After That - 21 Plot Progression (Patreon)

Joyce let out a shuddering moan as Harry's tongue played along her lower lips. Her legs were up on his shoulders. She twitched and tensed around his head as he hit the right spots. Her thighs clenched on the sides of his head. Even then, her cries were hardly muffled.

She collapsed limp on the bed. Harry adjusted his position as he kept her legs on his shoulders. The angle was just right for the dome of his head to drift along her wet lips. Her hooded gaze smoldered as he slowly pushed inside.

Her perky breasts sported nipples that were rock-hard as her face was radiated bliss. Harry pushed further. Joyce's clenched his member as more inches of cock sunk deep into her cunt. His hips met Joyce’s plump arse with a resounding clap and Joyce pushed her face into his shoulder let out a muffled scream. He pulled back making Joyce moan at the sudden emptiness, then let out another muffled scream as he plunged straight back in.

Harry started to hammer her pussy. Her eyes were rolling up into the back of her skull. Her mouth hung open as she panted like a bitch in heat. She was utterly and entirely lost to bliss.

"I'm going…" Joyce managed to get out.

His entire length was buried inside her practically implanting his seed directly into her womb. Harry grunted. He swore his balls pulsed with each rope. Each time he pulsed, she let out a choked scream.

"Damn, Merlin," Faith said from the doorway. "You certainly don't mess around."

Joyce was too fuck drunk to even care about being caught. Harry chuckled.

"She's got a nice bod under all those mom-clothes," Faith noted.

Harry stood. Joyce was already dosing off. He covered her with the top sheet to give her some privacy. A quick, silent spell cleaned him off. On the downside, it was like being put in a magical dishwasher. It came with the sensation of a dozen jets of hot water covering him from the top of his head down.

"What's up?" Harry asked.

Faith motioned to the stairs, "Giles is here. He wants to talk to you."

"Oh," Harry said the word slowly. "Hopefully he didn't hear that."

"Merlin," Faith laughed. "The old lady across the street heard that."

Harry got dressed as he exited his bedroom. Magic helped as he went down the stairs. He found Giles standing in the kitchen with a cup of tea in front of him.

"Faith made you tea?" Harry asked.

Giles nodded, "I'm not sure if it is safe to drink."

"Let's see," Harry grabbed the cut and took a sip.

He picked up the cup, dumped it in the sink, then did the same to the entire pot. Giles let out a single chuckle.

"Are you here for business?" Harry asked.

Giles sighed, "Yes. There is something coming up. A test the Watchers put all Slayers through once they reach their eighteenth birthday." He paused. "It is a trial that she must complete on her own without her power."

"And you don't want me to step in," Harry stated.

Giles took off his glasses and polished them before putting them back on, "It is an important rite of passage."

"Why do I get the feeling you're trying to convince yourself?" Harry asked.

Giles clenched his fists, "Because it is a barbaric and needlessly dangerous trial that has no place in the modern world."

"I understand," Harry nodded. "Does she know about it?"

Giles shook his head.

"In that case," Harry stood. "No."

"No?" Giles asked.

"No," Harry repeated. "Either tell her so she can go into this with the knowledge she needs, or I stomp all over this 'important rite of passage' with a smile on my face."

Giles smiled, "As her Watcher I cannot allow you to interfere."

Harry raised his eyebrows. Giles leaned in.

"That is a shame," He continued as he stood. "It is out of my hands. All I can do is suggest she seek a friend for assistance."

Harry watched as Giles left. Faith leaned against the doorframe.

"What the fuck was that about?" She asked.

Harry smiled brightly at her, "Giles was asking for help."

"That didn't sound like asking for help," Faith countered.

"Trust me," Harry winked at her.

§

It was the next day when Buffy knocked on his door. Harry opened it then stepped aside to let her pass. She was visibly worried. In fact, her hands shook a little. She paced back and forth the entry hall. Harry simply waited.

"What's up?" Harry asked.

Buffy came to a stop, "I've lost my abilities. Can you help?"

"Follow me," Harry waved her as he walked upstairs to his potion room.

The nervous energy made her trek upstairs a little shaky. Her eyes scanned the house as though she was expecting something to jump out from the shadows.

"Where's Faith?" She asked.

"Nebraska," Harry replied.

"Nebraska?" Buffy came to a sudden stop at the top of the stairs. "Why is she in Nebraska?"

Harry shrugged, "She had business."

"You don't care?" Buffy asked.

Harry waved to her to follow him into his potions room, "Of course I care. She's my friend. She also has my phone number if she needs help."

"Oh," Buffy nodded. "She's still just your friend?"

Harry chucked, "Still?"

"You two have been together for a while," Buffy clarified.

"We're not together," Harry said. "She's my friend, my roommate, and sometimes we have sex." He started to scan the shelf of potions. "Ah, here. Take this."

Buffy looked at the potion, "There won't be any side-effects?"

"Oz was an outlier," Harry said. "He was a different kind of werewolf than the breed, for lack of a better word. This works on humans and human-like people. Goblins, elves, witches, wizards. You're fine."

Buffy shook her head, "Elves?"

Harry nodded.

"Like Santa's Elves?" Buffy asked.

Harry shook his head, "More like The Cobbler and the Elves."

She idly she took a drink of the potion as she processed the information. The taste brought her out of her thoughts.

"What is that?" Buffy shuddered.

Harry smiled broadly, "That is the version with the improved flavor."

"That's improved?" Buffy coughed. "It tastes like chicken soup that went bad."

"It used to taste like stewed dirty socks," Harry replied. "I can't tell you how long I've spent trying to get potions to be less offensive." He looked at the bottle. "You need to drink all of it."

Buffy plugged her nose and chugged it. The color in her face drained as she took a deep breath then let it out. She set the potion bottle down. The color in her face returned a moment later. She clenched her fist, feeling her strength returning.

"Thank you," Buffy whispered. "I felt helpless."

"You're not helpless, Buffy," Harry said. "The Slayer stuff is a bonus you're still you with or without them."

"That's sweet," Buffy gave him a tired smile. "It's not true, but sweet."

§

Giles arrived an hour later. Harry let him in before the man could knock.

"Thank you," Giles said softly. "They would have removed me as her Watcher if I had interfered."

Harry stared flatly at him, "Next time something like this happens." He held up his hand before Giles could argue. "We both know there will be."

Giles' shoulders sagged a little. He nodded.

"Next time," Harry continued. "Tell her. I don't care if the 'Watchers Council' say otherwise. You have a responsibility to her when you care for her as much as you do."

Giles took off his glasses and cleaned them before putting them back on, "Yes."

"If that is all," Harry chuckled. "We might have a couple of days before whatever crisis is next."

§

Faith burst through the front door like a force of nature. Harry looked up from the food on the stove.

"Faith?" He called.

"Merlin," Faith practically sprinted toward the sound of his voice.

She jumped into his arms when she saw it. Quite lucky to be caught considering Harry still had an oven mitt on one hand. She pressed her face into his neck and started to ramble. The words came out at speed mingling together in something close to language. He caught the word kill a few times.

"Faith," Harry rubbed her back. "I can't understand you."

She took a deep shuddering breath, "I killed a guy tonight."

"You do that a lot," Harry countered.

"No!" She jolted back to stand on her feet. "I kill vampires. I don't kill people!"

Harry nodded, "Oh, you killed a person." He paused. "First one?"

"First?" Faith stared at him for a moment. "What the fuck do you mean 'first one' Merlin?"

Harry sighed, "I was eleven the first time I killed someone. It was self-defense but I did kill him." He shrugged. "Everyone says the first kill is always the hardest. It was the second one for me."

"This isn't the same," Faith shook her head. "It wasn't a fight. He wasn't a threat. I thought he was a vampire, so I staked him."

Harry nodded, "Why did you think he was a vampire?"

"We were out on the hunt," Faith explained. "There were these cultist vampires. We were fighting through this alley. He grabbed Buffy. Then I staked him."

"Was he a vagrant or thug?" He asked.

Faith shook her head, "He was in a suit."

Harry paused.

"Let me get this straight," Harry said. "You were fighting cultist vampires in an alley, some guy in a suit grabs Buffy, and you stake him." He raised his eyebrows. "What was he doing there?"

"I don't know," Faith snapped. "It doesn't matter."

Harry held up a hand, "It does matter. We're not talking about some innocent bystander. You didn't run into him at noon in the park. Him being there means he was involved somehow. Not only that, he attacked Buffy. It's rough that you killed a human, but this doesn't add up."

Faith nodded. Her breathing started to slow.

"What do you think happened?" Faith asked.

"Who were you after?" Harry asked.

"These cultists," Faith answered. "They worship some big bad vamp. We were on the way to his hideout."

"Why in the name of Merlin's soggy taint was a guy in a suit was there?" Harry muttered. He turned back to the food and hit it with a stasis charm. "Take me there."

She nodded, the slight handle on the panic was starting to slip.

"I'll be right there," Harry said. "I know how to hide a body."

They moved through the streets at the speed of a nervous slayer, which is to say it was pretty fast. Faith motioned to the alley. Harry walked through the alley noting the scattered dust that vampires left behind until he came to where the body lay. The guy in the suit was propped against a dumpster.

Harry patted him down and found his wallet, "Allan Finch. Judging by his parking tickets, he worked for the city. Cash, credit cards, no family pictures." He noted. "Single puncture to the chest, pierced heart." He looked over his shoulder at Faith. "Good aim."

"Thanks," Faith said on instinct.

Harry sighed, "I hate this part."

"What?" Faith asked.

He didn't bother answering. Instead, he lifted his hand that wore the Resurrection Stone set into a new silver ring then placed it on the body. A shade of the man rose from the body.

"Who are you?" The ghost asked. "You killed me!"

Harry snapped his fingers, "Yeah, you're dead. You're dealing with me now. Why were you here?"

"I had to make sure the Slayers found the warehouse," Allan replied.

Harry narrowed his eyes, "Why?"

"The Mayor wanted them to deal with the cultists," The ghost answered.

He nodded, "It would make sense the mayor knows what's going on around town."

"He's a great man," Allan spoke with pride. "He's arranged everything this year for his ascension. One-hundred years of preparation has come to this."

"Explain," Harry ordered.

"He built this town on the Hellmouth," Allan explained. "The demon Lurconis promised him immortality. The Mayer is going to become a god."

"Now I'm worried for an entirely different reason," Harry muttered before he turned to look at Faith. "It sounds to me like you did good."

He snapped his fingers and the ghost vanished. A motioned to the corpse with his extended hand transfiguring it into a stone. It was kind of funny how well it worked on the dead. Transfiguring a live human was more complex than an animal. The slightest mistake could kill. Most dueling leagues didn't allow Transfiguration to be used directly against an opponent. The environment, their clothing, and pretty much anything else was fair game. Even a first year could turn a corpse into a stone. Hopefully there wouldn't be a situation where he would know for certain.

The body turned into a flat stone roughly the size of a Galleon. Harry pocketed it as he stood.

"We need to get this information to the others," Harry said.

Faith nodded. She stared at the pocket that held the stone.

"This isn't a bad thing," Harry said evenly. "It was a mistake, but this was a good thing."

Faith flinched at the words. She held his gaze for a moment before she nodded.

"Let's go," She said leading him out of the alley.

They walked in silence for a while. The jittery energy faded the farther they got from where the body had been.

"Eleven?" Faith finally broke the silence.

Harry nodded, "Professor was possessed by the shade of the wizard that killed my parents."

"Damn," Faith said. "You're an interesting guy, Merlin." She took a breath. "Thanks."

"No problem," Harry replied. "You're my friend."

She laughed, "It's like that saying!"

"What?" Harry asked.

"A true friend helps you hide the bodies," She giggled.

Harry knew that sort of giggle. It had the hint of all-encompassing panic. He reached into his expanded pockets and pulled out a potion.

"Calming draught," Harry said holding it out to her. "It will help."

Faith looked from the potion to him, "Are you trying to get me drunk, Merlin?"

"Getting drunk won't help right now," Harry didn't take the bait.

Faith snatched the potion and downed it.

"Not bad," She shrugged. "A bit tangy."

The extra edge in her movements eased a touch.

"Who was the second one?" Faith asked after another stretch of silence.

Harry thought for a moment, "I never knew their name."

"Died without a name, damn," Faith muttered. "Oh, fuck. Like I have room to talk."

"They sent a group of bounty hunters after me and my friends," Harry said. " We were in a Muggle café, and he didn't care about people getting caught in the cross-fire. That was my second and third kill."

"You were fighting," Faith argued. "That's not the same."

Harry raised his eyebrows, "You were fighting in an alley and he jumped you."

The library was empty when they got to the school. Signs of struggle. A scattering of ash across the floor pointed to vampires. Faith had mentioned cultists. It looked like they had grabbed Jiles and Wesley.

"It looks like we missed the party," Harry sat at one of the tables. "You and Buffy were heading to a warehouse?"

Faith nodded, "We were trying to find this vamp hiding in the area."

"They must have run into all that," Harry sighed. "They'll get back sooner or later."

"We're just going to wait?" Faith asked.

Harry transfigured the table into a large, plush couch. He took a seat and patted the cushion next to him. Faith lingered for a moment before she joined him. She tucked her head on his shoulder. Her breathing slowed and evened out less than a minute later.

He conjured a book from the nearby table. Someone had left it out while studying. Naturally, it was something about demons. He was a few pages in when he felt something shift. It wasn't a physical sensation. He could feel that someone had altered the nature of life and death. Harry found he had a connection once he had all three Hallows. It was one of the reasons the Resurrection Stone worked so well for him. He had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with the Mayor and whatever the Ascencion was.

Harry shook his head. This had turned into one of those 'working vacations' he heard so many muggle businessmen brag about.

Giles and Buffy showed up a few minutes later. Buffy froze when she saw Faith next to him.

"We need to talk," Harry said before they could speak.