Timeline Harry Potter - after Order of the Phoenix. Buffy the Vampire Slayer - after Chosen.

Disclaimer None of these characters belong to me. All Harry Potter related characters, settings etc belong to JK Rowling; all BtVS characters etc belong to Joss Whedon.

"Do you know what a Vampire Slayer is?"

This was certainly not what Hermione expected. She swallowed hard, her throat dry and parched.

"Erm, yes, sir, I think so. I mean," she said with a glance a Dumbledore who was watching her intently, "we haven't covered the topic in Defence Against the Dark Arts yet. Not until later this year, I think, but I'm sure I've read about her in a book." She thought for a moment, then said, reciting from memory: "Into every generation a Chosen one is born. She alone will have the strength and skill to stand against the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer."

Mr Giles nodded. "So you aware of the nature of the Chosen one and her destiny?" She nodded, her curiosity written on her face - what had this got to do with her?

The man continued, noticing Hermione's utter confusion. "Up until a few months ago, that was true, with one exception. She alone ... However, a great evil mounted an attack on the forces of good - that is, the Slayer - for ... reasons. This evil, the First Evil, amassed an army of vampires unlike your generic, common vampires, called Turok Han."

Hermione gasped. She had read of the Turok Han at one point. Mr Giles looked slightly taken aback but pleased that she knew of these creatures. Clearing his throat, he continued:

"The First's minions, Bringers -" at this point an image of a deformed human-like creature flashed in Hermione's mind, but she pushed it away - "were despatched round the world to kill all young girls with the Potential to become the Slayer should the current girl die, thus ending the Slayer line with the death of that young woman with no successor. I, as a former Watcher - I shall explain that later - gathered up as many Potentials as I could and brought them to Sunnydale, California where the Slayer lived; where she could protect them."

The red-haired woman coughed suddenly, and raised her eyebrows at Mr Giles, indicating he should speed up. He cleared his throat, then went on. "Er, yes, so ... instead of waiting for the final attack of the First, the Slayer found a weapon, a scythe, which was then used by a powerful witch to unlock the power of the Slayer. That is, every girl that had the Potential became a Slayer, and so the Slayer and her army waged war on the First and won."

The younger man spoke, and Hermione was surprised to hear he was American: "What G-Man is trying to say is that Sunnyhell is now a big crater in the ground and there are hundreds of Slayers all over the world."

Mr Giles gave the young man a withering look. "Thank you, Xander." He turned to Hermione to address her now. "This is Alexander Harris, one of the Slayer's closest friends," he said indicating the man who had spoken. "This is Willow Rosenberg, another of the Slayer's close friends and the witch who unleashed the power of the Slayer." Hermione's eyes widened; the girl was obviously powerful.

Giles had turned away from her now, and indicated the small blonde woman sat next to him. "And this is Buffy Summers. The last, and arguably greatest, of the actual Slayer line itself." The girl reddened and elbowed Giles playfully. Hermione's eyes widened further.

Her attention had been so focussed on the story the man had told her, she had almost forgotten something: "What's this got to do with me?"

The Slayer - or rather a Slayer, now - looked at Hermione. "I think you can feel it deep down inside, even if you don't know it. Hermione, you're a Slayer now."

Silence followed this announcement. Hermione looked at Professor Dumbledore, who had remained silent and attentive throughout the tale. "I'm sorry," she said firmly. "I think you've made a mistake. I'm a bookworm, a good witch. Not a ... a Slayer!" And pushing her chair away, she rose from the table and walked away. They watched her go silently, apart from Buffy, who nudged Giles silently and raised her eyebrows.

Sighing, he removed a dagger from the case at his feet and, at the same time as he called her name, threw the dagger straight at Hermione's head.

Hermione, who was halfway across the room at this point spun round upon hearing her name and did the only thing she could: threw her hands up with preternatural speed and caught the blade inches from her forehead.

She stood perfectly still for a minute, holding the knife. Then, she lowered her arms and silently walked back towards the table.