Ok first I wanna thank you all for the awesome reviews. To answer some questions, Buffy has lost her slayer strength when she got her magic back but, like the rest of the Sunnydale gang, it may not be lost forever...wait and see. Buffy/Draco? Ew no, their second cousins. Buffy is not like her family in that way. As for my grammatical errors, I'm really sorry. I suck at that stuff. You can ask any English teacher I ever had, they'll back me up on that. I try my best and proofread each chap before I put it up but I make no guarantees. So if you're a stickler for that stuff I really apologize but I'm doing my best.
Buffy slowly walked through the familiar corridors as she drew closer to the common room entrance she heard voices arguing up ahead.
"I should write you up for being out of bounds."
"Your out too."
"I'm allowed to be, Dumbledore asked me to wait."
"Well we want to see her too and go ahead and write me up, I'm a prefect as well."
"Harry's already seen her."
"I just want to know what happened."
Buffy rounded the corner seeing a bushy haired brunet arguing with what appeared to be the wall.
"Hello." Buffy called causing her to spin around surprised. "I'm Buffy."
"Yes of course." She smiled. "Hermione Granger. Let me give you a hand." She said taking some of the books from her.
"Thanks. It's nice to meet you." Buffy smiled turning to the wall that Hermione had been yelling at. "Everything's fine. Tonks is my guardian."
"Who are you talking to?" Hermione asked pretending to be confused.
"Why Harry of course, and the other boy under the cloak." Buffy smiled.
"You can see through inevitability cloaks!?" Ron asked stunned.
"Nope." Buffy grinned. "Password?" She asked turning expectantly to Hermione.
"Oh right." Hermione nodded. "Phoenix Tears." She said causing the portrait to swing open.
Buffy climbed through seeing the familiar common room filled with unfamiliar faces. She half expected to see Lily curled up in one of the armchairs reading or the boys goofing off around the fire. But seeing all these strangers made it more real. They turned as she entered studying her carefully.
"I think I'll just head upstairs." Buffy said with an unconvincing smile as she took her books back from Hermione.
"Right, I'll show you were your things are." Hermione nodded as they headed up the stairway to the girls dorm. "This is us." She said as they stopped at the fifth story leading her into a large room with five beds. "This one's yours." She said leading her to the last one. Buffy sighed dropping her books on the bed as she looked around. There were two other girls up there one asleep the other lying in bed reading a book.
"Buffy, this Lavender Brown." Hermione introduced them.
"Nice to meet you." Buffy smiled weakly as the girl just stared at her curiously.
"And over there is Parvati Patil" Hermione said nodding to the sleeping girl. An uncomfortable silence followed as the girls just all stared at each other until Buffy finally looked away.
"I think I'm just going to go to bed." Buffy said tiredly.
"Yes, it's getting late and we have class first thing." Hermione nodded understandingly. "Would you like me to wake you before breakfast?"
"Sure thanks." Buffy nodded absently heading opening the familiar trunk at the foot of her bed. It was all exactly how she'd left it. Her books, papers, the Quill she'd broken and never thrown away, all kept, she wondered why. She'd imagined her mother would have tossed all her things long ago. She grabbed her favorite pair of pajamas out of the pile of clothing and headed towards the bathrooms.
Hermione lied in bed her feeling terrible for the poor girl. Buffy had come back from the bathroom and went straight to bed turning so her face was hidden from the other girls. When they turned out the lights a while later she'd taught she was already asleep but was startled to see the small blondes shoulders shaking with silent sobs. She was torn between comforting her and respecting the fact that she obviously didn't want them to know she was crying. With a small sigh she turned over feeling slightly guilty for watching so long and went to sleep.
Alone in the dark she cried, for the friends she'd lost, the live's she'd lost because in reality she'd lost them both. She was the same but, the world wasn't and how could she be sure she really belonged here anymore. She could hear Willow's voice in her head as she told her she belonged with them. She had, even though that world had never seemed right to her, her friends had. They way they fit together...it was just natural. Life had continued here without her, her friends were all grown, or gone. Her friends in Sunnydale were gone too, at least lost to her. She wondered what they were doing, were they ok? Would they be safe without her? Did they understand why she jumped, why she had to? Did Dawn? Dawn... Her sister, the key made human using part of her, what would become of her now. Would she ever see any of them again. They could be dead for all she knew, like James and Lily had been, she wouldn't know. She cried for them all, and herself until sleep finally claimed her.
By the time she woke the next morning she'd missed breakfast. Hermione had explained that she'd looked tired and hadn't wanted to wake her not wanting to tell the other girl she knew she'd been up most of the night crying. On the way to the common room she picked at the Muffin the other girl had brought her as Hermione tried to make polite conversation.
"We've got potions today." Hermione began. "With Slytherin, so Ron and Harry will be in a foul mood." Buffy nodded absently as they reached the common room. Spotting Harry sitting on the sofa with a redhead in the empty common room.
"We'd better hurry or we'll be late." Hermione said glancing at her watch. "You didn't have to wait."
"Morning Buffy." Harry greeted with a small smile.
"Morning." Buffy replied turning to the red head.
"This Ron, Ron Weasley." Hermione introduced them.
"So your really Sirius's sister?" Ron asked amazed.
"And you're the other boy who was under the cloak last night." Buffy said with a small smile recognizing his voice. As they moved to the portrait hole.
"How'd you know about that?" Ron asked as they crawled into the hallway.
"Well when I saw Hermione arguing with a wall and knew one of the voices was Harry's." Buffy shrugged. "Wasn't hard to figure out. I've been under it myself a few times with James." She smiled wistfully. "he really loved that cloak." She began as Harry listened eagerly for any tidbit about his father.
"We're going to be late." Hermione sighed glancing at her watch.
'No we wont." Buffy grinned. "Follow me." She said taking an abrupt right.
"Should we?" Hermione said unsurely.
"Why not?" Ron shrugged curiously.
"Snape will kill us for being Late." Harry offered as her turned to follow the blonde.
"I never told anyone about this." Buffy said stopping in front of a large portrait. "I was going to tell Sirius and the boys but they were always going on about how they knew all the secrets, so I figured they could find it on their own." She smiled impishly pulling out her wand and glancing around to make sure it was all clear. "Let's see, third from the left." she counted the flowers engraved in the frame tapping it twice they watched amazed as it swung open.
"Where does it go?" Hermione asked cautiously.
"Only one way to find out." Buffy grinned stepping into the dark hole in the wall.
"Should we?" Hermione began but the boys had already followed her with a sigh she to jumped in. It was a long dark slide and they ended up a tangled mess at the end.
"Lumos." Hermione's voice echoed in the small space as her wand lit.
"Shh" buffy cautioned. "I'll go first." She said slipping out the doorway. "All clear." She said finding the hall empty.
"But were at the entrance to the dungeons." Hermione said stunned as they walked out. "There's no closet here." She said closing the door behind her.
"There's no door?" Ron said confused. "Where'd it go?"
"Don't ask me." Buffy shrugged. "It's a one way passage I believe."
"That's wicked, I wonder of Fred and George know?" Ron exclaimed.
"It's not on the map." Harry replied as they hurried down the stairs carefully watching for any reaction from Buffy but she gave none.
"Made it with five minutes to spare." Buffy grinned glancing at the clock as she walked in.
"Sorry Hermione." Ron smirked as he and Harry dashed for the open table at the back forcing Buffy and Hermione to take the only one left, right up front.
"Prat." Hermione mumbled under her breath causing Buffy to grin. "Come on." She sighed taking a seat. No sooner had they sat then the door was flung and Snape walked in his dark robes billowing as he stalked to the front of the room spinning around to glare at the class.
"Oh Hell No!" Buffy shouted jumping out of her seat.
"Is there a problem Miss Black?" Snape sneered.
"Yeah, you." Buffy replied as the Gryffindors all watched amazed and the Slytherins horrified anyone would speak to him like that.
"You will take your seat so I may begin class." Snape barked.
"Who in their right mind would let a greasy git like you become a teacher!?" Buffy demanded not at all intimidated by him.
"Ten points from Gryffindor for insulting a teacher." Snape growled.
"Well you'd better take ten more then evil bastard." Buffy said defiantly.
"You have no right to speak to me that way!" Snape spat.
"No right?" Buffy scoffed furiously. "After what you did to me. I lost twenty years because of you! Do you have any idea what that's like!?"
"They came after us." Snape replied enraged. "Your boyfriend fired first! You even tried to stop them. We were simply defending ourselves."
"You honestly expected them to do nothing after they found out what you did!?" Buffy screamed.
"And what about all the things they'd done?" Snape demanded.
"I never did anything to you!" Buffy exclaimed shaking with anger. "Lily stood up for you, and you called her a mudblood!"
"Well she was one." Snape smirked Causing Ron to have to physically restrain Harry.
"He's not worth it mate." Ron whispered furiously.
"You know it's like it happened yesterday to me." Buffy continued in an oddly calm voice. "Do you even care? Do you feel any guilt? Shame, remorse? Anything akin to a human emotion? I still have the marks you know, there fresh as they were the day I left. Would you like to see? Or do you remeber them well enough, cause I'll never forget, even after they fade, never. How about it Snivellus, I'll show you mine and you show me yours." She smirked "I'm sure by now you bear the mark of the so called dark lord. It makes you feel big, and tough doesn't it. But all it means really is that Voldemort branded you like cattle, and you stupidly stood in line to have it done."
The students sat stunned in their seats noone talked to Snape like that and judging by how pale he'd become in his rage she'd be the last. They wondered what he'd do to her, some nervously some excitedly. But they'd never find out.
"I believe that's quite enough." Dumbledore said from his place in the doorway. "Miss Black please take your seat so class may begin." Dumbledore order in a no nonsense voice his usual smile gone. "Professor Snape, please carry on, without any more disruptions." Dumbledore added giving Snape a warning look as well. "And Miss Black please come see me after class." He added but while she listened and took her seat she refused to turn and acknowledge him any further. "Well then carry on." he sighed walking back out the door.