*A/N: Hi again! Okay...this is chapter four. Make sure you read Chapter Three first! Buffy/Angel fluff. But worry not!!!!!! There is Harry/Hermione fluff yet to come when everybody gets to Europe!!!!!!! So...yeah. Thanks for reading...I love you. But I'd love you even more if you reviewed! (hint hint) Lol.
Disclaimer: Yet again...not mine...at least the characters. But yeah...okay.
At Grimmauld Place
Harry felt like he was dying without Hermione. He didn't think he could stand anymore of Ginny's following him around, or that breathy way she was trying to say his name. Ron's blatant attempts to get them back together were also irking him. He'd actually tried to lock them in a broom closet together the week before. It had taken all of the control he possessed not to curse some not-so-nice words onto his forehead.
At least if Hermione had been here, she'd be able to talk to Ginny. Well, at least she'd try. There seemed to be some odd hostility between the two, mostly on Ginny's part, for some strange reason.
At least Hermione was trying, though. In the letter he had received from her earlier that day, after telling him about a possible ally she had found in some American girl, she had included a post-script to Ginny, telling her that she "just had to see" someone named Angel to believe him.
Ginny had only rolled her eyes, stating snarkily, "What kind of name is Angel? Besides, I have all the eye candy I need." She then, very annoyingly, batted her eyes at him. And that bothered him.
But something else was bothering him, also.
It wasn't the fact that Hermione had announced that her new friends were actually coming back with her. That was a good thing. Maybe it was the fact that this Angel person, who Ginny "just had to see to believe" was coming, too.
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Hermione and Willow were helping Buffy pack. Buffy had informed Willow about her suspicions about Hermione and Harry, and Willow had agreed to help steer the conversation towards the reportedly good looking wizard.
Hermione was lying on Buffy's bed looking through one of her magazines idly. Willow sat on one of Buffy's suitcases, while Buffy tried unsuccessfully to zip it shut. Hermione looked up amusedly at the sound of Buffy sighing impatiently.
"Need help?" Hermione asked.
"Could you?" Buffy replied, hopefully.
"Sure," she answered, "Um, Willow, you might want to get off."
"Okay, no problem," the redhead replied brightly.
With a wave of her wand, all of Buffy's possessions soared out of the suitcase and rearranged themselves so that they fit neatly inside. The suitcase then zipped itself close without a hitch.
"Nice one!" Buffy praised.
"Ooh! I wanna learn how to do that!" Willow announced, eagerly.
"And you will," Hermione promised.
A few packed suitcases later, Willow and Buffy plopped on the bed beside Hermione.
"So...Hermione...tell us about your friends," Buffy shot Willow a look that said, 'play along.'
"Yeah, um, what are they like?" Willow asked.
"Well," Hermione began, "Ron is...well, let's just say Xander reminds me a lot of Ron."
"Oh yay," Buffy said, unenthusiastically, "Xander with a British accent."
"And red hair," Hermione added.
"Ooh, I like redheads," Willow volunteered.
"I wonder why," Buffy interjected.
Hermione shot them a look before continuing, "Fred and George are...well, Fred and George are two of the most amusing people I have ever met in my life. Amazing pranksters; yet sometimes incredibly annoying. Their philosophy is that rules were meant to be broken. They're very...mischievous. To say the least."
"Sounds interesting enough," Buffy said delicately, "...anyone else?"
"Oh, yes! Ginny!" Hermione answered brightly.
Buffy barely managed to conceal a groan of impatience. Willow grinned at the sour look on her friend's face.
"Okay," Buffy said reluctantly, "tell us about Ginny."
"Well, Ginny is Ron, Fred, and George's little sister. She's a year younger than us. She's really pretty. She has long red hair, and plays Quidditch and a lot of guys like her. In fact...," she seemed to hesitate right here, "that's probably who Harry is spending all of his time with right now."
*Finally! We're getting somewhere!* Buffy thought to herself. She shot Willow a look.
"Why would you say that?" Buffy asked seemingly innocent.
"Well, because, they dated last year at school."
"Ohh...," Buffy drew it out before continuing, "Were they really serious?"
"Um...in a way. I think it was different for both of them. Harry told me he sometimes wondered if the only reason he did it was to distract himself from the things happening around him. A haven of some sort. But it was different to Ginny. I sometimes wonder if she fell in love with him before she even laid eyes on him. She'd been infatuated with him from the time she was a little girl. She had a rather obvious crush on him until our fourth year, her third. It died down then. However, she still seems to harbor a flame for him, though now it's a more mature flame. But sometimes I worry that she sees him as 'Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived' and not just Harry."
"Okay," Buffy said, "Well, tell us about 'just Harry.'"
"Well, he's slightly taller than me. He has dark hair that tends to be rather untidy, and really amazing green eyes."
Buffy grinned and raised her eyebrows at Willow at this statement.
Hermione continued oblivious, "He's quite lanky, because of not being fed properly by his horrible aunt and uncle when he was a child, but has bulked up rather nicely through Quidditch. He tends to be quiet and keep to himself, but when he gets mad he does tend to shout. Um...his favorite subject in school is Defense against the Dark Arts, and his favorite colors are red and gold. His favorite thing in the world to do is fly, meaning his most prized possession is his broomstick. He tells me I should fly more often. He says it lets him leave the world behind."
"Well, why don't you?" Buffy asked reasonably.
"Why don't I what? Leave the world behind?"
"No," Buffy emphasized, "Fly."
"Oh. Well, because I don't like it."
"Why not?"
It was actually Willow who asked the question this time.
"I'm afraid I'll fall."
"Maybe you wouldn't be if you were flying with the right person," Buffy said mysteriously.
Hermione looked at her suspiciously before answering.
"Yes...maybe."
Willow grappled for a change of subject.
"Um...when is his birthday?" she finally asked.
"July 31st," Hermione answered automatically.
"Oh, well, because..." Willow looked at Buffy, her eyes pleading for help.
"...because Willow has a deep seated interest in...Astrology!"
Willow nodded emphatically.
"Yes...er, Aquarius..."
Buffy elbowed her slightly before hissing, "Leo!"
"Uh, I mean, Leo! Sign of the...lion?"
At Buffy's slight nod, she continued.
"Yes, the lion!"
Hermione looked at the two oddly before the heard a soft voice say, "Knock, knock."
Angel was standing on the tree branch outside the window. Buffy had told her about him, and vaguely explained their relationship, but Hermione still sensed that there was more to it. Although she now knew why and how he did such things, it still surprised her nonetheless when he actually did it.
It, again, didn't surprise her when Buffy stood up to kiss him in greeting. Willow got Hermione involved in a conversation about Hogwarts to give the two some privacy.
"Hi," Buffy said to him breathlessly.
"Hi, yourself," he replied softly. "Are you and Willow antagonizing the poor girl?"
"No," she answered in playful defense, "just...gathering information. Research."
"Mm-hmm," Angel murmured, doubtfully, "Research to do what?"
"I already explained this! To get her together with Harry," she grinned suddenly, "Angel, you should have heard the description she gave us earlier. Apparently, he has 'amazing green eyes.'"
"Oh, really? Well, it sounds to me like you are a little too excited about these 'amazing green eyes,'" he teased softly, intentionally misinterpreting the statement.
"Don't worry," she answered, "I'm more partial to brown eyes for some strange reason."
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