After That - 10 (Patreon)

"Harry," Giles greeted as the wizard in question walked into the library. "What brings you here? I don't suppose this is a social visit."

Harry shook his head, "no, I wouldn't be opposed. I was wondering if you could provide assistance with training."

"What sort of training?" Giles asked.

"Fighting," he replied simply. "I rarely had to worry about getting punched or kicked while fighting other magic users."

Giles gave a small chuckle, "quite. I don't suppose you would. Why me?"

"You know how to train a Slayer," Harry replied. "Classes at the local gym won't prepare me for the sort of creatures around here."

"True," Giles took off his glasses and idly cleaned them in thought. "I am still waiting for the Watchers Council to contact me. Do you have plans for this afternoon? We can get started here with the supplies I have on hand."

"That would be great," Harry replied with a smile. "I've already done my errands for the day. Do you need any assistance around here?"

"I didn't take you for a scholar," Giles commented.

Harry chuckled, "I've learned that knowledge is important in my line of work. Plus, my friend will undoubtedly question me about the various books you have on the supernatural. She would probably show up within the week if I mentioned you work as a librarian."

"In that case," Giles pushed a loaded book cart out into the main area. "Are you familiar with the Dewy Decimal System?"

"I can learn," Harry replied.

Harry caught on rather quickly. The system was a lot simpler than the chaos of the library at Hogwarts. He was surprised by the sheer variety in the library considering the size. Fiction, mundane non-fiction, and supernatural texts lined the shelves. There were more books on demons and ritual magic that he had expected.

He hadn't given much thought to demons before. There had only been one 'dark lord' that he had to put down in Sweden that dabbled in demonic forces. He knew they existed, it was just that people didn't bother dealing with them. They were too finicky and had the tendency to push their own goals instead of whatever they were summoned to do.

"Who are you? Mister Giles, who is this?" A short, balding man with a sharp voice barged into the library. "You're not a student. Why are you here?"

Harry put on his best 'public relations' smile that he used when he had to speak with anyone in the Ministry. He offered the man his hand to shake.

"Hello," he said channeling his memories of Hermione. "Harry, I'm here visiting my uncle. I begged him to let me get these books sorted. Don't think bad of me, but I must put things in correct order when I see them."

The man narrowed his eyes, studying Harry for a long moment, "your uncle?"

"Yes," Harry nodded. "Uncle Rupert, your Mister Giles. On my mother's side."

"Those are school property, for students and staff only," the shorter man snatched the book out of Harry's grasp. "There is a library open to the public downtown. Any visitors are to report to the office to register before setting foot on school grounds."

Harry flinched at the words, "my apologies, sir. I had no intent on breaking the rules. Please, point me to the head office and I will go there at once."

"Down the hall, take a left, and it's the room directly ahead," the man seemed to ease ever so slightly.

Harry nodded, "thank you, sir."

He left the library and followed the directions.

"Harry!" Willow called. "What are you doing here?"

Harry dropped the act, "I wanted to speak with Giles."

"Did you have tea?" She asked with a cute little smile.

Harry chuckled, "no. I fell in love with coffee during a stay in France." He paused. "It could have had something to do with the company."

The memories of visiting the Delacour Vineyards played in his mind. Gabrielle did her best to convince him that she was old enough for him, but he didn't buy her prepared story about Veela and maturity. He had become good enough friends with Fleur to know the truth of things. She wasn't there are the time of the visit, as she was pregnant with her second child. The Delacour's had taken him to visit the Veela Sanctuary to introduce him to Fleur and Gabrielle's grandmother. It turned out that full Veela aged even slower than witches, they also were quite spry. Harry had spent nearly a week being introduced to the extended family. He had left sore, dehydrated, and potentially a father.

He made a mental note to send a letter to check up on that.

"Oh," she honestly seemed disappointed. "So… what are you doing here then?"

He rolled his eyes, "I was informed that I need to sign in at the main office before I visit."

"You met Snyder," she nodded knowingly. "He's the principal. It's lucky he didn't see you with Buffy. He hates Buffy."

Harry sighed, "there's always someone like that around."

"I'm on the way to the library," she announced. "There's a book I want to check out. You know, from the library."

He nodded, "that's a good place to do so."

"Bye," she waved at him as she hurried off.

Harry smiled as he watched her. He returned to his trek to the main office once she entered the library proper. The school was bigger than he thought. It was two levels, but even then it was maybe half of the size of the ground floor of Hogwarts. A bored woman. Her age was hard to tell considering she had a permanent frown plastered on her face. She was dressed in what he had come to learn was standard business casual.

The woman perked up at his approach.

"I need to sign in as a visitor," he said with a gentle smile.

"A visitor?" Her voice had a rough edge to it, but not unpleasantly so. "Who are you visiting?"

"My uncle," he continued the lie from earlier. "Rupert Giles. He's the librarian."

"Mister Giles," the expression on her face flickered ever so slightly. "He's an interesting one."

Harry furrowed his brow, "Uncle Rupert, interesting?" He paused as though thinking. "Right, Americans are still surprised by vampires."

"Vampires? I have no idea what you-" The woman forced a laugh. "Wait, still surprised? What does that mean?"

Harry placed a hand on his chest, "I didn't mean to be rude. It's just… vampires? They are pests. We've been dealing with them for at least two-hundred years now."

"And that doesn't bother you?" She asked.

He shook his head, "the Ancient Druids, Warlocks, and being possessed by lost souls is much more of an issue."

The woman stared at him for a long moment. She blinked a couple of times, as though her brain was in the process of restarting.

"Sign here," she said pushing a clipboard closer to him. "Come back to the office to sign out if you leave before school gets out."

"Thank you," Harry said.

He was able to hold in his laughter until he made it to the main hallway. Not the most creative bit of mischief he'd come up with, but he didn't want to cause too much trouble for Giles. Honestly, anyone in this town that did not acknowledge the supernatural dangers in Sunnydale was setting themselves up as a free meal. He had very little sympathy for purposely ignorant people after dealing with the Ministry during the rise of Voldemort.

Harry returned to the library and tried not to roll his eyes as Principal Snyder tried to badger Giles. Willow waited at the counter with her book selection. She smiled at him as he walked by. Harry took a seat at one of the tables to wait.

~

Giles led Harry out to his car. It was nice, well maintained, and clean aside from the stacks of books in the backseat.

"I didn't think anyone in this town owned a vehicle," Harry chuckled.

Giles gave a polite laugh, "yes. Well, you've been spending your time surrounded by teenagers." He paused. "So have I."

"I've been told that I'm remarkably mature for my age," Harry said with a smile.

Giles sighed as he started the car. Much to Harry's surprise Sex Pistols Anarchy in the UK started playing on the radio. Giles moved faster than Harry expected, pausing the CD, and flipping it over to an FM channel.

"I wasn't complaining," Harry said.

The rest of the drive was silent aside from the classical music that filled the car. Harry could see Giles' hands twitch toward the CD player out of habit. They got out of the car; Giles led them around to the back of the house. Harry raised his eyebrows in question.

"I had a training room built for Buffy once I arrived in Sunnydale," Giles explained. "It hasn't seen much use. Our training is mostly carried out in the library. You would be surprised at how much activity takes place around the school."

Harry let out a dry laugh, "not as surprised as you would think."

There was an attached addition to the house that was one part greenhouse, one part shed. It stood out among the rest of the neighborhood with their open backyards and detached garages.

"It is considered part of the home when connected," Giles explained. "The rules that hold a vampire are tricky at times. They would not be able to enter a detached garage," he motioned to his neighbor. "A shed in the backyard is fair game."

Harry nodded, "I will keep that in mind."

Giles unlocked the door and led Harry inside. He raised his eyebrows as he turned to look at the Watcher. This was not some forgotten backyard gym. It was well-lit, filled with professional level equipment that put his home-gym to shame, and even had an open sparring area. There was a stack of folded towels, a hamper with a few recently used ones, as well as an array of weapons.

"I try to keep in shape as well," Giles said casually. "In case the call for action arises."

Harry gave him an appreciative grin.

"I will need to assess your current ability level before I can give you a proper plan. Let me change into my work-out clothes, then we can get started," Giles said. "Are you able to move well in those?"

Harry nodded. His outfit was magical though they were made to look muggle. They were stretchy, self-cleaning, self-repairing, and temperature controlled. He didn't have to wait long. Giles returned dressed in a white t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. The most interesting piece of his outfit was the shoes. Harry didn't pay much attention to fashion trends, but he could recognize premium footwear. The Nike swoosh was one even he knew.

"I have an extra shirt if you would like to change," Giles offered.

Harry shook his head, "thank you, no."

"Do you know how to wrap your knuckles?" Giles asked.

"No," Harry replied.

Giles motioned him over. He then explained the steps as he wrapped Harry's knuckles in tape. Giles then repeated the process on his own hands while narrating the steps once more. Instead of the weights and machines, he led Harry over to the sparring area.

"Let me see your stance," Giles said.

Harry shuffled his feet to shoulder-width and held his hands up in front of him in his best impression of a boxing stance. Giles studied him for a moment, waiting for something.

"While it's not a good idea to use a standard stance in the field, a good foundation is important," Giles explained. "Mirror my stance."

Giles shifted to an angled stance with his hands up just below his chin.

"This is a good base," Giles said. "If you have time to 'square up' as they say, it's good enough to pass. From this position you can throw a punch, potentially block one, and move with decent speed without tripping over your own feet."

Harry adjusted his footing to copy Giles.

"Show me how you make a fist," Giles ordered.

He did.

"Not bad," the older man nodded. "Now punch me."

Harry blinked, "pardon?"

"Punch me," Giles repeated.

Harry shrugged and did so. He had always been fast, as such, his punch was a good speed as well. Giles easily dodged the strike. Harry grunted as a fist connected with his stomach. He let out a grunt at the contact, but he had been hit harder.

"Your aim isn't bad and you have decent speed," Giles said. "I didn't tell you I would be fighting back. Though you should expect it regardless."

Harry nodded.

"Let's work on your form, at half-speed, then we will move on to a full spar," Giles said.

~

Harry got back to his feet. They had been sparring for about a while now. It had only been in the last ten minutes that it had changed to full speed. That was plenty of time for Giles to knock him on his ass a few times. The Watcher took a few minutes to explain how it had happened before they started sparring once more. Giles had tossed him onto the ground with a sharp twist, swept his feet out from under him, and sent him to the floor with a well-aimed punch to the chin.

"Not a bad start," Giles commented. "You can take a punch, which is always a plus. You're fast and you're creative."

Harry chuckled, "I'm not getting a black belt then?"

"Quite," Giles gave a small smile in reply. "I believe I have enough to set a routine for you."

"Thank you," Harry said. "Would it be up for continuing these lessons as well?"

"I could work something into my schedule," Giles nodded.

Giles walked him through a workout rotation. He made sure to explain each one as well, the muscle group it targeted, the best line-up to avoid unnecessary strain, and which ones he could skip if the others weren't available. His daily runs, and aerobic encounters with Faith, kept his cardio in good standing.

Their time was interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing. Giles excused himself to answer it. He came back a few minutes later with his brow furrowed in frustration.

"What happened?" Harry asked.

Giles let out a heavy sigh, "Buffy and Faith encountered a vampire by the name of Kakistos. He was the one that killed Faith's Watcher."

"Are they ok? Do they need help?" Harry asked as the fatigue from earlier vanished in a flood of adrenaline.

Giles nodded, "yes, they managed to slay him."

"I thought her Watcher was at a retreat," Harry said after a moment of thought.

Giles sighed, "as did we. In truth, her Watcher was killed in front of her. She fled here, in what I presume was a bid for assistance. Either her pride wouldn't allow her to ask, or she was afraid we would turn her away."

"I should get home then," Harry said. "I'll check in on her."

Giles nodded, "good idea."

~

Harry found scattered ashes in his yard, a broken pot on the porch, and knife deep in the side of his house.

"Faith?" Harry called as he stepped inside.

A soft gasp from the kitchen answered him.

Faith cleared her throat, "in here."

Harry entered the kitchen to see her sitting on the counter, eating some ice cream out of a tub using a spatula as a spoon. Her eyes were red and puffy while hastily smeared streaks of dark make-up marked her cheeks. Instead, he walked over to the utensil drawer and got his own spatula, then hopped onto the counter beside her.

"Where did you get the ice cream?" Harry asked.

"Buffy's mom," she replied.

"Remind me to thank her," Harry said.

Faith paused and studied him for a moment, "you've got a bruise on your cheek."

"I was sparring with Giles," He answered. "He's got a mean left."

They ate the ice cream in silence.

"Can I sleep with you tonight?" Faith asked after a few bites.

Harry nodded, "sure, you don't snore that loud."

"I don't snore," Faith snapped.

Harry didn't say anything, simply stealing a bite of ice cream from her spatula in reply.

"Fucker," she said with a laugh.