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It was morning at Sunnydale High School, and all of the students where running around the halls to get to their classes and complaining of the many tests they had that day. The only peaceful place in the school was the library. No one ever went in there, especially since a girl had been murdered there. The only people that would go into the library were there. It was just like old times when Buffy returned. Willow and Buffy gossiped, and Xander and Cordelia stood there throwing insults back and forth to one another. As the gang did all of this, Giles sat in his office studying The Return of Droscult. If only he had the diaries of the early watcher who defeated Droscult.
“You dreamed about Angel?” Willow asked half surprised and half excited. “What was it about?”
“He said that he loved me, and something about Droscult, but I don’t know what it was. Angelus also killed him.”
“Oh…but it was just a dream right? I mean Angelus didn’t really kill Angel. Did he?”
“Well, he sort of did when Angel was changed. The thing that puzzles me is what he was trying to say about Droscult. I woke before he could tell me anything. That is if he was going to tell me anything at all.”
“Don’t worry, Giles will find something.”
Buffy smiled at her friend’s optimism. Though it didn’t help a whole lot, it helped a little.
“Buffy!” Cordelia called to her.
“What?”
“You said you were going to ask me something?”
“Oh yeah, I need your help with getting back into school, and I was thinking maybe your dad could pull some strings with the board.”
“That won’t be necessary,” said a man as he walked into the library. He was dressed kind of funny, and he had an accent of a person from the north.
“Whistler?” Buffy asked surprised. “What are you doing here, and why won’t I need Cordelia’s help?”
“Well, you see, I found a spell that can help with two of your situations. It will help with you getting back into school, and it will help everybody forget when Kendra killed. It will clear your name.”
“That’s great! What do we do?” Willow chimed in.
“What you have to do is make a potion of quicksilver, aquafortis, and Eye of Newt.”
Willow remembered that from somewhere. “Isn’t that the potion to find out if someone is a witch?”
“No. There’s no hair in it, and you have to make it in powder form, and then say these words: “Conspirus opulem contorses portunese.”
“Roughly translated, it’s a fancy way of saying memory be gone. After you say those words, you have to say the day and time of the event, and only the people you want to remember the event.”
“That shouldn’t be hard. Thanks Whistler.” Buffy said.
“You’re welcome, and if you’ll excuse me, I have other engagements that I need to attend.”
As he said that, he walked out of the library into the now empty halls.
It was an hour later when the gang had everything ready. Willow had made the potion, and Buffy had written a list of the people she wanted to remember the event. She wished no one had to remember it, but there would be too many questions if they didn’t. She took the powder from Willow, placed it on the floor, and everyone sat around it.
“Shall we begin?” asked Giles.
“Let’s do it.” Buffy began. “Conspirus opulem contorses portunese.” She then said the date and time of Kendra’s murder. After that, she began to recite the list. “Buffy Summers, Willow Rosenburg, AleXander Harris, Cordelia Chase, Rupert Giles, and Joyce Summers.”
There was a flash of light, and then nothing. They just sat in the library. Everything appeared normal, but Buffy would have to test it.
She went out into the hall, and walk around until the bell rang. When the bell rang, students poured out of the classrooms, but no one said anything to her. They didn’t even look at her. Buffy was happy. She could now go on with her school life knowing that everybody still thought she was a freak, but at least they didn’t think she was a murderer.
“It worked!” she exclaimed as she entered the library. “Since it’s done, and school’s over, let’s go Bronzeing!”
“All right! It’s Party Time Buffy. Accept no substitutes!” Xander said in a salesman-like voice.
“How about we meet there at our regular table at, oh, say eight?”
“Will do. Eight o’clock, Bronze, dancing, and fun, fun, fun!!!” Buffy exclaimed. “See you there!”
“Uh….Buffy.” Giles called out to her. “We do have a little problem. Droscult? What are we going to do? I haven’t found anything that can help us.”
“Oh, um, I tell you what we have five hours, right? Here’s what we’ll do. We’ll stay here until eight, research, and then go party.”
“Buffy, you have three days to get ready for this. We need to all the research we can to prepare.. Please give up partying for one night.”
“One night? Giles, I’m the Slayer, this one night might be all I get in a long time.” Buffy pleaded.
“Must I remind you that we could all have a chance of going to Hell, again?”
“Okay, you win, we’ll research until we find something. But…if we find something before eight, can we party?” Buffy asked, giving Giles her little Slayer pout.
“It’s a deal.”
The library was very busy that afternoon. There were people flying all over the place, the buzzing of talk, and the scattering of books all over the table.
“I found it!” Willow yelled. “Here it is. It turns out that they didn’t cast a spell. They used something that held the power of earth. It stood for what the earth was made up of. It says not physical features, but the mental world. We have to show love, loyalty, and friendship.”
“Claddagh!” Buffy said with the hint of an idea.
“Claddagh?” Giles asked. “What’s that?”
“Well, before Angel was changed, the night at the docks, he gave me a ring. It was a token of devotion for his people. The hands stand for friendship, the crown stands for loyalty, and the heart stands for love.”
“Oh, well, since we’ve got that done, we have to figure out how to get it to work. We need a strong power of these three things, and people who represent them. I think we’ve got them all. Here’s what we’ll do.” Giles ordered. “Saturday, we’ll gather around Droscult’s rising place, and we’ll make the circle, and let the power do the rest.”
“So, we’ve got that figured out, and it’s only seven thirty. I have just enough time to go home and change, and then we can Bronze. You guys game?” Buffy asked the rest of them.
“Let’s go!” they all agreed in unison.
They spent the rest of the night partying away. When Buffy got home, she put the Claddagh ring on a chain around her neck and fell asleep.