InsaneJournal

FIC: A Series of (mostly) Un-Apocalyptic Events--BtVS/HP 9/?
full header & previous parts:
an unexpected meeting || unusual conversations || un-imaginary friends and places, really || unlikely coincidence || unplanned vacation || unsanctioned dragon(s) pt1 || unsanctioned dragon(s) pt2 || unhappy dragons and people || unrepentent stubbornness and unapologetic smart alecs




"Sorry about all this mess, George,"

"Wasn't your fault," George shook his head.

"You've been to Sunnydale? Sunnydale California? Have you seen it?" Luna was suddenly at George's arm. "Or a Slayer?"

"Bloody hell, not the Slayer Myth again, Luna. Let the man get on his feet. He's sat here and listened to that git have a tantrum for how long now."

"Seen what?"

"Vampire Slayers. And the Hellmouth that was there." Luna said eagerly.

"Xander, how difficult would it be to procure one of those little music boxes like yours." Digger interrupted the blonde woman.

Xander rolled his eyes. "Digger, just call Nat and tell her to pick up an ipod or some sorta MP3 player for you. Use the team card and we'll take it out of your next cut to make it all squared up. And tell her the amount in pounds you're willing to go to okay--you know all the conversion crap so just...British Muggle Currency is what she'll be using to pay."

"How much did yours cost?" Digger wanted to know.

"One-forty in American dollars, three years ago I think. Tell her to price shop and give you the rundown okay? Capabilities make more difference in what hopping em up can do than memory capacity."

"A what? Don't please, don't make me take you in on mis-use of muggle artifacts after all this." Ron groaned.

"Auror Weasley!"

"NO COMMENT!" Ron shouted at Skeeter. "Let's move this up to your flat, George."

*

"Medraut will go with me to speak with your Giles."

Xander looked warily up at Kafu from where he sat on the overstuffed chair in George's living room. "You. Are. Not. Killing. Willow."

"I swear neither of us will do her any lasting harm." Kafu said.

"That's not so much with the reassuring."

"I've had enough of indulging her childish tantrums." Kafu said flatly. "You being caught by her little snits only cause trouble and has jeopardized everyone more than once."

Xander sighed. "So...how."

"Medraut can take us. Unless there are laws against Ley-Travel." Kafu spared a barely polite glance at Ron, since he was dressed in his official Auror robes but turned his attention to Henry.

"No. They haven't managed to find a way to try to impose their will over the Sidhe." Henry snorted. "Treaties with the Seelie and UnSeelie courts leave the British Ministry of magic unable to regulate Ley-Travel in any way."

Kafu snorted.

"If I can find a way back to London--"

"I'll take you." George said. "My brooms in good shape and lets see them try anything stupid about that."

"Broom." Xander raised an eyebrow. "Oh this could be scary."

"Oi! I was a beater from third year on for Gryffindor at Hogwarts! I'm a good flier!"

"Then Digger and I will go to Diagon Alley. It's getting a bit late but there should still be a bit of time to check out a few of the shops for supplies. Does the Leaky Cauldron still let rooms? It's been a couple years since I was there."

"Yeah, Tom still has rooms upstairs."

"Get us four?" Xander raised an eyebrow. "I'll get my stuff from the hotel Willow stuck me in."

Kafu nodded.

"We're here, it's absurd not to look for any supplies that would be useful." Henry said.

"And there's that girl--"

"Hey! You promised no permanent damage!" Xander interrupted Kafu. "And can I bum someone's phone til we can replace mine?"

"Here." Medraut said handing over his.

"Thanks."

Ron was gaping at Digger who was on his little portable telly-phone talking to, presumably, the muggle woman about a music box.

"Digger, what you decide on, have Natalia get two. I would like one as well." Medraut said quietly.

Kafu rolled his eyes.

Digger relayed the message.

Bill sighed. "I've got to get back to Gringotts and explain where I disappeared to all afternoon. That Wakefield wouldn't let any witnesses leave."

"I need to get back to the office to." Ron sighed. He was not looking forward to Wakefield, or to his report for his part in the farce of an afternoon.

"Next time, floo the dragon preserve in Romania,"

"I'll have Kafu, Henry or Wolfgang if they're around. Even Digger. I'm allergic to fire-sand. Goes scary bad when I try to use it so not for me."

When Stanislav opened his mouth to protest, Charlie cut him of, "He's like a bloke Bill used to work with in Egypt. Hit with enough curses it's effected his magic permanently."

Stanislav shuddered in horror at the thought. "I need to be off but--"

"We'll figure out something and maybe send it to you with Charlie--if it goes off that means your brats have found me again."

"Think we'll need that." Charlie snorted. "Snape's the most stubborn little blighter."

"Your own fault for naming him Snape." George said.

Stanislav nodded. "They're Weasley's lot usually anyhow. So if he knows how to contact you if the little ones take off again, or you can contact him if you have them show up. Charlie? You okay to do the report and file it?"

Charlie nodded.


*

"I really am sorry about all this." Xander sighed after the crowd had thinned from George's apartment. "Didn't mean to drag you into the usual chaos we stumble into, I'm used to the week not being complete without a run in with local police or military and seven near death experiences but yeah. I just wanted them out of London before Daddy showed up and I didn't know anyone else here that would have of hope of telling me where to go. Wicca covens aren't big on dealing with dragons ya know? And they're the only other ones I could think of and even they don't think there's dragons, or at least not dragons in this dimension."

"You know wiccas?" Luna smiled eagerly. "I've been toying with the idea as a hobby."

Xander's eye widened. "DONT!"

"But--"

"You're a witch. Start playing with forces that demand balance and payback is stupid for a hobby. And for day to day stuff Wicca's pretty worthless, using that brand of magic for every little thing like heating your tea kettle or lighting your fireplace is dangerous."

"Mmm." Luna nodded. "It is impractical, though fascinating. The cleansing rituals are what I'm most interested in. There's so much negativity in so many places since the war with Voldemort."

Xander arched an eyebrow. "If you have somewhere specific in mind and something specific in mind...maybe we could help you. See if we could come up with something that would work that we're familiar with which wouldn't involve any actual Wicca, or I could go and talk to the Coven I know and get the advice from them. I've been around enough Wiccas and their spells enough that...we might pull off something. At least that shouldn't have disastrous results but not a good idea on your own with mojo that's just not the kind you're supposed to be using. Kafu might know something from the Shamanic portion of the T'bori. Which is close to Wicca, more of an innate gift to channel a type of external magics rather than innate magic like you have--and god I sound like Giles or Kafu. Don't ever tell them I said that. They'll expect me to pay attention more."

Charlie snorted. "I think your secrets safe, no one much takes these two seriously all that often anyway."

"Could I at least buy you guys supper since I almost got you all arrested?" Xander offered.

"You mind if I see if Neville can join us?"

"The more the merrier."

"Should see if Rosmerta will let make us carry out orders. Skeeter's bound to be lurking around the Three Broomsticks." George said.



*
*


Medraut stumbled as they reappeared on the lawn. The wards were formidable if incomplete. Measures had been taken against UnSeelie though none against Seelie nor Ley-Travel. He wasn't counting on the cricket bat either. He'd studied maps and satellite images often enough of the area and he'd certainly felt the magical signature heaviest in the wards about the manor house often enough. It had only been slightly tricky to get here without having been here before, the hardest part was where to gage arrival but the experience with non-magical technology that Natalia and Xander preferred even if theirs was heavily magically enhanced had given him enough specifics of location of things.

Kafu frowned slightly and walked ten paces away, apparating to Medraut's side with a ~crack~. "Lazy, even with what is known to them, but there is no apparition ward, stay within arms reach." he said softly in T'bori.

"Can I help you?"

"We must speak to Giles, immediately. It is in concern to the out of control child who is harming Xander." Kafu glared down at the girl, no more than a teenager.

"Mr. Giles and Ms Hopewell are having a meeting with Ms. Rosenberg."

"They'd do better to have a beating but that is a start." Kafu snorted disdainfully.


"He will see us. And he will see us now." Medraut said softly giving the girl his best smile and pushing his sunglasses back on his head.

"You have pretty eyes." the girl said dreamily.

"Mister Giles." he prompted.

"Yeah uh this way."

Kafu decided one of these days he would have to find out what was in the other half of Medraut's parentage. His mother was Seelie, and perhaps some of his admittedly weak mesmerizing ability was from that, but Kafu was less than convinced his father was wholly human--magical or not. His father was at least partially human since Medraut could manage some Wizardry, more than a squib though not so powerful.

*

"Melissa!" Giles snapped as the door opened he took a calming breath. None of the girls deserved their heads taken off like that even if he was about ready to put his own through a wall or perhaps simply slap the stubborn impossible girl restrained in the chair in front of him.

"It is our fault not hers. Mr. Giles I presume?"

"Yes."

"I am Kafu, this is my colleague, Mr. Ambrose."

"Xander?" Giles demanded worriedly. "Whatever it was that caused that Weasley fellow to ring me earlier?"

"Xander is well, left in the company of his friends in that village and will be rejoining us later this evening. He has Mr. Ambrose's mobile phone if there is any need for contacting us."

"What happened to Xander's phone! The alarm on mine was going off like it had been destroyed."

"I would assume it has been destroyed," Kafu said flatly. "Considering he had need to borrow Mr. Ambrose's. Are you actually doing something about that willful child."

Giles sighed. Willow was frankly looking quite awful but refusing to budge an inch on seeing her misdoings.

"Your wards are quite poor."

"They are NOT! I reinforced them myself"

"That would be why they are quite poor." Kafu snorted. "The more complex and useful ones were crushed by a blind keep-away that is nothing short of inept."

"You--"

"Willow. I thought I told you to leave the wards be when you asked about it."

"But they're stronger and better! I combined the spells I found and made them stronger. "

"Willow." Giles swallowed.

"Why do you value Xander so little?" Kafu demanded.

"WHAT!" Willow yelped. "How--Xander's my best friend."

"You treat him as a minion or a pet or a toy."

"I DO NOT!"

"How do you think you aren't?"

"I'm just watching out for him! He's XANDER!"

"You believe he is stupid and helpless?"

"No! He's just, he's just--He's XANDER."

"You believe he is helpless and stupid." Kafu repeated, this time it wasn't a question. "And your personal toy to repeatedly hurt and damage. Do you know how badly your spells have harmed him? This past summer how many times he has been the one struck with blinding headaches due to your magic?"

"I just have to find the right spells--"

"You have to stop."

"But--"

"I demand geis be placed on this woman to forbid her from ever performing a spell of any sort--even the most harmless tracking spell--on any member of my family, on Mr. Ambrose, Ms. Culpepper, Mr. Smythe, Mr. Clausen or any other member of our team without their knowledge, or in the instance I and the rest of the team are missing with the express permission and knowledge of the Council of Elders of our village, though they would likely deny it and do their own spells. She is your responsibility. If you try you will be struck with a migraine for each attempt at a location, spying or eavesdropping or relatively harmless spell. Any hurtful spell will be revisited to you in threefold. Do you agree to it?"

"Yes." Giles said quickly, not pointing out that they would have no way to contact the T'bori Wizard's village, but that detail could be worked out later, when Giles head was pounding less and the very tall T'bori looked less like he was going to forego magic altogether and simply throttle Willow the old fashioned non-magical way.

"Do you agree to this geis."

"I could care less I wouldn't raise a finger for you, Xander is my concern."

"Do you agree to this geis?"

"Willow!"

"FINE!"

"I also demand the geis of you being only able to use what magic ability you were born with, not what you have gained wrongly."

Willow glared at him defiantly. "Fine. I only use my magic."

Kafu snorted.

Medraut shook his head.

"You will allow me to cast these geis?"

"Only if I get let go and get to go find Xander and..."

"After."

Giles nodded reluctantly.

"I gave my oath to Xander not to cause his Willow harm."

Giles sighed in visible relief.

Cecily gasped noticing the wand and wand holster for the first time as Kafu reached for it.

Giles swallowed. He'd have to be blind and stupid not to recognize the power in the wizard even if he didn't recognize that spell work, wizard's magic was bound into their oaths and he'd sworn to Xander.

Willow gasped with the force of the magic that slammed into her and something snapping and melting away. "What did you do!" she gasped.

"Bound you to your natural-born abilities to channel magic. You should be able to levitate a pencil, perhaps even a stake eventually I am just guessing but my son's description of your sudden explosion of powers never seemed natural, combined with the marked lack of training to reach that level and your obvious problems controlling it or yourself. It was safe to assume most of what you were using was not yours one way or another. I certainly hope there weren't any demonic deals in your increase of powers."

"Your son?"

"My adopted son, and apprentice--Xander."

"YOU LYING SNEAK! XANDER IS NOT YOUR SON!" Willow shouted.

"My adopted son, it is common enough, especially when a master of their craft finds a muggle or shaman born who shows aptitude to their field."

Giles sighed. Crisis averted at the very least or this particular crisis. There was still a good deal to contend with including Willow's physical condition, she was pale and shaking. "Cecily, could you release the Coven's geis with the provision Willow does not leave the council manor nor use her magic against council employees and any people in the building who have legitimate business here for the time being."

"That will take the assistance of a few others but it would only take them a short while to gather what they need and come here. That would be acceptable until she has better control, she's used far too much magic unnatural to her for far too long to survive being completely cut off from her own."

"You-- you!" Willow glared at Kafu.

Kafu snorted and shook his head. "Xander will visit before we return home." he said to Giles and reached for Medraut's arm apparated away to Diagon Square.