Chapter Nine

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author’s Notes: I’m so sorry that this has taken so long! School and a new job have totally sapped all of my time and energy. I promise to try to get the next chapter up sooner! Once again, thanks for all of the reviews, and keep them coming! I live for feedback!

Chapter 9

Drake glanced around him. He was standing with Xander, Buffy and Dawn at the Sunnydale Airport. Xander was holding what looked like a white poster attached to a stick.

“When is the plane supposed to get here?” He asked impatiently. They’d been standing there for an hour.

“They just said it was landing, so it should just be a few more minutes.” Dawn told him, glancing anxiously back towards the gate.

“You think she’ll get the sign?” Xander asked nervously.

“Get the sign? I don’t think she’s gonna see the sign.” Buffy told him.

“Why is it so pale?” Dawn questioned.

“I used yellow crayon. It was a thing from when I talked to Willow on the bluff. I hope she gets it.” He informed her.

“Oh! Tell us again what you said!” Dawn said encouragingly.

“Well, I was talking from my heart and I knew Evil Willow wasn’t really ready to…You were kidding.”

“Mm-hmm. A little bit.” Dawn said smirking at him.

“We’ve heard the crayon speech a few times, not that it’s not great.” Buffy assured him quickly.

“I saved the world with talking from my mouth! My mouth saved the WORLD!” Xander exclaimed.

“We know. For Salazar’s sake, I know and I’ve only been here for a couple of months!” Drake told him, rolling his eyes. “Finally!” He said as he noticed people starting to come through the arrival gate.

“I’m starting to get nervous!” Dawn said a little shakily.

“Yeah, it’s gonna be weird seeing her. What do you say to someone in that situation?” Buffy responded.
“I’m gonna say ‘Hi Willow!’.” Xander said as if it should be obvious.

“Well, here’s your chance. I think that’s her.” Drake interrupted them, pointing to the gate. The three of them turned to the gate.

“Where? I don’t see her.” Buffy said, her eyes moving rapidly across the faces of the crowd.

“Right there!” he said, pointing again. In frustration of them not seeing her, he waved his arm and called out, “Willow! Over here!”

Upon hearing her name, Willow looked to see a tall, slim teenager waving his hand and looking in her direction. She walked cautiously over to him.

“Do I know you?” She asked him warily.

“Uh, no, but…” He glanced behind him to make sure that Buffy, Xander and Dawn were still behind him. They were looking at him curiously.

“Drake, who are you talking to?” Dawn asked him.

“Willow. She’s right here!” He said gesturing in front of him.

“Uh, yeah, hi…Who are you talking to?” Willow asked him.

Drake looked back and forth between the redhead in front of him and the three people behind him, all of whom were looking at him like he was crazy.

“Ok, so, I can see Willow, and I can see you guys, but you can’t see each other. Well, isn’t this bloody fantastic! Okay,” he said turning to face Willow, “I’m here with Xander, Buffy, and Dawn. They are standing right behind me, but apparently, you can’t see them.” Then he turned to the others. “Willow is standing right here, but you can’t see her either. Maybe we should go home and try to figure this out?” He suggested.

“How do I know you’re here with them?” Willow asked, suspiciously. Drake turned to the others.

“She needs some proof before she’ll come with us,” Drake said. The three thought hard about it.

All three voices called out at once.

“Firetrucks!” “Peanut butter and banana quesadillas!” “Pajama parties with weapons!”

Drake relayed the messages, confusedly, and waited for Willow’s response. After a few minutes of thinking, Willow eyes lit up in recognition and she agreed to go with him. The five of them made their way to the car with Drake constantly moving Willow, Xander, Buffy and Dawn away from one another saying, “You’re walking into each other.” They finally made it to the car, and it was a fairly tense ride home, especially since Willow couldn’t see the driver, and someone she had never met was smooshed in really close to her. When they reached the Summers’ home, they all piled into the living room. Willow opted to take a seat in the chair so that there was no danger of anyone sitting on her.

“Okay, so how do we figure this out?” Dawn asked.

“Why don’t you get on the computer and see if you can find anything that might cause this,” Buffy said. “The rest of us will hit the books.” She and Xander headed toward the bookcase while Drake relayed the information to Willow. When he was finished, he took off after them, but Willow told him to stop.

“Um, yea, Drake right? Tell them not to research. I think I might have done this by accident.” She said a little sheepishly.

“Guys, Willow thinks she may have done this herself. Hold on a moment I think she’s trying to reverse it.” They all stopped what they were doing and looked expectantly around the room. A small light started to appear in the chair, and got brighter as they watched. After a few seconds of watching, Willow appeared.

“Did it work? I can see you! Can you see me?”

Xander was the first to move. “Yea, Will, we can see you,” he said, moving to give her a hug. Buffy was next, and after a small nudge from Drake, Dawn also moved in for a hug, though hers was a lot shorter than the others.

“So, how did you do, uh, whatever it was you did?” Buffy asked.

“Well, I think it was because I was scared,” she confessed quietly, looking down at her lap. “I kind of thought that I wasn’t ready to see you, or for you to see me, or something.”

No one said anything for a few seconds, and then Drake interrupted the silence.

“Well, I wasn’t here for whatever went down, but when I got here, you guys told me that we all do things we’re not proud of, and that I was here trying to be better, and that is what counted.” Drake reminded them.

Buffy looked up at him and gave him a small smile. Willow looked between him and the others, trying to hide the hope that she would be welcomed. Xander looked at him with pride shining in his eyes. Drake was slightly embarrassed to have spoken out and glanced over at Dawn. Still looking a little wary, she turned around and walked quickly to the kitchen.

While Willow looked down in disappointment, Drake followed Dawn.

“You okay?” He asked as he took in her tense form. She was facing the sink with her hands braced against the counter. Her hair was cascading down her back in soft waves, with a few strands falling in her down-turned face. Her green tank-top was form fitting and he admired how it clung to the curve of her breasts and her slip waist. He gave an admiring glance to her tight jeans before shaking his head to clear his thoughts.

Now is not the time to admire her assets! Focus man!

“I know that Xander told you about the world that I come from, and the war going on there, with the Dark Lord. What he didn’t tell you was that I was on Lord Voldemort’s side.” Drake said quietly. At those word, Dawn turned and looked at him, her eyes wide. He met her eyes for a brief second before looking down at his hands and taking a seat at the counter.

“I come from a family whose bloodlines can be traced back to Merlin himself. My entire life, I’ve been told that my pureblood status makes me better than those whose blood is not as pure. To make matters worse, my family is very wealthy. From the time I was born, my father has taught me these things, telling me that muggles and muggle-born witches and wizards are beneath me and it is our duty to eradicate them. The Dark Lord believes this also, and that is what the war is about.”

Drake took a breath and tried to organize his thoughts. Dawn moved slowly around the island to take the seat at his side. She gently took his hand and gave him an encouraging smile when he looked at her. He took another breath and continued his story.

“My father has been a member of his inner circle since before I was born. Even after he was banished the first time, my father taught me that we live in service of him. When he returned, my father joined his ranks again. He was caught about a year later on a mission and sent to prison. Because of his failure, I was told that I was to take his place and if I refused, he would kill my mother. My mission was to get his followers, the Death Eaters into the school run by the only wizard that could defeat him and kill said wizard. I worked on it all year. I used Unforgivable Curses to control people, and got them seriously injured, I let the Death Eaters in to Hogwarts, and they killed and tortured so many people. I got the greatest wizard since Merlin killed. Then I ran away, came here.”

“Drake, none of that was your fault! You had no choice but to do what you did!” Dawn told him as she pulled him into a tight hug.

“People do crazy things out of grief and desperation, Dawn. You can’t hold it against her forever.” He said, clinging to her desperately. After several minutes they pulled apart and Dawn said, “You’re right.” With that, she stood and walked back to the living room. She walked up to Willow, who was talking quietly to Buffy and Xander. The three of them fell silent and looked up at her, two curiously and one worried.

“I forgive you.” She said simply, but honestly. She pulled Willow into a tight embrace and said, “Welcome home.”

In the kitchen, Drake smiled a sad smile and then walked out the back door.