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! Part of the dialogue and plot from this chapter is taken from BtVS season 4 episode "The Harsh Light of Day." Transcript from twiztv. For the timeline and changes I made to both the Buffy and HP fandoms, see Chapter 1!
Thanks for enchantedlight, PrInCeSsFBi, and xXxIzzyxXx for your reviews! Glad you're all enjoying it, and I hope you keep reading!
AN: The gang are going to have cell phones even though they didn't in the show. It's too much trouble for me to have them running around trying to find pay phones and such.
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The rest of the month of September had passed quickly, Buffy having settled into a routine that she was comfortable with and learning even more about the wizarding world. She had gotten to know most of the students fairly well and still remained the subject of most of the male students' fantasies. Her classes were going well, and her and Lupin were as close as ever despite her not telling him about working for Voldemort. Speaking of Voldemort, she hadn't had any contact with him since that first night at Malfoy's mansion and didn't have anything big to do for the Order either, so spent most of her time not spent teaching with the Gryffindor trio.
"Hey, Giles," Buffy greeted, plopping down in the seat next to Giles. The seat on her other side was empty, as Angel had been called on a mission by Voldemort. Buffy knew that it was only a matter of time until she would be called as well.
"Ah, Buffy," he greeted, sending her a small smile, already half way through a pork chop. "How was your day?"
"Same old, same old," replied Buffy, inhaling a piece of steak and a roll before turning to Giles with a small pout and her famous puppy-dog eyes. "Giles?" she asked, purposely whining slightly for added effect. Giles turned to look at her but quickly turned away, knowing that he would cave into whatever she wanted if she kept looking at him like that.
"Yes?" he asked, dreading what was coming next.
"Can we go home?"
"No, you may no-... what?" he asked, finally breaking out of his haze and realizing what she was asking.
"Home," she repeated, smiling slightly at him. "I miss my Mom. And Willow. And Xander. And... please?" The eyes and pout were back, but this time Giles smiled affectionately at his Slayer. He knew what she was feeling. As much as the Scoobies had gotten on his nerves, he thought of them as family and, though he would never admit it, he missed them and wanted to see them as well.
"Of course," he answered, setting down his knife and fork and giving Buffy his undivided attention. "When would you like to go?"
"I was thinking about tonight?" Buffy asked sheepishly, knowing that it was late notice. "I've got most of my essays graded and we'll be back by class on Monday..."
"That sounds perfect," answered Giles, knowing that she must be extremely happy to see her friends after so long. "When would you like to leave? After dinner? That would make it ten a.m. there." At Buffy's nod, they finished their dinner quickly before standing up and heading out of the hall. Buffy looked for Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but they were nowhere to be found, and she shrugged, figuring that she could talk to them when she got back from Sunnydale.
Bidding Giles a quick goodbye and agreeing to meet him in the Headmaster's office in twenty minutes, Buffy entered her suite after telling Sir Charles the password and quickly made her way to her bedroom to pack. Grabbing a small duffel bag, she tossed in a few items of clothing before heading into the bathroom to grab her toothbrush. Finally, after grabbing a few weapons, including a few stakes, knives, and the sword she fought Angelus with, she changed into a long, flowing black skirt and a white tank top before stashing a few weapons and her wand under her clothes and heading out of the portrait hall and toward Dumbledore's office. Knocking and entering once she reached the door, Buffy saw that she was the first to arrive and sat down in a chair in front of the Headmaster's desk to explain the situation, dropping her duffel bag at her feet.
"Good evening, Buffy," greeted Dumbledore with a small nod of his head. "What brings you to my office?"
"Giles and I were wondering if we could have the weekend off to visit home," answered Buffy as the Headmaster peered over his half-moon spectacles at her. "It's been a while and we're both kinda homesick."
"I see," he replied, arching his fingers together and continuing. "I believe that can be arranged." Buffy nodded.
"If that's okay...?" Just then, Giles entered, carrying a small leather bag slung over his shoulder. Flashing Buffy a small smile, he gave Dumbledore a nod before sitting down in the chair next to his Slayer.
"Of course it's alright." He gave her a smile. "I assume you'll be wanting to leave as soon as possible to account for the time difference?" Buffy nodded. "I will show you how to create a portkey for the travel back and for future reference." He gestured for Buffy to stand next to him, and she got up, making he away around the desk. "Now, simply concentrate on the desired destination and use the incantation of portus."
"Thanks," she muttered, taking the glass paperweight that Dumbledore had handed her and pulled her wand from the waistband of her skirt. "Okay." Concentrating on her home address, she muttered "portus," and turned to the Headmaster excitedly when it proceeded to glow and shudder slightly before returning to its original state. "Did it work?"
"Indeed it did," said Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eye. "Now when you are ready to come back to Hogwarts, just perform that spell to create a portkey." At Buffy's nod, Giles stood, grabbing his bag, as well as Buffy's, and moving to stand next to her.
"Thank you, Albus," he said, sending the Headmaster a quick nod. "We will see you on Sunday."
"Bye!" Buffy called, as she and Giles both reached to touch the paperweight, which immediately activated and dumped them unceremoniously in the center of the Summer's living room.
"Buffy!" the Slayer heard someone call, and looked up to see her mother hurrying into the room. "Oh, Buffy!"
"Hi, Mom," she replied, pushing herself off of the floor and offering Giles a hand up before rushing to hug her mom. "I missed you."
"I missed you too, sweetheart," Joyce replied, tearing up at seeing her daughter for the first time in months. "Are you alright?" She pulled back and held Buffy at arms length, checking her for any visible injuries.
"Yeah, I'm good," replied Buffy, stepping back and grinning.
"Hello, Joyce," greeted Giles, offering her a small smile.
"Rupert!" Joyce answered, leaning forward to give him a hug. He stiffened a bit at first, but relaxed slightly and awkwardly pat her bat a few times before pulling back. "Thank you so much for taking care of Buffy."
"Ah, don't mention it," he said and smiled at Buffy who was smiling right back. "Well, I'll leave you two to catch up. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to settle in at my flat and find Wesley to discuss the any recent demonic activity."
"'kay, Giles," Buffy said, rolling her eyes playfully at her Watcher. "Don't strain anything." He sent her a withering glare in response before smiling at Joyce and heading out the door. "So, Mom, you have to work today?"
"I do," Joyce said but frowned, clearly wanting to spend the day with her daughter. "If you had let me know earlier, I would have tried to take the day off..."
"That's alright," Buffy gently interrupted. "We can do the mother-daughter bonding thing later this weekend. I'm here 'til Sunday. Well, unless something happens.."
"Perfect," said Joyce, giving her daughter a smile before heading to the kitchen to grab her purse and keys, Buffy following her. "Why don't you visit Willow and Xander, honey?"
"Sounds great!" responded Buffy, perking up immediately, excited about the prospect of seeing her two best friends. "Hey, where's Faith?"
"I don't know," said Joyce, frowning slightly, clearly concerned. "She sometimes disappears for a couple of days at a time. I haven't asked her about it. I assumed it was Slayer stuff."
"Yeah, probably..." Buffy trailed off, thinking about this. "Oh well, I'm sure she's fine. Faith can take care of herself. Alright. Bye, Mom! Have fun at work!"
"Aright, sweetie, see you soon." With one last hug, Joyce exited the kitchen and a few minutes later, Buffy heard the car pull out of the driveway. Grabbing her her duffel bag still sitting on the living room floor, she headed up the stairs, smiling when she saw that her room was exactly like the way she left it. Dropping her bag onto her bed, she wandered down the hall, peeking into the spare room and noticing that it looked more homey now that Faith had moved in; the were clothes and weapons scattered around the room, and the bed was unmade. Making her way back to her room, she dumped her bag off of her bed and onto the floor before curling up on the bed for a quick nap to stall the jet lag.
Buffy slept longer than she had expected, waking up as the sun began to turn the sky a light pink. After shedding her skirt, white tank top, and flip-flops in favor of a pair of black leather pants, a blood red halter top, and her favorite pair of boots, she dug out her cell phone, keys and wallet out of her duffel bag, placing them in a small purse from her room before exiting her room and making her way downstairs.
"Hey, honey," Joyce greeted as soon as Buffy set foot in the kitchen. "Have a nice nap?"
"Yep," Buffy nodded, smiling at her mom. "Guess I was really jet lagged or something. Good day at work?"
"As good as it could be," Joyce answered before digging into a drawer and pulling out a few take-out menus. "What do you feel like today?"
"Hmm..." Buffy thought, her eyes scanning the menus that her mom was holding. "Pizza," she decided with a smile. Three hours, an entire large pizza and order of cinnasticks, and a movie later, Buffy and Joyce were curled up on the couch, dabbing at their eyes with tissues after having finished The Notebook.
"Well, I'm going to go to bed," said Joyce, getting up from the couch and bring their plates into the kitchen so that she could wash them. "You going to see Willow and Xander tonight?"
"Yeah, I should do that," Buffy said, following her mom into the kitchen carrying the empty pizza box. "I haven't told them I'm back yet." Grabbing her bag, she kissed her mom goodbye before leaving the house and heading toward Xander's. Arriving at his house, Buffy knocked, smiling when a middle-aged woman answered the door.
"Hi, Mrs. Harris," she said.
"Buffy!" she answered, reaching out to give the Slayer a hug. "How are you, sweetheart?"
"I'm doing good," Buffy answered, making polite conversation. "Is Xander here?"
"Of course! Come on in!" She opened the door a bit wider to let Buffy in, leading her down the small hallway toward a door. "He's moved into the basement."
"Alright, thanks, Mrs. Harris," Buffy said, turning the nob and smiling at Xander's mom before making her way down the stairs. Spotting her friend fiddling with something on his desk, she snuck up behind him, throwing her hands over his eyes and smiling at his jump.
"Guess who?" she said, and he spun around with a shock look on his face.
"Buffy!" He picked her up by the waist and spun her around, making her giggle and squeal before setting her back on the ground and ushering her onto a leather couch in the corner. "So how goes it in 'jolly ol' England?'" he asked, adopting a horrible British accent, but Buffy laughed all the same.
"It's good, nothing major's been happening. What's been up with you guys?"
"Nothing much," Xander replied, tilting his head to the side slightly in an adorably curious gesture. "You know. Monsters. Vampires. Demons. Same as always." Buffy laughed and he smiled goofily at her before grabbing his cell phone off of the coffee table. "Should we call Willow and let her know you're back in town?" At Buffy's raised eyebrow, which he took to mean 'duh,' he smiled at her and dialed his best friend's number.
"Don't tell her I'm here!" said Buffy hurriedly before Willow could answer. "I want to surprise her!"
"Hey, Wills!" Xander said into the phone, nodding to Buffy to indicate that he had understood what she had told her. "How's my favorite wicca doing tonight?" He paused as he listened to Willow's answer. "Ah, sounds fun. Want to do something tonight?" Another pause. "Okay great. Meet you at the Bronze in twenty?" He looked toward Buffy and gave her a thumbs-up with his free hand. "Okay, see you then."
"Yeah?" asked Buffy, looking at him curiously as he closed the phone.
"Yep, she'll meet us there," Xander answered, smiling and sneaking in another hug to which Buffy laughed. "C'mon Buff, lets get our dance on."
"Gladly," she laughed as he stood up and mock-bowed before offering her a hand and leading her up the stairs and out of the house. The talked all the way to the Bronze, laughing and talking and merely enjoying each other's company. Turning a corner, the club came into sight, as did a redhead who was leaning against the wall, clearly waiting for someone. As soon as she caught sight of Buffy and Xander, Willow launched herself from the wall, throwing her arms around the Slayer with a squeal and would have knocked them both over if Xander hadn't wrapped his arms around their waists to steady them.
"Oh my god! Buffy!" Willow exclaimed, refusing to let go of her best friend. "I can't believe you're here! It's been so long! Are you having a good time in England? How's teaching? No! How's the magic? Have you learned anything yet? Of course you have! I knew you-..."
"Woah! Wills!" Xander placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her away from Buffy, effectively cutting off her rambling. "Breathe! You're babbling again."
"Sorry," said Willow, blushing but continuing to look at Buffy and bounce up and down slightly in excitement.
"Ooh! You cut your hair!" were the first words out of Buffy's mouth and Xander rolled his eyes at the girlie turn the conversation was taking.
"Yeah! Last week!" exclaimed Willow, running her fingers through her hair self consciously. "You like it?"
"Definately!" said Buffy, throwing an arm around both Willow and Xander's waists. "Very sexy!" Willow blushed an even deeper red and Buffy and Xander both smiled at her modesty. The three entered the club, tossing their coats and Buffy's purse onto the pile by the door and made their way to the stage where Oz and his band were playing. Giving the green-haired guitarist a small wave that he returned, Buffy, Willow, and Xander threw themselves into the pulsing beat of the music, letting the music gloss over the stress and tensions in their lives. The three danced for quite a few sets, Oz joining him after his band finished playing, laughing at Xander's crazy moves and reveling in the fact that Buffy was back in town.
Because her Slayer sense had been dulled by the extremely close proximity of a large group of teenagers and the pounding of the music, Buffy was caught off guard when a cool hand ran itself up her arm and neck to twist in her hair. Spinning around, she found herself face-to-face with a pair of piercing blue eyes.
"Hello, Slayer," he said, so close to her ear that she could feel his breath tickling her skin. In a flash he was gone, and Buffy strained to see through the group surrounding her, finally noticing a platinum blond head weaving through the crowd toward the door. Making her way toward the door and ignoring her friends' questions, she burst outside, her breath catching in her throat as the cool night air came into contact with her heated skin. She saw him a few feet down the alleyway, clearly waiting for her, leaning up against the wall and smoking a cigarette. "Well, well, well, look who it is. I was under the impression that you were playing teacher for a bunch of spoiled brats in England."
"Spike," she answered, letting the menace in her voice clearly show through.
"Ooooh, Slayer's all out of insults?" Spike mocked, giving her a lazy smirk and flicking some of the ash off of his cigarette and onto the ground.
"What's a matter, Spike?" said Buffy, using her best patronizing voice and placing a hand on her hip. "Dru dump you again?"
"Maybe I left her!" he retorted, clearly angry at that particular subject. Buffy gave him a 'yeah right' look to which he glared, but was interrupted before he could say anything else.
"She left him for a fungus demon," a voice behind Buffy said and she turned around to see who it was, stopping and raising her eyebrow when she saw a ditzy blond girl that she had gone to high school with. "That's all he talks about most days."
"You're with Harmony?" Buffy asked incredulously, turning back to Spike and giving him a look. "What'd you do? Loose a bet?"
"Hey," she heard Harmony say indignantly but ignored her.
"Harm!" Spike called, stalking over to her and grabbed her arm, trying to lead her out of the alley. "We are going. It isn't time yet."
"Yeah," Harmony agreed, flipping her hair and turning toward Buffy. "But as soon as we have the Gem of Amara, you're going to be sorr-..."
"Argh!" Spike yelled and dragged her out of the alleyway without another word to Buffy, ignoring Harmony's protests of "What? Ow!" Looking after them in confusion, she barely heard her friends step up behind her.
"Hey, Buff. What's up?" Buffy turned to see that it had been Oz that spoke. She walked toward him and gave him a hug before pulling back.
"Hey, Oz!" She smiled. "Guys, something's up. I'm going to go run it by Giles."
"Giles is here?" Willow asked, and Buffy nodded, smiling at her enthusiasm.
"Yeah, probably at home. I'll catch up with you guys later?" Buffy asked at at their nods, made her way to Giles' flat, not even bothering to knock and stepping right in.
"Giles!" Buffy called, wandering through the house and spotting her Watcher and Wesley in the kitchen. "Oh, hey, Wes. You still as stuffy and British as always?" Giles let out a small laugh at this but hastily turned it into a cough when Wesley looked over at him.
"Quite," he answered curtly, giving her a small nod. "You haven't seen my Slayer by chance, have you?"
"Nope," said Buffy popping the 'p' the way she knew he hated and that she always did to annoy him. "Haven't seen her. But Faith's a big girl. I'm sure she'll check in sooner or later. Probably just off getting her kicks after patrol or something." She took a seat at the small kitchen table and Xander, Oz, and Willow followed suit. "So, we got a problem."
" Already? What is it?" Giles asked, looking slightly alarmed.
"Yeah, I know. Figures, huh?" said Buffy sighing and picking at the tablecloth absently. "First day back and there's something a brewing. Guess the duty of a Slayer is never done." Giles gave her a look. "Yeah, right, problem. Spike and Harmony are shacking up. If you can believe it. I couldn't figure out why he ran away, but Harmony said something. Why they were here. They were looking for the gem of something... Amara."
"The Gem of Amara?" asked Wesley, looking at her curiously. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah..." said Buffy, looking at him with a similar expression. "What's up?"
"Uh, oh, it's just..." started Wesley, but Giles cut him off.
"It's not real." Buffy looked at him, and he exited the kitchen, Buffy and Wesley close behind, sitting down on the couch and watching him take a book from one of the multiple bookcases lining the walls.
"It's, uh, the vampire equivalent of the Holy Grail. The source of some enormous power, was conveniently vague," Wesley said, and Buffy nodded, looking up when Giles spoke again.
"Oh, here it is, yes. There was a great deal of vampiric interest in locating it during the... tenth century. Questing vampires combed the earth but no one ever found anything. It was concluded that it never existed." He turned the page, letting loose a small could of dust.
"Well, spike seems to think it exists," said Buffy, standing up and stretching out her back with a crack. "And he's looking in Sunnydale."
"Yes, well, I'll research it the best as I can," replied Giles, sitting down on the couch next to Wesley. "Why don't you go to bed."
"Meh, took a nap. I'll patrol a bit before I turn in," Buffy said and bade the two Watchers goodbye before grabbing her purse from the table in the front hall and exiting. Patrol that night was fairly easy, Buffy dusting only a couple of newbie demons before heading home and changing into her PJs, happy to once again be sleeping in her own bed.
The next morning, she woke up to a delicious smell and made her way downstairs after changing into a black t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. On the counter was a plate of pancakes and sausages, still warm, sitting on the counter top with a note from her mother, saying that she was out running some errands and that she would be back later. Grabbing a fork and quickly eating the homemade breakfast, Buffy grabbed her keys and headed off to Giles' to see if he had anything on the gem that Spike was trying to steal. A few minutes later, she arrived at his flat, once again not bothering to knock and simply pushing her way in.
"Hey guys," she greeted, spotting Giles and Willow at the table, Willow typing away at her computer and Giles flipping through some dusty, old book. "What's the what?"
"Oh, good morning," Giles greeted, sending her a small smile while Willow gave her an enthusiastic wave.
"Giles found something," Willow said, and Buffy turned to her Watcher for information.
"A text," he said, indicating the book that he was reading. "It refers to the Gem of Amara as residing in the valley of the sun."
"Demon fancy talk for Sunnydale," Willow added helpfully, and Buffy smiled at her. Giles merely ignored her and continued on.
"It seems that spike may not know what it's about. The gem may exist after all, in Sunnydale, in a sealed underground crypt.
"Why don't you guys try and locate the crypt," said Buffy, snapping into Slayer mode now that they had a lead. "I'll try to find Spike before he gets there."
"I'll get started," said Giles, closing the book and opening another one.
"I'll go call Xander and have him meet us here," said Willow, pulling out her cell phone and dialing Xander's number. With a small nod, Buffy exited the house, not knowing where to start looking for her former enemy. Finally, after much aimless wandering, she reached the UC Sunnydale, sitting down on top of a table to wait for the phone call from Giles telling her where to go. Then, she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned, finding herself flat on her back in the grass a mere second later, having been punched in the face by Spike.
"Birds singing, squirrels making lots of rotten little squirrels," he said, smirking down at her, reveling in the surprised look on her face at him standing in the sun. "Sun beaming down in a nice, non-fatal way. It's very exciting. I can't wait to see if I freckle." Finally coming to her senses, Buffy jumped up off of the ground, grabbing a stake from the waistband of her jeans, moving forward to punch him square in the nose, only to be pushed back to the ground by a punch to the stomach. He moved in for the kill, but she was too quick, landing a solid kick to his torso, sending him stumbling back and staking him squarely in the heart.
"Oh, do it again, it tickles" he said, smirking, pulling his body off the stake, and to Buffy's horror, the wound closed up and healed completely. "The Gem of Amara." He showed her the ring and backhanded her, sending her staggering, still surprised at what had just happened. "Official sponsor of my killing you." Buffy recovered quickly, sent a roundhouse kick to his face, and he staggered but didn't fall. Grabbing one of her arms that was stretched out in a punch, he grabbed her hand, swinging her into a pole and kicking her in the stomach, pressing his body against her so that she couldn't move. Not being one to give up easily, she headed butted him, sending him flying to the floor in a heap.
"What's wrong, Slayer?" he asked, pushing himself up off the floor, panting slightly, and blocking a punch that was aimed for his head. "No quipping? No witty puns? What's happened to that lovely girl I've come to hate?"
"Not this time," she said in response, grabbing the collar of his duster and swinging, sending him sprawling over a metal frame table. He gets up quickly, and uses a bench for leverage, jumping off it and kicking her in the face, knocking her to the ground. "More concentrated on beating your ass to a pulp," she continued, panting and sweating, pushing herself up off of the ground and retaliating with a series of punches, hitting Spike in the chest with each one.
"Aw, come on, Slayer," he said, grabbing her fist and pushing her away from him, making her stumble slightly. "You know there's more productive things we can do with our bodies than fighting." He gave her a smirk, running his tongue over his teeth suggestively, only to be tackled to the ground by the small blond.
"In your dreams, Spike," she answered, rolling off him and punching him twice in the face before grabbing the hand with the ring on it.
"Take it off me this way, we both burn," he said, looking from her to the ring, all traces of joking gone, clearly alarmed.
"Really?" she asked, pretending to consider it. "Let's see." She yanked the ring off his finger, stepping back, watching as his face contorted in pain and he fled the scene, bringing his duster up over his head, a trail of smoke following after him. Buffy let out a sigh of relief, slipping the ring into her pocket before making her way back to Giles', limping slightly and wincing in pain. "Guys!" she called out as soon as she pushed through the door, dropping the ring onto the kitchen table before rooting through the freezer for a few ice packs. When she got back, Giles, Wesley, Xander, Oz, and Willow were gathered around the table, looking at the ring.
"I like it," Willow said.
"It's small," Oz pointed out.
"The prettiest man-ring I've ever seen," Xander quipped, and Buffy gave him a look.
"It's also very dangerous," Giles said, and they all turned toward him. "And we're destroying it."
"We don't destroy it," Buffy said, immediately thinking of Angel. She sat down carefully, pressing one ice pack to her back and one to a rapidly forming bruise on her cheek.
"Well, Buffy, any vampire that gets his hand on this is going to be essentially unkillable." Buffy gave him a look and his eyes widened slightly in understanding. "Oh." Buffy opened her mouth to explain further, but was interrupted by a loud crack making Willow and Xander jump, and Buffy look up to see Snape standing in the middle of Giles' living room dressed in black and looking as surly and brooding as ever.
"It is time."
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I think my muse has gotten a few of its issues ironed out. Yay Scoobies! A short visit, but I was missing the old gang, so I had to put them in. I know I cheated a bit with the HLoD thing I threw in there, but I figure I might as well throw in a few baddies from Buffy as well. And who knows? Spike just might end up in Europe after all! Drop me a review on your way out!