Author's Note: Sorry this took so long! My dad was being a pain and decided
that I spend too much time on the computer, so it's taken a bit longer.
Thank you to all my reviewers!
Chapter 8: Quidditch and Doublemeat Palace
Both Buffy and Severus woke up unusually late the following morning. Severus realized the time and both hurried to get dressed. Breakfast would begin in less than an hour. Severus was used to being up two or three hours before breakfast because he would work on some potions before then. Buffy rushed to the bathroom, where she was pleased to find that the tub had been transfigured into a shower with crimson and black tiles.
Ten mintues latert, Buffy emerged slowly from the bathroom, clad in her standard robes and Oxford shirt with its halfheartedly tied know. "Sev, could you do me a favor?" she asked quietly.
"Yes?" he responded.
Buffy asked, "It's too late for me to go to Dumbledore's office without being seen by a student, so could you do the glamourie? Please?"
"Of course, Buffy, one moment please," Severus said before turning around and casting a very complex charm on her face and hands.
Once he was done, Buffy raised her hand to her face. "Sev, I can still feel them."
"The charm only works outside of this room. In here, there's no reason for you to be under such heavy magic. I want to see your true beauty, exactly as you are. The marks show what you have done for everyone, your true inner beauty," Severus told her, drawing one finger down the largest mark. "I can change it if you want."
"No, no that's fine, thank you," Buffy said quickly, "Let's go!"
Severus and Buffy made their way to the Great Hall with both in a much better mood. Conversation nearly stopped when they entered the room. "Keep eating!" Buffy yelled good-naturedly.
The two Professors took their normal seats at the teachers' table. "Buffy, what do you have on the schedule today?" Remus asked.
Buffy smiled, "We still have two more classes to do demonstrations in, though I doubt it'll be much of a surprise now. After lunch, I'd like to play some Quidditch. Anyone wanna be my buddy and play with me?"
Severus, Remus, and Madam Hooch all happily agreed to a two-on-two match right after lunch. Buffy spent the meal talking with Severus and Minerva about plans for the resurrected Dumbledore's Army.
"It clearly needs some faculty support and leadership, but I doubt either Severus or I would be the right person because we're too close. Perhaps you could be the support and give some extra credit for participating. It would mask the special training you're giving Harry because most of the Slytherins would refuse to come to a class with with Harry as its ruling officer," Minerva suggested.
Buffy nodded as she ate some egg and swallowed before saying, "I'd love too, I just hope that Harry and his friends don't resent faculty interference."
Severus piped up and said, "I'll arrange a meeting for you with him after Potions this afternoon to speak to him about it. It would be easy enough to detain him for a few minutes."
"Thanks," Buffy said as she stood up, "Now I have to go decide how to kill a couple of vampires." She walked out of the Great Hall with everyone nearly silent again.
Remus walked into the DADA room half an hour later to find the front table cluttered with dozens of weapons. Stakes, swords, daggers, crossbows, Kendo sticks, throwing stars, ball and chain. A warrior's heaven. "What do you think, Remy, what should I use for the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff Sixth years?" she asked, holding up a katana and checking its edge.
Remus replied, "You don't need to worry about impressing them, they're about the easiest class above Second Years to impress. Those twin daggers would do nicely though. Those who are good with them look like bloody ballet dancers with 'em."
"Wanna see me with 'em?" Buffy asked. Remus turned around just in time to catch the katana that Buffy had been holding. She drew the fine daggers from their sheaths and stood in a ready position. "Come and get me."
Remus went for her, not intending to hurt her, and, as it turned out, he couldn't have if he tried. Buffy seemed to being just easy enough to keep the battle going for several minutes. They only stopped when they heard a gasp from the back of the room. Buffy stopped, putting her daggers up, but Remus was in mid swing and scraped her arm. "Oww," she whined, staring at the shallow slice breifly before turning to the gasper and said, "You're Alice Croppet? Take a seat wherever you like. Remus, since you managed to cut me, you get to manage to clean my now-bloodied sword."
Remus seemed genuinely sorry until he saw that the wound was already closing. The students filed in and stared at the mess of weapons at the front of the classroom. "Today, as you all know, you will be watching me fight a vampire. I am a Vampire Slayer, and I leave you to know my job. Corinthian!" she finished, releasing the vampire from his box.
Again, Buffy fought just hard enough to keep him from hurting her for several minutes. Her blades moved quickly as she sliced off its head, dusting the monster. The students were awed, as usual. She cleaned the blades and explained the rules of the class to them. "We will begin with wandless, weaponless defense and move onto weapons after Christmas," she told them. "But weapon demonstrations will occur once a week with various weapons until we have gone through everything here." The kids nodded in understanding and filed out of the classroom, their voices bubbling with excitement.
Buffy smiled and began to bounce lightly. "Quidditch after lunch!" she said happily. Then she left the DADA classroom and headed to the dungeons. Severus was in the middle of a class, but they were all just doing their work. She slipped in and began talking to him.
"Sev, you're the best Potions Master in Europe. So, Madam Poppy doesn't have anything that can help my leg, so I thought maybe you could help me find something?" Buffy asked nervously.
Severus became interested, his face a mix of a scientist's fascination and friendly concern, and replied, "Quite possibly, yes. Do you need something for the pain or to fix the injury site?"
"Fixing it would be best, though Poppy says that it would very difficult. But some pain potion that doesn't affect my mind would be nice," Buffy said sweetly.
Severus practically scurried into the back room, eager for a new project. Buffy turned around and noticed that the entire Potions class was staring at her. "Whatcha working on?" she asked innocently.
As luck would have it, it was Ginny Weasley's class, and she responded, "A die engel potion from Germany. It-"
"Gives the drinker temporary protection from spells for about ten seconds. Can only be used once a month. Generally useless, especially since it can't block the Killing Curse or the Imperius," Buffy finished, "Anyone need help? I wouldn't want any exploding cauldrons. Remember, you can't add the Baden-Baden spring water until after the Loch Ness slime."
"Bollocks!" one Hufflepuff boy exclaimed, "I did. Why didn't it explode?"
"Because the reaction doesn't happen until the goat liver is added."
"Can I counteract it, so I don't need to start all over again?" the boy asked.
"Add an amount of Ben Nevis moss equal to the mass of the Loch Ness slime you already put in," Buffy instructed. She moved and removed a tiny vial of the powder from a cupboard and handed it to the boy. He measured it carefully and handed it back to her. She heard Severus returning with the book he was looking for and had the vial back in the cupboard and her body up by his desk by the time he entered the room.
Sev glared briefly at Buffy, understanding her grin, but let it slide because the textbook didn't explain the problem. "I found a Potion that I need to fuss with a little so it doesn't affect the balance in the pendant, but I think it can be done in about a day. It'll take care of the pain. The things I need to fix it are numerous because we have to worry about you healing during the surgery because that's how fast you heal," he told her.
"Thanks, Sev," Buffy whispered in his ear as she dropped a peck on his cheek and left the classroom.
As soon as she was out of sight of the room, she ducked and went into her room. Taking out a book, Buffy began to write her lesson plans for the next week. Demonstrations were over and they would be doing real lessons the next day. Twenty minutes later, Severus stalked in and growled, "You helped them. And you kissed me."
"You have a problem with either one? Did you truly want to have to clean up exploding cauldrons? And weren't they looks on their faces priceless?" Buffy returned.
Severus broke into a reluctant smile and told her, "Yes, it was amusing. It's been a good long while since I've been able to surprise that class."
"See, I bring life into everywhere I go!" she said before her face darkened as she mumbled, "At least for a little while, then everyone ends up dying on me."
"Buffy, don't think like that, shit happens," Severus said, bothered by Buffy's sudden sadness.
With a faint shake of her head, it seemed as if Buffy had pushed the sadness from her face as she said, "So, how long till lunch?"
"Half an hour."
"Did you find much on fixing my leg?" she asked.
Severus nodded faintly and told her, "The problem is still your accelerated healing. To fix your leg, I have to come up with a potion that subdues the healing for a while."
"Cruciamentum. Except I don't think it will slow it down enough. Giles gae it to me on my eighteenth birthday and it turned me, strength-wise, into a normal girl. But I still healed at only slightly under my usual rate," Buffy explained.
Severus's eyes raised when he heard the name of the potion and he headed to his library and returned with a thick volume labeled, "Buch der Stärke Tränke". "My great-grandfather bought it in Germany before the French Revolution. It was secretly translated from a book from England because it was said to have a very dangerous potion in it. Cruciamentum, I think it was. Ah, here it is. Merlin, it's a wonder it didn't kill you."
"Not like they woulda cared," she said bitterly.
"I know, their cruelty was famous in the wizarding world. One of many reasons the Watcher's Council has never held any ground in our world."
"But it doesn't kill me, so if you could manipulate it so it would suppress the healing more, Poppy could do something," Buffy told him. Severus looked uneasy about Buffy using such a dangerous potion. "Look, Sev, I want to be able to walk normally. I want to be able to run and flip like I could before. This is the only way."
Severus nodded and headed into his room to begin work on everything. As he left, Buffy yelled, "Don't forget Quidditch after lunch!"
During lunch the entire Great Hall was buzzing as normal. Buffy, with her advanced hearing, caught some snippets of conversation referring to her and Severus. She smirked and pretended that nothing was different. The Quidditch players ate very little and left before lunch was even over.
Buffy and Severus donned the black Quidditch robes while Madam Hooch and Remus wore white robes. There was no Snitch and the game would only last forty-five minutes, so Severus and Madam Hooch both took the job of keeper while Buffy and Remus played the field. Everyone was a beater.
Remus opened up and got the Quaffle first, Buffy was hot on his heels. He took a shot on Severus, but the Potions Master caught it and threw it back to Buffy. Everyone's faces filled with fear when they saw a Bludger aimed for her head. Buffy caught the Quaffle and whipped around and hit the Bludger away without batting an eye. She headed for the other end and shot on Madam Hooch. Unfortunately, there was a reason Madam Theodora Hooch had played for the English national team fifteen years ago. She was faster than fast and caught the Quaffle without blinking.
The teachers' Quidditch game was spotted by a Ravenclaw fourth-year who told everyone in the school and soon there was a crowd of most of the school there. The game was at a standstill because every time Remus shot on Severus, Severus would catch it and every time Buffy shot on Theodora, Theodora stopped it. The moves they were pulling had rarely, if ever, been seen on the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch.
Then a Bludger finally made its way past Remus's defenses. He had the Quaffle and it hit him on the right side, knocking him off his broom. Buffy caught the Quaffle and, like many people thought she would, began to head towards the hoops. Then she flew down at a ninety-degree angle and grabbed Remus by the collar with one hand. She pulled up at the exactly right moment and probably saved Remus's life because most of the students and staff were to dumbfounded to catch him. Dumbledore probably would have saved him, but not completely prevented any injury. Slowly she lowered him to the ground.
The game ended without anyone scoring because no one could score. But by this point, everyone realized that Buffy was holding back a lot. The afternoon classes buzzed with excitement over their new teacher. She blushed and called the classes to order.
"We will begin with how to block punches. I don't want anyone killing anyone- yet. So instead, you'll be watching Professor Lupin block my attacks and then repeat with each other. We don't have that much time, so this will have to be it for today," Buffy told her students.
The teaching went along very well in Buffy's mind: no one had to go to the Infirmary. Neville ended up with a few bruises, but Remus healed them up with a flick of the wand. "By next class, read the next chapter in your textbooks. Remember, no wands in my room. Tomorrow you're with Remus, bring your wands, so get going everyone," Buffy told her class.
The students were, for the most part, pleased with their new teacher. The Slytherins were bothered by not being dependent on magic, but most of them saw the need for Wandless Defense. The Gryffindors were delighted with the new class because they got to do something and Buffy seemed unaware of House rivalry except for forbidding inter-house pairings for practice.
After everyone had left her room, Buffy headed up to the library, curious to read the Wizardly writings on Slayers. The librarian helped her find all the books she wanted and she trotted off to her rooms and began reading all fifteen volumes. A few were Watcher's Journals that Giles never let her read.
An hour later, when Severus came in from his last class, he found Buffy howling with laughter. "Sev, did you know that some ancient Wiz thought that Slayers were tigers in a human's body?" she managed through her laughter.
Severus looked quite startled and said, "No, no I didn't actually know that. Who was this Wizard?"
"Um," Buffy stopped her laughter long enough to flip through and read the name, "Sechnall Ardghal. Irish wizard."
Her colleague began chuckling, a smirk spread on his face as he told her, "He was my ancestor. A good man, but he went a bit nutters in his later years."
"Wait, Sev, you spoke the night before last. How the heck does a little English boy learn Gaelic in a Wizarding school where they don't teach foreign languages?" she asked.
Severus responded, "My maternal grandfather, Lucas Ardghal, was Irish and a very traditional Irishman at that. He spoke only Gaelic when he could get away with it. Much to my father's chagrin, I learned the language and loved it."
"My first boyfriend was Irish, two and a half centuries ago; he liked to speak Gaelic to me. It's beautiful language," Buffy said, "But I only know a few words. Like, ten."
"If you want, I could teach you," the raven-haired Potions Master offered.
Her eyes filled with tears as she told him, "No, not right now. Angel was the beginning of everything that killed everyone I loved. I want to leave it in the past, for now."
Severus nodded and changed the subject. "Dinner is in ten minutes, shall we go?"
"Yes, yes of course," the Slayer said, glad to leave the room for the moment. Her hand found the familiar, beautiful cane that had accompanied her so much. Severus was pleased to see that she was not favoring her leg as much as the day before. "So, what do you think is for dinner tonight?"
"Remus had a little talk with the House Elves. It seems Dobby has convinced the other elves that you are some sort of goddess," Severus said vaguely.
Buffy spent the entire walk up to the Great Hall naming her favorite foods, "Chocolate, sushi, ice cream, pizza, Chipotle burritos, Mom's chicken noodle soup, sesame chicken . . ." she drifted off as they entered the Great Hall. The tables were covered with standard American fast food fare. Hamburgers, hot dogs, French fries, potato chips, potato salad, and Coca- Cola. "Dobby!!!" she squealed.
Dobby popped out of nowhere, "What can Dobby get Professor Summers?"
"Nothing, oh Dobby, thankyouthankyouthankyou," she rushed as she picked the little House Elf up in her arms and practically hugged the life out of him.
Meanwhile, at the Gryffindor table, Ron Weasley was thoroughly enjoying the change in menu. "If this is what Yanks always eat, it's amazing Professor Summers isn't huge," he mumbled through a mouthful of hamburger.
Hermione admonished him, "Ron, it's not right to talk about a teacher that way."
"You have to admit, it is good food," Ron replied. Hermione rolled her eyes and continued to eat her potato salad.
Buffy was sitting between Severus and Dumbledore at the teachers' table, happily eating a hamburger. Dumbledore looked absolutely delighted with the new food. "You know, I never realized how good American fast food was! I understand you worked at a restaurant in America?" Dumbledore said.
She grimaced, "Yes, Doublemeat Palace, the world's most disgusting place ever. Greasiest place ever, too."
Remus piped in, "French fries are wonderful!" He was eating a plate full of French fries with a big goblet of Coke.
"Freedom fries, Remus," Buffy said.
"What?" he said.
"When France refused to support the U.S. in Iraq, the government changed French fries to freedom fries. Some sort of protest," she explained.
Dumbledore commented, "How very strange."
"Indeed," Severus added as he smothered his hamburger with mustard and ketchup.
Everything seemed to be falling into place. Buffy had friends and students who liked her. She was helping Harry Potter stay alive. Severus was working on a way to fix her leg. Her grief over loss of her friends from Sunnydale was beginning to fade.
Then an unfamiliar gray owl flew into Hogwards and landed on Buffy's plate. She nervously removed the letter from it leg, as it would not leave her alone until she did. She noticed the return address on the Muggle white envelope.
Rupert Giles
4389 Fox Lane
Apartment 3A
Sunnydale, California
She read the address. Buffy Summers, Hogarts, UK. But Buffy knew that handwriting. She hadn't thought she'd ever see it again.
Chapter 8: Quidditch and Doublemeat Palace
Both Buffy and Severus woke up unusually late the following morning. Severus realized the time and both hurried to get dressed. Breakfast would begin in less than an hour. Severus was used to being up two or three hours before breakfast because he would work on some potions before then. Buffy rushed to the bathroom, where she was pleased to find that the tub had been transfigured into a shower with crimson and black tiles.
Ten mintues latert, Buffy emerged slowly from the bathroom, clad in her standard robes and Oxford shirt with its halfheartedly tied know. "Sev, could you do me a favor?" she asked quietly.
"Yes?" he responded.
Buffy asked, "It's too late for me to go to Dumbledore's office without being seen by a student, so could you do the glamourie? Please?"
"Of course, Buffy, one moment please," Severus said before turning around and casting a very complex charm on her face and hands.
Once he was done, Buffy raised her hand to her face. "Sev, I can still feel them."
"The charm only works outside of this room. In here, there's no reason for you to be under such heavy magic. I want to see your true beauty, exactly as you are. The marks show what you have done for everyone, your true inner beauty," Severus told her, drawing one finger down the largest mark. "I can change it if you want."
"No, no that's fine, thank you," Buffy said quickly, "Let's go!"
Severus and Buffy made their way to the Great Hall with both in a much better mood. Conversation nearly stopped when they entered the room. "Keep eating!" Buffy yelled good-naturedly.
The two Professors took their normal seats at the teachers' table. "Buffy, what do you have on the schedule today?" Remus asked.
Buffy smiled, "We still have two more classes to do demonstrations in, though I doubt it'll be much of a surprise now. After lunch, I'd like to play some Quidditch. Anyone wanna be my buddy and play with me?"
Severus, Remus, and Madam Hooch all happily agreed to a two-on-two match right after lunch. Buffy spent the meal talking with Severus and Minerva about plans for the resurrected Dumbledore's Army.
"It clearly needs some faculty support and leadership, but I doubt either Severus or I would be the right person because we're too close. Perhaps you could be the support and give some extra credit for participating. It would mask the special training you're giving Harry because most of the Slytherins would refuse to come to a class with with Harry as its ruling officer," Minerva suggested.
Buffy nodded as she ate some egg and swallowed before saying, "I'd love too, I just hope that Harry and his friends don't resent faculty interference."
Severus piped up and said, "I'll arrange a meeting for you with him after Potions this afternoon to speak to him about it. It would be easy enough to detain him for a few minutes."
"Thanks," Buffy said as she stood up, "Now I have to go decide how to kill a couple of vampires." She walked out of the Great Hall with everyone nearly silent again.
Remus walked into the DADA room half an hour later to find the front table cluttered with dozens of weapons. Stakes, swords, daggers, crossbows, Kendo sticks, throwing stars, ball and chain. A warrior's heaven. "What do you think, Remy, what should I use for the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff Sixth years?" she asked, holding up a katana and checking its edge.
Remus replied, "You don't need to worry about impressing them, they're about the easiest class above Second Years to impress. Those twin daggers would do nicely though. Those who are good with them look like bloody ballet dancers with 'em."
"Wanna see me with 'em?" Buffy asked. Remus turned around just in time to catch the katana that Buffy had been holding. She drew the fine daggers from their sheaths and stood in a ready position. "Come and get me."
Remus went for her, not intending to hurt her, and, as it turned out, he couldn't have if he tried. Buffy seemed to being just easy enough to keep the battle going for several minutes. They only stopped when they heard a gasp from the back of the room. Buffy stopped, putting her daggers up, but Remus was in mid swing and scraped her arm. "Oww," she whined, staring at the shallow slice breifly before turning to the gasper and said, "You're Alice Croppet? Take a seat wherever you like. Remus, since you managed to cut me, you get to manage to clean my now-bloodied sword."
Remus seemed genuinely sorry until he saw that the wound was already closing. The students filed in and stared at the mess of weapons at the front of the classroom. "Today, as you all know, you will be watching me fight a vampire. I am a Vampire Slayer, and I leave you to know my job. Corinthian!" she finished, releasing the vampire from his box.
Again, Buffy fought just hard enough to keep him from hurting her for several minutes. Her blades moved quickly as she sliced off its head, dusting the monster. The students were awed, as usual. She cleaned the blades and explained the rules of the class to them. "We will begin with wandless, weaponless defense and move onto weapons after Christmas," she told them. "But weapon demonstrations will occur once a week with various weapons until we have gone through everything here." The kids nodded in understanding and filed out of the classroom, their voices bubbling with excitement.
Buffy smiled and began to bounce lightly. "Quidditch after lunch!" she said happily. Then she left the DADA classroom and headed to the dungeons. Severus was in the middle of a class, but they were all just doing their work. She slipped in and began talking to him.
"Sev, you're the best Potions Master in Europe. So, Madam Poppy doesn't have anything that can help my leg, so I thought maybe you could help me find something?" Buffy asked nervously.
Severus became interested, his face a mix of a scientist's fascination and friendly concern, and replied, "Quite possibly, yes. Do you need something for the pain or to fix the injury site?"
"Fixing it would be best, though Poppy says that it would very difficult. But some pain potion that doesn't affect my mind would be nice," Buffy said sweetly.
Severus practically scurried into the back room, eager for a new project. Buffy turned around and noticed that the entire Potions class was staring at her. "Whatcha working on?" she asked innocently.
As luck would have it, it was Ginny Weasley's class, and she responded, "A die engel potion from Germany. It-"
"Gives the drinker temporary protection from spells for about ten seconds. Can only be used once a month. Generally useless, especially since it can't block the Killing Curse or the Imperius," Buffy finished, "Anyone need help? I wouldn't want any exploding cauldrons. Remember, you can't add the Baden-Baden spring water until after the Loch Ness slime."
"Bollocks!" one Hufflepuff boy exclaimed, "I did. Why didn't it explode?"
"Because the reaction doesn't happen until the goat liver is added."
"Can I counteract it, so I don't need to start all over again?" the boy asked.
"Add an amount of Ben Nevis moss equal to the mass of the Loch Ness slime you already put in," Buffy instructed. She moved and removed a tiny vial of the powder from a cupboard and handed it to the boy. He measured it carefully and handed it back to her. She heard Severus returning with the book he was looking for and had the vial back in the cupboard and her body up by his desk by the time he entered the room.
Sev glared briefly at Buffy, understanding her grin, but let it slide because the textbook didn't explain the problem. "I found a Potion that I need to fuss with a little so it doesn't affect the balance in the pendant, but I think it can be done in about a day. It'll take care of the pain. The things I need to fix it are numerous because we have to worry about you healing during the surgery because that's how fast you heal," he told her.
"Thanks, Sev," Buffy whispered in his ear as she dropped a peck on his cheek and left the classroom.
As soon as she was out of sight of the room, she ducked and went into her room. Taking out a book, Buffy began to write her lesson plans for the next week. Demonstrations were over and they would be doing real lessons the next day. Twenty minutes later, Severus stalked in and growled, "You helped them. And you kissed me."
"You have a problem with either one? Did you truly want to have to clean up exploding cauldrons? And weren't they looks on their faces priceless?" Buffy returned.
Severus broke into a reluctant smile and told her, "Yes, it was amusing. It's been a good long while since I've been able to surprise that class."
"See, I bring life into everywhere I go!" she said before her face darkened as she mumbled, "At least for a little while, then everyone ends up dying on me."
"Buffy, don't think like that, shit happens," Severus said, bothered by Buffy's sudden sadness.
With a faint shake of her head, it seemed as if Buffy had pushed the sadness from her face as she said, "So, how long till lunch?"
"Half an hour."
"Did you find much on fixing my leg?" she asked.
Severus nodded faintly and told her, "The problem is still your accelerated healing. To fix your leg, I have to come up with a potion that subdues the healing for a while."
"Cruciamentum. Except I don't think it will slow it down enough. Giles gae it to me on my eighteenth birthday and it turned me, strength-wise, into a normal girl. But I still healed at only slightly under my usual rate," Buffy explained.
Severus's eyes raised when he heard the name of the potion and he headed to his library and returned with a thick volume labeled, "Buch der Stärke Tränke". "My great-grandfather bought it in Germany before the French Revolution. It was secretly translated from a book from England because it was said to have a very dangerous potion in it. Cruciamentum, I think it was. Ah, here it is. Merlin, it's a wonder it didn't kill you."
"Not like they woulda cared," she said bitterly.
"I know, their cruelty was famous in the wizarding world. One of many reasons the Watcher's Council has never held any ground in our world."
"But it doesn't kill me, so if you could manipulate it so it would suppress the healing more, Poppy could do something," Buffy told him. Severus looked uneasy about Buffy using such a dangerous potion. "Look, Sev, I want to be able to walk normally. I want to be able to run and flip like I could before. This is the only way."
Severus nodded and headed into his room to begin work on everything. As he left, Buffy yelled, "Don't forget Quidditch after lunch!"
During lunch the entire Great Hall was buzzing as normal. Buffy, with her advanced hearing, caught some snippets of conversation referring to her and Severus. She smirked and pretended that nothing was different. The Quidditch players ate very little and left before lunch was even over.
Buffy and Severus donned the black Quidditch robes while Madam Hooch and Remus wore white robes. There was no Snitch and the game would only last forty-five minutes, so Severus and Madam Hooch both took the job of keeper while Buffy and Remus played the field. Everyone was a beater.
Remus opened up and got the Quaffle first, Buffy was hot on his heels. He took a shot on Severus, but the Potions Master caught it and threw it back to Buffy. Everyone's faces filled with fear when they saw a Bludger aimed for her head. Buffy caught the Quaffle and whipped around and hit the Bludger away without batting an eye. She headed for the other end and shot on Madam Hooch. Unfortunately, there was a reason Madam Theodora Hooch had played for the English national team fifteen years ago. She was faster than fast and caught the Quaffle without blinking.
The teachers' Quidditch game was spotted by a Ravenclaw fourth-year who told everyone in the school and soon there was a crowd of most of the school there. The game was at a standstill because every time Remus shot on Severus, Severus would catch it and every time Buffy shot on Theodora, Theodora stopped it. The moves they were pulling had rarely, if ever, been seen on the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch.
Then a Bludger finally made its way past Remus's defenses. He had the Quaffle and it hit him on the right side, knocking him off his broom. Buffy caught the Quaffle and, like many people thought she would, began to head towards the hoops. Then she flew down at a ninety-degree angle and grabbed Remus by the collar with one hand. She pulled up at the exactly right moment and probably saved Remus's life because most of the students and staff were to dumbfounded to catch him. Dumbledore probably would have saved him, but not completely prevented any injury. Slowly she lowered him to the ground.
The game ended without anyone scoring because no one could score. But by this point, everyone realized that Buffy was holding back a lot. The afternoon classes buzzed with excitement over their new teacher. She blushed and called the classes to order.
"We will begin with how to block punches. I don't want anyone killing anyone- yet. So instead, you'll be watching Professor Lupin block my attacks and then repeat with each other. We don't have that much time, so this will have to be it for today," Buffy told her students.
The teaching went along very well in Buffy's mind: no one had to go to the Infirmary. Neville ended up with a few bruises, but Remus healed them up with a flick of the wand. "By next class, read the next chapter in your textbooks. Remember, no wands in my room. Tomorrow you're with Remus, bring your wands, so get going everyone," Buffy told her class.
The students were, for the most part, pleased with their new teacher. The Slytherins were bothered by not being dependent on magic, but most of them saw the need for Wandless Defense. The Gryffindors were delighted with the new class because they got to do something and Buffy seemed unaware of House rivalry except for forbidding inter-house pairings for practice.
After everyone had left her room, Buffy headed up to the library, curious to read the Wizardly writings on Slayers. The librarian helped her find all the books she wanted and she trotted off to her rooms and began reading all fifteen volumes. A few were Watcher's Journals that Giles never let her read.
An hour later, when Severus came in from his last class, he found Buffy howling with laughter. "Sev, did you know that some ancient Wiz thought that Slayers were tigers in a human's body?" she managed through her laughter.
Severus looked quite startled and said, "No, no I didn't actually know that. Who was this Wizard?"
"Um," Buffy stopped her laughter long enough to flip through and read the name, "Sechnall Ardghal. Irish wizard."
Her colleague began chuckling, a smirk spread on his face as he told her, "He was my ancestor. A good man, but he went a bit nutters in his later years."
"Wait, Sev, you spoke the night before last. How the heck does a little English boy learn Gaelic in a Wizarding school where they don't teach foreign languages?" she asked.
Severus responded, "My maternal grandfather, Lucas Ardghal, was Irish and a very traditional Irishman at that. He spoke only Gaelic when he could get away with it. Much to my father's chagrin, I learned the language and loved it."
"My first boyfriend was Irish, two and a half centuries ago; he liked to speak Gaelic to me. It's beautiful language," Buffy said, "But I only know a few words. Like, ten."
"If you want, I could teach you," the raven-haired Potions Master offered.
Her eyes filled with tears as she told him, "No, not right now. Angel was the beginning of everything that killed everyone I loved. I want to leave it in the past, for now."
Severus nodded and changed the subject. "Dinner is in ten minutes, shall we go?"
"Yes, yes of course," the Slayer said, glad to leave the room for the moment. Her hand found the familiar, beautiful cane that had accompanied her so much. Severus was pleased to see that she was not favoring her leg as much as the day before. "So, what do you think is for dinner tonight?"
"Remus had a little talk with the House Elves. It seems Dobby has convinced the other elves that you are some sort of goddess," Severus said vaguely.
Buffy spent the entire walk up to the Great Hall naming her favorite foods, "Chocolate, sushi, ice cream, pizza, Chipotle burritos, Mom's chicken noodle soup, sesame chicken . . ." she drifted off as they entered the Great Hall. The tables were covered with standard American fast food fare. Hamburgers, hot dogs, French fries, potato chips, potato salad, and Coca- Cola. "Dobby!!!" she squealed.
Dobby popped out of nowhere, "What can Dobby get Professor Summers?"
"Nothing, oh Dobby, thankyouthankyouthankyou," she rushed as she picked the little House Elf up in her arms and practically hugged the life out of him.
Meanwhile, at the Gryffindor table, Ron Weasley was thoroughly enjoying the change in menu. "If this is what Yanks always eat, it's amazing Professor Summers isn't huge," he mumbled through a mouthful of hamburger.
Hermione admonished him, "Ron, it's not right to talk about a teacher that way."
"You have to admit, it is good food," Ron replied. Hermione rolled her eyes and continued to eat her potato salad.
Buffy was sitting between Severus and Dumbledore at the teachers' table, happily eating a hamburger. Dumbledore looked absolutely delighted with the new food. "You know, I never realized how good American fast food was! I understand you worked at a restaurant in America?" Dumbledore said.
She grimaced, "Yes, Doublemeat Palace, the world's most disgusting place ever. Greasiest place ever, too."
Remus piped in, "French fries are wonderful!" He was eating a plate full of French fries with a big goblet of Coke.
"Freedom fries, Remus," Buffy said.
"What?" he said.
"When France refused to support the U.S. in Iraq, the government changed French fries to freedom fries. Some sort of protest," she explained.
Dumbledore commented, "How very strange."
"Indeed," Severus added as he smothered his hamburger with mustard and ketchup.
Everything seemed to be falling into place. Buffy had friends and students who liked her. She was helping Harry Potter stay alive. Severus was working on a way to fix her leg. Her grief over loss of her friends from Sunnydale was beginning to fade.
Then an unfamiliar gray owl flew into Hogwards and landed on Buffy's plate. She nervously removed the letter from it leg, as it would not leave her alone until she did. She noticed the return address on the Muggle white envelope.
Rupert Giles
4389 Fox Lane
Apartment 3A
Sunnydale, California
She read the address. Buffy Summers, Hogarts, UK. But Buffy knew that handwriting. She hadn't thought she'd ever see it again.