Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy or Harry Potter.

AN: Sorry for such a long delay. This chapter is much smaller than the previous, but I figured ya'll wouldn't mind too much as long as you got something. I am sorry for any mistakes I may have missed. Hopefully they don't make the chapter unreadable.

Thank you for all you reviews. I love hearing from you. They spur my muse to do her job. Thanks to the two readers this week who PM'd me. I hope you enjoy this.

Chapter 5: Connecting

Ginny and Willow woke at nearly the same time the next morning. Partly because Giles was standing over their bed with one hand covering his eyes, while the other was holding his cellphone out toward them. "It's your mother, Willow. She seemed quite agitated when I told her you were still sleeping, and insisted that I wake you."

Willow rubbed her eyes sleepily, and then took the phone from him. "Thanks Giles," she mumbled as he left the room, and then put the phone to her ear. Her conversation with Shelia was short, but left a dreadful feeling in Willow's stomach. She closed the flip phone and placed it on her bedside table. She rolled over irritably, and screamed into her pillow.

Ginny, who had only caught Willow's side of the short conversation, watched her wife in confusion. She reached over and picked up the cellphone and inspected the device. "Willow," she said softly. "What is this?"

Willow looked up at Ginny, and despite the sour feelings left behind by her mother, she smiled when she saw what her wife was doing. "It's called a cellphone. It's like the phone you saw Buffy use last night, but it doesn't need to be connected to cords to work."

"Then how does it work?"

"Um…" Willow thought about a simply way to explain it to Ginny. "Do you know what a radio is?"

"Yeah. We have radio's in the wizarding world," Ginny stated.

"It works like that. A cellphone's signal connects through the radio waves to a tower, and then travels to the other person's phone."

"Fascinating," Ginny said. "How do you power it without magic?"

Willow looked at Ginny in surprise. "With a rechargeable battery. You use magic to power your radios?"

Ginny looked up at Willow. "Yes. What is a battery?"

"Um… It's like a portable box of electricity," Willow attempted to explain.

"Oh. I know what that is," Ginny said excitedly. "Hermione told me all about that. It's what makes your lights work."

"That's right," Willow said. She rolled back over, and smashed her face back into the pillow.

Ginny watched Willow uneasily. "Are you okay?" She was worried that maybe Willow was upset with her questions. "Are you upset with my questions?"

Willow jerked her head up at the hesitance in Ginny's voice. "No. Not at all. I'm just as curious about your world, as you are of mine. It's just my mother. She was just calling to tell me that her and my dad won't be back for my birthday."

A heavy feeling settled on Ginny's chest. "Do they do that a lot?"

"Yeah," Willow sighed. "I don't remember the last birthday we've celebrated together."

Ginny laid her hand on Willow's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I'm really sorry Willow."

Willow smiled softly as Ginny. "Thanks. So, when do you think your parents will show up?"

Ginny shrugged her shoulders, and then turned onto her back. She stared up at the ceiling as dread filled her chest. "It could be in an hour, or it could be in a couple of days. It just depends on how quickly they can procure a portkey. Personally, I'm hoping for a couple of days. Maybe by then, my mum will have calmed down a bit."

Willow rolled onto her side, propping her head on her hand. "What's going to happen when they get here?"

Ginny rolled to mirror her wife's position. "A lot of yelling. A lot! And then maybe there will be a lot of crying, and hugging."

"Well that's good to know, but I was asking more about what is going to happen with us when they get here- with us."

"I don't know," Ginny admitted. "I only know the very base of the marriage law. Nobody I know has ever up and married an sorta-muggle from another country in an overnight chapel. In fact, nobody I know has even filed for divorce. Mum swears it's because of the law. It makes people think more about the decision to marry."

"Is it unheard of to divorce?"

"No," Ginny replied. "A couple of my friend's parents are divorced. It happens, but not very often. I think it's because of the wars. So many lives have been lost. It makes you more appreciative of the ones you have left. Of course, the same might not be said for Americans. They could do things entirely different here."

"Except for the three-year law. Cause that's universal, right?"

"Yeah. That one is universal," Ginny sighed. "I'm really sorry about all this."

Willow smiled at Ginny softly, and grasped Ginny's free hand in hers. "You weren't alone in this. I was there too, and it's not like I was resisting."

Ginny groaned, and flopped backwards. "What are we going to do if we can't annul the marriage? I still have two years of school left, thanks to McGonagall, and it's not like I can bring my wife to school with me."

Willow giggled. "It would make for some pretty juicy gossip."

Ginny snorted. "Well, something to look forward to then." She glanced at Willow, and allowed herself a moment of quiet contemplation. Visions of Willow sitting in the Gryffindor common room, surrendered by her friends filled her mind. A soft smile adorning her lips, and brilliant green eyes shining with excitement as she reads through Ginny's school books.

She could already tell that her wife was book smart like Hermione. Willow's eyes light up with curiosity every time she says anything magic, and where she comes from. She knew in her heart that Willow would fit in at Hogwarts quite well.

There was little chance of her returning to Hogwarts to complete her schooling. There were other options however. Ones that could potentially keep her in Sunnydale, if that is what Willow wanted to do. She couldn't deny that she was just as curious about the muggle world as Willow is about the magical world. It would be an adjustment, but she was sure she could do it.

"What would we do if we stayed here in Sunnydale?" Ginny asked.

Willow looked at Ginny in surprise. "You would do that?"

Ginny turned on her side again. "It's the least I can do. You went into this without all the information. It would be unfair of me to drag you away from your life."

"I appreciate the thought, but it would be equally unfair if I forced you to stay here when you still have schooling left."

"Then tell me what you would be doing if I wasn't here."

"I start college in a few weeks. I'll be moving into the dorms, doing the whole college thing. Helping Buffy out when she needs me."

"And this is something you look forward too?"

"Yeah. It is. It's kind of my reward for surviving the last two and half years at Sunnydale. We've been through so much. We've lost so many people. It's nice to have the option for a future. You know?"

Ginny smiled softly. She knew exactly what Willow meant. "What do you wish to study?"

"Computer science for sure, but I was also considering studying medicine. It would be handy to have a doctor around for when the badness happens. Somebody always ends up getting hurt."

"Healing is a good profession to be in," Ginny replied. "My father was bit by a snake two years ago, and nothing our Healers were doing was closing the wound, so they tried a muggle method called stiches. My mother was not happy when she found out."

"Did they work?"

"Nope. The snake's venom caused the stiches to dissolve," Ginny said. She chuckled, "My dad goes nutters for muggles. He collects anything he can find. They may not have worked, but her had a jolly time watching them in action."

"I can't wait to meet him," Willow smiled.

"Under normal circumstances I would say he's going to love you, but you married his only daughter. He might not like that too much."

"Well I'll just have to win him over with my charm." Willow smirked, and then smiled shyly. "I suppose I should tell you that I was accepted to Oxford."

Ginny eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I don't know what that is."

"It's a school in England. A highly prestigious school. So, if you wished to return to England to finish out your schooling, I wouldn't be opposed."

"Then I suppose we have options," Ginny smiled. She studied Willow for a few moments. The sun was peeking through the bedroom window, casting a heavenly glow over her wife. It was a beautiful sight, one that Ginny didn't want to waste. She leaned forward, and tentatively place her lips upon Willow's.

It was strange to think that the woman she was kissing was her wife. Ginny wished that she could remember what it had been like to be with Willow the night of their wedding. What she had felt emotionally, as well as physically. She supposed it must have felt amazing, considering the simple kiss she was sharing with Willow made her whole body and mind explode in pleasure.

Perhaps that is what it always felt like when you kissed somebody you actually connect with, or perhaps it was a part of the marriage rituals they partook in. Either way, she felt like she could kiss Willow every day, all day long and never get tired of it.

Willow pulled away shyly, giving Ginny a soft smile as she did. "That was nice," she said, and then leaned forward to recapture her wife's lips for a more heated kiss. She rolled Ginny onto her back, and move her leg in between Ginny's thighs. Ginny moved her hands down Willow's back, resting one on her hip and the other on her butt.

Willow gently moved her hand down Ginny's body until her finger tips encountered exposed skin. She smiled into the intense kiss, and gently slid her fingers across Ginny's abdomen, earning a moan from the woman. Feeling bolder then she had ever felt in her life, she slowly slid her figures beneath the hem of Ginny's shirt; teasing her new wife, while simultaneously allowing the woman time to stop her if she chose to.

Ginny pulled Willow closer (if that was even possible), spurring Willow's advance north. Willow's finger tips advanced to the base of Ginny's breast, when her breath hitched. She pulled back, and watched Ginny's face as she moved her hand to cover the mound. Ginny whimper softly at the feeling and unconsciously ground her hips forward against her wife's thigh. Willow was surprised by her wife's movements, but was even more turned on my them. She leaned down again to capture Ginny's lips.

It was at that moment that Giles decided to knock on the door, causing Willow to spring away from Ginny. She had forgotten that they were not alone. She looked at Ginny, who had turned bright red by the interruption.

"Yes?" Willow squeaked.

"I've prepared breakfast if you girls would like some," Giles said awkwardly.

"Okay. Thanks Giles. We'll be out in a few minutes," Willow said as calmly as she could. She listened for Giles' footsteps to fade, and then let out a loud giggle. "I guess that'll teach us to calm of teenage hormones."

Ginny looked at Willow as though she had gone completely nutter on her, and then flopped backwards in relief. After a moment, she too began to laugh. All the strangeness of the last two days caught up with her and it seemed to be presenting itself with laughter.

Willow laid her head on Ginny's shoulder, and wrapped her arm around her waist. "That was nice," she said quietly.

"Yeah. It was," Ginny said. She wrapped her arm around Willow's shoulders, forcing Willow to move her head slightly. "At least we know we connect sexually."

"That is a relief to know," Willow chuckled. "Let's home we connect just as well in every other aspect of our lives, and being married for the next three years will be a cake walk."

"Why would you walk a cake?"

Willow snorted. "I have no idea. It's just a phrase we say."

"Oh. That's a very strange analogy, but I like it. Cake walking the next three years sounds like fun."

Willow snorted again. "Come on. Let's go get our breakfast before it gets cold." She stood up, and offered her hand to Ginny, who accepted it with a soft smile. Yeah, she could see herself connecting with Willow very well.