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! Stole a tiny bit of plot from HP and the Half Blood Prince.
Thanks to enchanted light, PrInCeSsFBi, moo, and Aria DeLoncray for your reviews! I'm glad you all are liking it so far!
Sorry for the late update. I just went back to college, and I haven't even looked at my computer since last Friday before I left! Hope you enjoy this one:)
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Buffy could feel her friend's eyes on her, but she ignored them, instead staring into her fellow professor's and seeing a small spark of worry. She turned to the rest of the group only to find them staring at her with confused looks on their faces, clearly wondering who this new person was. She looked back at Snape.
"Now?" Snape gave her a look. "Right, sorry." She turned to the group, immediately snapping into Slayer mode, knowing that she only had a few moments to explain. Voldemort waited for no one. Especially those who were working for him. "Okay, guys. I have to go take care of something. I know I just, got here but I should be back tonight." She looked over at Snape, and he nodded. "I can't explain now. Giles, hold down the fort?" She looked into her Watcher's eyes and saw fear and concern, but he nodded anyways. "I love you guys," she added quietly in case something went horribly wrong.
"Wait," muttered Snape, pulling out his wand, clearing Buffy's face of blood and repairing her split lip to the gasps of her friends. Both Snape and Buffy ignored them.
"Thanks," Buffy said with a smile, and Snape nodded at her.
With a last glance at her friends, she walked over to Snape and took his arm. The two disappeared with a loud crack and a moment later, they were standing in the middle of the entrance hall of Malfoy Manor. Instead of leading her down the hall to the room that they met in last time, he ushered her to the first room on the right. Snape gave her a nod, and Buffy took a deep breath before forcing on a cool facade and clearing her mind. Knocking on the heavy wooden door, Snape held it open for her, waiting for her to go in. Entering, Buffy found herself in a small, dark room, the only source of light being the fireplace. Although it was small, the room was elegantly decorated, with various moving paintings lining the walls and a set of plush, velvet curtains covering the windows. There was a set of matching leather furniture in the center of the room, and Voldemort was sitting in a high-backed chair.
"Ah, Severus, Miss Summers," Voldemort greeted when he caught sight of them. He motioned toward another chair, and Buffy sat down. Snape, however, continued to hover by the doorway. "Thank you, Severus. You may go." Buffy sent him a panicked look, but he simply nodded and exited the room, closing the door behind him. "So good to see you again, Miss Summers."
"Buffy, my lord," she replied with a respectful bow of her head.
"Very well. Buffy. I have a favor to ask of you." He stared straight into her eyes, and she forced herself not to look away, keeping her mind blank and quietly waiting for him to go on. "I have given young Mr. Malfoy a task, to dispose of Dumbledore when the time is right." He paused waiting, waiting for her reaction. She felt her heart skip a beat, but remained calm, not showing any outward signs that she cared. "If for any reason he is unable to complete it, I will expect you to take his place." Buffy was silent for a moment before she realized that he was waiting for an answer.
"Of course, my lord." She felt him probe at the surface of her mind, but kept it closed, and a second later, felt him pull back. "I do have a question though." He nodded slowly, and she continued. "I'm extremely flattered that you chose me, but why not entrust Snape with this task? After all, he is much closer to Draco than I am." He continued to stare at her a moment with those red, snake-like eyes before responding.
"Lately, I have been doubting Severus' loyalty," he said simply and didn't seem to be elaborating, so she nodded. "I would also like you to keep an eye on him so that he does not inform Dumbledore of our alliance." She nodded again.
"Yes, my lord."
"You are still watching Harry Potter, are you not?" She nodded once again, figuring the less she said, the less likely it was that he he would find out about her true intentions. "Excellent." Pause. "You may go." She stood up but before she could make her way to the door, Voldemort spoke again. "I trust you, Buffy. Do not betray me."
"Of course, my lord" she responded, giving him a small bow before exiting the room without so much as another glance at him. Letting out a breath that she didn't know she had been holding, she walked over to Snape who was standing in the entrance hall. At her nod, he grabbed her arm and disapperated, appearing a few seconds later in the middle of Giles' living room, making the gathered Scoobies jump.
"Buffy," greeted Giles, clearly relieved that she was back. "How did-..."
"Giles," interrupted Buffy, sending him an apologetic look. "I can't explain it here. We have to go go to Dumbledore." She looked at the rest of the gang. "Sorry guys, we'll be back in a little bit. Official Slayer business." They all nodded, and Buffy grabbed a nearby cup, pulling out her wand to the gasps of Willow, Xander, and Wesley, muttering "portus." She motioned for Giles and Snape to touch the cup, which the both did, and a moment later, found themselves standing in Dumbledore's office. He was in his office at his his desk despite the fact that it was practically the middle of the night. "We have a problem," said Buffy the second she saw the Headmaster, not wasting time on pleasantries. Dumbledore looked up from his paperwork to find the three of them standing in his office.
"Problem?" he asked, gesturing for them to take a seat in the chairs in front of his desk. Snape and Giles sat, but Buffy remained standing.
"So here I am, back home, hanging out with my friends after fighting Spike and taking the Gem of Amara from him... Which makes vampires invincible by the way... I'm going to give it to Angel. It might be useful when we end up fighting Voldemort..." she rambled, and Giles coughed softly, trying to get her back on track. "Right, sorry. Snape here popped into Giles' living room, saying that Voldemort wanted to see me. So I get there, and he tells me that he's told Draco to kill you and that if he wusses out, he wants me to do it." She started to pace the room, still limping slightly from her earlier fight with Spike, gesturing wildly, clearly upset. Dumbledore merely looked at her calmly over his half-mood glasses. "And he doesn't trust you anymore," she added, turning toward Snape. "I asked him why you couldn't do it since you're closer to Draco..."
"You... questioned Voldemort's orders?" asked Dumbledore, and Buffy nodded.
"And he didn't kill you?" asked Snape, equally shocked. Buffy shook her head.
"Yeah so... he suspects that you're working for Dumbledore, and he asked me to keep an eye on you so that you don't tell him." She looked over at Giles, who smiled encouragingly, and finally sat down, exhausted.
"Thank you for informing me of this new development," said the Headmaster, giving her a slight bow of his head. "We were correct in assuming that Voldemort thought of you as a great asset. Now, if you would like to return to your friends... You've done excellently." He gave her a warm smile, and she grinned back.
"Thanks," she said and stood up, Giles following her. "Night Headmaster, Snape." Dumbledore gave them both a nod, while Snape simply continued to scowl at them. Buffy flashed him a quick smile before grabbing the portkey-cup along with Giles, and disappearing in a flash of light, only to reemerge once again in front of her friends. "Hey guys."
"Hi, Buffy," they chorused, and Willow gave her a small wave.
"Buffy, what's going on?" asked Willow, and Buffy sighed, knowing that she couldn't tell them.
"Guys..." She took a deep breath and looked at Giles before turning back to Willow. "I cant... I can't tell you."
"What do you mean you can't tell us?" Willow asked, looking at Buffy strangely. "You know that you can tell us anything."
"No, I can't," said Buffy determinedly. "I'd be putting you in too much danger."
"C'mon Buff, we've been in mortal peril before," Xander said, and Willow nodded her head enthusiastically. Wesley and Oz didn't argue; They merely sat quietly; listening to what Buffy had to say.
"Not like this," she continued, shaking her head at her two best friends. "This is big. Like end of the world big."
"We've done end of the world big," countered Willow, clearly starting to get a bit upset that Buffy wouldn't trust her with this information.
"No, it's not the same... I... Giles!" She wasn't explaining it well, so she looked toward her Watcher to help.
"Buffy is right."
"But, Giles!" Willow cried, but he held up a hand to silence her.
"No, Willow, listen." She looked down and stopped protesting, upset at being chided. "You would all be in extreme danger if we were to tell you what Buffy has been doing. We are on the eve of one of the biggest wars in the wizarding world. People are not above killing someone just because they know something. Voldemort would have no problem having any of you killed or tortured if he so much as suspected that Buffy had told you about her role."
"If one of you cracked, which would be understandable, it would also put me, and our whole plan, in danger," said Buffy, having calmed down slightly. "It's much safer for all of us this way. Trust me?"
"Oh, Buffy, of course we trust you," insisted Willow, separating from Oz so that she could give her a hug, and Xander nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, Buff," said Xander, shooting her a smile. "'Course we trust you. We just want to help."
"Yeah, I know, and trust me, I'm definitely going to need your help when this blows up in my face." She made a face, thinking about what would happen if Voldemort found out that she was really working for Dumbledore. Having made up, they all, minus Giles and Wesley, headed off for a night on the town, wanting to spend as much time together as they could before Buffy headed back to England. Even Faith showed up, saying that she had met a guy a few days ago after petrol and had been spending time with him. No one questioned her explanation, not wanting to know any of the details. They had dinner at the Summers' before Bronzing it for the rest of the night, and going back to Buffy and Faith's for a sleepover. The next morning, the Scoobies, plus Joyce and Wesley, gathered in the Summer's living room to see Buffy and Giles off.
"Bye, Mom," said Buffy as Joyce pulled her into a hug. She wasn't as upset to be leaving home this time, as she now knew how easy it was to come visit. She was hit with an arm full of Willow once her mom let go.
"Oh, Buffy, we're going to miss you so much!" Xander joined in on the group hug and Joyce stepped back, letting them have their moment.
"Yeah, Buff, come visit us again soon." Buffy smiled at him and pulled away, gently removing Willow's arms from around her neck.
"See ya, Oz... Wes." Oz smiled in that quiet way of his, and Wesley gave her a small nod. "You guys call me if anything happens, okay? I'm still you Slayer, after all."
"Keep them safe?" asked Buffy, walking up to Faith. Faith nodded and gave her a hug; Apparently, she had gotten over her aversion to hugs. "Alright guys, we've got to be going... Our portkey's gonna activate in a minute or so."
After a few last hugs and goodbyes, Buffy and Giles each placed a finger on the small hairbrush Buffy had turned into a portkey and were whisked away from the Summers' living room, only to land in Dumbledore's office. Looking around, Buffy noticed that the Headmaster wasn't present, but with a glance at the clock, realized that he was probably down at dinner. Pushing herself off of the floor, she offered her Watcher a hand up before the two grabbed their bags and headed down to dinner. Because they were late, all heads turned in their direction as they entered, but they ignored them, making their way to the head table, nodding at Dumbledore in greeting as they passed. Buffy hurried through dinner, barely pausing to talk to the other professors, wanting to get back to her room so that she could continue grading all of the essays she had accumulated over the past week.
"Hey, Giles?" Giles looked over at his Slayer and smiled. "I'ma head upstairs. I want to get all those papers graded and get to sleep early so jet lag doesn't kick my ass tomorrow morning."
"Oh, of course," he said. "Have a good night."
"Night," she responded with a smile before dropping her fork onto the table next to her half-eaten peace of chocolate cake and pushing out her seat, making her way down the aisle away from the head table and toward the doors. Seeing Harry looking at her out of the corner of her eye, she turned and gave a wink before slipping out of the Great Hall and up to her room. Entering after giving the password to the portrait guarding her rooms, she dropped her duffel bag onto one of the couches before settling down in the living room and eying the stack of parchment in front of her warily. Sighing dramatically, she picked up a red pen and a stack of papers, curling up on the couch and bracing herself for a night of grading.
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She was in a dimly lit room that she had never seen before; it was large and rectangular and in the very center of a sunken, stone pit in the middle of the room was an ancient, crumbling stone archway which stood unsupported by any surrounding wall. Making her way down the stone benches that lined the room, she got close enough to see that there was a tattered black curtain, fluttering in the archway as if there was a light breeze, though the air in the room was completely still. Moving even closer to the arch, she leaned in as she heard faint whispering, reaching out to touch the curtain. To see what was behind it. For some reason, she felt drawn to it, like it was sucking her in. She pushed her hand closer to the veil, barely feeling the fabric graze her fingertips before the curtain parted, spilling something out of it before closing once again.
She jumped back instinctively, watching as the figure fell to its knees before giving a weak groan and collapsing to the ground. Stretching out her Slayer senses to get a feel of the person, she hurried forward kneeling beside the figure and turning it over when she felt nothing evil. He had long, dark hair that fell limply around his face and a pale, drawn face. He was quite handsome despite the fact that it looked like he hadn't seen sunlight or had anything to eat in ages. She sat there for a moment, staring down at the man until his eyes snapped open, gray eyes connecting with bright, green ones.
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Buffy awoke with a start, blinking to clear her vision as the flickering of the fire that a house elf had undoubtedly started came into view. Sitting up, she peeled a piece of parchment off of her face, looking around and realizing that she had fallen asleep on the papers she had been grading. Glancing at the clock and seeing that it was two am.., she put down the papers and stood up, not even bothering to change before hurrying to the portrait hole, grabbing her wand and stashing it in the waistband of her jeans as she went. Sprinting down the halls and ignoring the paintings that woke up and started whispering as she raced past, she reached Dumbledore's office in a matter of minutes, banging open the doors and stumbling through without waiting for an invitation.
"Buffy," said the Headmater with a polite smile, putting down what he was doing and giving her his full attention. She briefly wondered if he ever slept before snapping her mind back to the topic at hand. "What can I do for you this evening?" He gestured for her to take a seat, which she did before taking a deep breath and recounting all that she could about her dream. When she was done, he continued to look at her seriously over his half-mood spectacles, making her slightly nervous, as she had no idea who this man was or what was going on. He made no move to speak.
"Um... Professor?" she asked, looking at him with her head tilted slightly to the side in confusion. Nothing. "Professor," she tried a little louder. He sat up a little straighter, indicating that he had heard her. At this, she let loose a slew of questions that were burning inside of her, bursting to get out. "Who was that man? And that weird, magical veil thing? Why was he in there? Where does it go?" He held up a gentle hand to silence her, and she fell quiet, wanting answers.
"Are you sure this was no ordinary dream?" he asked, and she shook her head.
"No, it was totally a vision. I get this little tingly feeling after I have one."
"I see." Pause." The man that you saw in your dream was Sirius Black," Dumbledore explained, but before he could continue, Buffy interrupted him.
"Sirius Black? Like Harry's godfather Sirius?"
"Indeed." If Dumbledore was annoyed at her for interrupting him, he didn't show it. "The veil is located in the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic. No one knows what is beyond the veil, as no one who has passed through it has returned. One can only guess. Do you know how Sirius died?" Buffy shook her head. No one seemed to want to talk about Sirius. She had only gotten a few sentences of explanation from conversations with both Lupin and the trio. "He was killed by his cousin. A Miss Bellatrix Lestrange. I believe you have met her. She is a Death Eater and a devoted follower of Voldemort." Buffy nodded, remembering the pretty, dark-haired witch she had met at the first meeting. "She hit him with a curse and he fell through the veil. He has not been heard from since." The two sat in silence, Buffy drinking in all of the information she had been giving and Dumbledore waiting patiently for her reaction.
"We have to get him," she responded a few moments later, looking up at the Headmaster. When he opened his mouth to object, Buffy cut him off before he could get any words out. "We have to. If the guy just came back from the dead, or from some alternate dimension thing, he's going to need us! He's going to need Harry." She dropped her voice and looked down at her hands. "He misses him so much. He doesn't say it, but I can tell." She looked up again and saw that he was staring at her. She continued. "Both of them. They need each other. And I'll be damned if I'm going to let him continue to suffer." She put on an almost perfect imitation of Willow's resolve face, and Dumbledore nodded.
"You do understand that this will be very dangerous. The Ministry may have been compromised, and it will look extremely suspicious for you to enter the Department of Mysteries. Your life may be in danger." Buffy gave him a look that clearly said that her life was in danger most of the time. "Right, of course. I was just making sure that you understood the risks of your rescue." Buffy nodded to show that she did understand. "I will have Arthur take you. You would be looked at as less of a threat if you were to enter the Ministry with an escort."
"No," said Buffy immediately before shooting the Headmaster an apologetic look for interrupting him. "Sorry." He waved at her to go on. "I don't want anyone to go with me. It's too dangerous. And I'll already have to protect Sirius. It'll be much harder if there's someone else there, too."
"As you wish," Dumbledore said with a small nod, understanding her logic. "Did your dream give you any clues to when this event is to occur?" Buffy thought for a moment.
"Umm... he fell out of the arch thing the second my fingers made contact with the curtain... So I guess, whenever I touch it?" she guessed. "I want to do this asap. Tonight. Right now, actually. Before people start going in for work. It'll be way easier, and there'll be a much smaller chance of me getting caught smuggling a convicted murderer, who everyone thinks is dead, back to the school."
"Of course, that would be best," Dumbledore responded, and she nodded. "You will be taking the floo network." He gestured toward the fireplace in his office, situated to the left of the desk. "There are sensors surrounding the Ministry, like Hogwarts, to monitor unauthorized portkeys. As with apperation. It will be less conspicuous if you were to floo." Buffy nodded once again. "Take the lift from the atrium to level nine. This is where the Department of Mysteries is. Once you collect Sirius, I urge you to return as soon as you can. It is likely that there will be security guarding the building now that Voldemort has returned to full power." Buffy stood up and walked over to the fireplace, as did Dumbledore who handed her a clay pot containing an amount of shimmering, green powder.
"Don't tell Harry about this yet," she said as she grabbed a handful. "Don't want him to get his hopes up in case something happens... Or if it doesn't work... Or something... But you can tell the Order. They should know." With one last glance at the nodding headmaster, she took a deep breath before throwing the powder into the fire, shouting "Ministry of Magic, London!" and stepping into the fireplace.
A few moments later, she skidded out of the fireplace, managing to stay on her feet, finding herself in a large hall with fireplaces up and down both long walls. Walking past a large fountain depicting a witch, wizard, centaur, goblin, and house elf, she kept close to the wall, creeping in and out of the shadows created by a few candles mounted to the wall. The atrium was empty, its employees having gone home to their families hours ago, and Buffy encountered no problems as she quickly made her way toward the lifts and jabbed at the button next to them. Stepping into the elevator once it arrived, she felt it descend, stopping one floor below to a cool female voice announcing "Level nine, Department of Mysteries." Stepping out of the lift and hearing it ascend once again to the main level, Buffy made her way down a small, bare corder and entered a plane black door.
The door opened up into a large, circular room with twelve plain, black, handelless doors all around it. The only light came from candles mounted to the wall that were burning a bright blue. Leaving the door open so that she could find her way back, Buffy closed her eyes, concentrating and trying to find the room that she was looking for. A few seconds later, her eyes snapped open and she walked toward the door directly to her left, reaching out a hand to nudge it, and it easily swung inward. Cautiously stepping into the room, she saw the exact scene that her dream had depicted. Making her way down the various benches that tiered away from the pit that contained the archway, she kept her eyes fixed on the fluttering black curtain, unconsciously expecting something to fall out any second. As she reached the arch, she hesitantly reached out her hand, knowing that she had to touch the curtain. She didn't particularly like this, as she knew better than to stick her finger into some unknown substance. But it was the only way.
She braced herself as her fingers made contact with the tattered curtain, but nothing happened. She stood there for a second, disappointed that it hadn't worked. However, as she started to remove her hand, the curtain parted like in her dream, and something fell out. This time, unlike in her dream, Buffy rushed forward and caught him before he could crash to the ground. Laying him gently on the ground next to the arch, she smoothed the hair off of his forehead, taking in his features; the same eyes, the same pale skin, and the same handsome features that she had seen in her dream. So preoccupied with looking him over to make sure that he was alright, she didn't see him open his eyes, and jumped slightly when he spoke.
"Harry..." he managed to rasp out in a weak voice before his eyes closed once again and he lapsed into silence. Wanting to get him back to Dumbledore as soon as possible, she gathered him up in her arms, throwing him over her shoulder in a fireman's carry, and hurried up the stone benches, into the circular room, and out of the door toward the lift, glad that she had kept the door open so that she didn't have to go through the trouble of finding out which one was the exit. Struggling slightly with the man draped over her shoulder, not the weight, but the bulk, she made her way toward the lift, punching the button with her free hand and stepped in. A few moments of silence where she felt the elevator moving upwards and then:
"Level eight, The Atrium." Once the elevator came to a halt and the doors slid open, Buffy rushed through them, adjusting Sirius on her shoulder so that he wouldn't slip off, and made her way past the security desk close to the elevators, the Fountain of Magical Brethren, stopping in front of on of the fireplaces on the right hand side of the room. Throwing in double the usual amount of floo powder into the fireplace to be safe, she stepped in, stumbling out on the other end as a result of her momentum and the fact that was carrying someone twice her size and weight.
Looking up from her place on the floor, flat on her back with Sirius' head clutched to her chest so that he wouldn't get hurt, she saw a few members of the Order rushing toward her. As she was lifted off the ground and placed back on her feet by Hagrid, she saw that either McGonagall or Dumbledore had conjured a floating stretcher and were levitating Sirius onto it, Lupin was looking down at him in shock and awe, and Snape was standing by himself in the corner, looking more brooding and surly than Buffy had ever seen him. Once she assured them that she was alright and nothing bad had happened, she and Sirius were both whisked off to the infirmary; the members of the Order that were present joined them as well. When they got there, Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse, nearly attacked Buffy, hovering around her and making sure that she was alright. It took Buffy a few minutes to convince her that she was fine, but as soon as she did, the nurse quickly moved on to Sirius.
Exhausted, as she had only gotten a few hours of sleep before her big rescue, Buffy slumped into a chair, watching as Madam Pomfrey tended to an unconscious Sirius. McGonagall had gone to get Harry, and a few minutes later, he hurtled into the room, eyes wild and hair tousled and messy from sleep, still in his pajamas, and skidded to a halt in front of Sirius' bed. By then, those present were seated in a circle around the bed, staring at Buffy, clearly wanting to hear what had happened. When Harry burst in, they all looked up.
"What happened?" he asked, the second he had entered the room and rushed over to the bed, looking at his godfather in a perfect imitation of Lupin's expression at the moment at which he had first seen his friend. Then he turned to Buffy. All of the professors followed his example and turned toward her as well. Apparently, Dumbledore hadn't told them about her dream. Wanting Harry to hear the whole story, Buffy took a deep breath before starting to explain as the others looked on intently, knowing that this new development would be a great asset to them in the upcoming war.
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Well, that's it for now! A bit short, but I felt it deserved its own chapter. I hope you liked it! I know it's a bit cliché, but I had to use my artistic license to bring back my favorite character! Drop me a review for my muse on the way out!