„We found them lounging outside when we came back. They lied again and again and insulted all of us. Till Angel and his team came. Albus couln’t take it anymore and stunned them. Real bitches they are.“ Giles told him.

Riley was surprised again at how much his family had changed. At first he had been ‚Buffy’s boyfriend‘ then an alley and after that he became a friend. Now they were the only family he really cared for.

Giles had considerably loosened up and now even joked with them, even when his sense of humor was a bit strange to them.

Now Tara had a boyfriend. He seemed a bit old and he knew that they hadn’t known each other more than a few minutes. But this was the Hellmouth sometimes people didn’t live long enough to fall in love,

it looked as if Spike and Angel were an item too. The looks they sot at each other while trying to hide them made it obvious to him that Spike had told his Sire about his feelings. For Riley that wasn’t a surprise as Spike had tld them some time ago about it.

Never before had he felt this good. The potion seemed to have healed even the remaining rest of his depression.

„Riley, am I allowed to ask you something personal?“ Albus asked.

„Sure, Sir. What is it.“

„At first, please call me Albus. Everyone of you may call me that. Now I wanted to ask you if you were adopted?“ stunned silence followed his question.

„Yes I am adopted. But how do you know that?“

„You seem familar to me. But I can’t remember and don’t know any other people in the US. Did you parents tell you where you are from?“

Rileys face fell. He knew that they would discover it some day...

„No. But my mother told me that she had tried to love me like she was told to. But it was impossible for her to love a childe touched by the evil of dragons. That was what she told me on my eighteenth birthday before they send me away to join the military.“

„First Riley, you are not evil. You are no demon otherwise you wouldn’t have been able to stand Tara’s light. You don’t feel evil to Lucius and Remus and they are connectet to evil. You don’t smell evil to Remus and even Sirius and I have nothing against you. So there maybe you are different but definitifly not evil!“ how could a mother say that to a child even if it wasn’t her own?

„GILES!!!“ Buffy had apperently woken from the stunning spell.

„Impressive for a spoiled brat like her to take your spell in strite, Albus.“ Giles told him.

„Buffy, what is it now?“ he asked slowly with a calm voice.

„You are my Watcher! You should help me instead of drinking your stupid tea with the new enemy!“ slowly Willow came to and saw Tara snuggling up to the dark and powerful man from before.

„Tara, I knew you were a slut. But thinking you can keep this man for yourself. Tssk Tssk I will take him from you. No worries, sweet, you know that you can’t give him anything. Your pussy is to loose for him anyway. So I will take care of him...“ before she could even finish she flew against the ceiling.

Severus stood there with clenched hands, glowing with hate and rage.

„You will never call her names, you will never talk to her, never again shall you insult her! You will never again breath the same air as her!!!“ with that he took out his wand and pointed it at her.

„Aveda Kedavra!“ just then Tara stood before him. The spell hit her fully in the chest but a light emerged and deflected the spell easily.

„Oh god, Tara!“ Severus let his wand fall from his hands. He hit his love with the killing spell!

„Severus. I am alright.“ But she couldn’t continue as he held her in his arms and trembled. She knew that the hate had overwhelmed him and he wanted to punish Willow. But she couldn’t allow him to kill. Later he would hate himself!

*krsst*

Severus ripped open her shirt. He just had to see that she was unhurt. While checking her it never even came to his mind that he had exposed her for all to see. Tara blushed and tried to beat his hands away. No man had ever touched her! She knew that Severus just wanted to be sure that she was ok, but the others!

Then she saw that the others were looking concerned and a bit awed.

„How? Albus, she deflected the unforgiveable! How was she able to do that?!“ Remus was shocked.

How could Tara McClay deflect a curse that no witch or wizard but one had ever survived?

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