#21
Title: A Curse Broken
Author: Maeve Bran
Summary: Wolfram and Hart hire Bill Weasley to break Angel's curse.
Disclaimer:I don't own Buffy or Angel or Bones
Notes:This is for the August fic a day, and also for the
TtH Challenge #1097 "Easily Broken". This is set during mid season 5 of Angel, sometime after "Destiny" but before "You're Welcome". Makes reference to my "Willow the Squint" series.
Word Count: 643
"Angel, there is a Mister William Weasley here to see you," Angel's assistant Harmony said over the intercom.
"Okay, send him in," Angel answered. He then stood up and went to greet his guest.
"Mr. Weasley, thank you for coming all the way from England. Won't you please have a seat?" Angel said as he shook hands with his guest.
"Thanks, Mr. Angel," Weasley answered. "But please call me Bill." He sat down.
"And I'm Angel, just Angel," came the reply.
"All right, Angel, what can I do for you? The message I got from Dumbledore said I could help you with a curse. Though how the president and CEO of a muggle law firm could know Headmaster Albus Dumbledore is a mystery to me," Bill said, by way of cutting to the chase.
"Long story. The short version is that I was an evil vampire. I got cursed by gypsies with a soul, became a fighter for good. I have, on occasion in that fight, had dealings with Dumbledore. The curse had an unpleasant codicil. That would be why you are here," Angel explained.
"What exactly is this codicil that I'm supposed to break?" Bill asked, curious but also still a bit suspicious.
"The gypsies were taking revenge for my having killed a favored daughter of the clan; they wanted me to suffer. They wanted the soul to cause me pain, nad for me never to get comfortable or make peace with it. They attached a clause that said if I ever experienced a moment of true happiness, then I'd lose the soul," Angel explained, clearly pained by memories associated with the clause.
"Let me get this straight, if you get too happy then you lose your soul? So then what happens?" Bill inquired.
"Then what happens? I turn into the evil vampire my sire made me," Angel answered with little apparent emotion.
"That would be Angelus, then? I have read about the Scourge of Europe. We studied the fearsome foursome in Defense Against the Dark Arts," Bill said, slightly in awe. "So what do you want me to do? Bring Angelus back?"
"Hell, no. I don't ever want to be Angelus again. That is why you're here," Angel said emphatically.
"So you've lost your soul, then," Bill said, not as a question but a fact. "How and when?"
"Twice, and I'd rather not make it three times. The first was when I found out about the clause. A friend who was just learning magic figure out how to recurse me, fortunately. That was six years ago. Then, last year, we discovered that Angelus had some information that I didn't, so my friends found a shaman to remove my soul again. When Angelus was no longer needed, they brought in the person who had originally recursed me and put it back," Angel summed up. "So, can you do it? Break the curse?"
"Yes, I can break the curse, but I need to talk to this friend who managed to cast it twice. A muggle you said?" Bill looked impressed.
"Yes. Her name is Willow Rosenberg. She is in Washington D.C. right now, studying at the Jeffersonian Institute in the Medical-Legal lab," Angel said. "If you need to speak with her in person, you can take the corporate jet."
"Thanks, but I don't need it. I've been to the Capitol Mall; I can apparate to it and find my way from there. Expect me back with answers in a few days," Bill said.
"I'll tell her you're coming," Angel replied.
Bill nodded respectfully and apparated away.
Angel hoped the man could do what he said he could. He would love to be able to love without worrying that Angelus would reappear. For the first time since that day with Buffy, he felt hopeful about the future.
Angel smiled and went back to work.
(x-posted to
maevebran)