Accidentally Magical, or

Xander Harris and the Brand New Start

by KJ Dekker aka RockyD

Rating: PG-14 (nothing worse than the source materials)

Disclaimer: The characters do not belong to me, the Buffy ones belong to Joss Whedon and Co. while Harry Potter and friends are property of J.K. Rowling. The only thing I lay claim to is the excruciating torture I put them through... and I'm sure they love me for it.

Author's Note: Another chapter earlier than I planned. Due to some feedback from readers, I wanted to make adjustments to prior chapters (including the magic used in the first one), and didn't know if it would trip the "story updated" alert for those who have it. So I wanted to at least make the action worth it, although it happens to be one of the shorter chapters I've written.

Feedback: Yes, please. Writing is an ever evolving process and your constructive criticism can be invaluable to a rusty author. Anything you can tell me will be appreciated, even if I'm too introverted to always respond.

Chapter Four: A Mistake Corrected

The group of now five individuals waited rather impatiently outside the door of Giles' apartment. Each was dealing with the wait in their own way. Willow was talking animatedly with Oz, or more accurately at him, about how amazing it would be to be able to have her very own wand to practice magic with.

Oz, for his part, was listening to her every word and expressing himself in his usual single word responses which Willow didn't seem to mind at all. Xander was still across the courtyard, brooding and apparently deep in thought about something.

Buffy was whittling herself a collection of new stakes from what used to be a moderately sized tree outside Giles' front door. She'd apparently gotten annoyed with the wait and used a little too much force when venting her frustration on it. Giles knew he was going to hear about that from his landlord.

Giles himself was leaning against the wall just to the side of his door, trying desperately to ignore the urge for a cigarette he hadn't felt in more years than he could remember. He had no idea how long it would take Miss Granger to consider his case.

He imagined she might have employed the pensieve she had opted not to use in his presence to sort through everything she had learned, but to examine everything could take hours if not days. He simply resigned himself to the fact that he would have to wait until she was ready to announce it.

In the meantime, he decided to follow up on a thought that had crossed his mind earlier. He stood up from the wall and made his way across the courtyard to sit down on the other side of the bench currently occupied by Xander. The boy was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice him sit down. He didn't even respond at first when Giles spoke, "Xander?"

The second time Giles called his name, he finally reacted, "Huh?"

"Xander, I wished to ask how you were doing," Giles stated plainly.

Xander seemed temporarily frozen, as his well-being wasn't something Giles ever seemed to ask about, "I, uh... I'm fine, Giles."

Giles expected this answer, and berated himself for not taking the opportunity to connect with the young man more often, "You do not appear so, if I may say. Something appears to be on your mind, and I would be willing to listen... if you would be willing to talk."

Xander still had a slightly shell shocked look to him, "What's up, Giles? Are they deporting you?"

It was Giles' turn to do a double take, "Good heavens, no, Xander! Whatever gave you that impression?"

Xander looked sheepishly at him, "You're talking to me... and it's not a scolding. That implies you're worried about what that girl in there has to say. I just figured if things went badly, you'd get taken back to England or something."

Giles let out a sigh before speaking, "I don't believe I need to worry about my status here in America, this evaluation is much more to do with Willow's future than it is about me, though I will certainly end up having an effect on the decision. I think I may need to apologize to you, Xander. In my zeal to train Buffy to be a slayer, and Willow to be a witch, I've neglected to take the time to get to know you yourself.

"My concern at the moment comes from the realization that I haven't given you as much time and consolation as I have to both Buffy and Willow. I now wish to try and remedy that in any way I can, and if it comes in the form of acting as your sounding board and offering advice if it is asked of me, then I will do it. I wish to get to know the young man who is so deeply entrenched in the lives of these two extraordinary women."

Xander took several moments to digest this, so long, in fact, that Giles began to think he'd overstepped his bounds. He was startled when Xander finally spoke, barely above a whisper, "Is there something wrong with me, Giles?"

Giles stifled the initial chuckle those words brought about, as they were used by Willow when this whole situation began. Instead, he looked seriously at the young man sitting next to him, "What do you mean, precisely?"

Xander began taking on the look of a little boy lost as he stared far off into the sky, "Everyone I know is getting some sort of superpower, Giles. Buffy is the Slayer and could easily beat up anybody who gets in her way. Willow is a witch who seems to be getting more powerful every day. You're all Watchery with the knowing stuff. Even Oz has something, he's a werewolf.

"Admittedly, I can't really envy him, cause there's times of the month where it can't be all that fun. But he's got a sense of smell that you can't get anything past." He looked at Giles with a look that expressed just how powerless he truly felt, "I'm scared I'm getting left behind."

Giles took it all in and tried to work out a response. It was far more difficult than he was expecting, but he hoped to give the young man some measure of comfort, "Xander, it's true you don't seem to possess any powers in the traditional sense. No super strength, magical capacity, or superior sense of smell... but what you do possess is just as valuable.

"I certainly give you a hard time about it more than I likely should, but your ability to bring levity to nearly any situation, no matter how hopeless, provides us all with a moment of relief we never stop to realize we need."

"Really?" Xander didn't sound too sure.

Giles made eye contact with him and spoke sincerely, "Yes, really. I will do my best to show my appreciation for your humor more often, and I promise that I will try to take out as much time as I can to spend with you, as I do with both Buffy and Willow. I'm rather surprised you haven't brought the subject up with any of us before now."

Xander finally seemed to accept what he'd said, but still shyly ducked his head, "I didn't want to rock the boat. I thought things were good enough the way they were." Giles had to admire the young man's humbleness and persistence to stand by his friends no matter how left out he was feeling. He was then caught off-guard by a desperate sounding, "I don't always want to be just the joke guy."

Before they could continue the conversation any further, Giles' apartment door unlocked and swung open to reveal a haggard looking Hermione. They all could tell she looked markedly different than she had a mere half-hour before. She looked like she hadn't gotten much sleep in days, her makeup appeared to have been worn off, and dried tear streaks could be barely seen across her cheeks.

None of them quite knew what to say, as it was a dramatic change for them all to see. Giles the most so as she had appeared quite together and well-kept when he had exited the room just fifteen minutes prior.

Before any of them could ask her just what had happened, she spoke softly, "By the authority granted to me by the British Minister of Magic, Mr. Shacklebolt, as well as Mr. Ollivander, I agree to assist in the selection of a wand for Miss Willow Rosenberg."