Chapter 10.

Things had calmed down somewhat by breakfast the next morning. Students were no longer desperate to speak to Buffy, instead they were content to merely sit and stare at her. She guessed there was already a lot of gossip spreading about where she'd been for the last year. There was nothing like the Hogwarts rumour mill.

"So far you've joined a touring circus, been a movie star and had some politician's love child," Ginny sat next to her heavily. "Those are the best ones so far. I'll let you know what else I hear."

"Actually I went to a muggle school in California," Buffy told her.

"Really? Muggle school? What's that like?"

"Y'know. Same as here, only less magic more math."

While the girls talked the owls swooped in to deliver the morning post. Ginny was very curious about what Buffy had been up to and Buffy was eager to hear more about the past year at Hogwarts.

"I Can't believe Michael ran off with Cho Chang! Last I saw she was all hot for Harry. And now you're with Dean? I bet Ron's taking that well." Buffy had really missed the long hours she and Ginny would sit and talk about boys. Before Willow, Ginny had been the only girl she had ever been close to.

"Hey Hermione." It was Parvati. "You made the Daily Prophet!" The Indian girl threw her copy of the paper to Buffy, who caught it deftly. She and Ginny immediately began poring over it and eventually found the article Parvati ad mentioned.

'Chosen One's Girlfriend Returns.'

Last night Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was plunged into chaos when Hermione Granger returned after a year away. Hermione, 16, was once the girlfriend of Harry Potter, our saviour, the Chosen One and defeater of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. She disappeared on November 1st 1996, leaving Harry completely desolate and depressed…

"What is this?" Buffy exclaimed. "I never dated Harry! Why do they always think that? Is it so impossible for a girl's best friend to be a guy? And what's this 'Chosen One' stuff?"

"They've been calling Harry that since the Department of Mysteries, because of the prophecy that was lost," Ginny replied. "What does the rest say?"

"It just goes on about how I broke Harry's heart and how I've probably only come here to get back with him. Lots of speculation, very little fact. Your typical Daily Prophet article." Buffy threw the paper down in disgust. "It also suggests that I shouldn't be allowed anywhere near Harry in case I try to hurt him again. How ridiculous can you get? It doesn't say who wrote it, how did they find this out so fast?"

"You should have seen the ones they printed just after you left."

The girls looked up to see Harry and Ron standing there.

"They kept going on about how horribly Harry must have been treating you for you to leave school over him. Or that you'd discovered the truth that Harry was delusional and a liar and couldn't take it. Of course, they all love him again now so it must've been all your fault that you two 'broke up.'" Ron said, piling food on his plate.

"You're so evil, breaking Harry's heart like that," Ginny giggled.

"Sorry Harry," Buffy grinned.

"It's ok," Harry told her. "I got over you."

The four of them laughed and Buffy was glad that no one was taking it seriously.

"Dean's here. I'm going to go eat with him," Ginny departed happily.

"So they're calling you the 'Chosen One' now?" Buffy could certainly relate to that. She'd been 'Chosen' for almost two years now.

"They're just guessing what the prophecy said," Harry said, a little self-consciously. "No one knows for certain."

Buffy wasn't sure why, but she felt that Harry wasn't telling her something and Ron's ears were looking a little red, so he must be in on it too. She'd always been able to tell when one of her boys was lying. She was curious, but knew she had no right to push. She was keeping a pretty huge secret herself.

"So it's Transfiguration first, right? Buffy asked instead. "I'm keen to get back into the swing, y'know? Classes, homework."

"Knitting elf hats?" Ron teased.

"She's our Hermione alright," Harry said, joining in. "She can never wait for the learning to begin."

"Hey!" Buffy threw a piece of bacon at him. "Quidditch obsessed loonies," she muttered, just loud enough so they could hear.

The original 'Golden Trio,' finally reunited, spent the rest of breakfast chatting good-naturedly. When it was time for class they stood up and walked down the table. Heads turned as they passed.

"Excellent! Get rid of the uniforms!" someone called out.

"Er, Hermione," Harry said cautiously. "Are you going to change before class?"

Buffy looked down at her outfit. She was wearing black jeans and a baby pink jumper, both of which were a little snug. "What's wrong with what I have on?"

"Nothing," Ron said grinning at her as Michael Corner came over to them.

"Hermione, can I walk with you? I wanted to ask you something."

Ron glared. "Clear off Corner."

Michael didn't leave so Buffy said, "thank you Michael, but I'm walking with these two."

"Oh. Alright then." Michael seemed a little disappointed. "I'll see you later then."

"Ok. See ya." The minute he was out of earshot Buffy turned on Ron. "Could you be a little more polite?"

Ron was still glaring after Michael menacingly. "Maybe you should go and put some robes on."

"I don't have any that fit. Turns out I grew an inch or two," Buffy told him.

"You grew? Really? You still look tiny to me," Harry said affectionately.

"That's 'cos you two have shot up. You're both so tall now. I feel like a midget," Buffy complained.

"You are a midget," Ron laughed. "Come on. If we're late McGonagall will skin us alive."

Transfiguration didn't go too badly. Buffy was glad she'd kept up with her reading while in Sunnydale or she would have been completely lost at sea. She knew that with a little hard work she could soon be up to speed, barring demon attacks and apocalypses.

After class McGonagall asked her to stay behind. "I was very impressed to see that you haven't forgotten much Miss Granger." Buffy smiled hesitantly at that, not sure why she'd been kept back for this. "But not with your wardrobe."

"Oh." Well that made more sense. "I'm sorry Professor. My robes were too small and I haven't had a chance to go shopping yet. Lavender and Parvati offered to let me borrow some of theirs, but Lavender is too tall, I was tripping over the hem and Parvati is so skinny I couldn't get in hers."

"I see," McGonagall's lips pressed together firmly. "I don't like to do this, but your clothing seems to be distracting the male members of the class, so on Saturday you may go into Hogsmeade to purchase new robes. I will ask Professor Hagrid to accompany you. Bear in mind that this is not a general opportunity to shop, you will buy school robes and anything else that you desperately need between now and Christmas, but that is all."

"Really? That's great," Buffy was excited at the prospect. The last time she'd been in the village she'd been more concerned with secret meetings and Watchers who wouldn't mind their own business. "I'll make a list tonight. Thank you Professor."

A few minutes later Buffy was standing outside the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. With a deep breath she knocked, then entered.

"I'm sorry I'm late Professor, but..."

"Miss Granger, you are five minutes late and out of uniform," Snape snapped. "Twenty points for your flagrant disrespect of the rules."

"But, Professor McGonagall wanted to-"

"Silence," Snape snarled. "Sit down and be quiet."

Buffy sighed. Snape was so evil. Like Spike evil, but without the being actually scary part. She sat in the empty seat next to Neville Longbottom, who gave her a sympathetic smile. Buffy was trying to figure out exactly when she'd stopped being scared of Snape. Compared to Lothos or the Master he really was just a big blowhard.

"Now, Miss Granger, would you like to tell us what the subject of today's lesson will be?" Snape asked contemptuously.

Buffy gaped at him. "How am I supposed to know?"

"You are in this class are you not? Therefore you should be prepared."

"That is so not fair! I've been away," Buffy said disbelievingly.

"Miss Granger, you will not speak back to me. A further ten points for your insolence."

"You call that insolence?" Buffy asked angrily. "That wasn't insolence, it was me pointing out that you were being biased and unfair. There's a difference."

Snape seemed shocked that she really had spoken back to him. Buffy was willing to bet it was the first time ever. "Detention," he hissed at last.

"Fine," Buffy said, rolling her eyes.

Snape continued to glare at her, but now addressed the entire class. "Now Miss Granger has finished making a spectacle of herself we will continue. Turn to page 385 in your textbooks."

Buffy was silently fuming, not at Snape as much as at herself for losing her temper so quickly. She knew what he was like, why did she have to let herself get wound up like that? As she berated herself she realised that Snape had still not turned away and was keeping eye contact with her. She remembered Harry telling her about Legilimency the night before. Was Snape trying to use it on her? Buffy immediately resolved to look it up in the library when she had a chance. And Occlumency too. She couldn't take the risk of her secret getting out that way.

Aware of the dangerous turn her thoughts had taken, while still maintaining eye contact, Buffy looked away. Snape would probably interpret it as a sign of weakness, but she didn't care.

Her eyes locked with Neville's. He looked completely gob-smacked. Actually pretty much everyone did. 'Great. Now everyone's gonna wonder what's up with me.'

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"Hey Granger. I heard you told Snape off."

"Shove off Malfoy," Ron snarled.

"Shut it Weasel. I was talking to Granger."

Buffy put a restraining hand on Ron's arm. "While I'm sure you have many oh so witty things to say to me, I find I don't really care. So if you'll get out of my way, I have somewhere to be." She made to move past Malfoy, but he grabbed her arm.

Harry and Ron both drew their wands. "Let her go, Malfoy," Harry said dangerously.

Malfoy stepped behind her so they couldn't hex him without hitting her first. "I heard you were working as a whore in New York. Is that true?" he asked, leering at her.

"Ok. That's enough," Buffy grabbed the arm he was holding her with, spun him around and shoved him face first against the wall. "You're like the comic book villain, who wasn't. You occasionally get the lines right, but really can't pull off the rest of the bad guy persona. It's pathetic. Leave me alone, or I will hurt you."

"I'm so scared," Malfoy said sarcastically, though his voice was a little indistinct as his face was still smushed against the wall. He struggled in her grip. "Crabbe, Goyle, get her off me."

"No need, I think I made my point," Buffy said letting him go suddenly and watching him slide down the wall. "Your cronies can continue their impersonations of inanimate objects. They're really coming on well by the way boys. Now if you're quite done, I need to be elsewhere." With that statement Buffy pasted an innocent smile onto her face and marched past Crabbe and Goyle, who were just now going over to help Malfoy up. Harry and Ron hurried after her.

"Wow Hermione, that was amazing," Ron said ecstatically. "The way he… I thought he was going to wet himself."

"That was different," Harry said thoughtfully. "You never would have done something like that before."

"That's not true," Buffy said defensively. "Do you remember third year? When I slapped him? Don't tell me you've forgotten. It's one of my fondest memories."

"Mine too," Ron said, still grinning.

"It's not the same," Harry said. "You were under stress because of all the schoolwork you were trying to do and everything else that was going on, like Sirius and Buckbeak."

Buffy had known this conversation was coming for a while now. She pulled the two boys into a nearby classroom. "Did you think that I'd come back and nothing would've changed?" she asked gently. "That things would go back to exactly how they were before I left? That's impossible Harry. We've all changed and grown up."

"I know. It's not just Malfoy though," Harry said defensively. "What about Snape earlier? You used to respect teachers, even him, and you told him off. He gave you detention for talking back. It's like you're not even Hermione anymore."

"I'm still Hermione, only I'm older and, ok, maybe not wiser, but you've gotta have expected there to be differences. People can change a lot, especially when a so much is going on. A lot of it came from my dad leaving. I used to look up to him so much, then he just disappears. I think I lost my respect for authority figures round about that time. I realised that they don't know everything and when you trust them, that just makes it that much more likely that they'll let you down." She put a hand on his shoulder. "If it helps, you both still mean the world to me. That hasn't changed."

"I like the new Hermione," Ron cut in. "She's great."

"I don't not like the new you," Harry said uncertainly. "I just really wanted my friend back."

"I am back. See, all present and accounted for. It'll take a while for things to settle down, but I promise you I'm here now and that's what's important. Right?"

"Right," Ron agreed.

"Harry?"

"Yeah. That's the main thing," Harry smiled at her hesitantly. "Can you try not to shock me so much with the new Hermione though?"

"Well, it'll be hard, but I think I can swing that."

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"Professor Flitwick?"

"Miss Granger?" the tiny Charms Professor squeaked. "What a pleasure."

"Can I ask you a favour?"

"Of course," Flitwick nodded. "How can I help?"

"When I was in the States I managed to keep up with my theory work, mostly, but I'm way behind on the practical side," Buffy said sheepishly. "I was wondering about tutoring. Could you recommend anyone?"

"My dear girl, I would be delighted to help you out myself," the diminutive Flitwick told her.

"Great. I'm supposed to be taking my OWLs in just over six months and I'm a little worried about how much I missed."

"Of course. How about Friday evenings? We'll see how you're doing and schedule any extra time then."

"Sounds excellent. Thank you Professor," Buffy smiled and made to leave.

"Will you require tutoring in all your subjects, Miss Granger?"

"Actually Charms is one of the worst, probably because so much of it is practical," Buffy said wryly. "I was always best at Transfiguration so I think I'll be ok with that, today's class went well. Most of the other subjects are mostly theoretical, like Runes, Arithmancy and History of Magic. I managed to get hold of most of the Potions ingredients I needed to keep up with that, so that only leaves Herbology, Defence Against the Dark Arts and Care of Magical Creatures."

"What are your plans for those classes?"

"I think I'm gonna ask Neville for help with Herbology and I'm positive Harry can help me with DADA," Buffy mused. "I'm a little hesitant about asking Hagrid to tutor me, but a lot of that class comes from experience with the creature and I don't know another way to get that."

"It sounds like you have really thought this through Miss Granger," Flitwick said encouragingly. "A word of advice. Don't try to take on too much. I would hate to see one of the best students Hogwarts has seen for a long time burnt out from overwork."

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When Buffy finally made it back to the common room that evening, it was nearly empty. Snape had had her scraping the burnt bits from cauldron bottoms. He had just sneered at her and commented on how it would be such a shame if her clothes were ruined, then handed her the scraper and insisted she do the whole job by hand. If it hadn't been for her Slayer strength she would probably still be there, trying to hack away at the more stubborn bits. She was glad Snape had left her to it, if he'd stood over her making remarks she would have probably ended up trying to scrape the sneer from his face.

As she sat by the fire with her books, thinking if she didn't make a start on her homework she never would, Ginny came and sat next to her.

"You're back earlier than the boys," she said grimly. "Filch is probably getting them to clean the toilets or something equally nasty."

"I did not miss the kind of detentions you get here, believe me," Buffy told her. "In my muggle school all they would get you to do is extra work, or lines or something, not cleaning."

"Ron has trouble cleaning his own room," Ginny said with a grin. "Just imagine how horrifying it is for him."

The two girls laughed and Buffy felt some of the tension leave her. "So have the details of my day spread right around the school yet?" she asked.

"You mean Snape? I wish I could have seen it. No one ever talks back to him, he probably didn't know what to do."

"Oh he knew alright. Detention with his greasiness."

"And I also heard that you beat up Malfoy," Ginny said slyly.

"I didn't beat him up. I only pushed him against the wall 'cos he was being a jerk," Buffy said defensively. "I'm surprised he's not running to Daddy over it."

"I think he's too embarrassed," Ginny said happily. "Not to mention, incredibly turned on by it."

"Ew! That is so gross! Take that back."

"What? Some guys think a girl who can push them around is attractive and this is Malfoy after all. He's not exactly the most sane person around."

"Ew!" Buffy exclaimed.

Harry and Ron came through the portrait hole just then, with Neville close behind them.

"How did it go?" Ginny asked. "And why is Neville with you?"

"I've been in the Hospital Wing," Neville replied. "Getting some Pepper Up potion for my cold." Sure enough, Neville did sound very congested.

"This is great," Buffy said suddenly. "Not that Neville has a cold," she added hurriedly at their surprised expressions. "I wanted to ask you if you could tutor me in Herbology, Neville. I know you're top of the class. I'm not taking it at NEWT level, but I still have to take the OWL. And Harry, think you could swing me a little help in DADA?"

"Sure," Harry said at once, but Neville had turned bright red.

"Me? Help you?"

"Yeah, you'd be great at it," Buffy said.

"Go on Neville," Ginny encouraged. "You know more about Herbology than Professor Sprout."

Neville turned even redder, if that was possible. He mumbled something under his breath that sounded like, "Ok," then hurried up the stairs to the boys' dormitories, thoroughly embarrassed.

"Hermione, the whole school is talking about you and Malfoy," Ron told her suspiciously. "Like something happened and now you're in love."

"Ron, you were there, remember?" Buffy pointed out to him. "I pushed him into the wall. It's not my fault if Malfoy is the kind of sicko who likes being beat on."

"He was looking at you all through dinner," Harry said, frowning. "Not in the normal, scowling way either."

Buffy slumped further back into her chair. "I feel dirty."

"It's not just Malfoy," Ginny said quietly. "Most of the boys in school seem to fancy you at the moment. It's because you're such a mystery, what with having been away and there being no explanation for it." She sounded hopeful, probably wanting them to tell her everything, but Buffy didn't feel up to going into it right now.

"Can we do this tomorrow guys? I have loads of homework and make up work to do. I want to at least get this essay for Snape started."

"Ok," Harry agreed. "G'night."

Ginny and Ron said goodnight as well and the three made their way upstairs. Buffy was now completely alone. As she thought back on her first day and all the work she now had to so she was struck with a thought. Whoever had come up with the whole, Slayers not needing much sleep thing was a genius. She would probably be working well into the night for weeks to come.

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A/N: A little bit shorter than I expected, but never mind. Hopefully we'll start getting back into the actual story soon and time will move faster, but I think the integration chapter was important. Buffy needs to get to know everyone again in some ways. Hope you enjoyed it. If you did then please review.

Allen Pitt How about both? I really wanted to put the Snape scene in later, but found it worked better here. And as for Draco, he reminds me of a Buffy character who was turned on by a girl who could beat him up. I think he's just sick enough to fancy her, though he obviously won't play on it. Her being a mudblood and all. I hadn't considered removing Marietta's curse. Might do it if I need to fill a space in a chapter sometime soon.

JessAngelus Maybe I just like teasing you.

Catalytic Angel She had to leave because she wanted to protect her parents, who thought they were protecting her. The Watcher's Council is in England, but they don't know that their Slayer is a witch because Merrick hid it from them and Giles never told either when he became her Watcher.

Tdk The last chapter was Buffy reminiscing about when she was first learning about how magic effects the Slayer, followed by her being presented to the school, then Harry and Ron told her what happened while she was away, but instead of having the whole conversation I just recapped the important bits. So chapter 9 takes place in one day. Hope that clears things up.

Dozy.