After That - 6 (Patreon)

Harry was glaring at the empty kitchen counter when the doorbell rang. He paused his brooding to answer it. Buffy stood on the porch holding a plate of freshly toasted waffles and a bottle of orange juice.

"Breakfast?" She asked.

"You're amazing," Harry chuckled as he stepped aside.

"Thanks," she gave a weak smile in reply.

Buffy set the plate on the kitchen counter.

"How did it go last night?" He asked.

"There was crying, yelling, and a live band," Buffy shrugged. "It was hard, but I took your advice. We're not back to normal. It's a start."

"The band was a nice addition," he teased.

Buffy pouted for a moment.

"What made you all broody?" She asked.

"Oh," Harry motioned to the empty kitchen counter. "There isn't a coffee maker or kettle. I didn't realize it until this morning."

"Right, coffee treason," Buffy said. "Forgot about that." She turned her head examining the house. "This place is emptier than usual."

"I got rid of the grandma décor," Harry answered. "Now, I just need to replace everything. The beds are surprisingly comfortable."

"Beds? As in, more than one?" She asked.

"There are two guest rooms," he shrugged. "I tested the beds to decide which one I liked. They weren't the right for me, so I made one of my own."

"Was one too hard and the other too soft?" She said with a teasing lilt in her voice.

"No," he chuckled. "The mattress in the guest room was brand new actually."

They both let that statement hang in the air. The previous owner hadn't died peacefully in her bed surrounded by those she loved.

"Do you know somewhere I can buy furniture?" He asked.

"There are a couple of estate sale places," Buffy offered. "If you don't mind potentially haunted or cursed stuff. We have a lot of estates that go to sale."

"I noticed," Harry served the offered breakfast on two plates.

"It's strange that people live here," Buffy said as she sat at the table.

"There are plenty of houses on the market for cheap," Harry offered. "It might have something to do with the ambient magic too."

"How?" Buffy asked.

"I told you why I'm here, didn't I?" He asked.

She nodded, "magical smoke-cloud thing."

"Basically," he said. "Some sorts of magic will protect itself. People without magical potential simply forget. They come face-to-face with a monster, demon, or whatever, and then their memories simply fade once they are safe. Their mind will adjusts the memories. A vampire becomes a crazed person."

"Does all magic do that?" Buffy asked. "I've never had an issue with it. My mom can see them too."

"You are magic," Harry shook his head. "I don't know what kind, but you are. Your mom, well, she probably has potential. Maybe she would have been a slayer when she was younger."

Buffy winced, "that's not something I want to think about."

"To answer your original question," Harry said. "Not all magic is the same. The kind around here was different enough to cover my signature. I would have to research if other places with this sort all have the memory altering effects."

Buffy nodded, "You said that before. Your 'magical signature' what is that?"

"Picture a candle," he said. "No, that's not right." Harry thought for a moment. "Forget the candle idea."

"Forgotten," Buffy said with a mock salute.

"Each person, creature, or nexus has their own signature," Harry said. "Kind of like different sorts of lights." He nodded to himself. "That works. Candles, lightbulbs, bonfires, and similar depending on the strength and source. Each person has a different brightness, color, and area. Sunnydale is a spotlight. I'm a lamp. Put me next to it and it will hide me without snuffing out my own light."

He paused to take a couple of bites. Frozen waffles were better than he had expected.

"Does that make sense?" He asked.

"I guess," she shrugged. "Why couldn't you hide with other lamps?"

"Like I said, different colors, brightness, coverage, and all that," Harry replied. "It's easy to find if you know what you're looking for."

Buffy finished off her waffles, "and here I thought I wouldn't be learning anything today."

"Still no school?" He asked.

"We have another meeting tomorrow," Buffy rolled her eyes. "The school board is stepping in to override the principal. I'll be back to class in a couple of days."

"I'll have to find something to do during the day," Harry said.

"You could come to school!" Buffy offered. "An exchange student is more interesting than a delinquent being un-expelled."

"Delinquent?" Harry asked with a smile.

"I'm a bad seed," she said with a casual nod.

"I have had enough school for quite a while," Harry shook his head. "There is no way you can get me to go back."

"What about lunch?" Buffy countered.

"Hm?"

Buffy perked up, "I'm taking lunch to Willow and Xander. You could come along."

"I wouldn't be intruding?" He asked.

Buffy shook her head, "nah, you can help me make it if you want."

"I see," Harry gave her a sly grin. "This was your plan all along. Bride me with breakfast for free help in the kitchen."

"I'll have you know I'm quite handy in the kitchen these days," Buffy replied. "I thought you might want the company."

"Thanks," he said, this time with a genuine smile. "I'd like that."

"I could show you the furniture place after too," Buffy added.

"Do you want some help preparing the food?" He offered.

"Sure," Buffy smiled.

~

Buffy and Harry moved in a comfortable silence around the kitchen preparing lunch. The Summers had stocked cupboards and was equipped with tools that were younger than he was. They gave each other plenty of space, making sure sharp objects were pointed away from soft spots. Harry used his magic when needed but preferred mundane methods when he had the option. It just felt right.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Buffy asked.

Harry looked over to her, "what?"

"Everything," she said shrugging.

"Trade the real reason why I ran away for why you did?" Harry offered.

She froze for a moment, "you might be one of the few people that would understand."

"I can go first," Harry offered.

Buffy nodded.

"It's like I said before," Harry said. "They wanted me to solve all their problems. I was the go-to answer for anything that was difficult. Crazed creature? Send in Harry. Dark Lord on the rise? Send in Harry. Rise of robberies in Nocturn Alley? Harry."

Buffy tensed. Harry could feel the frustration and anger rolling off of him. He paused to gather himself.

"I don't mind helping. If I'm honest, I like to do it," Harry said. "It's one of the reasons I held out for so long, but I was naïve to think things would actually change. The Dark Lord that killed me, there is more to it than that. He gave himself the name Voldemort."

"Voldemort?" Buffy asked. "That's odd, not scary."

"Welcome to the Magical World where common sense is rare and things haven't changed since the 1600s," Harry deadpanned.

Buffy grimaced.

"He almost conquered the country when I was a baby. Then he heard part of a prophecy that said I would kill him. Rather, it described a general idea of a person. He chose me. He killed my parents and tried to kill me. My parents did something to stop him. His curse hit me, but he was the one to die. That part of him at least. Skip through a traumatic childhood, and I find out I'm a wizard. Not only that, people have been raised to think that I'm next coming of Merlin. The next few years at Hogwarts, that's the name of the magical school, were a constant gauntlet of things trying to kill me. A giant dog three-headed god, a mountain, a professor possessed by the remnants of Voldemort, and that was my first year. It went like that for four years. Someone or something trying to kill me and everyone that should have helped just watching from a distance. Why fight a giant snake when you can let the twelve-year-old do it?"

"Twelve?" Buffy asked.

He nodded, "things got really bad when Voldemort came back. He used my blood in a ritual to give himself a new body. I tried to tell people. The Ministry decided that I was crazy and was just wanted more attention. I went from the Savior of the Wizarding World to an attention seeking parasite. Jump forward a year, I lost the closest thing I had to a dad, the Dark Lord was out for all to see, and now everyone wanted me to be the savior again." He let out a long, sigh. "It got worse. Voldemort and his people took over, I became number one on the most wanted list. I was on the run with my friends for a while. Memories of that time kind of blur together. We were half-starved, terrified, and jumping at shadows. Eventually, we won the war, which required my death. The good guys win; the bad guys get tossed in prison or executed. Things were looking up. Only the issues that caused Voldemort to gain power were still there. That brings us back to now. The people think I'm a hero again. Why would they need to fix the rampant corruption, classism, and drastically reduced population when Harry is here? He'll figure it out." He stopped when he realized he had finished slicing the veggie and had simply been cutting away at the same carrot until it was basically mush. "They wanted me to fix everything, to do everything, and just wait until they needed me again. It was time for them to actually handle things. That, or I would start plotting to conquer the country. If they wanted me to take care of everything, why not sit on the throne?"

Harry cleaned the mush from the cutting board. He waited for Buffy to say something. The silence stretched on until he chanced a glance at her. She was studying. Her expression was one he couldn't read.

"That's my story," Harry said finally.

Buffy took a breath, "I had to kill Angel… my boyfriend, first love, first… you know, to save the world. He told me he loved me, I told him I loved him, and then I stabbed him through the heart and sent him to hell. He lost his soul, turned evil, and was trying to open a portal to release a demon that would bring hell to earth. We found a spell that could give him his soul again, so that he would be good again. It worked, but it was too late. I had to kill him and sent his soul, his actual soul, to hell."

Harry set his hand, palm up, on the kitchen-island between them. Buffy shuffled for a moment before putting hers on top. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze but kept his grip loose in case she wanted to pull away.

"It wasn't just that," Buffy wiped tears from her eyes. "My mom found out I was the slayer. She didn't take it well. We fought. She told me to never come back if I left. I couldn't not go. I saw the demon that drove my boyfriends' body be banished, had to kill the man I love, loved anyway, and then I couldn't go home. Leaving made sense."

"And you can't tell them yet," Harry nodded. "Do you want some advice from someone who never listened to it?"

Buffy gave a single, teary laugh, "sure."

"Tell them," Harry said. "Like I said before, it will hurt, but it will only get worse if you wait. You'll push them away when they want to help, they'll get mad because you won't talk to them when they know something is wrong."

Buffy wiped her eyes, "advice you never took?"

"Oh, I completely ignored it," Harry said shaking his head. "Told them they didn't understand and that no one would understand. There was a lot of yelling. I think I may have destroyed a few things too. Strong emotions are potent fuel for magic."

Their talk was interrupted by a 'ding' from the oven.

"Cookies are ready," Buffy said.

~

"Buffy and food," Xander said as the four approached. "And Harry." He took a seat, crossing his legs and waiting for Cordelia. "Not that I'm not happy to see you."

"Are you here to register?" Willow asked perking up. "You're old enough to be a senior. Ooo, you and Buffy start at the same time."

"No, thank you," Harry shook his head. "I finished school in May. I'm not going back."

"What are you going to do?" Oz asked. "There isn't an abundance of options in Sunnydale."

"There's Sunnydale University," Willow offered. "You could enroll there. We're going there next year."

"I'll find something," Harry said.

Harry let them talk, simply enjoying watching the conversation. Seeing Willow get flustered was cute. The group talked about school, the upcoming meeting with the principal, and settled on dating potential.

"Hey, Buffy," an attractive guy said walking by.

"That's Scott Hope," Willow bumped Buffy's shoulder. "He likes you. He wanted to ask you out last year, but you weren't ready."

"Harry," Cordelia said drawing him into the conversation. "What are you going to do once you and Buffy are done?"

"Furniture shopping," Harry replied.

"Right!" The brunette smiled brightly. "Buffy said you bought a house."

"You bought a house?" Xander gawked at him. "How did you do that? You didn't kill the owner, did you? That's a viable strategy here."

"No," Harry laughed. "I paid for it. Places are pretty cheap around here. I donated most of the furniture and need replacements. Buffy mentioned something about estate sales."

"You have to be careful with those," Cordelia said with a serious tone in her voice. "My uncle lost a butler to one of those."

"How?" Xander asked.

"Vampires, duh," Cordelia rolled her eyes. "They get a bunch of people together to buy stuff for cheap, lock the doors, and get to biting." She paused. "Why haven't you done something about that, Buffy?"

"I didn't know about it," Buffy replied. "When did this happen? Where was it?"

"I don't know," Cordelia shrugged. "I've never met my uncle."

"That's helpful," Buffy groaned.

"Bronze tomorrow night?" Oz cut in before the conversation turned sour.

"Sounds good," Buffy nodded.

"You're invited too," Oz said to Harry.

"Thanks," Harry smiled. "It sounds interesting."

"They didn't have clubs in England?" Cordelia asked.

"I went to a boarding school in the middle of nowhere," Harry said. "Their were dorm parties on occasion, but I've never been to a club."

"Being a wizard sucks," Cordelia said.

The group scrambled to apologize for her.

"It does sometimes," Harry admitted. "You'd hate it."

"Why?" Cordelia asked.

"They would think you're dressed like a prostitute," he replied with a wry smile. "The latest fashion could pass for costuming for a Jane Austen movie."

"I love Pride and Prejudice," Willow chimed in.

"More of a Christmas Carol guy, myself," Oz added.

"Muppets?" Xander asked.

"Of course," Oz replied without missing a beat.

Harry set back and let the group talk. He didn't know how long their lunch break lasted. It was also nice to see Buffy relax a little. For a moment he could pretend that he was just another face in the crowd.

They continued to eat. Conversation swinging from jokes about Martha Stewart to the list of bands set to play at the Bronze as well as working more Muppet movies in for spice. All too soon the lunch break was over.

"I need to talk to Giles before we leave," Buffy said as they started to pack up.

"Mind if I tag along?" Harry asked.

The duo finished gathering the supplies before heading inside. Harry tried not to gawk at everything in the school. It was a completely different world to his own experience. Tiled floors, lockers, water fountains, and all things he honestly thought were used just in movies and television shows. It made him wonder if those red plastic cups were real too.

He stood outside the library, giving her some privacy.

"Um, hey," the same guy from the lunch break said. "You were with Buffy and her friends, right?"

"Yes," Harry replied.

"You're British," the guy said. "Are you related to Giles?"

Harry looked over his shoulder at the doors to the library. He was tired of the same question over and over.

"He's my father," Harry lied easily. "It took me years to track him down. Buffy's mom helped me find him, so she's showing me around."

"Wow, that's amazing," the guy sounded legitimately impressed. "So, you and Buffy aren't a thing?"

"No," Harry shook his head. "She's great, easy to talk to, kind of like a long-lost sister."

"That's good, that's good," the guy nodded.

"Could I give you some advice?" Harry asked.

"Sure," he nodded again, fast this time.

"She just got out of a long-term relationship," Harry said. "If you're interested in her, take your time. She needs some time to mourn. What do they say? One week of depression per month."

"Good to know, thanks," the guy said. "Put in a good word for me?"

"Willow already is," Harry chuckled.

"I'm ready," Buffy said as she stepped out of the library. "Oh, hi, Scott."

Scott, that was his name. He wasn't going to remember that.

"Hi, Buffy," Scott stood straighter. "I was just talking to Mister Giles' son."

Buffy looked from him to Harry. Scott seemed to catch on.

"You're not his son, are you?" He asked.

"Nope," Harry replied with a smile. "Friend of Buffy's family. Knew each other when we were little. Like I said, practically my sister."

"Right," Scott scrunched his brow. "I'm going to go now. Bye, Buffy."

Buffy led him back outside, "what was that about?"

"He asked if I was Giles' son," Harry shrugged. "It gets annoying."

"I get that," Buffy said. "I meant the sister thing."

"Oh," Harry shrugged. "Like Willow said, he's got a crush on you. I didn't want him to get the wrong idea."

Buffy stopped for a step, "thanks."

"No problem," Harry said. "Furniture?"

"Right," Buffy caught up to him. "Furniture… and possibly vampire slaying."

There was a grand total of zero vampires at the Estate Sale. What they did find was a lot of furniture and other items The name was Estate Sale to keep things simple. They walked away with a full house worth of furnishings, as well as a coffee machine still in its box and a new TV. Estate Sale had almost everything you could think of including knick-knacks, photo albums, and clothing. There was a small car lot behind the building as well. He was curious about driving, but not enough to buy a vehicle yet.

Once again, shrinking charms were amazing. It made getting things back to the house easier. He did feel a little silly arranging doll-house sized furniture in a full-size room. That night he slept on a real bed, not one that he had transfigured.