Racing With Destiny: Chapter 22
by Lisette

Legalese: See Chapter 1 for disclaimers and ratings.

"... though lovers be lost, love shall not and death shall have no dominion."
-Anonymous-

BANG!

"Oh dear," Dumbledore sighed as yet another cushion exploded in a cloud of feathers, liberally spraying his office in wisps of white - and only adding to the mess that already dotted the wooden floor. Shaking his head, his crinkled blue eyes settled on the student that sat before him, his face growing red as the sound of a girl's soft muffled laughter echoed in the room.

"I'm sorry, Professor Dumbledore, I-"

Shaking his head once more, the aging headmaster cut off Harry's stumbled apology as he lifted his wand and fixed the two cushions with a flick of his wand, andn then sent a piercing glare in Buffy's direction, instantly quieting the girl as she tried to cover her laughter behind a few forced coughs. And as Harry glared at his friend, Dumbledore had to hold back his own soft chuckles. If their actions weren't so important to the wizarding world, their success too pertinent to the survival of so many, it would indeed have been an amusing sight. Unfortunately, their actions were important, and failures such as these were not to be laughed at.

As a very unladylike snort followed by the slayer's smothered mirth drifted towards them from her corner, Dumbledore realized the futility of his own thoughts. For the past two months he, Harry and Buffy had met for a few hours each night, starting first with mastering the art of concentration before beginning with the drawing of inner power and changing that into the art of wandless magic. Usually, wandless magic, the most difficult form of magic, was something that took years to perfect and master - decades even. Yet in the span of just a few weeks, young Harry Potter had been able to fly through even the most difficult of spells - spells that were all completed with neither words nor the insulation of his wand. The boy had great power, without doubt - a power of which Harry was now only beginning to understand the depth and magnitude. With that power he was able to make even the most difficult of tasks seem effortless. The only difference between a simple spell and a more treacherous one was the amount of magic that it required. When you were young, such as Harry, and had such vast amounts of untapped, raw power, even the most demanding of spells would barely wind the boy, draining him little. However, even that power fell short when the lad's concentration was lacking - something that occurred all too often.

Dumbledore slowly shook his head as he lowered his aching bones into a nearby chair, his chin resting on one hand. By the time that one reached an age such as his, concentration and focusing one's mind was something that came easily after decades of time and experience. However, in one so young as Harry - it was the most difficult aspect of wandless magic. No one would ever claim that the younger generation was without focus, but in a mind so young, distractions were too easy to find and the concentration that was needed for such powerful magic was sorely lacking. In the case of Harry, the headmaster was only too well aware of one source of constant distraction for the boy - a distraction by the name of Buffy Summers. Then again, he hadn't been able to defeat Grindewald nor become Headmaster of the most prestigious wizarding school in England by being daft. Even if he were to send the slayer from the room during the sessions, he would be doing his student more of a disfavor than in serving him right. For while the boy's attention and concentration would definitely increase, Harry would still be at a loss in an actual battle. Dumbledore seriously doubted in the likelihood that Lord Voldemort would simply stand still and wait for Harry to gather his wandering thoughts before dueling. Instead, Harry needed to learn to harness his power and focus in the face of distraction - even if that distraction came in the form of a small slayer whose own power caused the air around her to crackle with energy.

Shaking away the thought, Dumbledore returned his attention to the young man that sat before him, looking so disappointed in himself that it was almost comical. Dinner had ended hours ago and while the rest of his friends and classmates were no doubt buried in texts, studying for the impending NEWTs, Harry had begged off, as always, in order to devote his free time to these sessions. Sessions that were getting them no where this night - a thought that sent cold chills racing along his spine. Harry needed that concentration or else he would fail, and in turn, they would all fail.

"I'm rather thinking that we should try a different approach tonight," Dumbledore finally stated, his voice grave as his blue eyes turned until they locked on the small blonde who sat in the corner of his office, a large book lying unopened in her lap and the dying sun's rays casting her in a bloody light from his stained glass windows. For the past two months he had been directing Harry to force his concentration on idle objects - to focus on the mundane while his attention tried to draw him to what his mind considered more pertinent matters. Perhaps that was a backwards approach to the issue. When in a fight against the Dark Lord, the things that would occupy his mind the most would be the fight that he was engaging upon. In that regard, perhaps the best way to show Harry how to use his power was to have him focus on that which drew his attention most. "Miss Summers, if you would please join us?"

Obviously confused, Buffy's smirk faded just as quickly as it had come as she reluctantly stood from her chair, placing her heavy book on the seat behind her. Turning, she glared once at Harry for somehow getting her in trouble before moving towards the two chairs, watching as both Harry and Dumbledore stood at her approach. At least Harry's expression mirrored her own confusion as he raised a hand to run it through his unruly black hair. But as she drew beside them both, Dumbledore was already moving off to the side, his soft hands gripping her bare shoulders and turning her until she was standing face to face with Harry, his green eyes looking down at her curiously before turning to the headmaster.

"Professor?" he asked, his voice showing his confusion as his eyes drifted over to the headmaster who was eyeing the two with a critical gaze.

Harry had grown in his years at Hogwarts, tall and slender, just as his father had been in his youth. The white shirt sleeves of his dress shirt had been rolled up to reveal his tanned, toned arms from years of quidditch playing with his chin falling just above the top of Buffy's golden head. The slayer, slender and brown from hours in the sun, wore a pair of tan colored pants that hugged her hips before falling loosely around her legs for ease of movement, while her snug black tank left her arms free and unencumbered, with her long blonde hair pulled back in a messy bun that left wisps of hair to frame her face. Together, the two made a striking couple. But what not many were able to see or feel was the energy that crackled from them both when alone - and that intensified when together - almost blending in harmony. A fact that puzzled the headmaster, seeing as how different their magicks were.

Frowning softly, Dumbledore slowly stepped back and then leaned against the edge of his desk, his wizened blue eyes never straying from the two teens. "Harry, I will release you from your lesson early tonight on one condition," he stated, his voice causing both heads to turn in his direction. "I would like for you to focus on that which has drawn your attention all night," he began, waving towards the girl that stood opposite him and enjoying the way that both flushed at his words, "and perform some sort of corresponding wandless magic."

"Professor?"

"Do whatever your heart desires most," he expanded, eyes twinkling as Harry looked at him quizzically.

Rolling his eyes at the headmaster's knowing smile, Harry turned his attention back to the girl that stood before him, his eyes drifting down until they rested upon her face. As Buffy lifted her chin, a small, playful smile pulling at her lips, Harry's eyes met her own. The headmaster was right, as always, for Buffy had been the matter that had been weighing most on his mind. In the past few months his feelings for her had grown until she felt like an extended part of himself - almost like he had been missing something for his entire life. They were rarely apart and when they were, he found his mind constantly occupied with thoughts of her... of her smile, of her eyes, and of her heart. He never had to guard his words around her for there was nothing that he felt he couldn't share with her.

"Surprise me," Dumbledore added, forcing Harry's mind back on track once again.

Do something with his magic, whatever his heart wanted most. Smiling softly, Harry knew instantly what he wanted most, but it was something that his magic couldn't do. It was something that he had never tried before, and as he focused his thoughts around the simple request, he could feel Hogwarts' barriers and magical wards pushing away his efforts. He didn't need Hermione to recite from Hogwarts: A History to remind him that such actions were impossible in the castle - impossible for wizarding magic.

Puzzled by that realization, Harry's frown pulled at his features as he looked down into Buffy's green eyes. Even now he could feel her power rolling off of her in waves. The power of the slayer. Everyone knew that slayers were magical creatures, and Buffy herself had talked about the strong magic that made up the core of her being - the magic of the slayer that enabled her to move so fast, fight so well, and heal so quickly. But that magic was different than wizarding magic - a difference that allowed her to ignore their wizarding laws and have their magic pass powerlessly over her form. The magical rules that governed Hogwarts most likely didn't fall to her - couldn't fall to her except in the most elemental of ways.

Tentatively, Harry reached out with a part of himself that he wasn't consciously aware of, feeling himself mix with the magic that was so foreign that he couldn't describe it. And as Buffy's eyes widened at the touch of him - of what made up his magic - Harry knew that she felt it to. Buffy's magic couldn't be harnessed and controlled like wizarding magic - and it didn't seem that she could draw upon it to change the world around her, as wizards and witches could... but Harry could feel it at the tips of his invisible fingers. He could feel that if the knowledge was there, perhaps her magic could be harnessed. But it wasn't something that a wizard, no matter how powerful, could do on his own. Instead, he needed the slayer's help and more importantly, her permission. Harry knew all of this without knowing how. It was as though he sensed it on the most primal, basic level, and as his eyes met hers, Harry knew that she understood his unasked question.

In an act that quelled so many of Harry's fears about her, he felt Buffy open herself to him in a way that went beyond the sharing of one's inner-most thoughts. For Buffy allowed him into her core and the immense, raw power that he felt there nearly caused him to stagger back and away from the small slip of a girl. As it was, Harry felt sweat bead on his forehead as his jaw clenched, his eyes locked with hers as he forced his will around the power that emanated from her form. And then, as he grasped onto just the smallest portion of that power and drew it into himself, Harry Potter did the possible.

He apparated.

Even more importantly. They apparated.

Surprised, Dumbledore remained where he was standing for a few moments in the dead silence of his office, his eyes rooted to the place where so much had transpired that he was still trying to wrap his mind around it. "Well, now.. that was certainly unexpected," he murmured, blinking slowly before slowly shrugging and moving towards his desk. He had a school and a resistance to run, after all.

With a loud pop Buffy stumbled before strong hands reached out and grabbed her shoulders, steadying her on her wobbly feet. Blinking, the small slayer focused on Harry standing before her, and then turned to take in the fact that instead of the headmaster's office, the couple now stood in the middle of an unfamiliar circular room with three large beds surrounding them. "Okay... what just happened?" Buffy asked, eyes drifting until they were locked with Harry's, smiling when faced with his obvious elation despite the sudden weakness she felt.

"Buffy, we just apparated!" he cried, his voice echoing in the bedchamber as he dumbly shook his head.

"But... how?" she murmured, more confused then ever. "I... I thought that you couldn't apparate."

"I can't," Harry returned, grinning stupidly as he impulsively pulled her close in a quick, fierce hug before pulling back once more. "You're not supposed to apparate without a license, and I can't get my license until I graduate. And besides, no one can apparate in Hogwarts because of the magical barriers in place. And you definitely can't apparate you because our magic doesn't work on you," he babbled, his words falling short only when Buffy silenced him with a finger against his lips.

"Then how did we just apparate?" she asked, feeling like she should know but too confused to put the pieces together.

"I don't know," Harry admitted, unable to force the grin from his face. "I just knew that I didn't want to be in his office anymore, and that I wanted us here," he said, gesturing to the room around them, "but that I couldn't make us go. But then I felt your magic and it was so different, but you let me in somehow and let me take some of it and then we-"

"Apparated," Buffy sighed, finishing his sentence for him as everything began to make sense. She had sensed his request without actually knowing what he was asking. It had been so weird because she had felt Harry more than ever, felt him at the edges of her and while she didn't know what he was doing, she felt his unspoken request. And even though she hadn't known what he wanted, she knew that she could trust Harry and in that moment, something had fallen and then she had felt him inside of her, taking something of her... and evidently bringing them here. It explained the weakness, even though Harry didn't seem to understand what that had meant for her when he took that something. However, it did not explain everything. Like for instance... "Where's here?" she asked, pulling away to take in the room in which they were standing, decorated in the red and yellows of the Gryffindor common room.

"Oh," Harry mumbled, finally coming back to himself as he, too, glanced around. "This is the 7th year dorms," he said, waving his hand distractedly.

"The 7th year - oh," Buffy said, her voice dying as her mouth lifted in a slow, sly smile. "So... let me get this straight," she said, her voice turning coy as she turned back to Harry and stepped close so that they were mimicking their position of only minutes earlier - only this time, it was just that much different as Buffy tilted her head back and lifted her eyes to his. "Old Dumbledore told you to do 'whatever your heart desired most' and since you didn't want to be there... you went poof and brought us to your bedroom?" she asked, arching a fine brow at him as his face began to turn red in a way that she absolutely adored.

"Not exactly how I was going to put it," he returned, a wry smile lifting his lips as he gently lifted one hand and used it to cup her chin, his other wrapping around her small waist. "Apparating here was just a means to get what my heart desired most," he continued as Buffy's eyes fluttered closed as his head tilted down, his lips pressing softly against hers. Sighing against her lips, Harry belatedly realized that this was his first kiss - and that it was so much better than he ever could have imagined it. Yet even as this thought flitted through his mind, the rest of him was registering the fact that Buffy now had her arms snaked around his shoulders, her fingers curling through his hair and pulling his mouth closer to hers, her lips parting and her small tongue darting into his mouth. Heaven. Harry Potter was officially in-

"Wait," Buffy murmured, interrupting Harry's dazed musings as she quickly pulled away, her arms wrapping reflexively around her middle as her eyes drifted to the stone floor.

"Nhuh - what?" Harry asked, shaking his head slightly to clear it and turning his confused eyes to the small girl that had quite effectively stolen his heart. The one that he had been kissing quite madly until she had pulled away in seeming protest. As that realization stole in, Harry felt his pounding heart slowly still until his sorrowful eyes locked on her downcast face. While it was true that it had been his first kiss, Harry was pretty sure that Buffy was returning it just as much as he was giving it - which begged the question of what went wrong. "Buffy?" he asked, his voice betraying his insecurities as he clumsily took a step back, his insides twisting as he felt his heart breaking. "I - I-I'm sorry," he stuttered, about to turn away when Buffy quickly lifted her head, her green eyes glimmering with unshed tears as she quickly shook her head.

"Don't. Don't apologize," she whispered as she crossed the distance to him, gently taking his hand in her own. "I just... I.." she murmured, trying and failing to find words to explain the fear that had claimed her. At first the kiss had been beautiful and wonderful and everything that she had been secretly hoping for, for so long... but then unwittingly her thoughts had turned quite quickly and sharply back to the man that she had vowed to love for eternity. To the vampire with a soul that had left her over a year ago, never to be heard from again. "You see... I... Angel was," she began, fumbling for words as Harry's worries faded into confusion.

"Buffy, I-"

Stilling his words with a well placed finger against the lips she had just been kissing, Buffy quickly shook her head, silently asking him for a moment to collect her thoughts. She cast her eyes to the ground before lifting them once again. "I know that this is probably the worst time ever to mention it," she began, smiling ruefully at her words, "but I was in a pretty serious relationship for a long time and this... this is the first time that I've done anything at all with a guy since then," she admitted.

"I'm sorry," Harry quickly whispered, even as a cold feeling began to spread from his heart to encompass his entire body. "I didn't mean to... I thought that..."

"And you thought right," Buffy interrupted, smiling gently as she reached up to direct his own chin until she was meeting his eyes once more. "Harry, I've been wanting to do that for... well, probably since I first laid eyes on you," she admitted, watching as a timid smile lifted his lips. "Angel and I... well, he left over a year ago," she said, trying to shrug the admission away even as she knew the pain was still reflected in her eyes.

"Did... did you love him?" he asked, trying to understand the pain that he saw even though he knew her answer would hurt.

"With my heart and soul," Buffy murmured, knowing it was true even as Harry tried to turn away, Buffy refusing to allow him. "But it wasn't meant to be, and we both knew that," she added, forcing him to stay with her - something that was quite easy, what with her slayer strength. "We had more than our fair share of bumps in the road and in the end, they were too much," she admitted, and as Harry looked at her in confusion, she flashed him a wry smile. "Short version of the long story? I cost him his soul and then sent him to hell to save the world," she deadpanned, her expression the most serious that he had probably ever seen it.

Which was exactly why Harry was so speechless. His first instinct was to laugh at her words, sure that she had intended them as some sort of a joke... but from the expression on her face, he had a sinking feeling that she meant every one of them. He then had to settle for the most intelligent response he could muster that would capture the entirety of his confusion and still manage to ask for more information. "Huh?"

Smiling, Buffy lifted Harry's arms and wrapped them around her so that they were standing face to face... or rather, her face to his chest, but when she tilted her head back and he arched his forward, their foreheads could touch and it was almost like they were in their own world. "Angel is a vampire who was cursed with a soul by a gypsy tribe over a hundred years ago," she murmured. "His demon is known by Angelus and was considered the scourge of Europe - but when his soul was returned to him, Angel was forced to remember every horrible deed his demon had done. For a long time he suffered for Angelus' sins until a balance demon sent Angel to me when I first came to the Hellmouth, when I was only fifteen. He was just supposed to help me in my fight against the nasties, but we fell in love," she admitted, her voice soft as she tightened her arms around his neck, her eyes never leaving his.

"We weren't supposed to, but we did... and it ended up costing us," she admitted, the tears coming to her eyes unbidden. "What we didn't know was that there was a clause to Angel's curse - that if he was able to experience even a moment of perfect happiness, he would lose his soul again. And I... I gave it to him," she murmured, forcing herself not to look away.

"Angelus returned and made our lives hell for months, but no matter what he did, I couldn't bring myself to kill him. Not yet. But by the end... he killed a friend of ours, he tortured Giles and he tried to end the world. I defeated Angelus and saved the world, but it wasn't Angelus that I sent to hell that morning. It was Angel," she admitted, her voice growing even softer as Harry lifted a hand and brushed at the tears that trailed unnoticed down her cheeks.

"I ran away after that and was gone for months, and when I came back Angel was somehow returned to us. But things couldn't be the same between us - not when we knew that I had the power to take his soul away and endanger us all again," she admitted, a self-depreciating smile lifting her lips. "And in the end, Angel did what I couldn't... he left."

"I've been thinking... about our future. And the more I do, the more I feel like us - you and me - being together is unfair to you... You deserve more. You deserve something outside of demons and darkness. You should be with someone who can take you into the light. Someone who can make love to you."

"I don't care about that..."

"Before you know it, you'll want it all. A normal life."

"I'll never have a normal life."

"Right. You'll always be the Slayer. But that's all the more reason why you should have a real relationship instead of this - this freak show... Buffy, you know how much I love you. It kills me to say this... I'm trying to do what's right here. I'm trying to think with my head instead of my heart."

"Heart? You have a heart? It isn't even beating."

"Don't."

"Don't what? Don't love you? I'm sorry. You know what? I didn't know that I got a choice in that. I'm never gonna change. I can't change. I want my life to be with you."

"I don't."

"You don't want to be with me? I can't believe you're breaking up with me. How am I supposed to stay away from you?"

"I'm leaving. After the Ascension. After it's finished with the Mayor and Faith. If we survive, I'll go."

Pulling away from the painful memories, Buffy focused her teary gaze on Harry's beautiful green eyes. "And although it hurt so much at the time... even then I knew that he was right."

"So, that's it?"

"That's it. Assuming we survive this Ascension thing, he's gonna leave town."

"Well, he's a fool. He's just a big, dumb, jerk person, if you ask me..."

"Will, it's okay. You don't have to make him the bad guy."

"But, that's the best friend's job. Vilifying and grousing."

"Usually, yeah. But he's right. I think that maybe in the long run, he's right."

"Yeah. I think he is. I mean, I tried to hope for the best, but... I'm sorry. Must be horrible."

"I think horrible is still coming. Right now, it's worse. Right now, I'm just trying to keep from dying."

"He wanted me to find someone that could take me into the light," she whispered, smiling fondly now at the memories that had plagued her and kept her company during so many dark hours in the Centre. "And I have," she murmured, slowly pulling away and looking at him with as much love as she could possibly muster. And from his soft smile, she saw that it was enough. "And what about you? Have you run any old girlfriends through with a sword and then sent them to hell?" she asked, batting her eyelashes innocently at him.

"There haven't been any old girlfriends to take such drastic measures against," Harry admitted, blushing slightly under Buffy's scrutinizing gaze.

"Well, it certainly can't be for lack of trying on their part," Buffy stated, her tone firm as she grinned impishly at him.

Rolling his eyes at her words, Harry looked down before meeting her emerald gaze once more. "Well, I really did like this girl a few years back," he admitted, a soft rose coloring his cheeks before being dimmed with memories. "Her name was Cho Chang and she was a year ahead of me - the seeker for the Ravenclaw quidditch team - but she liked someone else," he added, his expression going dark. Kill the spare! "That someone was killed by Voldemort because of me at the end of my fourth year," he continued softly, "and I couldn't look at her after that. I couldn't let myself look at anyone like that ever again," he admitted, speaking the words behind his actions aloud for the first time. "It's bad enough being so close to Ron and Hermione, but I know that if I let anyone else in, it's only going to get them killed in the end."

Sighing softly, Buffy did the only thing she could as she pressed herself against Harry's chest, her arms snaking up to wrap around his neck and hold onto him as he had held onto her so many times over the past few months. Sometimes, a simple embrace was worth more than a thousand words - a lesson that he had taught her well in their weeks together. And even though Harry's words were sad to hear, she understood them too well. Those same thoughts had often run through her own head when her own friends came into danger because of her. It was a risk that her loved ones faced just by knowing her. It was a risk that her mother had paid the ultimate price for. "Maybe we're cursed," she murmured, her warm breath fanning against his neck.

Feeling himself shiver at her breath's soft caress, Harry drew back and met her beautiful eyes once more. "Or maybe we were just meant to wait until we found someone who was used to the risk and attracted the danger just as much," he murmured, his voice growing deep as he found his eyes wandering down to her pink lips.

"Or maybe that's just a really bad line," Buffy retorted, smiling despite herself as Harry's eyes met hers.

"Does it matter?" he returned, smiling softly before their lips met. And this time, neither pulled away.