Disclaimer: I (unfortunately) own none of the characters from either Buffy the Vampire Slayer or the Harry Potter series. They belong to the geniuses, Joss Whedon and J.K Rowling. I am not trying to take credit for their works, I am just a poor college student amusing herself by writing some fan fiction!

For the timeline and changes I made to both the Buffy and HP fandoms, see Chapter 1!

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AN: Thanks to dozygirl, PrInCeSsFBi, and Anne79 for the reviews and suggestions!

As per request, I've decided to make the chapters a bit longer. Just wanted to see if I wanted to stick with this story before putting a lot into it. I like it so far, so I'll be trying to finish it. :)

On with the story!

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"Oof!"

Buffy felt the air rush out of her lungs as she landed hard on the ground, feeling Giles land next to her. Groaning, she lifted her head off of the ground only to see Dumbledore planted firmly on his feet, staring down at both Watcher and Slayer in amusement. Sending him a slight glare, she accepted Giles' hand up and finally got a good look at her surroundings. Peering out from the ally in which they appeared, Buffy's jaw dropped as she got a glimpse of her first wizarding village. Dozens of witches and wizards were roaming the streets with multiple packages clutched in their hands, and though the shops in the town seemed normal enough, she could distinctly sense the magical aura that surrounded the place.

"Wow..." she breathed eloquently, feeling Dumbledore and Giles step up behind her. Like her, Giles was almost completely flabbergasted at the sight of so many witches and wizards in such a concentrated area, the Headmaster gently pushed past the two, heading down the street after giving them an amused smile. The group, with Dumbledore in the lead and Buffy and Giles trying to take in as many of the sights that they could, followed the path through town, finally stopped in front of a filthy-looking bar with a wooden sign displaying a wild boar's severed head leaking blood onto a while cloth. Buffy and Giles exchanged curious glances, but Dumbledore didn't seem to be phased in the slightest.

"This should only take a minute," he said, stepping through the doorway and leaving Buffy and Giles standing by the door. Almost exactly a minute later, the Headmaster emerged, smiling at their curious faces. "Just paying my brother a visit," she said as way of an explanation before once again leading them down the street toward what appeared to be a train station. However, before they could reach the entrance, Dumbledore turned right down a small alley leading away from the trainstation.

Giles' "oh, goodness" was almost completely covered by Buffy's cry of "holy crap!" at seeing one lone carriage waiting for them on a street by the station. However, these carriages weren't what interested the Slayer and her Watcher; it was what was was tied to it. At the front of the carriage, two horse-like creatures with skeletal, fleshless bodies, large, leathery wings, and blank, white shining eyes, were tethered. Buffy eyed the Headmaster, and after he gave her a small nod, she loosened her grip on the stake in her pocket and moved to get a better look at them.

"What are-..." she trailed off in awe as she brought her hand to pet one of the creatures' manes. It pushed into her hand warmly, and she cracked a smile at its' affection.

"These, my dear are..." started Dumbledore, only to be interrupted by Giles.

"Thestrals!" remarked Giles, looking at the horse-like animal with wonder. "Oh, my apologies Professor..." At Dumble's nod and slight wave, he turned to his Slayer and continued with his explanation. "This is extraordinary! I hadn't a clue that these still existed!" Pause. "Oh, right. So sorry. Buffy, these are Thestrals. This creature is only visible to those who have witnessed death."

After his explanation, he felt, rather than saw, Buffy stiffen, but as soon as it had happened, it was gone. She was still smiling and petting the Thestral, but her eyes had lost a bit of the shine that they had had before she found out that she could see them because she had witnessed so much death in her career as the Slayer. Dumbledore, noticing the tension between his two guests, motioned for them all to get into the carriage, which as soon as the door was shut, started up the hill toward the school.

"Professor?" Buffy asked rather timidly. At the small tilt of his head, she continued. "Do the other... um... professors know that I'm the Slayer?"

"I have not yet divulged that information to your fellow professors, Miss Summers. They did not need to know the circumstances of your arrival. I felt as if it would be more entertaining if you were to inform them yourself," replied Dumbledore with a small smile.

"Oh... ok then..."

Almost twenty minutes later, deep into an excited discussion with Giles and the Headmaster about what her new position would be like, Buffy almost didn't feel the carriage pull to a stop. Climbing out of the vehicle with Giles and Dumbledore behind her, she felt her jaw drop for the second time that day.

"A castle? I'm a Professor at a school that's a CASTLE?" asked Buffy, turning to Giles and blinking her eyes rapidly a few times as if expecting it to be some sort of optical illusion. "Wow... The gang'd never believe this..." She was then interrupted from her thoughts by an older, rather severe-looking woman hurrying down the front steps to greet them.

"Albus," she greeted with a small nod before turning her attention to Buffy and Giles. "Mister Giles... Miss Summers. I am Minerva McGonagall, Transfiguration Professor and Head of Gryffindor House," she introduced herself with a small smile. She then exchanged a handshake with Giles, who was doing a substationally better job at hiding his awe than his Slayer. She then held out her hand and Buffy shook it numbly, eyes still wide in suprise at the gorgeous castle that she would be teaching at before turning back to the Headmaster. "Albus, where have you been? You were supposed to have arrived with Mister Giles and Miss Summers yesterday."

"A wizard is never late...nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to," Dumbledore replied with a smile and a twinkle in his eye. "Mister Giles and Miss Summers had a few things to do before I could collect them and bring them to Hogwarts. Come now, lets introduce our newest professor to the rest of the staff before showing our guests to their rooms." Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore started toward the school, gesturing at Giles and Buffy to follow. Buffy quickly snapped out of her awe-induced daze before following the two adults up the stairs.

Before she even stepped foot into the school, Buffy could sense the power radiating from it. It wasn't evil, per say. Just powerful. The kind of power that made her spider senses go haywire. She turned to Giles, and although he didn't have the spider sense that she was blessed with, she could tell that he felt the magic as well. 'Must be all that Watcher training' she thought. Entering the massive doors of Hogwarts, she felt her eyes widen as she took in the sight before her. It was the most beautiful place she had ever seen. She stared in awe at the moving staircases and seemingly-alive paintings as she trailed after the two professors and her Watcher. So entranced by these never-before-seen wonders, she nearly ran headlong into her three companions when they stopped in front of what appeared to be some sort of stone statue. Just as she was about to open her mouth to ask what was going on, Dumbledore told the statue "sherbert lemon" and headed up the stairway that the statue had jumped aside to reveal. Staring wide-eyed at the statue, Buffy once again hurried to follow Giles and the professors up the winding staircase.

To say that the Headmaster's office was amazing was putting it extremely lightly. There were multiple bookcases as high as the ceiling filled with books that neither Giles or Buffy had ever heard of. Beautifully carved shelves and display cases littered the room holding various trinkets. In the back of the room, in front of a magnificent window stood a rather large desk covered with rolls of parchment and even more trinkets.

After telling McGonagall to call all professors on school grounds to his office, Dumbledore summoned two cushy chairs out of thin air and motioned for both Buffy and Giles to take a seat. After settling down into the chair, Buffy nearly shrieked when a large red bird landed on her knee. It cocked its head in what Buffy took as a friendly gesture, and reached out to pet the bird's sleek feathers. It didn't seem to object, so she continued her motions while she turned to Dumbledore for an explanation, ignoring Giles' 'dear lord!' and mumblings about thinking that the bird had become extinct.

"This is Fawkes, Miss Summers, a phoenix. He is an extraordinary judge of character." The three then lapsed into a comfortable silence as Buffy continued to pet the phoenix, Dumbledore shuffled through some papers on his desk, and Giles got up to examine the books on the shelves as they waited for the rest of the staff to arrive. Minutes later, Buffy snapped her attention to the door as people started to file in. Seeing his Slayer being to fidget and shift in her seat, Giles once again took her side, flashing her an encouraging smile which she gratefully accepted. Dumbledore conjured more chairs and each professor took a seat.

"Mister Giles, Miss Summers, let me introduce you to the staff that you will be working with for the next year." He motioned to a woman with short gray hair and yellow, hawk-like eyes. "Madam Hooch, flying instructor and Quidditch referee." A woman covered in sequined cloaks and shawls and thick glasses "Sybill Trelawney, Divination professor" A very short man with a few sprigs of white hair. "Filius Flitwick, Charms professor and head of Ravenclaw house." A woman with gray, fly-away hair and a patched hat. "Pomona Sprout, Herbology professor and head of Hufflepuff house." A huge man with long brown hair. "Reubeus Hagrid, Care of Magical Creatures professor." A man with a hooked nose and greasy, black hair. "Severus Snape, Potions professor and head of Slytherin house. And of course you have already been acquainted with Professor McGonagall," added Dumbledore with a smile at Buffy and Giles.

"This is Mister Giles and Miss Summers." Each teacher either nodded, waved, or said a quick hello, except for Professor Snape. He simply stood there, glaring Buffy and Giles, irate that he had been passed up for Defense Against the Dark Arts professor once again.

"Professor Giles," started McGonagall, "I see that you have brought your... daughter to accompany you?"

"Minerva," replied Dumbledore before Giles had a chance to correct her. "I believe that you are mistaken. Mister Giles is not to be the next Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Miss Summers is."

Buffy started to fidget even more as all eyes, minus Dumbledore and Giles', snapped in her direction. She ducked her head as hushed whispers and mumbles broke out among the professors but was forced to look up as one professor cried out in outrage.

"Headmaster! This must be a mistake!" ranted Snape.

"I assure you, Severus. This is no mistake," replied Dumbledore. Snape, however, completely ignored the Headmaster and continued, the other professors watching in awe having jumped out of their seats and getting rid of the chairs. Even the portraits on the walls had woken up to all the racket and were listening to his rant with rapt attention.

"You allow this... idiot child the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts when I have been waiting for so many years! This is preposterous! I assure you I am more capable than this... this... little girl!" Jumping forward, he hauled Buffy out of her seat by her arm and came to a stop in front of the Headmaster's desk, completely missing the look of indignation on her face and the look of fury and protectiveness on Giles'.

"Severus! Calm yourself! I'm sure that Albus felt that she was the best for the job if he hired her!" urged McGonagall, stepping forward from the other professors.

"Minerva! This girl is all of 18 years old! I have students older than her! How could she be fit to teach a class?" questioned Snape, making Buffy flinch at the noise being projected into her ear. McGonagall, as well as the other professors, turned toward Dumbledore, having obviously been thinking the same thing, though unwilling to say anything. Before the Headmaster could say anything, Buffy finally snapped and took matters into her own hands.

"Get OFF of me!" she growled, wrenching her arm from Snape's and pushing him away from her. To everyone's surprise, minus hers, Giles' and Dumbledore's, of course, he went flying, only stopping when he slammed into a bookcase on the other side of the rather large room. Glancing at Dumbledore in apology, she saw that he appeared as shocked as the rest of the professors, though there was a glint of amusement in his eyes that had not been present earlier. Turning back to Snape and seeing that he had pulled some sort of weapon out of his robes, she performed an impressive series of flips across the room, to gasps of the other professors, before plucking the offending object out of his hand before he could move. Sauntering back to her chair and once again making herself comfortable, she absentmindedly twirled the wand before turning back to Snape and giving him a smirk.

"I have chosen Miss Summers for this position," Dumbledore started, succeeding in turning the professors' attention to himself once again, "because the is the Slayer."

Seeing the professors' eyes widen, some even dropping their jaws, and turning to look at her in shock, Buffy smiled widely before turning back to the Headmaster who was smiling amusedly back at her.

"You're right. That WAS fun."

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Whew. That one was pretty long. Let me know what you think! The muse is getting pretty hungry!

Oh and a bit off topic, what do y'all think the pairings should be? Should I keep them rather cannon? Or should I mix it up a bit by pairing Buffy with one of the HP kids? Do you think it would be too weird since she is technically their teacher even though they are all around the same age?