Ame's Insanity (amejisuto) wrote in ames_weirdness, @ 2009-10-13 13:55:00 |
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Entry tags: | buffy tvs, crossover, harry potter |
Ripper's Mark PG13 1/1
Title: Ripper's Mark
Author: amejisuto
Word Count: 5125
Fandom: Buffy tVS/Harry Potter
Rating: PG13
Disclaimer: Not mine, never will be. No harm, no foul, no money made.
Warnings/Squicks: Mention of murder of innocents and children and other badness done by bad guys, but nothing graphic.
Summary: Xander finds out about Giles' mysterious past, and learns that his mentor wasn't always the stuffy Englishman he'd thought him to be.
Beta'd by the wonderful kitty_poker1. Thank you so much love! This is the last fic, besides GC, that Kitty has beta'd for me and I'd like to dedicate it to her! Thank you for your years of help and kindness darlin! I wouldn't be the writer I am without you!
Notes: This is one of those 'What if...' fics of mine. Blame Marvel Comics if you have to, they're the ones that always get me going what if. What if...Giles had the Dark Mark of Lord Voldemort, instead of the Mark of Eyghon? I mean, both are on the forearm...and he's British, it's not that much of a stretch is it? Takes place after Buffy's episode The Dark Age. This is pretty much gen, just some Xander and Giles bonding time, but if I do continue in this 'verse, it'll be slash.
Ripper's Mark
Xander used the spare key that Giles had given him over two months ago and quietly let himself into his mentor's apartment. Something was going on with Giles, something that had bothered the man ever since a string of mysterious people had turned up, ending with the ever annoying Ethan Rayne. Whatever it was unnerved Giles to no end and had caused calm, collected Miss Calendar to not just break up with him, but deck him hard enough to nearly break his jaw.
From what Buffy had said about Giles' state of mind when she visited, he halfway expected Giles to be drunk. After dealing with drunken Harrises all his life, Xander figured he could handle one drunken Giles but the thought of his pseudo-father figure being upset enough to drink was disturbing, to say the least.
Thankfully, Giles was nursing one of his stinky cups of tea, a book and what looked to be some sort of stick on the coffee table in front of him. "Giles? You okay?"
Giles gave a bitter laugh, something Xander had never heard from the man before and it made the hair on the back of his neck rise. "No. No, Xander, I'm not okay. As you children would say, I am about as far away from okay as you can get."
Xander sat down on the couch across from his friend. "Oh-kay...scary, bitter G-man is in the house." Giles glared at him but Xander ignored it. "So...what can I do to make it better? Friendly ear? More tea? Whiskey? All of the above?"
Giles sighed and sat back in his chair. "Thank you, Xander. However, there are some things that cannot be made better by tea. Mistakes made in one's youth being one of them."
Xander sat back and didn't say anything. Whenever he had a problem, usually with his parents, visiting Giles to get away from everything was what he always liked best. Unlike Buffy or Willow, Giles didn't press him to talk about everything. He was just there and if Xander wanted to talk, he could. He could even say really stupid things, like how he thought Angel was an asshole but had a nice butt and Giles never batted an eyelash.
Xander figured the least he could do was give his mentor the chance to talk with no pressure.
Almost a half hour later, Xander was startled out of a near doze by Giles' voice. "You know that my father and his parents before him were Watchers, correct?" Xander just nodded since he didn't want to keep Giles from talking. "What you and the others may or may not know is my mother...well, my mother was a witch. A genuine wand waving, broom riding, cauldron boiling witch. And I, I was a wizard."
Giles stopped and Xander wondered if he was supposed to say anything. "So...did you have a funky hat?"
Giles looked at him and actually laughed, a full belly laugh, and Xander gave himself a pat on the back. Bitter Giles had left the building!
"Actually, that was our Headmaster; the students had plain black hats. Yes, before you ask, they were pointed. I matriculated after seven years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Consider it as a school of higher learning. Students who were invited were supposedly the best of the best in all of the British Isles...many wizards who were not as powerful or didn't have the galleons --the money-- were home schooled." Giles paused and looked at him and suddenly grinned. "You would have liked Hogwarts. While there is a good deal of homework, there were ample opportunities for young people to get into a significant amount of trouble."
Xander spent the next hour listening to Giles' stories about Hogwarts. About how one of his distant cousins, Lucius Malfoy, took him under his wing even if he did have a muggle --non-magical-- parent. The man sounded like a male version of Cordelia, right down to his obsession with having proper clothes and his hair care regime, which an oddly relaxed Giles mocked with a delighted grin.
It occurred to Xander that he was seeing the real Giles, maybe for the first time. The stuffy, tweed wearing routine must have been a young Giles' idea of how to fit in the normal world and please his father after leaving Ethan and whatever mess he'd been in. It must have been awful, trying to act normal when you weren't. It would be like if he had to live in a world where no one watched Star Trek or knew who Batman was. There were so many jokes and references in your own culture and to abandon it would have been like chopping an arm off. You could still function but something was always missing.
And the magical world sounded like so much fun. So far, all Xander had seen of the supernatural world was vampires and demons and spells gone wonky and mummy girls that try to suck the life out of you. But there was brooms and unicorns and griffins and making potions that cause your rival's hair to fall out, and all sort of cool stuff. Just listening to Giles describe chocolate frogs made his mouth water!
But then Giles got all quiet again and his face turned to stone. Well, not actually, but Xander thought that his mentor was doing an awfully good job of making like a statue. "What happened, Giles?"
Giles took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You must understand, Xander, the magical world, for all that it is a wondrous place is quiet...backward. Think...Victorian England. A woman would never show any of her nether regions, her legs. It was considered indecent. Werewolves, veelas, anyone who isn't a wizard is considered second class, or sub-human. There are class distinctions even among wizards. There are the so-called pure-bloods, who can trace their family lines back generations and who, for the most part, do not mix with muggles, never mind muggle-borns -- witches and wizard who had muggle parents. Then there are the half-bloods, like me, who have one parent who is a muggle. There are...groups, who look down on anyone who has muggle, or muddied, blood. In fact, I am still amazed that Lucius even lowered himself to speak to me, despite being in the same Year and same House at school. He was always looking down his nose at anyone who might be a mudblood. I think he convinced himself that since my father was affiliated with the Watchers, it negated my muggle blood somewhat." Giles snorted. "More than likely he was hoping that I'd be able to steal certain items from the Watchers once I was initiated. He was quite vexed when I rebelled."
"What happened?"
Giles gave him a sad sort of smile. "I was invited to a joint engagement party, a year after I'd graduated from Hogwarts. Father had insisted I study for muggle schooling as well and I was attending Oxford at the time. History major with Linguistics as a minor. Lucius was getting married to Narcissa Black and her sister, Bellatrix, was marrying one of the LeStrange brothers. They were all pure-bloods, you know, and the young up and comers of high society in the wizarding world."
"They were Cordy and her group, weren't they? You hung out with the snobs! Giles! I never knew you could be so shallow. Way to go!"
Giles glared at him and Xander just grinned. "Yes, yes, I was young and idiotic and wanted to be one of the "in crowd". No need to rub it in."
Xander held up his hands in defense. "Hey, everyone is shallow at one point or other. You didn't tease me for panting after Buffy like a puppy last year so I'm not going to say anything to you. It's just...neat, knowing that you weren't always this perfect Watcher-type guy. That you did stupid stuff when you were my age and got in trouble and learned from it, you know? I bet if Buffy knew she'd take your advice better. I mean, you're not just advising her by quoting from the Big Book of Grown Ups; you screwed up and know how that messes with you and want to save her the heart ache, you know?"
"Perhaps." Giles was looking at him as if he had an extra arm or something. Xander knew he had the rep for being the class clown but that didn't mean he couldn't be wise sometimes, did it? Then he looked at Giles again and realized that what he was seeing in Giles' face was pride.
And that felt amazing. His own parents hadn't been proud of him since he'd learned to tie his shoes. If anything, he was a disappointment to them. He'd stopped trying to impress them in Junior High when he'd brought home an award for a essay he'd worked hard on and his Dad had burned it. He was never going to make them happy so why bother?
But Giles, the man who he loved like a father? Was proud of him.
That felt good.
"So, what happened at the party? You got drunk and danced on the table naked?"
Giles snorted. "I could only wish my downfall had started so innocently. You see, Lucius had many friends, and not all of them attended Hogwarts. There are other magical schools, and he had friends in two of them, if not more. Lucius was, and mostly likely is, a very charming person. Too charming, perhaps. He introduced me to one of his friends who attended Durmstang, despite the fact that he was British. Durmstang is a school that is well known for teaching the Dark Arts, magic that is used for less than benevolent purposes. And his friend was just as charming. I took one look at Ethan Rayne and fell arse over tea kettle for the man. Ethan was everything I wanted to be: powerful, confident, more knowledgeable that even I in certain areas. And, of course, he was one of Lucius' friends..."
"So, what, he led you to the Dark Side of the Force?"
Giles gave a rueful laugh. "Actually, that is almost exactly what happened. Between the two of them I abandoned everything my family, both sides of it, held dear. My mother was from a pure-blooded family but a progressive one, one that respected muggles and wanted everyone to get along in peace. My father, as you know, helped keep the forces of darkness at bay. And I...I dropped out of Oxford and followed them both on a fool's errand. I joined the Death Eaters."
"Whoa. Nothing with the name Death can be good. I mean, at least the Lotus Eaters had a good buzz going on." At Giles' incredulous look, Xander shrugged. "What? There was a Xena episode with Odysseus on it and I got interested. Sue me."
"Of course, why didn't I think of that? Teach Classical Greek Myths by featuring them on a show with lesbian overtones and a woman with huge bosoms and a leather fetish."
"But of course! And Ares doesn't look that bad in leather either. See, it's got something for everyone!"
"The Death Eaters are a...well, I suppose they are a cross between a terrorist group and the...well, the Ku Klux Klan is the best description I can give. Wizards, more specifically pure-bloods, were evidently the most powerful people on earth, therefore they should rule the world. Muggles were to be used as slaves, simply because we were genetically and magically superior. We followed a madman, a murderer and tyrant by the name of Lord Voldemort."
"So...did you get a cool name besides Ripper? Darth Ripper maybe?"
Giles stood up and glared at him. "Damn you, Xander! This is not a joke! I tortured people, people like you who had no power against me! People who couldn't fight back! I have killed! I have done despicable things that to this day make me sick! It is NOT a laughing matter!"
Xander flinched at the fury in his mentor's tone. He'd gone too far with his mouth. Nothing new there. "Sorry, Giles...but it's obvious to me that you're not that way any more and you're doing a pretty good job of hating yourself all on your lonesome. I didn't feel the need to add any more angst. I mean, you've changed, you're not like that anymore so it's in the past for the most part, except for whatever crap Ethan dragged up by coming back." He paused and really looked at Giles. "This is why you haven't had a litter of kittens over the whole Buffy dating Angel thing, isn't it?"
"I understand the need to atone for one's past. That is all I'm willing to say at the moment." Giles glared at him and took his seat again and Xander decided to keep his mouth shut. If anything, that proved that Angel's soul trip was a joke. Giles never lost his soul and did bad things and repented, so why did it take a so-called soul to get Angelus' head out of his ass? People could be just as evil with a soul, Xander knew that for a fact. For now, though, he wouldn't say anything. Giles had enough to worry about.
That wouldn't stop him from ragging on Angel, however. Big phony with the big forehead.
"So...something changed. What was it?"
"It didn't change so much as I was young and stupid. At first we mainly concerned ourselves with Dark Rites to help us gain power or knowledge, or striking out at political targets. The Ministry of Magic at the time was run by a ponce who makes Principal Snyder look commanding, and Fudge, the man who replaced him, was even worse. They could be bought by the highest bidder, in general, but in some areas they passed the most foolish laws and judgments to appease the more idiotic segments of society. What would you say if I told you I could cure cancer, but the potion requires the blood of a healthy family member and therefore was illegal and the sentence for making it or using it was life in prison? How about the fact that there are vampires out there willing to drink blood donated by willing humans, for a price of course, or even from blood banks, but in Wizarding Britain it is illegal to do so because you would be consorting with dark creatures? Never mind the fact that it might keep ten or fifteen humans from being hunted and killed a week. Did you know that most people who are bitten by werewolves figure it out and take steps to lock themselves away on the nights of the full moon to keep others from harm, but according to the Ministry they are, at best, third-class citizens and are not allowed to marry, hold a job or keep property? It was those things we were fighting against, or at least I was. Others..."
Giles trailed off and Xander tried to understand. All of those things Giles mentioned were, in Xander's mind, stupid. If some vamp, some soulless vamp, had the ability to not be an undead eating machine like most of the fledges around the Hellmouth were, that should be encouraged! Hell, Xander wouldn't let their fangs near his neck but he'd donate a pint or two a month to something like that, especially since that pretty much proved that Angel was the asshat he'd always thought he was.
And wouldn't using blood in a potion be sort of like getting a blood transfusion or bone marrow transplant? It sounded as if this Ministry made laws just to push people away. Either that or to reassure the cowards of their society. Either way, it totally sucked.
Of course, when he stated that fact aloud he got another laugh from Giles.
"That's what I love about you teenagers, so eloquent with the English language. Yes, indeed, it does 'suck', as it were. Or 'blows' if you prefer." Giles rolled his eyes at himself and Xander had to stifle a snicker. "You can see why many of us joined the Dark Lord and followed him. However, for many of us, our dream of a better wizarding world was soon disillusioned. Serving the Dark Lord was a lot like taking drugs. The first few errands and rites we performed were simple enough even though we were up against well trained aurors, or magical police. Eventually, though, we were sent on other errands that left a bad taste in one's mouth but that Lucius and Ethan always had the answer to. Destroying an entire stretch of Diagon Alley, rather like the Sunnydale Mall without Corn-dog On A Stick, was an act of sabotaging the economy. The Prewitt Brothers were well known and well trained fighters for the opposition so it only made sense to attack them at home when they least expected it. There was always a bloody good excuse and the entire time half of us were slipping in the mud and didn't even bloody realize it!"
Giles was running his hands through his hair in frustration and remembered guilt and Xander felt sorry for the man. It was difficult for him to imagine Giles being that...cruel and nasty and shortsighted. Then again, Giles had only been a few years older than Xander was now when all this was happening, and he wouldn't be the first or last guy to be led around by his dick.
It was the thought that it was Ethan Rayne doing the leading that kinda made Xander's brain stutter.
Not that being gay was a bad thing; after all, anything his parents hated and disapproved of Xander did a big ol' Snoopy dance of goodness for, just on principle. It was just that it was Giles...and Ethan. And they probably kissed and did other gay type stuff. Thinking about that kind of stuff was just as bad as thinking about Giles torturing people, as far as Xander was concerned. Parent type people shouldn't be allowed to have sex. Well, except for the fact that they'd never be parents without it but, still, it made his brain do odd things like go ewww and then wonder what they actually did before Xander reminded himself that he really, really, really didn't want to know.
Xander pushed all of those thoughts away in his head, preferably behind a door in his brain that would never, ever open, and turned to Giles. "I'm sorry, Giles. I wish I knew of some way I could make it better. And, hey, at least you got out of it somehow. "
Giles snorted. "Ah, yes, I got out of it alright. There came a point where I couldn't go along with what the Dark Lord was asking of me. There were...others who felt the same way. We came up with a plan. During a raid we used golllums to fake our deaths. We had already exchanged our money into muggle currency and went to my mother. After much discussion it was decided that we would let her strip us of our magic, leaving us powerless. While I can perform some ceremonial, muggle type magic, I don't even have the power to do a simple lumos spell with my wand any longer. Then, after much berating on my father's part, I was sent to Harvard to catch up on my schooling, until the Dark Lord was defeated and I was able to return to Oxford. Phillip and Deirdre were two of the ones who followed me into exile, choosing to live in the muggle world rather than continue to commit atrocities." Giles paused for a moment and had a look on his face that was both sad and guilty all at once. "Ethan and Lucius were not. In fact, my dear cousin is, or was, one of the Dark Lord's Inner Circle. Lucius loved the power it gave him and Ethan not only enjoyed that but the...pure chaos of it, I suppose."
Xander snorted. "Yeah, the guy did seem to get his rocks off on just pissing people off."
They were quiet for a few minutes and then Giles gave Xander a look. "Well?"
"Huh? Well what?"
"Aren't you going to ask what it was Voldemort wanted us to do?"
Xander shrugged. "Not if you don't want to say. I'm not Wills, you know, having to know everything just for the sake of knowing. And Buffy's the nosy one. I'm the comic relief, so instead of interrogating you I slip a whoopee cushion under you. Because there isn't anything funnier than the sound of passing gas. Well, unless you count ugly men in drag."
"You've been watching Monty Python again, haven't you?"
"Hey, it's a statistical fact. People's careers have been revived with cross dressing. And Dame Edna wouldn't be where he, or she, is without a set of falsies and a really good industrial girdle."
Giles gave a bark of laughter and Xander grinned. Mission accomplished.
"You are such a smart arse. Why is it when things are at their worst you always come up with such...inane observations?"
Xander shrugged and sank back in his chair. No one had asked him that before. "Well, life sucks. I learned that a long time ago. I figured out that I'd rather have fun when I can and laugh when I can. It's sort of like flipping Fate off."
Giles snorted. "Either you are extremely brave or extremely stupid. I'm not sure which."
Xander grinned wryly. "Giles, I go out hunting vampires looking like a badly dressed extra from Hawaii Five-O and I don't know how to fight. One of Cordelia's back up dancers could probably beat me up. Which do you think it is?"
Instead of laughing, Giles looked at him. Really looked at him. Then he nodded to himself. "Right. Tomorrow after school you will join Buffy in training. Perhaps Willow will want to join, as well."
Xander knew to keep up his slacker image; he should protest or at least groan. He'd probably end up with half his body bruised and flat on his ass under Buffy, and not in a good way. Still, despite all that he grinned and bounced in his seat a little. "Really? Thanks G-man! That's, like, the best birthday present ever! Only four months late. Can I have a sword for Christmas? I promise not to stab myself in the foot."
Giles gave him an odd look and then glared at his tea cup. Xander got the feeling that he was embarrassed at Xander's thanks. "We'll see. When is your birthday, anyway?"
"July 31." There was the sound of a cup breaking and Xander jumped. "Giles! Are you okay?"
It was a stupid question because Giles was white as a ghost and was looking at Xander as if he was growing a really big zit. Or a second head. On the Hellmouth, you had to wonder. Giles shook his head then got up and poured himself a new glass of scotch at his bar, downing it in one shot and then pouring another. After looking at Xander he poured a second drink and handed it to him, shocking Xander so much that his jaw dropped.
"'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches--born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies--' One of the Dark Lord's spies overheard a seer giving that prophecy to the Headmaster of Hogwarts. Ironic really, since from my contacts I found out that because of that prophecy, the same young man turned back to the Light. Well, as Light as Severus Snape would get, anyway. The Dark Lord became obsessed. We were sent to keep an eye on hospitals, to contact midwives. Any woman, muggle or witch, who was pregnant and may possibly give birth in July was killed in raids, or poisoned so she began to have mysterious complications with the pregnancy and lost the child. I...I couldn't do that. It was unconscionable. There was no way Lucius could explain it away, especially after I watched his sister-in-law kill her own child. That was it, I couldn't do it anymore. There were a few others and together we planned our escape. Two weeks later, Mother was taking our magic from us and after that we scattered to the far ends of the earth."
Xander was having a hard time not puking. That was...ewww. Shudder worthy. No wonder Giles freaked. "I'm just glad you got out, G-man. That's...seriously twisted. Ewww." And ewww again. Because killing babies was really, really not good. "What happened after that? I mean, with the bad guy."
"Just over three years later, he found one of the children that had been hidden from the Death Eaters. The child wasn't even two years old yet. The Dark Lord killed his parents, but something about young Harry Potter was different. When the Dark Lord attempted to kill him, the curse backfired and he was vanquished." Giles' faced twisted in worry. "Or that is what was told to the wizarding world."
Xander groaned and ran a hand through his hair. "Let me guess, some idiot figured out a way to magic him back?"
"I'm not sure. Deidre, Phillip, they both warned me to change identities and to hide. I have been rather slack about personal security as of late and it is well known that I left the Death Eaters, even though I was never called to testify by the Ministry. Ethan, however, came to gloat. Something about one of the Dark Lord's favorites escaping his gilded cage and changes that will be made in the upcoming year. All in all, it was rather ominous."
"You think Chaos Boy wants you to join in again?"
"I no longer know what runs through Ethan's head, a fact that gladdens me no end. It could have been his way of asking me to join up, or his way of warning me. Buffy breaking into our private conversation and placing her fist in his face rather interrupted our little chat."
Xander grinned at that. "Oh, come on, Giles! That was funny! Especially the way she hauled him to the bus station, threw him on the next bus and tied him to the seat."
Giles gave an evil grin. "That was rather inspired. Remind me to get her a gift certificate for shoes or some other inane frippery." His grin turned to a frown, however, and Xander started worrying again. "No matter what Ethan wanted, however, the fact remains that The Dark Mark is returning to its former prominence on my arm. The Dark Lord can no longer torture me through it since my magic has been drained, but that does mean he is coming into power again. I managed to call a squib friend of mine in London and he told me that not only did Death Eaters show their presence for the first time in years at the World Cup, but that for the first time in years the Tri-Wizard Tournament is being held, at Hogwarts. Not only that but someone managed to put young Harry Potter's name in the Goblet of Fire and he has been chosen as a second Champion, despite the fact that the boy is only fourteen. Students have died in that damned Tournament! Why now?"
Xander blanched. Whatever this Tournament was, if Giles was worried it was not of the good, and the thought of some kid two years younger than he was now having to deal with...whatever it was was freak worthy. "Didn't his foster parents stop him? Like, no permission slip, no near death experience?"
Giles shook his head. "I don't have all the facts but the only guardians Potter has are his muggle relatives and I highly doubt anyone has contacted them."
Xander couldn't help but feel sorry for Harry. The poor kid must be terrified. At least Xander had been fifteen when having to face the fact that vampires were real. And if this Darth Voldie or whoever came back, wouldn't he come for Giles at some point in time? "Is there anything I can do? To, like, help? I mean, should I be on the lookout for people in robes or something?"
Giles laughed at that. "No. Fortunately I was rather low on the Death Eater corporate ladder, despite my connections to Ethan and Lucius. As I've said, Lucius was rather put out that I quit my training to become a Watcher. It will be some time before he comes after the likes of me."
"But it will happen."
"Perhaps."
Xander took a deep breath. "Well, you had better train me up good then, if some time we're going to be facing wizards and stuff. You know me and magic don't mix well."
"Xander..."
"No, Giles. If something is going to happen, I want to help. I mean, Buffy will be okay, being the Slayer and all, and Wills has been talking about learning Ms. Calendar's form of magic, but I want to learn how to fight. That way, if something happens you have back up."
Xander might be a geek, but comics and shows like Star Trek weren't just mindless fun, they were morality tales. And one thing he knew for a fact was that a really insane bad guy not only always came back, but came after people who betrayed them. Hell, the Joker even made it a pastime to abuse his girlfriend on a regular basis. Lex Luthor, Green Goblin, they all came back and sought revenge.
Giles was the closest thing he had to a caring father figure and Xander sure as hell wasn't going to stand back while some psycho with a power trip took that away from him. Besides, Xander was getting used to being the sidekick that helped the hero fight off the "Forces of Darkness" TM. Vampires, evil wizards. There couldn't be that much of a difference, could there?
Well, besides the funny hats. Xander really wanted one of those. Maybe for next Halloween. Then he could turn into Merlin instead of some weird Army guy.
And wouldn't that be useful?
The End