This follows "Limbo" but focuses more on Buffy and students at Hogwarts. "Buffy's Real Home" is the first story in this series. The order of the stories is on my profile page.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or BTVS. None of these characters are mine.

Chapter 1: Longing

******Back To Hogwarts******

Buffy did feel a little like she entered the Twilight Zone when she resumed classes after Spring Break. First, it was odd seeing Willow and Tara at the school. Willow didn't attend any classes even to observe. Instead, she spent time with Albus and took potions that Uncle Severus gave her. Having Cordelia in the school was strange. She was only going to be there a few weeks as when Xander and Anya's wedding happened, her father was going to open back the portal. Then Cordelia would go home. Buffy did, however, enjoy the new and improved Cordelia. She was so much more interesting and downright pleasant to be around than she had been in high school. Buffy also enjoyed sparring with her. Ironically, they both had the same teacher in Angel, and like Buffy, Angel disappointed Cordelia. They had much more in common now than they ever did in high school. Of course, Buffy knew she had dismissed Cordelia from the beginning because she had reminded Buffy too much of the person she had been before she was called. There had not been any desire in her then fifteen-year-old self to dig deeper to know the real Cordelia and not the social leader front she wore at Sunnydale High School. Buffy was glad that she had this opportunity to glimpse what Xander had seen in her.

Of course, Buffy couldn't help but notice the sparkage between her and Uncle Severus. Her godfather was at least a decade and a half older than Cordelia, but Buffy would never quibble at age considering her time with Angel.

The most extraordinary change, however, was in her brother and his house. First, she noticed at breakfast when an owl delivered Hermione a flower. She smiled as she smelled it but didn't seem surprised. Buffy couldn't help but notice that Hermione looked over at her brother's table.

Ron made gagging noises. "Can you two get anymore nauseating? Why does he have to show other blokes up so much?" Ron complained.

"You're just jealous you can't afford to do the same with Lavendar," Hemione said.

Harry just laughed but refrained from commenting.

Ron turned bright red. Keeping his crush from his too smart friend was impossible. "I don't like her!" he protested.

Hermione just gave him a smug look.

A puzzled Buffy asked, "Who's the guy?"

Everyone looked at her in various states of confusion and surprise.

"What do you mean?" Hermione finally asked.

"Who is Hermione dating?" Buffy asked again.

"We're twelve, Buffy," Hermione reminded her. "That's too young for dating. We just like each other."

"Who? Who do you like?" Buffy asked for the third time.

"How could you not know that?" Ron asked. "Especially since it's your brother."

"Seriously?" Buffy asked. "You and Drake?"

"Are you feeling okay, Buffy?" Harry asked, looking concerned.

"I feel fine," Buffy said. "But I think my trip to the other Earth has altered some things here."

"Like what?" Hermione asked.

"Like yesterday, you and Draco weren't a couple, or rather practicing at being a couple," Buffy said.

"Before you came here, there was this incident with a troll," Harry explained. "Draco helped save her."

"We wrote letters over spring break. We decided that in the fall we might try being a couple who holds hands sometimes—that's it," Hermione said. "We haven't exactly told your parents yet, but now that you have such liberal views, we are going to at the end of the term."

"With your dad as the DADA professor, we thought he might've figured it out," Ron added.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Harry inquired.

"I'm fine," Buffy said. "I'll explain when we're alone." She considered what she should tell them. The trio was used to handling hard truths, so they probably would deal with it okay.

After breakfast, they didn't have time to talk. However, she did have Drake and the trio in her potions class with Uncle Severus. As normal, Drake shared a table with her.

"So you and Hermione are close, huh?" she said as she watched him mix the potion.

Draco gave her a puzzled look. "Well, sure," he said. "She is my almost girlfriend."

"The fact that she's not a pure bred and raised by muggles doesn't bother you?" Buffy asked.

Draco's eyes narrowed. "Why the bloody hell would you ask me that? Of course not!" he exclaimed.

"You know that kind of thing doesn't matter to me," Buffy said. "However, our parents have always thought those things were important."

"I might've thought so when I was here at the first of the year," Draco said. "But Dad told me to befriend Harry. Although Ron tried to convince him all Slytherins were evil snakes, Harry didn't listen."

"He didn't? Why not?" Buffy asked.

"Because I stopped Crabbe from being mean to Hermione that first day on the train. I hate bullies who target girls," Draco said. "You know this story. What's wrong with you?"

"I'll explain later," she said.

It wasn't until their afternoon classes were over that Buffy was able to speak to the Golden Trio and her brother. They were in the corner of Gryffindor's common room.

"Okay, so tell us why you're so weird today," Ron ordered.

"You can't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you," Buffy said.

"Of course," Hermione said.

"Sure," Harry said.

"Okay," Draco said.

"Fine," Ron said. "Just spit it out."

"Well, you know that I went to the other Earth where I was taken from. That's where my friends came from," Buffy said. They all nodded. "The main reason I went to was to get my sister Dawn. She was magically created and inserted in my life when I was twenty. She was a key to all dimensions, and I died over there closing the portal in her place."

"That's crazy, Buffy," Draco said. "Dawn's been in my life always."

"That's the magic of the key," Buffy said. "In my other world, she was inserted as if she'd always been there. It was powerful magics. When I brought her to this world during Spring Break, she was fourteen. The next morning, she was magically altered to be nine, and you believed that she was always there."

"You're lying," Draco accused.

"Buffy wouldn't lie," Hermione said. "I would love to know a spell that could do all that."

"It took an entire group of monks to create the spell," Buffy said.

"That's impressive," Harry commented.

"Bloody impossible," Ron said.

"I am not making this up," Buffy said. "You can ask the Headmaster. I'm sure he was too powerful for the spell to affect him. My friends also know Dawn from their world. We told Mom and Dad before I came back to school."

"What does Dawn know?" Harry wondered.

"She has both sets of memories, so it's pretty easy for to go back and forth," Buffy admitted.

"Why wasn't I told?" Draco said.

"Honestly, you just weren't at breakfast that day, and our parents figured it would upset you too much," Buffy said with a shrug. "I'm sorry."

"I guess I understand," Draco said, not sure how he felt.

"What all is different besides her accent?" Ron asked.

"Draco is altered into a much nicer version of himself," Buffy shared. She looked at the trio. "He was kind of an ass to all of you. I guess having a little sister made him nicer."

"I could totally see that," Ron said. "I'd be a bigger arse if not for Ginny. The twins always pick on me, and she is always there for me to vent to. Sometimes, she goes after them on my behalf."

"Where Hermione and I close?" Draco asked.

Buffy shook her head. "No, you treated her very badly," she admitted.

Draco looked glum. "That blows," he muttered.

Hermione reached over and squeezed his hand. "You are young," she said. "I'm sure you would've come around eventually."

Draco couldn't imagine his life without his baby sister. His house was dark and depressing, and it would've been so lonely without her. Whenever his father became impossible, it was Dawn who made him smile and turned his attention from Draco.

"Well, I'm just glad that things are so nice here," Buffy said, putting her arms around her brother.

Draco couldn't agree more.

*****Two Weeks Later*****

Tara could not believe how much she felt at home at Hogwarts. Madam Pomfrey was so amazing. She told Tara that she was welcome to call her Poppy, but Tara felt students needed a good example. It was so nice using her magic to heal. Normally, it was just a bit of scrapes and an occasional broken arm. Just getting to use magic the way it was intended, however, and not always in defense filled her with joy.

After her shift was over, she went into her room humming and saw Willow reading on her bed.

"How was your day?" Tara asked as she leaned in to kiss her. All of the black was now gone from her hair.

"Good," Willow said. "I woke up today feeling better than I have in a long time."

"You look better," Tara commented.

"Albus says that nearly all the black magic is gone," she said. "After we return from the wedding, I'll probably need some more cleansing before I can sit in on classes."

"Well, we have to take time to wrap up our loose ends," Tara said. "Your parents need to know you'll be out of touch for a while, and we want to finish our finals and get our transcripts. They will probably work over here if we decide to finish our education."

"I think you studying medicine after your magical training would make you a very powerful healer," Willow said.

"I was thinking that, too," Tara said. "Once we become licensed to apparate, it won't be difficult to go wherever we need or want to."

"This is an amazing place," Willow agreed. The magic she was absorbing from the castle was intoxicating at times, and she had to work hard not to absorb too much. Unlike Giles, Albus had never spent time playing with the dark arts. Fortunately, Severus had, and he had explained how to release it. Using her wand would make the transition easier for her than it had been for him. His wand was as unbalanced as he had been due to using it so much in his younger years. Severus said it had taken him several years to find a balance. Willow was confident that it would not take her nearly as long.

*****A Week Later*****

Cordelia was frustrated. She only had a week to get something going with Severus. So far, he had been resisting her subtle flirting. Sure, he had accompanied her to Hogsmeade a few times, and they ate nearly every meal together. That would be considered dating in some places, but if she didn't get a physical touch of some kind, it was not much of a date. Although she had been flirting outrageously with Severus anytime they were alone together, nothing significant happened.

Finally, they were walking back from Hogsmeade, her hand had captured his elbow, hooking him to her. When he tried to pull away, she glared at him. The teens were several yards in front of them.

"I leave in a week," Cordelia remarked as they strolled along.

"I am aware," he said. Resisting her allure had been the most difficult thing he had ever done next to his days as a spy. Although he wanted to pull her close like she was obviously wanting, he did not see a point. She was literally from another world, and she was leaving. One taste of her would never be enough—he just knew that instinctively.

Cordelia waited for him to say something and when he remained silent, she got pissed.

"Do you not like me?" Cordelia asked, stopping and pulling away from him.

Already he missed her touch and steeled himself for her anger. "Of course, I like you," he said.

"Then why do you keep ignoring my hints? I'm not subtle, and you're not stupid," she said, a note of her impatience and annoyance in her voice.

"As you said, you are leaving," he remarked. "What would be the point?"

"The point? The point is life is fleeting, Sev," Cordelia pointed out. "You don't know what you will miss if you don't seize the day because tomorrow you could, or I could be dead."

"That's the hellmouth fatalistic view," he said. "Buffy has the same outlook. I live in a different world, and I can't afford to let myself get carried away."

"You don't want more from life? Don't you get lonely?" she asked.

"Loneliness is an old friend, and I don't expect much out of life," he replied. "I have my goddaughter back. That is enough."

Cordelia gave him a look of such pity and sadness that he didn't know if he was offended or hurt by it. Then she said, "I feel sorry for you, Severus. You can never be happy if you don't take happiness or pleasure when it's offered. Sometimes, it's all that gets us through the dark times. Believe me I know."

Then she turned and walked away from him, and he suddenly felt more alone than he had ever felt in his life.

As the days passed, Tara and Willow were getting ready to go back to their world to tie up loose ends, and Buffy was excited about the wedding.

Cordelia interacted with the three girls, but she could no longer be seen in Severus' presence. Buffy was quick to notice, and she cornered her godfather the third day.

"Uncle Severus, did you and Cordelia get into a fight?" she asked after her classmates left his room.

"Not exactly," he said, avoiding her eyes.

"What happened?" Buffy asked.

"What did she say happened?" he wondered.

"I haven't asked yet, but I will. So spill," she ordered.

"It is not any of your business," Severus said, glaring at her.

"Fine, I'll just ask her," Buffy said flouncing off. "But you're probably just being dumb about something 'cause that's how guys are."

Severus saw no reason to comment, but Lucius caught him at lunch the same day.

"Why is my daughter's friend giving you dark looks?" Lucius asked.

"How should I know? Americans are not my field of expertise even if your daughter has taught me a few things," he replied.

"You two seemed to be getting along well. You shared every meal together since she's been here," Lucius pointed out. "This week, she is sitting as far from you as possible."

Severus sighed. It pained him to feel the distance between them, but he didn't see any other way.

"She desired to take things further between us, but I didn't see the point," he finally admitted.

"She is very attractive," Lucius remarked. "And she wants you. The point should be obvious."

His friend, though, was always private about such matters and said nothing more. Inside, though, Severus was feeling the loss of her warmth already. Their eyes had connected that evening at dinner, and she wasn't glaring anymore. Instead, she looked extremely sad and a bit lonely.

Albus pulled him aside. "Severus, have you and Miss Chase had a falling out?" he inquired.

"I'm not sure how to answer that," Severus said.

Albus gave him a considering look. "It is okay to seek happiness, Severus," he said.

"How could I have happiness drawing close to someone who is going to leave not just the school but the planet?" he asked.

"Her friends are staying," Albus said. "Maybe she would too if you asked."

Severus said nothing as he walked away. Cordelia had spoken too much about the good her friends were doing. She received visions from the Powers in her world to guide her and know who to save. She hadn't had a single vision since she came to his world. Her place was not at Hogwarts.

The next morning, they somehow ended up at the doors of the dining hall at the same time. Severus wondered if she could hear his heart pounding in his chest.

He couldn't resist greeting her. "Good morning," he said simply.

Cordelia looked at him for a long moment. "I miss you," she said as she reached out to touch him. Then she pulled her hand back almost as if it took a great effort. Then she turned and proceeded into the hall ahead of him.

Suddenly, Severus did not feel at all like eating and walked slowly back to his quarters.

*****Chapter End*****