The Scoobies, plus Hermione, emerged from the plane yawning and only half awake; with the exception of Angel, of course. Giles rubbed his eyes drowsily and automatically went into 'Man-On-A-Mission' mode.
"Hermione, you told your friends what time we would be here, correct?"
"Yes, they should be right outs-i-i-i-de," Hermione finished on a yawn.
She then realized what she had said; Oh my god...Harry could be right outside!
Giles looked around at his groggy students; Willow and Buffy were each leaning listlessly on their significant other. Meanwhile, when it came to Xander and Cordelia, it was the other way around; Xander had his head on Cordelia's shoulder; she seemed to be too drowsy to care.
"Did they say who all would be coming?" Giles questioned.
"Harry, Ron, Remus, Tonks, and perhaps Moody." But especially Harry.
This happy little thought was squashed Hermione wondered vaguely if Ginny would be tagging along, too; not wanting to jinx herself, she quickly squashed that unhappy little thought.
"Very good. Now, Angel, Oz, Xander, if you will come with me to get the luggage?"
Angel reluctantly pulled away from the drowsy Slayer, dropping a kiss on her forehead. Oz released Willow only to hear her murmur how the frogs were going to get her, the frogs were going to get her. He smiled at her, while Hermione held in a laugh. Almost as bad as Ron and his Arachnophobia, she thought to herself.
Xander had dozed off, head still on Cordelia's shoulder. It took Buffy and Giles calling his name and another slap to the back of the head from Cordelia for him to finally wake up.
"Xander LaVelle Harris," she shouted loudly. (*I just had to use his middle name somewhere in there...)
"What?! I'm awake, I'm awake! What's going on?!"
"Xander. Luggage. Now!" Cordelia commanded.
"All right, all right! I'm going!" Xander replied, wearily.
Buffy and Willow, denied of their significant others, collapsed on the blue plastic chairs of the airport lobby. After watching Buffy fidgeting, trying to get comfortable on the hard plastic, Hermione discreetly cast a cushioning charm on the whole row of chairs. Buffy and Willow smiled gratefully at her. Cordelia sat down and began rummaging through her purse for her beauty supplies.
"Cordy, you realize it is three o'clock in the morning, don't you?" Buffy asked the cheerleader.
"Buffy, if I am ever going to achieve international superstardom, I must look presentable at all times!" Cordy replied, painstakingly applying her mascara.
Buffy and Willow simultaneously rolled their eyes at this statement.
Having watched the amusing exchange, Hermione sat down and closed her eyes, tiredly.
The men soon returned with most of the luggage. Hermione smiled at the sight. It was obvious Angel carried the bulk of it, muscles rippling under the white undershirt and black jacket, with Xander carrying the two smallest items, muscles not, really, rippling at all...
Oz was somewhere in the middle, carrying quite a load himself, including Willow's suitcase of books she just had to have.
After depositing the luggage at the girls' feet, Angel strode back to the desk.
Giles was worriedly running his hands through this usually neat hair. Apparently they airlines had lost a very important suitcase.
"My books! All of my books were in that one case!" Giles cried, distressed, "Incompetent airlines..."
"Where did Angel go?" Buffy asked, sitting up suddenly.
"He's...speaking to someone about finding it," Xander answered, furtively looking back at the desk.
Buffy watched on with narrowed eyes as Angel leaned over the desk, speaking softly to a sharply dressed woman, who was apparently drinking in his every word. Angel gave her that half-smile Buffy loved, and knew every female with eyes would also. The woman nodded. Angel smiled again before turning on his heel and striding towards them. At the desk, the lady was picking up a phone absentmindedly, eyes still glued to Angel.
Upon Angel's return to the group, he smirked slightly at the sight of Buffy glaring up at him, bunny slippered foot tapping.
"Well?" she asked expectantly.
"'Well' what?" he replied, feigning innocence.
Buffy continued to glare at him.
Leaning forward to whisper in her ear, he said softly.
"Think of it as retaliation for thinking someone else's eyes are amazing."
He felt rewarded with the shiver that ran through her.
"Speaking of, um, green eyes," Buffy began, struggling to recover from Angel's little stunt, "I think they're here. I see lots of red hair."
Hermione felt her heart jump. As much as she wanted to see Harry, she did not want to see Harry and Ginny.
Apparently, she had jinxed herself, because she looked up to see that Buffy was right. Harry, Ron, the Twins, Tonks, Remus, and Ginny walking towards them. Hermione inwardly groaned at the sight of the female Weasley child clinging to Harry's arm, but plastered a smile over it. She wasn't the only one who noticed that, upon seeing Angel, she released Harry. She didn't, however, see Harry's sigh of relief.
Checking out the man who it seemed the term "tall, dark, and handsome" had seemed to be coined for, Ginny seemed to entirely forget about the bespectacled boy she'd been previously throwing herself on.
Hermione hugged each of Order gang in turn, beginning with a very stiff hug from Ginny and, saving the best for last, a hug from Harry.
It feels so good to have her in her arms again, Harry thought, contentedly. I mean--, he corrected himself hastily, in his head, --to know that she's safe.
Hermione, however, however was thinking along the same lines: Has his arms always felt this strong? Why does he smell so good?! Back off, Hermione! she urged herself.
Buffy and Willow noticed how Hermione and Harry clung to each other during their hug.
They, of course, didn't.
Breaking apart, Hermione gave Harry the once-over. Well, a very long once-over.
His hair was longer than when she had left, hanging very appealingly over his left eye. Said eye was still a very vibrant green that was, pardon the cliché, mesmerizing. He had apparently been doing more training while she had been away; he seemed to have filled out more, especially in the arms, and, gulp, chest. He looked even better than she remembered, standing in a way that was seemingly casual, but at the same time, tense; alert.
He, meanwhile, was surveying the Americans, vaguely wondering which one was Angel. When his eyes lit on the dark brooding figure in the corner, he found himself really hoping it was Xander.
Once Hermione began making her introductions, he was devastated to learn he was wrong.
"Okay," She began, starting with the Hogwarts gang, "This is Harry, Ron, Fred and George--"
"Gred and Forge!" the twins interrupted.
"--Nymphadora Tonks, Remus Lupin, and Ginny."
Hmmph. So this is Ginny. This should be easy enough, Buffy thought to herself, critically examining the short redhead. Ginny was examining her as well, gaze lingering over Angel's hand on her waist.
"And this is Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Willow, Oz, Cordelia, Xander--"
Harry had an inward groan of his own when Hermione introduced the goofy looking boy next to the Cordelia girl as Xander.
"--and this is Angel," Hermione finished, pointing at the man in the corner.
Angel noticed the look Harry shot him, and couldn't hold in a very Angelus-like smirk. So that's how it is...hmm...this could be very interesting. Maybe I could help Buffy and Will in giving Harry a...nudge in the right direction...
The two sides greeted each other politely. The adults greeted each other, chatting briefly about the Americans' flight and the teens' antics. Giles seemed fascinated by Tonks' hair, which was down to her lower back, lime-green, and in corkscrew curls.
Angel and Harry's handshake was tense, to say the least. Angel seemed very amused at the way the much younger man was glaring at him.
As was Buffy and Willow's greetings to Ginny. Ginny's greeting with Angel was a little too polite; they all noticed how long she clasped his hand and the way she looked at him.
"Angel, is it? I positively love that name!" she exclaimed, not noticing Buffy's threatening gestures toward her behind her back.
Nuh-unh! Now it is on! Buffy thought to herself.
Whoa! She better watch out! Hermione thought.
"Er...thank you..." Angel replied, awkwardly.
After rescuing his hand from Ginny's claws, Angel moved deliberately to stand behind both Buffy and Hermione. Engaging the two in seemingly innocent conversation, he waited until the Harry's eyes were on him to put a hand on each of the girls' waists.
He could practically smell the boy's anger and frustration. Cue Angelus smirk.
Remus and Tonks watched this exchange amusedly.
When Buffy turned around to look at him questioningly, he winked at her and nodded towards Harry, who at this point looked as if he wanted to break something; something like Angel's hand.
Meanwhile, Ron and Xander were greeting each other jovially, and everyone knew they would get along entirely too well.
Fred and George made a show of kissing Buffy, Willow, and Cordelia's hands, before George pulled a innocuous looking flower seemingly out of nowhere and handed it with a flourish to Cordelia.
"For the pretty lady," he announced, charmingly.
"Why, thank you!" she exclaimed, glancing at Xander to see his reaction. He looked the other way, seemingly uncaring.
Cordy didn't notice the conniving smirks on the Twins' faces.
As she went to lift it to her face to smell, Hermione yelled, "Cordelia, NO!!!!" and rushed towards her.
"What?" she asked obliviously, still holding the flower.
"It's a trick!" Hermione explained, reaching for the flower. Ginny beat her to it. She snatched it from Cordelia, and, wanting to prove Hermione wrong in front of Angel, said loudly, "No, it's not! Calm down, Hermione. You're always nagging someone about something!"
Making sure everyone was looking, especially Angel, she waved the flower slowly in front of her face. "See!"
"Actually..." the Twins began, sheepishly.
Everyone, especially Buffy and Willow, couldn't hold in the laughter that erupted from them at the sight of Ginny's dumbfounded face covered in hot pink ink.
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