Day 22 - Headlines by Laney
Title: Headlines
Author: laney_1974
Crossover: BTVS/Harry Potter
August Fic-a-day Challenge Contribution Date: 22 August 2015
Characters: Dawn Summers, Harry Potter
Word Count: 770
Rating: 15
Timeline/Authors Notes: BTVS: AU from season 5. Not that it's relevant for this story, but Seasons 6 and 7 never happened. Harry Potter: AU from the Battle of Hogwarts. Epilogue didn't happen. As always, the timelines are concurrent so, for example, Harry and his friends would be around the same age as Buffy and the gang give or take.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Buffy and Angel people belong to Joss and Mutant Enemy. Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Harry asks, pulling Dawn back before she can open the hotel room door.
Dawn squeezes his hand. "You can't avoid them forever. Well, actually, you can but you won't be happy if you do."
"I know, it's just that they're going to be so angry."
"Probably," she agrees gently. "But if they're you're friends, they will understand."
"I was gone for a decade, Dawn," Harry points out. "I just walked out of Hogwarts without telling anyone, cleared out my vault, and left."
"You were seventeen and you had just killed a man. No one is going to blame you for not wanting to stick around and celebrate with the rest of them. Okay, you could have let someone know where you were, but you were worried that they would drag you back home. Besides, you had a lot to deal with. You had to sort yourself out before you could go home and deal with everyone else."
Harry nods, but still looks all kinds of nervous. "I just feel bad."
"This is about Ginny again, isn't it?" Dawn asks. "Harry, I'm pretty sure she's moved on. She's probably married with kids. I really don't think she sat around for the last ten years in the hopes that you would come back and so you two could pick up where you left off."
"I know, but they would have been so worried about me. I know Hermione and Ron would have searched for me, they're probably still searching for me."
"Well you can blame me if you like," Dawn offers. "You probably would have gone home a lot earlier if we hadn't met. I don't care if they hate me." Well, she does, but she'd rather them hate her than hate Harry.
Harry rolls his eyes. "I am not blaming you. Besides, I'm pretty sure when the Daily Prophet get news of my return, people are probably going to hate you anyway."
"You really think it's going to be that bad?"
He nods. "Which is why I want my friends to love you. One of the reasons I ran away was because I didn't want to have to deal with the press, but it's going to be worse now. They're going to want to know why I left, and why I stayed away so long. I saw a couple of headlines after I moved to America. They were desperate to find me and, when some of the remaining Death Eaters started to cause trouble, they were begging me to come back. They're going to blame you, because you'll be the easiest target. You can't fight back."
She leans over and kisses him on the cheek. "I really don't care what those wand-wavers have to say about me. The Wizarding World is as bad as the Watcher's Council, they send their Chosen One off to kill the big bads and then sit back and watch while you do all the work. Okay, you had a couple of Giles' helping you, but when it came down to that moment, it was you who had to make the kill."
Harry reaches out and tucks a hair behind her ear. "So you're sure about this?"
"Yes."
"You're absolutely sure?"
"Yes."
"You know they're going to be writing articles about you, most probably lies. You'll be in the headlines."
"YES."
Harry studies her for a full minute before giving her a loving smile. "Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you."
"Pfft. They can try their best. If I can survive living on the Hellmouth, I can survive this."
"I can see it now. 'Vanquisher of Voldemort turns back on Wizarding World and marries a muggle'."
"Technically, I'm not a muggle. I can do magic, just not your kind."
"Somehow I don't think that's going to make things better. In fact, I think it's best that no one knows what kind of magic you have done. Let them think you're a muggle, it will be better that way."
Dawn nods. "Personally, I think the headlines will be more along the lines of 'Harry Potter lands a hottie. How did he do it?'"
Harry chuckles and wraps his arms around her, pulling her close. "Just remember to stay away from Rita Skeeter."
"Harry, I've told you. I'm not scared of her. If she does anything to piss me off, the headline will be 'Not so illustrious journalist found dead, killed by bug spray'."
Harry throws his head back and laughs.
End
Author: laney_1974
Crossover: BTVS/Harry Potter
August Fic-a-day Challenge Contribution Date: 22 August 2015
Characters: Dawn Summers, Harry Potter
Word Count: 770
Rating: 15
Timeline/Authors Notes: BTVS: AU from season 5. Not that it's relevant for this story, but Seasons 6 and 7 never happened. Harry Potter: AU from the Battle of Hogwarts. Epilogue didn't happen. As always, the timelines are concurrent so, for example, Harry and his friends would be around the same age as Buffy and the gang give or take.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Buffy and Angel people belong to Joss and Mutant Enemy. Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Harry asks, pulling Dawn back before she can open the hotel room door.
Dawn squeezes his hand. "You can't avoid them forever. Well, actually, you can but you won't be happy if you do."
"I know, it's just that they're going to be so angry."
"Probably," she agrees gently. "But if they're you're friends, they will understand."
"I was gone for a decade, Dawn," Harry points out. "I just walked out of Hogwarts without telling anyone, cleared out my vault, and left."
"You were seventeen and you had just killed a man. No one is going to blame you for not wanting to stick around and celebrate with the rest of them. Okay, you could have let someone know where you were, but you were worried that they would drag you back home. Besides, you had a lot to deal with. You had to sort yourself out before you could go home and deal with everyone else."
Harry nods, but still looks all kinds of nervous. "I just feel bad."
"This is about Ginny again, isn't it?" Dawn asks. "Harry, I'm pretty sure she's moved on. She's probably married with kids. I really don't think she sat around for the last ten years in the hopes that you would come back and so you two could pick up where you left off."
"I know, but they would have been so worried about me. I know Hermione and Ron would have searched for me, they're probably still searching for me."
"Well you can blame me if you like," Dawn offers. "You probably would have gone home a lot earlier if we hadn't met. I don't care if they hate me." Well, she does, but she'd rather them hate her than hate Harry.
Harry rolls his eyes. "I am not blaming you. Besides, I'm pretty sure when the Daily Prophet get news of my return, people are probably going to hate you anyway."
"You really think it's going to be that bad?"
He nods. "Which is why I want my friends to love you. One of the reasons I ran away was because I didn't want to have to deal with the press, but it's going to be worse now. They're going to want to know why I left, and why I stayed away so long. I saw a couple of headlines after I moved to America. They were desperate to find me and, when some of the remaining Death Eaters started to cause trouble, they were begging me to come back. They're going to blame you, because you'll be the easiest target. You can't fight back."
She leans over and kisses him on the cheek. "I really don't care what those wand-wavers have to say about me. The Wizarding World is as bad as the Watcher's Council, they send their Chosen One off to kill the big bads and then sit back and watch while you do all the work. Okay, you had a couple of Giles' helping you, but when it came down to that moment, it was you who had to make the kill."
Harry reaches out and tucks a hair behind her ear. "So you're sure about this?"
"Yes."
"You're absolutely sure?"
"Yes."
"You know they're going to be writing articles about you, most probably lies. You'll be in the headlines."
"YES."
Harry studies her for a full minute before giving her a loving smile. "Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you."
"Pfft. They can try their best. If I can survive living on the Hellmouth, I can survive this."
"I can see it now. 'Vanquisher of Voldemort turns back on Wizarding World and marries a muggle'."
"Technically, I'm not a muggle. I can do magic, just not your kind."
"Somehow I don't think that's going to make things better. In fact, I think it's best that no one knows what kind of magic you have done. Let them think you're a muggle, it will be better that way."
Dawn nods. "Personally, I think the headlines will be more along the lines of 'Harry Potter lands a hottie. How did he do it?'"
Harry chuckles and wraps his arms around her, pulling her close. "Just remember to stay away from Rita Skeeter."
"Harry, I've told you. I'm not scared of her. If she does anything to piss me off, the headline will be 'Not so illustrious journalist found dead, killed by bug spray'."
Harry throws his head back and laughs.
End