CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: THE SECOND VISIT
Harry, Ron and Hermione sat on two different beds in the boys dormitory watching Buffy pace the length of the room. Hermione looked worried, Ron looked confused and Harry was just looking on with an amused grin.
"Buffy, would you stop?" Harry said, laughing slightly.
"I can't. I'm nervous. Why am I nervous? I mean, I saw her a few weeks ago, what do I have to be nervous about? She's Willow, she's my best friend. She's seen Hogwarts before, so she's not gonna wig out on me or anything. But I'm still nervous," Buffy rambled.
Harry couldn't take the pacing anymore. He stood up and grabbed Buffy's wrists, bringing the witch to a standstill. She looked up at him, almost as though she couldn't quite work out why he would have stopped her. Before she could ask him what was wrong, his lips descended upon hers. She felt the tension, nervousness and fear melt away as Harry's hand came to rest on the small of her back, and their lips and tongues danced an intricate dance.
They pulled away breathless and flushed.
"You're nervous about her meeting me, aren't you?" Harry asked.
Buffy opened her mouth to reply that he was being ridiculous, but with a moment of thought, she realised that Harry was right. She was nervous about it. She nodded and buried her face in Harry's shoulder.
Harry chuckled and dropped a soft kiss on the top of Buffy's head, smoothing out his girlfriend's hair.
"We'll be fine. She loves you Buffy," Harry assured her. "And I promise I'll be on my best behaviour."
Buffy took a deep calming breath and nodded, pulling away from Harry. She leant up to kiss him softly before stepping back completely.
"I'll be back soon."
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Willow jumped slightly when she heard the loud crack that echoed through her living room. When she turned, she grinned widely at the sight of her best friend. Without a word, the two girls embraced tightly, both of them realising that their eyes had filled with tears just at the sight of each other.
After a long moment they pulled away, their hands still joined.
"You ready?" Buffy asked softly.
Willow shook her head, still grinning madly. Buffy cocked her head to the side, wondering what had got her friend in such a state of joy.
"Will?"
"There's someone that I want you to say 'hi' to first," Willow said.
Buffy nodded slowly, still unsure what was going on. She heard someone step into the room from behind her. She turned and froze completely at the sight in front of her. More tears sprang to her eyes and she felt her mind go completely blank except for the feeling of pure joy.
The newest occupant of the room took two steps towards Buffy, paused to drink in the sight of her, and then swept her into strong arms, lifting her slightly from the ground. Buffy closed her eyes and let herself hug her other best friend back, feeling something akin to sheer and pure contentment race through her.
"Xand," she whispered, unable to believe that she was really seeing him.
Willow watched, tears running slowly down her face as she watched the reunion between her two best friends.
Xander pulled back and let his eyes race over the form of his best friend. She was exactly how he remembered her, petite but powerful, still beautiful and still able to make him think lusty-wrong-thoughts about her. He grinned at her, unable to believe that Willow had found their missing friend in England of all places.
"I can't believe you're here," Buffy said quietly.
"Me neither Buff," he replied. "God I missed you."
"I missed you too. So much."
They hugged again, memories racing through their minds of the friendship that they'd shared, the good and the bad moments. They drew apart and Willow came to join them.
"Isn't it great?" Willow asked, addressing Xander.
He gave the two girls his trademark goofy grin and nodded enthusiastically.
"I gotta say Buff, when I heard you were in England I was expecting you to be all British with the tweed and scones," Xander teased.
Buffy grinned and wiped away an errant tear. "I really can't see me going for the mini-librarian look," she replied.
"You've got a slight accent," Xander pointed out.
Buffy nodded, knowing that she did sound slightly different than she had back in Sunnydale. Ron couldn't help but point out whenever Buffy swore in British rather than with her own American words.
"I'm still the most American person at my school," Buffy replied.
Xander grinned.
"You know, I always thought I'd be the last to graduate," he teased.
Buffy grinned. "Come on. There's some people who want to meet you."
"No, they want to meet Willow," Xander replied, draping an arm over his redheaded best friend. "I'm just the added bonus."
The two girls laughed and Willow felt as though her heart was about to burst with happiness. She'd missed the casual banter between the three of them, and now that the original three were back in the same room, it was making her heart ache in all the best ways.
The three friends separated and Xander swung his hands in front of him, slightly nervous. Willow had filled him in on Buffy's activities for the last year. He'd been shocked to hear about what the small blonde girl had gone through, but he was definitely still proud to call Buffy his best friend. She was his hero, regardless of whether she was the Slayer or not. And finding out that she was a kick-ass witch hadn't hurt either.
"So, how does this work?" Xander asked.
Buffy grinned at him. "Well, I'll take Will over first," Buffy explained. "That way I'm not leaving you with a bunch of strangers. Plus I really want to stick around for your first reaction."
"You just don't want to leave him alone with Harry," Willow said with a cheeky grin.
Buffy nodded, conceding. "That too."
Xander's face took on an expression of mock-hurt. He couldn't hold it though and laughed. "Hey, he's got a pulse, he's not two hundred and forty odd years older tan you. He's doing okay so far in the 'Xander's check-list for potential boyfriends for Buffy and Willow' that I made."
Buffy laughed and Willow just shook her head. The blonde girl took the redhead by the hand. "You ready?"
Willow nodded. Xander watched in awed fascination as the two girls completely disappeared from the living room of Willows apartment, leaving him by himself.
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The two girls apparated into the boys dormitory. Predictably, Ron and Hermione were having a small spat over who-knows-what while Harry jus laughed and added his own two cents every so often. When the two girls appeared, the conversation stopped and Harry stood up to meet his girlfriend and her best friend.
Harry smiled warmly at the petite redhead and held out his hand to her.
"Willow, it's wonderful to finally meet you," he said politely.
Willow was instantly charmed. She could definitely see why Buffy had fallen in love with he tall dark-haired green-eyed boy. He was charming and handsome, and most importantly, non-evil.
"Harry, right? Buffy's told me so much about you," Willow said, shaking Harry's hand.
"Likewise," Harry replied.
Hermione stood up and surprised Willow by pulling her into a hug. Willow was only too happy to reciprocate, and hugged her best friend's best friend back.
Ron stood and walked over to the newcomer, holding his hand out. "Hi Willow. I'm Ron Weasley."
Willow grinned and shook his hand. "I can see why Draco thought you and I were related."
Ron grinned and returned to his position at Hermione's side. Buffy turned back to Harry and grinned happily.
"There's someone else I want you to meet," Buffy said.
Harry nodded, slightly confused. Within the blink of an eye Buffy had disapparated once more. Harry shot an inquisitive look at Willow who just smiled and shrugged enigmatically.
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"Ready?" Buffy asked Xander.
Xander wiped his sweaty palms on his pants and nodded. Magic made him nervous, but he trusted Buffy, and he trusted Willow as well, and if they both said that this was safe, he wasn't about to break that trust.
"Don't worry," Buffy said calmly, winking slightly. "It's completely safe, I swear."
Xander nodded and took Buffy's hand. He closed his eyes and felt the world spin out of focus completely. When it had stopped spinning he opened one eye to make sure he was still alive. His second eye opened and both eyes went wide in surprise.
"Spadoinkle," he whispered quietly, taking in the large circular room, noticing the Quidditch posters lining the room that moved, as well as the floating candles that lit the room. He turned and grinned when he saw Willow standing with three people.
Buffy took him by the hand and walked the short distance to where her friends were on the other of the room.
"Everyone, this is Xander Harris," Buffy said, grinning widely. "Xander this is my boyfriend, Harry Potter, and my best friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley."
Xander shook each of their hands in turn before turning back to Harry. The green-eyed wizard couldn't help but pull himself up to his full height, feeling slightly intimidated by the tall-young man that stood beside his girlfriend. Xander was mentally sizing up Harry, and finally he grinned happily and nodded his approval.
Harry practically sighed with relief when he saw Xander relax. Buffy let go of Xander's hand and took her place beside Harry.
"So…what's first on the agenda?" Xander asked.
"Well, Giles made me promise to get Willow to visit at least once today, so…if you're keen to go see him…"
Xander's face lit up. He'd almost forgotten about Giles in the excitement. He nodded enthusiastically and Buffy couldn't help but smile at the familiar smile on Xander's face. Willow took Xander by the hand and the group moved out of the boys dorms, walking slowly enough so that Xander could see the new and strange world that was Hogwarts.
They descended the large set of marble stairs that led to the Entrance Hall, Xander looking up towards the ceiling that couldn't be seen, it was so high up. He watched in fascination as the stairs moved positions and students jumped over stairs that were apparently false steps. He had nearly fallen through one had it not been for Buffy's warning about skipping the fifth stair from the bottom on a particular staircase.
Before they could wander into the Great Hall where Buffy was fairly certain Giles was, they were stopped by a small first year boy running wildly towards them, grabbing Buffy around the waist and hiding behind her, poking his head over her shoulder to glance in the direction he'd run like hell from.
"Dodge? What's wrong?" Buffy asked, wondering what had Glenn Wood so panicked.
"Ol's threatening to tickle me in front of my friends," Dodge replied, completely out of breath.
Buffy just laughed, and couldn't help but break into giggles when Oliver dashed into the Entrance Hall, his hair wildly all over the place. Oliver saw Dodge duck behind Buffy and walked calmly towards them, a grin on his face.
"Potter, Weasley, Granger," Oliver greeted the trio. "Buffy…you wouldn't by any chance happen to know where my terror of a younger brother is, would you?"
"Haven't seen him," Buffy replied innocently.
Oliver just grinned. "Really…cos I've got a chocolate frog with his name on it."
Dodge poked his head around Buffy once more and looked suspiciously at his brother.
"You're lying," Dodge accused.
Oliver turned his attention back to Buffy. "You said you hadn't seen him."
"He's behind me, how could I have seen him?" she replied.
Oliver laughed and reached into the pocket of his robes and brought out a small box that looked like the packaging of chocolate frogs.
"A peace offering," Oliver said, handing the box to Dodge who took it gingerly.
The young Gryffindor student shook it beside his ear and opened the box, surprised to actually see a chocolate frog inside. It went to jump, but with his quick reflexes, he was able to catch it before it got away.
"Woah," Xander whispered, unsure of what to make of the peculiar moving chocolate sweet.
Oliver finally realised that he'd been horribly rude.
"Who're your friends?" he asked.
"Oh, these are my best friends from back home. Willow Rosenburg and Xander Harris. Guys, this is Oliver Wood. He's…well, for lack of a better description, the Flying Instructor, Professor type person," Buffy said.
Willow's eyes went wide, taking in the handsome young man. "You're a teacher?"
"Just filling in," Oliver replied.
"Wait, wait…flying instructor?" Xander repeated, finally catching on to what Buffy had said. "What, you're a pilot?"
"What's a pilot?" Oliver, Dodge and Ron asked simultaneously.
"Never mind," Xander muttered.
"He's filling in for Madame Hooch," Harry explained. "Teaching the first years to fly on brooms."
Xander's eyes went wide. It was like walking into a fairy tale world.
"You actually fly on brooms?" he asked incredulously.
The Hogwarts students (and teacher) nodded. Oliver took in the wide-eyed expression on the teen who looked to be only a little younger than himself.
"Would you like to try flying?" Oliver offered.
Xander turned a startled expression to look at Buffy who was grinning widely. She nodded encouragingly at him. Xander turned to look back at Oliver.
"Hell yeah! I'd love to."
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Buffy, Willow and Hermione watched from the pitch as the boys flew fifty feet above them, Harry and Oliver showing off as many flying tricks as they could. Ron was trying less daring tricks, but still having the time of his life. Xander was being slightly more cautious, but obviously loving being up in the air if his wide grin was any indication.
"Xander seems nice," Hermione commented.
Buffy and Willow nodded, still grinning at the boys antics. "He is," Willow replied enthusiastically.
"One of the few rare gentlemen that are left in this world," Buffy added.
They slipped back into a comfortable silence, just watching contently. They were slightly surprised when the four boys descended and dismounted from their brooms.
"Would you like a try?" Harry asked, looking at Willow.
Willow's eyes went wide, panicking slightly. "Me? In the air? I couldn't. I mean…I could, but…I mean…height, and…badness. And what if I fell. I couldn't…not alone."
Harry grinned and took Willow by the hand, positioning the broom beside her.
"I swear, you'll be safe," Harry assured Willow, winking at Buffy who was just grinning. She was glad that Harry and Willow seemed to get along so well. And she trusted Harry to make sure that Willow wouldn't fall from the broom.
"But, but…"
Willow let herself be placed onto the broom. She gripped it tightly and Harry moved to sit behind her, placing one arm around her middle. "Okay?" he asked.
Willow nodded, too frightened to really say anything more.
"We'll stop the second you want," he assured her.
She nodded once more, and Buffy watched in amusement as Harry made the broom ascend slightly, not going higher than ten feet. Xander grinned happily at Buffy.
"That was awesome!" he gushed.
"So what are you doing back on the ground then?" Buffy asked.
Xander grinned, thankful for the silent permission Buffy had given him to take off once more. Ron looked at Hermione and took her by the hand. Hermione smiled and moved to sit in front of her boyfriend on the broom, leaving Buffy and Oliver alone on the ground.
"Your friends are nice," Oliver commented.
Buffy nodded happily. "They are. I haven't seen Xand since I left California. It was definitely a nice surprise."
"So…how's things with you and Harry?" he asked casually.
"Good," Buffy replied, an even larger smile coming to her face. "Things haven't been this good for me in years. I don't think Harry's been this happy in a while either. It's been amazing."
Oliver swallowed the feeling of disappointment and nodded with a false smile.
"That's good. I'm glad," he replied, lying through his teeth.
"So…what about you Oliver Wood?" Buffy asked curiously. "How's your life?"
"It could be worse," he replied. "Honestly, I never thought I'd miss Hogwarts so much. But…being back here has been wonderful."
"It must be hard for your family…your girlfriend…without you there," Buffy commented.
"My non-existent girlfriend, you mean?" Oliver said.
Buffy looked at him, vaguely surprised.
"I'd have thought for sure that you'd have had a girlfriend or two. I mean…not to sound all…well, slutty or whatever, but you're quite the hottie Oliver," she complimented him.
"Thank you," he replied softly.
"I think most of the Seventh Year girls have got massive crushes on you," Buffy said with a grin. She'd overheard the talk about the gorgeous flying instructor from some of the Seventh Year classes that she and Hermione attended during the week. A lot of the talk had been about the mysterious young Irish teaching assistant.
"Well…I'm not interested in any of them," he said softly.
Buffy suddenly felt distinctly uncomfortable. It was the feeling in her stomach that she'd had around Draco sometimes before they'd discovered that they were cousins. It was the feeling that there was something between them that shouldn't have been there.
Before anymore conversation could happen, Harry and Willow came back to the ground and Willow came off the broom shakily, but with a huge smile on her face.
"That was nifty!"
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Toodles.
DKG.