A Matter of Family

Chapter Nine


Harry paced frantically around Dumbledore's office.

"We have to go back and help him! Malfoy is dangerous! He's tried to kill me before. Xander doesn't know magic; there's no way he can defend himself. Malfoy is ruthless."

"Calm down, lil'Whelp." Spike chided. "Xan can handle himself. He's been fighting things a helluva lot stronger and scarier than Malfoy for years; me being one o' those. The Whelp'll be just fine. Plus, yer fergettin' he got that snazzy upgrade earlier. I'd be worried about what Xan does to Blondie, if I were you."

"But I heard Malfoy use the 'Petrificus'! You had us inside the Leaky Cauldron before we could see if Xander had been hit. How do you know he's okay? And will somebody please tell me what bloody well happened at Ollivander's?! What upgrade? What are you talking about?"

Dawn put a calming hand on Harry's shoulder. "Breath. Spike's right. Xan has faced a lot worse than Malfoy pretty much every day for the last five years. He can handle himself. As for what happened with the wand, Xander will have to explain it when he gets here."

"I merged with a hyena primal. Don't know if it was left over from the possession and the wand integrated it, or if the tooth in the wand was part of a primal and that's what happened. At least I don't feel the need to snack on live pig this time."

"Xander!" Dawn exclaimed as she launched herself into his arms.

Spike nodded. "Took ya long enough."

Xander rolled his eyes, then shrugged with a wolfish smile.

"Albus," Sirius began, having changed back to human, "the boy was brilliant. He had Lucius pinned and wand-less, the git got a lucky kick and dove for the wand, ended up with a dagger through his hand instead. I never even seen Xander pull the dagger, let alone throw it. It was quite an enjoyable show, I must say." Sirius gave Xander a wolfish grin in return.

Xander blushed and ducked his head. "Yeah well, take his wand and he doesn't have a clue. He got in a wild kick that surprised me enough to loosen my grip on him, but not enough to lose focus on what was happening. He was panicked, hitting and kicking without a real attack plan."

"Merged? Hyena? Possession? P-pig? WHAT??!!!" Harry finally managed to yelp.

"Professor Dumbledore? Could you ask Snape to come here, please?" Xander glanced at Harry. "I just told Malfoy a whole load of bull. I want to be sure Snape has the right story to tell."

"Of course, my boy. I'll send for him immediately."

"Thank you." Xander turned smiling eyes on his cousin. "Okay Harry. Short version of what happened, 'cause you'll get the long version once Wills and Giles find out." Xander took a deep breath. "Here goes. High School. Field Trip. Evil Zoo Keeper. Mystic Symbol on the floor. Hyena-Xander. Ate the school mascot, but NOT the principal. Scoobies to the rescue. No more Hyena. Or at least that's what we thought. Not so sure about that at the moment."

Harry, Sirius, and Dumbledore were slack-jawed and blinking rapidly.

Dawn snorted. "Spike, want to translate that to Giles-speak for them?"

"No," he answered with an evil smile.

Any further comments were halted by Snape sweeping into the room, his robes billowing behind him.

"Professor, I have just been summoned by the Dark Lord,"

"Of course you have," Xander said with a roll of his eyes.

Severus sneered at the dark haired youth. "What would you know about it?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the fact that we took a little trip to Diagon Alley for supplies and one of the little toadies just tried to take me to Voldemort."

"You are as troublesome as Potter," Snape glared.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Point is, I laid out a nice little cover to Malfoy. If you don't want your ass on the line for not telling them what you knew sooner, you might want to listen up."

Snape's face fell into a neutral mask. "What did you tell him?"

"We," he indicated Dawn, Spike, and himself, "didn't arrive here until about four hours ago. Harry was already here with Dumbledore waiting to meet me. Dawn...her name is Jenny. I call her my little sister and she lives with me since her mother died six months ago. Spike, is William, my roommate. My dog doesn't have a name that you know, since I never told them one. Dumbledore showed up in my apartment in LA to bring us here. They don't know about Giles or the girls, and they aren't going to know. Voldemort absolutely is not to know about Sunnydale. We've been lucky nobody recognized us so far. Thank goodness for stories with few pictures. If the name Sunnydale gets out, its just a matter of time before he figures out who I am, and who is most likely with me. Then he may start getting creative with his plans."

"Why did you tell him you were from LA? That is near the Hellmouth, is it not?"

"Yeah. But L.A. contains a bunch of shielded areas that locator spells and whatnot can't penetrate."

"How do you know this?"

Xander shrugged. "Ex-girlfriend works for a Angel. We talk. She complains loudly about whatever they're looking for running into one of those areas. Figured it was a good reason for them not finding us sooner."

"Very well," Snape said, a voice full of disdain. "At least you have intelligence enough to inform me of such stories. I shall repeat what you have already told them."

Xander caught a slight change in Snape's scent. It wasn't enough to indicate anything in particular, but it was enough to set off warning bells. He narrowed his eyes and glared at the potions master, and noticed Spike had started to glare at the man as well.

"I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Malfoy, before pulling my dagger out of his hand," Xander said menacingly. "I don't care how many Death Eaters I have to kill before I get to Voldemort. Nobody threatens my family. The bigger the threat you are, the sooner I will take you out. Am I understood?"

Snape's expression never changed, but there was the slightest hint of fear in his scent.

"Perfectly," he said then disappeared into the floo.

All except Spike turned questioning eyes on Xander.

"Well," he smiled. "I don't know about anyone else, but I'm starving. It's going to be a while before Giles and the girls get back, what say we get something to eat? Professor, I'd like to come back later and discuss what I need to do to be declared Harry's guardian, if you don't mind."

"Certainly."

"Great. Well, lets go eat. I'm going to relax while I can until Giles and Willow find out that the hyena seems to be back. Let's go."

Dumbledore watched Xander questioningly as he and the others left his office.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"How are you holding up?" Dawn asked Harry after they ate lunch.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. I know that you're all good guys. But, all of this is still a bit much to take in. And, it's like, every time I think I've figured it all out, something else happens. Having a vampire here was a shock, but I understand how he got here. I've read about wizard-vampires; how they retain their mind and aren't taken over by the demon. So it's not that hard to deal with. Wand-less magic. Never knew about it, but not to much of a shock. Then, there's Xander......"

"Yep, that's pretty much all you need to say about that," Dawn said with a smirk.

Harry smiled at her shyly. "Don't get me wrong. I like him, and I...I trust him. But, he carries more weapons under his shirt than all of Scotland Yard combined. He put a dagger through Malfoy's hand...which I only wish I could have witnessed. He has a rocket launcher! And now he says he's merged with a hyena or something....I still don't understand that. It's just all a bit much."

"Well, growing up on the Hellmouth, you learn to always be prepared. Xan always says something about paranoia and beginning forearmed or something. And when it comes to Xander, if it's weird or freaky, it's going to happen to him. One time when he was in high school they had this substitute teacher........"

"DAWNIE! No telling of the embarrassment that is my romantic history," Xander chided, wagging a finger.

"Was gonna tell about the bug-lady, weren't ya Bit?" Spike snorted.

Harry and Sirius exchanged amused curious glances then turned back to Dawn.

"Bug-lady?" said in unison.

Spike and Dawn shared a conspiratorial grin. Dawn held up a hand and began to tick off events.

"One. Mantis-bug lady wanted Xan to fertilize her eggs, then she was gonna eat him. Two. Inca mummy girl was gonna suck his life force out of him. Three. You know about Valentine's Day and every female in town being after him. Four. He dated Cordy, and if you know Cordy you know why that's bad. Five. Anya is an eleven hundred year old ex-vengeance demon who used to curse men for scorning women. Six. Hmmm...Oh oh! Dracula made Xan his man-bitch when he came to Sunnydale last year." Dawn was bouncing by the end of her story. Xander put his head in his hands and groaned.

"I..I think I can say your life has been much more complicated than mine," Harry said with a bewildered look in his eyes. Sirius nodded.

"Hyena possession." Spike.

"Fish DNA." Dawn.

"Soldier boy." Spike.

"Cordy, she deserves double mention." Dawn.

"Gay football jock." Spike.

"He got split into two Xanders." Dawn.

"Funny syphilis." Spike.

All Harry and Sirius could do was look between Xander and his two friends. They were too baffled to do anything more. Xander continued to hide his face and groan louder.

Leaning close to Harry, Dawn whispered. "Plus, I think Spike might be starting to crush on him now."

Both men shot to there feet. "WHAT? BLOODY HELL NO!"



Giles, Tara, and Willow entered the room to find Dawn rolling on the floor giggling. Harry and Sirius looking utterly lost, and Spike and Xander looking accusingly at each other and very uncomfortable.

"Um, hi," Willow said, hesitantly.

"Thank gods! You know Wills dated a demon that she scanned onto the internet who made his own robot body, and she did this spell that made us all do what she said, and she brought her vampire double over from the wish-verse Anya made when Cordy wished Buffy had never come to Sunnydale....and..and....."

"Xander!" Willow exclaimed. Dawn giggled harder. Harry and Sirius continued to look confused.

"Dawn was telling all of the embarrassing things that have happened to me over the years," Xander whined.

"Oh. Did she tell about Buffy making a bully leave you alone?"

"No, Wills. That had been left out and was my last source of manly pride. Thank you for taking that from me," Xander huffed. "I get no respect."

"But Xan, we love you," Willow teased, batting huge green eyes at him.

Suddenly everyone in the room was laughing. All the tension in the room vanished, and huge smiles were exchanged around the group.

"Yes, well. I'm afraid if anyone ever tried to explain everything these children have found themselves involved with over the years, we would be here for quite some time. Then someone would be along to cart us all off to a mental facility, I'm afraid. If there is trouble to be found one of them will find it, and it is usually Xander," Giles grinned at the young man.

"Thanks a lot G-man," Xander shot back, the corner of his mouth barely turning up. He clapped his hands together. "So where's all the stuff you bought?"

Giles pulled a small bag out of his jacket pocket.

"Uh, G-man hate to tell you this, but that don't look like that huge list of books and whatever else you said you would get."

Giles smiled, placed the bag on the floor, and removed his wand from his jacket. He muttered a word that Xander didn't catch. Suddenly the floor was covered in books, cauldrons, quills, and various other items.

"That's cool," Dawn gasped, then groaned. "There is NOOOO way I'm going to learn all of that in two months!"

Willow smiled at her. "We passed Professor McGonagall on our way. She said to give you this." Willow handed the girl a gold charm with an hour glass in the center. "She said its called a time turner. She'll meet you somewhere called the Room of Requirement in the morning and show you how to use it."

"What does it do?" Dawn asked, examining the item closely.

"It's used for time travel. If she wants you to have it, and be in the Room of Requirement, she's probably planning to have you study, turn time, and then study a different subject during the same time. Whatever you do, don't turn it right now." Harry answered.

"I don't think I'm going to like this," Dawn whined. Willow looked giddy at the idea.

"H...how did y...your day g..go?" Tara asked.

"Someone tried to snatch the Whelp after we left the robe shop," Spike commented nonchalantly.

"Well, seeing as to how you are here, I take it the attempt was not successful," Giles commented.

"Nope," Xander grinned. "Malfoy got a dagger through his hand for his effort."

"Lucius Malfoy?" Giles queried while polishing his glasses.

"Yup." Xander paused. "His wife is a Black, Giles. They have a son the same age as Harry."

"I...I see."

"What do you have planned, Xan?" Willow asked.

Xander shrugged. "After his father portkeyed away and left him in an alley alone with me, told him he had to make a decision. I'd help if he wanted to think for himself and not be a little follower."

"What?! You can't trust Draco Malfoy, Xander!" Harry insisted.

"He's just a kid like you Harry. He deserves to have some say in his life, just like you. And he deserves protection from those who would use him, just like you." Xander said pointedly. "Look, I know I went and snatched you away from the Dursleys, but when I heard how they treated you, there was no way I could leave you there. I've declared I'm going to be your guardian without discussing it with you. I shouldn't have done that. Sirius said he couldn't because of the situation, and there was no way I could let you stay with those people. I'm sorry if I over stepped some bounds, but you're family and I want to be part of your life. I should have said that before now. If you don't want me to be your guardian just say so, we'll work something else out."

Harry looked at his cousin, eyes full of emotion. "No...no one has ever said they wanted me, other than Sirius. I want you to be part of my life too....Xan. You're pretty wicked actually. Given the situation, I couldn't think of anyone I'd rather have as a guardian."

The two cousins smiled at each other. Both had tears fighting to escape from too wet eyes.

"Aaahhhhhhh," Willow, Tara, and Dawn. Even Giles, Sirius, and Spike looked moved.

"How do you know Malfoy, Giles?"

"Oh. I don't. When we first entered Flourish and Blotts he and his son were there harassing the clerk."

"Ah. That's, what they were doing at Madam Malkin's too. So, you gotta wait two days on robes too?"

"Yes."

"Did you make it into London?"

"Yes," Giles replied, removing his glasses. "Anya has been...err, paid off for lack of a better term. I set up an account for Faith, in my name. I couldn't very well put it in hers, since she doesn't legally exist anymore. We called to check in and gave Faith all the information for the account I had set up for her. Angel made it to Sunnydale right before dawn. Cordelia has agreed to take over the shop while we are gone, and I believe Wesley is planning to assist her. They will base their operations from there as well. Faith said Angel is having the mansion repaired so everyone will have somewhere to stay, although she will remain at my apartment. Apparently, they have all become accustomed to staying together since 'Angel Investigations' moved into the Hyperion."

Xander nodded. "Good. So we shouldn't have to worry too much about the Hellmouth while we're here. Maybe we can have them all come here for a weekend visit?"

"That would be cool," Willow beamed. "Did you at least get your wand before the attempted snatching?"

"Uh...ummm...yeah," Xander hesitated.

"Well, what kind did you get? Giles' is birch with a phoenix feather. What did you guys get?" She was practically bouncing by this point.

"Umm...in all the excitement, I'm not even really sure where it is at the moment."

"WHAT?!"

"Don't get yer knickers in a bunch, Red. I got his and the Bit's here in me jacket." Spike handed Dawn's to her. "Err...I'm not gonna touch yer's Whelp. Get it yerself." He held his jacket open.

"Umm...yeah. Okay." Xander moved to retrieve his wand from the inside pocket of Spike duster.

Spike had his hand fisted in one side of his duster, holding it open for Xander. As Xander touched his wand, his inner arm brushed Spike's knuckles. This time a golden glow surrounded the two of them for a second. When it dissipated both were gasping for breath, Spike needlessly.

"FUCKIN' HELL!" "HOLY SHIT!"

"What just happened?" Willow asked.

"I...I don't know. This was different from what happened earlier."

"What happened earlier, Xander?" Giles asked tiredly.

"Uhhh....I'm pretty sure I got merged with hyena."

"WHAT?!" Giles and Willow.

"Oh boy. Sit. Time to talk."

The next forty-five minutes were spent going over what had happened at Ollivander's and later at Madam Malkin's, and Xander's encounter with Lucius Malfoy. All questions asked by Harry and Sirius were answered. Theories were put forth and rejected. By the end, Harry and Sirius had a better idea of what had happened in Xander's past, but no one was any closer to understanding what was happening now.

"You have hightened strenghth, hearing, smell, and eysight now?" Sirius asked.

"Yup."

"I could sense the canine in you while I was Padfoot. Sorry for growling at you."

"No problem." Xander smiled understandingly at his uncle.

"So, the core of your wand is an alpha hyena tooth stained with the blood of a warrior?" Giles asked for the tenth time.

"Yes, G-man," Xander sighed.

"Oh, you're forgetting part of it," Dawn piped in. "The guy said the tooth wouldn't stabilize until it was wrapped with a hair from a vampire-wizard."

"Huh. I forgot about that," Xander shrugged.

"Bloody hell." Giles began to pace.

"Uh, Giles, something you want to share with the rest of us?" Xander looked concerned.

"Do what? Oh. No, no. Not yet anyway. I need to do some research first. If I am correct however..." he looked between Spike and Xander, then sighed heavily. "If I am correct, well....well we'll see what happens."

"What's that mean?" Willow asked.

"I...I'm not entirely sure at the moment, Willow. I would like to do some research before I say anything further."

"Alright G-man. But if you find anything, you let us know immediately."

"Agreed."

After a long pause, Tara turned to Dawn. "S..so. W..what about your w..wand? What k...kind is it?"

"Mine is unique like Xan's too," the teen beamed. "Only, mine didn't do anything weird. It's made from apple wood. The core is a piece of the Rosetta Stone."

"The apple is believed to be the key to knowledge and the Rosetta Stone was the key to understanding Egyptian hieroglyphs. You do have a bit of a knack for languages Dawnie....and....well, I can see why that's your wand." Willow smiled at the girl.

"Dawn, if you don't mind me asking...how are you Dumbledore's daughter?" Harry asked shyly.

Everyone exchanged nervous glances. Eventually all eyes landed on Xander.

"It's your story to tell Dawnie. I believe you can trust Harry, and Sirius for that matter. But, it's up to you whether you want them to know or not. Dumbledore had a right to know, as your biological father. Anyone else, who can be trusted, is your decision."

Dawn looked directly into Harry's eyes and then Sirius'. "Hooboy."

She then proceeded to explain about being the key. Why Glory had hunted her. What they think happened to make her the daughter of the Slayer and Dumbledore. She told them how they were unsure if she could still be used to open The Door. Finally, she told them of how she just wanted to live. To be part of a family and be loved.

"There is no doubt you are loved," Harry told her, gentle green eyes meeting emotional hazel. "But I do have one more question. Are ANY of you normal?"

"Bloody hell no. Where's the fun in that?" Spike snorted.

The others exchanged grins and agreed with the vampire.

"S..so now what?" Tara asked.

"Well, I have to go talk to the old man about being recognized as Harry's guardian. I want to start Harry on hand to hand training soon, Sirius too, if he wants it. Willow, Tara I want your top priority to be getting rid of the chip. Harry says it shouldn't work inside Hogwarts. We need to check that, but even so, it needs to go. If the situation had been worse today Spike would have been useless and we need him."

"We're on it," Willow assured him.

"Um, Xan. Would you mind if I asked my friends to join us here? It's just...Ron and Hermione have been with me through everything since first year. As it is they are going to kick my arse for not being here when I met you. But, if I'm going to be learning things to help with the fight, they have the right to be here too. Plus, they can help Dawn...and you...get caught up. Well, Hermione can anyway," Harry said nervously.

"Please, don't ever feel afraid to ask me anything Harry," Xander said sadly. "If you want your friends here, then by all means contact them. They will, of course, go through a test to make sure they are trust worthy." Xander held up a hand to stop the protests. "I'm sure they are totally trustworthy Harry. It's just a precaution were are going to be using on everyone. It's all about vamp and hyena senses. They will never know. You want your friends...that's great. Besides, I'm sure Dawn could use some more people her own age around. What do you need to do to get in contact with them?"

"I just need to write to them, and then Hedwig can deliver the letters for me." Harry's smile lit his face, and that of everyone in the room.

"Sounds cool. So, how 'bout this. Sirius and I go talk to Dumbledore about the whole guardian thing while you write to your friends. When we get done we'll tell you all about it. Sound fair?"

"I'll get started right now." Harry leaped towards his and Sirius' room. He paused and turned to Dawn. "Do you want to help me? I...I mean, to help me figure out what to...how much to tell them?" His face turned crimson.

Dawn smile beatifically. "That sounds great. Let's go."

Once they had left the room, Xander spoke again.

"Be careful around Snape. I don't know if it means anything or not, but his scent changed earlier when I told him what had happened with Malfoy and told him to be sure he told the right story. I can't say he was lying or anything...he just smelled different. Just take precautions. Better to be safe than sorry."

Everyone nodded agreement.

"Alright then. Sirius, if you're ready....let's go talk to the old man. Anyone else want to come?" Xander looked around the room.

"Yeah, I'll come with," Spike spoke up. "You might need someone to translate Wizard Law for you." With that the three left the room.


"Oh Dear," Giles said, looking at Willow and Tara.



AN: Not sure if I am going to continue to post the rest of this story to this site, it's not as active as it used to be. I am posting it at Twisting the Hellmouth, however...I update the story there a few days before I do here anyway....SOOOOO if I don't add anything here in a week check: http://www.tthfanfic.com/Story-11246/astracindel+A+Matter+of+Family.htm ...for an update. Ummm...if that doesn't work...it's under Harry Potter>>>>Xander-centered>>>>A Matter of Family.