Out of the Blue
Chapter 4 – Welcome to Diagon Alley.
DISCLAIMER: Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon, and Harry Potter to J.K. Rowling. I don't own anything…
RATING: PG-13 (T) to R (M) - violence, language, angst, horror, mild sexual interactions, etc. If you can watch BTVS/AtS and read HP, I doubt you'll have any problem with this story.
TIMELINE: Takes place after season two in BTVS, and during the marauders last year at Hogwarts.
SUMMARY: BTVS/HP crossover. Life sucked for Buffy Summers. After taking her refuge to LA, she had hoped she would finally have some of that peace the Hellmouth couldn't provide. She should have known she was hoping for the impossible. When she gets propelled into another dimension, her life changes forever - but is it for the better or for worse?
CENTRAL PAIRING: Buffy/Remus
OTHER PAIRINGS: James/Lily, Sirius/OC
Special Thanks to: My Beta - CharmedChick
When Buffy came down to breakfast that morning, Gryffindor's head of house, Minerva McGonagall, stood there waiting.
"Miss Summers?"
"Yeah, whazzup?" Buffy gave her a worried look. "Do I have something in my hair?"
Lily could barely contain her laughter- the marauders however, could not. Professor McGonagall gave them a warning glance, and they quieted immediately.
"Your hair looks just fine," she assured Buffy. "Professor Dumbledore wishes that you come up to his office again after breakfast. He had some other things he wanted to discuss, mainly a sorting. He wants you to join the student-crowd."
"Oh, alright. I can do that. Something else?"
Professor McGonagall looked startled for a moment.
"N-no, I don't think so..."
"Okay, great to meet ya, Professor...?"
"McGonagall."
"Oh, nice to meet ya, professor McGoneagel."
Professor McGonagall looked horrified.
'Please, don't let her be in Gryffindor. The marauders are enough for me to handle...'
She hurried away from the table, after a slight nod towards the other students, lips sealed together in a thin line.
When she left, the marauders burst out laughing again.
"What?" Buffy asked. "Did I do something wrong?"
Sirius couldn't help it; he fell down from his chair, still laughing like a maniac.
"'Did I do something' ...Oh Merlin!"
"You didn't do anything wrong. You just surprised professor McGonagall- I don't think she's used to Americans...they're very blunt." Lily tried to assure her, but Buffy still looked worried.
"Maybe I should have been less...me?"
"Maybe. Anyway, you're going to join the student-crowd!" Lily said, excited. "Isn't it great!"
"Yeah...wait, who said I was gonna join the students?"
Sirius, who had now gotten up from the floor, raised his eyebrows.
"You did. Professor McGonagall asked if it was alright, and you agreed."
"I did?" Buffy's eyes widened. "Oh, my God...I did! What am I going to do? I can't do magic!"
"You'll learn," Remus assured her.
"But I'm not a witch!"
"Well, maybe not, but you are a Slayer. That must mean some power, right? And Professor Dumbledore obviously thinks you can do it."
"Yeah...what about that sorting thingy?" Buffy wondered.
"The sorting? Oh, don't worry. You just put on a hat, and it tells you in which house you belong," Lily said.
"A hat?" Buffy looked very doubtful. "You're kidding me, right? A talking hat?"
The others just nodded, and Buffy sighed.
"This world will take some time to get used to..."
"Professor?"
"Oh, Miss Summers, please, have a seat." Buffy went into the Headmaster's office, and sat down.
"As Minerva told you, you are to join the students - if you wish, of course. That way, you would draw less attention to yourself, and you can easily spend more time with your new friends."
"I'd love to, but, I don't know any magic at all..." Buffy started, but was interrupted by the headmaster.
"Oh, do not worry. You are a Slayer, after all. I do not think you will have much problems, and I'm sure your new friends will help you. Miss Evans is excellent in Charms, Mr Potter in Transfiguration, and Mr Lupin in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Those are the most important subjects. Then there is potions - it is a bit like muggle cooking, actually, so it shouldn't be so hard, as long as you read up on certain facts, and know how to follow a recipe."
"Woah, woah, slow down!" Buffy said, and brought her hands up in front of her like a shield.
"Cooking! Potions! I'm horrible with cooking! Once, I almost started the kitchen on fire! Potions sounds really difficult, I don't think I can handle it without messing up..."
"Well, I don't believe it will be too hard. Just do your best, and I'm sure you will do just fine. As for remaining subjects, there is Care of Magical Creatures, it is fairly easy as well, and Herbology. I'm sure Miss Evans will be more than happy to help you read up on some things. There is also History of Magic - a perfect opportunity to rest between the more difficult subjects." Dumbledore said, with a twinkle.
When he saw Buffy's confused look, he chuckled.
"You will understand what I mean. There are also Muggle-studies, which is not necessary for you to take, since you come from the Muggle-world yourself. Divination - an interesting subject, but I believe you would gain more if you skipped it. Arithmancy - it is a bit like math, but..."
"...I won't need Arithmancy either," Buffy hurried to say, and Dumbledore smiled.
"...But," he continued, "you won't need to take it, since it is a fairly hard subject, and demands more background training than what you have received. The same goes for Ancient Runes." Buffy blushed.
"Then there is Astronomy, which you can take if you wish."
"Astronomy? Like star-gazing, planets, UFO's and stuff?" Buffy asked.
Dumbledore nodded, and Buffy thought about it for a moment.
"I don't think I will take Astronomy sir. It doesn't sound too hard, but I think the other subjects will take a lot of my time. Plus, I have to patrol, and I think I would need some extra-lessons in some of the subjects, so I really don't think I'll be able to." She said, hoping Dumbledore wouldn't be disappointed. But he just smiled.
"That is alright. I did not think Astronomy was necessary either, but I wanted to give you a chance to choose on your own. As for extra-lessons: I am afraid the teachers are too busy, but as I said, I'm sure your friends won't mind helping you."
"Now, for your sorting. It would be best if you went in Gryffindor house, since you already know some of the members, but you will have to be sorted, just like everyone else."
"House?" Buffy said, confusion written all over her face.
"Oh, I am sorry. I forgot you didn't know. When you get sorted, the hat will see that you get into the house that suits you the best. Your house will be a bit like your family while at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn you house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup. There are four houses, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Gryffindor is a house of bravery and courage, Ravenclaw for wisdom, wit and the studious ones..."
"...At least I know I won't get into Ravenclaw, then..." Buffy muttered, and Dumbledore smiled.
"Hufflepuff looks for loyalty and justice, and Slytherin for the cunning and ambitious. Are you ready?"
Buffy nodded. Professor Dumbledore summoned down an old, shabby wizarding hat from a shelter, and gave it to Buffy. The hat was really dirty, and patched in some places. It seemed to have gone through a great deal of rough times.
"Now, put it on." Buffy did as she was told, with some hesitation. She was glad it was only her and Dumbledore there; she was sure she looked ridiculous.
Buffy jumped when the hat started to talk in her ear.
'...A Slayer, hmm? I never thought I would get the honor of meeting one, at least not in this universe. Curious, most curious...'
Buffy growled. 'Get over it and sort me already.'
Buffy could have sworn the hat chuckled.
'Impatient are we? Very well...let's see...ah! Here is something. You have a great power...very great indeed. You are very loyal to your friends...you would do well in Hufflepuff because of that trait, but I don't believe that is the house for you...I see there is also intelligence...'
'Really? Do you mean that? I thought I was completely brainless!' Buffy thought dryly. The hat didn't seem to hear, but if it did, it ignored her.
'...but you don't have the patience for a Ravenclaw. This is hard, indeed...
You have bravery, oh, yes, a lot. And courage...but you are a bit of impulsive at times. You'd do well in Gryffindor, that's for sure. But there is a lot of ambition, yes. You wish to be something more than just the Slayer...Maybe Slytherin would suit you well? Yes, I believe Slytherin would help you a lot on your way...but you are too good for Slytherin. You would not be happy there...it is a house of darkness, and you, my dear, is sparkling with light. No, no, that wouldn't do at all. You have a good heart, indeed.'
The hat was silent for a long time, and Buffy started to get impatient.
'Hello? Mr. Hat-thingy?'
'Oh, I am sorry...I just found something very interesting. Yes, indeed. It's all here in your head you know...'
'What is?'
Suddenly, Buffy saw flashes from her life in LA and Sunnydale. People she'd helped, demons she'd killed, people who'd died.
'You past, present and future...' the hat mumbled in her ear. 'Your destiny. To fight. To help. To love. To live.'
Then, the flashes stopped on one picture. Buffy's eyes widened, as she recognized it. The mansion.
'Angel...'
She watched herself fight her lover. She heard everything he'd said.
"Now that's everything, huh? No weapons, no friends, no hope...take all that away...and what's left?"
"Me."
Buffy's eyes widened, and started to fill with unshed tears. From his place behind the desk, Dumbledore watched her. This had never happened before...
"Buffy? What's going on? Where are we? I-I don't remember..."
Buffy watched Angelus become Angel again, and how she lowered her sword.
"Angel?"
"You're hurt."
She watched herself being embraced by Angel.
"Oh, Buffy...God...I feel like I haven't seen you in months. Oh, my God...everything's so muddled...I...oh...oh, Buffy..."
Buffy watched herself cry into his shoulder. She watched how Acathla woke up, and revealed the portal to Hell. She watched herself let go of the man she loved, and look up into his face.
"What's happening?"
"Shh...don't worry about it...I love you."
"I love you."
"Close your eyes..."
Buffy watched herself kiss Angel one last time, before she impaled him onher sword, and stepped away. She watched Angel looked at her bewildered, confused, as he reaches out to her.
"Buffy..."
She watched as Angel got sucked into the portal, which closes forever.
'Oh, my God...he's really gone...' Buffy thought.
'You see? All here in your head...'
'Why are you doing this to me?'
'You need to understand. You need to learn. The hat said. 'You chose to bring your lover to Hell.'
'I had to...it was my duty.'
'No. It wasn't. You could have stepped away.'
'But it would have been wrong.'
'Exactly. You did what you thought was right. Not out of duty. But out of love. And that's what it's all about. Our choices. You made your choice. And now you have to move on. You can stay in the past, or live in the present and embrace your future. It's your choice. It's always about our choices.'
Buffy closed her eyes, and let her tears fall freely. She knew the answer already.
'Goodbye, Angel...'
'And again, you made your choice. Well, now I am sure I have found just the house for you...yes, that's it. The right house for you is...'
"...GRYFFINDOR!"
Buffy wasn't aware that the hat had said the last word out loud, until Professor Dumbledore took it of. He looked very pleased, but watched her worriedly, as Buffy wiped away her tears.
"Miss Summers?"
"Hmm? Oh, I'm sorry..." She look down at her feet.
"Are you alright?" Professor Dumbledore asked, concern written all over his face. Buffy looked up, meeting his kind blue eyes, and gave him a small smile.
"I will be."
Dumbledore nodded slowly.
"I believe Gryffindor will suit you well, miss Summers."
'I'm moving on,' Buffy thought. 'It will be hard. But I will do it.'
"Now, I think some shopping is in order." Buffy brightened when she heard the word shopping, but the she remembered she didn't have any money.
"Do not worry about money, my dear," Professor Dumbledore said, like he could read her mind.
"The school will pay for your needs. However, I believe it would be a good idea if you started your own account at Gringotts."
Buffy nodded, although she didn't have the slightest idea of what Gringotts was, but she figured it must be some kind of bank.
"You will need weapons for patrol, robes, a cloak, gloves, books, quills, a set of phials, a set of brass scales, parchment, a cauldron, and a wand of course. What you do with the rest of the money is completely up to you."
"Um, sir, not to be rude, but do you think I could by some real clothes too? For patrolling and my free time and such?"
"Oh, of course, of course. You can exchange some of the wizarding money into Muggle money at Gringotts, so you can shop in muggle-London. Now, who do you wish to accompany you: A teacher, or you friends?"
There was a sparkle in his eyes as he said this.
"My friends, definitely."
"That's what I thought. You and your friends may go to Diagon Alley and muggle-London this afternoon. If you come up to my office after lunch, I will provide you with a portkey."
When Buffy met up with her new friends, and told them about her house, they were all very excited.
"You got into Gryffindor! That's great!" James said, excitedly, and Sirius grinned. Lily hugged Buffy.
"This is really great. Now we're both in the same house."
"Yeah...but the hat was weird. Oh, and Professor DD said it was alright if you came with me to Diagon Alley to buy some things, and to muggle-London...if you want to, of course."
"If we want to? Do you even have to ask?" Buffy laughed at the marauders happy expressions.
"Are you ready?" Dumbledore asked Buffy, Lily and the marauders. It was after lunch, and they all wereanxious to leave.
"Yes!" They all said, and Dumbledore smiled.
"Very good. Now, there are certain rules for this outing..." The marauders groaned.
"In muggle-London, you will only, and I mean only, shop for what Miss Summers needs. No stops in pubs, bars, clubs or other adventures. I also expect you to stay in Diagon Alley most of the time, the only trip into Knockturn Alley is when..." Dumbledore was interrupted by Sirius.
"You'll let us go into Knockturn Alley!" Sirius said, excited. "Wicked!"
"...when you are buying weapons for Buffy," Professor Dumbledore continued.
"You will only go to the weapons shop, which is the first shop to the left, and then straight out and back to Diagon Alley again, do you understand me?"
They all nodded, although Sirius and James did it with some grumbles.
"Good. I expect you to follow these rules, and since you are all responsible adults..." At this, Lily snorted.
"...I don't think there will be any trouble." He gave Buffy a bag.
"In this is your wizarding money. As I said, you will be able to exchange some of it into muggle-money at Gringotts. That bag is also a portkey. In about thirty seconds, it will activate, and take you to the Leaky Caldron, and at 22:00, it will activate again, and take you back here. Do you understand?"
They all nodded again.
"Excellent. Now, grab the bag…10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…" …and they were off.
"Potter, get off me! You're lying on my hair!" Lily wined.
"I'm trying, but Padfoot is sitting on my foot!" James retorted.
"I'm not!"
"Yes, you are!"
"No, it's Moony's foot!"
"No, it's my arm!" Remus said. "Move, you're breaking it!"
"Oh, sorry. Where's Buffy?"
There was a muffled sound from the bottom of the mess they had landed in. The Muggles passing them had started to give them funny glances.
"Buffy?" Remus asked.
"I think she's at the bottom," Lily said. "There's definitely someone there..."
"It's me!" Peter piped up. "And I'm being crushed down here."
"Mevoo..." Came the muffled sound again.
"What?" Sirius asked.
"Me too!" Buffy spoke. Her voice sounded distant. "Now, move before I make you move! I mean it! You all know I can!"
That worked like a charm. Sirius got up as fast as he could, and dragged up James, and then Remus. James helped Lily up, who helped Peter. Remus stretched out his hand for Buffy to take, but she only gave them angry glare.
"You could have told me how this portkey-thingy worked. That way, I would have kept my balance."
"Sorry. But we all fell over when we first tried it- we still do, as I'm sure you noticed," James said. "I doubt you would have had better luck."
Buffy only stuck out her tongue, and then looked down at her clothes, before making a face.
"Can you do something about the dirt? I look awful."
Lily did cleaning spells on all of them (after James covered her, so the Muggles couldn't see. "But we've already drawn so much attention, so I don't see why we even bother"), to which Buffy was grateful.
"Where are we?" Buffy asked, and Sirius grinned.
"This, my lady, is the Leaky Caldron!" He made a gesture towards a tiny, grubby-looking pub. The other people on the street didn't seem to notice it- they just hurried past without even a glance. Their eyes slid from the big bookshop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn't see The Leaky Caldron at all. In fact, Buffy had the most peculiar feeling that only she, the marauders and Lily could see it.
Buffy raised her eyebrows.
"And I'm supposed to be impressed because...?" She was still a bit cranky from her unfortunate landing.
"You'll see," Remus said and smiled, before taking her hand and leading her into the pub.
They both tried to pretend they didn't notice the spark that seemed to emerge and make their hearts beat an extra time. Buffy also did her best to ignore the butterflies in the bottom of her stomach, as she took in the pub's scruffy look with her eyes.
It was dark and shabby. A few people were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of some red liquid. It looked nasty. The barman was almost bald, and looked a little like a gummy walnut, if you looked carefully. The low buzz of chatter stopped when the six friends walked in.
"Well if it isn't young Mr Potter and his friends, hmm?" The barman asked.
"What can I do for you?"
"Oh, nothing, Tom," James said. "We're just passing by. We're going into Diagon Alley."
"Diagon Alley? In the middle of the term?" Tom sounded surprised. "Don't you usually do your errands in Hogsmeade while in school?"
"Well, yes, but we have some business to take care of. Umm, Buffy, this is Tom, Tom this is Buffy. She's an exchange student from America."
"Oh, I see. Nice to meet you my lady." He did a theatrical bow behind the bar, and Buffy giggled.
"Well, we better get going," Sirius said. "It was nice talking to you, Tom."
"The same to you, young Mr. Black. The same to you."
They walked pass the bar until they came out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a dustbin and a few weeds.
They went up to the wall in front of the dustbin, and Remus took out his wand. Buffy blinked.
"Umm, are you sure this is the right place? 'Cause I can only see a wall."
Remus grinned.
"You'll see." He lifted his wand, and tapped it against the wall three times.
Buffy still looked skeptical, but suddenly, the brick he had touched quivered- it wriggled- in the middle, a small hole appeared- it grew wider and wider- a second later they were facing an archway on to a cobbled street which twisted and turned out of sight.
Buffy gasped at the sight.
"Welcome," Remus said, "to Diagon Alley." He grinned at Buffy's amazement. They stepped through the archway- Buffy looked back over her shoulder, and saw the archway was starting to shrink back into a solid wall.
"Okay...where to first...?" James mumbled, and looked at Buffy's list over things she would need.
"Right. A cauldron."
They walked over to the nearest shop- on the sign you could read "Cauldrons - All Sizes- Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver- Self-stirring- Collapsible."
After they'd bought her a cauldron and a set of brass scales, they went to "Slug Jiggers Apothecary", where they bought a set of phials, plus a supply of potion ingredients.
"Alright..." James said, "well, we've got your weapons left, but I think we should take that later...the clothes..."
"Please let us buy clothes!" Buffy brightened as soon as she heard the word 'clothes' being mentioned, as did Lily. They both started to give James puppy-dog eyes.
"Now look what you've done!" Sirius complained.
"Uh..." James stammered. He was almost on his way to give in, (Lily's puppy-eyes was too much for him to handle) when Remus spoke up.
"Well, maybe we should take the other stuff first, like books, a wand and quills and stuff. Then we can stop for food, or ice cream if you'd like, and after that clothes. That means you'll get the entire afternoon to spend in the clothes stores." Remus prayed they would agree with this (hopefully, the afternoon would be almost over by the time it was time for the clothes).
"Alright!" Both Lily and Buffy brightened at Remus suggestion (an entire afternoon clothes shopping- yay!), and the marauders let out a small sigh of relief. Quietly, so the girls wouldn't hear, of course. They were all very grateful they would get a chance to eat before they had to deal with the hell of doom...and hopefully, it would be short.
They bought Buffy's parchment, ink and quills ("why don't you use pencils like other people! Do they sell pencils!") in "Scribbulus Everchanging Inks", before making their way over to "Flourish Blotts", the bookshoop. They spent almost an hour in the shop, before Lily and Remus agreed to leave. Even Buffy seemed enchanted by all the books ("it's even bigger than Gile's collection - and way cooler! His are only about demons and stuff - fact only. Can you say 'boring' people?").
After this, they went to "Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor", and enjoyed an ice cream. No one was hungry enough to buy real dinner (except Peter, but he was out voted). Then, they went to "Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions" to buy Buffy some robes, a school uniform, a cloak, gloves and other clothes. When they finally came out, the clock had already turned 16:00, and they all agreed a bit of a snack wouldn't be so bad. After dinner, they went down to the end of the street and "Ollivanders".
When they entered, a tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop. As soon as they were inside, Buffy's hair at the back of her neck started to rise.
"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Everyone jumped. An old man were standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.
"Ah, I wondered if I ever would have the honor of meeting you...the Slayer. I must say I am surprised you have showed up in this universe...but I believe it might be for the best...and you brought some friends, I see?"
"Oh, yeah. I'm Buffy Summers, and umm, this is..."
"...I remember them," Ollivander said. "I remember them all. It seems like it was yesterday they were here to buy there wands. Mr Potter, your wand is working for you, I hope?"
"Oh, yes, sir. It works excellently," James assured him, and Ollivander smiled.
"Good, good. Mahogny, 11 inches, pliable. Excellent for Transfiguration, if I'm not mistaken?" At James' nod, he continued.
"And Miss Evans, you take good care of yours as well?"
Lily nodded.
"Good, good. Willow, ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, Nice wand for charm work, oh yes. Both very powerful wands indeed...Now, back to you, my dear. Which is your wand arm?"
Buffy shrugged.
"Well, I use my right hand, mostly..."
"Hold it out. Yes, that's it." Ollivander started to measure Buffy in all strange ways...or the tape measure did it on it's own, while he checked through a lot of boxes.
"Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Miss Summers. For example, we use unicorn hair, phoenix tail feathers and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another witch or wizard's wand."
He walked back from the shelves, and told the tape measure to stop. It immediately crumpled into a heap on the floor.
"Now, let's see what we have...oh, yes. Try this one. Yew and the hair of a Unicorn, 10 inches. Give it a wave." Buffy did as se was told, and suddenly, a shelf exploded. Buffy jumped in shock, and Ollivander snatched the wand out of her hand.
"No, that won't do," he muttered. "I didn't think so either...Yew is the wood of death, and you scream life, but since you are the Slayer...well, I guess we'll just have to try another one, eh?" He gave her another wand. "Cedar and Oak, 9 inches, dragon heartstring."
This time, nothing happened at all, and the wand was once again snatched out of her hand. Buffy didn't know how long she stood there, but it felt like forever. Peter had fallen asleep in one of the chairs, and was now snoring lightly.
"Well, you sure are a tricky costumer Miss Summers. But do not worry, I'm sure the right wand is here somewhere...try this one, Holly, 9 and a half inches, one feather from a phoenix tail."
This time, it sparkled a little...only a little, though, but Ollivander beamed.
"Very good, very good. Now we're getting somewhere. I believe I have found the right wood for you...the core was wrong, though. He gave her another wand. "Holly, 11 inches, hair from the tail of a Unicorn. No, no, no. That wasn't right." Ollivander seemed to think deeply for a moment, before he disappeared behind the desk, and into a room. When he came back, he was carrying a black box. He seemed very excited now.
"I never thought I would get the chance to try this on a customer...but this might be exactly what you're looking for. Come on, give it a wave."
This time, when Buffy took the wand, she felt a sudden warmth in her fingers, and butterflies in her stomach, and she just knew this was the right one. It seemed to belong with her. When she swished it through the dusty air, a stream of white, red and silver sparks shot out from the end like a firework, giving off dancing spots of lights. Peter jerked awake, and the others applauded. Ollivander beamed.
"Bravo! Most excellent! Very good, indeed. Well, well, well. This was unexpected...I never thought I would get to sell this wand- it was more of an experiment from my part, I have never used this core before, and I didn't think it would work, but seeing as this one works excellently, maybe I should consider using it more often... Just this core comes from a customer who was here a little more than six years ago."
"What is the core?" Lily asked, now dying out of curiosity.
"The wand is Holly, 10 inches...and a hair from a werewolf."
His eyes seemed to move over to where Remus were standing, and the marauders gave each other nervous looks. Buffy didn't seem to notice, though, as she examined the wand with a new interest.
"A werewolf! Cool!"
'Just like Oz...' She thought, and felt that familiar pang in her heart as she remembered her friends.
"Less cool if you are one..." Remus mumbled, but Buffy didn't seem to hear him.
"So...you have werewolves here too? Do they turn into a wolf once a month and stuff? Or three times, like where I come from?" She asked Ollivander excitedly, who watched her curiously.
"It's not like they're less human because of it!" Remus said with a heated expression.
"No, of course not," Buffy murmured, barely paying attention. She was still examining the wand by touching the smooth wood.
"Calm down, Moony," James murmured, and put a hand on Remus' shoulder. He seemed like he wanted to scream something - mainly some good curses and hexes on the blonde Slayer. His knuckles were white, and his nails was buried deep into his palms.
"Well," Ollivander said, and clasped his hands together "I expect great things from you, Miss Summers. Great things."
Buffy paid for the wand, and gave it back to Ollivander, who put it back in its box, and wrapped it in brown paper, before handing it over in a small bag.
As they got out, Buffy was idly chatting with Lily - she didn't notice the marauders slow down behind them.
"Well, that proves it," Remus said moodily. "She'll never like me. She's just like everybody else..."
"Remus, she said it didn't matter," James tried, but was interrupted by Remus.
"Really? What about the way she said it? She was talking like she really didn't mean it!"
"I'm sure she just wasn't paying attention..." James tried again, but Remus snorted.
"Right."
"Well, I hate to say this, Prongs, but I think Remus is right." Sirius said. "The way she talked - it was almost like she'd run into werewolves before...and she is the S l a y e r, if you know what I mean."
Remus paled at this, and James gave Sirius a glare.
"Well, the hair came from you right? Didn't you say that you gave Ollivander a hair when you were there to buy your wand? That must mean something - I mean, you're meant for each other, and the wand proves that!"
"No, it proves the opposite, James," Remus said, and James sighed. He knew Remus wouldn't change his mind about this ("he's too stubborn for his own good").
After being in the joke shop, "Gambol Japes", where James and Sirius looked around for a long time, despite Lily's complains about their immaturity, it was time for Knockturn Alley.
The street was dark- very dark. Even though they only spent their time right in the beginning of the street, Buffy could still tell this wasn't a place for small children, or anyone, who isn't completely evil. Buffy hurried to buy some weapons, among them a dagger, and a sword, before leaving. They were all glad to be out of the creepy place.
"Well then, what are we going to do now? What do you think, Remus? Remus!"
Buffy waved with a hand in front of Remus' eyes, and he looked up.
"Huh?"
"Are you okay? You spaced out for a while," Buffy said, a concerned expression on her face.
"Oh, I'm fine."
"Are you sure? 'Cause you've been acting weird ever since we left Ollivanders. In fact, all of you have." Buffy said, frowning.
"Oh, it's nothing. We're just tired."
"And we can't wait until we go to muggle-London," James added. Buffy still looked skeptical, but let it pass.
"Alright. So where do you want to go?"
"It depends," James said. Suddenly, he lit up. "Buffy, do you want a broom?"
Lily groaned. Typical James.
"A what? A broom! For FLYING?" Buffy said, her voice raising an octave for every sentence.
Sirius rolled his eyes.
"No, for cleaning. Of course it is for flying!"
"Well, in the muggle-world, you actually do use brooms for cleaning," Buffy retorted.
James looked horrified at the thought that nice brooms were used for cleaning, instead of flying, and Buffy laughed.
"Calm down, James. Anyway, you use brooms in that Quitish thing, right?"
"Quidditch. And yes. But you don't have to play Quidditch, you can fly anyway," James said.
"Oh...well, I don't know how to fly," Buffy said, half to herself.
"It's easy. You'll learn."
"Oh, well, alright. I need to go to Gringotts too...are you sure I have enough money?" Buffy asked worriedly.
James took a look in her money-bag, before raising his eyebrows.
"Buffy, this is more than enough. Dumbledore clearly didn't skimp on the Galleons." He took up some coins, and gave them to Buffy.
"Here. This should be enough for a broom. Let's go to Gringotts now and put in the rest." Buffy stuffed the money in a pocket, and Lily charmed it, so they wouldn't fall out by mistake, before walking across the street to Gringotts wizarding bank.
James walked up to one of the Goblins at the counter, the others slightly behind him. Buffy couldn't take her eyes of the creature- he looked creepy. And evil, but Lily said they weren't, so Buffy couldn't slay them, even if she wanted to.
"Hello. We would like to open an account for Buffy Summers."
"Have you ever had an account here before, Miss?" The Goblin asked, and Buffy shook her head.
"I see. Well," he gave her some papers. "Fill in these..." he grabbed a quill. "...With this."
Buffy looked horrified at the quill, and Sirius snickered. Lily rolled her eyes.
"Come on, Buffy. You have to learn sometime."
Buffy gulped, but took the quill and started to fill in the papers. After several tries (and a very crooked signature), it was finally (but barely) readable.
The Goblin gave her small golden key.
"Vault eight hundred and fifteen is now yours. Do you have any money you wish to put in there right away?"
"Yes, but I would like to exchange some of it into muggle money first," Buffy said, and mentioned a sum, after the Goblin had explained the exchange rate. After that, he took the leftover coins and put them on a scale. He tapped on it with a crooked finger, and the money disappeared in a small cloud of smoke. The Goblin gave back the now empty money bag, and Buffy put her Muggle-money there instead, after saying goodbye to the Goblin, who wished them a nice day.
When they came out, they walked back down the street towards...
"...Quality Quidditch Supplies!"
After a lot of talking with James and the shopkeeper, Buffy decided to buy a Cleansweep 9. However, it took a long time until James was ready to leave the Quidditch shop.
Now, it was time for muggle London. After a long evening of clothes shopping, the portkey activated, and took six very exhausted Gryffindors back to Hogwarts.
A/N: REVIEW!
/Ida
