August 17 - Forays in the Muggle World (BtVS/HP)
Title: Forays in the Muggle World
Author: GlitterAngelEm
Fandoms: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Harry Potter
Characters: Joyce Summers, Lucius Malfoy, Gawain Robards, Ron Weasley
Rating: PG
Word Count: 976
Author's Notes: This is apparently becoming a series, as this continues the Joyce/Josephine Malfoy story.
The doorbell rang on an inconsequential Tuesday.
Without a second thought, Joyce was already moving towards the door, hoping deep in her heart that Buffy would stand on the other side of the door. Her pace slowed, however, as she considered the prospect of her daughter ringing the doorbell of a house she lived. She slowed to to a more sedate walk, shoulders bowing in slightly. With her luck, it was probably a door-to-door salesperson, wanting to sell her makeup she did not really need.
It was with that thought that Joyce opened her front door. She inhaled sharply, her hand going to her heart in shock.
Her brother stood at the door, with two unknown wizards flanking him.
Not that they announced they were wizards, no. But the way they stood, the way they shifted uncomfortably in Muggle clothing was enough to deduce the obvious. With Dumbledore’s spell now completely destroyed by the combination of Amy’s love spell and the dark magics of the Hellmouth, any witch could easily pick up wizards dressing up to fit into the Muggle world.
“Josephine…” Lucius said, his voice trailing off as he stared at her, as if convincing himself it was really her and not a figment of his imagination.
She found herself unable to respond, and they may have stared at each other for hours if it wasn’t for the wizard on Lucius’ left, a wizard older than her, but not by far, clearing his throat and asking, “May we please come in? There are matters of utmost important to discuss.”
A combination of embarrassment and indignation filled her, though she pushed both aside as he nodded, ushering them in with a wave of her hand. Her discussions with Rupert had instilled in her a sense of self-preservation and refused on principal to invite anyone into the house. Even during the middle of the day, with the sun shining brightly on her porch. There were talismans to protect vampires from the sunlight for short periods, and she refused to take any chances, not with her daughter still missing. She refused to die before Buffy returned; if she needed to make a pact with the devil himself to keep from dying, she would.
Closing the door firmly behind the three wizards, Joyce forced a smile and said, “Please, make yourself at home. Would any of you like anything to drink? Coffee? Tea? Water?”
The youngest of the three, the redhead, perked up at the offer and would have accepted it, if not for the glare by the older wizard. Her visibly wilted and shook his head, pulling at the collar of the button-up shirt in discomfort. She felt for him, as she had felt uncomfortable in all of her clothes since February, when the spell started to fail. At least she understood why, now.
“I thought you dead,” Lucius said flatly, pulling her attention to him. The other wizards faded in the background as she looked up her brother for the first time in almost twenty years. He refused to sit down, instead leaning heavily on a black cane, the handle embellished with a silver dragon. “I created an expedition to search for you after you went missing, I mourned you when I believed you dead. Instead, I find you halfway across the world, disguising yourself as a Muggle.”
“Which helped keep me alive,” she replied icily. “Helped keep my daughter alive. My husband would have killed her, the moment it become apparently she wasn’t a witch. He would never have accepted a squib as a daughter.”
That gave Lucius pause momentarily. He pressed his lips together, eyes dropping momentarily, until he looked back up at her and said with a cracking voice, “You were dead. To find you here, now, after all this time…”
He trailed off as his voice gave way. Joyce’s eyes were blurry with unshed tears as she stepped forward, reaching for Lucius and embracing him in a tight hug. He tensed at the touch, but seemed to melt as she lay her head on his shoulder. Her voice was quiet as she whispered, “I never wanted to leave you. You protected me, all those years. But I did what was best for my child.”
“I understand.” His response was just as quiet, and she could feel the hesitation. But at the same time, she knew he would sacrifice everything for his child. Perhaps he already had. Her knowledge of the wizarding world was so out of date, Joyce knew it would take weeks just to catch up with the current affairs, let alone all he had experienced while she was gone.
The clearing of the throat of the older wizard drew her attention away from Lucius, pulled her out of the embrace. He stared at them, uncomfortable at the interaction, but nonetheless professional. “If what you say is true, and you have been out of our world since the first war, there are a few things that need to be settled before we can continue this meeting.”
Her first question - What do you mean, first war - died in her throat as he pulled a wand out of his suit coat. Her hand automatically reached for it, as if pulled towards the magicked wood like a magnet. As her hand closed around her wand, a sense of completion filled her, and she unconsciously smiled as a small firework emerged, filling the room with a bright green light. For the first time in almost twenty years, she felt like she was home. The sense of being incomplete, something she had felt ever since returning from London with Hank, with her daughter still forming in her womb, was gone. She was home.
“Well,” the older wizard said with a nod. “That takes care of that. Welcome back to the Wizarding World, Josephine.”
Author: GlitterAngelEm
Fandoms: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Harry Potter
Characters: Joyce Summers, Lucius Malfoy, Gawain Robards, Ron Weasley
Rating: PG
Word Count: 976
Author's Notes: This is apparently becoming a series, as this continues the Joyce/Josephine Malfoy story.
The doorbell rang on an inconsequential Tuesday.
Without a second thought, Joyce was already moving towards the door, hoping deep in her heart that Buffy would stand on the other side of the door. Her pace slowed, however, as she considered the prospect of her daughter ringing the doorbell of a house she lived. She slowed to to a more sedate walk, shoulders bowing in slightly. With her luck, it was probably a door-to-door salesperson, wanting to sell her makeup she did not really need.
It was with that thought that Joyce opened her front door. She inhaled sharply, her hand going to her heart in shock.
Her brother stood at the door, with two unknown wizards flanking him.
Not that they announced they were wizards, no. But the way they stood, the way they shifted uncomfortably in Muggle clothing was enough to deduce the obvious. With Dumbledore’s spell now completely destroyed by the combination of Amy’s love spell and the dark magics of the Hellmouth, any witch could easily pick up wizards dressing up to fit into the Muggle world.
“Josephine…” Lucius said, his voice trailing off as he stared at her, as if convincing himself it was really her and not a figment of his imagination.
She found herself unable to respond, and they may have stared at each other for hours if it wasn’t for the wizard on Lucius’ left, a wizard older than her, but not by far, clearing his throat and asking, “May we please come in? There are matters of utmost important to discuss.”
A combination of embarrassment and indignation filled her, though she pushed both aside as he nodded, ushering them in with a wave of her hand. Her discussions with Rupert had instilled in her a sense of self-preservation and refused on principal to invite anyone into the house. Even during the middle of the day, with the sun shining brightly on her porch. There were talismans to protect vampires from the sunlight for short periods, and she refused to take any chances, not with her daughter still missing. She refused to die before Buffy returned; if she needed to make a pact with the devil himself to keep from dying, she would.
Closing the door firmly behind the three wizards, Joyce forced a smile and said, “Please, make yourself at home. Would any of you like anything to drink? Coffee? Tea? Water?”
The youngest of the three, the redhead, perked up at the offer and would have accepted it, if not for the glare by the older wizard. Her visibly wilted and shook his head, pulling at the collar of the button-up shirt in discomfort. She felt for him, as she had felt uncomfortable in all of her clothes since February, when the spell started to fail. At least she understood why, now.
“I thought you dead,” Lucius said flatly, pulling her attention to him. The other wizards faded in the background as she looked up her brother for the first time in almost twenty years. He refused to sit down, instead leaning heavily on a black cane, the handle embellished with a silver dragon. “I created an expedition to search for you after you went missing, I mourned you when I believed you dead. Instead, I find you halfway across the world, disguising yourself as a Muggle.”
“Which helped keep me alive,” she replied icily. “Helped keep my daughter alive. My husband would have killed her, the moment it become apparently she wasn’t a witch. He would never have accepted a squib as a daughter.”
That gave Lucius pause momentarily. He pressed his lips together, eyes dropping momentarily, until he looked back up at her and said with a cracking voice, “You were dead. To find you here, now, after all this time…”
He trailed off as his voice gave way. Joyce’s eyes were blurry with unshed tears as she stepped forward, reaching for Lucius and embracing him in a tight hug. He tensed at the touch, but seemed to melt as she lay her head on his shoulder. Her voice was quiet as she whispered, “I never wanted to leave you. You protected me, all those years. But I did what was best for my child.”
“I understand.” His response was just as quiet, and she could feel the hesitation. But at the same time, she knew he would sacrifice everything for his child. Perhaps he already had. Her knowledge of the wizarding world was so out of date, Joyce knew it would take weeks just to catch up with the current affairs, let alone all he had experienced while she was gone.
The clearing of the throat of the older wizard drew her attention away from Lucius, pulled her out of the embrace. He stared at them, uncomfortable at the interaction, but nonetheless professional. “If what you say is true, and you have been out of our world since the first war, there are a few things that need to be settled before we can continue this meeting.”
Her first question - What do you mean, first war - died in her throat as he pulled a wand out of his suit coat. Her hand automatically reached for it, as if pulled towards the magicked wood like a magnet. As her hand closed around her wand, a sense of completion filled her, and she unconsciously smiled as a small firework emerged, filling the room with a bright green light. For the first time in almost twenty years, she felt like she was home. The sense of being incomplete, something she had felt ever since returning from London with Hank, with her daughter still forming in her womb, was gone. She was home.
“Well,” the older wizard said with a nod. “That takes care of that. Welcome back to the Wizarding World, Josephine.”