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!
--------------------------
Author's Note: Alright, so this story has been getting a bit slow and my muse isn't thrilled with explaining in detail Buffy's first experiences with everything magical, I've decided to skip ahead a bit so we can get to the real juicy crossover-goodness. So right now it'll be about early/mid August. Hope I haven't gotten you too confused!
Oh, also, I know electronic things aren't supposed to work at Hogwarts, but I couldn't see how else they could tell time, so yeah, I'm putting in a clock or 2.
--------------------------
Thanks to Allen Pitt, Sinkingboat, PrInCeSsFBI, and atoz for all the wonderful reviews and suggestions!
--------------------------
Okie dokie, so far, here's your guys' suggestions on pairings. I'll keep most of the secondary (non-Buffy) pairings cannon, but I'm not sure about Buffy's yet. I sort of hinted at a possible Buffy/Harry pairing in this chapter, but I'm not sure if I'm going to follow up on it, so keep messaging me your suggestions!
Cannon: A couple votes for Buffy with either Spike or Angel. I doubt I'll pair her with Angel, as I'm a bit hesitant their "tragic love story," but you never know. I am an avid Spuffy fan, but it might be a bit hard to pair them as he's still evil and with Dru. He doesn't actually go good until he gets his chip, something I doubt I'll go into in this story. However, Spike is definitely a possibility for a cannon pairing.
Fannon: People seem to want me to put Buffy with either Harry or Draco, but I've also gotten a few suggestions for Bill or Charlie Weasley. I think that Harry or Draco would be the most likely for pairing her with a HP character. I absolutely detest the Harry/Ginny relationship (no offense to those who like it!), so I may play around with that a bit. And I've always enjoyed Buffy/Draco stories. Bill and Charlie are pretty out of the picture, as I believe they are in their late 20s and way too old for our Slayer! Also, isn't Bill married to Fleur Delacour or something?
That's it for now! Keep sending your suggestions my way!
Enough with my rambling! On with the show!
--------------------------
It had been nearly two months since Buffy was thrown head first into the magical world. She had become acquainted with the other professors at Hogwarts and was liked by almost everyone, except for Snape, of course, who was still irate at the fact that Dumbledore had hired a 18 year old girl and a werewolf for the position that he desperately wanted. Buffy had been introduced to the members of the Order of the Phoenix, who despite their initial concerns of her being so young, also believed that it would be a great asset to have a Slayer on their side in the war against Lord Voldemort.
Molly Weasley insisted on taking Buffy under her wing, worried that being a member of the Order was too much for a child so young to handle. Because her concerns were overruled by the Order, as well as Buffy herself, she had taken to hovering around the Slayer whenever she visited the headquarters or the Burrow, shoving plates of food into her hands and marveling at how she stayed so skinny. Arthur Weasley was intrigued with Buffy because she had grown up as a muggle, and wasted no time in bombarding her with questions about anything from telephones to electrical outlets. Buffy had gotten close to the Weasley children, especially Ron and Ginny, as well as Hermione Granger, who was also a seventh year. Ron had taken quite a liking to Buffy, following her with his eyes whenever she got up and blushing whenever she addressed him, which were met with a sharp smack to the head by Hermione. However, Buffy had yet to meet the famous Harry Potter.
Buffy and Giles had both been rather busy since their arrival at Hogwarts. In addition to taking in all the sights of the magic community, she had lessons to plan and books to read in preparation for her job as co-professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, an extremely arduous task for an eighteen-year-old girl who was never the researching kind. Thankfully, Lupin was almost always at her side, trying to keep her focused and forcing information into her already crowded brain, and Giles was always around to lend a helping hand in case either of them needed information on any particular magical creature. The two had gotten quite close, and Buffy had come to see him as the older brother she had never had. Though he was nervous around her at first, him being a werewolf and her being a Slayer, his apprehension had faded immediately once Buffy told him that one of her best friends was dating one and that she had no problem with it. The Order had seen quite a change in him since Buffy had come into his life; rarely seeing a smile on his face and noticing his haggard appearance since Sirus', they were shocked to see him laughing and smiling with Buffy, looking younger each day. Apparently having a spunky, energetic Slayer around did wonders for his mood.
Even though Giles often had his nose in some musty book he had gotten out of the library, he still found time to train with his Slayer whenever she felt antsy from not having anything to fight or the magic surrounding the castle. Dumbledore had even offered to let them patrol the Forbiden Forst, but so far they hadn't found anything in need of slaying. The Headmaster saw how Giles and Buffy interacted during their training sessions, ultimately asking him to co-teach Wandless Defense with his Slayer, which he quickly accepted. The two were closer than ever, looking to each other for comfort to deal with being away from Sunnydale so long. Although they drastically missed the Scoobies, though Giles refused to admit it, and Buffy missed her mom, they had not been able to return home, as there was too much to do in preparation for the upcoming school year.
--------------------------
Buffy had been lounging by the lake enjoying the weather and reading a letter from Willow when she was called to Dumbledore's office. Walking into the room, she was surprised to see that Giles, McGonagall, Lupin, and Dumbledore were already there waiting for her.
"Oh, hey guys. What's up?" asked Buffy, nodding at each in greeting. "Giles, finally got you out of that library, huh?" she added with a slight smirk, causing her Watcher to turn a slight shade of pink. For nearly two months, he had spent almost every waking moment in the school's library, reading through rare books of demon lore and learning all that he could about the wizarding world.
"Harry has just arrived at headquarters," answered Dumbledore with a smile at the young girl that he had grown to love almost as a daughter. "Molly has made a huge feast and has invited us to celebrate his arrival. I assume that you wish to attend?"
"Of course! I want to meet this mystery Harry Potter!" she replied. "I hear about this kid day and night, but I've never actually met him. Unless dreams count." Since she had arrived at Hogwarts, she had been having dreams about Harry's past showing in detail what he been forced to go through since he was a child. Though she had told both the Headmaster and Giles about these dreams, they waved them off with little concern, claiming that there was nothing they could do about past events.
They all gathered around Dumbledore's fireplace, grabbing a hand of floo powder from a jar on the mantle before clearly shouting "number twelve, Grimmauld Place" and stepping into the emerald green flames. Buffy was the first to arrive at headquarters and tumbled out of the fireplace with a loud squeak as she tripped over a stray log and landed sprawled on the drawing room floor.
"Stupid Slayer balance. You'd think I'd be able to land on my feet just once instead of always landing on my ass..." she muttered standing up while she attempted to brush the soot off of her clothes and face. Seeing the flames turn green, she threw herself out of the way as Giles, Lupin, and Dumbledore skid out of the fireplace with substantially more grace than she had. Lupin smiled at the state of Buffy's clothes before mumbling something under his breath that cleaned away all the soot.
"Thanks, Rem," she added, flashing him a playful smile before heading down the hallway toward the kitchen, only to shriek loudly and jump back a foot as two loud cracks sounded in front of her, revealing two boys with flaming red hair.
"M'lady," they both said in unison, bending low to the ground in a mock bow before before straightening and fixing her with identical smirks.
"Jesus!" she cried, hitting them on the shoulder playfully. "Fred, George! What are you idiots trying to do? Give me a heart attack?" Their only response was to widen their smirks and Buffy merely gave them a withering stare before grabbing each of their arms and dragging them down the hall after the three adults.
--------------------------
As a loud scream echoed throughout the house, four teenagers looked up from the game of wizarding chess they were playing. Standing up, they all filed out of the room and down the stairs, wanting to see what all the noise was about.
"Whatdya reckon that was all about?" asked Ron, casting a glance behind him at Harry, Hermione, and Ginny.
"I haven't a clue unless..." Hermione trailed off, hurrying through the house to the kitchen with her friends on her tail.
"...BUFFY!" she called, rushing down the hall and throwing her arms around the Slayer before she could step foot in the kitchen. "You're here! We haven't seen you forever! Oh! Hi Professor Dumbledore, Professor Lupin, Mister Giles," she added, throwing them sheepish glances. At nods from each of them, she once again focused her attention on her friend as they went on to greet the other members of the Order.
"Woah! Hey 'mione!" laughed Buffy, hugging her back with equal fervor, "Long time no see, huh? Hey Ron! Ginny! How are you guys?"
As Hermione removed her bushy head from Buffy's shoulder, Harry got his first glimpse of the Slayer. She was even more beautiful than she was in his dreams so many months ago. She was wearing a long white skirt and black t-shirt and her long blonde hair was pulled up into a loose bun with tendrils falling around her face. It took him a few seconds before realizing that she was staring at him with her head tilted to the side and a smile on his face, obviously wondering what he was looking at.
"H-... hi," he managed to breathe, blushing a bit at the wavering of his voice. Glancing at Ron's face, red from embarrassment at Buffy's hello hug, he felt a bit relieved that he was not the only one that had made a fool of himself in front of her. He would have bet a gallon that his best friend had had a very similar first encounter with the Slayer.
"Well, you must be the famous Harry Potter," she greeted with a small smile and wave, letting loose a tinkling laugh that made him grow even redder. "Nice to finally meet you! I've heard so much about you." Before either of them could say another word, Mrs. Weasley came over to them, wrapping Buffy up in her own hug.
"Hello, Buffy dear!" she said, holding Buffy out at arms' length. "Goodness! What are they feeding you at that school! You're still so skinny! Come, come sit down!" Ushering her into a seat before she could object, Mrs. Weasley fixed 6 teenagers with an urgent look. "Come on, you lot! Sit down! The food's getting cold!"
They all sat down, the boys not-so-subtly shoving each other out of the way in order to get to the two seats next to Buffy, but she simply rolled her eyes playfully and grabbed Hermione and Ginny, pulling them into the seats next to her. The boys, though slightly disappointed, quickly got over it and seated themselves on the other side of the table, across from the girls where they all spent the entire evening sharing stories and comparing adventures. Many times throughout the night, Buffy caught the boys, Ron and Harry in particular, staring at her when they thought she wasn't looking, but she simply waved it off with amusement, giggling with Ginny and Hermione about how obvious boys could be with their feelings. However, when she caught Ron looking at her, she saw the look of want in Hermione's and made a mental note to do a little matchmaking as soon as possible.
Dinner passed rather quickly, everybody eating to their hearts' content and enjoying each other's company. The party broke up at around twelve, Mrs. Weasley claiming that many of them had to get up early the next morning for work. After final hugs were given and goodbyes were said, Buffy once again found herself following the hallway to the drawing room. Grabbing a handful glittery, emerald powder that Mrs. Weasley offered her, she shouted "Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" before throwing the powder into the fire and stepping into the fireplace.
--------------------------
Stumbling out of the fireplace in Dumbledore's office, she managed to grab onto the side of the desk to keep from falling over. Smiling widely at her accomplishment, she flicked a stray piece of ash off of her skirt before sitting down in one of the chairs in front of the Headmaster's desk, curling her legs under her. She didn't have to wait long before both Giles and Dumbledore stepped out of the fireplace.
"Hey, where's Rem?" Buffy questioned with a tilt of her head, glancing at the fireplace.
"He has decided to return directly to his quarters," replied Dumbledore. At a nod from Buffy, he continued. "Buffy, I have made an appointment with the Minister of Magic tomorrow morning. I believe it would be wise to introduce you before the term starts. Our meeting is at eleven."
"Alrighty, gonna get some sleep before the big interview, then," said Buffy with a yawn, rising from her chair. "Night, Professor. Ya coming, Giles?" At a nod and smile from her Watcher, she followed him out of the room, down the winding stone staircase, and toward their rooms. Noticing his silence, she began to get concerned.
"Spill," she ordered, stepping in front of him with her hands on her hips and fixing him with a raised eyebrow.
"I beg your pardon?," he countered, clearly taken aback at her behavior.
"What's up, Giles?" she questioned, features softening and a look of concern replacing her previously stern expression. "You've been quiet all night. Not at all like your usual party-animal self," she explained, cracking a smile to show that she was joking. Suddenly her eyes widened comically. "Wait! Is there another prophesy about me floating around here somewhere? Do I have to die again? Cause that'd totally suck..."
"What? No! I assure you it's no such thing. I just..." he faltered, taking his glasses off and polishing them furiously. Buffy waited patiently for him to finished, hands still on her hips but head now tilted slightly to the side in curiosity. "We are on the eve of one of the largest wars in wizarding history. I realize that you are the Slayer and that I cannot protect you from the world forever, however... I... uh..."
"It's alright, Giles," she interrupted, saving him from stuttering out the rest of his sentence, though quite touched at his concern for her. "I'm a big girl. Well not big but... whatever, you know what I mean. Point is that I can take care of myself. Averted quite a few apocalypses in my day. No biggie. Plus it's not like we're alone this time." Sending him a small smile and giving him an quick hug, she nudged him down the hall toward their rooms. They walked the rest of the way in comfortable silence, pausing at Buffy's portrait to say goodnight before she said the password and stepped through the hole that the painting swung forward to reveal while he continued down the hall.
Walking across the large living room, she entered her bedroom, yawning widely. Kicking off her flip-flops and slipping out of her skirt and t-shirt, she changed into a pair of boxers and tanktop before heading to the bathroom to watch up. Emerging, she set the alarm on her nightstand for 10 o'clock, she slid into bed, casting a longing look at the picture of her, Xander, and Willow on the nightstand next to the clock,feeling the loneliness sink in, before sighing heavily and snuggling down into her pillows and cuddling Mr. Gordo close to her chest.
--------------------------
Whew. That chapter was hard to write. Got a huge case of writers block... hopefully it'll resolve itself soon! R&R please!