A New World

By

Natalie Goldstein

Disclaimer: Connor and any other character from the Buffy and Angel world belong to Joss Whedon. Any character you recognize from the Harry Potter books belongs to JKR. Nothing is mine, not making any profit.

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Connor goes to Hogwarts, but not as a student… (HP/ATS/BTVS x-over)

Spoilers: up to "Peace Out" on Angel, "Chosen" on Buffy and "The Order…" on HP.

Beta Reading: Karen, may her generosity be rewarded with a thousand reviews *grins*

Prologue

Jasmine's corpse lay at their feet, a large gaping hole where her face had once been. For a moment both father and son looked at her in shock.

Angel was the one to break the silence. "Connor… Connor, it's okay, it's over." The boy lifted his head, staring blankly at the vampire; nothing was okay. He didn't hear what Angel said next or hear him call out his name. He turned his back on his father and ran; there was nothing for him there. He wasn't sure how long or far his legs had been carrying him, everything looked the same to him. Sirens, people screaming and crying, it was hell all around.

It took Connor a few seconds to realize that a hush had fallen over the street. Everything around him was shockingly still. The people, the noise, even the wind was gone.

He passed a strange old man who sat on a step of an entrance to a building, looking strangely relaxed amidst the mess around him. Connor turned and started to walk away, too caught up in his own sorrow to deal with anything else at the moment.

"Hello there."

The voice startled him, and Connor turned around to find the old man smiling brightly at him, clearly not frozen in place. Looking around, he realized that the other people were still in their status like state. He frowned, "you're not frozen."

The man smiled at him kindly. "Indeed I am not," he said. He quickly got to his feet; surprising Connor who assumed a man his age would find it more difficult to do. In the last few years of his life, Holtz had been gradually becoming frailer and weaker, and had heavily relied on Connor for protection and food. The old man in front of him, however, looked neither frail nor weak. He stretched for a moment before standing straight, easily towering over Connor. He did not seem threatening though, which didn't surprise Connor as much as it should have. He knew some demons that were masters at the sheep's clothing deal.

"Forgive me for startling you, young man. I have been waiting here quite some time." The old man didn't seem upset about having to wait for whatever reason in a dirty street filled with hysterical people, his voice was quite cheerful. "Your name is Connor Angel, am I correct?"

"Just Connor…" his statement was followed by a beat and then curiosity won out over his innate caution. "Uh, how… why did you…?" Connor waved his hand around aimlessly, his eyes never leaving the old man's face.

"I needed to get your attention." The old man made it sound as though petrifying a bunch of people was the most logical thing to do in order to obtain one's attention. It didn't make Connor any less suspicious.

"Why?" he asked sharply, wishing he had some sort of a weapon besides a stake and a small knife in his boot. Connor doubted he could fight him or 'it.' The white haired man was obviously using magic, and that made him dangerous, however harmless the old man looked. The young man formerly known as "The Destroyer" was wise enough to realize that fighting the strange old man was not an option.  

"I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. " The man said, unaffected by the boy's hostile posture. "My name is Albus Dumbledore," there was a short pause, "And in case you were wondering, I am not a demon."

"You're a…witch, then?" Connor asked.

Dumbledore's smile only got wider. "I've been called many things in my day..." he let the thought pass and coughed politely. "I am a wizard, indeed."

A few days ago, this might have affected Connor in some way.  "Thou shall not suffer a witch to live" Holtz had always said. But after Jasmine's dea… after what happened, he found he didn't care, not anymore. "So," he said dryly, his eyebrow rose. "Are you here to turn me into a frog?"

"Oh no," Dumbledore said with a smile, his eyes twinkling, "I'm here to offer you a job."

TBC

A/N:  reviews are more than welcomed!