A Second Chance
Chapter 25 - Far from Easy.
DISCLAIMER: Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon, and Harry Potter to J.K. Rowling. I don't own anything.
TIMELINE: AU. Set ten years before (Around 1988) "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's stone", during and after Harry Potter book 5, "Order of the Phoenix"(2003). During and after BTVS season 7, "Chosen". Pretend HP book one happened in 1999 during Buffy season three )
SUMMARY: BTVS/HP crossover. After James and Lily reappears, seemingly alive and well, mysterious things start to happen. New allies are made, prophecies revealed...and people keep rising from the dead. What's going on? And what has Voldemort got to do with it? Are the Scoobies and the Potter's second chance at life enough to stop the Dark Lord from spreading darkness across the country? Or is the world in need of more miracles?
PAIRINGS: Too many to count.
Thanks to my beta: Charmed Chick
"So what was the prophecy about?" The trio, Ginny and Dawn sat in the boys dormitory, waiting for Harry to speak. He took a deep breath, when suddenly Neville walked inside.
"Hi guys. Didn't see you at the train?" He said. Neville had grown a bit over the summer - he wasn't so short anymore, and had lost a lot of his 'baby-fat'. He also looked more confident, but in his eyes, you could see pain and scars- the same thing you could see if you looked in Harry's, Ron's or Hermione's eyes.
'This war affects us all...' Ginny thought sadly. 'Wonder how it's going to end...'
"Hi, Neville,"Hermione said, and Harry smiled. Ron nodded, but gave him a sour look. Ginny saw this, and rolled her eyes. "Oh, drop it Ron! I was only kidding!"
"Kidding about what?" Neville asked, confused,and sat down. Ginny smirked. "You'd love to know, right?"
Neville nodded.
"Well, we've spent the summer at Hogwarts, and while we were playing Quidditch, I told the twins something to keep them distracted from shooting bludgers.
"And what was that?"
"I said you and I had been going at it since last term," Ginny said casually. "Sorry." She added.
It took awhile for her words to sink in, but when they did, Neville started to blush.
"N-no problem," he stammered. "G-glad I could help."
Ron gave him another withering look.
"Could we get back to the point- Harry and the prophecy?" Hermione asked.
"The prophecy the hat mentioned?" Neville asked. "Or the one which was smashed last year?"
Harry sighed.
"It's one and the same...and it's about me and Voldemort." The others flinched.
Dawn and Harry rolled their eyes.
"Oh, get over it." They said.
"Uh, Harry..." Ron said, and motioned over to Neville.
"Yeah?"
Ron motioned some more.
"Oh. Well, Neville, sit down."
Neville obeyed.
"But...Harry..." Ron said. "...Isn't this between...us? No offense, Neville," he hastily added.
"No." Harry said. "In fact, it's more between me and Neville."
The others looked confused at this.
"You'll understand later. Anyway, don't you think Neville deserves to know? He fought alongside us all last year...and handled himself really well."
Neville blushed at this.
"Anyway, maybe I should tell Luna too...she was there too, after all..."
"Harry, tell us...now." Hermione said through gritted teeth. "We're not letting you charm your way out of this!"
Harry sighed.
"Alright. You all remember last year? The prophecy that was smashed?"
Everyone nodded.
"Anyway, Dumbledore had heard it before. When it was made. It's about me and Voldemort." He sighed, and started to speak with a dull voice. He'd repeated it so many times in his head, he'd know it in his sleep.
"...The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies ..."
Hermione gasped, and put her hand on her mouth, horrified. The others only looked confused, except Dawn, who'd know the prophecy since before- Buffy'd told her after Willow'd gone 'mad'. She grasped his hand tightly, giving him silent support.
"What does it mean?" Ron asked, still confused.
Harry took a deep breath.
"It means...that I'm the only one who can defeat Voldemort. It's kill or be killed. Murder or be murdered." he said bitterly. "We can't exist at the same time. The world isn't big enough for both of us," he continued with a laugh, although it sounded forced.
Hermione and Ginny had tears in their eyes, and Ron looked horrified. Neville too, although he was confused.
"What did you mean when you said it was more between you and me?" He asked.
"Well...this prophecy...it could have been about someone else. You."
Neville looked shocked.
"What?"
"Yeah." Harry sighed. "You're born at the end of July too, your parents had defied Voldemort three times too..."
"Then maybe it's not Harry! It could be Neville!"
"No. It is me. Voldemort knew about the first part of the prophecy: '...The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ...'"
"That's why he tried to kill you when you was a baby..." Hermione said.
"Yeah. And that's why he failed. His killing curse bounced back, because I had the power he didn't know...love from my mother and father. And he marked me as his equal."
"If he'd gone to Neville's instead...he would have been the one...?"
Harry nodded. "Probably."
"Then why you? Why did he choose you?"
Harry shrugged.
"I guess he felt more connected with me - being a half-blood and all. Or maybe he just has a thing for Potters."
The others smiled a little at this. Suddenly, Hermione gave him a huge hug, Ron soon to follow. Then Dawn joined, and then Ginny. Lastly, Neville joined, still feeling a bit overwhelmed. Both by the prophecy that could have been about him, but wasn't - he felt relieved, sorry for Harry, and disappointed at the same time. He wondered how his life would have been if he'd been the Boy-Who-Lived. Then he realized how lucky he was he wasn't the one - Neville didn't know how he could live with a burden like that.
He didn't understand how Harry did it. But then, he thought, and looked at them all, as they all hugged each other, that Harry had friends, and people who loved him. Even if things got rough, and it would be far from easy, he'd get through this. Neville was sure of it.
Tara hurried down the corridors at Hogwarts. She was looking for Willow - over the last few days, Tara had been busy planning a schedule for the wandless magic class. Since she'd been 'hired' on very short notice, she'd felt the stress breathing down on her neck, and hadn't had time to talk to the redhead. If it was bad or good, she didn't know. What she did know was that she'd had a lot of time to think about her. And Tara knew she still loved her, but she also knew they'd have a lot to work through, and she knew things possibly never would get back to the relaxed relationship they'd once had, when they trustedthe other with their lives. Things wouldn't be as easy as last time. She smiled a bit at the memory.
Things fall apart, they fall apart so hard..
Flashback.
"Things fall apart, they fall apart so hard…"
"Tara?"
"You can't ever... put 'em back the way they were...
"Are you okay?"
"I'm sorry, it's just...you know it takes time. You can't just... have coffee and expect..."
"I know."
"There's just so much to work through. Trust has to build again, on both sides...you have to learn if... if we're even the same people we were, if you can fit in each other's lives, it's a long and important process and ... can we just skip it? Can you... can you just be kissing me now?"
End flashback.
Her smile faded. No. Things would be far from easy.
Charlie paced outside of Buffy's quarters, trying to work up some courage.
"Alright..." he mumbled for himself, repeating the things he was going to say over and over again in his head.
'Buffy. Would you like to have a coffee with me? On a date?'
He took a deep breath. Yes, that was it. He was just going to knock, when the door flew open, and the center of Charlie's thoughts walked through.
"Oh, hi, Charlie!" Buffy said brightly, and he swallowed. She looked hot, wearing red leather pants and a black top.
"H-hi."
"Did you want something?" Buffy asked, looking concerned.
"Uhm..." 'Just out with it, Charlie-boy!'
"Would you like to..."
"...to?"
Charlie took a deep breath.
"Hagrid just got some new flobber-worms, and I promised to give him a hand. They're really interesting, actually. Would you like to have a look?"
Buffy blinked.
"Flobber-worms?"
Charlie nodded, his ear tips going red.
"Urhm..." Buffy opened her mouth. "You know, I'd love to, but...urhm...I really don't have time. I've got to plan the class for tomorrow with Faith." She paused. "Good luck with the flobber-worms." She left, and to Charlie, it looked like she couldn't wait to get away from him. He moaned.
"Great! Absolutely fabulous! Very suave, very not pathetic!" He sunk down at the floor.
"FLOBBER-WORMS!" He said out loud. "I am such an idiot! Why is it so damn hard to ask her out!" He muttered. "It should be easy, but nooooo. I am so doomed! She'll never look at me again! Damn you, Bill!" He cursed his brother.
Flashback.
"Bill?"
"Charlie?" Bill sounded surprised.
"How nice of you to floo in!"
"Yeah...ehrm. How's things with Fleur?"
"Oh, they're great!"
"Great...so...ehrm. When you asked her out...for the first time. What did you say?"
Bill studied him for a moment.
'Poor boy,' he thought. 'When it comes to dragons, Charlie's the expert, but when it comes to girls...he's completely clueless.'
"Just ask her. Say something like: Hi, I've been watching you for awhile, and can't help but notice how pretty you are. Would you like to have coffee?"
Charlie blinked.
"That wouldn't work. We know each other, it's not just a witch in town."
"Oh, well, then. Go with the coffee, but skip the rest." Bill shrugged.
"Beel!" Someone said from the background. "Beel, when do you get back to zee bed?"
Bill grinned.
"Sorry, duty calls. Good luck with your girl! It's easy."
End flashback.
"Yeah, right..." Charlie muttered. "It's far from easy.
Draco Malfoy, the biggest and baddest boy at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, swept through the halls like he owned the place. He couldn't believe it. He'd already known Dumbledore was out of his bloody mind, but hiring SLAYERS? And EX-DEMONS? And WICCANS? Like that wasn't enough, he'd also put back the bloody WEREWOLF on the post as Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. He must have completely lost it this time...
'Just wait until I write to my father about this...'
"Hello there," someone said from the shadows, and Draco jumped.
"W-who said that?"
Someone stepped out, and Draco's eyes widened. The man had bleach-blonde hair, a long leather jacket and was smoking.
"W-who are you?"
"Woah! I'm the one who asks the questions! What's your name, kid?"
"D-Draco. Draco Malfoy." Draco straightened his back, and stuck up his nose in the weather.
"Oh, I've heard about you. The bouncing ferret, was it? Or was it the flying one? I heard you had a little accident in Diagon Alley. Got your ass kicked by a girl." The man smirked, and Draco flushed with anger. How did he know that?
"Now, listen here, Mr...?"
"Spike. Or William the Bloody, take your pick."
"Alright, listen here, Mr...Bloody, my father is - " he stopped as the man's name sunk in. " - W-William the Bloody?"
Spike smirked.
"Yup."
Draco gulped, and backed another step- into a wall.
"Now, Mr. Malfoy, was it?"
Draco nodded.
"Whoever your father is, you can tell him to take that stick he has up his ass and get it removed. And tell him to remove yours too, while he's at it. Got that?"
Draco shook with fear.
"I-I won't l-let y-you th-threaten me, Mr...Bloody."
"Oh, it's not a threat. It's a promise. I suggest you take it easy and get down from that almighty horse of yours while your still in school. You wouldn't want to wake up one morning with no blood left, right?"
Draco gulped, and Spike laughed.
"Sorry, pal. My mistake - if I drain you of blood, you won't wake up! Sorry, mate. Anyway, I don't want you to end up like that poor guy in Texas - tortured him to death I did. Railroad spikes and all. Not that I like to brag." He paused. "Oh, who am I kiddin'? I LOVE to brag!"
Draco could only stare. The man...beast...creature...demon...vampire...whatever he was, was obviously insane. Suddenly, Spike sniffed, and looked down at Draco.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Didn't mean to make you wet yourself."
Draco looked down, and saw that in front of his robes, was a wet spot. He flushed again, out of embarrassment this time.
"Anyway, I hope you'll have a nice term! Although I do recommend you sleep with lights on for awhile. Grab that teddy bear in the bottom of your trunk too, just to be sure." He smirked again, and Draco gulped. How did he know about Fifi?
"Sleep tight." Spike ruffled around in Draco's hair, before leaving. When he was out of earshot, he lent back against a wall, smirking to himself.
"That was way too easy."
A/N: Hope you liked! And I hope I wasn't too mean to the dragon! REVIEW!
/Ida