Hey, look at that I managed to get this chappie in a day before school started back up. My apologies for the major lateness of this chappie. A combo of writer's block and computer malfunctions and my own summer induced laziness are to blame. Vld, you, my friend, are a genius. Thanks for the brilliant idea on a g/f for Xander.
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The Forbidden Forest. The name practically spoke for itself. Creatures out of the darkest of nightmares lurked there in packs preying upon those weak and ignorant enough to tread upon their territory. It was a terrifying and tantalizingly mysterious place that always commanded a sense of respect and of course, fear. True the forest was highly appealing to some people with its various hazards and the fact that the people who aptly named the forest tacked "Forbidden" on there. It was the bane of all teenagers—Muggle and wizard kind alike—call something "forbidden" and the more intriguing it becomes. One of the most beloved pastimes of older Hogwarts students was daring a person to stray so far into the forest alone. Of course that person strayed only a little ways before quickly turning back and running for dear life back towards the safety of the Hogwarts grounds. No one entered far into the forest without someone who knew what dangers to expect and how to avoid them, like Hagrid. One would have to be daft to enter the forest at a young age, especially at night. However, that was just what three young ladies were doing one particular Friday night in early October. Only they were an exception to Hogwarts rules.
Hermione and her fellow slayer patrollers, Jordan and Vi, were strolling through the Forbidden Forest. The two slayer-witches grasped a wand with the ends dimly lighted while the other girl held a glowing stone gifted to each slayer by Professor Dumbledore. Their eyes were diligently searching the areas they passed through, their feet barely made any sounds on the ground, all six of their senses were open. They were on the hunt
A nest of vampires was discovered last night by another patrol and was promptly eliminated. Mostly slayers did not go into the Forest during patrol because most creatures in there went out of their way to avoid human contact and they figured they should honor that. If the slayers didn't bother the creatures that dwelled within the woods, then the creatures more than likely would not bother them. Yet reports of deaths and disappearances from the nearby all-wizard village of Hogsmeade that seemed vampiric in nature incited the young female warriors to search through the Forbidden Forest and the village itself to hunt down the fiends responsible. A nest was found in the village and a nest was found in the Forest and both were destroyed. This night was simply a follow-up patrol to be sure that all the vampires were destroyed. Almost all of the slayers staying at Hogwarts were out scouring the woods and village in teams of three to five girls each.
"Here vampires. I got plans for tomorrow and I don't fancy staying up all night trying to find one of you," Jordan growled irritably.
"Well, we do have that slayer stamina that lets us get by on a couple hours of sleep," Vi replied.
"Well, I don't suspect it would count for much if we don't get any rest at all," Hermione said knowledgably.
Tomorrow was the first trip to Hogsmeade of the term. Hermione's sixteenth birthday and Dawn's seventeenth birthday had passed at the end of September within a week of one another. The girls' birthdays were celebrated with one combined party only there wasn't as much gift-exchanging as there had been at Harry's party. Jordan planned on getting her friends' birthday...or rather belated birthday presents while in Hogsmeade on Saturday. Most everyone else was going the same root as her, which made her feel infinitely better about it. She had been thinking more about what gifts to get her two friends than the current task at hand. Well, it was pretty normal for Jordan to get sidetracked.
"You think Dawn would like a weapon? No, Spike got her a weapon and Faith got her that outfit that made Buffy gag on her drink and Harry's eyes bug out of his head. So that's out," she mumbled in contemplation.
Hermione and Vi turned their heads to stare at her in confusion. Jordan felt their eyes on her and looked up. "What? Oh yeah, well it's been bugging me all day what to get you and Dawn. I mean, I have your gift figured out, Hermione, but I don't know what to get Dawn," Jordan explained to them both.
"Harry's been asking me that too. He's got himself all worked up over it no matter how much I tell him that she'll love anything he gets her," Hermione said in an annoyed tone.
"Did you notice the way Buffy was watching Harry and Dawn like a hawk at the party?" Vi inquired, then added, "Spike was too, but that's nothing new. Usually Buffy's pretty cool around them."
"Yes I did notice that Buffy was being oddly attentive to the activities of those two. I don't think they got a chance to be alone," Jordan recanted thoughtfully. "I guess she didn't want Harry to give Dawn a very special birthday present."
Hermione's jaw dropped and the civil side of her (which was slowly shrinking everyday in her opinion) had the grace to act scandalized. "Harry would never do something like that! Do you really think he would...I mean..." she trailed off, very flustered.
"Go on, you can say it," Jordan urged with a very amused smirk on her face. "Shag is how you people in England put it, I believe."
Vi cracked up laughing at that thought and Hermione just tightened her grip on her wand. Jordan laughed aloud at Hermione's shocked expression and clapped a hand on her shoulder.
"Chill, Hermione. I actually meant 'making out', you're the one who inferred sex," Jordan assured her, nonplussed.
"Was someone thinking about a certain tall, freckled redhead perchance?" Vi questioned wryly.
Hermione just gave up right there and joined in on the laughter that ensued. She might as well loosen up about these particular subjects. After all, she was nearly of age in the Wizard World.
The laughter ceased as abruptly as it had begun and the comical grins on the three girls' faces transitioned into expressions fraught with alert and tension.
"So, I'm guessing you guys felt that too?" Vi whispered, pulling her fists up in defensive mode.
"Bingo," Jordan answered in a grimly sardonic voice.
The three slayers subconsciously bunched together and stood back-to-back gripping on their assorted weapons, which was a sword each sheathed at their wastes, a crossbow with a quiver of bolts slung over their backs, and the one thing a vampire slayer was rarely without: a sharp, wooden stake. The young slayers had felt the presence of the undead simultaneously although each felt it in her own distinct way. They could not tell exactly how many there was only that there was more than one. If there were too many for the three of them to handle alone, which was unlikely, they could simply grasp their crosses and utter the password to the small portkeys and they would be whisked away to the safety of the castle.
"How close would you wager?" Hermione whispered to her comrades.
"Close enough," Jordan mumbled.
Vi started creeping towards the left of the small group and the two followed to guard her back. She slowly ascended a small rise and when she saw beyond the rise she pushed herself flat to the ground and dragged the other two down with her.
They crawled up beside her to peer behind the scrub that was acting as their cover for the time being and gasped at what they saw. There weren't many vampires, only six that they could see, not so big that the three slayers couldn't handle them on their own. It was what they were doing that made them gasp in horror and disgust.
A purely white horse-shaped form was the center of the vampires' attention and was probably the only thing that kept the slayers from being discovered by the undead creatures. A ridged horn poked out from the creature's forehead which identified it as the creature for what it truly was. Even Vi, raised and educated in the Muggle world, would recognize that legendary beast in a heartbeat. It was a unicorn. The vampires were feeding off a unicorn and it was still alive. The poor animal was twitching in agony from the vampires all sinking their fangs into it at once.
Jordan's face contorted into a mask of hatred combined with fury so intense that when Vi and Hermione saw her they had half a mind to back away. Unicorns were her favorite animals. They had been so since she had first seen a live one at her aunt's magical creature reserve in Canada. Like many a witch and wizard she knew the price that came with drinking a unicorn's blood. The animals were so pure, so untainted, that its blood issued a double-edged sword as a gift. When one was on the brink of death the blood of a unicorn could bring him back from the brink, yet he would live a cursed, half-life in return with no chance of recovery. Death was far preferable to those with a semblance of sanity. To Jordan, drinking the blood of a unicorn was not only wrong, it was full-blown sacrilege.
How dare anyone, anyone, even contemplate harming such a beautiful, wondrous creature and drink of its silver elixir? She mentally smacked herself in the head when she remembered that these were vampires committing this crime of nature. They were practically crimes of nature themselves (Spike and Angel notwithstanding). That was some condolence at least, because had they been humans she probably wouldn't have been allowed to kill them. She wasn't exactly sure if the rules had changed yet on that aspect.
"Those bastards," she intoned, oddly calm. "I think we have to kill them now."
Before Vi or Hermione could appropriately respond Jordan had leapt to her feet and was running full speed towards the vampires with her wand aimed and ready. Using a fire spell she reduced one to ashes instantly and another before the vampires realized they were being attacked. Vi and Hermione quickly caught up and Hermione added her own magical firepower while Vi fired a bolt at one that landed right on target and turned the vampire to dust. The two remaining vampires were starting to doubt their ability to survive in this situation. Silver unicorn blood was dripping from their mouths and coated their fronts. The sight of it royally pissed Jordan off. She lunged at one in a flying leap and tackled it to the ground. This was actually her first time going on the offensive in a battle where she wasn't so terrified she was in danger of pissing herself like at the last stand in Sunnydale. She was running hot on the fuel of sweet fury and it overrode her fear, which justifiably was always present.
The other vampire did not stay to help his companion and instead with one last look at Hermione and Vi took off into the forest. The two other slayers were so stunned by Jordan's impulsive action that they had temporarily forgotten about the vampire until they saw him running the other way.
"Shit!" Vi cursed.
She fired a bolt after it. Unfortunately, due to the bad lighting situation she missed the heart and the bolt lodged in his left shoulder. Yelling another unladylike curse she ran after the fallen—but quickly recovering—vampire, brandishing her sharp wooden stake.
Hermione decided that since the vampire Vi had gone after was injured she could hold her own and ran to assist Jordan. The auburn-haired slayer was practically wrestling with the undead bastard which had finally decided to fight back. The vampire somehow managed to grab Jordan's wand and tried to stab her with it bringing it down heavily and just barely missing Jordan's neck. Jordan punched upward with the heel of her palm and smashed the thing's nose and kicked him off of her before Hermione grabbed him and kicked his legs out from under him. She jammed her stake through its back causing the vampire to go rigid for a split second before completely disintegrating.
"Thanks," Jordan gasped, her face coated with dirt and silver blood that the vampire had dripped on her.
"Well, it's what I do," Hermione replied airily while holding out her hand to help Jordan up.
As soon as Jordan stood upright she gasped in pain. "Oh fu—" She doubled over and had her arms wrapped around her lower ribs, which were throbbing in pain. She sucked in pained breaths of air making her entire body tremble.
"Are you all right?" Hermione asked in concern. Jordan didn't answer, but gave her a thumbs-up.
Dusting herself off Jordan then looked around for Vi and found her kneeling a couple of yards away. Her hand was clasped to her stomach and she seemed to be in pain.
"Vi?!" Jordan cried, staggering towards her sister slayer with Hermione right behind her.
The redhead looked their way and raised her hands in a waving motion. Her face broke out in a wry, but pained smile when her companions reached her with wildly anxious expressions on their faces..
"I'm okay, it's just a slash. Jerk had a knife on him, but I dusted him anyway," she breathlessly explained.
Jordan searched her pockets and cursed. "Oh hell, I forgot my potion. I knew I had left something in the dorms."
Vi had suffered a superficial, but wicked looking slash across the stomach. The vampire Jordan had been fighting had gotten in a good thorough kick to her ribs sending stabbing pains throughout Jordan's torso that spread to the rest of her body whenever she stood straight. Still, she refused to portkey out of there until she had seen to the unicorn. The poor beast was beyond any help that they could give it. After a cursory examination they were able to discern that the unicorn had a broken leg, probably due to a trap that had been set, and had lost a lot of blood. For Jordan's sake, because the stubborn wench still refused to leave and they didn't think it wise to leave her alone in the woods in her state the three girls stayed with the unicorn as it died. Jordan cradled its head in her lap and hummed softly while fighting the sudden urge to weep. When it closed its silver eyes and its majestic white head slumped against Jordan's lap she shuddered and wiped at her eyes.
"Jordan? Are you crying?" Vi asked, quite incredulously.
"No! I just got some dust in my is all," Jordan denied vehemently while wiping at her eyes again.
"We had better go. You two need to take a trip to the infirmary and we need to report to Buffy and Faith and Dumbledore about the vampires feeding off the unicorns," Hermione reminded them.
"Yeah, but what about her? We can't just leave her here," Jordan pouted while Vi and Hermione latched onto her arms and pulled her up. She bit her lip and resisted the need to let spew a long list of words not suitable for children's ears as the pain from her bruised and/or broken ribs flared up feverishly.
"Jordan, you are in no state to bury a pixie let alone a unicorn. We'll let Hagrid know and he can take care of it," Hermione admonished gently.
"Come on, I'm sure Madame Pomfrey has some really good pain-killing potion that'll be just like morphine," Vi said.
Jordan reluctantly acquiesced to their pleas, but before they could say the magic words that would take them to the castle she gasped, "Wait! I gotta get my wand!"
"Wait, I'll find it," Hermione ordered her. She walked to where she was pretty sure Jordan and the vampire had had their brawl and used her wand to shed light on the ground. She found a thin wooden stick sticking out of the ground and when she got closer she grimaced. The wand was cracked in two and the other piece lay a few inches away from the one sticking out of the ground. Apparently after the vampire had stabbed the ground in a failed attempt to stab Jordan he had kept hold on the wand until Jordan kicked him off of her and it had snapped. She withdrew the piece from the ground and picked up the other piece and sighed. Jordan was not going to be happy.
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The soft skin of Dawn's hand enveloped within his own was a great distraction to the Boy Who Lived as the two ambled down the cobblestone streets of Hogsmeade. He was trying to concentrate on where he was going, but the close proximity of the lovely Slytherin girl was clouding his mind and screwing with his navigational skills.
"Damn, it's cold. I'm not the biggest fan of cold weather," Dawn remarked, pulling her jacket closer.
"Oh, do you want to borrow my jacket too?" Harry asked, willing to do anything to alleviate any discomfort Dawn was feeling.
"No, that's okay. I don't want you to freeze your ass off too. Then what use would you be to me?" She giggled.
He laughed and moved closer to her to give her more warmth. Her skin was not as tanned as it was when he had first met her, although she was still the darkest skinned Caucasian student at Hogwarts. It was early October and the weather was normal for that area, but Dawn's California-raised temperament deemed it freezing and she was constantly wearing double layers of clothing.
"I hope Jordan gets back from Diagon Alley in time to meet us at the Three Broomsticks," Dawn spoke up.
"She should be. It doesn't take that long to get a new wand. She was really upset about it this morning though," Harry told her.
"I think she was more upset about that poor unicorn last night that got killed by those vampires. She really likes unicorns," Dawn said.
"Yeah, unicorns are amazing animals. In my first year, when I had to go into the Forbidden Forest with Malfoy, Neville, Hermione, and Hagrid to serve detention for being out of bed in the middle of the night I saw my Defense Against the Dark Arts professor feeding off one. He was doing it to sustain Voldemort who he had been serving all that time. It was disgusting," Harry related to her, shivering at the memory.
"Gross," Dawn shuddered.
"Yeah, only I didn't know it was him at the time. I thought it was just Voldemort, but this was before he could take physical form," Harry explained.
"Defense Against the Dark Arts is a really jinxed position, isn't it? I mean you had that Quirrell guy in your first year and he turned out to be evil, then whatshisname, Lockhart, who was a moron. Then you had Lupin in your third year who was forced to leave when people found out he was a werewolf. Then there was Moody in your fourth year. What happened with him?" Dawn asked.
"Oh, he wasn't Moody at all. I thought I told you this, he was a man named Barty Crouch who was a servant of Voldemort and drank polyjuice potion to look like Moody just so he could get close to me," Harry told her.
"Oh, right. Ever notice that they were all hiding something? Umbridge was working to get you expelled and sent those dementors after you, didn't she?" Dawn inquired.
Harry nodded curtly. Even though Umbridge eventually got what was coming to her he still seethed with hatred when he thought of that toad.
"I wonder what dark secret Professor Pennison is hiding," Dawn mused.
"Well, she hasn't done anything threatening or cruel to me yet. So far so good, but I don't want to push my luck," Harry pointed out wryly.
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It was an abomination. It was sacrilege. It was unthinkable. How could this girl who was in his house dare date a Gryffindor? A cursed half-blood by the name of Potter no less. It was the sort of thing Draco Malfoy would not have in his House. He saw them walking and laughing together and his blood boiled. True, she was a filthy Mudblood, but she was in Slytherin and Slytherins did not socialize with Gryffindors when it could be avoided. It was an embarrassment to the Slytherin name. It was a scorn upon what Slytherin stood for.
Yet why was it, that he could not seem to get that American bitch by the name of Firewell out of his head? He recalled the anger on her face when he had insulted her and thrown her vial of potion across the compartment. He wanted to make her angry again just to see the fire it brought into her honey eyes. But she was a vampire slayer, which presented a problem on his part because that meant she could thrash him easily. Draco Malfoy might be an ambitious young man, but he wasn't a fool. He no longer had the luxury of calling on his father to defend him now that the bastard was in Azkaban.
And Draco was actually happy about that. What he felt for his father was a burning hatred that singed his soul. He had worked so hard to gain acceptance from his father, which was made all the more difficult by his elder sister's betrayal and death. Yet, nothing had seemed to please the man. What if Draco didn't want to have a fancy skull mark burned onto him? What if he was smart enough to see that the Mudbloods, Muggles, and half-bloods were here to stay? They outnumbered the pureblooded ones and it seemed that this sixteen-year-old Slytherin was the only one to see it. It was folly to try to destroy them all and it was folly for him to rebel against the dark lord. The family Malfoy had served Voldemort loyally for years and his father had been one of the inner circle. Any attempt at betrayal would result in the same end as his sister: death. Of course Senna had been poisoned by his father before she could properly expose him. Draco had a feeling he would suffer a lot worse should he betray them. The rock and the hard place had trapped the Slytherin Prince once again.
He still hated the Mudbloods, half-bloods, and blood-traitors because that was how he was raised and were it not for them Draco wouldn't be in this muddle. But he saw clearly where many of his brethren did not. Their ardent dislike of the Muggles, Mudbloods, and half-bloods would not make them go away. If anything, the assorted Death Eater attacks on innocent people merely strengthened their resolve and added fuel to their fire. There was truth to the statement, what doesn't kill them only makes them stronger. Maybe those blokes in Voldemort's inner circle had a death wish, but he didn't. He wanted to live. And now that the Slayers were involved in the battle, Draco had a feeling who the winner would turn out to be and it wasn't Voldemort.
Funny how he only started thinking seriously on these subjects when Voldemort's return became public to the Wizard World. It must have been because he had been free to do what he wished during that summer after his fifth year. His father hadn't been at home and on his back every waking moment possible. His mother, well, he was sure she was still alive. He knew she lived at their manor, but he barely saw her. Narcissa Malfoy figured that her job was finished once she pushed out the babies. Nursemaids and servants were for raising them. She had more important things to worry about than her son, her only living child.
Had this been what Senna was thinking? Had she also seen the hopelessness in Voldemort's dream? Was that why she sought to bring her father down? Why hadn't she been more careful then? Why had she brazenly gone to their father to urge him to surrender to the ones against Voldemort? That wasn't what Slytherins did. That was a Gryffindor thing. Just like dying for a cause was a Gryffindor thing more than a Slytherin thing. Senna had died a year before Draco entered Hogwarts. She had been sixteen years old going on seventeen, in her last year, about to graduate. She couldn't have waited until she got out of school? If her plan had worked would things have turned out differently for Draco? He would never know because Senna was gone and Draco was left with what was left of his "family".
Even after six years it still hurt. Draco never admitted to himself that he missed his sister still. He kept telling himself he had outgrown such useless emotions, but it was hard to let go of the only person who ever showed you an ounce of affection. He and Senna had bonded out of mutual dislike of their parents and the two of them needed each other in the harsh atmosphere of Malfoy manor. He remembered when she would go off to school for term and he was left at home, but he would frequently send letters to her and she to him and sometimes he would even floo to the Slytherin Common Room when he was feeling particularly lonely.
That was the reason he hated Potter most of all. Despite growing up with Muggle relatives and having lost his parents at the age of one, Potter still seemed to have it all. He had friends, good friends who liked him for who he was and not his power or money not that Potter had much of the former. He had the admiration of a good chunk of the school and the Wizard World, he had a loving pseudo-family in the Weasleys. Potter, Dumbledore's Golden Boy. The kid that got away with everything just because he had a stupid scar on his forehead. Draco really didn't give a rat's ass that it had been Potter who was supposedly the reason for Voldemort's downfall fifteen years ago, which was the reason most purebloods loyal to the dark lord hated him. In Draco's case, it was envy pure and simple.
He gave a scoffing hiss at Dawn and Harry snuggling close. Just what did that wench think she was doing? He felt he had to remind her what house she was in lest she bring even more shame down upon it. Beckoning to Crabbe and Goyle he stalked over to the coddling pair. Dawn saw him coming.
"Drakey? How lovely to see you this morning. What does his Royal Prickness want?" she greeted cheerfully, keeping her arms entwined around Harry.
"Summers, firstly: you are not to call me by those names. Secondly: what the bloody hell do you think you're doing? Mudblood you may be, I'll not have you shaming the Slytherin House anymore than you've already done by dating Potter," Draco stated through gritted teeth.
Dawn rolled her eyes, while Harry tightened his grip around her waist. He was getting angry, she could tell. "Malfoy, I don't believe what Dawn does is any of your business. So bugger off!"
"Shut up, Potter! This doesn't concern you!" Draco spat.
Dawn's blue eyes flashed. "It does concern him. I'm the one fricken dating him and I'll continue to date him whether you like it or not. I must have missed the memo that stated you were the boss of me, so you'll have to excuse me if I don't obey your orders oh wise one."
"Fine Summers, you want to sully your reputation further, have at it. It doesn't matter to me any. I just thought it was my duty to you as a Slytherin to warn you of the consequences of your actions. Potter's house won't be too happy with this either in case you didn't know. Slytherins and Gryffindors hate each other. We don't socialize outside of school unless absolutely necessary and Potter knows that. Have fun being pariahs the both of you," Draco growled.
"Sorry, am I interrupting something?" someone asked.
All five students turned to see Jordan standing there with her brand new wand in her hair (a little thing she picked up from Dawn) and carrying a couple bags.
"Hey Jordan! You got here faster than I thought," Dawn greeted, forgetting for the moment that Draco was there.
"Well, it didn't take me long to find my new wand. I got one on the third try and then hightailed it to here," she explained, then she saw them looking at her bags and stammered nervously, "Oh, um, I made a few stops on the way. Just to pick up some...potion stuff...for school."
Harry snorted. Jordan probably had enough personal potion ingredients to supply the Apothecary at Diagon Alley. He suspected it was Dawn's belated birthday present in there.
Jordan looked at Draco who was eyeing her strangely. "Did you want something, Drakey?"she drawled.
She laughed when his face contorted into rage. That nickname Dawn started irked him so much. It was awesome.
"No, I believe Drakey and his half-wit trolls were just leaving," Harry stated levelly, his green eyes flashing with mirth.
Draco suppressed the urge to punch Harry's lights out because he knew that Dawn and Jordan would both come to his defense and he had heard from the sixth year girls what she had done to Pansy Parkinson. He had already been humiliated once by both of the girls albeit in different ways each time. He was not fool enough to put himself in that precarious position again. He glared at the three antagonists before stalking off with Crabbe and Goyle following close behind.
"That's odd," Harry remarked.
"What is?" Jordan asked.
"He didn't try and get in his last word," Harry explained.
"I think he was too pissed off to talk. Come on, let's check out Fred and George's store. We haven't been there yet," Dawn said.
They entered the Weasley twins' colorfully decorated joke shop, while rather small, was still charming and appealing. Harry was glad to see his money from winning the Triwizard Tournament had done well for the boys. One of the twins was at the register wrapping up a box for a customer.
"Harry! Dawn! Jordan! I'll be right with you," he greeted.
"Okay, which one is that?" Jordan asked.
"I dunno. You're a twin. Can't you like sense the difference between other twins?" Harry said.
"Sure Harry, I have Twin E.S.P.," Jordan retorted sarcastically. "I'm a fraternal twin, they're identical twins. There's a difference and where the hell did you get that idea?"
"I can't be sure, but I think that one's Fred," Dawn whispered.
After he finished servicing the customer the Weasley twin came to greet them.
"Morning mates. George would be here, but he's taken a 'pre-lunch' break is what he calls it so he can go off and snog with Vi," Fred told them.
Jordan nearly choked on shock. "Huh? When did this happen? And where the hell was I?"
Dawn and Harry looked at each other in surprise. Jordan was still reeling.
"She never said a word about him. I'm impressed she was able to keep this secret from me," she said and then added, "And somewhat annoyed."
"Relax, George never told me either. I just caught a glimpse of them snogging two weeks ago," Fred assured her.
"That's...nice. Anyway, we're meeting with Hermione, Ron, Aidan, and Ginny at the Three Broomsticks later. If you wanna hang come with us," Dawn offered. "I mean, if you have someone else to watch the shop."
"Have to pass on that one. I've got a date meself. Angelina is coming by later," Fred said, with a gleam in his eyes. "So, here to purchase anything or did you just stop by for a chat?"
"I could use something to get Malfoy with," Harry suggested.
"Ah, Malfoy has been at it again, eh? Little git," Fred replied.
"Yeah, he was feeding me and Harry this bullshit about bringing shame down upon our houses by dating or something like that. He's such an asshole," Dawn told him.
"He's got a nice ass though," Jordan pointed out.
Dawn didn't reply, but she did secretly agree. Harry and Fred made faces of disgust.
"Why don't you ask him out then?" Fred joked.
Jordan snorted. "Yeah, the day I do that I'll let you and your brother use me as a model for your joke treats."
Everyone laughed and Fred said, "I'll hold you to that."
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The Three Broomsticks was sparsely populated. So much even an inexperienced Muggle could tell. Xander stepped inside the warm pub and sought out the familiar faces of his friends. He frowned when he didn't see anyone he recognized, but then shrugged and figured he was just a bit early.
He sauntered up to the counter where a beautiful, middle-aged witch was serving the few patrons that frequented the bar amidst the dismal situation with Voldemort's return. Xander wracked his brain in trying to remember her name from the last time he had been here during the summer. He pulled out some wizard coins, still marveling at how these people could name a coin knuts and sat down.
"Are you a muggle?" someone inquired beside him curiously. The voice had a hint of a French accent that brought back rather unpleasant memories from high school French class. Nonetheless, the beautiful low timbre of the voice overrode the unpleasantness it conjured up and he turned with a smile.
His breath caught in his throat and his chocolate brown eyes, even his magical prosthetic eye, widened in awe. Sitting beside him was the most stunningly magnificent young woman he had ever seen in his entire life. Silvery blonde hair set in layers and subtle waves rested on delicate shoulders over lavender colored silk robes. Her face was exquisitely set like she had been drawn by the most talented artist in the world with ruby red lips and a small, delicate nose. Her eyes were large cerulean drops set under straight, perfect brows. Her fair skin seemed to shimmer in the scant light the torches bracketing the walls managed to shed on her. Yet, in Xander's opinion she seemed to glow with an inner light of her own.
So entranced was he by her beauty that he did not answer he question until she asked it again with a frown of confusion on her lovely face. Xander's face became beet red in embarrassment for staring like that, although he imagined she was quite used to it. How could one so lovely as this be human? With a trickling of suspicion and foreboding triggered by past experiences of having never dated a normal woman besides Cordelia Chase—and even her normal credibility was questionable—he was beginning to doubt that she was in human. After all, he was Xander Harris. Xander Harris didn't date normal, human women. They had to be either: giant preying mantises, Inca mummies, a high school drama queen who later got visions from the Powers That Be, a demon in disguise using his blood to release Turok-Hans, or an ex-vengeance demon.
"Uh, sorry. Yeah, I'm a Muggle. Was it that obvious?" he finally answered.
The woman smiled and giggled slightly. "A little. I was just...surprised...you know? It is not very safe for those of non-wizard kind because of You-Know-Who. Of course, it's not safe for wizard-kind either. My family has been writing to me to come back home to France for quite some time now."
"Ah, I knew I recognized your accent. Big time trip down memory lane to high school French," Xander quipped. He then remembered his manners and held out his hand. "I'm Xander Harris. Here from the states to help out you guys in your big fight."
The girl shook his hand and replied. "Fleur Delacour." She then gasped. "I've heard of you! You were in the Daily Prophet! You are one of the warriors from America come to help us fight You-Know-Who. You are a friend of the Slayers, no?"
Xander smiled in delighted surprise. "A warrior? Well, I am the glorified brick layer or so a certain dead man says. And yes, the oldest slayer happens to be one of my best friends, Buffy Summers."
Fleur beamed in admiration. "You must be so brave, living on a hellmouth. There is a hellmouth in southwestern France, but I have never felt an inclination to go there."
Xander nodded in understanding. "Yeah, they're not the best place to live if you like living and all. But Sunnydale certainly didn't lack for adventure, I'll tell you that. It never got boring."
"No, I wouldn't imagine," Fleur said. "Is it true that you fought an army of vampires at this hellmouth?"
Xander shrugged. "Well, Buffy and the girls did most of the fighting, but yeah, we kicked their asses back to hell."
Fleur murmured some French phrase that, while Xander didn't understand the words exactly he understood the expression. He figured it was pretty close to "holy shit." He was caught again at a loss for words as he couldn't help but drink in the splendid sight of her. He was still worried that she was a demon in disguise, but it seemed quite impossible that such an exquisite creature could be anything but an angel. He was torn by wanting to run off to Willow and Buffy and have them check her out to make sure she was safe or just giving Fleur the benefit of the doubt and continue flirting. He wasn't able to think of a polite way to ask if she was a demon or not.
"How about I get you a drink?" Xander tried.
Fleur quirked an eyebrow and looked back at her near-empty glass. "That would be very kind of you. Thank you, Mister Harris."
"Please, just call me Xander. Every time someone calls me Mister Harris I keep thinking that Agent Smith is lurking around," he joked. At Fleur's blank expression he winced. "Witch, right. Forgot you wouldn't get Muggle pop culture."
After their drinks were ordered they sat talking amiably together. Each exchanged stories about their lives and Xander was able to discern that the Hogwarts Scooby gang—a.k.a. Harry, Ron, and Hermione—knew Fleur from their fourth year. Good, they oughta know if she's a demon or not, he thought cynically.
Fleur spoke of the competition known as the Triwizard Tournament that happened two years ago rather dolefully. Apparently, she had been attacked in the last task and one competitor, a Hogwarts student, had been killed. Xander finally put two and two together and saw that her story matched with Harry's account. It was the year Voldemort had returned to power.
"At first, I did not want to believe he was back. It was too terrible to think of. But, I knew that Harry would not lie about such a thing. It must be even more terrible for him," she told him softly.
"Well, he's doing pretty well now," Xander assured her. He smiled slightly when he thought of the main reason why Harry was doing so much better and her name started with D and ended with awn.
"Good. He's had it hard enough. And I'll admit I wasn't as nice to him as I should have been when I first met him. But after he rescued my sister in the second task I warmed up to him. He is a very nice boy," Fleur declared. After a beat, she looked at her watch and frowned in disappointment. She obviously did not want to leave so soon. "Forgive me, Xander, but I must go. Are you staying at Hogwarts?"
Xander was taken aback by flattery, but composed himself and replied, "Um, yeah. Most of the time."
"Perhaps, I shall have to visit that school more often. But if it's all right with you, perhaps I could write to you?" she asked, her cheeks flushing.
His heart began to pound mercilessly on his ribs as he croaked out a yes. She had to be a demon. There was no way this could be going so well. Not with his luck. Yet, Xander still dared to hope.
The smile on her face, if at all possible, made her appear even more ethereally beautiful. "Sorry, if I seem impulsive. But...you are a very nice man, Xander. It was very nice meeting you and I hope I see you again."
"Me too. I mean, it was nice meeting you too, Fleur. Maybe next time you'll get to meet the rest of the gang," he offered.
"I would like that. Goodbye." Fleur waved coyly at him and walked out the door with Xander's eyes trailing after her.
For a moment he sat there, dumbfounded at his good fortune in meeting and subsequently charming the most beautiful woman in this dimension. He even noticed his ever-present dull ache over his loss of Anya was lessened quite a bit by meeting Fleur.
"What is in this stuff?" Xander asked in bewilderment as he lifted his glass of butterbeer.
"Hey, lookie here it's the Xandman," came the voice of Faith.
The dark-haired slayer sat herself right beside him where Fleur had sat and Buffy made herself comfortable on the other side.
Faith explained their tardiness. "Sorry, we're late. B and I were caught up in Fred and George's shop. It is bitchin'. You check it out yet?"
Buffy frowned at Xander's love-struck expression. "What's with the smitten grin?"
Xander merely shook his head at his best friend and laughed quietly. For a while, he would keep Fleur to himself.
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wyredsisters: Eek driver's ed. I just finished mine. Good luck. Yeah, I kind of depend on you being picky. Hope to see you back to yourself soon.
CharmedChick: Well I already took and aced my written so thank god for that. Don't worry, Faith and Xander won't get together. It didn't sit too well with me either.
Silver Warrior: Yeah, Buffy does seem to always go after the older guys. Wonder if she'll go with the trend today when she's forty and date younger men. I think I'm gonna have Tonks for Willow, but that's a good idea nonetheless.
matt: Hehe. It's okay. It's nothing worse than what I hear from my father. And no, Xander just got a normal eye magical eye. Well, as normal as you can get a magical eye. lol.
Wanderingsoul24: Well, as you have read Vi has already hooked up with George Weasley. But I hope you don't mind Fleur/Xander.
Panther28: Yeah, Quidditch is awesome. I love heights for some reason cuz I like to be scared a little, but I don't think I could handle just a broomstick holding you up in the air either.
Thanks also to: BA Shipper '99, Vld, and Dragon Doll.