Colliding Worlds Series

Disclaimer, Notes and Fic information can be found at the beginning of chapter 1

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She focused intently on slowing down the beating of her heart; it wouldn’t do to have the enemy hear her before she could get the jump on them. Her eyes scanned the graveyard slowly, making sure to take in each individual tree and marker. She wrapped her fingers around the familiar length of wood – Mr. Pointy – as Kendra called it, almost another life time ago, when in reality only a year or two beforehand.

She perched, silent and still as she heard the first rustle of earth and bone. The wind shifted and the dream along with it. The smell of smoke assaulted her nose and stung at her eyes. Someone was burning something… a lot of something’s. As still and as silent as she could be, she crouched even lower, turning herself around. Flames licked at her face as the sounds of childish screams filled her ears.

Moving cautiously, she crept closer to the fire – there was no heat, just a tickling sensation as though someone were grazing her cheeks, nose, lips and forehead with a feather duster. The feelings gave credence to the dream and she sighed, straightening up and lifting her chin. As she stalked closer to the pyre, the wind shifted once more and she was staring at a familiar face – her ‘sister’ Slayer – “Faith?”

“It’s now or never B,” the younger girl smirked, “He’s gotta be a man, no big sister to fight for him, no little girl to come to his defence.” She shrugged, “But, you gotta be there, not that you can do much, Tom’s pretty much gonna do what he can to get past both of them.”

“Friggin’ psycho,” Buffy muttered, circling the other slayer slowly.

“Willow first… hit him where it hurts. Then Pink, then Giles, then the dog-faced boy,” The darker slayer smiled, “And they aren’t all going to be human, you know that right?” She stretched and dug a hand into her pocket. “Nothing that dark can be just human.”

“Whatever.” Buffy turned as the wind changed once more.

“That’s why he’s gonna need you ya know.” Faith stood beside her, a lake spread out below them amongst rolling hills. “He’s got the stuff and old Tom’s gonna figure that out right from the get go… Soon as word spreads. And believe me, what you pulled with the Mayor is gonna look like pancakes compared to what you’ll need to get through this.”

“It’s nice here,” Buffy said, ignoring the twisted mind that was Faith.

“Won’t be for long,” the younger girl slammed her hand down on Buffy’s shoulder and turned her around. “It’s gonna be fire and brimstone and sulphur and screaming and pain and hurt.” She looked at the older girl. “But you don’t care, you can’t care. Not when you’ve gotta be the one to kick it all off.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Buffy shrugged the hand off, “Shouldn’t you be in some happy Faith land with naked preachers and alligators?”

“You’ve gotta be the one to kick it off B, cos, he’s not where you think he is. You know that as well as I do. When he left, you couldn’t trust him as far as you could throw him, no matter how nice he was, nice as apple pie full of worms. It’s why you haven’t called, you know he’s not there, and you know he’s hiding more then just a monster.” She smirked and jumped from the wall they were standing on.

Buffy followed, “What are you talking about?” The wind shifted and she was standing back on the street in front of the High School, burnt and gutted and broken. Something dark moved towards her, fast and silent. Her grip tightened on the stake.

“You have to be the one to kick it off Buff.” The all too familiar smirk shone in the darkness and her hand lashed out without even thinking.

“Avada Kedavra!” Her voice, but not her voice, bounced off the walls around her as she plunged the stake through Angelus’ chest. A scream tore through the night, followed by another, and another and another, and yet still more, until a crescendo of noise overwhelmed her senses…

Crunch, crumple, thunk.

Peeling open one eye, Buffy groaned at her alarm clock, or what was left of it anyway. The plastic was shattered, the blinking numbers no longer blinked and bits and pieces of the wires and chips inside bled from her side table and onto the floor, “Crap.”

“Buffy?” Her mother called softly, “is everything alright in there?”

“Yes mom, just another alarm clock casualty,” She sat up in bed, trying to wrap her head around the weirdest dream she’d ever had. Including the ones she’d had just after she’d been called to do her Slaying duty.

The door creaked open and Joyce Summers stuck her head inside, “Mr. Giles called, he wanted to let you know he’s got a flight booked for tomorrow night, and Willow called and said she’d be by shortly to talk. Are you sure you’re alright? You look a little peaked.”

“Yeah mom, I’m fine.” She smiled up at the older woman and shrugged. “Be down in a minute.”

“Well, so long as you’re sure…” She trailed off and ducked back out of the room “Pancakes for breakfast.” She called out of her shoulder as she headed back down the hall.

“Five by five,” Buffy muttered, getting up and stuffing her feet into her giant fluffy slippers.

~*~

“So, he’s leaving then?”

“Left… Six o’clock this morning.” The redheaded witch reached for another tissue.

“Did he say where?”

Willow shook her head, “No, just that he needed to go and try and find something that would help him tame the wolf… after last month’s episode…” She trailed off, a fresh spate of tears forcing their way down her cheeks.

“Shh,” Buffy pulled her friend into a hug, running her hands down the other girl’s back. “It’s alright Willow.” She looked over Willow’s head and met a pair of green eyes.

“That’s why he was so late yesterday, he was saying goodbye to his family, and he’s been trying to spend as much time with Jordi as he can.”

Giles moved silently from the living room to the kitchen, his heart ached for the young witch in the other room as surely as it ached for the young man who had left in hopes of a cure. A futile search that would end in heart break; there was no cure; they all knew that, save for the Wolfsbane potion which, under the American Wizarding Confederacy laws, was still not available to the population that suffered from Lycanthropy. Tapping the tea kettle with his wand – after last night, the thin piece of oak had felt far too good to be put back in its box in the cupboard – he muttered a heating charm and set about organizing things for tea.

“Did he mention anything about our, ah, visitors, after you left?” He asked, coming back into the living room with a tray.

“No, just that if his travels took him to England, he’d look up Xander.” Willow sniffled and straightened up. “I want to hate him for leaving, especially so soon after Xander…” she sighed, “But I can’t. Jordi almost killed Samantha last month when she got up to get a drink of water during the night. If his mom hadn’t been listening in on the monitor, they’d have lost their daughter… Jordi was so frightened when he woke up the following morning.”

“Understandably so,” Giles handed her a cup of tea, “Remus almost killed a fellow student once – a childish prank by Sirius. He was distraught for days.”

Willow’s eyes widened, “Was the student okay?”

“Severus? Yes, though I can’t account that his near-slaughter experience left him with an enlightened look on life.” Giles smiled, James, Sirius and Remus may not have been friends with the Slytherin, but he had. “I haven’t thought about Severus in years. Not since the leaving feast. Though, rumour has it he joined the Death Eaters shortly after I left for the academy.” He sighed, if it were true, then the chances of his old Potions partner and friend being alive were slim.

Willow and Buffy breathed identical sighs of relief, both remembering a time when Oz had feared he’d hurt and killed a fellow student.

“Would your friend Remus be able to help him?” Buffy asked, looking up at Giles as she added an extra spoon of sugar to her tea.

“I’m afraid not, there is a potion, but the American Wizarding Confederacy has deemed it illegal. All it really does is suppress the initial urges of the wolf when the change happens. It keeps them from tearing at their own skin.”

Buffy nodded before turning back to Willow, “I think you should go to England with Giles.”

The abrupt change in conversation made Willow’s spine stiffen. “What? Buffy, I can’t, remember? I chose to stay here; I want to be a part of that bigger picture. Remember, we discussed this when college offers first came out.”

Buffy shook her head, “I want you to go, tomorrow with Giles if you can. Xander’s gonna need you, and until Faith either bites the dust or wakes up reformed, I have to stay here and slay. It wouldn’t be the first time I fought the bad guys on my own, and when I can get out there, I’ll be there before you know it. Until then, I want you to go with Giles, help Xander deal with all these new changes… he’s gonna need a familiar face when things get tough.” She watched as Willow set her teacup down and looked from Giles to Buffy.

“What about Oz? Not to mention, with Giles gone, who’ll do the book work? And what about what happened last night? Buffy, there was a piece of metal pipe sticking out of your stomach! What happens if something like that happens again?” Willow folded her arms across her chest.

“Oz has gone Willow, but if he comes back, or writes, I’ll tell him to meet you in England, also, I’m more then capable of doing the book work, do we not remember my S.A.Ts? Giles has already promised to organize some sort of communication thing between us while he’s there, and well, as to the last one… I’ll either get myself to the hospital or die – and we know how good I am at dying.” She teased lightly. “Go home and organize a ticket Willow, start packing. Your parents will be happy that you’re getting out of Sunnydale. You were offered a place at Oxford; just tell them you’re gonna go check it out. Xander already told me about the money sitting in ‘The Fund’, waiting for you to accept that place. So just… please, for me, go to England.”

Willow looked down at the hands folded in her lap, “Giles?”

“The decision is entirely up to you Willow; I had hoped you’d both join us eventually, but…” He trailed off as Buffy shot him a glare over the Wicca’s head. “Why don’t you go and discuss it with your parents? I certainly won’t mind the company, it’s a long flight and I’d rather have you to talk to then someone’s grandmother blathering on about their grandchildren.” He smiled slightly.

“Buffy?”

The Slayer could see the flicker of hope in Willow’s eyes and grinned, “Go, pack!” She threw her arms around the other girl in a hug. “Just make sure you send me a postcard okay? And I promise I’ll be there as soon as possible.” She pulled back, beaming; “Besides, if I get into trouble, Angel and Cordelia are only a few hours drive away. All I have to do is send up the bat signal and Angel will come up to save the day, you know that.”

Willow giggled and stood up, “I’ll be back in a couple of hours okay? I just have to talk to my parents and book a seat on the flight and then pack. Do you think I could take my laptop? I mean, it’d be a good way of keeping in touch with you Buffy and oh!” Willow’s eyes widened her hand flying up to her mouth, “you can take my spare computer! I’ll set it up tonight at your house that way you can keep in touch with Giles, Xander and me and not ring up a huge phone bill.”

Buffy nodded in agreement, “That’d be a great idea and I can take it with me when I move on campus.” She ignored the look Giles shot in her direction and ushered her friend to the door, “If you’re not back by the time I order dinner, I’ll make sure to save you some.” She wrapped her arms around the redhead once more before watching as Willow bounded out into the late afternoon sunshine. When the door was finally shut, Buffy turned slowly to face Giles, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

“Do you wish to explain what that was all about?” Giles prodded, settling himself in his chair.

“The sooner you and Willow get out of Sunnydale and to Xander, the better.”

“Buffy…” Giles sighed, looking at her with something akin to Willow’s ‘Resolve Face’.
Moving back over to the couch, she lay down, resting her head against the arm so she wouldn’t have to face Giles. “Faith’s dying.”

Giles raised an eyebrow, “The doctors are doing their best to keep her from slipping further into her comatose state; she’s not out of the woods yet, but I’m sure she’ll come around in her own time.” He watched her warily as she folded her arms and shook her head.
“No. She’s dying, what the doctors are doing isn’t going to stop it. No matter how hard they try. And when she does, a new girl will be sent to Sunnydale with a new Watcher.”

“What’s happened?” Giles’ voice was soft but it left no room for argument or talking in riddles.

“Dream,” she stated softly, tilting her head to watch Giles from the corner of her eye. “Xander’s in trouble… bigger trouble then the Hellmouth.” She let her gaze drift towards the ceiling, recalling the dream she’d had. “Some guy named Tom is gonna hurt Xander; starting with Willow and then someone named ‘Pink’ – though why she’s got anything to do with Xander, I’ve no clue whatsoever. It’s not like he goes around being all chummy with pop stars and right on down the list until there isn’t anyone left. And the weirdest thing is, apparently I have to kick it off.” She jumped up from the couch and started to pace.

“What do you mean you have to kick it off?” Giles followed her every move.

“Just that, this… war thing that Xander’s gone to be part of… I have to kick it off. Faith told me that not all of them are gonna be human, that nothing that dark can be human.” She ran her hands through her hair before stopping and looking directly at Giles. “This thing… war… whatever… Xander’s not gonna be able to help stop it until I start it.”

Giles’ eyes widened, his mouth opened as though to say something before clamping shut again. Taking a deep breath, his brow furrowed, “What do you mean ‘until I start it’?”

“I have to kill Angel.”

Giles froze, his heart skipped a beat and his brain fired off what could only be described as an automatic flare of joy which he suppressed. The creature that had killed his Jenny, tormented him with the body and set out to kill not only Buffy but the entire world and then had the audacity to ask for his help was going to… “You what?” He looked up at Buffy, the furrow in his brow deepening.

“I have to kill Angel.” She repeated, slowly and with a little more conviction.

“Are you sure?”

“That’s what the dream said. Or, Faith really…” Buffy moved her hands to her forehead, rubbing her temples. “After all the talking in riddles, she said I had to kick it off and then wham! I was staring at Angel, though personally, I think it might’ve been Angelus, I can’t be sure and before I knew what I was doing, I was staking him and screaming Abra Kadabra or something and poof! He screamed and I screamed and there was all this screaming and then I woke up.”

Her stomach flipped over and she sunk back onto the sofa as it all sunk in. Holding her head in her hands, she missed Giles’ worried expression. “Are you sure this was a prophecy dream?”

“I’ve never been surer about anything in my entire life Giles.” She glanced over at him, “That’s why I need you and Willow both out of here. I’m even thinking of ways to get mom to go on holiday. She hasn’t seen her sister in a while, so I’m thinking it’s about time she did. With you all out of the way, he can’t hurt me by hurting you. I won’t let him do that again, and well… Xander’s gonna need you.”

Giles removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, “Buffy…”

“No Giles, I need you out of the way. I mean, it all kinda falls into place now don’t you think?” She looked up, “I sent him into hell when I stopped Acathla, no way should he be able to come back from that… no one should, yet he did. Even I know that there was some serious dark magic working for that. What else could explain it?”

Giles sighed, his heart going out to the woman sitting across from him. He wished he could feel some kind of sympathy for Angel’s fate, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Not after what he’d done to them all when he’d become Angelus. “Hogwarts has an extensive library, I’m sure Albus will allow Willow and myself access to it in order to research everything for you. I’ll do what I can from there, but the moment a new Slayer arrives, I want you in England with us.”

She nodded, “I’ll be there, don’t worry, Xander’s gonna need all the help he can get.” Standing up, she moved towards Giles, “I’ll be back in a little bit, I’m gonna go see if I can’t persuade mom to go to Michigan for a while.” She smiled as Giles stood up, “Shouldn’t be too hard, I got her to go to L.A. at graduation.” She wrapped her arms around him in an impulsive hug, “Thanks for listening.” She walked to the door, “Don’t tell Willow, please? She’ll wanna stay if she knows but I can’t risk her getting hurt by him again.” With a smile, she stepped out into the sun, looking back only once to give Giles a cheery wave before disappearing out onto the street.

Shutting the door, Giles flicked his wand and smiled sadly as a bottle of Old Ogden’s appeared on his desk. Opening up the drawer in his side table, he removed the Kobliner’s Codex and after pouring himself a generous helping of fire whiskey, set about checking it for any information regarding Buffy and Voldemort and Angelus.

~*~

“I cannot believe you did this! Even after I specifically asked you not to!” Half-way around the world, Remus Lupin paced and ran his hand through his hair. Shooting Sirius a look, he corrected himself, “Actually, I can believe you’d do this, but Molly! How could you when you know very well the kind of protections Dumbledore placed on the Dursley’s… not to mention Lily! Of all the… the thoughtless and most…” He trailed off with a frustrated growl.

“Don’t you yell at me young man,” Molly looked up at Remus from over the top of her knitting. “You know as well as I do that it’s a blood barrier that keeps Harry safe with those horrible muggles. The same blood that flowed through James’ blood – James who died trying to save not only his wife but his child – flows through both Alexander and Harry. Couple that with the Fidelius Charm; Harry’s sudden change in living circumstances will go virtually unnoticed.”

“Besides, everyone knows where the Dursley’s live, that trouble with the Dementors last summer proved that,” Sirius looked up at Remus, “He also has no form of protection outside the blood barrier that Petunia shares with Lily and Harry. Here, he has a whole house full of more then capable wizards and witches ready and willing to defend him to the death if necessary.” Sirius got up and moved closer to Remus, “He’s happy Remus… did you see the smile on his face at dinner? He’s where he belongs, with family… with us.”

Remus sighed, “Dumbledore is going to be furious,” he sat on the edge of the desk in the sitting room. Everyone had all drifted to parts of the house unknown; Ron and Ginny had gone with the twins to check their newest line of stock and Xander and Harry had gone to the upstairs drawing room to talk and get acquainted.

“Do you honestly think Sirius and I have spent the last ten months sitting on our backsides talking about the weather and making sure the members of the Order had food enough in their bellies?” Molly raised an eyebrow in Remus’ direction.

“Contrary to popular opinion, I did pass my N.E.W.Ts Remus,” Sirius smirked, “I received Outstandings for Arithmancy, Astronomy, Defence Against the Dark Arts, History of Magic, Transfigurations, Charms, Care of Magical Creatures and Magical Theory.”

“I know Sirius, I was there you great git.” Remus shot his friend an annoyed look.

“Well then,” Molly stood up and sent her knitting needles to continue on what seemed to be a deep blue sleeve. “I believe there is no need for you to be so defensive Remus dear, Sirius and I have scoured not only the entire Black library, but Tonks also managed to get her hands on what her mother and father have accumulated over the years.”

“But neither of you were aware that Alexander existed!” He was beyond annoyed now, frustration was taking over.

Sirius sighed, “We know Remus, we were actually looking for ways to hex the old hag in the hallway, to get her to be quiet, not to mention we’ve been looking for a sure fire way to keep Harry from returning to the Dursley’s.”

Molly’s grin was one of victory when Remus’ shoulders slumped in defeat. “Now, if you two boys will excuse me, Arthur sent an owl while you were taking Hermione to meet her parents, he isn’t due home for a couple of days – business for Dumbledore – I am going to bed.” She smiled as she stepped out into the hall, “Goodnight.”

Sirius waited until Molly’s footsteps receded before turning to face Remus, “Now… are you really mad that Harry’s staying, or that we didn’t include you in our little coupe?”

“I still believe that Albus will be furious when he finds out what you’ve done.” He slumped against the desk.

“He knew we were looking for a way to keep Harry here Remus, he even suggested a few books that would help. After the Dementor attack and the hearing, even he knew that it was getting far too dangerous for Harry to keep on living with those muggles. I remembered something Harry said to me that night in the infirmary, before Albus sent me to round up the other members… Hogwarts is more his home now then the Dursleys’ ever was. You and I both know that the spell worked at its best while he could call their house ‘home’.” He stepped up to Remus, wrapping his arms around the other man’s shoulders.

“He’s home now Remus, with family. James and Lily would have wanted this… you know that.”

Remus nodded, “I suppose you’re right, just… promise you will be more careful from now on.”

“I promise to try, it’s the best I can do.”

Remus’ arms moved of their own volition, wrapping around Sirius’ waist, “It’s all I can ask, but… you scared the life out of me Padfoot, if I hadn’t been so relieved when we arrived in Rupert’s flat, I’m sure I would have done a lot worse then Harry’s punch in the jaw.” He chuckled as Sirius leaned back and rubbed a hand over the smallish bruise – it had seemed almost disrespectful of Harry’s anger to charm it away.

“Isabella’s rage, on top of Rupert’s was more then enough for all of you I’m afraid, not to mention Molly’s tirade when we finally got home.” He gave the werewolf a rakish smile, “Shall we head up to bed then Moony, now that you’ve thoroughly chastised Molly and I?”

Remus shook his head, “We should talk first Sirius, Isabella…”

“Has a new man in her life, yes I know.” Sirius smiled sadly, “She was our girl for so long and then… after my first year in Azkaban I had hoped that the two of you would settle down, form a family… be happy.”

Remus shook his head, “No, I couldn’t. The wolf recognises you as its mate, as much as I love Izzy; she deserves far more then just half a heart. How did you know?”

“Padfoot, when she arrived last night at Rupert’s… I’ve no doubt she met him whilst searching for Xander. I could smell him all over her.” He smiled, “I’m happy for her, though why she’s holding off on telling me, I’ve no clue.”

“She still loves you Sirius; that much is certain, but it’s changed, fourteen years apart will do that to one’s feelings.”

“And you Moony? What of your feelings?”

“The wolf recognizes you as its mate Sirius. For all the time that I thought I could hate you for killing James and Lily, the fact that I love you dearly has never changed. I think that’s what made me hate you all the more.”

Sirius smiled slightly, “It’s a fine line between love and hate; one spurs the other on, you know that.” He chuckled and pressed his lips to Remus’ forehead, “so long as Isabella is happy and stays that way, I’ve no objection to having you all to myself.”

Remus rolled his eyes, “Come on, let’s get you to bed, Rupert should be arriving in a day or two and now that your mother has been removed from the front hall – genius by the way, transferring the deed of the house to someone else, who knew that that was all it took to shut the old hag up.” Gripping Sirius’ hand, he led the way out of the room and up the stairs.

~*~

“Are you sure that’s what it says Giles?” Buffy looked up from the pile of weapons she was sorting through.

“The Codex doesn’t lie Buffy.” Giles shot her an exasperated look from his position at the table.

“Okay,” she lifted a broadsword up to the light, testing its weight in her hand, a quick slash in the air and she set it back in the chest before moving onto another.

“Are you sure you want to do this? I can delay my flight until…”

“No. You and Willow both need to be gone, Mom’s already packed and on the road, she hardly put up an argument about travelling out to Michigan. She’s gonna stop by some art galleries on her way out there, see if she can’t find anything to go in the gallery here.” She smiled, “You should have seen her face though when I told her I was going to England in a couple of month’s time. She couldn’t have been more enthusiastic, actually… I think she could have. If it weren’t for the fact that I mentioned I had to wait for Faith, she’d have started packing my bags up.” She held up a crossbow, testing its weight before setting it aside into a large duffle bag.

Giles watched as she set aside several wooden stakes, “Are you sure that’s entirely necessary?”

“I’m The Slayer, Giles. I can improvise if I have to… I get that you’re gonna be hanging around with these all great and powerful Oz types – the land, not the werewolf – but Xander and Willow are gonna need all the help they can get, and if you helping them learn how to use these helps, I’m not gonna complain.” She looked up, her eyes shining brightly, “Just make sure that when I come get them, they aren’t covered in jelly.”

Giles chuckled, “Quite.” Setting aside the Codex, he pulled his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. “I’ve written ahead to Sirius, I’m asking him to send his hand mirror to you, that way, if I can’t get the veil moved we can still keep in touch. I’m going to utilize the library at Hogwarts; try and find all that I can to help you.”

Buffy slammed the lid of the trunk closed and moved to join him, placing her hand on his shoulder, she smiled down at her Watcher, “I know, but the main thing is to keep you and Xander and Willow and Harry safe until the time comes.” She beamed, “Who knows, maybe when I get to England, I’ll meet Prince William and I’ll get to live happily ever after in a castle all my own.” She smirked before dropping down into the chair beside him, “You just make sure to take care of everyone on that side and I’ll look after things here.”

Giles nodded, he was going to miss this. After her eighteenth birthday, they’d come to an understanding, their trust had grown deeper and for that he was grateful. “Why don’t you go and call Willow and order us a pizza before you go on patrol tonight? You’re more then welcome to stay, besides, my offer still stands of you staying here until it’s time for you to either start college or come to England.”

“I’ll definitely be taking you up on that.” Smiling, Buffy bounced up from the seat and made her way to the phone. She’d miss both Giles and Willow, just as much as she was already missing Xander; but she needed to do this. If she was going to save her friends, she was going to need no distractions whatsoever. Picking up the phone, she dialled the number for the local pizza parlour and bit back a sigh as Willow bounced inside.

~*~

Harry’s green eyes widened behind his glasses, “and you really, truly defused a… a… bomb?”

Xander nodded, a shy smile playing about his mouth, “Yep, Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow and Oz were all battling the Hellmouth up in the library, the Furies were running around trying to kill not just me, but them as well and these – I’m not sure you could call them Zombies, because well, there was more to their repertoire then just eating brains, but they were non-dead – guys were chasing after me as well, or at least two of them were.”

“And you just… pulled the plug… just like that?” Harry blew air through his teeth, “and I thought Ron, Hermione and I had had some adventures.”

“From what Sirius told us yesterday after he fell through the front mirror thing in Giles’ flat, I guess you guys have had your fair share of action.” Xander grinned across at the younger boy. They’d been sitting up in the drawing room beneath the space that had held the Black Family tree since Remus had come home and blown his top.

“Yes but… not like you and Buffy and the others.” He smiled, “The only werewolf we’ve ever come across is Professor Lupin, and none of us have ever come across a vampire, unless you count Snape, and even then that’s just speculation.”

“He sounds like a real jerk… and you say he’s on your side in all this?”

“He is, and Professor Dumbledore trusts him, so the rest of us trust him as well I guess. Hermione says we should be nicer to him and show him the respect he deserves but… I can’t. He hates me and I hate him… pure and simple.”

“Do you know why?” Xander eyed Harry slightly, he knew all about people hating him for no good reason – people back at Sunnydale hated him for no good reason.

Harry shook his head, “I just know that he, my dad, Sirius and Professor Lupin really didn’t get along all too well when they were at Hogwarts. Sirius even went so far one year as to lead Snape into Professor Lupin’s sanctuary while he was in wolf form… Dad saved him though, and well… he just hates them I suppose and me by default.”

“Oh,” Xander’s brow furrowed slightly, if this guy… this Snape… was working for the Order, well, he couldn’t be all that bad, but then, on the other hand, Angel had been a ‘white hat’ and he’d tried to have the world sucked into hell. “And you all hate this guy?”

“Well… Hermione kinda respects him; she respects all the teacher’s though, even Filch.”

“He’s like the janitor right?” the lines in Xander’s brow deepened as he tried to take in all this new information.

“Caretaker,” Harry nodded. “He’s a real pain too. And he’s got this cat that spies on us… well, all the students really.” He shuddered at the thought of Filch’s unnatural attachment to the feline.

“I think the closest we’ve ever come to creepy animals is the time Buffy bought Giles this dead cat.” Xander grimaced at the memories that particular thought conjured.

“The Slayer bought her Watcher a dead cat?” now it was Harry’s turn to look confused.

“Yeah,” he nodded, “at the start of last year – just after school had come back – when Buffy returned from L.A. she and her mom found this dead cat in their basement.”

“Wouldn’t the proper thing be to bury it?” Harry scooted back on the sofa, resting against the arm.

“Well…” Xander trailed off as the door opened, to reveal a head of shaggy, red hair.

“Sorry,” Ron stepped inside the drawing room. “It’s just that mum says we should all get to bed. She doesn’t want to go back to the Burrow without dad.”

“It’s cool.” Xander waved the younger man further into the room.

“Al… Xander,” Harry quickly corrected, “was just telling me about the dead cat The Slayer took to her Watcher.”

“Wicked,” Ron’s eyes lit up, before he schooled his features into something much less excited. “I’ll just leave you to it.”

“Nah man, it’s cool. You can stay.” Xander motioned to the couch, “You’ve been like a brother to Harry – from what Sirius and Remus told me… not to mention Tonks and Fred and George.” Xander smiled at the look of renewed enthusiasm in Ron’s eyes.

Ron moved quickly, setting himself up beside Harry.

“Anyway, you were saying?” Harry shared a grin with Ron – one that reminded Xander of when he, Jesse and Willow had been growing up and they’d found that dead bird out near Breaker’s Woods.

“Right… so… this cat. They did bury it,” he smirked as he remembered Giles after they’d destroyed the mask. “But, what they didn’t know is that, Mrs. Summers – that’s Buffy’s mom,” Xander clarified for Ron’s benefit, “had gotten this African mask from the art gallery she works at, and had hung it on her bedroom wall. Cool enough mask and everything, but it raised the dead. So, when Buffy went out the next morning to make sure none of the local strays had dug up the cat, she found the cat deader then a doornail and smelling worse then Larry’s gym locker, but alive… if that makes any sense.”

Ron’s eyes glowed with excitement, “and she just handed it to her Watcher?”

“Well… she put it in a cage first and then gave it to Giles, who got on the research bandwagon and found out about the mask, but by that time, Sunnydale was pretty much going crazy with Zombies, all of them heading to Buffy’s house where she was having this party.”

“Brilliant,” Ron and Harry breathed together in unison.

“At the time? No. But, now that I think about it, yeah, some of the stuff we’ve done has been pretty cool.”

Ron’s brow furrowed slightly, “Here, if this Giles bloke is your cousin, how come you don’t call him by his proper name?”

Xander opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again; his brow furrowing at that. “Actually, I’m not entirely sure why we call him Giles. I just know that Rupert isn’t really a kinda name American teenagers can use without laughing, and Mr. Giles just sounds… too formal.”

“Oh,” Ron nodded thoughtfully for a moment, “kinda like the way we call William, Bill and me Ron.”

“I guess, although, Buffy’s the one who started calling him Giles, the rest of us just followed. Although, word to the wise – he doesn’t like being called ‘Big G’ or ‘G-Man’.” Xander shrugged, “I guess the same way I don’t like being called Alexander, though I could probably get used to it. I’ve just been called Xander for the longest time.”

“Fair enough,” Harry nodded, “Though I suppose when he starts teaching at Hogwarts, we’ll have to refer to him as Professor Giles.”

“More then likely,” Xander nodded, “He’s got about a million letters after his name, so… it’s not like he doesn’t deserve it,” he furrowed his brown in concentration again, “It’ll be weird… having Giles for a teacher in a strange school. I mean, Giles and School go together like… Twinkies and soda, it’s a perfect match. But… I’ve never called him anything other then Giles before.”

“I’m sure you’ll get used to it,” Harry smirked, “it’s taken us forever to get used to calling Remus, Remus. He was an excellent Professor – probably the only decent one we’ll ever have for Defence.”

The door burst open and a head of red hair poked inside. “Come on you three,” Molly Weasley smiled, “time for you to go to bed. We’ve got an early start in the morning if we’re to start teaching Alexander the basic of magic before he starts at Hogwarts.”

A chorus of ‘Yes, Mrs. Weasley,’ and ‘Yes, mum’ escaped the drawing room as all three young men stood up, stretched and yawned as the self appointed matriarch stepped back from the door and moved down the hallway.

“You should really wait two weeks Xander,” Ron smirked and straightened his shirt.

“Why’s that?”

“Cos, that’s when Hermione will be back and you won’t find a better teacher then Hermione Granger.” Harry grinned as Ron rolled his eyes.

“Or one as strict,” the lanky redhead shook his head, “you’ll be in for a right treat… she’ll have all your homework planned out, set times for… well… everything really.” The trio stepped out into the hall when Ron’s eyes widened, “Quidditch!” the shout earned him a few reproving hushes and glares from the more sedate portraits.

“What itch?” Xander looked between the two in front of him.

“Quidditch,” Ron explained, “The sport of Wizards.” He looked at Harry, “we didn’t get to explain it to him.”

“Ronald Billius Weasley! Harry James Potter! Alexander Phillip Potter!” a voice floated down to them from the next floor up, “keep your voices down and get to bed!”

Ron turned green at the sound of his full name and at the annoyance in his mother’s voice, Harry grinned and Xander continued to frown. “We’re going mum!” Ron called back before turning to look at Harry.

“We’ll explain it tomorrow Ron, Xander’s not going anywhere… are you?” The-Boy-Who-Lived looked curiously at Xander.

“Most definitely not, seeing as I have no passport or Visa.” He smiled, “You’re pretty much stuck with me.”

“See Ron? Night Xander,” Harry clapped a hand on his best friend’s shoulder and steered him towards their room.

“Night,” Xander called out as he continued down the hall.

“Yeah… goodnight,” the door shut behind Ron with a small click.

Continuing on, Xander let himself into his room and flopped onto his bed. In twenty-four hours, he’d gained a whole new family, a new name, a group of new friends, a new fortune, a house and a new life. Getting up, he stripped down and crawled into bed, that he missed Willow, Giles, Buffy, Oz and Cordelia, there was no doubt. But this was more then that… he was more then that. There was something more to him then just being the Zeppo.

~*~

Buffy twirled the stake twice before lunging forward. A quick thrust and the piece of wood was slicing through skin, muscle and bone to pierce the heart of the latest vampire – Barbara Jean Lockhart – to rise from Sunnydale’s Shady Hill Cemetery. She stepped back as the once mother of John, Renee, Jean and Lucas exploded into a shower of dust. She sighed as she turned on her heel and continued on down the familiar path, down past the Alpert crypt, down past the memorial for the victims of the Sunnydale High School Massacre.

She’d called Cordelia earlier, Angel wasn’t in L.A. as far as she could tell, but then again, she hadn’t been looking for the tall, brooding vampire. With a promise to call should she happen upon him, the pair had said their goodbyes and hung up; Cordelia none the wiser as to what was happening in Sunnydale, and Buffy all the more certain that Angel was no longer a resident of the United States of America.