Rupert Giles crawled out of the sewers, rubbing his aching arm. "Why couldn't have I been a grocer, after all?" he grumbled to himself as he threw his weapons bag on the pavement. He leaned aganst the nearest building, still clutching his arm. If he were lucky, he'd only be nursing a sprain for the next week. If he were unlucky...well...broken arms heal eventually. The demon wasn't as bad as the Council claimed it to be...it was worse.
"There's a bit of a problem in the sewers, Giles," Travers had said. "Mind if you investigate?"
"A bit of a problem?" Rupert repeated under his breath. "Wonderful how we British have a talent for understandment..."
He wondered how long he could keep this up, especially alone. As long as he lived in London, and didn't have a Slayer under his tutulage, he was under the direct orders of the Council. If he has to go and kill a 7 foot tall demon prowling the sewers under London, well, that's what he had to do.
"Oh, Ripper, how you reek!" a voice called from behind.
Rupert clenched his teeth and shut his eyes. He did not want to deal with this. Not tonight, not after he had almost gotten killed. "I don't have the strength for you, Rayne. Leave me..."
"Mmmm?" Ethan Rayne slipped closer to Rupert. "What's that I hear? Ripper without the stregnth to beat me into a pulp? A cause for celebration, I think."
"Just do your taunting, get it over with," Rupert grumbled.
"I'm amazed, Ripper. You're still in England, after all that's been happening," Rayne said. "You're so close to getting killed, do you know that? Of course, it's too late for your precious cousin and her little family."
Rupert turned to face Ethan. "Repeat that."
"You heard me the first time, Ripper. Your ears aren't nearly as bad as your eyes."
"What's going to happen to Lily and James? To Harry?" Rupert asked.
"I tried to warn you. Don't ever say that Ethan Rayne is without...pity for others...you could have fled. It's much too late now."
Rupert straightened to his full height. "Voldemort," he spat. "He's going to kill Lily? Is he?" Rupert lunged at Ethan, grabbing the man by his shirt collar. "Tell me!"
"He's already in Godric's Hollow. Didn't take very long for my Master to find them, even with the Fidelius Charm on them."
"And you found me just to gloat. You've had your fun, Ethan," Rupert said. "You've got a bit of humanity left in you, haven't you? A bit of mercy?"
"Perhaps..."
"Godric's Hollow. Take me there. NOW!" Rupert yelled, his good hand close to strangling Rayne.
"But Rupert, I can't do an Apparation spell. I'm not a Wizard, I'm a Muggle. And even if I did do a similar spell, there's be no guarantee we'd end up where you'd want us to end up."
"DO IT!"
"Damn it all, Ripper," Ethan said. "I'll never understand your sentimentality." He muttered a spell under his breath, which sent him and Rupert to Godric's Hollow, right in front of the Potter house.
"LILY!" Rupert bellowed at the top of his lungs. He threw himself at the front door, but he found it locked. "Dammit!" He began banging on the door with his good shoulder. "Rayne!"
"I can't open locked doors, Ripper. I'm not that powerful..." Rayne said, with a small tinge of regret. "But seeing you scurry around like this is worth being here, do you know that?"
"LILY! LILY!" Rupert yelled again, banging on the front door with all his might. "Dammit it all, Voldemort! I'll kill you myself! I swear to GOD, I will!"
There was a sudden crackling in the air surrounding the house. Rupert stepped back, stumbling onto the porch.
"Now, you'll see," Ethan said. "What my Master is capable of."
"No...the Killing Curse?" Rupert said, half-yelling and half-sobbing.
Sickly green light began to eminate from the upper bedroom window. Rupert knew that this was little Harry's room. Lily will die. James will die, and Harry will die. And all because Rupert wasn't there to protect them. The crackling grew louder and louder, until Rupert had to cover his ears to protect them from the sound.
An intense humming that shuddered through Rupert's eardrums shook through the house.
Then nothing.
"Master, you've done it!" Ethan exclaimed. After a minute, Ethan's triumphant smile mellowed into a grin. "Master?"
Rupert finally managed to kick down the door. "LILY!" he shouted as he entered the eerily silent house.
James lay nearest the doorway, crumpled up like a ragdoll someone has carelessly tossed aside.
"James," Rupert said, unsure of what to do. "Lily!" Rupert rushed up the stairs, knowing by memory where Harry's room was. He stopped at the doorway, staring at the horrific sight before him.
Near Harry's crib lay the body of Lily.
"No, dear Lord, no...no no no no..." Rupert croaked as he rushed over to her side. "Oh, Lily...I'm sorry...I...I've failed you...you and Harry...I've failed you..." he said as he knelt by the prone form. Tears flowed down his cheeks. "Forgive me...forgive me..."
A weak noise from nearby stirred Rupert out of his teary-eyed trance. "Ha-harry?" he whispered, not believing what he had just heard. He winced, rolling aside Lily's body to get nearer to the noise.
There lay little Harry.
He was alive.
"Harry!" Rupert exlaimed, scooping up the baby into his arms and getting up. "I've got to take you from this place. I don't know where Voldemort is, but he can't be far. Oh...your forehead," he frowned, staring at the fresh wound which marked Harry's face. "Poor thing..." He rummanged through his pockets and found a clean handkerchief, which he used to clean the wound.
Rayne appeared at the door. "I...I can't find him," he said, half-frantic.
"Who?" Rupert said.
"Master...He's...he's not here...I cannot sense...the Mark..." he checked the tattoo on his forearm. It seemed to be fading into his skin.
"Your precious Master," Rupert said. "Gone...It must be Harry's doing."
"That...that boy? Defeat the all-powerful Voldemort? Impossible!"
"He is alive, is he not? And your Master seems to have vanished. You cannot sense him, his presence inside you has faded," Rupert said.
"NO!" Ethan growled. "Voldemort is not dead! He is beyond death!"
The walls surrounding them began to rumble and shake, just as Ethan's faith in Voldemort began to waver.
"Ethan, what are you doing?" Rupert said, clutching Harry closer to his chest. "You'll bring this entire house down on top of us!"
"Do you really think I care?!" Ethan said, madness quivering in his voice. "If Voldemort is dead, where does that leave me? I was his favorite! I was the first!"
"Dammit, Rayne!" Rupert said. "Stay and be crushed, if that's what you wish! I'm bringing Harry back to London with me." He ran past Ethan, down the stairs and out of the house just before the building began to collapse. He watched as the house fell in on itself. There was no time to try and remove Lily and James before the disaster. "Oh, Lily...forgive me." he said, one last time.
Another rumble from the sky caught Rupert's attention. A motorcycle cut through the night sky landing a few yards away from Rupert. "Sirius!" Rupert breathed, recognizing the bike as belonging to one of the Potters' closest friends. He hurried to Sirius' side. "You're too late. James and Lily are..."
"I know," the tall man said sullenly. "Once I knew the Fidelius Charm was broken, I rushed over here, but I see I'm too late...The damage to the house...there's no doubt..."
"The house? Not Voldemort's doing." Rupert said. "I thought you were their Secret Keeper! How did he find them? How?"
Sirius shook his head. "It was last minute. I decided to have Peter be Secret Keeper."
"Peter...so he...?"
"Yes, he's betrayed us," Sirius sighed. "He was the informant for the Dark Wizard all along. Ah, this is my fault!" he sighed.
"Voldemort seems to have been defeated, and Harry's alive, Sirius. I don't know how or why, but Harry is still alive."
Sirius managed a small smile. "Yes, at least Harry's still alive, but..." he said with regret, "Who will take care of him?"
"I will...Lily asked me to. I promised her that I would..."
"Really?" Sirius said, amused.
"What's wrong with that?"
"It's about as wrong as me taking care of him," Sirius said. "And I'm his godfather..."
Rupert did not enjoy Sirius' tone of voice. "Why shouldn't I or you take care of him? We're family..."
"And that is why we mustn't take care of him. Voldemort may be gone, but his followers aren't," Sirius said. "Harry must be protected. Harry must be kept as far away from magic and the Wizard world as possible."
"But...I'm a Muggle," Rupert began.
"Giles," Sirius said. "You're a Watcher! Your ultimate distiny in life is to train the Slayer, not to harbor the one person who could defeat He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named! What if you're called to some far-away place, somewhere that's no place for a small child? And what if you are put in danger, hmmm? What if you die? What then?"
"I promised Lily," Rupert said again.
"A promise is no good if you end up dead," Sirius said.
"I keep my promises, or at least, I try to..." Rupert said, looking back at the ruins of the Potter house. "But...if Harry...dies because of me..."
"You see my point?" Sirius asked.
Rupert nodded. "Lily's sister, Petunia, she's about as Muggle as they come. Harry will be safe there with the Dursleys."
Rupert Giles saw very little of Harry Potter in the ensuing years after Voldemort's defeat. Every July, he would send birthday presents to Harry. Every Christmas, he sent Harry a book. Rupert always suspected that Harry never received any of these gifts. He began to wonder if allowing Harry to stay with the Dursleys was really a good idea after all. Not only were Vernon and Petunia thoroughly Muggle in every way, they had taught their son, Dudley, the same closed-minded ideas.
Eight years after the defeat of Lord Voldemort, Rupert received a new posting from the Council. He was to travel to California. The Slayer had been located there and was living near the Hellmouth. He was to be her Watcher. With little hesitation, he set out for Number 4 Privet Drive. He rang the doorbell, shifting uneasily from foot to foot and pondering what to say once the door opened.
Petunia's sharp beak of a nose poked out of the doorway. "Oh...it's you," she said, not attempting to hide her disgust. She did not believe that this was the same Rupie who used to play with her all the time. This Rupert Giles was as mad as...well...Lily and James were. "What do you want?"
"Petunia," Rupert said. "'I'd like to see Harry, if you don't mind."
"He's at school," Petunia said.
"But, erm...it's Sunday." Rupert replied. "Please, I must...I must see him...I'm relocating, to America. I may never see him again. It's...It won't take long."
"No."
"Petunia, don't be unreasonable! He doesn't even have to know that I'm related to him. I just need to see him. I've been assigned to the Slayer. The place I'm going to lies right on the Hellmouth. It could be very dangerous! I could...I might not survive."
"Why do you insist on talking about such nonsense?" Petunia muttered. "The 'Hellmouth'? The 'Slayer'. Fairy tales, useless fairy tales!"
"Petunia," said Rupert desperately. "Please, if I don't see him again..."
"Leave. Never come here again. He mustn't know. He'll never know his past!" Petunia said.
"And what will happen when he receives his letter from Hogwarts, hmmm? You know his name has been on their lists since the day he was born. Are you going to lock him up here? You can't...they won't let you."
"Vernon will think of something. He always does," Petunia said. "Now, Rupert, please leave before I shall have to call the police."
"Petunia," Rupert sighed. "Fine...just, take care of Harry. I promised Lily and..."
"Goodbye, Rupert," Petunia said quietly as she shut the door.
Rupert stood at the front door of the house for a long while, wondering if Harry was actually in there. He then turned and walked away, already planning out what he needed to take with him to America.
The Slayer was not what Rupert expected at all. She was headstrong, stubborn, and often acted rashly. Rupert realized that he could not rely on the Slayers Handbook for much of anything. It was also troubling that the Slayer had garnered a close circle of friends. In all recorded history, the Slayer had worked alone, under the supervision of her Watcher. But Rupert soon learned about the power of friendship, and how the Slayer was actually made stronger by the support she received from all who knew her.
When Buffy sacrificed herself in order to save the world from Glory, Rupert knew that there was nothing linking him to America. Anya ran the magic Box better than even he could; Willow and Tara were powerful enough in witchcraft to handle any sort of problem that still lingered around the Hellmouth. And even that idiot Xander had grown up enough to learn some responsibility. With Joyce gone as well...Sunnydale did not need its Watcher anymore.
Rupert moved back to London and managed to find a small flat similar to the one he'd left when he moved to America. He meant to tie up loose ends here, try to get back in good graces with the Council, perhaps work under them again.
And then the call came.
Willow had done an unspeakable act. She had actually called Buffy back from the dead.
Rupert did not approve of that. Delving into the forces of life and death meant succumbing to the Darkness sooner or later. He knew it, saw it personally, experienced it. He returned because he felt he had to protect Buffy once more.
Then he realized that he had to leave.
"I've taught you all I can about being a Slayer," Rupert told Buffy. "And your mother taught you what you needed to know about life. You...you're not going to trust that until you're forced to stand alone."
"But why now?" Buffy asked. "Now that you know where I've been, what I'm going through?"
"Now more than ever," Rupert replied. "The temptation to give up is going to be overwhelming, and I can't let..."
"So I won't! No giving up. You can be here, and I can still be strong."
"Buffy, I've thought this over...and over. I believe it's the right thing to do."
"You're wrong." Buffy stormed out of the room, leaving Rupert alone with his thoughts. There was something else he had to do. A promise he had to keep. Buffy was an adult, fully capable of taking care of herself, even if she didn't think she was ready. Rupert knew she was. And yet...there were...others...
The Hogwarts Express chugged along the northern countryside, carrying its magically-gifted students towards the famouse school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry and Ron, who had met each other at King's Cross, once again shared a compartment together. The rest of the fifth years sat in nearby cars, happily catching up on the gossip they had missed out on during the summer.
"Who d'you think'll be the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher?" Ron asked Harry.
Harry shrugged. "No one can be as bad as that faker, Crouch..."
Ron winced, remembering the Mad-Eye Moody incident and not wanting to have something as bad as what happened during the Triwizard Tournament happen again.
"I heard that he's a Muggle," Hermione's head popped into the compartment.
"Well, no one asked you!" said Ron.
"It's all alright. Come on in, Hermione," Harry said, gesturing over to the girl. "You said that he's a Muggle?"
"That's what everyone on the train's been saying," Hermione said. "He's a Muggle and he's dressed in Muggle clothes. Nothing magical about him. He doesn't have a wand or anything. He's in the teachers' car right now."
"Perhaps he's an Auror who's lived among Muggles so long that he's adopted their ways," Harry suggested.
"A wizard has to have a wand," Ron said. "Always..."
"--ry! Harry! Harry!" Neville Longbottom shouted, searching every car on the train for Harry Potter. "Oh, there you are, Harry! Look, that new Muggle teacher...he wants to meet you! Oh, and have you seen Trevor? I've lost him again..." he added sheepishly. "Along with my wand..."
"Famous even in the Muggle world, eh Harry?" Ron grinned.
Harry remembered a time not too long ago when Ron was so jealous of Harry's fame that he wouldn't even speak to him. Harry was glad that those times were over. "Um, alright..." Harry said, getting up.
Harry made his way towards the teachers' car, while everyone he passed greeted him by name. He finally managed to get into the teachers' car. There weren't that many professors seated there, since many Hogwarts instructors lived at the school during the summer or just took other means of transportation instead. He searched the car for an unfamiliar face, and it didn't take long to find the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. He was indeed, dressed in Muggle clothes, all in tweed like a proper British professor. Harry thought that the man wouldn't have looked out of place at Oxford. Harry approached the seated man, clearing his throat, since the man seemed to be preoccupied with the passing scenery outside.
"Hmmmm, oh!" the man grinned as he got up. "You...you look so much like your father..."
Harry's eyes brightened. "You knew my father?"
"Quite well," the man said. "But you have your mother's eyes...I knew Lily Potter very very well," the man said wistfully. He extended his hand. "I am Rupert Giles, and I'm your new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."
Harry shook the man's hand. "Professor Giles?"
"Just...Giles...wll be fine," the man said.
Harry nodded. He clearly liked this new teacher. "Giles, how did you know my parents? You're a Muggle..."
"Harry," Giles said. "Professor Dumbledore thinks that the time is right for you to know a few things more about your past. Please, sit," Giles said, pointing to the seat beside his as he sat down.
"What can you tell me?" Harry asked as he settled down beside Giles.
"Things about your mother, mostly," Giles said. "And a few things about you as well. Along with some things you might not know about Muggles." Giles grinned at Harry's surprised expression. "You know Harry, not all of us Muggles are blind to the world of magic..."