First...Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all had a great day yesterday. And if you don't celebrate Christmas, then I wish you peace and love and joy...and/or happiness for whatever holiday you might celebrate!

Second...sorry it's been so long since I posted. I have a little chart that tells me when to post (it's based on comments/reviews), but I totally ignored it. You don't care, right? Haha. Thank you to all those who did give me feedback on the last chapter (or my rambling babbleages)...the numbers were better than they have been and that makes me very VERY happy! Because...why post if it's like crickets, you know? And double thanks to those of you who posted more than once! And TRIPLE thank you to the one person who always posts on multiple sites!

Third...I don't have much real news to share. It's been raining A LOT here in the pacific northwest...big surprise...so trips to The Sound have not plentiful. Not much anyway. Our son did visit a few weeks ago and we took him into the city and on a ferry. Yes, another one! And my SIL visited too...so there was a lot of beer drinking at the breweries to be had on the one day that she was here. Other than that...not much excitement to speak of. I pretty much did a whole lot of NOTHING! And some reading...but hardly any writing. *sigh* I did open my document and added just over 1600 words to chapters 61 and 62...so that's something, right? Lol.

Okay...I've babbled enough...so chapter! I hope you enjoy it enough to post a comment or TWENTY!

Chapter Fifty-three
"Harmless Hexes"

By the end of the next week, Buffy's vampire bite was all but forgotten. At least by Vin and Sophie. Neither of them had brought it up again—nor had they told their sister—but Tom thought about it constantly.

But he'd learned his lesson. Bringing it up to Buffy did no good. At best, she completely brushed him off, which was incredibly frustrating. In fact, he wanted to bring out his wand and throw a hex at her—to snap her out of her 'It's no biggie!' attitude.

But even worse she'd just laugh at him. He hated it when she laughed at him! That meant she wasn't taking him seriously and that was infuriating! When she laughed at him, he actually wanted to cast a Crucio!

When she was just being Buffy, she'd hex him. The first time she did hex him over this, he'd yelped in surprise—and then lost control and yelled at her. She'd just smiled at him innocently, as if she hadn't been the one to do it. The second time he threatened to hex her back. This time she smirked at him—almost evilly. And the third time she hexed him he'd drawn his wand, but resisted the urge to return fire. She'd smiled again and told him to do his worst.

And so another duel had ensued, sending them both running around the house screaming and hexing—and laughing—and causing several things to be broken! When they finished their play, the house was nearly turned upside down and both of them were utterly breathless—and glad that Vin and Sophie had gone out. The house looked like a war zone!

Afterward they sat in the lounge talking—they were both glad to have the time alone together.

"We should put the house back together before the sisters return, then go back to your books," Tom said once they'd exhausted all other topics. They were both lounging on the sofa, but he sat up, as if he were finished relaxing.

Buffy sighed. "I'm so tired of studying." She stayed in a reclined position—the back of her head resting on the cushions—but she turned to look at him.

Tom snorted a laugh. "Just wait until we are at Hogwarts. There will be classes and essays to hand in everyday. And the teachers won't care if you say you're tired of studying."

"I know. It's the same at Sunnydale, but...all this cramming... so exhausting," Buffy said. "My head is aching. I think my brain might actually be bleeding."

Tom chuckled. "That's because we've been playing all day most days, so you're having to stay up half the night reading. I'm impressed by your commitment," he admitted. "I didn't think you would do it."

"Thank you ever so much for the vote of confidence," she grumbled.

Tom shook his head. "No. I didn't mean it like that. I simply meant...you're ahead of schedule, I think. You've only been studying for four weeks and you're halfway through your third year books. And you've been jumping forward into your fourth year books too. That's...impressive."

Buffy smiled. "Thanks," she said, not telling him that she was also poking around in her fifth year books too—because sometimes one question led to another, which forced her to dip into other books! "I've never been a great student, but this stuff...it's actually fun! If only Sunnydale could incorporate this into the curriculum." She grinned. "I'd be a rockstar."

Tom frowned, not really sure what she was talking about, but she seemed pleased with herself—which was a good thing. That's how he'd felt when he'd been told that magic was real. He'd always known he was special, but learning about magic had made him ecstatic! And going to Hogwarts had brought him so much pleasure. Now, they just had to get her to Hogwarts and see how she did there. And, with any hope, keep her away from vampires and Watchers—and Edmund bloody Giles!

"I don't think your brain is actually bleeding," he said—to pull himself out of his thoughts.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't be too sure about that," she said, sitting up and leaning closer to him, tilting her head to the side. "Look at my ear...do you see the blood pouring out of it."

Tom returned her eye roll. She was joking, he knew, but she was acting as if she were serious. He glanced at her ear, but his eyes strayed to her neck and the semi-healed scar there—and he remembered the blood that had been there—and that made him angry again.

Sitting forward, he picked up his wand—that he'd set beside him on the sofa—and stood up. "We should clean up this mess before Vin and Sophie find out that we've destroyed the place again."

Smiling, Buffy watched him for a moment. He repaired a vase with a simple Reparo spell, then proceeded to use his wand to siphon the puddle of water off the table and put it back in the vase. Standing, she gathered the flowers that had been scattered by one of their spells and put them back in the vase as well, then moved on to the next displaced item. As they worked together—silently—she realized they really had done a number on the house. To herself she smiled again, but she could tell that Tom was upset again, so she didn't say anything—for a while.

Afterward they'd spent what seemed like hours righting the house—they'd gone from room to room checking for broken items—they sat in the lounge again.

"Do you think we got everything?" Buffy asked after a time. The silence between them was getting to her.

Tom nodded. "I think so," he said, glancing around. One of the paintings on the wall was a bit tilted, but otherwise, everything seemed to be in its place. "Except that." He gestured at the painting.

Buffy turned her head and looked up at it, and then let her eyes go around the room again. "Yeah, maybe just that," she said, shrugging. "I think everything else is good. Maybe even better than it was. And it's all dust free now." She smiled and nodded to herself.

Tom nodded too—then sighed and didn't say anything.

"You're still mad at me, huh?" Buffy asked after a few moments of silence.

"Yes," Tom said bluntly.

Buffy snorted. "Don't hold back now," she said.

Tom turned and looked at her. "What you did was completely irresponsible!"

Buffy frowned. "Can you not see why I had to do it?" she asked.

Tom shook his head—then sighed. "I mean, I can, but I hate that you did it," he admitted. The fact that he hated what she'd allowed to happen to her was no secret, but he thought maybe she'd listen if he told her again.

"I know," she whispered. "It's just that I felt... responsible for his condition."

"I know that you did," Tom responded.

"And I can't believe I'm going to say this, but...I'm worried about him...about Alistair," Buffy admitted, then frowned at her words. She should be worried about the unsuspecting humans out there. She was worried about the humans, but Alistair had become more than just a vampire to her. There was something about voluntarily feeding one that changed how you felt about it. Him.

Tom shook his head. "You should be worried about him killing people, not worried about him."

Buffy nodded. "I was just thinking that and I am. I mean, what if I made it possible for him to go out and start killing again? If he truly wasn't already."

Tom frowned—then shook his head. "We'll hear if there are any random deaths reported in the papers. I will start checking and...we should go over to Diagon Alley and purchase a copy of the Daily Prophet."

Buffy's eyes widened. "The wizarding world has a newspaper?"

Tom nodded. "Of course."

"Humph! I didn't even consider that there would be one. Cool. Hey! I bet Vin and Sophie would love to read it." She grinned.

Tom nodded again. "I'm sure that they would." The nosey busybodies! he said to himself.

And just like clockwork, Vin and Sophie entered the house—each heavily loaded with packages, which they dropped on the floor upon entering the lounge.

"Good afternoon, you two," Sophie said as she plopped herself down on in a chair. "What have you been up to today?"

Mid-pour—her first stop was the wine cart—Vin harrumphed. "They've been dueling again!" she said, taking a sip of her wine, then running a finger over the mantle and staring at her dust-free fingertip.

Buffy gasped. "We have not!" she replied—then blushed at her lie and glanced at Tom.

Sitting forward, Sophie narrowed her eyes, then glanced around the room for broken items.

Pouting, Buffy shrugged. "Okay. Yeah. Just a little bit. We were letting off steam and we fixed everything. It's no biggie. Really."

"Not everything," Sophie countered—then pointed. "That painting's askew."

Buffy sighed. "Okay, almost everything. But we tidied a bit, so...it balances, right?"

Sophie hmm'd. "I suppose."

Vin shook her head. "We can't leave you two alone, can we?"

"We could be doing other things," Buffy said suggestively—causing Tom to look away with embarrassment.

Sophie gasped. "You had better not be doing that!" she said, as if she were scandalized—even though she wasn't.

Buffy snorted. "Don't worry, we've been behaving... mostly," she teased.

This time Tom gasped. "Buffy!" he hissed.

Buffy just smirked. "How'd you know anyway...about the dueling?" she asked, ignoring Tom.

Vin smirked back at her. "I've cast spells on the house. There's nothing that goes on within these walls that I'm not aware of. Just keep that in mind while you're mostly behaving."

Buffy blushed and sank a bit into the sofa—and ignored the glare she felt coming from Tom. His glaze felt like flames licking at her face, heating her up to a point that was definitely uncomfortable. But she ignored it—and him.

Watching, Sophie laughed. "Oh stop, Vin! We can't very well get upset with them for doing...whatever...when we're guilty of...er, never mind."

Vin cleared her throat. "The difference is that they're still children and we're...mature adults."

Buffy snorted. "Mature, my behind," she grumbled under her breath. "And, who are you calling children? I'm sixteen, you know?!"

"Fifteen!" Vin, Sophie, and Tom intoned in unison.

Buffy harrumphed. She didn't know why that one year made such a difference to her, but it did. She was sixteen, damn it!

But instead of arguing, she rolled her eyes and said, "Whatever!"

"So, one month from today," said Vin, trying to change the subject. "It's almost time."

Sophie nodded. "Four weeks and two days!" she said excitedly, rubbing her hands together. "Are you ready?"

Sitting up, Buffy nodded. "Yeah, I think so," she said with a smile.

"You think so?" Sophie asked.

Buffy shrugged. "Okay. I'm not sure about ready ready. I mean, I still have a few books to get through...to be completely finished. And, who knows how much I'm actually retaining, you know?" she said. "But I'm getting there. All this cramming is exhausting. I was just telling Tom that. But I am catching up. I think."

Beside her, Tom looked at Buffy and took her hand, then turned toward the sisters. "Buffy is doing well," he reported. "No one can say she isn't putting forth her best effort."

Buffy puffed up a bit and grinned. "See," she said—then suddenly wished she could tell her friends all about what was happening here in 1942. "My friend Willow would be so proud of me. She's my go-to for anything education related."

Vin and Sophie both smiled sadly. They knew this time away from her friends and family must be quite difficult.

"We're both proud of you too, Buffy," Vin said quietly—to which Sophie nodded.

"Thank you. It means a lot," said Buffy—then she smiled. "Mom would be shocked though."

"I'm sorry she isn't here to see what you've accomplished," Sophie said sadly. "I'm sure she'd be very proud of you too."

Buffy shrugged. "Yeah. Maybe. I don't know though. I mean, she doesn't even know about the Slayer thing, but I suppose she would find out about both now... here...now that I'm a witch and a slayer. If she were here too, that is."

Vin, Sophie, and Tom nodded.

"The parents of the Muggleborns are informed," he said. Though it hadn't happened in his case—since he was an orphan—he knew that the Muggleborn students' parents knew about them.

"I don't suppose we could have hidden that you're a slayer if we were dealing with both secrets at the same time," said Vin.

"Edna would have done her best to convince you to keep being a slayer a secret," Sophie added.

Buffy snorted. "I've struggled with that secret before. Let me tell you, it is not fun. Somehow, I don't think I'll be able to keep that secret from mom forever...should I ever get home." Frowning, she looked down.

"Don't worry, Buffy, I'm certain Professor Dumbledore will find a way," Sophie said. It would break her heart, but she knew it was what needed to happen—in the end.

Her eyes going to Tom, Vin decided not to comment. Several hearts would be broken when Buffy returned home—and it wasn't just the three of them in this room.

~oOo~

End (of chapter)! Sorry it was so short!
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