I haven't felt much like posting, but a lovely review on another site gave me the push to post today! But thank you to Sharie, nerdalertwarning, and chao-hellsing for taking the time to post a comment here! I appreciate it...this post is for you!

Life has been busy. I was in Rockford Illinois for Synchro Sectionals a few weeks ago and returned with a cold. And it's still lingering two weeks later! Boo! This week I was out of town doing some training for work...a lovely and SUPER boring bookkeeping class (a job I'm already doing, but to make it official, I needed the class). I would say that I already knew 90% of the classwork...so it was a snoozer! Lol. My classmates were nice, but...not overly fun. No after dinner drinks or even dinner gatherings. I definitely enjoyed my last class better! Next week, another out of town trip for more training. And then the first week in March a trip to Peoria Illinois for Synchro Nationals! I'm a busy girl!

Anyway, new chapter for you! C39! Yay! But I'm not a fan of this chapter...it feels blah after the gaining of Buffy's wand in C38! But hey, just like Sharie said, a little Toffy for you! Haha.

Chapter Thirty-nine
A Room of His Own

Her eyes wide, Buffy stared at the wand in her hand for a few seconds, then looked up at the wandmaker. "You used my hair?" she said with wonder.

All three Ollivanders nodded vigorously.

"But...how did you even get it?" Buffy asked with astonishment.

Garrick smiled slyly. "You ran a hand through your hair when you were last here and left behind a few strands."

Buffy nodded, smiling. "Resourceful," she said, turning fascinated eyes on her new wand. It was still sparkling colorfully. "It's a part of me."

Gerbold chuckled. "And it should feel a part of you," he said.

Gervaise nodded. "If it doesn't, then something's amiss."

"You should always be in tune with your wand," Garrick said. "It should feel like an extension of yourself at all times."

Still looking at her wand, Buffy nodded again. "That makes sense," she said. Giving her wrist a sharp twitch, she halted the fireworks display that was still coming off the tip, then looked up at Tom with a grin. "I've got my wand."

Tom smiled down at her. "Yes, you do," he said.

~oOo~

After paying for Buffy's wand, they thanked the Ollivanders, then left the wandshop and proceeded to do the rest of their shopping.

There was nothing they actually required, but ended up leaving Diagon Alley with more packages than they had on their last shopping expedition—because Vin and Sophie wanted to go into just about every shop on the alley, as well as the shops over in Carkitt Market.

Carkitt Market was different than Diagon Alley in that it was centered around a Victorian wrought iron arcade, the shop façades painted over in a bright technicolor palette of all the colors of the rainbow. Vin and Sophie oohed and aahed over how much more vivid and lively life seemed in the wizarding world, where they were seemingly untouched by the troubles of the outside Muggle world.

As they were making their way out of Diagon Alley, they even stopped at all the small, free-standing carts to see what each had for sale. They picked several doodads and trinkets—all completely unnecessary! Their last stop was Potage's Cauldron Shop, where they each purchased a cauldron—one a simple pewter cauldron and the other self-stirring. In the end, it was a ridiculously expensive day, but the sisters had fun and that's all that mattered to them.

As they left, the sisters lamented that they hadn't managed to visit Horizont Alley, Origin Alley, and Vertic Alley—or Knockturn Alley and all its other little creepy little side alleys—but there would be other days to do more mad shopping, they promised themselves!

Once back out on Charing Cross Road, the reality of doing so much shopping hit them—due to the stares and snide comments they received for all they were carrying from those they passed on their trek back to D'Arblay Street.

"Nosy busy bodies!" Vin snapped when one woman eyed their purchases.

"Look at that!" the woman said under her breath to her companion—both of them glaring fiercely as they passed by.

Vin stared defiantly at their backs as they walked off. "As if it's anyone's business what we have and why!"

Sophie chuckled. "Muggles," she said teasingly as she traipsed along, readjusting her load several times as they went. "Shall we stop at Giles' Bakery and buy cakes!" she suggested.

Buffy snorted. "Troublemaker!" she accused.

"We are not stopping until we're home," Vin said firmly, her eyes narrowed on another overly curious woman on the street who'd actually stopped and made an attempt to see where their packages had come from.

"But I want cakes," Sophie said petulantly, pouting just a bit.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "No you don't," she said. "You just want to wind up Edna. And it's not nice...even if she does deserve it."

The brunette chuckled. "Edna definitely deserves it! But Buffy's right...it isn't nice. Do try to be bigger than our sister, Soph," she lectured.

Sophie barked out a laugh, but didn't push again for cakes. Instead she grumbled about the weight of what she was carrying. "Damn it!" she cursed when she dropped one—then growled when she dropped two more as she was attempting to pick up the first one.

"Here, let me help you," said Tom, as he quickly readjusted his load, then scooped up what had fallen on the pavement—then took another from Sophie.

The blonde grinned. "Oh, thank you," she said, then reached out and patted his arm. "Such a nice young man."

At her comment, he almost snorted—he was not a nice young man!—but was halted by a poke to the ribs and a stern look from Buffy. How does she know what I'm thinking? he thought as he narrowed his dark eyes at his friend. Buffy only flashed him a bright smile, her green eyes twinkling with amusement.

Instead, he quietly responded, "I'm sorry," as they crossed the street, finally reaching the sisters' house. Many of the things they were carrying were for him and he was more than a little bit embarrassed by just how generous the Vin and Sophie were being towards him—a virtual stranger! Who did that?! In all his life he had never encountered such kindness.

Vin stared at the boy. "Don't be sorry, Tom! We have done this for you, because you deserve it!"

"And because we can," Sophie added.

Vin nodded. "Besides, you still need far more than you have, even after all of this," she insisted as they struggled all their purchases through their front door. "I mean, we understand that Wools can't afford to provide for you properly, but—"

Sophie snorted, interrupting her sister. "It's ridiculous how they expect so many of you to share clothing. If you think about it, it's actually rather disgusting! I mean, the undergarments alone are—"

"Sophie!" snapped Vin, giving her sister a sharp hex-like zing to cut her off—because of the look of mortification on Tom's face.

"Ouch! Must you always zap me with your magic like that?!" growled the blonde.

Vin rolled her eyes. "Well, sometimes your mouth runs away from you. Can't you see you're embarrassing the boy?"

Sophie frowned, then looked at Tom. His face was flushed and he was avoiding her gaze. "What did I say? Oh! It was the under—"

"Don't repeat it!" Vin snapped again, her eyes going to Tom. He was busily attempting to pretend that he'd heard nothing about the purchases of his undergarments.

Not looking at either of the women, Buffy busied herself helping her friend take his packages through the kitchen and up to the room that was going to be his—even if Mrs Cole said he was to return to Wools every night. During his last absence from the house, Vin and Sophie had converted what had been their library into a semi-private room that would be his when he visited—and, although it wasn't large, it was quite nice! Certainly better than his cupboard-sized cubical over at the orphanage!

And it hadn't even taken much effort. After reading through some of Buffy's new school books, they'd found a spell that would allow one of the tables and the leather couch in that room to be transfigured into a dresser and an actual bed of decent size for a constantly growing young man. They'd then acquired new bedding—something masculine—hoping that would make him feel more at home. They'd also curtained off the outside terrace, so that he could keep the light out in the mornings. It had been a room they rarely used anyway—especially at night, due to its lack of blackout curtains—so it seemed logical to them to turn it over to their now regular house guest.

"What do you think?" Buffy asked him as they entered his bedroom. "There's lots of space for your books and stuff," she said, gesturing at the shelves on two of the walls. "If you'd like to bring them over here and leave them. Or not, if you'd rather keep them at Wools. I mean...well, I know Mrs Cole says you need to return every evening now." She grimaced at the thought. "But...well, maybe Dumbles can go talk to her and help us out." She shrugged—then looked at him expectantly. She was chewing on her lip nervously, as if she thought maybe he'd be upset that they'd gone too far. She'd worried about it all while Vin and Sophie were redecorating, but they were unstoppable when they had an idea.

Tom glanced around the room and frowned. "This is...for me?" he asked, stunned.

Smiling, Buffy nodded. "Yep. I mean, who else would it be for?" she said. "Vin said they won't use the kitchen stairs to come up to this floor anymore...not that they really ever did." She shrugged. "So, you'll have your own space, you know? And privacy. And Sophie promises that she'll try to avoid using the terrace for her icky smoking habit." She shuddered. "There's no shower on this floor though, so...you'll have to go down for that, but at least there's a toilet."

At this point Buffy stopped talking. She knew she was rambling.

Still frowning, Tom put his packages down on the bed gently and looked at his friend. "But...they don't really know me. I'm just... a stranger to them."

"And what do you think I am to them?" Buffy countered. "We're not much different, you know?"

Staring at her, Tom thought about it all and wondered what in Salazar's name was happening to him. It was like he'd woken up in a completely different world—almost like Buffy had!

"Are you all right?" she asked, pulling him from his thoughts, as she piled the packages she'd been carrying on his bed, then plopped herself down in the comfortable chair that had been brought into the room for him. Everyone should have a chair in their room, the three females had agreed as they were arranging everything—for piling clothing on or for sitting to put on shoes. Or take them off—which is what Buffy did the moment she sat down.

Tom watched her toe off her shoes, then quietly turned and picked up one of his packages and started to unwrapped it, then turned toward the dresser and gently laid what he held into the top drawer. Glancing at Buffy, he nodded. "I'm fine," he said.

"Are you sure?" she pushed. "I mean, all that talk about your under—"

"Buffy! Are you trying to make it worse?" he groused.

She grinned wickedly. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about, Tom. We all wear underwear," she said, hiss-whispering the last word. "And you've even seen my bra, so..." She shrugged.

Blushing, Tom thought about her brassiere—which had been hanging over her shoulder the morning after their evening playing music—and her complete lack of embarrassment. In fact, she had used it to annoy Edna Giles! "You are an odd girl, Buffy Summers," he said.

She laughed—then got up and reached for his hands. He was still trying to put away his new things, but Buffy confiscated what he held and unceremoniously stuffed the lot of them into the drawer and closed it—then rolled her eyes at the heat she saw on his face.

"Stop it, Tom! They're just socks and underwear," she said. "I've now seen your undies. It's no biggie. We all wear them. I'll even show you mine if it makes you feel any better."

Tom sighed. "You're impossible," he said as he blushed again and turned away—and picked up another package.

"That's me. The impossible girl," she said, grinning. "But, you know, out of fairness, the offer stands..."

"You're really quite wicked," he accused, looking over his shoulder at his friend. "Does your mother know?"

Buffy snorted. "My mother doesn't know a lot about me! I suppose she'll never know about all this," she said, gesturing about, her face pinched into a frown. "I guess what she doesn't know, can't hurt her, right?"

Sighing again, Tom shrugged and turned his gaze back to the pile on his bed, then picked up another package and pulled the string that held it closed. "I really am grateful. I didn't expect all this," he said quietly.

"They know that," Buffy responded, watching him clutch whatever it was he held. "And they can't help themselves, you know, so...just enjoy, okay?"

Tom nodded. He planned to. But he felt completely overwhelmed...and somewhat embarrassed to be such a charity case. He wondered if Buffy felt the same. She was accustomed to having a lot more than he did, but she wasn't used to everything coming from strangers. How does she manage to take everything in stride and not be weighed down by it all? he wondered as he turned and slipped the shirts that had been purchased for him into another drawer. He would definitely feel much better about himself come September, when he could return to Hogwarts without his clothing being tattered and torn and barely held together by threads and magic.

Buffy let him finish unwrapping everything without any further interruption. Clearly she'd sensed that he needed several minutes to collect his thoughts and he appreciated that she was intuitive enough to just sit there silently. When he finally finished putting everything away and couldn't think of anything else he could do, he exhaled quietly and then turned to look down at the girl sitting in the chair—only to find her eyes closed and her breathing even. He almost laughed. So, less intuitive and more sleepy, he decided as he cocked his head and watched her. It had been a long day. This made him wonder at the time.

Looking around the room, he found a clock and realized his time was running short—it was five o'clock, so he'd have to leave soon. Or now, if he was going to arrive back at Wools by his relatively new six o'clock curfew.

Glancing down at Buffy, he contemplated letting her sleep. But knew she'd be upset of he just disappeared, so he knelt down and put his hand gently on her knee.

"Buffy," he whispered when she didn't immediately open her eyes.

"Hmm?" she said with a sigh—her eyes fluttering open when he squeezed her knee softly.

"I need to go," he said.

"Is it six already?" she asked lazily.

"Only just five, but...you know it can take time to return to Lambeth. As it is, I still might be late if there's an issue with the tube."

Sitting up, Buffy stretched, then stood up and put her arms around Tom. Laying her head on his chest, she sighed. "I hate that you have to go."

Tom chuckled. He could hear the pout in her voice. "I do too."

Straightening up, Buffy looked up at him. "You need to come see the McOwls before you go. They're going to think you don't love them."

Tom rolled his eyes. "I don't love them."

Buffy smacked his chest. "That's mean."

Frowning, Tom rubbed his chest. "I'm still not sure why I needed an owl...as I have no one to whom to send it," he said, mumbling the last part.

"We've gone over this," she said as she took his hand pulled him toward the stairwell. "Owlbert and Owlfred simply couldn't be separated. We had to take them both, so...one of them is yours. Besides, you could use one of them to order stuff you need while we're at school."

"Or I could just borrow yours once we're at Hogwarts," he said as he allowed her to pull him down the stairs.

Buffy shook her head. "Maybe I won't let you," she said with a smirk.

Tom smirked back. "You aren't that mean."

Buffy shrugged. "I can be, if I need to be."

As they reached the kitchen, they were greeted by Vin and Sophie—who were having tea at the table.

"Hiya," Sophie said. "Tea?"

Buffy shook her head. "Naw. Tom needs to get back, but he wants to see the McOwls first."

Tom's brows shot up. "More like I'm being forced to see them," he grumbled—and got slapped on the chest for it. "Oi! Watch it, Slayer!"

Buffy smirked again—and Sophie giggled.

Vin looked up at the clock. "The day went fast. Are you going with him?" she asked Buffy.

At the same time that Buffy drawled, "Yes," Tom said, "No!"

Buffy glared up at him. "What?! Why not?"

"Because there's no sense in you escorting me to Wools and then having to return home alone."

Buffy huffed. "But then I get to see you an extra thirty-ish minutes," she argued.

Tom shook his head. "Just...stay here," he said as he took her hand and brought it up to his lips and kissed it tenderly—causing Buffy to drop the argument and smile at him fondly.

"Okay," she whispered.

"Ahhh, how utterly adorable," cooed Sophie, watching their exchange.

Embarrassed, Tom and Buffy cleared their throats and separated. "We should...go see the McOwls, so Tom can be on his way."

Vin smiled at them. "Have a good evening, Tom," she said. "If we don't show up in the morning, it's because we're still sleeping, but please do find your way back over here."

Sophie nodded emphatically. "Yes! Don't wait for us or an invitation. Come back as soon as you can. This is your home now. Unofficially, of course," she grumbled.

Tom felt warmth spread over him. "Thank you."

"Now off with you two," Vin said, making a shooing motion, "so we can continue our private chat."

Laughing, Buffy grabbed Tom's hand again and pulled him out of the room.

~oOo~

After a short visit with their owls, Buffy walked Tom to the front door, but didn't immediately open it. Instead, she leaned on the wall and looked up at the boy.

"I had fun today," she said.

He nodded. "So did I. I'm glad you finally have your wand."

"Me too. I thought none of them would ever choose me."

"There is always a wand for every witch or wizard," he said, smiling as he stepped closer to her, almost crowding her into the wall. "Now you don't need to use those secondhand wands anymore."

Looking up at him, Buffy shrugged. "I'll probably still use them...from time to time," she said. "I like them."

"I've heard it upsets the balance...that a wand doesn't like to share their owner with another wand."

Buffy frowned. "We'll see."

Tom hmm'd. "I should go."

"Then go," Buffy countered, her head tilting, her eyes going to his lips.

He sighed. "I should like to...er...may I kiss you?" he asked.

"The kiss on my hand was lovely, but I've been waiting all day for a real one, so...that's a definite yes!"

Tom's dark eyes flashed with desire, then flicked down to Buffy's mouth. He watched her chew on her lip as she waited for him to kiss her, then smiled and leaned down and took her mouth—and ravaged it.

Moaning into the kiss, Buffy reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, then did something unexpected...she climbed into his arms and wrapped her legs around him, pressing her body to his.

Pushing her back against the wall, Tom lost himself in the kiss—and the pleasure they were both giving and receiving. Soon he had his hands tangled in her hair and he was kissing her neck and she was trembling in his arms—and then he realized they were standing in the entrance way of Vin and Sophie's house, doing very inappropriate things.

Groaning, he slowly disentangled himself from her and put her from him. "We need to stop," he hissed as he discreetly tried to adjust himself.

Buffy whimpered and leaned her head on his chest. "I'm not sorry," she whispered.

Uncomfortable with the state of his body, Tom took a deep breath, but continued to hold her. "I'm not either, but...I'm not looking forward to crossing town like this."

Buffy smirked up at him. "Um... sorry?"

Shaking his head, he said, "You have just said that you aren't sorry." Leaning down, he kissed the tip of her nose. "You're trouble, Summers."

Buffy didn't say anything. Instead she just looked up at him innocently, as if she truly didn't know what sort of trouble she could be.

He almost laughed. So much trouble, he decided after gazing down at her a few seconds longer. Pushing a few strands of hair off her face, Tom sighed—then forced himself to turn away from her. Opening the front door, he walked out, leaving her to stare after him.

~oOo~

Back to the writing! I'm in the middle of writing C53, so I'm good and ahead of you!