Not the Only One

Chapter Twelve: Magic, Coffee & Evil

Most Wand-magic users didn't know it, but their magical core was deeply connected to the person's soul.

There was, of course, the body, the material element of the core.

Physical health could definitely affect not just concentration, but also the power behind spells. A good example of this, according to Professor Dumbledore, would be a student losing too much sleep, while preparing for their O.W.L's or N.E.W.T's. It was apparently a common thing that those who did not rest enough on the days before the exams, had a tendency to underperform during the practical exam.

Despite all of this, sometimes Wizards or Witches whose bodies were past their limit could still call on great power.

It was common knowledge that emotions could affect magic. Accidental magic in children was often caused by anger or other strong emotions. This was eventually controlled as the child began to practice wand-magic. Spell names and wand movements were, in fact, unnecessary to be able to cast. Intent was everything. The movements and complex names were actually a method to avoid accidental use of magic. If you were extremely angry with a person you loved, for example. Your magic could react and hurt that person even though you didn't really wish them harm.

The most important thing to understand was the nature of emotions.

Were they body responses to a situation? Or were they more… supernatural in origin?

Not long ago Ginny was separated from her body. The material element. It remained in this world. Her soul in another. If emotions were dependant on the body…then why was she capable of feeling while in the other world? Some would say she'd been in two places at the same time. In truth, she'd been gone from this dimension completely. Only her vessel left behind…a body which belongs to her, but is not her.

So emotions, while capable of affecting body reactions, were part of something more.

The soul.

It was the soul who felt. The soul who was the person. The soul…the mystical element of a wizard's magic core. When she was training with professor Dumbledore, Ginny was not only able to feel emotions, she could cast spells, brew potions, change the world around her.

Magic was not confined to the body. Or to the soul. There was magic in both. And for a wizard, witch or any being capable of generating their own magic. It was the symbiotic relationship between body and soul. Vessel and Spiritual being. That was the source, the core, of their power.

That was the reason that people could sometimes call on an extra bit of energy, an extra bit of will, and in the case of magic users, an extra bit of magic, when the body had no more to give.

When vessel and soul are suddenly separated, the usual result was death. In fact that was nature of the Killing Curse. In its original form the spell was a method of exorcism. The intent to separate the attacking spirit from the body and soul of the victim. Until someone used it with a darker intent. Over time, its original purpose was forgotten and only the Unforgivable was left.

Souls were constantly evolving, changing with time and experience. This usually was reflected on the body it inhabited, just like emotions affected the body. Love could make your heart beat faster, grief could make you feel physical pain, anger and lust could make you feel as if you were burning inside.

Souls never stop changing…not even after death.

So, what would happen if body and soul were reunited again? The body does not change on its own. So what kind of consequences would the reunion, of the same body and a changed soul, have? Very few people in the world had been through something like that. Perhaps the only alive ones in the world were living in the same house at the moment.

The result of said reunion, had definitely taken its toll on Buffy. Even now after everything that happened since her resurrection, the slayer was feeling the effects of the change in her soul. The fact that she didn't remember what happened after her death, other than the feeling of happiness and peace, only helped her confused feelings grow. And even as she got better, her body would probably die again before it completely adapted to her soul again.

As for Ginny.

Well she had a headache. An increasing, mind numbing, sleep preventing, makes-you-wanna-kill-yourself-to-stop-it, headache.

And considering what's been happening around here in the last weeks, it was a wonder her head hadn't exploded literally. She was so tired. Funny because she missed a lot by sleeping the days away and only waking up to eat or use the loo. Can anyone blame her? She was mentally exhausted from training nonstop for years…physically exhausted from her body's temporary death…Not to mention the drain on her body from adapting to the changes and increased magical power of her soul.

The girls helped her catch up with what had been going on. There was a new girl. Amanda. They had all thought Dawn was a potential but Amanda had been behind the door when the smelly spell hit Dawn by accident. Buffy and Spike had taken the other girls slaying. And other than the awesomeness of getting to slay a vamp. Vi had told her there was a moment when Buffy ended up on top of Spike and he seemed to be sulking a lot since then.

He'd been affected by their nearness, but Buffy didn't seem to even notice. She just seemed distracted, which kind of made him sulk even more.

Buffy had been distracted since before Ginny lost the battle with sleep a week ago. And the witchy potential had a feeling it was because of their last conversation. She wasn't sure how to feel about that. On one hand that distraction could be dangerous, if the blonde slayer was distracted at the wrong time. On the other hand whatever Buffy had been thinking about appeared to be helping her come to terms with some of her feelings, that the last time she'd seen Buffy's aura, were extremely conflicting and on the verge of creating a wall to hide behind.

It made Ginny even more confused…and it sure as hell didn't help with the exhaustion or the increasing headache.

She dismissed the thoughts for now. Her body wasn't coping well with the return of her soul, at least, not on its own. She knew it would be difficult to completely recover from this. Impossible if Dumbledore was right, but at least she could, with time and maybe a few potions, get better enough to function normally…or as close as possible. Ginny foresaw quite a few cases of magical exhaustion in her future.

And apparently lots of coffee.

According to Xander coffee made redheaded witches hyper. 'As it turns out he was absolutely right.' The scoobies had been trying to keep her awake for more than a few minutes. But nothing worked. It seems that once you get used to the supernatural, it gets harder to think of the normal, everyday solutions. It wasn't until a couple of days ago that Vi and Chloe had enough and practically shoved the coffee down her throat that they made some progress.

She may never drink tea again now that she has tasted the black nectar of the Gods. And it'll probably be the only thing to keep her going while she procured the potions ingredients she needed.

She'll have to talk to Willow about that after she makes sure no one drinks her coffee. It shouldn't be hard the way she's glaring at anyone who dares getting close to the coffee pot.

"I think everyone got the message, you know." Dawn said from the table.

"Huh?" Yup, that was the best Ginny could come up with. She felt like a zombie at the moment. Better get Willow to take her shopping for those ingredients after breakfast.

"Coffee good. People bad." Vi giggled.

Chloe smiled shyly. "Andrew ran away crying when you glared at him. "

"A few of the girls did too." Dawn snorted. "Maybe you should just eat. I doubt anyone will try to get coffee now."

Well, she was kind of hungry. And looking at her cold breakfast, she noticed Arnold munching at her bread.

"Or I could let Arnold have it…" Ginny said while sipping on her coffee. "I'll just eat out…So who wants to go shopping?"

Dawn had to go to school, but Chloe and Vi, after much begging on Ginny's part, accompanied her and Willow to town to a small magic shop not far from the High School. It wasn't as big as the Magic Box, but since that had being destroyed…and they were running out of supplies at the house, it would have to do.

"Willow?" Asked the owner when they entered the shop. She seemed to be packing her things. "Did you need something?"

"Mel, hi!" Willow said looking around. "Uh…you're leaving?"

The small Asian woman nodded. "Yeah. Grandmother is having trouble controlling her visions." She shook her head. "There's just too much dark energy in this town, even for the Hellmouth. It's been getting worse lately and if I don't get her out of town soon, she'll go mad. "

"Oh Goddess! It's that bad?" Willow was worried. Mel's grandmother was a powerful seer. Willow and Tara sometimes came to see her to get a more accurate reading when theirs wasn't clear enough. The woman was very sensitive to external energies, but her training allowed her to live on the Hellmouth without much problem. If she had to leave then things were worse than the scoobies had thought.

"Yes. She says a great force of Evil is around. And it keeps getting more and more powerful." The girl said. "It leaves Sunnydale sometimes …that's usually when Grandma goes back to normal, but then it starts again."

Willow became alarmed. And Ginny who had been paying attention to the conversation couldn't blame her. The First Evil had been leaving town? Why? Wasn't what it wanted on the Hellmouth?

The shopping trip just turned into something more.

And her Headache was getting worse.

Vi and Chloe were checking out some weapons by one of the counters and not really paying much attention to them. Ginny and Willow looked at each other. "How many times has this Evil force left?" Ginny asked turning to the woman.

"Five times in the last couple of weeks…it didn't leave much before that." Mel looked from Ginny to Willow. "You know something don't you? You know what it is?"

The two redhead exchanged glances. It couldn't hurt, could it?

"It's an ancient Higher Being…it's called the First Evil…

The store owner's eyes widened.

"The First!? Are you sure?"

"You know about it?" Willow asked concerned.

Mel shook her head. "Not really…just that it exists. And that you should keep born seers away from it. No wonder Grandmother is so sick…If you knew it's the First then the Slayer is trying to stop its plans right?" The woman had stopped packing and put on her coat. "Take whatever you need to help her from the shop, there are descriptions on everything and don't worry about paying…I have to go, if it's really the First evil I don't have time to pack I need to get grandma out of here right now!"

The witches gaped as the girl grabbed her purse and ran out of the store.

Vi and Chloe walked back to them carrying a couple of glowing bracelets.

"Hey check these out! Huh? Where did the girl go?"

The revelation that Ginny was alive had lifted the Weasley's spirits very little. While their daughter and sister lived, the fact was that for a while she had died.

She was hurt.

She was hurt somewhere and they still didn't have a clue of where she was. The Burrow had been placed under a Fidelius charm, when the Order realised there was no way of getting Harry to return to Privet Drive again, and the surprise visit by the Minister. Harry, Hermione and Ron had spent the last week whispering among them. Bill and Fleur postponed their wedding.

The order kept looking for Ginny, but not many of them were able to keep the search for Ginny. They were busy keeping track of Voldemort's followers hoping to figure out his next move. There had been an increment in their activities recently and the Order was stretched thin. Little did they know that the increase in Order member sightings was the reason Voldemort sped up his plans.

A few days ago, the Minister of magic showed up at the Burrow.

Today he was dead; the Ministry in Voldemort's hands and Harry, Ron and Hermione had vanished.

The rest of the Weasley's were trying to keep Molly from sinking into a depression.

They hadn't been very successful so far.

She sat in the kitchen eyes fixed on the clock, while the rest of her family watched her helplessly, not knowing what to do.

She suddenly burst in tears, and dropped to the ground hands reaching towards the clock. "I'm sorry, please come back. I'm sorry!"

"Mum!" "Molly!"

Her sons and husband rushed to her side. They met each other's eyes. Something was very wrong with her.

"Ginny" smiled mockingly at Molly from her spot next to the clock.

AN: To all the Weasley lovers out there…Sorry? Please don't hate me? That also goes to Spike's fans 'cuz he was supposed to show up in this chapter but his scene got cut as it didn't fit with the rest of chapter. Sorry?

I'll try to fix it next chapter.

Also Faith? Think she should come back sooner? She'll definitely be informed about the First before she is attacked, but I'm not sure if she should stay in prison until Wesley breaks her out or breakout earlier with whoever goes tell her what's been going on…ugh now I'm the one with the headache.

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