Chapter 1

Author: Chess

Email: duchess_drambuie@yahoo.com

Rating: FR15, maybe 18 at the very most.

Pairing: Xander/Ron (they’re getting there)

Summary: Sequel to Rosene. Xander went to Hogwarts and came out the other side. What happens next?

Spoilers: Um…Harry Potter up to Order of the Phoenix. Post-Chosen Buffy, and a very AU Angel Season 5.

Disclaimer: The characters are the property of Joss Whedon, JK Rowling, Mutant Enemy, David Greenwalt, Kuzui, Sandollar, and whoever else might have a hold upon them. The situation is wholly mine, and I did not mean to infringe on any copyrights.

Notes: This story works on the assumption that Xander is 22 and Ron has recently turned 18 – well and truly legal age where I come from (for just about everything, actually). Once again, any messes: tell me and I’ll fix them. Also, English spelling here, people. We use ‘s’ instead of ‘z’, and we’re still fond of the letter ‘u’.



The summer was only three weeks old when Giles arrived at the Burrow. He had driven out from London, and reached the house just before lunch. The friendly red-haired woman in the kitchen directed him to a field out the back, and it took him several moments to accept what he was seeing. People were actually flying on broomsticks. He took a few steps onto the field, eyes fixed on the sky in wonder, when he was brought back to earth by a chuckle from behind him.

“It’s pretty damn cool, isn’t it, G-man?” Xander’s broom leant beside him, and he was perched on the top of the stone wall surrounding the field. He hopped off long enough to give Giles a hug, and then gestured for the older man to sit beside him.

“How are…Xander, your eye! That really is amazing.”

“That’s magic for you,” Xander replied with a grin. “I thought I told you about in my last email.”

“Yes, but it’s another thing to see it in person. Well, as I was saying, how have you been?”

“Good, I’m good. It’s great here.”

“I’m glad to hear it. I think we’ve all deserved our vacations.” Giles returned Xander’s grin. He hadn’t seen the younger man look so relaxed in a long time.

“Oh, hell yeah. Um, about that, can I ask why you’re here? Not that I don’t appreciate the visit…” Xander raised an eyebrow at Giles.

“Yes, there are things we need to discuss. Nothing too awful, I promise. Will you have time today?”

“Yeah, but probably not right now. They’ll be down soon. As far as I can tell, the match is nearly over. Then again, I’ve only been playing this game for the past few weeks, so who knows?”

Sure enough, within a few minutes, the group began dropping from the sky like flies. Very noisy, excited flies.

“Nice innings, guys.”

“It’s not played in innings, Xander,” Harry said, rolling his eyes.

“Right. So, who won?” Xander grinned. He knew exactly what had happened in the game – he’d watched every minute of it. He also knew the game wasn’t played in innings. But it was funny seeing Harry and Ron talking over each other to try and explain it to him. Again.

“Oh, and guys? In case you’re wondering about the stranger beside me, this is Giles.” The boys had finally run out of steam, and looked sheepishly towards Giles, offering ‘hellos’.

Xander continued. “Rupert Giles, this is Harry and Ron, and the girls are Hermione and Ginny.”

Giles responded politely, trying to ignore the niggling sensation in the back of his mind. He’d been momentarily distracted by the brightness of Ron’s hair, and wondered why it made him feel like he’d forgotten something important.

“I’m so pleased to meet you all. Xander talked about you non-stop when he was in the States, and we were all rather envious when he said he’d be staying in this part of the countryside with you. Well, I was. I’ve always found this district quite lovely, although now I wonder why I never spotted the flying broomsticks.”

“They keep them well hidden, G-man. Same as all the other cool stuff. Did you know the Weasley’s used to have a flying car?”

“How interesting,” Giles replied, believing Xander to be joking. “And how many times do I have to ask you not to call me that?”

“You’d miss it if I ever stopped,” Xander said, grinning at Giles’ world-weary sigh.

At that moment, Mrs Weasley came out to invite Giles to stop for lunch. “We’ll be eating in a moment anyway, and it’ll be well into the afternoon before you reach London from here.”

“Yes, I know, and I would like to apologise for the imposition. There are several matters of some importance that I needed to discuss with Xander, and I hadn’t really considered the time before I left the city. We could go out for lunch if you’d prefer?”

“Oh, don’t be silly, there’s plenty. Would you like us to wait while you discuss your business with Xander?” she asked politely.

“Not at all, it can certainly wait a while longer.”

“That’s great, I’m starving. Man, sitting on a wall and watching is hard work,” Xander said, smiling. He had been perturbed by the fact that Giles had ‘business’ to discuss with him, but he decided not to worry too much. Giles was probably using ‘work’ as an excuse just to catch up, which was kind of nice, if he thought about it.

“So, Mr Giles, did you really work with the Slayer?” Ron asked, catching up to walk beside Giles as they all headed towards the house.

“Ah, yes, still do, actually.” He turned towards Xander. “Buffy’s in Rome on vacation. I believe she has plans to be in London some time in the next few weeks, and would very much like to see you.”

“Sure thing. I’ll send her an email or something, and she can let me know when she gets here.”

“One thing I’ve always wondered, Mr Giles, is how much Xander exaggerates his stories about Sunnydale,” Ron said, a slight smirk crossing his face at the indignant ‘hey’ from Xander when his integrity was questioned. “Do you think you could tell us the truth?”

“Yes, I mean, some of those things seem completely impossible,” Harry chipped in, picking up on the game.

“Hey! Hey! All of it was true, every single thing.” Xander’s protests were light, and he smiled at Giles, then faked a lofty, insulted air. “I don’t need to prove myself to you. I can’t believe you doubt me, after all we’ve meant to each other.”

Giles smiled at Xander’s theatrics. “Well, the truth about the Hellmouth is sometimes stranger than its fictions. I’d need to know what stories Xander has told you to truly offer an alternate perspective.”

He was slightly overwhelmed at the barrage of questions, all to do with hell-gods, vampires, werewolves and soldiers. Inwardly, he smiled. They’d clearly been hanging on every word, and wanted a retelling with embarrassing details. They settled around the large dining table, and Giles began fielding questions on a wide range of subjects.

“Not a word about that love spell, Giles. Or Dracula. They stay between us.” Xander smiled, but the message not to embarrass him too much was clear. Xander’s comments of course attracted the attention of the others, and he carefully shifted the focus onto safer ground, asking if they knew that Xander lived with William the Bloody for the better part of three years. Xander groaned, and launched into a friendly diatribe against the vampire, complaining about everything from ‘blood-sucking demonspawn’ to ‘always leaves wet towels on the bathroom floor’.

Giles briefly explained about the microchip in Spike’s head, which he was sure only really made sense to Harry and Hermione, and the vampire’s complaints at being forced to live with Xander. “I believe he once used the phrase ‘I’d prefer to be chained up in your bathtub’.”

“So what happened?” Harry asked, curious.

“I chained him up in the bathtub.” They laughed, and Giles continued. “He proceeded to complain loudly about the cold, and only shut up when I threatened him with the removal of body parts that he claimed were freezing off anyway.” At the slightly surprised looks that he saw around the table, he hurriedly changed the subject. “Did Xander ever tell you about the times he was possessed?”

Xander groaned again, covering his face with his hands, and there were several interested looks from his audience. Giles grinned, and launched into the tale of the hyena. When he brought up the soldier, Xander joined in, describing Buffy in all of her damsel-in-distress glory.