Connections

AN: Obviously this is AU. Which means that everything you know about
the end of Buffy and the last few seasons of Angel are null and void
in this fic. So if you're into canon, you don't want to read anything
here. Also, this takes place after Harry and the others have
graduated from Hogwarts, but due to the war and Voldemort, Harry and
the others live on the grounds of Hogwarts. I've said it before and
I'll say it again. No spoilers for OotP.





Chapter 16


Xander grinned innocently at his friends and then turned his attention back to
the fallen Deatheater. They all watched as the smile on his face faded away. A
shiver went down their spines as Xander leaned down and struck the Deatheater,
causing the man to stir. McNair looked up into the cold brown eyes of the young
man standing over him and wondered if facing the Dementors would not be safer.
"You tried to kill Harry," Xander said in a conversational tone.


McNair paled, but faced the boy wit h cold resolve. These were the good guys.
None of them would harm him now that he was a prisoner. "I did as my Lord
ordered," he answered bravely.


"Your Lord is an idiot," Xander told him calmly.


Everyone but the California group gasped at Xander's response.


"My Lord is a brilliant man," McNair snapped.


"Really, then why is it that he can't defeat a wizard who has less training than
he does and is younger than him by several decades? Why is it that he sends his
idiot minions to attack a place he knows he can't defeat? If your Lord is so
brilliant, then why is it that he created his greatest enemy? Obviously your
precious Lord is not as smart as he thinks he is. When he killed Harry's parents
he created a life long enemy. When he attacked and murdered people that Harry
loved, he added to the hatred that Harry already felt for him. If you want to
control something you work your way in gradually, because what you take by force
can alw ays be taken back." Xander spoke the words to the frightened man in a
cold, clipped voice.


"Harry is my mate and my friend. I'm going to let you go back to your Dark Lord
and you're going to tell him that he has just made a whole new group of enemies.
Tell him that a group from California has joined with the Light and together
we're going to make sure that Harry lives and destroys him." Xander stood,
dragging McNair to his feet as he did so. "Look around you. These are the people
that you will see on the battlefield. All of them are stronger than you, all of
them have faced creatures that would make you wet yourself. I suggest you
deliver our message, then I suggest you hide. I can promise you that, if I ever
see your face again, I will kill you as slowly as I can."


McNair spun on his heel and ran into the forest. Despite all signs to the
contrary he was not stupid. He knew that he would be lucky to make it back to
the Dark Lord alive. It seemed that the war had taken a new shift and McNair
decided he was going to take the boy's advice and hide. That is if he could
still walk after the Dark Lord finished torturing him.


After the Deatheater had run off, Xander turned back to his friends and family.
They were all looking at him in shock. Spike looked at Severus and noticed that
the younger man looked as surprised as he did. "Xander?"


"Yeah, Wills?"


"Your eyes," she whispered.


"What about them?" he asked, confused.


"They're green, just like Harry's," Buffy answered for the stunned witch.


Xander blinked and looked over at Harry in surprise. The smaller wizard nodded
at him. "Huh, maybe it's because I've survived the curse twice?"


Albus was looking back and forth between Harry and Xander and for once the
twinkle in the wizard's eyes was missing. In its place was the shrewdness that
he hid from the rest of the world. "You know something," Giles said, looking at
the elder wizard.


"Yes I do," Albus answered gravely. "Tom, despite his wish for it to be so, is
not the Heir of Slytherin. Xander is the Heir of Slytherin."


"What?!" Severus exclaimed and turned to look at his mates.


"Do you have the ability to converse with snakes, Xander?" Albus asked.


Xander looked nervous and shared a look with Willow. "It's okay Xander, Harry
can talk to snakes too," Willow assured him.


Xander turned to look at Harry with a relieved smile. "Yeah, I can talk to
snakes."


"How come you never told us?" Dawn asked.


"I haven't talked to any since I was a little kid," Xander answered softly, a
look of pain in his eyes as he remembered that day. The last day that he had
done anything whimsical. The last day that he acknowledged that he was something
beyond ordinary.


Dawn was about to ask another question, but Willow shook her head frantically.
Xander smiled as he caught the action. "It's okay, Wills, Dawnie knows about my
home life."


Dawn growled, "I still say you should have found a few fledges and let them eat
Tony."


Xander laughed and walked over to the girl, pulling her into his arms. "You have
been spending way too much time with Anya and Spike."


"Hey!" Anya and Spike yelped in unison.


The two dark haired youths laughed wickedly. "Wait, does this mean Alexi was
Slytherin's heir?" Sirius asked.


"No, Remus is a descendant of Salazar's. The Lupins broke away from the
Slytherins after the falling out between the Founders. Salazar's eldest daughter
married a Lupin," Albus told him. Sirius looked at his friend and grinned
suddenly.


"Padfoot, what are you thinking?" Remus asked nervously.


"Just a thought about a certain blond Slytherin and how he would enjoy this bit
of information."


"Siri, don't you dare," Remus growled.


"Oh come on, Moony, think about it. You and Luc will have something in common
now and you can finally seduce him into bed with you," Sirius told him with a
wicked grin.


"I'm going to strangle you," Remus told the laughing animagus.


"Ignore him, Remy, he's just jealous." Harry told his friend.


"I am, actually. So what does Remy and Xander being Old Snake Man's descendants
have to do with them surviving the killing curse and Xander's eyes going green?"
Sirius asked with a grin.


"I believe that it is the power of the magic inside them that has kept them safe
from the curse. However, I have always thought that Voldemort used the curse on
Harry more than once. I believe that Harry's true eye color was a great deal
lighter than it currently is. They both now carry the essence of the curse in
their magic," Albus informed them.

"Oh my," Willow gasped, looking at the pair.