Glamours

Schizophrenic Life Part One

The next evening found Willow sitting on the couch in the Burrow, staring at the fire with a glass of firewhiskey in hand. It had not been a good day.

She had gotten up at 10 that morning, already planning her trip into Diagon Alley for supplies for her class she would be teaching at Hogwarts. So, after showering and changing into a formfitting white sundress that Buffy had gotten her as a congratulations-on-your-new-identity gift, she slipped her feet into matching Greek sandals and went downstairs for breakfast. Hermione and Ginny were the only ones still at the breakfast table.

"Good Morning."� Willow smiled at the women at the table, going to the kitchen cabinet and getting a mug before sitting down with them.

"Morning Lucy. I know we didn't get off on the right foot last night."� Ginny stuck her hand out. "I'm your cousin Ginny and this is my brothers wife and my best friend, Hermione.

"It's nice to meet you both. And about that"�.don't worry about it. Wasn't your fault."�

"So, how are you enjoying England so far?"� Ginny asked, trying to avoid the talk she knew was coming about what had happened the previous evening. Having had a conversation that morning with her mother and Hermione over helping her cousin to adjust to life in a strange place, Ginny and her sister-in-law had agreed to befriend the pixie-like woman that Harry disliked so much.

"Well, it's different."� Willow smirked, waving her hand and levitating the teapot and plate of scones and jam to the place in front of her before pouring a cup of tea for herself.

Hermione's jaw dropped. "How did you do that? And why didn't you use a wand?"�

Willow shrugged. "Don't have one. I can only do wandless magic."�

"Really?"� Ginny asked, incredulously. She had heard of people like Lucy but she had never actually met one. Apparently it took a lot of power to be able to control that kind of magic without the use of a wand. Even then you could never guarantee that the lure of the power wouldn't go to your head. Indeed, most of the wandless witches and wizards that they had been taught about at Hogwarts had gone dark. She frowned in thought. Maybe this was why Harry had reacted to her the way he did. Somewhere along the line Lucy must have dabbled in something"�

"That's fascinating,"� Hermione breathed in awe. "Is it difficult to master? Have you thought of the effect that kind of magic could have on the current war we're fighting against you-know-who?"�

Willow gave a chuckle. "Well I don't know about that. I'm only one person and the magic is sometimes a little hard to col. ol. It can be dangerous if taught incorrectly."� Willow's face darkened noticeably, confirming both Hermione and Ginny's thoughts that Lucy had definitely had a brush with some dark magic. Lucy looked up and met Hermione's sympathetic gaze. "And don't call him you-know-who. His name is Voldemort. Fear of a name increases fear in the thing itself."�

Hermione smiled shyly at Willow. "Harry says that too. He's always telling us that but only he and Draco actually call him by his real name."�

Willow grimaced. "Was that verbal-harassment-guy from last night?"�

Ginny laughed. "He's not always like that. You have to understand what he's been through. He IS the Boy-Who-Lived after all."�

Willow looked back at her blankly. "Who?"�

"You mean you don't know about all that? I thought everyone did."� Ginny looked shocked. Lucy shook her head no and took a bite from her scone.

The next hour was spent explaining Harry to Lucy, who, in explanation as to why she didn't know about the Boy-Who-Lived, informed them that she was a self-taught wandless witch that had not even known the wizarding world existed until Dumbledore had offered her a position at Hogwarts 3 weeks ago.
mionmione and Ginny had swallowed this information with shock. They had never met anyone who had had to teach themselves magic. It was at this point that Draco had entered the room.


"Morning ladies. How are we all this morning?"� he said, kissing Ginny soundly before getting a mug and sitting down in the empty seat across from his wife and next to Lucy. "Any big plans for this morning?"�

"Nope."� Ginny said. "Mum wants Ron and I to degnome the garden this afternoon, but that's about it."�

Draco raised an eyebrow. "You still have to do that? Haven't you had to do that since you were what, five?"�

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Draco, sweetie, it's fine. Ron and I figure that since Mum and Dad are beinge ene enough to let us stay here for the duration of the war, we should do what we can around the house."�

"Dumbledore insisted the five of us stay here, you mean. What was the reason again? Safety in numbers or some such rubbish."� Draco scowled in annoyance.

"It's not rubbish Draco."� Hermione piped up. "If you and Ginny lived in one place, Ron and I lived in another and Harry still had his flat in London, how could we communicate quickly enough if there was an attack on one of us? This makes more sense and quite frankly, I'm glad we decided to move into the Burrow. I don't know wI'd I'd do if anything were to happen to Arthur or Molly."�

There was a morbid silence in the kitchen after Hermione's words.

Willow cleared her throat. "Well, I should be going. Still have to get a wand, some robes and the rest of my supplies for class on Monday."�

"You don't have a wand?"� a stunned Draco Malfoy exclaimed.

Ginny laid a hand gently over her husbands. "Lucy's a wandless witch sweetheart. She's never had to have one."�

Draco shook his head. "Isn't right. I thought everyone had a wand. You're going to Diagon Alley then?"�

Willow nodded. "Yeah. But some of what I need to get is a little"�"�

"Dodgy?"� Hermione interjected.

"Yes."�

"You better go with her then Draco."� Ginny said, knowing her husband could protect her cousin there better than anyone else.

"Hey now. My parents were Deatheaters, but it does not mean that I know the layout of Knockturn Alley."�

"You've been there though. That's more than I can say for most of us."� Hermione said quietly, her words extending not only to Knockturn Alley, but also to the brush with dark magic Draco had dealt with before rejecting the Dark Mark in their seventh year at Hogwarts.

Draco absorbed this silent compliment and nod of support from one of his former nemeses for a moment before turning to Lucy. "You ready to go then?"�

Willow nodded. "You sure? I don't want to get you into any trouble"�"�

Ginny snorted. "He lives for this kind of stuff. Take him. Besides, it's either Diagon Alley or degnoming the garden. Take your pick Draco."�

"Who's up for a little dark shopping fun?"� he said exuberantly and gave Lucy his arm.

Lucy purred at this. "Sounds like fun."�

"SO much fun,"� Draco purred back, grinning broadly and looked to his wife, judging by the look on her face that this verbairtairtation between himself and Ginny's attractive cousin was not bothering her at all. Furthermore, Ginny was smiling broadly too so Draco could only assume that she wasn't threatened by it. Her next comment confirmed to Draco that he wasn't in the doghouse yet.

"Have fun you two,"� she called non-chalantly, and went back to her conversation with Hermione.

This, Willow was sad to say, had been the only bit of levity that her day had wrought. Indeed, the shopping had been fine. She had gotten her wand- 13 ½ inches, Willow wood with the blood of a unicorn at its core; a wand of contradictions, dark but innocent, bendable but hard to break- her robes for teaching as well as some formal robes for special occasions, herbs for casting, special stones and crystals for spells and most importantly, the books of dark magic and obscure magical objects that she had to go to Knockturn Alley for. Draco, surprisingly, was a huge help in the dark alley. Indeed, he had been a rock of support for her to lean on when they first entered. The magic itself she hadn't felt since her trips to see Rack when Sunnydale had still stood and was so overwhelming in its darkness that she had almost lost it, her eyes glazing over in blackness and the magenta-red streaks turning jet. Draco, in a very brotherly fashion, had quietly taken her aside in a show of understanding and helped her to calm down. He too knew the strength of the addiction, having had to choose against it only a few years ago. Once her eyes had turned light green again and the streaks in her hair were back, they entered the alley again and continued with her shopping, deciding to add a few other objects to her pile of purchases, like a new Orb of Thesulah (something Draco didn't know the purpose of and Willow bought for her lecture on soul restorations) and the materials that Willow needed to summon D'Hoffryn, another lecture topic. Their final stop was to buy Willow's owl and familiar. She chose a black barn owl that reminded her of Giles and a small black kitthat hat seemed to have been the runt of the litter. Bernard and Sebastian seemed to take to their mistress immediately and even more so to each other.

Draco and she had apparated back to the burrow at that point only to have run into Harry and Ron returning from the Ministry where they had gone after degnoming the garden with Ginny and Hermione.