Chapter two

TITLE: Harry Potter and the Technomage: Book 2

AUTHOR: Methos (ianblyth2005@btinternet.com)

DISCLAIMER: All things BtVS belong to Joss Whedon, Crusade and Technomagi belong to J M Strazynski, Harry Potter, Hogwarts and all that belong to J K Rowling... nothing is mine, only the extremely twisted idea... you’ll have to read the first story in this series to understand what’d going on, find it here...

http://www.tthfanfic.org/Story-15037/Methos+Harry+Potter+and+the+Technomage.htm

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“Eighteen, sixteen,” Xander counted down the houses as he walked down Privet Drive. The train ride had been surprisingly simple, only about an hour’s travel from London and about half an hour’s walk from the train station in Langley. There were a few children playing about in the street, he’d spotted a few more in the park at the start of the road where they were playing on swings and roundabouts. He’d walked through the area to see if he could spot Harry playing there, but when he asked, none of the children even knew who Harry was, they knew someone called Dudley who lived at the same address, a bit of a bully apparently, but no mention of Harry whatsoever.

“Ten, eight,” Xander continued to count as he got closer, his hands thrust into his pockets as he smiled good naturedly at the people he passed in the street and those who were tending to their gardens at the front of their houses. It seemed like a nice enough neighbourhood, something reminded him of the ‘burbs back at Sunnydale, with the houses all neatly stacked together and set out with little gardens at the front next to their drives.

“Four,” He said out loud as he came to a stop in front of the house he’d identified as Harry’s. It looked surprisingly normal, pretty much like Hermione’s, he guessed it would have, since Harry’s uncle and aunt were muggles like Hermione’s parents. No matter what he tried, all he could think about was the voice he heard over the telephone, telling him that Harry wasn’t allowed to use the telephone or his owl, that ‘he’ didn’t want magic, or Harry’s freaky friends invading ‘their’ home. Burying his anger at this prejudice for the moment he strode up the drive, ignoring the flash company car that was sat in prime view in the drive way, obviously just cleaned from the shine on it. He paused at the door, looking for a doorbell or a knocker for a moment before rapping his knuckles sharply on the door several times before stepping back and waiting for a reply.

“Yes?” The door opened after a few moments, revealing a chubby boy, maybe twelve or thirteen, he guessed about Harry’s age. The boy seemed stunned for a second to see someone at the door he didn’t know, who he instantly had to look up to see. Xander had grown a bit over the holiday’s, he was now a comfortable five foot eleven, at his meditation and exercise in helping out around The Burrow had helped him put on an extra bit of muscle that filled out his grey woollen jumper than Molly Weasley had made for him perfectly.

“I’m here to see Harry.” Xander said simply, staring down at the boy as he realized this was the first voice he had spoken to on the phone, so this must be his cousin, and putting together what the other children in the park had told him, this would be Dudley, the bully of the street with the same IQ as a dead rat and all the charm to match.

“Dad!” Dudley called out as he backed away from the door, unable to meet Xander’s gaze. “Someone’s here to see Harry!” The way he said Harry’s name was filled with disbelief, as if he couldn’t believe that someone would actually want to talk to Harry instead of him or his father.

“What?” Another voice came from further inside the house, one that Xander identified as the man he spoke to a few hours ago on the phone; so this must he Harry’s uncle. “Who’d want to see Harry?” Again, the voice dripped with disdain at even mentioning Harry’s name and Xander felt his anger grow again.

“I spoke to you on the phone,” Xander called out, ignoring Dudley for the moment who looked outraged at being talked over. “Since you said Harry wasn’t allowed to use the phone, I thought I’d come and see him in person.”

“Xander?” Harry’s voice rang out and Xander stepped back a few paces to see Harry leaning out of the window above him, a huge grin plastered on his face.

“Close that window boy!” The man shouted up the stairs as he came to the door to deal with Xander himself, he seemed astounded at Xander’s age. He was a large man, fat instead of muscle, with a large bushy moustache that covered his top lip, and from what Xander could see, the man had absolutely no neck whatsoever. “What do you want?”

“I came to see Harry,” Xander said, wondering if he was supposed to be afraid of the man’s intimidating presence, but couldn’t quite manage it as he just looked like another one of the bullies he had faced down several times in Sunnydale. Facing down a master vampire and then facing down a man like this kind of put things in perspective really. “So, are you going to invite me in, or is Harry going to come out to talk to me?”

“Neither,” The man said simply, dismissing Dudley with a wave of his hand as he got ready to slam the door in Xander’s face. “I won’t have you, or your kind,” He said snidely, distain dripping from his words as he looked Xander over. “Interfering with this family, Harry,” He spat the name, as if simply speaking it was offensive to him. “Is not due back at that school of yours for one month, until then he will stay in his room and there is nothing you can do about it.” With that the man slammed the door in Xander’s face and locked it shut.

Xander just stood there, a bit astounded at what had just happened, he blinked a few times as he heard several locked being bolted shut on the door before a curtain was drawn across it, blocking his view of the man inside. “That guy’s an asshole,” Xander muttered, walking back a few steps onto the front lawn and glancing up to where he could now see the man in the room Harry had shouted from, where he slammed the window shut and pulled the curtains across it. There were a few raised voices coming from the house, nothing he could make out clearly before everything went silent. “You know, I don’t think I like that guy,” Xander muttered to himself. “Harry, you alright in there?” He yelled up, waiting for minute or so he didn’t receive any response so he just shrugged and sat down on the grass so he could figure out what to do next.

“Harry?” He shouted up again after a few moments. “I’ve got nowhere else to be, so I can stay out here all day.” He shouted with a grin when he saw the man come to the main window to the left of the front door, he waved at the man with a smirk before watching as the man closed the curtains with a snarl. “Serious attitude problem,” Xander muttered. “Right, let Harry come out and talk to me, or I start invading your house with magic.” He called out as loud as he could, he figured that from the state of the garden and the shiny car that was parked on the drive, even though he could see the garage was empty, status meant everything to these people, so having a crazy man sat on their lawn, shouting about magic, wasn’t going to be something they’d put up with for long.

After a few moments he smirked as he heard the bolts being unlocked from behind the front door, the curtain was pulled back and the same man from before stepped out before slamming the door behind him. “You’ll do no such thing; I'll have none of that nonsense in my house.”

“Really?” Xander grinned, standing up from where he was sat and staring the man directly in the eyes. “And who are you? Harry’s uncle right, Mister Dursley?”

“That’s right, and you are just another one of those freaks from that school of his.” Mr Dursley spat out the word ‘freaks’ as he got right up in Xander’s face. “You will leave, now, or I’m calling the police.”

“Really?” Xander smirked. “Might want to call the fire department first.” He smiled as Mr Dursley looked confused, bringing his hand around to where the man could see it, he muttered the spell he had been practicing. “Incendio Spheris,” He then could hardly keep his laughter contained as the man looked like he was about to wet himself. “Seriously, do I look like a student?” He grinned as he walked forwards, making Mr Dursley step backwards anxiously until he was backed up against the door. “Do I look Harry’s age?”

“N... no,” Mr Dursley spluttered out as Xander waved the fireball in front of his face.

“See, I don’t even need a wand, I could burn your house down, incinerate your car into a puddle of metal, and there would be nothing you could do about it.” Xander snarled at the man, quenching his laughter down as deep as he could as he put on his best ‘game face’. “Now, are you going to invite me in so I can talk civilly with Harry, or shall I burn my way in?” To make his point he threw the fireball at the grass behind him where it impacted with a thump, throwing dirt and grass up in the air where it showered down around them and all over the nice shiny car.

“You... you can’t do that!” Mr Dursley finally stammered out, unused to being out of control like this. “The Ministry won’t let you!” He finally shouted, happy to finally have some use for those magical fools.

“And you call us thick,” Xander shook his head. “Do I have an English accent?” He smiled as Mr Dursley shook his head to the negative. “So why do you believe the Ministry would have any control over an adult magic user from the states?” He bluffed the last, unsure as to exactly what the laws were but he was willing to bet that if he didn’t know them, Mr Dursley wouldn’t either.

“I'll... I'll send him out.” Mr Dursley spluttered out after a moment’s thought.

“I'll be waiting,” Xander muttered, stepping back onto the grass as he watched Mr Dursley open the front door and storm back inside the house, slamming the door shut behind him. “What is he, twelve?” Xander muttered, the usual bully he assumed, if he can’t have it his way then it won’t happen. He was used to dealing with people like this, but the bigotry and hatred of anything magical was something new to him, he couldn’t believe people like that still existed this close to the twenty first century. “Don’t keep me waiting.” He shouted out, reminding everyone inside the house of his presence.

Finally the door opened, but instead of Harry walking out, it was the boy who had first opened the door. “You can’t talk to my father like that!” He said in a petulant tone as he stared at Xander.

“Really?” Xander said in amusement. “Let me guess, Dudley Dursley right?” He smiled as Dudley nodded with a proud smile. “Man, bet you get picked on at school, what do they call you? Dumb Dudley?” He grinned as Dudley went a deep shade of red. “Dunceley?” He grinned again as Dudley fumed.

“No one ever calls me that!” Dudley shouted as he stormed over to Xander.

“Really, that’s not what the kids in the playground said,” Xander bluffed, knowing he was finally getting somewhere. “And I’m guessing you bully Harry just as much at home because he’s not there for you to torment at school.”

“He’s a freak, why would you even want to talk to him, all you wizards are freaks.” He spat the words out with venom.

“Aguamenti Spheris,” Xander muttered as he conjured a water ball in his hand before throwing it at Dudley, who shrieked as the cold water exploded into him, soaking him head to toe. “Cool off Dunceley, I’m here to see Harry, see, Harry’s a friend of mine, and if I hear that you’ve been bullying him next year, I'll come back, and it won’t be water the next time,” He lent down so he was face to face with the dripping wet Dudley. “Believe me; I have much worse up my sleeve than a water ball, so play nice.”

As the door opened, he smiled as Harry appeared and Dudley actually waited patiently, dripping on the step for Harry to walk out of the door before he ran inside and slammed the door behind him.

“Like father like son I guess,” Xander shrugged as Harry ran over and hugged him. “Happy birthday kid,” Xander grinned as he pulled away from the hug and ruffled the young boy’s hair. “Nearly a teenager now, only another year until your thirteenth.”

“You shouldn’t have done that to Dudley,” Harry said in a mock chiding voice.

“Yeah, probably not,” Xander grinned. “But it was fun.” He laughed as Harry tried to keep a straight face. “So, not allowed to send letters, not allowed to use the phone, do they even let you outside to play?”

“No,” Harry shook his head sadly. “I haven’t been outside since I got here.”

“That’s just wrong,” Xander shook his head, staring at the main window where he could see Mr Dursley steaming at the window and glaring at him, while a woman was towel drying Dudley off further into the room. “You’re eating right though? I mean, you’re skinny as ever, if fact, I think you’ve lost weight over the summer.”

“I’m alright,” Harry shrugged it off. “I eat maybe every two days, maybe three if Dudley’s too hungry.”

“Wait,” Xander said, holding his hand out to stop Harry before he went any further. “You eat Dudley’s leftovers?” He snarled as Harry nodded.

“You mustn’t do anything though,” Harry said, seeing how angry Xander was. “You’re not allowed, you’re...” He then stopped as he realized, Xander was allowed to use magic, he was seventeen now, and of age to use magic. He still wasn’t sure how Xander’s magic worked, but the teachers had said last year that it wasn’t the same as ‘normal magic’, so he guessed that the Ministry wouldn’t be able to detect it either.

“What?” Xander asked, puzzled when Harry had broken on his rant early. “Never mind, I think me and your uncle need to have a little chat, go upstairs and fetch your things, you’re coming back to The Burrow with me.”

“But...” Harry started to argue then trailed off as he saw Xander was serious. A smile broke out across Harry’s face for a moment before he turned and ran inside the house, leaving the front door open as he ran up the stairs to pack.

“Right,” Xander cracked his knuckles imposingly as he strode inside the house, turning a sharp left as he walked through the front door and slamming it shut as he walked into the living room and came face to face with Mr Dursley, Dudley and someone who he guessed was Harry’s aunt.

“You can’t do this!” Mr Dursley shouted, striding over to pick up the phone. “I’m calling the police!”

“Shut up,” Xander dismissed the threat instantly. “Incendio Spheris,” He muttered as he conjured a fireball and launched it at the phone, where it impacted there was a small explosion which left a scorch mark on the wall and a melted pile of beige plastic with Mr Dursley holding the receiver in shock, the wire trailing down to his leg where it hung freely in the air with a small flame licking at the end. “Seriously, I think we need to have a talk about how you’ve been treating Harry.” He paused, looking around the room where Dudley was sat on the couch, shivering from either the cold water or fear, either one worked for him.

“Let me get this right,” Xander started as he strode around the room, his hands emphatically gesturing around as he walked around the couch, he nearly broke out in laughter as Mr Dursley nearly wet himself as one of his hands glided across to point at him. “You feed Harry, a good friend of mine and powerful wizard in his own right, Dunceley’s leftovers, right?”

He snarled as Mr Dursley nodded meekly.

“You don’t let him go outside, you don’t let him talk to anyone, you don’t let him send letters or use the phone,” He continued to tick things off of his fingers as he walked around the couch again before coming face to face with Mr Dursley. “Hell, I’m surprised you even let him have his own room, I half expected him to be living in a closet under the stairs or something.” He then frowned as Mr Dursley looked away from his gaze.

“I did,” Harry’s voice came from behind him where he was his suitcase beside him and was carrying his owl cage with the snowy white owl inside. “Up until last year, I lived under the stairs; Uncle Vernon only gave me Dudley’s second bedroom because Aunt Petunia asked him too.”

“Aunt Petunia?” Xander asked, coming face to face with the skinny blonde woman, who looked like a rake with a face as she nodded. “So, you gave Harry Dunceley’s second bedroom, how kind of you. I might not burn this house to the ground after all.”

“Please don’t,” Harry asked in a small voice. “Let’s just go, please?”

“You sure?” Xander asked, whirling around to face Harry. “It wouldn’t take much, few fireballs; we could be done in five minutes.”

“No,” Harry shook his head to his uncle and aunt’s amazement. “Let’s just go, I want to see Ron and Hermione again.”

“You’re call,” Xander shrugged with a grin. “They both say happy birthday by the way,” He smiled at the way Harry’s eyes lit up at that. “Hold on,” He turned back around, looking around the room. “No birthday cards, no presents, they all in your room?”

“I didn’t get any,” Harry shrugged. “I think for my tenth birthday I got a coat hanger and a pair of used socks.”

“Go and wait outside Harry,” Xander snarled without turning to face Harry. “This is going to be messy.”

“Leave it Xander,” Harry said, opening the front door. “Let’s just go.”

“You walk out that door don’t even think about coming back!” Mr Dursley shouted, seemingly oblivious to Xander’s presence until Xander shook his head, bringing the attention back to him.

“He’s staying with me now,” Xander said coldly. “Or do you want to argue with me about it?” He snarled, getting right up in the man’s face, daring him to make a move.

“Take him, good riddance,” Mr Dursley spat at him in anger.

“Come on Harry, we’ll stop in London for something to eat,” Xander smiled, ruffling Harry’s messy hair as they both walked to the door. “Seriously,” Xander called back in a warning tone as he stopped in the doorway. “Don’t bother reporting this, it just means I'll have to come back and finish the job.” With that he shut the door quietly, smiling at the stunned silence from the living room as he led Harry up the street and across the main road to the train station, both of them wearing big grins at the way the day had turned out.

“That was the best birthday present ever!” Harry exclaimed as they reached the end of the street, causing Xander to break out in loud laughter that echoed up and down the street.

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“I can’t wait for you to see The Burrow,” Xander said as he watched Harry dig into his third hamburger, they’d stopped at the first fast food place they’d found in the train station in London, which happened to be a McDonalds, so Xander quite happily paid for the meals before Harry started insisting he would pay him back when they got to Gringotts. “Ron’s been worried about you, we all have, and Ginny won’t stop asking me about you.” He laughed thinking of the young redhead he’d come to see as an annoying little sister, she was fun to be around though, with a thirst for knowledge that would match Willow or Hermione, and freckles to match Ron as well.

“What’s your summer been like then?” Harry asked, in-between mouthfuls of fries and burger.

“Good,” Xander nodded as he polished off his own chocolate milkshake. “Mr and Mrs Weasley are cool, good people, I haven’t met Fred or George yet, but Percy seems cool, keeps to himself though.”

“And they won’t mind me staying until school starts again?” Harry asked, worry seeping into his voice.

“Shouldn’t do,” Xander smiled. “I'll explain to them about how the Dursley’s were treating you, though we might want to do some food shopping first, I think I’m eating them out of house and home already, two of us might be a problem.” He grinned as Harry finally noticed how much he had eaten as he polished off his last burger. “Finally sated?” He grinned as Harry blushed and nodded.

“Thank you,” Harry smiled across the table. “I meant it; this is the best birthday ever.”

“Wait until next year,” Xander grinned as he stood up from his chair and dumped the waste in the trash. “See if we can get you out to California for the summer, beach, babes, maybe we’ll finally get a tan on that pasty skin of yours.” He laughed as he led Harry out of the restaurant and they both made their way to the Leaky Cauldron. “We’ll grab a few bags of shopping, then its back to Hermione’s to fetch Ron, then back to The Burrow in time for supper.”

“Sounds good to me,” Harry smiled. “Are we catching the train there?” He asked.

“Nope,” Xander grinned. “We’ll use the floo network, easier and faster.”

“Floo network?” Harry asked in puzzlement.

“Just wait and see,” Xander grinned, happy that he was the one that would get to show Harry how to use the fireplaces, it was weird the first time but he knew Harry would trust him on using them.

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“Wow!” Harry gasped as he stumbled out of the fireplace. “Ron, Hermione!” He smiled, dropping the bags of shopping he was carrying as he reached out to hug them.

“Harry, where’s Xander?” Ron asked as he looked at the food shopping that was tumbling out of the carrier bags onto the floor of Hermione’s living room.

“He’s...” Harry paused as the fireplace erupted in green flames again before Xander stepped out carrying Harry’s suitcase under one arm and his owl cage in another, “Right there.”

“Sheesh,” Xander grinned as he put the suitcase down on the floor and placed the bird cage on top of it. “You get the light bags and you drop them all over the floor, useless.” He grinned to show Harry he was only joking.

“Funny,” Harry quipped as he started packing the bags again before pushing them off to the side.

“You wouldn’t believe it,” Xander said as he started picking up the shopping with Harry while Ron and Hermione looked on in amusement. “They wouldn’t even let him outside, the Dursley’s, Hitler’s more like, feeding him his cousin’s leftovers, he wasn’t even allowed to use the phone or anything.”

“That’s terrible!” Hermione exclaimed.

“Too right,” Ron shouted. “I hope you gave them a piece of your mind.”

“He nearly burnt the house down,” Harry stated, obviously trying to keep the laughter out of his voice. “He soaked Dudley and blew up the garden.”

“You didn’t!” Hermione shouted, turning to glare at Xander.

“Wicked!” Ron laughed. “That’ll show them to treat people properly.”

“Will Harry be alright to stay at The Burrow until school starts?” Xander asked, avoiding Hermione’s gaze to look at Ron.

“Definitely,” Ron stated firmly. “As long as dad agrees that is.”

“I'll talk to him,” Xander smiled. “Besides, we got some shopping as well; to refill all the stuff I ate over the summer.”

“Good,” Ron smirked. “I swear, he’s got a dragon or something in his stomach, I don’t know where it all goes, he can eat more than my dad.”

“Hey,” Xander looked mock offended. “I’m not the one that polished off three hamburgers and two large fries for lunch.” He grinned as he watched Harry blush from the attention. “Not the usual birthday meal I'll grant you, but I think he enjoyed it.”

“Oh, happy birthday Harry.” Hermione said with a smile before she darted into the kitchen to get her present for him.

“Yeah, happy birthday mate.” Ron smiled as he picked up the parcel that he and Hermione had wrapped while Xander was fetching Harry.

“Presents?” Harry asked, astounded by the fact there were gifts for him.

“This one’s from me,” Hermione smiled as she thrust the wrapped gift into Harry’s arms.

“I haven’t wrapped mine yet,” Xander muttered as he sat down in one of Hermione’s parent’s chairs, enjoying the soft feel as he pushed his back against the cushions.

“We wrapped them,” Hermione said proudly. “I had some paper left over from mine, so we wrapped Ron’s then yours.”

“Sweet,” Xander grinned, relaxing in the chair. “I'll get it in a minute, those things are heavy.” He muttered, nodding to the suitcase and cage on the floor.

“This is all...” Harry stumbled, too amazed to say how much this all meant to him.

“Here,” Hermione picked up another present from by the fireplace. “This is from Xander.” She then watched and smiled as Harry tore into her present first.

“Wow, Defence Charms for Beginners.” Harry stared at the book in amazement before placing it on the floor beside him and picking up the box of sweets. “And chocolate mice, thank you.” He smiled over at Hermione who smiled back.

“And from Ron we have...” He laughed as her tore the wrapping paper away. “Chandler’s Chortles,” He frowned for a second before turning the box over and reading what the box contained. “One hundred and one of Chandler’s Chortles, guaranteed laughs for anyone, for age’s nine to two hundred and nine.” He laughed as he put the box aside. “Thanks Ron.”

“Anytime,” Ron laughed. “Just don’t use them on me, and stay away from the toffees, Xander can tell you about those.”

“That’s where they came from?” Xander laughed, pointing at the box. “I looked like an Oompa Loompa for a week.” He smiled as Harry and Hermione laughed at the image that Ron didn’t quite get, but he’d seen it in person so he could guess what it meant.

“That just leaves Xander’s,” Harry said with a smile as he tore the wrapping paper off of the present that had been handed to him by Ron. “The Technomage Trilogy, by Jeanne Cavelos.” He smiled over as Xander as he put the books aside for later reading. “Thank you, all of you; this is the best birthday ever.”

“Well, I caught you reading them a few times,” Xander shrugged. “Thought it’d be easier if you had your own copies.”

“Thanks,” Harry laughed over at him while Ron and Hermione leaned in to hug him.

“We’d better get all this back to The Burrow,” Xander said, looking at the time it was nearly six. “Your dad will be home from work soon, and I promised I’d show Ginny some more magic tonight.” Xander smiled as Ron nodded in agreement.

“What about Hermione, are you coming?” Harry asked as he stood up and started putting his presents into the shopping bags that had space.

“Yeah, come on ‘Mione, I think we’ve got enough food,” He grinned as even Ron nodded to that one. “Come for a meal, it’d be nice to have the gang all together for a bit over summer.”

“Alright,” Hermione beamed at Xander, happy for the invite so she could spend more time with him. “I'll get my coat.” She then jogged off up the stairs to her room.

“I take it she’s still got a crush on you,” Harry whispered at Xander while they were packing things up.

“Don’t remind me,” Xander muttered with a grin as he shook his head in amusement.

“She even has ‘Hermione 4 Xander’ scrawled on some books by her mirror,” Ron informed them. “There were some letters underneath as well, I D S and T, whatever that means.”

“Oh god, I’m doomed.” Xander muttered as he pulled his hand down his face in amusement at the situation.

“When did you see her room Ron?” Harry asked in amusement, trying to deflect the attention from Xander.

“We did the wrapping up there, she wanted to show me some of the new spells she’s been practicing, really complicated stuff, she’s way ahead of any of us this year.” Ron complained, a bit weirded out at the fact that Hermione had spent the summer practicing school work rather than relaxing and playing.

“You’re doomed.” Harry said with a grin as Hermione came down the stairs.

“Ready?” She asked in a cheerful voice.

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AN: Woo hoo, another chapter done... I’d forgotten how much fun Technomage Xander was to write lol

And I’m a lot more comfortable in the HP universe this time round, I know a few of you are asking where the Tonks / Xander romance went to, sorry, but the fic isn’t heading that way... Maybe it will in the future when I’m more comfortable writing Tonks, but that won’t be for a while, sorry.

Hope you’re all enjoying this.

M