A/N this story is dedicated to one of my best friends, Katelyn (Pennames: Crunchie & Spoilt Fairy), who absolutely loves Giles and the Marauders.
I love the Marauders, so I decided to do one about them as a crossover, as you don't find very many.
I am going to do this only once-
Disclaimer: I do NOT own any Buffy or Harry Potter characters.
Summary: Giles is teaching at Hogwarts and Buffy is a guest speaker. Will Professor Dumbledore let Buffy join the school when she shows an aptitude for wand magic and if so will the Marauders befriend the American Muggle-born?
Time Line: It's the Marauders 6th year out of 7 at Hogwarts. For Buffy, she's got the experience from after Chosen, but she's 16 instead of 20 and the Potentials don't get their "POWERS." Giles is also not quite as old, but is 31.
The new DADA, he won't last long unless…Chapter 1
"Giles! You home?" Buffy called out as she entered his home in London.
Buffy had just closed the Hellmouth for good and gone on a much-needed vacation through Europe and had come to her final destination, the city of London. Compared to California, where Buffy had grown up, it was cold and miserable because of the constant fog and the rain.
Buffy jumped almost two feet into the air as an owl flew above her head. 'London sure is a strange city,' she thought to herself as she started to climb up the dimly lit stairs to the second level.
Buffy stated to peek into every doorway on the floor until she got to the last one. In the room, she found Giles speaking to a man in what looked like a dressing gown. The man had a long silver beard that reached down to his waist and a ponytail of silver hair that he could have easily tucked into his belt. He had wrinkles all over his face, not wrinkles from frowning or any so-called 'angry faces' but from a lot of smiles and laughter. He also had that odd twinkle in his eye that made it seem that he found everything amusing.
As Buffy pushed the door open wider, she caught the two men's attention.
"Hello Buffy," Giles said, caught by surprise. "What brings you to London?"
"Well, I decided to come and visit you before I went home to the Sc…others," Buffy explained, censoring herself at the last second before her cover was blown as she remembered the older gentleman in the room.
"It's okay, Buffy," he assured her. "This is Professor Dumbledore. He is the Headmaster of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry."
"The Headmaster of whoey-mathingey?" she asked, already forgetting the name. "One question, is a headmaster like a principal?"
"Yes, it is," Giles said simply. "Professor Dumbledore, this is Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the one I used to watch over."
"Ahh, yes. I remember. The one that finally closed the Hellmouth in Sunnydale a couple of months ago," the old man stated.
"Err, yeah, but it wasn't just me. It was the Scooby Gang and some additions that really did all the work," Buffy replied, sticking up for all of those that had helped.
As soon as Buffy said that, the two men turned back to finish their conversation and the Slayer sat down. Halfway through it, she tuned out to think about this Dumbledore character.
"Good to know that you'll be taking the job as Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, Rupert. See you at Hogwarts on the 10th of August," Dumbledore said startling Buffy out of her focus.
The musty scented man disappeared with a 'pop'.
(A/N: This is where, if you read this before, the chapter had finished.)
Buffy looked at the spot where the old wizard had disappeared with a surprised gaze plastered on her face. "What was that man doing here, Giles?" she asked accusingly. "And what's this about you teaching?"
Giles looked at her calculatingly before he gave her an answer. "I didn't know that I wasn't supposed to teach," he said calmly.
"Ok, then," Buffy said slowly as she walked further into the room taking in her surroundings. She noted that the walls were dark colors, such as dark green, dark blue, deep maroon, and black. There were two long couches that were opposite each other and on different sides of a coffee table sitting in the middle. On the center of the table was a woven ornamental tablecloth. Resting on that was a small photograph of a family and there were several portraits around the room.
One of the portraits that caught Buffy's was a portrait of a family. In the picture was a male with black, unruly hair, and a well-developed figure. He looked alive, as if you could capture that happiness and try to recreate it and fail. Next to him was a woman with chestnut hair and amazingly chocolate brown eyes. The female had a very feminine figure, with curves in all the right places and had a brightness that was very much like the man next to her. In the woman's arms lay a small bundled baby that had the same hair as the male in the portrait.
Out of the corner of her eye, Buffy saw a movement along the wall and turned her gaze to that spot. What she saw, made her go rigid with shock; it was a moving portrait of her and the Scooby Gang. The picture was moving!!
Giles, following her gaze, smirked inwardly, noticing her shock and what had caused it. He waved at the portrait of the group and they waved cheerfully back.
"How the…? What was…? Why did…? How?" Buffy stuttered, shocked for the first time in, well, ever.
"What I think I mentioned, when I was telling you about Professor Dumbledore, was that Hogwarts teaches magic. That is exactly what the portraits and photographs are in the wizarding world. Magic," Giles explained as he watched Buffy's reaction carefully and closely, worried that she might faint or pass out.
"What?" she questioned the aging man. "Are you serious? Oh well, I guess there had to be other worlds other than the demonic world, but a moving mojo portrait of us? Of us?" She said almost in hysterics. Suddenly, she calmed down as a realization hit her. He'd never told them. "Why?"
Giles knew that she wasn't talking about the picture anymore and all he could do was meekly say, "I'm sorry. There wasn't really ever a right time to do it." Inside, the man was distraught and worried about what she would say, what everyone else would say after she told them. He was brought out of his reflection by a voice asking him if he was a wizard.
"Giles, do you do all the mojo stuff, too?"
He brought out his 12 inch mahogany wand that had the venom of a Basilisk as its core. "Yes, I do, though I was banned from ever using it again after I was expelled for dabbling in the Dark Arts," he said mournfully. "It's a wonder that Professor Dumbledore even wants me on his staff," he added.
Buffy stopped in mid-pace. "You were really expelled? I thought that that was just a joke to get us to all pay attention in class!"
"I wish it was," Giles replied. "But no, it wasn't to be that way." He looked straight into her eyes as he spoke. Knowing the direction her next question would take, he answered in advance. "Yes Buffy, I was expelled, along with Ethan Rayne and the rest, for raising Eyghon."
"Giles, what subjects are taught at Hogfarts?" she asked in her classic mispronunciation-of-words sentence. "And what do you teach?"
"Well, there's Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Apparition, Astronomy, Care of Magical Creatures, Charms, Divination, Flying, Herbology, History of Magic, Muggle Studies, Transfiguration, and Potions. I'm teaching Defense against the Dark Arts," Giles answered.
Buffy stared at him long and hard trying to work out if he was trying to kid her or not. "Wow, that's a lot of subjects," she said in surprise. "When do you go to work there and when do the students start?"
"The students catch a train there and arrive in the evening September 1st. I go there on the 10th of August," he told her.
As Buffy did the math, something clicked. "But the 10th of August is in two days!"
"I know," he said as he smiled. "And I'm guessing that you would like to see a bit of the wizarding world?"
Buffy's face lit up as if Christmas had just come around early, as well as her birthday. "Are you serious? Of course! I'd love to! Thank you so much, Giles!"
"Great. Would you like to stay the night tonight?" he asked. "Because I'm sure that you don't have anywhere to stay while you're here and it will make it easier for tomorrow."
"Thanks, Watcher mine. I'd love to," Buffy accepted, almost giddy with the anticipation for what was to come the next day.
"Great. Well, I'll show you to your room. How does that sound?" he asked.
"That sounds great, thanks," she replied before remembering the portrait. "Before we do though, can I ask you a question?" Not waiting for a response, she pushed on. "Who is that in the picture over there?" she asked, pointing towards the recently examined frame.
Giles, following the line of her finger said, "That is a picture of my brother and his family." He walked up to the portrait; pointing to each of the occupants of the painting in turn as he named them. "This is Harold, Dorea, and James Potter," he said wistfully, pausing a bit as he mentioned the surname.
Buffy, picking up on this, walked over to him and laid a gentle hand on his arm. "Giles, what's wrong? How come you and your brother don't have the same last name?"
"I suggest you sit down for this," Giles stated as a warning. "After I was expelled, my dad disowned me for bringing shame to our family and shipped me off to the Council, where he had contacts so I had to change my name from Potter to Giles," he said. "Harold and I still remained in contact though, and he sent me the portrait when James was born," he explained. The Watcher started to tell the story in earnest from the beginning. "It was back in my Ripper days. There was Arthur, Molly and I…
Flashback
"Hey Art. How's it hanging?" Rupert asked his best friend and fellow Gryffindor troublemaker on their way to the first class of the day, which happened to be Potions with Slytherin. The class had both sixth and seventh years in it, combined due to a lack of students able to take the difficult NEWT level course.
"The usual. You, Ripper?" Arthur Weasley shot back. The young man was a skinny bloke with red hair, the traditional trait of all Weasleys. He had hazel eyes that were full of life and excitement. Art was the only one that Ripper trusted with everything personal, from his feelings to what went on at home to his brother.
"Same." The two walked together in a companionable silence that lasted until Molly Prewett came along and half-completed their little group of friends and troublemakers-from-Gryffindor. Molly Prewett had auburn coloured hair and blue eyes. Molly wasn't a slip of a girl like most, but that didn't mean that she was over-sized. Molly had more of a rounded face, which was full of life and happiness. She had two twin brothers that she loved completely and couldn't imagine being without. Everyone loved Molly; she was just perfect, her personality being the best part about her.
As they reached the door of the Potions classroom, they pushed it open room and took their seats on the left hand side of the damp and dank smelling room – their usual seats.
About five minutes later, Professor Slughorn came into the room and ambled up to the front to his desk. Horace Slughorn was in his mid thirties and was a bit on the larger side. He had mousy brown hair, knowledgeable blue eyes, and a pale complexion.
Professor Slughorn waved his wand in the direction of the board and a written conversation popped up on it.
(A/N: BoldGideon, UnderlinedFabian)
What did you think of your eggs and bacon this morning, Fideon?
They tasted somewhat like a polyjuice potion, if I do say so myself.
Really? Because I thought the same thing!
"Pray tell, how do you two know what a polyjuice potion tastes like?" Professor Slughorn asked the twins who weren't in class while this prank was being activated.
We thought that you'd ask that, so they are the activating words for the major part of our prank for today. I hope that you haven't started any potions for your sake!
There were murmurs going throughout the room that sounded like 'Oh no's' and 'Runs!' Before anyone had time to react though, what looked like water balloons appeared in front of everyone! They magically threw themselves at random people. As they burst, the people were drenched in water and began to sprout cattails and grow shaggy fur over their faces. The changes lasted about ten minutes, enough time for everyone to get a laugh out of the event. The only remaining evidence that the prank even happened was that everyone was drenched. The doors opened about ten minutes later and in strode the last part of the Gryffindor group.
The twins were identical in every way, except for one thing. There was a scar over Gideon's left eyebrow from a really nasty curse their younger sister had thrown after they changed her shampoo with blue hair dye. They had shoulder-length ginger hair with blue eyes and freckle-covered faces.
Gideon and Fabian came over to the group and sat down at their specific table that was dedicated to them.
"Thank you for that, Mr. and Mr. Prewett. How long will it take for this to dry?" Professor Slughorn asked wryly.
"Well…" Fabian started.
"That's the thing," Gideon continued.
"You see…"
"We sort of…"
"Don't know," they finished together with a grin.
"So," Fabian started again.
"Whoever got hit with the water balloons," Gideon continued.
"Stays wet until it dries off," Fabian finished.
Most of the class groaned at their answer.
Soon, it was the end of the potions lesson and the five to a trip up a secret passageway and into the Great Hall.
"Aren't you glad that we got out of the dank dungeons?" Molly asked the band of boys that were with her.
"Yep," they chorused back at her.
"Art, can I talk to you for a moment?" Rupert asked.
"Sure, mate. Be right there," Art replied as they both excused themselves from the group to talk in private. They walked from the bright and full corridor into a secret room. The area was a warm brick space with red and green drapings that covered the walls and gave it a homey feel. There was a fireplace against the north wall of the room with couches clustered around it. On the east wall was the entrance into the room and on the south was an adjoining bathroom. There were a few bookcases around the place that held large tomes on the history and science of magic.
"So, what's up?" Arthur finally asked Rupert with a brotherly look.
"Art, I…well, I really like Molly," Rupert confided. "But I'm afraid that it will ruin our friendship if anything happened. What should I do?"
"I'm about to sound really mushy but…do what your heart tells you to do," he replied to the nervous looking Giles.
"Thanks Art. I really appreciate this," he said.
--
Ten days later during breakfast, Giles received a black and white spotted owl carrying a letter from his dad.
Dear Son,
I believe that the school in which you are attending is not beneficial anymore. So, in a month's time, I will be pulling you out of Hogwarts and you will attend another school, a training school for Watchers.
As I am a personal friend with Quentin Travers, he has accepted this late application to his academy, and you should feel very honored that he allowed that.
After the time you leave that lousy school you are going to, you will NOT have any contact with that world at all unless the Council requires it and you definitely won't contact with those good for nothing friends of yours.
Be seeing you in a month.
Sincerely,
Montgomery Giles.
--
A/N: There you have it. Until next time!! BTW sorry that this took so long, I've been busy with assignments.