Chapter Eleven – Testing Theories

12:00 AM - October 30- Halloween Eve

"Angel?"

Angel looked up from the book he was reading when he saw Buffy come down the stairs from her room.

"You’re – not in the basement" Buffy said, a bit shocked.

"I always knew you were perceptive" Angel said with a small grin.

Buffy glared. "I’m just a bit surprised is all" Buffy shook her head and sat down across from him. "How are you feeling?"

"Better – for the most part" He saw there was more to the question then she was letting on when he looked into her eyes. "Why?"

Buffy bit her lip. "Well – I was hoping – that is, if you want – um – would you come with me? Back to Hogwarts? I have to leave tonight because the kids are having this dance I’ve been helping Faith plan and – I should really just get back"

Angel got up and started pacing. "Angel, please say something"

"I don’t know what to say"

"Yes. No. Another one syllable word maybe? Something with four letters?" Angel just shot her a look and she smiled. "Anything"

"I guess…have you spoken to – what’s his name?"

"Professor Dumbledore, and yes, I have" She looked at his face, and saw that something was bothering him. "Why?" She walked over to him. "Angel, what’s wrong?"

"Nothing – I just – I’m worried. I don’t know if – "

"Hey" Buffy put her hand on his cheek so he could look at her. "You’ll be fine. I trust you. Dumbledore trusts you, God help me – Faith trusts you"

"And the students?"

"Already informed. Faith took care of that"

Angel brushed a piece of hair out of her face. "It seems you had everything all planned out" His voice got lower, close to a whisper.

Buffy leaned closer to him. "I was hoping for it"

Their lips met in a soft kiss, but instead of pulling away, Angel pulled her closer and deepened the kiss. Her arms went around his neck and they continued kissing passionately when Buffy suddenly broke it off and took a couple of steps backward.

"Oh, God.."

Angel seemed confused. "Buffy.."

"What am I doing?" She looked up at him. "What are you doing?

"I don't know"

"Shame on you!"

Angel didn’t know how to respond. He put his hand to his forehead as Buffy headed over to her things on the couch.

"Oh, God, I... I don't even know why I came down here"

She started to pull on her jacket to patrol when Angel stepped over and took it from her hands. Buffy looked up at him, confused.

"When is Giles getting back?"

Buffy looked at him, still utterly baffled by his actions. "Not until the morning. He’s pulling an overnight at the library researching that prophecy" Angel was slowly but surely pulling her closer to him as she spoke. "Angel, what are you doing?" Her voice was somewhat husky and quivering.

He kissed her neck and whispered, "Testing your theory"

Buffy looked up at him, eyes wide. "Are you su- " Angel cut her off with a kiss that took her breath away. They were still kissing when Angel hooked his arms under her knees and carried her up the stairs to her room, locking the door behind them.

~*~*~*~*~*

4:00 AM

She was not going to go to sleep. She refused to go to sleep. If she slept, she might wake up and find that she had dreamt the whole thing. If she slept, she might wake up to an empty bed.

If she slept, he might disappear, and her worst nightmares would come true. Again.

Buffy shivered at the thought, which did not go unnoticed by an equally awake Angel. "Buffy? Why aren’t you sleeping?"

"I’m not tired" Her voice was muffled by the complete exhaustion she was feeling, but she refused to close her eyes.

"Yes you are. You’re staying awake for me"

Buffy didn’t respond. She rolled over to face him and settled her head in the crook of his neck. "Are we ever going to be able to do this without having that god-forsaken curse hanging over our heads?"

"Shh…just sleep. Wait until the morning"

Against her own will, Buffy gave in and succumbed to slumber. Angel ran a lazy hand down her back before finally giving in to sleep as well.

~*~*~*~*~*~*

11:00 AM

"Buffy!"

Buffy groaned as she awoke. The sunlight streaming in from the window felt warm against her bare skin.

Sunlight…

Buffy shot up in bed, her heart rate increasing from 60 to 360 in three seconds. She looked frantically around the room, but it was to no avail.

The only sign that Angel had been with her last night was the slight ache in her loins, his tee shirt on the floor, and her clothes – which were now neatly folded on the chair. Buffy scrambled for a tank top and sweatpants before speeding down the stairs –

To find Angel and Giles sitting in the livingroom. Together.

Buffy’s heartbeat slowed slightly. "You called?" She hoped her voice didn’t betray the feeling of dread that she felt when she had awakened and not seen Angel there.

"Yes" Giles said, putting down the cup of tea he was drinking. "You received an owl a few moments ago" He handed it to her, eyes twinkling mischievously.

Buffy took the letter warily and Angel watched as she read it to herself.

Hey B,

How are ya? ::wink wink:: So, I heard that you boy’s soul is permanent – how was the test drive? (Buffy’s eyes widened. Oh God – how much does she know? She swallowed and continued reading.) Got a letter from Giles saying that Angel was sure that you were right, which can only mean one thing -

You’d better be happy when you get here, because I’m sure you had fun last night.

Have fun! I’ll see you two tonight!

- Faith

Buffy groaned and put her head in her lap. "I hate you Giles. Did you know that?"

Giles grinned and Buffy looked up, her face flushed when she heard a chuckle sound from across the room. She glared at Angel. "You’re evil, you know that?"

"Ah, on the contrary – I’m very much not" He kissed her on the top of her head. "Morning lover" He grinned evilly, but his eyes shined with amusement in a way that Angelus’ never had –

But Angel’s always could.

Through her embarrassment, Buffy couldn’t help but grin. She looked at Giles and gave him a smug look. "I told you so"

Giles nodded, smiling. "Indeed"

For once, Rupert Giles was more then happy to be wrong.

~*~*~*~*~*~*

9:00 PM

Buffy finished packing her bags and went to the livingroom to say goodbye to everyone. She gave Willow and Xander a hug, and promised them that she would get them a portkey to come visit her over the holidays. Even though she was still slightly upset, she hugged Giles, promising she would be careful, and to get in touch with her as soon as he had information on the prophecy.

With a companionable wave to Oz and Cordelia, Buffy and Angel felt the familiar pull on their navel as they were whisked away to Hogwarts.

*~*~*Hogwarts*~*~*

9:00 PM

"Why are you so interested in this prophecy Ethan?"

Ethan Rayne glared at Faith. The slayer was really beginning to piss him off.

"Because I’ve heard it before, and I can tell Ripper what some of it means. He may have stopped worshipping demons early enough to become a watcher, but I’ve only stopped recently, and I’ve seen some things that I can never explain and that includes where the power of darkness can come from, so if you value your neck, you’ll show me the bloody prophecy!"

"Easy there, Rayne. Don’t want to scare the puppies away"

Ethan turned around and glared at the annoying voice of the one person he hoped would stay away longer. "Summers, how nice of you to join us again"

"Your sarcasm is enlightening, really" Faith, we need to talk.

Faith let out a little yelp and glared at Buffy. Can you NOT intrude in my thoughts?

Like I want to. Stop forgetting to wear that necklace, and I won’t have to remind you.

Oh, go screw a vampire. Faith stopped, thinking about the irony of her words, and smiled. "But you’ve already done that now, haven’t you?"

Buffy glared. "Touché" She turned to Ethan. "Owl Giles for a copy of the prophecy. Faith, you need to fill me in on how classes have been going, and what’s going on with the dance tomorrow night"

"You a teacher – there’s something I never thought I’d live to see"

Buffy’s eyes narrowed at the obvious amusement in Angel’s voice. "Shut up Dead Boy"

Angel glared and Buffy and Faith laughed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Potter, if you don’t ask Hermione to the Halloween Ball, I’m going to do it for you"

Harry glanced up at Ron and glared. "Why do you insist on torturing me?"

Ron grinned. "Because Malfoy isn’t here to torture you for me" He sobered a bit, "C’mon Harry! What’s the worst that could happen?"

"She’ll say no"

"Yes, well, rejection is a bitch, but I’ve gotten over it" Harry couldn’t help but smile a bit at that.

In their Fifth Year, it was common knowledge that Ron had a fairly large crush on Hermione. When he asked her out, almost positive that she felt the same way, she said yes and went out on one date – and it was a complete disaster. She broke it to him easy that things wouldn’t work out, and, though he would never admit it out loud, Harry was jumping for joy.

On the inside of course –

And in the empty dormitory. Same thing.

"Just go for it Harry" He pushed Harry towards the girl’s dormitory where Hermione, as Head Girl, had her own room. "Now"

Harry glanced behind him. Might as well get this over with Potter. He won’t leave you alone until you do. He sighed, resigned, and walked up the stairs towards Hermione’s room.

Taking a breath, he knocked on the door.

Hermione was laying on her stomach on her bed in a pair of red and gold plaid pajama pants and a red tank top, attempting to start her report for Buffy and Faith’s class. She sighed as she heard the knock at her door. "Who is it?"

"It’s Harry"

Hermione hesitated a moment when she realized what she was wearing. Oh stop it Granger, its not like he’s never seen you in a tank top before. "Come in Harry. The door’s open"

Harry stepped in and closed the door behind him. Hermione sat up and closed the book she was reading and Harry had to bite back a sigh.

"Harry – is something wrong? You look nervous" She could see it in his eyes. Plus, he was scratching his arm, a nervous habit he seemed to have picked up Sirius.

"No – nothing’s wrong" Harry sat down on her bed, and Hermione couldn’t help but think that he looked perfect just sitting there, even if he did look incredibly uncomfortable.

"Yes, there’s something bothering you. You’re scratching your arm and you only do that when you’re nervous"

"I just – I need to ask you something, but I’m not sure how"

Hermione laughed a little. "Harry, it’s just me. You can tell me anything, you know that"

Harry nodded. "I know" He took a breath and said, very quickly, "WouldyouwanttogototheHalloweenDancewithme?"

Hermione’s heart skipped a beat. "What was that?"

Harry swallowed. "I asked if – if you would be my date for the Halloween Dance" He looked up at her with bated breath. Say yes, please say yes, please say yes…

YES!!! Hermione’s stomach was doing flip flops, and she tried to remain calm as she said, "Of course I would Harry"

Harry looked at her, blinking, "Really?"

Hermione laughed at the surprised look on his face. "Really" She adjusted his glasses, which were leaning a little to the side. Harry grinned boyishly, and Hermione had to bite back a sigh. He really is adorable when he smiles like that…

"Great" Harry got up off the bed, and did something that he had never done before – he gave her a quick kiss before getting up and walking to the door.

Hermione was in shock, but she regained her composure enough to go after him. "Harry!"

Harry spun around just to be met in another kiss from Hermione. After the initial shock of her openness, he wrapped his arms around her waist and deepened the kiss. She twined her arms around his neck and in his hair and sighed before pulling away. She looked at him and gave him one of those innocent smiles that so few girls Harry knew could pull off, but Hermione could do so well, and Harry smiled right back.

He had the same smile on his face when he went back to his room –

Where Ron, as Harry expected, was sitting on the floor waiting for him to come back.

Ron saw the goofy-happy smile on Harry’s face and his eyes widened.

"Bloody hell – she kissed you didn’t she?!"

:: Chapter Twelve ::