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! Dumbledore's opening speech has been influenced by those in books 1-6... More of a mix of those, actually.
For the timeline and changes I made to both the Buffy and HP fandoms, see Chapter 1!
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Thanks to everyone for their wonderful reviews! Sorry it's taken me so long to get this next chapter out, but real life's been kicking my ass (Ok, well not really, but I've been trying to read HP books 5 and 6 before the movie and next book come out...).
Masked Critic: I'm glad you like it! I know it's a bit clichéd, but I just wanted to write a Buffy/HP fic with a bit of my own flair. Your comment about Eyelop's/Eeylop's; I found it spelled as Eeylop's in a few places (not quite sure of the sites), but I didn't check the book, so you could be right. Thanks for pointing it out. About your little rant on Malfoy (don't worry, I pretty much feel the same way about him...) I've taken that into extreme consideration when deciding my pairing for this fic.
enchantedlight: Thanks! I'm glad you enjoy it!
PrInCeSsFBi: You just might be my most loyal reviewer... I'm glad you're liking it!
Never Is An Awfully Long Time: Thanks for your suggestion! I'll definitely take it into consideration. I agree. I hate Harry/Ginny too... Ugh, the thought just makes my skin crawl...
Allen Pitt: I was actually thinking of doing that, but I felt that it might be a bit cliché... Will most definitely consider it, though!
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To make my Wandless Defense class possible, I'm conveniently ignoring the fact that the kids were taught nonverbal spells in the last book...
Oh, and I'm kind of new at writing fight scenes, so here's my first attempt. Will try to make it more exciting in the future... --
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The rest of the month of August passed quickly, bringing the extreme heat of summer with it and giving way to the changing leaves and briskness of September. Buffy's visits to the Burrow and Grimmauld Place had become less frequent, and she was hardly able to spend time with Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, as she had lots to prepare before the start of term. As usual, Lupin was pushing her as hard as he could to memorize books of magical creatures and spells so that she would be ready to co-teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. Although there was not much preparation for her Wandless Defense class, Giles had amped up her training, claiming that it would be necessary for the upcoming war. In addition to the private lessons she was taking from her fellow professors so that she could continue her progress in magic, Dumbledore had also suggested that she take Occlumency with Professor Snape, as he believed that Lord Voldemort would attempt to lure her to his side. Because they had been so busy, Buffy and Giles had not had the opportunity to return home for a visit, but kept in contact with the gang by calling or sending letters through owl post almost every day.
Currently, Buffy was leaning casually against a column on platform 9¾, watching kids bid their parents goodbye before dragging their trunks and pets onto the train. She had been asked by Dumbledore to supervise the ride to Hogwarts and to make sure that Harry stayed safe, but the thing she was looking forward to was seeing her four Gryffindor friends. Tapping her foot impatiently on the wall behind her and casting longing glances at the hugs families were exchanging, she noticed Mr. Weasley step through the barrier and hurried over to meet him.
"Hey, Mr. Weasley!" she greeted, bouncing up to his side.
"Oh, Buffy! So good to see you!" he responded, looking back at the barrier briefly to see Mrs. Weasley and Ginny step through. "Here to supervise the Hogwarts Express, are you?" Buffy didn't have time to answer, as she was attacked by both Ginny and Hermione, who had just stepped through the barrier with Harry and Ron.
"Oh, hello, Buffy dear!" Mrs. Weasley greeted, pulling Buffy into a hug after Ginny and Hermione had let go. "You'll take care of this lot, won't you? They do have a tendency to get themselves into trouble."
"Of course, Mrs. Weasley," said Buffy, sending a smirk at Ron and Harry, who responded with playful glares of their own. "I'll make sure to-..."
"Oh!" exclaimed Mrs. Weasley. "Sorry dear," she apologized at her interruption, "but the train is about to leave. You'd all better get on board, now." Sure enough, a loud warning whistle sounded and a plume of smoke rose from the train. After their final farewell hugs from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, the five boarded the train, dragging their trunks and possessions after them.
"Alright then..." started Buffy, glancing at all the kids that were milling around on the train. "Why don't you guys go get a compartment. I have to patrol a bit to make sure that no on causes any trouble..." She made a face, making it obvious that she'd much rather sit with them than do her job. The parted ways, Ron and Hermione heading to the prefect's compartment, Harry and Ginny to find an empty one of their own, and Buffy to roam around looking for troublemakers. Feeling the train jerk to a start and hearing students and their parents yelling goodbye to each other, Buffy headed toward the back, earning a large amount of appreciative glances from the male population that she chose to ignore.
Twenty minutes later, Buffy abandoned her duty in search of her friends, nothing of importance having happened; the only thing being having to help a third year find her pet Puffskein. Picking at her nails absently as she walked down the hallway, she stopped when she saw a familiar blond boy and his two lackeys.
"Ah, ah, ah," the boy taunted, wand held at the ready. "None of that, Potter. If you keep talking back to me, I may be forced to take away some points from Gryffindor. Oi! Get back, Granger. I don't want to get any mudblood on my new robes..." Fuming, Buffy strode up to him, hands on her hips, positively livid that he dared threaten her friends like that.
"Excuse me," she said in her best ditzy, blond, air-head voice. "Am I interrupting anything?" Draco turned to tell off the person that had interrupted the fight, but stopped suddenly as he caught sight of Buff's long blond hair, tight leather pants, and beautiful green eyes.
"Of course not, sweetheart," he purred silkily, completely forgetting about Harry and his friends and turning on the charm. Ew, could this guy be any lamer? Buffy thought, but she kept her face calm, hiding her disgust behind a slight pout and wide eyes. "I don't believe that we've had the pleasure of meeting. My name's Draco Malfoy." He offered her his hand, which she took, repressing the impulse to wipe her hand on her pants after she let go.
"Well, Mr. Malfoy," she responded just as silkily, batting her eyelashes flirtatiously. "I'm Buffy Summers." She dropped the innocent act, eyes hardening and ditzy smile forming into a slight smirk. "Actually, I guess that'd be Professor Summers to you. Your new DADA professor, in fact. And you know something?" She paused for dramatic effect, seeing his eyes widen slightly at the revelation that she was his new professor. "I really... really hate bullies. So if I ever see you harassing another another kid or threatening them with your wand," she leaned closer toward him so that her mouth was merely inches away from his ear, feeling him shiver slightly at the close contact, "I'll make you wish that you had never set your beady little gray eyes on me." She pulled back and smiled widely, reveling in the dumbstruck look on his face before stepping around him and the two other boys and into the compartment that her friends were in. "Alrighty then, have a fun train ride!" Slamming the door in his face with a flourish, she turned around to see Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, in addition to a girl with waist-length dirty blond hair and a round faced boy with light brown hair, looking at her with wide eyes and shocked looks on their faces.
"Hey guys," she said brightly, sitting down and flicking an imaginary piece of lint off of her pants as if nothing had happened. "What's up?" They continued to stare at her. "What?"
"That was bloody brilliant!" exclaimed Ron, which resulted in the usual smack to his head by Hermione for his swearing. "Ow! It was!"
"No biggy," she answered, shrugging nonchalantly. "I hate bullies, especially those that attack my friends."
"You didn't have to do that," added Harry, blushing a bit in embarrassment that Buffy had to come to his aid, but at the same time, grateful that she did.
"Don't mention it," Buffy answered with a smile. "After all, you guys've been so nice helping me out with everything." She turned away from the four Gryffindors and toward the two people she had yet to meet. "Er, hi! I don't believe we've met... I'm Buffy, and you are...?" she trailed off, hoping that they would get the hint and introduce themselves. The boy managed to stutter out that his name was Neville, looking at her shyly, and the girl answered that her name was Luna in a soft, airy voice before retreating behind a magazine titled "The Quibbler."
"So, Buffy," started Hermione, drawing all attention toward her. "Dumbledore's got you on Hogwarts duty?"
"Wellllll..." answered Buffy. "Sort of. More like Harry duty, really. Wants to make sure that no big bads come around and snatch him off the train. Haven't seen anything, though. Oh, unless you count those idiots." She jerked her thumb toward the door were Draco and his two cronies had been standing. Before anyone could say anything else, an older witch slid open the door, revealing a trolley full of treats.
"Anything from the trolley, dears?" she asked, looking from person to person. Harry ended up buying an armful of sweets that he then shared with the rest of his friends. Currently, Ron and Hermione were digging into a box of Bernie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Ginny and Neville were each chewing on a Licorice wand, Luna was still reading her magazine upside down with her Sugar Quill sitting forgotten on her lap, Harry was half way through his second pumpkin pastry, and Buffy was dangling a Chocolate Frog frog in the air by its leg. A second ago when she had opened its wrapper, it had made a leap for freedom, resulting in Buffy squeaking loudly and dropping it onto the seat next to her in surprise. Using her Slayer speed and agility, she had shot her hand out, catching it between her fingers, and was currently poking it with her wand hesitantly.
"Uhhhhhhh?" she said, looking at Harry for an explanation for why her chocolate was alive.
"It's bewitched to seem alive. Don't worry, it's not a real frog," explained Harry, smiling at the confused expression on her face. "Go on... It's just regular chocolate." She took a small bite at the frog's leg, grinning happily as the taste of chocolate filled her mouth.
"Mmmmm-... Hey!" she exclaimed through a mouthful of chocolate, picking up the card from the wrapper, looking at the moving figure in awe. Everyone, with the exception of Luna, turned toward her to see what she was so excited about. "Woah! Oh my god! Merlin's a real person? That's so cool! I wonder if Willow knows..." She trailed off, slipping the card into her pocket and making a mental note to include it in her next letter to the gang. The seven friends continued to talk and joke about random things for about twenty minutes before they felt the train slowing down.
"Ughhh," Buffy whined, standing up and moving toward the door. "You guys'd better change into your robes... I gotta go give the halls a final patrol..." She exited the compartment, turning left down the hall toward the front of the train, eyes peeled for any sign of trouble. Everyone was back in their compartments changing, and the hall was completely empty. She walked up and down the halls aimlessly for another couple minutes before feeling the train come to a stop, and making her way toward the exit, jumped off onto the platform. Spotting Hagrid by the lake, she walked over, offering him a smile and a wave.
"Hey, Hagrid!" she called once she was close enough for him to hear her.
"Buffy!" he greeted, beaming at her. "Yeh here keepin' an eye on Harry?"
"Yep," she answered, nodding enthusiastically. "What're you doing here?"
"Just here ter get the firs' years up ter the castle..." he said, trailing off as he noticed the mass of kids getting off of the train. "Sorry, Buffy... I-..."
"No problem, Hagrid," she interrupted gently, seeing that he had to go. "Gotta go find Harry anyways..." She walked off, smiling at Hagrid's yelling of "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" and made her way through the throngs of kids to the Thestral-drawn carriages, absently petting one that had walked toward her and nuzzled her arm. Spotting Ron's red hair among the mass of people, gave the Thestral one last pat before making her way toward them, stopping when she was right behind them.
"Hey guys!" she greeted cheerily, making Ron spin around quickly, dropping his trunk on his foot in the process. Buffy winced slightly at the loud thunk, while the others turned, noticing her as a result of Ron's loud swearing.
"Bloody hell, woman!" he swore, hopping up and down on his good food and holding his injured one in his hands. "Do you always sneak up on people like that?"
"Sorry, Ron," she apologized, feeling guilty about unintentionally hurting her friend. "Kinda fits in with the job description. Don't even really realize I'm doing it anymore." At Ron's acceptance of her apology, they separated, Buffy, Hermione, Ginny, and Luna getting into one carriage and Harry, Ron, and Neville climbing into another.
A short while later, the carriages pulled to a halt in front of the castle's huge double oak front doors. Jumping out of the carriage, Buffy looked down toward the lake, which was specked with boats, feeling Hermione, Ginny, and Luna get out behind her. By the time they had reached the front doors, Harry, Ron, and Neville had already dismounted from their own carriage, and they all made their way through the entrance hall and into the Great Hall together; that night, the ceiling was a clear, dark blue illuminated with hundreds of stars. The second Buffy stepped foot in the Great Hall, her Slayer senses were assaulted by the presence of magic, making her stumble slightly and Harry, who was next to her look at her with a concerned expression on his face, but she waved it off as a result of the hundreds of witches and wizards that now inhabited Hogwarts. The seven bid each other farewell as Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Ginny headed to the Gryffindor table, Luna went to join her fellow Ravenclaws, and Buffy started walking toward the staff table.
Reaching the table, she gave Dumbledore a small wave before settling herself down in a chair between Giles and Snape. Noticing her arrival, Giles gave her a warm smile before returning to his conversation about dark creatures with Lupin, leaving Buffy to try and make small talk with Snape until he was finished. Even though they still had their disagreements, Buffy and Snape had gotten to know each other better over the past few months and had settled on a somewhat comfortable relationship. Though he hated to admit it, as he was still livid that she had gotten the Defense Against the Dark Arts job instead of him, Snape had come to develop a soft spot for the blond Slayer. While Snape kept up his facade of disliking the blond Slayer, she had taken to teasing him mercilessly and making jokes, something that he often sneered at despite his grudging enjoyment of her presence.
"Hey there, Snapey!" greeted Buffy, using a nickname that she knew he hated. "What's the what?"
"Hello, Miss Summers," replied Snape, deliberately addressing Buffy in this manner as a form of retaliation. "And as usual, I haven't the slightest idea what you are blathering on about."
"Oh, come on now. You know that I bring all of the sunshine into pathetic little life," she retorted jokingly, giving him and overenthusiastic grin. Before he could make a snide comment in response, the doors to the Great Hall swung open, and through them stepped McGonagall followed by a mass of scared, shaking first years. They walked nearly all the way toward the staff table, stopping when they came across a stool with an old hat placed on top of it. Buffy had seen the hat in Dumbledore's office before and had never thought anything of it, thinking that it was simply a useless old possession. As a result, when a rip appeared at its brim and it began singing, her eyes widened slightly before she stretched out her senses to try and get a read on the object. She felt nothing evil, and since no one else seemed to be phased in the slightest (well, other than the first years who were looking at the hat in shock and awe), she merely shrugged and went back to scanning her eyes over the Great Hall. After all, a talking hat was hardly the strangest thing she had witnessed since she had arrived at Hogwarts.
A few minutes later, the hat's song came to a close, which was met by a loud applause by the students and Professors, and Professor McGonagall appeared, carrying a long scroll and explaining to the first years how they were going to be sorted before calling out "Abrams, Michael." A tiny boy with flaming red hair stepped forward toward the stool, tripping slightly over the hem of his too-long robes, before settling himself down on the stool and accepting the hat hesitantly from Professor McGonagall. A minute passed in silence, all eyes on the small boy who looked like he was about to be sick from all the attention before the hat shouted "RAVENCLAW," making the boy jump and fling off the hat before hurrying toward the table to get out of the spotlight. Next was Adams, Leslie who was sorted into Slytherin to a loud applause by her fellow housemates. This continued until Zuker, Christina was sorted into Gryffindor.
Once the sorting was completed, Dumbledore stood to make his opening speech, the chatter that hat erupted as a response to new members being placed into houses stopped suddenly, everyone turning toward the Headmaster.
"Welcome!" started the Headmaster, beaming at all of the students. "To another year at Hogwarts! Before the feast may begin, I have the pleasure of welcoming two new teachers, and one old to our ranks this year. With the threat of the upcoming war upon us, a new course, Wandless Defense, has been added and is mandatory for all students. I am pleased to announce that Professor Giles..." a smattering of polite, unenthusiastic applause to which Giles smiled slightly embarrassedly "and Professor Summers..." quite a larger applause than Giles had received, mostly from the male student population, and a few wolf whistles to which Buffy smiled widely and gave a mock-salute "have volunteered to teach this subject."
"In addition, Professor Summers has also kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher along with, a man who I am extremely pleased to welcome back, Professor Lupin." The hall erupted in applause and cheers, which were particularly loud at the Gryffindor table. Buffy clapped as loud as any of the students, cheering and flashing Lupin a bright smile when he looked her way, trying to ignore Snape, who was not clapping and was simply sitting there with a scowl on his face, as best as she could.
"Now," continued Dumbledore bemusedly as the last of the applause from the announcement of Lupin's return had subsided. "Let the feast begin!" Once the Headmaster had seated himself, he golden plates and goblets miraculously filled with all sorts of food, and chatter once again filled the Great Hall, students scrambling to grab any food they could get their hands on.
"Wow," breathed Buffy, eyes wide and mouth open. This was her first big meal in the Great Hall. She usually went to the kitchens in search of food, as the hours in which she was awake were usually quite different than those of the other inhabitants of the castle. Without another word, she piled her plate high with food, stuffing a roll into her mouth as she did, and gave Snape a grin at his startled and somewhat disgusted expression.
Leaving Snape to glower slightly into his goblet of pumpkin juice, Buffy turned to Giles and Lupin, quickly becoming emerged in their discussion of vampires. Looking up and scanning the hall and catching Harry's gaze, she winked at him playfully before turning back to her co-professor in response to a question he asked her. After about an hour of laughter, talk, and the clatter of forks and knives, the leftover food disappeared from the plates, leaving them as spotless as they had been when the students had arrived.
Once again, Dumbledore stood, this simple action causing everyone to stop talking and turn toward the front of the hall. After a brief speech imploring the students to keep safe and to always keep their guard up now that they were in the middle of a war, and of course the bit about the Forbidden Forest and any products from Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes being off limits, he gave the word for them all to go to bed. Seeing Harry, Ron, and Hermione looking her direction, Buffy flashed them a grin and a wave before they were swept up as the students streamed from the Great Hall. Standing up, she gave the Headmaster a nod before following Giles toward the entrance of the hall.
"Hey, Giles?" she asked, bouncing up to him and fixing him with her most convincing pout. "All the magic these kids are giving off is making me all antsy... Can we go... uh..." She glanced around at the students still in earshot and leaned in to whisper in her Watcher's ear. "...patrolling?" She pulled back of Giles' personal space and continued in a normal voice. "I need to get out all this excess energy otherwise I won't be able to sleep tonight..."
"Of course," he answered, smiling down at her warmly. "Shall we go directly or...?"
"Nah, I need to grab some supplies and maybe a jacket or something... Stupid cold weather... Meet ya in the entrance hall in like ten or so?" At his nod, she bounded off, giving him a last smile, exiting through the large doors of the Great Hall, and passing large groups of students who all stared at her as she hurried past toward her rooms.
Throwing the password at Sir Charles, she stepped through the portrait hole, first stopping in her bedroom to throw on a jacket over her white tank-top and change out of her leather pants and into a pair of well-worn jeans. Dumbledore had extended an invitation to Buffy and Giles to wear their own clothes instead of robes if they so wished, an offer that they accepted in a heartbeat. Neither entirely fancied dressing in robes for the whole year, especially because being a Watcher and a Slayer required them getting thrown around quite a bit. Pulling on her boots, she headed across the sitting area toward the training room to grab a few stakes before once again exiting the portrait hole.
Making her way down the various hallways and staircases that led to the entrance hall, she noted the distinct absence of kids due to the new security measure stating that all students must return to their common rooms by eight o'clock. Spotting Giles examining a painting at the bottom of the stairs, she joined up with him, and the two made their way out of the double oak front doors and down toward the forest. A small stream of smoke was winding itself out of the chimney to Hagrid's hut and the lights were on, but other than that, neither could see any other sign of life in the darkness.
Entering the forest, Buffy pulled out her wand from her back pocket, muttering Lumos smiling excitedly as the tip of her wand lit up. She had become quite accomplished at simple spells; both Giles and the other Professors were amazed at how quickly she had picked up magic. It seemed that being the Slayer had given her quite an advantage in the magical world after all. Traipsing deeper and deeper into the forest, all the while being snagged and cut by stray branches, she emerged in a clearing with Giles close on her heels. Handing Giles her wand, she scanned the darkness and honed her Slayer skills for any unusual presence.
"I've been having dreams," she stated matter-of-factly, turning around to face her Watcher.
"Pardon?" he questioned, a bit confused about how they had arrived at this subject. Snapping out of it, he continued. "Oh, of course. Downside to being the Slayer, I suppose. More about Harry?"
"Nah..." she said, turning back to the forest and staring into the darkness. "Something else. It's weird. One second I'm standing in front of a stone arch with a curtain and the next I'm in a complete different place. It's completely dark, and I can hear all of these people whispering around me..." But before she could continue or Giles could comment, something emerged from the darkness of the forest with a loud rustling noise. Squinting slightly to see better, Buffy quickly deduced that there appeared to be at least five vampires, all in full game face, surrounding them.
"Slayer..." one snarled. Buffy took this one to be the leader, as he was walking toward her while the others stayed put. "I come with an offer from the Dark Lord. He extends an offer for you to join his side. He assures you that he has much more to offer you than Albus Dumbledore." He practically spit the last two words, showing his intense disgust for the Headmaster.
"Hmmm..." she answered, bringing her hand to her mouth and tilting her head in a gesture of contemplation. "Nope! Sorry guys, Voldemort's gonna have to offer me so much more than that to get me on his side! I'd really like to help you but... Actually, I'd rather kill you. I haven't killed anything in a while, and it's getting a bit annoying, sooooo..." The vampire snarled again and gave the gesture to attack, the rest of the vampires closing in on Buffy and Giles.
Turning toward Giles, she gave the slightest of nods and tossed him one of her stakes. In turn, he passed her her wand before turning and beginning to fight the vampire that had come up behind him. Brandishing a stake in her right hand and her wand in her left, Buffy gracefully sidestepped the vampire that was charging her, spinning around and staking him neatly through the heart before he could take another step. Feeling a blow hit her lower back, she found herself sprawled on the dirt floor, wincing at the pain in her back. Pushing the pain aside, she flipped up from the ground within seconds, landing a blow square in the vampire's face before jumping onto a stump for leverage and roundhouse kicking another in the chest. Ducking under the arm of a fourth, she grabbed its arm, slamming it into a tree, and conveniently onto a protruding branch.
Glancing around to see that Giles had disposed of his first vampire and was currently fighting his second, Buffy turned toward the leader of the group. Obviously furious that his companions had been taken down with such ease, he attacked with such ruthlessness that Buffy found herself being backed up against a tree. Now matching the vampire blow for blow, she ducked, his oncoming fist smashing into the tree behind her. Reappearing behind him, she staked him quickly, watching him explode into a cloud of dust.
Seeing that Giles had finished with his own vampire, she snatched up her fallen wand before striding up to him and brushing the dust off of his jacket. After giving him a look that he interpreted as her being extremely satisfied that she had finally had the chance to kill something, she sighed, bringing up a hand to push the hair out of her eyes.
"Well..." she started, gleeful smile turning into a frown almost instantly as she gazed up at her mentor, remembering the conversation that had just occurred. "That can't be good."