Adventures

"Who's brilliant idea was this?!"

"Yours, Harry!" Ron growled, swinging an axe. "All yours!" He groaned as the large squid-like demon grabbed Harry.

"I didn't wanna do this! I says to Harry, I says, 'we don't know anything about LA, or what kind of evil we'd be facing, or even where the hell the nearest bathroom is!'" He sliced off the arm that held Harry captive. "But, no. You had to have the job training!"

Harry fell to the ground and looked up at his best friend.

Ron lowered his axe. "Say it with me now: I should have listened to Ron!"

Another tentacle grabbed for Harry, but the tall red-head sliced through it, and another one swung down at Ron.

Harry, who was still on the ground, locked Ron's feet out from under him and he landed next to Harry with a thud, avoiding one of the demon's many arms.

Harry glared at the beast. "New approach." He flung his sword aside, and dove for the demon, wrestling it.

"He's absolutely nutters!" Ron cried.

And then the cell phone in Ron's pocket rang. He yelled out in surprise and took it out. He opened it up and held it to his ear. "Hello?! Hello?!"

"It's upside down, you great… big… prat!" Harry screamed, as the demon grabbed him by the shirt.

"Oh." Ron turned it the right way. "Hello?!"

"Don't yell," Angel commanded. "Ron, tell Harry to go for the nose."

"The nose?"

"Stab the nose."

"Right. Thanks." He turned off the phone and put it away. "Harry! Stab the nose!"

"I've got nothing to stab it with, Ron!"

"Well, who's fault is that?!" Ron sighed, and took up his axe again. "Harry! Catch!"

He flung the axe, and Harry caught it, and slammed it down onto the beast's nose.

The demon groaned horribly, and exploded into a load of purple slime, covering everything in the ally.

Including the two boys.

Harry got to his feet, and looked around at the goo-covered ally, taking off his slime-covered glasses, and squinting beneath the street light above them. "Remember when things used to be simple?"

Ron blinked. "You mean… the Professor with You-know-who living under his turban? And… the giant Basilisk who belonged to the ghost of the fifteen-year-old Tom Riddle that came out of a diary and possessed my sister? And… the rat that my family owned for thirteen years who turned out to be one of your parents' killers? And… the Tri-Wizard tournament?"
"Yeah."

Ron sighed. "Yeah… those were simple times." He sighed, but gripped his head and closed his eyes.

"Ron?" Harry asked worriedly. "What's going on?"

The redhead's eyes opened, and he shook his head out. "We have to go."

"What?" Harry asked. "What did you see?"

"Look behind you."

Harry turned around, to face a group of ten Death Eaters, all masked, wands ready. "So… we can stay and fight… or we can run," he said. "We could flip a coin, but we'd probably be dead before you called it in the air."

Ron nodded. "Run?"

"Yeah."

Harry lifted his sword from the ground and they ran.

"It's been two hours," Cordelia said worriedly, pacing the lobby of the Hyperian. "They should have been back by now."

Angel sighed. "Maybe they stopped off somewhere to get something to eat," he offered. "Maybe… they're checking out the sites. They've never been to LA before."

Wesley shrugged. "I suppose that's possible."

Faith sighed. "What if that thing got them?" she asked, pacing in the opposite direction as Cordelia.

"It didn't," Angel said solidly. "They're better than that."

Gunn shook his head. "You guys worry too much. They've been training for months, right? They'll be fine. They probably spotted a couple a hotties."

"I should hope not," Wesley replied. "They're both fairly taken."

"Yeah, but they're guys," Faith reasoned. "Fifteen-year old guys."

Cordelia sighed and shook her head.

They stopped for a breath a while later. Harry did a quick spell to clean their clothing off, and they stood still for a moment.

"I think we lost them," Ron huffed out.

Harry sighed and looked around them. He didn't recognize their surroundings at all. "Speaking of lost…"

Ron blinked and looked around them. "Oh, great. Just brilliant! Where are we?"

"Probably in a lot of trouble," said a dark, hissing voice from the shadows.

They turned around, and a hideous-faced vampire slowly walked toward them.

Harry sighed and handed Ron his sword. "Hold this, will you?"

Ron shrugged, and hefted it as Harry took out his wand and pointed it at the vampire. "Incendio."

Energy shot from the wand to the vampire, who instantly caught fire, and began screaming.

Harry sighed, put away his wand, and took his sword back.

"They went this way!"

The boys glanced at each other and kept running.

Spike struggled against the hex he'd been put under, but it was no use. He glared up at the three witches standing over him.

Willow smiled. "Okay, Hermione. I'm gonna teach you a very, very important spell."

The younger witch raised an eyebrow as Tara pulled out a few bottles of herbs and an orb.

"It's Romanian," Willow went on.

Spike struggled harder.

They ran down the stairs of a small building and into what looked to be a semi-classy night club. The décor was very crimson. There was a bar, and a small stage in the front of the club.

Ron looked down at his thin, blue t-shirt and baggy blue jeans, and then at Harry's white and red striped shirt and black jeans. "Something tells me we shouldn't be here."

"What was your first clue?" asked a voice.

The boys looked up to see Lorne staring at them with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh… Hi Lorne," Harry said with a nervous smile. "It's nice to see you again."

"What are you two doing here?" Lorne asked. "What are you doing in America?"

"Slike this, right?" Harry started. "Ron got a vision about a demon here."

"So we took the floo to fight it," Ron added in quickly.

"We beat the crap out've the bastard," Harry went on. "And then Ron got another vision."

"Fat lotta good that did us," Ron chimed in.

"And it was of Death Eaters apparently." Harry sighed. "So now we're running from them, trying to get away, because I don't think we can fight them this time around."

"Why not?" Lorne asked. "You've been doing well so far."

Ron swallowed hard. "We discussed it while we were running… we're afraid things might get out've hand and we might wind up killing someone."

Lorne sighed. "Alright. Well, you guys can chill out here until you think it's safe. I don't mind… in fact… you boys sing, don't you?"

"He sold us out."

Torianna nodded. "Yep."

Evelyn put her head down on the desk they sat at. "We shoulda seen it coming, you know."

"Yep."

Evelyn groaned. "God, I hate detention!"

The door to the Potions dungeon opened and closed, and Snape whisked in, holding a Weasley twin by the arm in each hand. "Hello, ladies."

"You sold us out," Torianna glared.

"Honestly, Lupin, what do you take me for?" Snape asked. "A Decent fellow? This way I saw Lockhart absolutely humiliated, and I also get to spend some quality detention time with four of my favorite Gryffindors."

"You don't have a favorite Gryffindor," Evelyn grumbled.

"Precisely," Snape replied. "Now get up and start on cleaning the cauldrons… and if muck finds its way to my face this time, you will suffer."

"Why?" Torianna asked.

Snape glared. "You promised."

"And you sold us out," Evelyn countered.

"Why?"

The twins glanced at each other with smirks.

Snape glared harder. "Lupin…"

This time, Fred and George joined in. "Why."

"…. Goodness, gracious, Great Balls of Fire!"

Lorne was actually enjoying himself, watching Ron on the stage in Caritas. The boy was definitely in his element behind the piano the bartenders had graciously rolled out for the teen. The boy could fly on those keys. It wasn't often that actual musicians took to the Caritas stage, but when they did, it was a treat.

"What do you see in him?" Harry asked. "I mean… you do feel things when people sing, right?"

Lorne nodded. "He's a little nervous about this whole Death Eater thing… he misses his girlfriend a little… He's thinking that the piano could use a little tuning. Nothing heavy at the moment."

Ron finished up the song, he almost tried to sit on the piano bench, but then realized he'd kicked it out from under himself. He sighed and left the stage to a decent amount of applause.

He walked over and plopped down into a chair next to Lorne, putting the demon in the middle of the two boys.

Lorne smirked. "You're good."

"Thank you," Ron said, obviously out of breath. "I've also been slacking on practice, which is why I'm about to fall over."

Lorne smirked. "Don't worry about Hermione, Ron. You'll see her in a few hours." He turned to Harry. "You feel up to it?"

Harry shrugged. "I suppose I could give it a shot." He got to his feet and headed for the stage.

Draco sighed. "I'm bored."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Stop saying that."

"Well, I am! How come Potter and Weasley got to go after a big demon, and I have to do this?"

They were sitting in front of a grave, waiting for a vampire to rise in one of the twelve Sunnydale cemeteries.

Buffy sighed. "Draco, Harry is a warrior. Ron got a vision, and they went. This, what we're doing now, is half of what vampire slayers do. We wait, we fight, we slay, we do one more decent sweep and we go home."

"Boring."

"If you don't stop complaining, I'm gonna-"

It was then that a hand shot out of the dirt and a vampire began to claw its way to the surface.

"How the hell do they get out of those coffins?" Draco asked.

"That's why we have to wait so long," Buffy replied, getting to her feet. "Not easy clawing out of those things with nothing but your bare hands."

Draco didn't have time to inquire how his teacher knew this. He got to his feet, and stood with his stake ready. As the vampire's chest came into view he plunged the piece of wood into the heart, and the vampire became dust scattering over its own grave.

He shrugged, and dusted his pants off. "That was easy."

"New ones always are," Buffy replied. "Good job. Now we do a sweep, and we're so out of-" She stopped dead in her tracks when she caught sight of the tall, thin blond woman walking toward them. "Here…"

Draco rolled his eyes and groaned. "What the hell is she doing here?"

The woman, Narcissa Malfoy, stopped in front of her son and his teacher. "Hello, Professor Summers."

Buffy nodded stoically. "Mrs. Malfoy… I'd say it's nice to see you again, but…"

She sighed. "Yes, I quite understand. May I speak with my son in private, please?"

"No," Draco said before Buffy could give a reply.

Narcissa closed her eyes and sighed. "Draco, please. Just take a few moments."

"Why should I?" he snapped viciously. "Give me one good reason."

"Because you might not get another chance."

Both Malfoys turned to the slayer, Narcissa in curiosity, and Draco in shock.

Buffy took Draco gently by the arm, and guided him a few feet away from the older woman. "Draco. I think this is important. I think you should hear her out."

Draco shook his head and began to reply, but she stopped him.

"Listen to me. There is a war coming," Buffy said. "And it's gonna be a doozy. All I'm saying is that you might not get a chance to talk to her again, and you'll regret it for the rest of your life. You don't wanna know what that feels like. Do you know what one of the last things I said to my mother was? Pass the milk, please. I didn't tell her how important she was to me, or that I loved her, or anything that mattered."

"At least you can say that truthfully," Draco spat. "I-"

"If you tell me you hate your mother, I will break every bone in your left hand," Buffy hissed. "Now go talk to her. I'll do a sweep this way." With that, she walked off in the other direction.

Harry had come to the end of Carry on My Wayward Son by Kansas, and the audience clapped for him.

Lorne started to get up just as the Death Eaters filed into the club.

"Oh, shit," Ron said, obviously irritated. He got up, pulling out his wand.

"That doesn't work in here, Sweetie," Lorne informed the young redhead. "I've got this place protected out the waz."

Ron shrugged and put his wand back. He rolled up his sleeves. "Right, then. We'll do this the old-"

"That won't work, either," Lorne cut him off. "But there's a back entrance down that hallway."

Ron spotted the hallway Lorne spoke of and then caught Harry's eye and nodded towards it. Harry nodded, and at the same time, they dashed away.

"Psst!"

Evelyn looked around at the loud noise in her ear but saw no one. She turned to the twins. "You hear that?"

George raised an eyebrow. "I think maybe the cauldron muck is going to your head."

Snape glared from his desk at his prisoners. "No speaking. This is punishment."

Torianna sighed and began to sing to herself quietly. "Sell out. With me, oh yeah. Sell out, with me tonight. The record company's gonna give me lotsa money and everything's gonna be alright."

Evelyn and the twins snickered as Snape glared.

"Psst!"

Evelyn whirled around and saw no one. She turned a glare on the twins. "What are you two up to?"

George's brow furrowed. "Nothing that I know of. Fred?"

"I'm cleaning cauldron muck…"

Evelyn sighed and cleaned her cauldron more. "I wonder how flammable this stuff is…"

At that moment, flames burst out of the cauldron to her right, and the four Gryffindors yelled, screamed and jumped back.

Snape rose quickly. "What is the meaning of this?!"

"Search me," Evelyn said. "I left my lighter in my room."

Snape glared at the twins and Torianna.

"Didn't do it," the boys said in unison.

Snape then leveled his gaze on Torianna.

"Wasn't me," she told him.

"Somehow, I doubt that," Snape growled. "I'll be back. I'm going to speak with Professor MacGonagal." With that, he stormed out, his robes billowing behind him.

Torianna sighed. "Crap."

"Cheer up, children," said a voice behind them.

They turned to see a cloak removed and Sirius Black stood before them.

He smiled. "It's fun time."

They ran through the back alley and were stopped by a large troop of them. They turned to go the other way and found themselves surrounded.

"Right, then," Ron nodded. "We're gonna die."

Harry shook his head. "No. There is no way I'm dieing like this. It's just too embarrassing."

Ron nodded. "Okay, so what do we do?"

"We… we fight," Harry nodded.

"All of them?" Ron asked. "Alone?"

"We've done it before," Harry pointed out.

"Yeah, when I was angry," the redhead replied.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Who are you, the Incredible Hulk?"

"Who?" Harry groaned in annoyance and kicked Ron hard in the shin. The taller boy growled loudly, and glared bright white eyes at his best friend.

"What the bloody hell was that for?"

Harry looked frantic. "Get angry!"

At that moment, Faith shoved her way through mob of white-masked men and smiled at the boys. She was followed by Angel, Cordelia, Fred, Wesley and Gunn. "You two look like you could use a hand."

Angel slugged a Death Eater, who fell to the ground. "Or six."

The bright blast of light that came from Spike's crypt sent Buffy flying off of her feet and to the grass. She squinted. "What the hell?"

The screaming coming from inside got her back to her feet, and running to the door, kicking it open. She blinked at Willow, Tara and Hermione. "What the hell are you guys doing?"

"Oh," Willow said with a smile. "We gave Spike a soul."

Buffy stared wide-eyed at her best friend. "What?!"

Snape stormed back into the dungeon with MacGonagal in tow, only to find Sirius Black standing with the four Gryffindors, surrounded by more than a dozen flaming cauldrons. The man was having the time of his life.

MacGonagal was not amused. Which was the understatement of the century. "BLACK!"