Disclaimer: I have it said before, but I'll say it again: I don't own anything you recognise, I probably do own everything you don't recognise and I'm not making any profit from this story.

'Buffy: the Vampire Slayer' belongs to Joss Whedon, Twentieth Century Fox and others. And I'll let you in on a little secret, I'm not J.K. Rowling nor am I the company Warner Bros. This means I don't own 'Harry Potter'. Because if I did, I would have done things very differently. Such as not killing Fred. *glares at J.K. Rowling*

Crossover: Buffy: the Vampire Slayer / Harry Potter

Pairing: As of now, I can safely say the pairing is: Xander, George and Fred. I have a thing for the Weasley twins together in a threesome. But do you really mind? I didn't think so.

Rating: FR7, because nothing much happens.

Sequel to: Love ... Comes While Dating. Standalone in the 'Love Is ...' series.

Spoilers: Well, Fred didn't die, George is gorgeous as ever and Xander is a Slayers and Watchers' Council representative with two eyes. It's mostly my own crossover universe.

Summary: Who knew inventions could lead to, well, all of this? Fourth story in the "Love Is ..." series. Xander/George/Fred. B:tVS/HP crossover. WIP.

xXx

'thinking'
"talking"
emphasis
time and/or place
the list

xXx

Story: Love Is ... Inventing Together

Chapter Eight:

Landok's Office, August 8th

"I asked you here to talk to you about the Protection Decrees which you recently took on every single invention of yours. There is a procedure called Transferring Back to Owner which happens to cover the law on Protection Decrees as well as a few other laws. A few centuries ago the use of Protection Decrees fell out of practice—mostly because the ministry had been pushing for it," Landok began to explain. "However, PDs were never actually forbidden, an . . . Let's call it an oversight by the Head of the Transferring Back to Owner Department, the goblin Linkon."

Xander, George and Fred could practically see the emphasis that the word oversight got from Landok and grinned broadly at that flagrant disregard of the ministry's wishes.

"What does this procedure do exactly?" Fred asked.

"The procedure allows the exact amount of money that should have been given to the inventors in the first place to be transferred back to the owner of the Protection Decrees or in this case more than one owner. I have already started to send out letters to all of those who will have to pay; including an explanation as to why this is happening now and what the procedure entails," Landok explained further. "This will mean that you will have to decide what you want to do with the money that you will be getting from these Protection Decrees."

"Landok, exactly how big of an amount are we talking about here?" George asked.

"Oh, yes, of course. On this list the amount of money you will get from every invention used by others is written down in an orderly fashion and at the bottom of the list you will see the total amount—well, the total until now, that is," he answered, handing over the list to the three.

George, Fred and Xander looked in shock at the amount that was written on the piece of parchment.

"This is a lot of money, Landok. Why haven't we ever noticed that our inventions were being used by others? And how is it possible that foreign ministries are using our inventions?" Fred asked outraged.

"Ah, yes, the foreign ministries. The Department for Inventing Useful Items has been selling your inventions as if they were their own for quite some time. They were under a lot of pressure of the then Minister of Magic to do so. That was minister Fudge in case you were wondering. Anyone who didn't comply immediately with his wishes found themselves without a job rather quickly, I'm afraid," was the answer.

Xander looked up from his perusal of the list. "The companies which are on this list, they are all big."

"Yes, I'm glad that you have noticed that, Mr. Harris. Yes, there are no small companies on the list—only internationally found ones. Certain ministers used your inventions to raise the amount of money in their own pockets by selling them to the bigger wizarding companies around the world. And before you can ask: I was never in any position to do anything about it before; which is why you're only just hearing about all of this."

"The ministry is obviously even more corrupt than we have always thought," George said. "Is something being done about these ministers and by now probably also ex-ministers who have stolen from us?"

"Actually, yes, as a matter of fact there is something being done about it. I took the liberty of sending this sensitive information to a few non-corrupt friends in the ministry itself. They are currently investigating this in hopes of finding enough dirt on them to finally replace them in office or finding some other form of punishment for those who aren't in office anymore," Landok replied.

"Good, I wouldn't want someone like that to make laws for me or take other important decision in my stead," Xander said, nodding curtly.

"You wouldn't happen to know exactly which ministers we're talking about here, would you, Landok?" George asked.

Landok showed his teeth in a rather shark-like grin. "That information happens to be known, yes, and happens to have been written down on this list," he answered, handing over a second piece of parchment to George.

"Look, Fred. Those idiots who made all those stupid laws against supposedly dark creatures such as werewolves are all on here. And the ones who made those laws concerning pureblood privileges. And those who made those laws which made sure that muggleborns only had certain privileges in the wizarding world are all on this list as well. It would be a very good day if these idiots punished in a suitable way," George said after reading the entire contents of the list.

"Yes, it would be," Fred agreed.

Xander shared a look with his two lovers and then turned back his attention to Landok.

"Landok, thank you for bringing this to our intention. We will need a few days to decide what we're going to do with the money that our Protection Decrees will bring in our lives. Could we make another appointment to discuss this further?"

"Of course, that's certainly not a problem. How does this Saturday sound? Are you available then?" he asked after throwing a look at his calendar.

Fred, George and Xander all looked at each other and nodded.

"That sounds great. Four pm again?" George asked.

"Four pm is perfect. Until then," Landok answered.

After shaking hands with the three, he escorted them to the fireplace in his office for their travel back by floo.

xXx

Rose Cottage, August 9th

"Do you guys know if there are any books around that deal with goblins and their society? I'd like to learn more about it," Xander asked out of nowhere.

George and Fred had been chopping up small tomatoes for their omelettes, so Xander's question took them totally by surprise.

George burst out into laughter. "Hello, non-sequitur guy, long time no see."

Fred rolled his eyes at his brother's antics.

"I honestly haven't got a clue, Xan," he answered. "Why don't we ask Landok? We're going to see him anyway and he's probably the one who is most suited to answer that question; you know, seeing as he's an actual goblin."

"Why do you want to learn more about goblins anyway?" George asked curiously.

"Well, working for the Slayers and Watchers' Council made me realise early on that it's always a good thing to know more about the habits, traditions, languages, etc. from other cultures than ours. Because there is a good chance that something normal to us is offensive to them," Xander explained, not looking up from his mixture of egg, pepper and salt which he was beating in the bowl.

'Burning omelettes is not done, after all,' he thought to himself while watching the eggs closely for any sign that they weren't being beaten well.

"I hadn't even thought about any of that," Fred admitted.

"It's actually a really good idea," George told Xander.

"Thanks a lot, guys. You make it sound like me having a good idea is something strange; like it doesn't happen very often."

"Oh, well, I thought that it didn't," George teased.

Fred snickered. "You walked into that one, Xan, with your eyes wide open."

"Do I have to threaten to stop cooking for you two again?"

Xander sounded and looked lightly threatened—what with him waving his spatula in their direction—but the fact that his eyes were crinkling at the corners convinced George and Fred that it was all said in jest..

"Oh no, don't leave us with our own cooking, Xander," Fred said with a scared-little-girl voice. "We'll be good, I promise."

Xander snorted when he heard that.

"Yeah, right. The day that you guys are good is the day that hell freezes over and I'll be out buying ice skates in wherever you can buy ice skates in England."

Fred and George grinned at that; their boyfriend just knew them.

"The tomatoes have been chopped as per your instructions, Xander," George said. "What comes next?"

"Give them to me, George. I'll start cooking. Would you guys mind setting the table?" Xander asked them.

"Not at all," Fred set, walking towards the cabinet with the plates, while George got out the glasses.

They had to set the table without wands, because for some reason Rose was really sensitive to magic being used in the kitchen. They had found ithat/i out the hard way when they tried to summon strawberries, chocolate sauce and whipped cream from the fridge three weeks earlier.

xXx

Half An Hour Later

"Let's talk about what we want to do with the money that we will be getting from those Protection Decrees. What exactly would you two want to do with that money?" Xander asked as soon as they had finished eating.

"You mean, what are we going to do with the money?" George scolded him. "We already told you, Xander: you're a co-inventor of some those pranks, potions and other assorted inventions. It's as much our money as it is yours."

"Oh, right. Of course, kind of forget about that for a minute," Xander said, pointedly not looking at them.

George and Fred only rolled their eyes. They didn't believe for a minute that Xander had *cough* forgotten about any of it.

"First things first: do we want the money in cash in our vaults or do we want to do something else with it?" Fred asked, deciding to let Xander's issues rest.

"I'd like to do something else with it. Everything we make with our shops is already being put into our vaults," George suggested.

"True, George. What do you think, Xan?" Fred asked.

"I think that it's a good idea to do something else with the money. I have enough on my accounts and in my vaults from my Council job," Xander answered him.

"And what do we want to do with it then? Do we invest it in something or what?" Fred asked both. "Personally, I'd like to invest in something."

"Investing the money seems like a good idea. But in what?" George asked. "Any ideas?"

"How about we buy a large plot of land? Something with a forest where I can finally grow my own trees for my carpentry hobby and with large areas for you guys that would be perfect for growing your own potion ingredients," Xander suggested. "It would be perfect, if we could find something with a huge pond or a small lake that we could use as a water reservoir. We can even look abroad, because there's no urgent need to stay in Great Britain. Is there?"

"No, no, there's no need to stay in Britain," George agreed.

"That's a really good idea, Xander," Fred complimented him.

"Can you imagine being able to use our own home-grown ingredients?" George asked with a dreamy look in his eyes. "The quality would be just what we wanted, Fred, and not what others tell us is good quality."

"Well, why don't we send a letter to Landok. If he gets it earlier than Saturday, he can already look for properties and give us a list when we get there," Fred suggested.

"I'll get the stationery," Xander said, walking towards his office.

xXx

Landok's Office, August 14th

"It's a pleasure to meet you again," Landok welcomed the three young men. "I must admit that I thought that your idea was simply perfect. I have already started to look up properties—both in Great Britain and abroad—and I already have a list of possible candidates to give to you. I mentioned the prices of the properties and how large the plot of land is at the bottom of the piece of parchment. And I specifically looked for properties with some sort of water reservoir as per your request. At the moment I have found three which would be well-suited for what you are planning on doing."

All three young men looked at the summaries on the list which had been given to them by Landok.

England, Cotswolds: 51 square miles; with a small pond, a large flat area and a small forest area

Scotland, Scottish Highlands: 62 square miles; with a small lake, rolling hills and a small forest area

Czech Republic, Bohemia (Šumava): 121 square miles; with a large lake, a few hills and sunny flat areas and a huge forest

And then they looked at the price.

"How is it possible that the Czech plot, which is so much larger than the other two, costs less?" George asked confused.

"Oh, I can answer that question. That's because of the exchange rates," Xander explained to him. "The British wizarding money must have a much greater value than the Czech wizarding money."

"Mr. Harris is quite right. One Galleon equals 50 Levke. In the Czech wizarding world one Levke equals 100 Krce and one Krce equals 200 Elta," Landok explained further. "So, which one do you prefer?"

"I think that the Czech plot sounds like the best one for what we have planned. What do you think, guys?" Xander asked Fred and George curiously.

"I think so too," Fred said.

George only nodded in agreement.

"Good. I'll try to set up a meeting with the man who is selling the place, because I'm sure that you will want to see the land yourself before you buy it," Landok said, writing down a note for himself.

"Of course we want to see it first. If you let us know when, we'll see if it's possible for us to come and if not we'll find another date that would work," Fred told him.

xXx

"Could you tell us a bit more about the property?" Xander asked.

"Well, it's actually a wizard selling this place which means that there are wards all around the property. There already is a small house that comes with the property, but you are allowed to expand on it," Landok explained. "There is some sort of Czech Remove from The Outside World spell on the entire property. It has a for me unpronounceable name, so I can't tell you what it's called in Czech. It's closely related to the Fidelius Charm, though. You can always ask the owner for more information on the spell."

"Are there any animals that can found on the property, Landok?" Fred asked.

"Yes, there are. A pair of mated phoenixes has been spotted and some sort of magical falcons as well. There is also a lot of muggle wildlife to be found. Including a small herd of wild horses, deer and a couple of foxes. I have no idea if anything else has been seen there," he answered.

"This place seems to become more and more amazing, the more I hear about it," Xander confessed. "I'd love to see the land and meet the one who's selling this place. But how on earth is it possible that the place comes with its own lake?"

"Well, this one was artificially made by the family of the wizard who is selling the place. His ancestors used magic to make the natural water spring bigger and filled it with water from the Moldau or the Vltava as they call it."

"Why is a place like this being sold exactly?" Fred wanted to know.

"The upkeep of the land has become too much for the wizard and he doesn't want a member of his family to get their hands on the place. He knows that they would sell the place despite his wishes. Which means that he's looking for buyers both from the Czech Republic and from outside of the Czech Republic," Landok explained.

"And why hasn't it been sold yet?" Fred asked curiously.

"He hasn't had much luck with selling the place, because most people aren't looking for a place like this. Most want a nice beach house in a sunny country as a second home and not a property which requires a huge amount of work to keep it more or less in order."

"Well, let us know when we can take a look at the place," Xander said. "Oh, before I forget. I wanted to know if there are any good books written about goblin traditions, goblin society and about Gobbledegook."

"Yes, there have been written a few good ones. The author of the best books on this subject matter is a goblin who goes by the name of Krankil. You should be able to find his work in any good bookstore," Landok answered, giving a surprised look at Xander. "Forgive me for asking, but why do you want to know about all this?"

"I know from experience that it's always better to know more about other people's traditions and things. Makes it a lot easier to do business with them," Xander answered.

"Ah," was all Landok had to say in answer to that. "Good to know, Mr. Harris. Well, hopefully I'll be able to make an appointment soon. Until then."

"Have a good afternoon, Landok," George said, this time going first through the floo to catch Xander when he came through.

Fred and Xander said their goodbyes too and followed George to Rose Cottage.

End Chapter Eight.

A/N: Sorry for leaving you hanging for so long without any updates. Life has been hectic these past few months.

And, yes, you have read it right. Our boys are buying a house together! They grow up so fast. *sniffle* Though, none of them seem to have noticed the implications buying a house/plot of land together has. Aren't they adorably cute when oblivious?

I want to thank everyone who read the last chapter. Once again, reviews are welcomed with open arms, while flames will be seriously mocked.