Aug. 23 - Anywhere We Can Live? (BtVS/HP)
Title: Anywhere We Can Live?
Author: 3am_moonlight
Rating: Gen, implied het (HHr).
Crossover: Harry Potter - JKR
Timeline: Anytime post-Chosen, post-books.
Characters: Buffy, Dawn, Harry/Hermione.
Disclaimer: The Buffyverse belongs to Joss Whedon. The Potterverse 'verse belongs to JKR.
Summary: Buffy and Dawn have found people, but now they all need somewhere more permanent to stay.
Word Count: 1,224.
Note: Follows ' Anywhere But Here'.
Two weeks after meeting the Potter family the Summers sisters were still none the wiser regarding the reason for the apocalypse, or even if there was a someone or something responsible, or the fall of the magical secrecy, but Hermione had explained that the British Magical World had sealed its internal borders when the magical charms and rituals keeping the knowledge from muggles had shattered. Anyone left outside the borders when it was raised was left to their own devices. This had resulted in total isolation for everyone within its warded area, mostly purebloods and half-bloods with little or no connections to the outside world. In other words, Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade/Hogwarts, St. Mungo's, and the British Ministry of Magic had all been sealed off. Isolated magical properties, such as the Weasley's property the Burrow, had also been completely hidden from view. It was possible to travel between these places, but not outside them. The assumption between Harry and Hermione was that someone in a supposedly super secret department within their ministry had raised the wards as a last resort to protect the magical population.
Five months after the initial fall these wards had mysteriously gone down as well, and both the official and private magical properties had all been promptly bombed and/or raided by the remaining muggle law enforcement or the military. Word had it that some private residences and Hogwarts were still safe behind very old and very elaborate wards and probably some (now) illegal rituals as well, but as no one had been able to enter, or even *see* any of them it hadn't been confirmed.
Wizarding arrogance had also been prominent as no magical people had died of unexplained causes until the second month when all of a sudden 48 thousand people had died over night, cutting Britain's magical population into less than half. It had caused complete panic among those who were still alive and inside the enclaves. No one knew what had happened to those who lived within muggle areas, but the purebloods had simply scoffed and said they'd probably been killed along with the quote unquote, filthy muggles. Interestingly there had been no purebloods left by the time the second barrier fell, at least not in Britain.
According to Hermione, there was also a second magical barrier, which was still active, around the British Isles. Its single purpose was to keep any and all magical people and creatures on their original side of the barrier. In other words; no one magical could enter Britain and no one magical could *leave* Britain. Meaning the two sisters were stuck unless this ward fell as well, and if that happened the entire country would be open to whoever wanted to come, and there would be no one to stop them and no one to protect those remaining.
It had been a bitter pill to swallow, but if they were completely honest with themselves then they'd seen it coming. They'd known they were stuck on the wrong side of the planet, probably for good. Now they just had to make the best of it and simply hope that Xander and everyone they'd left behind in America was fine and that they continued to fight the good fight despite everything. For that was another thing; there had been a sky-high rise in vampires due to the massive number of deaths. It meant Buffy spent her nights Slaying alone while Dawn hid in whatever house they'd claimed for the night/week.
In the meantime, they were enjoying the hospitality of the Potter's. The little family was friendly enough, but weary. According to Harry, they'd lived on a small property in a place called Godric's Hollow, which was a combined magical and non-magical town, under a special set of charms to hide them from the 'muggles' and anyone else who wasn't specifically told where to find them. When the barrier had gone down they'd fled by a magical form of transportation called 'apparition'. And they'd kept moving ever since.
They'd tried recasting the charms but they never lasted more than three days and it was impossible to cast it more than once on the same house/property. It essentially meant they had temporary shelter, but that it couldn't be trusted entirely. In the 14 days Buffy and Dawn had been with them they'd cast it twice on houses they were staying in. The first time it had lasted the full three days but the second time it had failed after barely two.
"If we're going to last we'll need to find something more permanent. A large property we can defend the non-magical way, but where we can grow our own food and that has a fresh water supply. You know, fences, patrolling, old-fashioned defenses since we don't have electricity and your wards don't stay up for long. Maybe use some magical traps and the like since that works." Buffy had mentally been trying to figure out what to do for months now, but nothing appropriate had turned up yet and she didn't have the opportunity to google it.
"We can apparate everyone to various prospective properties, but neither one of us are really familiar with those. Me because, well, my relatives didn't really show me much of anything, and Hermione because it never really came up. We moved in together as soon as we could and never looked back. After some legal issues with my parents' old cottage, we moved to Godric's Hollow and we lived there until it was taken over by the remains of the muggle government." Harry paused in his mini speech before he continued.
"I don't suppose either of you is familiar with somewhere fitting your parameters?" His tone was hopeful, no doubt he wanted to settle somewhere and not just for the sake of his children.
"Sorry," Dawn replied regretfully. "We're not familiar with the land of tweed or its available housing."
"What about checking to see if your old school is still there and still under protection?" Off their skeptical looks, Buffy continued quickly. "No, listen; you said the school is more or less self-sufficient, right?"
At their affirmative responses she went on, "That means it has food, a warm place to stay, medicine, and other supplies we need. If it isn't there, well, at least we tried. If we don't check to make sure we could lose a great opportunity. Even if the wards are down it doesn't mean the place has been bombed or raided, there might not be enough people or fuel left for anyone to get up that high."
It was a long shot, but from what the couple had said about the place it was pretty much perfect for what they needed. Apart from where it was located high up in the Scottish Highlands and it got really cold there. The discussion went on for several days, debating back and forth about the pro's and con's of attempting what the Potter's had already concluded was a lost cause. Wheather or not it was worth it for them to perhaps see the castle in ruins for the second time.
In the end, it was decided that they would spend another week gathering supplies and then Harry would create a portkey to transport all of them to just outside Hogsmeade, the nearby all-magical village.
Author: 3am_moonlight
Rating: Gen, implied het (HHr).
Crossover: Harry Potter - JKR
Timeline: Anytime post-Chosen, post-books.
Characters: Buffy, Dawn, Harry/Hermione.
Disclaimer: The Buffyverse belongs to Joss Whedon. The Potterverse 'verse belongs to JKR.
Summary: Buffy and Dawn have found people, but now they all need somewhere more permanent to stay.
Word Count: 1,224.
Note: Follows ' Anywhere But Here'.
Two weeks after meeting the Potter family the Summers sisters were still none the wiser regarding the reason for the apocalypse, or even if there was a someone or something responsible, or the fall of the magical secrecy, but Hermione had explained that the British Magical World had sealed its internal borders when the magical charms and rituals keeping the knowledge from muggles had shattered. Anyone left outside the borders when it was raised was left to their own devices. This had resulted in total isolation for everyone within its warded area, mostly purebloods and half-bloods with little or no connections to the outside world. In other words, Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade/Hogwarts, St. Mungo's, and the British Ministry of Magic had all been sealed off. Isolated magical properties, such as the Weasley's property the Burrow, had also been completely hidden from view. It was possible to travel between these places, but not outside them. The assumption between Harry and Hermione was that someone in a supposedly super secret department within their ministry had raised the wards as a last resort to protect the magical population.
Five months after the initial fall these wards had mysteriously gone down as well, and both the official and private magical properties had all been promptly bombed and/or raided by the remaining muggle law enforcement or the military. Word had it that some private residences and Hogwarts were still safe behind very old and very elaborate wards and probably some (now) illegal rituals as well, but as no one had been able to enter, or even *see* any of them it hadn't been confirmed.
Wizarding arrogance had also been prominent as no magical people had died of unexplained causes until the second month when all of a sudden 48 thousand people had died over night, cutting Britain's magical population into less than half. It had caused complete panic among those who were still alive and inside the enclaves. No one knew what had happened to those who lived within muggle areas, but the purebloods had simply scoffed and said they'd probably been killed along with the quote unquote, filthy muggles. Interestingly there had been no purebloods left by the time the second barrier fell, at least not in Britain.
According to Hermione, there was also a second magical barrier, which was still active, around the British Isles. Its single purpose was to keep any and all magical people and creatures on their original side of the barrier. In other words; no one magical could enter Britain and no one magical could *leave* Britain. Meaning the two sisters were stuck unless this ward fell as well, and if that happened the entire country would be open to whoever wanted to come, and there would be no one to stop them and no one to protect those remaining.
It had been a bitter pill to swallow, but if they were completely honest with themselves then they'd seen it coming. They'd known they were stuck on the wrong side of the planet, probably for good. Now they just had to make the best of it and simply hope that Xander and everyone they'd left behind in America was fine and that they continued to fight the good fight despite everything. For that was another thing; there had been a sky-high rise in vampires due to the massive number of deaths. It meant Buffy spent her nights Slaying alone while Dawn hid in whatever house they'd claimed for the night/week.
In the meantime, they were enjoying the hospitality of the Potter's. The little family was friendly enough, but weary. According to Harry, they'd lived on a small property in a place called Godric's Hollow, which was a combined magical and non-magical town, under a special set of charms to hide them from the 'muggles' and anyone else who wasn't specifically told where to find them. When the barrier had gone down they'd fled by a magical form of transportation called 'apparition'. And they'd kept moving ever since.
They'd tried recasting the charms but they never lasted more than three days and it was impossible to cast it more than once on the same house/property. It essentially meant they had temporary shelter, but that it couldn't be trusted entirely. In the 14 days Buffy and Dawn had been with them they'd cast it twice on houses they were staying in. The first time it had lasted the full three days but the second time it had failed after barely two.
"If we're going to last we'll need to find something more permanent. A large property we can defend the non-magical way, but where we can grow our own food and that has a fresh water supply. You know, fences, patrolling, old-fashioned defenses since we don't have electricity and your wards don't stay up for long. Maybe use some magical traps and the like since that works." Buffy had mentally been trying to figure out what to do for months now, but nothing appropriate had turned up yet and she didn't have the opportunity to google it.
"We can apparate everyone to various prospective properties, but neither one of us are really familiar with those. Me because, well, my relatives didn't really show me much of anything, and Hermione because it never really came up. We moved in together as soon as we could and never looked back. After some legal issues with my parents' old cottage, we moved to Godric's Hollow and we lived there until it was taken over by the remains of the muggle government." Harry paused in his mini speech before he continued.
"I don't suppose either of you is familiar with somewhere fitting your parameters?" His tone was hopeful, no doubt he wanted to settle somewhere and not just for the sake of his children.
"Sorry," Dawn replied regretfully. "We're not familiar with the land of tweed or its available housing."
"What about checking to see if your old school is still there and still under protection?" Off their skeptical looks, Buffy continued quickly. "No, listen; you said the school is more or less self-sufficient, right?"
At their affirmative responses she went on, "That means it has food, a warm place to stay, medicine, and other supplies we need. If it isn't there, well, at least we tried. If we don't check to make sure we could lose a great opportunity. Even if the wards are down it doesn't mean the place has been bombed or raided, there might not be enough people or fuel left for anyone to get up that high."
It was a long shot, but from what the couple had said about the place it was pretty much perfect for what they needed. Apart from where it was located high up in the Scottish Highlands and it got really cold there. The discussion went on for several days, debating back and forth about the pro's and con's of attempting what the Potter's had already concluded was a lost cause. Wheather or not it was worth it for them to perhaps see the castle in ruins for the second time.
In the end, it was decided that they would spend another week gathering supplies and then Harry would create a portkey to transport all of them to just outside Hogsmeade, the nearby all-magical village.