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! Oh, and also, descriptions of the Burrow taken from the timeline and changes I made to both the Buffy and HP fandoms, see Chapter 1!
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Thanks so much to Firewolfe, buffy92, PrInCeSsFBi, enchantedlight, Paine Sawyer, and dozygirl for your reviews! Makes me happy!
I'll probably pair Buffy with either Harry or Draco, but not to worry! Angel and Spike will both show up in time! Thanks for all your suggestions!
Fudge is sill the Minister of Magic, as I'm not as well acquainted with Rufus Scrimgeour (the present MoM). I don't really remember what he was like when he was being civil, so he's going to be all yell-y and angry like he was in the 5th book... He might be a bit OOC, but this is the best I can do with him. Oh, and Giles might be a bit OCC at one part as well, but I felt it was necessary. And one last thing... I'm keeping Ollivander's in business because I have no idea where else the kids would buy wands if it was closed down...
Ok, here's the story!
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Buffy awoke from a deep sleep with a start at the ringing of her alarm clock. Reaching out from under the covers to shut it off, she accidentally hit it with her arm, causing it to fly across the room and bounce against the wall. The bright side was that it stopped ringing. Snuggling back into her pillows now that the noise was gone, she dozed off again, only to be woken up when the alarm sounded again. Mumbling under her breath and squinting to see the clock, which read 10:15, she scrambled out of bed, not wanting to be late for her 11 o'clock appointment with the Minister of Magic. Bringing her hand to her face in an attempt to wipe the sleep from her eyes as she turned off the clock, she stumbled into the bathroom, brushing her teeth and hair and washing her face, emerging a few minutes later and dressing herself in a pair of jeans and a simple black t-shirt. Pulling on a pair of boots, she grabbed a couple stakes and a knife, strategically hiding them under her clothes, before crossing her suite and knocking on the door leading to Giles' living quarters.
"Come in," she heard Giles say, voice slightly muffled by the door. She swung open the door only to be greeted by her Watcher attempting to simultaneously put on a tie and make himself a cup of tea. "Good morning, Buffy," he greeted, giving her a smile and gesturing to the tea he was making. "Would you like...?"
"Nah, I don't really do tea," she answered with a slight wave of her hand. "C'mon. We should get going. Don't wanna be late for our meeting with the Minister..."
"Oh... Right!" he replied, slightly alarmed. "Of course. Come along." He headed out the hole the portrait had opened to reveal and started down the hallway and through the castle toward the Headmaster's office with Buffy following him, rolling her eyes playfully. "Fizzing Wizzbees," he muttered, stopping in front of a statue. The stone gargoyle sprung to life, revealing a winding staircase that would lead them to Dumbledore's office. Climbing the stairs, they arrived at a door and at a "Come in!" from the Headmaster, they entered quickly, shutting the door behind them.
"Good morning, Rupert. Buffy," he greeted with a small smile from behind his desk. "Right on time. We will be flooing to the Ministry, but before we go, there is something I would like to discuss with you" he added, placing the tips of his fingers together and looking at Buffy intently. "Please, take a seat." They complied, settling themselves into the chairs in front of the Headmaster's desk. "Buffy, I have talked with the Order, and we believe that it is essential for you to learn some basic magic. It would be a great asset to you in the fight against Voldemort as well as for your slaying."
"I... but... I can't do magic!" exclaimed Buffy, furrowing her brow in confusion. "I'm not a witch! That's more Willow's thing..."
"While you are not a witch," Dumbledore interrupted gently, saving her from her babbling, "being a Slayer, which is classified as a magical creature, you do posses the amount of magic required." Eyes wide, Buffy turned her head in Giles' direction, wondering if he knew this.
"It does make sense," he replied, removing his glasses and polishing them rigorously with a handkerchief that he pulled out of his pocket. "Being the Slayer, you do possess certain... abilities that other humans do not. Buffy, would you like to learn a bit of magic?"
"Hell yeah!" she blurted before clamping her hands over her mouth, embarrassed that she had swore in front of her new boss.
"Well now that that's settled," said the Headmaster amusedly, handing Buffy a pot of emerald green powder. "Make sure to say 'Ministry of Magic, London' so as not to arrive at the wrong one." Grabbing a handful of the powder, Buffy shouted "Ministry of Magic, London!" before stepping into the fire.
Managing to land on her feet this time, Buffy looked around in awe at a huge room filled with fireplaces. Dozens of witches and wizards, some dressed in robes and some dressed in muggle clothing, were going in and out of the fireplaces, barely sparing her any notice. Feeling Giles and Dumbledore step out of the fireplace behind her, she turned toward them, eyes wide. Giving her a small smile, Dumbledore led the way to the entrance of the room, stepping into an elevator and pushing a button. The elevator stopped at each floor, collecting and depositing passengers and paper airplanes, which Dumbledore explained were used to send messages within the Ministry, before hearing a cool, female voice announce "Level one, Office of the highest Ministry Officials, such as the Minister of Magic, Advisor to Minister, Senior Under-Secretary to the Minister of Magic, and Junior Assistant to Minister of Magic," and feeling the lift jolt to a stop.
Stepping out, Dumbledore led Buffy and Giles down the hall, stopping in front of a door baring a plaque stating "Cornelius Fudge: Minister of Magic." Knocking sharply on the door and hearing a muffled "Come in!" he pushed open the door, giving a slight nod to a man in a lime green bowler hat and a pinstriped cloak who was seated behind the desk in the middle of the room.
"Ah, Dumbledore," he greeted, getting up to shake the Headmaster's hand, forcing a smile onto his face. "Please, have a seat." Dumbledore conjured three, cushy arm in place of the wood, stiff-backed ones that were already there, gesturing for Buffy and Giles to sit down beside him.
"Cornelius," started Dumbledore slightly coolly, gesturing toward Buffy and Giles. Buffy could sense the tension between the two, but had no idea what it was all about. "May I introduce you to Mister Giles and Miss Summers."
"Ah, yes," remarked the Minister, turning his eyes away from the Headmaster. Once he turned toward Buffy, his eyes narrowed slightly, taking in her outfit and youthful features. "I see... Miss Summers," he said, making her look up in surprise at being addressed. "How old are you?"
"Eighteen," she responded, sitting up a bit straighter at his intense scrutiny, while Giles placed his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down.
"Albus," he started, turning away from Buffy and back to Dumbledore. "This girl is eighteen years old. How can you expect someone this young to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts? This position requires an enormous amount of experience!"
"I assure you, sir, I have plenty of experience in-..." said Buffy through clenched teeth, attempting to keep calm while she was being blatantly attacked. However, Fudge didn't want to hear what she had to say and interrupted her before she could finish.
"There is no way that this girl has enough experience needed to properly teach this course! How could you not have told me of her age, Dumbledore? This is preposterous!" he rambled, shaking his head violently and pacing back and forth behind his desk.
"Cornelius," Dumbledore responded coolly in a voice that instantly commanded attention. "I assure you Miss Summers is quite qualified for the job. She is the Slayer, and we believe that she will be an extreme asset to us in the war against Voldemort. In addition, she will not be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts alone. She is to be assisted by Remus Lupin." Fudge paled slightly at Dumbledore's mention of "Voldemort" but quickly recovered, turning red and starting to sputter indignantly at the Headmaster.
"You would bring the Slayer into the wizarding world? What were you thinking? You, as well as I, know that the Slayer is rooted in darkness! She was made out of pure demon, for God's sake! Why do you think we've worked so hard to keep those like her out of our world? How do you know this girl won't turn on us! She could be in league with the Dark Lord and planning our deaths as we speak!" He spun on his heel away from Dumbledore, eyes gleaming with hatred, stalking up to Buffy. Her eyes were wide and mouth slightly open in horror at what the Minister had just revealed. "And bringing that werewolf back to Hogwarts! You'd think you were asking for the castle to be attacked! Slayers and werewolves," he continued to mutter.
"That is enough!" growled Giles, jumping out of his seat, and the Minister turned to look at him in surprise as if he had no idea that there was a fourth person in the room. Buffy's eyes widened even wider at the sudden appearance of Giles' Ripper attitude, but Dumbledore looked on calmly; only those who knew him extremely well would be able to see the anger in his eyes. "This girl has averted more apocalypses than anyone I have met. She has CONSTANTLY put her life on the line to save others. Even those that were not worth saving. And she would NEVER betray anyone she has swore her allegiance to. And you treat her like a common criminal? If you ever, EVER, come near my Slayer again, I assure you, it will be the last thing you ever do." Realizing that making threats to the Minister of Magic was not a good way to start out their stay in the wizarding world, Buffy jumped up out of her seat, pushing the information the Minister had just revealed to the back of her mind, grabbed Giles by the arm, and forcibly dragged him from the room, pausing to say one more thing.
"And Remus would never hurt anyone. He is the kindest man I have ever met," she stated coolly, causing him to turn toward her, mouth agape. Sending Fudge a glare, she stalked out of the room, Giles in tow, leaving him to stare after him with a look of extreme shock gracing his features. Dumbledore looked on serenely, giving the Minister a small nod before turning the cushy chairs back to the originals.
"Cornelius," he stated with a slight tilt of his hat before disappearing from the room in a flurry of deep purple robes. Emerging from Fudge's office, he found Giles pacing back and forth across the hallway and Buffy leaning against the wall attempting to calm him down. She was obviously unnerved by her Watcher's explosion, but was attempting to keep it together so that she could calm him down.
"Giles," she said, bringing her hands up to rub at her temples in an attempt to ease her headache. Nothing. He kept pacing. "Giles, stop pacing." Nothing. More pacing. "GILES!" she bellowed, causing him to turn around in shock, almost walking into the wall in front of him. "Calm down," she said, lowering her voice considerably. "Don't worry about it. Guy's just being a prick."
"Quite right, Miss Summers," said Dumbledore, causing Buffy and Giles both to turn their heads in his direction. "Cornelius can get rather... er... worked up." Giles opened his mouth to speak, but Dumbledore cut him off by raising his hand. "Now, Rupert. That's quite enough. You have made your point quite clear, and I believe the Minister will take it into account." Pause. A change of subject was in order. "Now, if I recall, neither of you has had the opportunity to visit Diagon Alley?" At a nod from both Buffy and Giles, he continued. "Splendid. We'll go there now to get your wand and to allow you to explore a proper wizarding village."
He had once again started down the hallway, stopping to let a few people out of the elevator before entering and moving back in order to accommodate Buffy and Giles. Once again, the elevator stopped at each floor, but this time getting off when the cool female voice stated, "Level six, Floo Network Authority, Broom Regulatory Control, Portkey Office, and Apparation Test Center." Stepping out of the lift, Dumbledore led them to an unoccupied fireplace, handed them a jar of floo powder, and told them to say "The Leaky Cauldron, Diagon Alley, London," before stepping into the flames. Buffy was once again the first to arrive, skidding out of the fireplace, taking a moment to mentally pat herself on the back for finally getting good at flooing, before taking in her surroundings.
She was inside what appeared to be a dingly little bar, having fallen out of the fireplace in a small common area just to the left of the main room. It was filled with patrons, obviously witches and wizards from the way they were dressed, all looking at her with curiosity, and she ducked her head slightly at the attention. Grateful when Dumbledore and Giles emerged from the fireplace after her, she quickly followed the Headmaster toward the main room, stopping when he paused to chat with bartender.
"Hello, Tom," he greeted, offering the inkeeper a smile. "How are you?"
"Oh just fine, Albus. Good to see you again," replied Tom. "And who is this?" He turned toward Buffy and Giles, offering them a friendly wave.
"This is Mister Giles and Miss Summers. The two new professors at Hogwarts," said Dumbledore.
"Oh of course! Good t' meet ya! Well I'd better let you three run along. Have a nice day!" he added, earning a smile from Buffy and a nod from Giles. The three made their way through the small pub, emerging into the sunlight, only to be met with a bustling street filled with people carrying various shopping bags. It was obvious that this was no ordinary London street. The street was filled with various shops with titles such as "Eeylop's Owl Emporium," "Slug & Jiggers Apothecary," and "Olivander's," but the thing that caught Buffy's eye was a huge snowy-white building that towered over all its neighbors and had a set of huge bronze doors.
"Oh. My. God," stated Buffy, letting her eyes sweep up and down the street, only to return to the huge building at the far end.
"Gringotts," said Dumbledore, smiling at Buffy's excitement. "A wizarding bank," he clarified at her confused look. "We will of course be heading there first. I assume the Council has provided accounts for you both. Rupert? I assume you have brought along Miss Summer's key..." Giles took two small, golden keys out of his jacket pocket. "Ah, splendid! Come along now."
After a brief chat with one of the employees ― goblins, Giles told her, along with the fact that no, she could not slay them ― they were escorted to a cart, which then dipped and swerved at an alarming speed deep underground before stopping at vault number 914. After scooping up a few handfuls of bronze, silver, and gold coins littering the floor of the decently filled vault into a pouch and completely forgetting the conversion rate that Dumbledore had explained to her less than a minute ago, Buffy climbed back into the cart. It set off once again, stopping at the next vault over; vault number 915. Giles scooped up some coins out of the vault and placing them into his own pouch before stepping into the cart, which immediately sped off, stopping with a halt when reaching the lobby.
"I assume that you would like to obtain your wand first?" questioned Dumbledore, stepping out of the cart and exiting the bank. At a nod from Buffy, he led them down the street, stopping in front of a shop that had a single wand placed on a dusty old cushion in the window and a peeling sign reading "Ollivander's" above the door. Entering the dark and musty shop, the tinkling of the bell over the door announcing their arrival, the three looked around for any sign of the shopkeeper. The walls were lined with literally thousand of narrow boxes, but there was no one to be seen.
"Ah. Miss Summers," said a quiet voice, a man with pale, silvery eyes, emerging from the shadows, nearly giving Buffy a heart attack and causing her and Giles to jump slightly. Dumbledore, however, didn't seem at all phased by the man's sudden appearance. "I have been waiting to meet you. Good afternoon, Headmaster," he added, giving Dumbledore a small nod. "Please, come here Miss Summers..." At a reassuring nod from Dumbledore, she stepped forward cautiously. "No need to be frightened, my dear girl. Just want to take a few measurements," he said kindly, beckoning her closer. "Well, now... Let me see. Which is your wand arm?" Confused at the man's question, but holding out her right arm any way, she was surprised to see a measuring tape whiz off the counter, stretching itself out to measure her from shoulder to finger, then from wrist to elbow, from shoulder to floor, from knee to armpit, and finally around her head. Ollivander had once again disappeared into the shadows, emerging with a very dusty box and setting it down on the counter. "That's enough," he called, and the measuring tape landed in a heap on the floor.
"Try this one. Ebony and dragon's heartstring. Ten-and-a-half inches," he said, pushing the wand into Buffy's hands. She paused, unsure of what she was supposed to be doing. "Go on, go on! Give it a wave!" She had barely raised the wand before Ollivander snatched it out of her hand, returning it to the box.
"No no... that won't do... here. holly and a unicorn hair. Nine inches." He handed her another wand, looking at her expectantly. Feeling rather stupid, she raised it in front of her, jumping back slightly as a few boxes behind the counter flew off their shelves, falling to the floor with a slight crash. She placed the wand back in the box sheepishly, glancing back at Dumbledore and Giles, both who didn't look at all concerned by what had happened.
Buffy continued to try out wand for almost half an hour, sometimes causing things to break or fly off the shelves, others Ollivander snatching out of her hand before she could even wave it. As time passed, Buffy became increasingly worried that Dumbledore had made a huge mistake. What if she wasn't capable of performing magic? What if her slayer magic wasn't enough? Another wand was forced into her hand, disrupting her internal musings, and she felt a slight twinge in the bite mark on her neck. Something click inside of her; it felt right, somehow. She waved the wand, surprised when a cluster of green and silver sparks flew out of the end.
"Oh, bravo!" cried Ollivander, clapping his hands. "Very good... very good! Holly and a drop of vampire's blood. Eleven-and-a-half inches." Making a mental note to talk Giles about the tingling in her scar, she watched Ollivander pluck the wand from her fingers, he placed it back in the box, wrapping it in brown paper, and handing it back to her. After paying for the wand and exchanging goodbyes, Dumbledore, Giles, and Buffy exited the shop, squinting at the harsh light that had just assaulted their eyes.
"Very well... Where would you-..." started Dumbledore, only to be interrupted by three voices calling Buffy's name.
"Oh hey guys!" said Buffy excitedly, catching a glimpse of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "What're you doing here?" Noticing Giles and Dumbledore, the three chorused "Hi Professors" before answering her question.
"Rom's mum brought us to do some shopping for school supplies," stated Hermione matter-of-factly, looking over her shoulder at where Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were sitting outside of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. "I'm sure she won't mind you coming over for dinner if you'd like to join us...?"
"Can I, Giles?" asked Buffy pleadingly, sticking out her lower lip slightly.
"Of course," he replied with a smile at her antics. "We can continue training another day." She looked at Dumbledore, who nodded his approval, before following her three friends back to where Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were seated.
"Hey Mrs. Weasley," Buffy said, causing her to look up from the bag of packages she was rummaging through. She smiled at Ginny, earning an energetic wave in return.
"Oh, hello, dear!" Mrs. Weasley greeted, standing to give the Slayer a proper hug. "Fancy meeting you here. I insist that you join us for dinner... It'll give us a chance to finally show you our home..." Buffy nodded, looking forward to another of Mrs. Weasley's wonderful home-cooked meals. "Well, I'm sure you five have quite a bit of shopping left... Why don't we meet back here around... four o'clock?" Nodding their agreement, Buffy, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny headed off, leaving Mrs. Weasley to continue looking through her packages.
Stepping into Flourish and Blotts, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny separated, trying to find the books listed on their Hogwarts book lists while Buffy wandered the store, not looking for anything in particular. Spotting a book about Slayers and one about the Scourge of Europe, she picked them up off the shelves, flipping through them idly while the other four finished up their shopping. Deciding to buy them, she walked over to the counter and, with Harry's help, paid for them using the coins in her pouch. They stopped next door at Scribbulus Everchanging Inks to refill their supplies of ink, quills, and parchment ― Buffy refusing to buy quills, stating that she had enough trouble with pens, and that she would just buy a box of those the next time she was in London ― before splitting up. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny heading to the Apothecary to stock up on herbs and powders for potions and then to the Quidditch supply store so that Harry, Ron, and Ginny could gawk at the newest model. Buffy asked what Quidditch was, Harry and Ron looking horrified, before Hermione nudged her further down the street muttering that she would explain it later.
Crossing the street, Buffy entered Eeylop's Owl Emporium, browsing the various isles of loud, screeching birds before coming to a stop in front of a small brown-grey owl. It stopped preening itself to look at her, cocking its head to the side slightly, as if trying saying hello.
"Oooh, pretty," she muttered to herself sticking her finger through the bars of its cage and wiggling it slighty. It nipped at her finger affectionately.
"She likes you," said a soft voice, causing Buffy to jump, getting her finger stuck in the cage. Wincing slightly and freeing herself, she turned to to see a timid looking older witch standing in the isle behind her. "She's a sweet one, isn't she? A tawny owl." she continued, coming up to Buffy.
"What? Oh! Yeah, she's adorable! I'll take her," the Slayer responded, shooting the witch a bright smile. She was getting a bit tired of always having to borrow the school's owls and felt it was about time that she got one of her own. Paying and leaving the store, shouting a thanks to the woman over the hooting of its other occupants, she once again stepped out into the sunlight, attempting to hold onto all of packages as well as her new owl.
"Yay! My very own owl... Willow and the gang are going-..." she stopped, the owl hooting at her best friend's name. "What? Oh! Willow?" The owl hooted again. "Guess that settles it. I'll call you Willow from now on." Willow hooted contentedly, and Buffy smiled, reaching into the cage, with great difficulty, to pet her new purchase.
Looking up, she felt a smile light up her face and crossed the street, entering a store called Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Hearing the tinkling of the bell above the door, the twins looked up, sporting identical grins as they realized who it was. Moving out from behind the counter, they took her packages out of her hands and setting them down on the floor before each taking turns picking her up and spinning her around in greeting.
"Hey Buffy! Good to see―," George greeted, mock bowing.
"―you again," finished Fred, going so far as to kiss her hand.
"Hey you two," she answered, laughing at their antics and looking around the shop, which was packed with students. "Sweet shop you have here! You never told me! I wondered where you got all that extra cash!"
They talked for a short while about their business, before the were called back to the counter
by a few Hogwarts kids wanting to buy some of their products. While George rung up their purchases, Fred walked around the store, filling a sack to the brim with goodies before returning to the doorway and handing it to Buffy.
"Guys! I can't take this! What'll your other, paying, customers think?"
"That'll be our little secret," replied George, making his way toward Buffy and Fred once he had finished up his sale.
"Yep, something for our favorite girl," Fred added, causing Buffy to blush slightly and thank them profusely. After a hug from each and a promise that she would see them both at dinner, she exited the store, now even more weighed down with her packages, heading down the road toward the Quidditch supply store in search of her four friends. Drawing closer, she realized that they were talking to another small group of students; a pale boy with silvery blond hair, two large and thuggish-looking boys, and black-haired girl with a square build and heavy draw.
"Well, well, well," said the silvery blond one snidely. "If it isn't Potty and Weasel. Oh and Potter! Your admirer and the mudblood too!" He turned to Ron and Ginny and looking at them with a disgusted smirk on his face. "Buying some supplies, I see? Obviously from the second hand store, knowing how your family doesn't posses any money to buy you new things." The two hefty boys chuckled stupidly and the brunette let out a loud, shrieking laugh.
"You'd better watch yourself, Malfoy," growled Ron, who was currently being held back by both Harry and Hermione.
"Sure. What're you going to do? Curse me? As if any of you has the stones to do it," Malfoy replied, turning his back purpously to the four Gryffindor, laughing at the look on Ron's face before heading down the street, his three cronies following after him. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, shooting glares at Malfoy's back, turned and headed in the opposite direction. Buffy hurried after them, rearranging the packages in her arms so that she could move more efficiently, finally catching up with them in front of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. Hermione was forcing Ron into a chair and Harry was ordering four milkshakes in a haughty tone, hastily changing it to five when he caught sight of Buffy.
"What the hell was that all about," she asked, dropping her packages and Willow onto the floor before sliding into the seat across from Ron, a confused look spreading across her face.
"Draco Malfoy," responded Hermione. "Seventh year Slytherin. We don't really... er... he..."
"He's a prick," added Ron, thickly, still staring in the direction that Malfoy and his three flunkies disappeared.
"Ron, language," Hermione prompted, scolding him lightly, but Buffy could tell that she was just as shaken by the encounter as Ron was. Harry and Ginny said nothing, they just stared moodily into their milkshakes, which had just arrived. "Oh... Here comes Mrs. Weasley..." Sure enough, the group looked up from their drinks to see Mrs. Weasly striding their way.
"Oh, good. You're all here! Get what you needed?" she asked. At their collective nod, she gestured at them to come join her. They all gulped down all that they could of their milkshakes before standing and joining Mrs. Weasley, clutching their packages. "Alright you three," she said, looking at Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "You go on home, we'll be right behind you." There were three loud cracks, followed by their disappearance into thin air. Once they were gone, Mrs. Weasley grabbed Buffy and Ginny's arms, quite a difficult task as all three were heavy weighted down by their purchases, and disappeared from Diagon Alley, reappearing at their destination in a blink of an eye, and leaving Buffy with a slightly unstable feeling.
Buffy untangled herself from Ginny and Mrs. Weasley, looking around the room in awe. The kitchen is small and rather cramped, with a wooden table and chairs in the middle. The mantelpiece was stacked with cookbooks, and there was a clock with one hand, not telling the time but marked with phrases such as "time to make tea" and and "time to feed the chickens," leaning against the wall. Buffy felt a strong magical energy coming from the place which was confirmed when the dishes in the sink started washing themselves at a flick of Mrs. Weasley's wand. The others were already in the kitchen, dropping their packages on the table and talking amongst themselves.
"I know it's not much..." started Mrs. Weasley hesitantly, turning a slight pink color.
"No!" replied Buffy, realizing that Mrs. Weasley had taken her silence as her silently insulting her home. "No, it's amazing!" Dropping her packages to the floor, she first went to examine the clock before wandering over to the window and looking outside. The garden outside the Burrow has gnarled trees lining the walls, plenty of weeds and overgrown grass, and a large pond. Buffy swore that she saw something scuttle out of the bushes and into a pile of weeds, but ignored it, knowing that it was something magical that she wasn't accustomed to. "It's wonderful..." she added breathlessly, taking in all the magical object that filled the house.
"Well, why don't you lot go on up to Ron's room while I start dinner," she suggested, already turning toward the sink. "Oh, Buffy, dear. You can let your owl out of her cage and let her fly around outside a bit. Would do her some good to stretch her wings."
The gang waited for Buffy to coax Willow out of the kitchen window before grabbing their packages and heading up a narrow stairway, stopping on the fifth landing in front of a door baring a plaque stating "Ronald's Room." Swinging the door open, they deposited their purchases on the floor by Ron's bed, the two boys pulling out a game of wizarding chess. Buffy looked on intently, in awe that the pieces would attack each other, but Hermione and Ginny grew bored quickly, instead riffling through the packages on the ground. Hermione found Buffy's wand, and at the Slayer's insistence, attempted to teach her some basic spells, Ginny looking on and helping whenever she could. They were currently trying to teach Buffy a levitating charm while the boys continued their game of chess, completely oblivious to everything around them.
"It's lev-ee-OH-sa, not lev-ee-oh-SA," Hermione corrected, nudging the scrap of paper closer to Buffy, who was glaring hastily. "And it's more of a flick of the wrist instead of a jab." Seething silence from Buffy. "No, no! It's ok! You're doing really well! Try it again... go on..." Buffy let out a deep, rattling breath and raised her wand once for what seemed like the twentieth, pointing it at the stupid little piece of paper and muttering "Wingardium Leviosa." To her surprise, the object floated a few inches into the air, coming to a stop in front of her face.
"OH MY GOD! I DID IT!" she shouted, looking wide eyed at Ginny and Hermione who were both clapping and congratulating her with huge smiles on their faces. "I CAN DO MAGIC AFTER ALL!" The noise seemed to startle Ron and Harry out of their chess-induced-daze, and they looked up, confusion written all over their faces. However, they were stopped from asking what had just happened by Mrs. Weasley's voice carrying up the stairs, calling them down for dinner. Elated at performing magic, Buffy bounced down the stairs, her four friends close on her heels. When they arrived in the kitchen, Mrs. Weasley handed them various dishes of wonderful smelling food, instructing them to take the dishes outside. Fred and George were already there, and after summoning a large table and benches, were adorning it with silverware, plates and napkins, grinning at Buffy as she passed. Once Mr. Weasley, Bill, and Charlie arrived, everyone sat down to enjoy their meal.
Dinner was a lighthearted affair, Mr. Weasley telling his wife about his day at work, and Bill, Charlie telling their parents about their respective jobs; Bill working as a curse breaker at Gringotts and Charlie currently home from dragon training in Romania. However, the remaining Weasleys, Harry, Hermione, and Buffy were having a much more entertaining conversation.
"So there I am, running as fast as I can through my high school, that huge-ass snake behind me, knocking down walls and busting through doors. And well... a long story short, there was a large amount of dynamite involved, and we... uh... sort of blew up my school," Buffy finished, having been forced into telling the story of her high school graduation. Fred and George were looking at her in awe as if they had never seen anybody more amazing in their lives, while Hermione looked torn between horror and awe at her story. Ginny, Ron, and Harry, were laughing at the looks on the twin's faces, exceptionally impressed with Buffy as well. Hedwig, Pigwidgeon, and Willow were soaring above them, looking for their dinner, and Crookshanks had hopped up onto the bench and was currently head butting Buffy's arm lightly for attention.
Pulling the cat onto her lap and scratching it gently behind the ears, she savored the sounds of laughter around her, missing her friends and life in Sunnydale greatly, but part of her loving her new life, knowing that she would never want to give it up.
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Whew! That was a LONG chapter. But it's been a while since I posted, and I thought y'all deserved a good one. That and all these scenes seemed to fit nicely with each other. Thankfully, my case of writers block has seemed to have resolved itself...
And, I PROMSE that I'll be starting the school year in the next chapter. I'm getting sort of bored writing about summer... Anyhoo, hope you enjoy!