Part 7

                     “Finally time we got to see the outside of that school,” Amy muttered as
             she followed Willow and the other students off of the bus.
                     “Yeah, but it would have been nicer if we could have done it without the
             chaperones,” Willow whispered, glancing back at Professor McGonnigal and
             some of the other teacher behind them.
                     “I can’t believe they’re actually making you wear those stupid bracelets,”
             Hermoine commented, looking down at the jewelry adorning the older witches.
             “What do they think you’re going to do?  Run off or something?”
                     “Probably,”  Willow grinned.  “And they would have been correct too.”
             Hermoine nodded her understanding at why Willow would feel that way.  Since
             that day when she had discovered Willow and Amy’s past, the three girls had
             formed a tight friendship that hah seen them through some of the teasing
             that they’ve received at the hands of some of the other students, especially
             the girls from Slytherin.  And, while Hermoine still enjoyed spending as
             much time as she could with Harry and Ron, she enjoyed having female friends
             too.  She often could be found listening in rapt attention to the stories of
             their exploits with the Slayer, even using one as a basis for a report for
             her Dark Arts class.  She had also gotten over the fact that Willow was the
             mate of one of the most feared vampires in history, just because of the
             things that the vampire had said and done since Willow had known him.
             Hermoine had even kept her promise of not telling anyone about what Willow
             and Amy had done before coming to Hogwarts, and that included keeping Harry
             and Ron in the dark.
                     “Yeah, but at least they let us come,” Amy added, as she thought of Harry,
             who had been forced to stay behind at Hogwarts because of a supposed threat
             to his life.  She felt bad for the young boy who had gone through so much in
             his young life already.  When she heard about his life outside of the school
             with his aunt and uncle, she was reminded of Xander and his parents.  It
             made the blonde witch go the extra mile to befriend him.
                     “So, where do you want to go first?” Willow asked, looking around the small
             town.  Hermoine and Ron pointed in the general direction of the candy store
             and the foursome made their way over to it.  When they arrived they quickly
             discovered that the store had been the first choice for a majority of the
             students that came to town.  Willow and Amy were amazed by the varying array
             of candy.  They picked and chose which ones to get, although Willow did balk
             at the chocolate frogs.  Willow had just finished paying for her selections
             when she felt Hermoine pulling at her shirt.
                     “I need to talk to you,” she whispered, looking around the store fervently.
               Willow followed an obviously excited Hermoine out of the store.  Amy
             noticed and joined them.
                     “What’s wrong?” Willow questioned, wondering what had made the younger girl
             so jumpy.
                     “I just heard something that I thought you should know,” the other girl
             told them.  Willow and Amy looked at her expectantly.
                     “What?”
                     “Harry overheard Professor Lupin and Dumbledore talking about Spike and
             Drusilla being in town,” she informed the stunned twosome.
                     “Spike and Drusilla?  Here?  And what do you mean Harry overheard them?
             How?  He’s back at the school isn’t he?”  Willow shot the questions at
             Hermoine, who answered them in order.
                     “Yes, Spike and Drusilla.  Apparently they arrived last night.  And Harry
             snuck out of school using his invisibility cloak.  He was just standing next
             to them when he heard them and told Ron and me,” she explained.  Willow
             looked shocked.  She couldn’t believe that her mate’s childre were actually
             in Hogsmeade.  She thought a moment about what she could do with this
             information.
                     “Did they say what was going to happen about them being here?” Amy
             inquired, worried for Angel’s two childre.
                     “I think they were planning on sending for some of the vampire hunters to
             come and kill them,” she replied.  Willow’s face showed her fear at the
             thought of the two vampires being killed.  Even though she never had met the
             Spike and Drusilla, she knew how much they had meant to Angel and was
            determined to save them.
                     “I’ve got to find them,” Willow stated flatly.
                     “How?  We have these stupid bracelets on that alerts Dumbledore if we so
             much as step outside of the town,” Amy reminded her friend.
                     “So, who says we have to go out of town,” Willow answered.  At Hermoine and
             Amy’s confused looks, she decided to let them in on a little secret that
             Angel had told her.  “Okay, you know about the bond between Angel and I.”
             Both girls nodded.  “Well, it extends to his childre.  If they’re around
             here, I’ll be able to find them.  That is, if I concentrate really hard.”
                     “Do you think you can?” Hermoine questioned.  Willow nodded her head in the
             affirmative.
                     “I should be able to.  But I’ll need you two to act as a distraction.  I
             mean, we can’t all disappear and as long as Amy is seen, they won’t think
             that I’ll have taken off,” Willow told them.
                     “Well, then, let’s go be seen,” Amy stated, willing to help Willow.  She
             knew that no matter what they said, Willow would try and help Spike and
             Drusilla.  “Be careful.  They are still evil vampires, remember.”
                     “I will.  Now go.”  Willow watched as Amy and Hermoine made their way back
             to where they had left Ron, and presumably the invisible Harry.  She closed
             her eyes and tried to concentrate on the two vampires, reaching out with all
             of her senses to see if she could feel them.  And she did.  It was only a
             tiny tugging in her mind, but it was enough to point her in the right
             direction.
                     Willow walked towards the outskirts of town, making her way to an old
             abandoned house that lay just inside the town’s borders.  She carefully
             opened the door and peered into the darkness.  “Hello, is anybody in here?”
             She could feel the vampire’s presence.  “Spike, Drusilla?”
                     “It’s the little tree,” came a lilting voice from above her.  Willow looked
             up and gasped at the sight of a dark haired vampire in a long flowing white
             dress.  “You’re supposed to be my new mommy.”
                     “This little chit is your little tree,” came a sarcastic accented voice.
             Willow looked over and saw, what could only be described as a Billy Idol
             wannabe.  “What in the world does Peaches see in her?"
                     “Hush, Spikey,” Drusilla admonished as she came down the stairs.  She stood
             in front of Willow, looking down at the red head.  “I’m Drusilla.”
                     “Willow.”  Dru smiled down at the girl.  Willow returned it with one of her
             own.  “And you’re Spike,” she stated as the blonde vampire joined them.
                     “Aren’t you the smart one,” he sneered, giving Willow an appraising look
             and liking what he saw.  He could see the inner fire that was burning in
             her.  “So, where is the great Poof anyway?”
                     “If you mean, Angel, he’s in Sunnydale,” Willow explained.
                     “And you’re here, why?”
                     “My friend Amy and I were taken to this school not to far from here, but
             because we have no idea where we are, we haven’t been able to tell Angel to
             get him to come and get us back.  And you have to get out of town because
             they know you’re here and are planning on killing you.” Willow babbled.
                     “That’s why Miss Edith told me that Daddy was sad,” Dru muttered.  “He
             misses his witch.  And you miss him.”
                     “Very much so.”
                     “Then why don’t you just leave?” Spike questioned, not understanding why
             the girl hadn’t escaped yet.
                     “Because, the school is for witches and wizards.  We can’t.  Even now they
             are monitoring me, making sure I don’t leave the town,” Willow explained.
             “I was hoping that maybe you could go to Sunnydale and tell Angel and the
             others where we are so that they could come and get us.”
                     “And why should we want to do that?” Spike asked.
                     “Because Daddy is unhappy with his witch gone and the nasty Slayer is
             trying to make Daddy hers.”  Willow blanched at Drusilla’s ramblings and the
             dark haired vampire noticed it.  “Don’t worry, little tree.  Daddy doesn’t
             like the evil Slayer.  He thinks she’s nasty too.  He only wants his witch.”
                     “So will you help me, please?”
                     “We’ll help,” Spike agreed, already knowing that this is what needed to be
             done.  He had been listening to Dru mumble for months about a little tree
             and her Daddy.  It was why they had even come to this town.  Besides, it had
             been awhile since he had seen his sire.  And, he always did have a thing for
             red heads.
 

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