, yes. Kill them and the wizarding bloodlines would very soon be full of nothing but inbred idiots – with Goyle being a prime example of where this had already happened.
Lucius kicked at a beetle that had dared to scurry over his boot and cast another glare towards the bedroom. Let Voldemort rest while he could. Either this plan would work or it would kill him, of that Malfoy was now certain.
Things could only go up from here.
~*~
It was the mints.
Severus watched as Xander popped yet another mint into his mouth, the third one he had counted in the past twenty minutes. It seemed to be a compulsion. Suck, lick, swallow, chew – put another in his mouth. The process was repeated indefinitely as far as he could tell. Even if each only held a miniscule amount of a potion it would be enough in the sheer quantity he was consuming them. A dozen or so of those mints would be able to hold enough to keep him quite thoroughly brainwashed for most of an entire day.
And he was definitely eating more than a dozen a day.
~*~
"So . . . I get to be a bridesmaid, right? Please say yes. . . Please?"
Willow giggled and nodded, her eyes never leaving the book in her lap.
"Of course, Buffy. The invitations will go out next month. We haven’t even chosen the colors yet, though I think Bill’s mom was pushing for lavender and yellow."
"Lavender and yellow? Is she colorblind?" Buffy hissed discreetly, glancing Bill’s way to make sure he hadn’t heard her indignation.
Willow giggled and looked up, picturing in her mind the terribly clashing colors Molly Weasley generally put together when knitting sweaters for her children.
"You know – she could be. Don’t worry. There is no yellow in your future."
"Good," Buffy stated firmly. "Because that would be, you know, not a good thing. I don’t look good in yellow."
"And, by all means," Giles murmured loudly, without looking up from his own book, sarcastic playing evident in every syllable. "The bridesmaids are the ones that must look good on the wedding day. Not the bride, correct?"
Willow laughed aloud, covering her mouth with her hands. Buffy just looked shamefaced.
"You know I didn’t mean it like that, Giles. Its just – you know – if she chooses orange or lime green or something else awful as her colors, I might have to abstain from participating out of love for my eyesight alone."
It was at that moment, when Willow opened her mouth to make a snarky retort, that all Hell broke loose.
"Immobilus!" Severus murmured from his chair, his wand pointed directly at Xander. The young man fell backwards in his chair, stopped from tumbling back onto the floor by another well-placed spell from the Potions Master. Then, as the others in the living room watched in shocked silence, he called, "Accio mints."
"If you wanted a mint, Frowny-Man, all you had to do was ask. No use wasting the mojo on Xand," Buffy rolled her eyes at the wizard.
"These are the cause of your grief with the boy," Severus stated firmly, holding the mint tin up for Willow to see. "I will need to go back to our hotel to determine which potion he has been drugged with – then I will be able to administer the counter-potion."
Willow nodded, mutely, watching as Severus stood and apparated from the room without another word.
"Potion?" Buffy was confused, Willow could tell without even turning around. "What potion, Wills? What’s going on?"
The red head sighed. "I felt the other day like Xander wasn’t being himself. So I asked Sev to check into it. We think he’s being controlled, to breed dissention among us."
Buffy frowned and then began to nod. "He has seemed a little . . . off, I guess. I mean, the other night was a shocker for me. I knew he was upset with you for leaving – but not that much. It was almost as if he was trying to upset you or start a fight."
"We think that’s exactly what he was trying to do," Bill interjected. "But Professor Snape is good. He’ll get Xander fixed in no time. . ."
And that was the moment Snape apparated back into the room.
"See!" Bill exclaimed triumphantly.
Severus cast a glare towards the other wizard before striding across the room to stand in front of Xander. Before the young man knew what was happening the binding spell on him had been released and a foul smelling liquid was poured down his throat, his lips held tightly shut until he was forced to swallow.
He gagged, sputtering, as he was released; glaring angrily around the room.
"He’s going to be furious about this!"
"Who?" This came from Giles, the Watcher standing and prepared to restrain Xander by force if necessary.
But Xander shook his head, lips sealing tight. He stared around the room for one long moment and then fell face forward, once again stopped from bashing his head on the floor by a quick spell.
"Well . . . I guess we’ll have to wait for him to wake up, then." Willow sighed, returning to her book. There was still research to be done, with or without Xander’s help.
~*~
That night, when Xander awoke, the found that he knew relatively little about the person behind everything. A man, in a mask and robe. The mints had arrived first, a ‘free gift’ and he had started eating them without even thinking about it. That was when the man had shown up. Just do as he says, the little voice in his mind had said. Just do it and everything will be okay.
"It was like I could see myself doing things . . . but I couldn’t stop. . . " He turned to Willow, sadness etched on his face. "I didn’t mean to be such a jerk, Wills. You have to know that I’m happy for you. I just. . . missed you. You’re my Willow-friend."
She laughed and threw her arms around his neck.
"And you’re my Xander-friend. Always."
Despite seeing his future wife in the arms of another man, Bill couldn’t feel jealous about the scene he was witnessing. This man was just like a brother to her. It was the type of hug he’d give Ginny. And so he smiled and let them enjoy the company they had each missed for far too long.
At least one of their problems was solved.
Not they just had to deal with the Hellmouth opening.
Oh – and Voldemort.
~*~ Part Ten~*~
"I never thought I’d end up here, on the Hellmouth, playing Watcher to a Slayer."
Severus smirked and took another swallow of the brandy Rupert had provided. The others were long gone, patrolling the streets and dark corners of the city. He had been reticent to watch his young assistant traipse out the door, her looks belying the fact that she was a powerful witch and not at all naïve about this town or the danger it harbored. But Rupert had stopped him from saying or doing anything that would alienate him from the one he thought of as a doting daughter he had never hoped to have. She had grown up here. This was her idea of fun and games, slaughtering demons and vampires.
"And I never thought I would end up as Potions Master for Hogwarts," he admitted slowly, a sly grin stealing across his stern countenance. "All those times we spent together in the Headmaster’s office."
Giles snorted. "That was Malfoy’s fault. If he hadn’t been so hell bent on getting one over on those bloody Marauders. . . Oh, but wait, that was your gig, too, wasn’t it? Destroy all things sacred to James and company."
"With good reason, those imbecilic twits nearly got me killed!"
"And you had a thing for Lily Evans. Don’t deny it. Won’t make a bit of different this late in things. She was your best friend until James came around."
Severus sneered into his glass. Dredging up painful memories wasn’t his idea of a fun night, but it was the truth, such as it was. He had loved Lily as much as a man could love a woman; but she was lost to him from the moment she laid eyes on James Potter. Soulmates she had called them. And then she had died and he had never once told her how he really felt.
"Don’t look so glum," Rupert was still speaking. "The past cannot be undone. We have to live with the choices we’ve made."
"And how do you look in the mirror, then, Ripper? Do you still hear their screams at night, in your dreams? I know I do."
The Watcher shivered, downing the rest of his drink in one gulp.
"I look in the mirror because I have no other choice. I moved on and have made the best of the life I was given, Sev. I was never the type to sit around and wallow and self-pity; and I did not think that you were, either."
That tore a sigh from Severus’ lips. "You got away old friend. I’ve been His lackey and spy for many years now. It is hard to not feel just the smallest amount of pity for myself. "
"He’ll be killed eventually. And then you will need to move on from that excuse."
The Potions Master smiled and raised his near-empty glass in a mock-toast.
"And *eventually* I will."
~*~
"Two."
"Two?" Bill questioned. "Just two?"
Willow shrugged, swinging her legs idly over the side of the headstone she had made a seat upon.
"I want to start with two. We can always have more, you know. Later. After the first two." She blushed, unable to believe that she was sitting in a cemetery talking to her future husband about children – most specifically the having of children.
"Good. Let’s not limit ourselves, then," he murmured, relief evident in his voice. Coming from a big family he wanted just the same for himself. Lots of kids – boys and girls – to teach and play with. The idea of being a father filled him with a warm glow that he never wanted to pass.
Willow smiled, patting her fiance’s arm indulgently. "Don’t worry, dear. I’m sure we’ll outdo even your mom at the baby thing, given enough time."
He laughed, dipping his head to kiss her lips gently.
"Hey! You two!"
They broke apart, Willow blushing as she peered around Bill’s shoulder at Xander.
"Yes, Xan?"
"Was just going to point out that we’re out here to, you know, slay vamps. Not make with the smoochies while standing on graves." He shuddered. "That’s just wiggy."
"I don’t hear him complaining," Willow laughed, jumping off the headstone and turning to look at the name. "Right, Stephen? You don’t mind me and Bill getting’ smoochie with it, huh?"
In true Sunnydale fashion that was the moment when Stephen decided to make it known that he was now a member of the resident vampire population. A hand shot up from the earth, clawing and digging at the dirt. Then the other hand appeared.
"No more snogging over graves okay, love?"
Willow nodded, favoring her fiancé with a rueful grin that clearly said that that was just the way things went here, in Sunnydale.
"No more adventures after this," she sighed, hands on hips as she waited impatiently for the vampire to pull itself from the ground. By now Buffy had returned from her circuit around the outside perimeter of the cemetery and was watching in amusement.
"If he was this slow when he was alive its no wonder he ended up as a snack," the Slayer snorted, stake in hand. No sooner had the creature’s chest cleared the ground before he exploded in a shower of dust.
"Well, that was fun," Buffy smirked. "We ready to head back to Giles’?"
Willow nodded firmly. "Please? Before he kills Severus, or vice versa?"
"I place my bets on the G-man if it came down to that. Giles is too crafty to let Tall Dark and Scary get him."
Bill snorted. "Professor Snape is a master of the Dark Arts. He could have your Mister Giles knocked out before he could even stand up to start the fight."
Willow and Buffy rolled their eyes, walking a little ahead of the two men. They linked their arms together and grinned, shaking their heads in amusement as the ‘argument’ waged on.
"Boys."
~*~Part Eleven~*~
She had studied and prayed, studied and prayed – for days on end, until she felt as though she couldn’t possibly study or pray any more.
And that’s when Willow would start all over again.
She had to get this right, or else Sunnydale would pay the price. How easy it had seemed back then, when she had done it with only a few short days’ notice, reading directly from a spellbook that was so large as to be almost too heavy for her small hands to hold. She had been a child then, just a babe in the world of magic. Now she was a full-fledged witch and she was terrified of what was to come. Maybe it was the fact that she had too much preparation time this go round. Or maybe it was just that she had gotten more and more paranoid about this type of thing as they years wore on.
She didn’t know and, right now, didn’t care.
The Hellmouth would be opening sometime tonight, after sundown.
Willow shivered, glancing wearily around the hotel room, book open in her lap. She was alone for the first time in days. Well and truly alone. Severus had seen to it, noting to her that she seemed anxious and maybe some quiet time would help with that.
Yeah, right. She wouldn’t be able to get true quiet time until after the Hellmouth was closed again. Up to that point she would have to deal with, at the very least, the voices in her head saying she wasn’t good enough and never had been.
Even Bill had taken Severus’ hint and left her alone, though. He was out, with Xander, wandering the streets of Sunnydale, being guys. She knew her bestfriend was likely to be trading stories with Bill, telling him about all the mishaps she had gotten into as a child and teen while Bill gave him, in turn, stories about her adventures in spells gone wrong.
Not that Xander was unaware of that type of thing – he had seen quite a few of her spells go wacky on varying occasions.
She glanced at the TV, wondering if now was a safe time to turn it on. Or would there be more stuff to remind her of what was happening tonight? All over Sunnydale strange things were being reported; things that could be passed off as freak acts of nature – even though they were portents of the large evil that was rising tonight. Like frogs. Someone had reported a rain of frogs for an entire city block this morning.
That was truly Hell.
This would all be over soon – and then she could go back to her job, back to England – and back to planning her wedding.
~*~
"There aren’t any stars out tonight."
Willow shrugged, giving Bill a sad smile. "Yet another sign of the pending badness, I’m afraid. A pitch black night is truly something to be afraid of. Don’t they teach that in Defense?"
The eldest of the Weasley children shook his head, a few loose strands of hair swishing from side to side as they fell from his ponytail.
"Are you scared?" he asked gently, putting an arm around her shoulders. She breathed in, smelling the tangy scent of that homemade cologne his mother whipped up for him and his brothers each Yule.
"Of course I’m scared," she scoffed lightly, poking him in the stomach with her finger. "Wouldn’t anyone in my position be?"
Bill shrugged. "Professor Snape doesn’t seem to terribly frightened."
"Well that’s because he’s seen enough badness in his life to make him immune to all of that. Personally, I’ve only been around the really big bads a few times in my life – sure, I’ve been with the little bads a lot – but not the bigger ones. Those are pretty rare – like tonight. So – I’m terrified and he’s not. Which is good. He’ll keep me grounded during the spell."
She felt the first tremor before the others did, her eyes widening with fear when she realized it was a quake of pure magic and not physicality. Willow shivered, bringing her hands up to rub at her arms.
"It’s starting guys. . .everyone to their places. . . please?"
As if her words were a call to battle, the area immediately surrounding the old school was suddenly teeming with activity. Vampires were pouring from across the streets, out of the charred remains of the school. They were coming towards her, towards where the library had once stood – this would be where the mouth of Hell would open.
The next tremor, as the fight began, signaled the actual opening of the Hellmouth.
Willow took a step back unconsciously as the ground split in a deep rift only a few feet from where she stood. A steadying hand on her shoulder, an influx of silently given power, and she knew Severus was there. It was time.
She lifted the parchment she had copied the spell on, glancing down at it for a moment before beginning, the words spilling from her mouth in a steady cadence. She could feel the forces she was calling on overwhelm her, fill her to the brink and then beyond. She was swimming in a sea of pure power, her very cells absorbing it, becoming one with it. Please, she was chanting to the gods, close this portal to the Hell dimensions; let not the work you have done on earth count for naught. Aid your daughter in this quest.
There was more to it than that, of course. Some placating verses, some pleading cries, some chants for refuge. All of these things and more went into the spell as she allowed that power to ride her, using her body as a conduit to reach the Hellmouth.
In the distance Buffy was screaming for Xander to duck and Willow fought the urge to look over her shoulder. She didn’t want to see, or know, what was happening. The people she cared about most in the world were out there, fighting to keep the baddies from reaching her. The least she could do was finish the spell.
And that she did.
The last of the words left her mouth and she was silent, waiting. So much time had gone by since the original time she closed the Hellmouth, and she forgot how this all ended.
It closed with a crack of thunder that Willow could feel rattle her teeth. The last of the spell’s magics drained from her body and she wavered on her feet, falling face forward towards the earth, unable to catch herself.
Thank the Goddess for Severus, she sighed silently, as his strong hands caught and held her before she could hit the ground. And then Bill was there, asking if she was okay, and she was nodding. The vampires and miscellaneous demons had left, with the Hellmouth closed there was no reason for them to hang around. Not when the Slayer was busily exterminating anything non-human that got in her way.
"Giles – what’s this thing? I thought it was a vamp – but it didn’t go poof."
Willow was too tired to raise up and look when Buffy tossed the body to the ground only a few feet away. She turned, seeing wizarding robes out of the corner of her eye.
"That –" Severus began, eyes wide. "That is Voldemort. . . you have slain the Dark Lord."
The red haired witch felt her heart leap up into her throat, thudding painfully with a joy she was too tired to feel.
Voldemort was dead.
~*~Part Twelve~*~
In the aftermath of the battle there was much cleaning to be done. The demons didn’t fade to ash so neatly as vampires did, in fact many of them left large, stinking corpses that had to be dealt with.
It was at the bottom of a pile of these smelly corpses that another discovery was made.
"Lucius Malfoy is dead," Severus informed Dumbledore gravely, via Floo, upon returning to Giles’ townhouse. It was often difficult to judge emotions via this communication conduit, however he could clearly see at this time that Dumbledore was saddened.
"I had always hoped that he would see the errors of his ways, much as you had, Severus."
"I know. And Draco is now left without a father. Will you be the one to break the news to him and Narcissa – or would you prefer that I do it?"
Dumbledore pondered for a moment in silence. "You should do it since you are a friend of the family. Draco will need a positive role model in his life if he hopes to escape the same path his father fell down."
"Very well. I shall Apparate back immediately. Miss Rosenberg and Mister Weasley can follow at their convenience. I assume the Ministry has been notified of the Dark Lord’s demise?"
"They have – Aurors will be there shortly to take control of the body. For now – come home, Severus. We will need you here in the hours to come."
"As you wish." The Potions Master extinguished the fire, ending his conversation with the Headmaster. He had only his bag of things to gather from the hotel and then he could be gone from this place. Even with Voldemort’s death there would still be work to be done, Death Eaters to unmask and place in Azkaban for their crimes. Lucius Malfoy was just one of many.
The work of the just was never done.
~*~
"You’ll come back and visit, right?"
"She has to – or else we’ll . . . you know, fly over there and visit her."
Willow giggled, her eyes darting back and forth between her two best friends in the entire world.
"Of course I’ll be coming back to visit. Though – maybe not until after the wedding. Things will be pretty busy until then, you know."
"And – we’re invited, right?" Buffy prompted with a grin.
"And again, of course," Willow laughed. "I already told you that you could be my Maid of Honor, silly. An invitation to the wedding sort of goes without saying."
"Which reminds me – Xander you’re going to be one of my groomsmen, right?" Bill asked with raised eyebrows, a smile on his lips.
"I am?" Xander looked confused. "Oh yeah – I am. I mean, I’d love to be. And . . .right. That’s a yes."
The assembled group of friends laughed.
"We have to get going now, honey," Bill reminded Willow, feeling just a little saddened by the look in her eyes. She missed her home, her friends. He made a silent vow to himself to do everything in his power to make sure that she came back to visit on a regular basis. There was no reason for her not to, of course, with Apparating being so easy.
"Right. C’mon – hugs!" The red head gestured to Buffy and Xander, a small ‘oof’ escaping her mouth when they jumped into her arms, hugging her tightly.
"Don’t be sad," Buffy whispered into her ear. "You have a good life, a good hottie of a husband to be, and you still have us. Just pop in and visit when you can. All is good, Wills."
"I second that," Xander smiled, kissing Willow’s forehead.
Willow giggled at the term ‘pop in’ – she would have to take Buffy up on that and Apparate right into her house sometime.
They said their final goodbyes outside, the darkness of the night providing ample cover for the magic that was about to be woven.
Willow stepped into Bill’s arms, looking up into the eyes that she knew so well and knowing that everything was going to be just fine between them, between herself and her friends, and in the world in general.
With that smile on her face, they Apparated home. . .there was still a wedding to plan.
~*~The End~*~