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!
Thanks to Madbrilliant1880, PrInCeSsFBi (Wow! TWO reviews! ), xXTheBlackCanaryXx, enchantedlight, and Allen Pitt for all your lovely reviews! I'm glad you guys are liking this story so much!
--------------------------
"Buffy," he greeted in that soft, silky voice of his. At this one word, Buffy felt all of the air rush out of her lungs; he was looking at her the way that always made her legs turn to jelly and her head feel lightheaded. No wonder Giles looked sort of pissed, she thought absently. He hadn't been fond of Angel since he had left his Slayer and broke her heart.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, unable to tear her gaze away from his chocolate-brown eyes. It was as if they were the only two people in the room. Nothing else existed except for them. No,she thought, scolding herself for her weakness, I can't do this again. I won't go back there. She ripped her eyes from his, concentrating instead on the corner of Dumbledore's desk.
"I'm here with an offer from Lord Voldemort," he said simply, watching her carefully. All of a sudden, Buffy felt her world crash down upon her. He was here for Voldemort. Did that mean...? "I'm not him," he added, sensing what she was thinking; Giles had had the same reaction. "But he doesn't know that I'm not." Looking into his eyes, Buffy saw the guilt and pain reflected in them, not the cruelty and arrogance she had seen in Angelus' eyes.
"Oh," she said faintly, waiting for him to go on. She felt a hand press into her lower back and looked behind her to see Giles; he steered her forward and pushed her down into a chair, taking the seat next to her once he was sure that she wasn't going anywhere.
"I have been reporting to Albus for a couple of months. Voldemort recruited me not long after I left for L.A." He paused. It seemed like this was a sore point for him as well. "He said that if I got you to come to his side, we would both be greatly rewarded. He would give us two of his highest ranking positions."
"Why? Just because I'm the Slayer? How does he know I wouldn't rat him out to Dumbledore?" she asked, confused that Voldemort would be so quick to trust her especially when she was part of the Order.
"He felt that I would be able to exert some sort of... control over you. That you would obey his orders for fear that if you didn't, something would happen to one, or both, of us."
"That's stupid," Pause. "I mean, no offense, but my duty to the Order and to the Wizarding world. If I get killed in the process of keeping people safe, then so be it." Giles smiled at her sadly, but didn't say anything; she had grown immensely since her death at the hands of the Master. She now understood that she was a warrior, that she would have to sacrifice herself for the greater good. Angel, however, noticed that she had purposely ignored the issue of his wellbeing and frowned slightly, but he continued as if nothing had happened.
"What should I tell him?" Buffy thought for a few moments, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, before mimicking Willow's resolve face and announcing her decision.
"I'll do it," she said, looking from Angel to Giles to Dumbledore. They were all looking back at her, silently questioning if she knew what she was getting herself into.
"Buffy, you do realize the risk you are taking by putting yourself in this position..." Giles started, taking his glasses off and polishing them in a familiar gesture. Buffy smiled at his concern but didn't interrupt. "You have already agreed to combat Voldemort by teaching at Hogwarts and protecting Harry. It would be completely acceptable for you to refuse his offer."
"Indeed," added Dumbledore, looking at her serenely over his half-moon spectacles, but she could tell that he too was worried about her. "Should you choose to accept Voldemort's proposal, your life will be in grave danger. Voldemort does not look fondly upon those who betray him." Buffy's resolve faltered for a second, but she decided to stick with her decision.
"No, I'll do it," she answered, sitting up a little bit straighter in her chair and squaring her shoulders in an attempt to mask her nervousness. "I think I can handle it after all that I've faced." Her eyes flicked toward Angel, and he tensed but made no other move to show that he knew what she was referring to. If Dumbledore noticed the exchange, he made no indication.
"Very well," he said turning away from Buffy and toward Angel. "Does Voldemort wish to see her tonight?"
"Unfortunately, he does," replied Angel, glancing over at Buffy to see her reaction.
"Tonight?" she said, mouth dropping open in surprise. Giles placed a comforting hand on her arm but didn't say anything as Angel had already started to respond.
"I'm sorry, Buffy, but his goal was to get to you without Dumbledore knowing. If I was to come for you and not bring you back that same day, you might have had time to discuss your decision with the order. Not that any of that applies, of course..."
"No it's okay," interrupted Buffy gently so that Angel didn't have to explain any further. "I'll do it. I'm just worried about him going all mind reader on me and me not being ready. I can't really do it."
"You'll be fine," said Dumbledore with a reassuring smile. "You understand the concept and you managed to propel Severus from your mind. You just need to learn to control it. Block him just enough so that he cannot see into your mind but not enough to alert him to the fact that you are deceiving him."
"Right, just enough, got it," she said absently, turning once again toward Angel. "When do we have to... uh..."
"Our portkey," — he pulled out a polished, silver knife — "leaves at exactly eight o'clock." It was three to eight. "Buffy you don't have to-..."
"Yes, I do," she stated firmly, the Slayer in her coming out full force. "We need to get into Voldemort's inner circle and this is the only way." She looked toward Dumbledore. "I don't want Harry to know. He's already in enough danger without knowing that I'm double-agent gal."
"As you wish," he replied with a bow of his head.
"Giles..." Before she could finish her thought, Giles got out of his chair and pulled her into a hug. When he pulled away, he was blushing furiously, but kept eye contact and gave her a small nod. She gave him a small smile in return before accepting the hand that Angel had offered her.
"Ready?" he asked her, so close that she could feel his breath tickling her ear. She nodded, taking a deep breath before placing a finger on the knife. As soon as the clock ticked eight, she felt a pulling sensation at her navel and gave Giles one last reassuring smile before being whisked from the room. Moments later, she felt her feet slam into the ground, and Angel grabbed her hips to steady her. Looking around the room, she observed that she appeared to be standing in the middle of the front entrance hall; the walls were made from a polished dark wood, and hanging from the impossibly high ceiling was a crystal chandelier. The entire room gave off an air of wealth and elegance.
As he led her down the hall, she kept her eyes on the plush purple carpet covering the stone floor, not wanting to make eye contact with the sinister figures in the portraits that lined the walls. Once they reached an ornately carved wooden door, Angel gave her a nod that she returned shakily before hardening his features into those usually attributed to. At once, Buffy found herself staring into the cold, dark eyes of her former enemy. Repressing a shudder at the familiar smirk, she took a deep breath and nodded to show that she was ready. At her nod, Angel opened the door without knocking and led her into the room by gently placing his hand on her lower back.
Upon entering the room and squinting slightly at the lack of light, Buffy saw that a long table sat in the middle of the room, the room's usual furniture having been pushed aside to accommodate it; the only light came from a fire behind the person seated at the head of the table and the beautiful candelabras that were placed every couple feet along the table. All of the seats were filled except for the two on the right closest to the head of the table, and scanning the faces of those seated, Buffy felt her breath catch in her throat as she recognized Draco Malfoy. She also noticed Snape, but made no indication of seeing him, for fear that they would be exposed. Angel pushed her forward a bit harder, and she complied, walking over to the seat closest to the head of the table and sat down. Feeling Angel sit down beside her, she forced her features to stay calm as she took in Voldemort's features; he was hairless, had slits for nostrils, and red, cat-like eyes. His skin was so pale that it was nearly translucent, and he was absently stroking a large serpent with his long, slender fingers.
"Ah, Miss Summers," he greeted in a high pitched voice that was nothing like what Buffy had been expecting. "I am quite pleased that you could join us."
"The pleasure is all mine," she added, her voice much stronger than she felt. Sensing her nervousness, Angel discretely wrapped her hand in his under the table and gave it a small squeeze before speaking.
"My Lord," he started, and Buffy had to force herself not to wince at the cool tone that came out of his mouth. "She has willingly accepted your offer."
"Is that so?" Voldemort asked, and though he stayed perfectly still, Buffy could feel him trying to penetrate her mind with hers. Yes, she thought, concentrating as hard as she could to prevent him from dipping beneath the surface and discovering her real motives.
"Yes," she stated simply but continued when Angel squeezed her hand lightly. "My Lord," she added, bowing her head in a mock sign of respect. "Thank you for your generous offer. You will not be disappointed." She could sense all of the Death Eater's eyes on her, but she ignored them, concentrating instead on keeping her mental shield up. He continued to probe for a few more moments but seemed to be satisfied with what he saw, as he finally pulled away. Aha!, she thought, mentally congratulating herself for fooling him. However, she didn't have much time to revel in her accomplishment, as he had once again started speaking.
"Very well. Dumbledore has no idea that you have come to see me?" Buffy felt the mind probe again and closed her thoughts.
"No, he does not," she answered and a second later, felt the pressure lift.
"Good." Pause. "I trust you'll keep it that way." Buffy nodded. "We now have an advantage over the Order of the Phoenix." He addressed the rest of the Death Eaters but kept his eye on Buffy. "We now have a spy inside their operations as well as Hogwarts that they do not know about. Now, Miss Summers. I believe giving you a Dark Mark would be too... obvious for this situation. Instead, I will have either Severus or Angelus contact you." He turned toward Angel. "You are to make your presence known at the school as Angel. Dumbledore is not to know that you are in fact Angelus, is that clear?" Angel nodded. "That way, it will not be out of the ordinary for you to escort our newest addition off of school grounds."
"Yes, my Lord," Angel answered, nodding cooly.
"Excellent. That is all," said Voldemort with a note of finality to his voice. At once, the room with filled with the loud crack of a dozen people disapparating, leaving only Voldemort, Buffy, Angel, Snape, Malfoy and two people who appeared to be his parents, and a beautiful woman with long, black hair. "Severus, Angelus, if you would escort Miss Summers back to Hogwarts?" He reached out a hand and ran his long, pale fingers down the side of her cheek. Buffy remained completely still, a passive smile plastered on her face, but she felt Angel tense next to her and out of the corner of her eye, saw the black-haired woman shift in her seat. "I will be seeing you very soon."
With a nod, Buffy stood up, effectively squelching her revulsion and walked over to Snape. Both Angel and Buffy grabbed onto one of his arms, Angel clearly more resistant than Buffy, and a moment later, they were standing in front of the gates to Hogwarts. In silence, he led them to Dumbledore's office and knocked, entering after hearing a "come in."
"Ah, Buffy, Severus, Angel," Dumbledore greeted without getting up from his desk. Buffy glanced around and noticed that Giles hadn't moved from his spot since she had left. "Everything went well?"
"As well as playing double agent for a dark lord can go," answered Buffy, plopping into one of the chairs in front of the Headmaster's desk and motioning for Giles to do the same. Angel and Snape remained standing, glowering at each other. "He touched me," she added, with a slight whine tinging her voice and a shudder.
"Voldemort gave her a very high ranking position," started Snape, ignoring Buffy's comment. "She would have been a great asset to him if you and the Order were not to know."
"We can't tell the Order," said Buffy suddenly, looking up at Dumbledore. They all turned to look at her. "They're already in enough danger without adding knowing about me being a double agent to their list. Plus, if Voldemort gets... a hold of one of them, I don't want him to find out that you know."
"As you wish," replied Dumbledore with a nod. "I too believe that that is a good idea."
"Oh, and Voldemort wants Angel to get acquainted with the school 'cause he thinks that it won't be so obvious if he comes and whisks me off to a meeting. Can he...?" she trailed off, unsure of how to continue. Luckily for her, Dumbledore seemed to know what she was asking.
"Of course he may stay here. I will have the castle arrange for another suite to be constructed close to yours."
"Alright, thanks," she said, smiling gratefully at the Headmaster. "Well, it's kinda been a long day, so I'm going to turn in if you don't need me...?"
"Oh, of course," said Giles, speaking up for the first time. "It has been a long day, hasn't it. First day of classes and then a meeting with Voldemort... Why don't you head to bed. We'll iron out the rest of the details." Both Dumbledore and Angel nodded their agreement.
"Thanks guys," she said, yawning slightly. "Night." Retreating from the office to a chorus of "Goodnight, Buffy"s, she closed the door and leaned back against it with a sigh. Now that Angel was back in her life and she was a double agent for Voldemort, she could only pray and hope that she was up to the challenge.
--------------------------
Sorry about the short chapter. For some reason, my muse is hating this story right now and it took me a long time to come out with this chapter. Ugh! Anyhoo, drop me a review on your way out! Hope you enjoyed!