Chapter 34: A Bit of Spike
This is the last of the prewritten chapters; therefore, they will be coming slower as I am dealing with some other stuff right now. I will be putting this on hiatus. Hopefully not for years, but it all depends on what's going on in real life.
HP-BTVS-HP-BTVS
While the adults were talking, Harry and Neville were improving their telepathy.
Hermione, Luna, and Spike were there watching the two boys talk to each other via their minds. It was boring. They were just sitting there staring at one another. Not even their faces were moving.
"Why are you two doing this?" Spike finally asked, not understanding the reason.
"So we can warn each other over a distance," Harry said, breaking eye contact with Neville. They had been only talking about what they did over the summer.
"You aren't apart though," the vampire pointed out, looking at each boy with a raised eyebrow.
"We know, right now we can only talk with eye contact," Neville said with a sigh. While it was a great breakthrough, it was not as useful as doing it without looking at each other.
"Have you tried doing it without such focus?" Hermione asked, thinking that if they took a different approach that it might work better.
"How do you mean?" Harry asked, looking at his best female friend with an inquiring look.
"Say that you're reading, or watching TV, and Neville is in the kitchen. You can send him a message to get you a drink or something," she said, tapping her chin in thought. "In a distracted manner, I mean. Didn't Norberta say you had to clear your mind, well think of this as the same."
"That's right smart of you, girly," Spike said, impressed with her reasoning. "You blokes should try that and let me get back to me show," he said, pointing to the kitchen.
"We can try," Neville said, picking up his DADA book and heading for the kitchen. "I'll just revise until I can hear you," he said, going through the doorway.
"Alright," Harry said, turning and looking at what Spike was watching. "Why do you watch this stuff?" he asked, nose wrinkled in distaste. He tried talking to Neville but didn't get a response, so he figured it didn't go through.
"I learn a lot about human nature," the vampire prevaricated. He just like the show.
"Like what?" Luna wanted to know, though she knew the man just liked the drama.
"How human men are wusses," Spike said, taking the remote and turning up the volume, hoping to end the questioning.
"Can't we watch something else?" Hermione all but begged. She hated the soaps. It was bad enough she had to deal with teenage drama daily, she didn't want to watch the adult version.
"No, I'm the adult here," Spike said, turning up the volume more. "I get to watch what I want," he added, leaning back on the couch to watch his show.
"Yeah, but it's my house," came the rebuttal from the doorway. "And I say we watch something else," Xander said, coming in and swiping the remote and turning on the evening news.
"Bloody wanker," Spike huffed and got off the couch. He then stormed to his basement.
"You two don't really like each other, do you?" Harry asked, sending a mental message to Neville to come to the living room.
"Not really," his father answered with a shrug, seeing no reason to lie.
They heard a cry of triumph from the kitchen and Neville soon came shooting into the living room. "You did it!" he exclaimed, plopping down next to Harry, and grabbing a shoulder and shaking him. "You really did it!"
"It worked!" Harry said, just as excited. He grabbed Neville and they stood up and did a silly dance.
"What did they do?" Xander asked, turning the TV off.
"Long distance telepathy," Luna said, smiling at the two boys, who were still dancing.
"Ah," was all Xander said as they waited for the boys to calm down.
It was a bit of a wait.
The victory dance finally came to an end. The boys with triumphant grins turned to the others.
"Can you hear me?" Xander heard Harry's voice in his head. His face broke out in a huge smile.
"Yes," he sent back via brainwaves.
"Yes!" Harry shouted out loud. "We can talk to anybody!" he exclaimed, still smiling a smile that might be hurting his face it was so big. The two boys started dancing again. This was a huge breakthrough. It was nice to finally get it right.
"Now you can teach these two," Xander said to the boys, pointing at the girls. He wanted them all to have a way to talk to each other in case of an emergency. He worried that something like what had happened to Luna might happen again.
"We will," Neville promised, grabbing Hermione's hand, and dragging her away. Harry doing the same with Luna. "Come on, Hermione, it's easy. Your suggestion made it easier. You deserve to learn it more than anyone," the chubby faced boy said as he pulled her along.
"Yeah, Luna, now you won't ever have to worry about not getting in touch with us again," Harry said, voicing Xander's thoughts.
"I didn't mean now," Xander shouted after them, but they were already gone. He did hear laughter, so he figured they heard him, but were ignoring him. That was okay, they were just excited. He knew that the boys had been working on this for weeks, if not longer.
"What's all the shouting?" Joyce asked as she popped in. She settled on the couch in her usual position of tucked leg and slightly turned.
"The boys figured out telepathy from a distance," the wolf-eyed man said, shaking his head at the boys' antics.
"Oh, that is wonderful," the embodiment of Hogwarts said, clapping her hands. She got a bit more comfortable and motioned for him to join her. "I think this is one bit of magic you should let them share. I mean to anyone who can do it. I'm sure there will be those that can't."
"I'll think about it," he said as he sat next to her. He did wonder if Hermione would be able, her thinking patterns were so different than the others. Then again, Neville had said it was something she did that made it easier, so there was that.
"I was thinking, and in light of international cooperation, you can teach some things to whoever gets selected as champion. I know Hermione is close to her Animagus form. It would be nice to see if it affects those not personally close to you," Joyce said, hoping to put something nice in the tournament that would make Xander more receptive to it. "Maybe the flying bit, or phasing. I know you're dying to show off." She gave him a friendly wink.
"If we can get them to sign an agreement that they will not teach it to others, unless I give the go ahead," he replied, rubbing his chin in thought. "It might show that we aren't trying to keep it to ourselves." The phasing and telepathy were givens. Perhaps the Animagus as well. But he wanted to keep Winking and flying in the family, so to speak.
"That's what I was thinking, just like selecting some of the students for the telepathy," his friend said, clapping her hands in agreement. "You know, now that Dumbledore isn't here, you might want to be more open about what you can do. People are still calling you a muggle."
"I could give a rat's ass what people call me," he said, remembering all the names he'd been called all his life. He didn't let it bother him as a teen, he wasn't going to start now. "I'll run the thought of teaching by Harry," he added, looking towards where Harry had taken Luna.
"You want him to teach it," she guessed, her brow furrowed in thought. Sure, Harry was powerful, but a teacher? She wasn't sure. He was still just a boy.
"I want to see if his method is a screwy as mine. I mean, we might have more than four magical Animagus," he said, with a shit-eating grin.
"That would be a nice experiment," she agreed, then changed the subject. "Albus has gotten himself elected as a judge for the tournament. I don't want to cause anymore friction than we already have, so I've allowed him here for that. However, he's not allowed to interfere with the running of the school," she said, biting her lower lip, waiting for his reply.
"If he's here, then I will not be showing off, as you say. But, sure, how much trouble can he cause as a judge?" Xander said with a shrug.
"You just had to jinx it," she said with trepidation.
"Right," he said, his forehead breaking out in a small sweat. He knew better than to say shit like that.
"Well, I'm going to check in with Spike," she said, getting up and heading for the basement. When she got there, she knocked on the door.
"I'm bloody coming," she heard Spike say as he came up the stairs. "Better bloody well be good, Harris," he said as he opened the door. "Oh, sorry, Joyce, thought you was Harris," he said with a sheepish grin.
"I do hope you two will get along better soon," she said as she stepped through the door.
"He bloody well started it," the vampire protested, coming to join her. "He turned off me telly," was the complaint.
"We should get you one down here," she suggested, looking around the room as if to see where one could go.
"Nah, I like the room upstairs, and I like the kids. They are an alright bunch, especially Luna. Besides, if I have one here, I might never read," the blond said, picking up the book he had been reading. It was one on wizarding marriages.
"Why that subject?" Joyce asked.
"I've almost got Narcissa to leave her husband. I'm just studying up on what would happen to her. I don't want her to be hurt over it. She's an alright bird," he explained, putting the book on his bed.
"Why does she want to leave him?" she asked, settling in a chair, while Spike flopped on the bed.
"That night at the Cup is the main reason. She's been unhappy for a while but had no reason to split. Now, he's got another record, even if he did buy his way out of jail time," Spike said, always up for good gossip. "Not to mention his infidelity," he added with a smirk. "I've got proof of that." He winked at her.
"And will she be hurt?" the embodiment of Hogwarts wanted to know.
"Nah, as long as he does something visibly to mar the family name, she's good. So far, he's been publicly humiliated twice. Once by Harris and again at the Cup," the vampire explained, ticking his fingers. "I've got some pics of him coming out of brothels," he said, still smirking at that.
"Will she get half of everything like the non-magicals?" Joyce wondered, tapping her chin in thought. It's what happened in her divorce. "What about Draco?"
"No, she will get her dowry, and half of everything. Custody will be touchy, since he is the heir," Spike said, flipping through the pages to find what they were talking about. "See, she has to prove he's a bad father, which he isn't. He's brainwashed the little blighter, but he's never hit him."
"Oh, I guess I can see that. What does she want?"
"She is a pureblood, and a Black, she wants it all."
"I'm sure you can get Sirius in on this. I mean, she is family. He did vouch for you, sort of," Joyce said, still thinking hard.
"Might could," Spike agreed, still reading but seeing where the backing of a predominant family would help.
"Anyway, enough about the Malfoys, tell me what's going on with you," she said, tucking her feet under her and just relaxing.
So, Spike told her about what he got up to at nights, which was mostly chasing children out of broom closets. "Other than that, it's right boring. Worse than walking graveyards," he added, smiling at the memories.
"Ugh, walking graveyards, I'm not sure how you guys did that. It's just creepy," she said, giving a full body shudder.
"Demon," he said, pointing to himself.
"I forget."
"I never do," he sighed. Even with a soul, he was still a demon. Though he wasn't like Angel and broody over it. Sometimes he did get a little down about it, but he picked himself back up quick enough.
"Well, how do you like Argus?" she asked, hoping to get that melancholy look off his face.
"He's a right hoot that one. He loves to talk about torture to the kids, but he's really an old softy. He knows that without magic, he's at a disadvantage, so he talks a big talk," the vampire said with a grin. Filch had shown him the chains he always threatened the kids with. They were polished, just like he said. However, they had never been used.
"I always knew that," she said with a small smile, like she was sharing a secret. "I would have booted him out ages ago if he had really hurt a kid." It was something she always giggled about. She understood were Filch was coming from.
"Now this new guy, Moody, I hear he's got a few stories to tell," Spike said, sitting up and putting his book on his pillow.
"That he does," she agreed, then she saw the time. "I have to go tuck the kids in. You should find Moody and discuss security with him. It's his and Xander's job to keep the school safe. What with visitors this year. Besides, I think you'll like him," she said, getting up and heading for the door.
"Will do. It's about time for me rounds anyway," Spike said, getting up as well. "Tell Luna I said goodnight, yeah?"
"I will," she promised as she opened the door.
"Night, Joyce," he said, and left the 'house'.
"You and Spike have a good talk?" Xander asked as he met her by the stairs.
"Yes, and I still wish…"
"Bup, bup, bup, we don't use the 'w' word around the Xandman," Xander said, quickly cutting her off. "You should know better, oh embodiment of Hogwarts," he added with a bit of snark.
She was going to snap back but thought better of it. "Just try to be nicer," she said instead as they headed up the stairs.
"I'll try," he said, with a put-upon sigh.
Hpbtvshpbtvs
Much to Xander's disbelief, his having Spike patrol had started the rumor mill a blazing. There were girls everywhere trying to sneak a peek at the elusive man, who looked like Malfoy's older brother. Draco was confused when many girls would come up to him asking about said man. Since Spike was only seen at night, there were rumors that he was a Malfoy bastard.
Spike, having heard these tales, was pleased as punch that Xander's attempts to hide him were for naught. He told a portrait that he was a bastard child of the Blacks, and that she could spread it around, which she did. The vampire just laughed and laughed. As it was, he was getting more and more students out of bounds every night. He took great pleasure in docking points and giving laborious detentions.
Xander was shocked that there was a fan club for the vampire, as well as one for Harry. There was talk that the two were somehow connected, but Spike squashed those rumors quickly.
"Spike, I think you should not patrol at night," Xander said one night while they were watching TV. Sal was with Rick and Nic, trying to cure lycanthropy. It was just the kids, him, Spike and Joyce.
"No skin off me," the vampire agreed, though he knew he'd still lurk around. He and Argus got on really well. They talked about many things, mostly about how to secure the castle the non-magical way.
The giant, Hagrid, was another that he was friends with. They bonded over the stories of creatures, here and in the other reality. Hagrid was fascinated with the difference between mythical creatures and the demons that Spike knew. Spike just hoped that none of those demons came to this reality, or Hagrid would adopt them.
"I hope that if they don't see you, they'll stop all this silliness," Joyce said, looking at Spike to see his reaction.
"I've got no problem with that," Spike said, giving his friend a smile. Then he winked at her, and she knew he was going to be up to something.
"You like having a fan club, don't you?" Harry accused, pointing at the white-haired man. "Well, I hate it. You can have mine," he said, mulishly. Everywhere he went there were girls giggling at him. He was just glad that Ginny was no longer one of them. They saw a lot of that girl here in the house. Still, giggling girls were annoying. How could Spike like that?
"S'not that I like them, little bit, it's more that it pisses your old man off," Spike said, giving Xander a smug look.
"I could have a fan club if I wanted," the Xandman said, folding his arms over his chest and sticking his nose in the air.
"You don't want one," Harry said in as firm a tone as he could, then laughed at the man's antics.
"Not really," his father confessed, "it's too much work." He then got off the couch to go to the kitchen. "Who wants a drink?" he asked at the doorway.
"Cocoa," Spike, Joyce, Neville, Luna, and Hermione said at the same time.
"Pumpkin juice, warmed," Harry said, knowing that Xander would add a bit of spice into it, making it taste more like the pie.
"Okay," the man said, going to get the drinks.
"Must you rile him so?" Joyce asked, turning to the vampire.
"S'not my fault that his plan backfired," Spike said, holding up his hands in a defensive manner.
"No, it isn't, but must you rub it in?" she asked, knowing the answer.
"I really must," Spike said, making Luna and Harry laugh.
The others giggled as well, and the night went on relatively peaceful.
Hpbtvshpbtvs
Time moved on and little happened, though the headlines of the newspaper, one October morning, made Xander happy.
Narcissa Malfoy, née Black, Divorces Husband the title read. Below were the reasons for said divorce, including but not limited to being a prat, defiling the family name, infidelity, and being bad in bed, which Xander found hilarious that that could be used. Sirius was on record saying he would take her back into the family, which was a major factor in her winning the settlement.
"Well, Spike, you've earned your pay this time," Xander said to the vampire, who had brought him the paper.
"Damn right I did, now give me my dosh," Spike said, holding out his hand.
"Give me a minute and I'll write you a voucher. How much do you want in pounds?" the yellow-eyed man asked, getting up and going to the desk.
"Half and half," Spike said, thinking about the things he needed.
"Fair," Xander agreed, writing out the needed voucher.
"So, what are you going to do now?" Joyce asked, sitting next to the blond.
"Don't know yet," was the answer as he took the voucher Xander gave him. It was for 500 pounds and 100 galleons. "Ta," he said with a finger salute to the forehead.
"You could go and find some work," Xander suggested, not wanting the vampire to hang out all day.
"Me and Sal are thinking on a few things," was the evasive answer.
"Just don't break the law," was all Xander said as he left the room.
Hpbtvshpbtvs
Later that evening, Spike, Sal, and Moody were playing poker and swapping stories.
"How did Xander lose his eye?" Sal asked, looking at his hand and wondering if he had a good play. He was new to poker and wasn't sure which was better. He had two queens and one ace and one king of the same suit as one of the queens. So should he keep the suits or the queens. He decided the queens were more important and threw down three cards.
"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Spike asked, eyeing the cards the man threw down.
"It's a touchy subject with him. When I did ask, he said to ask you or Mum," the other man said, wondering if he had made the right choice in discards.
"A preacher that was working for the First Evil poked it out with his thumb," Spike said, smirking like he knew that Sal had just messed up. He gave the man three cards and noted that Sal seemed pleased. He told them the short story of the fight that caused Xander to be one-eyed. He would tell them more about the First Evil later. Caleb was enough for now.
"That sounds worse than when I lost my eye," Moody said, looking at his hand and trying not to read the others' cards with his magical eye. He had to promise not to do that before Spike would let him play. He had three fours, and so threw down two cards.
"How did you lose yours?" Sal asked, looking at his three queens, hoping it was a winning hand. He did get the jack and ten of the suit he'd thrown away.
"Lost it chasing a wizard down when I was an Auror," the man said, and tried not to grin when he got two twos. "Nasty bugger, got me when I was busy helping my partner."
"What happened to your constant vigilance?" Sal teased, keeping his cards close to his chest.
"I ain't dead, am I?" was the answer. "I bet six sickles," he added, throwing the coins in the pot.
"I see your six and raise you four more," Spike said, holding a full house in his hand.
"Call," both the other men said, putting the coins in the pot.
"I've got fours over twos," Alastor said, putting his cards down, making Sal curse and toss his away.
"Not good enough, I've got tens over nines," Spike said, showing his hand and then claiming the pot. "Your deal," he said to Moody.
"How did you come by the name Spike? I'm sure that's not what your mum named you," the old Auror asked as he shuffled the cards. "Ante up," he called out, making everyone throw five knuts in the middle of the table.
"It was back in me Big Bad days. Before I got all soul having, I used to torture people using railroad spikes," he said honestly. There wasn't any point in hiding his bad side.
"You can lose your soul?" Sal asked aghast.
"It's how it works back home. You get bit, and you become a soulless demon," Spike said, unbothered by the question. "My Dru was me sire, she wasn't all there, but I loved her. She messed up my turning. I had too many human emotions."
He still shuddered over how he wanted his mum to be with him forever, but she was turned correctly and came back a demon that didn't love him, or anyone. He had to kill her, and it broke his heart. He had been such a momma's boy. All he had wanted was for her to be happy and healthy, but…
"You're a lot different than the vamps I've come across," Moody said as he dealt the cards.
"I'm a lot different than the ones I've run into, either here or there," Spike answered, picking up his cards and betting a sickle, which everyone agreed with.
"Met many vamps, have you?" Alastor asked.
"One, and that pansy was enough for me to know I'm very different," was the reply as Spike threw two cards down.
"Oh, okay," Moody said, and they continued to play and exchange stories until the wee hours of the morning. This became a weekly thing, on Saturdays. Sometimes Joyce, Argus, Nic or Xander joined them. Rarely, Remus and Sirius dropped by. But it was always those three to start.
A lot of strategy was happening with these games. It was useful and fun for everyone. Even Xander. Maybe, just maybe, he and Spike could get along. After all, the vampire had proved his worth taking down Malfoy.