AN: I DON'T OWN IT AND I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY THAT TOLKIEN IS GOD AND THE THIRD MOVIE IS BRILLIANT. THIS WILL BE MY LAST UPDATE FOR A WHILE BECAUSE I AM GOING TO MONACO FOR A WEEK WITHOUT ANY INTERNET OR COMPUTERS WHATSOEVER.
Chapter 3
Severus Snape was not happy. This was not a strange occurrence, for he was stuck spending his days teaching mindless imbeciles potions, most of them failing to even begin to grasp the beauty of the subject. But today, the professor was especially annoyed. Ever since the Potter brat had disappeared at the end of July, the whole of Hogwarts and some of the ministry had been in uproar trying to find the aggravating idiot.
He had been forced into spending his summer looking for the idiotic boy, time he could've spent making potions. Then Albus had found a lead that suggested the reappearance of an infamous and brutal vampire. He had then been forced to come to California, where the most muggle of all muggles lived. As if this was not bad enough, he had arrived in California to find out that the vampire Angelus was in fact Harry Potter.
To make things even worse, there was the annoying blonde who sat by Angelus. Severus Snape had not worked for the most evil dark lord in living memory without knowing how to identify a vampire when he saw one. However, this aggravating female was not a vampire, yet she seemed to be very intimate with the dark vampire.
The other six were also unusual, even if it were just for some their knowledge and acceptance of the existence of vampires.
The red-haired female who looked too much like Lily Potter seemed to be very unusual. There was an aura of magic around her, but it was not that which he was used to.
The boy sitting next to her with died hair seemed to be normal, if typically muggle. But Severus had gone to school with Remus Lupin and knew enough about werewolves to be able to identify one when he saw him.
The dark haired female was slouched on a sofa in what seemed to a man who had spent his entire life wearing high-necked robes to be extremely indecent clothes. She seemed to be relaxed, but Snape knew enough about war to be able to tell when a person was only pretending to be relaxed. There was something strange about this one, something that Snape had also seen in the blond girl.
The dark haired boy and the dark female seemed to be perfectly ordinary, but they were too unconcerned in the presence of a vampire to be dismissed easily. They seemed to be muggles, but they knew too much.
There was something familiar about the older man. He seemed to be very wise, but there was something in his eyes that spoke of great sadness and, if you looked deeper, a hard and embittered past.
Snape turned his gaze back to where the Potter brat sat with the blonde female. He scowled, but he didn't say what he truly thought of the boy, as he wasn't stupid enough to mess with someone who was infamous for his terrible and violent acts over two hundred years. Instead, he tried to control his voice as he spoke,
"Potter, what are you doing here?"
He used the voice that usually turned students into piles of quivering fear on the floor, but the aggravating boy merely smiled and said,
"That, professor, is a very long story indeed."
He scowled,
"Idiot boy, tell us now."
The seven strangers stared in shock and horror at him. He supposed that no one had ever called Angelus an idiot boy before in front of them. However, the vampire merely smiled again and turned to professor Dumbledore.
"Professor, what I have to tell you is not that long a story, but I owe Buffy and the others a much longer explanation. If you would be so kind as to wait for your explanation while I gave theirs to them, things would be much easier."
It was obvious that Dumbledore was just as curious as Snape, but he nodded.
"Of course, Harry. Feel free to tell your friends everything."
Angelus started slightly then smiled,
"I haven't been called that in a long, long time."
Xander scowled,
"Dead-boy, this is very interesting, but you said something about an explanation."
Angelus winced,
"Harris, what have I told you about calling me that?"
Xander snorted and Willow elbowed him in the ribs out of habit, Angelus began his explanation.
"As you know, I was turned two-hundred and fifty years ago by Darla. This was when I was twenty-two. You all know what happened after then, but my life before then was even more complex. I was born in the year 1980 to a couple called Lily and James Potter. They were killed on Halloween the year after I was born, by an evil wizard called Lord Voldemort. Voldemort tried and failed to kill me, in an attempt that almost cost him his life. I was left with only this scar, while Voldemort vanished, a shadow of his former self, barely alive. I was then sent to live with my aunt and uncle and until my eleventh birthday I knew nothing of my wizarding heritage. On my eleventh birthday I found out the truth of my heritage and received my acceptance letter to Hogwarts. To cut what is a exceedingly long story very short, at the end of my fourth year, Voldemort returned to life. This was at the end of June this year. I was at that time, fourteen years old. On July 31st, my fifteenth birthday, a time vortex was accidentally opened in my bedroom. I was sent into the past, to seven years before I was turned. I was adopted by my father and became Liam O'Connor. It would be fatally damaging to the space-time continuum if I had contacted the wizarding world at any time before my disappearance this year, and then I was delayed and unable to return."
All of the other ten people in the room stared in shock at Angel. Then, Buffy spoke,
"So, technically, I'm older than you, right?"
Angel smiled slightly and nodded, Buffy smiled back at him for a moment, then winced,
"That means, you were, like, fourteen this January."
Angel nodded again,
"Eeew, I'm, like, a cradle snatcher or something."
Willow stared at the two of them and spoke,
"So, Buffy's actually the older one in your relationship?"
Buffy scowled,
"Does this mean I have to pay now?"
Angel smiled down at her,
"No, Buff', I may have been born in 1980, but that doesn't erase the two-hundred and fifty years of my unlife."
"Oh!"
Dumbledore smiled benevolently at the couple, glad that Harry had found a degree of love and happiness in his life. But there were still important questions to ask.
"You were reputed to have disappeared some one hundred years ago, did you spend all this time in this hell dimension you speak of?"
Angel shook his head,
"No, I went there in early June, but Angelus did disappear at the end of the nineteenth century. There was an unfortunate incident involving a clan of gypsies and my soul was returned to me as a punishment. Angelus had a reawakening recently, but he will not be returning in any of the near future."
This answer seemed to make sense to Professor Dumbledore, to Angel's great relief as he didn't want to have to talk of his escapades over the last two and a half centuries. Dumbledore had other questions to ask now though,
"Will you be returning back to England with us?"
Angel winced and though for a moment,
"I must return to face him, mustn't I?"
Dumbledore nodded, but Buffy turned to Angel,
"You're leaving me? But you've only just come back."
Angel nodded sadly,
"I don't have a choice, Buff'. I have to face him."
Buffy seemed on the verge of tears,
"Can I come with you?"
Angel glanced at Professor Dumbledore, who glanced at Buffy,
"You are not a witch. But there is something unusual about you."
Buffy smirked slightly,
"I'm the Slayer."
Faith glared at her and Buffy repaired the statement,
"Well, I'm one of two slayers."
Faith nodded in approval, but all three of the Hogwarts staff stared, after a time, Dumbledore asked the question that was on all of their lips,
"How can there be more than one slayer?"
Buffy and Faith smiled at each other and Buffy spoke,
"Well, I died for a minute, then Xander brought me back. But, while I was dead, Kendra was called, then Kendra died and Faith was called. Therefore we have two slayers instead of just the one."
Snape stared at the girl for a long time. This petite and delicate child was the vaunted slayer that all wizards had heard so much about. The girl, Buffy, spoke,
"So, can I come with?"
Albus seemed startled,
"Of course, you will be very welcome. Might I ask if you would do me a favour."
Buffy seemed startled, but she nodded,
"Sure, what do you want me to do?"
Albus smiled,
"Well, we were having difficulties in locating an appropriate Defence Teacher for this year, is you would agree to come and teach at Hogwarts, I would be most thankful. You would, of course, be paid the usual sum for any teaching position at Hogwarts and would receive room and board."
Buffy stared at Dumbledore for a long time, while Snape fumed that the job he had wanted for so long had been given to some slip of an American muggle girl. Then the Slayer spoke,
"So, I'd be, like, teaching Angel?"
Dumbledore smiled and nodded, while Buffy considered this,
"So, I'd be able to give detentions and stuff?"
Dumbledore nodded again and Buffy smiled,
"This is sounding definitely promising. It would be a contract for just the one year right?"
Dumbledore nodded,
"We have been having difficulty keeping a defence teacher for any longer than the one year, but if you wished to stay afterwards, you would be very welcome."
Buffy smiled suddenly,
"Sounds great. I'll come and teach for you if you want."
Giles, coughed slightly,
"I do approve of your aims Buffy, but you need to stay here."
Buffy nodded slightly,
"I know Giles, but the council has two slayers now. Faith will be fine by her self."
Faith was unable to help herself, she blushed slightly with pleasure. She was confident in her skills as a slayer, but Buffy was the original slayer. If Buffy hadn't died for a few minutes, then Faith wouldn't be a slayer. Faith sometimes felt that she was a mistake, that Buffy was the only real slayer, hearing Buffy's faith in her was very pleasing to say the least. She didn't trust Angel in the slightest, particularly not after what she had heard about Angelus' exploits, but if Buffy trusted him, then Faith was willing to give him a chance. The silence was interrupted by Willow's voice,
"Well, Principal Snyder will be overjoyed."
Buffy smiled,
"Well, he's definitely one person I won't miss."
Willow nodded, then winced,
"Buffy, what are you going to tell Scott?"
Buffy flinched as well,
"Fuck, I'd forgotten about Scott."
Angel looked annoyed and asked, trying to sound merely politely curious and failing miserably,
"Who's this Scott?"
Buffy winced,
"Yes, well, we need to talk about that…"
Angel smiled sadly,
"Well, you deserve someone who can make you happy."
Buffy lifted her hand up to caress Angel's cold cheek.
"Angel. I love you, not anyone else. I don't care if we can never be together in that way again. All that matters is that you're okay. I missed you every day. Scott was just me trying to get over it. But I could never love anyone like I love you."
There were tears in Buffy's eyes as she said this and Angel lowered one hand to dry them away and brush Buffy's hair out of her eyes. They sat there like that for a long time, before Buffy asked him in a soft voice,
"Angel, would there be any way, in your world, of finding a way to make your soul permanent?"
Angel gazed down at her in amazement.
"I hadn't thought of that, Buff'. But there would probably be some book in the library that could help with that."
Buffy smiled up at her lover,
"Well, now we definitely have to go."
Willow finally understood the connotations of what Angel was saying,
"You mean, that you might be able to find a way so that the two of you could be together?"
Angel nodded,
"It's a definite possibility. Buff' there's something I want to ask you…"
Buffy cut him off before he could finish what he was going to say,
"Angel, I'm going out on patrol, come with me, ask me when we're alone."
Angel smiled,
"That would be lovely Buff', I've missed going on patrol with you."
Then he turned to the three Hogwarts professors,
"I'm sure Buffy will have some things she needs to sort out before she can leave, so we'll leave tomorrow evening, just after sunset. I'll be here with Buffy and any of the others who want to come with us, which they are welcome to do if they wish."
This last part was directed at the other six who exchanged glances with each other. After he had said this, Angel rose from his seat and, offering his hand to Buffy, left the room.
TBC.