AN: Quite a turnout for this story. I was hoping it would be a pretty popular fic. Let's all hope for some more support. I always enjoy a good review. Anyway, chapter 3 is here folks! Again, thanks to all of those that have reviewed. It means a lot to know people enjoy my work. So, thanks ya'll!
Chapter 3
The silence from his last statement was getting annoying to say the least. Harry was looking for something to drink but noticed nothing on hand; he shrugged his shoulders, brought his wand out of his holster and with a flick of his wrist…a pot of tea was on the table along with six cups. He calmly walked over, poured himself a cup, and another flick and a comfortable reclining chair appeared. He was on his third sip, when the first person came out of the stupor.
Willow wasn't normally one to break the silence, nor was she very vocal when she was around a complete stranger. But his statement that he could help Oz beyond measure, and then the feats of magic that she could only imagine doing after hours of spell casting with just a simple wave of his wand, put her over the breaking point.
"How did you do that? I can't even attempt that sort of spell without another two people around. Conjuring is one of the most difficult types of magic there is. And can you really help Oz?" Willow asked with a large amount of hope in her eyes and not once did she stutter.
All of her friends were looking at her in admiration, which caused the red headed witch to blush and bury her face in her boyfriend's chest. Oz wrapped his arms around his girlfriend for comfort and also to keep him anchored to reality. If he could believe what Harry was saying, he'd never have to worry about hurting another human being ever again. If he ever got loose while transformed and he hurt someone, he would never be able to forgive himself. Then something that the wizard had stated earlier was brought to the forefront of his mind.
"You said you noticed that I had the symptoms of a person being a werewolf. Have you known other werewolves?" Oz asked, with just a hint of curiosity in his normally expressionless eyes.
Harry looked towards the couple on the couch to answer both of their questions. "To answer the last question first. Yes, I have met several werewolves during my travels and before even. One of my parents' best friends is a werewolf. He has been one since his early childhood. As for the other questions," Harry was saying, while giving a, somewhat, teasing look to Willow, "it has taken me sometime to be able to conjure objects of this size. I also agree with your statement that conjuring is a tough art, but if you have the basics of it learnt in Transfiguration, its not that much harder. As for helping Oz, I wouldn't have brought up the fact that I could if I didn't intend to help him."
"You do know, that the best way to get in my good graces is to help my friends, right?" Buffy asked while giving a small smile to her two friends on the couch. It was nice to see them this happy. In fact, they hadn't looked this happy since they first started seeing each other the previous year.
Harry looked over at the slayer after her, in what he believed to be, rhetorical question. "I had hoped that it would, but I know from first hand experience, that won't satisfy your desire to know more about me and my world. So, I am prepared to take any test that you may formulate to prove my worthiness."
"Now, Buffy, I object to this entire situation. You can't truly believe what he is telling you. Now, I admit the prospect of helping one of your friends with his monthly troubles is very exciting. However, the information the council has on this person's ancestor isn't the greatest of good deeds," at this point, Harry's eyes were narrowing by the second until they were nothing but slits that were aimed as Wesley, "she was a trouble maker that didn't follow any of the council's orders and eventually quit the council and lived her life away from civilization."
As her watcher's explanation finally came to a close, Buffy had made her decision about Harry Potter. If his ancestor acted like that there was only one thing to say to the British teen. "Welcome to the gang, Mr. Potter. I will be more than happy to teach you all that I know. The decision to leave and help you out is still of the not sure nature. But I will give you my answer some time in the future."
Harry smiled at her answer and was nodding along with the rest of her explanation. "That's just fine with me. I can certainly take in the sights and sounds of Sunnydale while I am waiting for that answer. Of course, the training will be involved with that as well, I would assume so?"
Buffy was actually getting ready to leave with her friends and go to the Bronze since it was still so early. "Huh? Oh yeah, yeah, the training will be in there somewhere. I'll even have Giles and Wesley help us out. Won't you guys?" Buffy asked the two older gentlemen with raised eyebrows just begging them to refuse her request.
"Of course Buffy, we'll help any way that we can. We'll get to work on a schedule of sorts to help keep us organized during these stressful times. Now since your patrolling is done for the night, I assume that you lot are heading to the Bronze?" at their nods of agreement, Giles continued, "Alright, I would advise taking Harry to let him experience American teenage culture. Even though it might ruin him for the rest of his life. It is necessary that he experiences all that he can while here on the Hell Mouth, both the good and the bad."
Meanwhile, back at the Mayor's office, Faith was recounting her fight with the stranger and not leaving out any detail whatsoever. She explained, how it was that the stranger seemed to just have appeared out of thin air when she was so close to ending the other slayer's life. After that comment, the Mayor seemed to become a little tense, before it left his body with the breath he exhaled. When Faith was finished, she waited until the mayor had organized his thoughts on the matter before asking one of the more pivotal questions.
"What are we going to do sir?"
At the question, the Mayor lifted his eyes from studying his desktop to the young woman across from him. He noticed that when the question was asked, her voice had a tiny shake to it. It appeared that Faith didn't like the idea that a man had a power that could rival her own, but he wasn't a demon that she could slay. He tried to ease her fears on the matter.
"Don't worry that pretty little head of yours, my dear. We will continue the plan as scheduled. Graduation is in two weeks, and we must be ready for the plan to begin the night before. You know what you need to do for that. Well, I think we should call it a night then, don't you?"
After Faith left, that then left the Mayor to his thoughts. He knew of magic that could transport someone like that which Faith described. He hoped that he was wrong about his assumption. If a wizard were in town, it would make things very difficult. 'Very difficult indeed,' thought the Mayor with a glare directed out the window.
The teens had all gone to the Bronze, to dance and relax their worries and stress away. Harry was actually having a grand time. He had learned to dance since he had left the months previous. He had learned dances from long forgotten rituals, to the modern dances of rock and hip-hop. His teacher was a master of the dance, and she had given him enough of her knowledge, that he would not be embarrassed on the dance floor from now on.
Right then he was dancing to a fast paced song with a bunch of other people in a group. These were some of his favorites, having never really gotten over his fear of slow dances with a single partner. Oh, he could do it and do it well, but he has never been able to feel that intimate reaction one would when dancing with a significant other. He held the hope that one day, he would be able to enjoy and bask in the feelings one would have with that type of dance.
Harry was enjoying the feeling the dance provided for him. It made him forget the war, his training, for just a moment. And in that moment, Harry felt like any other teenager; he was out on the town in a club, mingling with new friends and companions, and just enjoying himself.
As the dance came to an end, Harry himself went up to the bar to get himself something to drink. When he was sipping at his drink, to quench his thirst, his thoughts returned to that of the journey here when things were being explained to him. He had learned about Buffy's past exploits and what she had endured up to this point. He was still in awe of what he had heard for her fist major slay, the Master. He couldn't help but chuckle at the irony of their friendship after he heard that tale, the boy-who-lived and the slayer that died and was brought back to life through resuscitation. He couldn't help but admire her, especially after everything that she has had to endure. Their lives were so similar; it was scary to think about it. She, like himself, didn't let the past dictate the present. She would never forget her experiences, but that would make her that much stronger for it, in the end.
He shook his head, when he remembered the next part of her adventurous life. The way that her friends and herself had described Spike, it sounded a lot like he was a Malfoy, with his sleeked back blonde hair and his unbearable attitude. It sounded like they had one Hell of a time with him and his lover Drusilla. Then everything did go to Hell. When Angel had that one moment of true happiness with Buffy, and his soul was then released back to the afterlife. When he became Angelus and tortured her friends, he couldn't imagine what he would have done in her shoes. When he was trying to destroy the world, Buffy was there to stop him and send him to a Hell dimension; of course, it made it all worse since Buffy had loved him very deeply.
His drink gone, he went back to the bar and had it refilled. His thoughts were now resting on what had transpired this last year. When Faith had arrived, she was actually helping Buffy, rather than fight her, as she was earlier. Then they come upon the information of the Mayor and his Ascension plans. They had tried to stop him at every turn, even though they had hardly any information about the Ascension. It wasn't until Anya had started hanging out with them, that the information started to come. But then, disaster had struck the gang, and Faith had murdered a human. To murder a human, was not allowed for a slayer. Their powers were only supposed to be used against demons, vampires, and all that was evil. To kill a human, was to seal your own fate. After that event, Faith started to become unhinged in a way that she wasn't agreeing with what Buffy and the others were doing. Then she joined forces with the Mayor and began to aid him in his plans. She even attempted to steal Angel's soul, after his return some months previous, to have him become her boyfriend, rather than Buffy's. During that little exploit, the gang gathered most of the information that they had concerning the Mayor's Ascension. The gang also found out about Faith's betrayal and new allegiance. This is when Harry arrived and fought Faith in the cemetery.
He shook his head of the dismal thoughts. He was out relaxing for the first time in months; he didn't need to think about what needed to be done, just for tonight, he'll think about himself. He looked over at the new group of friends that he had made. Xander and Anya were talking about something, with Anya looking puzzled. Cordelia was throwing herself at Wesley, and he had no idea what was going on, here Harry rolled his eyes at his obliviousness. Willow and Oz were on the dance floor enjoying the closeness of their relationship.
He looked towards Buffy, whom was watching her friends as they enjoyed their evening. He knew she was beautiful, how could a person not know? Her blonde hair and petite build, made her that more irresistible. He liked her wit and attitude as well. He knew that she could take care of herself, which was a plus. And since she had a lot of the same experiences as Harry, it was nice to be able to talk with someone about those same instances and the feelings about them. He knew that he probably didn't stand a chance right now, with Buffy still in love with Angel, even though he himself is planning to leave as soon as the Ascension has been dealt with. He would remain her friend, ally, and student for the time being.
Harry was brought from his musings when a polite cough from right in front of him, made his eyes lower to the eyes that held a little amusement from his staring at her. He hadn't realized that Buffy had moved in front of him while he was deep in thought. He offered her a smile and asked what was up.
"It's getting late. So, we need to decide where you are staying while you're here. And…you have yet to explain your story. We've spent the evening going over our lives and adventures. It's your turn now," Buffy said while acting like he hadn't been staring at her for so long. She had noticed his stare right away, and she herself found her eyes lingering on his form, especially his eyes. His eyes, she noticed, held a lot of sorrow and pain. He hadn't yet explained his life to them, but she already knew that he had a troubled past by just his beautiful emerald eyes… 'Stop that!' she thought to herself. 'It's too soon since Angel.'
Harry just nodded at her to show that he understood. He glanced around the club again and noticed that it was starting to empty of the lively crowd. He followed Buffy out of the exit and into the cooler night air. For being in California, it certainly was chilly, Harry noted as he put on his leather jacket. Buffy and Harry met up with the rest of the gang, which was on its way to Buffy's house. Harry said that he would explain his past there, and if Buffy didn't mind, if he could set up his trunk at her place. Of course, she was confused by the inquiry. 'Why does he just want to leave his trunk at my place?' she thought to herself. She shrugged her shoulders when Harry said that he would explain at the house.
When they approached the Summers home, Buffy's mother was outside waiting for her. Joyce normally didn't wait up for Buffy, but she had a feeling that something was different tonight. She was relieved to see the outlines of Buffy and her friends, but then her feelings became reality when she noticed the last member of the group. He didn't look familiar, but he seemed to have the badass persona working for him. With the leather jacket, the untamable hair, and his emerald eyes, Joyce just knew that this boy was trouble from the get go.
"Hi mom! What are you still doing up?" asked Buffy, as the group made their way inside. Joyce's fears were relieved to some degree, as the strange young man just followed the group inside and no one had to invite him in.
"Well Buffy, it's just that tonight you stayed out later than normal. Then when you get home, you bring a stranger into the house. The only plus side is, since no one had to say 'Come on in' he's not a vampire. So…can you introduce me to your new friend?" asked the agitated mother on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Buffy was like a deer in the headlights. She had so much going on tonight, that she forgot to introduce Harry to her mother. "Well…you see…this is Harry. He's a new friend that is on a journey and he stopped to ask for my help in a problem he has back home," the nervous slayer stated to the older woman that had her narrowed eyes on both Harry and Buffy.
"And why would a complete stranger, walk up to you and ask for help? Does he know something about your lifestyle?" asked the mother that was starting to worry for her daughter.
"Ma'am, I assure you that I only came here since my predicament is in dire need of assistance. You see I have a problem with an evil…mad man back home. I need the slayer's skills to help develop my own. Well, this mad man has had me be his main target for quite some time now, and I needed help in learning to defend myself as well as others. You see…oh forget it! I am a wizard that has had a potion that has helped me gain the strength and skills of a slayer. But I need Buffy's help to hone those skills to perfection. I am in the midst of a war back home against a person that has had me on his to kill list since I was one. Any questions?" asked Harry, as he was tired of lying to Buffy's mother. Harry had never been one to lie consistently before, so he figured since Buffy's mother already knew her situation.
Joyce just looked at the teen in front of her like he was crazy. Wizard? Yeah right! She can believe that demons and vampires existed. But magic? Not possible. Her disbelief must have shown in her eyes, because the teen sighed and brought out…a stick? He waved the stick and a snake appeared before her. She leapt back away from it and screamed. She screamed louder when the teen started making hissing noises at it. But it appeared the snake understood the noises and actually started to behave very strangely. It was bowing…yes bowing to each individual in the room like the teen was introducing it or something. When the snake had finished with everyone, another wave of the stick and the snake disappeared.
When the teen and the entire group turned to Buffy's mother. They were surprised to hear a thump on the ground. Joyce apparently couldn't handle what she was being shown. "Well, she asked for it by not believing me. But maybe the parseltongue act was a little too much," stated Harry as he rubbed the back of his head and chuckled nervously.
The ending to this chapter was brought to you by…my creative genius! Nah just thought it'd be funny. Anyway, I love to get reviews from my readers, so…please review!
