For disclaimer, etc. see Chap 1

Author's Notes: I'm very sorry about how long it's taking me to continue all of my stories, but I'm constantly having more ideas and it takes so much longer to write them down than it does to think them up. Please be kind! And although it seems at the moment like Buffy isn't going to be paired with anybody, wait for the Yule Ball. I can't remember if the Yule Ball only happens when the Triwizard cup is on or not, and my sister's borrow my copy of the Goblet of Fire, so I'm just going to say it is on every year.

I know this is a bit short, but I'm strapped for time at the moment, so I figured a little bit to keep people interested would be better than nothing.

Additional Note: Hmmm. That was an interesting experience. I just got flamed for the first time! It was from Mistress of Hogwarts, whom I had just reviewed saying that I couldn't understand her story because the layout was wacked. Coincidence? Go to my reviews and read it. It was actually quite funny; I had this little mental image of her spluttering, all red in the face.

Buffy looked around her, noting with bright eyes the distanced and controlled faces around her. There was definitely something off with this table. All the others were laughing and talking, but this one was conversing quietly, always just to one other person, never a group. Well, maybe they were just shy or something, Buffy thought with forced, failing optimism. She smiled nervously at the girl with long auburn hair to her right, who seemed the only one with a natural expression on her face, as unenthusiastic as it was. "Hi, I'm Buffy Summers," she chirped.

The girl turned to her slowly with an amused, slightly disdainful look, and grinned with a smile that seemed to curve up slowly, with a syrupy quantity like toffee. It wasn't really a nasty smile, but it wasn't welcoming and bright either. "Blaise Zabini."

"So, who is everyone?"

A white-haired boy who was sitting with a relaxed alertness in his shoulders leaned across the table and leaned with royal confidence across the table. He arched an aristocratic eyebrow. "Draco Malfoy. Were there many wizards in California? Were your parents magical?"

Blaise snorted with laughter. "That was Draco's barely concealed attempt to discover whether you're pureblood or not."

Buffy didn't like the vibe she was getting from him, and looked him up and down in a way she knew he would find insulting. "Actually, I come from an ancient line of mystical women." She replied smoothly. She took a moment to admire the golden silverware and plates before reaching for a jug of some sort of fruit juice. She poured herself some, and almost spat it out in surprise when it had a distinctive taste of pumpkin. She decided it was nice though, and took another mouthful, this time swirling it round to get the full taste.

Draco would have spluttered if he hadn't had his rigid, hereditary Malfoy self-control. His only response was a slight pink flush in his cheeks. That a newcomer, and an American at that, would talk back to him, the king of Slytherins! He curled his lip, and spat, "What, did you have lesbian mothers or something?"

She gazed at him calmly, unpreoccupied as she spooned spaghetti on to her plate. "No, not really. I think my father's brother is gay though." She paused, and looked him up and down again with obviously fake sympathetic understanding. "They say there is one in every family, after all. I'm guessing that none of your relatives are gay. It is just one in every family, supposedly."

Blaise burst into laughter, desperately trying to swallow her mouthful of rice before she choked with mirth.

Over at the Gryffindor table, Xander had easily made friendly with the cheerful people surrounding him. So far he'd learned that Hermione, Ron and Henry- no, Harry, were best friends, and that the red-haired girl was Ginny, Ron's little sister, and the round-faced boy who reminded Xander of Jonathan Levinson was called Neville.

"So, you're telling me that there is actually a ceiling up there, not just an open space, and it's enchanted?" He shook his head. "Weird."

Ron swallowed his mouthful with a huge gulp, and took a swig of juice to wash it down. "Yeah, well, you get used to it, I guess. But what're the others like? I bet the blonde's not very nice, yeah? Slytherins never are."

He winked knowingly, a derisive look on his face. It was his mistake. Xander's eyes flashed angrily, his mouth formed a scowl, and his entire demeanour changed. He said coldly. "You will never find a more loving soul than Buffy."

Ron was taken aback, and with apparent bewilderment he shrugged, holding his hands up. "O-kay."

Hermione diplomatically steered the conversation towards something she knew they'd be able to talk about easily: Quidditch. "So, do you play Quidditch?"

Xander smiled, remembering learning the sport and yet going to PE class at the same time. "Yep. I play Beater. But Buff's the real flyer in our group. She has this impossible sense of balance and timing. Guess it comes from fighting."

He froze, and then covered his blip by adding, "Buffy does martial arts."

Harry asked about the team he supported, and then the boys were off in a never-ending stream of passionate remarks. Hermione smiled, and shook her head as she turned to Ginny, who rolled her eyes knowingly. It seemed the new boy would fit in well.

Dawn was getting along quite well with the Hufflepuffs now that her sulk had left the room along with the Sorting Hat. The blonde girl with cornrows seemed nice; her name was Emily Candest and she was very friendly and interesting. There was a girl next to her called Hannah Abbott who seemed a little wary of her, but the rest of the table was greeting her enthusiastically. They fell into a discussion about the classes and the teachers, and Dawn laughed as they told her various stories, pointing out the main players along the way. She even ventured a few of her own, ruthlessly edited. That was when Emily bent her head close, her eyes glinting with satisfaction behind her curtain of hair, and said to her in a hushed, giggly voice, "You see that guy over there? With the black hair and the glasses? That's Harry Potter."

Dawn immediately sat to attention and the gaggle of girls looked pleased they had garnered her interest. She began pumping them for information as subtly as she could. Most of it seemed to be rumours, but in every vein of foolery there is a grain of wisdom, and it was the same with gossip and the truth. Finally, she was helping the cause, and better yet, she was making firm friends with her new housemates in the process.

Willow was having a slightly harder time. The entire table seemed not unwelcoming, but slightly more withheld. However, she began talking with an Asian girl the others called Cho, although whether that was a nickname or her normal, she was unsure. When she began talking about the subject courses and the books she'd read though, they loosened up and they started chatting more easily. Then somebody- Ama?- made a teasing comment to Cho, who flushed, about a boy called Harry. Seeing her confused look, the boy across from her with sandy hair pointed at the Gryffindor table and explained, "Cho used to have this thing for that bloke over there. We don't know if it's finished or not, but we're leaning towards finished. It's all very complicated."

The redhead turned and followed his finger with her eyes, and as her gaze fell upon him he seemed to notice and turned round. He looked a little annoyed at being gawked at like a sideshow, but he smiled at her warmly enough, and Willow felt a little stirring of interest in her veins. Definitely hottie potential, although he needed time to fill out properly. She blushed and ducked her head before hurriedly returning the conversation to the Charms curriculum.

At the professors' table, Giles had discovered the shrewd-looking witch to his left had been in the year above him. His eyes lit up in recognition as she reminded him. "Minnie! Oh- oh dear, I'm quite sorry. I remember now that you hated that name. Minerva. So you are teaching here these days? Which subject? I recount Roy in the year above me used to tell me about how you astonished the class in Transfiguration?"

She smiled with wry amusement. "Yes, and I remember you, Ripper. What happened to you? After you expulsion, you seemed to disappear off the face of the earth."

He polished his glasses in slight embarrassment. "Well, I gained a scholarship to Oxford and Ethan and I continued in our...er...mischief until an accident happened. Then I became a Watcher and settled down, I suppose, working at the British Museum, until Buffy's previous Watcher, Merrick, was killed and I moved to Sunnydale and took over."

She gifted him with a rare smile. "I always knew you'd turn out all right in the end."

As they began to discuss the fates of old schoolmates, Giles felt the warmth of a kinship and familiarity he hadn't felt in a long time.

That night, each of the Scoobies had been given a separate room to themselves in their respective houses, and they slept deep and well. They were safe for the time being; they were amongst friends; they were young; they were learning all the time. Why shouldn't they rest?