ItshardtosayImshakenbythechoicesthatImake

Title: Can't Find My Way Home But It's Through You


Chapter One: It's Hard To Say I'm Shaken By The Choices That I Make


Author: Mother War (lucrecia_valentine@hotmail.com)



Summary: Dumbledore requests help from our favorite redheaded Sunnydale witch...although there might be a bit of a catch if she accepts...

Disclaimer: All characters, sites and such from 'Buffy, The Vampire Slayer' and 'Angel' belong to Joss Whedon, UPN, WB, and et al. All characters, sites and such from 'Harry Potter' belong to JK Rowling. The story and chapters names belong to My Chemical Romance. No copyright infringement intended. This story is not sell or for any profit.


PS. I own nothing but my laptop, an extensive collection of Buffy DVDs and My Chemical Romance fan paraphernalia...And a very angry kitty.






















“Oh. My. Goddess.”

Willow Rosenberg felt the power rush through her and she realized that she wasn’t in Wood’s office anymore. She was in a completely white room. She felt a cool soft hand cup her cheek.

“Child.” The voice was female, old and full of love. “You have been cleansed.” Willow could barely see the woman bathed in white light. “You have balanced the light and dark within yourself. You are so powerful, my child. Learn to master your talents with no fear. Now, meet your destiny. I am going to make you a Lady of mine, a goddess on earth.” Warm lips pressed against her forehead and her body convulsed, mouth open in a silent scream.

After several minutes, the pain faded and the voice resumed speaking. “Lady, you are needed elsewhere. Your destiny will find you. Do not hesitate or all will be lost. Listen to your heart and know that in the end, you will be alone.”

“No.” Willow’s voice was soft yet strong. “I will never be alone.”

Willow felt the woman’s affection wash over her. “No, you will not be alone. You are so strong, Lady. You are ready.”

Then she was back in Wood’s office. “You are a goddess.”

Willow smiled at the truth behind Kennedy’s statement. “And you’re a Slayer.” She easily tossed the scythe to Kennedy. “Get this to Buffy.”

Kennedy caught it and took off as Willow slumped to her side. Everything was so much clearer and sharper. She could actually hear the battle raging below her and she giggled like an idiot. “That was nifty!”

She lay there until she felt the building start to shake. “Time to go.” She climbed to her feet and stumbled out to the bus. She herded the Slayers onto the bus before staggering on herself. She lay on a seat, slightly dazed, sending good thoughts towards Buffy as they tried to outrun the collapsing Hellmouth. When the bus stopped she climbed out and joined the others, teasing and staring into the hole that had been her home for twenty two years.



The Scoobies had retreated to LA to gather themselves and make a plan. As soon as they reached the now abandoned hotel, they all went straight to bed.

Willow awoke alone and with the feeling that something was not quite right about her. Shrugging it off, she climbed out of bed and went to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth then looked in the mirror. Her scream brought armed Scoobies and Slayers at a run.

Buffy threw open the door and felt her eyes widen. Willow was standing there but she looked and felt different. The Slayer’s senses were all warm and tingly in a good way.

The most notable difference was her hair. It was still long and fire red, only now it was streaked all over with black and white. Buffy continued her appraisal. Willow’s normally pale skin was even paler and seemed to have a muted glow. Her green eyes seemed brighter and almost bottomless. She spun to face the intruders and Buffy noted that she now moved with an odd grace and awareness. Buffy glanced at Faith and could almost see the other Slayer’s senses tingling in a way that almost felt like when she was holding the scythe.

“What happened?” Buffy’s voice was soft so as not to startle the panicking redhead.

Willow shrugged. “Must have been the spell. I guess I took some of the Slayer power for my own and since I was never a Potential it manifested in a different way.”

Dawn elbowed her way to the front and grinned. “It looks different…in a good way!” She hurried to add.

Willow turned back to the mirror. Well…it was just something that she’d have to get used to.



After her newfound powers become evident, she asked several people to train her. She quickly mixed the styles together and fought with a deadly combination of magic and physical attacks. She had Giles’ common sense, Buffy’s ingenuity, Faith’s risk taking, and Angel’s sense of timing. She incorporated all of those things with her own sense of cunning and instincts and was as deadly as any Slayer. She trained daily with Buffy and Faith and once a week with Giles and Angel. She was soon in top shape and could give even Buffy a run for her money. More often than not they ended in a draw.



~Four Months Later In Ireland~



Willow stepped into her room and froze in the doorway. An owl! There was an owl on her bed. If it turned into David Bowie, she was so out of here!

Willow stared at the owl who stared back, before cocking its head to the side and cooing softly at her. “Ummm….Hello.” She hesitantly entered the room, but the bird of prey made no move to fly either at her or out the window or change into The Goblin King. “Why are you in here, pretty bird?”

The bird puffed up at the compliment then held up a letter in its beak. “For me?” The bird gave an affirmative coo. Willow tentatively went forward and took the scroll. “Thank you. All the way from England?! Well, pretty bird, are you thirsty or hungry?” Another affirmative coo and Willow sent up a tiny pulse of magic and two bowls appeared before the owl, one full of water and the other of raw bacon.

As the bird began to eat, Willow opened the scroll.

Dear Miss Rosenberg,

My name is Albus Dumbledore and I am the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We are in dire need of your help. Please just say that you will consider helping out loud and I will be able to give you more information.

Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore



Willow sighed. She couldn’t very well not help, could she? “I’ll consider helping you, Albus Dumbledore.” She felt magic fill the room and there was a small pop behind her. She spun, shields automatically falling into place and found herself face to face with what every grandfather should look like. Well, minus the pointy red hat and fuchsia robes, of course.

“Can I help you?” She wasn’t really surprised at his appearance. Teleporting was a nifty trick that she’d already mastered with her new power.

“Yes, Miss Rosenberg, I think you can. I’m Albus Dumbledore.”

Willow let her eyes unfocus slightly to read his aura. It was everything good and warm. She refocused her eyes and smiled at him. “It’s Willow, Headmaster. What can I do for you?”

Dumbledore sighed and his shoulders slumped, seemingly under the weight of whatever brought him to her. “It’s a long and sad story.”

Willow gestured him over to a pair of chairs near the fireplace. “Would you like some tea?”

Once seated comfortably with their tea, Dumbledore told the tale of love and betrayal that lead to the deaths of Lily and James Potter, Harry Potter’s tale of mystery, magic and mischief, the tale of Voldemort’s return and finally the tragic tale of Cedric Diggory.

Willow teared up at several points and when Dumbledore finished, her voice was quiet. “What do you need me to do?”

Dumbledore smiled. “I would like you to protect Harry Potter.”

“How?”

Dumbledore’s eyes began to twinkle and Willow felt slightly apprehensive. Something big was coming.

“Why, by attending Hogwarts and befriending him, of course!”

One of Willow’s eyebrow’s rose skeptically. “Aren’t I a little old?”

Dumbledore fumbled in his robes then pulled out a small bottle containing a glowing gold potion. “This is potion on of our professors made. It will return you to Harry’s age.” Dumbledore’s face was suddenly serious. “You will be fifteen again. And you will age from there. This is no way to return you to you current age. And we also do not know how the potion will physically affect you. It may change you to your fifteen year old body or you may simply regress and stay the same.” He handed the bottle to her.

She sat there, clutching the bottle, deep in thought. “I need to speak to the other Scoobies. Please, make yourself at home. I’ll be back soon with my decision.” She stood and disappeared into thin air.

She reappeared in Giles’ office at Scooby Central in Rome. Giles was bent over his desk, glaring at the papers in front of him.

“Hiya Giles!” She chirped.

“GAHHHH!!!” He jumped and the papers scattered everywhere.

Willow looked sheepish. “Sorry, but I need an emergency Scooby meeting. Now.”

Giles took one look at her and nodded, reaching for the phone. Willow began to gather the papers as Giles spoke to several people. She stacked them neatly on the edge of his desk as Giles said, “They are meeting us in the War Room.” Willow followed Giles to the large conference room down the hall.

The first person she saw was Kennedy, who turned away, pouting. Willow winced, remembering the way they’d ended. Kennedy had been adamant about following Buffy to Rome to help train the Slayers while Willow was resolved to bounce around and collect her Slayers. They had had an earth shaking fight that had frightened more than one Slayer and then went their separate ways. Willow ignored the petulant Slayer as she turned to smile at Buffy and Dawn then wink at Xander, letting them know that everything was okay.

The room filled with Faith, Robin, Andrew, and some of the other Slayers. Willow quickly got their attention and passed around the letter from Dumbledore then summarized what he had told her and what he requested. The second she finished, the room’s occupants exploded. Everyone was talking and yelling, except the four original Scoobies.

Willow ignored the arguing and caught Xander’s eye and when he nodded, she moved on to Buffy, who grinned the ‘you know what you have to do’ grin she normally reserved for Dawn when telling her to do the dishes, then lastly Giles who looked as proud as a father could.

“I’m going.” Willow uncorked the bottle and downed the contents before anyone could argue. She was surrounded by a bright light and when it faded, the others went silent as they looked her over.

She sent out a tendril of magic and conjured a mirror so she could study herself. The first thing that she noticed was that her hair had remained striped and she scowled at it. Her skin still glowed faintly and her eyes remained the deep bottomless green. The differences, she noted, were not bad. She was less curvy, her hips less rounded. And she was pretty sure she’d shrunk an inch. Her body was still toned from her workouts and she noted that the scars she’d received in the past several years remained. The most notable difference was her face; the lines that had appeared after Tara’s death were gone.

She released the mirror then turned back to the group. “Meeting’s over.” Everyone cleared out except Giles, Buffy, Dawn, Xander, Kennedy, Faith, and Andrew. Willow smiled tentatively at Kennedy who smiled back then left.

“Be careful, Red.” Faith gave her a tentative hug which she gladly returned then the brunette Slayer left. She had actually started to really like Faith.

“Another soldier off to fight the good fight.” Andrew sounded close to crying.

“Goodbye, Andrew.” Willow affectionately ruffled his hair and he left with a smile on his face.

Dawn darted forward and hugged Willow tightly. “It’s so cool that I’m finally older than someone! But, seriously, Wils, be very careful.”

Giles stepped forward and hugged her. “If you need anything, let me know. I’m very proud of you, my dear girl.” He kissed her forehead then handed her over to Buffy.

The blonde Slayer pulled her into a bear hug. “Take care of yourself, Wils. Make me proud. And find a cutie!” Willow giggled then faced Xander.

Without a word, they were in each other’s arms. “Miss you.” Xander whispered in her ear then pulled away.

Willow smiled at them all then was gone.



She reappeared in the room with Dumbledore, who was warily eyeing her laptop. “Let me pack then we can go.” Willow disappeared into her bedroom and packed the things that she’d need. Clothes, make-up, spell stuff, and pictures. She returned with several bags and added her laptop to one then watched in awe as Dumbledore shrank them.

“Where to first?”

“Diagon Alley, my dear, to get your supplies for fifth year and your wand.”

Willow grinned. “I get a wand?!”