Slayer Serendipity

Disclaimer: Yet again...not mine...at least the characters. But yeah...okay.

Summary: Another example of how much I would rather live in my “delusions” than canon. Yeah...okay, like I said, I started this a couple of months ago, and am not really sure about in what direction I'm going to take it. In Potterland, it's set in the summer right after the sixth book. In Buffy verse...it's...after Surprise...but before Graduation...yeah. They know Angel is cursed, but he hasn't yet left Sunnydale. Yup. Anyways, I probably need a beta for this...so...if you're interested email me at: cenas_fave_chick@yahoo.com...kay? Kay. Review please!

Hermione walked throught the park, composing her latest letter to Harry in her mind. It was near dark, but she wasn't worried. She was in the U.S. after all. A nice little town in California called Sunnydale. The Order had originally been worried about her traversing to another country with Voldemort free and all, but she and her parents were staying in a summer house with all of the proper protection and anti-apparition spells. She'd even gotten her own owl, hopefully one that would not be recognizable. She herself had been slightly worried about leaving Harry and Ron by themselves when there was so much research on horcruxes they could be doing. Well, that and the fact that she had also left Harry in Grimauld Place with Ginny. She wondered if he was thinking about her; what she was doing, who she was with...These thoughts would probably be more likely to come from Ron...at least they would have been a couple of months ago. Now, he was wrapped around Luna Lovegood's little finger, which greatly amused Harry and Hermione. So, Ron's with Luna, and Harry's probably with Ginny...and I have no one...she thought sadly to herself. With a sigh, she went back to the letter. Dear Harry--no--just Harry comma. Hello, how are you? No, too...lame. Hmm...

All of a sudden something leaped in front of her and she screamed involuntarily. With the realization that the ridged-faced, fanged, creature, in front of her was a vampire, she quickly pulled her want out of her pocket, at the same time that a blonde girl in a red blouse, black mini skirt, and black leather coat, jumped out from the same place the vampire had come. Hermione quickly stunned the vampire causing it to fall back onto the stake the blonde girl was holding. She watched with wide eyes as the vampire turned to dust.

'Wow,' Hermione said softly.

She and the blonde each looked up and said, simultaneously, "How'd you do that?"

Each laughed nervously.

'I'm Buffy,' she girl said to her, holding out her hand.

'I'm Hermione.' 'How'd you do that, seriously?' Buffy asked, looking at her slightly suspiciously,"you waved that--stick and it just froze.'

Hermione also froze. She'd hoped that the gir--Buffy, hadn't seen that. She contemplated lying but then decided the better of it. There was something different Buffy, the same as there was something different about her, herself. So she told her.

'I'm a witch. It was magic.'

Buffy reacted differently than she expected. Instead of the shock or confusion she expected, Buffy seemed to actually relax...as if she were relieved.

'Oh.'

'Oh?'

'I was afraid you were a demon or something.'

'Demon? Me? No no no. I'm just a witch.' Hermione paused for a minute. 'Wait, vampires? Witches? Demons? How do you know about all of this?'

'Oh,' Buffy said yet again,'It's my job. I'm a vampire slayer.'

'Oh wow. And are these things all over the United States?'

'Kinda. But mostly here.'

'Wow,' Hermione murmured,'And I thought I was getting away from it all.'

'Wait,' Buffy said, quickly,'what?'

'Oh. There's stuff like this where I live too.'

'And where exactly is this?'

'Britain. There's actually a war about to start where my best friend Harry will have to face off against a homicidal maniac who's been trying to kill him since he was one year old, complete with werewolves, dark wizards, maybe even vampires. Wait, why am I telling you this?'

'Maybe you feel I can help you.'

'Do you honestly think you can?'

'Maybe. Hermione, I think it's time for you to meet Giles.'

All thoughts of Harry and Ginny were driven out of Hermione's mind as she and Buffy began to walk out of the park.

-->

After quickly dialing her mother on her new trendy little cell phone she had received as a non-magical way to keep in touch, Hermione had followed Buffy to the library of the high school.. She was now sitting at one of the tables behind tall bookcases, while he tried to summarize huge tomes of slayer history into one conversation.

“Okay...let me see if I get this...Buffy is a vampire slayer...” Hermione said slowly.

“Well, in a nutshell, but the term 'vampire slayer' usually encompasses a broader scale of creatures,” Giles elaborated.

“...and you...watch her?” Hermione asked questioningly, eyebrows raised.

“Close. I'm her watcher,” Giles emphasized.

“...and what all does that entail?”

This time it was Buffy who answered, “Oh...basic training, teaching me slayer lore, stuff like that.”

“It's actually more intricate than that,” Giles began, “A watcher is a member of a secret organization, the Watcher's Council, devoted to tracking and combatting malevolent supernatural entities, vampires especially. This is done primarily by locating individuals with the talents required to fight these beings and win, known as the Vampire Slayers, such as Buffy. We are actually trained in a special academy. I was Head Boy in my day. We are trained to be experts in the dark arts, and have a mild proficiency in magic.”

“Wow,” Hermione said softly.

“'Wow' is right!” Buffy interjected, “I didn't even know all that!”

“I've become well acquainted with the magical world over the last six years; how is it that I've never come across this in all of my studies?” Hermione asked.

“Well, much like your magical world, many are oblivious to the world of slayers and vampires until they come in direct contact with it. Even the biggest incidents caused by these creatures are kept quiet to the media and the like. And even if they aren't, they are generally regarded as insubstantial by the general public.”

“Speaking of magic, Giles, Hermione can do some! Watch!”

Giles had known it must have been something of this sort for Buffy to actually drag the brunette Brit down to the library.

“Yes, Hermione let's see,” Giles prodded.

“Well, what do you want me to do?” Hermione asked nervously.

“Anything,” Buffy cried excitedly.

Remembering an incident that had occurred on a particular red train quite awhile back, Hermione pulled out her wand from where it was concealed in a holster on her right leg and pointed it at Giles's glasses. More particularly at a section of the frame that was cracked slightly. (This was, unbeknownst to her, actually due to an incident that had occurred when Xander decided to try out Oz's skateboard in the library and landed right in the arms of Giles.)

“Occulus Reparo!” Hermione commanded.

Buffy gasped at the sight of Giles's glasses repairing themselves. Giles looked slightly relieved now that the stick of wood was not pointed at his head anymore.

“Extraordinary. This wand...may I?” Giles asked, holding out his hands tentatively.

“Oh! Sure.” Hermione said, handing it over.

Giles ran his fingers over it, examining it from every angle.

“I'm sure Willow will be very interested in this,” he remarked to Buffy, before returning the wand to Hermione.

“Definitely,” she replied.

“Oh, does she do magic, too?” Hermione asked.

“Well...she dabbles. The last big thing she did was the Soul-Binding...”

Buffy let the sentence die away. Giles seemed to see no reason to elaborate to Hermione about this particularly touchy subject, so Hermione didn't ask.

Giles searched for a subject to change to. He found one after only a moment.

“So Hermione...what is this Buffy tells me about a war?”

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

“...and Voldemort and his followers are now gathering various minions, everything from trolls, to werewolves, and Inferi,” Buffy continued breathlessly.

“Inferi, did you say?” Giles asked intently.

“Ooh, wait! Inferi, Inferi! I know this one! Nobody tell me!” Buffy chattered excitedly, “Ummm...Zombies!! Right?”

She looked toward her Watcher for verification.

“...that's one term for it,” Giles contended.

Hermione continued, “And now with Professor Dumbledore gone, I don't know how long the Order's going to last. And I'm worried about Harry.”

“Well, I assure you, Hermione, that we'll try to help in any way we can. Buffy,” he addressed, “don't you think the rest of the 'Scoobies', as you prefer to call them, would be interested in meeting Hermione?”

“Of course! Especially Willow. I'm sure you'll find lots and lots of stuff to talk about. I think Xander will be happy to meet her, too,” she said amusedly, speaking to Giles rather than Hermione.

“I'm sure. Have you, er, spoken to Angel lately?” he asked softly.

Buffy's eyes dropped before coming back up. Both Hermione and Giles noticed it, but neither addressed it.

“He's actually supposed to be meeting me here. We're going to do some patrolling.”

Hermione sensed that there was some history between this mysterious Angel character and her new found friend and ally, but she contented herself in knowing she would probably find out eventually. Glancing at her watch suddenly, then toward the windows, she realized how late it was actually getting.

“Er...I've better get going,” she announced, “My mum's probably wondering where I am.”

She stood up from the table and pushed in her chair.

“Oh, yes, of course,” Giles replied.

“It was nice meeting you, Mr. Giles,” said Hermione, politely.

“Yes, you too, Hermione,” he returned, shaking her proffered hand, “And you can drop the “mister;” most just call me simply Giles.”

“Or G-Man; whichever works,” Buffy piped, grinning impishly. Growing serious, she turned to Hermione.

“Do you want me to walk you home?”

“Erm...I think I have it handled,” Hermione said, slightly unsure of herself, “Besides, you have to wait for Angel.”

“Okay. Well, I'll call you tomorrow.”

Hermione bade them both goodbye as she walked toward the door of the library.

Remembering which way they had entered, she turned to walk down the long hall. Coming towards her was a darkly handsome man who looked to be in his early twenties.

He was well built with luxuriously dark hair, and eyes that were so deep she imagined you could drown in them. He was also dressed rather darkly; the most outstanding article being the black coat that fell to his ankles. He looked at her slightly quizzically, as if wondering at her presence in the library, but just smiled politely before continuing into the library.

Falling out of the trance she seemed to have been lured into, Hermione breathed, “...wow.”

-->

Buffy and Angel were in front of the mansion's unlit fireplace. Her head was on his shoulder, their fingers entwined idly. It had been an almost wasted patrol. They had not come across a single vampire.

She was now telling him Hermione's story. He listened intently, not interrupting once. She finished with, “...and I think we should help.”

“Buffy,” he began.

“Don't 'Buffy' me,” she gently chided. She raised her head, looking him straight in the face.

“But we can't exactly leave the Hellmouth unguarded to go gallivanting off to Europe!”

“It won't be totally unguarded,” Buffy reasoned, “Faith and Wesley will be here. Besides, there aren't as many vampires as there are supposed to be. Haven't you noticed? We didn't come across one on patrol tonight. Hermione thinks this situation with this Voldy person has something to do with it.”

“But do you really think this is a good idea?”

“Half of the situations I get myself into stem from not-so-good ideas, but I always come out alive at the end, don't I?”

Angel's lack of protest told her all she needed to know.

“Besides,” she continued, placatingly, “we'll just be a call away. Hermione says there are also alternate magical forms of communication we can use. Angel,” she said, widening her hazel eyes, “we are going to get to see magic! Real magic!”

Angel couldn't help but smile at the sight of Buffy's wide-eyed eagerness.

Seeing him smile, Buffy resettled into her place on his shoulder.

“Besides,” she continued, softly, “I'm about ninety-five-point-nine-nine-nine-nine-infinity percent sure that Hermione has a thing for Harry. So I have to help her get the hook up.”

“'Ninety-five-point-nine-nine-nine-nine-infinity percent', huh?” he asked, amusedly, “How could you possibly know that? You've talked to the girl all of an hour!”

“Girls just know these things,” Buffy replied wisely, “Besides, I was ninety-give-point-nine-nine-nine-nine-infinity-percent sure I had a thing for you. And I was right.”

“Oh, really?” he asked, teasingly, lowering his head slightly.

“Really,” she answered, softly, bring her head up to kiss him gently.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

Quite a while later, the Scoobies plus Angel, Hermione, and Giles were settling into their meeting in the library. While Hermione was telling her story, Giles was already nosedeep into a book of creatures Hermione believed would probably be involved in the battle.

Willow was excitedly examining a book of simple spells Hermione had given her, with the promise that, with the help of the Order, they would soon procure her a wand.

Oz was listening intently to Hermione in that silent way of his, but was also watching Willow intently and smiling solemnly at the delight on her face.

Buffy and Angel were concentrating on the simultaneous moves of their Tai Chi.

Xander hadn't taken his eyes off Hermione ever since she had walked in the door.

Cordelia was pouting sullenly, sequentially shooting glares at first Xander, then Hermione. She sighed every once in a while, just to let everyone around her know how bored she was.

Once Hermione finished, she looked around at everyone, with shyness bordering on hope.

“So...do you think you'd be willing to help?” she asked, expectantly.

“Well, I've made all of the necessary arrangements. It just depends on if everyone is willing, and allowed,” he reemphasized, “to go.”

“We're in,” Buffy answered for both her and Angel.

“Uh, oh, Giles,” Angel began, hesitatingly, “those arrangements were made during the dark hours right?”

“Oh, yes, of course, Angel,” Giles reassured him.

“I'm in,” Willow piped, pulling her head out of the spellbook for the first time in the last hour.

“Me too,” Oz supplied.

“I guess,” Cordelia, replied reluctantly.

Everyone looked at Xander expectantly.

Cordelia, glaring once again, snapped her fingers sharply in front of Xander's face.

Xander seemed to break out of some trance he had been in, his eyes finally leaving Hermione.

“Um...what were we talking about?”

Hermione stifled a very Malfoy-like smirk.

“He's in,” Cordelia answered for him, rolling her eyes.

“Great! Thank you so much,” Hermione gushed, “I'll write to Harry—and the Order,” she added quickly, “as soon as possible.”

“Yeah, Hermione,” Buffy began, winking slyly at Angel, “how about I help you with that letter?”

“O-okay,” Hermione answered uncharacteristically confused.

Buffy was the only one who noticed Angel's slight grin; but they all noticed Cordelia's slap to the back of Xander's head.

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*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.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

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 31^st,” 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.”

-->

***********************

Harry was having an odd dream.

He was trying to get to Hermione, but the closer he tried to get to her, the farther she got away from him. They were walking in a loud, crowded corridor, oddly reminiscent of the halls of Hogwarts. He could see Hermione directly in front of him, but the people wouldn't move. He tried to explain to them that he had something he had to tell Hermione. He couldn't remember what it was, but he remembered that it was something he really, really needed to tell her, before—before—

Then it happened.

A dark figure, all of a sudden, appeared next to Hermione. He had dark hair and even darker clothes. He couldn't identify him, but Hermione's written description of a certain person echoed in his head: 'You have to see him to believe him, Ginny...'

He tried to yell: 'No! No! Hermione!!,' but the words wouldn't come out.

He realized what the figure was doing before he actually did it. He knew instinctively knew who it was. Angel. He watched in horror as Angel's arm slowly came around Hermione's waist. Hermione turned slightly and shot him a sad smile before recommencing walking down the corridor. Out of her line of sight, the figure smirked triumphantly.

Harry tried to run, tried to get to the two to break them up and tell Hermione what he so severely needed to tell her, but all of a sudden there was a weight on his arm. He looked down to see Ginny clutching his arm tightly, and grinning triumphantly at all of the people around him. He attempted to shake her off, but found that he couldn't.

Then her voice seemed to penetrate through the cacophony around them.

“Harry! Oh, Harry!”

He shot her an irritated glance and increased his efforts get to Hermione. “Hermione! Hermi—”

“Harry!”

He sat up with Hermione's name on his lips. He finally realized why he had woken up so suddenly; Ginny was apparently standing outside his bedroom door.

“Harry! Oh, Harry! It's time for breakfast!”

He held in a groan that threatened to spill from his lips.

“Alright, alright! I'm up!” he called back, tiredly.

As he dressed, he thought about the strange dream he'd just had. He couldn't help but wonder what it could possibly mean.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

Finally dressed, he opened the door and was surprised to see Ginny still standing there.

“Good morning,” she said, brightly.

She stood there, hands behind her back, looking up at him expectantly.

He just glanced at her oddly before returning a hesitant, “Good morning.”

He yawned widely and ran a hand over his hair, trying to force it into some form of order.

“Here, let me get that!” Ginny said, eagerly.

Harry fixed her with another odd look.

“Err, no, I think this is about as good as it is going to get,” he explained, “I'll just have Hermione fix me some of that potion she uses on hers...when she gets back, that is,” he finished, dishearteningly.

He began to walk down the stairs, Ginny tagging behind him.

This mention of Hermione seemed to further lower Ginny's bright disposition. A pout had already been put in place after he had refused her help with his hair, but it had become a full on frown once Hermione was mentioned.

“Oh, yeah. Good, old Hermione,” she said in a mocking tone, “When is the frizzy haired bookwork we all know and love coming back?”

“Early tomorrow morning, at the absolute earliest. Apparently, they had to make special arrangements due to this 'Angel' person she's been talking about...”

Saying his name left a bad taste in Harry's mouth.

“Ha. That's rich. Who does this guy think he is?” Ginny sneered.

Harry didn't answer.

Upon reaching the end of the stairs and the threshold to the dining room, Ginny shocked Harry greatly by grabbing his hand. Harry could just stare dumbly down at their entwined fingers as they turned into the dining room.

Seated at the table were Ron, Remus, and surprisingly, Fred and George. Mrs. Weasley was on her feet, cooking.

Seeing her family, Ginny made a show of hastily releasing his hand and made an effort at blushing that didn't work out so well.

“Mornin,' mate,” Ron greeted him, smiling oddly at him, “Have a good sleep?”

Harry almost flinched at the memory of his dream. He couldn't answer. Fred/George greeted him, saving him from answering the painful question.

“Good morning, my dear Harry,” Fred, (or George, he couldn't tell) greeted him also.

“Yes, top o' the morning, my good man,” the other answered.

“Morning,' Fred, George. Remus,” he added.

Harry had finally conceded to call the ex-professor by his given name after he had chided him about calling him 'Professor' about a thousand times.

Pulling up a chair, he sat down wearily next to Remus. He closed his eyes and held in a grimace when he heard the screeching of another chair being dragged across the floor. He wasn't surprised to glance to his left and see Ginny beaming up at him.

“Cor, Ginny, give the man some room to breathe!” Fred/George exclaimed.

The one who had not made the exclamation simply rolled his eyes.

Ron was beaming almost as brightly as Ginny.

Fred/George and George/Fred noticed this and just had to say something about it.

“You know, Harry, if you're not careful, ickle Ronniekins here, will have your entire wedding planned out before lunch,” one said.

“Don't forget the kids' names,” the other added.

“Oh, stop,” Ginny retorted.

Harry almost found himself missing the days in which she would have run out of the room at a remark half as bad as that one. Now, she just smiled coyly and winked at Ron.

Remus laid a hand on his arm in sympathy.

Harry felt like banging his head into something. Hard. Again. And again. And again.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

Hermione and the Scoobies were on a red eye flight that would only take them about halfway to their desired destination, but it was necessary to ensure that Angel would not be exposed to sunlight. After taking this flight, they would stop and check into a hotel to sleep, and wait for the sun to set once more.

Having boarded the plane, they each settled into their respected seats.

It was Buffy with Angel, Willow with Oz, Cordelia with Xander, and Hermione with...Giles.

Hermione spent the first hour talking with Giles about various creatures and forms of magic before the librarian had pulled out a pillow and announced he was going to nap.

Now, with nothing else to do, Hermione looked around at her fellow passengers. There weren't that many. The plane was mostly quiet; except, that is, for Cordelia and Xander. They had barely taken off and they had already begun arguing.

Xander, noticing Hermione's glance over at them, grinned and waved eagerly. Cordelia scowled from behind Xander. Hermione looked away quickly.

Willow had fallen asleep on Oz's shoulder. Oz had laid his head over hers and appeared to be on the verge of sleep himself. He also noticed her gaze and gave a solemn smile.

She smiled back faintly before moving her glance to Angel and Buffy.

Buffy was leaned over so that her head was under his, resting on his chest. He held her hand in his, playing with their fingers. She noticed for the first time their matching rings. She couldn't help but feel slightly envious at the sight of the two murmuring quietly to each other. She wondered vaguely if she and Harry would ever be like that. Well, she could at least dream. With this though now in her head, she pulled out her own pillow and laid down her head to sleep.

-->

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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Disclaimer: Yet again...not mine...at least the characters. But yeah...okay.

A/N: Ahh. Um. *Dodges old, rotten, moldy vegetables* …Happy, Turkey Day…?? Can you please wait until after I get to eat my grandma's pumpkin pie to kill me…? More apologies after the end.

Chapter Seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeven

Ginny was in the loo of the airport, furiously scrubbing at her face.

The twins had, of course, made it impossible to charm off the fluorescent ink, and it was only to be removed by a special salve, which was, according to the twins “still in production”.

Or which, unbeknownst to Ginny, could have just been in Fred's back pocket. Who knows?

She was muttering darkly under her breath, oblivious to the strange looks she was getting from the people around her.

One little girl, about the age of four, in particular was looking at her quite strangely.

“Lady, whatcha doin'?”

The little girl was actually quite adorable, all blue eyes and blond curls, but Ginny wasn't in the mood for it at this particular moment.

Shooting a look at the little girl, she continued scrubbing.

“Lady,” the little girl continued, reaching a chubby little fist to tug at Ginny's skirt.

A chubby little fist that was, oh so conveniently, covered in some sort of candy confection or another.

“Why, you little—,” Ginny exclaimed, fingers itching for her wand, but as soon as her hand began inching towards it, it was stopped.

“Ginny,” Hermione said, warningly, placing her hand over the younger witch's.

“Oh, relax!” Ginny snapped, “I was just going to charm the stain out of my skirt!”

“Shh,” Hermione said, quickly. The redhead seemed to forget that they were still in a Muggle airport.

Before looking around subtly, and turning her back to the child who was still standing there expectantly, Hermione waved her hand over the stain and murmured a charm, leaving it spotless.

“Showoff,” Ginny muttered darkly, turning back toward the mirror.

Turning back toward the child, Hermione kneeled so that she was on her level.

“Hi,” Hermione said, “What's your name?”

“Madison,” she answered, sticking a sticky thumb in her mouth.

“Hi, Madison. I'm Hermione. Do you need help washing your hands?”

Madison nodded.

Hermione lifted the little girl slightly, helping her to reach the taps.

“MADISON!”

A cry was heard throughout the loo.

A quite harried looking woman came running around the corner.

“Mommy!” Madison cried back in delight, running to her.

“Oh, thank God!” the woman exclaimed, clutching Madison to her. “I let her go in the stall by herself—she must have crawled under the wall when I wasn't paying attention! Thank you so much for catching her!”

“Oh, it was no problem!” Hermione assured her. “She's a sweetheart.”

While the woman continued to thank Hermione, Ginny watched with a sour expression.

Just like Hermione! Always trying to portray herself as some kind of saint!

When the woman actually looked at her, standing at Hermione's side, she took in her rosy face, and her smile dimmed somewhat.

“Next time, use a little less blush, dear,” she advised.

Then, taking a hold of Madison's little hand, she smiled one last time at Hermione and they walked out of the loo.

Hermione, having stifled a laugh at the woman's advice to Ginny, struggled to keep a straight face.

“Are you ready, Ginny?” Hermione asked, kindly.

“Of course, I am,” Ginny snapped back, before haughtily strutting toward the door.

Rolling her eyes, Hermione followed her out of the loo.

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The group was standing in the waiting area, faces still red from laughing so hard, Buffy and Willow still clutching each other in delight.

Even Angel and Oz were still chuckling quietly.

Ginny started toward the twins, muttering lethal oaths under her breath. Ron reluctantly blocked her path, knowing it best not to cause a scene in the crowded Muggle airport.

Giles cleared his throat, hoping the straight face he was attempting to keep was buyable.

“Well, now. Can we be on our way?”

“But, Mr. Giles—Giles,” Hermione amended quickly, “did you find the suitcase?”

“Oh, yes,” Giles, answered, “and according to Mr. Lupin, the tamper detection charms you placed on it were not violated, so apparently it was just a misplacement.”

“Oh, good,” Hermione replied, relieved.

“In that case, let's hit the highway!” Xander exclaimed loudly, causing the people around to start suddenly.

Eyes were rolled, a slap was heard, and also a loud “ouch!”

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Outside were two cars that Lupin had procured.

Lupin and Tonks looked on dubiously as Fred and George began arguing over who was going to drive the first car.

“I'm older,” Fred explained.

“Now, mate, that's the same argument you used when we went to rescue Harry in the Ford Anglia, and it worked then. So it's not going to work now,” George cried, as he jumped into the driver's seat.

Sighing, Fred got into the passenger's seat, putting his feet on the dashboard.

Looking out the window at the group standing on the pavement, he said, “Well, get in then.”

The Hogwarts group, looking right nervous, began to file into the car, all minus Ginny who jumped into the truck unofficially deemed the Slayerettes' after Willow and before Angel, leaving no room for Buffy.

Buffy seethed. She had no problem sitting with Hermione and her friends, but there was no way she was going to leave her boyfriend with this redheaded witch.

“Oh, Buffy,” Ginny began, poison words candy-coated, “I think there's room in the other car.”

Angel, feeling Ginny's hand on his knee and as reluctant as Buffy was to see her in the other car, quickly solved this conundrum by pulling a surprised Buffy down on top of his lap, and slamming the door behind her.

“Let's go,” he said to Lupin who was behind the wheel.

Ginny was not happy.

A/N: But who really cares about Ginny's happiness, anyways?

Apologies: OMG. I am so sorry. It'll be six months this Sunday that I haven't updated. First, it was a block I couldn't get rid of, then it was technical difficulties (which it still kind of is.) But…today, I actually had access to a computer, so…here it is. Breakthrough. Thank you so much for all the reviews; they were very well the only reason I kept this up. I love ya!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S. I don't know if Fred is older or not…but…it fit the argument…

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The ride was relatively uneventful, if you didn't count the numerous times in which the entire car screamed when George slammed on the brakes...

“Oy! You big babies! That wasn't even scary!” George cried, after glancing in the back to see the passengers all holding on for dear life.

Hermione begged to differ, but of course didn't say anything.

Harry had breathed a sigh of relief upon realizing that Ginny had apparently rode in the car with Buffy and her friends. His sigh was also in part due to the fact that Hermione was sitting next to him. He finally had the chance to talk to her and catch up, but for some strange reason, he couldn't bring himself to even look at her. He knew he was able to talk to her about anything, but for some reason he couldn't seem to formulate the words to tell her how much he had missed her and how happy he was to see her again.

“How odd...” he mused to himself, not realizing that he had said it aloud.

“What's odd, Harry?” Hermione asked, touching his arm gently.

“O-Oh, nothing,” Harry stammered.

Hermione looked at him oddly, but didn't say anything further. Turning slightly, she looked out the window, watching the scenery go by.

Inside Harry was seething.

'What is wrong with me? I'm not a bloody first-year asking to sit next to some girl on the Hogwarts Express! I'm seventeen years old, damn it! And Harry Potter! Yeah, I'm him too!'

As he'd been thinking these things, his face had screwed up in consternation. Hermione was still looking out the window, but Ron had noticed.

“Harry, you all right there, mate?” he asked.

“Yeah, yeah, I'm fine,” Harry answered, striving for offhandedness, but only getting as far as croaking.

“Listen, mate, I know what's wrong,” Ron confided, leaning forward as if sharing some big secret, “and it's nothing to worry about.

“It isn't?” Harry asked, dubiously, glancing over at Hermione in hopes that she hadn't been listening and caught on as Ron apparently had.

“Oh no, man,” Ron replied, assuredly. “I know you're feeling weird because Ginny's sitting in the other car with that Angel bloke, but it's only a passing fancy! You know she really cares for you as much as you care for her. So don't worry about it!”

And with that, Ron sat back in his seat and sighed the contented sigh of a man who honestly believes he has shed some light on his best mate's current conundrum.

But of course, said best mate was currently harboring a secret urge to strangle this obviously disillusioned man.

“Oh, yeah. Thanks, mate,” Harry replied caustically, painfully aware that Hermione's hand was no longer on his arm.

“Anytime, man,” Ron replied.

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“SHE IS SUCH A STICKY LITTLE WET...THING!” Buffy whispered vehemently in Angel's ear.

“Yeah, but I think Cordelia is about to deck her...” Angel replied.

Ginny was apparently orchestrating a valiant attempt to make Angel jealous by draping herself all over Xander. Xander, stuck between said sticky little wet thing and Cordelia, was emitting terrified little squeaks and looking frantically between the two. Ginny was apparently too caught up in trying to communicate with Xander through babytalk (“Oh, you are so cute, my yiddle Xander! Oh yes, you are! Oh yes, you are!”) and shooting sidelong glances at Angel to notice the way that Cordelia was cracking her knuckles.

Buffy was honestly afraid that sooner or later she was going to have to “break up” the fight threatening to ensue, while getting in a couple of hits of her own, of course, until Willow distracted Ginny with a discussion about magic.

“Well, of course, Harry is naturally very gifted, but he practices every day just in case he ever needs to protect me, of course,” Ginny said airily.

Buffy mimed barfing into her hards behind Ginny's back.

“Protect you? Oh, I can't imagine anyone wanting to hurt you...” Cordelia said, almost convincingly.

“Oh, of course, I can't protect myself,” Ginny replied, heatedly. “I have a mad Bat Bogey Hex. Maybe I should demonstrate it to you sometime, Cordelia...”

“Maybe you should!” Cordelia replied darkly.

“Well, Ginny,” Angel began pointedly, intervening, “Hermione is also very gifted, is she not? I sense a certain power around her.”

“Weeeeelll,” Ginny replied, drawing out the word, “she's alright, I guess. She should be, what with the amount of time she spends with her nose in a book. Honestly, if you have that much free time that you can spend your entire day in the library, you really need to get a life.”

Oz had to hold Willow back with all his strength.

“Um, how much longer?” Xander asked.

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“Well, my dear brother, what do you think of the Americans?” Fred asked.

“Honestly, the girls are right cute. Angel looks right scary, and that Oz fellow, also. Xander just reminds me of a goofier Ron.”

“Couldn't have said it better myself,” Fred replied, grinning.

“D'you see the looks our dear little sister were giving that Angel bloke?”

“Damn near steamed his shorts.”

“Too right.”

“Well, maybe she'll get off Harry's back for once.”

“Let's hope.”

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The snores just seemed to get louder with each passing.

Harry scrunched up his eyes and wished vainly for sleep. If Ron would just shut...up...it might actually come to him. He sighed loudly, causing Hermione to shift slightly in her sleep, and glanced over at the other passengers.

Ron had his head thrown back, his mouth wide open, and an arm thrown back over his head. Hermione was against his arm, deeply asleep with her head hidden in his side. Tonks was also in the backseat, lime green hair concealing her face from view.

He could hear Fred and George talking lowly, and wondered vaguely what they were discussing. Deciding he probably didn't need nor want to know, he closed his eyes and leaned his head back.

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This was going just great, Ginny had concluded.

She was certain that Angel was right jealous of the attention was she was giving Xander. It was obvious how he felt for her. Who cares that Buffy had thrown herself on his lap? I mean, honestly, who would turn her down? She contemplated this while looking in her compact and puckering her lips at her reflection. That's right, she concluded. Nobody.

“Oh, is my yiddle Xander asleep? I don't think he is. Let's see if a little tickling won't wake him up!”

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Hermione didn't know how long she had pretended to be asleep. Snuggling up in Harry's arm had been very tempting and she didn't feel like facing the odd tension that had sprouted between her and Harry. As much as she wanted to talk to him, Ron's little pep talk about Ginny had squashed any chance of her and Harry having a normal conversation. After Ron had begun interrogating her on American television and the sport known as “football”, she had decided it was time for some sleep...which hadn't happened after Ron had begun to snore.

She wondered how much farther they had left. They were only going to Grimmauld place after all. She briefly toyed with the thought of actually asking but decided that might just wake up Ron. While that would put a stop to the snoring, it would also mean she would have to put up with grouchy!Ron. Deciding that it was not worth the risk, she decided to keep her mouth shut.

Hearing Harry sigh somewhere above her, she jumped slightly, not realizing that he was still awake. She waited a couple of minutes in silence before asking quietly, “Harry?”

“Yeah, Hermione?” he whispered in reply.

“Are you awake?”

“Yes...”

“Oh! I'm sorry! Stupid question.”

“It's alright.”

A few more minutes passed in silence.

“Harry?”

“Yeah?”

“I just wanted to tell you I really--”

“WE'RE HERE!” the twins cried as the Grimmauld Place appeared in the distance.

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