A/ N Thanks once again for all the reviews on the last chapter. One thing I would like to say is that if you're going to review with criticism, that's fine, I always love to know what you really think, but being rude and quite frankly cruel is a whole other matter. I'm only actually talking about one review, an anonymous reviewer named Soom who said and I quote, "I should go and kill myself." Comments like that only make you look immature and quite frankly, stupid. Anyway, enough of the bad news, thanks once again to Apocalypse Thou for beta-reading this chapter. Without further delay let's get on with the show.

"Harry!" Buffy yelled out, "Stop!" she grabbed Harry's arm and pointed his wand down toward the ground.

"What?" He asked, the stunner was still on the tip of his tongue.

Buffy didn't even look at him, her eyes had widened at the sight of the attacker. "That's Angel." She muttered, although it was loud enough for Harry to hear.

"Angel?" Harry questioned, once again he was utterly confused. "Didn't you kill him?"

Buffy was barely listening to him as she walked forward and knelt down next to the injured body of Angel. "I did." She answered.

Harry dropped his wand to his side and sighed. "Well obviously you didn't do a very good job."

***

Chapter 8: Conflicting Emotions.

Harry watched from afar as Buffy knelt by the unconscious vampire. He was noticing a pattern here in Sunnydale, about people coming back from the dead. To be fair, there was a chance that it wasn't just Sunnydale, but this entire world. Harry did have theories. He knew that if this world and his own world existed, then there was likely to be thousands, maybe even an infinite of parallel worlds Could it be possible that the barriers between life and death were weaker in this world than in his? Looking at the evidence, with Buffy and now Angel both having returned from the dead and Harry never hearing of anyone (besides Voldemort) doing such a thing in his own world, then it seemed so.

Pulling out of his thoughts, he stood awkwardly and watched Buffy. Her back was too him, so he could not see her face or read her emotions. He could only imagine what he would be like if someone he had loved returned from the dead, even if it was in such an animalistic way. He watched as Buffy stood up suddenly, her back still to him. She began to speak. "Come on, we have to take him to the mansion," she stated, leaving no room for argument.

He didn't move and watched silently as Buffy grabbed one of Angel's arms and dragged him back to his feet. She threw one of Angel's arms over her shoulder. "Buffy…" Harry said, trailing off as Buffy spoke again.

"What are you waiting for?" she said, turning around and facing him for the first time with an expectant look in her eyes. "Give me a hand."

"Buffy…" Harry tried again, but The Slayer didn't seem to want to hear whatever Harry had to say and just continued to speak.

"You take his left side and I'll take his right," she instructed as she began to walk back over to Angel. Before she could, Harry grabbed onto her wrist and turned her around so she was facing him. "What?" she asked fiercely while pulling her hand.

Harry sighed; hating the fact that it was him that had to do this. "Buffy," he began softly, "Isn't this the same Angel that killed innocent people, tortured Giles and then used the demon Acathla to try and get the world sucked into hell?" He finished rather bluntly, but then again, dealing with emotions had never been his strong point.

Harry watched the conflicting emotions in her eyes; first he saw anger and rage before it turned into understanding. Buffy sighed, "He's not…he's not evil anymore." She forced out, "Okay?"

"He just tried to kill us!" Harry shot back,

"He didn't mean it he just…" Buffy stopped and took a deep calming breath. She glanced behind her to see that Angel was stirring, but still wasn't awake. "Just before he tried to waken Acathla, Willow tried this spell to give him back his soul, it worked at the last second…but…but it was too late…the portal was already open and only Angel's blood could stop it." She admitted, staring at the ground.

Harry was conflicted. No, conflicted wasn't the right world. It was more like he was in inner turmoil. He understood Buffy and what she going through, because if he was in her position he would want to do everything he could for Angel as well, but he wasn't in her position; he was neutral. If spending all those years dealing with Dumbledore's "for the greater good," half truth's and manipulations, he now understood that sometimes you had to put the fate of the world over personal happiness. If anybody understood that, Harry did. If Angel was still evil, and they let him get away and he began killing again, Harry wasn't sure he would be able to forgive himself and he knew for a fact that Buffy would be consumed with guilt.

His thoughts must have been showing on his face because Buffy's eyes narrowed and she turned away from him and stomped back over to Angel. Before she reached Angel she turned back and faced him with icy eyes. "I'm taking Angel to the mansion," she stated, not giving Harry any chance to argue. "If you're not going to help me…then…you may as well just go." Without giving Harry a chance to say anything else, Buffy turned around and made her way back over to Angel. She knelt in front of him and tried to get Angel to his feet. The vampire chose that moment to wake up though and Angel wrapped his hands around Buffy's neck with incredible speed and began to choke her while hissing in an animalistic manner.

Stupefy!

The red light struck Angel in his chest and he fell back against the tree, unconscious once more. Buffy gasped and removed Angel's hands from her neck before stepping back. "Did you…"

"He's not dead," Harry assured, "Just stunned."

Buffy turned toward Harry once more, "What does that mean?"

Harry glanced from Buffy to Angel before making a decision, probably not the right one, but a decision all the same. "It means he will wake up perfectly fine in a little while," he explained. He heard Buffy's sigh of relief and he spoke again before she had a chance to say anything, "Which means we should take him to wherever you want to take him before he has a chance to wake up." Without saying anything, Buffy gave Harry a grateful look before turning around and trying to lift up Angel again. "Hang on," Harry said as he flicked his wand once more. Angel began to float in mid air. "Which way?"

Buffy just pointed and Harry began to walk before she put a hand on his arm and stopped him, "Thank you," she said honestly.

Harry shook his head, "Don't thank me yet."

***

They Angel back to the mansion in silence, partly because Buffy was deep in thought about the whole Angel still being alive thing and partly because it was taking all of Harry's concentration to keep Angel in the air. Usually, back in his world this sort of thing would have been nothing, but in this world, even the smallest amount of magic took extra effort and concentration.

When they eventually reached the mansion, Harry could honestly say he wasn't surprised by its appearance. The dark, dinginess of the building screamed vampire. All the windows in the house was bordering up, blocking all natural light from streaming into room, which was understandable considering Angel was a vampire.

As soon as they had entered the mansion, Buffy grabbed a chain that was coincidently lying around and chained Angel to a far wall. She did this just in time though as Angel started to stir and began to show signs of waking up from Harry's Stunner. Harry stood back and watched rather awkwardly as Buffy knelt beside him. She seemed to forget Harry was still there and walked into a joining room, retrieving a wet cloth before using it to wipe away some excess sweat of Angel's forehead.

Harry watched her with a small smile on his face. He had never had the chance to do this, to care for someone as much as Buffy obviously did for Angel. Sure, he loved people. He loved Ron, Neville, Ginny, Remus and the rest of the Weasley's. He loved the people that he had lost, his parents, Sirius, Dumbledore and Hermione. Even though he had people that he loved, he had never been in love. Sure, he had had a few girlfriend's here and there as he found that having someone that he could relax around and have fun with usually relived some of the stress of war, but he had never had that one person that completed him.

Harry shook away his unwelcome thoughts; he had other things that he needed to concentrate on now. He watched as Buffy stepped away from Angel and stood beside him. She crossed her arms over her chest and continued to stare at Angel with an emotion in his eyes that Harry couldn't read. Just then, Angel's eyes snapped open. With one look at the chains, the vampire began hissing and growling in a savage attempt to break free.

"Well," Harry said, as he watched Angel struggle against the chains, "I can see why you like him." Buffy didn't react to Harry's unhelpful comment and instead watched Angel fight against the chains. Harry turned his head and now was able to see the guilt and regret swimming in her eyes. Knowing that she didn't want sympathy, Harry turned back and faced Angel once more. "I'm guessing he wasn't always like this."

Buffy simply shook her head. She was silent, for several moments before she spoke again, "Time passes differently in hell," she said simply. She paused. "Giles once told me that anybody who broke out of hell would simply become a…monster."

Harry nodded in understanding. That meant that even if Angel had died only a short amount of time ago, he could have been in hell for a number of years. Anybody put under that amount of torture for that long would go insane.

"Any idea on how he escaped from hell?" Harry asked after a long silence.

"No." Buffy replied, keeping her answers short. Harry doubted that Angel could break out of hell. Even if he was one of the most powerful vampires on this world, Harry seriously doubted that this weakened, beast-like Angel could pull off something that could take so much power.

Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair; this was beginning to be a really bad day. "I hate to be the one to have to say it Buffy, but, there's a chance that Angel could have…"

"Murdered the boy," Buffy finished for him. Her eyes narrowed slightly and her entire body seemed to tense. Other than that, there was no outward change in her demeanour, despite the fact Harry had just said that there was a chance the person she was in love with was a murderer. Then again, they all knew that Angel was a murderer. "I know," she finished, still staring at Angel. She suddenly turned around and took her eyes of Angel completely. She ignored his howls and screams and instead focused on Harry. "So what are we going to do?"

"About what?"

"Well you just said that there is a good chance that Angel killed that boy," Buffy said, clearly frustrated. "What are we going to do about this…situation?"

Harry took a second to think about it. "I think…" he paused and blew air from his pursed lips, "I think that we should tell Giles that he's alive."

"No," Buffy said quickly. "We can't tell Giles...or the others…they'll want to kill him."

Harry had to physically stop himself from shrugging, knowing that blasé reaction would only infuriate the Slayer. Instead, he reached forward and placed what he hoped was a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Buffy," he began softly, "We can't protect a known murderer."

Buffy stepped backwards and brushed his hand off her shoulder, causing Harry to sigh. "We don't know he killed that boy yet Harry."

"But we know he's killed before," Harry shot back. Seeing her eyes begin to narrow, Harry stepped backwards himself and held his hands up in a protective manner. "Look, Buffy, you're putting me in a difficult position here," he tried to explain, "What do you want me to do?"

Buffy didn't say anything for a moment; instead she just looked up at Harry. "And what do you want to do?" she asked quietly, "Do you want to kill him."

Harry hesitated, "Buffy…"

"Oh my god…" Buffy trailed off, her eyes flashing dangerously now as she looked up at Harry, "You do, don't you?" she questioned. Before Harry could even respond, Buffy spoke again, "You actually want to kill him."

Harry threw his hands into the air and groaned loudly, "Well what do you want me do to Buffy?" Harry said, his temper finally getting the better of him, "Offer him a glass of milk and a tray full of biscuits and hope that he doesn't try and kill me afterwards?"

"No," Buffy shot back, "I expected you, of all people you, to give Angel a chance."

"Please Buffy," Harry retorted as he turned away for a second. He turned back to Buffy and jabbed his finger in Angel's direction, "If that was anybody…anybody else…you would want to kill him as well."

Buffy said nothing for a second and just glared at Harry. Seconds passed and Buffy's glare lessened and she spoke softly. "We aren't just talking about anybody. We are talking about the man I love."

Harry shook his head, "That doesn't change anything."

"Yes it does," Buffy said angrily, her voice was louder than usual and the fierce look in her eyes would have sent a lesser man running. "If this was you're friend…Hermione…we were talking about here, would you kill her again?" Harry stepped back slightly, feeling stung by her words. It must have shown on his face as the anger in Buffy's face lessened considerably, but it still held the grit and determination of before.

"That's different," Harry said eventually. His voice was quieter, almost a whisper, but it was said with such power that most other people would have backed up in fear. Buffy, wasn't anybody, she was the Slayer, and she stepped forward so she was closer to Harry, inches apart.

"Yes it is," Buffy said softly. She watched as Harry's face tightened slightly, but she stood her ground, "And you know it is."

The two stared at each other in a battle of wills, neither of them willing to look away first. It was tense; the silence was only broken by Angel's constant howls. The strength held by each was epitomised in their eyes. The power they both could wield, the desire to be the best they could be, the understanding…of each other…both of them, born in different worlds in the same situation; One of the same and two of a kind.

Harry looked away first.

He turned his head back in Angel's direction to see the vampire glaring at him with narrowed eyes. For a minute Angel disappeared, and his place was the annoying, bossy, eleven year old girl that he had met on the Hogwarts Express, seven years ago. Harry blinked, and back in her place was the vampire still hissing and growling.

Harry sighed, "We'll go back to the school and see what the others found on the body," he said eventually.

Buffy nodded, "And Angel?"

"Leave him here," Harry said, "He doesn't seem to be able to get out of those chains."

Buffy stared at him, arms crossed, and shook her head, "That's not what I meant."

Harry looked back up at her and sighed, "We'll see what the others found before deciding whether or not it's a good idea to tell them."

Buffy just nodded, realizing that this was the best outcome she could have hoped for. She turned and began to head for the door of the mansion. "Come on then," she said as she walked past Harry.

Harry reached out and grabbed her arm before she could walk past and spun her around so she was facing him. Buffy looked up at him, expecting to hear that he was planning to kill Angel if it turned out he did kill the boy, instead, Harry just held out one of his hands. "Hold my hand."

Buffy was baffled; after a heated debate like the one they had just had, he wanted him to hold his hand? Buffy shook her head and looked up to see Harry waggling his fingers, "What?" she asked eventually.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Just do it." Buffy shrugged, thinking that it could do no harm, and reached forward, placing her palm into his. It felt strangely comfortable. A perfect fit…

"This might feel a bit weird." Harry warned before he disapparated away from the mansion with Buffy holding on behind him.

***

Seconds later, they were outside Sunnydale High School. Upon landing, Buffy immediately ripped her hand away from Harry and tried to stop herself from vomiting. Harry watched with an amused smirk as Buffy keeled over with a hand over her mouth. A few seconds later, she stood back up and took a few controlled breaths. Apparently, she was convinced that she was not going to throw up any second.

Buffy took one look at Harry's smirk and she growled at him. "What the hell was that?"

"Apparition," Harry answered, "It's a magical mode of transportation."

"That's how you people get around?" Buffy questioned, Harry just nodded. "What's wrong with you people?"

Harry smiled for the first time in a while. "Don't blame me because you're not strong enough to take it," he taunted with a mocking grin.

Buffy ignored the taunt as she was still recovering from the feeling of Apparition. "That felt like…like…"

"Being pushed through a narrow tube?" Harry suggested, Buffy just nodded, "It's an acquired taste." Harry explained. "You get used to it after a while."

Buffy just shook her head and walked past him, entering the school. Without saying another word, Harry followed her into the school and into the library. When they finally reached the library, they found Oz, in his werewolf state, locked up in a cage and Faith, with her back turned to them, eyeing the werewolf in suspicion with a tranquilizer gun clutched in her hand. With Giles, Willow, Xander and Cordelia all going to examine the body, it was only the second Slayer that was free to watch Oz. Stepping into the room, Faith heard him and she spun around and pointed the gun at Harry, who just raised his hands in innocence. After seeing who it was, Faith sighed, rolled her eyes and allowed the gun to drop to her side.

"I was seconds away from shooting you." she warned with narrowed eyes, holding the gun up to prove her point. Harry shrugged, after the night he had just had, he couldn't really bring himself to care. He walked past Oz's cage and wasn't surprised at all to hear the werewolf growl at him before he threw himself down into a chair by the table. Instead of sitting, Buffy just leaned against the table, swimming in her own thoughts. "You know," Faith said, completely unaware of the tensions between the two, "You two, out alone in the forests in the middle of the night. Some might suspect that you two were participating in…extracurricular activities?"

Buffy and Harry both raised eyebrows and glanced at each other for a second, "No." they both said simultaneously.

"Why not?" Faith pressed, "I mean B your hot and Harry isn't exactly a bad looking guy…"

"Faith," Buffy interrupted, "You can go now you know. I'll watch Oz."

Losing all interest in the previous conversation, Faith scrunched up her face for a second, "You sure?"

"Yeah." Buffy nodded.

Shrugging, Faith handed Buffy the tranquilizer gun. Faith wasn't exactly going to complain at being allowed to get away early. "Alright then." She said as she began to walk out the room. She opened the door, "Later," she called out before the door slammed behind her. Once the door shut, Buffy dropped the gun on the table and walked up the few steps and began looking through the bookcases.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked after spending a couple of moments observing her. She didn't answer him and instead began pulling several books out and holding them under her arms. Knowing that he wasn't going to get an answer, Harry sighed. "You're looking up Acathla, aren't you?"

Buffy paused and turned to face Harry with a strange expression on her face. "How did you know that?"

"Because," Harry said, spinning in his chair so he was once again facing her, "If I was you, I would want to know how it was possible for Angel to be back too."

Buffy simply nodded and turned back to the bookcase and went back to looking for books. "I know what you think of Angel," she said without looking at him, "But while Angel's here, I'm going to do anything and everything I can to help him." She once again stopped looking for books and turned and faced him once more. Looking into his eyes with a piercing stare, she asked, "Problem?"

Harry sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He turned in his chair again and saw Buffy watching him, waiting for an answer and readying herself for an argument. Harry stood up and began to walk up the steps. "Need a hand?" he asked.

Buffy's face scrunched up in confusion, "Why would you want to help Angel."

"Because you were right," Harry answered, Buffy still looked confused so Harry elaborated. "If this was Hermione, I would do the same thing you're doing." Buffy's gaze lingered on Harry for a second with an unreadable expression on her face. After a second she smiled and handed him a book.

"Thanks." She said as she walked past him and sat at the table before opening up a book and beginning to work.

***

The next morning before school started, Giles walked into the library to see Buffy with her head resting on the desk and three different books all opened up around her. She was obviously fast asleep. In the seat next to her was Harry, who was also asleep but instead he was leaning back in his chair with his head hanging off the edge. A book was left open in his lap and two other closed books on the table in front of him.

Giles had been too loud walking in and as Buffy was a light sleeper, she began to stir. After a few seconds, she lifted her head off the table and rubbed her eyes. She groaned loudly while stretching her arms and it was only then she saw Giles standing in front of her with a raised eyebrow.

"What are you doing here Giles?" Buffy asked as she tried to wake herself up, "It's late."

"No," Giles said shaking his head, "It's morning." Buffy narrowed her eyes and glanced toward the window were she could see the sunlight pouring through. Her mouth dropped into an O position as Giles dropped the books he was holding onto the table and walked behind her, peering over her shoulder at one of the books she had opened. "You're researching Acathla," he stated with a curious look.

Buffy hesitated, as she had no intention of telling her watcher that Angel was still alive, she had to come up with an excuse. "I had a dream last night about Angel coming back," she lied.

"A dream?" Giles questioned,

"A vivid dream, it just seemed so real," Buffy continued, "So I was just wondering…you know…if it were possible for him to come back."

"From hell?" Giles questioned, Buffy simply nodded. Giles took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes before sighing, "If Angel were to be able to escape from hell, which I'm not even sure if it's possible, that amount of torture to someone, it would drive them insane."

Buffy sighed, "I know," she said, her face dropped into one of sadness.

Deciding that it would be better to change the subject, Giles glanced at Harry, who was still fast asleep. "You asked Harry to help you?"

Buffy glanced at Harry and smiled slightly when she saw that he was still here and that he had a small amount of dribble falling down his chin. "He kind of…offered," she answered, "Anyway, I should probably wake him up now, huh?"

Giles nodded, "That might be a good idea." Buffy smiled and reached out and grabbed Harry's arm before gently shaking him. It was enough to wake Harry up though and disorientated, Harry fell backwards in the chair and landed on a heap on the floor.

"Ouch," Harry muttered while on the floor. Looking up at the two amused faces, Harry hurried back to his feet and ran a hand through his hair. "What time is it?" Harry asked after seeing the sunlight.

"About five to eight," Giles answered.

Harry nodded, scowling slightly, "Giles, I know I'm supposed to be working for you, but do you mind if I go back to the motel and have a shower and change my clothes? I was kind of busy helping out Buffy last night."

Giles nodded, "Sure."

Harry turned and smiled at Buffy, "Later Buff," before he turned and disappeared on the spot.

"So," Giles said after Harry had apparated away, "Did you end up finding anything interesting?"

***

Harry arrived back in the library later on that day. Once there, he spent the day continuing to read up on both Koas and possible routes home with only minor interruptions from Giles. After the school day had ended, Harry took a quick walk to a nearby shop to get something to eat and when he returned, he was surprised to see everybody there, well, everybody minus Oz. He strolled across the library and flopped down into a seat next to Cordelia, and taking in everyone's serious expressions, he asked, "What's going on?"

Buffy cleared her throat and answered, "I just found the school counselor dead," she said seriously.

Harry leaned forward in his chair, "Dead?"

"Not just dead," Buffy said, "Mauled, like the body we found yesterday, but the difference is that this murder was committed during the day time."

Harry nodded and allowed a small smile to cross his face, despite the serious nature of the topics being discussed, "So it couldn't have been Oz." He noticed that Willow seemed to be struggling to hide her delight at hearing that it wasn't Oz who killed the boy in the forest yesterday. His eyes locked with Buffy's for a split second, and at that moment Harry's thoughts mirrored Buffy's. It means it couldn't have been Angel either…

"So we're not looking for a vampire." Giles stated, snapping Harry from his thoughts. He looked back at the older man who was rubbing his chin in thought. "Any ideas on what else we could be fighting…"

"Whatever it is," Harry said, "It's in the school."

"Who knows how long it will take to kill again…" Willow said,

Buffy stood up and crossed her arms, "We need to find him guys."

"But how?" Xander asked.

Perfectly timed, Oz walked through the doors of the library with a determined look on his face. Willow jumped up from her seat and hugged her boyfriend tightly. "Oz! It wasn't you! You didn't kill that boy!" she squealed, her voice being muffled by Oz's chest.

Oz still looked unconvinced, "How do you know?"

"The school consoler was killed today," Buffy explained, "The body was mauled, just like the boy in the forest, but this time, the murder was committed in daylight." Harry smiled as he saw Oz looking visibly relieved, as if a great burden had been suddenly lifted of his shoulders; he noticed out of the corner of his Buffy also smiling at him, "It couldn't have been you," she finished off.

"Coincidence," Oz said after a few moments of silence, "I just saw Debbie outside looking seriously beaten up."

Buffy looked confused, "How beaten up?"

"Black eye beaten up." Oz explained.

Buffy narrowed her eyes, "Do you really think Pete's capable of something like that?"

"Sorry," Harry interrupted, "Who are Debbie and Pete?"

"Friends of Scott," Buffy said absentmindedly, referring to her current boyfriend. "Do you really think he could have hit Debbie?"

Oz shrugged, "Maybe."

"If this boy is willing to attack his girlfriend," Giles said in thought, "Than maybe he could have killed the counselor and the boy in the forest."

Harry looked sceptical, "That's a little…out there…isn't it?"

Buffy shrugged, "It's the best lead we've got." She turned around and began to turn toward the door, "I say we go and find him and see if he knows anything." The others nodded and stood up before following Buffy toward the door.

"Wait, Oz!" Giles said, grabbing the teen werewolf by his arm and stopping him in his tracks, "It's getting close to nightfall. You're going to transform soon." Oz looked reluctant, but nodded, and walked back over to the table and sat back down.

"I'll stay with you," Willow offered as she wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

"No," Harry interrupted, "I'll stay. You guys know your way around this school a lot better than I do and considering I don't even know what he looks like…I may as well wait with Oz."

Buffy nodded, "Okay then." She said as the group, minus Oz and Harry left the library.

***

Ten minutes later, Harry and Oz were still in the library, sitting in silence. Harry was watching in sympathy as Oz was marching up and down, beginning to feel the pain of the transformation.

"Maybe you should…" Harry said slightly awkwardly, instead of finishing the sentence, he just pointed toward the cage on the other side of the room. Although he has done so in the past, Harry was in no mood to grapple with a werewolf.

Oz just nodded, "Yeah…you're probably right…" he murmured as he walked around the table and toward the table. Before he could, the door of the library flew open and a boy Harry had never seen before charged into the room with a murderous look in his eye.

"You!" he said, his eyes flashing dangerously with one finger outstretched in Oz's direction. He stepped forward dangerously but before he could get anywhere close to him, Harry stepped in between them with a grin on his face.

"Hey," he said in a false cheery tone, "You must be Pete."

Pete's eyes narrowed and he glared at Harry, "Out of my way," his looked at Harry up and down, "Librarian." He finished with a smirk.

"Wow," Harry muttered, mostly to himself, "I've been called a lot of insults in my time, but never librarian." He looked up to see Pete still glaring at him angrily, as if he was about to attack Harry there and then, "Oh, did you actually think I was going to move?"

"Harry…" Oz warned,

"In the cage Oz," Harry ordered, not taking his eyes off Pete for a second, "The moon will be out any second now." He smiled once more at Pete, "Now, maybe you can tell me what you want with my good friend Oz here, and I'll be glad to pass on a message."

Pete growled, he was beginning to sound more and more animalistic every second, "He was talking to my girl," he snarled, "And I'm going to kill him for it?"

Harry, completely unaffected by the Pete, continued to taunt him, "Kill him? Really?" he questioned, "Small thing like you, I doubt you could kill anything."

"You want to bet?" Pete said and a second later, he looked nothing like he had done before. His featured had grown more prominent and pointed. His eyes had narrowed and were now flashing a dangerous yellow. He bared his sharp teeth in an attempt to look even more threatening.

"Oh, now I'm scared." Harry said sarcastically, after not reacting to Pete's sudden transformation.

Pete growled before his mouth curved upwards into a smirk, "You should be." He hissed before he leaped forward, fully intent on breaking Harry's neck.

Seeing him coming, Harry lifted up his hand and used his magic to cover it in flames. Seeing this, Pete practically stopped in mid air and glanced at Harry's hand in fear. "What are you?" he whispered harshly.

"Me?" Harry asked, "I'm just a librarian. Now, if I was you, I would stay exactly where you are before this librarian turns you to ashes." He smirked at Pete one last time, "Got it?"

Just then, an inhuman scream pierced through the ears of both Harry and Pete. Turning around, Harry realized that the full moon was now up, and even worse, Oz didn't lock the cage. In front of his eyes he began to witness Oz's transformation into a werewolf. As his friend turned into a beast, Harry knew that he had to keep Oz away from anyone else for their own safety. Taking his attention of Pete proved to be a mistake though as he leaped on Harry and drove him into the table. The combined weight of the both of them was too much and the table collapsed, sending the two of them crashing to the floor. The inhuman Pete was strong and rolled over so he was on top of Harry. He grimaced as the inhuman Pete hissed and growled and tried to maul Harry. Harry was fighting with his life to keep Pete off of him, before he sent a burst of fire from his entire body, burning Pete and making him leap off Harry and jump back.

Harry scrambled up to his feet and immediately summoned two fireballs in his hands. Grinning, Harry taunted the inhuman Pete, "Bring it," he said before throwing one of the fireballs in Pete's direction, causing the monster drop to the ground to avoid it. Pete got back to his feet and glared at Harry, realizing that he didn't want to fight the young man, Pete fled the library before Harry could stop him.

He swore loudly as he got rid of the fireballs in his hand. Realizing that he was forgetting something, he turned to the cage to see that Oz was also gone, and his mouth dropped open in shock when he figured out that the werewolf must have escaped while he and Pete were fighting.

Harry cursed once more and punched the side of the cage in frustration. Just as his hand began to throb in pain, the library door opened once more and Buffy and the rest of the Scoobies walked in. Buffy took one look at the open cage, the turned over table and Harry's roughed up appearance before her mouth curved into a frown. "What happened?"

Harry sighed, "Pete came in here, we fought, Oz transformed and they both escaped." He explained simply.

Buffy groaned and threw his hands into the air, "Great," she said sarcastically, "Now we have a murderer and a werewolf loose in the school."

"Then we should stop moaning about it and do something about it," Harry stated, he kicked the floored table to the side and picked up the tranquilizer gun from last night, which had been left on the table and passed it to Faith. "You guys go after Oz." he said seriously, "Me and Buffy will go after Pete."

Xander looked confused, "You and Buffy?"

Harry just raised an eyebrow, "Problem?"

"No." Buffy interrupted, "The plan works. Let's get started before Oz and Pete get off of the school grounds." Everyone nodded, and Faith, armed with the tranquilizer gun beneath one arm, marched out of the door, behind her followed Giles, Xander and Willow. Buffy watched them leave before turning back to Harry, "Any idea on where Pete went?"

"No," Harry said in thought, "But look at this, he cut himself," he added kneeling down and pointed toward a small drop of blood that was lying on the edge of the table. He stood back up and saw the drops of blood that was forming a trail out of the door. He looked up and saw that Buffy had also seen the trail of blood. "Follow the blood?" he suggested.

Buffy nodded, "Lead the way," she said, waving her arm in the direction of the door. Harry nodded and set off in a jog as they followed the blood trail, hoping that the monstrous Pete would be at the end of it.

***

They had been following the blood in the school for about five minutes. Eventually, the trail led them to the school basement. Harry had never been to this part of the school before and because of this he was on constant alert, not knowing what he would find. It was when he heard Buffy gasp that he spun around, creating a fireball in one hand and holding it out to defend himself. Instead, he saw Buffy leaning over the body of a dead girl, about their age, who looked like she had been mauled to death. There was blood running down the side of her face, her body was stiff and tense and her lifeless eyes were wide open.

"Debbie…" he heard Buffy whisper sadly. Harry knew that Pete must have gotten to his girlfriend before any of them could get to him first.

Sighing heavily, Harry placed a hand on Buffy shoulder. "Buffy," he said seriously, "We have to keep going."

Buffy sniffled a little before looking up at Harry with a determined expression on her face and nodded. She stood up and continued to follow the trail of blood. Silently, Harry followed.

It wasn't long until the trail had led them outside to the front of the school. There, they saw Pete with his back to them as he calmly strolled off the school site. Not wanting to let him get away, Harry produced a small fireball in his hands and threw it at the boy. He knew that it wouldn't do any damage; he just wanted to let him know that they were here. It worked and as soon as the fireball hit, Pete stumbled forward slightly and turned and glared at Harry and Buffy. Remembering how his last fight with Pete went; Harry felt more comfortable drawing his wand, no matter how strangely his magic was acting. Buffy just fell into a regular fighting stance.

Before Harry, Buffy or even Pete for that matter could attack; Harry heard another howl in the distance. Turning, Harry's eyes widened in shock as he saw the animalistic figure of Angel standing on the rooftop.

"What the…" Harry muttered, wondering how Angel had broken free of those chains they had used to lock him up in the mansion. Apparently, Angel was stronger than Harry had given him credit for.

"Angel…" Buffy whispered, just as shocked by the appearance of the vampire as Harry was. Before either of them could think of doing something, Angel jumped off the rooftop with a howl. The vampire dropped down while glaring at Harry and landed on top of the boy who lived, trying his best to scratch, bite or generally hurt Harry. Buffy couldn't help out as at that moment, Pete had decided to attack Buffy and she found herself having to fight for her life against Pete.

The inhuman Pete attacked furiously, but without any sort of skill. As he attacked her, Buffy almost wondered how this attacker had gotten the better of Harry. He fought recklessly, without any sort of technique. Buffy assumed that Harry most have been caught off-guard. That didn't stop Pete from being dangerous though as his increased strength plus the anger he seemed to possess made Buffy fight with caution against him, mostly trying to avoid his lunges.

Meanwhile, Harry was wondering how he had managed to get himself in the same situation twice in about twenty minutes. Once again he was pinned to the floor as a viscous creature tried to bite him. He had dropped his wand once Angel had landed on him, meaning that magic was a no go. Instead, he used the same trick he had used earlier and released a small bout of fire from his body. Unfortunately, Angel seemed to be unaffected and remained hell bent on killing Harry. Not having much over choice, Harry lifted his knee and rammed it into Angel's groin, making the vampire fall backwards. Harry scrambled back to his feet but as soon as he did this, Angel rammed into him once more, sending them both tumbling back to the ground, wrestling for dominance. It was times like these Harry was glad for his magically increased speed and strength, because if it wasn't for it he wouldn't have stood a chance against this Angel.

Harry was able to get on top of Angel during their wrestling match on the ground. Harry was able to drive his knee into Angel's stomach and when the vampire leaned up to try and push him off, Harry hit him with a strong right hand, sending him sprawled back out on the floor. Thinking that he had Angel beat for the moment; Harry got back to his feet and searched the ground with his eyes for his wand. Before he could find it, Angel shot up and grabbed Harry's legs and pulled them, making Harry land on his back once more. Angel jumped on top of Harry and pinned his arms down with his knees. Without having Harry being able to defend himself, Angel lowered his neck, readying himself to bite Harry.

Before he did, Angel stopped suddenly and turned his head and looked over to where Buffy was fighting Pete. Buffy was struggling, in the same position as Harry was, as Pete readied himself to kill the Slayer. All of a sudden, Angel jumped off of Harry and raced toward Pete, leaving Harry to sit up and watch him with confusion. Angel raced over to Pete and before the monster could even see Angel coming, the vampire grabbed his head and snapped his neck.

Harry scrambled up to his feet and watched with a small amount of shock as the now dead body of Pete fell to the ground. Finding his wand quickly, he raced over to Angel and Buffy and stood beside Buffy, pointing his wand at Angel, ready to kill him at a moment's notice.

Angel wasn't paying any attention to Harry though and instead was staring at Buffy. Harry noticed that Angel looked a lot more human than he had before. "Buffy…" the vampire whispered, before to the shock of Harry, he fell to the floor and broke down in tears. Buffy immediately rushed forward and embraced him in a hug and Harry saw a tear fall from the Slayer's eyes.

Buffy suddenly looked up at Harry and saw his wand still outstretched, pointing toward Angel. "Harry," she whispered, her voice half pleading. Harry hesitated for a second, before taking one last look at Buffy and lowering his wand. Buffy smiled at him before turning back to Angel. Feeling out of place, Harry tucked his wand into his pockets and walked back into the school, wondering if the others had been able to sedate Oz.

***

The next day Harry learnt that Oz had been shot with a tranquilizer dart without any real trouble and the werewolf had slept through the night. Giles had also explained to the group that he had discovered that Pete had concocted a potion containing steroids to make him stronger. Giles also said the hellmouth probably mutated it and turned him into the monster he was. Later on that day, Willow and Xander were both in lessons and Giles was off in some meeting with Principal Snyder, leaving Harry and Buffy alone in the library. They both sat in silence for a while, Buffy was trying to finish some homework and Harry was pretending to read a book.

"So…" Harry said, closing the book and facing Buffy, "How is he?"

Buffy looked up at him, not needing to ask who he was talking about, "Better," she answered after a few seconds, "He slept through the night last night without having to be chained to the wall."

"That's good," Harry commented,

Buffy tried to go back to her work but threw her pen down after a few seconds and looked back up at Harry with a slight look of desperation on her face, "Harry, you can't tell…"

"The others…" Harry finished, "I know." He nodded, "Don't worry, I won't tell them anything until you think you're ready."

Buffy smiled at Harry sincerely, "Thank you Harry."

Harry waved it off flippantly, "It was nothing."

"No it was something," Buffy insisted, "You went against your own instincts and didn't kill Angel. I just wanted you to know how grateful I am."

Harry just nodded and tried to hide his small smile. "No problem Buffy." Their eyes locked once more from across the room, causing Harry to once more notice she really did have nice eyes.

The bell rang, causing Buffy to groan and stuff her books back into her bag. "See you later Harry." Harry gave her another half smile and a semi wave as Buffy began to walk past him. She paused before she got to the door and turned and walked back to Harry. Standing in front of him, Buffy did something she had never done before, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders and hugged him tightly. Harry closed his eyes and smiled and patted her back awkwardly before she let go and walked out of the library, leaving him alone in the library.

"How the mighty have fallen." A voice said from across the room. Harry span in his chair to see Koas standing there, leaning against the wall casually. He looked exactly the same as the last time Harry had seen him, long black hair, a curved scar on the side of his face and the two swords hanging on his back. "Only you could have gone from being the world's saviour to lusting after girls in a library."

"I was not lus…" Harry paused and shook his head, "How did you get in here?"

Koas shrugged, "Pretty easily."

"Okay then," Harry said, standing up and summoning a fireball in his hand, in case he had to defend himself at any second, "And how do you know anything about me?"

Koas grinned, "Because we are so similar, Harry Potter, more similar than you will ever know."

Harry shook his head at Koas' vague answers, "Well, since you know so much about me, maybe I should get to know you a little better."

"What do you want to know?" Koas asked.

Harry shrugged, "Let's start with what you want with me."

"I already told you," Koas answered, "You're help."

"Well you haven't exactly asked politely for my help, have you?" Harry said.

"I haven't threatened you either," Koas retorted, "In fact, I can't recall me ever being anything but courteous to you."

Harry snorted, "Except for the whole evil vibe you're giving off right now."

"Oh, I'm not evil Harry." Koas assured,.

"You look that way to me." Harry retorted.

"Well maybe that's your own issues with trusting people." Koas shot back with a confident grinned wiped across his face.

Harry's eyes narrowed and he glared at Koas for a second, contemplating whether or not it would be a good idea to attack him. "What do you want?" he asked, his voice losing all amusement.

Koas grinned and pushed himself of the wall he was leaning on, "I just want to get you home."

"Why?" Harry questioned, not budging as Koas began to walk forward. "What's in it for you?"

Koas laughed, "Nothing that's going to give you any grief, as long as you cooperate." Harry immediately tensed up and used his fee hand to summon a second fireball and readied himself to attack. Seeing that he had angered Harry, Koas just laughed and stepped back with his hands in the air. "Well, I can see that you're in no mood to talk right now so I'll just…" Deciding not to wait any longer, Harry threw one of the fireballs in Koas' direction.

Harry's eyes widened in shock when he saw Koas shimmer out of sight and watched the fireball hit the empty space Koas had previously stood. A second later, Harry felt a cold, metal object on his neck. He lowered his eyes to see a sharp silver sword, resting against his neck. Turning his head, he could see Koas' smiling face behind him.

"We'll see each other again soon Harry," Koas said, before laughing one more time, "Count on that." And with that, the mysterious Koas was gone, leaving Harry once again alone, confused and with a small cut on his neck.