As Strong As We Are United
Chapter 2 – Coming Home
Ron and Draco spent every afternoon together for the next week. Both teens were happy to have something to do other than sitting at home.
Immediately following their Apparation licensing exam, they had headed to Diagon Alley to visit Weasley Wizard Wheezes. The trip had been a disaster to say the least. Upon their arrival, Fred and George began teasing Ron and insulting Draco unmercilessly. The twins were appalled that Ron would willingly spend time with the Slytherin Prince and made their opinion known to everyone in the shop. No amount of explaining on Ron's part made a difference.
Fortunately, Xander and Anya came by to visit during Xander's lunch break from the construction on the new Watchers Council buildings. The teasing and insults stopped, as Fred and George turned their attention to their friends. However, things went from bad to worse.
George offered Xander and Anya a free sample of their new Singing Sweets without explaining what the candies did. Xander and Anya tried them and immediately burst into song. They did an elaborate duet, something about not telling each other about their current fears of eventually becoming parents that included a small dance routine. When the song ended, the couple freaked out. Anya was yelling about spontaneous human combustion, and Xander was swearing up and down that he did not summon the demon this time and would not become a hell bride.
As Xander and Anya shouted back and forth, Fred, George, Ron, and Draco gawked at them. "Not quite the reaction I was expecting," commented George. Draco finally began to laugh, as he remembered the story Dawn told him the previous year about the demon, which caused everyone to act as if they were in a musical. Draco explained what was going on to the Weasley brothers, who silenced Xander and Anya with a quick wave of a wand and explained that the candy made them sing, not a demon.
After ending the silencing spell, Anya began to yell at the twins. Ron and Draco took the opportunity to slip out of the shop. They quickly agreed not to ever go back in there together ever again.
Since that day, Ron and Draco had simply spent time at each other's houses. When Ron visited the cottage in Hogsmeade, where Draco and his mother lived, the two boys would wander around the village and have lunch in The Three Broomsticks. When Draco visited the Burrow, the two boys would practice quidditch in the paddock behind the house. Ron would throw apples for Draco to practice Seeking, and Draco would try to pass a soccer ball through the makeshift goal for Ron to practice Keeping. They could happily do this for hours.
On the day before Hermione was due to return to England, Ron and Draco were once again on their brooms practicing quidditch behind the Burrow. Draco had spent the past hour trying to score against Ron and was fairly successful. Ron was beginning to get tired out. He motioned for Draco to land and joined his friend on the ground.
"Why'd you go out for Seeker?" questioned Ron. "You would've made one hell of a Chaser."
Draco shrugged. "It was the only position open that year. Besides, father thought it was the most prestigious position on any quidditch team." Draco sneered at the memory of his father, before looking back at Ron. "Do you really think I would be better at Chaser?"
"Definitely. You aren't bad as a Seeker, kind of like my sister. You can do it okay, but you'll never be great – not like Harry." Draco sneered. "You and Harry both need to let go of your issues already. We're all on the same side now. Anyway, as a Seeker you're okay, but as a Chaser you're really good."
"Or you just suck as a Keeper," added Draco with his typical Malfoy sneer. Before Ron could reply, Draco started laughing. "Sorry, couldn't help it."
"Watch it, Malfoy. I still owe you for your little song," warned Ron, though he had begun laughing too.
"So, I guess this is it, since your girlfriend is back tomorrow," commented Draco. He had thoroughly enjoyed having a friend to spend time with during the past week.
"Yeah, but it isn't like you won't be totally occupied with Dawn once she's back in another three days," added Ron. Draco smiled genuinely at the thought of his girlfriend's return. "Besides," Ron continued. "I'm sure at some point, they'll want to do the girl talk thing, and then we're back to practicing quidditch."
Draco nodded and looked at his watch. "Come on, I only have an hour before I have to Apparate home for dinner with my mother. You can help me work on some Chaser moves."
****************
The next day Ron spent a lot of time making himself presentable. He was going to Apparate to the Granger's house and surprise Hermione, when she returned from her trip that afternoon. Mrs. Weasley was not thrilled at the idea of her son Apparating around the country, but her husband had stepped in and reminded her how much they had missed each other during their summers away from Hogwarts. She begrudgingly agreed to allow Ron to see Hermione, but made him promise to be home at a reasonable hour.
At noon, Ron Disapparated from the Burrow and reappeared in a small wooded area a half mile from the Granger's house. Dressed in muggle clothing, he easily blended with the neighborhood teens, who were outside enjoying their summer holiday, as he walked to Hermione's street. He had never been at the Granger's and was surprised to see just how large their single family home was.
Ron checked his watch. It would be almost an hour before Hermione and her parents arrived home, assuming that her flight was on time. He sat on the front steps, took out a book on demon lore to read, and waited. He became so engrossed in his reading that an hour later, he did not notice the taxi pull up to the curb. He only looked up, when he heard Hermione shout his name.
"Ron," she yelled, as she ran toward him, leaving her parents to deal with the luggage. "What are you doing here?" She threw herself into his outstretched arms.
After a big hug and a quick, chaste kiss, they pulled apart. "I couldn't wait to see you," Ron explained. "I thought it would be nice to surprise you. I hope that's okay."
"It's better than okay," replied Hermione, as she pulled him into another hug.
"Hermione, dear," called Mrs. Granger. "Could you and your friend give us a hand with the luggage?" Ron and Hermione walked to the curb, where the luggage was lined up and Mr. Granger was paying the cab driver. Ron picked up the two largest suitcases and carried them to the porch, while Hermione and her parents picked up the remaining bags.
After they had entered the house and put the luggage aside, Mr. Granger eyed Ron. "I know we have met before," she said, "but that was quite a few years ago."
Ron held out his hand to Mr. Granger and they shook. "I'm Ron Weasley, a friend of Hermione's from school."
"Of course you are," said Mrs. Granger, who pulled Ron into a brief hug. "We're so happy that our little Hermione has found herself such a nice boyfriend."
Mr. Granger did not appear so happy. Ron swore that he heard Hermione's father whisper under his breath, "Well, at least this one isn't four years older than my baby."
Mrs. Granger shook her head at her husband. "Well, why don't you two get reacquainted? Hermione, your father and I are going to go upstairs and unpack." Mr. Granger did not look happy at the prospect of leaving the two teens alone. His wife ignored him. "Ron, I hope you will stay for dinner. We'll probably just get some takeout since I obviously haven't been grocery shopping in awhile."
"That would be nice," replied Ron. Hermione grabbed his hand and pulled him into the lounge, as he parents once again picked up their suitcases and headed up the stairs.
The young couple made themselves comfortable on the sofa, and Hermione turned on the CD player for some background noise. "I can't believe that you're really here," she said.
"I hope that your parents aren't mad about me just showing up," replied Ron. "Your father didn't look too thrilled."
Hermione brushed off Ron's concern. "Daddy wants me to stay a little girl forever. It isn't you. He would hate anyone I was dating."
Ron nodded. He was not happy about the situation, but he understood it. He felt the same way about his younger sister Ginny dating, though with her strong personality, he was beginning to worry more about her boyfriends than her. "Your mum seems nice though," he mused.
Hermione blushed. "I told her a bit about you, when we were on holiday. I mean I've told her a lot about you and Harry over the years, but this time we talked mostly about you. She's very happy that I found a nice boy."
"So, now I'm nice?" kidded Ron.
Hermione appeared to be deep in thought. "Well, I suppose you are, when you aren't acting like a prat."
"Such language," kidded Ron. "I've really missed you."
"Me too," replied Hermione, as she leaned in for a not so chaste kiss.
****************
Buffy, Dawn, and Shannon arrived at Giles' London flat in the late afternoon via portkey. They had decided to cut their trip to Los Angeles short, because the Angel Investigations team was very busy and the two teenage girls wanted nothing more than to return to their boyfriends in England. Charlie had returned to Romania directly from Las Vegas, not wanting a run in with Buffy's vampire exboyfriends.
"Where's Giles?" asked Dawn.
"I would assume he's at the Council since he isn't expecting us for another two days," replied Buffy. "I guess we should head down there to see him."
The two teens agreed with Buffy, and they left the flat to walk the three blocks to the construction site of the new Watchers Council buildings. As they approached the site, all three were amazed to see the amount of work that had already been accomplished. The complex would be ready for everyone to move in my November at the latest.
As they stood admiring the site, Xander noticed them. "Buff," he called, as he approached them.
"Xander, it's so good to see you," said Buffy, giving her friend a hug. Dawn and Shannon hugged him as well.
"I thought you weren't getting back for another couple of days," said Xander.
"Change of plans," replied Dawn by way of explanation.
"Where's Giles?" asked Buffy.
"Where else? Hogsmeade with Narcissa. They've been working out of her cottage for the past few weeks."
"We should go there," suggested Dawn happily.
"You just want to see Draco," Shannon told her best friend.
"Yeah, so?" asked Dawn. "Like you haven't been jonesing for a Harry fix."
Buffy shook her head in exasperation. "I guess we should head to Hogsmeade. Giles' fireplace on the floo network?" she asked Xander.
"Yeah, but there's also a fireplace in that small shed over there," said Xander pointing across the construction site. "Some of the wizarding builders get to work that way. Feel free to use it. There's a bucket of floo powder hanging on the wall."
The three girls thanked Xander, promised to see him again soon, and walked across the site toward the shed. Dawn was the first to use the fireplace to floo directly to the Malfoy cottage in Hogsmeade.
****************
Draco spent the day lounging around the house and working on his summer assignments. He never thought he would miss a Weasley, but at the moment he did miss hanging out with Ron. They had a pretty good time over the past week. "Just two more days," Draco mumbled to himself.
Draco was distracted from his thoughts, when the flames in the fireplace turned bright green. Dawn stepped out of the flames a moment later. Draco's eyes grew wide at the sight of her. "Dawn?"
"Well don't just stand there," she replied. "At least tell me that you missed me or that you're glad to see me."
Draco moved forward quickly, pulled Dawn into his arms, and swung her around in a circle. "I've missed you more than you can imagine, and I am elated to see you," he said then kissed her deeply.
"Ew, can you not do that in front of me please," said Buffy, who had stepped out of the fireplace, followed closely by Shannon.
"Sorry," mumbled Draco, pulling away from Dawn, who pouted.
"It's okay," replied Buffy. "Where's Giles?"
"They've taken over the dining room," answered Draco, pointing to the room across the front hall.
Buffy left with Shannon still following behind her, as Draco and Dawn sat on the sofa together. The two Slayers entered the dining room to find Giles, Narcissa, and Robin Wood seated around the table, discussing Council business. Andrew was sitting at Giles' side diligently taking notes on the discussion. "Hey," said Buffy.
Giles got up from the table to hug his Slayer. "I didn't expect you back yet."
"Angel and his team are pretty busy, even with Cat and Wesley helping them out. Besides, I couldn't take the whining anymore," explained Buffy, glaring at Shannon, who shrugged.
"Whining?" asked Narcissa.
Buffy nodded. "I miss Draco. I miss Harry. They acted like I was torturing them by making them take a vacation." Narcissa laughed.
"You didn't miss me?" Andrew asked Shannon.
"Of course we did," the younger Slayer replied. "It wasn't the same without you. How's your work going?"
"It's good. We've gotten a lot done in the past few weeks," Andrew replied.
"So, what are you working on?" asked Buffy.
"An alliance between the Watchers Council and the Ministry of Magic," explained Giles.
"Oh," replied Buffy. "I'd volunteer to help, but. . ."
"That's quite alright," replied Giles. "We have it under control. So what are your plans for the rest of the day?"
"Dunno," said Buffy. "Figured we should touch base with you. Dawn obviously is catching up with Draco. Maybe Shannon and I will just head back to your flat."
"Why don't you stop by and see Faith first?" suggested Robin. "She's working on the house right now."
"So you bought a house?" asked Buffy.
"Yes, two blocks over. You should go see it. I'm sure Faith would be happy for an excuse to take a break." Robin gave Buffy and Shannon directions to his and Faith's new home. Before leaving to visit Faith, the two Slayers let Dawn know where they would be and Shannon promised Andrew that they would spend some time together the next day.
****************
Mrs. Granger called Hermione and Ron for dinner, when the Chinese food arrived. Ron had never seen that kind of food before and looked thoroughly confused when the Grangers began eating with chopsticks. Hermione laughed, as she tried to teach Ron to use the chopsticks. Several minutes later he was wearing part of his dinner, and Mrs. Granger had provided him with a fork.
"So, Ron, what have you been doing with your summer?" asked Mrs. Granger politely. Ron explained about taking his Apparation licensing test and hanging out with Draco.
"Malfoy? Isn't that the boy whose father threatened us?" asked Mr. Granger suspiciously.
"It's kind of a long story, but his father's dead and Draco's on our side now," replied Ron.
Mr. Granger glared at Ron, then turned to Hermione. "Explain."
Hermione visibly gulped. "Now, daddy, don't get upset, but you know how I tend to get involved in the fight against Voldemort." Ron shivered.
"Hermione, we have told you time and again that we do not want you putting yourself at risk," bellowed her father.
"Hermione, we just don't want to see you get hurt," added her mother softly.
"With all due respect," said Ron, "as long as You-Know-Who is back, none of us are safe."
Mr. Granger glared at Ron again, but his attention was captured by Hermione. "Daddy, you always taught me that I have to do what is right, and fighting against Voldemort is right. Besides, I'm fine now. Draco distracted his father from attacking me, and Ron got me out of the battle."
"Battle?" whimpered Mrs. Granger.
Mr. Granger, however, was once again focused on Ron. "You and this Draco helped save my daughter?"
"Yes, sir. I will always take care of Hermione." Ron's voice was steady, but the emotion behind his words was obvious to Hermione and her parents.
Mr. Granger nodded. "Promise me that you will protect her," he ordered.
"With my life," replied Ron solemnly. Mr. Granger nodded his satisfaction with Ron's response. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief, as Ron and her parents fell into a casual conversation about the Granger's holiday in Greece.
****************
Buffy and Shannon found Faith painting the master bedroom in her new home. "Isn't there some easier way to do that with magic?" asked Shannon.
"Probably," replied Faith with a shrug. "Why don't you too grab some brushes?"\
Buffy and Shannon nodded, and soon the three Slayers were busy painting. "This is really a cute house," commented Buffy.
"I still can't believe that I'm married let alone that I own a house," replied Faith. "You have no idea how hard it was to find someone willing to sell to us."
"Why wouldn't someone want to sell to you?" asked Buffy.
"You know at first I thought it was because they had a thing against an interracial couples, but that wasn't it. They were okay with selling to me because I'm a Slayer, but they didn't want a muggle living in an all wizarding village. We finally started introducing Robin as the son of a Slayer, and suddenly people were willing to sell to us. Talk about deeply warped prejudices."
As they continued painting, Faith suggested that they get everyone together for dinner at the Three Broomsticks. Buffy excused herself to use the fireplace to contact the other Scoobies. The only Scooby in England that she was unable to contact was Willow, who was at a small country retreat with no floo access. She was spending her summer working on her recovery from her dark magic addiction. Everyone else agreed to meet at the pub that evening.
****************
After dinner, Ron and Hermione walked hand in hand around Hermione's neighborhood. They were both content to be in each other's company. They talked a bit about their summer holidays and what they expected in their last year of Hogwarts.
When they returned to Hermione's doorstep, Ron kissed her softly. "I really did miss you," he said.
"I missed you too, Ron. Thank you for coming to see me."
"Now that I can Apparate, you'll be seeing a lot more of me this summer. And, hopefully you will be able to come to the Burrow or we will be at Order headquarters together soon."
They kissed again, before Ron said, "Goodnight," and walked back toward the little wooded area, where he could safely Apparate home.
****************
The Scoobies had a nice meal at The Three Broomsticks. Buffy, Shannon, and Dawn told everyone about their vacations. Faith and Anya, who had purchased a muggle flat in London with Xander, talked about the work they were doing on their new homes. Giles, Narcissa, Robin, and Andrew talked about work at the Watchers Council, and Xander updated everyone on the Council construction.
After dinner Shannon approached Buffy. "I think that it might be a good idea for me to do a patrol," the young Slayer commented.
Buffy raised an eyebrow at her sister's best friend. "And where exactly do you think you should do this patrol?" Buffy asked, though she already knew the answer.
"Surrey," replied Shannon coolly. "There are no Slayers in that area; so, it would be an ideal place for vamps to be hanging out."
"And the fact that a certain Boy-Who-Lived happens to reside there has nothing to do with it, I'm sure."
"Well, since the entire wizarding world is depending on this Boy-Who-Lived, we wouldn't want him getting taken out by some random vamp, would we?" explained Shannon.
Buffy shook her head, remembering how much she had missed Angel, when she was forced to spend an entire summer in Los Angeles with her father. Upon returning to Sunnydale, she wanted nothing more than to see him. "Fine," said Buffy, "but I don't want you going alone in case you do actually find some vamps. So you have to find someone willing to go with you. I'm pretty sure that Dawn won't willingly leave Draco, and since I still can't Apparate. . ."
Shannon's brows knitted, as she thought of who would go with her. She was happy to hear Faith volunteer. "I'll go with the kid. I could use a patrol, and Robin is heading home now to get a good night sleep. Giles has been running him ragged with Council business."
Shannon smiled up at the older Slayer. "Thanks."
"No prob. I just need to see a map to do the Apparating thing," replied Faith matter-of-factly.
****************
Harry was having an incredibly good day considering that he was still at Number 4, Privet Drive. His aunt and uncle had left that morning for their vacation in Majorca. Since Dudley was out all day with his gang, Harry had an opportunity to have the house to himself. He ate a dinner that he liked, and he watched television programs that he wanted to see.
After dark, Harry had become bored with the television and decided to take a walk. He had always preferred Little Whinging by night, when the nosey neighbors, who did not approve of him, were tucked away in their homes. Harry wandered to the local play park and soon found himself lazily sitting on one of the few swings that Dudley's gang had yet to break.
Harry noticed four older teens enter the play park and begin walking toward him. At first he thought they were his cousin's gang, but none of them were fat enough to be Dudley. Before the teens reached Harry, they were distracted by the deep voice of Dudley bellowing at them from the other side of the play park. "Oy, who the hell do you think you are? This is our territory."
Harry stood to get a closer look, fingering his wand, as the two gangs charged each other. Though Dudley and his friends were holding their own, the other gang was clearly gaining the upper hand. As the bright moon broke through the clouds above, Harry gasped. The other gang members were vampires.
Harry pulled his wand, but before he could utter a spell, a loud crack echoed in the night. Two girls had appeared, stakes in hand. Faith and Shannon joined the fray without hesitation, as Harry sat back on the swing and watched the fight. It took only a few minutes for the four vampires to turn to dust and Dudley's gang to remain in a stunned silence, staring at the two Slayers.
Harry stood again and walked toward the six people standing in the play park. Before he reached them, he was knocked to the ground by an over-excited Shannon, who had run toward him and flung herself into his arms. "Miss me?" Harry asked cheekily. Shannon replied with a long, deep kiss, which Harry happily reciprocated.
Shannon climbed off of Harry and helped him to his feet in time to hear Dudley regain his voice. "What kind of freak are you?" he asked Faith.
The older Slayer rolled her eyes at the fat teen. "I'm the freak who just saved your ass," she replied.
Dudley's eyes fell on Shannon and Harry, holding hands as they walked toward the group. "I told you my girlfriend could kick your arse," Harry sings-songed at his cousin.
"Just because she did some freak thing to those other blokes, doesn't mean she wouldn't get hurt if she tried to fight me," retorted Dudley, trying to save face in front of his gang.
"Can I hit him?" Shannon asked Faith.
Faith shook her head. "Only if he throws the first punch."
"Damn," replied Shannon, as she turned toward Harry, smiling up at him. Dudley, who had moved behind Harry, decided to use his cousin's distraction to hit him. Unfortunately for Dudley, Shannon had Slayer reflexes. In the time it took him to swing, she had pushed Harry aside and caught Dudley's fist in her hand. She began to squeeze, effectively crushing several bones in Dudley's hand and bringing him down to his knees. "Didn't you ever learn that it's wrong to sucker punch someone?" she asked, before releasing Dudley, who along with his gang took off running.
"This really has been a great day," commented Harry, as he pulled Shannon into his arms and kissed her again.