The obvious move was to go to check in with Giles. Harry put the cauldron on stasis then double-checked that he had his wand. He didn't realize how comfortable he had become using wandless magic, but it felt better to have it if he needed it for fine detail control. Harry shook his head as he slid it into his holster. He let his mind wander as he walked.
This little jaunt to another timeline, or whatever it was, had given him questions he needed to answer. One spell had wiped out a literal roomful of vampires. They were a constant problem, but they weren't the main issue. In fact, there didn't seem to be anything big going on.
Harry came to a sudden stop. He took a deep breath and let it out. His experiences told him it was not smart to tempt fate and that's just what he did. The timeline shift would count as something big if he was lucky. There were many areas of his life that he would count himself as lucky, this was not one of them.
The one good thing about Sunnydale was that no one paid attention to him short of summoning a demon in the middle of the street. Even then he was half-way convinced they would simply put out some cones for people to go around. There had to be some sort of spell, or compulsion, to make people dismiss everything. He hadn't found anything yet, but there had to be something.
Harry made it to the school just in time for the lunch break. Cordelia was easy to find. She was currently yelling at Buffy, Xander, and Willow while everyone else stared.
"You two were there," Cordelia pointed at Willow and Xander. "Even as vampires you two were together." She shifted to Buffy. "You weren't there. So many people were dead. Everyone was scared. Where were you?"
The trio looked back at her in pure confusion.
"Cordelia," Harry called.
She turned to face him, "HARRY! You were there too."
"I know," Harry nodded. "No one else remembers?"
Cordelia straightened her hair, "Yes. It's so frustrating."
"Harry," Willow perked up. "Do you know what's going on?"
He looked around the courtyard, "We should take this into the library."
"Good idea," Buffy agreed.
Cordelia walked beside him, "I am so glad you are here. Everyone was looking at me like I was crazy. Why don't they remember?"
"You were the one to make the wish," Harry replied. "I'm just lucky like that. No one else remembers because that was their reality."
Cordelia nodded in thought.
"That's my Cordy, a flexible mind," Xander said.
Cordelia glared at him, "I'm not your anything."
Xander took a step away to give her more space. In reply, Cordelia moved closer to Harry. He felt her brush against his shoulder. It was a nice distraction, but he was still busy rolling a problem around his mind. This wasn't his calling, these weren't his challenges, but he could help. He knew what it was like when people stood around while he struggled. His very being fought against the idea of standing aside while someone needed help.
"Giles!" Cordelia called. "You know how to dress again!"
Giles scrunched his brow, "Thank you?"
Harry started to pay attention now that they were in the library.
"Harry," Cordelia leaned into him, purposely pressing her chest into his arm while making sure Xander could see. "Could you explain it please?"
Harry smiled at her, "Sure." He took a seat at the table and motioned for the others to do the same. "Cordelia and I were shunted into another timeline earlier today. It was a world where Buffy never came to Sunnydale. The Master was still alive, vampires owned the town at night, Xander and Willow were vampires, and Giles was running a resistance." He paused to look at Oz. "You were in it."
The werewolf had joined them at some point.
"Who else?" Oz asked.
Harry counted off two names, "Larry and Nancy."
"Larry," Oz said. "Interesting."
Harry turned to Xander and Willow, "I killed you two in the other timeline. You were vampires. I still feel like I should apologize."
"It's ok," Willow said. "I would want you to slay me if I was a vampire. Not just you. Anyone can slay vampire Willow."
Cordelia rolled her eyes and muttered something about staking that Harry didn't catch.
"You were working on breaking a demon that caused the shift," Harry continued. "I was busy fighting vampires while you were doing the real work."
Cordelia spoke up, "We were researching a Vengeance Demon that granted wishes to women with broken hearts."
"Broken heart?" Xander asked.
Cordelia glared at him, "Giles was able to find the Demon and destroy her amulet that held her power." She motioned to the room. "Then I was back here."
"What were you doing?" Buffy asked.
Harry shrugged, "Killing vampires."
"Just like that?" Buffy asked.
He nodded, "Buffy, I'm going to say this once."
"Ok," Buffy let out a nervous chuckle.
Harry moved over to stand in front of her, "Ask me if you need help. I don't care what the problem is, or what I am doing. Ask and I will help."
"Thank you," She said as a long-held tension in her shoulders eased.
Harry held her gaze, "I mean it. I don't care if it's a lost sock or a demon invasion. If I am able, I will help."
She nodded then stepped closer to give him a hug. He patted her on the back.
"Now," Harry turned to the others. "Do we need to discuss anything else?"
The group looked at each other.
"I don't believe so," Giles replied.
Harry nodded, "Everything seems to be normal. Call me if you need me."
"Hey," Xander called. "Where's Faith?"
Harry thought for a moment, "Either she's sleeping off a late night, or on one of her jobs."
"Jobs?" Giles asked.
Harry nodded, "She goes to hunt down monsters that got away."
"Interesting," Giles stated.
Harry nodded then turned to leave.
"Harry! Wait!" Cordelia called after him.
He raised his eyebrows as she approached. Cordelia held her side for a moment before she was able to speak.
"Your wound is still giving you trouble?" Harry asked.
Cordelia smiled, "It's tender."
"I'll bring another healing potion for you," Harry offered.
She smiled brighter, "Thanks. Can you walk me home?"
"Sure," Harry stepped to the side, inviting her to walk beside him.
They walked in silence for a while. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her try to gather courage a couple of times before she finally spoke.
"Thank you," Cordelia said.
Harry smiled at her, "You're welcome. I'm glad I was there."
"Me too," She sighed. "What would have happened if I had died there? What if Xander or Willow had killed me? I would be so embarrassed. Could you imagine?"
Harry chuckled, "I'm sure you would have figured something out."
"Yes," Cordelia rolled her eyes. "I'm sure my amazing fashion skills would save the world."
Harry shook his head, "No more of that. I don't mind walking with, but why? It's daylight." He paused. "Is the school day over?"
"No," She shook her head. "My grades are good enough to skip a class or two."
Harry nodded, "And the daytime escort?"
"I wanted the company," Cordelia said simply. "Do you have plans for Christmas?"
Harry stopped, "Christmas?"
"Wizards don't celebrate Christmas?" She asked.
He cast a quick spell. The date appeared in the air before them.
"Merlin's saggy left nut," Harry muttered. "I need to do some shopping."
Cordelia gasped, "Did you forget?"
"I forgot Christmas," Harry rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"You have seventeen days to do your shopping for gifts. I am an excellent shopper if you need help," She paused. "You'll have to act fast. My family is leaving to Aspen once the break starts."
"Thank you," He gave her a small smile. "I will probably take you up on that. It reminds me I need to check my mail too."
Cordelia led him up a walkway as he scoured his mind for gift ideas. Her house was everything he had expected. It was a mansion. Three stories, expansive floor plans, and manicured lawns. Two expensive cars that looked like they had never been driven stood in the driveway. It would have been pretty if not for the distinct lack of life. The place was utterly still.
"This is me," Cordelia said motioning to the mansion.
Harry chuckled, "I hope so. Otherwise, we'd be trespassing."
"Yeah," Cordelia let out a stilted laugh. "Thanks." She paused. "Do you have a pen? I write my number on your hand."
Harry inadvertently moved his scarred hand behind his back, "How about I give you mine?"
"Sure," She didn't let the awkwardness win.
"867-5309," Harry said.
"867-5309," She repeated.
"867-5309," He confirmed.
"I got it, I got it," Cordelia smiled at him. "Don't change your number."
She leaned over and placed a kiss on his cheek before running inside. Harry touched his cheek. He shook his head before turning around to walk back to his place. It would be a good idea to check on Faith. She got grumpy if she slept too late.
§
Harry paced the living room. Faith was awake and in the shower. She didn't say anything about the holiday, but she wasn't really awake until she had a cup of coffee or two. He was horrible when it came to keeping track of the date. This wasn't the first time Christmas, or a birthday, had snuck up on him. At least this time he could blame the weather and distance this time.
He summoned a list written in smoke that followed him as he walked.
Luna, Hermione, the Weasleys, and Teddy. He wouldn't skip Tonks even if her constant jobs were one of the reasons he left. Neville, Minerva, and Filius could not be forgotten. Neville, like Hermione, was pretty easy for gifts. Minerva would enjoy a good bottle of whiskey and Filius had a sweet-tooth. He should probably add Greengrass since they were working together on the Wolfsbane potion. Something professional.
He didn't want to get Hermione another book, even if she would enjoy it. Something to do with the local magic would be great. Like a book. Damn it. The Weasleys were an entirely different bag of kneazles. They each had their own interests and hobbies, but that actually made it easier. It gave him something to guide him.
Luna would cherish anything. Literally, he could send her one of those drink umbrellas and she would love it. They were pretty neat. No doubt she would do something amazing with them. She would probably find a way to reinvent wand-making or use them to lure a supposedly mythical creature.
At least he had somewhere to start with them. The list shifted to another column of names. Faith, Giles, Oz, Willow, Cordelia, Buffy, Joyce, Xander, and Stella. What about Angel? He had only interacted with the vampire once. Something small wouldn't hurt. He had enough money that it wouldn't be an issue.
The second batch of people were much easier to get gifts. A Goblin Silver dagger and some dragonhide books for Faith, a book of Magical Theory for Willow, a Weird Sisters album for Oz, a wardrobe catalogue for Cordelia with a line of credit, a Nemean Fur lined jacket for Buffy, an emergency portkey for Stella, a ward-stone bracelet for Joyce, a book on the History of Magic for Giles, and something for Xander. He was the hardest to shop for and it would be a bad idea to ask Cordelia for help. The guy reminded him of Ron without the benefit of tactical thinking. He was eager and wanted to help but was out of his depth. Something to keep him alive would be a good idea. A magically refilling healing kit would be a good idea. The pre-mixed items could be used by anyone.
Harry grabbed a piece of paper and wrote a quick note to his personal shopper. That wasn't her actual title, but Parvati was amazing at interpreting his intent from a simple list. In truth, she wasn't his employee. Parvati and Lavender had started their own business. Lavender did the enchanting, they both worked on the designs, and Parvati handled the administration side of things. He could order the non-custom gifts from Stella. Parvati would be able to get the boots, dagger, catalogue, and coat that needed some extra customization.
Time to take a trip to The Magic Box to send a letter.