The Dinner

Title: A Witch's Story

Author: Sugatyme

Summary: Four little fics about Hermione and Spike, and the love they find in each other.

Warnings: Some explicit language

Pairing: Hermione/Spike, Xander/OC, Dawn/Willow, Buffy/Charlie W, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Faith

Author's Note: The last installment. Wow, this has been fun.

Story Four: The Dinner

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As was her luck, Hermione was in the shower when the phone rang, and so had to make a run for it.

"Hello?" She said, panting and dripping water all over the floor.

"Hey, Hermione!" Dawn's cheerful voice piped.

Hermione smiled. "Hi, Dawn, how're you?"

"I'm good. You?"

"Wet." Hermione said wryly, "I had to run from the shower."

"Sorry." Dawn apologised. "But anyway you doing anything Christmas day?"

"I've got to go to the Weasley Christmas Lunch, but I'm free for dinner. Why?"

"Oh good. We've got the Scooby Party, but I thought you and Ginny and a date could come to Christmas dinner. It won't be anything too filling, and it's a bring-your-own-dish affair."

"Sounds great." Hermione said. "But can I get one more invite out of you?"

"Sure. Who for?"

"My best friend Ron."

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Hermione took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. Already, she was dreading meeting the infamous Buffy Summers, Slayer extraordinaire, and blonde beauty. The image in her head was a mixture of Lara Croft, Tomb Rader, and Elle McPherson.

To say she was surprised when a diminutive blonde wearing a blue halter dress answered the door was an understatement.

Yes, the hazel-eyed blonde was beautiful, but she wasn't dangerous-looking at all. Her whole demeanor screamed 'California Girl'.

"Hi!" She said, grinning. "Merry Christmas! I'm Buffy. You must be Hermione. I've heard heaps about you."

Hermione smiled back. "Nice to finally meet you, Buffy. I've heard lots about you too."

"All lies." Buffy said. "And this must be Harry, Ginny, and Ron."

Ron nodded. "Y'know, you look familiar."

"That's because she's dating Charlie, moron." Ginny said, rolling her eyes. "We met her yesterday."

Buffy nodded, hazel eyes dancing. "You don't remember me?" She asked, pouting.

Ron blushed.

"They here, B?" a husky voic asked, and a woman as tall as Ron with dark wavy hair came into view. The way she moved just screamed danger, advertising this was someone you didn't want to mess with.

"Yup." Buffy said. "Hermione, Ginny, Ron, Harry, this is Faith Wilkins, one of my fellow Slayers. Faith, this is Spike's girlfriend and her friends."

"So you're the women who loves the demon, huh?" Dark eyes outlined in kohl wandered up and down Hermione's body, making the witch uncomfortably away that Faith could snap her in half if she so wished. "You'll do." The leather-clad brunette announced. "Let 'em in, B. They need to meet the rest of the Scoobies."

Buffy moved out of the way, but didn't issue a verbal invitation.

Exchanging a look, Hermione and her firends stepped inside. The beaming smiles the two Slayers bestowed upon them gave Hermione the feeling they'd just passed some kind of test.

"This way," Buffy gestuered. "Charlie's here too, didja know?"

Ginny nodded. "He mentioned going to his girlfriend's house for dinner." She and Harry followed Buffy into the hall.

Faith had hung back, and was talking quietly to Ron. Hermione eavesdropped casually.

"So, I've heard a lot about you and your...wand."

Hermione could amost see Faith licking mulberry-coloured lips. To her surprise, Ron didn't stammer, but answered her coolly.

"Oh? What have you heard?"

Faith chuckled. "Oh, only good things, let me assure you. Having met your brother, I can only hope you're half as stimulating a conversationalist as he is."

Ron's laugh was genuine and Hermione nearly glowed in pleasure. He'd been very quiet since the War, a mere shadow of his former self. If Faith could draw him out of his blue funk, she'd be very glad.

"My parents always said Fred and George were the most stimulating conversationalists in our family." Ron replied ruefully. "I can merely follow in their footsteps and hope to one day be as good as they are." He heaved a big sigh, and Hermione bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing and therefore betraying that she was listening.

"Practice makes perfect, just remember that." Faith teased.

Ron snorted. "I will."

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Hermione gazed around the large dining room nervously, wondering where she was supposed to sit. Should she sit anywhere? Or was there assigned seating?

Spike fized all her problems when he wandered in. His face lit up and he crossed the room in three quick strides to stand beside her. "'Mione, I didn't know you were coming." He said warmly.

Hermione's cheeks reddened slightly at the heat in his gaze, and she suppressed the urge to tug at the neckline of her crimson knit top. Ginny had assured her it wasn't too high, but now...

"Dawn invited me." She said shyly. "I brought potato salad."

Spike kissed her, mouth tasting of whisky and smoke. "Don't care what you brought, luv, just glad you came. Haven't seen you since Paris." Bright blue eyes travelled over her, the fire in them telling her he had nothing but good memories of That Night.

Warmth flooded Hermione's body at the very thought of their first real date, and everything that had happened during it. "I missed you." She admitted.

Spike wrapped his arms around her and kissed her gently, a quick brushing of his lips this time. "Missed you too, luv. Duty calls, and you had stuff you needed to do too."

Hermione nodded. "Getting my dress for Gin's weding. Harry's finally going to make an honest woman out of her."

"Good on him. Haven't met him yet, but she's a real catch. You been introduced to anyone yet?"

Hermione shook her head. "Buffy and Faith met us at the door though."

"But no one else has introduced themselves?" Spike squeezed her shoulders. "All the better. I can give the Slayerettes the evil eye if they look at you wrong." He kissed the side of her neck. "Mine."

Hermione shivered. "Yours." She agreed.

She missed the delight that spread over his face at her comment, but Ginny didn't, and her opinion of the vampire Hermione had fallen in love with went up several notches.

Spike cleared his throat, dragging Hermione over to where Dawn sat, a red haired woman with sparkling green eyes on one side of her, and a man with dark hair and one brown eye (the other being covered by an eyepatch) on the other. "'Mione, this is Willow Rosenburg and Xander Harris. Red, Whelp, this is my girlfriend Hermione Granger."

Willow smiled warmly. "It's nice to finally meet you, Hermione. Dawn and Spike have told me so much about you. All of it good."

"But nothing about me, I assume?" Xander sighed, a put-upon expression on his face. "No, why talk about me? i'm just the donut guy."

"Aww, we love you, Xander." Willow and Dawn chorused, and Dawn leant over to give him a hug.

"Besides, you're also Mr. Fixit. A very important position." Willow added, grinning.

"Xander! Pipe in kitchen burst!" A tall woman with skin the colour of cocoa, long black hair, who was dressed in army fatigues hurried in.

Sighing, Xander got up. "Coming, Gitana. No rest for the wicked, eh?" He followed Gitana out of the dining room.

"Gitana Morrisey. Another Slayer and the Whelp's girl." Spike supplied.

"The kitchen's flooded!" Buffy yelped, her soaked blue dress sticking to her. A murmured spell from Charlie fixed that and she shot him a grateful look. "I need all the women in the kitchen now. Guys, go move the fruniture from the weapons room. Remember, no magick in there, it'll disrupt the wards."

Grumbling, Spike let his girlfriend go and followed the other men into the next room, where he was promptly tied up.

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"Alright, spill." Buffy said, sitting down on a formica benchtop in the clean, dry, unflooded kitchen.

"Yeah, Herm, give us all the goss. Why spike?" Ginny added.

"Yes, why vampire? What wrong with normal men?" Gitana asked.

Faith and Buffy chuckled.

"I know." Faith said.

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"Oi, what's going on?" Spike yelled, struggling against the ropes and chains that bound him.

"We plan to find out exactly what your intentions are towards our adopted sister." Harry said, indicating to himself and Ron.

"And I just want to know why you suddenly decided to bug someone new." Xander said.

Spike turned to Charlie. "And you?"

Charlie shrugged. "I had no more of an idea about this than you did. But I've got to admit, I'm curioud. Why on Earth would a vampire want to go out with a human, especially one like Hermione? Why her?"

Spike thought about it. He wondered if he should tell them about how they met, about her intelligence, her bravery, her kidness, and her failure to see how perfect she was.

He thought about how, unlike Buffy, Drusilla, and Cecily, 'Mione accepted and loved both the mondster and the man. The bitemarks on her neck attested to that.

But those things were private, just as what had been said during dinner, dancing, and star watching in Paris two weeks ago was private.

Finally, he simply said, "She loves me. I love her. We understand one another." Then, with a wicked leer, he added, "plus, she's great in bed."

Laughing, Xander signalled for him to be freed. "Ok, I believe you. Anyone else have any doubts?"

"Yes." Charlie said. "You didn't answer my question. Why would you, a soulless vampire, be interested in Hermione, a witch on the side of the Light?"

Spike growled. "Shows what you know, boy. One, I have a soul. Two, before 'Mione, I was in love with the Slayer, and she was in love with me...eventually. 'Mione's right up my alley it seems. Like I already said, 'Mione and I understand each other. Anything else 's private."

Charlie nodded. "I can handle that." He said agreeably.

"Good." Spike got up and headed towards the door.

"Not so fast." Harry barked.

"Bloody soddin' hell, what now?" Spike snarled.

"We have to wait for the signal. Buffy and the rest of the girls are grilling Hermione." Xander answered. "So, while we're waiting, you three wizards can fill us in on this Quinduck game you're so fond of."

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"You want to know about Spike and me?" Hermione asked, amused.

"We need vicarious smoochies." Faith said. "Since some of us aren't getting any of our own!"

"You and Ron seemed pretty friendly." Hermione retorted.

"No smoochies yet." Faith replied. "Now dish."

"All of you want to know? What about you two," Hermione looked to Dawn and Willow, "you're lesbians."

"So?" Dawn said, unruffled. "We still want to know."

"Call it insatiable curiousity." Willow added.

"I want to know what all fuss is about. Spike vampire. Even if he souled, it doesn't change vampire status." Gitana added, her stilted English flavoured with a German accent.

Hermione sighed. "Oh, alright." She said. "Spike...he's just different from all other guys. He's...I dunno, special. There's just something about him that I can't put my finger on."

"He's a vampire. That's different." Gitana said rudely.

"Gitana! That was rude!" Dawn scolded. "You apologise right now!"

"No, she has a point." Buffy said. "There's just something about vampires and wizards which makes the blood sing."

"And witches." Danw added.

"And Keys." Willow replied cheekily.

"Do you guys even want to hear this story?" Hermione asked, struggling to contain her amusement.

"Yes, we do, so go on." Faith said.

"Ok, so there's something about Spike that's different from the other guys. And I don't think it's that he's a vampire. No, it's something different."

She proceeded to tell them about how she and Spike met, and glossed over their date in Paris.

She told them about having dinner in a little restaurant across from the Eiffel Tower, about strolling through the Louvre, taking a cruise down the Seine, and eating breakfast in a field on the edge of the city, watching the sun rise as they snacked on bread, cheese, and fruit, and drank fresh, creamy milk.

However, she didn't tell them about making love as the day's first light bathed them in its golden glow, or about the promise vows they exchanged in a tiny chapel. Or that she was secretely researching a way to become immortal without being a vampire so she could be with Spike forever.

No, she didn't tell them those things. They were private, precious things, too magical and sacred for others to know about.

"Plus," She added, "he has enormous assets."

Everyone looked to Buffy, and she smirked. "I cannot tell a lie, they are impressive."

For the rest of the evening, Ginny couldn't look at Spike without giggling.

That night, when they were in bed, Spike asked Hermione about it.

"Pet, why did Ginny keep snickering whenever she looked at me after you birds have your little chat?"

"I told them about our first date. They all thought it was very romantic." Hermione said sleepily.

"But that doesn't explain..." Spike trailed off.

"I also told them you had a really big dick."

"Oh, ok." Spike fell silent. A few seconds later, what Hermione said sank in. "WHAT?!"

Finite

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Raven: Well, sorry you don't like Willow/Dawn. It just seemed right for the story. They flew in the car, sorry, I thought I explained that. Bad me. This is the end. *sigh.* Thanks for reviewing.