"I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery."-Thomas Jefferson
Chapter 3: Dangerous Freedom
~Harry~
Harry nervously fiddled with the keys to his new house and finally managed to steel himself enough to open the door. It was dusty, the furniture was covered in white sheets and it had the hallow feeling that reminded him of the Shrieking Shack and it reminded him uncomfortably of Remus. Remus had forgiven him for knocking him and Tonks out before the final battle and locking them in the Chamber of Secrets.
It had been the only way Harry had thought of to keep the two of them from all the fighting, it had been a risk but well worth their lives. Harry had been so angry that they would even risk fighting with him after just having Teddy…it was irresponsible. Harry wished there had been someone to do that to his parents and maybe they would have been alive still. His actions had put a serious strain on their relationship, they hadn't even been talking when Harry had been captured…and of course after Remus had felt too guilty to approach him.
That hadn't stopped Remus from lecturing him nonstop the last two weeks about how stupid he was being now. The worst of it was that Harry knew what he was doing was crazy, irresponsible and slightly rash. However, Harry didn't care! The last few months with Xander had been the most peaceful Harry had felt in years and he was not giving that up. It was all so blissfully normal, when he was with Xander he was just Harry and nothing else mattered.
Harry waved his hand clearing the rooms of dust as he walked through them and then he began uncovering the furniture as he went along folding the sheets to be put away later. He caught a glimpse of himself in a mirror and winced, he was still not used to his reflection…it was like looking at a stranger. Ever since…Raziel…his appearance had been slowly…subtly changing and every time he looked in the mirror he was reminded of it.
His skin was pale like always…but it seemed so flawless now…unnaturally beautiful. His eyes glowed a bit now…always green but now somehow more intense…tinting over to yellowish green in anger. His hair was still a chaotic mess, but now when the light hit it right it shone a blood red as opposed to his birth black…it reminded him of blood when it did…Raziel's blood. He was still as short and slim as always but Harry took little comfort in that. Truthfully Harry wouldn't have minded too much if the changes had included some height gain…sadly it had not.
Shaking himself out of those thoughts Harry focused on the house; it was happily partly furnished so he wouldn't need to buy many things to get it decked out. It had been ridiculously cheap to buy a house with a decent piece of land in Sunnydale…small wonder with it being a Hellmouth and all. When he had driven into Sunnydale that first time with Xander he had felt it…the Hellmouth…and it had firmed his resolve to get back as quickly as possible.
Hellmouths attracted all sorts of baddies and Harry wanted to get back as quickly as possible to protect Xander. It was a small wonder Xander hadn't been killed if he had been born and raised in this town. Harry was still debating on whether or not to tell Xander about the whole supernatural thing. A small part of him was deathly afraid of telling Xander he was a wizard and all those monsters he had heard in the stories were real.
It was in part from his childhood with the Dursleys, Harry admitted, his fear of being rejected over being a freak still crushingly present. Harry wasn't stupid, before there tentative relationship Xander had been 'firmly straight' and he didn't want to add the extra stress of all the other things in his life to their 'thing'. Perhaps later, when they were on firmer ground and he had less doubts.
That didn't mean Harry was going to leave Xander unprotected because he was skittish about revealing his world to Xander. Harry had plans to ward his new house with the strongest ward layers he knew of and inviting Xander to move in with him. It was a little fast but Harry figured they could sleep in separate rooms so it wouldn't be too fast. He just wanted Xander sleeping somewhere safe…and maybe Harry wanted him around too.
That wasn't the only thing Harry was working on either, he was in the process of crafting a protection amulet for Xander to protect him while he was out of the house. Sighing Harry got to work getting the house ready and set up to live in. He would need to all the magical enhancements before he let Xander know he was back. He went through the house, fixing things, transmuting furniture as needed, expanding the master bathroom, and doing the basics.
The two story house had a simple layout, Kitchen, living room, a bathroom with a small room on the ground floor, three rooms, two bathrooms, a Master suite on the second floor, and a small attic along with a relatively decent sized basement. Harry expanded the Master bathroom a bit; he wanted to spoil himself a bit with some luxury there. He made sure the attic had wards that hid it from sight planning on putting his magical things up there since there was access to it from his Master.
He cleaned things up and then he began to prepare things for his wards. Carving small angelic runes for protection on every window sill, door and opening in the house…including the fireplace. He buried his prepare ward stones in the basement for anchors, and then got to work purifying the house. To help with cleansing the house Harry smoked the house with Sage, and then traced purifying runes with holy water mixed with his blood on the walls both angelic and wizarding.
Then he sat crosslegged in the heart of the house, which according to the blueprint was the Kitchen, and began chanting the chain of spells that would ward the house against anything seeking to harm the inhabitants. Harry wiped his nose with the back of his hand ignoring the nosebleed, it always came when he accessed more of the knowledge Raziel had gifted him with. The wards Harry was layering were a combination of wizard wards with Angelic wards…powerful but a pain in the ass to cast. It was very delicate and needed to be done all at once otherwise it would collapse.
It was a relief a few hours later when Harry finished with no mishaps, the first time he had done that it had been for Remus' house and he had been interrupted in the middle of his chant. The backlash from the wards collapsing in on him had sent him into a coma for three days; it had not been a fun experience. Harry stomach grumbled letting him know it was lunchtime and he needed to eat having skipped breakfast to start on the house.
Harry ignored it and began unshrinking the stuff he had brought back from England with him wanting to unpack. When he had all the boxes unshrunk in the living room Harry pulled out his phone to call Xander wondering if he wanted to catch some lunch. Harry was hoping that he could brooch the topic of moving in with him over food. Harry figured that he could get Xander to go back to his parents place to pack his things while Harry put all the sensitive stuff away if he agreed to move in.
~Xander~
Xander fiddled with his hands trying to ignore how hungry he was at the moment by concentrating on catching up with Willow and Oz. His was still currently unemployed and that meant no food for Xander until he could get some funds together. Xander hadn't expected a warm welcome from his parents but being put in the basement expected to pay rent for food/board had been a little surprising. He was just so hungry!
Firmly pushing those thoughts out of his head he noticed Buffy heading their way. "Hey! Say hi to non-college guy!" Xander said smiling at her.
Buffy was in a mood it seemed since she replied, "Not that I mind but don't non-college guys populate the non-campus."
"Usually, just thought I'd come around and check on my girls," Xander said patting Oz on his knee hoping to get a rise out of him.
"And eat off my plate," Willow said smiling coyly at him.
"What's the deal Xand? Parents not feeding you," Buffy asked sarcastically.
"Sure they do…for a price…" Xander said uncomfortable with how close she had gotten to the truth.
"So spill, what was that all about with the cutey patutey?" Willow asked smiling teasingly distracting everyone from what he had just said.
"I don't know, nothing serious I think, just random adorableness," Buffy replied.
Xander felt he must have missed something, Buffy must have ran into some guy on the way here and by the looks of things he was the only one who hadn't noticed. Since he wanted to feel like he was a part of the conversation Xander said, "A technique I know well, hit the girl with your best shot then hasta."
"Gotta respect the drive by," Oz chimed in.
"No rejection, fond memories," Xander mused.
"That looked like more than that to me, he got all googly eyed," Willow said.
"That's because he got hit with the buffenator, now he's powerless," Xander said hoping to get Buffy a little more friendly to him with shameless compliments.
"You think?" Buffy asked getting all bubbly.
"No question, he'll be back," Oz chipped in.
The girls giggled, and Xander barely restrained rolling his eyes. "So what else is up with the Buff, any vamp action," Xander said trying to get the conversation off of romance for a moment. Harry flashed through his mind unheeded and Xander squirmed uncomfortably at the reminder of needing to tell them about Harry.
"Nope, I did get jumped by a demon of nonspecific origin last night," Buffy said helpfully.
"Yeah! Something apocalypsey? Do we need to assemble the Scooby gang?" Xander asked trying to hide his excitement. By the look of amusement on Buffy's face he didn't manage all that well.
Buffy giggled at him, "No but thank you for asking."
"I just got way too excited didn't I?" Xander said sighing.
Buffy patted him on the hand, "You just need to get out of the basement more Xand." She said.
Just then Xander's cell phone rang in his pocket and he scrambled to answer it fumbling with the phone to get it out to answer. Only Harry had his number and though Xander tried to hold back his excitement about talking to his green eyed guy he didn't manage well. Buffy, Willow and Oz were eying him in surprise. "Hello?" Xander said trying to act cool (and failing miserably).
"Hey! I'm back in town and I was thinking we could meet up for some lunch somewhere," Harry said cool English accent heard clearly from the phone his friends suddenly quiet.
"Yeah! Where do you want to meet up?" Xander asked failing wretchedly to keep the excitement out of his voice.
"Well I was hoping you knew a place," Harry said.
"Oh right, home field advantage and all that," Xander said suddenly nervous about his friends' united attention. He hoped Harry didn't say anything too…romantic…that was so not how he wanted to bring up his new relationship to them. "There is a nice café off main street," Xander said trying to ignore his friends' curious stares.
"Okay, meet you there in twenty?" Harry said lightly.
"Yeah, I'll be there!" Xander said.
"See you there then," Harry said hanging up.
When Xander hung up he was met with three curious stares and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Who was that?" Willow asked curiously.
"When did you get a phone?" Buffy asked pouting at the same time.
Xander shuffled the nice thin silver cell phone from one hand to the other nervously, "Oh that was Harry," Xander said ignoring Buffy's question for now hoping she would drop it. Explaining his sort of boyfriend bought him a cell was on his 'not ready yet' list that seemed to be growing lately.
"Who's Harry" Oz asked curious.
"I didn't tell you two about him yet?" Xander said lightly trying to hide his nervousness.
"He's the guy that Xander spent the last three months with, seeing America and all that," Buffy said lightly.
"Really?" Willow asked looking to Xander to elaborate.
"Yeah, I broke down outside Oxnard when I went on my road trip, Harry stopped and picked my pitfulness up from the side of the road. Since he had the same idea in mind, you know aimless wandering and all that, we teamed up." Xander said lightly. Before he was bombarded with questions about his trip Buffy's new roommate butted into the conversation and Xander used her as an distraction to escape. "Well better get going, see you guys!" Xander said as he booked it.
Thankfully only Oz looked at him funny; the girls were distracted by the new addition and forgot about him. Xander knew he would need to come clean to them about Harry soon…he shouldn't hide it from them. Still, part of him wasn't quite ready to take that step yet. That wasn't to say Xander was ashamed of his relationship with Harry…far from it…but he was nervous about telling his friends about it. He just wasn't sure how they would react to it, since there just wasn't that many gay couples in Sunnydale…at least not that Xander had noticed.
So since they had never broached the topic of same gender relationships he wasn't sure how his friends felt about it…and thus his nervousness. What if they were disgusted by him? What if they tried to talk him out of it? Xander liked Harry too much to walk away now that he had committed himself to giving this thing between them a chance. The thought of having to choose between his friends and Harry was terrifying. Something he was so afraid would happen because it was one of the worst case scenarios that played out in his head.
When he saw Harry waiting for him with a smile, after not seeing him for two weeks, well all those bad thoughts suddenly vanished. Harry smiled, food was laid out waiting for him on the table, some of his favorites and Xander smiled widely. Harry was just too sweet, his stomach grumbled in agreement making him blush as he sat down.
"Hungry?" Harry giggled.
"Yeah, hi to you too," Xander said teasingly.
"Well dig in love," Harry said lowly making Xander shiver nicely. A new sensation that was more pleasant that he had expected.
"Thanks," Xander said digging in. A little while later, pleasantly full, Xander leaned back sleepy in a food coma and Harry passed him a little present wrapped in plain brown paper. Xander picked it up with a smile, "Buttering me up for something," Xander said.
Harry chuckled, "You could say that."
Xander got the small box open revealing a necklace inside, nothing girly thank god. It was a silver pendant on a brown leather cord with a small soft white feather; the cord had a few juniper beads on it Xander recognized. The pendant was a triangle over a circle bisected by a line looking properly mystical. Warning sounds began ringing in his head, "It's really nice did you get it in town?" Xander asked with forced casualness.
"No I made it," Harry said smiling, "a friend showed me how to make good luck charms back in England and I thought that it might help you out! You told me a few of your crazy stories, seemed like you could use one!" he said teasingly.
Xander firmly stomped down on his panic, he was being unreasonable, and he forced himself to put the necklace on. When nothing unnatural happened Xander breathed a silent sigh of relief and allowed himself to appreciate the coolness of the gift. "Thanks," Xander said smiling. Shyly Xander kissed Harry lightly on the mouth before pulling away. He was rewarded with the sight of pink blushing Harry, well worth it in Xander's mind.
The necklace had given him a moment of panic because Xander hadn't had the best of luck when it came to picking romantic partners. For a moment there Xander was nervous this was going to another one of those moments when he discovered Harry was a little more than human. Thankfully it hadn't turned out that way and he just got a cool looking ordinary necklace.
"Ah, so I bought a house," Harry began nervously.
"That's great!" Xander said.
"Yeah, umm well I was wondering…I know its kinda fast but I thought that maybe…umm," Harry fumbled while Xander waited patiently. "Well you see, since your parents'…what I mean is that it's a pretty big house and I thought maybe you might like to move in. Rent free in all that since I just want the company, you'd have your own rooms and..uhh…I'm buggering this all up aren't I?" Harry said slumping in his seat.
Xander held back the insane urge to pull him into a hug, Harry just looked so cute, "My Mr. Potter, are you asking me to move in with you?" Xander said teasingly with a fake southern accent fluttering his eyes dramatically. It did the job making Harry burst into giggles and breaking the tension.
Harry hit him on the arm, "Yes you prat! Figured you could use the rent break and I could use the company! The house is pretty big and empty; don't quite like the idea of getting strangers for roommates to fill it up." Harry said excusing himself.
Xander just grinned at him, "Missed me did you?" he said, "well Harry you've made me an offer I couldn't refuse," Xander said in his best godfather voice making Harry laugh again.
"Good! Well I am in the process of unpacking so I figured you could go pack up your things at your parent's house and then I'd pick you up when you're done. That way I can get a dent into unpacking my things before you bring in more stuff," Harry said smiling at him.
Xander just let the warmth from that smile wash over him, "Sounds like a plan!" Xander said happily.
~Harry~
It was a relief how easy it had been to get Xander to move in, Harry had honestly been expecting more of a fight from Xander since he had argued so much with him about gifts when they had been on the road. Xander must really not like living in his parents' house, and Harry could relate…his relatives had certainly not been the best people to live with either. He hadn't managed to get all his magic things unpacked before Xander had called for his pick up so he hid the rest in his closet.
Xander's reaction to seeing the house was nice; he had been properly impressed and gushed over his room. He had waxed poetic about moving aboveground and had Harry in a giggling fit. This was part of the reason he had been so eager to get back to the states and Xander…Harry hadn't laughed this hard in a long time. Xander was funnier than the twins when he wanted to be.
Just then Xander came out of his room tucking his cell in his pocket and acting very nervous, "Hey Harry could I borrow your car uhhh my friend Buffy is in need of a sit down and I want to catch her while she's at Giles' place." Xander asked.
Since Xander was acting so shady Harry was tempted to invite himself along but the magic things in his closet needed to be put away. Plus Xander had his protection amulet on so Harry didn't have to worry about him getting hurt. "Sure," he said handing Xander the keys, "try not to drive her into a tree," Harry joked.
"Noted," Xander said smiling. "Thanks," Xander said kissing Harry on the cheek making Harry's stomach flutter pleasantly. "I'll be home soon! Hopefully," Xander said as he went off.
Harry wondered what had Xander so worried, but Harry figured Xander would tell him if it was anything serious. Harry didn't want to push Xander or be overbearing so Harry shrugged it off.
~Xander~
He made it to Giles' place just as Oz was pulling up too. Xander got out quickly hoping to get more of a run down on what brought on psycho killer Buffy. Oz raised an eyebrow at him, "Nice ride." Oz said.
"Thanks, I borrowed it from Harry," Xander said, "So what's the deal?" he said trying to distract Oz.
It worked because they got to Giles' place and Giles answered him hurriedly, "Willow called, said Buffy was acting a bit peculiar, talked about slaying her roommate that's all I know." Giles said as he cleaned his glasses.
"Okay, so what's the plan?" Xander asked.
"Tie her up until we figure this out." Oz said.
A while later when Buffy came into Giles apartment Giles dropped the net while Oz and Xander tied her up with some rope. "This hurts me more than it hurts you," Xander said as he tied her hands.
"Not yet," Buffy growled.
"Ah don't say that," Xander whined nervously, "Ah please don't say that."
"We're doing this to stop you from making a terrible mistake," Giles said.
Of course later when it turned out that Buffy's roommate was in fact a soul stealing demon from another dimension they all felt a little foolish. Xander was so happy to go home to Harry at the end of it all and forget about it all. In the end it all worked out like it usually did, Kathy the roommate was banished back to her dimension by her equally soulless father (?) and Giles managed to get Buffy's soul back to her that her roommate had stolen. All in all just a typical Tuesday.
Coming home to find that Harry had cooked him dinner and finished setting up the house was a good surprise. Stomach full, blissfully content, Xander spent the rest of the night making out with his sort of boyfriend before they both went to bed. The icing on the cake that Xander discovered when he went to his room was that Harry had taken it upon himself to unpack his things for him too. His new bed was made up, deliciously comfortable, his clothes were put away and most of his other things were laid out read for him to choose their placements.
Yeah, Xander thought he was halfway sure that he was in love with that man or if he wasn't already he would be very soon. Harry was so damn considerate. Xander went to bed with a smile on his face, thinking that maybe tomorrow night he would see about spending the night in Harry's room. For now he was content with enjoying his own space.
A.N.: Episode too down! Not as much action as I wanted but necessary to ease Harry into Sunnydale! Ahhh didn't think I'd get this done so soon! XP Its just buzzing around my head not leaving me alone! As always please review and let me know what you think!