After so Long Chapter 6: Long Journey to a New Start, a buffy x-overs fanfic

A/N: Sorry it took me longer than expected to get the new chapter out. My teachers just decided to pile on the homework leaving no time for you lovely people. As usual thanks to everyone who reveiwed for my stories. I love to hear everyone's input and suggestions for my writing. And on with the story...

Disclaimer: I don't own anything even though it would be cool if I did.

Chapter Five:

Long Journey to a New Start

The morning that Giles came bounding into all their rooms was possibly the worst morning in all of their lives. Everyone was pretty much loathing Giles right now. Who in their right mind wakes a bunch of 15 and 16 year olds up at 7 in the morning on a sunday? Its just not done in the land of the normal.

Faith however took the early morning wake up call the worst...Giles bounded into the room that she shared with Buffy and Willow. The certains where shut as tight as they would go to not allow an ounce of light to wake the slumbering teens. Giles being the efficient man he was knew that said certains would probably have the greatest effect on the unsuspecting youth.

In a second blazing sunlight was streaming into the room covering the girls in its blinding light. Willow was the first to give into the wakening as she just opened her eyes and let a large yawn out as she went to watch the show that this morning would certainly bring.

She wasn't disappointed though, Buffy in her usual fashion burrowed herself deep beneath the covers making herself appear as a miniscule bump under the large comforter. This of course didn't work out the way Buffy planned much to Willow's amusement. Giles with a stern expression planted on his face just marched on over to her bed and got a good hold on the covering and with a giant pull it landed on the floor with Buffy wrapped up inside of it who screamed like a banshee as she hit the hard wood floor.

How Faith could sleep through all of this was a mystery to everyone. Despite the light and Buffy's earsplitting scream she was still sleeping contently in her bed. Now though since both Buffy and Willow were awake Giles now had a little help in waking the last remaining teen. None of them wanted to go anywhere near Faith, she had a tendancy to kick anyone who tried to wake her up. So the went for the safe approach...Giles magicked three large buckets of ice cold water and handed them out to the girls. All at once the threw the water onto the sleeping figure.

Willow and Buffy immediately burst into fits of laughter as Faith leaped out of bed with a scream, shocked from the sudden cold. Here shock didn't last long however when she suddenly turned to the giggling pair with murder in her eyes. That shut them up of course as they both ran into th bathroom and locked the door to hide from Faith.

That lasted a good half hour until Giles threatened Faith with no flying (a favorite pastime that she shares with Buffy.) before he finally managed to get her to leave the hiding pair alone. Eventually everyone was ready...

Giles waited what seemed like forever for his charges to finally come down the stairs. The guys were there already looking worse for wear, Xander in praticular who kept falling out of his chair and screaming something about someone stealing his twinkies.

Then when Giles was about to march up to the girls room and drag them one by one downstairs so they could all leave. All three girls came down carrying their trunks and animals ready to leave for the train. To Giles wonder they all seemed to be decked out in nice clean outfits, the tiredness that had previously exhibited was no here to be seen.

Willow as usual was the most conservative of the three. She was wearing a nice long plaid skirt that made her appear years younger than she actually was. Her shirt was slightly baggy with little flowers adorning the hem. The bright red hair was in french braids across her shoulders. The sight of the shy girl gave Giles some hope that his charges wouldn't be completely out of hand. Those hopes were quickly shredded into tiny bits when his old eyes landed on the terrible twosome as the teachers had nicknamed them years before.

Faith was as usual wearing way to tight black jeans that fell way to low on her hips and a black wife beater with the words "No angel" written in blood red lettering. Her hair was down in there normal waves down her back and brown dark makeup that made her brown eyes stand out. Giles knew she would be the most trouble out of the group even more than his slayer.

Turning to Buffy he was struck with the innocents that seemed to attract even the coldest people to her. Giles remembered why everyone was drawn to her like a moth to the flame. She was wearing a simple pale blue tank top that made her golden tanned skin shine in the dim lighting of the room. her much to short white skirt seemed to make her look much to old than she should she was only 15 years old, much to young to wear anything that revealing. Her sun kissed blond hair was sweeped up into a messy pony tale with wisps framing her face where her sparkling green eyes lay.

Clearing his throat Giles motioned for everyone to head out of the empty pub that wasn't yet filled with the early morning rush. Luckily the train station wasn't very far away so they didn't need to find any alternate transportation than their own two feet. They made the trek over wuickly enough only to find their destination, the King's Cross Station. completely empty.

"Giles...where exactly is our train?" Willow asked as Giles led them to what appeared to be a red brick wall between platforms nine and ten.

"Just behind this wall actually. Who wants to go first?" Giles responded looking expectantly at the confused youth.

"What do you mean its behind the wall? How do they expect us to get through then if there's no door?" Xander asked while munching on an apple that he had grabbed on the way out of the Leaky Cauldron.

Cleaning his glasses, Giles stalled before announcing, "you have to walk through the wall, Isuggest you do it at a run..."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE HAVE TO WALK THROUGH THE WALL?" Xander yelled out making the security guard turn to look at the suspicious group that stood alone in the deserted trainstation.

"Do keep your voice down. You never know how a muggle may react." Giles hushed the group, mostly Xander though.

"Can we just go through already..." Faith asked eyeing the wall with interest.

"Go ahead." Giles said relieved that someone was finally going through to the Hogwarts Express.

Picking up her trunk and puppy ran toward the wall before disappearing to the other side. After seeing Faith suceed in crossing over Buffy just shrugged her shoulders before picking up her stuff again and easily strolling through the barrier. Oz and Willow soon followed leaving Xander who was forced to finally cross the wall and a realeaved Giles.

They spent some time admiring the train before they finally went in. They were all so surprised about how different it was. Seeing the Hogwarts Express just made them all see how unfair it was that the American schools didn't have their own train. Going in they found the very last compartment that appeared to be the biggest one in the train, roomy enough for all of them to lay down comfortable and room for their brand new pets to have their own little corner right next to Giles spot where he was reading some boring textbook.

They watched as the trainstation slowly began to fill with witches and wizards ready for the new term. Everyone seemed to know eachother and were greeting their old friends cheerfully. And it suddenly seemed to dawn on them that they wont have that. They had to start fresh with these new British wizards.

Before they knew it the train started to move along its course to the school. Xander and Oz started playing chess together becoming so immersed in the game nothing could have distracted them. Willow was playing with her new kitten that she had named Tara. As for Buffy and Faith, they had turned on the stereo Willow magicked to work around all the magic. They had the music turned on high and were dancing around and singing to the music. Their actions weren't all that shocking though, it was the fact that they were both really good that seemed to put their friends for a loop before they went off into their own little world.

Buffy and Faith just kept singing to Sugarcult's "Bouncing Off the Walls"

I'm bouncing off the walls again (whoa oh)

I'm looking like a fool again (whoa oh)

I threw away my reputation

One more song for the radio station

A crowd was forming outside their now open compartment door. Apparently the music had alerted the outside world to them and now the neighboring compartments had come to watch what must of seemed to them 'two crazy american girls.'

I'm bouncing off the walls again (whoa oh)

I'm looking like a fool again (whoa oh)

Waking up on the bathroom floor

Pull myself together just to fall once more

And my heart's beating out of my chest

And this town is still making me sick

And every penny from my last paycheck

I've blown it on you

In a compartment a little ways away from the gathering crowd the Golden Trio sat with Neville Longbottom, Ginny Weasley, and Luna Lovegood. All weren't quite looking forward to going back to school after what had occured at the end of last year. A depressed Harry Potter just stared out of the window thinking about his now deceased godfather, Sirius Black. Harry was feeling extremely guilty at the fact that he had been kind of happy since his dreams of a blond beauty had begun. The very idea of seeing his old best friend again was driving him mad.

His thoughts on the matter were interrupted though as the compartment door flew open allowning the faint beat of music to roll in and the faces of an excited Dean Thomas to appear in the doorway.

"You've got to see this... There are a pair of gorgeous girls dancing in another compartment further down." Dean said in a hurried voice before he dashed in the direction of the music.

"What does he mean their dancing. That must be against some rules or something..." Hermione said standing up and adjusting her prefects badge.

"'Mione, you can't get in trouble for dancing," Ron told her as he stood up to follow his friend along with the rest of the compartment.

"Well, they can get in trouble for causing a commotion then," Hermione said as she headed in the direction of the noise followed by the other inhabitants of the compartment. Little did they know exactly what kind of commotion they would make as they headed into the direction of a certain boy-who-lived's past.

I'm bouncing off the walls again (whoa oh)

I'm looking like a fool again (whoa oh)

So go ahead and take a picture

And hang it up so you can tear me down

I don't care

Cause I'm still here

And I've got nothing left to lose

With all the years I wasted on you

Momma and Daddy's got the best cocaine

Ritalin's never gonna feel the same

Twenty-four hours on an empty brain

I got my finger on the trigger and your in my way

The Scooby gang didn't seemed to notice the growing crowd outside their compartment door or the growing noise they all seemed to make as they stared at the newcomers to their world. All the guys seemed to be staring at Buffy and Faith with drool running down their faces. And the girls just looked on with envy at how easily the new girls had gotten most of the Hogwarts male population wrapped around their little fingers.

I'm bouncing off the walls again (whoa oh)

And I'm looking like a fool again (whoa oh)

I threw away my reputation

One more song for the radio station

I'm bouncing off the walls again

And I'm looking like a fool again

I'm bouncing off the walls again

And I'm looking like a fool again

I'm bouncing off the walls again

Just when Hermione and the rest of the gang were almost through the large crowd that had gathered at the very back of the train around the last compartment the music seemed to stop as the song ended. She let out a great sigh in relief that maybe the crowd would begin to disperse to their own compartments. Unluckily for her though another song soon took the others place this one she recognized as a song she had heard on the radio when she was with her parents. It was "We Used to be Friends" by the Dandy Warhols.

A long time ago, we used to be friends

But I have't thought of you lately at all

If ever again, a greeting I send to you,

Short and sweet to the soul is all I intend.

a, ah-ahh-ahh-ahh

They had finally broken through to the front of the mob like crowd. None of them were prepared for what lay in front of them. A tall goofy smiled boy and a short blue haired boy were both bint over a game of chess each as determined to win as Ron usually gets. An older man wearing tweed reading a book (or trying to read a book) and a red headed girl who looked like she could be a Weasley playing with the cutest little kitten.

Finally their eyes landed on what had become the main attraction where in the center of the rather large compartment were dancing two completely oblivious girls. They were as different as night and day one dark and one light.

As they all took in the new faces Harry let out a gasp that was the first sound made by the group. The look of shock and joy mixed all up into one facial expression looked foreign in comparison to the somber one Harry had been wearing all summer.

"Harry, What is it?" Neville asked him taking his eyes off of his friend to look at the dancing pair yet again.

Harry didn't know what to say the only words that seemed to come out of his mouth were, "It's Buffy," in a voice a little louder than a whisper.

Come on now, honey,

bring it on, bring it on, yeah.

Just remember me when you're good to go

Come on now, sugar,

bring it on, bring it on, yeah.

Just remember me when.

It's something I said, or someone I know.

Or you called me up, maybe I wasn't home.

Now everybody needs some time,

and everybody know

The rest of it's fine

And everybody knows that.

Come on now, sugar,

bring it on, bring it on, yeah.

Just remember me when you're good to go

Come on now, honey,

bring it on, bring it on, yeah.

Just remember me when.

They all just stood in front of the door trying to comprehend just what it was Harry had said. Then Ron made a decision, he grabbed Harry's arm and started dragging him away. Ron was surprised though he had thought Harry would have struggled. All Harry seemed to do was stare at the little blond as the others escorted him away.

Finally coming to his senses Harry stopped and started heading back to the compartment, determination visible in his set jaw. "Harry what are you doing?" Hermione asked him once she and Ron blocked his path.

"I have to get her back, she needs me." Harry said trying to push past his two best friends.

"Harry, you don't even know if its her and even if it is she's fine." Ginny told him from behind, where she stood along with Neville and Luna.

"Its her. Iknow it is. She was in my dream." Harry pleaded.

"Lets just go back to OUR compartment and talk about this. You need to calm down a bit." Hermione told him concern for her friend visible from her eyes as she tried to get him away from the show that would surely go on if Harry spoke to 'Buffy.'

"Fine." Harry finally conceded knowing that he would never win even if he tried. So they walked back to their compartment on the opposite end of the train. Each one of them deep in thought over what would happen if she really was 'Buffy.' Well except for Harry whose only thought was of having his Buffy back after so many years apart.

We used to be friends a long time ago.

We used to be friends, hey

hey

a, ah-ahh-ahh-ahh

A lnog time ago, we used to be friends

But I haven't heard from you lately at all

If ever again, a greeting I send you,

Short and sweet to the soul is all I intend.

We used to be friends a long time ago.

We used to be friends,

a, ah-ahh-ahh-ahh

A/N: I know I said that the sorting would happen in this chapter but I really didn't have enough time to write some more and I really wanted to get this out as soon as possible cause its been a long while since I have updated. I just have been really busy with school and haven't had any time.