After That - 20 (Patreon)

Cordelia didn't know how to act around Faith now that she and Harry had slept together. It melted her brain with how at-ease the slayer was with the entire situation. Luckily for her, she was rescued by her family skiing trip. Faith thought it was hilarious. Sunnydale being Sunnydale, the respite didn't last long.

Faith didn't let on how upset the holidays made her, but the signs were there. She was constantly out hunting until sunrise. Harry would hear her stumble in, stomp up the stairs, and pass out. Sometimes she even made it to the bed. Harry would float her onto the mattress the times that she wasn't lucky. On really hard days, he would hit her with a couple of cleaning charms as well. He didn't press her for details. Faith was like a stray cat, trying too hard would push her away fast.

It was a couple of days before Christmas when there was a knock at the door. Harry opened it to see Angel pacing back and forth on the porch.

"Harry," Angel turned to face him.

The vampire had always been good at brooding, but this was on an entirely different level. He wasn't sure if vampires actually slept. Their slumber during daytime seemed to be a choice for the older or more powerful ones.

"I need your help," He said coming to a stop at an invisible barrier in the doorway.

Harry watched the vampire rebound, "I wondered how that would work."

"You have to invite me in," Angel clarified.

Harry nodded, "Come in."

He stepped aside to let Angel inside.

"I thought you would put up more of an argument," Angel said as he started to pace around the living room.

A vampire in the living room. The thought made Harry smile to himself.

"I'm not worried about vampires," Harry replied. "What brings you here?"

"It was you or Giles," Angel answered.

Harry didn't know all of the details of what Angelus did to the Watcher. From what Buffy told him, which was a compressed version, it was rather rough.

"Good choice," Harry chuckled.

Angel turned toward him to speak. The vampire froze in a way that only dead things can, his already pale skin lost its remaining color. Harry felt a tingle of magic along the back of his neck. He snapped to the side, snatching a wisp of enchantment as it swirled through the air.

"You can see her?" Angel gasped.

Harry studied the magic as it struggled in his grasp, "Her? This isn't a her. This is a curse." He squinted at the desperate swirl of the spell. "It's a nasty one too." He looked at Angel. "Have you been haunted by the Ghosts of Christmas past?"

Angel nodded.

"This isn't something I would use," Harry clicked his tongue. "Sloppy work, honestly."

"Can you figure out who is doing this?" Angel asked. "It wants me to kill Buffy."

Harry rolled his eyes, "You'd think they would come up with a new plan by now."

"What do you mean?" Angel asked.

Harry clenched his fist, snuffing out the struggling curse, "You killing Buffy. It's been done. You literally climbed out of hell to see her again. A curse like that doesn't stand a chance."

"If only I can get the others to understand," Angel grumbled.

Harry shrugged, "From what I have been told you were an evil bastard with the demon driving."

Angel sighed as he nodded.

"Can you track it?" Angel asked.

Harry closed his eyes. When he opened them again they shined with an emerald light bright enough to make the vampire flinch. The enchantment hung off of Angel like a cloud of funk. It trailed out of the house. Harry followed it outside. He could easily make out the path that Angel had taken to get here. Harry wasn't going to mention the multiple loops around Buffy's house.

More importantly, a stronger thread drifted in from somewhere deeper in the town.

"Yes," Harry nodded. "Do you want to come along?"

"Is that wise?" Angel asked. "The curse could get stronger if I get closer."

Harry shrugged, "Your call. If you'll excuse me."

He walked down the sidewalk without a care even though it was a couple of hours after sunset. The trail took him through town along the edge. It stayed close to the older side of the residential area. Finally, he came to a Christmas Tree lot. The spell was stronger now, practically covering the area with a pillar of magic bursting from underground in a cluster of dead trees.

"Oh, Harry!" Joyce called. "It's nice to see you out."

Harry smiled as he turned toward her voice, "Hello, Joyce. When was the last time we spoke?"

"The chocolate, I think," Joyce blushed.

Harry cocked his head to the side, "I don't remember much about it."

"Lucky for you," She muttered. "Are you looking for a tree?"

Harry shook his head, "Business, not pleasure."

"Oh," Joyce replied. "Does Buffy know?"

"Does Buffy know what?" The slayer asked as she joined the conversation. "Hey, Harry. What are you doing here?"

"Buffy," Harry smiled at her. "I'm helping a friend of yours."

Her brow furrowed.

"I'll tell you once I'm done," Harry added. "Shouldn't take long."

"Do you need help?" Buffy asked.

He shook his head, "Spend some time with your mom. I'll be finished in a couple minutes."

Harry moved through the tree until he came to a cluster of dead ones. The sound of his footsteps changed from compressed dirt to a square of wood. It was covered in the ground cover around the area well enough to hide it from sight. He took a step off of the wood slat. It flipped up on an unseen hinge to expose an open pit without him moving his hands or drawing his wand. Technically, wandless magic didn't require any sort of movement when it was done at a competent level. Using a hand to recreate the wand motion was a crutch just like calling out the spell. It was a choice of personal style rather than requirement.

He dropped into the hole to find a circle of cloaked figures. Dark cults all had the same tailor regardless of continent. They had covered the entire space with sigils, runes, and Latin phrases. The raised alter in the center of the space was the most important to their operation.

A pulse of magic with Harry at the epicenter spread to cover the area. The various sigils, runes, and phrases vanished a moment before the alter collapsed into a pile of dirt and gravel. He usually liked to have a bit of panache when dealing with issues like this, but he wanted to get this done before it got worse. Plus, dead men told no tales.

Harry moved his gaze from one cultist to another. Each one burst into a cloud of ash before he moved to the next. The entire encounter took less time than following the curses trail. Its miasma vanished once the altar and cultists were gone.

He kicked off the ground, flying through the hole. Buffy scrunched her brow at his sudden return. Joyce opened her mouth to speak. Harry held up a finger to motion her to wait. The stretch of dead trees collapsed, filling the chamber and creating a depression in the lot.

"All done," Harry said once the dust had settled.

He was completely free of dust unlike everything else, aside from Joyce and Buffy.

"WHAT DID YOU DO!?" The tree salesman rushed over to him. "That was like ten trees! You owe me for each one."

Harry sighed, "There was a cult using dark magic. I can go back down there and have them get started again if you're that eager to feed your soul a horde of demons."

The color drained from salesman's face, "Never mind. Merry Christmas."

"Same to you," Harry replied before turning back to Joyce and Buffy.

"Should we be worried about a horde of soul eating demons?" Joyce asked.

Harry chuckled, "No. I just didn't want to deal with him. Do you have plans for the holiday?"

"A small family thing," Joyce answered. "We were going to invite you and Faith."

Harry smiled, "That's sweet. I'll pass the invite along to Faith. She'll come along at the last minute. I will be there. Do you want me to bring anything? Eggnog, cookies, or hot cocoa?"

"No more magical food for me," Joyce shook her head.

Harry chuckled, "Fair enough. I'll bake some cookies. No magic included."

§

The rest of the holiday was pleasant. He joined the Summers Christmas gathering along with Faith. The gifts were received rather well. He got a collection of gifts from his friends back home as well. A downside of getting older was that the presents started to get boring after a few years. Sure, getting some new socks was nice, but so was a miniature broom that orbited his head chasing a snitch.

Hermione sent him a book on flying traditions from Australian. Ron and the Twins gave him a box of chocolates that made whoever eat it speak in a different language. Fluency and literacy were not included. Molly, Arthur, and Teddy sent Christmas cookies along with the annual sweater. Luna sent him a tiny umbrella used to decorate drinks. The most unexpected gift came from Neville; it was a catalogue to build a custom broom with a selection of rare wood and enhanced with various plants. Greengrass sent him a small journal with some of her notes on the potion progression. It was a copy, of course, but it was still amazing. Tonks sent him tickets for a top box at an international dueling competition held in a freshly constructed arena. That was underhanded. She knew how much he loved dueling these days. There were so many little tricks that he didn't know that he could learn from watching. Stepping foot on that island would effectively end his vacation. He wouldn't make it halfway through the first match before he had a stack of 'requests' from the DMLE.

The gifts from the locals were where the fun stuff started. Giles gave him an artifact that acted as a compass for magical nexus. Buffy and Joyce got him a selection of quality coffee. Willow got him a book of witchcraft written by someone named Silver Ravenwolf. It was hilarious. Xander gave him a pocketknife showing he was just as confused when it came to gifts. Oz got him a couple of CDs of music that he needed to hear before he died. Harry wasn't expecting a gift from Faith. Her present was expertly wrapped with care that she would never admit. She got him a set of quality kitchen knives.

It didn't take long for life to return to normal. New Years came and went with the standard issues with vampires and random beasties. Faith went on a couple of her solo trips at random times.

~

Harry hurried downstairs to answer the front door. He opened it to find Joyce waiting for him. Her eyes went wide as she devoured the sight of him. It took him a moment to remember he had stripped off his shirt while working on the potion. The room couldn't be cooled by anything more than a fan. Even then he had to be very careful to avoid inadvertently ruining something. He needed to control the situation as much as he could. This meant that the room was incredibly hot. The ingredients were stored in special containers that kept them at the perfect temperature. That enchantment did not reach the rest of the room.

Her eyes devoured every curve of his muscled torso. She stared at him in silence as she noticed the various scars along his body. Joyce took a breath that had a slight shudder to it. She blinked a few times before coming back to her senses.

"I wanted to ask if you had anything to do with the two children found dead in the local park," Her words had a hard edge to it that went beyond her 'mom' voice.

Harry raised his eyebrows, then looked at her with more focus. There was a storm of demonic magic covering her eyes and ears. He was annoyed that he could recognized demonic magic on sight these days. Harry needed a vacation from his vacation.

"Joyce," Harry spoke evenly. "Do you trust me?"

She took a short step back, "Why?"

"I would never, never hurt a child," Harry stated. "Did I ever tell you what I did for work?"

"Buffy mentioned something about the government," Joyce answered.

Harry nodded, "Close. I was in law enforcement, usually on an international scale. My job is to stop evil wizards and witches. I have destroyed dark lords, wild creatures, and doomsday cults across the world."

"Oh," Joyce gulped. "Is that how you got all those scars?"

He looked down at his exposed torso, "I could tell you the story to each one."

Joyce nodded as she stepped into the house.

"One second," Harry reached toward her. "You have a stray hair."

Harry tucked a strand behind her ear. He took the chance to grab the demonic magic around her. It took more effort than expected to remove it. The magic had time to settle. Joyce stumbled into him as it finally snapped.

Her arms pinwheeled as she lost her balance. He moved closer to her to keep her steady. Her cheeks went bright red when she realized her hands groped his chest. She let out a shuddering breath as she adjusted to properly stand.

"I can't stay," She whispered as she looked into his eyes.

Harry gave her a roughish smile, "I never said you had to stay."

He pulled her in and placed a kiss on her lips. It slowly grew into something deeper. She pulled away to get some more air.

"I'm old enough to be your mother," Joyce whispered.

Harry chuckled, "Are you telling me or yourself?"

"I…" Her voice couldn't form any words.

Harry scooped her off her feet and carried her up the stairs to his room. He paused every so often to kiss her good enough to set her head spinning. It seemed to take forever to get to his bedroom.

Joyce met him halfway. Their lips met in a tentative kiss. It sent lightning bolts along her spine. She leaned into his chest and tilted her head upwards towards his face. She wrapped her arms slowly around his neck and pulled him gently downwards. She breathed in sharply before she closed the distance between their lips. It was like her entire body was flooded with warmth from the point of contact.

Her hands snaked up along the front of his body under his shirt and across the skin that she had been hungry for since he arrived. She pushed him down and shifted so she was straddling his midsection and pushed her tongue against his lips demanding entrance.

Harry's magic reacted first by rushing toward her and made her moan as it activated every nerve along her body. His hands wrapped around her so that one was planted in the small of her back while the other wound through her hair, so she was pulled further into their kiss. All higher thoughts stopped as soon as his tongue flicked out and made contact with hers.

While she was frozen, Harry took the initiative to roll them so that she was laying on her back with him between her legs. He took charge, grinding his hardening cock into her warmth. Even with the clothing in the way It sent her over the edge. He pulled back to watch her face as her orgasm overtook her.

His hand gripped her hair again. She felt a wave of his magic flow across her skin until it had touched every part of her. Joyce looked down at herself as best as possible and realized that she was completely naked. Somehow, he had silently stripped both of them with use of his magic.

He kissed and nibbled along her jawline before traveling down her neck. Each kiss lit her skin up like fire and elicited pleasurable moans to escape from her. While his mouth teased her by staying away from her hungry mouth, his other hand snaked up to her side so that if rested just under the swell of her chest.

Harry looked up at her with a roguish smirk that made her shudder. His fingers sank into the soft flesh while his thumb circled her areole before attacking her nipple directly. His mouth descended onto the other, kissing and licking away at her frantically. He alternated his approach, so he pinched one nipple while giving the other a light nibble and sent Joyce into a sneaky climax. Her back arched and her head was starting to swim.

Joyce looked down to see what he was working with down there and gasped. His hard, throbbing flesh plunged into her gushing pussy. Joyce just felt another flood of magic come off of Harry and rack her body with another orgasm. She rode it out while Harry allowed her time to adjust. He admired her quivering form beneath him while her walls while her continuously gripped his dick.

Then he started to move. A simple back and forth had his cock shaping her pussy, often retreating till only its bulbous head remained sheathed in Joyce before it was thrust back in somehow deeper than before. Harry continued to do this, pounding away at the woman till his entire length was entering her with each thrust of his hips. Joyce was locked in place by Harry's hands and the fact that her legs had wrapped around him on their own. Her mouth was stuck in a silent scream. Her mind was overpowered with explosions of pleasure. She had lost count of how many orgasms Harry had given her since he entered her or if it was a single continuous climax.

Wet, messy sounds echoed around the room as his cock plunged into her cunt. She lay limp on the bed, barely conscious and covered in sweat. Harry had kept a steady pace, pounding away at her, driving her mind deeper and deeper in a fog of pleasure. He let out a growl and picked up his pace. A series of quick, hard thrusts announced his end.

Harry leaned down and captured her lips before he thrusted once last time. His entire cock was sheathed in her as far as it could go, and he released his load of cum directly into her womb. Stream after stream of seed filled and she felt the warmth flood her insides. Harry remained completely buried inside of her through it all. She swore he came so much that her belly should have swelled from it. Yet her stomach was still flat when she looked down.

Joyce went boneless.

"Why were you visiting again?" Harry asked.

Joyce took a couple of breaths to stabilize her thoughts, "I don't know. It was important when I got here. It's blurry now."

"You were cursed when you got here," Harry explained. "I'll look into it."

Joyce patted his chest, "Thank you." She sighed. "I guess I have a type."

"A type?" Harry asked.

He hadn't seen any other young men around her house, so it wasn't that. There weren't wizards in the area either. The only thing left was…

"Giles?" Harry asked.

She blushed, tucking her face into his chest, "Yes. It was a mistake. A one-time thing."

"When?" He asked.

"The chocolate," Joyce answered. "On the hood of a police car."

Harry smiled as he shook his head, "Did you want this to be a one-time thing?"

"You don't?" She asked. "I'm old. You've got a selection of young things walking around."

"It can be a one-time thing if it makes you uncomfortable," Harry soothed. "It can be a one-time thing repeatedly too."

She gave him a dirty look without any fire.

"We can talk more later, or pretend this didn't happen," Harry got to his feet. "It's your call. For what it's worth, I enjoyed myself and would like to do this again."

"Where are you going?" Joyce sat up.

The motion did wonderful things for her breasts. Harry had to shake his head to get his brain to function again.

"Which park was it?" Harry asked.

§

Harry started at the local park. The residual magic had faded, but the imprint was still there. Like all things in Sunnydale, it was demonic and messed with the cognitive functions of adults. The demons in this place really needed a new playbook.

It took a couple of hours to track down the kids. The trail was confusing as it focused on the residential areas of the town. Each house along the street had been visited by the demon. He had figured out it was a single entity using a glamour to look like two after the first house. The kids weren't dead; they were the demon.

He caught up to them at the end of the street. It was a cul-de-sac and they would have to walk by him to get to the next row of houses. Harry sighed as their image flickered the closer they got. The actual creature was at least eight-foot tall, muscular, and had a mouth full of fangs.

Harry could see the thick lines of magic that radiated from the creature. This was something he needed to handle before it got worse. It had the potential to snowball into a situation that could tear apart a town. There were a few spells that were universally powerful enough to handle just about everything.

He pointed at the creature, "Fiendfyre."

A compressed spear of fire launched through the air. It crashed into the creature. There were only a couple of spells that he felt the need to use motions and the incantations. Fiendfyre required focus to keep controlled. He was able to dominate the spell without issue.

The creature screeched as the fire consumed it. Harry watched as the haze from the accompanied curse disappeared.

Today was a good day.