Xander Harris may have been the only member of the Scooby Gang that didn't have any superhuman abilities or an affinity for magic, but his unwavering commitment to helping his friends face their enemies more than made up for it. Buffy the Vampire Slayer may have focused on the Chosen One, Buffy Summers, and her prophetic duty to protect the Hellmouth from the forces of darkness, but she wouldn't have been one of the longest lasting slayers if it weren't for friends like Xander.
Armed with his wit and goofy sense of humor, he was sometimes forced to conceal his insecurities, and even having romances with some of the most attractive women on the show weren't an immediate salve. His emotional growth over the course of the series was one of the most humanizing and relatable of any character, culminating in a challenging but ultimately healthy relationship with Anya, a former Vengeance Demon. Here's 10 other contenders for the Harris heart who would have been just as promising.
BUFFY
Buffy Summers was one of Xander's first loves, despite the salient difference in their personalities. He was a lovable goofball, prone to relying on his witty sense of humor, while she was a gorgeous transplant from Los Angeles when they first crossed paths at Sunnydale High.
Buffy always appreciated that Xander took her responsibilities as The Chosen One seriously, and acknowledged his place as one of the first members of the Scooby Gang to rally to her cause and believe in her worth. She was had all the strength of Anya, as well as the altruism of Willow, two women that would forever leave a mark on his heart.
SPIKE
From the beginning, Xander never liked Spike. It's fair to record that he loathed the peroxide-headed vampire with every fiber of his being, which could make for a truly electric bit of chemistry. Spike represented all of the qualities that Xander lacked - self confidence, charm, and assertiveness.
Xander had to watch on the sidelines as Spike became the object of Buffy's affection after Season 5, even after Xander's history of feelings for her, much like how Spike had to watch her with every other love interest that wasn't him. The two could actually be productive for one another, and complement each other in ways they wouldn't expect.
WILLOW
While Xander was busy crushing on Buffy, Willow was busy crushing on him, and pined mournfully as she watched his love for others go unrequited. Xander constantly went after women who were strikingly different from him and out of his league out of an effort to prove to himself he wasn't a failure.
Willow was able to look past his insecurities and appreciate him as he was, but he never returned her affections until they shared an unintentional kiss. Willow's ability to ground Xander is reflected back on her in their emotional moments throughout Season 6, proving these two provided the fundamentally emotional core of the show.
CORDELIA
Someway somehow, dorky Xander Harris was able to enter into a relationship with Cordelia, one of the most beautiful and popular girls at Sunnydale High. Despite the fact that she could be ridiculed by her social peers for being seen with him, she defied high school social stratification and dated him anyway.
Eventually, the difference in their social rank caused fissures, and in his pain Xander tried to lure Cordelia back with a spell. She realized how much her behavior was based on fear, and she took him back, only to be broken hearted herself she found him kissing Willow. Perhaps if Xander hadn't meddled, Cordelia wouldn't have decided to break things off for good.
DAWN
When Dawn mysteriously arrived in Sunnydale as Buffy's neverbeforeseen younger sister, with memories of her presence implanted in everyone's mind so as not to arouse suspicion, Xander fell into an easy older-brother role. He was as protective of the youngest Summers as he was The Slayer.
While their relationship never progressed beyond that in the series, in the comics that chronicled "Season 10" , Xander and Dawn enter into a romance. She went from appreciating him for being the only person to treat her like an adult, to being an adult that treats him to a kiss.
FAITH
Faith was always a mercurial force of nature when she blew into Sunnydale, and her presence could either help or hinder the Scooby Gang. Towards the end of Season 3, when Sunnydale was in the midst of an apocalypse brought on by the demonic Sisterhood of Jhe, Faith arrived to join in the fight.
Xander, unsure of his place in the fray as a Scooby without superpowers, ended up encountering Faith when the adrenaline rush she got from battle made her need a release. They got a hotel room where she seduced him, before callously kicking him out when their triste was done. Xander never lost his connection to the woman who took his virginity.
DRACULA
When the Prince of Darkness descended upon Sunnydale, he needed a servant to scout the local populace and build up his food supply, as well as tell him the whereabouts of The Slayer, and other vital information that would ensure his survival. He enthralled Xander, who effectively became his Renfield during his stay.
Though their bond in the series wasn't exactly romantic, it was powerful. Xander did everything for Dracula, including eat cockroaches on command. In the Buffy comics, his chores for the count became even more demanding, such as massaging his feet during a bubble bath.
HALFREK
Halfrek was a close associate of Anya's back when she was a Vengeance Demon, and the two enjoyed causing chaos and destruction in the name of their craft. Both were created by and served D'Hoffryn, but their relationship as colleagues ended when Anya found Xander appealing enough to give up her demonic ways.
It could just as easily have been Halfrek that forsook her profession and pledged herself to Xander. It would have been slightly less likely, given her love of bodily dismemberment, but she might have been persuaded by the ol' Harris charm.
RUPERT GILES
Rupert Giles was a guide and mentor not just for Buffy, but also her friends. Though he was always first and foremost The Slayer's Watcher, he became a surrogate father figure to all of the Scoobies, and provided a positive male role model for Xander who struggled with his masculinity.
To some fans, the concept of Giles ending up with Xander evokes the very sound of him cleaning his glasses. But the witty banter would be hilarious, as would the obvious fights about binging Red Dwarf or Star Trek for date night.
LARRY
Though he only lasted for six episodes, Larry made quite an impression on the series. A popular jock and member of the Sunnydale High football team, he often made fun of Xander at school and sexually harassed his female friends to overcompensate for the fact that he was secretly gay.
Larry initially believed Xander to be gay too, and worried what the student body was going to think about him when they discovered the truth. Xander, having struggled with his own concept of masculinity, tried to be there for him, showing that in another place and time, Xander might have been able to reciprocate.