To Shanshu in the UK

A Harry Potter/Angel crossover

Summary: Angel and Spike's journey was supposed to end in the final battle behind the Hyperion. But the PTB have other plans. Plans that involve a certain magic school in Scotland.

I do not own either series. They are owned by Joss Whedon and J.K. Rowling respectively. If they really want to sue me over this, they won't get a whole lot.

The Gamble

In a dimensional plane very far away from our own, three figures stood in the endless expanse of white. Covered in a brilliant light that obscured their features, it was impossible to tell anything about them. Their gender, their species, and their individual looks were simply impossible to determine by mortal races, if these beings even had any of those features. The only thing that was easily determined was what they were looking at.

Floating just a few feet in front of the three beings was a small sphere. Inside the sphere, images of a great battle were shown, flickering constantly to new points of the battle to give a better view of all that was going on. Each of the views was centered on four familiar figures, constantly showing how their situation, and their fate, would play out.

They saw the dark-skinned warrior, already mortally wounded, throwing every last drop of his remaining energy into the fight. Even as his life ran out, he refused to weaken. For what seemed like an eternity to him, but was actually a mere thirty minutes, the lone human was a whirlwind of destruction in the middle of the demonic horde. In time, he would fall. That was certain, even to him, yet far more demons would fall before he did.

In another section of the battle, the deceptively slight body of a woman could be seen throwing her attackers around like rag dolls. There was no elegance to her fighting, just brute strength and sheer power. Even from their dimension, the aura the "girl" possessed came off of her body in waves. The aura of one of the Old Ones, yet tainted with human emotions like grief, as had never been felt before. Even this mighty force of nature was beginning to weaken, however. Wounds on her fragile shell were beginning to accumulate, and while she seemed to not feel them in the midst of her rampage, the beings knew it was only a matter of time.

A short distance away was the first vampire, the anomaly in their plans. His bleached blond hair was covered in various colors of blood as he ripped through his own attackers with nothing but fist and fang. There was a defiance in him that blazed as brightly as the sun and his every attack was an open dare to bring an end to him. They had clearly underestimated him and his impact. Perhaps he had the potential to be their champion after all. Of course, that did not matter now.

Last, but not least, was the champion. He was the vampire with a soul, the key part in all their plans up to this point, and he was finally fulfilling his purpose. By surrendering his destiny and launching a rebellion against the Wolf, the Ram, and the Heart he had set in motion the events that would destroy their entire organization in the dimensional plane. But he had no way of knowing this, and they could not tell him. All he had known was that he had an opportunity to hit the Partners back as hard as he could, and he was willing to sacrifice himself to do it.

All four of them were heroes, champions of the beings' cause. And yet…

"They will die."

It was not a question, but a statement. They all had known it would happen. But in the voice of the Power that had spoken there was a hint, so small that even his fellows could barely detect it, of pity.

"Of course. It was written as such, and they knew the risks." Another spoke.

"Even the vampires? What of the Shanshu Prophecy?" The first being questioned.

There was a moment of silence.

"The champion surrendered his right to it. And the other one, the anomaly, was not part of the plan" One of the others answered finally.

"How does one surrender something you do not possess? He had not yet earned his right to Shanshu, after all. And while we had not planned on the other, does he not also fit the criteria?" He rebuked.

Again, silence.

"What exactly are you proposing then?" The second being finally replied, "we grant one of them the Shanshu? Despite it not being their destiny?"

"I propose more than that."

With that declaration, the first being waved his hand, and the orb's view shifted. Instead of the battle in the back alley of Los Angeles, it displayed a view of an ancient castle in a verdant country side. In the background were images of several humans flying about on brooms in a small stadium. The others recognized it immediately, but did not say anything. Eventually, the orb focused on one of the flying humans, revealing a young boy with messy black hair, green eyes, and a lightning bolt scar.

"I propose we use the Shanshu prophecy to reposition the vampires to aid with the Potter boy's destiny. Two birds with one stone, as the Earth saying goes."

The other two Powers felt the closest they had to being shocked in millennia.

"That would be pointless! The boy will succeed on his own!" One protested after gathering its wits. "That kind of change to established destiny would have a dire consequence, and you know it. We are bound by certain limitations in our interference, and this would be a blatant violation of those rules. We would be unable to see the destiny it would cause, let alone compensate for changes! You would be gambling on one of our victories!"

The other one cut in, "And even if we used them like that, the vampires would remember their pasts. They would undoubtedly bring in the Slayer and her allies, and the ripple effect could jeopardize all of our plans if left unchecked!"

The first Power raised a hand to silence their protests. "What you say is all true, and I have considered it." The being admitted, "However, we also know that the boy's victory will be pyhric at best, and many valuable fighters for our cause will be lost in the events that lead to it. Adding champions like the vampires, both of them, can only help our position in the future. Which you know as well as I do that we shall need if the prophecies are correct."

The other two did not protest this declaration. It was an uncomfortable subject, knowing the significance and scale of coming events, but also being unable to alter them. What the first being said was true, they needed all the allies they could get, otherwise they would not have aided the Slayer and her Witch in activating all the Slayers. It violated the balance, and stretched their own abilities, but it had been necessary.

After digesting this, the second Power spoke up.

"Even if we could save a few more wizards for…what is coming," It paused, "you must still admit that the effects of the vampires on the Slayer and her allies, combined with the loss to our own abilities and plans that their inevitable involvement would lead to, are simply too much of a risk for us to take at such an important juncture."

Shaking its head, the first Power responded, "Correct. In any other situation, this would be far too great of a risk. However, the mortals may have provided us with the ultimate aid in that regard."

Another wave of the hand, and the image shifted to one of Angel speaking with the Oracles.

"You see," the first Power explained, "the process which the Shanshu Prophecy was meant to refer to would not only involve the recreation of new human bodies for them, but the creation of completely new human lives. New friends, allies, family, and most importantly, new memories."

The extent of the first Power's plan began to sink in to his fellows, and it continued.

"If we were to take advantage and place their new lives in a position within the British Wizarding World to affect Harry Potter's fight, they would naturally feel inclined to aid of their own free will. No more manipulation on our part would be necessary with those feelings and connections on their part."

"They would still contact the Slayer! We all know how deeply they feel for her." The second Power protested.

"Not necessarily," the third Power said quietly. The second turned to him with a questioning gaze. "While creating their new memories, we could push down the old ones to keep them from looking for their past. If their new memories have enough similarities with their old ones, they will not likely trigger their old selves' memories unless absolutely necessary. If they do not contain any memories outside their new lives in the Wizarding World…"

The first Power would have smiled, had it been a mortal.

"The wizards' deliberate isolation from the rest of human society will work to our advantage and keep the Slayer from finding them." He finished.

The third Power turned an understanding gaze at the first.

"I see now that you have thought this out well." There was some mild approval in the Power's voice, "Perhaps we should consider it after all…"

The second Power nearly sputtered. "You can not be seriously considering this! Not only does this go against every one of our moral directives, the ones you were willing to exile the Power who became 'Jasmine' over, by interfering in the mortals' free will directly, but you run too great of a risk!"

The third Power shook its head. "And yet I fear we have no other choice. What shall come to pass in the current destiny will devastate too many lives, and too many worlds. We were unsure if we could win even with an army of Slayers. The plan has merit, and I do not think we can avoid it."

The second Power glanced between its two fellows before heaving an exhausted sigh. "I wash my hands of this. I will not fight you on this, but you must make sure that this is done properly."

The first Power nodded.

"Of course. The Powers That Be always do things properly."

Los Angeles

Angel was losing.

Ok, that was completely expected. The Senior Partners were going to pretty thorough, and he had known ahead of time that this might very well be his last battle. He had been fully prepared to go out in a blaze of glory, take as many of them with him as he could, insert other cliché death saying here, etc.

Of course, planning what your death would be like and actually experiencing it were two very different things.

Every fiber in his body ached more from the effort of his sword swings, making him more sluggish all the time. Even fully vamped out, his normally sharp vision was beginning to blur, and now he could barely separate individual demons from the horde. In the distance, he had heard two cries of victory and somehow knew that at least two of his allies, his friends, had already gone down. His heart, mind and body were all exhausted.

But he still had his soul, and the determination it gave him forced him to keep swinging. It was a losing battle, and excruciating to boot, but there was no way he was going to lose here.

Plus, there was always the chance that Spike was still alive. Angel would be damned if he let Captain Peroxide be able to hold surviving longer than him over his head. Yes, it was petty reasoning unbefitting of a champion. Angel was ok with that right now.

Suddenly, Angel felt a powerful fist wrap around his swinging sword arm and press down. The ensouled vampire cried out in pain as the limb was crushed between powerful fingers, and he felt the weapon slip from his fingers. As if that weren't enough, soon he found himself flying through the air and colliding head on with the brick wall on the other side of the alley.

Ow.

With his head swimming, Angel watched bleary-eyed as the nearest demons turned around. He could feel as their gazes turned predatory when they saw him in his weakened state. Without a weapon and barely conscious, Angel knew he didn't stand a chance.

This was it.

"Oi! Back off!"

Angel watched as a blur cut its way through the advancing demons before falling in front of him. Crouched and panting in exhaustion, Spike turned to his grand-sire and sneered.

"You know, Poof, as much as getting to see you die first would make my day, I figure you might still have some use."

With that, Spike hobbled over and pulled Angel up onto his feet. Blinking away the dizziness, Angel scowled back at the younger vampire.

"I didn't need your help Spike. I would've gotten out just fine." He protested.

Spike snorted. Both of the vampires knew that wasn't true. Spike probably wasn't any happier with the rescue than Angel was. All they'd done was make a more convenient target of themselves and bought a few extra seconds.

On cue, the two watched as a new shape approached. Parting the sea of demons, and batting away the unlucky ones that didn't see it coming, was a giant demon that had to weigh several tons. Each of its steps caused what felt like a miniature earthquake, and soon it was so close that Angel and Spike could not see the sky past its massive frame.

"I'm going to kill it." Spike declared.

"Like hell!" Angel argued.

"Oh, come on! You already killed the bloody dragon! Stop bein' a glory-hog!"

Apparently realizing that its prey wasn't trembling in fear at its presence, the demon roared at them and reared up to its full size.

Spike and Angel stared.

"Ok, fine. We'll just have to see who manages a killing blow first, won't we?" Spike finally said.

"Spike?" Angel said.

"What is it, Peaches?"

"I just want you to know…I always hated you. Always. From Angelus all the way up to now."

Spike smirked.

"Feeling's mutual, Peaches."

Both vampires vamped out and the giant demon unsheathed a sword as big as a streetlight. Before anyone could blink, the giant swung, and the vampires charged.

And then Spike and Angel knew no more. Their undead existences came to an abrupt end.

But this was not the true end. Not for them, even if they had no idea about that.

A Little Village In England

While the house was quite small and in a mild state of disrepair, Albus Dumbledore found himself oddly at home within its confines. It was not like the grand mansions of some pureblood families, nor did it reek of professionalism and ambition like the ministry. No, this small home only gave off a feeling of hospitality and friendliness, much like the Weasleys' ancestral home.

It also matched the demeanor of its owner, the haggard looking but incredibly kind Remus Lupin.

As if thinking his name had summoned him, Remus emerged from a door on the other side of the room carrying a worn tray of food and drink.

"Here's your tea, Professor, I'm afraid it's not the best quality but…" Remus shrugged.

Albus knew the reason, but politely waved it off. "Oh, do not worry about it, Remus. I am sure it will taste just fine." To prove this, the aged wizard brought the chipped tea cup to his lips and took a deep swig of it. It was a little flat, but Albus did not let that show.

"I told you it would be fine, Remus. I always loved your tea. Perhaps you could…"

"Professor." Remus cut him off. "Why did you really come to see me? You can't expect me to believe this is a simple visit to an old student."

Albus sighed and put the cup down, hands unconsciously reaching up to stroke his beard. Remus noted this, knowing it was a sign of stress, and surmised that he probably was not going to like the answer.

"I came to hire you, actually. I feel you would be a great teacher at Hogwarts, you always had such a way as a tutor, after all."

"Me? A teacher?" Remus parroted in disbelief. That was impossible. With his condition, as a werewolf, the Board of Governors would never allow him to teach at Hogwarts. Still, a part of him had always liked the idea of being a teacher, so the offer was tempting enough for him to ignore that.

Still, Remus knew that there was still something else that Albus hadn't said yet, and the old man was not trying very hard to hide it.

"If you think you can get me the position, professor, I wouldn't really decline. However, I can tell that you didn't call me up strictly because I was a good tutor."

Albus nodded, and glanced around the room. He quickly cast a silencing charm before he continued.

"Remus," he began, "what I'm about to tell you has not yet been revealed to the public. As of this moment, the Ministry is trying to keep the incident under wraps in the hope they can resolve it before anyone realizes the situation exists. However, I do not believe they will be capable of doing so. Sooner or later, they will give in to pressure and reveal the event to the media."

"What event, sir?" Remus asked quietly.

"There has been a break out at Azkaban. An important follower of Voldemort's somehow managed to escape, and all attempts to recapture him have failed." Albus said.

Pieces fell into place, and Remus understood perfectly why the aged headmaster had come to him.

"Sirius. He's the one who broke out, isn't he?" His voice sounded tired, but there was also a deep anger. The thought of Sirius, after what he had done, was enough to make him growl almost wolfishly.

Before he could get any more upset though, his brain put together the last answer he needed. He understood why Albus wanted him at Hogwarts.

"You're afraid he's going to come after Harry, because of how Voldemort died."

Albus nodded in confirmation.

The former Marauder slumped back in his chair and put his head in his hands. It would hurt to see Harry. He had never met James and Lily's son, had never even tried to meet him. He had plenty of reasons and justifications but, in the end, it was because he couldn't face a living reminder of how badly he had failed James, Lily, and Peter in not seeing through Sirius. Not to mention that it was even harder for him to justify seeing the child after so many years without seeing him. Would the boy blame him for his parents death? Would he be angry because Remus had never tried to contact him?

Seeing the look his former student was sporting, Albus stood from his chair and put a comforting hand on the other man's shoulder. Remus looked up to see a gentle smile on the other wizard's face.

"Harry has not had an easy life, this is true, Remus. But I do not think he would hate you. You are a link to his parents, and he will understand your reasons."

The assurance warmed Remus and he couldn't help but let a smile cross his face. Professor Dumbledore had always had a way with his students, and it apparently didn't stop when they graduated.

"Very well, Professor. I'll take the job and guard Harry. I won't let Sirius get near him."

Albus' smile widened in gratitude. But his face still looked a little apprehensive.

"Remus, there is one other thing."

Remus froze.

"I think we can agree that Black is too crafty to not use every resource we have in stopping him. You know him best, but you are not the only one that was close to him."

"You must be joking!" Remus yelled, "Those two left us in the middle of the war!"

Albus frowned.

"Remus, I understand this is difficult for you, but you must admit that Liam and William will be a great help. We cannot afford to let Sirius have even the slightest chance to reach Harry."

Remus ground his teeth and searched desperately for an excuse, but came up empty. As much as he wanted to argue, he knew that the other man spoke the truth. He couldn't let past grudges get in the way of protecting Harry.

"Alright." He gave in. "If you can find them, I'll speak with them. I can't promise they'll come, however."

The gleam in Albus' eyes could have rivaled the sun. "And what if I told you I already knew where they were?"

Remus sighed.

It seemed that Mr. Moony would be paying a visit to Mssrs. Angel and Spike far earlier than he expected. Wonderful.

END

A/N: The timeline for both series is a little skewed, but you'll see what I mean later on. Also, I am aware of the post-season five comics, but I'm ignoring them because I haven't read them and don't care enough to buy them.

I really should know better than to start writing a new project when I'm having so much trouble with my current ones, but I couldn't resist.

EDIT:Added missing linebreaks