A Matter of Family

Chapter Three

The young group of people watched, amazed as Dumbledore literally drew chairs for them to sit on in the large office they had landed. The trip by portkey, while being a pretty cool experience, had not left the young members of the group feeling like a repeat of the experience. Well, almost all of the young people.

"That was sooo awesome. That's better than Space Mountain. I want to do it again! How soon can we do it again?" Dawn enthused, while the rest of the group groaned in discomfort.

"Gods, Dawnie. I love roller-coasters as much as the next red-blooded male, but that was NOTHING like a roller-coaster. It was horrible. I swear my stomach came out of my mouth and said hello to me," Xander said, as he sat and bent to put his head between his knees.

"I...I don't feel so good," Tara said quietly.

"Its okay honey. You'll be okay in a few minutes. Or I hope it will only be a few minutes, 'cause I gotta say green is just not a good color on any of us," Willow said as she rubbed small circles on Tara's back, while clutching her own stomach with her other hand,

"You have got to be kidding me. You lot get covered with demon goo and ichor on a daily basis without blinking an eye, but move you across the planet in less then three minutes and your ready to toss your cookies. Pathetic."

The attempted insult from Spike lost all effect when the previously bouncing Dawn suddenly paled and lurched forward. "Oh god," was heard half a second before the soda and snacks she had munched on her way back from her 'supply' run were coating the vampire's Doc Martins.

"Oi! Bloody hell Bit. Couldn't you have at least aimed for the Whelp?" Spike asked looking at his boots disgustedly.

"Ah, come on Spike. 'Odour de Puke' is just such a fetching scent for you. I'm sure none of the girl vamps....or whatever you go after...will be able to resist you," Xander snarked.

"Children, please," from Giles stopped the impending verbal battle the two were about to engage in. Someone clearing their throat caught all of their attention.

"Yes, well. I do believe we have much to discuss if everyone is ready," Dumbledore stated, eyes twinkling taking in the actions of the group. "Here, let me take care of that for you William."

Dumbledore pointed his wand at Spike's boots and said "Scourgify". The offending material disappeared, and Spike's boots suddenly looked nearly new. "There, now that wasn't so bad. Would anyone like a lemon drop before we begin?" Everyone declined.

"Perhaps introductions are in order, Professor?" an older lady spoke for the first time, drawing the attention of the Sunnydalers to the rest of the people in the room.

"Quite right, I do believe that may be best Minerva. The lovely young lady here is Professor Minerva McGonagall deputy Headmistress, our Transfiguration Mistress and head of Gryffindor house. To my left is Professor Severus Snape, Potions Master and head of Slytherin house. And to my right is Sirius Black."

While the newcomers to Hogwarts all turned to look at Xander when the name Black was said, his attention was fully on the people in front of him. He wasn't completely comfortable with Dumbledore. Giles trusted the man, but it felt, to Xander, like the old wizard was always trying to make plans three steps ahead when he received any new information, which in itself wasn't really a bad thing, it was just the possible end results of those plans that Xander was uncomfortable with. He didn't see any hint of malice in the old man's eyes, but in light of the very recent revelations by Anya and her plans for him, he was going to be very cautious with these people. The 'young' lady wore green robes and had square glasses. She was taking in the group with wary questioning eyes. 'Smart lady', he thought. The man introduced as Severus Snape was wearing all black, had longish greasy looking black hair, and looked like he hadn't seen a ray of sunlight in several years. At first glance the man seemed to be a stuck up, greasy slime ball, but as Xander examined him, a look crossed the man's eyes that reminded Xan of when Giles had explained his past with Ethan and Eyghon, shame and the desire to make amends for his past. No way was he ready to trust this guy, but he had a feeling there was much more to the man than what appeared. Finally, his gaze came to Sirius Black. According to the family tree he had made, this man was his father's younger brother; his uncle. He had longish wild black hair, and a scruffy looking beard, like he hadn't shaved in a few days. His very stance screamed distrust and wariness. His blue eyes kept flicking over everyone, scanning for the slightest hint of a threat. The man didn't set off any kind of warnings for him, nor had any of the others, but Giles had said that the Blacks had aligned themselves with the dark, and Xander wasn't about to offer any kind of trust until he found out otherwise.

The rest of his companions had remained quiet, studying him while he studied the other people in the room. Finally, he began the introductions, "The bleached wonder on the end there is Spike. Beside him is Dawn Summers, the blond beside me is Tara Maclay, Willow Rosenberg is on the other side of her. At the other end of our little group is Rupert Giles, and from the looks on your faces, I think you all know him already. G-man we are soo having that talk as soon as we can. And I'm Alexander Harris, but call me Xander." He noticed Black fix his gaze on him, but met Snape's hard stare. "If it weren't for that vein throbbing on the side of your forehead, I would swear you were a vamp."

"Vamp? Vampire?! You impudent little prick. How dare you insult me," Snape growled. Dumbledore's eyes sparkled merrily, McGonagall placed a hand over her mouth, but soft chuckles could be heard. Black laughed out right.

"Hey! I'll have you know that my equipment works just fine and is far from being little, thank you very much. No need to be rude."

"Uh, Xan. He said impudent, not impotent. He was calling you a rude little prick....not suggesting anything about your...ummm...equipment," Willow whispered loudly, blushing hotly. She knew he was trying to break the tension that had built in the room, but Goddess...they really didn't need these people thinking they were idiots.

"Oh. Well. As long as we're clear on that, then. But it DOES work just fine, and size is definitely not a problem. Just so we have that straight."

And just like that, the tension in the room dropped dramatically. A 'Dear Lord' was heard from Giles as he polished his glasses. Willow, Tara, and Dawn were all giggling. Dumbledore was smiling brightly and McGonagall wasn't trying to hide her chuckle any more. Snape was, of course, scowling. Spike and Black, however, were laughing uproariously. Spike was sliding out of his chair with the force of his laughter, and Black actually had tears forming.

Between guffaws Black said, "Oh, I like this boy."

Xander smiled and nodded his head in recognition of the comment. When the laughter finally died down, he spoke again. "Ok. Before we say anything much about ourselves, I need to make a few things clear. I don't know you people, so I automatically don't trust you. It's nothing personal, and I'm not trying to suggest anything. But you've got to understand, we've made a lot of enemies over the years, and with everything that we've been told today, not giving you our life histories is just common sense. Giles trusts you people, I trust Giles. So while we're not going to be out right secretive, there are just some things about us that you just don't need to know, at least not right now. After all, its not paranoia if they really are out to get you. So, who wants to start this inquisition?"

"And do you speak for everyone in your group?" Snape asked, snidely.

"For right now, yeah he does," Dawn answered. "We just got away from one crazy trying to kill us all and destroy the world. And Buffy died because of it. Then today we find out that there is this whole secret world of magic users, and apparently Xan and I are part of it, and because of who we find ourselves related to, the big bad of this world is gonna come gunning for us. Xan's in overprotective freak-out soldier-boy mode right now. When he gets like this all you can do is sit back and wait for him to chill out." The others nodded in agreement.

"Hey! I am not in an overprotective freak-out soldier-boy mode," he protested. After receiving pointed looks from the rest of the group, he relented. "Okay, maybe a little of a freak out going on, and maybe soldier-boy is kinda close to the surface right now. But I have a good reason, don't you think?" His girls smiled and nodded, Spike snorted and rolled his eyes, and Giles just pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Could you explain that please? And perhaps you could tell us why you had someone trying to kill you?" McGonagall asked politely.

When the others exchanged nervous looks, unsure on just how to answer that question, Spike spoke up. "Oh for...the lot of them have been fighting with the Slayer on the Hellmouth. The Whelp and Red have been there for five years now, and Rupes was the Watcher. Nibblet here is the Slayer's sister, and Glinda over there is Red's girlfriend and has been fighting with them for the last two years. They always have someone trying to kill them. When they talk about soldier-boy, they're talking about a possession the boy had one Halloween when he turned into the costume he was wearing, a soldier costume."

Xander glared at him. "Way to go with not giving out the whole life story there, Fangless."

"Oi, I didn't give out anything much. Nothing that would hurt you or the Bit," Spike defended himself. Xander sighed, but didn't argue further.

"Oh my. You're the group that has been fighting with the Slayer? Well, that would certainly account for having enemies," McGonagall stated.

"And how do you fit into their group....Spike, was it?" Sirius asked.

"Oh, I get to answer this one. After all, you got to tell them about soldier-boy," Xander smirked at the blond. "Ya see, he used to be one of the ones trying to kill us all the time."

"Then why is he with you now?" Snape interrupted.

"Well, if you would let me finish before interrupting...geesh, rude much. As I was saying, he used to try to kill us all the time. Then, two years ago a military group set up shop in Sunnydale. They started capturing demons and experimenting on them. They got Spike and put a behaviour control microchip in his brain. Now, anytime he tries to attack humans he gets a splitting headache. So, after he escaped from their labs he came to us looking for help. It was really pathetic at the time, he wasn't able to feed or defend himself at all. So, Buffy and Giles took pity on him, provided him with blood and a place to hide. He started to help us out in exchange for blood or money...then he just never went away. Found out he couldn't hurt humans, but that didn't stop him from hurting other demons. He's been a sort of ally ever since. And in the last six months he's really proven himself, stayed on our side when he could have jumped to the other easily, or just left."

"Oh, William," Dumbledore said softly.

"Other demons? Blood? You mean he's a vampire?!" Sirius yelled, falling into a defensive position. Snape pulled his wand from the sleeve of his robe.

Spike growled, Xander stood up. "He's OUR vampire. He's gone against the nature of a vamp to fight on our side. He's saved the life of every one of us at some point in time. Don't even think about trying to harm him," he ground out. The others had stood as well during his speech, shielding the vampire from the others in the room. Spike watched the actions of his humans, rendered completely speechless.

Dumbledore watched as the young people came to the defense of 'their vampire'. In seconds they had him shielded from the magic users in the room, and the look in their eyes made it abundantly clear that it would not be an easy task to attempt to attack William, let alone succeed in attacking him. They flowed easily with each other, seeming to know the others position and movements without ever looking at one another. It was most impressive. It was obvious anyone going against this group would have great difficultly in defeating them. Glancing at Severus, he could see that the potions master was making the same assessments. Yes, they would be a great asset in the war against Voldemort. Perhaps he could find a way for the group to pass their knowledge onto his students as well. Every little added protection was needed. He would have to think on that. For right now, they had other matters to attend to. "Please, everyone sit back down. Sirius, Severus, you have no need to worry about William. He is not a threat to anyone here."

"How can you be so sure?" McGonagall asked.

"Because I am. And we will discuss the reason for that shortly. First, however, we need to get back to why we are all here."

"Good grief. Enough with the posturing already. Keep those wands in your pockets or else. Got it people?" Willow asked as her eyes turned back. There were gasps and nods. "Good. Now, I'll answer questions later too. Right now, lets get back to Xan and Dawn. Okay. I'm gonna get this all out at once, 'cause we aren't getting anywhere at this rate. Everyone agree?" When she received affirmative nods from everyone she told the group of Dawn finding the potion, the attempt at making the family tree, Xan and Dawn's success and her failure, and the revelations by Giles and Spike about the wizarding world. Their hasty arrangement to make sure the hellmouth was guarded and their arrival at Hogwarts.

Once she could tell they had processed her rapid fire explanation she said, "Now, you know why we're here. So, now its your turn to tell us WHY we're here." Willow watched as the wizards exchanged looks on where to begin. She looked at Xander, and could tell the fight-or-flight adrenaline was ebbing away. He had relaxed slightly during her explanation. He flashed her a quick smile of thanks and she grinned back at him.

After several moments passed without answers Xander spoke up again. "Ok. Why don't we start with me? Mr. Black, I was told that your, well our, family has aligned itself with this Molded Shorts guy. So, why are you here? And just what is the big deal with Harry? I know there is some prophecy or something, but it hasn't really been explained yet."

Sirius snorted. "Oh yes, the ancient and noble House of Black has always been about power and being pure blood," he said sarcasticlly. "Except for me, that's why mother disowned me years ago. I do remember her saying something about me being more of a disappoint than "that squib" father had first produced. In light of this development, I believe she was talking about your father, my brother. I do NOT follow Voldemort. I fought in the first war against him, and I'll fight just the same in this one. I'm Harry's godfather. I was framed as Lily and James' betrayer and reason for their murder, by Peter Pettigrew, someone that we considered a true friend. I spent twelve years in Azkaban for it. I escaped nearly two years ago and was able to prove to Harry that it was Pettigrew and not I that betrayed his parents. Unfortunately Pettigrew escaped, so there is no official proof of my innocence. I have been in hiding ever since, but once the tapestry changed I had to come here to find out what was going on, to find out if this was some kind of plot of the Dark Lord."

Xander wanted to believe him. He felt that he was telling the truth, but he needed more assurance than just his gut instinct. He looked at Spike. "What do you think?"

Spike was taken aback for a second at his opinion being requested. "Well pet, unless he's an extremely good liar, he's telling the truth. His scent never changed, and his heartbeat stayed the same the entire time."

Xander nodded and turned back to the other man. "So....Uncle Sirius, huh? So, what do you think granny would say about the son of her castaway child showing up, turning out to be a wizard that has been fighting the good fight with the Slayer for the last five years, without knowing about being a wizard, and now has plans to take out the big bad bigot?" Xander decided to offer the olive branch. They would need help keeping Dawn safe, and Harry needed help as well. Neither he nor Spike had felt the man was lying, so he would be the first to offer his hand. Then keep a very close eye on the other man.

"Oh my boy, she'll be ranting for centuries over this, I assure you," Sirius replied, giving Xander a toothy grin. "I like you. You would have made a wonderful Marauder. But know this, hurt Harry and I will kill you myself."

Xander nodded. "Same goes for you and anyone else in this room. Hurt my family, and you'll be wishing for Voldemort to save you before I'm done with you." He gave everyone a pointed look.

Snape snorted. "That's just perfect. Another worthless idiot traipsing about. How is it you're related to Potter? James was an only child. Unlike the Blacks the Potters would never have cast a child aside, regardless of their magical ability."

Xander shrugged his shoulders, and Dumbledore sighed. "I may have an answer to that. It is just speculation in regards to events that happened long ago. However, without Jonathon or Vivian here to answer questions, it is the only information I have to offer. The Potters had tried for years to have a child. They were getting older and feared they would never get the chance to be parents. One day Jonathon came to me to ask my advice. He and Vivian had formed a friendship with a young woman by the name of Caroline LaVelle. She knew how desperately they wanted a child and suggested that she and Jonathon attempt to have one together. If she became pregnant she would give the child to them once it was born. Jonathon asked if I thought it was a good idea. I told him that I could not possibly give him advice in that matter, it was something he would have to discuss at length with Vivian. He agreed and left. A month later Vivian announced she was with child. They were both ecstatic. Then a week later there were rumors of a huge fight between the Potters and Caroline LaVelle, which ended with Caroline leaving to never be heard from again. Since your family tree shows you as the grandson of her and Jonathon, I can only guess that they tried to have a child together. Whether they knew she was pregnant or not before she left, I have no way of knowing. But, knowing Jonathon and Vivian as I did, I do not believe they would have abandoned Caroline had they known she was pregnant with Jonathon's child."

"Ummm....well....ummm. So, Grams volunteered to be a breeding machine. That's nice to know. NOT. I was twelve when she died, and I never heard her say anything about what you just said. I always thought Pappy was mom's father. And I'm pretty sure she does too. Well shit. I wonder what the fight was about....." Xander mused, and lost himself in thought for a minute.

"Right. Well, there is no way for us to get those answers right now," Giles prodded, trying to keep the conversation on track.

"So, what can you tell us about Harry and the prophecy surrounding him?"

"Sixteen years ago I interviewed Sybill Trelawney for the Divination position we had open. During the interview she feel into a trance and said: 'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives...the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies...' Voldemort had a spy that overheard what she said."

"Wait, that sounds like on of those things that if you don't do something it doesn't happen. Like if Moldie didn't mark Harry then Harry wouldn't be a threat to him," Xander interrupted.

"You are most observant, Mr. Harris," Dumbledore commented.

"Work with a Slayer for five years, you learn a lot about cryptic, prophecy bullshit. You learn how to read between the lines, and when you're lucky, you realize that if you do what the prophecy says to do, then you're actually causing the damn world ending thing to be set into motion. So why did Moldie go after Harry and mark him? That part seems obvious even to me. Don't mark the kid, he's not a threat."

Snape growled. "That idiot ran off instead of listening to the entire prophecy. He returned to the Dark Lord telling him that a seer had said that one who could destroy him would be born at the end of July to those that had defied him before. The idiot did not even quote what was said correctly."

"How do you know that?" Spike asked.

"I was recruited as a Death Eater. But, I could not believe in what Voldemort was doing. Everything in me told me that he was wrong, so I became a spy, and still am to this day. I did not cry when James Potter died, but if the Dark Lord were to succeed with his plan, then we are all truly doomed."

The Sunnydale group nodded in acknowledgment of what they were told. They understood having to do something you didn't want to have to do to do the right thing. If Snape was truly trying to stop Voldemort by putting himself at risk as a spy, they would show him the respect he deserved.

"Luckily, only two children were born at the end of July. Neville Longbottom on the 30th and Harry Potter on the 31st," Dumbledore continued. "Voldemort decided the prophecy was about Harry. So once Peter Pettigrew betrayed them, the Dark Lord attacked them. He killed James and Lily, but the love of his parents put a protection around young Mr. Potter. When Voldemort tried to use the Killing Curse on Harry it rebounded, and Voldemort's body was destroyed. Harry sustained a scar in the shape of a lightening bolt on his forehead, thus marking him. Voldemort has spent the last fourteen years trying to regain his power. Four years ago he began to make his move. Then, this past year, with the help of someone imperonating a teacher, Pettigrew, and kidnapping of Harry he was able to regain a body. We believe he is trying to form an army now to continue with his plans to rid the world of anyone not of pure blood magical descent. However, the Ministry of Magic is refusing to acknowledge his return and is trying to stop any rumors of such. As it is now Dolores Umbridge has been placed here as the Defense Against Dark Arts professor and spy for the Ministry. With the Ministry refusing to admit Voldemort is a threat, there is no way we can prepare our students to protect themselves."

"Oh gods, its Sunnydale Syndrome: deny what is right in front of you. Geesh, when will people wake up," Willow said. Dawn snorted in agreement.

"Okay. So, where's Harry now?" Xander asked.

"He's with his mother's family, in London, during the summer break," Dumbledore answered.

"So, he's safe? With people who will protect him from Voldemort?"

"The home he is residing in is heavily warded," was Dumbledore's reply.

"That's the second time you have done that," Xander growled out. "I don't care how fuckin' warded the damn place is. I asked if he was safe with people who would protect him. Do not try to play games with me, you will not win. We've had to give half truths and off the wall lies for years because of what we do. This is too important for you to try to pull it on us right now."

Sirius and Minerva looked shocked at Xander's implications. Snape was smirking at someone finally calling the old fool out on his little games. Dumbledore would not look the young man in the eye. Finally Sirius snorted, "The house itself is safe. He cannot be attacked through the wards. But, as far as the Dursleys protecting him....ha! They are as bad as Voldemort, only in the opposite extreme, they hate all things magic and have spent years trying to beat/shame/squash/starve the magic out of him. Unfortunately, they are his only blood kin, so there is no where else for him to go until he is of age. As his godfather, I would take him in a heartbeat, if my current circumstances were different."

Surprisingly it was Tara that launched the verbal attack this time, without stuttering. "You knowingly send a child into a household where he is going to be abused?! What kind of people are you? How can you set back and let that happen to him, knowing that there is some psycho out there wanting to kill him? The poor boy has to suffer at the hands of family that despise him because of what he is during the summer months, then he comes here to be told that he has someone who wants him dead because of who he is. That poor child. Xander, we have to do something."

"I will Tara. He's my family. I won't let him stay in that kind of situation. We'll head over and get him in a little bit. I promise, Tara. Wills, will you come with, in case we need some oomph?"

"Of course, Xan."

"I'm going with you," Sirius said.

Xander nodded but asked, "I thought you were in hiding. Wouldn't it be to dangerous for you to go?"

Sirius grinned. "I have ways of not being noticed. Besides, if you expect him to come with you, you're going to have to have someone he knows and trusts with you."

"You've got a point with that. Okay, Sirius, Wills, and I are going to go get Harry. I'm not going to be able to wind down until I know he is safe. Spike, you wanna come, in case the bad dude has gotten creative and we need the muscle?"

"Eh, I'd feel better if I stayed here with the Bit. You got Red for mojo if you run into anything, and you're not worthless in a fight. Besides, if Voldemort sends humans I'm not gonna to be any help anyway."

"How can you possibly trust this vampire to help you protect anyone at all? It's bad enough you've allowed that soul-vampire to stay here." Snape demanded.

"He was a wizard before he was turned, Severus," Dumbledore said mildly.

The wizards in the room nodded in understanding, while Giles looked shocked at that bit of information. The younger people were all frowning, however. "Okay. And that means, what, exactly?" Dawn asked.

"When a wizard is turned, their natural magic prevents the demon from being able to take full control of the body. While the soul maybe gone, the magic and memories are still there, the essence of the wizard. The wizard will still need to feed, but the blood-lust and murderous actions are controllable. It doesn't happen often, but there are a few wizard-vamps out there, and usually they continue on with fairly normal lives," Spike answered.

"Uh huh. And you were a murdering, rampaging fiend for over a century because why? Unless you were a murdering rampaging fiend when you were alive, of course," Xander glared at the vampire.

"Pfft. I was a bloody nancy boy when I was alive. All shy and meek, like. I would have stayed the same, if it weren't for Drusilla. Dru's magic was weak before she found me. After turning me, she used the sire-childe bond to drain my magic and use it herself. Her magic got stronger as mine got weaker, and with the drain, the demon was able to exert full control of my body. When I first came to Sunnydale, and Dru was sick, I was able to gain a very small amount of control, because she wasn't draining me as much as she had been. That control is what allowed me to make that deal with the Slayer to stop Angelus. When Dru finally sent me away and cut the bond, right before I came back to Sunnydale, my magic started rebuilding itself. It took a while, but the demon is fully under control now. I spent more than a century being a right bastard, so there is no way I can ever go back to being what I was before being turned, but I'm not going to be going out killing and trying to end the world either. I am in control, and its because of my natural magic and who I was, not because of some chip shoved in me head.....and not because of some cursed soul, that can up and fly off at anytime, either."

"We always thought you were rather odd for a vampire. To emotional, to human. Guess we know why now," Willow smiled at him. Dawn hugged him, Tara offered a shy smile, and Giles and Xander nodded.

"I can vouch for William as well. We were very good friends when we attended Hogwarts together. William was one of the best people I have ever met."

This received startled looks from everyone in the group. "Thanks, Alb. I appreciate the back up."

Xander finally shook his head. "Alrighty then. As interesting as this has been....we need to get to Harry. I'm getting the wiggins, some thing's up, and I think we need to hurry. Sirius, Wills, you guys ready?" Both nodded.

"Very good. While you are gone we will work out how it has come about that Ms. Summers is my daughter. I may be old, but I do believe even I would remember this," Dumbledore said.

"Uh, yeah. About that. Remember the whole need-to-know speech I gave. Dawn is a huge need-to-know only. I'm sure between Giles, Tara, Spike, and Dawn herself, things can be explained, but only to you," Xander stated, staring directly into the professors eyes. "The fewer people who know about her, the better. Not only for her protection, but for the rest of us as well. Please, you'll understand once they have explained everything."

"If she poses a threat to this school I demand to know about it," Snape snarled.

"Absolutely NOT!" Xander shouted back. "The fewer people that know, the safer we are, hell the safer the entire world is. It doesn't matter if you prove yourself to be the most trustworthy person here. Simply by being a spy there is no way you can ever be told. We can't take the chance of Voldemort discovering you, and then finding out about Dawn through you being tortured, or mind control or whatever. You have to understand that."

Snape looked truly mollified, and gave a slight nod in agreement.

"Right then. How do we get to London?"

"You can floo to the Leaky Cauldron, and go on from there," Minerva answered, finally getting over the shock of everything that had been said.

"Well, alrighty then. Lets go you two. Giles, you and I will be having that talk about secrets when we get back, and I need to tell all of you about Anya. And tomorrow, I have a souled vampire to beat some sense into. Heh, being caught between Faith and Cordy should earn him a few points on that redemption he's always going on about don't you think?" The girls laughed at that, Spike snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Severus, my boy, while we are discussing Ms. Summers, could you make an 'eclipso' and a 'sangre restituo' potion for William?" Dumbledore asked.

"Certainly, Professor," Snape said as he left the chamber.

"Wh...what will those do?" Tara asked.

Dumbledore smiled gently. "The 'eclipso' will hide him from the sun, and the 'sangre restituo' will make it so he will not have to consume blood. He will have to the 'eclipso' once a week, and the 'restituo' once a day."

"Thank you, Alb," Spike said, as Dawn squealed and threw herself into his arms.

Xander smiled. "Well, let's get this show on the road. How do we floo?"

"Minerva, if you could assist them please."

"Certainly Headmaster."

"I suppose I had better change before we go," Sirius said. A moment later, a large black dog was standing in his place.

"Wow," Willow and Xander said in unison.

"That is so cool. Think I'll be able to learn that? 'Cause I gotta say, that is just sooo much cooler than the rats Amy turned Buffy and herself into. Wonder if I could lean to be...," Willow elbowed him in the side, and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, yeah. All things considering, maybe it wouldn't be such a good idea to try to turn into an animal."

Padfoot eyed them warily as they stepped into the floo. He had real trust issues with anyone turning themselves into a rat. He would have to ask his nephew about that once they were sure Harry was safe.

Dumbledore watched as the trio disappeared, and Minerva left the room before turning to Giles. "That is a very remarkable young man you have there, Rupert."

"Yes he is," Giles replied, pride evident in his voice. "However, I will feel much better once he returns to normal. While he has handled everything well so far, I fear for him if he keeps going as he is now. Dear lord, I never thought I would be wanting to hear him babble."

"He'll be okay Giles. He was starting a little babble right before they left," Dawn assured him.

"He seems to be handing this situation rather well, I believe," Dumbledore said, with a questioning look.

"There is something you need to understand about these children, Alb. They have faced some of the most terrible evils this world has to offer, and they are still alive. No matter what they have come up against, they have never lost their humor and love for life. They need that to keep themselves grounded, and Xan is usually the center for that humor. He's the one that always knows what to say to bring the others down from the tension, to remind them that they fight to live, not live to fight. The boy usually comes off as an utter git, but he knows what he's doing. He has the ability to make them laugh at the most unlikely moment, and has a knack for coming up with a solution to a problem so far out that no one else would ever think of it. He's the heart of their group. If he cracks, it won't be long before the others do too," Spike explained.

"I...I...I must say you are quite right. And, I am rather amazed that you recognize that fact," Giles said, while polishing his glasses.

"Yeah, well, if I had realized that years ago, the Slayer would have been easy pickin's. At least the poof never realized it. If he had taken the boy out, the Slayer would have fallen then."

"Ah, I see then. Well, why don't we move on to how Ms. Summers became my daughter. Shall we?"