Title: A Kind of Magick
Author: DhampyrX2
Genre: X-over w/ Harry Potter
Series: none...yet
Rating: PG-13, just to be safe
Summary: Xander accompanied Giles and Willow to England to make sure she settled in well with the Devon coven after her Darth Willow episode, and has a chance to check in with some of his lesser discussed relations.
Timeframe: Between seasons 6 & 7.
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. Don't sue me, I'm poor.
The pizza was wonderful, just as Xander remembered it, but he would have enjoyed it far more if he wasn't being left in the lion's den without a safety net. Xander knew all of the obvious trappings of the Wizarding World due to Tonks, Aunt Rommie, and Aunt Cissa. That didn't mean he could function there very long without one of them. Still, if it was to protect Puff, sarcastic, smart-mouthed little monster that he is, Xander thought with a proud smile, then it was well worth it.
Still, that didn't mean he should go in blind or under-prepared. "Hey, Sprite," he said with a concerned tone as he and Nymphadora walked casually around after dinner, both a little leery to part for who knew how long from their favorite cousin.
"Yeah, Lavelle?" Tonks replied with a cheeky grin that illustrated the relation in them better than any family tree could.
"I've been thinking," Xander began.
"I hope you didn't strain yourself," Tonks cut in with a laugh.
"Ha. Ha. Witness my mirth. It is to laugh...wait, no it's not. You're getting lazy with your humor," Xander admonished playfully, which earned him a hearty razzberry in return. "Real mature, officer. Anyway, like I was saying, I've been thinking. And first, ow!, it did hurt, so thanks for your worry; and second, this is going to be longer than the week or two I originally figured I'd stay in the country, right?" he asked as he glanced sidelong at his cousin, who now had bright blue hair.
"Hmm, most likely," Tonks agreed, as she wondered what he was getting at.
"And I'm supposed to protect Puff somehow, at least until he's under his mom's eye again, right?" Xander inquired.
"From what you described, that's how it sounds. Heaven knows the Order won't work overly hard to protect the Slytherin son of the Arsemunch," she agreed somewhat shamefully at the thought the government would ignore a wizard's need for support over his heritage.
"Well, then, do you think we could apparate or floo or whatever over to my apartment in the States so I can gear up and let Buff and Dawnie know I'm going to be a while? I mean, let's face it, other than some stakes and whatever I can pinch from Giles, I don't even have any weapons. My inner Sunnydalian is cringing at that oversight. I at least want to pick up my axe," he pleaded with an innocent puppy-dog expression.
"Alex, I don't know if that's..." Tonks hedged as she thought about auror regulations.
"Oh come on, Sprite! I'm talking a few changes of underwear, an axe, and maybe a short sword and some glow sticks since I can't use magick well, and techie things like flashlights won't work at the school. Glow sticks are all chemical, so they'd work fine without even giving off heat or a scent the way candles do," Xander pressured with a nudge to her arm.
"Glow sticks...you mean like the ones you showed me that Halloween? I guess that might be alright. And I can't let you run out of knickers," she conceded with a sidelong glance at her cousin. He really has grown up quite handsome. I wish he'd find himself a nice girl that wasn't a demon to settle down with. Too bad I don't know any witches his age that he wouldn't balk at, or that would freak out about his choice of residence, she mused in her head.
"Sweet!" Xander exclaimed with his trademark grin, even as he made a mental inventory of what was already in his post-Glory emergency 'grab bag' suitcase at home. Let's see, I have the Glock 9mm loaded with magnesium-thermite tracers and two extra 12 round clips, three flash-bang grenades, three concussion grenades, and four willi-pete's left. The twelve gauge is loaded will a full five rounds, plus one in the chamber, and there's a box of ammo to go with it, so that handles the biggest thing I could sneak past Tonks that would work on the Hogwarts grounds. The tazer and the stun gun will work as back ups outside of the anti-tech enchantment, at least, so I'll bring those too. I wonder if she'd fall for the dynamite that went 'missing' on our last site being a special type of chemical candles muggles use that burns longer? Ah, well, better not push it. I might as well keep the stakes and holy water in there, too; you never know when you need it. Ooh, and the Twinkies. I won't be able to buy more of them for a while, so I should add more to the bag, he listed in his head.
"If we're going to your home, we should arrange a rented muggle car the next town over, or something. The American Ministry has an office for that that I can set us up with fairly easily. How about I meet you at your hotel room in an hour or so?" Tonks suggested.
"Sounds like a plan," Xander agreed with a smile.
"Hey, Dawnie! Yeah, England's not too bad. So not bad, I was thinking about staying for a while. Yeah. No, of course not. I set up that account for you guys, end of discussion. Nah, it's no biggie. I have it covered. Believe it or not I have relatives here on my mom's side to mooch off of. Yeah. No, I made it up to mock you. I would not! Hey! I can come up with better ways to mock you than /that/, I'll have you know. Laughs. Yeah. Well, anyway can you let Buff know when she gets back from patrol? She's not? Ahn is actually /paying/ her to help clean up the Magick Box? Cool beans. Anyway, I might be a month or two. I...I just need some time to unwind. ...I knew you'd get it. Thank Dawn-patrol. Well now that you mention it, I /do/ have a male cousin near your age. Well, he's kind of an asswipe, actually. He can't help it; he gets it from his father. Well 'obviously I'm related to his mother, then. Yeah. Sorry, he's a makes Giles look modern technophobe, so I can't get you an e-mail address. Yeppers. I guess that's a stuffy Brit thing. Okay. So, how's training with the Buffmeister coming? Ugh, that bad, huh? Well of /course/ I'll show you more dirty tricks when I get home. We don't all have superpowers to fall back on, you know. Well she forgets, she /is/ blonde you know? No, I'm far too brain damaged to notice the varied shades of her bleach jobs. I've never seen her curtains to compare, actually. Just Faith's and Ahn's. Shocked Dawn! You could get yourself grounded and me pummeled for saying things like that, missy. Groan You've been around Anya way too long. Laughs Yeah. Alright, I'll see you in a month or two, munchkin. You are too. You'll always be a kid to me, no matter how hot you get. Uh, let's never tell Buff I said that last part, okay? Okay, you win, I promise. Love you too, Dawn. Bye." Xander conversed on his end of the phone as he reported in with his Dawn patrol.
In a cold and quiet manor on the outskirts of Edinburgh, a stately witch with long black hair and heavily lidded eyes has just finished a conversation with someone by floo in her fireplace.
"What was that all about, dear?" her husband, who had entered the room in the tail end of the conversation, inquired.
"Nothing to concern yourself with, Rudolphus. Just some banking matters in the family accounts that needed tending." Bellatrix Black-Lestrange responded with an air of authority that even scared her fellow Death Eaters. Only Lord Voldemort himself, who favored her like a daughter, did not flinch in her presence from time to time.
"I thought Narcissa dealt with all that. Well Lucius really, I mean. We all know Cissa's a good witch with dedication to the cause, but she's a little..." Rudolphus Lestrange began, until he saw the glare his Bella was giving him.
"My sister is still a Black, and you would do well to remember that, husband," she intoned imperially.
"Yes dear," Rudolphus replied before backing out of the room as fast as he could without breaking into a run. Bella was in a mood, and he needed to get some muggles for her to torture to cheer her up before she took it out on him.
"Simpering worm," Bella growled at her spouse's actions, before she broke out into a feral grin. He was entertaining to watch as he went out to try to divine her bidding, though. Still, she wished Severus was still in the Dark Lord's good graces, she mused with a sigh. Sev always knew how to play the game so bloody well. I do miss having someone around too legitimately proud to be caught cringing near me. And not just that prat Lucius' belief he was safe as Cissa's husband. If only ol' 'Snivellus' could swallow enough of that pride to come home. Even the Dark Lord has enough mercy to welcome him back. He /is/ one of our best after all, and betrayal is a part of being truly dark. she thought to herself.
Her thoughts of Lucius eventually brought her to thoughts of Narcissa. Thoughts of Cissa brought her to family in general. And /that/ musing brought her first to her killing of her cousin Sirius, and then to the report of which of his accounts had recently become active. So the squib's son has come for a visit to our world, eh? You've already made such a name for yourself in a world even darker than my own, Alexander. Are you really the Noble Black deep inside that Cissa believes you to be? Can you play the game as well as I have learned to? And whom will you play for? Will you lick at that old fool's boots to stay near your mudblood cousin? Will you side unerringly with Cissa and her schemes she managed to hide from everyone but me? Will you prove worthy enough to join us here at Lord Voldemort's side as I have? Or will you simply spurn me regardless for following mother's edicts for my useless sister that was too lazy to embrace the chance she was given? Do you hate me, Alexander? I wonder? So many things you /could/ be in all this, and so few answers, my nephew that should not be. You are truly a mystery. One that I think I will enjoy unraveling. And if you cannot stand the pressure, then you weren't worth my time to begin with. Bellatrix thought with a dark grin.
The trip to Xander's apartment went off without a hitch, from checking out of his hotel, to flooing to the car rental place, to driving to the Hellmouth to get his things. Nymphadora was content to look at all the muggle devices Xander had. She hadn't exactly been raised without any muggle gear; her father was a muggle-born wizard, after all. But Xander had so /many/ different things. His tele was larger and more modern than the one she remembered her grandparents having, and his music system was so complex. It was easy to be engrossed by the trappings of her cousin's life. Of course, the fact she was doing her best to ignore the many magickal, cursed, or demonic, and occasionally all three, items displayed around the place as knick-knacks that were left over from his fiancé', might have had something to do with it.
Finally she decided to see what was taking Xander so long as he came into the kitchen and grabbed three boxes of Twinkies from the cupboard and took them into his bedroom. As she entered, she noticed Xander was in his closet rummaging through his clothes basket for more socks, so she decided to peek into his suitcase to see what all he was bringing. If nothing else, she could claim she did her job as an auror and checked out his belongings for obvious contraband. What she saw brought a look of confusion to her face.
"Xander?" she asked inquisitively.
"Yeah, 'Dora" he replied with his head still buried in the closet and his arse hanging out.
"What are all these pipes and springs and things in the pouches in your suitcase?" she asked, as she looked them over again.
My guns disassembled in case you came in here to check, he replied in his head even as he answered, "I'm thinking of studying plumbing and mechanical tools to expand what I can do on site. Those are just some basic training kits for me to work on when I'm alone so I don't get too bored waiting to talk to puff," he answered instead.
"Oh," Tonks responded.
"Is it alright if I bring my favorite compound bow?" Xander inquired as he neared her with his recently retrieved socks.
"I don't see why you'd need it," Tonks responded.
Xander shrugged as he replied, "You never know."
"I guess I can look the accept something like a bow. Just don't shoot off any arrows unless you need to," she conceded.
"Groovy," Xander replied in his best Ash Williams voice, even if it was lost on his cousin. "Can I bring my chainsaw?" he asked eagerly.
Tonks knew enough to know what a chainsaw was and laughed at the absurdity of having one as she replied, "Certainly not. You goof."
"Awww," Xander pouted. "Spoilsport," he declared as he went to his dresser and started to arrange spare underclothes.
As he did this Tonks looked at his battleaxe, which was a single edged affair with a piked tip and a pin hammer to break open armor opposite the blade. It was a huge and nasty thing that should have been far too heavy and unwieldy for her cousin, even if construction work had filled him out. As she lifted it, she was amazed at how light it was. Did he use some kind of weight reduction charm on it? "Xander, this feels light. I thought you didn't use magick?" she inquired with a puzzled expression.
Her cousin laughed as he replied, "Mojo and me aren't friends, you know that. It's light because it isn't made if just steel. It's an acid etched titanium composite, that's why the metal looks so light. That blade if five times stronger, and ten times lighter than regular steel with nothing more than muggle ingenuity and a good understanding of metallurgy behind it. Times are changing. We're catching up," he explained with a wink.
"Huh?" Tonks asked in confusion.
Xander sighed as he said, "It's made of a lighter metal."
"Why didn't you just say that to begin with?" Tonks admonished as she realized what he meant.
Xander's only reply was to shake his head and mutter to himself about getting out of there before she got herself killed, and not belonging on a Hellmouth unescorted as he sorted his knickers.
END PART 5