Chapter 4: The Chosen Few.

Disclaimer: You know the routine; I'll keep saying it even though it doesn't really carry that much weight overall. I own nothing, zip, zero, nadda, zilch. But I'm gonna keep on writing until I get slapped down.

"So, we have boy Wizard with no ability to defend himself being held hostage by Spike and Drusilla?" Buffy questioned after having been filled in the next morning. "Why are you convinced he's still alive?" She asked with doubt.

"Because there has been no body found yet and Dumbledore believes that Spike would do something dramatic and grandiose." Snape explained.

"Spike maybe, but what about Drusilla? Who knows whether or not she decided just to get rid of him after they were bored? Hell, they could have turned him." Buffy offered and Snape shook his head.

"No, although Fawkes refused to come here, he did confirm that Harry was still alive."

"And this fork guy is?" another of the group, Xander if Snape remembered correctly asked.

"Fawkes, not fork." Snape said in frustration, their inability to pronounce names had started to grate on his nerves. "It's a phoenix, a creature of life and death and immortality, although it won't enter this place because of the Hellmouth, he was able to tell that Harry was still alive."

"But why? It doesn't make any sense," the red head, Willow spoke up sounding quite nervous when she did. "I... I mean, if he was going to be held hostage all this time, why wouldn't they try and do anything with him? If you're going to hold someone prisoner there's normally a reason."

"You're forgetting that Drusilla hopped on the bus to crazy town a long time ago." Buffy interrupted before her friend could start babbling as she was prone to do.

"You can't just dismiss her actions as a result of her insanity. All records indicate that she was a seer. Perhaps she saw something that made her keep him around." Giles said with a frown. "Though that leads to a whole new set of scary thoughts." He added as a disturbing afterthought.

"A crazed, vampire seer... wonderful, Potter just draws them in, doesn't he?"

"Oh, someone else is a magnet for trouble... I suddenly feel less special." Buffy added in amusement. "But we've got a major problem, we don't know where they are, we don't know how many of them there are, and we have no clue what they're planning. Rule number one is not to run in without a plan into the bad guys lair. Rule number two is not to end up on the dinner menu of said bad guys which is hard enough as it is." She continued as the bell rang... "and now I have Math. We'll continue this later." She said, grabbing her bag and making her way out of the Library.

"Then how do we proceed from here?"

"Come nightfall we know someone who could probably track them down, before that though, there's one person who probably knows where they are, if only to avoid them."

"And that would be?"

"A bartender for a demon bar, he can normally be convinced to give the information, bribery normally works quite well. Though sometimes more... violent methods can be just as useful."

"Can you give me directions to this bar?" Snape asked, knowing that he was going to have to find this person if he was going to save Harry.

"Yes, of course, I'll write it down for you." Giles said, grabbing a pen and some paper.

HPMOHHPMOH

The bar was empty, not many patrons during the day. Willy used the time to get the bar sorted, in the hopes that the patrons of the evening wouldn't smash it up too badly. He was currently stood behind the bar, giving one of the glasses a clean, he sighed, the stain was proving too much to shift. While the patrons did their best to keep some of the more... vulgar habits in check, it didn't change some of their characteristics. The glass was not salvageable. With a calm move he threw the glass over his shoulder into the bin that rested there.

The door chime went off as it opened.

"Sorry we're closed." He said, not looking up at the person who had entered. It wouldn't be the first one that had turned up that he had to send away.

"I'm not interested in buying a drink." A male voice spoke. Willy looked up, not expecting the British accent to the voice and looked surprised.

"I didn't expect someone from across the ocean here but if you're not buying a drink then I don't really have anything to offer you." He said playing it cool, knowing the only reason this guy was here was because he was after information.

"I'm looking for someone, I've been sent to speak with this person about a potential deal." Snape spoke, walking over to the bar.

"I'm sorry, I don't give out my patrons details, it's bad for business." He quickly interrupted and Snape frowned, withdrawing a bag of coins.

"I'm not sure if you accept this but I'm willing to pay for the information." He said dropping the bag onto the counter. Willy eyed it curiously before opening it, looking at the coins inside.

"Huh, not too bad, I know someone who can exchange these." Willy said, closing the bag and putting it beneath the counter. "Who you looking for?"

"A vampire." Snape said and Willy gave him a blank look.

"Gonna have to narrow it down there Brit, you can't swing a baseball bat without nearly hitting a dozen of the bloodsuckers." Willy pointed out and Snape nodded.

"He goes by the name of Spike." Snape spoke and Willy lost a bit of colour.

"I tend to avoid giving out his details on account of liking my life too much. But if you're not out to fight him, I suppose... he likes to hang out at an abandoned factory, been set up there pretty much since he arrived. Also ordered a lot of fast food, guess it's not just vampires that have taken up residence there." Willy explained giving the man the once over. "Though not sure your people want to associate with him, whoever they are, listen, I know a couple of people, they're more... reliable if you're looking to recruit someone." Willy said calmly and with a smile that was an attempt to put someone at ease but as Snape had no intention of making friends with Spike, nor actually recruiting him, it didn't matter what he said. Willy wrote down the address on a piece of paper and handed it to him. "That's where they're staying."

"The person I am here on behalf of was quite specific." Snape said with a slight nod of his head he turned and made his way towards the exit.

"Good luck, you're going to need it if you're dealing with him." Willy said as the door closed, reaching back under the counter and grabbing the bag of coins tipping them onto the table and beginning to count them. "Though I don't know why Voldemort thinks Spike will want to join up with him." Willy said with a small chuckle, having recognised the coins and realising who Snape probably worked for. Word had gone around that the big bad of Wizarding England had resurfaced. He chuckled slightly as he thought about the stories that he had been told; the man had been beaten by a baby. What kind of threat could he possibly be?

HPMOHHPMOH

Snape walked towards the abandoned factory, there was still about half an hour of sunlight left, hopefully that would be enough to get in and get out, either with information about Harry or with Harry himself. He walked up to the door, banging on it loudly. He didn't know how many vampires were potentially in there. So, there was no need to rush blindly in, in fact this was already an extremely risky approach that he was taking, claiming that the Dark Lord was trying to recruit them had the potential to backfire in the most spectacular way. He could hear sounds of movement, sluggish as a jury-rigged shutter on the door slid open. a pair of yellow eyes stared at him through the gap in the door. "What do you want?" The voice growled at him.

"I'm here to speak to Spike." Snape said, glaring at the Vampire.

"Well Spike doesn't want to speak to you." The vampire said, shutting the slider again. Snape stared at the door for a moment, bemused at the reaction as he drew his wand.

With a flick, the door was launched backwards, blown straight off its hinges. Snape walked in, aware of the Vampire that had been slammed into the wall by the door, having not moved out of the way fast enough.

"Who the bloody hell is making all that racket?" The voice of Spike came from the back room, he walked in, pulling his leather jacket on as he did. "Holding a stick... door launched across the room. I'm guessing you're a wizard." He said looking at Snape. "What brings you to this little corner of Hell?" Spike asked watching as the vampire that had been hit by the door slowly picked himself up.

"It has come to the attention of my Lord that you have captured a person of interest for him." Snape started and he saw Spike smirk. "He has sent me to negotiate for him."

"Finally heard about that have you? You know I'd figure that with how much of a hard on he has for the kid you'd have come ages ago. But I'm sorry to say you're too late." Spike said with a dismissive shrug.

"Too late?" Snape asked, a sinking feeling starting to enter his mind.

"He tried to escape last night, and we got bored of keeping an eye on him. So, we got rid of him." Spike finished off dropping down into one of the chairs that were sitting around. "I guess we don't have any business to make." Spike finished with a threatening glare.

"My master will not be pleased to hear that." Snape pointed out drawing a laugh from Spike.

"Mate, do you think I care what your Master has to say? He couldn't kill a baby, he couldn't kill a teenager, probably couldn't defeat a half dead wizard with his arms tied behind his back." Spike mocked and Snape wanted to snap back a comment, but the other vampire chose that moment to lunge at him, grabbing him by the throat. "Take away your wand and you're nothing. Kill him."

Snape looked at the vampire and then back at Spike, before the two disappeared with a loud crack.

Snape reappeared outside in the sunlight, the vampire screamed as he started to burn, and Snape pushed him away. the vampire flailed as his body ignited as he tried to run back to the factory but crumbled into dust just before he could make it. Snape standing still, dusted himself off, he looked at the factory and tried to decide whether or not he was going to go back in, his gut told him that it would end badly if he did and Snape knew to trust his gut in situations like this. Something still didn't add up with the situation around Harry but for now it was something that he wouldn't be able to change. Part of him wanted to continue trying to find out the answer to this puzzle but he knew he couldn't stay here much longer, doubly so as he had been using Voldemort to get information. If word did get back, he would be able to get away with it, but no doubt Voldemort would make him suffer for it a little. Finally, after a few more moments of hesitation, still undecided on what he wants to do he disappeared with another crack, it was time to head back.

Spike, having walked to the doorway as he heard the scream shook his head and lifted the door back up, placing it in the entrance before walking back to what he had been planning to do.

HPMOHHPMOH

He lay there in the water, the wound in his neck stinging, both from the injury and the sewer water that was getting into the wound. He knew he'd be getting sick from this with how filthy the water was, but he couldn't find the strength to move. His glasses were gone, having fallen off as he fell, he tried to get them, but his hands refused to shift. looking up at the grate above him that he had been dropped through he wondered how long it would take before someone would come down to finish the job.

'but that doesn't add up with what Drusilla said.' A little voice in the back of his mind whispered, his foggy mind tried to think back to what had been said, shortly before this turn of events had happened. 'She asked if I would remember her. She knew I was going to survive.' He thought as he tried moving again, part of him wanted to end just so that he could spit in the face of both the prophecy and Drusilla's declaration, but he also knew that he would let too many people down if he did. He gritted his teeth, his body felt like a lead weight as he tried to move, his hands pushing down against the muck covered sewer floor, every action he took was slow, his body delayed with every order he gave it, taking seconds longer than it should have done to actually start moving. His arms responded, pushing him up into a sitting position, he fumbled around, trying to grab his glasses but they were nowhere to be found, possibly carried away or possibly just out of reach of where he was.

But he couldn't stick around for much longer, if they came down and found out he was still alive then they'd probably work to remedy that. He pushed himself to his feet, stumbling and almost falling face first into the water before he caught himself, his hand pressing against the brick of the wall, keeping himself up. He panted slightly before he pushed himself away, walking down the sewer, along the path that he had started down before. The fact that they had come from that way had to mean there was a way out along here. Stumbling forwards, he made his way down the passage that the two vampires had come from, keeping an eye out for anyone appearing or an exit that he could use to get out onto the street. Walking slowly along, one hand against his neck that continued to sting and the other hand against the wall, the vision of the tunnel was blurry but he continued pushing on, moving slowly he stopped every little bit to try and hear if anyone was coming but other than the dripping of stinking sewer water there was nothing for him to hear.

Eventually he arrived at a door, a heavy metal door that was half open. Leaning against the wall, he looked through the door a set of stairs leading up towards who knows where. "It's got to be a way out... surely." He muttered more as a reassurance to himself than anything else with another grimace he pushed off the wall, walking through the doorway and making his way towards the stairs. All he could see above him was darkness, whether that meant it was night or it just led into an unlit room, he didn't know, but he'd have to take a chance. He didn't think he'd have the strength to lift a manhole cover in the state that he was currently in. He grabbed the handrail walking up the damp steps, each one more of a strain than the last as he felt his vision darkening again. he stumbled, barely catching himself before his head cracked on the steps in front of him. Groaning again, he pushed himself up and made the last several steps and stopped at a metal door, he turned the handle, pulling on it, the door groaning in protest as he put the last of his energy into opening it. Pulling himself through the small gap that he had opened he stopped as he looked at a person standing there having been reaching for the door handle as Harry opened the door. "I'm too tired to even resist right now." Harry managed to say before falling forward, darkness claiming him.

HPMOHHPMOHHPMOH

"And he just fell into your arms?" Buffy spoke as she looked at the unconscious teen currently lying on the Sofa unconscious, his neck wound cleaned and bandaged.

"Knowing roughly where Spike was set up, I was going to look around the sewers see if I could find a way to sneak in and see if he was there, but I didn't expect him to break himself out. Though whether or not he broke out or was thrown out is up for debate, the bite was fresh." Angel spoke as he walked back with a cup of coffee for Buffy.

Taking the cup, she walked away from the sleeping teen and sat down at the table, placing her cup down softly. "What do you know about him?" She asked and Angel shrugged his shoulders slightly.

"Not a lot, he's a big thing in the Magical World but I never really interacted with that side both before and after the Soul. We had a few run ins during our time as the Scourge and somehow, we managed to win, I guess they just underestimated us. One of the things about the Magical World, a lot of them are arrogant and believe they're better because of the magic they have. The ability to kill a Vampire with only a word to conjure flames is something that gives us pause." He stopped, sitting down opposite Buffy, "but there are words about him, but largely through the self-proclaimed Dark Lord that fights him. As a baby he reflected a curse that had no defence, if you were hit or stepped in the way of the spell you die, your soul ripped from its body and the shock of it kills the body. He survived the curse and the Dark Lord lost his body. He's a bit of a joke with the Underworld to be honest. But he's got his body back and word is, the kid is target number one."

Buffy took a ship of her drink, "the Greasy guy that was here earlier said he was a Child of Prophecy, I know all too well what that's like. The world on your shoulders and everyone passing responsibility on to you."

"We're supporting you." Angel spoke quickly and Buffy smiled at him.

"I know, but even you have to know that you're there but with that title the responsibility is on my shoulders, no doubt it's the same with him." She sounded worn out, "for me it's the Slayer gig, for him it seems to be how many times can I narrowly avoid death and hopefully have a life of my own." Buffy said with frustration, seeing the reflection with her own life even without knowing what the situation with Harry fully was.

"Got it right... in one." Another voice cracked out and both of them looked over to see Harry, still lying there, having turned his head to look at the two. "Prophecies suck." Harry said with a choking laugh.

"Don't I know it, tell you mine if you tell me yours?" Buffy offered with a weak smile and Harry smirked.

"Seems a bit unfair when I already know of yours, Slayer." Harry responded tiredly, "but I can balance it out a little, mine is quite simple, kill the person out to kill me or die trying." Harry quickly summarised without going into too much detail on it.

"Well, you know one of them, the basic, coverall situation, but I got one that's just as crazy." Buffy started, ready to compete slightly with Harry but a look from Angel got her to stop, "which is more fitting for a different time, when you're not dealing with being a Vampires happy meal."

Harry started laughing but it quickly shifted into a pained cough, "That hurt," he groaned as he pulled himself into a sitting position, "I take it you're the one I fell onto?" Harry asked looking at Angel and getting a nod in response. "I guess you're Angel?" another nod, "Spike mentioned you a couple of times." He said with a smile, "a couple of hundred times more like, he really doesn't like you."

He smirked at Harry's comment "the feelings mutual."

"Okay, so we're just going to dance around the subject? or are we going to focus on the elephant in the room?" Buffy interrupted before any form of conversation could happen. "How were you not served up as an all you can eat buffet to Spike and his groupies?" The comment was said as a joke but there was a big layer of distrust in her voice towards Harry.

"I get munched on and I'm the bad guy?" Harry asked incredulously, "interesting logic."

"Not the first time a vampire has used a human as a trap to get others." Angel offered and Harry found himself shrugging, wincing in pain as he did.

"Not sure what I can say to convince you, though from what I've heard you know a little bit about me." he said with a mild indifference, having been stuck with Spike and Drusilla for as long as he was, he had found himself detached from caring about what other people think about him, it had proven vital with how much Drusilla had practically thrown herself over him in both an attempt to torment him and tease Spike.

"From the little I've heard, he's on the level. But I don't know why they kept you alive... and as unharmed as you are." Angel said in agreement with Harry being okay. "Spike isn't one to pass up on an opportunity to torture, Drusilla is... a special kind but even she delights on dealing pain when she can."

"It was Drusilla who stopped it all, she was... for lack of a better word obsessed with everything I did, I could barely move without her watching me and yet all the time she would bring up our parting of ways." Harry looked down at his bandaged hands, flexing his fingers as he felt the stinging of the wounds. "Is she clairvoyant?" Harry asked, the two shared a look, Buffy and Angel both gauging how much to tell him. "Because she kept speaking of future events, nothing in clarity, but she seemed to know I wasn't going to die there or remain with them."

"She has a gift," Angel started slowly, thinking on how best to put it. "I'm not sure if it's true visions of what will definitely happen, but she definitely sees possibilities. If she saw, you still alive further down the road then I have no doubt that she would let you leave when she felt the time was right." Harry brought a hand up to his neck, resting against the bite wound that rested underneath the bandages.

"She asked if I would remember her when I fought the Dark Lord." Harry muttered thoughtfully, flashes of her face appearing in his mind as he pondered what to do in the situation. She had let him go, that much was clear. If she had wanted him dead, then she would have killed him when he had tried to escape and when she had taken the chunk out of him. "To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure where to go from this. She's essentially said she's going to pay me another visit in the future." He snorted in bemusement. "I couldn't do anything when they grabbed me with what I knew, I still can't because I don't have my wand. Without it, I can't use any of my magic." He lent back into the couch, looking up at the ceiling, wincing again at the stinging in his neck and sighed. "So, what happens now."

"I speak to Giles and you get to go home."

"I can't go yet." Harry said, without looking at her, not knowing who Giles was and not really hesitating in that thought. "I need to get my wand back; I need to train to beat Voldemort and I won't get that back home." Harry explained and sat back up, looking at the two. "He doesn't know I'm here and even if he did, he's scared of Spike and Drusilla and they're hesitant to deal with you, even if they do talk a big game about what they want to do to you."

"Well, that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy." Buffy joked as she stood up. "I'll talk to Giles, see what he thinks but you're needed back where you come from, I know a thing or two about prophecy and I know you can't hide from it forever." A haunted look passed over her face for a brief moment, Harry would have missed it before but during his time held captive and his own previous experiences he had noticed small changes in attitudes and moods, largely to survive pushing his luck with Drusilla even though it was now clear that she had left him alive for a reason. "Though I know the watchers probably won't like you here... but then again, they don't like a lot of things that have the potential to meddle in their organisation... or their tweed... or their tea. Though if this big bad is recruiting vampires and others... The Watchers Council will still want to know about it either way. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, is that valid here?" She looked at Angel who shook his head.

"The Wizarding World isn't really you're enemy, but we know what you mean." He said calmly as Buffy reached the door. "I'll keep an eye on him, you speak to Giles. Take care of yourself." He said softly and she turned to look at him with a small smile before leaving the apartment. Harry, having watched the blonde disappear turned back to Angel.

"It's curious." Harry started, stifling a yawn as he leant back into the sofa. "She's the Slayer and you're a Vampire, not exactly an alliance I'd expect to see come up." Harry started, unsure of how safe a topic this was for him. He had just escaped one bloodsucker; he didn't want to lose his life to another one.

"It's complicated." Angel responded looking at the teen, "You'll be safe here for now. Though you're putting yourself at risk by being here, Sunnydale isn't exactly a vacation spot at the best of times."

"Unless you're a creature of the night."

"Yes. I know your kind have ways to protect yourself but you're out of your element and you're lacking your protection." He said pointedly and Harry had to concede the point. "Word will get out that you're here. Voldemort doesn't have many allies out here but even he keeps an ear to the rumour mill." He stopped when Harry snorted in amusement. "This isn't funny." Angel snapped and Harry held up his hands.

"I know, I know, but just the mental image of Voldemort listening to a bunch of gossiping girls is just something that creeped into my head." Harry explained and even Angel couldn't resist a smirk at that small mental image.

"Okay, maybe something to be amused by." Angel conceded. "But that mental image aside. What do you plan to do here?" Angel asked and Harry shrugged.

"Learn, understand, I don't know." Harry conceded the point that he was unsure as to what he should be doing. "When I was first grabbed by Spike and Drusilla, I wasn't even so much as able to twitch before I was disarmed and captured, and I wasn't even their goal. She just suddenly had her attention fixed on me." He trailed off, thoughts back to the night in the park felt so long ago. "You know roughly who I am?" He asked and Angel nodded. "There were people watching over me, the guard was killed right near me, and I didn't even notice anything was wrong." Harry said pained by the situation, "I had actually got back home when I stopped, I couldn't hear the person meant to be watching me and I couldn't just quell that little voice that told me that they might need help. I turned back, went to where I thought they were hiding out and I found her dead and Drusilla there..." He trailed off as he thought back to that night and to Drusilla. "She just... I couldn't even take my eyes off her and the moment I realised what she was, I... I barely drew my wand before she was right there."

"And that's not even at her full strength." Angel said quietly.

"Spike mentioned as much." Harry agreed, "He also spoke a bit about her, about the damage that she had done, and she spoke of you." He said sharply and Angel looked away.

"I did a lot of things back in the day that I'm not exactly proud of. She was the jewel at the top of the crown of that time." He explained quietly, "But a lot has changed since then." He protested and Harry shrugged again.

"They said as much, said you've gone soft." Harry agreed with him, "the fact I'm not dead, or more correctly undead is definitely winning you points in the 'I've turned to the other side' situation." Harry conceded as he yawned.

"Get some sleep, I'm sure Buffy will be back in the morning and the rest will want to speak to you.

"Yeah..." Harry yawned again, feeling tiredness grip him again, "It's probably... a good... idea." He was asleep before he could properly finish.

Dreams came quickly to him, dreams of darkness, Voldemort torturing those that he knew, it tore at him as he was forced to watch what happened as his friends suffered. Was this really happening or was this just the dream tormenting him. There wasn't any sound, just silence, no one said anything, no taunting from the Death Eaters, no mocking from Voldemort. it all seemed to be detached from everything else. He looked at the victim, the person was someone he didn't know silently screaming as they writhed under the Cruciatus curse.

He turned away, unable to watch, the silence adding a different horror to the dream than any previous one. With sound he could hear, he could compartmentalize it, he could focus on the others in the scene so that he could try and learn what was going on.

Here, there was nothing but the cold silence that just left his mind to fill in the blanks. He walked away from the group, towards the door at the end of the room, hopefully leaving would force the dream to change. His footsteps echoed in the silence and as he reached for the door a sound stopped him.

Clap, clap.

Two sharp claps behind him, he froze, unsure as to whether to turn around and see what was happening or just leave. Curiosity got the better of him, turning slowly, looking back towards the scene.

He awoke with a start, tapping coming from the doorway to the apartment that he had slept in, he looked around, momentarily confused as to where he was before the information kick started back into his mind. Angel had already moved over to the door and opened it. "Hey," he spoke softly to the blonde Slayer on the other side of the door. She leant in, kissing him briefly before he stepped aside letting her into the room.

"Okay, I spoke to Giles." Buffy started, seeing that Harry was already awake. "Was a bit surprised that we found you that quickly, doubly so with you being alive, said he'd talk to you this morning. Seemed a bit distracted now that I think about it." She trailed off uncertainly before shrugging it off. "Must have got a new book, he always gets a bit strange when he has a new book to add to his collection." Buffy mused as Harry rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"How soon do we need to be there?" Harry asked as he took the blanket off and placed it to the side.

"About an hour before school starts so about half an hour maybe. Why, got somewhere more pressing to go?" She questioned slightly teasingly.

"A shower? I kind of smell of sewage and blood."

"Oh, right, that." She laughed in slight embarrassment, "Yeah, you do smell pretty ripe." She agreed as Angel pointed to the door at the back of the room."

"Showers through there, unfortunately I don't have anything that'll fit you, so your clothes are going to have to be the same."

"Oh, shopping trip." Buffy chimed in and Harry looked at her blankly.

"There's just one giant problem with that, a lack of money." He said as he made his way to the bathroom.

"Ah yes, the downside of capitalism. Now go, shower, diminish the smell of Sewage and blood." She ordered with a shooing motion to Harry.

Twenty minutes later, he returned, his hair still slightly damp but presentable though his clothes had still seen better days. he pulled the bandages tight around his hand as he walked up to the two that were sat on the couch. "Okay, I'm ready to leave whenever you are." He said, continuing to walk to the door to let the two of them say their goodbyes. A minute later and she was by him, opening the door.

"C'mon Brit, let's go to School." She said cheerfully and they left the apartment.

TBC

Hooray for prophecy dreams.

This chapter had two possible outcomes, the second one I may some day write as an alternate What if story. What if, before Harry woke up he was taken back to Hogwarts to heal. It pretty much skips the current years and did a time skip to the final moments of the Wizarding Conflict and then would Have Drusilla reappear along with a couple of other figures as it would roughly coincide with Season 7 of Buffy. It's an interesting idea, I'll see what I can write up of it at a later date and most probably upload a couple chapters here and there.