Work Text:
Dresden Xander
Disclaimer: I don't own BTVS or the Dresden Files
Chapter One
Xander had planned to get a toy gun and go as a soldier for Halloween but they were all gone by the time he arrived with Buffy and Willow. Looking around he found a pentagram amulet hanging under a plastic skull, "Wizard it says. Probably a necromancer from the skull but it's only three dollars so I guess I've found my costume." Looking for his friends he found them oohing and aahing over a long frilly dress. He shook his head and decided to just pay and leave.
Joyce opened the door at a knock and saw Xander outside. "You look good in that coat Xander, is it new?"
"No, it's an old trench coat that no longer fits my father," Xander said. "I figured it fit with the pentagram and plastic skull. Not exactly a wizard robe but close enough."
"Well come on in and wait in the living room," Joyce said. "I'm sure the girls will be down soon. Can I get you anything?"
"No thanks Mrs. Summers," he said.
Soon Buffy appeared in her floor length gown, "Willow should be right behind me. I got her to dress a little sexy this year so be sure to say nice things when you see her."
"Sure, but she's probably throwing her ghost costume over it," Xander said. "She's unnaturally attached to that costume."
Buffy frowned and looked at the staircase and sure enough a sheet covered form with two eye-holes and the word boo written on it was standing on a step.
"I'm not unnaturally attached to this costume!" Willow said from inside it. "It's just traditional."
Xander shrugged, "Whatever you say Will, let's get going before we're late."
As the girls walked behind Xander on the way to school Buffy asked, "What goes on? I thought we'd agreed?"
"Oh, I just couldn't," Willow said. "It showed a bit too much of me. This is better."
Buffy sighed, "If you say so but if you keep doing that you'll never get a date with a guy."
"Thanks for helping anyway," Willow said.
~
The next morning the three of them met Giles in the library.
"Are you all okay?" Giles asked.
Buffy said, "I'm fine. I just got better at French and I now know how to knit."
Willow said, "I was the ghost of a roadie for a metal band. I know a bit more about sound equipment than I used to and one of the tattoos stayed." She blushed, "Fortunately it's not anywhere visible."
"I kept a little," Xander said. A skull floated out of one the pockets of his trenchcoat and said, "You ain't just whistling Dixie."
Buffy poked the skull with a stake and it scoffed, "I'm a spirit of intellect bound to enchanted plastic, that's not going to do anything to me."
"I was a wizard named Harry Dresden last night," Xander said. "He had a spirit to help him research and to remember things for him. It wasn't this spirit but apparently the enchantment on the skull stayed and now houses a similar spirit. I can also do magic." He held up a hand and a ball of fire appeared in it then vanished, "Should be handy for dealing with vampires."
"How come you got magic and all I got was a butt tattoo?" Willow asked.
"It was chaos magic," Giles said. "Random effects are standard. I hope nobody but Xander received abilities like his but you should all keep an eye out for others with permanent changes."
Buffy said, "We'll keep an eye out." Then she grinned, "So Willow, what does your tramp stamp look like?"
"You'll see it in gym class," Willow said. "If you can't wait until Monday come home with me and I'll show you but I don't think Xander should know or that Giles wants to know."
"Quite right," Giles said. "You ladies can go, I want a private word with our wizard about the dangers of practicing magic on a hellmouth."
The skull said, "Yeah, even I think this place is creepy and I'm a skull."
Buffy stood, "Okay, come on Will. I'll buy you a coffee on the way to your house."
Willow blushed but said, "Sure, sounds good."
That night Xander went patrolling with Buffy and showed her one of the spells he now knew.
"Fuego!" he shouted and pointed his hand at the vampire. A wide gush of fire poured out and covered it. "I need to get better at that," he said. "Fortunately vampires are good practice."
"That looked pretty awesome to me," Buffy said. "Are you sure you need to practice that one?"
"I want to get it tighter and more focused," he said. "I could make a focusing rod to help but first I want to get better on my own."
"Well, you can patrol with me any time," Buffy said. "What other spells have you learned so far?"
"I can make light," he lifted his amulet and closed his eyes briefly. The amulet glowed with a soft blue light. "I need to practice this one too so that I can get faster and better at it."
"That will also be handy," Buffy said. "But yeah, having to close your eyes to do it is something to work on."
"The last thing is I can create gusts of air," he said. "I can probably knock someone off you but obviously I haven't tried it yet."
"Let's see it," Buffy said.
Xander shrugged, "Sure." He pointed his right hand at the ashes of the vamp and said, "Ventas Servitas!" A blast of wind poured out of him and pushed the ashes out of sight. "Again with practice I can narrow it and strengthen it."
"Very cool," Buffy said. "I might get home with unstained clothes for once."
Xander smiled, "The night is still young but I'll try."
~
The next day while he was making stakes in wood shop he decided that practice was good but a little extra power might save a life so he started on a blasting rod. Once he had the wood shaped he took the stakes and his rod to the library to carve the runes.
"What are you doing Xan?" Buffy asked as he dropped off four stakes and kept one piece of wood.
"I decided that I will make a focus after all," Xander said. "I can still practice but with the way things go in this town I might need every edge I can get."
"I can't argue that," Buffy said.
Giles asked, "What runes do you use?"
Xander said, "I don't know what you would call them but you're welcome to watch me carve them." He grabbed a knife from the book cage and after closing his eyes briefly he started carving. Each rune glowed silver briefly after he carved it then faded.
"Fascinating,'' said Giles. "I don't recognize any of them yet they clearly have power."
Once he was done he lifted the rod and the tip glowed red briefly, "It's all set." He dropped it in a pocket of his duster and smiled, "A good use of a free period."
A run in with Spike at a place called The Sunset Club made him want to create a version of Harry's shield bracelet. "Hey Giles? Do you know where I can get a variety of metals? Of the non-precious variety and about the size of my thumbnail?"
"I can buy you some if you have a good cause Xander," Giles said. "But I am not sanguine about giving you the names and addresses of my contacts."
"I'm making a shield bracelet," Xander replied. "A focus suitable for defensive magic. It should create a shield of force that stops kinetic impacts and even energy transfer up to a point."
"A worthy project," Giles said. "Will it be large enough to guard another as well as yourself?"
"If I put enough magic into it," Xander said.
"Then give your list of non-precious metals and I'll see what I can do," Giles said.
By the time Ethan came by looking for help against Eyghon Xander had his bracelet made and was looking for enough money to buy some silver to enchant into rings. He wanted to enchant one for each Scooby and a copper or iron ring would look out of place. So he was willing to help Ethan, for a price.
He used the money to buy himself crafting materials as well as set some aside. When the dead body shambled into the library Xander unrolled a mat with a ritual circle drawn on it. A blast of wind pushed the thing into the circle which Xander then closed with a touch of magic and a brief exertion of will. Once it was trapped in the circle the three of them were able to perform an exorcism. The demon was thrown back into the hell he came from and the tattoos on Giles and Ethan faded.
"I forgive you for your spell on Halloween Ethan but I still never want to see you again," Xander said. "If you need help again, call first and ask, don't just show up. You understand?"
Looking from Xander with his blasting rod in hand to Giles with fists clenched he nodded, "Crystal clear."
"Good," Xander said. "Good bye Ethan."
Xander's skill at fire, wind, and shields got better with the constant practice the hellmouth provided. He was happy to have his shield bracelet during the career day fair when the woman manning the police booth started shooting. He blocked all the bullets then Buffy had jumped her while she was reloading. The woman turned out to be the third of the demonic assassins for which Spike had paid the order of Teraka.
His improving mastery of fire allowed him to kill Drusilla while Buffy and Kendra fought Spike. Kendra reported his abilities to her watcher but fortunately all the council did was task Giles with watching him to make sure he didn't go bad.