The Forgotten One

Title: The Forgotten One
Author: Jinni (druscilla@cox.net)
Rated: R
Pairing: W/Oliver Wood
Genre: HP/BtVS Crossover.
Disclaimer: All things BtVS/AtS related belong to Joss Whedon. The wonderful world of Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling.
Distribution: A Witch's Love, Aislin, Near Her Always, Willow's Little Secret. All others must ask first.
Author's Note: This will take place directly after Season 2 in BtVS world and after The Chamber of Secrets (book 2) in the HP world.
~*~Part One~*~

Oliver Wood looked around the platform for the Hogwarts Express, taking one last look at the school and his fellow students. Everyone was laughing and talking, smiling and giggling. Trunks and bags filled the station as students and teachers alike said their goodbyes to one another before boarding the train. The air was filled with a genuine feeling of excitement and, for some, a finality. The seventh years would be leaving, not to return unless they chose to one day as professors or guests of the school. The excitement was due, in part, to the break, he knew, but also due to an end of the horrors that had plagued the school during the year.

Summer holiday had finally arrived.

"Hey, Wood."

"Potter." Wood nodded a greeting, giving the boy a grin. The second year, now almost third year, student looked none the worse for the many wears and tears he had experienced this past school year. Everything from putting up with Gilderoy Lockhart's annoying antics to being accused of opening the Chamber of Secrets. There had been further rumor of Harry defeating an incarnation of You-Know-Who down in the Chamber of Secrets, but that hadn't been substantiated to Oliver's knowledge. If it was the truth, Harry wasn't talking about it, and that made it none of his business as far as he was concerned. Despite all of that, fact and rumor, Harry looked like any of the other students getting on the train - happy.

"Got any plans for the summer?" Harry asked, giving a wave to Ron and Hermione. The two were making their way across the crowded platform as fast as they could considering the numerous parcels they were towing along behind them.

Oliver shrugged. "Going to go visit my godparents. Haven't seen them in almost two years, now. Should make for a boring holiday."

Harry nodded. He knew what Wood meant. The Dursleys weren't anyone's idea of a fun break, either, but they were all he had. It would be a summer without magic. A summer without even a mention of magic, at that. Mentioning magic in his Uncle's house was a good way to get sent to his room without dinner or locked in a closet. Or worse. He was sure Uncle Vernon could come up with worse if he tried.

"Muggles, then?" Harry asked, making polite conversation while he waited for Ron and Hermione to catch up to him. The train would be leaving shortly, taking them back to the outside world and their families. It was usually at this time of year that he began to wish that classes ran year-round. None of this summer holiday stuff that forced him to go back to the Dursleys. These were his last few moments of pure happiness until school started again in the Fall.

The older boy nodded. "The most oblivious muggles I've ever met, too. But they're good people. Spoiled be rotten when I was little. Mum and Da have been friends with them since before I was born. They absolutely adore them."

"But you won't get to practice or even talk about Quidditch all summer." Harry stated, a wide grin on his face, understanding blossoming across his features.

"Right." The captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team sighed. "Next year is my last, Harry. We've just got to win the House Cup."

"Harry! Wood!" Ron greeted, coming to a panting stop in front of the two. It appeared from his heavy burden that he had managed to acquire some of Hermione's luggage during their route from the school to the train platform.

"We were just talking about Quidditch and summer holiday." Harry caught them up, eyeing what Ron was toting but not saying anything. Those two were bound to end up together eventually and it appeared they were already starting down that path with Ron carrying Hermione's luggage for her.

"Quidditch?" Hermione rolled her eyes. "Do you two ever talk about anything else?"

"Not really." Oliver grinned.

"There's something other than Quidditch?" Harry deadpanned.

The two players looked at each other, chuckling.

"I swear." The only female in the group sighed, exasperated. "I almost look forward to holiday just to get away from all the Quidditch talk."

"What will you be doing over break?" Ron asked Oliver, ignoring Hermione's muttering.

"Going to visit my godparents."

"Oh really?" Hermione quickly forgot her frustration with him with the opportunity to ask another question, to be just a little bit nosy. "Where do they live?"

"They used to live near my parents." Oliver informed them, a smile on his face. "But they moved a couple years ago. To America. California even. All the way across the world."

"California? As in Hollywood?" Ron snickered. "Gonna see some movie stars, Wood?"

"Not hardly." The older boy laughed. Hollywood would have at least been somewhere familiar-sounding. This place, though, was somewhere he had never heard of before. A tiny little speck on the map according to his parents who had warned him in no uncertain terms to absolutely not use magic while he was visiting with his godparents.

"Some little town called Sunnydale."

~*~Part Two~*~

The transatlantic flight hadn't been that bad. But for one reason or another the flight from New York to Sunnydale had been pure Hell. Oliver had been forced to make two layovers during the flight, wandering aimlessly around those chosen airports for an hour each time before they boarded his connecting flights. He had already found a few souveniers, things to take back to Hogwarts in the fall to pass out to his friends. A nice necklace for Angelina, a little figurine for Harry. The figurine didn't move, rather disappointing, but seeing as how it was muggle-made he really couldn't hope for much more.

Finally the plane had landed at an airport he was sure was much too small for a plane of the size he was riding on. There appeared to be only a single gate. Didn't speak much for the town. Not much at all.

"There he is!!"

Oliver's head snapped up as he cleared the gate, stepping into the almost oppressively small lobby of the airport. He recognized the voice immediately, though the woman it came from had changed much in the years since he had last seen her. Gone was her graying brown hair, replaced by something more auburn in color, with streaks of blond interlaced in it. Though shocking, it suited her.

"Aunt Liz." He smiled, setting his bags on the floor so that he could hug her.

"You've gotten so tall, my boy."

"Its all that good air back home. And Mum's cooking, of course." Oliver smiled. "It's good to see you, Uncle Bryce."

"Come along, then." Aunt Liz chirped, as happy as can be. "Let's go see if your luggage managed to make the trip with you."

"Somehow I doubt it." Oliver sighed, remembering the ordeal getting from London to Sunnydale had been. It just wasn't within his realm of fortune to even hope that his luggage would be waiting for him at the little retrieval area of the airport.

Still, he could pray.

~*~*~

Oliver groaned inwardly, listening as his Aunt went on an on about her flowers, the ride from the airport seeming to take almost as long as the flights themselves had. They were good people, he kept telling himself. Just a little boring.

Okay.

A whole heap of boring.

He stared out the window of his Uncle's small greenish-colored car. He had no clue what the make was, some sort of American curvy thing that he found to be quite unappealing. How had his simple godparents ever gotten it into their heads to move from the rolling hills of their homeland, to this flat, over-developed place? The houses were so close together, much closer than in the quiet countryside they had left behind.

"You alright back there?"

Oliver nodded, meeting his Uncle's eyes in the rearview mirror with a small smile.

"Just tired, I guess. Been on a plane too long." His tone was apologetic, though not for the reasons they would assume. He was quite sorry already that he had agreed to make this trip. Sunnydale seemed to be worse than small, it was like something out of a movie. And not a good one. There were no people on the street, few cars. The shops they had driven past were already closed for the day, despite it being only three in the afternoon by the local time. Was there no nightlife around here? Nothing for him to do once the clock struck Noon even?

"Poor thing." His aunt cooed, turning in her seat to pat his arm in what he could only assume was supposed to be a reassuring way. It wasn't. There was no way for her to reassure him about the things he was most worried about - a summer of boredom away from all of his friends. No magic. Everything was going to have to be done the muggle way, his mother had been very insistent about that. Something about this area being very unhealthy for wizards and attracting the wrong sort.

And that was as good a reason as any for him not to break his word to her and use magic. If she said there were bad things in the area that were attracted to magic, he would believe her. He had learned of all manner of beast in his Defense Against the Dark Arts classes at Hogwarts, surely there were those creatures that could sense magic and hone in on it like piranhas to blood. And what did those creatures do when they found a source of magic? Neither of his parents had been very forthcoming with that information, choosing only to say that he needed to keep a low profile on the magic front while in Sunnydale and that disobeying them would only lead to trouble.

"Don't you worry, son." Uncle Bryce chuckled from the front. "We'll be home in just a minute and you can get some rest. I can imagine you have a horrible case of jet lag."

Oliver nodded, barely hearing the words coming from his Uncle's mouth. Yes, he had jet lag, but that wasn't the reason he was so out of it. For the first time since he had set foot off of the plane he realized how lost he truly was. No magic and an entire summer with a muggle family. How did Harry stand this? Then again, at least he wasn't about to get locked under the stairs if he mentioned magic in front of his Aunt and Uncle. They might look at him like he had lost his mind, but they wouldn't be unkind. Harry's family on the other hand -

"Here we are." His Aunt announced, her voice still unpleasantly chirpy. At least one person in the car was happy. Too bad it wasn't him. The house they had pulled up in front of was as different from his family's own countryside home as an apple was to a banana. It was quaint, in a truly American way. The houses around it looked almost exactly alike. Little originality here, it seemed.

"Looks cozy." He smiled pleasantly, helping his Uncle pull his bags from the back of the car. They had, thankfully, been waiting for him at the baggage claim; something he had taken as a good sign until he had seen the very little Sunnydale had to offer him.

An entire summer.

Oh god, how was he going to survive an entire summer?

He scanned the front lawn, a flash of red catching the corner of his eye. Turning, he saw a very pretty girl, somewhere close to his age he assumed, settling out on her front lawn on a towel, book in hand. Her red hair seemed to shimmer in the sun, reminding him of the numerous Weasleys he had met. But she wasn't a Weasley. They had no family living in America. Nor did they have any family members that had escaped the curse of looks that bordered on homeliness. And this girl, no - young woman, was far, far from homely.

"Who's that, Aunt Liz?" He asked, trying to sound nonchalant but failing miserably. A blush crept over his face at the knowing look she gave to him.

"That's the Rosenberg girl. Willow, I think her name is." His Aunt's face was sad when she looked across to the girl sitting so peacefully next door. "Poor dear. Her parents are always out of town. She might as well live alone. I only met her mother once and the woman was like ice, cold right to the core. I believe the young Miss is your age, though Ollie."

He winced at the nickname, but took the information to heart.

"Maybe you try to make friends sometime, when you've had some rest?" She suggested gently, placing a firm hand on his elbow. There was nothing wrong with the girl, but this was not the time for him to make his first impression. Not when he had been in the air for the better part of the last thirty-six hours. No, if he was going to introduce himself to the pretty red head, she wanted him to be sharp, on his toes. No Godson of hers was going to make a fool of himself in front of a girl.

He nodded, ducking his head and blushing even more at the wink his Uncle threw his way.

"I just might do that, Aunt Liz." He smiled, following them into the house; the image of a red head burned in his mind already.

Perhaps the summer wouldn't be so bad, after all.

~*~Part Three~*~

Summer.

A time for all school age teens to relax and spend time with their friends.

"Yeah, right. What friends?" Willow muttered sadly, grabbing the large beach towel she had been using every day for nearly two weeks to lie out on her front lawn, book in hand. Xander was off, visiting family she knew he'd rather not be with. And Buffy was spending some time with her father, the same as she did just about every summer. There really wasn't anyone else from school that she got along with well enough for her to even want to spend time with them.

Which left her all alone.

It hadn't been that bad for the first day or two. She had spent a lot of time catching up on some reading she hadn't had time for. But, after that, things had gotten boring. There were still books to read, things to research, but when those things grew tiresome, as they were wont to do at some point during the day, she had no one to call up and spend time with. No one to hang out with. And going to the Bronze by herself was completely out of the question; she'd end up sitting alone for the entire night and finally going home, still bored out of her mind.

Her parents had sent one letter so far for the summer, giving her the names and numbers for the hotels they expected to be staying at for the next few months. Money was in her checking account and she was free to use the credit card her parents provided for her at any time she wanted. If she needed anything more she could just contact them and they'd wire the funds to her account. She lacked for nothing.

Except human companionship.

"No big, thing, Rosenberg." She told herself, sighing sadly. She opened her front door, blinking a bit at the bright sunlight. At least it didn't get too hot in the summer, outside was actually pretty comfortable, and the light made it suitable for reading. She could have sat on her balcony, she knew, but there wasn't enough room to lie down and just relax. And that's what she wanted to do - relax. Try to forget all the bad things that had happened during the last school year. And try to forget the loneliness that would creep up on her the second the sun started to set.

She spread her blanket out on the lawn, in a different spot from the day before so that the grass wouldn't become too broken or crushed in one area. She worked hard to keep this house and yard looking like someone cared and she wasn't about to ruin all of her own work. The book she held was one she had read at least a dozen times before, but something she didn't mind reading through again. A tale of angst that ended with romance and happiness, something she really wished for in her own life.

Well, except for the angst part.

There had been enough angst in her life already - from the feelings she had harbored for Xander for the majority of her life to the doomed relationship she had started with Oz, only to have it end a few short months later.

She was quite ready for the happily ever after ending that everyone was supposed to get.

~*~*~

He saw her come out of her house, lay the towel down and then stretch out to read, her back to the sun. She was wearing shorts, something he didn't see that often at Hogwarts, and a little bit of a top that tied around her neck and showed off the small of her back. The overall appearance was of a very attractive young woman. Not tanned and burned by the sun like some of the women he had seen during his flights in. This girl, Willow his Aunt had said, was beautiful still with the complexion God had given her - pale with just a hint of peachy rose.

"I'm gonna go outside, Aunt Liz. Get some fresh air."

His Aunt looked up from her paper, smiling at him. "Go right ahead. Just be back inside before dark, alright?"

Oliver nodded, wandering out the front door and onto his Godparents' front lawn. He looked around, taking a deep breath of that fresh air he had claimed he wanted so much. Overhead the sun was still pretty high in the sky, he had plenty of time to wander around before dark.

If he wanted to wander anywhere in the first place.

Which he didn't.

No, the fartherest he fancied himself going was next door.

Taking great care not to make it look like he was purposefully heading towards the girl, Oliver walked aimlessly off to one side of the lawn, looking down at the flowerbeds that his Aunt had been raving about the day before. The flowers looked well-tended, large pink and yellow things that he was sure were an eyesore to everyone except Liz. Peering up through his lashes, the young man could see her laying there, not more than ten yards away, her feet up in the air, kicking with gentle mindlessness in the air. He took a deep breath and called out,

"Hullo there."

The girl looked up from her book, smiling at him. It was a warm smile; gentle and innocent. He watched as she crawled to her knees, assuming a sitting position so that she could better look at him.

"Hello."

"Just wanted to introduce myself." He found himself blushing under her curiously unabashed gaze. Her eyes went from his head to his feet and then back again in less than a few seconds. Definitely not something he was used to. "My name's Oliver. I'm staying with my godparents next door."

"The Olivers are your godparents?" She asked curiously. "I guess that makes sense. You all have that yummy accent. I'm Willow, by the way."

And then she was blushing, her eyes turning from him as though she had said something that she was embarrassed for. What she could have said that was embarrassing, though, he wasn't sure. Couldn't have been her name. Maybe it was the part about his accent? He found himself amused. Certainly no one had ever told him his accent was 'yummy' before, but there was always a first time.

"Yummy?" He grinned, stepping over his Aunt's flowerbed to come closer to her. That made her blush even harder, her pale skin turning a delightful shade of pink. It hit him suddenly that she could be very shy and that this was more attention that she was used to. Hadn't Liz and Bryce said that her parents were never home and she lived mostly by herself? He gestured to the grass near her towel. "Mind if I sit?"

"Oh! Not on the grass. You'll get dirty." She moved over a bit, giving him room to sit on the towel next to her. "Here."

He was exquisitely aware of the soft scent of lavender the second he sat down next to her. It radiated from her skin like a perfume, filling the air nearest her with its delicate scent. Delicate - just like her.

"Will you be here for the summer?" She asked with polite curiosity, her hands playing nervously with a leaf of grass she had plucked from the ground.

"Until the second to last week of August." He nodded. "Gotta go home in time to get ready for school." He looked out over the empty streets, the quiet neighborhood. She was definitely shy, but that made her all the more special to get to know, he decided. "What's there to do for fun around here?"

She laughed.

"Not much. There's the Bronze after dark. The mall. The movies." Willow shrugged. "Not really much to do at all, I guess. You're going to be pretty bored."

Oliver looked at her and then did the unthinkable.

He winked.

"I don't think I'll be bored at all." He stood up and smiled down at her. "Don't suppose you'd be willing to show me where that movie theater is? My treat."

Willow blinked at the handsome young man in surprise. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that their conversation would end with her getting, for all intents and purposes, asked out on a date. She nodded slowly, waiting for the trick to come, the moment of cruelty that always seemed to follow this type of Goddess-sent blessing.

But that moment didn't come.

"Is now a good time? Unless you're caught up in your book." He gestured to the forgotten novel that now lay so obviously discarded on the grass.

"Now would be wonderful." She managed to stammer. "I just need to change real quick. Is that okay?"

"Of course." He flashed her another smile. "I'll go tell my Godparents. Be back to get you in twenty minutes. That okay?"

She nodded, standing and grabbing her towel when he turned to go do just that. There was a heat in her stomach, in her chest, from just being near him. That hair, those eyes. He was fit, too, though the jeans and t-shirt he was wearing didn't allow her to see just how much. Definitely a hottie, as Buffy would say.

And he had asked her to the movies.

Willow gave a squeal of happiness and raced into the house.

She had a date to get ready for.

~*~End Parts 1-3~*~