Chapter Two

Hogwarts

"Wow."

"Yeah. Wow."

They had just stepped off the Hogwarts Express and most of them were standing there with their mouths open. It was nighttime and across the lake was a castle, a real live castle. Spike was watching the rest with amusement; he had had the same reaction when he had first arrived here.

"Crickey!" They all turned to Xander. "What? All I said was crickey. The crocodile hunter says it all the time."

A large man approaching them saved Xander from any further explanations. They all looked up to the figure towering above them. He wore a rather shabby moleskin coat and had long bushy black hair, and an equally bushy beard. However, in spite of his imposing presence, warm friendly eyes shone through the hair, and a welcoming smile peeked through.

"Ye must be the Americans. I'm Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds here at Hogwarts. I also teach Care of Magical Creatures."

Spike chuckled as the rest stood there gaping. He stepped forward. "Nice to meet ya, mate. Don't mind them, most of them have never seen a giant before. Although, by the looks of ya, you're only half. No matter, I'm Spike, and this here is Buffy Summers, the slayer."

Hagrid's eyes went wide. "Blimey, the slayer. Never thought I'd get the chance t' meet one. Didn't think she'd be this pretty either." Buffy blushed with the praise.

Spike continued on with the introductions, but when he got to Giles, the giants eyes narrowed.

"I remember 'im, the slimy, trouble makin' Slytherin. But since Dumbledore's givin' ya a second chance, I'm willin' to let bygones be bygones." He held his hand out, which Giles took with a look of wonderment.

"A Slytherin, watcher? That's surprising."

"A slimy what?"

"A Slytherin, Buffy. The students are divided into four houses while they are here. The other three are Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Hufflepuff." Spike explained.

"Which one were you in?"

"Wouldn't you like to know whelp. Can we head on to the castle?"

"Sure thing." Hagrid said as he led them to the carriages.

********

As they walked through the halls on the way to Dumbledore's office, Spike couldn't stop the big smile that broke out on his face. He hadn't been on the campus in nearly a hundred years, but that didn't stop the feeling of coming home that he had. All of his favorite memories as a human centered around this place. He recognized portraits, passageways, and even some of the suits of armor. When he had graduated all those years ago, he never imagined that he would be invited back as a professor.

While Spike's memories seemed to lighten his steps, Giles weighed him down. It was here that Ethan had lured him down the wrong path and a time of darkness had occurred. He had been cruel to so many people, played nasty tricks, and had even dared to be disrespectful to his professors. It wasn't until after his expulsion and Randall's death that he had realized the folly of his actions. He was amazed by the fact that he was even allowed back into the school.

The rest of the Scooby gang was not wrapped up in their memories, they were very much in the present. They talked excitedly amongst themselves about the moving portraits and the ghosts floating through the hallways. Anya even joined in with their chatter. Even though she had known of the existence of the wizarding world for several centuries, she had never spent much time around them. Most witches were cable of exacting their own vengeance on their ex-lovers and didn't need her assistance.

Before they knew it, they were standing in front of a gargoyle statue. Hagrid spoke one word, twizzlers, and the gargoyle moved, revealing a staircase. Spike, Hagrid, and Giles were halfway up the stairs before they realized that the rest were still at the bottom of the stairs.

"Come on now! Wouldn't be polite to keep old Albus waiting." Spike yelled down.

The gang shook themselves out of their amazement and hurried up the stairs. The room they entered, however, was even more astonishing than the hidden staircase. Willow's eyes widened with excitement as she viewed all the books in the room, she began calculating how long it would take her to read all the books there.

The others were taking in all the other various objects in the room: a sword, a beat up old hat, and a bowl with a silver liquid in it. But before they could investigate, they were interrupted by the sound of Spike's voice.

"Albus! You're lookin' good mate!"

"I believe that would be the other way around, William." Albus replied with amusement.

Buffy turned to the source of the voice, a rather tall, thin old man who had white hair and beard that reached down to his waist. He looked them over through half moon glasses. Despite his obvious old age, she could feel his strength, determination, and power radiating off of him. Yet, there was a sense of kindness, caring, and even mischievousness about him. She smiled and knew that she liked him immediately. Buffy was shaken out of her study of him by Giles soft voice.

"Professor Dumbledore, I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity. I..."

"Now, now Rupert. I've known for quite some time that you have changed since your years here at Hogwarts. Your slayer here is living proof of that." Albus turned and regarded the rest of the Scoobies. "On behalf of the entire staff, I would like to welcome you here to Hogwarts. I'll introduce you to the rest of the staff tomorrow during breakfast. I thought you would like to ask me any questions you might have, and then retire to your rooms to rest up after your long journey."

After all the introductions were made, they began discussing the classes they would be teaching. Buffy was going to teach a new, required course called Muggle Defense, while Tara and Willow would be teaching an elective on Wiccan Magic. Anya and Giles would also be teaching a new elective class on Demon Classification. Xander would be helping out in various classes, including Muggle Studies and Care of Magical Creatures. However, the surprise came when they learned that Spike would be teaching the Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

"There's just one small problem with that, mate. I've lost my wand, not like I was very good with it in the first place."

"That won't be a problem, William. We shall give you an advancement on everyone's salaries and you can go to Diagon Alley later this week so you may purchase any supplies that you may need."

"There's another thing too, Albus. Can we stop with all this William crap. I haven't been him in a long time, I'm Spike now. That's also how I want to be introduced to everyone, no mention of my last name."

"Very well. Spike. Are there any more questions before we go to bed?"
"Just one, professor. Who is this evil wizard that we are suppose to be protecting the students from?" Buffy asked.

"Ah, yes. I'm not surprised you would ask about Voldemort." Spike raised an eyebrow and Giles hissed.

"So you know this Moldy Wart guy, Giles?"
"Voldemort." Albus gently corrected. "And yes, Rupert was a student during Voldemort's first reign. He had a following of other dark wizards called Death Eaters. They would mostly kill muggles, who are non-magic people, and any wizard who would stand in their way. For a time, I feared that our young Mr. Giles here would join them." Xander snickered at Giles being called young, but quieted when Dumbledore looked at him.

"However, he was stopped by a one-year-old child named Harry Potter. His mother sacrificed herself for him. This act left an unseen mark on him, and when Voldemort turned the killing curse on Harry, it reflected back onto him. It would take thirteen years before he regained both his strength and his body.

"Since his return, he has focused his energies on one thing, killing Harry. He made several attempts last year, the last of which Harry barely survived. Voldemort attacked the school with his legion of death eaters. We were worried that he would try to attack him at his aunt and uncle's house, who are muggles. Because of this, Harry is staying here this summer; you will also meet him tomorrow."

"The poor kid." Tara said with tears in her eyes. "He's been through so much at such a young age."

The rest sat there in stunned silence, until Xander yawned loudly.

"I suggest we retire for the night and continue this discussion in the morning. Hagrid will show you to your rooms."