AHEM!…::cough::…Welcome to Ch. 2.
::pause::
Wait, what was I going to say?…
OH! I just wanted to thank the reviewers:
-Henry percy- I am quite sure that I am happy you like it. And plus, you're my first reviewer!! Kudos to you!!
-Danielle- Thanks!! And…As of now, I have NO idea what Willow will be doing at Hogwarts…Which is bad, considering how I'm going to be writing about it in this chapter…Eh, I'm making it up as I go along…
-Yoshi- HEY! Anya's cool! Or, at least she used to be…And I'm looking forward to writing about our…pasts…And you are NOT going to write everything! I AM going to write my share, no doubts about THAT…
-Spuffy the Witch- Thanks for the motivation!
-Riverchick1998- I'm hoping you love it! It's only going to get better!!…I hope…
-Lady di Luce- You liked my disclaimer?!! COOL!!! You deserve a cookie!!! I'm glad someone appreciates my humor!!
-Jo- Hey! Giles is perfect for Slytherin!! And you'll know why, just as soon as Yoshi and I finish writing a prequel to this fic…Gee, I'm ambitious…I haven't even finished this story, and there's a prequel to it…Oh, and I don't know if Buffy and Co. will be making an appearance…That'll end up making my fic longer…And I already have it estimated around…20-something chapters??
-Buffybot76- THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR REVIEWING!! It's so cool that the author of one of my favorite fics is reviewing me!!! ::sigh:: Woooow…
-Stone Coope- You've NEVER read Giles in Slytherin? Really??!! I could've sworn there was another fic where he was one…:) But isn't he better in Slytherin??!!
-Kennie Gajos- I'm glad you're liking the fic!
-Phill- ::ill look:: Don't worry, I wouldn't put Buffy/Spike together, even if my life depended on it…::growl:: Besides, he's mine…As well as Remus, Draco, Severus, Tom Riddle, Ewan McGregor, Ralph Fiennes…
NOTE TO EVERYONE WHO'S REMOTELY INTERESTED: As for a timeline…There really isn't one, per se…Considering how I've butchered it, I think I'm officially making this an alternate universe…But, if anyone needs a reference:
-The fic starts 1 week after the BtVS Season 6 Finale & the summer before HP's 7th year. It'll progress through the Hogwarts year.
-The BtVS Finale is a bit different in my world…Mainly, Willow goes on a rampage because OZ died. Sure, Willow and Tara were still together…But…I'll explain soon…
-I'm not good with ages…But…Let's just say Willow is 23, and Remus/Sirius/Severus are in their late 30's. OC's I'll tell you about later…
If anyone didn't realize it, '____' is a thought.
And now that I've probably completely bored you, ON TO THE FIC!!!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
CHAPTER TWO
"LONDON!!! LAST STOP!!! EVERYONE OFF!!!"
Willow groaned as she glanced around. 'Why does the man have to yell right next to me?' she thought. 'Giles and I are the only two people on the freaking train!!! Bloody British…'
Willow and Giles got up and walked off the train, not having to drag two-ton luggage do the fact that they were the size of erasers in Giles' pocket. She dimly noticed that they were at King's Cross Station, but as she happened to pass a train platform, she certainly felt something…odd.
"Giles?" Willow asked. "Why is there some sort of magical force coming from that wall over there?" She pointed to the wall separating Platforms 9 and 10.
Giles glanced over and laughed. "Ah…I see you've found Platform 9 ¾."
Willow looked at him in amazement and giggled. "9 ¾? Let me guess…This is the entrance to the magical world?"
"Good assumption, Willow, but no. This is simply the way to get on the Hogwarts Express. Students go through this wall at the beginning of each school year and the train is on the other side."
The puzzle pieces finally clicked into place. "Hogwarts is a school?? What a peculiar name…"
Giles smiled. "It's a peculiar name for a peculiar school."
Willow looked up at him excitedly. "Are we going to go through Platform 9 ¾?!"
Giles smiled down at her fondly. 'Ah, it's so good to see Willow so animated again…For awhile there we were quite sure she was a walking corpse…I can see this will be good for her…' he thought.
"Unfortunately, Willow, no. We will be taking quicker transportation. Just follow me." And he led her away from the magical wall, Willow glancing back at it longingly. She could almost hear a train whistling in the distance…And for some reason, she imagined it was red…Like…Scarlet???
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Giles walked briskly, Willow nearly jogging to keep pace with him. Before long, they reached a telephone booth.
"Er…Giles? Why do we need to call somebody in the wizarding world? Do they even have telephones?"
Giles rolled his eyes. "No, Willow, they don't. This is an Apparating Point. In the blink of an eye, we'll be in a small wizarding village called Hogsmeade, and we'll simply get to Hogwarts from there."
Willow simply stared.
Then she babbled. "You mean, like on Star Trek? 'Beam me up, Scotty' and all that? This telephone booth can do that??!! Why haven't any unsuspecting Muggles accidentally transported themselves to the wizarding world? Isn't that rather danger---"
Giles smirked and interrupted her. "Heavens, no, child, you have it wrong! Just watch!"
He pushed her into the phone booth and squeezed in with her. Rather uncomfortable, he fumbled as he wrapped his arms around her in a hug.
Willow raised an eyebrow. "Giles, not that I don't mind a hug now and then, but why---"
And what had once been a view of the train station at night melted away. A brief glance of complete darkness, and some sort of cool wind flapping around her hair, and her vision cleared. Then she gaped.
'So this is Hogsmeade…' she thought.
The only way to describe it was…quaint. Little shops dotted the sides of what she assumed was the main street. A small dilapidated house was in the distance, sitting on top of a hill. Old-fashioned houses were squeezed together in an area separated from the businesses. In other words, just like she imagined an old English village should be.
The only differences were the names of the shops and the people walking around in it.
"Honeydukes…Dervish and Banges…Zonko's Joke Shop…Weasley's Wizard Wheezes…Gladrags Wizardwear…The Hog's Head…The Three Broomsticks?! Can we go inside one of them, Giles? Please??!!" Willow looked up at him pleadingly.
Giles smiled at her childlike actions. "We have to go to Hogwarts first, Willow…We can always visit Hogsmeade during the summer as many times as you want."
Willow smiled. "Yay…So, where's Hogwarts?"
"It's right on the other side of the lake…We'll be taking a boat to get there."
"Cool…Never ridden on a boat before…" So they walked, finally reaching the edge of the lake. A boat waited there, as promised.
"HAGRID???!!!!!"
And Willow gulped.
Huge wasn't sufficient enough to describe this Hagrid fellow. 'He has to be at LEAST 8 or 9 feet tall…And about 5 feet wide…Crikey…' Then she got a good look at him. 'But his aura is so pure…He must have a very kind heart…'
Giles, after being engulfed in a bear hug by Hagrid, turned to Willow, rubbing his sore ribs as he winced. "Willow, may I introduce Rubeus Hagrid: Gamekeeper and Keeper of the Keys at Hogwarts---"
"An' the Care o' Magical Creatures Professor, Ruper'", Hagrid said with a grin.
"Really? Oh, congratulations! I'm so happy for you, Hagrid…Lord knows how perfect you are for the job…Anyway, Hagrid, this is Willow Rosenberg."
Hagrid looked down at her, his black eyes glittering as he smiled. "'t's a pleasure to fin'ly meet you, Ms. Rosenberg."
Willow blushed. "Please, Professor, call me Willow."
Hagrid's smile seemed to widen, although she couldn't tell with his beard covering most of his face. "On'y if you call me Hagrid."
Willow grinned. "Deal."
"Well, I shouldna keep Dumbledore waitin'…He's anxious to see the two o' you." He gestured to the boat. "Hop in."
They all scrambled into the boat, which seemed much more comfortable than it looked. Hagrid rummaged through his coat as he found his wand. Muttering, "Boatawasi", the little boat immediately started rowing itself across the lake.
"Hagrid, I thought your wand was snapped all those years ago," Giles said.
Hagrid smiled. "You've been gone too long, Ruper'." And as the boat continued to glide across the glassy lake, Hagrid explained to Giles what happened. Willow, who wasn't paying much attention (as she was constantly looking everywhere hoping to see this 'Hogwarts'), only caught pieces of the conversation: "…Chamber…Potter…Azkaban…Cleared…" While she was intrigued by these little snippets, she was sure Giles would tell her everything later. Maybe even with diagrams. He looked fascinated enough.
All thoughts flew out of her head as she gasped at the sight before her. 'My God…It's a freaking castle!!' Her mouth gaping, she didn't see Giles and Hagrid looking at each other, grinning and mouthing, "First-timers." As their ride slowed down to a halt by the edge of the lake, she stumbled out of the boat, yelled a "RACE YOU!" over her shoulder, and ran towards the castle.
She had never felt more like a kid in her life.
As the twinkling castle loomed larger, she noticed a tall figure at the entrance steps. She slowed down and walked toward the figure, which turned out to be a man. An old one. With a magical presence stronger than anyone she'd ever encountered. He looked rather frail, but his aura screamed, "POWERFUL!!!"
The elderly man looked down at her, blue eyes sparkling as he smiled. "Good evening, Miss Rosenberg. I am Headmaster Dumbledore. Welcome to Hogwarts."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
As Willow walked down the corridors to the Headmaster's office, with Giles and Hagrid walking behind her, her jaw seemed glued to the floor. Everything was so surreal, so…magical was the only word for it. Portraits of men and women in period clothing were moving, for Goddess's sake! And she could've sworn she saw a ghost floating through one of the walls…
"Brite Crawlers," Dumbledore said…To a gargoyle statue…'Right…' Willow thought. But she later took that back as the statue moved aside, revealing an entranceway. All four walked through, and continued to walk to the office.
His office was even more spectacular. Willow simply gawked some more. It was a large circular room, with a ceiling painted like a sky.
A moving one…
'Everything likes to move around here, huh?' Willow thought.
Portraits of previous headmasters were snoring, which must mean that they liked to sleep early…
'After all, who sleeps at 7 anymore?'
There was also a ratty-looking wizard's hat perched on top of a stool, and a large, clawed-foot desk next to it.
What really fascinated her, though, was the bird sitting on a golden perch behind the door.
Dumbledore, who had sat down behind his desk, saw her looking at the bird, and he smiled. "Yes, Miss Rosenberg, that is a phoenix." The phoenix flew over to land on top of Willow's shoulder. "And apparently, Fawkes seems to like you."
Willow, who had jumped when Fawkes flew to rest on her shoulder, was surprised to find that he was amazingly light. 'Must be a magical creature thing…'
The beautiful red-plumed bird seemed to have a golden glow around him, and when he opened his beak, Willow nearly cried. An eerie, yet heartbreakingly-gorgeous song began to play, and the heavy weight that surrounded Willow's heart seemed to be lifted for that brief moment. Yet, when it ended, and Fawkes flew away to rest back on his perch, she felt strangely empty.
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "Fawkes must really like you…He usually doesn't sing his song for just anybody."
Willow ducked her head, blushing. Then she looked back up to stare at him. "Professor Dumbledore---"
"Please, Miss Rosenberg, call me Albus. That title makes me feel so old…"
"And how old are you, if I may ask?" Willow clamped her hands over her mouth as her face flamed red.
Dumbledore just laughed. "Well, I must say…I haven't been asked that question in quite awhile…To answer you…What is that Muggle phrase? 'Older than dirt', I believe?"
Willow giggled. "You are correct, sir." Dumbledore motioned for her to sit, and she chose a large, squishy black leather armchair. She sat, and slowly began to sink into the chair, her body gradually being folded into itself until her head finally reached her knees. But it was still astoundingly comfortable. She was just stuck speaking to her knees.
"Well, Miss Rosenberg," and he began to rummage around his desk for something, "you're probably wondering why you're here, correct?"
"Yemphf," Willow squeaked, while struggling to sit up properly.
"Well, Willow---may I call you Willow?" and here she squeaked out another "Yemphf", "I am also most likely right in assuming Rupert here didn't tell you anything?"
Willow, who had finally managed to sit up straight, grabbing the arms of the chair for support, said clearly, "Yes, Giles was being his cryptic self."
Dumbledore smiled. Giles scowled. "Well, Willow---AHA!" and Dumbledore finally pulled out a bag, "We were wondering if you would like to stay here at Hogwarts."
Willow gazed at him. Then at Giles. Then back to him. "Profe---Albus, I would love to! I would be honored!!! But…What would I do, exactly?"
Dumbledore's smile grew larger. "Simple. You can teach the Muggle Studies class."
Willow stared.
Giles smirked.
Hagrid beamed.
Dumbledore held out the bag. "Lemon drop?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Well, whaddya think? Too descriptive? Too much bull? Did I babble too much? Do I need to have another hobby other than writing fanfiction?
Tell me, will ya?