Part 10

      "What do you think you're doing?" Professor Snape repeated when it became
apparent that Willow and Amy were ignoring him.  "I know the two of you
aren't exactly the brightest students we've had here, but even you should
understand the danger of being so close to them."
      "Angel, are you okay?" Willow asked the souled vampire, completely ignoring
the outburst by the Potions teacher and the shocked stares of her
classmates.  All she could see was that her mate was in pain.  "What
happened?"
      "Ran into a bit of trouble just in the woods outside of the school," Angel
explained.  "Got captured by some kind of warlock.  He still has Buffy and
Giles.  We barely got out of there alive."
      "Well, come over here and let me look at you," she ordered, turning towards
Spike and Drusilla.  "You two, come on.  Amy, how's Xander?"  Willow could
see how pale her best friend was and was concerned for him.  Unlike the two
vampires, Xander could just heal himself.
      "I'll be fine, Wills," Xander protested, giving her a weak smile.  "You
know me, nothing can keep the Xan man down.  Especially with his best girl
at his side."  Xander squeezed Amy's shoulder and she wrapped her arms
around his waist, offering him support.
      "I'll always be by your side," she told him, giving him a chaste kiss on
the cheek.
      "Willow, Amy, I want you to step away from Angelus and his childre,"
Dumbledore ordered, concerned for his two students.  He couldn't hear the
conversation between the group of people, and could tell that Willow and Amy
were concerned about whatever had happened to the vampires, but Dumbledore
believed that the two young witches just didn't understand the dangers of
being near such violent creatures.  He signaled for Snape and Lupin to take
out Spike and Drusilla since they were not currently being blocked by Willow
and Amy.  HE just hoped that he could get the two girls clear before Angelus
killed them.  "Girls, I want you to move away from them, now."
      Willow looked over at Dumbledore, never releasing her hold on Angel.  She
saw him signal to the other two professors and screamed as she realized what
they had planned to do.  "Noooooo," she yelled.  "Don't hurt them."
Suddenly, before anyone knew what was happening, Hermoine, Harry and Ron ran
and stood in front of Spike and Drusilla, effectively blocking them from
anything that might be sent their way.
      "Children, what do you think you're doing?" Dumbledore asked, stunned at
the reactions of his students.  "You have no idea of what you're doing."
      "Hello," Amy sarcastically threw out, "of course we know what we're doing.
We're trying to help our friends who have come to take us home."  Amy led
Xander over to the table that she and the other Gryffindors had just been
seated in.  The students in her way quickly backed away as if just being in
the presence of the vampires would be enough to bring upon some horrible
tragedy.  "Now are you going to help us or just get in our way?"
      "But they're vampires," a student from the Ravenclaw house yelped out,
before hiding behind some of her fellow housemates.  Willow rolled her eyes
at the room full of people.
      "Only three of them," she answered.  "Xander's human.  Well, a human
garbage disposal that is."  She grinned at her long time friend, who in turn
stuck his tongue out at her.
      "Will, remind me again why it is I wanted to help Deadboy get you back," he
jokingly asked the red head.
      "Because you loved me and you needed someone to copy your homework friend,"
Willow reminded him.
      "Oh yeah, thanks.  I forgot."  Willow helped Angel over to the table,
joining Xander and watched with gratitude in her eyes as her three friends
offered their support to Drusilla and Spike.  She could see the fear in
their faces at the proximity to the vampires and was grateful that they were
still willing to be there for them.
      "Thanks," she told them when they had finally settled the four people at
the table.
      "Please, this definitely is something to write home about," Hermoine
grinned.  "I mean, not everyday when three of the most feared vampires in
history just waltz into Hogwarts looking to recover one of their mates."
      "Mates?" Professor Lupin repeated as he carefully made his way over to
where the group was seated.  While he knew that he should be trying to
figure out a way to destroy the three vampires that he had so recently
taught his class about, there was something about the way that they were
acting towards his students that told him that they were different from
others of their kind.  And the fact that Hermoine said that one of them had
a mate here did not escape his noticed.  He knew that, while vampires had
many lovers, they did not often have mates.  "Whose mate?"
      "Willow is Peaches' mate," Spike quipped, pointing towards his sire.
      "Willow and Angelus," Lupin looked over at the red head who had often
surprised him at how well she picked up on the things he taught.  "Is this
true?"
      "Well, not the Angelus part," Willow amended.  "Angelus is gone.  This is
Angel."  Willow looked over some of Angel's injuries and could see, that
while not deep, there were quite a number of bruises and cuts.  "You need
blood," she stated plainly.
      "I'll be fine," Angel insisted.  "Just a few scratches."
      "Hello, this is me, remember," Willow said, "how many times have I had to
bandage you up after you and Buffy battled some stupid demon.  I am the girl
who went and dealt with Willy after you saved Buffy from the Three.  Don't
tell me that its just a few scratches."
      "Damn, Peaches, she is a little spitfire," Spike smirked.  "I'm not sure
you're right for her."
      "She is," Drusilla observed, smiling at her sire and his mate.  "She's
perfect for my new mommy."
      "Willow, mother to a one hundred and fifty year old vamp.  Now there's
something you don't hear often."  Xander broke into laughter, followed
quickly by a hiss of pain, his hand covering his ribs.  Amy was at his side,
gently probing the tender skin under his shirt.
      "Feels like a few ribs might have been broken, Xander," the blonde witch
informed her boyfriend.  "We'll have to get them taken care of before they
puncture anything."
      "You know, I'm getting really tired of the whole, lets make Xander the one
in pain.  What, like my being a hyena wasn't bad enough?"
      "You weren't a hyena," Willow reminded her friend.  "You were just
possessed by one."
      "Yeah, well, doesn't mean I don't remember eating the school mascot,"
Xander shivered at the memory.  "Talk about putting someone off their lunch.
  Not to mention, I don't think I can go on another field trip for the rest
of the school year."  Willow and Amy giggled slightly at the look of disgust
on the young man's face.
      "Well, you know how it is, Xander.  Hang out with the Slayer, run into
trouble," Willow told him.  "Comes with being a Slayerette."
      "Will someone please explain what is going on here?" Professor Snape
exploded.  He couldn't believe that three vampires and a Muggle teenager had
somehow gotten into the school, or that they were apparently friends with
the two students who had been forced to attend Hogwarts.  And it hadn't
escaped his notice that Dumbledore was just sitting by and watching the
interaction between the group of people.  Willow looked over at her irate
professor and sighed, realizing that she had to explain to the others who
had just broken into the school.
      "Well, its a long story," she started.  She didn't bother looking over at
Professor Snape, instead focusing her attention on the headmaster of the
school.  "You see, these are our friends.  Angel, Spike and Drusilla.  And,
of course I knew they were vampires Always have.  And, before you ask,
that's Xander and he's not a vampire.  He's my best friend and Amy's
boyfriend."
      "How is it that you became involved with these vampires?"  There wasn't an
accusation in Dumbledore's voice as he asked his question.  Just curiosity.
      "Let's just say that there's a reason why Amy and I are really good in Dark
Arts."  Professor Lupin's interest suddenly skyrocketed.  "Remember when you
were telling us about the Slayer and you mentioned that there were rumors
that the current Slayer had helpers."  Lupin nodded his head.  "You're
looking at said helpers."
      "We prefer to think of ourselves as Slayerettes," Xander volunteered.
      "You helped the Slayer," Lupin repeated.  "But that still doesn't explain
how you became involved with Angelus."
      "Angel," Willow corrected.  "Angelus has been gone for over eighty years
thanks to the Rom.  They placed a curse on him and gave him his soul back.
This is Angel.  As for Spike and Dru, they're his childre.  And, as his
mate, that makes them mine also.  And did I just say that?"
      Angel grinned at his mate.  "Yes you did, sweetling."  He leaned over and
took her mouth in his, kissing her with all of the longing that he had felt
since her disappearance.  "And, in case I forget, I have missed you
terribly."
      "Not as much as I've missed you," she whispered.  Suddenly she remembered
something that they had told her about why they looked so beat up.  "What
happened to Buffy and Giles?"
      "I told you.  Some warlock captured us," Angel explained.  "When he found
out he had the Slayer, he just got all excited.  He said something about
using her to return to the living or something like that."
      "What was his name?" Dumbledore asked, suddenly feeling apprehensive at
something other than the appearance of the three vampires.
      "Can't remember.  Starts with a V though."
      "Voldemort?" Harry whispered, so low that only the vampire heard him.
      "Yeah, that's it.  Voldemort."  As Angel said the name of he whose name
should not be said, a cry rose among the students.  "I take it he's
definitely not of the good."
      "Definitely."

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