Burning Darkness 1-2/?
Title: Burning Darkness 1-2/?
Disclaimer: Joss
Summary: Willow finds out that not all creatures of the dark are as bad as they seem. And some very much are.
Pairings: Pairings: W/Spike, Dawn/Harry, Ron/Hermione, Ginny/Draco. Why? Just because I happen to adore redheads and icy blonds together.
Rating: PG-13 to R.
Warnings: Minor character death.
Notes: This story is AU. In Buffyverse time it would be the summer of junior year. Begins in the summer of Harry's 3rd year. Harry is 13, Dawn is 12. She will be starting at Hogwarts in the fall. Ron, Hermione and Draco are 13, Ginny is Dawn's age. Willow is 16. Giles and Joyce are good friends. If I have confused anyone, please let me know off list.
Dedication: For Poppy, who made me a very happy woman a few nights back. NOT in the biblical sense. She wrote. I replied. We did the Snoopy Dance in joy.
Feedback: I shouldn't have to ask. Really. I shouldn't. Please.
Chapter One
With a harsh cry, Willow sank down onto the floor of her bedroom. The letter that she held in shaking hands fell beside her, but she didn't notice. All she could think was that her parents had been in a accident, and they had been killed. Killed. Dead. Accident. Killed. Dead. The words echoed in her mind and the tears fell unchecked down her cheeks.
This was the scene that Xander walked in on a few minutes later, having satiated his teenage boy hunger pangs in the kitchen while Willow brought in the mail. Quickly he set his burden of soda and cheesy puffs on Willow's desk and dropped to his knees beside her.
"Willow? What's wrong? Talk to me...." he pleaded, brushing strands of hair away from his best friend's face and pulling her into his arms.
The redhead hiccoughed a few times and looked around her for the letter. In a trembling tone, she said, "My parents are dead."
"Oh god, Willow." he replied, wrapping his arms around her as a fresh burst of tears wet the front of his shirt. Xander knew that her parents, like his own, would never win the Parent of the Year award, but still, damn. And it probably wasn't a good idea to remind her of that fact right about now. Instead, he just held her until her sobs had diminished, and she'd regained some semblance of calm.
"Hey," he said quietly. "Are you going to be ok?"
Willow shook her head. Her parents were dead. Was she supposed to be ok? But then again, it was Xander asking.
"As ok as is possible, right now."
Xander stood up and offered her a hand. Willow stuffed the letter in her pocket and rose, going down the hallway to scrub the tear marks off of her red face. When she returned, Xander shot a lopsided smile her way, and she managed a weak chuckle. She joined him on the bed and took the can of soda he offered her.
"So what did the letter say?" he asked, after they had demolished the bag of cheesy puffs in silence.
"Well, my parents, you know. And that I should go and see Giles for some weird reason. Not that I wouldn't want to go, but why now?"
Xander shook his head. "Not that I have any idea, but we should probably get this over with, eh?"
Willow nodded and moved around the room, getting her jacket and tossing Xander his. "It's not dark out yet, we should be able to make it over there in time."
In agreement, the two friends left the house, Xander nevertheless checking his pockets for something that could be used as a weapon.
*)(*
Giles was puzzled. Not that he wasn't often this way, but the source of his puzzlement would have also confused anyone else.
The owl didn't confuse him. Nor the letter from Albus Dumbledore. What confused him were the instructions Albus had given him.
Bring Willow and Dawn to Hogwarts. Why would the old wizard ask him to do such a thing? Dawn was certainly no witch, and although Willow had dabbled, she was too old to enter into the school. Oh yes, he was definitely confused.
He rose from his chair to answer the knock at the door, and was somehow not surprised to see Willow and Xander standing there in the twilight.
"Yes, yes, do come in."
Willow perched on the edge of his couch while Xander chose to simply sprawl across it, and Giles pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Giles, we-"
"Willow, I-"
Despite the gravity of the situation, they both laughed.
"Go on ahead, what is your news, Willow?" Giles asked, taking a seat in his desk chair and removing his glasses. Good thing too, because he immediately began to clean them at the girl's words.
"Willow, I am dreadfully sorry," Giles had guessed what her home life was like, and despite its not being perfect, he did sympathize. However, her news did nothing to fix his own dilemma. "But I don't-" he began, when she interrupted him.
"But wait, there's more." she said, handing the letter to him. He scanned it, but only when he reached the signature at the bottom did he understand. Arthur Weasley.
He should have known. All that red hair gave it away, and if he'd spent more time with the Ministry then out here in the Muggle world, he would have seen it right away. Oh dear. This was a predicament.
*)(*
"Dawn! DAWN!"
Dawn heard her mother calling from downstairs and hurried to see what she wanted. Buffy was out AGAIN, so they had the house to themselves. The brown-haired girl stopped dead when she entered the kitchen.
Her mother was sitting at the center island, stroking a large tawny owl with an envelope sitting next to it. "Hi, sweetie. This is for you." Joyce handed her youngest daughter the envelope and Dawn took it carefully.
"Uh, mom. Why is there an owl in the kitchen? And what's this?"
Joyce smiled proudly. "That's your letter of invitation to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Oh, I'm so proud of you!"
Dawn 'eeped' as her mom rushed to hug her. "Um, thanks. I think. But I'm not a witch. Am I?"
The conversation was temporarily put on hold as the owl hooted loudly and Joyce went and opened the door for it. Then she walked back and gestured for Dawn to take a seat. "Yes, you are. Otherwise they wouldn't have asked you to come. This is wonderful, honey. I thought you might have been a squib, you've never shown any signs."
Dawn set the envelope down. This was all a bit much for her to handle. "Wait a minute. Can you explain from the beginning?"
Joyce composed herself and took a deep breath, complying with her daughter's request. She told Dawn how she was half witch, half muggle, and what exactly a muggle was, and why Buffy hadn't been invited, and how her dad was a full wizard, but bound his powers and tried to forget them, finally leading up to her own days at Hogwarts and what was going to happen now.
"It sounds cool, but what about Buffy? This is kind of a raw deal for her. I mean, I get to go away to school, and she has to stay here and be a Slayer? That sucks for her."
"Dawn, don't swear." Joyce said, going to the phone and dialing Giles' number.
"What sucks for me?" Buffy said, coming through the back door as Dawn spoke.
"Buffy!" Joyce admonished. "Hello, Rupert. Dawnie got her letter tonight. Really? Um-hmm. Alright. Tomorrow. Good night."
"What stinks for me?" Buffy said again, monitoring her language this time. "And why'd you call Giles? And why does Dawn look like she just won the lottery?"
Eagerly, Dawn began to explain to her sister what was going on, and Joyce made everyone hot chocolate. The conversation continued into the wee hours, until Dawn fell asleep at the table and Joyce sent the both up for bed.
Sleep didn't come easily for her, though. There was too much to deal with in the next month for Joyce to sleep.
)()()()(
Chapter Two
Willow was baffled. Sitting in her familiar position on Giles’ couch, she looked around at her friends and thought about just how much her life had changed in the past 48 hours.
Her parents were dead. Dawn was a witch. She was adopted.
Xander sneaked a look at his best friend and knew what kind of thoughts were swirling around underneath that red hair of hers. Much like it had last year, Willow’s life had inexorably changed, whether for better or worse no one knew as of yet. Giles had called them and asked them to come over this afternoon, and promised he would answer all questions when they’d arrived.
He and Willow had come together, and Buffy had yet to show; but she wasn’t late yet.
Suddenly a loud thud came from behind them and Willow jumped visibly. "Giles?" she yelled, as bangs and more thuds issued from the wall behind them.
The older man hurried downstairs and heard the noises immediately. "Hold on a moment, Mr. Weasley!" he shouted, apparently to the wall; as Willow, Xander, and Buffy, who’d just walked in, stared in confusion.
Giles moved aside a few plants that were in front of the wall, cautioned them all to stand well back as he himself moved away, and said, "All right, now," and the wall exploded outward.
Willow shrieked and yanked on Xander’s arm as she moved abruptly backward, knocking into Buffy as the dust settled and an older man with red hair stepped forward, followed by two boys, who looked to be about her age.
"Sorry about this, Mr. Giles, I’ll clean it up right away," Arthur Weasley said, ushering his sons to step in front of him as he turned back to the hole in the wall. He waved his wand and muttered something too low for any of them to hear, and suddenly the room was clear of debris, and a fireplace stood where the hole once was.
Buffy was the first of the Sunnydale group to speak. "What in the *hell* is going on here?" she asked, not caring about her swearing at the moment.
"Buffy, please calm down," Giles said, walking over to his Slayer. "I promise to explain everything in a minute, all right?"
The blonde wasn’t happy, but she agreed and pulled Willow and Xander back over to the couch, pointedly ignoring the new arrivals until she had a little more information as to who they were and just what they were doing here.
TBC....
Disclaimer: Joss
Summary: Willow finds out that not all creatures of the dark are as bad as they seem. And some very much are.
Pairings: Pairings: W/Spike, Dawn/Harry, Ron/Hermione, Ginny/Draco. Why? Just because I happen to adore redheads and icy blonds together.
Rating: PG-13 to R.
Warnings: Minor character death.
Notes: This story is AU. In Buffyverse time it would be the summer of junior year. Begins in the summer of Harry's 3rd year. Harry is 13, Dawn is 12. She will be starting at Hogwarts in the fall. Ron, Hermione and Draco are 13, Ginny is Dawn's age. Willow is 16. Giles and Joyce are good friends. If I have confused anyone, please let me know off list.
Dedication: For Poppy, who made me a very happy woman a few nights back. NOT in the biblical sense. She wrote. I replied. We did the Snoopy Dance in joy.
Feedback: I shouldn't have to ask. Really. I shouldn't. Please.
Chapter One
With a harsh cry, Willow sank down onto the floor of her bedroom. The letter that she held in shaking hands fell beside her, but she didn't notice. All she could think was that her parents had been in a accident, and they had been killed. Killed. Dead. Accident. Killed. Dead. The words echoed in her mind and the tears fell unchecked down her cheeks.
This was the scene that Xander walked in on a few minutes later, having satiated his teenage boy hunger pangs in the kitchen while Willow brought in the mail. Quickly he set his burden of soda and cheesy puffs on Willow's desk and dropped to his knees beside her.
"Willow? What's wrong? Talk to me...." he pleaded, brushing strands of hair away from his best friend's face and pulling her into his arms.
The redhead hiccoughed a few times and looked around her for the letter. In a trembling tone, she said, "My parents are dead."
"Oh god, Willow." he replied, wrapping his arms around her as a fresh burst of tears wet the front of his shirt. Xander knew that her parents, like his own, would never win the Parent of the Year award, but still, damn. And it probably wasn't a good idea to remind her of that fact right about now. Instead, he just held her until her sobs had diminished, and she'd regained some semblance of calm.
"Hey," he said quietly. "Are you going to be ok?"
Willow shook her head. Her parents were dead. Was she supposed to be ok? But then again, it was Xander asking.
"As ok as is possible, right now."
Xander stood up and offered her a hand. Willow stuffed the letter in her pocket and rose, going down the hallway to scrub the tear marks off of her red face. When she returned, Xander shot a lopsided smile her way, and she managed a weak chuckle. She joined him on the bed and took the can of soda he offered her.
"So what did the letter say?" he asked, after they had demolished the bag of cheesy puffs in silence.
"Well, my parents, you know. And that I should go and see Giles for some weird reason. Not that I wouldn't want to go, but why now?"
Xander shook his head. "Not that I have any idea, but we should probably get this over with, eh?"
Willow nodded and moved around the room, getting her jacket and tossing Xander his. "It's not dark out yet, we should be able to make it over there in time."
In agreement, the two friends left the house, Xander nevertheless checking his pockets for something that could be used as a weapon.
*)(*
Giles was puzzled. Not that he wasn't often this way, but the source of his puzzlement would have also confused anyone else.
The owl didn't confuse him. Nor the letter from Albus Dumbledore. What confused him were the instructions Albus had given him.
Bring Willow and Dawn to Hogwarts. Why would the old wizard ask him to do such a thing? Dawn was certainly no witch, and although Willow had dabbled, she was too old to enter into the school. Oh yes, he was definitely confused.
He rose from his chair to answer the knock at the door, and was somehow not surprised to see Willow and Xander standing there in the twilight.
"Yes, yes, do come in."
Willow perched on the edge of his couch while Xander chose to simply sprawl across it, and Giles pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Giles, we-"
"Willow, I-"
Despite the gravity of the situation, they both laughed.
"Go on ahead, what is your news, Willow?" Giles asked, taking a seat in his desk chair and removing his glasses. Good thing too, because he immediately began to clean them at the girl's words.
"Willow, I am dreadfully sorry," Giles had guessed what her home life was like, and despite its not being perfect, he did sympathize. However, her news did nothing to fix his own dilemma. "But I don't-" he began, when she interrupted him.
"But wait, there's more." she said, handing the letter to him. He scanned it, but only when he reached the signature at the bottom did he understand. Arthur Weasley.
He should have known. All that red hair gave it away, and if he'd spent more time with the Ministry then out here in the Muggle world, he would have seen it right away. Oh dear. This was a predicament.
*)(*
"Dawn! DAWN!"
Dawn heard her mother calling from downstairs and hurried to see what she wanted. Buffy was out AGAIN, so they had the house to themselves. The brown-haired girl stopped dead when she entered the kitchen.
Her mother was sitting at the center island, stroking a large tawny owl with an envelope sitting next to it. "Hi, sweetie. This is for you." Joyce handed her youngest daughter the envelope and Dawn took it carefully.
"Uh, mom. Why is there an owl in the kitchen? And what's this?"
Joyce smiled proudly. "That's your letter of invitation to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Oh, I'm so proud of you!"
Dawn 'eeped' as her mom rushed to hug her. "Um, thanks. I think. But I'm not a witch. Am I?"
The conversation was temporarily put on hold as the owl hooted loudly and Joyce went and opened the door for it. Then she walked back and gestured for Dawn to take a seat. "Yes, you are. Otherwise they wouldn't have asked you to come. This is wonderful, honey. I thought you might have been a squib, you've never shown any signs."
Dawn set the envelope down. This was all a bit much for her to handle. "Wait a minute. Can you explain from the beginning?"
Joyce composed herself and took a deep breath, complying with her daughter's request. She told Dawn how she was half witch, half muggle, and what exactly a muggle was, and why Buffy hadn't been invited, and how her dad was a full wizard, but bound his powers and tried to forget them, finally leading up to her own days at Hogwarts and what was going to happen now.
"It sounds cool, but what about Buffy? This is kind of a raw deal for her. I mean, I get to go away to school, and she has to stay here and be a Slayer? That sucks for her."
"Dawn, don't swear." Joyce said, going to the phone and dialing Giles' number.
"What sucks for me?" Buffy said, coming through the back door as Dawn spoke.
"Buffy!" Joyce admonished. "Hello, Rupert. Dawnie got her letter tonight. Really? Um-hmm. Alright. Tomorrow. Good night."
"What stinks for me?" Buffy said again, monitoring her language this time. "And why'd you call Giles? And why does Dawn look like she just won the lottery?"
Eagerly, Dawn began to explain to her sister what was going on, and Joyce made everyone hot chocolate. The conversation continued into the wee hours, until Dawn fell asleep at the table and Joyce sent the both up for bed.
Sleep didn't come easily for her, though. There was too much to deal with in the next month for Joyce to sleep.
)()()()(
Chapter Two
Willow was baffled. Sitting in her familiar position on Giles’ couch, she looked around at her friends and thought about just how much her life had changed in the past 48 hours.
Her parents were dead. Dawn was a witch. She was adopted.
Xander sneaked a look at his best friend and knew what kind of thoughts were swirling around underneath that red hair of hers. Much like it had last year, Willow’s life had inexorably changed, whether for better or worse no one knew as of yet. Giles had called them and asked them to come over this afternoon, and promised he would answer all questions when they’d arrived.
He and Willow had come together, and Buffy had yet to show; but she wasn’t late yet.
Suddenly a loud thud came from behind them and Willow jumped visibly. "Giles?" she yelled, as bangs and more thuds issued from the wall behind them.
The older man hurried downstairs and heard the noises immediately. "Hold on a moment, Mr. Weasley!" he shouted, apparently to the wall; as Willow, Xander, and Buffy, who’d just walked in, stared in confusion.
Giles moved aside a few plants that were in front of the wall, cautioned them all to stand well back as he himself moved away, and said, "All right, now," and the wall exploded outward.
Willow shrieked and yanked on Xander’s arm as she moved abruptly backward, knocking into Buffy as the dust settled and an older man with red hair stepped forward, followed by two boys, who looked to be about her age.
"Sorry about this, Mr. Giles, I’ll clean it up right away," Arthur Weasley said, ushering his sons to step in front of him as he turned back to the hole in the wall. He waved his wand and muttered something too low for any of them to hear, and suddenly the room was clear of debris, and a fireplace stood where the hole once was.
Buffy was the first of the Sunnydale group to speak. "What in the *hell* is going on here?" she asked, not caring about her swearing at the moment.
"Buffy, please calm down," Giles said, walking over to his Slayer. "I promise to explain everything in a minute, all right?"
The blonde wasn’t happy, but she agreed and pulled Willow and Xander back over to the couch, pointedly ignoring the new arrivals until she had a little more information as to who they were and just what they were doing here.
TBC....