Title: Bound by Loyalty
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Harry Potter- Pretty much books 1-4.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer- Seasons 1-5 and some of season 6.
Pairings: Buffy/Sirius Black, Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione
Summary: Buffy gets a letter inviting her to help teach at Hogwarts. Dumbledore tells her about the fight with Voldemort, and she agrees to help protect Harry Potter. While there, she learns things about herself that she never knew, and she finds a way to live. Meanwhile, Sirius Black can't stop thinking about the blonde Slayer that has suddenly invaded his life.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of them. Buffy goes to Whedon, and Harry and everybody in the Potter-verse go to Rowling. If you don't recognize anyone, they're probably mine. I do own the plot, though. Don't sue. Please.
Author's note: I kind of changed things in the Harry Potter universe. Did you see the pairings? If you did, you will notice that Buffy and Sirius Black will be a couple. So that means that Sirius is cleared of any crime. He is now working at Hogwarts as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. It'll explain more in the story. Now, for the Buffy universe. Seasons one, two, three, four and five happened. This is five years after Once More with Feeling, but Buffy and Spike never kissed or anything. The gang knows Buffy was in Heaven, and Giles hasn't left yet.
There. I hope I have explained it all.
A/N: IMPORTANT! Some of you may recognize this story under my old pen name DevilsTears. I have decided to rewrite this story and fix some mistakes that I found throughout the story. It has been a long time since I have visited my old stories, and I decided that before I can begin anything new, I needed to rewrite these stories and finish my unfinished works!
************************Prologue************************
'God resigned, from hearing my old story,
Every night, I'm paying hell for glory
I'm embarrassed but I'm much more sorry.'
-Shakira "Fool"
It was so dark. And cold. She could feel the cold seeping through her skin into her very bones. Something wasn't right here. Nothing ever was. She couldn't really see anything, except for the occasional fuzzy outline of a person running. Running to, or from, Buffy had no idea what.
Sometimes, something brushed at her foot, almost making her fall. Every time she felt it, she would look down, and every time it was the same thing. A body. Of who or what, Buffy couldn't tell; it was all so silent, and she was so confused. Then the screaming began. The horrible screaming. As she grew closer to the source of the sound, she could see an outline of a house.
"Harry, not Harry... Please not Harry... Take me instead!... Harry!" At that last scream, there was a great flash of light. Green light.
Then Buffy woke up. Drenched with sweat and tears, her eyes frantically searched her room. Sighing with relief she lay back down, facing the clock. 4:30. With a groan, Buffy realized she'd only been asleep for two hours. Her mind wandering to her nightmare. Buffy knew it was more than a nightmare. Her dreams were rarely just dreams.
"Prophetic dreams bite ass." She said to herself with a sigh.
Rolling over, she fluffed her pillow and closed her eyes, hoping sleep would claim her once again. No such luck. Instead, she saw the darkness and the green flash of light. She heard the screams and the sound of a baby wailing. Her eyes shot open and her breathing came out in short gasps. She swung her legs out of her bed. No more sleep tonight.
She walked to the bathroom across the hall and turned on the light. Looking in the mirror at her reflection, she saw the beginnings of circles forming under her eyes. Her hazel eyes, which before had been full of life, looked dead. She felt dead. Again. Her friends used to say that there was fire in her eyes. Giles told her that Slayers rarely had that light, most of them losing it shortly after being called. She didn't lose hers for a long time.
"I'm not even bitter, or angry, or even sad. When I think of Giles or my friends, I don't feel anything. I don't even feel revulsion when I think of Spike. God, what is wrong with me?" Buffy asked aloud. She could feel a headache starting.
Splashing water on her face, she took out the aspirin. Swallowing two, she walked out of the bathroom, not looking at her reflection again. Turning the light off, she walked quietly by Willow and Tara's room. Seeing her sister's door slightly ajar, Buffy walked in and up to her bed. She tucked the blankets around her sleeping sister, and brushed a piece of hair back from her face before leaving the room. Walking down the stairs, she headed in the direction of the kitchen. She switched on the kitchen light, and took out the makings of hot chocolate. While the milk was boiling, she took a seat at the counter and put her head in her hands, closing her eyes. Buffy felt lifeless, like she was going through the motions of being alive. She stood up so she could look out the window, and had to stifle a shriek. There was an owl at her window.
She had never seen an owl at her window before. Was it...demonic? If it was, she had to get rid of it. Sighing, she grabbed a knife out of her knife drawer and approached the animal.
As she got closer to the animal, she saw a letter attached to its leg. Feeling rather silly, she reached a tentative hand out to the creature, which was looking pretty impatient. She untied the letter and walked away from the bird, looking at it warily. Unfolding the letter, she read what it said:
Dear Miss Buffy Summers,
My name is Albus Dumbledore, and I am the Headmaster at the school Hogwarts for Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am aware of you position as the Vampire Slayer, currently situated atop the Hellmouth. Things here in Scotland are not very well. The Dark Lord Voldemort is coming to power. Hogwarts needs a Slayer. Whilst not the best place or time for a vacation, I think this will help you come to order. You will be given the position of assistant to Professor Sirius Black, the teacher of Defense Against the Dark Arts, should you accept my invitation. Dark times are at hand, and my world desperately needs you. Please reply by August 31st. This school owl, Hannah, will come back once a week. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Albus Dumbledore
Headmaster of Hogwarts for Witchcraft and Wizardry
With trembling hands, Buffy sat on the stool in her kitchen heavily. A school for magic? A school that had an evil dark wizard? Of course. Buffy sighed, realizing she'd have to have a Scooby meeting about this. So, this wizarding world needed her help?
She was the Slayer, after all. Who was she to say no to people who were in danger?
*************************Chapter One: Decisions***************************
'I try to keep awake
I try to swim beneath
But still I find this narcolepsy slides
Into another nightmare.'
-Third Eye Blind "Narcolepsy"
"So you're telling me this Albus Dumbledore guy wants you to save his world? And you're thinking about doing it?" Xander asked Buffy, incredulously.
"Well...yeah." She answered carefully.
It was eleven o'clock in the afternoon. Buffy had called the meeting a half an hour ago. She had explained her dreams and the owl surprise last night. Or, rather, this morning.
"I'm the Slayer...it's what I do. I can't just ignore that somebody needs my help," she continued, hoping they would understand.
"Buffy, you have got to be kidding us! This isn't one of your most brilliant ideas, I must admit," Willow told her.
"Bloody hell, woman. Listen to the witch. You can't just leave." Spike rolled his eyes at her, reaching into his pocket for a cigarette.
Buffy lifted her eyebrows. She hadn't expected Spike to react negatively to the possibility that she might be leaving. She walked by him and snatched the cigarette out of his mouth before he could light it, snapping it in two before handing it back with a wan smile.
"What if this guy is some creep or loony? Or a vampire or some evil thing trying to lure you away from the hellmouth? Buffy, you could be walking into a trap!" Dawn was scared. She didn't want to lose her sister again, once was enough.
"I can assure you, Dumbledore is no loon or vampire. He is one of the most powerful wizards in the world. And this magic school does exist." Giles spoke up for the first time since the discussion had begun. Everyone stared at him in astonishment. Giles knew about this school? And this was the first time they heard about it? He took off his glasses and began cleaning them. "When I was a child of eleven, I got a letter. My father had already started training me as a watcher. When the letter came, he was so proud that I had got accepted to the best wizarding school. 'Only the best for my son,' he would say. I promptly packed and got my school supplies. He sent me off to Hogwarts and my school year began. I got put into Gryffindor House."
Seeing their blank stares, he elaborated. "There were four founders of Hogwarts: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. Anyhow, being at Hogwarts was the best seven years of my life. I learned magic, potions, herbs. I graduated top of my class. Dumbledore wasn't the Headmaster then. He was just the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. After I graduated, things went downhill from there. A group of my friends and I started dabbling in the Dark Arts. Then Eyghon started. You know the rest." He nodded at Buffy, who shivered.
"After that mess, my father was so embarrassed that his son played with the Dark Arts. He made me train to be a Watcher and forget about Hogwarts and to pretend the whole wizarding world didn't even exist. For the past 25 years, I have only heard a few words about the wizarding world. You can say it's one of the best kept secrets. I did hear, in passing, about Voldemort and what had happened to him. Being this far away from that world, there are only a few news worthy pieces I have been able to keep up on, especially being surrounded by only muggles..." the last part was said absently, his eyes unfocused, staring into a past that the rest of them could only guess to know about. When he refocused his attention on the group, he got more blank stares. Giles stood up and began to pace.
"Muggles are common born people with no special powers, and Mudbloods are the children of two muggles, their powers not being inherited from their family.. Half-bloods are witches and wizards with a magical parent and a muggle parent. Pure-bloods go to Slytherin House, because Salazar Slytherin also hated anybody other than Pure-blood. He once tried to get the other founders to agree not to allow anything other than pure magic into Hogwarts. Voldemort was in Slytherin. He got followers from Slytherin to help him rid the world of half-bloods and mudbloods. When James and Lily Potter had a child fifteen years ago, they were both nineteen, just graduated from Hogwarts. Harry, their son, now goes to Hogwarts and is in his Fifth year. A couple of months after Harry was born, Voldemort visited them and tried to get them to join him. They refused. He killed them." There was silence all around. "But, when he raised his wand after killing James, Lily stepped in front of young Harry and tried to protect him. She gave her life for his. When Voldemort tried to kill Harry, his spell backfired. It bounced of Harry and hit him instead. He was thought to have been killed. Harry, still alive, was left with nothing more than a scar. He was sent to live with his aunt, uncle, and cousin, where he got his letter to Hogwarts. That's all I know of him."
Buffy was lost in thought, remembering her dream. "Harry, not Harry... Please not Harry... Take me instead!... Harry!"
She must have been hearing Lily's voice, pleading with Voldemort to spare her child. Before she stepped in front of him and saved his life, giving hers up so her son could live.
There was a moment of silence. The Buffy spoke, "Giles... I have to go and help them."
"I know Buffy."
Looking at her friends, she searched their faces for the anger she knew she'd see in their eyes. But there was none. Instead, she saw understanding, love, and some bitter disappointment. But they knew she had to go. She was the Slayer, and being the Slayer meant she had a duty.
To be continued...
