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!
Hey guys, I am SO sorry that I haven't updated in forever. School's been crazy lately and quite frankly, my muse died, and I had to wait for a new one to be born and grow up so that I could continue writing this... Hopefully it's worth the wait! I might not be able to update for a couple more weeks because of finals, but I will definitely try to crank out a few chapters over Winter break.
Thanks to stasa, Aria DeLoncray, PrInCeSsFBi, Dax, and gabrieldarke for your wonderful reviews. My muse lives off of reviews, so keep them coming! I'm glad you guys are enjoying this story enough to read and review it!
Anyways, enough of my rambling. Bring on the next chapter! Hope you enjoy it!
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Buffy stumbled through the door and kicked it shut with her foot, her arms loaded with a stack of ungraded papers, only to realize that her usual chair next to Sirius' bed was already occupied. Taking in his unruly hair, skewed glasses, and the fact that his cheek was pressed into a book at the foot of the bed where the chair was pushed, she smiled before using her elbow to shift a lamp on the bedside table before placing the stack of papers down as quietly as possible. However, before she could make her way out of the room to leave him in peace, he groaned and started thrashing in his sleep, throwing his glasses from his face and toppling sideways out of the chair.
"Agh!" Buffy called out in surprise and lunged toward him, grabbing him before he hit the floor and laid him down as gently as possible while trying to avoid his flailing limbs. "Harry! Harry, wake up!" Restraining his arms with one hand, she leaned closer, cupping his face in her other hand. He instantly calmed as she continued to stroke his face, and after a few seconds, opened his eyes. Reaching over his body, Buffy picked up his fallen glasses before placing them gently back on his face. "Hey, are you okay?"
"What... What happened?" he asked, looking up at her curiously and bringing a hand to his head.
"You were sleeping and you just freaked out, flailing included, and fell out of the chair," Buffy responded, tilting her head in a sign of worry.
"I don't..." All of a sudden, he shot up off of the floor, making Buffy jump back to avoid a collision. Cautiously getting to her feet, she kept an eye on him as he paced the room, muttering under his breath.
"Um... Harry... what-..." she started but was cut off before she could ask what was going on.
"Voldemort has a new spy!" he blurted out suddenly, throwing his arms up into the air and causing her to jump slightly. "How could we not have known? We have to tell Dumbledore!" He made for the door, but Buffy grabbed his arm just as he was reaching for the doorknob and pulled him back, gently pushing him down into his previously-occupied chair. Harry continued to struggle slightly, but calmed the longer Buffy's hand remained on his shoulder.
"Woah! Calm down there sparky. What's going on?" she asked, squelching the sinking feeling in her stomach at the possibility of him knowing that she was going under-cover for Voldemort.
"Voldemort and Bellatrix" he said, and Buffy could hear the venom dripping from his words when he mentioned the name of the woman that killed his godfather, "were fighting about some girl." Buffy's eyes widened in horror, but he seemed to take it as surprise and continued. "She was yelling... They didn't say her name, but Bellatrix seemed jealous of her... We need to tell Dumbledore!" He brushed her hand aside and jumped up from the chair, causing Buffy to step back in surprise. Instinctively, she grabbed his hand in an attempt to stop him, but after looking into his eyes and seeing the turmoil hidden behind the bright green, Buffy sighed and nodded.
"Alright, come on, I'll take 'ya," she said, removing her hand from his arm and motioning in the direction of the door. Looking back over her shoulder as she exited after Harry, she sighed once again at seeing Sirius lying motionless in his bed. Closing the door behind her, she followed Harry down the corridor and two flights of stairs, coming to a halt in front of the stone statue that guarded the Headmaster's office. After giving the password, liquorish wands, the two made their way up the winding staircase, entering when Dumbledore called for them to come in.
"Ah, Buffy, Mr. Potter," he greeted with a polite nod, "What can I do for you this evening?" He waved a hand in the direction of the chairs in front of his desk, and Buffy took a seat, but Harry began to pace, barely paying the Headmaster any attention.
"I had another vision," Harry said suddenly, causing Buffy and Dumbledore to focus their attention on him. He continued to pace as he struggled to recount what he had seen. "Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange were fighting… Bellatrix was yelling at him… About some girl, a new spy. She was jealous of the new girl… Something about not trusting her. How could he just toss her aside after all her years of loyal service toward him." Dumbledore glanced at Buffy, but Harry didn't seem to notice. His eyes were screwed up in an attempt to retain what he had just seen. When he could not remember anything else, he walked over to Dumbledore's desk and slumped, exhausted, into the chair next to Buffy. After a slight pause, the Headmaster spoke, causing both Buffy and Harry to look up at him.
"Was the identity of this young woman revealed?" Harry shook his head, and Buffy turned her head to look at him.
"No, they didn't mention her name, or where she was from, or anything." He sighed, frustrated that he couldn't be more help, and Buffy placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"It's okay, Harry," she said gently, giving him a soft smile. "Why don't you head to bed? It's pretty late."
"But-…" he started to protest but was cut off by Dumbledore.
"Excellent idea, Buffy. Mr. Potter, thank you for coming to me with this information. I will do all that I can to find as much information possible about this woman. Good night." Harry seemed to detect the gentle dismissal and got up, nodding at the Headmaster and sending Buffy a smile before taking one last look at them and exiting the room.
"Well… that can't be good," said Buffy, frowning once he left and turning her attention back to Dumbledore. "Having Bellatrix suspicious and jealous of me, I mean."
"I'm afraid not," he replied.
"Did they… Bellatrix and Voldemort… did they have a relationship or something? She seems to be less 'how could you trust her over me' jealous and more 'how dare you look at another woman' jealous."
"Tom Riddle does not have relationships," responded Dumbledore with sigh. "He has never, and will never, see another person as his equal. They are simply minions, people he sends out to do his work for him. After all that he has done, I do not believe that he is capable of loving any other person than himself. He is drawn to you because of his power, because of your potential for darkness."
"Egh," said Buffy, a look of disgust crossing her face. "Great. I can't just have a normal relationship like every other girl my age. I always gotta attract the ones that want to destroy the world." Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, and she pushed herself out of the chair she had been occupying. "Well, if that's all, I have a mountain of grading I have to get back to…"
"Oh, yes, of course," said Dumbledore with a wave of his hand. "And I trust that Mr. Potter knows nothing of your…"
"Being double agent gal?" she asked, and he nodded. "Nope. Figured he'd be safer not knowing. Though, it might not stay secret for long since he's playing vision boy with Voldemort. But I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Night, Professor."
"Sleep well, Buffy." With a final wave a Dumbledore, Buffy exited the office and followed the staircases and corridors to her suite, entering and grabbing a few supplies before heading to the entrance hall and emerging from the castle, reveling in the feeling of the cool air caressing her skin. Reaching the Forbidden Forest, she wove her way through the trees and bushes covering the forest floor, looking for a baddie to slay but finding none, and finally gave up after half an hour, making her way back to the castle, slightly disappointed that she hadn't found anything to pummel to get her frustrations out. After stopping by the infirmary to check on Sirius and retrieve the stack of papers she had left, she retired to her suite, dropping the papers on the coffee table before entering her room to change. Emerging from her room dressed in a comfortable pair of sweat pants and a tank top, she curled up the couch, red pen in hand, ready to correct some sixth-year essays.
"Miss Buffy?" Buffy turned to see Sir Charles at the back of his portrait, looking at her expectantly.
"What's up, Charles?" she asked, giving him a smile.
"You have a visitor, Miss," he responded, giving her a small bow. "A Mr. Malfoy." Buffy raised an eyebrow and sighed, throwing the red pen on top of the pile of essays before getting up off of the couch and heading toward the portrait hole. Pushing the portrait open, she was met with the sharp, pale face of Draco Malfoy. Tilting her head, she noticed that he looked paler than usual and was twitching nervously, refusing to meet her gaze. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"Draco," she said coolly, not even attempting to keep the distaste out of her voice when addressing the boy that constantly bullied her friends. "What can I do for you?" Draco stood in silence for a moment before whispering something that Buffy would not have been able to make out if it wasn't for her Slayer hearing.
"Can I come inside?""You want to come inside. After you tried to kill me. After being a total ass to my friends on a daily basis? Just because we have the same boss doesn't mean that I have to like you or help you in any way, shape, or form."
"Please..." he said softly, continuing to look down at his feet. Furrowing her brow in curiosity, Buffy stepped aside, letting him enter, before the portrait swung shut of its own accord. Leading him over to the couch, Buffy sat down, but he continued to stand, looking more lost than she had ever seen him.
"Sit," she said, and his eyes snapped to hers briefly before taking a seat next to her. "So, Draco, what's up. You're all twitchy and sweaty. Someone finally get you back for being such a jerk?"
"I… I didn't know where else to go…" he said, so quietly and pathetically that Buffy felt a wave of concern wash over her despite the fact that she hated the kid. "I don't know what to do."
"What to do? About what?" Buffy asked, her voice considerably gentler than it had been when she had found him standing outside the door to her suite. "What's going on, Draco?"
"I can't… He wants me to… to…" Buffy turned on the couch so that she was facing him, giving him her undivided attention. He seemed to gain a bit of confidence from her worrying look and continued. "Voldemort wants me to kill Dumbledore." Sensing his hesitation to proceed, she responded.
"I know." He looked slightly taken aback, but continued none the less.
"I can't… I don't want to…" 'Damn,' thought Buffy, 'Either this kid's serious or he should be nominated for an Oscar.' She continued to stare at him, taking in his pale features and uneasy movements, looking into his eyes and seeing the guilt hidden behind the gray.
"You'd better not be playing with me, Draco," she said, voice quiet but demanding; the perfect combination to get him to confess everything. "If you're doing this to try and prove my disloyalty to your boss or get me killed…"
"I'm not," he said quickly, and Buffy took another second to scrutinize him before nodding.
"Alright, I doubt you're a good enough actor to pull off lying to me, so I believe you. But be warned, if you are lying, I'll kick you ass back to last century." There was a pause while the two continued to stare at each other. Finally, Buffy had enough and broke the silence. "Right. So… um… It's pretty late. You shouldn't be walking around on your own. Want to crash here for the night?"
"Yeah, sure, alright," he answered, still extremely pale, but looking calmer than he had when he had shown up at Buffy's door. Getting up and sending him a small smile, she exited the room and grabbed an extra pillow and blanket from the wardrobe in her bedroom before reemerging and handing them to Draco.
"Here 'ya go. Make yourself comfortable. If you need me…" she trailed off, jerking her thumb in the direction of her room. He nodded. "Well… night then." She turned and started heading back when he softly called out to her. Stopping, she turned her head so that she could see him, looking at him curiously.
"I-… thanks."
"No problem. It's what I'm here for." She smiled at him softly. "Get some rest." Turning back away from him, she entered her room, and knowing that she wasn't going to get any work done now that he was here, changed into a pair of pajama bottoms and a tank top and crawled into bed, snuggling into her comforter and waiting for sleep to overtake her.
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Buffy was standing in a dark room, the only source of light being one lone candle that stood upon a table in front of her. Looking around the room, she saw two figures; one that she recognized and one that she didn't."Bring me the boy," ordered Lord Voldemort, staring down at the man that sat bowed at his feet.
"But my lord, the boy is heavily guarded at all times… Dumbledore won't allow anyone near him…" the man pleaded, knowing that what he was being asked was nearly impossible.
"Do not question me," Voldemort replied, pulling his wand from beneath his robes. The other man continued to look up at him in fear.
"No, please, my lord!" begged the man, shrinking as far away from Voldemort as possible.
"I will give you one more chance. If you do not succeed, I will be forced give the task to one of my more... trusted followers."
"Thank you," said the man, looking extremely relieved. "You will not regret this." And with this, Buffy felt the image blurring around the edges, engulfing her in darkness before...
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Buffy's eyes snapped open, and she blinked rapidly at the sudden brightness caused by the sunlight pouring in through the open curtains. Bringing her hand to her face to shield her eyes from the sun, Buffy glanced at the clock on her nightstand, and seeing that it was after ten o'clock, pushed the comforter off her body and swung her legs over the edge of the bed, pushing herself off. After brushing her teeth and washing her face, she reentered her room and opened thedoor to the sitting room, not bothering to change out of her tank top and pajama bottoms. Tiptoeing toward the portrait hole, smiling at the sight of Draco curled up in a little ball on the couch, giving him one last glance before stepping through. Swinging the portrait closed behind her, she made her way down to the entrance hall, only running into a few students on their way down to breakfast, as it was only nine o'clock on a Saturday morning.
"Morning, Snapey!" she greeted Snape, plopping down in the seat next to him once she reached the staff table.
"Miss Summers," he greeted with a sharp nod, sweeping his gaze over her outfit disapprovingly.
Buffy gave him a bright smile before grabbing a roll from the plate in front of her and practically shoving into her mouth, almost bursting out laughing from the horrified look on her fellow professor's face. "What are..." he coughed to clear his throat, "what are your plans for today?"
"I don't-..." she started to answer, but was cut off when Harry appeared at the table. "Oh, hey, Harry! What's up?"
"Morning, Buffy." He paused, glancing over at Snape. "Professor."
"Potter," Snape spat with a glare, and Buffy rolled her eyes as their childness. "I was wondering," he continued, turning his gaze back to Buffy, "if we could talk..." he trailed off, looking nervous.
"Hm? Oh! Yeah! Sure, c'mon," answered Buffy, flashing him a quick smile before turning back to Snape. "Sorry, duty calls. I'll catch you later?" Snape nodded, and she smiled again, grabbing a bagel and a handful of bacon before standing up and following Harry out of the Great Hall and back up to her room.
"Good morning, Miss Buffy, Mister Potter."
"Morning, Charles," answered Buffy, giving him a small salute with the hand clutching the bacon she had taken from the table. "Slayer."
"Right you are, Miss!" Charles called before the portrait swung open, and Buffy and Harry were met face to face with Draco.
"Hey there, sunshine!" Buffy teased, taking in his mussed hair and sleep-clouded eyes. "Heading out already? Too bad, and we were having such a good time too," she teased playfully, giving him a bright smile.
"Going to go down for breakfast," he answered stiffly, not removing his eyes from Harry's. "I'll see you later, Buffy." He turned to her and gave her a small nod before turning back to Harry, his voice changing instantly from the gentle tone he had used to address Buffy. "Potter."
"Malfoy," Harry answered with an equal amount of venom dripping from his voice. Without another word, Draco brushed past them and headed down the hall, disappearing around a corner seconds later. Turning back to Harry, Buffy shrugged before stepping into the room and gesturing for him to follow her.
"What was he doing here?" Harry burst out the second the painting had swung shut, making her flinch slightly at the sudden loudness. Rolling her eyes exasperatedly, Buffy gestured for him to sit, but he refused, remaining standing with his hands clutched into fists at his sides. "Are you two... together? He's dangerous, Buffy! You know better than that! He could be here to kill you on orders from Voldemort!"
"Woah!" called Buffy, bringing her hands in front of her in a gesture of surrender, a hard thing to do with a bagel and bacon clutched in her hands. "Chill out, Mom. Sit." She gave him a look and he relented, sliding into the chair next to where she was sitting. Popping a small piece of bacon into her mouth, she continued. "Draco came to me for help with something." Harry opened his mouth to speak, but she interrupted him quickly. "Something that's going to stay between me and Draco?" He looked ready to object once again but remained silent. "It got late and I didn't want him to walk back to his room and get caught by one of those little goody two-shoes that go around writing people up for being out after curfew."
"But-..."
"That's all that happened." She gave him a look to show him that she didn't want to talk about Draco any more. "Now, what's up with you?"
"I... uh..." He shook his head quickly to get his brain on track before continuing. "What happened when you told Dumbledore what I saw?" Buffy had been expecting this question since she had looked up to see Harry in front of her in the Great Hall.
"Nothing much," she said with a sigh. "There's not a lot we can do about that right now. I told Dumbledore, and he said he'd ask Snape to she what our big bad is up to."
"But how do you know that Snape-..."
"Just because Snape's a vampire wannabe in desperate need of a shower and shampoo," interrupted Buffy with a smile and a bite of her bagel, "doesn't mean that he's not a good guy. Remember that. People might just surprise you."
"But..." Harry started but quickly shut up. "Erm, Buffy? Would you like to..."
"To what?" Buffy asked curiously at the pause, tilting her head to the side and wrinkling her nose slightly.
"GotoHogsmeadewithme," he blurted out, taking her by surprise.
"Go to Hogsmeade with you?" she repeated, wanting to make sure that she had heard him right. Looking at him, she noticed that he seemed more pale and figity than usual, and she gave him a concerned look.
"And Ron and Hermione," he continued quickly, and Buffy felt a slight wave of disappointment was over her. 'Crap,' she swore to herself. 'What if he thought that look meant 'no, I don't want to go on a date with you?'' But she quickly snapped back into Slayer remembering her dream. Hogsmeade would be the perfect place to kidnap or hurt Harry since he wasn't being watched by Dumbledore.
"Yeah, sure! First field trip's today, isn't it?" she asked brightly in an attempt to disguise her disappointment, and he nodded, looking relieved that she had said that she would go.
"Yeah," he answered, smiling. "The carriages leave at 11 o'clock."
"Alright, lemme just get cleaned up and changed, and I'll meet you in the great hall at like... ten-fifty?" He nodded and got up to leave. "Alright, nifty. I'll see you then. See ya." With a wave, he walked to the door and exited through it, leaving Buffy sitting alone on the couch. Finishing her bagel and handful of bacon, she looked at the clock on the side table, seeing that it was already ten o'clock.
Pushing herself up, she made her way through her bedroom to her bathroom and turning on the shower before stripping her clothes from her body and stepping into the tub. Soaping up her body and shampooing her hair, she let the warm water run over her skin for a few minutes before turning off the water and stepping out. Wrapping her body in a large fluffy towel and her hair in a smaller one, she walked over to the sink, whipping the condensation off of the mirror with her hand. Flipping her head forward, she rubbed her hair through the towel, extracting as much
moisture as possible. Putting the wet towel aside, Buffy grabbed a brush laying by the mirror above the sink, working it through her tangled hair until it was smooth and silky. Satisfied, she entered her room and stopped in front of wardrobe, pulling out a pair of dark jeans, a black long sleeve shirt, and her favorite black leather jacket, changing into them before pulling on a pair of
black boots. Grabbing a stake an her wand from the dresser, she slid one up each sleeve before picking up a small coin purse and sliding it into her jacket pocket. Wrapping a scarf around her neck and taking one last glance around the room to make sure she wasn't forgetting anything, she exited her suite and made her way down to the entrance hall to wait for her friends.
"Ah, Buffy," Giles greeted with a small smile when he saw Buffy walking down the stairs to the entrance hall. "I was wondering if you would like to spend the day training. We have fallen behind since both of our schedules have been so hectic..."
"Sorry, Giles," answered Buffy, giving him an apologetic smile. As much as I'd like to spend some quality time with my favorite Watcher, I already have plans for today. I'm playing bodyguard to the trio." She nodded her head at the staircase in greeting at Hermione's wave. Giles turned toward them and gave a small nod of his own. "The kid gets in more trouble than I ever did." Giles gave her a look. "Okay... almost as much trouble. Thought I'd tag alone to make sure he doesn't get himself killed."
"I'm sure that's the only reason why you accepted his offer to join him," Giles said with a smile, and Buffy brought her hand to her mouth in mock horror.
"Why, Giles!" she said, looking scandalized. "I have no idea what you're talking about!"
"Of course not," he teased, laughing. "Well, I'll see you tonight then?"
"Yep, have a fun day cooped up inside with all of those musty books." He gave her a fond smile before turning and heading up the stairs, greeting the three Gryffindors who were making their way toward Buffy.
"Hi, Buffy!" They chorused, and she gave them each a smile in response.
"I'm so glad that you decided to come with us!" said Hermione, giving her friend a hug. The two boys nodded in agreement.
"I figured I'd tag along to make sure you three don't get into any trouble," she answered, as they walked out the doors, stopping in front of a thestral-pulled carriage. The large horse-like creature turned its head when Buffy approached, and she gave its head an affectionate pat before climbing into the carriage behind Ron. After a short ride, they pulled to a stop and all clambered out, Buffy and Hermione linking arms and walking toward the shops with Harry and Ron trailing after them. "So, where to first?" she asked, craning her head to look at all the shops. The four agreed to visit Honeydukes, and they made their way to the shop, talking and laughing amongst themselves. About half an hour later, the four friends reemerged, each carrying bags filled with candies, their pockets and coin purses much emptier than when they had entered the store.
"Yeah, not such a good idea to go in there when you're hungry," Buffy laughed looking over her shoulder at her friends. However, her jovial mood didn't last long, as a second later, a loud, shrieking cry sounded through the air, causing her to whip around toward the sound.
"Crucio!"
Buffy gasped as the sensation of a thousand white-hot knives piercing her skin assaulted her body, and she fell to the floor, her bag of Honeydukes sweets tumbling from her arms. She was no stranger to pain, but this was unlike anything she had ever felt before. She could feel the blood pounding in her ears and her nails digging into her palms in pain, but she refused to scream, to show her weakness. All she could do was wait for it to stop. After what seemed like hours, but in actuality was probably just a few seconds, the pain stopped and she went limp, her body sprawled out in the dirt, panting for breath. Regaining her composure, Buffy refocused her gaze and found herself staring up into the dark eyes of Bellatrix Lestrange.
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Well, that's it for now. I hate to leave you with a cliffie, but I felt like being mean. Just kidding, I just felt like this would be a good time to stop. Best case scenario, I'll get the next chapter out very soon, but it might take a couple of weeks depending on how hard finals kick my ass. Hope you enjoyed! Please leave me a review on your way out!