Well, here is the next part. I wasn't quite sure how to write this, as it was mostly transitional, but I thought it turned out okay.
Small Spoilers for Star Wars. The obvious spoiler that I believe almost everyone knows.
It occurred to me to put the ages of the characters in here. If I mention one character that is the same age as a group of people, i.e. Sirius, I won't bother to mention the ages of anyone else who was in his year. Also, this is assuming that Harry was born when his parents were twenty and the oldest Weasleys were born when their parents were about that age, maybe older. Yes, this does mean that Mrs. Weasley is ten years older than Sirius, but that makes some sort of sense to me.
Buffy and the Scoobs: 25
Dawn: 20, I'm making her a year older than she is in the show, but her age isn't really important.
Harry and Co.: 15
Mrs. Weasley, Joyce, etc.: 45
MWPP and Snape: 35
Wild: Thank you.
Darksamurai13: I was flattered when you said 'add.' To me it meant that you wanted to see more. My response was meant to be taken as my way of saying that I have done what you want. It was never intended to be insulting and I didn't take your review the wrong way, I thought it was a good review. When I wrote my response, I truly didn't meant for it to sound insulting, I'm sorry if it came across that way.
Vampyr Moon: I'm glad that it's getting better. As of yet, they do not know Buffy is the Slayer. I have an idea of how I want to incorporate the past, but thanks for the suggestion anyway.
WhiteWolf 3: I wish I could say the same, but the hellmouth is pretty much dead. There will be a few extra visitors, though.
Lady Maria: You'll find out, I promise. Unfortunately, some of your questions won't be answered for a while.
Jeanne: You'll find out, I promise.
manticore-gurl071134: Thanks.
Witchy-grrl: Thanks. I'm glad you're liking it even though it doesn't feature Willow. I didn't want to be purposely obscure, but I also didn't want answers to just be thrown out there, too.
Plato: You'll find out, but he doesn't have history with Joyce per se. Considering he's ten years younger than she would be now.
lostgirl: I was hoping it was original.
Lynn: Thank you.
Dina: Thanks. They won't find out for a while yet.
***
It was late afternoon when Buffy woke up. The sun shone through her window and on to her face, making her uncomfortably warm. Grimacing, Buffy sat up, she shouldn't have slept, now she was going to be awake all night, Although, in her line of work, that wasn't normally a problem. It was still nice to have some sort of routine.
Remembering the burgers in the fridge, Buffy realized that she was very hungry. She slowly made her way downstairs to find Ron sitting on the couch, staring at the TV. While this would be considered normal behavior from a fifteen-year-old boy, it wasn't so normal if the TV was off. I suppose I'll need to give him a crash course in muggle-hood.
Pulling out the bag of burgers, she looked towards Ron. "Hungry?"
"I guess." He got up to join her in the kitchen.
"We're not really formal here." Buffy said, passing him a burger. "I normally eat alone, so I don't bother setting the table."
Ron nodded, before opening the wrapping around the burger. Staring at it quizzically, he asked. "This is muggle food?"
"I don't know if there is a magical version, but yes. It's called 'fast food.'" Buffy bit in to her burger, forcing herself not to gag as she smelled the familiar odor. Practically eating them every day while also working surrounded by them was enough to make anyone sick of burgers.
Ron looked at the burger dubiously before taking a bite. Frowning, he chewed for a bit while a slow smile came to his face. "These are good. What's in them?" He asked. He looked at the bag. "Is it really chicken and beef?"
"Promise not to tell?" Buffy asked. The boy nodded eagerly. "The truth is, it's all vegetables. No meat at all. The grease is the real unhealthy part."
"Vegetables. Mum never made a vegetable that tasted like this. Not that they were bad, mind you, but this is just…different."
"Muggles do a lot of things differently, trust me. For one thing, the TV, the black box you were looking at earlier, is more fun than it looks. I'll show you tonight, so you won't be completely bored while you're here. I know how bland us muggles can be." Buffy smirked.
Ron blushed. "Everything's so different. It took me half an hour to figure out how to turn the lights on." He didn't mention how he had almost broken two vases and a lamp in the process of trying.
"I understand. No really, I do." She insisted, when Ron looked at her skeptically. "When I first came to the muggle world, I was forced to learn pretty quickly."
"You mean, you're not muggle born?" He asked.
"Not really." Buffy answered. Buffy forced back her pain as she remembered. "Both my parents were pure blooded wizards. I also used to live in England. It's how our parents met. My mother was a Ravenclaw in Hogwarts the same year as your mother, this was before the war, so the houses weren't so separate."
"Did you go to Hogwarts, too?"
She grimaced. "I, well I did my first year in Hogwarts before I went to school here." It's not exactly lying. I did go to Hogwarts for my first year and I did go to a school in California afterwards.
"Then why do you sound like an American?" Ron questioned. "Or did you always speak like this?"
Buffy smiled at his candor. "I wanted to fit in when I came here, so I purposely changed my accent. It made things easier." Her past was not what she wanted to become the topic of conversation, so she tried to change the subject. "Why don't we watch a movie. The best way to get to know muggle culture. We can pause it and I can explain things that you don't understand."
Ron agreed and they both went to the living room, where Buffy sorted through her movies. Her choices were between what Dawn liked to watch, Bring it On, Clueless, You've Got Mail…etc., or what Xander liked to watch, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, all ten Star Trek movies. Finally, she found something that she thought they would both enjoy. "Here we go." Buffy took it out. "A classic, guaranteed to confuse you more while still being entertaining while still getting some good old fashioned fighting in there. Besides, I haven't met a fifteen-year-old boy yet who hasn't loved the idea of mutant turtles and martial arts in the same movie. Have you?"
"Huh?" Ron stood there looking confused.
"You'll see, you try to follow along, and I'll try not to insult their technique. We can have a regular movie bonanza all night long if you want." Buffy looked at Ron.
Mutant turtles, martial arts, movies? My parents have left me with someone more insane than Professor Dumbledore!
***
"So, Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker's father?" Ron gasped, staring at the screen.
"Freaky, isn't it."
"But, that's like You-Know-Who telling Harry that he's his father." He protested.
"Not really, if you're trying to make a connection, that would be Palpatine. Vader is more like the second in command." When there were once two Star Wars fans in the house at the same time, one couldn't help but pick up some things.
"All right, Malfoy then." Buffy winced. "It's the idea that matters."
"Is he?" She started. "Is, uh, is…Malfoy…that important to the Da- to You-Know-Who?"
He frowned. "It's either him or Wormtail." A look of such hatred and disgust came across his face when he said the name that Buffy was startled. Ron had seemed to be a generally good-natured boy, not someone inclined to such dark feelings. She wouldn't pry, well, she wouldn't pry too much.
"Wormtail? Who would be insane enough to name their kid Wormtail?"
"That's just what we call him." Ron turned away and put in the next movie. It would take him at least a minute. He was getting used to these muggle devices, but they were still more complicated than they were worth. He obviously didn't want to talk about it any more.
There must be a history there. Buffy realized. Well, we all have our secrets. It's not like I'm being "share all" girl with him. Going back to the original topic, she said. "All right, I admit that Luke's family tree is a bit out there."
"A bit." Ron exclaimed over the intro music to Return of the Jedi. "I don't think I know anyone with family like that."
Famous last words. Buffy thought, but instead said. "If you think it's weird now, just wait until you find out about his sister."
"What!"
"Just shut up and watch the movie."
***
Buffy gently off the couch, careful to avoid disturbing the sleeping body next to her. Ron had fallen asleep sometime between the landing on Endor and Luke's confrontation with Vader. She wasn't surprised, the time change would be hard to adjust to and she was surprised that he had managed to stay awake as long as he did.
It was good to have someone else in the house. It surprised Buffy how much she missed being with her friends and teasing her sister. Ron was just a boy who got caught up in some mess because he was being a good friend. He reminded her of Xander, in a way.
Xander had left with Anya once the former vengeance demon became pregnant. When Buffy had heard, she had told him point blank that if he raised his children on the hellmouth he would be betraying everything that they had fought for. No one should raise their children in a place where there really could be monsters under the bed. They sacrificed themselves and risked fighting so that others wouldn't have to. A child should not be forced to carry the destiny of his or her parents.
Ron was a child, too. It was odd to think of him as such, since Buffy was fifteen when she stopped being a child. She would not let that happen to someone else. With a dark wizard after him, she might be too late to help him, but the Slayer vowed to protect whatever was left of his childhood. No one should have to live the life she had.
Turning off the TV, Buffy looked out the window. There were still a few hours until dawn, just enough time for a patrol. She carefully lay Ron down on the couch, trying to get him as comfortable as possible before grabbing some weapons. Silently, the Slayer slipped out into the night.
