Chapter 20
Journeys
- - - - -
The next morning reminded Buffy of the morning just two days before when she'd been rushed to get to Diagon Alley. Soon, trunks and cages and broomsticks were neatly stacked outside the rickety house and Buffy grinned, pleased by her own work of toting all of the bags outside.
There was a small pop as Mr. Weasley appeared. Several more 'pop' noises sounded as four others Apparated into the Kitchen. Buffy noticed the three members from the Order of the Phoenix as well as a fourth person, a man who stared at her. A sudden suspicion struck her. He must've been told beforehand who she was.
"She is indeed the firstborn of James and Lily," the man said, turning his dark eyes to Mr. Weasley. "Well, your Advance Guard has arrived, Potter... Harry... It's going to get confusing with two of them."
"She can hold her own," Mr. Weasley said easily as he glanced at the five who were still sitting at the breakfast table, finishing up plates of bacon and eggs that Molly had made for them. "All right, you lot?"
"We're good, Dad," Ron said with a small yawn. He finished up the last of his juice and all five of them stood up and began sorting through their Hogwarts possessions. Fred and George appeared and used their wands to levitate all of their luggage to the large Ministry car waiting in the driveway. Mr. Weasley explained to them that these four members of the Order had brought the vehicle for the others to use. The Ministry allowed the use of their car specifically for transferring the two Potter children.
"That's Kingsley Shacklebolt," Harry muttered to Buffy as they followed Fred and George outside. All of their luggage had been restored to normal size and was neatly tucked inside the vast trunk. Buffy wasn't too surprised to see it'd been magically altered in size. "He's an Auror, just like Tonks. He's also in the Order, just like the others."
Buffy nodded and quickly moved to introduce herself to the other man. He looked surprised, but grateful as he finally shook the hand of the woman he'd heard so much about but had never been face-to-face with. "It's good to meet you at last, Miss Potter," he said in his slow, deep tone.
Buffy smiled up at him. "It's good to meet another prominent figure in the Magical world," she replied as they both turned toward the large sedan. He held the door open for her, but before she could get inside, two arms encircled her shoulders and pulled her backwards. She let out a startled cry which quickly melted away into laughter as she saw the wounded looks on the twins faces.
"We would have been mortally wounded if you hadn't said goodbye to us, Teeny," Fred said, looking extremely put out.
"Extremely," George nodded, releasing her. "But if it's all the same, we're going to miss you--"
"-- a lot," Fred finished up for George. "Don't forget."
"We'll be sending you owls every day," George promised with a wink.
"Or every week," Fred said, frowning.
"Once a month ought to do it," George said, grinning.
"If you don't send me an owl once a month, I'll think you've forgotten me," she said softly, hugging each one of them. They had been so wonderful to her this past month, with the silly nicknames and the practical joking. It was their lightheartedness and their laughter which had truly made her feel at home in this house full of perpetual strangers. George held onto her a few seconds longer than necessary, his hand traveling down to her waist, as though to hold her to him. She pulled back and smiled up at him, her hand gently touching his face. "I'm going to miss you."
"I'll miss you," he said, not taking his eyes off of her. She finally broke eye contact and grinned at Fred, who grinned back.
"Behave, you two," she growled as she slid into the backseat. "If I hear that you've gotten out of line, I'll have to repay you."
"That sounds like a threat," George said threateningly.
"It's just a promise," Buffy said with a sunny smile. "Friends?"
"Friends," George said, but he couldn't resist touching her arm again.
Harry pushed George aside and gave him a threatening look. "If you look at her that way again..." he started, before Ginny brushed past him and slid inside the backseat next to Buffy. Unable to finish his sentence, he merely glared at the twins before getting in next to Ginny. The others soon joined them and Moody clunked around on his wooden leg, staring down at the car.
"We'll see you lot at the station," he said, tipping his old bowler's hat before Disapparating. Lupin, Tonks and Kingsley all got into the vehicle, with Mr. Weasley behind the wheel. Mrs. Weasley got inside with the other five children while Percy and the twins looked on, enviously.
"You're going to have a fantastic year," Percy said quietly, waving all the same.
"You're going to have a stupendous year!" Fred said in a loud voice, glaring at his older brother. Both Ron and Ginny waved goodbye to their older siblings as the car started down the long driveway and began rolling along the calm scenery.
The car seemed to be doing things an ordinary Muggle car couldn't, Buffy thought to herself. It seemed to be moving a lot faster, because in one moment there was nothing but rolling green hills and within the blink of an eye, they were pulling behind a line of traffic on the edge of London.
Twenty minutes later, they'd arrived at the train station. Buffy laughed as Moody suddenly appeared with trolleys. Once everyone's luggage was sorted out, five separate trolleys rolled into the train station and Buffy was finally given her ticket. It was gold and smelled brand-new.
"Platform nine-and-three-quarters?" she asked in confusion as she followed Mrs. Weasley and Ginny through the terminal. "I wonder what that is?"
As soon as they reached the gate, Mrs. Weasley glanced up at the clock. "There's still about twenty minutes to go--"
Her voice was suddenly cut off as the Potter girl standing behind her let out a small scream. Harry turned in time to see his sister running past him and disappearing into the crowd. "What was that?" he asked aloud.
Ron's eyes were widening as he saw someone holding the small-boned blonde. "Beats me," he said, his voice full of the same confusion.
"Giles? Giles? Giles!" Buffy had thrown herself into the arms of an older man. Ron was glad his brothers weren't here to see this. They probably would have been furious.
But, there was a second person there too, now. She was a girl and about the same height as Buffy, only with brilliant red hair. Buffy squealed out loud again, said, "Willow!" at the top of her lungs, before launching herself into the arms of the redheaded girl, too.
Harry took a few steps towards her, but Hermione caught his arm and shook her head, putting a finger to her lips.
Buffy pulled back from the redheaded girl, her eyes full of disbelief. "Giles, Wil... what are you doing here? In London?" Her words were tumbling over one another, but she didn't care. The second she had seen her former Watcher, she had thrown herself into his arms. He had been so much a father figure to her. And after that last conversation with Xander, she knew now why he had avoided the topic of Giles' destination. Because that destination happened to be right where she was at this very moment.
"We had to come and see you," Willow said, hugging her best friend again. "It's been two months, Buffy. And no word!"
"I called last night!" Buffy said with a tiny pout as she pulled back again. "Xander told me you'd gone to the market!"
"I guess it's mere coincidence we're here at the same time," Giles explained. "We just got off the train at platform ten and were on our way into London."
"Whoa," Willow said in a low voice. "You're starting to talk like Giles."
For once, Buffy didn't look mortified. She just smiled. "I might as well learn their lingo, right?" she asked. She suddenly saw Harry out of the corner of her eye and beckoned him forward. Hermione released his arm and he walked until her arm was easily over his shoulders. "Harry, there are two people I want you to meet," she said in a cheerful voice. She pointed to Giles. "This is Rupert Giles. He's my former Watcher and someone who has always been like a Father to me." She gestured to Willow. "And this is Willow, my best friend from California."
"Hello," Harry said, nodding at each one of them.
"And this is Harry," she said proudly, her eyes shining as she smiled at him, "my younger brother."
"Wow," Willow whispered, leaning over to whisper at Giles, "look at their faces."
"I can see it in their eyes," Giles murmured softly.
"Did you know they were coming?" Harry asked uncomfortably. He could see that his Advance Guard was already shooing Hermione, Ron and Ginny through the barrier. They didn't have much time. Only Mrs. Weasley stayed behind and off to the side, although she clearly in hearing distance.
"They were just about to explain to me why they're here," Buffy said quietly, turning back. But before Willow could reply, Giles handed her a small, flat box.
"This should explain everything," Giles said, leaning over and hugging her quickly one last time. "You best be going. Your protection doesn't look too thrilled about us old humans being around."
"It really was good to see both of you," she said quietly. Her eyes had filled with tears as she thought about the past two months without the two people she had counted on the most. "I'm glad you guys were here."
"So were we," Willow said, brushing her own tears aside as she hugged Buffy tightly one last time. "Take care of yourself, Buffy. Just know that we're still here for you."
Buffy held onto her for another moment before Mrs. Weasley started clearing her throat and sending obvious glances towards the giant clock. They had less than fifteen minutes now. "Bye," she said, waving at them both as she returned to Mrs. Weasley, who suddenly took her hand and ran towards the barrier.
Buffy blinked and realized they'd gone through it. Harry appeared behind them and they both collected their carts, which had been pushed in by Lupin and Tonks. After stowing her luggage, Buffy stepped back down on the platform, suddenly realizing she was attracting a lot of attention.
There were people whispering, including those she'd already met. The black boy who'd been so fond of Ginny had stopped her as she moved back toward the Order members and the Weasley family. "Are you really Harry's sister?" he asked curiously.
She nodded. "I am Harry's sister."
He'd moved on, still not convinced, but not calling her on it either. She moved until she was at Harry's side. He noted the look on her face and chuckled. "For once, I'm glad I'm not the center of attention."
He moved forward to say goodbye to Lupin and the other members of the Order, who were hugging Hermione and Ginny. Ron had already grabbed his owl's cage and was on his way to the Prefects compartment.
Buffy took one step forward until a gentle hand touched hers. "I daresay you're attracting all of the attention," a Scottish voice breathed into her ear.
Buffy allowed herself a small laugh as the same hand pulled her behind a column, hiding both of them from view. "I only know of one attention span I'd like to attract," she said slyly, looking up at him. He grinned down at her, pushing a fair bit of her hair behind her ear.
"You really are something else, Potter," Oliver said, his eyes shining as he bent down to talk into her ear. "But then again, that's why I like you."
She was about to ask what he meant when the five minute whistle sounded. She saw Harry and the others brush past toward the train and started to go after him when an arm came from behind, holding her back. She fell against him and her eyes widened slightly as his arm tightening in a strange sort of awkward hug. Her hand fell on top of his as she turned around to look up at him. "You know?" she asked softly as she reached up to touch his face. "You're all right, Oliver Wood." Her heart was still beating a bit too fast for her liking as she pulled her hand away.
To her surprise, he caught it, his fingers gently stroking hers. "I'll be seeing you again, Buffy," he said with his calculating smile. "But I am glad I caught you here before you boarded the Express."
"I am excited about it," she admitted. She heard her name being called out and chose to ignore it. She still couldn't tear her eyes away from those brilliant blue eyes. "But I guess I can wait to see you again."
He tilted his head to the side. "I promise I'll make my next visit completely worth it," he said, bending down and kissing her cheek. "No more of these three minute meetings."
"It's a deal," she said with her brilliant smile as he released her hands and she turned to walk away. But, almost as though there were invisible ropes holding her back, she turned and disappeared back behind the column and pulled him to her. Their faces were no more than an inch apart when her lips gently met his, coming together in a kiss full of anxiety, apprehension, and nerves. But there was something else behind it. She started to pull away when his hand came to her neck, pulling her in deeper. When they finally broke apart, she couldn't take her eyes off of him, her breath catching in her throat.
"There's more where that came from," she said with a sly smile as she finally pulled away. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley saw her and quickly rushed forward to say their own goodbyes.
She thanked them again for allowing her to stay for a month in their home. After hugging each one of them, she boarded the train and found herself getting misty-eyed as the one world she knew seemed to melt away into a sea of smiling faces and waving arms.
She saw Oliver near the barrier, giving his own version of a wave. She knew she had surprised him with that kiss, but she had felt daring, even bold. She wanted to make him feel that he needed to see her again. She had just given him that reason.
Harry was pulling on her arm as the train left the station. He led her down the corridor into the last compartment. Inside, Buffy saw that there were two people already sitting. She recognized neither one of them.
"Buffy, this is Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood," he said, gesturing towards both of them. "And Neville, Luna, this is Elizabeth Potter, my sister."
Both of them looked at her in surprise, but didn't ask any questions. As Buffy shook hands with both of them, she felt it was better this way.
"Of course, she'll knock you halfway to Mars if you don't call her Buffy," Harry said in a teasing voice, his eyes shining as he glanced affectionately at the sister he'd met just a short month before.
Then again, maybe it wasn't better.
- - - - -
Ginny, Ron and Hermione didn't reach their compartment until after the elderly witch had come by with the trolley of sweets. Harry had bought a little of everything in the hopes of introducing Buffy to their world of candy. Of course, she was thrilled when he told her that they did, indeed, have chocolate.
"Try one of these," he said as Ginny, Ron and Hermione made themselves comfortable, all three of them looking slightly grouchy since their meeting in the Prefects carts. He handed his sister a box with the chocolate frogs in them. "They're not real frogs. They're charmed for a jump."
Buffy squealed when the frog leapt into her lap once she'd pulled open the box. Grasping the frog, she gingerly tore off it's hind legs and stuck one of them inside her mouth, her eyes on the ceiling and finally closing with pleasure when she realized that they were truly chocolate.
"It's not just the chocolate," Ron said, aghast, "but you also want the cards! Everyone collects them!"
Luna Lovegood looked up over her copy of The Quibbler. Her translucent eyes were so transfixed on Ron that he blushed brightly and gently detached the box from Buffy's fingers. "See?" he said gently, pulling out the card. She read it, fascinated.
"I didn't know your world could be so much fun," she said with a quiet smile.
"It's all this and more," Harry replied, handing her a box. "These are Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans."
She looked at him skeptically before gingerly opening the box and peering inside. "They're jelly beans," she said quickly. "What's so magical about these?"
"When they say every flavor," Harry said tragically, "they mean every flavor. There's your basic strawberry and peppermint. But they also have dirt and grass and even vomit." A disgusted look crossed his face as he took the box from her and cast his own woeful glance inside. "Just watch out for the orange ones unless you want an entire compartment of sick Gryffindors in here."
"Excuse me," Luna said, finally coming alive at last.
"Make that all Gryffindors and a Ravenclaw," Harry said hurriedly after muttering an apology to the other girl, who gave him a slight smile and turned back to her magazine.
"What are you reading anyway?" Buffy asked curiously.
"My father owns this magazine," Luna said, looking pleased that this other girl was paying her any attention. "It's called The Quibbler. Some might not thing it's very informative reading--" She cast a dark look towards both Ron and Hermione. "But I happen to think that learning about the Blue-Belled Bortles is a good experience, especially for those of us that actually take Care of Magical Creatures."
Buffy bit her lip to hold in her laughter and took the magazine the other girl had extended towards her. "It looks... fascinating," she said. "Do you mind?"
Luna shook her head and reached for the abandoned box of the jelly beans, absentmindedly eating one after the other, her face not giving any indication on which flavor she may have stumbled over. Buffy read the magazine curiously, her eyebrows lifting, especially when she came across articles accusing the Minister of Magic of bewitching his goblins to speak Cantonese just to confuse the poor patrons or else the barkeeps serving veritaserum with the lagers.
She finally turned another page and saw a few pyramids with funky symbols drawn on the sides. Flipping the magazine over, Buffy could tell they were runes. Since this was a subject she had a slight amount of interest in, she stared at the picture for a few moments until Luna spoke up quietly from her corner again.
"If you read the runes correctly," she said, "it'll give you a spell to instantly change the color of your fingernails. See?" She held out her hands. Her nails were flickering from blue to gold to scarlet in the blink of an eye. "Of course, with every new issue, there are different spells?"
"All rubbish," Hermione snapped over The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6. "I can't believe you even picked that up."
"She has a mind of her own, too," Luna said quietly, taking her magazine back from Buffy with a slight tug. "We'll just leave it at that."
When Luna said that, Buffy's eyes dropped down to the small box sitting next to her along the windowsill. She picked it up and opened it. A necklace fell out, along with a letter.
Buffy,
Faith thought you might like this. Use it wisely.
Giles
Buffy lifted up the necklace and held it to the light. It was a brilliant emerald green with tiny, glowing stones that seemed to radiate in the air itself. But the closer Buffy looked at the tiny stones, the more she realized that they weren't stones at all.
They were liquid.
She made a mental note to ask Hermione about them later. As the ride continued on, Ron brought out his chess set and Harry lost spectacularly in front of his sister. Blushing as he scooped up the remnants of his pieces, he had just put them away when a hard knock sounded on the door to their compartment before it opened, admitting three people.
Buffy had seen them before at Diagon Alley.
It was Malfoy.
But he wasn't looking at Harry. He was looking at the blonde, who sat across from Luna and next to both Ron and Hermione. Her eyes were gazing at him and she looked almost bored.
"Getting bored silly sitting with this lot?" he asked in a haughty voice, drawing himself up to his full height.
She arched a single eyebrow and gazed up at him. "Wouldn't you like to think so?" she asked archly.
"I didn't expect you to be a student," he continued, looking slightly impressed. She felt Ron stiffen next to her and she narrowed her eyes dangerously.
"There's a lot you don't know about me," she said quietly. There was anger in her eyes and Ron knew it was a danger sign.
"Is there?" he asked haughtily, turning to Harry. "Rumor has it that your sister is on this train. Where is she?"
"You were looking at her," Harry said quietly.
Draco's silver eyes widened as he turned back to the attractive, petite blonde still staring up at him. He then glanced back at Harry, shaking his head violently. "No way..."
"Way," Buffy replied, her voice still quiet and deadly calm. "I'm Elizabeth Potter and I can't really say it's been a pleasure because you're a pain in my arse."
Malfoy's eyes widened even more as he turned back to Harry, who nodded very seriously. "She's your sister?"
"In the flesh," Ginny said quietly from next to Harry.
"I'm Draco Malfoy," he finally said, sizing up the small blonde.
"I'm bored," she said with that infuriating, sarcastic smile of hers. "Who's your muscle?"
"Crabbe, Goyle," he said archly, pointing to each one of the two boulder-sized boys on either side of him, who grunted in turn.
"I don't suppose they actually know how to talk," Buffy said playfully. "I mean, there are only so many things a girl like me can understand."
Draco's eyes narrowed dangerously. Hermione let out a low whistle under her breath. Buffy was really pushing Draco's buttons, and she looked as though she were truly enjoying it.
"I'd watch my back if I were you, Potter," Draco spat.
Buffy crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat, grinning at him. Draco couldn't tell why she was smiling at him like that. Was she laughing at him? He was already angry and her smiling at him like that was making him even angrier. "As long as you're not watching my back," she said quietly. "I'm great."
"Don't expect us to treat you like you're something famous," Draco snarled.
"Don't worry. I won't." Her eyes were cold now, not quite reaching the warmth from her sunny smile. "Should I treat you like you're some famous Wizard or something?"
"Do you even know who I am? Do you know who my Father is?"
"Do I look like I care? And besides, I thought your dear old Daddy was in jail."
Harry watched the exchange, amused. Buffy could meet Draco insult for insult. And she was really enjoying herself. She had that bright smile on her face and kept tossing her hair back and talking in an infuriating, sweetly voice.
Malfoy finally glared around the compartment before stalking out, Crabbe and Goyle at his ankles.
"That was fun," Buffy said, leaning back in her seat and reaching for another chocolate frog. "I can't believe I get to do that all year. All of the things I've ever wanted to say to Spike go right back to that little maggot."
She knew they were looking at her as though she could explain further, but she didn't. She just sat there with a funny little smile on her face, breaking off bits of chocolate and looking as though she had just won the lottery.
Soon, shade began to fall through the compartment. The boys were shooed away as the girls all changed into their Hogwarts robes. Both Hermione and Ginny pinned their Prefects badges onto their lapels and modeled their robes for each other, laughing as they polished each other's badges.
Buffy smoothed her long black robes, finding that her ensemble was missing something. She wasn't wearing the gold and red that everyone else wore, except for Luna, who wore Ravenclaw's colors.
"You have yet to be sorted?" Luna asked her quickly as Ron, Harry and Neville were let back into the compartment. Two more followed in, both of them turning to Ginny, teasing her about the shiny Prefects badge. She blushed bright red as the black boy bent down and folded her in a huge hug. Buffy didn't miss the significant look Ron had given Harry nor the faint blush creeping up Harry's face. He still had feelings for the youngest Weasley.
"I guess I do," she said, quickly smoothing her long robes and setting her owl's cage on top of her seat. "I really hope Onyx knows where she's going."
"Owls are trained really well," Hermione assured her. "Don't worry. Your owl will find her way back to you."
"I hope so," Buffy said quietly. "I really want to keep that owl active, if you know what I mean."
Hermione laughed as the train came to a stop. "Just leave everything here. It'll all be attended to. We should get going."
Everyone was getting off the train. Buffy found herself pushing ahead so that she could see what the school her parents and brother adored looked like. She found herself staring at a few large trees and a larger body of water ahead of them. Someone was calling out "First years, this way. First years, this way!"
A large figure stopped right in front of her. "All right, yeh three?"
"Hello, Hagrid," Harry said pleasantly from behind his sister. Buffy felt her jaw drop as her eyes traveled up to look at the biggest man she'd ever seen. He had thick, wirey and wild hair and large, dark eyes hidden behind his hair. His beard twitched and Buffy reckoned she might have caught a smile her. "This is she, isn't it?" Hagrid asked, gesturing toward the tiny blonde standing in front of Harry.
Harry nodded.
"Well, we'll be givin' her the same tour as teh firs' years, then," Hagrid said, lifting his arm and gesturing her forward. She took a few bold steps forward and he took her by the cuff of her cloak and led her forward to where a large group of terrified first-years were standing. Buffy took little comfort in realizing they were nearly as tall as she was.
She turned back and saw that Harry and the others were pushing their way through the thick crowd to where dozens of carriages sat. Buffy found herself punted forward with her crowd and was soon sitting in a small boat alone. One other first-years got inside and looked at her curiously.
"Hi," she said quietly, extending her hand.
"You're..." the girl gasped, her eyes wide. "I've heard of you!"
"Yeah, yeah, join the lines," Buffy muttered, crossing her arms and leaning back as the small boat suddenly swept gracefully into the water, carrying them across the lake.
"I heard about you from my brother," the girl replied, looking over her shoulder to regard the older girl curiously. "I just found out you're the sister of the boy-who-lived."
Her voice was held in such awe, but something else was bothering Buffy. "Who's your brother?" she asked curiously.
"Oliver Wood," the girl replied.
Buffy's eyes widened. "Your brother is Oliver?" she asked in a calm, quiet voice.
"He likes you," the younger girl informed her. "I've never seen anything like it. He's home this season because of the war. He was really bummed about it, but he's happy now. I'm Laurel, by the way. Laurel Wood."
"Elizabeth Potter," she said, finally shaking the hand of the younger girl. "It's good to meet you, Laurel."
"Would you look at that," Laurel suddenly breathed.
Buffy turned around slightly as suddenly a castle appeared over the hill and in the darkness, she could see it in all of its majesty. "Oh my God," she whispered as they drew closer. "It's a real castle! It's really real!"
"It's just like how my brothers told me it was," the little girl said, her own blue eyes wide as they both gawked at the castle until they finally drew into a cavern.
There were two people waiting. Both of them wore long robes. Buffy recognized Minerva McGonagall immediately. Since Buffy and Laurel's boat was one of the first to land, Minerva swept forward, bringing with her a second teacher.
"Hello, Hagrid," she said to the large man, who was starting to gather the new students. "I'm going to borrow our Miss Potter because we think she'd like to be sorted separate from the first years. I will see you all soon."
Buffy gave Laurel an encouraging smile before heading off between the two Professors.
"Welcome to Hogwarts, Miss Potter," Professor McGonagall said.
Buffy felt like she was in Diagon Alley again. There was too much to see as she was led up the front steps and into the Entrance hall. Behind them, the carriages were being drawn by these odd-looking black things that looked like horses, but didn't somehow. The other students were coming.
"This way, Miss Potter."
"Please, call me Buffy," she told her as Professor McGonagall led her into the Great Hall. "Oh, wow..." The walls were adorned with armor and large banners with animals on them. Four long tables were set up with long benches for the students.
What caught her eye was the floating, enchanted candles hanging in mid-air. And beyond that was a swirling mass of blue and purple on the ceiling, in which twinkling silvery orbs floated. "That looks like the night sky," she said to herself as she was led to the front of the Hall, where another Professor was waiting for her.
"This way," he said, gesturing toward a small room to the side of what she determined to be the faculty table.
Inside was a small stool and an old, rickety hat. Professor McGonagall led her to the stool and lifted the hat. "If you will put this on your head, it will sort you into the House where you will spend the next year. Your House will be like your family."
"Okay," Buffy said with a nervous chuckle as she sat down and pulled the old hat onto her head.
Lots of courage, it whispered, self-sacrificing and has never been more loyal. There is talent there, too, oh, yes and a brilliant mind to go with it. And a second Potter, this was unexpected. You'll do great in... Gryffindor!
Buffy let out a long sigh of relief as the hat was lifted off of her head by Professor McGonagall.
"You may go out and join your Housemates," she said quietly as Buffy quickly ran from the room and back into the Great Hall, where the other students had already gathered at their long tables, chattering loudly. Keeping her eyes on the enchanted ceiling, she finally spied Harry and ran to meet him.
"Buffy!" Harry said happily, seeing the excited look on her face. "Are you in Gryffindor?"
"I'm in Gryffindor!" she said happily, throwing her arms around him and hugging him briefly before taking the seat to his left.
Everyone grew silent as the group of first-years walked in, with Professor McGonagall leading them. The door next to the faculty table opened and Hagrid took his usual seat. Harry waved at him and Hagrid waved back, beaming.
Buffy elbowed Harry and pointed to a dark-haired girl with bright blue eyes. "See that girl? That's Oliver Wood's sister."
"She is?" Ron asked from across the table as he turned and looked at the tiny girl. "Did you know that Oliver had a sister?"
Harry shook his head. "I knew his brother was already here," he said, pointing to a sandy-haired boy seated with the rest of the chattering fourth-years. "That's Spencer, his other brother."
Buffy wondered if he knew about her, too. "It's nice to finally put a name to all these faces," she said as she patiently awaited Professor McGonagall to speak again.
To her surprise, it was the hat that suddenly came to life and broke into song.
Everyone applauded when the hat finished its song. Hermione paused in clapping and leaned over to talk to both Harry and Ron. "It seems to know something is up!"
Harry looked moderately put out about something, but didn't say anything. Professor McGonagall pulled out her long roll of parchment and began to read the list.
"This is how you're usually sorted," Harry explained as a new Gryffindor joined the table. Everyone was clapping loudly as the boy sat down, blushing a deep shade of red. Buffy was very interested in where Laurel Wood was going to be placed.
Once the younger students had been placed in a House, they joined their table happily. Buffy watched as only two students remained. Laurel Wood was called and Buffy spied her older brother craning his neck to see where his little sister would be placed. When she was picked for Gryffindor, everyone cheered, including Buffy.
Professor Dumbledore suddenly rose and with an air of crackling electricity, the Hall quieted down once more. "Tuck in," he said, gesturing toward their tables, which were suddenly filled with food.
"Oh, wow!" Buffy murmured as the table in front of her filled with many, many delicious dishes. She bent over, deeply inhaling a platter of baked chicken. She picked a bit of everything, happily filling her plate and digging in with the rest of the students. It was then that she noticed someone at the faculty table was staring hard at her. Harry noticed him too and frowned.
"That's Professor Snape," Harry muttered. "He teaches Potions and he's a slimy git. Don't provoke him. He loves any excuse to take away House points for Gryffindor. He's also head of Slytherin House."
"He looks evil," Buffy said quietly as she chewed thoughtfully. He was still staring hard at her. She didn't break eye contact. His dark eyes bore into hers until he finally turned away to talk to the Professor next to him.
"Someone's missing," Hermione said suddenly, her eyes narrowing as she saw an empty seat on the other side of Professor Flitwick.
"Yeah," Ron muttered. "The next nut to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts."
Buffy frowned at Harry's confused expression. "I wonder who's got the position. I mean, it is cursed, isn't it?" Harry asked curiously as he spooned more potatoes onto his plate.
"Sure is," Ginny agreed. She looked worried for a moment.
Buffy was looking at Professor Snape again. This time, he didn't look away.
When dinner disappeared, the empty platters and dishes were replaced by deserts. Buffy felt her stomach rumble slightly and her mouth watered as every single flavor of ice cream imaginable, not to mention fruits she didn't even know the name of.
"All right, Harry?" a voice called from above them. A few seventh-year girls were standing around them. "You never told us you had a sister."
"I do," Harry said proudly, wrapping an arm over Buffy's shoulders. "Katie, this is Elizabeth, err... Buffy." Buffy smiled at the pretty blonde-haired girl standing up in front of her. "Buffy, this is Katie Bell. She'll be one of your roommates."
"We already had five in our room," Katie explained quickly, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, "but they told us we could take the biggest dorm and add the extra bed, if you don't mind sharing with us." She turned around and introduced the two girls standing behind her. "These are two of the other four. This is Emma and Yasmine."
Both girls said hello and shook hands with the second Potter. All three of them were still looking at her oddly, as though waiting for her to explain how she could possibly be a Potter. Harry felt a pang of sympathy for his older sister. It was going to be difficult to convince a school full of non-believers that she truly was a child of James and Lily.
"Emma's the Head Girl for Gryffindor," Katie added with a bit of a smirk. Emma, a pretty brunette with deep brown eyes, blushed slightly and bowed toward Buffy.
"It's a great pleasure to meet you, Potter. We'll see you upstairs." She turned to Ginny. "And I assume you and Colin can take care of the first years, right? The new password is 'peski pepsi'. Whoever made it up was surely entertained by Lockhart."
Katie, Emma and Yasmine swept out of the Great Hall and students started to follow them out. Buffy spied Malfoy and a circle of Slytherins leaving around him. Buffy finally stood up and straightened her cloak. Harry gazed up at her.
"Oh, you don't want your sister hanging around with you and all of your friends," she said hurriedly, seizing her wand from next to her plate. "Besides, I really should start learning this campus on my own."
Ginny and another small blonde-haired boy stood up. "First year Gryffindors!" Ginny called, beckoning the group forward. "This way please!"
Buffy ran after Katie and the others, not even taking the time to notice the fact the portraits on the walls were watching her and muttering. She didn't even notice the staircase she was climbing changed positions.
The only thing she noticed was that there was a portrait closing from where a few students had just disappeared. "Hi," Buffy said, sounding out of breath. She could hear the rest of the Gryffindors approaching.
"Password?"
The portrait was talking to her. Buffy moved to touch the smooth picture, interest flashing in her eyes. "Wow," she said, touching the woman in the pink dress.
"Password?"
"Oh," Buffy gasped, suddenly realizing what they'd meant when they'd given the password. "Pepsi peska? Peski pepper? Oh! Peski pepsi!"
The portrait swung open, revealing a small corridor and a large, warm comforting room full of cheerful Gryffindors. Many looked up as she walked in. A few stopped talking. She felt slightly uncomfortable until someone detached themselves from the group and moved to stand in front of her.
"Welcome to Gryffindor," he said in a quiet voice, pointing to the many curious faces surrounding them. "We're really friendly, usually."
"I noticed," she replied quietly. "If you all don't mind, I'm going to go towards my new room."
The boy pointed the way towards the girl's dormitories and Buffy climbed the stares, well aware that she was being stared at. She took a deep breath as she stopped in front of the last door. Opening the door, Buffy walked inside. Six large canopy beds were nestled in a neat circle inside. She found her trunk and Onyx's cage sitting neatly at the foot of her bed. Hearing a soft hooting sound, Onyx fluttered down on her shoulder, a letter attached to her leg.
"A letter already?" she asked, taking the letter down and quickly rummaging for the bags of owl treats she'd stored in her trunk. "Here you go, Onny."
Onyx hooted softly again, picked a few treats, and returned to sit on top of her cage. Buffy sat on her bed, stroking the feathers of her new black owl lovingly. Her icy blue eyes met Buffy's and she felt a connection between her and the moody owl.
There was a burst of giggling on the other side of the door. Buffy turned her head and watched as five girls walked into the room, laughing and joking. They stopped abruptly when they saw their sixth roommate.
Katie turned around and closed the door tightly behind her.
"All right," Emma said, taking her own bed and sitting on it cross-legged. "So, what's your deal, Buffy? How can you be a Potter?"
Buffy smiled as the events leading up to the adoption came back to her. They weren't painful. Not anymore. She grinned and began to tell her story, the five women sitting around her looking at her as though they'd never seen anyone like her.
"That's my deal," Buffy said in conclusion, laying down on top of her covers. "I think you guys know as much as Harry does about me, now."
"Wow," Emma finally said, exchanging a glance with Yasmine. "You've had it hard."
"Not nearly as hard as Harry, apparently," Buffy said with a sigh. The letter was still lying next to her, and Buffy was dying to read it. She knew these girls were supposed to be her family, yet she wasn't very comfortable talking about all of this other stuff with them. "All right," she said, sitting back up. "I've told you my life story. Now since I don't know any of you, I'd love to hear yours."
"We thought you'd never ask," Emma replied, her eyes sparkling.
One by one, they talked into the middle of the night, exchanging stories and laughter.
- - - - -
Chapter 21... Harry deals with the fact he has a sister at Hogwarts.
Chapter 22... Once upon a time... the story of Lily and James. It's sort of outlandish, but hey, it makes sense.
Author's Note / To the Reviewers:
Well. There's only one seventh-year Gryffindor girl that's been named throughout all of the books. Katie Bell. So now I had to go and invent four others. They won't really factor into the story much.
And, awww... romantic mush. I feel kind of bad for the Weasleys, but I think I did right. Percy will factor back into the story. He is, after all, in the Ministry. And I'll bring Oliver back. Just wait a few chapters. :)
In Chapter 25, Buffy will discover the substance in the necklace from this chapter. Yet another angsty Buffy moment. And in Chapter 22, Buffy will open the black box from her Gringott's vault. As for why she has one, it was her mother's before Lily and James got married. It, too, will be explained in the past chapter.
Surprise, she's in Gryffindor. Before you all roll your eyes and think "oh, this AGAIN", I did it for a reason. Honest to goodness.
Tanydwr -- You guessed it! Travers is the Death Eater from the Karkaroff trial in the Pensieve chapter, but shhhh... no one else expect the bad guys knows this!
Kel -- There's an idea I never came up with! Since I already have the DADA prof written, it won't be Oliver. He will come back into the story later though.
kped -- Now that you mention it, there are enough bad guys. I may have to redeem Draco in some way. As for Buffy supressing her Slayerness... well.. she'll find she can't bring herself to do it for the time being. The reason why? You'll see.
StarBella -- Wow. A very long review :) I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I don't think Fred and Buffy will be getting together anytime soon. I think Percy stood a better chance with her, to tell you the truth. I'll wait for the rotten tomatoes, but I think it's true. And no, Angel's not really coming back. He'll be in flashback scenes and California scenes only. Wow. Long note.
And one last future spoiler - Sunnydale gang returns in Chapter 24. It's the shortest chapter I've written for this story yet, but it needed to be done.
Next update: Friday.
This is part one of a three-part update with my two other active stories. I felt so bad about not updating them that I dedicated a good part of my weekend to writing them. Thank you readers! Thank you reviewers! You're all so very nifty!