HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSE OF THE HELLMOUTH

CHAPTER 1: HOMECOMING

After defeating the most dangerous Dark Wizard known as Lord Voldemort over a month ago, Harry Potter had decided to try a normal life for once. He had exchanged the large amount of gold he inherited from his parents and godfather into American Muggle currency and transferred it to a bank account in a small town caled Sunnydale, which was located near Los Angeles, California. After a long flight from England to Los Angeles, he Apparated to Sunnydale thanks to a photograph he found on a computer he used to locate the town. Fortunately, the area he appeared in was a park and there weren't many people there so he was safe from exposing himself as a wizard.

A couple of weeks after purchasing a house and furniture, Harry walked through the entrance to a place called The Bronze. From what Harry heard from students at Sunnydale High, The Bronze was the best place for kids to go to unwind. They were right, he thought as he looked around the place. Many students he met at school were dancing, talking or playing pool. Harry took a seat at the bar and ordered a soda. A few students he recognized were talking about Homecoming. "We should get a limo," said a brunette girl. She was quite beautiful, Harry noticed, but her snobbish atttitude reminded him of Pansy Parkinson from Hogwarts and that was a little disconcerting. A redhead girl Harry met on his first day at school named Willow spoke up.

"That sounds fun," she said, "and it is our last homecoming dance, so maybe we should make a big deal of it." Xander Harris, another student that Harry met on the first day of school, joked about taking a public bus to the dance which made the brunette glare at him. A quiet boy named Oz mentioned that they could use his van to get to the dance but the brunette denied it.

"A van?" she scoffed. "The Homecoming Queen doesn't go to the dance in a van. Use your head." Harry chuckled and the brunette turned to him. "Is this funny to you?"

"Honestly," Harry said smiling, "yes, it is." The girl asked why it was so funny, so Harry told her his thoughts. "If I remember correctly, nobody has been elected as Homecoming Queen yet and here you are assuming that you'll be the queen."

The girl glared at him. "Well, loser, you clearly missed the memo. Everyone who has common sense will elect me." Her demeanor changed from snobbish to friendly and introduced herself. "I'm Cordelia Chase. Who are you?"

"Harry Potter," he said casually, "and, I would say it's nice to meet you, but, considering the way you just treated me, I won't say it." The others, excluding Buffy Summers a blonde girl Harry found quite attractive and funny. She was playing with a cookie.

"I take it you're going to Homecoming?" Willow asked him. Harry shrugged and her eyes widened in surprise. "You haven't asked anyone?"

"I really don't know anyone well enough to ask," said Harry, "and it doesn't help that I'm bad at asking girls out." Willow gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "Also, I've never been to a homecoming dance before." He had wanted to ask Buffy to the dance but was too nervous to ask and he knew that she had a boyfriend named Scott. Xander had gone back to the topic of a limo and was talking about splitting the cost to Buffy.

"Um...maybe," she said snapping out of her thoughts. "You know...if I go and all."

"Why wouldn't you go?" Willow asked her. "You already have tickets. Unless you don't have a da..." Willow's sentence was interrupted when Scott appeared. "...ay or two to think about it. We should all think about it." She looked at Harry who shrugged and drank his soda. Cordelia, being as dense as usual, asked if Scott had asked Buffy to the dance or not.

"Thanks, Cordelia," said Buffy embarrassed. "Humiliation's really good for my color."

"Oh," said Scott nervously, "no, I didn't ask." He looked at Buffy and said, "I just assumed that you would think it was corny or something, but I'm in...I mean, you know, if you are, if you want to." Buffy agreed to go with him and Harry sighed knowing that his chances just went down the drain on asking her. "Do you want me to get you another drink?"

"No," said Buffy yawning, "I'm pretty tired. I think I'm gonna call it a night. I'm excited about the dance, though." Harry stood up at the same time she did and followed her out the door to the street.

Harry watched Buffy walk down the street and he decided to head home for the next day, Harry was walking through the school grounds when he saw Scott and Buffy talking. He couldn't help overhear their conversation. "I don't think we should see each other anymore." Scott said. This was a surprise for Harry who stood there dumbfounded. Scott and Buffy got along well, he thought, even though it annoyed him a lot.

"You don't?" Buffy asked taken aback. "When did this happen? Where was I?"

"Before we were going out," Scott said, "you seemed so...full of life, like a force of nature. Now you seem all distracted all the time." Buffy nodded.

"Yeah, I know," she said, "I'm getting better. Honest." She paused and then added, "From now on, you are gonna see a drastic distraction reduction." She giggled at her own words. "'Drastic distraction reduction'. Try saying that ten times fast." Scott didn't react at all to her words. He just apologized and walked away. Buffy stood there watching Scott walk away as Harry approached her. "Hi, Harry."

"I couldn't help but overhear what he said," said Harry embarrassed. "Are you okay?" Buffy shrugged. "Well, I know this is a bad time, but if you want a date to homecoming...I..." he took a few deep breaths as she looked at him. "I'm more than willing to take you."

Buffy grinned. "That's sweet, Harry, but seeing as I just got dumped..." Harry shook his head. "What?"

"I'm not trying to force myself on you or anything, Buffy, but I've been wanting to ask you out for a long time since I first met you and...well, I thought the homecoming dance would be the perfect opportunity to do so." Buffy smiled at him. "So, what do you say?"

"Okay," she said. "I'll go with you, but not as boyfriend and girlfriend...I want to get to know you first, Harry. How about you come over to my place for dinner tonight?"

"Sure," said Harry taking a piece of paper she handed him with her address. "I don't live that far from your house. I'll be there around five." Buffy nodded and walked away. "Congratulations, Harry," he told himself, "you just got yourself a date for a dance. Why couldn't you do this for the Yule Ball?" Laughing at himself, Harry went to his next class before lunch.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Harry was eating his lunch happily and tried very hard not to speak as Cordelia walked through the cafeteria handing out flyers for the other students to consider her for Homecoming Queen. After a few minutes, he finally chose to speak to the snobby girl. "I see you're finally getting the hint that you haven't been elected as Queen, Cordelia," he said conversationally. She groaned and turned to him.

"What is your damage, Potter?" she asked in her usual drawl. "Do you, like, hate me or something?"

"No," Harry answered, "but you seem to think you can receive everything handed to you on a silver platter." She scowled at him. "Have you given a thought that you aren't the center of everyone's universe?" Cordelia ignored him and continued handing out flyers. Buffy came in and sat down with Harry. "Hi, Buffy. What's wrong?"

"Oh, I went up to a teacher I had last year and she didn't remember me at all," said Buffy. "I mean, am I invisible?" She waved her hand in front of Harry who grinned. "Can you see me?" Harry nodded. "At Hemery, I was Prom Princess, I was Fiesta Queen and the cheerleading squad. The yearbook was, like, a story of me." Xander and Willow sat down with them listening to the blonde girl's rant. "Now it's senior year and I'm going to be one crappy picture on one-eighth of one crappy page."

"Uh," said Xander slowly, "no, actually, you're not." Buffy, confused, asked him what he meant. "Well, you, uh, missed the picture-taking."

"When?" Buffy asked, her eyes wide in surprise. "Why?" She looked at Oz next who told her that the pictures were taken the day before.

"Didn't Cordelia tell you?" Willow asked. Buffy's gaze settled on Cordelia who was still handing out flyers.

She walked up to Cordelia, with Harry beside her. Cordelia tried to compliment Buffy's outfit in hope that she would vote for her. "I'm not voiting for you." Buffy said bluntly. "Why didn't you tell me that the yearbook pictures were yesterday?"

"Didn't I?" Cordelia asked. "Oh, I guess I forgot. What's the big?"

"It's just..." Buffy said exhaling, "you could have thought about someone else for thirty seconds, that's all." Cordelia's excuse was that she was too busy to remember and Harry rolled his eyes. "Oh, yeah, campaigning. Rough gig." Cordelia asked what Buffy knew about campaigning for homecoming queen. "Obviously it involves handing out really lame flyers."

"No," the brunette corrected Buffy, "it involves being part of this school and having actual friends." Now Harry was getting angry. His eyes narrowed with anger at her. Buffy was angry as well because what Cordelia had said offended her. "Now, if it was about monsters, blood and innards, then you'd be a shoo-in. I'd like to see you try to win this crown?" Buffy asked if she really wanted to see that and the brunette huffed and walked away.

"Then I will." Buffy told her. Cordelia stopped, turned to face the blonde and asked what she meant. "I'm going to show you how it's done. I'm gonna run for Homecoming Queen and I'm going to win." When Cordelia said that this whole thing was going to be sad, Buffy said, "Sorry, Cordy. You have no idea who you're messing with."

"What? The Slayer?" Cordelia sneered and Harry looked at Buffy completely confused.

"Not the Slayer," Buffy denied. "I'm talking about Buffy. You've awakened the Queen within. And that crown is going to be mine." Harry groaned knowing that something was definitely going to go wrong.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

That evening, Harry stood on the porch at Buffy's house and knocked on the door which opened moments later. Buffy smiled and led him inside the house. "Mom, this is my friend Harry from school. He kindly asked me to go with him to the homecoming dance."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Harry," said Mrs. Summers kindly. "Have a seat. Dinner's about finished." Harry took a seat at the table. "So, you're from England?"

"Yes, Mrs. Summers," he said. "I just moved to Sunnydale a few weeks ago and I'm enjoying it here." He looked at Buffy. "Your daughter has been really kind to me since my first day at school. She's also comptetitive, I've noticed."

"Oh, yes," said Mrs. Summers. "Buffy's always been that way. It was nice of you to ask her to the dance."

Harry blushed. "Yeah, well, I happen to see her boyfriend Scott break up with her and thought I could cheer her up by taking her to the dance since she didn't have a partner." Buffy gave him a grin. "Besides, I've always thought Buffy was nice and funny and..." His blush deepened.

"You thought I was nice, funny and...what?" Buffy asked him. Harry shook his head. "Don't get all shy on me now. You can say it."

"Beautiful," Harry blurted out. Now it was Buffy's turn to blush. "I told you earlier today that I wanted to ask you out before but you had a boyfriend at the time."

"You wanted to ask me out..." Buffy said slowly, "on a date?" Harry nodded. She gave this some thought. "Remember what I said about us going as friends to the homecoming dance?" Harry nodded slowly. "Well, forget I said that. We can try dating but I don't want us to have any secrets." She winked. "I'll tell you my secrets and you tell me yours."

Harry swallowed hard. How was he going to tell her about him being a wizard? He ate his dinner quietly and, when he got home, was worried about destroying the Statute of Secrecy and being arrested and imprisoned for exposing the Wizarding World.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

After a long day, Harry decided to find Buffy and try and tell her his secret hoping that he wouldn't get arrested by Aurors. He found Buffy and Cordelia in a hallway arguing. He figured their argument was about their campaigns for Homecoming Queen and went to try and stop them from doing anything they'd regret.

"This whole trying to be like me thing isn't funny anymore." Cordelia told Buffy."

"I was never trying to be like you and when was it funny?" Buffy snarled.

"I don't see why your pathetic need to recapture your glory days gives you the right to splinter my vote."

Buffy couldn't believe what she was hearing and Harry was feeling the same way. He had never known Buffy to do such a thing. "How can you think it's okay to talk to people like this? Don't you have parents?"

"Yeah," Cordelia retorted, "two of them. Unlike some people." Now Harry was getting furious. How dare Cordelia say such a thing?

"Your brain isn't even connected to your mouth, is it?" Buffy said making Harry slightly chuckle. Cordelia started to walk away, putting her hand on Buffy's shoulder to push her out of the way. Buffy pulled Cordelia's hand off her. "Don't ever do that again." Buffy growled. Xander, who saw this, grabbed Cordelia's arms to hold her back.

Harry stood between the two girls. "Okay, ladies," he said, "let's not say anything we'll regret."

"Crazy freak!" Cordelia shrieked.

"Vapid whore!" Buffy yelled.

"Like that." Harry sighed. "Buffy, let's go somewhere else. Fighting is going to get you nowhere." Xander, still holding Cordelia, agreed.

"What did you call me?" Cordelia growled at Buffy. Before the blonde could answer, Xander pulled Cordelia away leaving Harry and Buffy in the hall.

Harry looked at his new girlfriend and said, "I'm not angry with you for what you went through with Cordelia. I don't like her that much anyway." He gave Buffy a small smile. "I'm heading home to get ready for the dance. Willow and Xander said they have the limo ready for us, so I'll see you later, okay?" Harry gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and walked off.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Harry went through his closet in his bedroom and found a set of dress robes he bought from Diagon Alley before he left for Sunnydale. They were a crimson red color with a white shirt. He wore the red-and-gold tie he used to wear for his school robes back at Hogwarts. Once he was dressed, Harry went outside to wait for the limo that was coming to pick him up. A black stretch limo stopped in front his house with Buffy and Cordelia in the back. He got in and sat between them. Cordelia was holding an orchid. "Why aren't you with Xander, Willow and Oz?" Buffy asked him once the door was closed and they were on their way.

"I told them I'd rather go with you rather than leave you two girls alone," he said casually. After a while, Harry began to notice that they weren't heading to the school. "Uh, sir," he said to the driver, "you're going the wrong way." The driver ignored him and kept driving. Harry had a feeling that something was definitely wrong and he'd needing magic to get out of this. Luckily, he had his wand in a holster in his sleeve. They heard the driver's door slam and the three of them got out of the limo immediately. "Okay, I need you two to stay close to me." Harry said drawing his wand. Both girls were confused. They walked a few feet until Harry noticed a table with a television set and a VCR on it. The screen flickered to life and a dark-skinned man appeared on it.

"Hello, ladies and gentleman," said the man on the screen. "Welcome to SlayerFest '98." Harry was definitely confused now. What the hell was a Slayer and why was he caught up in the middle of this? "What is a SlayerFest, you ask? Well, as in most of life, there is the hunter and the hunted. Can you guess where you three fall? From the beginning of this tape you have exactly thirty seconds..." The man checked his watch and corrected himself. "No...seventeen now...to run for your lives."

"Oh, bloody hell," Harry muttered and grabbed the girls' wrists. "Buffy, can you tell me exactly what that guy meant by 'Slayer'?"

"Well, it's a long story," Buffy said as they ran. "To cut it short, I'm the Chosen One, chosen to battle vampires, demons and all sorts of dark creatures that tend to migrate to Sunnydale. We live on a Hellmouth." Harry groaned. "What's with the stick?"

"That's my wand," he told them. "I'm a wizard." Buffy huffed and stopped. They were in the woods now.

"I have an idea," Cordelia said. "Why don't we just talk to these people? Explain that I'm not a Slayer and then they'll let us go."

"Cordelia," Harry said as he prepared for battle, "I don't think these people want to talk. They're here to kill." Buffy stepped forward and Harry stopped her. "Don't walk there. It's a bear trap." Buffy looked down in surprise. A bear trap lay open. "You fight vampires, right?" She nodded. "Are they immune to fire?"

"Nope. Fire kills them just like a stake to the heart will." She patted her body down and groaned. "Which is something I don't have on me." Harry nodded and held his wand tight in case he needed to set some blood-sucking monsters on fire. "So, Mr. Wizard, do some magic."

"Planning on it," Harry said through clenched teeth, "as soon as some vampires show up." Luckily, Harry got his wish but, unfortunately, the vampire had a shotgun. There was a loud BANG and bullets whizzed past him. "I asked for a bloody vampire not some vampire with a gun!" The vampire stepped forward and got stuck in the bear trap. The gun fell out of its hand making Harry a bit happier now. "Incendio!" The vampire screamed as its body burst into flame and exploded into dust.

"Okay," said Buffy panting, "you definitely are a wizard. Can't you magic us away from here?"

Grinnng, Harry grabbed the girls again and said, "Please don't puke on me," before twisting and they vanished into thin air. Buffy felt as if she were squeezed inside a rubber tube for a few seconds before she gulped in lung-fulls of air. Cordelia, on the other hand, bent over and vomited right on Harry's shoes, which did not help his situation. "I told you not to puke on me."

"Like I can help it?" Cordelia growled as they walked into the gym for the dance. "What the hell did you just do?" Harry shook his head and started to dance with Buffy while she went to Xander.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Harry had a wonderful time at the dance, despite having to clean his shoes. "So," he muttered as he siphoned off the dried vomit with his wand, "that's how Snape felt after McLaggen puked on his shoes. Never again will I do Side-Along Apparition with a snobby prat like Cordelia. Next time she's in trouble with vampires, I'll just leave her there." With that said, he flopped on his bed and passed out after that long night.