Author's
Note: I started writing this as a one-shot but kinda liked the idea
of it going through the season seven arc. Feedback would be
wonderful, just to give me ideas of what storylines would change in
this situation. This is set four years after the last wizarding war,
and two years after *something* happened to change Harry. I'm not
going to do any romance (except the flash-backy kind) because given
the circumstances I doubt Harry would want to be in a relationship,
as for BTVS, the pairings are canon pairings, though I might make
them realize their feelings a little earlier. Harry is a year older
than the scoobies (not a teenager anymore, which scares me). The
story deals with grief, looks at prejudices and contains Drarry
loving. The most explicit sexual content will probably come out of
Anya's mouth, though. (Sorry for the long A/N, but I felt that all
needed to be said)
A not-so-vague Disclaimer: I own neither the
Buffyverse nor the Potterverse. I also don't own the title- It
comes from the chorus of the Ani DiFranco song 'Superhero'.
The vampire he was hunting looked achingly familiar as he talked to a pretty brunette. Though he was older than Draco, older than Draco would ever be, his slicked-back platinum hair and the cocky smile that played across his lips was enough to send Harry back to the old days. He watched the doppelganger knock back another tumbler of whiskey and touch the girl's arm. He was talking to her and she was nodding coyly back at him. When they stood up to go Harry followed them, taking the stake from the inner pocket of his jacket and locking his jaw, psyching himself up for the kill- for the slay, he corrected himself, he wasn't a killer, no matter what the wizarding world had made him out to be.
He trailed them through the streets of the small town, noticing that although the air was filled with the feeling of coming war people seemed to be out in the masses, shopping, eating and laughing with each other. Usually seeing people like this depressed him, made him remember the times before it happened, even times before the war, but at that moment he was solely focussed on getting the vampire and he needed to find a place less crowded to do so. Finally they crossed into a residential street that was almost deserted, the residents probably all out with their loved ones. The vampire led the woman towards a house and the woman followed him. Harry waited a moment before he followed them and became aware of someone watching him. Looking around he saw a petite blonde girl he judged to be about his age watching the house. Was she another victim, one of the ones he had turned, or a disgruntled girlfriend? Harry tried to ignore her as he opened the door, wandlessly reciting the alohomora charm. He would only slay her if he caught her feeding, or if she got in the way.
This vampire was going to be the most important slay of his new life, the most famous and the most dangerous. He had almost lost hope when he had learned that the vampire had stopped leaving bodies a couple of years before, but in the past few weeks, the demon circles had begun to talk about 'the old Spike' being back, and Harry had mad his way into Sunnydale. He had heard other rumours, the more ridiculous being that he had fallen in love with a vampire slayer and now fought for the good side. Harry laughed bitterly thinking about that. There was no good side, there were no real heroes and every bad guy had once been a victim, however willingly he had submitted. As for the slayer rumour, he couldn't believe that people still believed in the myths, still wanted to scare each other and put a mask on the fact that there was more than one demon hunter in the world.
He walked through the house, trying to find them, before he heard a scream from the basement. He ran towards the noise, his fists clenched, and digging wooden splinters into his right palm. When he came to the basement he was met with a strange sight. The vampire had flung the corpse to the floor and, his lips still red from the blood, was talking to himself. Well, not to himself, more like to some invisible person standing in front of him. He seemed to be arguing and repeated the phrase "I don't remember." Before turning around, as if whatever he was talking to him had told him that he was being watched, seeing Harry he stepped back.
"Stay
away, I'm not safe." He said. Eyeing the stake, he added. "I
don't hurt humans anymore."
"The corpse behind you seems to
point in a different direction." Harry quipped as he raised the
stake, preparing himself for a fight.
"Did you kill her?" A
new voice came from the top of the stairs and both Harry and Spike
turned to them. Walking down was the petite blonde. Harry cursed
himself for not hearing her approach before realising something
strange. She was sad about it, she seemed scared of the vampire, no,
not scared of the vampire, more scared of what he had done. She
wasn't a vampire.
"You can go now," she added, nodding to
Harry.
"You don't understand, he's not human." He told
her, squaring his shoulders but not willing to fight in front of a
girl who looked like Hermione.
"I get it, he's a vampire. And
you're what, a rogue demon hunter?" She said, rolling her eyes at
him.
"He doesn't have a soul. He killed a girl. I have to kill
him."
"Someone's really overestimating their own power,"
she said, watching the vampire as if she was anticipating him trying
to escape. "And you haven't gotten the message; it's my job to
do this." Harry raised his eyebrows.
"Someone hired you to
kill him?"
"She's
the slayer," the vampire finally spoke. Harry laughed.
"Great,
another girl who took a folklore course and decided that she was the
latest in a long line of human sacrifices."
"I don't
have time to argue with you. Do you want to fight me, or do you want
to listen?" The girl asked. Harry sighed; he wasn't going to kill
a human. He nodded.
"Spike's been… off lately. But he's
with me." Harry couldn't stop himself from speaking.
"He's
a vampire, and you think you're a slayer… add it up."
"He's
a wizard," the vampire spoke again, staring at them as if he was
trying not to look at the body. "He can just look inside." It was
the girl's term to raise her eyebrows.
"It looks like I'm
not the only myth here." She said. "Go on, wave your wand or
whatever."
"If I do this, will you let me do my job?" He
asked, taking his wand from the inner pocket of his jacket.
"My
job," Buffy muttered but nodded for him to continue.
"Anima
visum," he said, flicking his wand at the vampire's chest in
a vertical motion. At first nothing happened and he gripped the stake
again. Then a silver glow seemed to emanate from his chest. Harry
took a sharp breath. What was he supposed to do to a killer with a
soul? A killer who was obviously out of his mind. When he emerged
from his thoughts he saw that the girl- was she the Slayer?- moving
towards the vampire.
"It's really there." She breathed,
reaching out to touch the light, to touch the vampire. But just as
her hand was about to meet his chest she drew it back sharply as if
burned. She looked at the vampire with hurt in her eyes.
"I know
it doesn't make up for it." The vampire said, softly. It was now
clear that there was something between them, that they both seemed to
care intensely about each other, despite themselves. Harry couldn't
help but judge them, realizing afterwards that he was wrong for doing
so. He was just as bad as everyone back home. Everyone who made him….
He stopped himself from thinking about it and tried to push it to the
back of his mind.
"He was talking to himself before you came
in." Harry addressed the girl. She smiled sadly.
"He's kinda
become known for it." She said, trying (and failing) to sound
upbeat.
"What
are we going to do with him?" He asked.
"'We' aren't
doing anything. I'm taking him away and you're going to go home,
wizard or no wizard." She walked over to the corpse and began to
bury it in the dirt floor of the basement, businesslike. Harry
watched them silently, waiting for them to leave so he could solidify
the ground, not wanting anyone to be able to dig up the body.
"Thanks
for not fighting me." The girl said when she had finished and she
and the vampire were about to leave. He watched them walk up the
stairs before he spoke again.
"Wait, I
know that something's happening and I can help you, I want to help
you." The girl smiled.
"I guess we could use a wizard." She
motioned for him to follow them.
"I'm Buffy."
