And We're Off… (12/?)
Summary: Quickie Recap: Neville is Xander's cousin. Willow and Xander have gotten really close again. Harry tired to raise Sirius from the dead under the encouragement of the First Evil. Well, that all I can think of that's important. Buffy has come for a visit.
Spoilers: Harry Potter books 1-5, Buffy 1-7 and maybe a couple of Angel references (sorry just happens) up to season 5.
Parings: Willow/Tonks, Xander/?
Rated: PG-13, still not sure yet, may get higher. It's only 13 for my tendency for having people curse and drink a lot.
Chapter Comments: My life went to hell after my last post. i had no time for anything but i finally finished the chapter. Now that i can handle school, i should have so more time to write. This is still only half the chapter i planned but i wanted to get something out as soon as possible. Please forgive me for taking so long. Thank my mother for betaing. She the one that was bugging me to finish.
Chapter 12: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
While Buffy was putting her stuff away in Willow's room, Xander and Willow conspired the rest of their day. They had already caught up on the basics with Buffy: how she was, what life was like in Italy, what she's been up to. Xander thought it was pointless to answer questions about their lives now considering she's be immersed in it for the next week. Dumbledore had asked to see her after she settled in.
Buffy marched out of Willow's room looking slightly perturbed. "Something wrong, Buff?"
"How is this fair?" They both gave her blank looks. "I've been staying at Youth Hostels and crappy hotel and your living in an awesome apartment in a freakin' castle, with a free room service," she gestured to the tea tray that had arrived while she was in the other room.
"We're also getting paid.." Xander added.
"So unfair." She sat down in one of the chairs.
"We do work you know," Willow reminded her, "remember, the school, the students. Not just us hanging out in a castle."
"Sure it is." She continued to play with them. They sat around and talked some more. Buffy, despite all of her complaining, was having a good time, tracking down Slayers in Europe and training them. She talked about the girls she met and what it's been like doing something completely different with her life. "I miss Dawn though. Wish she could come and live with me sometimes." She said taking a sip of tea. "So come on, there has to be something you can tell me about you guys. I mean more than I'll find out just hanging around with you." When they didn't say anything she got more annoyed. "There's gotta be something, I mean Xander's got a new eye and a cousin and a wand and powers... actually, I think, I'm all caught up and Xander." She turned to Willow. "Your turn. Something's gotta have happened to you by now. I mean you gotta be doing more than grading papers."
"Seems like that sometimes, but teaching is a big job and her at three-thirty the kids don't go home." She said sounding very self sacrificingly.
"Sure, Will, and with all this hard work being a role-model and mentor has left no time to have any personal life of her own." he mocked. "She has a girlfriend."
"Oh really!" Buffy said excited, a new one already, good for you." she paused. "wait we are taking about a girlfriend as apposed to a girl that's just a friend."
"Yes." Willow/Xander "Oh yeah."
Buffy smiled wide and got giddy. "So what's her name, where did you met her, what she do?"
"Tonks."
"Tonks, that's an odd name."
"No more odd than Buffy." Willow joked, shaking her head ashamed.
"It's actually her last name. Doesn't like her first name, I think it's Nymph-o-mania or something."
"Nymphadora." Willow corrected.
"So Will, is this serious or what?"
"Don't know yet, still in the dating stage." Willow drank her tea.
"Yeah the making-out dating stage. Buffy ask her what time she got home last night." Xander joked.
"You're just upset I didn't share details."
"So will I get to meet the mystery Witch?"
"This weekend actually. She's the one that invited us to the party."
"Ooh a party girl, that's a new one for you."
Willow started getting antsy. "Why are you acting like this is some kind of big relationship, I don't know that yet."
"Sorry Will, it's just, you know, all your dates seem to work out for a long termish thing."
"I know, I know. I do know how to pick 'em, but I don't want to jinks this one too."
"No problem. So what does this fledgling of a relationship do for a living? I assume she's not some deadbeat."
"No, not a deadbeat." Willow relaxed again. "She's an auror." Willow said leaning forward to pour more tea, completely missing Buffy's blank confused expression.
"Good, cause I was thinking taking one along on my next patrol." She joked.
Willow looked up at her and realized she left something out. "Oh well, you wouldn't be wrong either. Aurors are like the Wizarding Britain FBI, but I don't think Tonks is someone you want with you. She's kinda klutzy, almost failed stealth but she's an expert at disguise and concealment."
"It's easy for her being a metamorphmagus."
"You can say metamorphmagus but not Nymphadora?"
"Call me complex."
"Call me dumb then. Meta-whata?"
"She can change her looks at will, like one day blond with small noise, and the next blue and a big honker."
"So the question of 'what does she look like' is kinda obsolete then." Buffy smiled. "Isn't that weird?"
"Not really, I can always tell when it's her, even when she tried her hardest to trick me." She playful turned to Xander. "See that was what we did on our dates in the sleepy town of Hogsmeade."
"Alright I have to say this now, you guys are so much weirder. Your like a cross between Giles and your normal selves. The minute I hear you say: "Bloody hell" I'm taking you out of this place."
----
Buffy felt uncomfortable sitting in the Headmasters office. They had talked and kept looking over at her friends to make sure she was saying the right things.. He asked her pleasant questions but she knew questions about the First would began. She was ready for them. She had been thinking about the whole situation since Giles called her and told her about It's appearance.
"Listen," she said, remembering the speech she rehearsed so many times in her head, "I don't know anything to help you. The First isn't something I can fight. I just barely got out alive last time and well, It's not after me, before It gave me something to fight. I can't fight Voldie for you, that's a wizarding fight." She knew he'd try to interrupt so she didn't give him a chance. "At the most I'd just be able to tell you what I know and well" she pointed to her friends, "they know everything I know. I'm not here to fight this fight for you. I'm just here to see my friends. If the First comes after me I'll fight it, but I can't seek It out." She put a big smile on her face, hoping he would except her answer without much argument. She felt tense as she waited.
----
"Buffy"
Buffy thought she heard her named whispered everywhere. Since the meal Sunday evening her name had been on the tips of all the students tongues. When she walked in with Willow and Xander she caused, silence and then whispers. She felt it every time she walked around so she kept mostly to her friends rooms. Because Xander and Willow, well mostly Xander, thought that it was not far to give kids gym first thing in the morning on a Monday, they decided the 5&6th years would meet together on Wednesday afternoon. The rest would be during there normal class sessions.
Buffy slept most of Monday and only left to teach the 7th year Ravenclaw class. To prepare for her first class demonstration she had spent most of the day practicing. She had to keep in mind during the class that these where not slayers and not even potential slayers so , she'd have to go light on them. Meeting them she had high hopes for the rest of the students. They may have clumsy, slow to react and a little awestruck, but they had the spirit.
The 7th year Ravenclaw were very excited and by dinner time varies rumors were spreading through out the school. Some said that Buffy lifted the entire class over her head and other flights of fancy. All she had done is give a few demonstrations and showed them how to spar. Now it was Tuesday and Buffy still did not want to sit in on the Willow and Xander class again, this time she actually just wanted to explore the school. She was upset that she could not spend a lot of one on one time with her friends but they were very busy, the school seemed to be that way this week, everyone was getting everything done before Halloween. As she marched the school, Snoopy at her side, she noticed that they went all out decoration-wise for the holiday.
She was making her way down finding passages and stairway leading to wherever and took them in the hopes that someone would eventually find her and send her back to a place she knew. She wasn't sure how but she made her way down to the dungeons.
"I don't like this place Snoopy." She said as she walked through the dark halls. She had a flash to one of the Scooby cartoons and thought of her self as Shaggy stupidly checking something out with only a just as scared Dog for back up. She felt better when she began to her voices. Well one voice lecturing to a class. She followed the voice and the hall seemed to be brighter the closer she came.
She smiled as she peered through the open door. Professor Snape's Classroom, she remembered. She knew he remind her friends of principal Snyder, she could see why. He was the only teacher that did not seem happy or interested in meeting her.
She watched from the doorway for a while as he gave instructions for beginning the next potion. She looked around the class of students and was excited to see Neville. She had only met her best friends cousin briefly and couldn't wait for a chance to get to know him. Since Snape stopped lecturing and the students started their potions so Buffy thought it was safe to enter. She picked Snoopy up not wanting her to eat something off the floor and walked into the class. Some of the students looked at her but they turned back to their potions quickly, but she could hear them whispering.
She started looking around thoughtful, not trying to bother anyone as she slowly made her way to Neville and the girl he was working with. She was almost to her target desk when Snape cut her off. "Can I help you, Miss Summers?"
"Hi" she said with a bright smile, and continued to look around the room effectively ignoring him.
He waited for a moment before asking again. "Can I help you?"
"No, just looking around." She moved past him and took up a new vantage point next to Neville's desk. She was bouncing Snoopy in her arms like she was a baby. She noticed that Snape followed her with his eyes and was now glaring at her. She hid her smile and said innocently, "Am I not allowed to be here? Dumbledore said I could look go anywhere."
Snape just turned away, his cape flowing quickly behind keep up with his retreat. She smiled and the students returned to their assignments. Proud of herself she went to go look over Neville's shoulder. "What are you guys working on?" she noticed the pair tensed up.
Neville was too nervous to answer but the girl, who introduced herself as Hermione, did. "Cool." Buffy said continuing to watching over them. "I used to make things like this in Chem." She said making small talk. The class seemed to return to business except for Snape who was giving her the eye. Remembering how Xander expressed to her how much of an ass Snape could be, Buffy took a certain satisfaction at annoying him so. She turned her attention back to the students and actually tried to understand what they were doing.
After a few minutes and a few words with the Neville and Hermione she made her way to acting like the third member of their team. This did not go unnoticed by Snape, who thought her time of interrupting should no end.
"I think it's time for you to go." He said quietly to her."
Buffy looked up and her smile quickly faded to show her annoyance. "Why?" she asked louder then he had spoken. The students responded and looked up.
"You're disturbing my class." He said in the same soft voice, hoping the students would turn away.
"Am I? I'm just talking, it's what I did at Sunnydale High."
"Yes but you were a student there, unless I've missed something , your just a guest here. And I don't like having that thing in my class." Pointing to Snoopy.
"I was more then a student, I was a counselor. You know the person responsible for the students mental health. And this thing wouldn't disturb anyone." She held the dog tighter because she started to squirm the closer Snape got.
"From what I understand from Miss Rosenberg you were hired by the principal because you are the Slayer and the school was built over the Hellmouth and not for your counsling skills."
"She told you that?" He didn't say anything but she knew that it was probably time for her to go. She was pissed but now the students really were distracted now so she would go for their sakes. Also she did not want to look bad in front of the students, she would be the bigger person today, but maybe not tomorrow. "Well I have a class to prepare now so I'm gonna go." She turned and walked out knowing that she would need to come up with something go to get back at him with.
---
The all the 5th and 6th years were all lined up outside waiting for their teachers and special guest teacher to arrive. The weather was perfect and so at lunch Xander made the announcement of the room change. Now there were mats out on the lawn. The students had all changed out of there robes into comfortable gym clothes they had to buy for class but rarely had worn. There was a are of tension and excitement but they just couldn't wait for the slayer to arrive.
Willow, Xander and Buffy started to head out from the building right on time. Xander was carrying a bundle of weapons and laid them out in front of the teachers mat. Buffy stayed next to Willow, getting nervous about having so many students for one class. "Welcome for the first meeting of the Fifth and Sixth years Defense Against the Dark Arts: Fitness and Combat Edition." Xander took a deep breath. "From now on this will be referred to as 'gym'." He looked back at his women, Willow and Buffy, to make sure they were. Buffy nodded. "Well since know by now our special guest I might as well let her get out here and do her thing. Buffy the Vampire Slayer come on down"
Buffy left Willow, handing of the robes she had borrowed and went to go join Xander. She wore a pair a black slacks and her white workout top, "Hey, guys!" she waved at the students, she had done this twice already, she had a routine. She made her little speech of them needing to learn to defend themselves and then shows off some of her moves, then her demonstrating her skills with some of the weapons. The student were in awe of her abilities. She had a brief sparing session with Xander before she stepped back and let him lead the class in warm ups.
As Willow whispered words of advice to Buffy, one of the students refused to partake in the warm-up. "Is there a problem Miss Parkinson?" Willow asked, causing the entire class to stop their exercises.
"Yes, this is pointless, Slayers just need to strong and fight cause she doesn't have a wand." She snarked at her teacher.
Buffy laughed and said, "How would you defend yourself against this." Pansy flinched and prepared to be attacked, but instead watched the slayer pounce Professor Harris.
"Arg!" Xander called out as his friend pushed him to the ground. Willow held her hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing.
"See," Buffy straddled him, sitting up fully effortlessly holding him down. "He had no chance to get to his wand and even surprised him enough not to use any of the wand-free stuff he knows." She smiled, "So, Parkinson, magic isn't the answer to everything." Buffy got up and helped Xander up.
Xander, still out of it from the mauling, barked commands and went to the sidelines. "You had to do that?" Xander asked Buffy, holding his chest from where she had pushed him.
"I didn't think people would take to kindly to me mauling the students."
'So, I'm the alternative?"
Xander went back and finished leading the class, then the three teachers spilt the classes into sparing partners. Buffy took the last group she paired up and brought them to the front of the class for a demonstration. "Alright, Neville here and um.." she looked over at the blond haired boy, "Drake?"
"Draco. Draco Malfoy." He corrected.
"Well just be happy I didn't call you 'Spike'." She turned back to the class. "Well Draco and Neville are going to demonstrate what I want you to practice." Draco and Neville reluctantly worked together, actually Xander gave them both words of warning.
As the students where sparing the three teachers walked around observing all the pairs. Due to her friends concerns she paid extra attention to Harry Potter. He was paired with his friend Ron. Buffy was upset that they weren't taking the practice seriously. "It's not a game guys actually try to hit each other and block it, you of all people need the pactice."
Harry sighed and made Buffy started to laugh. "Yay, yay they told me all about you. You may be the boy that lived, but take it from the girl that died twice: dying is not a cake walk. Well the second time…nevermind."
Yelling from the front of the class distracted everyone from their activity. Willow and Buffy ran to break it up. Neville and Draco were wrestling on the matt. The girl pulled the boys apart and held them away from each other. "What's going on?" Willow asked harshly.
"He hit me!" yelled Draco.
"It was an accident!" Neville yelled back, and the boys pushed at the teachers to start fighting with each other again. Buffy pushed them back to their own corners.
"Then what happened?" Willow continued to ask.
"I hit him back." Draco admitted.
"Detention both of you." Said a very angry Xander. "And not even the cushy junk we usually give out, I'm sending you both out to Filch." The boys cooled down as Xander walked off. He had thought he made progressed with the two of them, he guess he was wrong.
----
"Ah, it's been too long since we patrolled." Xander said to Buffy as they walked through the dark forest. Night had fallen a few hours ago and they marched though the woods looking for enemies to fight. Xander had a stake in one hand and his wand in the other, using it as a torch.
"To bad there aren't any vamps." She had a stake with her but also brought her axe, there might not be to many vamps but she had been warned about other things living in the woods.
"Yeah, why are we out here anyway?"
"I need my danger rush or I can't sleep at night."
"So why did I decide to join you, again?"
"Cause you didn't want me to get lost."
"Ah." Xander looked around, using his eyes magical powers to locate any beasties. "I don't see anything here, wanna go deeper?"
"Yep."
They started to head deeper into the woods but Buffy stopped them. "shh!" as she stopped and listened, Xander scanned the forest with his eye. He didn't see anything. "I don't-"
Buffy swung her axe back and put it to the neck of the intruder.
Willow "eep"ed as the axe blade was stopped just before the skin on her neck. "Hey, guys." She nervously smiled and breathed heavily.
"Sorry, Will." Buffy chuckled, lowering the weapon. "I didn't think you were joining us."
"Yeah, Pomona [aka Sprout] decided to take over for me this week so we could spend more time together. She doesn't think we're spending enough."
"Really, I mean we are sleeping together."
"Ooh, details." Xander asked.
"I have a girlfriend." / "Um, straight."
"We have a rule about breaking my fantasies remember?"
"That was only when you were one eye short, now we can crush anything we want." Buffy said walking in front of them taking the lead.
"Oh! They apologized." Willow told Xander.
"Good." He said his anger still evident in his voice.
"Why are you so upset about them anyway? From what Will's been telling me, the weird house things don't get along." Buffy asked.
"Yeah, I just thought that I was making progress. Just guess I was wrong, plus Nev's my cousin and his Grandmother is wary of me as it is."
"Snape's upset about it too." Willow said, "or upset as he gets when Draco gets in trouble."
"Snape has a stick permanently planted up his butt." –Buffy
"Hostility there?" – Xander
"Yeah, he expressed his annoyance with your presence in his class yesterday, Buff." –Willow.
"Probably snide yet well spoken?" –Buffy
"Yep." – Willow
"Isn't that just a sign of an ass?" Xander asked.
"Well I need to do something about it…" Buffy thought for a moment. "I know-"
Willow cut her off by putting a hand over her mouth. "Shh… you can't tell us." Willow warned.
"Why not?" Xander whined.
"So we can't be blamed." She smiled at him. "We can't be part of anything to hurt or embarrass our co-workers."
"Hint, hint. Wink, wink. Just make sure you point it out afterwards."
---
Friday morning at breakfast , Dumbledore kindly asked Willow to take over Snape's classes for the day. Willow of course agreed, it would be fun teaching a different class. She was also excited cause it was Halloween and she was already in the spirit. She took one of the candies and turned her hair blue again.
"Yeah, this time I could tell them embarrassing stories about what you dated." Xander said at the idea of teaching alone.
"So what's wrong with Professor Snape?" Willow asked.
"He said he wasn't feeling well this morning." Answered Dumbledore.
----
Buffy spent the morning with Xander helping him teach his DADA class. She wouldn't let him tell too many embarrassing stories about Willow. Not that there was many to tell. Buffy's presence and the excitement for Halloween made everyone in a non-learning mood so mostly they just sat around talking. Hermione raised her hand, trying to get them back on topic, but Xander just kindly ignored it. She muttered disapprovingly that Willow would not approve.
Willow teaching of Potions went well too but who would have problems with the 3rd year Hufflepuff/Ravenclaw class anyway. She didn't like her lesson plan. Willow wanted to do other things with the class, like teach them something she really knows but she didn't want the students to get in trouble for her change. The class went well, everyone seemed less tense then normal and even little Betty Gafferwent gave her a hug afterwards.
There was no sign of Snape that morning. Every time Xander would ask a question about it, Buffy would play innocent like nothing was going on. At lunch when everybody was all together in the Great Hall very little food was eaten, they were saying up for the feast that evening. Everyone was in a good mood until Professor McGonagal called Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny out into the hallway.
As Willow, Xander and Buffy were leaving the Great Hall they lingered just inside the the door to hear what was going on. They heard both Minerva's and Snape's voices.
"I wasn't us!" Ron claimed.
"Why do you always pick on us?" Ginny got defensive.
"We don't even know what we are being accused of doing." Hermione argued.
"You know what you did." Snape scolded.
Willow turned to Buffy and gave her a look. It was a mix between "see what you did" and "what did you do"? The Sunnydale three carefully left the great hall to watch the Gryffindors. Everything about him seemed normal. Same black outfit, but now he wore a hat which all of his hair was tucked into. Willow almost died when she saw errant strands of orange peaking out of the cracks.
"We don't know they have done anything, Severus, we just took them out her for questioning," Minerva stood up for her students. "Do you have any evidence it was their doing?"
Snape then noticed Willow who was standing behind the students. "Looks like that got to Professor Rosenberg too!" he pointed at her, and as he did, his hat, which was already awkward on his head, teetered off. A gust of bright orange hair poofed out.
Laughs started from everyone, even Minerva who was trying to hide it. Though her laughs Willow said, "I did mine myself. They had nothing to do with it. Took one of Xander's candies again, on purpose."
The students tried their hardest to stop laughing before they got in more trouble but they just couldn't stop. Just Harry who had been very quiet was laughing now. "Looks like you just took on of my brother's Hair-Hagglers." Ginny said.
"See I told you one of them was involved."
"Plenty of students have brought things from 'Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes', you can't punish her because he brother make them." Hermione reasoned.
"I think you are accusing the wrong culprits, are you sure you didn't accidentally drink a potion?" McGonagall got involved.
"I did nothing of the sort, so if it wasn't them who was it?"
If he hadn't been so focused on the youngster he would have noticed the body language and silent communication that was going on with the three adults behind them. However when he asked his question Buffy sheepishly raised her hand.
The teenagers turned around, their mouths gaping open in shock. McGonagall quickly dismissed them back to lunch. Snape glared at Buffy but everyone waited to speak until the students were away.
"How dare you!" he said to her, then turned to Xander and Willow. "Did you two know about it?" They shock their heads.
"Oh lighten up." She shrugged. "It'll wear off in three days." Buffy stood her ground, she really wanted to say, "See what happens when you mess with a slayer!" and stick out her tongue, but that would be childish. Instead she watched as he got frustrated and stalked away muttering about something about Giles.
McGonagall departed quickly too, leaving the trio in the hall. There was quiet for a while and as always Xander broke it. "You know you should have asked first. I don't have many of those left. I'm still annoyed she turned my joke into a nice and easy hair dye substitute."
"Well I didn't think you'd mind."
"You could have asked." Xander smiled.
"You asked if you could barrow my hair gel." Willow pointed out.
"There two different things." Buffy explained as they started walking down the hall.
By that afternoon the whole school was talking about it. Some stories were truthful of how the orange hair occurred but others were much more exciting. Buffy's favorite was she challenged him to a duel and she frightened him almost to death and the hair was the result.
No one really cared, the Halloween feast was tonight...
End Chapter 12.