Chapter 11: Summer School for Scoobies
*****A Few Days Later*****
Severus went out to check on the children as they were late to his potions class. Predictably, they were flying around on broomsticks. He should've known those Weasley boys and Potter would teach them quidditch. It was inevitable, but he never dreamed that all four of them would love it. His niece Cordelia was properly disdainful of the idea until the twins had begged and his daughter had called her chicken. Proving she was every bit as good as Buffy Anne had propelled her onto the broom. Turns out, she was a natural beater while his daughter, of course, excelled as a seeker. Her natural slayer abilities made her exceptional at it.
He went outside to wrangle his wayward students and watched Harry Potter fall from his broom at a tremendous height. Quickly, he pulled out his wand to keep the idiot boy from falling to his death when his daughter moved faster than he could get a spell off, grabbing Harry. They hit the ground a bit hard, however, and Severus moved to see if Buffy Anne was okay.
"Buffy Anne? Are you all right?" he asked anxiously as she slowly sat up.
"I'm fine. Just got the air knocked out of me," she said. "How's Harry?"
"Same," he said with a moan. "Gee, that was close."
"You think? What happened?" Buffy asked.
His friends now made it to his side and were asking the same question as they peered down at the pair in dismay. Willow and Xander arrived to check out the pair. The twins and Cordelia moved at a slower pace behind the anxious friends. The twins knew Harry would be okay—he always was. Cordy felt the same way about Buffy, so they didn't run toward the grounded pair.
Harry put his hand on his forehead, touching his scar. "It's my scar. It gave me a stabbing pain," he said. "It startled me as much as it hurt me."
"And you thought letting go of the broom was a good idea?" Severus asked dryly.
"Father," Buffy said with a glare. She turned back to Harry. "I'm glad you're okay."
"Yea," Harry agreed.
"Why would the scar hurt you?" Cordelia asked as she heard Harry's remark.
"I don't know," Harry mumbled. "Sometimes, it just does."
"Yea, when You-Know-Who is about to make trouble," Ron said grimly.
Harry gave him a dark look, obviously not wanting to talk about it.
"Do you need to see Madam Pomprey?" Severus asked Buffy and then glanced at Harry.
"No, I'm fine," Buffy said, getting to her feet. She reached down and helped Harry up.
"Me, too. I'm okay," he said. He gave Buffy a grateful look. "Thanks to Buffy."
"That was some incredible flying," Ron said, giving her an admiring look. "You have to totally try out for quidditch when classes start."
Buffy shrugged, knowing her mom and Giles would say it's cheating. "You don't have to be on a team to love a sport," she said.
"Yea, but—" Ron protested and was cut off by Severus.
"Buffy Anne has other things to worry about than a game," he said.
"I think you should go see Giles," Buffy said to Harry. "He can figure out what is going on with your scar."
"I am sure that Dumbledore can figure it out," Hermione said loyally.
"How long has this scar been bothering you, Harry?" Buffy asked him.
"A few years now. Off and on," he replied.
"Does Dumbledore know about it?" she asked.
Harry nodded. "Yes," he said.
"And he's done nothing about it?" Buffy said, giving Hermione a pointed look.
"Not really," Harry said. "Usually, it only hurts when I'm relaxed or sleeping."
"Do you know what causes it?" Buffy asked.
"I think it's whenever Voldemort is close or planning something particularly evil," Harry said. "Normally, it proceeds something nefarious happening."
Severus wondered if the Dark Lord knew what was going on at Hogwarts—about his new family connections and frowned.
"Well, Giles can figure it out," Buffy said confidently.
"That's what he does," Willow agreed. "He figures out things."
"'Cause he's the one with the books," Xander agreed.
"He loves consulting his books," Buffy said with a grin.
"What's that scar about anyway?" Cordelia asked. The Weasleys, Hermione, and Harry looked at her in shock.
"You don't know?" Ron asked.
"Why would I know? I just met the guy a few days ago," she said impatiently.
"They were not raised in our world," Severus reminded them.
"And it's not polite to ask people about scars or birthmarks on the face," Willow added.
"This is a scar from when I survived the killing curse from Voldemort," Harry explained. "The night he killed my parents."
Buffy winced. "I'm sorry," she said.
"Yea, that really sucks," Xander added.
"Some concealer would cover that right up," Cordelia added.
When everyone but the Scoobies gave her a strange look, she added, "You know, make-up?"
Hermione nodded. "Oh, well, we don't use muggle make-up," she said. "We use spells to change our appearance or apply the look of make-up."
"You mean you can get quality make-up by magic?" Cordelia asked, her eyes wide.
"Like a face as beautiful as yours needs improvement," Fred said.
"We do have some candy that will grow your hair," George added.
"And some that changes the color of it," Fred said with a wink.
"Yea, hair that never stops growing or hair that turns green," Ron said with a snort.
"Yes, the candy is quite brilliant," George said with a proud grin.
"I think I'll pass," Cordelia said to the twins. Using magic to get ready for class was totally worth learning. Imagining all the time and money she would save made her eager to learn more spells.
"Come on, Harry," Buffy said. "I'll take you to see Giles."
"How about you do that later and instead come to potions in my classroom as you're supposed to?" her father said firmly.
She flashed him a guilty look. "I'm sorry, Father. We lost track of time," she said. "Quidditch is so fun."
"Seriously," Xander said. "Who would've thought I'd actually enjoy a sport?"
"All the dodging during dodgeball in P. E. has made you really good at goalie," Cordelia said with a smirk.
"Wait till you hear about the Quidditch World Cup," Ron said excitedly. "It's going to be between Ireland and Bulgaria."
"Mom said she might—" Fred began.
"Get us tickets!" George finished.
"Really?" Harry asked, his eyes wide.
"That's like the Super Bowl for quidditch, right?" Xander asked.
Ron frowned. "I don't understand what's super about a bowl?" he asked in confusion.
"That's the American football championship," Willow explained.
"I thought that was the World Cup?" Ron wondered.
"No, that's soccer," Xander said.
"Stop wasting time," Severus said with a glare. "Get to class."
"I'll come get you later, Harry," Buffy said. "Maybe during lunch, we can talk to Giles."
Harry and company watched Professor Snape lead them away. "I just don't understand how that girl is related to the greasy git," Ron said in bemusement.
"Not so greasy these days," Hermione pointed out. "Buffy told me she got him to cut his hair by promising to call him Father."
"Sneaky," George said with a grin.
"We approve," Fred said.
"Buffy told me that he actually likes not having so much hair," Hermione said.
"Did she tell you how he and her mother met?" Harry wondered.
"She said her mom was in the area for a spring break, studying art. They had a short fling," Hermione added.
The boys all shuddered. "A fling with Professor Snape," George said in confusion.
"Maybe she is blind," Fred suggested. "Did she say her mom was blind?"
"No, she didn't," Hermione said. "And be careful what you say around Buffy."
"Yea," Harry agreed. "She doesn't like to hear him criticized. I learned that the first day."
"Cordelia is also related to him. Don't forget," Ron said.
"We choose to ignore that one imperfection," Fred said.
"Just as we choose to ignore Percy," George said.
"You know he'll be here soon," Hermione reminded them. "You better be nice."
"Mother will kill us if we embarrass her," Ron added.
"It's the red hair," George said.
"Brings out the temper," Fred said with a wink.
"They're pretty cool, right?" Ron asked. "I mean Xander is so funny, and not nearly as annoying as those two." He pointed to his brothers.
"Yes, he's really nice," Hermione agreed, blushing.
Fred caught it, though, and grinned. "Does Hermione have a little crush?"
"But what about Ron? Are you tossing him over for that American poser?" George added dramatically.
"You two shut it!" Ron said angrily.
"I said he was nice. I didn't say I was crushing on him," Hermione said with a glare.
"It's what you didn't say that says so much," Fred said with wink.
George nodded. "So true, brother. So true," he said, slapping his brother lightly on the shoulder.
"What house do you think they'll be sorted in?" Harry asked, changing the subject.
"Well, they're super fun, so probably our house or Hufflepuff," Ron said confidently.
"I don't know," Hermione said. "Cordelia is a Black. Sirius was the only Black not to ever be sorted into Slytherin."
"She is a bit snarky like her uncle," Ron pointed out.
"Take it back!" George said, offended.
"She is just clever with the wit!" Fred defended. "It doesn't make her a snake!"
"He's too witless to recognize the difference," George said with a snort.
"No, he's just pointing out the obvious," Hermione said. "Even Buffy could end up in her father's house."
"Well, they're American," Harry pointed out. "Does it really matter? They're not going to suddenly turn into Malfoy."
"True," Hermione said.
"Willow is super smart. She could go Ravenclaw," Harry added.
"Yea," Ron admitted. "Well, Luna's Ravenclaw, and she's not too bad—just batty."
"You know the hat does let you have a say," Harry said carefully, recalling his near Slytherin placement.
"Maybe, they'll want to be in our house," Ron said.
"I don't understand who exactly Professor Giles is to them," Hermione said. "Buffy calls him Giles and says he was their librarian. He's British, but he's going to be teaching here some ancient languages and assisting with Muggle Studies."
Ron's eyes brightened. "A real muggle teaching a muggle studies class? Dad would be so excited," he said. "I might have to take the class."
"Yea," Fred agreed.
"But it still doesn't explain why Buffy trusts the guy so much," Hermione said.
"You should ask her," Harry suggested.
"It's kind of awkward because I don't want to upset her. I don't know her that well, and they are Americans," Hermione said.
"Maybe that's something that American do," George said.
"Bring their librarians to another school in another country?" Fred suggested.
"Is that how they won their independence?" George asked in horror.
"Through books?" Fred asked.
Hermione rolled her eyes, ignoring their comments.
"He is British, so she might've thought he'd be a help," Harry pointed out.
"Her father is British, so why would she need another guy old enough to be her dad?" Hermione countered.
"Maybe he's snogging her ma?" George wondered.
"But all of them seem to look to Professor Giles," Hermione said. "Willow especially."
"Well, she's like you, right?" Ron asked. "She loves the books, and he is the book man."
"I say we stop worrying about this," Harry said. "We have all summer to get to know them and uncover the why and how."
Harry, for one, was very much interested in discovery how the new professor could help him.
*****An Hour Later*****
Severus worked hard not to yell. Willow and Buffy, of course, were perfectly proficient at potions. Willow especially showed an aptitude for it, but Xander and Cordelia couldn't seem to get anything right. Mostly because the two of them bickered about everything.
"I have been teaching this class for years, and I have never seen two people bicker as much as the two of you," Severus said, glaring. "And I teach Potter and Malfoy. You will switch partners. Willow, see if you can teach Alexander how to complete a potion that all second years can manage. Buffy, you are with Cordelia."
Once Alexander didn't have his niece or his daughter to distract him, he did much better. Severus had to admonish Willow to not do it for him, however. It was good they weren't entirely hopeless.
"Good. Rupert is helping you with Defense Against the Dark Arts tomorrow," Severus said. "He has looked through the material you need to know and says the early years will be no problem. In a week, we will test you out of years one to three in that class, so make time to review the testing material. By end of summer, I expect you to have no trouble being ready for year six—at least in that subject."
"Cool," Buffy said.
"All that fleeing for our lives on the hellmouth was actually good for something!" Xander said with a happy grin.
"What about potions?" Willow asked.
"I expect you will have no trouble testing into sixth year by summer's end. Percy is particularly good at potions, and he will help keep you up to speed also," Severus said. He looked at the others. "The rest of you need to study your potions book. Next to transfiguration, it is the most difficult class you can take. One tiny mistake will mess up the potion utterly."
"We are doing transfiguration next, right?" Xander asked. It was the one class he had shown any aptitude for. The day before yesterday, he was the first one to transfigure his cup correctly.
"Yes. It is time for lunch, however. Then you will meet with the professor," he said.
"Lunch? I'm so there," Xander said, getting up to run out. He was never going to take the meal times at this place for granted. It was like heaven for the tummy, and Xander loved every meal.
"Xander, we have to clean up first," Willow reminded him.
Sighing, he grabbed his cauldron. "I still can't believe we use actual cauldrons. Talk about stereotypes," he muttered.
Willow giggled, agreeing. "Let's not forget the flying broomsticks," she added.
"If one of the professors was an old crone with a wart, I'd be really freaked," Xander said, grinning.
"You'd probably ask her for a date," Cordelia said.
"Don't start," Buffy told them. "I want to get to lunch and talk to Giles."
Severus had his own plans for lunch as Albus had arranged a meeting at the Leaking Cauldron with Sirius. It was time to tell him about Cordelia, and he was dreading the entire encounter.
*****A Bit Later*****
During lunch, her father disappeared, but she told Giles all about Harry's scar. Harry was sitting on her other side as she had dragged him to sit with Giles, leaving everyone else at another table.
"Hmm," Giles said thoughtfully. "I will have to consult my books."
Buffy grinned, giving Harry a smirk. "Did I call it or what? He would have to consult his books," she said.
Harry chuckled. "Do you think you could figure something out about what's going on?" he asked Giles.
"Of course," Giles said. "It's possible that the magical essence of Voldemort is trapped somehow inside your scar. A cleansing of some kind is probably in order. I will talk to the coven I know in Sussex. There's another one in Devon. Between the two, we'll find out what's happening."
"I would appreciate it," Harry said. "It didn't used to bother me at all until I came here," he said.
"I will do my best," Giles assured him.
*****Leaky Cauldron*****
Severus walked into the pub, looking for a cloaked figure in the corner. There he was, so Severus walked toward him, sitting across from him.
"Black," he said in a low voice.
"Snivellus," Sirius said, giving him a cold look.
Severus glared. "Still the belittling bully, I see," he said. "If only Harry knew you the way I do."
Now it was Sirius' turn to glare. "How dare you mention my godchild! It's because of you that I can't be with him, and he's stuck with those horrible muggles," Sirius said.
"I have not come here to bicker about Harry," Severus said. "I have some very important news. It concerns your brother Regulus."
Sirius frowned in confusion. What could Snape possibly have to tell him about his brother that died years ago?
*****To Be Continued*****
More is coming. This chapter wasn't too exciting, but I hope you enjoyed reading it anyway. Show your love by reviewing! Thanks so much!