TITLE: Teen Witch Too?

DISCLAIMER: All things BtVS belong to Joss Whedon, Sabrina and all Teen Witch characters belong to Archie comics, the versions I'll be using were created by Dan DeCarlo and George Gladir. All I own is the twisted idea.

RATING: FR15

AN: This is going to be a response to two different challenges on TTH, though I can't reveal which ones yet as I don't wait to ruin the surprise...

--=/^\=--



--=/^\=--

07:48 - October 14, 1997

"You moved to The Hellmouth?!?"

Xander frowned, well frowned was a light way of putting it as he sat upright in bed and shook his head, he couldn't have heard that right, his parents didn't know about the Hellmouth, or the true nature of Sunnydale. A brief look at his alarm clock told him that he couldn't have heard the yell right, for one, there was no way his parents would be up at eight am on a Sunday, for another, they definitely wouldn't have anyone around. He must have been dreaming it, some sort of messed up dream from his Twinkie overindulgence last night while Buffy was out on her 'date' with Angel.

"What were you thinking? You know how long it took me to locate you?"

Xander definitely frowned at this shout as someone shouted something back that he couldn't quite make out, and then it was echoed by what sounded like a small explosion. Throwing a pair of jeans on and his favourite jumper he quietly pushed open his bedroom door and made his way slowly downstairs to see exactly what had been happening and who was yelling about Hellmouths.

"Uncle Drell?" He asked as he came to the bottom of the stairs, there was a light haze of smoke in the air that he quickly waved away while looking at his uncle for the first time since they'd moved to Sunnydale. He was still tall, massive even, with long wavy hair and a suit that made him seem completely uncomfortable in his own skin. He had pictures of him and Uncle Drell, the last one was when he was about two but he didn't look like he'd aged a day, let alone nearly fourteen years.

"Alex," Drell smiled as he walked over. "Sorry about that, your mother was just explaining to me why she didn't TELL me where you were moving too."

"As I said," Xander's mom started but actually shrunk back in her chair from the look Uncle Drell sent her way. "It was Tony's idea." She continued quietly. "He got a job here and didn't want you or anyone else to know where we were."

"And you didn't tell him?!?" Drell shouted in outrage.

"Good volume," Xander whispered, rubbing his ears. He could have sworn Drell's shout actually echoed throughout the entire of Sunnydale.

"Well its moot now," Drell shrugged as he sat down, switching moods quicker than Xander had seen anyone do in his entire life. "Tony should have known better, you should have told him."

"Not here," Jessica said softly, her voice pleading with Drell for something though Xander couldn't actually work out the subtext of the conversation.

"I'm here for your birthday Alex," Drell said with a big smile, his long wavy hair bouncing around as he stood up. "I assume your mom told you all about me." He preened for a minute before stopping as Xander was just staring at him. "Anything?" He asked, as if this was a complete shock to him.

"Uh, no, actually. Mom and dad never really talk about you, at all." Xander added the last quickly. "And it's Xander, not Alex."

"Xander," Drell said slowly, as if he was testing the name on his tongue. "Xander, Xander," He continued, testing the sounds of the name and drawing out the different vowels. "I like it." He deadpanned. "So, I guess we've got a lot of catching up to do. We should get coffee, that's what normal people do, right?" He asked, looking at Xander for confirmation.

"Uh, yeah," Xander shrugged, since when had Sunnydale and his life been anywhere in the same state as 'normal'. "I can't though. Dad's got me helping Uncle Rory with some clean up stuff, it's gonna take all day."

"He won't mind," Drell smiled as he stood up, brushing off the idea of Xander's dad having anything to say about how he and Xander spent time together.

"Uh, have you met Tony?" Xander said slowly. "If I blow it off, he'll blow off at me. I'm just here for the quiet life, get on and get by."

"Trust me," Drell smiled as he walked over and put his arm around Xander's shoulder. "Tony isn't an issue anymore. Come on." He smiled as he let Xander out of the door. "I'll be back later." He called back to Jessica and without waiting for an answer closed the door behind them.

"Uh, sure," Xander tried to go with it; this was definitely not how he had pictured this morning going. "Uh, since when was there frogs in Sunnydale?" He asked, noting the frog that Drell was quite happily placing on the lawn.

"Go on, hop along Tony," Drell smiled as he watched the frog 'croak' at him before it leapt off into the grass.

"You named the frog Tony?" Xander asked in amusement he was started walking down the road into town. "Looks better than my dad anyway."

"Really?" Drell asked, his eyes twinkling as he put his hands in his pockets while he walked side by side with Xander. "I couldn't tell the difference."

--=/^\=--

"So, this is your school?" Drell asked in amusement as he eyed the sign out front. "Enter all ye who seek knowledge, cute."

"Yeah," Xander said sarcastically with a smile. "Look, I've just gotta talk with Giles for a second, I won't be long."

"Sure," Drell smiled. "I'll just wait around here then."

"Cool, be right back, uh, just hang here or something." He smiled before jogging off into the school and quickly making his way to the library.

"Xander?" Giles asked, a bit shocked at seeing Xander in the library this early, on a Sunday no less. "What are you doing here, is something wrong?"

"Yeah, what's up Xan?" Buffy asked, putting down the sword she'd been practicing with before she moved to the table next to Giles and grabbed her soda that was perched there.

"Sorry I didn't make it yesterday," Xander said apologetically with a shrug. "Dad had me helping Uncle Rory all day and I couldn't get out of it."

"Quite understandable," Giles nodded with a soft smile. "I have upped Buffy's patrol around the college campus due to the... ahem, frat party incident, and have managed to identify the demon these young men managed to summon. The demon's name is Machida..."

"Very interesting Giles," Xander shrugged, pulling up a chair to the table. "But Buffy killed it, Cordelia's fine. All's good in the world of Sunnyhell right?"

"Yes, well. Patrol's still need to be upped in that area. These young men obviously discovered the rituals needed to summon Machida somewhere, and that tome has yet to be accounted for." Giles explained, just because they'd slain the demon, didn't necessarily mean that the danger was gone. Quite the opposite, if the codex that stored the information for summoning a high level demon such as Machida survived, then it could be used to summon other demons or for other purposes.

"So, patrol tonight as usual?" He asked, looking over at Buffy who was twirling the sword again as she moved dexterously around the stacks.

"Yes," Giles nodded, taking off his glasses to clean them. "Though, Buffy will patrol with Angel. I see no need why..." Giles stumbled for a moment, his words caught in his throat as something shocked him to his very core. His glasses fell out of his hand, the glass lenses shattering on the floor as he stared out, past Xander, towards the main library doors.

"Giles, are you..." Xander trailed off, looking behind him to see what had managed to fluster Giles so much. "Uncle Drell." He said in shock when he saw the man walking through the library doors leisurely licking an ice cream. "I was just on my way out, just had to... um..."

"My... my lord," Giles stammered out, standing up and bowing deeply at the man. "I didn't know you were coming to Sunnydale."

"Uh, G-man, whats the what?" Buffy asked, a bit shocked to see Giles acting this way towards a complete stranger, especially since the man seemed to be Xander's uncle.

"Quite alright," Drell said with a smile as he pulled the chair next to Xander around and sat on it with a smile. "Xander, you never told me you knew Ripper here."

"Uh, you know Giles?" Xander asked, a bit in shock that his Uncle Drell knew anyone in Sunnydale aside from his family. "And what's with the bowing?" He asked, turning to Giles who was still looking like someone had slapped him in the face with a wet fish, the broken glasses on the floor forgotten now.

"You... you're Lord Drell's nephew?" Giles asked, looking at Xander in shock.

"Not really," Drell shrugged but his tone said he definitely wasn't going to answer any more than that at this moment in time. "So this is The Slayer, scourge of the underworld, fighter of darkness, yadda yadda yadda. Kinda short isn't she?"

"Hey buster..." Buffy started but was cut off by Giles before her tirade had even started.

"Buffy, Lord Drell is head of the Witches Council," Giles hissed out. "Quite possibly the most powerful man in the world. Do try and show some decorum and respect. The Watchers Council works with him on some problems that need more than a slayer to deal with, I beg of you, do not antagonize him, please."

"Witch?" Both Buffy and Xander said in unison, turning to Drell.

"Witches have councils?" Buffy continued, trying her best to be polite to the man and follow Giles' wishes.

"You're a witch?" Xander asked in shock as his entire world seemed to fall apart around him.

"Warlock actually," Drell answered to Xander first and then turned to Buffy. "Of course Witches have councils, who do you think keeps the magic in line around here?"

"Uh, right," Buffy said, a bit shocked at the plain, matter of fact answer she'd just been given.

"If I may Lord Drell," Giles interrupted. "What are you doing in Sunnydale, I thought it was decreed that no natural born witch or warlock is allowed near a Hellmouth."

"It is, was, I wrote the law myself." Drell shrugged, waving in the air and ignoring Xander's fish expression for the moment. "Rule three hundred and fourteen," Drell quoted as if reading from a book. "No witch or warlock shall practice magic near or within one hundred miles of an active Hellmouth. Breaking this rule means instantaneous transmogrification."

"Indeed," Giles nodded as he tried to think how to word this without possibly offending the stupidly powerful man sat before him. "May I ask, what you are doing here then?"

"I came to collect Alexander," Drell said simply. "For every law, there is a loophole. Something that I do need to fix," He muttered, as if writing himself a personal memo. "Witches and warlocks may spend time on a Hellmouth if their immediate family is in danger, though they must leave as soon as said danger has passed." He quoted the loophole directly before fixing Giles with a stare. "When I found out that Jessica had moved to this hellhole, I came straight over to collect him myself."

"Quite," Giles stammered out, trying to put together exactly what Lord Drell was saying. It was well known that Lord Drell didn't have the utmost patience when it came to mortal affairs, so it must have been something big to draw him out of the Other Realm to Sunnydale.

"But why me?" Xander asked, a bit confused and shocked by all this. "I'm not a witch, or a warlock or whatever the male term is. Why would you come and collect me?"

"Jessica never did tell you about me did she?" Drell asked, a bit saddened by this revelation. "Since you know about Slayers and Watchers, and obviously magic. This shouldn't be as hard as I thought it was going to be."

"Um, what's going to be hard?" Xander asked, a bit wary of his uncle now that Giles seemed to be utterly terrified of the man.

"Explaining," Drell said simply as he snapped his fingers, a brief flash of light later and they were both gone.

"Wait, where'd they go?" Buffy asked, staring at the spot where Drell and Xander had just been but was now simply empty space with a haze of smoke floating around.

"Dear lord," Giles whispered. "Xander's birthday."

"It's tomorrow," Buffy filled in. "We were going to have a party , maybe chill at the Bronze. Where's he gone?"

"Anywhere," Giles filled in, his voice still tinged with shock as he put two and two together while picking up the remains of his glasses. "Quite possibly anywhere."

--=/^\=--

"You could have warned me," Xander coughed out as he tried to clear the air in front of him, there had been several flashes of bright light that were already leaving spots dancing in front of his eyes and something that sounded like thunder booming around them. "Where are we?" He asked, staring around the new location his uncle had teleported them to. "A linen closet?" Xander asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Come on, I've got someone you should meet." Drell said as he pressed the doorbell on the door.

"Who has a doorbell on their linen closet," Xander drawled out, still in shock that his uncle seemed to be this all powerful wizard or warlock.

"All witches do," Drell answered as he waiting for someone to answer the door. "How else do you think we get around, the Other Realm is the quickest way to travel."

"I thought that was flying on a broomstick," Xander quipped with a grin.

"Now without your license," Drell said solemnly. "Besides, who flies brooms today anyway? Some backwards European countries, like the Brits and French that still use wands, that's who. Vacuums are definitely the way forward." He deadpanned as the door opened. "Ah, finally."

"Hello?" A young female voice answered as the door opened. "Drell, wait, am I in trouble again? No, wait, I haven't done anything wrong, and that alchemy incident has already been cleared up." She paused, looking at Drell hopefully. "It has right? I'm not in any more trouble?"

"Not that I know of," Drell answered. "Xander, Sabrina. Sabrina, Xander." Drell introduced the two quickly before turning back to the petite blonde. "Are your aunts home, I need to talk to them."

"Uh, yeah sure. Come on in." Sabrina said, smiling at Xander as she opened the door to the linen closet properly to allow them both to walk out.

"That's so Narnia," Xander smirked as Sabrina shut the door behind them. "Hey."

"Hey yourself." Sabrina smiled back. "Zelda, Hilda. Someone's here to see you."

"Who is it?" A female voice called back from downstairs.

"Drell!" Drell shouted, his voice booming through the house and reverberating off the walls as if it had been amplified by some sort of megaphone, causing some of the plants and hanging pictures to shake. "Sorry, need to make an entrance."

"Yeah," Xander drawled out as he stuck his fingers in his ears to try and ease the ache that Drell's shout had caused, a brief glance told him that the young blonde, Sabrina, was doing exactly the same thing. "You got some banshee in there or what?"

"Drell," An older blonde woman said as she came up the stairs. "How lovely to see you."

"And you Zelda," Drell smiled. "Is, uh, is Hilda here?" He asked, his voice taking on the tone of a school boy with a crush.

"Sure," Zelda answered with a wry smile, resisting the impulse to roll her eyes at the man. "She's downstairs, why don't you come on down."

"You wait here," Drell said, turning to Xander. "Sabrina, show him around. Keep him company for a while."

"I've got homework to do..." Sabrina started but was cut off by Drell holding his hand up and actually smiling at her.

"It'll put you in my good books," Drell said quickly, cutting off any argument Sabrina was about to make.

"Well, in that case," Sabrina smiled sweetly back but more than a little disturbed at the way Drell was acting before grabbing Xander and pulling him aside. "Come in, have a seat, do you want juice?" She asked as she closed her bedroom door.

"Uh, no, I'm good," Xander said, staring at the cute blonde before him. "Hi, I'm Xander."

"Sabrina," Sabrina said with a smile even though Drell had already introduced them. "Do you know anything about math?"

"Not a clue," Xander grimaced as he saw he trigonometry book on the bed, spread out with various other notes and an oversized calculator. "Wills normally helps me out, I kinda suck at the whole school thing."

"Same here," Sabrina shrugged. "What you doing hanging around with Drell anyway?"

"He's my uncle," Xander shrugged, noting the giant book that was on its own pedestal by the bed. "Witchcraft for beginners," He read the title before walking over for a closer look. "A guide to getting your license. They have licenses for this stuff?"

"Sure, don't you have yours yet?" Sabrina asked as she hopped up on the bed and looking at the young man in front of her, he was cute, dark brown hair that dropped casually around his eyes and he obviously kept in shape, not as well as Harvey did, but definitely someone who could handle themselves.

"Only just passed Drivers Ed," Xander quipped as he flicked through the pages of the book. "Jeez, this looks more complicated than chem class."

"But with more newt," Sabrina smiled as Xander laughed before he sat down on the bed with her. "So what's it like, having Drell as your uncle. That must be weird, bet he never lets you out or anything."

--=/^\=--

"So, what do we owe the pleasure," Zelda asked as she sat down in the kitchen, Hilda was apparently fixing her hair or something before she came in which left her alone with Drell.

"I want you to do me a favour," Drell said with a smile, though his tone obviously said there was no room for arguments here. "Agree, and I'll... well, I don't know what I'll do, but it'll be something nice, probably."

"What's the favour?" Zelda asked warily, Drell never asked for favours so anything that he wanted from them would obviously come with strings attached, and more than likely trouble.

"Hilda," Drell smiled, avoiding Zelda's question as he saw the blonde woman coming down the stairs. "You look ravishing my dear."

"Drell," Hilda said with a smile. "That's over; the old flame isn't burning anymore."

"How do you know?" Drell asked, sliding up to her with a smile.

"You still have it?" She asked before turning to Zelda when she coughed to get everyone's attention.

"If you don't mind, Drell was about to explain what he wanted from us," Zelda said seriously, trying to get back to the matter at hand. "And how much trouble it is going to be to say no."

"Yes, I want a favour," Drell said as he sat back down at the kitchen table. "The young man who I brought here, Xander, is from the Hellmouth."

"Cleveland?" Zelda asked, a bit shocked at this news.

"Sunnydale," Drell answered quickly. "He's had no training, no upbringing. Nothing. His mother, Jessica lost her magic years ago so he's had a mortal life up until now."

"Jessica?" Hilda spat out. "That witch you left me for in the seventies?"

"Hilda, not now." Zelda cut in. "So what do you want from us?"

"Well, obviously Xander can't continue living on the Hellmouth. He can't use his magic there and there are no witches or warlocks available to teach him." Drell paused, waiting for one of the two women to get what he was asking. "I want you to take him in." He said, clapping his hands together finally when neither woman seemed to be able to put his clues together.

"Drell, we can't. We've already got Sabrina; we can't train another witch at the same time." Zelda answered without thinking about it.

"Oh, but you can." Drell answered back. "Xander is a very special young man. You will take him in, and in return not only will I show leniency on any more mishaps from ANY member of this family while he is here. I will also agree to three dates with Hilda."

"Three dates?" Hilda repeated, every date she'd had with Drell lately had involved him cancelling and sending a pot roast by way of apology, he was never one to offer anything, she was always the one chasing him down.

"I'm sorry, but we can't help you." Zelda answered, glaring at Hilda who was obviously considering it. "I'm sure Xander is a very special young man, but we have our hands full with Sabrina."

"Ohh!!! Oh! Oh!" Hilda gasped, covering her mouth with her hand as she stared at Drell. "He's your son." Hilda said in shock, finally putting it all together. "You and Jessica, oh my god. Does he know?"

"No," Drell said, slumping down in the chair. "That's why Jessica moved to The Hellmouth, do you have an idea how hard it is to track magic there, it's nigh on impossible. I only managed it because he was sparking coming up to his birthday."

"How old is he?" Zelda asked, now even more shocked that Drell was asking them to look after and train his own son.

"He'll be sixteen tomorrow," Drell answered honestly. "Since Sabrina is only six months or so older than him, I thought they'd be able to help each other out."

"I don't think this is such a good idea," Zelda said, turning to Hilda. "We don't have the room here, and having a man in the house, there hasn't been a man here since Sabrina moved in."

"We could convert the loft," Hilda slipped in, trying to be helpful.

"That's the spirit," Drell said loudly as he clapped his hands. "I knew you two wouldn't be able to turn me down."

"I still don't know about this," Zelda said nervously. "I mean, one teen witch is enough, two is going to be mayhem around here."

"Ok, let me break this down to you." Drell said sharply. "He's been raised as a mortal; he can't go back to The Hellmouth with his magic. He's had no training, no lessons whatsoever. However, he does know about magic and seems to be friends with Ripper."

"Ripper?" Zelda repeated in shock. "Ripper Giles?"

"The one and only," Drell answered with a smug grin. "Now head watcher to The Slayer in Sunnydale. I'm sure he'll be visiting if Xander stays here." He smiled as he played his trump card. "Now, I'll put Xander's belongings in the loft. You two had better sit him down and tell him about all of this."

"Us, why can't you do it?" Hilda asked, still a bit unsure how Drell had managed to win around Zelda so quickly.

"I have to go back to Sunnydale and clean this mess up," Drell sighed dramatically as he stood up. "This is why witches aren't allowed on Hellmouths. Do you have any idea how much potential magic is already floating around there, Xander is practically saturated in it. With his own magic, any spell on him would go drastically wrong. I'm surprised the town hasn't already been destroyed from it."

"Hellmouths are that bad?" Hilda asked in shock, she knew they were on the 'no go' list, but never having been to one herself she'd never bothered looking up exactly why.

"Worse." Drell said sharply. "I'll drop in from time to time to see how Xander is doing, I'm sure you'll both do fine. Now, if you'll excuse me." He said before raising his arms dramatically and clicking both fingers before vanishing in a bright flash of light.

"He does like to make an impression," Hilda noted, waving the smoke away that Drell's disappearance had left.

"I noticed." Zelda said dryly. "We should talk to Xander. Do you think he has any idea that Drell is his father?"

"Yow," Hilda grimaced. "I wouldn't wish that on anyone."

"Come on," Zelda said, starting her way up the stairs. "This is going to be a long talk."

--=/^\=--

"You have your own turret?" Xander asked in amusement as he lent down on the soft pink cushions that lined the makeshift chair under the window that looked out onto the front garden and street outside.

"Yeah, my aunts changed a few things around for me when I got here." Sabrina shrugged. "So what's it like, having Drell as an uncle." She visibly grimaced at that thought. "He's gotta be tough to live with."

"Wouldn't know," Xander frowned. "This is the first time I've seen him since I was two, I think. I've got a photo of him holding me when I was a baby..."

"Drell, with a baby?" Sabrina cut in with an excited grin. "That I've got to see."

"Uh, I'll show you some time." Xander nodded. "This is all kinda new; Uncle Drell's this all powerful warlock, the witches' council... all of its kinda weird, but in the same way, not so much."

"Magic?" Sabrina asked with a raised eyebrow, if he didn't know about Drell or the Witches council, then what exactly did he know about magic. It was obvious he knew some stuff, as Drell had brought them through the Other Realm to get here, but he was still acting like this was all so new and exciting.

"Well, kinda, not whatever Uncle Drell did though." Xander started to explain when a crack of thunder echoed through the house causing him to look around in shock. "What was that?"

"Don't know," Sabrina shrugged. "Probably Aunt Zelda or Hilda downstairs with Drell, Hilda used to date him you know."

Xander laughed for a moment as the door to the bedroom opened and the two blonde women he'd seen before walked in, though his Uncle Drell wasn't with them.

"Xander," Zelda started before turning to Sabrina. "Sabrina, could you bring the book over, I think we're going to need it." She paused before turning back to look at Xander. "What has Drell told you?" She asked.

"About what?" Xander shrugged, feeling completely in the dark here.

"About being a warlock." Hilda continued on when Xander's face started imitating a fish. "Oh come on, you must have had some idea by now. Sparks flying, things happening when you want but not when they should. Floating on the bed while you sleep..."

"Oh, I remember that one." Sabrina interrupted. "Levitation is so much fun."

"Uh..." Xander stammered, everything they'd said just sort of clicked in to place with the weird things that'd been happening the past week, he'd just automatically put it down to Sunnydale weirdness and ignored it. "I'm a warlock?"

"Oh course dearie," Zelda smiled patiently at him. "That's why Drell brought you to us; he wants us to help train you to get your license."

"My license?" Xander paused. "Look, I think you've got the wrong guy. I mean, magic's cool and all, but it's so not me. I don't do well around magic, and magic definitely doesn't go well around me."

"That's because you were raised on the Hellmouth," Zelda smiled. "The chaotic energies and magic surrounding the Hellmouth make most spells impossible there; there are a dozen reasons why witches aren't allowed near them."

"Wait, we're not near Sunnydale?" Xander asked, a bit in shock as he glanced out the window. Sure enough, this time he noticed little things. Like the trees definitely weren't the sorts of trees they got in a Californian climate, the way people were dressed as well, and the biggest hint, it was snowing, real snow. "Uh, where are we?"

"Westbridge, Massachusetts." Zelda answered slowly to let the shock sink in. "Is this your first translocation?"

"Uh, yeah..." Xander trailed off as he sat on the bed and slumped his shoulders. "My parents are going to kill me."

"That must have been what Drell meant," Hilda said, earning a look from everyone in the room. "He said he was going back to Sunnydale to clean up some things, obviously he meant your family and friends."

"Uh, right, Drell's not here?" Xander stammered out, a bit annoyed actually that his uncle would leave him in this house full of strangers, witch strangers at that, to tell him about all this weirdness instead of talking to him himself.

"No," Zelda answered sympathetically. "He brought you here to ask a favour of us." She paused, trying to break this to the young man as gently as possible. "Drell has organised for you to move in with us, so you and Sabrina can continue your training together."

Xander said nothing for a few moments, just looking at the three women in the room. The young blonde, Sabrina, looked almost as shocked at this revelation as he was. "Wait... Run that by me again. My Uncle Drell wants me, to move here with you, to train in magic?"

"He can be taught." Hilda quipped, earning a glare from Zelda.

"As we are already training Sabrina here, our niece. He thought we'd be the best teachers since you can't go back to Sunnydale." Zelda explained before wincing at Xander shout of outrage.

"What?!?" Xander shouted, standing up from the bed forcefully. "What do you mean; I can't go back to Sunnydale?"

"Sit down," Zelda said calmly, pointing to the bed with her index finger. "Witches aren't allowed to practice magic on an active Hellmouth. Trust me; it's not a good idea. One misfire and you could open the Hellmouth permanently."

"Really?" Xander asked, a bit calmer now and shocked that there actually seemed to be a good reason not to go back, if this was all true and not some messed up hallucination that was. "But, my friends, Willow and Buffy. My family, well, them and school I won't miss so much."

"Not so fast buster," Zelda interrupted. "You'll still have to go to school, that's not negotiable. Drell said he'd pop in from time to time, and offer a generous allowance while you live here."

"Live here, with you?" Xander asked, a bit shocked at this. Living with three women certainly wasn't something he'd ever thought about doing, especially three obviously powerful witches.

"Knowing Drell he's already organised your room," Hilda said, rolling her eyes. "He always was a control freak, this one time, when we were dating..."

"Not now Hilda," Zelda interrupted, cutting off Hilda's story. "We can't force you to stay here Alexander, but Drell thinks it would be in your best interest. With your powers beginning to show, any heightened emotions could cause a drastic reaction, and on the Hellmouth, that could lead to terrible things."

"You're telling me," Sabrina muttered. "When I first found out about this, I nearly wrecked my entire life. I ended up turning this girl at school into a goat, and everyone thought I was a freak!"

"You turned someone into a goat?" Xander asked, turning his head around to the youngest blonde in the room. "You can do that? I mean, not a frog or a rat or anything?"

"I've heard of the Witches Council turning people into cats before," Sabrina shrugged, remembering Salem and how he got to be her aunts familiar. "But I've never seen him turn anyone into a frog, or a rat." She shuddered at the last, the idea of being turned into a rat or mouse, or anything that scurries was not on her top list of 'ten fun things to do'.

"Transmogrification is easy," Zelda supplied at Xander's surprised look. "All it takes is a little training and some willpower."

"Not to mention being a witch," Hilda interrupted.

"Guess that would help," Xander deadpanned. "So, this is real? Not some funky dream that comes from too many Twinkies before bed?"

"I'm afraid this is very much real Alexander," Zelda said with a smile. "And if you're willing, we can help you with your magic, and I'm sure Sabrina will help you fit in at school just fine."

"It's Xander," Xander replied as this all sunk in, his magic, who he was, was the reason he could never go back to Sunnydale. He'd never see Buffy or Willow again, and it was all because of magic. "Look, this is all a bit much... seriously... finding out I'm a witch or whatever the male equivalent is, being told I'll never see my friends again... moving to Massachusetts." He laughed at the last. "God, it's the other side of the country, I should call my folks. Let them know what's happened."

"You can't," Zelda winced. "You jumped through four time zones to get here using magic. It's only eight forty here, if you call home, it'll be four forty in the morning. You'll still be there and none of this will have happened yet."

"Uh... what?" Xander gaped at the explanation given by the elder of the two women.

"It's a paradox," Hilda explained, waving the complicated answer away. "You can call your friends in four hours or so, but if you call them before you've left, you could make them explode."

"Riiight," Xander drawled out. "Seriously?"

"She's right Xander," Zelda continued, trying out the name that he'd given them to call him by. "You used magic to get here, so it's a bit more complicated than doing things the mortal way."

"Right..." Xander trailed off, not knowing what else to say. He simply slumped his shoulders and tried to accept what he was being told here. "So, I'm a witch..."

"Warlock," Zelda interrupted.

"Warlock, right," Xander nodded. "I can't go home because if I do, I could open the Hellmouth by accident or something. My Uncle Drell is this all powerful warlock as well, and he wants me to live here with you and learn how to use my magic."

"Sums it up," Hilda smiled at him.

"And this isn't some messed up dream caused by too many snack cakes that were dubiously past their sell by date?" Xander asked in vain hope.

"Sorry," Zelda smiled apologetically as Xander slumped down more into himself. "It isn't all that bad, you have powers now, come on Sabrina show him."

"Show him what?" The young girl asked, standing up from the bed and looking around. "Oh, this one's cool." She smiled as Xander actually looked at her in brief hope that she could show him something that would actually make leaving his friends and family behind worthwhile. She smiled for a second before pointing both her fingers at herself.

Xander blinked as a spiral of golden sparks flowed around Sabrina for a second, starting with her head and moving down across her body, changing her clothes as it went. When it hit the floor the swirl of sparks dissipated, leaving Sabrina stood there in a blue top and leather pants, quite different to the white t-shirt and jeans she'd been wearing when she stood up. "Ok, that was cool."

"Saves so much time in the morning," Sabrina smiled and Xander noticed that not only had the magic changed her clothing, but it had done her makeup and hair as well. "That's one of the first things I learnt."

"Ok, changing clothes with a finger, pretty cool." Xander had to admit. "This magic stuff, it can do anything?"

"Well, there are restrictions. Like there's no such thing as a love spell, or turning back time can only be authorised by the Witches Council, or..." Zelda frowned as Hilda covered her mouth with her hand.

"Give it a try," Hilda said, motioning for Xander to stand up. "Go on."

"What the hell," Xander shrugged as he stood up. "If nothing happens, can I go home then?"

"If nothing happens, we'll call Drell and ask him," Zelda said after successfully removing Hilda's hand from her mouth. "Something simple to start with I think." She paused before pointing at the top of Sabrina's desk. "I know, turning an orange into an apple."

"Not this again," Sabrina groaned as Zelda flicked her finger and an orange simply popped into existence on Sabrina's desk. "Last time we did this, we were eating pineapple for a month."

"Ok... so, what do I do?" Xander asked, eager to either learn how to use magic, or debunk this crazy dream and get back to his friends and weekend.

"Just point your finger at the orange," Zelda started, watching as Xander shrugged and pointed his right index finger at the piece of fruit. "Now, concentrate on apple... that's it, concentrate, feel the magic building up and..."

Xander frowned for a second as he felt something tingle down his arm, like a huge charge of static electricity. Still going with the flow, he continued to concentrate on 'apple' and point at the fruit Zelda had indicated. The charge built around his wrist for a moment before the shower of sparks shot out of his finger and flew across to the orange with perfect aim, where it promptly started to grow for a second, then glow brightly before it exploded, showing them all in bits of orange peel and other bits.
"Yuk!" Sabrina shouted, picking a dripping bit of orange out of her hair and flicking it towards Xander.

"Sorry," Xander said on instinct, staring at the place where the orange used to be and where there was now a scorch mark on the desk, along with a few bits of orange and a few pips.

"That's alright," Zelda said patiently, wiping some juice off her face. "It happens all the time; it took Sabrina an entire day to get transmogrification right."

"Really?" Xander asked, turning to the young girl who was still trying to fish bits of orange out of her hair. "I... I guess this is real then..." He trailed off. "I'm never going back to Sunnydale?"

"You can't dearie," Zelda said with a soft smile. "But we'll take good care of you here. We'll teach you how to use your magic safely, and your friends can still visit, and you can call them any time you like."

"Really?" Xander said hopefully, this couldn't be all bad he guessed. Magic had to have some perks, aside from blowing fruit up and changing clothes in a split second.

"Really," Hilda smiled at him. "You're Drell's son, we'll look after you."

"Nephew," Xander corrected. "I'm his nephew. God," He laughed dryly for a moment before continuing. "That'd be too much, being relocated, finding out I'm this warlock thing, then finding out Drell is my real dad?" He laughed before shaking his head. "No, the Harris luck is never that good."

Hilda and Zelda looked at each other for a second before laughing with him. "Anyway," Zelda continued, steering the conversation away from Drell for the moment. "You should rest, you've got all day, and maybe Sabrina can show you around after you've settled in."

"He's staying here?" Sabrina asked, a bit in shock that her aunts would let this strange man stay in their house with them. "With us, he's staying in the house, while we're here?"

"Yes," Zelda said slowly, nodding towards Sabrina. "But don't worry; he'll be staying in the attic. We'll convert it into a room for him, so he can have a bit of privacy away from us girls."

Hilda snorted at that. "Knowing Drell, he's already done it." She laughed sarcastically. "He always way ten steps ahead of everyone else. He just loves being in control." She emphasized the word 'loves' with a drawl and a roll of her eyes, drawing a quizzical look from Xander.

"Let's see." Zelda smiled as she moved to leave the room and head across the landing to the attic stairway. "She's right, he's been here."

"How can you tell?" Sabrina asked, noting the door to the attic stairs was still closed.

"When was the last time you saw red velour carpets in this house?" Zelda asked, pointing to the bottom of the door where the bottom step of the stairway raised the door nearly a foot off the floor and exposed the carpeting on the stairway.

"Ohh, I can't wait to see if Drell's tastes have changed," Hilda smiled excitedly, pushing forward and opening the door to the stairway, sure enough, the red carpet ran the full length of the stairs, with neat lighting on either side and a golden handrail attached to one wall.

"It obviously hasn't," Zelda said dryly as she started up the stairs behind Hilda, Xander and Sabrina following them slowly behind. "Oh this is terrible," She winced as she reached the top of the stairs; the entire room was decked out in lush reds and gold's. A solid oak four poster bed dominated the far wall, while velvet drapes framed a large window looking out onto the street outside."

Xander couldn't help but laugh when he reached the top of the stairs; the room was obviously decorated by someone who was lavish to the extreme. With tastes like these, his Uncle Drell was obviously taking lessons from Larry Flynt and Hugh Heffner in decorating. God only knows what his house must be like. "This is my room?" Xander asked, looking around. It was huge, literally, the attic took up the entire length of the house, and while the width was a bit shorter to allow for the sloping roof on either side, it was still much bigger than his old room back in Sunnydale. "My own bathroom?" He asked, spying a door on the opposite side. Walking over he opened it, then quickly shut it again.

"He gets his own bathroom?" Sabrina whined. "That's so unfair." She pouted, crossing her arms.

"Let me see that," Zelda said, moving over she opened the door that Xander was stood in front of and stepped through. The bathroom was just as big as the main room, marble white floors with fancy golden taps. Steps up in the middle of the room put a large Jacuzzi swirl bathtub on a pedestal for all to see, while deep red bath towels were hung around the room. "This has got to go."

"He's a little much," Xander said shyly, though truth was, this was the first time Drell had ever done anything for him that he could remember, so this could just be him showing some extravagancies for the first time. "Look, are you sure this is alright, I mean, having me move in with you and all..."

"It'll be fine," Zelda said with a soft smile. "You can redecorate on your own, once you learn how."

"That'll be the first thing then," Xander grimaced as he looked at the giant oak table by one wall with an enormous medieval style wooden throne next to it. "You're sure?"

"Yes," Hilda huffed out. "We wouldn't say yes if we weren't sure. Besides, it'll be nice for Sabrina to have someone her own age to talk to about things."

"There will be rules though," Zelda cut in. "And a curfew."

"I think I can handle that," Xander laughed, looking at the king sized bed with black silk sheets and deep red pillows. A big change to the single bed he had back home that just had a few mangled sheets thrown on it, but then again, he guessed Massachusetts would be a completely different climate to Sunnydale, so the luxurious looking duvet might be more to his liking on a night here.

"And no girls," Zelda said sharply, staring at him. "I could see what you were thinking buster. Now, scoot. Sabrina, show him around the town while we sort out the rest of the house."

"Well, I was supposed to meet Harvey and Jenny today; I guess you could tag along for a while." Sabrina sighed, making it out that she was doing him an enormous favour.

"That's the spirit," Zelda smiled at her. "Show him around the town, by the time you get back, it'll be time for him to call his friends and we'll have organised everything he needs here."

"Come on then," Sabrina smiled begrudgingly as she made her way to the stairs. "But you might need something warmer," She smirked before pointing at Xander and showering him in golden sparks. "Much better."

"Thanks," Xander muttered dryly, noting that he was now holding a fishing spear and was dressed in tight Eskimo furs. "I hate you."

"We'll get along just fine I think." Sabrina beamed as she started down the stairs.

--=/^\=--

"So, um, how long have... you know, you been, a witch?" Xander asked, hoping his wasn't committing some sort of faux pa by asking questions like this.

They'd been walking down into town for about ten minutes now and the cold was certainly starting to get to him now, almost enough to make him wish he'd kept the Eskimo furs instead of opting for his usual jeans, jumper and jacket combination. Westbridge was definitely cold, and quiet. He'd only seen a handful of people on their walk into town, and most of them were teenagers just mulling around on skateboards and such, it was such a quiet normal town, so quiet that it made Sunnydale look like a bustling metropolis.

"I'm only half witch," Sabrina confessed, obviously trying to actually get to know Xander now that she'd come to terms with the fact that he would be moving in with her and her aunts. "My mother was mortal, hence why I'm here with Aunt Zelda and Hilda."

"They train you then?" Xander asked, trying to figure out how this worked in the magical world.

"Yeah," Sabrina shrugged. "It's this whole big deal, because I'm half witch, I can't see my mom or she'll turn into a ball of wax, and my dad, well, it's kinda a long story."

"Right, gotcha." Xander nodded. "I guess, you know, it's just hitting me now. I'll never go back to Sunnydale again, which is good, you know, being the mouth of hell and all."

"But you'll miss your friends," Sabrina nodded understandingly. She'd been through all that when she had to move in with her aunts, new home, new friends, new school, new everything. "It's tough, but Westbridge is pretty cool. Not to mention, you've got your own magical powers now."

"So?" Xander shrugged. "In my experience, powers don't exactly make you happy, especially magic. There was this one girl last year, she was a witch. Completely crazy, she tried setting fire to cheerleaders and everything."

"What happened?" Sabrina asked, interested to know a bit more about what life had been like for Xander in Sunnydale, growing up without magic seemed normal for her, but from the descriptions she'd heard from him and her aunts about Sunnydale, you'd think everyone would need it just to survive.

"She did this whole bloodstone vengeance spell thingie on my friend, seriously dark mojo." Xander explained. "Nearly killed her as well, Buffy managed to stop her in the end, but it was touch and go for a minute. Magic just doesn't really sit well with me you know."

"That's because she wasn't a natural witch," A voice came from behind Sabrina and Xander causing them to twirl around to see who it was that had been eavesdropping on their conversation.

"Uncle Drell," Xander said half-heartedly. "Thanks, for you know, abandoning me back there."

"Sorry," Drell shrugged unapologetically. "I only had a certain time window to work in, and there was a lot to clean up in Sunnydale."

"So, this is all real then?" Xander asked, hopefully Drell would be able to tell him that there had been some colossal mix-up and he'd be able to go home soon, back to his friends.

"Yup," Drell nodded. "I've changed your school records, transcripts... blah blah blah, everything you need. You start Westbridge High School tomorrow as a new student."

"I don't even get my birthday off?" Xander argued, mainly just for the sake of it. Birthdays had never been really big in his home back on Sunnydale, most of the time they were forgotten completely, other times his dad would be in a drunken stupor by the time he got home and he actually had an evening of peace and quiet for once, he figured that was the best present he could ask for most years.

"I didn't get mine off," Sabrina cut in. "You'll be fine, you can hand with me, Harvey and Jenny."

"Anyway," Drell drawled out. "Enough of this mortal chit chat and down to business. The family spell book is now in your room at Sabrina's, take care of it." He intoned the order, making it sound seriously important. "I'll be sending you some money on a weekly basis, don't blow it all on mortal stuff. I'm sure Sabrina or Hilda can show you around the Other Realm stores some time. Just study up and you'll be ready for your license in no time."

"No pressure then," Xander quipped with a smirk, he paused for a moment, letting out a deep breath. "So, this is it then. A new life?"

"Yup," Drell nodded with a smile. "Don't worry, you'll be seeing some of your old friends sooner than you think." Drell smiled at him and then disappeared in a flash of sparkles.

"Doesn't he worry about normal people seeing that?" Xander asked, glancing around. Sure enough, there was no one around to really see Drell leaving or comment on it, but it was the principal of the thing.

"Don't ask me," Sabrina shrugged as they continued walking. "I can't understand my aunts half the time, what chance do I have with Drell."

--=/^\=--

"Sabrina, hey."

Xander's first glance at the guy told him everything he needed to know, he was tall, well built with light brown hair in curtains. Obviously a jock from the way he carried himself but he had a sort of open and approachable vibe to himself, more of a contradiction than anything else. He was flanked by a brunette with wild curly hair that came down almost to her waist, wearing a loose blouse with a cardigan over the top.

"Hey Harvey, Jenny." Sabrina smiled at them both before turning to Xander. "This is Xander, he'll be starting school here tomorrow."

"Oh cool, new student." Harvey smiled. "Harvey," He introduced himself and hold out his hand to Xander.

"Xander, Xander Harris," Xander introduced himself back, taking the hand that was offered and shaking it firmly.

"Nice grip," Harvey winced as he took back his hand and shook it a bit. "How'd you know Sabrina then?"

"Uh, he's the nephew of a friend of my aunts," Sabrina explained before Xander could jump in, they'd never actually covered what he could and couldn't say in front of her friends, something she really should have gone over first before introducing them.

"Cool," The brunette piped up. "Hi, I'm Jenny." She waved enthusiastically at him.

"Uh, hi." Xander smiled and waved briefly back.

"So, what's the plan today?" Sabrina asked, bouncing a bit to keep herself warm in the cold air. "Anything, come on guys." Sabrina pouted as both of her friends just shrugged at her.

"Well The Slicery doesn't open until eleven, so we were just... uh..." Harvey trailed off. "It was boring inside alright," Harvey tried to justify himself. "And mom always says I need to get out more."

"I'm just here because my mom asked me to do my homework today," Jenny commented, far too chirpily for this time in the morning. "You know, it's getting harder and harder to rebel against them when they just give in."

"I get that," Xander nodded. "I couldn't really rebel against my folks as they didn't really care where I was most of the time."

"See," Jenny smiled at him before turning to Sabrina. "You are so lucky, your aunts give you a curfew and everything, why can't my mom be strict like that?" Jenny actually pouted as she wished for stricter parents, leaving Xander more than a bit confused.

"Uh, did I enter the twilight zone or something?" Xander quipped. "You're actually wanting your parents to be more strict with you instead of just letting you do what you want?" He raised his eyebrow as Jenny seemed to think this over.

"My dad's not really that strict either," Harvey added in. "As long as I do my chores and stay on the football team, he's happy just badgering me about bulking up and getting to play once in a while."

"Football player?" Xander asked, playing the hunch.

"Yeah," Harvey nodded. "Kinda," He shrugged before continuing. "I'm on the second string, but coach says if I bulk up enough I might make first string this year."

"Uh, cool." Xander shrugged. "So, uh, you know what, you three do your thing... I've got, you know, something..." He didn't wait for anyone to object or anything, walking away he took on last glance at Sabrina who was watching him leave before he turned the corner.

--=/^\=--

"Well, this sucks." Xander muttered to himself as he sat on a bench outside oh Sabrina's aunts house. The snow was still coming down pretty hard but it kinda suited his mood at the moment.

It was a big change, today just felt like his entire world had been shifted around. First finding out his uncle was a warlock and head of some Witches Council. Then that he had all these magical powers, that he still didn't know how to use, aside from blowing up fruit. Then finding out he'd never see his friends ago and would be settling in a new town and a new school. "Bet they're all doing fine back on Sunnyhell." Xander muttered, mainly to himself as he huddled tighter into his jacket. "And I bet it's warm there."

"Find out," A voice came from behind Xander, he tried looking around but in the end gave up as his jacket didn't give him that much movement when it was wrapped up tight enough to be called mummification.

"How," Xander muttered. "Can't call them, can't visit them."

"You're a warlock, get with the magic already." The voice retorted, sounding oddly put out at actually having to explain this to him.

"Wha..." Xander started as he shuffled to the side and turned around as much as he could, there was no one there that could have spoken to him, only a black cat was perched on the wall behind the bench watching him. "Great, now I'm going mad," He muttered, reaching over to pet the cat. "Hearing voices, even when you are some sort of warlock, that's got to be a bad sign."

"Only if you're on your own." The cat sarcastically muttered.

"And now it's official," Xander shook his head, staring at the cat. "The cat is talking to me, this must be some sort of sign of a nervous breakdown or something."

"Uh, no." The cat answered simply. "Hilda explained that you're the one that redecorated the attic, so use your magic, take a peek at your friends."

"You're still talking to me," Xander muttered, looking at the cat wearily. "Cat's don't talk."

"They do when they're familiars," A familiar female voice came from next to Xander causing him to look around to see Sabrina now sat next to him. She reached over and ruffled the cat's fur before turning back to Xander. "I see you've met Salem, the annoying member of our family."

"The cat's talking," Xander said slowly, passing the cat over to Sabrina's lap.

"He does that," Sabrina nodded. "The trick is getting him to shut up."

"Right," Xander drawled out. "And where did you come from?" The snow around him was undisturbed, seeing as he was the only one he'd seen in over an hour, he felt safe knowing that any footprints would be easily visible.

"Magic," Sabrina shrugged. "You kinda left in a hurry."

"Yeah," Xander said slowly with a shrug. "It's all, you know..."

"Strange?" Sabrina filled in. "I remember, when I first came to live with my aunts, the magic, the new school... everything was just so much."

"Kinda," Xander nodded. "And the cat... strangely, not the weirdest thing I've ever seen."

"A talking cat doesn't rank on your weirdometer?" Sabrina asked in mock shock. "Come on," She smiled at him. "There's a couple of mugs of hot cocoa with our names on it. You can tell me all about your friends, and I'll fill you in on the school and who to avoid."

"Let me guess," Xander said in mock thought as he stood up and helped Sabrina stand up with Salem. "Prissy cheerleader types who only care about fashion and shoes?"

"Well, we normally just call her Libby," Sabrina smiled at him as she led him up the steps and into the house. "The other name gets a bit unwieldy after a while."

"Check," Xander nodded with a smile as he closed the door behind him. "We had one of those, she was called Cordelia though."

"Eww," Sabrina shuddered. "Cordelia, seriously?"

"Ok, no making fun of names," Xander said seriously but smiled as he did. "One of my best friends is called Buffy and..." He quickly trailed off and gave up as Sabrina's howl of laughter echoed through the house as she led him through into the kitchen.

--=/^\=--

"So, Buffy threw him through the skylight onto this wrecked table," Xander finished off the story as Sabrina, along with Hilda, Zelda and Salem sat around with large mugs of hot chocolate, strangely enough, even one for the cat, listening to him recount his freshman year at Sunnydale with Buffy and Willow. "He dusted, we buried the skeleton, then partied."

"Wow, They should make a TV show out of that." Salem said honestly, he'd been sat riveted the whole time with squirty cream on his nose from his hot chocolate.

"Can't see that," Xander laughed. "Who's believe in vampires, witches and demons..." He then paused as all three witches at the same raised their hands and Salem raised one of his paws. "Rhetorical question." He smirked. "Wow, it's still snowing?"

"It is October," Hilda smirked at him. "You're in Massachusetts now, not California."

"Mores the pity," Xander let his shoulders sagged, he'd had a really great time talking with Sabrina and her aunts, even talking with Salem, but it still felt weird knowing he wasn't going to see Buffy or Willow, hell, even Cordelia and Giles again.

"You'll be fine," Zelda smiled at him, standing up and rubbing his shoulder. "Why don't you call your friends, explain what's happened. I'm sure they all want to talk to you."

"Yeah." Xander shrugged. "Um, I can tell them about all this?"

"Of course," Zelda said patiently.

"Wait, how is it fair that he's allowed to tell his friends but I can't tell mine?" Sabrina whined with an extra pout thrown in to show how unfair she thought this was.

"Because, Xander's friends already know about the supernatural realm, they've come to terms with magic and witchcraft on their own. Your friends are mortals Sabrina, they haven't experienced the supernatural for themselves yet, so telling them would be the cause of the test." Zelda explained. "It's never a good idea to let mortals know that you're a witch, that goes for you as well Xander. You never know how they're going to react."

"Ok," Xander drawled out, nodding slowly. It was a fair comment, he wasn't exactly going to run around Westbridge telling everyone he was a warlock and had real magical powers, but being able to tell his friends and explain about this was a load off his mind. "Uh, do you..."

"Drell put a phone in your room," Zelda smiled at him, remembering all too well how awkward being a teen was, and this conversation was probably going to be more awkward than most things. "We'll be here if you need to talk." She smiled at him as he nodded before bounding up the stairs to his room. "So, how did it go?"

"He seems alright," Sabrina admitted. "So, like, vampires and demons are really real?"

"This surprises you?" Zelda smirked at her.

"Well, yeah." Sabrina defended herself. "I knew about magic but not all this evil stuff, like demons trying to take over the world? Does that happen a lot because somebody should make a stand."

"Someone has," Hilda smiled. "Or weren't you listening to the adventures of Buffy the vampire slayer?"

"There are more than enough people out there that take a stand against the darkness Sabrina," Zelda explained. "Slayers, watches, witches... people from all walks of life help out. Even demon hunters and witch hunters."

"Witch hunters?" Sabrina asked, her eyes widening at this information.

"Relax," Zelda smiled at her. "There hasn't been a real witch hunt in over a hundred years, some people continue on though, they mainly focus on witches that have gone bad, but mostly is mistaken identities."

"So, there's no witch hunters in Westbridge then?" Sabrina asked, concerned and now thinking about everyone she knew, she could picture Libby as a witch hunter, or maybe Mr Kraft.

"Not that we know of," Zelda said reassuringly as she finished off her hot chocolate. "So, how did things go with Harvey and Jenny? Did they meet Xander?"

"Jenny thinks he's cute," Sabrina slipped in as she moved to go out of the kitchen and up to her room. "Harvey says he should join the football team."

"I'm sure they'll all get along fine," Hilda smiled as she watched Sabrina run up the stairs. "We have two now?" She asked, turning to Zelda.

"It does look that way," Zelda admitted with a soft smile. "It might be good to have a man about the house though, we might have to make a few exceptions though. I can't see him giving up his demon hunting ways easily."

"But there aren't any demons in Westbridge, everyone knows that." Hilda said in a shocked voice. "They all live closer to Boston, apparently they don't like the cold."

"Who knew," Zelda agreed. "But Xander isn't going to take our word for that. He'll still want to... what did he call it? Oh right, patrol. And I think we should let him until he gets it out of his system."

"There's nothing out there though," Hilda protested. "Nothing that could hurt him anyway, he's a warlock now."

"But he doesn't know how to use his magic yet," Zelda reminded her. "I think we should just let him stick to his old routine until he gets it out of his system, then we can explain to him about why the demons don't come near Westbridge."

"Because they know we'd vaporise them." Hilda said with confidence. "We haven't had a vampire or demon attack in over fifty years."

"I guess we're making a name for ourselves." Zelda smiled. "Which also means he's going to have weapons." She paused before turning to Salem. "Keep an eye on him will you,"

"What, why me?" Salem whined.

"Because, you're his familiar too now, until he finds his own." Zelda explained. "Just, try and keep him and Sabrina out of trouble."

"Alright, gotcha." Salem nodded before pouncing off of the kitchen table and running up the stairs, his tail flicking about as he ran.

"You're asking Salem, the warlock that tried to take over the world, to keep them out of trouble?" Hilda asked, the look on her face clearly said that she thought her sister was insane.

"He'll be fine," Zelda smiled reassuringly. "Maybe some of Xander's ideas about saving the world instead of taking it over will rub off onto him."

"You really think so?" Hilda asked with a raised eyebrow.

"We can hope." Zelda said, crossing her fingers.

--=/^\=--

"Willow, breathe." Xander said slowly into the telephone, talking Willow down from an extremely agitated stream of babble. He was currently sat on the bed his Uncle Drell had whipped up for him from somewhere, and it was far comfier than anything he'd ever rested on in his entire life.

"But, you're never coming back..." Willow's voice came over the phone, and even from this distance he could already hear the tears in her voice and could picture them running down her face.

"I know," Xander said sadly. "But I can't. I'm a risk there."

"No you're not!" Willow protested loudly. "You're my Xander, you could never be a risk to anyone."

"Way to help my pride there," Xander said jokingly as he rubbed a tear away from his eye. "I'll still call, every day. I just... I've got to learn this Willow, it's part of my life now."

"You've only known about it for a few hours!" Willow's shriek came down the phone causing him to pull the receiver away from his ear.

"I'm going to miss you," Xander said, nearly choking on the emotion as he wiped his face again, the tears coming thick and fast now.

Sabrina paused at the top of the stairs, the door to Xander's room was ajar slightly so she just stood there with Salem in her arms listening to him. Even Salem looked moved by the emotion that was practically flooding the room, Xander and Willow obviously had a lot more than just friendly feelings for each other, from the way they were saying goodbye it was like they were soul mates parting for the last time. "We should help him." Sabrina said softly, looking down at Salem. "But how?" She paused as she put Salem down and watched as he quietly moved into Xander's room unnoticed. "I've got it," She smiled, knocking at the door before pushing it open slightly.

"Hold on a sec Willow." Xander said, wiping his eyes on his shirt before turning around to see who was knocking at the bedroom door. "Hey... can you just... uh..."

"Hold on," Sabrina smiled at him, taking a deep breath before staring at the space by Xander's main window. "To let this goodbye go easy, bring Willow here like a breeze-y?." She grinned, happy with her spell, if not the wording, as a shower of sparks started dancing around the window before coalescing into a form.

"Wha..." Xander froze, looking at the glowing golden form that was slowly growing into life before them. "What... what did you... Willow?" He finally got out as the golden sparkles fell away from the form and disappeared from view.

"Xander!" Willow shrieked, diving over and pulling Xander into a tight hug.

"I'm... uh, I'll give you two some room." She smiled, happy that she'd done a good thing for Xander before walking back towards the door, pausing to usher Salem out before closing the door tightly behind her.

"You're really here?" Willow asked, wiping her tears away as she pulled back slightly from the hug.

"I think you're really here." Xander corrected her with a smile, wiping away some of his own tears. "Welcome to Westbridge." He laughed, pulling her into a tight hug again. "I thought I'd never see you again."

"Don't be silly buster," Willow chided him with a smile on her face. "But how did I get here..."

"Magic," Xander answered simply. "She's going to have to teach me that one." He smiled, mentally setting himself a reminder to thank Sabrina somehow for giving him this opportunity to say goodbye to his best friend in person.

"This... this is real?" Willow asked, tears forming again as the reality of the situation came back to her. "You're really leaving us?"

"I have to," Xander said sadly, wiping some of Willow's tears away. "It took me a while to accept it as well, trust me on that. But I can't go back to Sunnydale, not if it means becoming a danger to you and Buffy."

"You couldn't be a danger." Willow said, half angrily though it came out half way through a sob. "You're Xander, you'd never put us in danger."

"Which is why I can't go back." Xander said sadly. "But I can learn magic here, real magic. I can already blow up fruit with my finger." He laughed, waving his index finger at her. "Someday I hope to do vegetables as well." He paused, pulling Willow back into a hug. "I need to be here Wills, to get my license, to find my own way."

"You're way is with us." Willow sobbed out, though Xander could see she was crumbling.

"Not anymore." Xander said sadly. "I'll call every day though, and you can come and visit on weekends." He laughed. "Magic's a bit quicker than airplanes, and not so much with the yucky food."

"You mean that?" Willow asked, wiping her face and looking up at Xander hopefully.

"Of course," Xander smiled at her. "This is just what I've got to do. I've got a new school and everything here now."

"A magic school? They have those?" Willow asked, now in full learning mode about the world Xander was now a part of.

"A normal school," Xander laughed. "I don't think they have magic schools anyway, though Uncle Drell did say something about Europe... never mind," He smiled, waving the thought away. "I'll always be here for you Willow, just call and I can have you here in a flash... Once Sabrina teaches me how to do it that is."

"Sabrina?" Willow asked, getting instantly protective of her Xander.

"This is her house," Xander smiled, waving around the room. "Well, her aunts. Uncle Drell arranged for me to stay with them while I learn how to control my magic and get my license. Want to meet her?" He asked, almost in two minds, hoping she would say no so that he could have some more time alone with Willow to say goodbye properly, and on the other hand, hoping she'd say yes so that Sabrina could convince her that he was here to learn some good things.

"Uh, sure." Willow answered in a small voice.

"One sec," Xander smiled as he released Willow from the hug and motioned for her to sit on the bed. "I'll be back in a minute." He smiled at her before walking out of the bedroom and closing the door behind him.

Outside the room he took a deep breath, wiping his eyes from any leftover tears before he started making his way down to where he knew Sabrina's room was. It was a quick jog down the stairs before he knocked on her bedroom door and waited for her to answer.

"Xander," Sabrina smiled at him as she opened the door. "What's up?"

"You, uh, you wanna come up and meet Willow?" He asked, hoping that he could successfully blend his old friends and hopefully new ones comfortably.

"I'd love to." Sabrina beamed at him before she closed the door and motioned for him to lead the way back upstairs.

"Wait for me!" Salem yelled as he darted out of the room, narrowly missing the door being closed on his tail.

"Uh, sure." Xander frowned, picking up the black cat and eying him cautiously. "This is going to take some getting used to."

--=/^\=--

"Willow, this is Sabrina." Xander smiled as he walked into the bedroom with Sabrina in tow, Salem still in his arms. "And this is Salem." He explained before putting the cat down on the bed next to her.

"Aww, he's so cute." Willow beamed as she started stroking him.

"Ohhh.... I like her." Salem half purred contentedly as he nuzzled into her hand.

"Ahh!" Willow shrieked, jumping up from the bed and away from Salem.

"Relax," Xander smiled. "He caught me the first time doing that as well, thought I was having a nervous breakdown or something." He frowned over at the cat who was now staring at him.

"Your cat can talk?" Willow half yelled over at Sabrina in shock.

"Yeah," Sabrina nodded with a smile. "I'm Sabrina. That's Salem, he used to be a warlock before he tried to take over the world."

"It would have worked too," Salem interrupted. "If it wasn't for those pesky council kids."

"So the Witches Council sentenced him to a hundred years as a cat," Sabrina continued, ignoring Salem's outburst.

"He used to be human?" Xander asked, looking at the cat differently now. "Now I'm definitely locking the doors when I have a shower."

"I do." Sabrina nodded quickly at Xander. "Hey," Sabrina finally smiled over at Willow.

"Hi," Willow replied meekly, still a bit in shock about the cat that used to be a human that was now sat on the bed watching them. "I need to sit down." She said weakly before sitting down with a soft thump on the bed.

"It's a lot to take in," Sabrina agreed with Willow's reaction. "I never thought I'd get used to all this magic and everything, but now, it's part of who I am, I'd never change that."

"I understand," Willow said with a sad smile, looking at Xander. "We can still visit though?"

"Any time you'd like," Sabrina smiled. "I'll teach Xander the spell to bring you here, so he can do it without me or my aunts helping him."

"Wow," Willow breathed out, while she'd been talking to Xander and Sabrina, she'd been letting her eyes drift around the room, it was completely different to Xander's room back in Sunnydale but she could still make out a few things that were perfectly Xander. Like his collection of Babylon 5 video's and Star Wars comics, now neatly stacked on a shelf. A box of Twinkies that were resting on what looked like a study desk along with Xander's favourite axe. "Is that a..."

"The family spell book," Xander grinned as he saw where Willow was looking, the large leather bound book was now perched on its own pedestal by the main study desk to make for easy access. "My uncle told me to look after it, so I'll be moving it somewhere out of the way so I don't spill anything on it or anything."

"It's beautiful," Willow said as she walked over and ran her hand over the cover of the book. "R," She whispered questioningly, running her fingers around the ornate 'R' that was on the cover of the book.

"Mine has an 'S'," Sabrina said by way of explanation. "It's the family spell book, so it's the family crest on the front."

"Shouldn't yours be an 'H' then?" Willow asked, opening the book gently and leafing over a few pages.

"Dunno," Xander shrugged, he honestly didn't know how this witch stuff worked, how last names or family names were kept straight. "It's cool though."

"You can fly?" Willow asked in shock, looking at the page she'd stopped on. "Levitation and flying for beginners, through brooms to vacuums." She read off the page. "You fly on a broom?"

"Let me see that," Xander said, looking at the book for himself. "Wow, uh, then yes?" He ventured cautiously.

"Nobody uses brooms anymore," Salem actually laughed at that, causing everyone to look at him strangely. "They don't," He backed up his comment.

"Uncle Drell said that some older countries do," Xander explained, thinking back to what Drell had told him when they'd first appeared at Sabrina's house. "Like Europe and some places, he said they still use wands as well."

"You don't then?" Willow asked, intent on learning as much as she could in the time she had left with Xander.

"Nope." Sabrina smiled, popping the 'p'. "Just point and shoot." She said, pointing her index finger at Xander by way of explanation. "Then you can use spells or incantations, they have to rhyme though which kinda sucks."

"You can do all this?" Willow asked, the shock of it finally sinking in.

"Apparently so," Xander grinned with a shrug. "It's why I'm staying here, to learn all this stuff. Can you imagine if I didn't learn how to do this, I could point at someone by accident and have them explode or something."

"That's never happened," Sabrina tried to reassure him. "I changed a girl into a goat before," She paused as Willow looked at her in horror. "By accident, it was before my aunts started teaching me how to control it properly."

"And you have to learn it as well."

A different voice came from the room, causing everyone to swing around to see who it was. They all saw Drell at the same time, sat on the bed in his usual suit, watching them intently.

"Uncle Drell," Xander grinned.

"Xander," Drell nodded with a smile. "Sabrina, not been getting my family into trouble have you?"

"Me? No!" Sabrina squeaked out in rapid succession.

"Good," Drell clapped before fixing his eyes on Willow. "Miss Rosenberg," Drell said ominously. "A mortal, interesting."

"My best friend," Xander said, wearily stepping in front of Willow.

"A mortal, your best friend?" Drell asked, as if the idea was completely preposterous to him. "You really need..."

"Uncle Drell," Xander interrupted, not liking where this was going. "Did you come here for something?"

"Yes, of course." Drell drawled out, finally taking his eyes off of Willow. "Your equipment, I couldn't expect you to use Sabrina's all year could I?"

"Uh, right?" Xander said, turning the answer into a question itself.

"You'll need ingredients, a cauldron... you've already got your book..." Drell started ticking things off with his hand before pointing to the study desk which was quickly enveloped in a cloud of smoke with golden sparkles shooting around. By the time the smoke and golden flecks had dissipated, the top of the desk was filled with a large cauldron, various potion ingredients. Some more old style books, an ink well and quill and an envelope with Xander's name on it. "The last is a birthday card." Drell bounced for a moment happily.

"Wow," Xander breathed out, looking at all the stuff that had simply appeared on the desk. "This is... um..." He tried to think back to the last time anyone had actually given a damn about his birthday, let alone got him presents for it. "Thanks Uncle Drell," He settled on that, smiling across the room where Drell returned the smile.

"I can't stay though," Drell said, a hint of sadness in his voice. "I have business to attend at the council, some uprising or something in Europe with a dark wizard or something." He waved the comment off when all three teens looked at him in a quizzical fashion. "Miss Rosenberg also has to be returned to her home, her parents will be looking for her soon and they MUSTN'T know where she's been."

"Oh god, my mom!" Willow shrieked out. "I'm all the way on the other side of the country, she's going to freak!"

"No she isn't," Drell said slowly before pointing his finger at Willow, causing her to vanish in a puff of smoke and sparks. "Don't worry, I sent her home safe and sound." He reassured both Xander and Sabrina, who were both looking at him wearily. "Next time, when summoning someone. Make sure no mortals are going to start looking for them, it's messy and could cause problems for you later on."

"Got it," Xander nodded. "Thanks though," He said, turning to Sabrina. "It was easier to explain all that in person... thanks." He trailed off, not knowing exactly how to say thank you for what she had done for him.

"I'll be around though," Drell said ominously, though smiling at the same time. "If you need any help, just look me up." He nodded to the book. "You'll find me in the index." With that he simply disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving Sabrina and Xander just looking at each other.

"You know, it's weird that that isn't weirding me out anymore." Xander commented, pointing to the spot where his Uncle Drell had been moments before.

"You get used to it." Sabrina commented. "Sorry, but I've got homework to do, unless you fancy helping with trig?"

"Not my strong suit," Xander answered honestly. "I'm just going to... you know, get used to this stuff... and figure out where all my stuff is."

"Sure," Sabrina smiled at him as she made her way to the door. "Just call if you need anything though."

"Gotcha," Xander nodded as Sabrina made her way down the stairs. "You know, this could be pretty cool." He grinned, flopping on the bed and eying the spell book and cauldron on his desk.

"Indeed it is," Salem said from next to Xander, causing him to look down at the black cat that was still resting comfortably on his bed.

"And yet, that still weird's me out." He frowned at that cat, causing Salem to poke his tongue out at him.

--=/^\=--