Chapter 31: I Think This Line is Mostly Filler
HP-BTVS-HP-BTVS
An embarrassed Harry and Neville ran outside, since it was Saturday, they didn't need to stay indoors. They made their way to the dragon pen so Harry could ask Norberta how she was. It had been a while since he had, and he was feeling a bit guilty about that.
They came to the enclosure, and Harry asked when she came over, "How have you been, Norberta?" He reached up and petted her head, scratching between her eyes.
"Lonely," was the dragon's answer. "Slinky never comes to see me anymore," she said, hissing near Harry's ear. Her head drooped a bit, and there was sadness in her voice.
"Fluffy still sees you though," Harry pointed out, nodding to the three headed dog, who was watching them from the other side of the pen. Fluffy loved Norberta and thought of her as pack. He was always in the enclosure, which made a lot of people happy, since it meant that he wasn't running around.
"He can't talk to me," she lamented, looking at her surrogate father. He barked with the middle head and wagged his tail. She gave the equivalent of a smile, which was more of a baring of teeth.
"I'm sorry, I have been so busy that I haven't had time for you," the teen said, stroking her head. Making sure to get the ridges. With all that he had been doing, he just didn't think of her. He resolved to make more time in the future.
"I know, and I know that Slinky is tired since the weather is turned cold," she said, basking in the scratches.
"I'll try to ask her to come and see you once and a while but you're right, she's probably hibernating," he said, and turned to Neville.
"I will just have to wait for warmer weather. I too should sleep more," the lonely dragon said, looking at the cave they had built for her.
"Why don't you go hunt some more spiders?" Harry asked, looking at the forest like they would come out any minute.
"I will, but I think I've got most of them, and they are hiding further in the woods than I'm comfortable going. I know Aragon ran ages ago, but he can't father anymore, since I killed his mate," Norberta said, perking up a bit at the thought of hunting those tasty treats.
"You do that, and I'll check on you more often," Harry said, then turned to his human friend. "I want to start trying to do the whole mind reading thing," he said, his brow scrunched up. Like he was already trying to send a message.
Neville nodded and tried to 'hear' what Harry was thinking.
"What are you doing?" Norberta asked, seeing them stare at one another.
"We've been trying telepathy for a while, but we can't seem to get it," Harry said, with a sigh, smoothing his face out.
"That's because you're not doing it right," she said, looking between the two boys. Neville politely waited until Harry told him in English what they were saying.
"How would you know that?" the teen asked, turning back to the dragon.
"Dragons talk telepathically all the time," was the obvious answer.
"Oh," he said, thinking hard on that.
"Silly human," Norberta said, nudging his hand to keep petting her. "When you learn it with your friends, come and we will see if you can with me. It would be easier if you try when you are in your dragon form."
"Oh, I'd like that," Harry said, thinking of all the useful things that could be done with a dragon only a thought away. It was like having an overly large Xander on hand.
"So would I," she agreed.
"Okay, then how are we supposed to do it?" he asked, looking her in the eye.
"First you both have to clear your mind," she instructed, only to be interrupted.
"Wait, how do we do that?" was Harry's question.
"By not thinking of anything," was the simple response.
"I think I'm going to need more than that," Harry said, then turned to Neville. "Do you know how to clear your mind?" he asked, switching to English with a hopeful look.
"Yeah, Gran taught me," the chubby boy said, shrugging like it was something all children learned.
"Can you teach me?" the smaller teen asked, again hopefully.
"Sure, but you should read up on it," Neville said with another shrug.
Harry turned back to Norberta. "What's next?" he hissed, petting her head again.
"One of you starts thinking, the other listens. Like you were doing, but it is important to clear the mind first," she said, preening under his attention.
"Okay, we'll work harder on it. Now that my spell is done, I can spare the time," Harry said in English.
"Sounds like a plan," Neville said, clapping him on the shoulder. "You did good with that spell. I don't know exactly what it does, but if it helps the girls, then you did good," he said, reiterating the last part.
"Thanks," Harry said, his face beet red again. "It's to hide their privates, so they can't be… ummm, molested."
"Oh," Neville said with wonder, his eyes widening at the implications. "Then you did really good."
"Thanks," Harry said again, this time not blushing quite as much.
"Let's go practice," Neville suggested, turning towards the castle. "Bye, Norberta," he called over his shoulder.
"Bye, Norberta," Harry repeated, giving her one more scratch then following Neville.
Hpbtvshpbtvs
Permission slips were sent out and a vast majority of the females in Hogwarts got the Lily Charm. Some parents didn't want to have that kind of responsibility hoisted on their child/ren. Hermione's parents were one of the first to sign. Luna did a lot of talking to others, so they knew that they would know where their parts were, but boys would not.
Most of the males declined, not seeing the need.
There was a mass amount of traffic in the infirmary as adult women came to get theirs. Madam Pomfrey asked Harry to let her teach it to the people at St. Mungo's. He had to get a wizarding patent for the spell before all this happened, but since it was for a good cause, he did not charge. If it got published, then he would get royalties. He also had a counter spell that could be used for when someone wanted to remove it. That had to be asked for. And only the person who had the Lily Charm could remove it, and only from themselves.
Towards the end of the school year, Joyce and Xander sat Harry down for the TALK.
"So, Harry, you invented the Lily Charm, but do you know what sex is?" Xander asked bluntly.
"A bit. I had to study the human body to know what to hide. I borrowed some of your dirty magazines," he said, once more looking like a beet.
"Yeah, those won't teach you much about the right kind of sex. That'll teach you the mechanics. I'm talking about boyfriends and girlfriends and what to do when you start thinking about having sex," his father said, his own cheeks dusted with embarrassment. He never got the TALK.
"What Xander is saying is that soon you will start looking at girls and feel aroused," Joyce said, using the same talk she gave to her girls. "Puberty will make this a reality."
"For a male it's fucking embarrassing. We can't control our body's response," Xander said, taking up the conversation again. "I mean, you'll, ummm, react in a hard way," he stated, beating around the bush.
"Well, your penis will," Joyce said with a laugh.
"If I use the Lily Charm, then I can hide that," Harry said, quickly thinking on how not to be laughed at. He had already felt these stirrings and was embarrassed to think if others knew what he was thinking about. Girls were getting prettier, and they made his tummy feel funny, and his privates would twitch. He already had dreams that made him use a cleaning charm.
"That'll work," Xander said, cracking a smile.
"The main reason for talks like this is for you to understand what happens with sex. There are diseases, and pregnancies to worry about. Even in the magical world. You must know what to do to prevent these things. In an ideal world you would not even think about sex until you are seventeen," Joyce said wistfully. If only Buffy had listened to that part of this speech.
"I'll teach you the spells you need, and what to look out for. However, it is up to you to refrain from having to use them until you are old enough to deal with the circumstances," Xander said, his voice and face firm. "Of course, the Chasity Alarm will work everywhere in the castle, even here," he warned.
"I understand," Harry said, quickly, hoping to finish this embarrassing conversation.
"Okay. If you have any questions, come to me and I'll explain the best I can," his father said, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder and squeezing in a comforting gesture.
"Okay, Dad, I'll make sure to do that," Harry said, nodding his head fast. He really wanted to get out of here.
"Go on, go play or do whatever," Joyce said, making a shooing motion.
Harry rabbited out of the 'house' faster than he ever had before.
"I hope he listened better than Buffy," she sighed. She learned about her sixteen-year-old daughter and Angel after her death. It was not a good memory. The fact that Angel went all Angelus, was something she never wanted to know. Her daughter had had a few rough months, and then she had sent Angel to hell, which caused her to run away. It was heart breaking to know that Buffy had suffered so. So, yeah, she hoped Harry listened.
"He's super shy, I don't think we have to worry much. You get to do this with Luna," he said, not wanting to have the TALK with his daughter.
"Of course, she'll listen to me more about girl things," the embodiment of Hogwarts said, smiling a condescending smile.
Xander booked it out of there just as fast as Harry had.
"Men," was all Joyce said.
Hpbtvshpbtvs
The end of the year came on a bitter note. Someone had let out that Remus was a werewolf. The parents were crying for blood. They had no choice but to let him go. They couldn't prove who, but since Snape was not a teacher there, they could rule him out, which left Dumbledore. Joyce, Minerva and Xander went to confront him.
"Why did you tell people about Remus?" McGonagall asked, sitting in a conjured chair in front of the big desk. She looked like she was chastising one of her students. Her lips were so pursed that they almost disappeared. She was that angry.
"Minerva, I have no idea what you are talking about," the headmaster denied, his eyes twinkling. There was an air of smugness around him, like he had gotten away with breaking a rule.
"You are the only other person who knew," Joyce accused, pointing her finger in his direction. She too was seated, while Xander was leaning against the wall. There was an aura of power surrounding her.
"My good lady, there are many who could have guessed. After all he is ill one day out of the month, and that is the time of the full moon. Even his dormmates had it figured out in less than three years," the old man said with an innocent smile.
"We know it is you," Xander stated, his voice cold. "You're just bent out of shape that we vetoed Spike leaving. You didn't outright fire him, just caused the circumstances that he would be removed. Bravo," he said, giving an insincere golf clap.
"You have no proof of my wrongdoing," the headmaster said his face still smiling.
"If and when you screw up, I'm going to be there," Xander said, pushing off the wall he'd been leaning on. "You know what, you are on my last nerve. Get out. I want you out of my school." He moved forward with great menace.
Joyce just smirked and waved him away. She had just been waiting for the go-ahead.
"Is this permanent?" McGonagall asked, not wanting to shoulder the responsibility.
"Yes, I'm tired of playing his games," Xander said, then his face softened. "We'll help you. You won't have to clean up his messes alone."
"That's right," Joyce said, putting a hand on her arm. "We're in this together."
"I'm not sure I'm ready for all the hassle this will bring," Minerva said, looking at the cluttered desk and office. She just knew it was going to take forever to get it all organized.
"We can help, like I said. If you want all this organized, I can do that with the flip of my hand," Xander said, and proved his point by doing just that.
Everything that was Dumbledore's personal possession flew to conjured boxes. Even his robes and things from the bedroom. That took care of most of the clutter. The papers that had been laying around, were tidied up into several neat piles. Fawkes squawked as his area was cleaned up as well.
"I thought Fawkes was Dumbledore's familiar," Xander said, with Minerva nodding in agreement.
"You can't own a phoenix. They are free birds. They just hang around in areas and with people they like. Fawkes, here, has been here for years. Dumbledore just let everyone believe that he was his," Joyce said, knowing that Fawkes had already picked out a new person to hang with.
"Oh, well someone should tell old Dumbles that," Xander said, closing the boxes of Albus' stuff. He then called a house elf and instructed them to take it to the ex-headmaster's brother.
"He'll figure it out," Joyce said with a great deal of cheer.
"Meanie," Xander said, giving her a conspiratorial smirk.
"You two," was all Minerva said as she took a seat behind the desk, already reading what was there.
"We'll leave you too it. Give us a holler if you need anything," Xander said as he and Joyce turned to leave.
Minerva just continued reading.
Hpbtvshpbtvs
The beginning of summer came with little fanfare. Though there was a minute they had to sit on Sal when he found out he couldn't get the government to give him back his house. Andromeda had tried her best, but in the end it didn't happen. Since he wasn't declaring to be himself, only a relative, he couldn't actually claim the place. There was no deed, and little evidence. So, he'd just have to deal with the fact that his home was now a prison. The government did offer monetary compensation to prevent a court case, which he grudgingly took.
Another thing that happened was that Neville found out his Animagus form. He was a phoenix. Fawkes had helped him get there. There was a good relationship between the two. They seem to fly together a lot. Xander wondered if they were up to something.
Hermione couldn't wait to find hers, and Luna decided against trying for now.
The first few weeks of summer, Harry and Hermione had been secreted in Harry's room. They wouldn't tell Xander what they were doing, only that it was a great surprise. Luna assured the man that they weren't doing anything wrong or dangerous. He took her at her word. He just hoped that Harry remembered the TALK.
It was three weeks later that Harry finally came out victorious. "I've done it!" he proclaimed, holding his fist in the air. Inside the fist was a silver cylinder.
"What have you done?" Xander wanted to know. His eyes on the cylinder, wondering if it was what he thought it was.
"You remember Star Wars," was the leading answer, confirming Xander's theory.
"You didn't," his dad said in awe. He stood to come closer.
"Well, me and Hermione," Harry said with a huge smile. He moved his hand to keep it away for the moment.
"Where is Hermione?" Luna asked, looking around like she was just hiding. There were times, that Luna thought Hermione never went home. It wasn't true, but it felt like it.
"Her mum wanted to spend time with her today," Harry confessed, still holding his hand in the air.
"Forget Hermione, show me," Xander pleaded. His eyes never leaving the prize.
"It was mostly Hermione's knowledge on runes that we completed this. However, I was the one who got it to work," the messy-haired boy explained, finally bringing down his fist, and showing them what was in it.
"A lightsaber," Xander whispered, making a gimme sign with his hand.
"It's not a real one," Harry cautioned, handing it over. "Hermione doesn't know that much, and well, we're still working on a real one. However, this one will act like one. It's basically colored light runes in a kinda shield, but you can cast spells to emulate a real one. Like, a cutter to slice and a shield to reflect," he instructed quickly. "The spells will stay in the light, but you can still use them. So, if you need to cut, you have to physically slice. It works a lot like your phasing," he added, making sure Xander understood.
"It's a start, and I'm really proud of you two," Xander said, even though he was a tad disappointed, they had worked hard on it. He raised his hand in front of him, lit the faux saber and said, "Harry, I am your father."
"Dun, dun, dun," Luna said with a giggle. She loved it when they got silly.
"No," cried Harry with a smile, reaching in his pocket and pulling out and lighting his own saber. He beamed under the praise, still getting use to receiving some. Goodness knows the Dursleys never gave any to him.
They played with the faux lightsabers all night and even got them to sound like the real ones. Luna just watched happy to see them happy.
Hpbtvshpbtvs
It was towards the middle of summer that Harry got invited to the Quidditch World Cup.
"Mr. Weasley has tickets," Harry explained to Xander, waving the letter that Arthur had written. It had a ton of stamps on it, but they didn't care. It was the effort that counted. Harry made note to explain to the Weasleys about muggle post.
"Oh, well you can tell him you're already going," his dad said with a shit-eating grin. "It was going to be a surprise, but I got tickets the second they went on sale." He didn't know how the Weasleys could afford tickets, but it was good for them that they were able to go. Maybe they'd coordinate camping spots.
"Oh, okay. I'll write him now," the teen said, going to do just that.
That taken care of, Xander started planning for the trip. They were going to be camping out for a week. Just him, Luna, and Harry at first. Then Sal and Spike would join them. He hadn't wanted Spike there, but Joyce convinced him it was important to have him there for the Malfoys.
Spike would take care not to be seen around the tent. Only sneak in or out after dark. If there was one thing that Spike was good at, it was not being seen when he didn't want to be. There were many times in the Good Ole Dale that Spike would hide for days. Only Buffy seemed to know all his hiding places.
First though, they had to celebrate Harry's and Neville's birthday. It was a small affair with just the Grangers, the Weasleys, the Longbottoms, Xander, Harry and Luna. Presents, games, fun and cake was had by all. It had been a good day.
Harry was still ecstatic that he finally got to celebrate at all, and with a friend too. They had had separate birthdays last year but had decided to join them this year. Neville was just as happy to have friends to celebrate with. Too long was it just him and his gran.
Soon enough it was time to go to the World Cup. Hermione declined going. She wanted to spend time with her family. They were taking a vacation in France. Xander was all for it. The girl had been spending everyday her parents worked at his and Harry's house. She needed to get away with just Emma and Dan. Hermione didn't like Quidditch anyway.
On the 19th of August, they went to the campground. The game was on the 22nd, but they were going to stay for a few days after. Mostly because they wanted to camp, and they already had a spot reserved. Xander had coordinated with the Weasleys, and they had joining spots. Though that family would show up later.
The portkey dropped them off and they went to find their assigned spot. The ground's attendant was a muggle and quite confused as to what was going on. Or he had been hit with too many memory charms. Probably both.
"Never seen so many people. All dressed weird," the man mumbled to Xander when he was checking in. He lifted his clipboard to find their spot. His finger tracing the names until he found theirs. He looked up in time to see a man chasing another man in a nightdress. The first one shouting about breaking secrets and dressing correctly. The poor man didn't know what secrets, but he was pretty sure it was broken by now.
"Probably some Medieval event," the Xandman said, chuckling at the oddly dressed magicals. Was that guy wearing a nightgown? Idiots.
"You're not part of this group?" the attendant asked, finally turning his attention back to the group. They looked normal, with backpacks, hiking boots, and a tent on the adult's pack.
"Oh, no, well, I am but I've never met them. It's our first time. I'm hoping they don't rub off," he said, hushing Luna. "They said they were a Medieval reenactment group, but I can see they're just a bunch of weirdos." He chuckled at the wizards still trying to look normal. They really were clueless. Xander hoped that with his and the professors help the younger generation would be smarter. "However, I've already paid for the spot, and the kids will be upset if we leave," he added, knowing the man would like a reason for their continuation of their participation.
"At least you're dressed normal," the man said, and then gave them their lot number. "Go straight until the third turnoff, then go right. You're the fourth one down to the left." He raised his arm to show the direction to go.
"Thanks, and good luck to you," Xander said, hustling the kids along. They all broke out laughing when they got out of hearing range.
"I kinda feel bad for him," Harry said, now that he was done laughing, it didn't seem quite as funny. It was more that he was laughing at the situation and not the man.
"I do too," Luna said, with an air of fatality.
"Do you know something, Luna?" Xander asked, knowing if she sounded like that, it was not of the good.
"I'm not sure, but keep an eye out after the game," she said dreamily.
"Hear that, Harry, keep your guard up," the father said, looking around like the danger might happen at any moment.
"I will," the young man promised.
"Actually, now that we are forewarned, what say we plan a bit of a surprise?" Xander said, getting a thoughtful look on his face.
"Oh, I like that," Luna said as if she knew what he was thinking.
"Glad you do, but you are staying in the tent," he stated with a firm wag of his finger.
"Of course, Xander Daddy," she demurred.
"I'll need to talk to Sal, but I think between the three of us we can pull it off," Xander stated, his face still thoughtful.
"Are you going to let me know?" Harry asked with a great deal of impatience.
"When I've got it all worked out, I will, promise," his father told him with an air of distraction, still thinking.
"Fine," the boy pouted.