Disclaimer: Yes, yes it's true. I don't own Harry Potter, or Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or Angel the Series. They are owned by J. K. Rowling and Joss Whedon, respectively. Believe me,I wouldn't be writing on an intersite site if i was. Oh, but any characters you don't recognize are mine.
Summary: Five years after leaving the wizarding world, Hermione is once more pulled into a war of herworld. She and her friends face a new threat, along with old allies and a new companion. Will she be able to handle it or will she flee like before?
AN: In the beginning, it is a crossover story, but this story won't be a crossover in its entirety. It was simply too difficult to write, however, if you think that I should write one then I will. The first five chapters include Buffy and Angel characters but then they will leave the story, so hang in there with me. Now on with the show!
Chapter 1: A New Life
The sun light streamed through the window onto the face of the sleeping woman. By the looks of things everything was normal. The room wasn't very big but modestly furnished. The room was all white, white carpet, white walls, white furniture. Even the girl appeared light. Her face, the only thing not covered, was very pale. She looked to be in her early twenties but had seen much in her life. Her soft waves of light brown hair framed her face as she slept.
There was a movement at the foot of her bed. A ginger cat was making its way across the comforter, towards the sleeping form. It had the look of an animal that had run into the wall one too many times, and now its face was stuck like that permanently. He pushed against the woman's head, trying to get attention that he so rightfully deserved.
"Crookshanks...leave me alone." She rolled away from the cat but it was determined. It jumped onto her chest and began to bat at her face with his paw, growing in intensity until the claws finally emerged.
"Fine, I'm up, I'm up." Hermione Granger sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. The cat leapt from the bed, making its way from the room. She got up, put a green fuzzy robe on and black slippers, and left for the kitchens. As Crookshanks began his ritual of meowing at the top of his lungs and pacing between Hermione's legs, she looked around her abode. The rest of flat was similar to the bedroom. It was painted in light pastels, and had numerous windows letting a lot of light into the room. Her couches and armchairs were overstuffed. A bookshelf took up one wall. It was filled with old texts, some her old school books, others she had collected on the journey that is her life.
Before getting her cat food, she switched on the radio. "In the local news, a woman was sentenced to spending a night in the woods without food or shelter, for abandoning 30-40 kittens in the park. The judge claimed he wanted to give a sentence that fit the crime..."
Hermione smirked at this. If only it were that easy, she thought. The can opener whirred in the background while she listened to the rest. "...And lastly the president today made the announcement that war was eminent with– "She refused to listen to the rest. Hermione hated war, violence or anything that lead to violence. She had seen too much death, too many shattered lives and shattered families. She saw death destroy her best friends, one physically, one emotionally. Her world would never be the same, that's why she left. She couldn't handle it anymore.
Hermione fed Crookshanks, and then went back into her room to change for work. If one of the people she went to school with had seen her now, they wouldn't believe it was really her. She physically looked the same, but her entire attitude had changed. She no longer ran to books for all the answers; she had learned long ago they can only help so much. Also, she rarely used magic. She preferred to do things the muggle may, mainly because she had seen magic destroy too much. Hermione didn't want any reminders of her old life, not even pictures. Her entire apartment contained two pictures, one that moved, and one that didn't. The first was of her and her two best friends on the day of graduation. They all looked so grown up, and yet Ron was still Ron and Harry was...well, distant. He had pretended to be happy for all the pictures, but everyone knew of the weight he carried that day. That was the day that everything changed. The second photo was of her parents, the last time she had seen them alive. It was Christmas break and they didn't know they wouldn't live to see their daughter graduate. Both were killed in a horrible car accident two days after Hermione returned to school. No one doubts that Death Eaters were to blame.
The now-witch-turned-muggle left the apartment without a glance at the two photos. That was the past.
"Hey Hermione. You look like someone kicked your puppy."
"No Claire. Just been thinking about stuff. Sorry, I'm late"
"Well, you know LA waits for no one, so you better get to work." The quirky American said as she left Hermione to her work. After leaving England, she had come to the States, namely LA, to become a journalist. She wanted people to know the truth, even if it went against everything they believed in. Hermione had had bad experience with bad press and didn't want people misinformed.
She sat down at her desk and began her research on a law firm that was sounding more suspicious the more she found out about it. She knew they were up to something but she didn't know what. She was going to go talk to their CEO after lunch as long as her boss let her. 'That reminds me, I should go and check in with him,' she thought.
Hermione walked into her boss' office without notice. He was a portly gentleman with black hair that was graying at the temples. He had more than his fair share of wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. The interruption startled him, and he spilled a little of his coffee down his shirt front.
"Damn, Granger don't you know how to knock!"
"Nope, I was absent that day in kindergarten. Oh and you have a spot on your shirt, didja know?" Hermione walked over to the desk as her boss tried furiously to get the stain out, then realized it was pointless and gave it up.
"To what do I owe this generous meeting?" he asked sarcastically. "And it better not be to ask about that law firm again, 'cause I can guarantee that the answer is no."
"But sir, I'm positive this time. I know that I saw that girl-who-mysteriously-vanished's name on their employee list."
"Hermione, how many times have you been 'positive' on this firm? Don't answer that. The point is you are never right when it comes to this firm so just drop it, ok? Now I need you to go to court today to report on the McHenna case. You are dismissed."
Hermione left the office rejected. 'Well, I don't have to go to the firm on purpose, maybe I need help finding my way. I mean I am a foreigner,' she thought to herself evilly.
As Hermione wound her way through downtown LA on the way to the trial, something major had happened a couple hours away in a small town called Sunnydale. Several people stood in front of a crater that was formerly a town, exchanging a forced banter. They all looked bruised and battered but each was glad, not of what they had had to do, but rather that the battle was over.
"...What are we going to do now?" said a young teenage girl. She had long light brown hair. She was standing next to slightly smaller woman with blond hair, who replied, "I don't know Dawn. The only thing I know right now is we have to get to a hospital then to LA to stay with Angel until we come up with a plan of action."
"Way to kill the moment, B." A tall dark haired woman commented. "Alright all, you heard her, lets get back on the deathtrap from hell."
The group trudged towards the bus that had been their escape from being consumed by the town. The drive to LA was silent, broken only by the muffled sounds of crying over fallen comrades. Each sat with their respective memories; each knowing that this was the way it is, the way it always was.
Once in LA, the group split, the truly injured going to the hospital, with Faith and Robin looking after them, answering the doctors' questions, while the rest went with Buffy and the rest of the Scoobies to Wolfram and Hart law firm to meet with Angel.
"Hey Buffy," greeted Angel as his law firm was taken over by a group of young girls. "The second front wasn't needed, I take it."
"Nope, we kicked some major First ass. Do you think you could let us stay here for a few days, just to regroup?"
"Of course, stay as long as you want." The ensouled vamp was quite happy that she was okay and also he saw no sign of his bleached counterpart. "Do you mind if I speak with you for a few minutes, Buffy?"
She followed him into a large conference room. He leaned against the table letting her initiate the conversation. She stood by the door, finally letting her emotions show. First, it was one tear then another that fell onto her soiled clothes. Angel walked over and engulfed her in a hug as the sobs racked through her body. He just let her cry, knowing that was what she needed.
After a few minutes, the tears subsided, and she felt silly. She pulled back, wiping her eyes with her sleeves. "Ya know, I always thought this would become easier over time."
"Killing is never easy no matter who you are or what you kill."
"So there was something you wanted to talk about?"
Seeing she was done with the water works, he said, "Yeah, there's been a girl snooping around the law firm recently."
"Do you think she's a threat?" Buffy asked.
"I don't know. I know she's a reporter but I don't if she's of the evil variety. I told her to come back tomorrow so I could talk with her, seeing as how she is determined to find out information. I thought it best if she heard it from me than from less than savory sorts."
"Well, I can sit in if you want and give you my impressions afterward."
"Thanks. I knew I could count on you." Angel said, getting up from the table, and heading towards the door.
"Yeah, you and the rest of the world." Buffy muttered under her breath before leaving the room.
Alright, that's it for now. What do you think? Questions, comments, concerns, or compliments are greatly appretiated.