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Finding Love	By : angelinasway Category: BtVS Crossovers > BtVS/Harry Potter Views: 2601 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Harry Potter belong to Joss Whedon and J.K Rowling. This story is for entertainment, not for profit.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
So I am so very sorry for the wait. Life has been incredibly busy for the last 6 months. I have barley had time to write at all. Hope you like this chapter, and thank you so much for you reviews.

Special thanks to AerynSpeedleCaine for her beta job.
Disclaimer: Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Harry Potter belong to Joss Whedon and J.K Rowling. This story is for entertainment, not for profit.

Chapter 6

Buffy didn’t even realize she had moved until she had tossed the half-demon across the cemetery. Her mate was in trouble. That was the mantra that kept repeating itself in her head.

She had felt it in that moment- a searing pain, which was most likely from the vision the demon had pushed into Tom’s head- then unadulterated horror which had nearly dropped her to her knees. It was as if all of Buffy’s worst fears were made a reality... only they weren’t her fears, they were Tom’s. She didn’t know how she knew that, she just did. And the only thing that mattered at that moment was getting him safe.

She scooped him into her arms, barely aware of his incoherent mumbling, running as if the hounds of hell were right on her heels.

She made it to her house in record time, her feet slapping along the pavement up the driveway. Angel was standing on her front porch when she got there; he must have been waiting for her to get home, because he was suddenly looming in front of her.

“What happened?” He asked once he saw the wild look in her eyes and the trembling boy in her arms.

Buffy’s arm tightened around Tom and her feet switched into a defensive pose. All she knew in that moment was that there was someone distracting her from her goal of reaching the front door. Her eyes flashed dangerously and it was only Angel’s softly spoken words that haltered her from jump kicking him through said door.

Angel could tell the second Buffy stepped into a defensive pose that she was not with him. So he did the only thing he could, he took a step back holding up his hands in surrender. “Let me help you,” he said as gently as he could.

Buffy blinked several times finally recognizing the presence in front of her. “A-Angel,” she choked, her steely composure breaking somewhat.

“What happened?” he asked again, this time very softly.

“I…” she swallowed hard. “I’m not sure.” Her eyes strayed to her front door and Angel obligingly stepped out of her way.

She shot into the house and Angel followed her inside at a safe distance. “I think he’s going into shock,” he said calmly. “You’ll have to get him warm and you’ll need to get something sweet into him.”

She was setting Tom on the couch when Angel’s words halted her actions. She tried to think of the quickest way to get him warm. She had a fireplace but no wood. She could go grab the comforter in her bedroom and perhaps get under there with him, but she was impatient and she needed to know he was okay now. God, Giles was so going to kill her. Tom had gotten hurt because of her. She should have known that little half-demon was up to no good.

“Could you please do me a favor, and find him something sweet?” She asked not turning around because her composure was breaking completely. “I’m going to go try and get him warm while you do that.”

“Buffy,” Angel said softly hearing the tears in her voice.

“P-please Angel, I… just please,” she pleaded, voice cracking. “I-I need to know he’s okay before I can talk.”

Angel nodded at Buffy’s trembling form. “Sure,” he whispered sadly and walked quietly into the kitchen.

Buffy focused completely on Tom, thankful that Angel had left the room. She had to get him warm and the quickest way she could think of was the shower. She headed up the stairs and into the bathroom locking the door behind her.

Buffy brought the toilet seat down with her foot so she could set Tom on it. She wasn’t prepared for the iron grip he had around her arms. His long fingers almost locked around her biceps. She slowly lowered him onto the toilet so that her hands were free to pry his fingers away from her sure to be bruised flesh. The whole time she whispered nonsense words like her mother used to do for her when she was hurt.

She propped him against the back of the toilet as best she could, eyes filling with tears once she noticed how unfocused and dilated his eyes were; his breathing was also erratic and small tremors rippled through his body. Tom began to tremble harder when Buffy stepped back to undress. She stripped down to her panties and bra as quickly as she could, and then turned on the shower.

Getting Tom down to his boxers was a task in itself, though she managed to do it without too many problems. Buffy checked the temperature of the water, making sure it wasn’t scalding, but that it was hot enough to actually have an effect. She gently stepped under the spray with Tom firmly in her arms.

It seemed to take a lifetime before the tremors subsided and his breathing seemed to slow to a normal rate. She knew when he became coherent again because his arms immediately wrapped around her waist and he began to support his own weight. He buried his face in her neck as if to hide it. It didn’t take long to figure out why. His body began to rock with tremors again, only they were tremors of a whole different sort.

It was as if someone had lifted a veil around Tom’s emotions. He had only seen a picture of his future self, but it was as if every one of that hideous creature’s victims had screamed in pain at once. It did not take a Ravenclaw to figure out that he had used the worst kind of Dark Arts available. For only the blackest of magic could twist and distort you into something as vile as that. Tom would forever be reminded of those horrid unfeeling red eyes.

He tightened his grip around Buffy’s waist and began to sob uncontrollably into her neck. He wondered when exactly he began to feel it was necessary to use such horrid methods against muggle-born wizards. Was it his plans to petrify a few muggle-born students that had driven him to act so reckless? Or was it darker? Or did the roots run much deeper than that? Was his quest for power and the intent to rid his life of anyone who reminded him of his father and what he represented become Tom's downfall? Or had it been something genetically hardwired into him because he was the heir of Slytherin? He had no answers for any of these questions.

He only knew in that moment that he did not deserve Buffy’s affection. Nor her kindness, but he was much too selfish to give up something this miraculous. So he did the only thing he could, he cried out his anguish and guilt into the crook of her neck; hoping against all odds that his fate had truly changed.

It took everything in Angel’s power once he heard the shower come on, not to run up the stairs and break down the bathroom door. His heart felt as if it was being torn out of his chest, knowing that some other man was touching what he perceived as his- and whether or not said man was in actuality just a child who was going through a traumatic experience of his own- was beside the point; he also felt a familiar icy chill every time he was near the boy and as impossible as it was, it could only mean one thing.

He had been on the brink of losing it completely, when a noise from above halted his jealous tirade. It was a cry he had heard many times from his own mouth, especially the first twenty or so years after he had gotten his soul. It was a sound that could only be wrought by the guiltiest of consciences.

In that moment his heart went out to the boy.

Angel couldn’t imagine what had happened tonight, but in some ways he was extremely thankful for the revelation. Anyone who could feel that type of anguished guilt must have a soul, and considering the vibes he was getting off the boy that was a blessing in itself.

He had tried to tell Buffy the first night he had met Tom, but she wouldn’t listen, and now he doubted this was the best of times to come out and reveal what he was feeling. He then made the decision that perhaps a phone call to Giles was in order. He just hoped the Watcher got here before Buffy and Tom came downstairs. This was something he had to tell Giles in person.

It seemed as if hours passed before Tom’s chest-deep sobs finally subsided, and even longer before either one of them spoke.

“I-I do not deserve you,” Tom whispered through tears that had not yet abated.

Buffy chuckled humorlessly against Tom’s shoulder, shaking her head in complete befuddlement as to why he would ever think such a thing. Especially since she had been the reason he had gotten hurt to begin with. She knew better than to trust a demon, and yet she had. She did not know why her slayer instincts had not gone off until Tom was in pain and she couldn’t understand why she had felt so paralyzed with fear.

“And here I thought it was the other way around,” Buffy whispered.

“Why would you possibly think that,” Tom asked stunned by her declaration.

“I should have known better than to trust anything that demon said,” Buffy said through gritted teeth and her own tears of guilt shining through. “He should have never been able to touch you.”

Tom’s eyes widened in realization and he pulled back to look into Buffy’s red rimmed eyes. He could not allow her to think herself responsible for something that was most likely done for a reason.

“Buffy,” he whispered when she would not meet his eyes. “Look at me.” Finally very slowly she lifted her beautiful emerald eyes to his dark forest green ones.

What Buffy saw in his eyes stole her breath away. There was a fire, a passion that they had seemed to lack before. It was as if someone had opened the floodgates on his emotions and all the things he had tried so hard to keep hidden were pouring out of his now incredibly expressive eyes.

“Do not blame yourself,” he whispered fiercely, tucking a soaked strand of hair behind Buffy’s ear, “You did nothing wrong, and neither did that demon.”

Buffy opened her mouth to protest but was halted by a finger placed gently across her lips. “Let me finish.”

When Tom was certain she would not try and interrupt, he continued. “I know his intentions were honorable because what he showed me was not a fabrication. That is something I would have felt immediately. Furthermore…” he closed his eyes, voice cracking as he tried to ward off the image of that creature again. “I would know my own eyes anywhere, even if they were changed and corrupted by dark magicks.”

He opened his eyes meeting hers. “Had I stayed on the path I was on, I would have slowly destroyed any shred of humanity I had. The type of disfigurement that I saw in that vision can only come from years of abusing the Dark Arts.” He shook his head, regret and guilt clogging his throat and making his next words raw and scratchy. “I would have become just as evil and soulless as the demons you hunt every night.”

Buffy shook her head vehemently, denial and disbelief in her eyes. “You don’t know that for sure.”

“Yes…” Tom paused, “I do.”

He looked at her then, very seriously, wanting her to see the truth in his next words. “Before I met you Buffy, my obsession for power became just as strong as my hatred towards muggles. Finding the Chamber of Secrets had to have been the catalyst to my fall into darkness. If for some reason something had gone wrong, and I had accidentally killed someone...” He looked away sighing, “I do not believe I would have cared in the least.”

She looked at him, hurt and anger swirling in those green depths, “So what’s changed? It’s only been like three days.”

Tom looked at her like she had sprouted horns; he couldn’t believe how little she thought of herself, “Do you honestly not know?”

He gently ran his finger tips along her jaw before cupping her cheek. “I have changed because for the first time in my whole life, I have a reason to care,” and then he kissed her passionately, his arm bringing her as flush against him as she would go.

Giles had removed his glasses with a grimace and was pinching the bridge of his nose, “And you’re certain?”

“Yes,” Angel said without hesitation. “It’s not exactly something you mistake. The feeling of family being close is kind of an ingrained trait.”

Giles sighed, shaking his head. “I suspected as much, I just didn’t think it would be the Master. Are you sure it’s him. It couldn’t possibly be his sire or one of his children, like Darla perhaps.

“No, if he was from Darla, or even from a child from Darla that’s something I would have felt strongly. No, whatever he is he was directly descended from the Master himself, only not.” Angel sighed sitting on the couch next to Giles. “It’s very hard to explain, I just know that Aurelius blood runs through that boy’s veins, and that it was the Master himself who put it there.”

Giles sighed nodding his understanding. “This could be rather helpful actually. I’ve just spent the better part of today discussing the information I had about Tom, seeing if there was a link in the Slytherin family to vampires at all.”

“Wait a minute. You knew the boy could have vampire blood in him?” Angel asked astonished.

“Yes,” Giles said. He looked at the vampire sadly, “Buffy has chosen Tom as her mate, which in turn made me assume there could only be vampire blood in his genealogy.”

“What?!” Angel shouted, fury evident in his chocolate brown eyes.

Giles sighed sadly, “I imagine that this must be terribly hard for you Angel, and I do hope that this doesn’t discourage you from helping us. Your help has been incredibly useful and I would hate to lose a valued ally such as yourself.”

Angel looked away shaking his head, “I was sent here to help Buffy, not to fall in love with her. I won’t…” his throat clogged with emotion. “I refuse to let her down. If Tom truly is who she belongs with then helping him is just as important as helping her.”

Giles smiled sympathetically at the vampire he was beginning to think of as a friend. “I’m glad you feel that way.”

Both Giles and Angel were torn out of their conversation by Buffy’s scream followed by hysterical laughter coming from Tom.

Angel looked at Giles a wicked gleam in his eye as he said, “I think the water just went cold.”

“Turn it off! Turn it off!” Buffy screeched trying to hold off the icy cold water that had suddenly begun to rain down on them, interrupting there intimate embrace.

That had been when Tom had completely lost it. She looked adorable trying to stem off the suddenly cold water with one hand and trying to reach the knob with the other. She had glared at him when he began to double over in laughter.

Buffy smiled evilly as a thought occurred to her and she quickly stepped out of the shower grabbing the nearest towel she could wrap herself in. A few seconds later there was a shout followed by several British curses, and it was her turn to lose herself in hysterics.

Tom tore open the shower curtain, lust and amusement smoldering in his eyes. The little minx certainly knew how to put him in his place. Her eyes had gone wide as he came towards her, amusement still clearly written in her expression as she tried to stem off another wave of laughter.

He backed her into the wall and whispered in her ear letting his lips graze the shell, “That was very naughty of you, Buffy. Perhaps I should bend you over my knee for being such a naughty little thing.”

Buffy smiled as heat swirled in her belly and she blushed prettily, “I don’t think you have the guts, Tommy,” she whispered challengingly, slowly losing any semblance of self control she had.

Tom was about to prove her so very wrong, when a knock at the door stayed his hand.

“If you two are quite finished in there, perhaps you could come out and explain what exactly is going on,” Giles said irritably.

“All right,” Buffy responded “We’ll be right out.”

Tom looked at Buffy questioningly and she grimaced, “Angel must have called Giles.”

“Angel,” Tom said a bit of contempt in his voice.

Buffy rolled her eyes at his jealous tone. “Yes, Angel. He was here when I got home tonight and he helped. He told me you were going into shock, and that I had to get you warm.”

Tom smirked at that. “He must be so pleased that you decided to use the shower to do it.”

Buffy’s eyes narrowed and she picked up his clothes tossing them at him. “I needed to get you warm and this was the quickest way,” she snapped at his implication. “I was freaking out and you were all incoherent mumbling boy. What was I supposed to do, let you go into an emotionally induced coma?”

Buffy stood there fuming a few seconds before she added, “And hey,” she stomped her foot, “a thank you for saving me, would be nice.”

If Tom thought she was adorable before, he didn’t know what he felt she was now. She stood there soaking wet and wrapped in a towel, yet more powerful than he had ever seen anyone before. She was a vision when she was angry and he had to hold himself back from kissing her, “I didn’t mean to imply…”

“Yeah, well you did.”

“I’m sorry,” Tom said putting his hand over his heart and bowing slightly. “Please forgive anything I said to offend you.”

Buffy was thrown off by his gallant apology and stood there blinking before she said, “Okay, just um… just don’t let it happen again.”

“And thank you for saving me, though I would not have gone into a coma. Your heart was in the right place, and if I had been a muggle you truly would have been saving a life tonight,” Tom said trying to explain without sounding snobbish that wizards have much different ailments than muggles do.

“I believe that whatever that demon did, it was more than just to show me my future self. I also feel as if something in my mind was unlocked, like a door; and behind that door were emotions I’ve kept hidden for so long waiting to be expressed,” Tom sighed. “Am I making any sense at all?”

Buffy nodded her head sympathetically, “My door stays closed most of the time, too.”

He smiled, “Yes, well I think the impact of feeling so much pent up emotions at once was what caused the appearance of shock. I don’t believe it would have lasted though. Your presence was what seemed to keep me the most grounded.”

She blushed before turning around and facing the wall. “Um… you should probably get dressed.”

He stared at her backside for several moments before shaking his head. She was bringing a monster out of him he didn’t even know existed.

It was several minutes before Tom and Buffy came downstairs. When Tom saw Angel he possessively wrapped his arm around Buffy’s waist and glared at the vampire.

It took every ounce of restraint Angel had not to growl menacingly at the boy. This was way beyond Buffy’s sexy dance with Xander last week. This was the woman he had thought was his, actually moving on. To say that it didn’t hurt would be a lie, but he had meant what he said tonight. He was here to help her and if that meant helping Tom too, so be it. He was not going to destroy his chance at redemption because he was jealous, and he refused to let Buffy down.

Buffy rolled her eyes at Tom’s male posturing. He really didn’t have anything to worry about, but she supposed this was the way of the male. Angel on the other hand seemed to be taking this a little too well, though he did look like someone had kicked his favorite puppy. She wondered if Giles had told him about the whole mating thing.

Giles cleared his throat breaking into Buffy’s musing, “Would you please tell us what happened tonight?”

Buffy opened her mouth to speak but Tom beat her to the punch. “We ran into a half-demon tonight, who said he was sent by the 'Powers That Be' to help me.” Tom looked down as shame filled his voice and eyes, “He showed me what my future self would have been like, had I not met Buffy.”

Giles eyes became wide. “And…” He prompted.

“Well, let’s just say evil doesn’t begin to cover what I could have become.” He closed his eyes as regret began to swim in them.

Buffy put a reassuring hand over the one around her waist, squeezing gently. “But that’s okay,” she looked at Giles, “because he has us now. We won’t let him fall.”

Giles looked at the determination in his Slayer’s eyes that he knew so well. In that moment he knew Tom would be all right. “Of course,” he stated proudly. “You are one of us now and we do not abandon our family members.”

Tom looked up sharply meeting Giles eyes. He didn’t realize that he needed to hear that word, but indeed he did. The simple truth that someone was referring to him as family was enough to start his sobbing from earlier all over again. He swallowed down the lump in his throat before saying, “Thank you, Giles.”

The elder man nodded before stating, “As for what you could have become, I believe Angel has a rather good explanation as to why you became the way you did.”

Angel who had been silent through the entire revelation looked at Tom and shrugged, “You feel like family.”

“I beg your pardon?” Tom questioned in surprise.

Angel sighed, “You feel like there is vampire blood, more specifically, Aurelius blood in your veins. When I’m next to you it sets off my instincts, and that points to you being a possible child of the Master.”

Buffy stiffened in Tom’s arms immediately, her breathing becoming labored. He tightened his grip around her waist and glared at the vampire. “How can you be so sure?” he spat.

“It’s part of our senses. We can tell when family is near.” Angel held up his hand forestalling any comment before he finished saying what he had to say, “It’s faint with you though. I can only feel it when we’re in the same room together. You also have a heartbeat and other than the feeling I have, you feel and smell like any other human or wizard would.”

“So what are you trying to say then?” Buffy whispered quietly.

“I’m saying a very long time ago, probably even a couple of millennia ago. The Master must have had a child,” Angel looked at Tom, “with a Slytherin.”

“How…how is that even possible?” Tom asked his hatred towards the vampire somewhat abating.

“I don’t know. I only know the feeling I’m getting from you,” Angel said quietly.

Buffy was the one to speak then, “It doesn’t matter,” she whispered.

Angel looked at Tom and nodded, “She’s right, it doesn’t matter. You have a soul, which means you have a choice. It’s entirely up to you which path you take, but because of your demon heritage those lines of right and wrong have a tendency to blur.” Angel then turned to Buffy, “I believe it is in those times that he will need his mate the most.”

“Quite right,” Giles said speaking up after he was sure Buffy and Tom were alright with this new development. “You will need to rely on her if you find yourself in a situation where, for lack of a better word, the demon in you wants blood. She will be your anchor.”

“But most of all,” Angel added. “You will need each other. Mated couples are considered two halves in a whole. You rely on each other for everything. It’s not something either of you can fight or it’s going to become physically straining on both of you.” He looked away sadness filling him.

“W-what if I’m not ready for that kind of physical relationship yet?” Buffy questioned quietly. “I am only sixteen after all.”

Giles looked at her sadly, “I’m afraid the Slayer will make the decision for you. She is, after all, a demon too. She has the same kind of instincts and needs as a demon. It’s what makes her such a good hunter.”

Buffy shook her head rapidly, eyes filling with tears. “I-I’m not ready for that. I-I can’t… not unless…” The words broke off on a sob.

Tom quickly spun Buffy around to face him, “I will wait for you, even if it puts me in agony. I will wait as long as you need.” He brought her close letting her cry in his chest and glaring at the two men. “Was this truly the appropriate time to bring any of this up?”

Giles looked away ashamed, immediately feeling guilty for burdening them, but it was Angel who answered Tom. “Yes it was. Unfortunately, I tend to be a little cryptic when I warn Buffy of doom and gloom, but this is something we cannot beat around the bush on. I have met vampires who have found there mate’s and been in love with another. It ends horribly every single time. It is not something either of you can fight. If you do,” Angel shook his head.

“As much as you may believe I am only trying to come in between you and Buffy. The truth in that is… I didn’t know what I was signing up for when I decided to help Buffy. Me falling in love…” Angel looked away, “I wasn’t expecting that, it just happened. I did this because I have a chance to be something better than I was. To achieve something I no longer thought was possible.” Angel’s eyes suddenly filled with honesty and a mutual understanding.

“If you are what Buffy and her Slayer chose, I cannot stand in the way. I was sent here to help Buffy, if that means helping you too…” Angel sighed, “Then that’s what I will do.”

Tom’s eyes softened as Buffy turned around grateful, eyes still dripping tears. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Tom realized in that moment what the word 'champion' truly meant. Someone who was willing to sacrifice their happiness for what was right. He couldn’t imagine ever being like that, being able to watch Buffy leave him and be with another man. The thought alone nearly had him undone. He could only hope that he would one day be so noble.

Tom would not lie to himself. He had a very long way to go before he was far enough away from the creature he may one day become. More than anything though, he wanted her to look at him the way she had just looked at Angel, with pride. He wanted- no, he needed her- to be proud of him.

Tom couldn’t help but reflect on how much he had changed in just the few short days they had spent together; and stranger still was the revelation that he was willing to change so easily. Buffy, without even trying was repainting his view of the world. He didn’t know that there were people out there that would ever care about anything other than themselves.

Giles stood then, breaking into Tom’s musing. “We should probably get going. I have to enroll you in school tomorrow, and unfortunately that means getting there early.”

Angel stood then, telling Giles he would walk him out. He was willing to help Buffy with whatever she needed, but he didn’t want to torture himself by watching the couple say goodnight to each other. He silently walked outside, refreshed by the cool night air. His palm was throbbing and it took a second for him to understand why. He had dug his fingernails deep into his flesh to stop himself from attacking Tom. This was going to be the hardest thing he had ever done.

When Giles and Tom arrived home, Tom seemed a bit out of sorts. Giles could tell the boy was deep in thought and he wondered if Tom was really taking this all as well as he seemed. Trying to draw the boy out, he offered to play some music on the record player before Tom retired for the evening. That had seemed to do the trick because his eyes had lit up brightly at the idea.

Giles had shown him how to use the player and had left him in the living room for the evening. He smiled knowingly as he heard the beginning of the song 'Brown Sugar' from his Rolling Stones album- Sticky Fingers. He waited a second or two before calling down that his favorite song on that album was the third one. Then he left Tom to it and got ready for bed.
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Finding Love