CHAPTER TWO: THE SCHOOL

The halls of Hogwarts were surprisingly quiet and somewhat creepy.  Buffy's hand drifted to the stake that she'd unconsciously grabbed when she'd entered her room back in London.  She hadn't even noticed that she'd done it, but there it was, resting at the small of her back, tucked into the back of her jeans. 

She knew it probably wasn't necessary for her to be holding onto her stake while walking through Hogwarts, but her senses were tingling fiercely.

She couldn't help but compare what she was feeling now to what she'd felt the entire previous year.  It was definitely different.  When she'd still had her strength and speed, she could still sense the magic within Hogwarts.  Her spidey-sense as Xander had once dubbed it.  But now it seemed to be even more defined.  She made a mental note to ask Giles about that.

She crept stealthily through the corridors and down to Giles' room next to the DADA classroom.  She knocked quietly on the wooden panel next to the portrait keeping the students out of Giles' room. 

"Ripper," she muttered.

The portrait door swung open, and she scanned the room for her mentor.  He was knee deep in books, his shoulders slumped over the desk as he read by candlelight.  He apparently hadn't heard either the knocking or the portrait door opening.

She coughed quietly and Giles jumped.  He swung around and stood up quickly.

"Buffy?" he asked, surprised to see his ward's face.  He could tell even in the dim light that something was wrong.  He just couldn't put his finger on what it was.

"Hey Giles," she whispered.  "I didn't mean to scare you."

Giles stepped forward and gently placed his hand on Buffy's arm.  She was shaking beneath his touch, and Giles was immediately even more concerned.  He gently guided her to the chair he'd been in and sat her down.  He knelt in front of her and clasped her hands in his, surprised by how cold they were.

"What's happened?" he asked gently.  "Is Harry alright?"

Buffy nodded absently, not really hearing the question that he'd asked, but knowing the answer to it anyway.

"Buffy, please, you have to tell me what's happened," he implored.

She lifted her eyes to look into his.

"Do you know someone called Dominic Wood?" she asked quietly.

Giles was taken aback by the random question.  It hadn't been anything he'd been expecting, but he could tell that Buffy wanted an answer.  He cast his memory back through the copious amounts of people he'd met through the years. 

"Dominic…yes.  When I uh…I trained at the Watcher's Council for a year before I was sent to Sunnydale," Giles said.  "He was a Watcher-In-Training."

Buffy nodded.  Hearing that seemed to make it that much more real.

"Uh…why do you ask?  And how do you know Dominic?" Giles asked.

Buffy laughed a little, a slightly hysterical laugh that made Giles shiver with fear.  Not fear of Buffy, but more for her.

"He's my Watcher," she replied.

Giles froze.  Shock, surprise, fear and dread coursed through him and he fought to control his breathing, his mouth suddenly going dry.

"Good lord," he whispered.

Buffy giggled slightly, still in that hysterical way that was scaring even her.

"That was about my reaction," she said. 

"Buffy…I…I don't know what to say," he said quietly.

"That makes two of us then," she replied, shaking off her giggling fit.

Giles stood up and began pacing the length of his room. 

"This shouldn't be possible," he said quietly.  "You're not…at least I thought you weren't…I wasn't aware that you were a Potential."

"I'm not, remember," Buffy said.  She stood angrily.  "You told me that I was never meant to be a Slayer.  That the Ministry had just trained me as one to teach me right from wrong."

Giles stopped pacing and stared at Buffy thoughtfully.  He hadn't thought that this would ever happen to her.  He'd been fairly certain that she would never be a Slayer.  In fact, after the Ministry had stripped her of the spell that gave her the strength and healing, he was certain that Buffy would never have to worry about vampires or demons again.  She could have a normal life…or as much of a normal life as a very powerful witch could hope for.

"It shouldn't be possible," Giles said.  "But…then again, no one knows how Slayers are Chosen."

"I thought the Council chose them," Buffy said.

Giles shook his head.

"No, it's…well, for lack of a better explanation, it's theorised that the Slayers are Chosen by the Higher Powers.  Some think of it as the Powers That Be, others believe that it is God.  The Council doesn't choose them.  They have powerful mages who can sense where a Slayer is in the world."

"They couldn't sense me here," Buffy commented.

"Pardon?"

"The Council…they couldn't sense me when I was at Hogwarts.  Apparently I've been a Slayer since Faith was in hospital."

"Good lord.  Faith!" Giles exclaimed.  "Is she…?"

"Still alive.  She flat-lined apparently," Buffy explained.  "Sort of like how you explained how Kendra was Called when I was still alive.  Except for the tiny fact that I wasn't actually the Slayer back then.  She died for long enough that another Slayer was Called.  Me."

Giles began pacing again.  His mind was working a mile a minute, trying to process what Buffy was telling him.  He couldn't believe that this had happened, and the land of denial seemed to be a much nicer place. 

"Perhaps…well, perhaps the Powers That Be saw the good you did in Sunnydale," Giles theorised.  "Perhaps they thought you best suited to the life of a Slayer."

"Best suited?" she asked, her voice rising in pitch by several notches.  "How is becoming a killer and dying before I'm twenty 'best' anything?"

Giles winced and removed his glasses, polishing them nervously.  Buffy sighed and sank back into her chair.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.  "It's not like it's your fault or anything."

"It's quite alright," he assured her.  "Have uh…did you speak to Dominic in depth about this?"

Buffy sighed and shook her head.  "I kinda wigged," she admitted.  "I'm meant to be meeting him in two days to discuss stuff."

"Would you like for me to accompany you?" he offered.

Buffy paused, considering Giles' suggestion.  As much as she would have liked to have taken Giles up on his offer, she knew that this was something that she needed to do by herself.  It was something that she was meant to do by herself.

"Thank you, but…no.  I-"

"Need to do this on your own," he finished for her.

Buffy nodded thankful that he understood.

"I just…I just needed to tell you about all this," she explained.  "That's why I came."

"Perhaps tomorrow at Willow's dinner you'll be able to speak to Faith about all of this," Giles suggested.  "Get her input."

"Two Slayers," Buffy mused.  "I'm surprised it hasn't happened before.  I mean…properly.  Not with the messed up not-a-Slayer business back in Sunnydale."

"No doubt the Council will be very curious," Giles mused.

Buffy sighed and rolled her eyes.  It was strange to think that she hated the Council even when she'd never technically met anyone from within the organisation.  Besides Wesley of course, but strangely enough, Buffy trusted the man.  Perhaps it was because he was an ex-Hogwarts student.  Perhaps it was also because she could see the genuine affection that Wesley held for Faith.  From what little Buffy knew about Watcher's, she knew that they weren't supposed to be all that close to their charges.

"Don't suppose they'd let you be my Watcher," Buffy said, pouting at Giles.

Giles chuckled slightly, truly touched by Buffy's suggestion.

"Somehow I doubt it," he replied.  "I was never given the full training required to become a Watcher.  That and it's a family business.  My family was never connected with the Watcher's Council."

"Well, it was worth a shot," Buffy grumbled.

"Do you wish for me to inform Professor Dumbledore?" Giles asked.

Buffy just shrugged. "That man has a knack for always knowing what's going on.  It wouldn't surprise me if he'd known for the last three weeks.  God…I'm a Slayer."

"That would explain your restlessness," Giles said, looking thoughtful.  "You mentioned that you had more energy than usual."

"Is that why my spells have been going nuts?" Buffy asked.  "I scared half the Seventh Year Transfigurations class to death when I made that tiger."

"It's possible," Giles said.  "Though in theory you should be used to possessing more power."

Buffy shook her head and leant forward in the chair.

"That's the thing Giles.  The Ministry was all gung-ho about taking away this extra power that I had, but…all they ever took from me was the physical stuff.  It wasn't about having less power.  I just wasn't as strong."

"So, you believe that the spell that the Ministry put on you three years ago was only to enhance your strength?" Giles asked.  "It had nothing to do with your magic?"

"It makes sense though, doesn't it?  The Ministry weren't about to make me stronger in my magic.  It was just about the strength.  So…now that I really am the Slayer…wouldn't it stand to reason that I would be stronger in the magical department as well?" Buffy theorised.

Giles looked vaguely surprised by Buffy's logical explanation of it all.  It did make sense.  The Ministry hadn't been able to make Buffy the Slayer, that was literally impossible.  It was only the Powers That Be who could chose who became a Slayer.  And now that Buffy had officially been Called, her strength in all departments had increased dramatically.

"I suppose we should now be grateful that Cornelius Fudge is no longer the Minister of Magic," Giles commented.

Buffy nodded her agreement.  She'd had the same thoughts about that subject.  It seemed as though the new Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, would be far more reasonable in his newly acquired position.

"What about Sara?  Does she know?" Giles asked curiously.

Buffy winced.  She shook her head.  "How am I meant to tell her that?  'Oh, by the way, your daughter who you only really met for the first time six months ago, she's actually a Slayer who's probably going to die in the next three years'.  I'm sure that'd go down really well," Buffy said morosely.

Giles winced and frowned at the imagery that Buffy was making.  He couldn't exactly deny Buffy's words.  He'd been well versed in the Council's methods, and though he didn't agree with them, he knew that there was very little chance that a Slayer would make it past twenty-five if they were lucky.

"You have to tell her Buffy," Giles implored.

Buffy sighed and glared at him.

"Fine.  But if she has the same reaction that mom…that Joyce had, then I am not gonna be happy."

---

Wow…lotsa feedback for the first chapter.  Many thanks!  Glad you're liking this thing so far. 

A lot of you commented about Dominic not knowing about the whole Elizabeth/Slayer/witch thing.  If you go back to AMD, you'll see that Buffy's training as a Slayer was kept incredibly secret within the Council.  Only about five people actually knew about it, and Dom wasn't told who she is.  He's got no clue (about a lot of things really…)

Toodles.

DKG.