As always, I'd like to thank everyone that has read, reviewed or otherwise acknowledged this story's existance; I appreciate the time and effort. It goes without saying, but I have no proprietary claim on either BTVS or the works of JK Rowling; but I really wish I did.

YOU MEET ALL SORTS IN THIS LINE OF WORK

A week later Fleur took Alexander to a Quidditch match; The Holyhead Harpies against The Pride of Portree. Her purpose was actually twofold; one was to have fun, which they did. It was difficult for Fleur to properly enjoy the match since she was bombarded with Alexander's rather droll commentary on the game, the rules and the fans. Here he didn't make many friends since they were playing on the Harpies home pitch and he felt that he should be favoring Portree since both it and the council were currently based in Scotland. But Fleur also wanted to test Alexander, in a way. Many men will claim to be open minded but fail to live up to that claim when put "under fire" as it were. Using her considerable influence, both as an Auror and one of the people instrumental in the defeat of Voldemort; it was a simple thing to be able to meet some of the Harpies after the match. Fleur knew that compared to the rest of Wizarding society, the members of the Harpies were wildly unconventional and independent minded. Alexander claimed to not have a problem with strong willed women or unconventional situations, Fleur wanted to see how he did with women who didn't know him or know of him.

It was fun for Fleur to watch as Alexander questioned the traditions of the game, most especially when he asked the Keeper why she didn't wear substantial pads or a helmet. He argued that it would give her a longer career, reduce her injuries and insure that she would be less likely to be put out of a match. It was this discussion that provided the only tension of the evening when Marion Mordrane, the Harpies captain, joined the conversation.

"Why should we take advice from you, you're just a muggle?"

Fleur saw Alexander turn on the woman with a fiery glare, and for just an instant she could see a bit of the beast that she knew lurked under Alexander's smiling façade.

"You should listen precisely because I'm from outside your society."

"What do you mean," the Keeper fired at him.

"Because I'm from outside, I see things with a different perspective. We like to call it 'thinking outside the box'. If you always approach situations from the same perspective, then you become predictable and beatable and unable to respond to unique situations. Don't misunderstand," he said forestalling any protest with a raised hand. "I'm all for tradition, it's what gives our lives a framework, but if we keep doing things simply because its what tradition dictates and not thinking about the why's and wherefores, then we're not thinking any more." Then he turned to Marion directly and pinned her in place with a glance, "as Captain you should never give up any advantage simply in the name of tradition. Moreover, it's your job to take care of your players and you should be willing to do anything to insure their well being, even tell tradition to 'go hang'. Even Muggles know that," he concluded; the unspoken accusation hanging heavily in the air.

The silence was deafening as Marion glared daggers at the one eyed man, but Alexander matched her glare and didn't give an inch. Finally the woman glanced away, a sour expression on her face. "You might have a couple of good suggestions there," she muttered.

Fleur glanced at Alexander to see what his reaction was to Marion knuckling under the way she had. To her relief there was no gloating or superior look on his face, instead he almost looked proud of the woman, the way a teacher will when a student works out a difficult problem.

Marion felt a hand lightly on her chin and soon she was looking into the man's one eye. There was warmth there, but under that was a knowledge that scared her in a way. "I've had to learn all this the hard way," he told her, "hopefully you'll learn from my mistakes and not have to make them yourself."

"Thank you," she replied. "You're an unusual man Alexander; you make me wish that we were both a bit freer than we are."

He blushed a little, "you're just saying that because I'm currently on my best behavior. If you caught one morning me with about three day's worth of beard, before I'd had my first cup of coffee, you'd change your tune pretty quickly."

Marion was working to hold back a laugh, "I'm shocked to find that you're right yet again."

Fleur laughed herself as Alexander's eye widened in mock outrage and he started sputtering, which broke the serious mood that had dominated the room. Conversations picked up again and Fleur noticed, much to her amusement, that several of the Harpies were throwing speculative looks in Alexander's direction.

Later, Fleur aparated them to magical London and they started strolling in the general direction of the Ministry. "Where did all that come from," she asked.

"All of what?"

"That dissertation on the perils of blindly following tradition, where did that come from. When you spoke there was so much passion, and anger in your voice that I knew there was something specific that had triggered it, I was curious as to what it was."

They continued to walk in silence and Fleur started to get nervous, afraid that she'd somehow crossed a line that she shouldn't have. She was just about to apologize when Alexander spoke.

"Back when there was just one slayer, they had this traditional test called the Cruciamentum; it's Latin for torment. Anyway, what they would do is strip a slayer of her powers on her eighteenth birthday and have her fight a vampire. If she died, well there was always another slayer. We always thought that it was insane, but then we were Buffy's friends and so we were a bit biased. When we started putting the Watcher's Archives back together we found a lot of correspondence between Watchers that pretty much agreed with us but any attempt to end the Cruciamentum was shouted down with cries of 'It's Tradition'."

Fleur was stunned but soon found her voice, "why would they do something like that?"

"You've got to understand that the old Council was all about control. It's very easy to control a young girl, especially back in the day when women were treated like second class citizens. But as this girl gets older, she becomes harder to control; she begins to question and to notice inconsistencies. So the Council came up with this 'test'. If the slayer had been a good dobee and not rocked the boat, she got a fledgling or something that was near enough to it. Don't get me wrong, the survival rate was appalling, but if the slayer was getting a bit too independent, then a more lethal vampire was used. Just so you know, the one Buffy got was a psychotic master vampire. The thing is, even for the survivors the message was clear; do what the Council says or they'll arrange your death. As a group they were so power hungry and corrupt that there are times that I want to bring back the First Evil and thank it for taking those bastards out. Another effect of their 'tradition' is that they refused to look at any weaponry more modern than the cross bow. I don't even want to think about how many girls lost their lives pointlessly because a bunch of old men that had never risked anything in their lives felt that only traditional weapons were appropriate." He walked along silently for a moment or two, no doubt cursing the former Council members. "Anyway, all that's changed now. No more test, the slayers are partners now, not just weapons. And as for weapons, well we're willing to give anything a try once. Like I said earlier, you can't keep doing the same things; you gotta keep your enemies guessing."

"That is one reason you wish to recruit me, yes?"

"One reason, yeah. The bad guys get used to the magic that we use and they're better able to counter it. Bringing in a couple of you wand wavers would keep the advantage with us for years."

"What others were there?"

"Huh?"

"What other reasons," she paused. "Why me and not someone else?"

Alexander turned to look at her, seeming to weigh what he was about to say. "Because you're good, you're smart; you don't just rely on your magic, but mostly because you're strong."

Fleur rolled up her sleeve and looked at her arm; it was quite fetching but would not be considered overly muscular. "Where is all this strength?"

Alexander laughed, "not here," he said touching her arm; "here," he touched her lightly over her heart. "To do what you do, struggling every day to help people that wouldn't give you the time of day simply because it's the right thing to do. That takes an immense amount of character Fleur. And that's why I'd like for you to work for us, because you're one of the strongest people I've ever met."

Fleur was almost breathless when Alexander had finished. Any doubts she'd had were blown away by both what he'd said and how he'd said it. She wanted to tell him all this but currently her brain wasn't functional beyond basic life support. Finally she managed to squeeze out, "thank you Alexander."

He just nodded, never looking away from her face. They just stood there, gazing into each other's eyes like some star struck lovers in a cheep movie, but this was real and there was a second or two of pure communication where each knew everything vital about the other. Unfortunately things like this couldn't be sustained and Fleur broke first. She took Alexander's hand, turned in a new direction and headed off with him in tow. They didn't talk because anything they would have said would have been superfluous. Eventually she stopped and said, "well, we're here."

Alexander looked around and said, "Fleur, we're no where near the ministry."

"No," she replied, "this is my flat. Would you like to come up?"

"Are you sure?"

"Very."

"Then yes, I'd love to."

Wordlessly they climbed the stairs to the third floor. Fleur fumbled with her keys before managing to get the right one in the lock. Honestly she couldn't believe how nervous she was, because she'd never been nervous in a situation like this before, but it occurred to her that it had never been this important before. She turned as the door opened and Alexander darted forward and claimed her lips in a searing kiss. Refusing to break it, Fleur backed into her flat, when unexpectedly the lights came up.

"So where have you been and who is this," a young voice asked.

Fleur's eyes widened as she spun to face their questioner. "Gabrielle, what are you doing here?"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Xander figured that if he didn't have bad luck, he wouldn't have any luck at all. A bit cliché maybe, but it did seem to apply in relation to his love life. Here he was on the verge of what could possibly be the love of his life when her family shows up, even if it was just a fifteen year old Fleur clone. He knew that Fleur's sister was just worried, but the girl could have won the poor timing award for the next three years just for this one intrusion. And if that wasn't bad enough, she refused to leave; preferring to give Fleur the third degree and talk about him as though he wasn't there. Honestly Xander was ready to turn this brat over his knee and give her a non-fun type spanking, but Fleur was pretty much on the same page as Xander and was letting Gabrielle know it.

"What is there to say, we hadn't heard from you for a while and some of the family was worried."

"You mean you played on Mother and Father's fears and talked your way into a free trip for yourself because you were bored."

"I was worried," then she glared at Alexander, "and with good reason I'd say. Where did you find him, on the docks somewhere? What are you doing with a muggle?"

"The proper term is person, if you can't remember that then you are no longer welcome here; is that clear?"

Gabrielle rocked back a bit at this; she'd never been so soundly rebuked by her sister. "Yes, I'll remember; but now you need to explain what this . . . person is doing here."

"Alexander and I care a great deal for each other and that is all the explanation I owe you," slamming the door on further enquiry.

Gabrielle looked deeply into her sister's eyes and didn't like what she saw there. "Well that is remedied easily enough," she exclaimed, pulling her wand.

As soon as she did, Alexander stood and pulled something from under the jacket he was wearing, but even more importantly her sister was standing in front of her, wand drawn and pressing into Gabrielle's neck. "Don't," was all Fleur said but the pure cold fury that was clearly visible on her face scared Gabrielle more than she'd ever been in her life. Fleur was making it clear that this muggle was important enough to her that she was willing to hurt her own sister to protect him. Slowly Gabrielle put her wand away, eyes wide with trepidation at the rage Fleur was directing at her. She backed away and sat down in the armchair, never taking her eyes off Fleur.

Once Gabrielle was seated, Fleur put her wand away and turned to Alexander. "I'm so sorry; this isn't how I wanted this night to go."

"Me either," Alexander said with a grin, "but unfortunately I'm kind used to it by now."

"Will I see you again," Fleur asked, voicing her greatest fear.

"Count on it," Alexander replied. "Actually there was a Council trip next weekend that I was going to invite you to. The invite's still open, you can even bring your sister if she's willing to come down off her high horse and be around a bunch of 'muggles and squibs'."

Fleur smiled, it must have been difficult for Alexander to sit there and listen to Gabrielle without saying anything but now he was getting in a dig when he could. "Of course I'll be there, and I'll see what I can do about bringing a guest."

"Sound's like a plan," Alexander said, then he leaned forward and gave Fleur a kiss that was both passionate and restrained. The kind of kiss that promised much more. He was almost out the door when he turned, "I almost forgot, the shindig is on some island the Council owns in the tropics somewhere, so dress for the beach."

"I will," Fleur promised. "Goodnight Alexander." When the door had closed and she could no longer hear his feet on the stairs she turned to her sister with a much less pleasant look on her face.

"Why did you stop me," Gabrielle asked when her sister was facing her. "I was just going to modify his memory a bit."

"And if I hadn't stopped you then he might have killed you," Fleur said matter of factly.

Gabrielle started to chuckle nervously in disbelief but soon stopped when she saw that her sister was completely serious. She sat back down again, stunned at the implications of her sister's statement. Finally she looked up at Fleur, "just who is this Alexander?"

So Fleur told her. It took most of the night.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Dawn was still awake when Xander made it back to the castle. "So, how did it go," she asked, but then the look on his face answered her question. "What happened?"

"Well we had a fun evening watching that crazy sport they play on broomsticks. We met one of the teams after the match; it was an all female team. I think she wanted to see how I'd handle it."

"And?"

"Well there was some tension, but no diplomatic incidents."

"Unlike Mali."

"That was so not my fault."

"That's a debate for another time, so you were charming but not letting yourself be a doormat."

"Yeah, so after that we're walking home and instead of the ministry, she takes me to her apartment."

"Well you're home to early for any good stuff to have happened, at least if Anya was right, so what derailed the nookie train?"

"Her sister was there."

"Ohhhh."

"Yeah, take the worst parts of Cordy and Kennedy and put it in a fifteen year old with a princess attitude."

"Yuck, so you didn't kill her, did you?"

"No, I was letting Fleur handle it until she decided she'd just zap my memories."

"Did she get a shot off?"

"Nah, Fleur was in her face even before I had the Tazer ready. Let me tell you, that girl is scary when she wants to be, I mean we're talking PMSing Buffy levels of scary."

"Damn, no chance you caught any of it on your phone."

"Sorry, I was lost in admiration at the time."

"I bet," Dawn paused, "she threatened her sister over you didn't she; I mean seriously threatened?"

"Yeah."

"She's got it bad."

"That makes two of us," Xander replied. Then he headed off to bed, leaving Dawn deep in thought.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

As she filled in her sister on the entire situation, Fleur became aware of something, something that surprised her. She found, as she talked, that she was echoing many of Alexander's sentiments concerning the Wizarding world. She compared how she regarded it now with how she had regarded it before she met Alexander and realized that her sentiments really hadn't changed that much, she was just much more forward in expressing herself. Gabrielle certainly noticed. "What makes you say such things Fleur?"

"It's the truth Gabrielle, all I'm doing is telling the truth."

"I cannot believe that it is as bad as you say."

"Really, then how were you treated at the Floo exchange when it was revealed that you were part Veela?"

Fleur saw her sisters eyes unfocus as she recalled the incident. Then her eyes snapped back into focus as a look of rage appeared on her face. "And you must deal with such things every day? How can you stand it?"

"It is difficult, but I have excellent motivation."

"Alexander?"

"No, it is you, you little imp. If tolerating rude behavior makes the path you walk a little easier, then that is more than worth it."

Gabrielle was speechless, the realization of what her sister was willing to tolerate for the benefit of others humbled her.

The next day, Fleur was at the ministry, meeting with just Kingsley and Amelia Bones. "I have been invited to a gathering of Slayers and Watchers; I think it best if I went."

"Why," Kingsley asked, even though he thought he knew the answer.

"It will give me a chance to see if Alexander's views represent the majority or if they're an aberration. I would also get a chance to see exactly which Squibs are working for Alexander's group, that way we can control information by keeping related families out of the loop."

"Both good reasons," Madam Bones said, "do you know where this will be?"

"No, Alexander only indicated that it would be in the tropics and that it was an Island owned by the Council, so I would expect wards and such to be around it."

"That would make it impossible to apparate out in case of an emergency."

"True, but she could have something on her that was a port-key, something voice activated maybe," Kingsley put in.

"Would it be just you," Amelia asked.

"I'm not sure," Fleur replied. "My sister has been invited also, so I'm checking with our parents to see if she can come along. I think it would make things smoother if she came. And she's quite good for her age. If things went bad, there would be two of us helping each other and not just one person alone."

"Are you sure you wouldn't want someone else, someone more experienced?"

"I would, but only Gabrielle and myself have been asked. I don't want to break faith with Alexander and there are still things that his organization can teach us."

Amelia Bones looked out her window for a moment, debating the merits of the plan in her mind. Eventually she faced the other two people in the room. "You may go Miss Delacour, whether your sister accompanies you is up to your family. See Devin Gamble in the magical transportation department for an appropriate port-key. Kingsley, if you would stay for a moment, there is another matter I'd like to discuss with you."

"Certainly Minister," he rumbled; then turned in his seat to watch Fleur leave.

"Is she in love with this Alexander, Kingsley?"

"I'm honestly not sure Amelia."

"More importantly, is she still loyal to the Wizarding World?"

"For now she is. But I can see the doubt growing in her. And to be honest, there is a lot of truth in what she says about how our society functions, or doesn't as the case may be."

"I know, but I would like steady evolution, not revolution"

"I agree Minister, but she is young and quite idealistic still."

"I know Kingsley," Amelia paused, "just keep an eye on her. I don't want to, but we may have to act. It wouldn't stop things, but it would slow them down."

Kingsley looked troubled but nodded, "I'll keep an eye on her Amelia, you can count on that.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

One Week Later, on an uncharted tropical island (but not Gilligan's Island).

They both staggered out of the teleportation circle. Fleur wasn't quite as disoriented as her sister; after all, she'd been through it before. The heat hit them next. A second or so before they'd been in Scotland, now it was about fifty degrees warmer and so the robes that had been weather appropriate were now way too heavy. They looked around, trying to figure out where they should go to change, but no direction really looked promising.

"There's a little bungalow off that path to the left," a voice behind them said. "I bet you'd both like to get out of those robes." The two sisters turned to see a willowy brunette and a shorter, darker haired girl. "I don't know if you remember, but I'm Dawn Summers and this is Nicole, we're your escorts for the day."

Fleur grimaced a bit, but couldn't really object after all if the situations had been reversed she would not allow Alexander's friends to walk around Diagon Alley without someone keeping an eye on them. "Thank you, and yes, I do remember you Miss Summers, even though I was not at my best at the time." She turned to say something to Gabrielle but Nicole was walking away with the young blond, the two of them chattering away in French. "So where is Alexander, I'm surprised that he's not here."

"Something came up quickly and he had to deal with it, he should be here soon."

"In the mean time you get to interrogate me without him interrupting."

"There is that, but I prefer conversation to interrogation. This is more of a getting to know you rather than threaten you so you stay away."

"I see," Fleur said, falling into step next to Dawn. "So who else will be getting to know me?"

"Aside from me, there's Willow, Faith and Buffy. Be prepared for Willow, she's a Wicca and will talk your ear off about magic. That's not so bad except she talks faster than anyone I've ever met so it's a little hard to understand her at times. Buffy and Faith are both slayers, so expect the whole aggressive thing from them. You'll also run into a lot of new Slayers, they're kind of protective of Xander so don't be surprised if they're a lot rude."

"I understand," Fleur said as a small house appeared in a clearing ahead. "You all care for Alexander and do not wish anything to happen to him."

"Right, but you really shouldn't say that word."

"Which word," Fleur asked, a bit confused.

"Wish."

"Why not?"

So Dawn told her.

Later they were on the beach, just enjoying the sun. Fleur was in a rather conservative two piece while Gabrielle had gone for the Brazilian look, Dawn and Nicole were somewhere in the middle. None of them worried about burning due to some consenstual spell casting by Fleur. The two younger girls had gone off, seeing what there was to see while Fleur and Dawn chatted about neutral subjects. Suddenly Fleur was aware of three other people nearby. Turning she saw a petite blond; a curvy, sultry looking brunette and a red head that was somewhere between the other two. She got up and brushed herself off and extended her hand "I assume that this is Buffy, Faith and Willow."

Her hand hung there for a moment before the red-head took it and gave it a good shake. "I'm Willow, this is Buffy," she said indicating the blond, "and Faith," she nodded at the brunette. "You really use a wand?"

Fleur gave a little laugh at the young woman's enthusiasm. "Yes, I use a wand," she said while pulling it out of her hair where she had been using it like a chopstick to keep her white blond hair up and manageable. She gave a little swish and flick and muttered, "wingardium leviosa," while pointing the wand at Dawn. For her part Dawn gave a little shriek as she rose off the ground. Fleur held her there for only a moment or two, then lowered her and canceled the spell. "I could also cast a sun blocking spell if you wish, you feel the warmth but the sun will not burn you."

"That would be great," Willow bubbled; Faith said, "Sure," and Buffy just nodded. Again, Fleur gave a little wave and said, "soleil negaten," then wound her hair up again and returned her wand to its job of holding things in place.

Willow and Faith had moved to join Dawn but the other newcomer, Buffy, just continued to stare at her. Fleur returned her gaze, trying to determine just what she wanted. "Do you love him," Buffy finally asked.

"Don't you all," Fleur asked in reply. She could see that her answer had thrown the woman; emotions ran like water over her face flitting between one and another with the speed of thought. After a second or two she shook her head as if to clear it. "Are you in love with him?"

"If I am, then I believe the first person I should tell would be Alexander himself; don't you think so." She continued to placidly hold the blonds gaze until finally Faith spoke up.

"You got stones there Frenchy, I'll give you that. Stop glaring at her B, the X-man is old enough to make his own screw ups."

"That's not what I'm worried about," Buffy replied.

"What are you worried about," Fleur asked her.

"I'm worried that some of you friends might just decide that he's too big a threat and deal . . . . . proactively with the situation."

"You are afraid that other Wizards may try and hurt Alexander?"

Buffy replied with a curt nod.

"So am I," Fleur confessed, sinking back onto her towel. "In general, the Wizarding world is very traditional, they resist change. Alexander almost personifies change, and I am constantly afraid for him. I have told him this but he says that he is taking precautions and moreover, that it is his life to risk. I cannot argue with that even though I would like to."

Silence reigned around the five women; all the others could recall similar arguments/conversations with Xander all with similar conclusions. It was this, more than anything else that convinced the others that Fleur was a keeper.

Faith broke the mood quite spectacularly when she asked, "so what do ya do for fun when you're not bustin crims there Frenchy?"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Fleur spent an hour or so talking to Alexander's friends and incidentally collecting several good pieces of blackmail and a couple of interesting stories, then she went to find Gabrielle. She found the girl paying in the islands gentle surf with a group of slayers. Fleur just stood there and watched her sister, she'd rarely seen the girl in such good spirits.

At that moment, a pair of strong arms draped themselves over her shoulders and gently pulled her back into the comforting mass behind her. "She seems to be having fun," a voice murmured in her ear.

"Yes she does," Fleur replied. "I believe that she is enjoying the experience of not being judged on the basis of what she is."

"Possibly, or she's whammied all the baby slayers so they're in love with her, or at least in lust with her."

"She does not need magic for that."

"True, she is very pretty, but honestly I don't think she could hold a candle to you."

"Why not," Fleur asked, turning in Alexander's arms.

"Because while you are both beautiful on the outside, Gabrielle had youth but no character yet. She hasn't been through the trials that turn a person into an adult the way you have. And I believe that I've mentioned before how much I admire you for what you've been through, and how you've dealt with adversity. I've seen a lot of pretty women, Fleur; there have been pretty girls around me all of my life; but you are, by far, the loveliest person I've ever seen."

That answer got him a very enthusiastic kiss. "So where were you, I missed you being here."

"An emergency cropped up in Portugal. Honestly I wonder if it was manufactured so the high inquisitors couldn't get some alone time with you."

"I wouldn't put it past them," she laughed, knowing whom Alexander was talking about. "And even if they did, it all went well."

"Good to hear," Alexander muttered, kissing her again.

When they both came up for air, Fleur had the devil's own smile on her face. "So, I understand that you've met the real Dracula," she asked.

Alexander just hung his head, he was so gonna kill his friends.